Songhu: Never Give Up

Chapter 235 Encirclement of the 13th Division Headquarters

Although Colonel Ryokaku had a hunch that the Chinese had a conspiracy, he still sent another telegram to the division headquarters asking for help;

He only had more than 1200 men left, and if reinforcements did not arrive, he would consider destroying the military flag.

After seeing Colonel Ryokaku's call for help, Ogisu Rikui angrily cursed:
"Bakayaro, Liangjiaoyezuo is a piece of crap. One regiment can't even stop the attack of more than 10,000 Chinese. When did the Imperial Army become so weak?"

It was no wonder that he was so angry. Under normal circumstances, to besiege a regiment of the Japanese, China would need at least ten times more troops.

Even though they only have half a regiment now, they will have no problem blocking the attack of more than 10,000 people with the help of circular fortifications.

Ogisu Ritsu is now fighting very passively. The 8th Guerrilla Column has only about 3 people. Their one division plus a detachment of the 18th Division have the same total strength.

Now, because of the 65th Regiment, they were almost being led by the nose by the Chinese and were unable to use their strength, so they took out all their anger on the two colonels and scolded almost their entire family.

Chief of Staff Ishikawa Takuma had no choice but to comfort him:
"Your Excellency, the guerrilla column has almost exhausted its forces. This is equivalent to a decisive battle between the two sides. The 18th Division's flanking attack has approached Xuancheng. Yue Qianli has sent thousands of people to block it.

There are at least tens of thousands of people besieging the 65th Regiment, 3 on each of the left and right wings, and 5 in the center. By this calculation, Yue Qianli has played all the cards in his hand.

Now it depends on who can hold out to the end. If the Imperial Army can break through in the middle and rescue the 65th Regiment, the guerrilla column will collapse. Victory or defeat depends on this one move!"

Due to the anti-human organization of the guerrilla column, sometimes they can only calculate the strength of the troops by the number of people. If the organization is used, it is easy to be misleading. A battalion of 2 people is a headache just to think about it.

Ogisu Rippei actually had another card in his hand, which was the Engineer Corps, the Quartermaster Corps, and the Cavalry Corps. Although these were technical arms, they had more than 4 people in total.
This can be said to be his last reserve force, and it is also used to protect the division headquarters. Now the 116th Regiment has tied with the Chinese blocking force in the middle. If he wants to break the deadlock, he can only put in the last reserve force.

But it was difficult to make this decision, and Ogisu Rikihei was still struggling...

"Your Excellency, the division commander, if you don't make a decision, you will suffer the consequences. Once the 65th Regiment is annihilated, the 13th Division will lose everything!"

Ishikawa Takuma reminded him again that indecision is a taboo in military strategy. Now Ogisu Rippei has two choices:
One is to abandon the 65th Regiment and withdraw the main force across the board, not giving the guerrilla column a chance to counterattack, cutting off the tail and surviving, with a maximum loss of one 65th Regiment;

The other option is to make an all-out rescue effort and fight a decisive battle with the guerrilla column in the middle game. If they win, they will defeat the guerrilla column and rescue the 65th Regiment. If they lose, they will lose the 65th Regiment. The 13th Division can also withdraw its troops to protect itself.

The guerrilla column has now exhausted its manpower. Even if it annihilates the 65th Regiment and then deploys it to the battlefield, it will take time. In Ishikawa's opinion, the worst outcome is the loss of the 65th Regiment.

Take a chance and turn a bicycle into a motorcycle. You always have to take a gamble. There is at least a 50% chance of winning!

The devils have always been addicted to gambling, especially in times of trouble, they even dare to gamble with the fate of the country;

After a complex ideological struggle, Ogisu Ritsuhei's eyes became firm and he shouted:

"It's a bet!"

Ogisu Li Bing went all in and handed over the baggage regiment and the engineering regiment to the commander of the 116th Regiment for unified command, leaving only the cavalry regiment to guard the division headquarters.

The 116th Regiment, which had been reinforced, was greatly encouraged, and its commander, Colonel Soeda Fumu, began to charge and attack fiercely;
The two infantry battalions and one artillery battalion of the Second Detachment were beaten back step by step, and they were retreating in large strides, showing signs of being defeated. This made Tian Fu very excited, and he ordered the troops to pursue them with all their might.

The 13th Division Headquarters and the 13th Field Artillery Regiment could not keep up with the speed of the 116th Regiment. The distance between the two sides was getting larger and larger, and before they knew it, they had opened up a gap of about five kilometers. Wang Jianfei would naturally not miss such an opportunity. On the one hand, he ordered Gao Zhisong to continue to lead the 116th Regiment to Qingxi Ridge, further increasing the distance between them and the 13th Division Headquarters;

On the other hand, he ordered the main force of the 1rd Detachment (minus the 13st Battalion of Feiyingling) to infiltrate the right wing of the th Division Headquarters and wait to block their escape route to the right wing.

He himself commanded the supplementary detachment to surround the 13th Division Headquarters from the left and rear.

The specific deployment was for the 1st Battalion to bypass the 13th Division Headquarters and cut off their retreat route;
The main force surrounded the Japanese from the left wing, leaving only one front for them to break out, a standard strategy of surrounding three and leaving one.

Ai Jian, the commander of the 1st Battalion, did not quite understand his arrangement. He was previously the commander of the 527th Regiment, a direct subordinate of Yue Qianli. After the 5th Regiment was reorganized into detachments, he was transferred to the supplementary detachment composed mainly of defeated soldiers as the commander of the battalion.

Yue Qianli naturally had his own little thoughts here. He could let Wang Jianfei be the detachment commander, but the battalion commander in charge of the troops had to be his old brother.

This was not because he did not trust his sworn brothers, but rather a strategy of commanding troops, to check and balance each other, so that it would be easier for him to control all the troops;

Wang Jianfei could command them to fight the Japanese together, but it was impossible for him to take the troops away, as several battalion commanders would not agree.

Wang Jianfei knew that Ai Jian was the boss's direct descendant, so he was very polite to him and patiently explained to him:
"We now have seven infantry battalions and three artillery battalions. It would be a waste if we just surrounded and annihilated the 7th Division Headquarters.

Once we besiege the 13th Division Headquarters from three sides, they will have no choice but to ask the 116th Regiment for help. By the time they come back, they will be exhausted and have little fighting power left."

Ai Jian suddenly realized:
"It turns out that the captain of the detachment planned to annihilate them all at once, and if they were short of troops, they would defeat them one by one;

We now have a total of 10 battalions, nearly 2 people. We do have the strength to encircle and annihilate the 116th Regiment and the 13th Division Headquarters. A single battle will decide the outcome. That's awesome!"

Wang Jianfei waved his hand and said:
"Stop flattering me and get back to work. We need to cut off the enemy's retreat as soon as possible. If you get away, Ogisu Rippei, you'll be beheaded!"

Ai Jian immediately patted his chest and promised that not a single Japanese soldier would escape, then turned around and left happily.

It was the first time for Wang Jianfei to command a small army of 2 people to fight an annihilation war. Boss Yue not only gave him the main force of the Third Brigade to command, but also let Gao Zhisong, who was more experienced, obey his command. This trust was absolutely beyond compare;

A gentleman will die for his confidant. Even if they did not have a sworn brotherhood, the trust between them was enough to move him.

Therefore, he had to fight a large-scale annihilation war, so as to live up to the trust of the boss. Then he asked the communications staff to draft a telegram to report his ideas to the division headquarters and wait for Yue Qianli's approval.
Although Boss Yue gave him the power to make decisions on the spot, he still had to ask for instructions when necessary. This is the awareness of a subordinate.

At the Shanghai-Nanjing Guerrilla Column, Yue Qianli praised Wang Jianfei after receiving his telegram of request:

"Wang Jianfei, you are really a big businessman!"

After that, he handed the telegram to Chen Zhongyuan and Tian Yuanxi to read, and then said:
"Since Lao Wang wants to do big business, we will fully support him. As long as we annihilate the 116th Regiment and the 13th Division's direct troops, this battle will be won!

It is no problem for 2 men to encircle and annihilate a main brigade - simulated electric current! "

(End of this chapter)