Songhu: Never Give Up

Chapter 147 I Die, the Country Survives

The Ishino Squadron retreated in disgrace, leaving behind nearly a hundred corpses and seriously wounded soldiers. With a large number of sharpshooters present, snatching the seriously wounded soldiers would be tantamount to committing suicide.

When Captain Ishino returned, he was scolded by the captain, and then the matter was forgotten.
Lieutenant Colonel Mizuguchi Tofu also knew that it was not that Ishino was incompetent, but that the Chinese were too cunning. The gap was full of ruins and they could not rush forward at all. The defenders would not pay any attention to a squadron's tentative attack, so he said:
"Ishino-kun, tell me what you have gained."

Captain Ishino said with a chuckle:
“Sir Captain, the main structure of the Marine Corps Headquarters is very solid and stretches for hundreds of meters, it is a large fortress complex;
Although the Imperial Army had blasted open several gaps, the passages available for entry were filled with rubble and were too narrow to fully deploy the troops, nor could the speed of the charge be increased.

In order to put enough pressure on the defenders, they had to blow up several gaps and then attack on all fronts to make the defenders exhausted.

When the infantry attacks, rapid-fire guns, infantry guns, and heavy machine guns should suppress the defenders at the second-floor windows, continue to consume the Chinese's manpower and firepower, and when the defenders' manpower and firepower are almost depleted, then attack in one go."

“Mr. Ishino, your idea is correct, but the commander of the wing does not give us much time. We can only increase the frequency of the attack.
I will ask the commander for tactical guidance and ask him to send more infantry artillery to blow up a few more gaps, and then launch a continuous attack to consume the Chinese troops. "

It must be said that the tactical literacy of these grassroots officers of the Japanese army is very high. Apart from the fact that their tactics are too rigid, there are not many problems.
The 9th Engineer Regiment is digging tunnels at a rapid pace. The Japanese are attacking on both the light and covert fronts at the same time. As long as they are given enough time, they can break through the headquarters building even with the most stupid method.

Yue Qianli never thought about being able to defend the building. There is no unbreakable fortress in this world. What he needs is time;

Like Captain Ishino, he also wanted to consume the enemy's resources. There were more than 2 people in the headquarters building, with sufficient ammunition and food, as well as torpedo cannons, mortars, rocket launchers, and tens of thousands of melon grenades captured from the Japanese army. There was no problem in holding out for eight or ten days.

"Captain, the Japanese have brought in a few more infantry guns. Are we really not going to stop them?"

The artillery battalion commander He Qizheng asked worriedly. Yue Qianli shook his head and said:
"Why stop them? Let them bomb. The more gaps they create, the more confident the Japanese will be. The more troops they will send to attack, the more people will die.
When the Japanese were defending the building, the 88th Division, with more than soldiers attacking in turns, was unable to stop them. They only forced their way in after exhausting all of the Japanese’s forces.”

He Qizheng also said anxiously:

"The Japs can also use the same tactics to consume us!"

"Old He, this is a different time now, you forgot that we have a supplementary battalion on the outskirts, and three main battalions with thousands of elite soldiers in the city.

Since ancient times, to defend a city, one must defend the wilderness. An isolated fortress cannot be defended, but with the cooperation of the outer troops, I am not afraid of another division, let alone the 9th Division, because their supplies cannot keep up. "

He Qizheng suddenly realized:
"I understand. With the reinforcement battalion as a distraction, the Japanese can't attack with all their strength.
As the art of war says, if there are ten of them, surround them; if there are five, attack them. Under normal circumstances, it takes at least five times the number of troops to attack a solid fortress!

There are as many as 2500 defenders in my building. The Japanese will need at least 2 people to capture it. Adding the reinforcement battalion outside, the Japanese will need at least regiments.
Tens of thousands of people have been trapped in a strong city for a long time. The supply of food and horses will be the biggest weakness of the Ninth Division. With the main force of the regiment, we can tighten their necks at any time. In fact, we are invincible. "

Yue Qianli looked at He Qizheng with admiration and praised:

"Old He, you are a bit underappreciated as the artillery battalion commander. You are the only one who has seen the true nature of the battalion commanders. We are now in the belly of Princess Iron Fan. As long as we don't get out, she can't do anything to us even with her palm leaf fan.
I just want to use the headquarters building, this solid fortress, to consume the enemy's manpower. This is an open conspiracy!
Shanghai is so big that our 527th Regiment can do whatever we want. The Japanese are obsessed with Nanjing, so they will not concentrate several divisions to besiege us.

If this is true, you and I have done our last part for the country and the nation, so what if we are completely wiped out?
Everyone has to die since ancient times. As long as the death is meaningful, I will die and the country will survive! "

He Qizheng nodded heavily and looked at Yue Qianli with stars in his eyes. From then on, Old Yue had an extra loyal artillery commander in his hands.

"Boom boom boom..."

The Japanese artillery bombardment began, but Yue Qianli and He Qizheng smiled as if nothing had happened, as if they were just letting the wind and waves blow and it was better than strolling in the garden.

Duan Yaqin happened to see this scene. She raised her camera to take a close-up of someone. Yue Qianli noticed it instantly and looked at her unkindly. Duan Yaqin was so scared that she almost dropped her precious camera and quickly explained:
“I won’t publish it.”

Yue Qianli immediately put on a smiling face and said:

"You can publish this, it's just a silhouette anyway, but it has to be handsome!"

This made Duan Yaqin even more at a loss, and she waved her hands repeatedly:
"I dare not—it must be handsome."

"Then send it, and tell the devils that I'm waiting for them at the headquarters building;

I also want to tell the people that the 527th Regiment and I are still fighting in Shanghai. Shanghai has not fallen yet, and the 527th Regiment will never give up! "

Duan Yaqin nodded heavily, her eyes still filled with stars, still the tall and majestic man in her memory.

Since Yue Qianli agreed to let her send it, she attached a draft of the communication, and she had already thought of the title - I die, the country survives. Outside the building, the Japanese used infantry artillery to blast open several more gaps, which increased the number of gaps to 6, and the passage to attack the building was completely opened. Victory seemed to be at hand;
The devils were so tempted that their blood boiled, and they sent in two squadrons at once. Captain Yuan Guangyi, the excited infantry company commander of the artillery battalion, shouted:
"Brothers, fuck that son of a bitch!"

Yue Qianli frowned and said:
"Too rude! You are a Kuomintang officer after all, can't you be more civilized? There are reporters here!"

Duan Yaqin just ignored someone's words. He was too good at pretending. These people learned it from him. Besides, when did he ever take her, a military reporter from the Organization Department, seriously?

"It's alright. There's no need to be civilized with the Japs. You guys fight them, and I'll finish my manuscript."

After Duan Yaqin finished speaking, she turned around and left gracefully, which made someone look a little dazed. He Qizheng leaned over and whispered:

"Sister-in-law is so nice, accept it quickly! Actually, I have a good relationship with Lao Duan--"

Yue Qianli raised his foot and flew over, shouting angrily:
"roll!"

He Qizhen was kicked on the buttocks and took a few steps back in an exaggerated manner. Then he went to fight the Japanese happily - the fact that he could withstand being kicked by Lao Yue meant that he was already one of our own.

"Asshole, this is something you can even think about!"

After Yue Qianli cursed angrily, he turned his attention to the battlefield outside the building. He still had to have the most basic respect for the attack of the Ninth Division. This was a military division!

Yue Qianli hated the Ninth Division to the core, so he used the fortresses built by the Japanese themselves to resist the fierce attack of the Wu Division. This was called "using the enemy's shield to block the enemy's spear" - I wonder which was stronger, the spear or the shield?

The Japanese soldiers of Shuikou Battalion had already attacked the front of the building, and the two sides had already entered into a "hand-to-hand combat", but the defenders were shrinking in a solid "shell";

In the past, Yue Qianli always scolded the Japanese for hiding in their turtle shells, but now he has finally become the person he once hated.

It was really nice to fight the Japanese with a protective shield on. The machine gun bullets on the half-meter-thick wall would leave a white mark.
When the Japanese were far away, they would lie down at the shooting position at the window and shoot with guns, just like hunting, and move to another position after each shot. It was difficult for the Japanese to hit them.

When the Japanese rushed to the corner of the wall, just throw grenades downstairs. If there were too many of them, throw cluster grenades, which would blow up a large area. Yue Qianli praised repeatedly:
"Okay, let's do it this way! Don't worry about your grenades. I'll get more after we use them up."

Yue Qianli is now very rich and has the concession behind him. Cannons are not easy to buy, but he has as many grenades as he wants. As long as one is willing to spend money, he can buy a few foreign girls from those foreign compradors.

Forget about foreign girls. As Li Yunlong said, which foreign girl can compare to a grenade?
Even Li Yunlong didn't even change the ones made in the border area, let alone the German long-handled grenades that could blow up a large area.

Melon grenades are also good. When several Japanese soldiers rushed over, a melon grenade fell from the building, and hundreds of shrapnel produced by the explosion took their lives.

The Japanese also wanted to throw it, but unfortunately it was much more difficult to throw it from the bottom up, so they were suppressed and it was difficult for them to get within 30 meters.

The defenders were in a high position and could throw missiles down to a distance of 50 meters without any problem, so they were all controlled within 30 meters. The Japanese were very passive in the exchange of fire at this distance.

Captain Ishino, who led the attack, felt very frustrated. It was not that his soldiers were not brave, but they had no strength to charge forward.

Although the regiment's heavy firepower was suppressing the defenders, the Chinese's grenade tactics annoyed them.

Throwing grenades from a high position did not require them to stick their heads out, and they could not get close to the building, so the casualties were very heavy, and the exchange ratio between the two sides exceeded 5 to 1. They could not afford such a war of attrition;
The most terrible thing is that the control of the battlefield has always been in the hands of the Chinese. The wounded soldiers cannot be rescued, and being injured is equivalent to death, while the injured Chinese can be rescued in time. As a result, the exchange ratio of absolute losses can even reach 10 to 1.

"Bakayaloo, the Chinese are not fit to be warriors. They can only hide in their fortresses and shoot meanly, just like cowardly mice!"

Captain Ishino was becoming more and more like a nagging woman. They were indeed depleting the defenders, but the price they paid was five or even ten times as much.

"Kill the chicken and give it to me!"

Ishino finally lost his patience and began a desperate attempt to drive the devils into a forced charge, hoping to break into the building;
After receiving the order, hundreds of Japanese soldiers launched a desperate charge towards the three gaps in the front. Seeing that the Japanese soldiers were determined to fight to the death, Yuan Guangyi immediately ordered two hidden heavy machine guns to open fire.

The crossfire formed by the two long tongues of fire was like the scythe of the god of death, reaping the lives of the Japanese indiscriminately. The Maxim heavy machine gun plus the fortress was the nightmare of the infantry.

(End of this chapter)