Songhu: Never Give Up

Chapter 233: Layers of Blockade
Ishikawa Takuma could sense the division commander's inner anxiety, but what he needed most at this moment was calmness, so he took over the conversation and said:
"Your Excellency, the division commander, the 65th Regiment has switched from offense to defense. Judging from the battle situation reported back by the reconnaissance aircraft, they have stabilized their position.
The Chinese have always been good at defense but not good at attack. As long as the 65th Regiment holds on to Qingxi Ridge, even if the guerrilla column mobilizes tens of thousands of troops to besiege it, it may not be able to take it down in three days, let alone one day.

What the 65th Wing lacks most now is ammunition and supplies. It is recommended to coordinate with the headquarters to send transport planes to drop ammunition and supplies, and also send air warriors to assist;
As long as the 65th Regiment holds on, the 116th Regiment, with the assistance of the tank squadron, will still have a good chance of breaking through the central blocking formation."

Ogisu Rikuhei's face looked better and he agreed with Chief of Staff Ishikawa's suggestion. After Ishikawa left, he couldn't wait to raise his telescope and observe the battle situation on the front line.

After just a moment of watching, I couldn't help but curse:
"Baka, where did the Chinese get so many anti-tank guns?"

In front of the position of the 2nd Battalion of the 528nd Detachment (formerly the 7th Regiment), the tank cluster that Ogisu Rikuhei had high hopes for encountered big trouble. Seven tanks were destroyed in just a short time. Are these still indestructible tanks?
It was the rocket launcher platoon directly under the Second Battalion that dealt a heavy blow to the Japanese tank squadron. The 12 40mm rocket launchers they were equipped with became a nightmare for the Japanese tanks.

They were all ambushed in the foxholes on the flanks in advance. When the enemy tanks drove through the middle, the machine gun fire from the front would suppress the infantry accompanying the attack and attract their attention.

The rocket launcher team took the opportunity to lift up the camouflaged cover, aimed at the Japanese tank and fired a shot. If they were lucky, one rocket could destroy a "little bean".

The bazooka group usually consists of 4 people, equipped with a Czech machine gun and a submachine gun. They are mainly responsible for protecting the bazooka operator.

Four people hid in the trenches dug in advance and waited for the enemy to come. The main shooter of the rocket launcher was responsible for attacking the tank, the machine gunner and submachine gunner were responsible for eliminating the Japanese infantry and covering the escape of the rocket launcher.

The enemy's tanks were destroyed one by one, and the infantrymen accompanying the attack began to get anxious. They braved the dense rain of machine gun bullets from the front and rushed to the rocket launcher group on the flank, but were blocked by machine gun fire and were mowed down in rows.
The crossfire formed by several groups of machine guns and submachine guns killed the Japanese soldiers all over the ground, and the rocket launcher operators took the opportunity to evacuate.

Even if they sacrificed themselves, they had to protect the safety of the rocket launcher and never let it fall into the hands of the enemy.

With the cover of several light machine guns, the rocket launcher shooter and deputy shooter quickly evacuated the danger zone after the success, leaving only a few machine gun groups to fire at hundreds of Japanese infantry.

At this time, 16 of the 11 tanks had been destroyed, and the rest were scared and turned around and fled. These were the treasures of the 13th Division. The Chinese anti-tank guns were too sharp, so they could only run away.

As soon as the Japanese tanks withdrew, the accompanying infantry were exposed to the frontal and side machine gun fire, suffering heavy casualties.

That's it. They still fearlessly used grenade launchers to shoot down the two machine gun groups on the flank, but that was all they could do.

Without the cover of the tanks, they would die if they continued fighting, so they had to retreat reluctantly, leaving behind the wreckage of 11 tanks and a pile of corpses.

The Japanese, who had suffered a great loss, began to retaliate. Dozens of artillery pieces from the 13th Field Artillery Regiment bombarded the defenders' positions.

In order to reduce casualties, Battalion Commander He Shixian immediately ordered to abandon the existing position and retreat to the next position. Their strategy to block the Japanese was to set up layers of defense, with a line of defense every few hundred meters, and not to fight the Japanese to the death.

This is the second line of defense they have given up. There are several more lines behind it, so we can just wait and see.

Seeing that the defenders were finally defeated, Ogisu Tatsubei breathed a sigh of relief. Although he lost 11 tanks and hundreds of soldiers, at least the defenders' defense line was broken. He then ordered the 116th Regiment to continue attacking in the direction of Qingxi Ridge, with the division headquarters following suit.

At the same time, after receiving the strict order from the division headquarters, the two regiments on the left and right wings also pushed forward desperately, but the progress was very slow under the layers of obstruction and blockade by the defenders, just like a snail running, and they only advanced more than one kilometer in several hours, with hundreds of casualties;

The troops responsible for blocking the enemy had laid a large number of mines along the way, and sent out a small group of troops to attack the enemy's baggage. The main force set up layers of defense. It would take two or three days to reach Qingxi Ridge. "Baga Yalu, how can I defend it for two or three days!"

The trapped Colonel Liangjiao was completely defeated after receiving the telegram from the division headquarters. He even scolded the division commander. Major Oi pretended not to hear and just changed the subject:

"Your Excellency, the commander of the regiment, your Excellency, promised to airdrop ammunition and supplies to our unit. As long as we have sufficient ammunition and food, we still have hope of holding Qingxi Ridge for three days."

Colonel Liangjiao's expression looked better now. Now they were surrounded by tens of thousands of Chinese people on the small Qingxi Ridge. They were in danger of being wiped out at any time, so he was under great pressure.

When it comes to airdropped ammunition and supplies, Colonel Ryokaku once again instructed Major Ooi:
“We must do a good job of connecting with the air warriors to ensure that all supplies are dropped in the receiving area. This is the material guarantee that we can persist;

Food is okay, it can last for ten days, but the important thing is ammunition!
The Chinese have several times more troops than us. We can only rely on firepower to stop them. At this rate of consumption, our ammunition will run out in three days at most."

I don't know how many times this two-horned colonel has said it, but Major Oi still patiently answered:

"Don't worry, Captain. The warriors will light three fires on the top of the mountain. Under the billowing smoke, the warriors will definitely not make the wrong move."

Colonel Ryoka nodded and said:
"There's still half an hour left, hurry up and get ready!"

Major Oi said, "Hey," and left. Colonel Ryoka's face was once again covered with a layer of frost.
He always felt something was wrong. The fighting power displayed by the Chinese when they besieged Qingxi Ridge was completely different from the guerrilla column he had in mind.

It was understandable that other Chinese were not good at attacking, and the guerrilla column would not exist. There must be a conspiracy, but he could not tell anyone else, especially the division commander;
If the division commander were to give up on sending reinforcements, he would lose even his last hope!
"I can't care about it anymore. If a man doesn't care about himself, he will be punished by heaven and earth! After I die, I don't care if there is a flood..."

Colonel Ryojiao's expression became firm. The worst that could happen was that the reinforcements withdrew and the 65th Regiment was completely wiped out.

At the foot of Qingxi Ridge, the field command post of the first detachment

Captain Zhu Chi was discussing the battle situation with his deputy captain Hua Pinzhang. Although they had been attacking Qingxi Ridge for a long time without success, both of them looked relaxed. Hua Pinzhang even smiled and said:

"Senior, using the devils from the standing division to practice offensive tactics, I guess you're the only one who dares to think and do it."

Zhu Chi was a third-term infantry officer, and Hua Pinzhang was a fourth-term artillery officer. They were both Whampoa comrades, so they were more casual in private.

In another time and space, both of them died in Yuhuatai. Hua Pinzhang was the deputy brigade commander of the 262nd Brigade and the commander of the supplementary regiment. He was posthumously awarded the rank of major general. In this time and space, he was also the deputy detachment commander and the commander of the 3rd Battalion.

Zhu Chi waved his hand and said:
"This is not my original idea. Commander Yue used the Japanese to train his troops a few months ago. I am just copying his ideas."

After Zhu Chi finished speaking, the two couldn't help but laugh, and the atmosphere was very relaxed.

(End of this chapter)