Songhu: Never Give Up

Chapter 251 Heartbroken Ridge (4)

Although Colonel Kawanami was very dissatisfied with the performance of the Yoneyama Battalion, they at least forced the defenders to abandon the first line of defense;
Colonel Kawanami scolded Major Yoneyama and then said to him:
"Mi Shan-kun, the Chinese have retreated to the last line of defense. I will give you one more chance to prove yourself. You must seize the position in one fell swoop. Do you understand?"

Major Yoneyama said to Colonel Kawanami in shame:

"Your Excellency, the Lieutenant Commander, the Mishan Battalion will never let you down again. We will not withdraw until we have conquered Tuofeng Ridge."

Colonel Kawanami nodded with satisfaction and said:
"Yoshi, I know how brave Yoneyama-kun is. We must not let Camelback Ridge become a sad ridge for the Nagoya Regiment.
The glory of the Sixth Regiment depends on you!"

Major Yoneyama took out a sanitary napkin from his pocket and tied it on his head. He bowed to Colonel Oki Kawanari, then turned and left with a murderous look on his face.

After Major Yoneyama left, Colonel Kawanami ordered the 2nd Field Heavy Artillery Regiment to launch an artillery attack on the core position of Tuofeng Ridge, and a new round of artillery preparation began.

As rounds of heavy artillery shells rained down on the core positions of the defenders, Huang Qi could not help but curse:

"You bastard, you really think highly of me. You even use heavy artillery. Don't artillery shells cost money?"

After hearing this, he said:
"Captain, the Japanese are going to fight to the death. Let our company also go up to reinforce them."

The headquarters of the 2nd Battalion was located in the tunnel on the reverse slope, so they could not see the Japs. The st Company was the last reserve. Huang Qi waved his hand and said:
"Now is not the time to mobilize the reserve. From the sound of the artillery fire, follow me to the top of the mountain to take a look."

The company commander quickly stopped him and said:
"Captain, the enemy's shelling hasn't stopped yet. It's dangerous!"

Unfortunately, Huang Qi had already rushed out of the tunnel and climbed to the top of the mountain to observe the enemy situation. He saw that dense swarms of Japanese soldiers had already spread over the mountainside and were only two or three hundred meters away from the core position.

Huang Qi couldn't help but praise the devils:
"The devils of the Third Division are really good. The coordination between the infantry and the artillery is perfect. As soon as the artillery fire extended, the infantry rushed up. It is worth learning from them."

The captain's expression was also very serious. He nodded and said:
"These first-class divisions of the Japanese are not easy to deal with. No wonder the commander said that only by killing these hundreds of thousands of old Japanese soldiers can the rest of the battle be easier.

If there were no solid tunnel fortifications, even if we pulled the entire battalion up, we wouldn’t be able to hold out against the Japanese for a day.”

“Old Hu, you have to hold on even if you can’t;
We have no way to retreat, we can only fight to the death with the devils!"

As soon as Huang Qi finished speaking, the sound of gunfire like frying beans broke out. The second and third companies opened fire at full force, and a large number of Japanese soldiers were knocked down in an instant.

Under the strafing of light and heavy machine guns, even the bravest Japanese soldiers had to lie down, especially the dozen or so light and heavy machine guns in several bunkers, which became the Japanese soldiers' nightmare.

Major Yoneyama had not expected that the defenders had hidden so many firing points in the main position, blocking all the avenues of attack;

He immediately ordered the infantry artillery to fire at the defenders, and one 70mm high-explosive bomb after another went straight to the firing points on the mountain.

Huang Qi saw it clearly through the telescope on the top of the mountain and said loudly to the company commander:

"Hu Yidao, quickly notify the artillery company and have them suppress the Japanese dwarf tigers with mortars. We must not let them blow up the main fort again."

Due to the range, the only weapons the 2nd Battalion could get from the enemy were two 82mm mortars and two captured Type 2 infantry guns.
It is definitely not possible to engage in an artillery battle with the Japanese, but a sneak attack is still possible. The Japanese heavy artillery group is really not to be trifled with.

With the addition of the defenders' artillery, the Japanese infantry artillery was no longer so arrogant. After losing one gun, they began to play hide-and-seek with the defenders;
They all fired two shots and then ran away, slippery like loaches. The same was true for the defenders' mortars. It was a battle of wits and courage, and it all depended on who could catch the other first.

With the artillery's restraint, the threat of the Japanese infantry artillery to the machine gun fire was much less. The rain of bullets fired from the five main and secondary forts weighed down the Japanese, and every batch that rushed up was knocked down, and the hillside was littered with shit-yellow corpses. Several Type 92 heavy machine guns of the Japanese machine gun squadron were also constantly pouring rain of bullets on the defenders, and the second and third companies also suffered many casualties.

Major Yoneyama was on a mission without a military order, and although his soldiers suffered heavy casualties, he continued to drive his soldiers to attack the defenders' defenses;

At the same time, a large number of suicide squads were sent to blow up the bunkers, but there was no better way but to fill the gap with human lives.

Due to the protection of a large number of rifles and machine guns, it was difficult for the Japanese suicide squad to get close to the bunker. The defending snipers specifically targeted the Japanese suicide squad members, causing the Japanese corpses to pile up on the ground around the bunker.

"boom!"

A 70mm high-explosive bomb hit the No. 6 secondary bunker. The shell flew directly into the tunnel, destroying the machine gun and causing 5 casualties.

The remaining group immediately climbed out of the soldier hiding cave, set up the spare machine guns and fought the Japanese again.

The advantage of this kind of tunnel fortification is that it can hide backup personnel, divided into two or three groups, and a replacement will be sent up for each casualty;
Even if the bunker was blown up, they could still set up machine guns at the entrance of the tunnel and continue fighting, which was better than an uncovered open-air shooting position.

The biggest threat to the Japanese against machine gun fire was the grenade launcher, but the grenade launcher was indirect fire and it was difficult to hit the firing point in the tunnel;

Infantry artillery is okay, but the quantity is too small, with only two per battalion.

The Japanese had no choice but to use a clumsy method, sending out suicide squads to blow up the place, but the effect was mediocre, as they were not very used to this kind of tunnel warfare;

The defenders' positions were full of tunnel entrances, which were well hidden and could not be found without careful observation. As the fighting went on, more firepower points would appear, making it difficult for the Japanese to defend themselves.

The Mishan Battalion attacked for another hour. As the sky gradually darkened, the two sides engaged in a night battle. The Japanese suffered heavy casualties, but achieved little. This kind of tunnel fortification could not be conquered in a day or two.

Actual combat in another time and space has proven that as long as the defenders have sufficient manpower, there is basically no solution.

In the Battle of Songshan, tens of thousands of expeditionary troops besieged a tunnel position defended by more than a thousand Japanese soldiers. There were American planes in the sky and American heavy artillery on the ground. More than 7 people were killed or wounded, and it took 92 days to take the city.
Not to mention the Battle of Shangganling, it was simply wishful thinking for the Japanese to rely on a single battalion to take over the tunnel positions of an entire battalion.

Seeing that the captain had lost all his strength, Doqiao Long quickly tried to persuade him:
"Sir, the Mishan Battalion has done its best. The defenders are very tight. Fighting in the dark will only increase casualties. Let them withdraw!"

Colonel Kawanami was unwilling to give in, but he still had his sanity. If the Yoneyama Battalion was wiped out, he would have no way to report to the division commander.

Seeing Major Dobashi pleading for mercy, he could only snort coldly and said:

"A bunch of rubbish! You have brought shame upon the Imperial Army."

After saying this, he waved at Major Tsuchihashi, taking it as his agreement. He still had to have some dignity.

Major Dobashi understood immediately, bowed to Colonel Okikawa, and then turned and left.

A few minutes later, Major Yoneyama, covered in blood, received the order to retreat to the rear and breathed a sigh of relief.

He immediately ordered a retreat, and they ran faster than rabbits. There was one battalion when they went up, but only half of it was left when they retreated. Tuofeng Ridge really became the "Sad Ridge" of the Sixth Regiment.

(End of this chapter)