Songhu: Never Give Up

Chapter 194: First "Close Contact" with the Kumamoto United

A string of bombs dropped from the sky, covering almost all of the Yuhuatai positions. A large number of trenches were destroyed. It was a horrible sight. The Sixth Division Commander, Lieutenant General Tani Hisao, nodded repeatedly and said:
"The Imperial Army's aerial firepower is so strong that I'm worried that all the Chinese people have been killed in the explosion. The warriors can only go up to collect their bodies."

Division Chief of Staff Shimono Ikko took over and said:

“Your Excellency, if it were any other Chinese unit, this possibility would most likely occur, but not the 88th Division;
The 88th Division was one of the three earliest German-equipped divisions formed in China. It had strong combat effectiveness and had fought with the 11th, 16th, and 9th Divisions since the war began, rarely suffering defeat. In particular, the 9th Division, known as the Military Division, was not only badly beaten, but also had its regimental flag seized, becoming a shame to the empire.

According to intelligence, the guerrilla column of the 88th Division, which captured the flag of the 88th Regiment, was defending the Yuhuatai position. Its predecessor was the 527th Regiment of the th Division, which was very famous in China for its outstanding military exploits.

Gu Shoufu has always been arrogant and looked down on everyone. He snorted coldly and said:
"The Ninth Division is worthy of being called a military division. They are almost bringing shame to the Imperial Army!

I have to admit that the 88th Division is an elite unit. Only such an elite unit is worthy of being the opponent of the 88th Division. Jinling City is the graveyard of the th Division. "

In another time and space, Colonel Shimono Ikko was the war criminal second only to Tani Hisao in the 6th Division. He was the instigator of the massacre and was extremely cruel.

Kazuka Shimotsuke graduated from the 31st class of the Japanese Army University. He was classmates with Obata Hideyoshi, Iinuma Mamoru, Numata Takazo, Kanda Masatane, Hata Shigeichi and others. Because of his excellent academic performance, he was awarded a sword by Emperor Taisho himself, which made him a member of the so-called "Sword Group".

However, his development after graduation was not outstanding. For example, Iinuma Mamoru was already the major general chief of staff of the front army, while he was only a colonel. Therefore, he wanted to make achievements. After listening to Tani Hisao's words, he continued:

"Your Excellency, the Utsunomiya Division has already launched the first attack on the left wing. It's time to let Yue Qianli see the strength of the Kumamoto Division!"

The 114th Division had previously captured Niu Shou Mountain and Banqiao, and now it was heading towards Yuhuatai, launching attacks from the left and right with the th Division, agreeing that whoever broke through Zhonghua Gate first would have the priority to revel in the city;

Faced with the challenge from the 114th Division, Tani Hisao contemptuously agreed to this no-brainer bet, just treating it as a game with them.

The guerrilla column was equivalent to fighting two divisions at once. In another time and space, the 88th Division also fought against these two divisions, but at that time, there were only more than 7 people left in the entire division.
The biggest change in this time and space was in the 88th Division, which not only had a direct regiment guerrilla column, but also had complete personnel in the 262nd and 264th Brigades. This made the difference in the strength of the two sides not too great, exactly 2 to 1.

Now the guerrilla column is in the front, with two detachments blocking the attacks of two divisions. Fortunately, the front of Yuhuatai is only more than two kilometers, and the number of troops that the Japanese can deploy at one time is limited, and the limit is two regiments.

On the right wing hill, as soon as the artillery preparation was completed, hundreds of Japanese soldiers lined up in a strict attack formation and moved towards the hill;
Their infantry and artillery coordination was very good. They almost rushed towards the defenders' front positions by following the artillery points. They controlled the rhythm very well and were worthy of being one of the top-ranked divisions in the Japanese Army.

The 13th Division has always been the vanguard of the invasion of China, and this time is no exception. Although it is just an exploratory attack, in the opinion of Major Kubo Tsunayoshi of the th Regiment, half of their battalion is enough, because they are the Kumamoto Regiment and have the capital to be arrogant.

The second detachment was defending the hill on the right wing. It was originally the second battalion led by Yue Qianli himself. They were also very confident. Liao Jianping said disdainfully:
"Damn it, this Kumamoto Division is really too arrogant. Just a few hundred people dare to show their teeth to me.

This time I must teach them a lesson. I will order the frontline positions to resist for a while and then retreat to the two wings, leaving a wide road for the Japanese to enter the core positions. Then, once the troops on the two wings close in, I will encircle them and give the arrogant Sixth Division a warning. "

The Sixth Division had not suffered too much loss since the Hangzhou Bay landing. It was mainly composed of elite veterans and had very skilled tactical coordination.

At the squad level, they were divided into groups of four, with two rifle groups and one light gun group forming an attack formation, with riflemen in the front and machine gunners in the back. The Japanese squads were generally 4 people, with three infantry squads and one grenade launcher squad under their jurisdiction. The heavy firepower mainly included three Taisho 2-year type (crooked handle) light machine guns and two to three 1-year type grenade launchers. A standard squad was 13 people.

The Kubo Battalion was equipped with two infantry guns (infantry gun squad) and eight Type 2 heavy machine guns (chicken neck, machine gun squadron). When the infantry launched a charge, the Type 8 heavy machine guns and infantry guns were ready to provide fire support at any time several hundred meters away;

The heavy machine guns were responsible for suppressing the defenders' firepower. Regardless of whether they could hit the target or not, they would just rain bullets on the defenders' positions, and anyone who showed their head would be hit.

The infantry artillery, on the other hand, lay quietly like two poisonous snakes, focusing on attacking the heavy firepower of the defenders. An experienced artillery crew could take down a heavy machine gun with an average of three shells. You have to know that a battalion of the National Army only had a few heavy machine guns, so the threat was very great.

The Sixth Division had the capital to be so arrogant. The attack of several hundred of them put a lot of pressure on the defenders. Fortunately, the Second Detachment was no pushover either. Their equipment was not inferior to that of the Japanese, and they had the advantage of defense, so they were able to barely fight the Japanese to a draw.

When the Japanese's skirmish line advanced to a distance of 100 meters, the First Battalion of the Second Detachment suddenly opened fire. The firepower network composed of more than a dozen light machine guns stopped the Japanese's offensive, and a large number of them fell down in an instant. The rest of the Japanese took the opportunity to lie on the ground and spontaneously fired back at the defenders' positions.

Since the two sides were fighting at a relatively long distance and the Japanese were attacking from above, the Japanese counterattack did not cause much casualties to the defenders. It was more of a distraction, buying time for the infantry artillery to take action.

The tactical quality of the Sixth Division's artillery was higher than that of the general A-class divisions, and the reaction was very fast. In less than a few minutes, the shells fell on the heads of the defenders, and the casualties of the defenders began to increase.

Seeing that the defenders' firepower was suppressed, Major Kubo immediately ordered his infantry to continue charging, inducing the defenders' heavy firepower to open fire, and then destroy them one by one with infantry artillery;

The two sides were in a stalemate for more than ten minutes. Major Kubo found that the firepower of the defenders was obviously declining. They had seen this situation many times, which showed that their fighting style was effective, so he immediately ordered to intensify the offensive.

After receiving the order, the Japanese infantrymen climbed up from the ground, crouched down and continued to advance;
Eighty meters, the defenders were forced to increase the firepower of hundreds of rifles, and they were barely able to stop them.

Soon after, the regiment-level mortars also joined in the fun, and rows of shells whizzed towards the defenders' positions. The smoke and dust stirred up by the explosions filled the sky, and shrapnel flew everywhere. If you were not careful, you would be hit by one. The casualties of the defenders increased significantly, and there were already dozens of people.

The Second Company Commander of the First Battalion roared:
"We can't hold on any longer, retreat!"

Under the fierce attack of the Japanese army, the Second Company was quickly defeated and retreated in a panic;

When Major Kubo saw that the defenders were defeated, he immediately ordered a pursuit. Hundreds of Japanese soldiers chased after them, screaming. Yuhuatai did not have much depth, and the defenders would be seeking death if they escaped!

"The cowardly Chinese have already escaped, chase them and kill them all!"

Major Kubo shouted excitedly, his voice loud enough for most of the Japanese to hear. Sometimes the Japanese could only communicate by shouting.

(End of this chapter)