Songhu: Never Give Up

Chapter 257: Defense of the Railway Bridge (1)

The defenders' accurate shooting made the Japanese engineers miserable. Colonel Kawanami decided to use artillery to solve the problem. He concentrated the artillery of two regiments to cover the defenders' positions.
Rows of artillery shells whizzed towards the positions on both sides of the railway bridge. The defenders all hid in the tunnels and let the Japanese artillery fire wreak havoc.

However, these positions were all backed by the riverbank, and the tunnels were built on the reverse slope, so the enemy's artillery fire did not cause much damage to the defenders, except that their heads were buzzing.

Most of the Japanese artillery shells fell into the Huai River. Although it was already late January, the river was still not frozen.

Geographically, the Qinling Mountains-Huaihe River line is the dividing line between the north and the south. The rivers north of the Huaihe River freeze in winter, while the rivers south of it rarely freeze.
The Huaihe River, the middle river, normally does not freeze. In history, it only froze during the Little Ice Age. It did not freeze in other years. Therefore, it was much more difficult for the Japanese to cross the river, and a large number of ferries were required. This is why the Japanese wanted to seize the railway bridge.

Only by seizing the railway bridge can the baggage and supplies catch up, this is the importance of Bengbu City;
Without occupying Bengbu, the Japanese divisions would not dare to cross the river.

The Japanese's artillery preparation lasted for more than an hour. During this period, they also tried to use artillery shells to clear mines, but the effect was not good. Perhaps dozens of artillery shells could not clear a mine. The efficiency was too low.

The Japs could only continue to send engineers to clear mines and sent a few mortars to protect them, but it was of little use;

The snipers' flexibility was not something the mortars could keep up with. They changed positions after each shot, and in just a short time, they killed more than a dozen engineers. Colonel Kawanami was so angry that he cursed:
"Bakayarō, guerrilla warfare is not the job of a samurai, they will just launch surprise attacks!"

Colonel Tagami smiled bitterly and said:

“Kawabini-kun, it’s useless. This is a sniper tactic. The guerrilla column is the foundation of the German-equipped division. These advanced tactics must have been taught by German instructors.
The Empire has put pressure on our allies, and they have withdrawn their instructors and stopped selling weapons to China. This is the last German-equipped division.

As long as the guerrilla column is eliminated, there will be no more German-equipped divisions in China!"

Colonel Kawanami also knew that scolding alone was useless, so he said to Colonel Tagami:
"Tanami-kun, the Chinese minefield is very large, and there are a large number of snipers causing trouble. The efficiency of the engineer warriors in clearing mines is too low. It is better to think of another way."

Colonel Tagami understood what was going on as soon as he heard it, and nodded:

"The battle on the southern front concerns the eternal cause of the empire and cannot be stopped by a small railway bridge.
For the great cause of the empire, the warriors are willing to sacrifice everything, and this is their honor."

Colonel Namikawa agreed wholeheartedly. It wasn't him who was going to die anyway, and the last thing the empire needed was cannon fodder.

The two old devils discussed and decided on a new mine-clearing tactic. The next step was to recruit brave warriors who were willing to sacrifice themselves for the emperor.

Inspired by the spirit of Bushido, the Japanese soldiers cried and shouted to join the suicide squad. Originally, they only planned to recruit 100 people, but in the end they recruited more than 200.

A surprising scene happened to the defenders. Under the cover of artillery fire, rows of unarmed Japanese soldiers rushed towards the minefield, screaming.
Without exception, they all had sanitary napkins tied on their heads and stepped on the mines fearlessly. Captain Xia Junrong, the infantry company commander, said anxiously:
"Deputy Captain Han, these devils are crazy. If they keep going like this, they will soon break through the minefield. We have to stop them."

Han Guangsheng said nonchalantly:

"Why should we stop the Japanese from dying? Isn't the purpose of the minefield to consume the Japanese?
Now they are actively seeking death, so let them go. It is impossible to stop the Japs with a minefield, so we can just let them bleed."

Captain Xia thought about it and it made sense. Not to mention the mines, even the bridge-guarding troops were mentally prepared to sacrifice their lives for their country. As long as they could consume the Japanese, their death would be worth it.

Thinking of this, he was no longer in a hurry. He admired the miserable plight of the Japanese with Deputy Captain Han, except that they were lacking a handful of idiots.

The troops defending the railway bridge included an infantry company and two machine gun companies, with a total of more than 500 people, under the unified command of Deputy Captain Han Guangsheng; their mission was to bleed the Japanese; as long as there were people on the bridge, there would be no bridge, and even if people died, the bridge would still be there. To put it bluntly, they were a group of death warriors.

Everyone knew it, but no one backed down, they all asked for it, just like the devils on the other side;
The two Eastern nations are almost the same in this regard. The Japs are supported by the so-called Bushido, while the Chinese have always been willing to sacrifice their lives for justice, and national justice is more important than life.

Through Han Guangsheng's telescope, after one row of Japanese soldiers who were stepping on mines fell down, another row rushed forward. The minefield was shrinking visibly with the naked eye, and the bodies of the Japanese soldiers were scattered all over the ground.

The two hundred or so Japanese soldiers were almost wiped out, and they also cleared a safe passage for attacking through the minefield of the defenders;

Han Guangsheng gently put down the telescope, took a long breath, then pulled himself together and said to Captain Xia with a firm look:
"Old Xia, it's our turn now. We have the people in the position!"

Captain Xia nodded heavily and said:
"Let the devils pay with human lives!"

In the Japanese field headquarters, Colonel Kawanami also put down his binoculars and said murderously:
"The warriors' death is worth it. The Chinese must pay the price. After we capture the North City, we will lift military discipline for three days and leave no one alive!"

"Kawabini-kun, I have no objection. This is the power of the victor. The Chinese must pay the price for their stupid behavior - give the order!"

Following the order from Colonel Kawanami, the Japanese launched their first general attack on the railway bridge. Artillery shells pounded the defenders' positions like crazy, which made Colonel Kawanami's blood boil. He couldn't help but show off:
"Tanagami-kun, the defenders' field fortifications will definitely not be able to withstand such fierce artillery fire. The warriors can end the battle with a single charge."

Tagami Hachiro seemed to be less confident than Colonel Kawanami, and took over the conversation and said:
"Let's wait and see. This is a guerrilla column! We should be prepared for a tough fight."

Colonel Kawanami was very upset by what Tagami Hachiro said, and he said contemptuously:

"Tanami-kun, this is a different time now. We can't be afraid of the rope after being bitten once. Didn't we take down the solid Camelback Ridge?
The Imperial Army is invincible!"

Colonel Taue didn't want to spoil his fun, so he nodded in agreement. However, his eyes betrayed him, and he looked at Colonel Kawanami as if he was a fool.

Since the attack front of the railway bridge was only so wide, they only deployed one battalion, forming several attack waves, led by Major Yoneyama.

This man is lucky, and Colonel Kawanami likes him very much. A commander who can always survive on the battlefield is also a skill.

When rows of Japanese soldiers entered the range of the machine guns, the bunkers on both sides of the railway bridge began to rain bullets on the Japanese soldiers;

The Japs fell in groups, and many were even torn to pieces by large-caliber machine gun bullets. The defending machine gun array revealed its ferocious fangs.

The detachment's artillery battalion on Hill 583 on the west side was also pouring shells at the Japanese group, and each round of salvos killed and wounded a considerable number of Japanese.

Afterwards, the Japanese artillery also fired at Hill 583, but it had little effect. This kind of side fire is something to be afraid of during an attack, as it is almost unsolvable.

"Bakayaluo, they must be eliminated!"

(End of this chapter)