Songhu: Never Give Up

Chapter 151: The Main Force Besieges the Ninth Division Headquarters

Captain Ishino was so shocked that he vomited blood and cursed in a very unlucky way:
"Bagaya road!"

It was unclear whether he was cursing Private First Class Yongshan or the Chinese, but he relied on his experience to dodge the first round of attacks.
Before he could be happy, the second round of explosives fell like raindrops. Captain Ishino could only pray for Aunt Amaterasu's blessing in his heart. It must be said that his luck was extremely good. Almost everyone around him was dead, but he was still alive miraculously.

Then came the third round, and this time his luck ran out. A bomb bounced up after it fell to the ground, exploding right above his head, sending countless pieces of debris flying in all directions. One of them hit his big head squarely.

As a commander, he was not wearing a helmet, and the iron piece exploded his head, and red and white brain matter splattered all over the ground.

His luck was relatively good, as he died without any pain. Many Japanese soldiers were wounded by iron pieces and lay in the rubble howling in pain, but no one was willing to save them.

Those Japanese soldiers who were lucky enough to survive were so shocked that their minds went blank and fear filled their eyes.

The timing of the Flying Thunder Artillery's coverage was very good. It was when the Japanese were crowded around the gap. They were eager to rush into the building and revel, so the density of people was very high. One explosive pack could knock down more than a dozen people, killing or crippling them.
The 72 explosive packs caused at least nearly a thousand casualties to the Japanese, which halted their offensive. The defenders took the opportunity to increase their firepower and almost drove all the Japanese out of the building.

Colonel Hitomi Hidezo was already dazed. The sudden attack made him go crazy, like a gambler who had lost all his money. He waved his hand and threw the remaining 2 people in. Only the regiment headquarters was left by his side.

Under the fierce attack of the Japanese at all costs, the defenders also suffered tremendous pressure, and Yue Qianli had almost played all the cards in his hand, with only the rocket artillery company left;
Fortunately, at this time the outer supply battalion launched a harassment war against the Japanese. The defense areas of the 35th and 36th Regiments were attacked fiercely. The two sides fought in a mess, making it impossible for them to send troops to support the main battlefield.

Although Hitomi Hidezo sent another 2 men, they were only able to stabilize their position, and the two sides were deadlocked near the building;
The Japs were unable to continue expanding their victory, and the defenders were unable to completely drive them out of the building, and casualties on both sides soared.

Faced with the corpses and blood all over the ground, the Japanese soldiers went completely crazy. They kept rushing to several passages, completely ignoring the rain of grenades falling from the upper floors. One group was killed and another group rushed up. The corpses piled up layer by layer filled the attack passages.

The bestial Japanese soldiers climbed into the building over the corpses of their companions, and then started fighting with the defenders inside.

In the distance, the Japanese's heavy firepower continued to pour bullets into the building, and the 12 mortars on the roof poured shells at them, turning light and heavy machine guns into scrap metal. The Japanese also lost several infantry guns and anti-tank guns.

"Lao Yue, use the rocket launcher. The casualties among our brothers are too great!"

He Qizheng came over again to ask for instructions. Almost all of his artillery battalions had been put into battle. The gunners of the Flying Thunder Artillery Company also picked up their rifles and joined the battle. Now only the rocket artillery company and the mountain artillery company were left.

The mountain artillery is of little use. What can decide the outcome is the rocket artillery company. They still have more than 100 artillery shells, which is enough to give the Japanese a hard time.

Yue Qianli shook his head and said:
“It’s not time yet. This is our last card. We must not play it until the most difficult moment.
It's difficult for us, but it's even more difficult for the Japanese. It depends on who can hold out to the end!"

Yue Qianli refused to give in, and He Qizhen had no choice but to stay there obediently. They were the last reserve team in the building.

In fact, they have another team, that is the baggage team, they are all Yue Qianli's treasures. He will not take action until he is at his wit's end. He will feel the pain if any of them is injured or killed. Even He Qizheng has never thought of sending them. At most, they can help carry the wounded.

It's not that Yue Qianli doesn't feel sorry for his brothers in the artillery battalion. A merciful army cannot be commanded. The main force of the Japanese has not moved, so he always has to keep the last card just in case.

At the 9th Division Headquarters, Yoshika Ryosuke's expression turned serious again. The Cavalry Regiment sent a message that a large number of Chinese were approaching them in the city. The supply line was cut off, and several trucks of artillery shells and supplies were intercepted. This was the first baggage convoy they had lost.

Yoshika Ryosuke, who was always sensitive, realized the danger and quickly discussed countermeasures with Nakagawa Hiro:
“Mr. Nakagawa, this is definitely not accidental. The ammunition consumption on the front line is huge, and the supplementary supplies given to us by the headquarters were intercepted by the Chinese.
The cavalry regiment responsible for the support also lost dozens of horses. They were not afraid of powerful cavalry at all. "

“Your Excellency, the division commander, cavalry is not suitable for urban combat. These troops should be the remnants of the 527th Regiment that were previously dispersed.
Including the Chinese who attacked the 35th and 36th Regiments, this shows that Yue Qianli is anxious!

At this time, we must concentrate on capturing the headquarters building. As long as Yue Qianli is eliminated, all problems will be solved.
I suggest that you ignore their harassment and dispatch another 2 men to reinforce the main battlefield. Even without the baggage, the imperial army can at least hold out for ten days or half a month. We must not fall for Yue Qianli's trick."

Nakagawa Hiroshi's words were like a revelation to Yoshika Ryosuke. He was almost disrupted by Yue Qianli's harassment. They could still attack without artillery shells, so he smiled and said:
"Yoshi, Nakagawa-kun is the one who sees things clearly. The Imperial Army is now like slaying a dragon in the middle game, while Yue Qianli is trying to save his own dragon with a worthless robbery.
There is no need to pay any attention to their fight. As long as the 19th Regiment succeeds in slaying the dragon in the headquarters building, the Imperial Army will have won the game. Losing some borders will not be a big deal!
Order the Engineer Regiment to stop tunnel work and send all of their troops to Jian Xiusan, so that they can increase their strength by another 2 troops;
Tell Ren Jianjun that I don’t want casualties, I just want Yue Qianli’s head!”

Nakagawa Hiromi Yoshikasuke accepted his suggestion and excitedly took the order. This was the most correct choice.

In the main battlefield of the headquarters building, the battle has entered a white-hot stage, but Yue Qianli still looks confident, which makes others feel more at ease. This is not because Yue Qianli is showing off, but he can see that the headquarters building looks very dangerous, but in fact there is no actual threat;

2 against 5, they were on the defensive, and had the advantage of time, place, and people. There were only a few channels for attack, and the Japanese troops could not deploy at all, and the only thing they suffered was more casualties.

There is no such thing as a war without casualties. At least in the headquarters building, they can achieve an exchange ratio of more than 1 to 3;

Relying on a group of gathered stragglers, each of them could kill several elite Japanese soldiers. He could fight this war of attrition with the Japanese for a year without any pain.

After coming to this era, Yue Qianli's heart became hardened. Sacrifice in this national war was inevitable, and it was worth it as long as he could kill the Japanese. He himself was mentally prepared to die in battle.

In the 19th Regiment, Hitomi Hidezo also thought the same. As long as Yue Qianli could be killed, he would not care about the price.
When he received reinforcements from the engineering regiment, he pressed forward without hesitation, without even blinking an eye.

"That bastard has raised the stakes again, he really thinks highly of me!

Lao Tian, ​​send a telegram to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Battalions, ordering them to launch an attack on the 9th Division Headquarters. Yoshika Ryosuke wants my head, and I want his dog head too. Let's see who gives up first!"

Yue Qianli finally began to change his formation. With thousands of reinforcements outside, he was not worried at all that the Japanese could capture the headquarters building. He was now using the "center blooming" tactic, which was his real killer move.
More than 100 rockets can only hit a few nails, but as long as the peripheral troops are there, the headquarters building will be an impenetrable fortress.

Hitomi Hidezo was depressed to find that even though he had deployed another 2 engineers, the stalemate between the two sides had not been broken;
Several gaps were filled with corpses, making it difficult for them to move forward. The troops that rushed into the building never came out again. He didn't know what had happened, but just drove the soldiers to attack the fortresses.

The Chinese in the building also went crazy, throwing bundles of grenades down, and the most exaggerated was to throw down a pack of explosives from time to time, which would blow up a whole area;
In this particular battlefield environment, it is more effective to just ignite the explosive pack and throw it directly at the target than to use the flying thunder cannon.

Inside the first floor, the defenders had already retreated to the second barricade, which offered a better view and resulted in fewer casualties;
Everyone joined the battle. They fired at as many Japanese as rushed in. The ground was littered with Japanese corpses. Many machine gunners became numb from killing Japanese and just fired mechanically.

Their casualties were not heavy, but their ammunition was consumed too quickly, and many people had begun using captured Japanese weapons.

There were ten gaps in total, all filled with rubble and corpses, and the enemy could not charge fast enough;
With the ambush on the second floor, not many Japanese soldiers could rush into the building, so they were able to hold on.

The Japanese were also very cunning. They lay in the pile of corpses and fired at the defenders. If you were not careful, you would be hit. Dozens of people were killed and wounded one after another. Neither side could do anything to the other, but the number of casualties kept rising.

Especially the defenders on the second floor, nearly half of them had suffered casualties. Many of the lightly wounded had just been bandaged and returned to the battlefield, and others had also become accustomed to it.

Even many seriously wounded soldiers were clamoring to be able to return to the battlefield, and even the staff at the regiment headquarters were helping to transport ammunition and loading magazines for the machine gunners.

The two sides are still at loggerheads, and it depends on who can hold out to the end...

At the 9th Division Headquarters, Nakagawa Hiroshi rushed in in a panic, and Yoshika Ryosuke immediately cursed:

"Bakayalu, how can you be so flustered!"

"Your Excellency, the division commander, it's bad. The Chinese have launched an attack on the outskirts of the division headquarters. The cavalry regiment has suffered heavy casualties, at least thousands of elite soldiers, and is equipped with a large number of artillery!"

"Nakagawa-kun, are you crazy? Where did you get those thousands of Chinese elites?
Is this bastard Morishita Goroku scared silly by the Chinese? Does he still have a sense of honor as a cavalry regiment commander? "

It’s no wonder that Ji Jialiangfu was angry. Yue Qianli couldn’t just randomly recruit soldiers. Where would he get thousands of people from with just one regiment?

The most important thing is that if it really happened, his division headquarters would be in danger. Three infantry regiments have been sent out, and there are only one cavalry regiment, half of the baggage regiment, a guard infantry battalion, and a mountain artillery regiment left around him. There are less than 4 people who can actually fight.

Nakagawa Hiroshi no longer cared about etiquette and said loudly:
"It's true. There are at least 5 elite soldiers. The Cavalry Regiment and the Guard Battalion can't hold out for long. Hurry up and call back the 35th Regiment. We also have to send the baggage train to support them!"

(End of this chapter)