Songhu: Never Give Up

Chapter 254: Street Fight Again
Fujita Susumu still attached great importance to the guerrilla column and did not underestimate it just because it was a regiment-level unit. He was not stupid for a regiment of tens of thousands of people.

Three infantry regiments and the 3rd field artillery regiment were sent to attack Bengbu City.

The three regiments advanced steadily in a T-shaped formation, giving the Chinese basically no chance to launch a sneak attack, and they soon arrived at the gates of the city.

There were only two options before them. The three old devils gathered together to discuss the attack plan, with Colonel Kawanami as the leader, and the 34th Regiment Commander Tagami Hachiro and the 68th Regiment Commander Takamori Colonel in cooperation.

The 68th Regiment and Colonel Ying Xiaosen were old rivals of Yue Qianli's troops. When Yue Qianli led the 527nd Battalion of the th Regiment to rescue Baoshan City, he almost captured Ying Xiaosen alive.

The two battalions of the 68th Regiment were almost crippled by Yue Qianli's troops. Of course, Ying Xiaosen would not admit this experience. At that time, Yue Qianli was just a small battalion commander and was not even in his eyes.

After the three old devils exchanged some pleasantries, Colonel Kawanami, who was in charge, spoke first:
"Gentlemen, the Huaihe River defense line is the focus of the Chinese's southern defense, and Bengbu City, which straddles both sides of the Huaihe River and has a railway running through it, is the top priority for the Chinese's defense;

If the Empire's Southern Front Corps wants to open up the Jinpu Road, it must capture Bengbu City.

There are only two options for attacking Bengbu City. One is to attack from the front along the Jinpu Road from the south city to the north city, but there is only one railway bridge to pass through;

The enemy defending the north city only needs to hold the railway bridge. The other option is to bypass the south city from the right wing, cross the Huai River, and attack the north city from behind.

The division commander's opinion is to let us make our own decision. He only wants Bengbu City. What do you think? "

Ying Xiaosen took over and said:
"Kawabe-kun, it is not difficult to capture the South City. The defenders' defense focus is not on the southern line. It can be seen from the fact that they voluntarily gave up Tuofeng Ridge that they placed their hopes on the Huaihe River defense line!

A railway bridge is not enough to deploy troops. As the military strategy says, use the right tactics to win the battle. My suggestion is to send a regiment to attack the Huaihe River defense line from the right wing, and the main force to attack from the front.

The left wing is restricted by the terrain and cannot deploy troops, so a few battalions will not be of much use."

Colonel Taue Hachiro interrupted and said:
"Eagle Xiaojun, the Huaihe River defense line on the right wing is also the focus of the defenders' defense. Isn't the strength of one regiment too weak?"

Ying Xiaosen waved his hand and said:
“According to intelligence, the one defending the right wing of Bengbu City is a detachment of the guerrilla column, and on their flank is the 51st Army;
This was a ragtag force. The one who attacked their defense line was the 51th Division. The fact that their regiment flag was seized by the Chinese made them the laughing stock of the empire, but the combat power of the Wu Division was not enough to be stopped by the st Army.

The junction of the 51st Army and the guerrilla column's defense zone is the most vulnerable. One regiment is enough to deal with it, so leave it to our 68th Regiment."

Colonel Kawanami praised loudly:

"What a great strategy of using the right tactics to win a victory. Ying Xiaojun is indeed an expert on China. Since Ying Xiaojun is willing to take on this important task, let the 68th Regiment conduct a roundabout operation and force a crossing of the Huai River.

Mr. Tian and I were advancing along the railway line, one on the left and one on the right. In the first phase, we would complete the mission of occupying the southern city, and then we would storm the railway bridge. The 68rd Field Artillery Regiment would be assigned to the th Regiment for combat.

Colonel Tagami and Colonel Takamori both expressed no objection. After the meeting, Takamori could not wait to lead the 68th Regiment to carry out a flanking operation.
After a simple division of labor, Colonel Tagami and Colonel Kawanami launched an attack on Bengbu City, with the 34th Regiment on the left and the th Regiment on the right.

The two old devils even made a bet to see who would reach the railway bridge first. The winner would get the task of attacking the railway bridge. They didn't take the defenders seriously at all. It wasn't that they were arrogant. Although Bengbu City was strategically important and was an important town in northern Anhui, it didn't even have a decent city wall. They even suspected that the defenders would abandon the southern city.

After all, the railway bridge is a pass that can be blocked by one man and ten thousand men. Of course, they can also cross the Huai River from both sides of the railway bridge. In the face of modern artillery, rivers are no longer natural barriers.

At first their offensive was indeed very successful, and the Chinese did not even defend their positions outside the city;
The steep Camel Ridge had been breached, so how could those small hills outside the city stop the powerful Third Division?

The Japanese entered the South City area without a fight. The entire city was empty, without even a single Chinese citizen. It was a deserted city.

At first, the Japanese were quite cautious, fearing an ambush by the Chinese, but after advancing a few hundred meters, they became bolder, and the battalions and squadrons gradually dispersed;

The Japs, who were used to looting, began to spontaneously enter each room to search for wealth. Some even tried to find beautiful girls and start the usual carnival mode.

Colonel Kawanami and Colonel Tagami did not deliberately restrain the troops. After occupying a city, revelry is the right of the victor. After all, they will take 30% of all the looted property.

Bengbu is a city with developed industry and commerce, and there are many wealthy people. Colonel Kawanami was very much looking forward to the harvest from the looting.

As the Japanese dispersed into the city, they were soon ambushed by the defenders. When they rushed into the large mansions, what awaited them were the swords and guns of the defenders.

The Japs' looting operations were all carried out in small groups or even squads, which gave a group of soldiers familiar with the terrain the opportunity to ambush them;
Both the 1st Battalion (formerly the 523rd Regiment) and the 2nd Battalion are veterans who have experienced the street fighting in Nanjing and have rich experience in street fighting.

In order to stick to the Japanese, they deliberately let the Japanese into the South City, and then quickly penetrated in companies, and soon got mixed up with the Japanese;
A fierce battle broke out between the two sides. At the beginning, the defenders ambushed the Japanese and killed many of them with deliberate tactics.

Gradually the Japanese reacted, but they had already "scattered" out, and it was difficult to gather them together;
The battalion couldn't find the squadron leader, the squadron leader couldn't find the platoon leader, and the platoon leader couldn't find the soldiers.

The command system was completely paralyzed, and each unit was responding passively, rushing to wherever there was gunfire;
When they arrived, they didn't see a single Chinese person, only more or less dead bodies.

It was also a chaotic battle, but the defenders took the initiative to initiate it, and all the actions were unified by companies and platoons. The battalion commander asked them to just fight, and the battalion and brigade levels took the initiative to give up the command.
They fought in the same way in Jinling City. They were familiar with the situation and the company and platoon leaders were very experienced. The more chaotic the situation was, the better it was for them.

Colonel Kawanami found that something was increasingly wrong. Although his regiment headquarters had been stationed in the outer city and had not yet come into contact with the Chinese, the chaotic gunfire throughout the city cast a shadow over his heart.
There was only one reinforced squadron left by his side, and all other troops had penetrated deep into the city. Now he could only contact the captain.

The news that Major Yoneyama and Major Hirose brought back after the defeat was that they had lost contact with all the squadrons and were only surrounded by one squadron. The city was filled with sounds of fighting as the Chinese were fighting street battles with them.

"Nani, street fighting?"

Colonel Kawanami exclaimed. He had never expected that the defenders would engage in street fighting with them in the South City. He could not help but curse:
"Bakayaluo, I've been fooled!"

(End of this chapter)