Songhu: Never Give Up

Chapter 284 Everything for China

In the second battle of Bengbu City, Yue Qianli went all-in almost from the beginning, which was completely contrary to his usual style;

The reason was that he had to inflict heavy damage on the Japanese on the southern front as quickly as possible to make them calm down, and then he could free up his hands to cover the retreat of the Fifth War Zone.

This is not to say that he is so willing to be in the limelight, but for the Lanfeng Battle, the catastrophe had a huge impact on China, millions of people died, and tens of millions of people were displaced. As a time traveler, he always had to do his best to stop it;

He didn't know whether the situation could be changed, but he would try his best. The outcome of the Battle of Xuzhou would be decided soon, and he didn't have much time left, so he had to defeat the Third Division as quickly as possible.

Following Yue Qianli's order, the guerrilla column also deployed its troops. Considering that there was only one division on the right wing, he gave the task of defending the Huai River to Wang Jianfei.

He commanded the Third Detachment and the Supplementary Detachment with more than 1 people to block the 5th Division.

The task of fighting street battles with the Japanese was given to Duan Yulin's independent detachment, with Gao Zhisong's second detachment and the direct battalions serving as reserve forces.

The independent detachment was under the greatest pressure here, so after the battle deployment was completed, he kept Duan Yulin alone to give him instructions in person;
First, he asked Duan Yulin about his ideas. Although he gave the independent detachment enough autonomy, he still needed to know Duan Yulin's operational ideas, and then find out the shortcomings and fill them. One person can plan for the shortcomings, while two people can plan for the long term.

Duan Yulin thought for a moment and said:
“Fujita Susumu has obviously learned his lesson this time. As expected, he will use planes and heavy artillery to bomb the North City into ruins.

Then they crossed the river from both sides of the railway bridge and used heavy troops to push forward the northern city.

In order to reduce casualties, my battle plan was to leave only a small number of troops in the city, use the tunnels to hold the city, and let the enemy cross the river;
The main force will be deployed on the hills outside the northern city, using pre-built fortifications and artillery battalions to block the Japanese and keep them in the open areas of the northern city, and induce them to fight street battles in the ruins of the city. The rest will be left to the column's artillery battalion. "

The general idea was similar to what Yue Qian had thought, which was to keep the Japanese within the area several kilometers from the river bank to the defenders' defense line;

This area is very important, with a depth of about 5 kilometers, which is beyond the range of the heavy artillery group on the south bank.

The enemy's ferry had limited capacity and could not carry heavy artillery, so they had to use the railway bridge.
But the North City was still engaged in street fighting, and the Japanese artillery did not dare to cross the river easily. Without heavy firepower, the Japanese's combat effectiveness would be greatly reduced.

The three detachments of the guerrilla column can completely block the enemy's advance with the help of fortifications, and it will be no problem for two or three days.

Yue Qianli nodded and said:

"The two main divisions of the Japanese army sound scary. Since one division is tied up on the western front, they can only have 7 infantry regiments crossing the river to fight. Other technical arms are temporarily useless.

The 7 regiments have more than 2 people, and my 3 detachments also have more than 2 people. If the reserve troops are included, our military strength is slightly superior.

We have a defensive advantage, so it is feasible to stop the devils..."

As Yue Qianli analyzed the situation, Duan Yulin became more confident in defending the North City. He thought of another question and said:
"Old Yue, after the main force of the Third Division crosses the river, if they do not control the North City, but instead send a powerful force to flank Old Wang's position and support the 13th Division to cross the river, then we will be in trouble."

Yue Qianli waved his hand nonchalantly and said:
"If that's the case, then we should retreat and let them do whatever they want. The Third Detachment and the Supplementary Detachment only need to hold the deep positions in the north.

The Battle of Taierzhuang has ended. Commander Li has plenty of troops at his disposal. The hundreds of thousands of troops on the southern front are no pushovers.
If the 13th Division dares to leave the railway and attack our right wing deep position, Commander Li will not mind another Taierzhuang victory." Duan Yulin thought about it and it was true. Without heavy artillery and supplies, if the 3rd Division and the 13th Division dared to go deep into the depths of the Huaibei defense line, Commander Li's hundreds of thousands of troops would devour them without leaving any residue.

"Old Yue, your judgment is correct. The Japanese dare not stray too far from the Jinpu Road. If they want to make a difference, they must control the Jinpu Road and then launch an attack along the railway, so that their supplies can keep up."

Duan Yulin's mind was completely opened up. He seemed to have found the lifeblood of the devils and had a plan to defeat them.

Yue Qianli's goal had been achieved, and after giving him some instructions in person, he sent him away. As a commander, he was only responsible for deploying troops, strategizing, and keeping an eye on the overall situation. He would not interfere in how to fight the captain of the team.

After Duan Yulin left the column headquarters, he returned to his own small area to deploy combat matters. He only deployed one battalion in the city, and all of them hid in the tunnel fortifications built before, which could effectively avoid being killed by artillery fire;
Battalion commander Sun Gang is an old brother of Yue Qianli's Second Battalion. After the training in Wuhu, he was transferred from the Third Detachment to the Independent Detachment as battalion commander. He is also the only "old man" among the three infantry battalion commanders of the Independent Detachment. He is deeply trusted by Duan Yulin, so the most difficult task is given to him.

“Old Sun, this mission is extremely difficult. Fujita Jin, who has suffered a heavy loss in the street fighting before, will definitely blow up the North City into ruins. Survival is the first priority;

Then we can hold back the devils. I want to hear your thoughts."

Sun Gang was the commander of the third company when Yue Qianli was the battalion commander. The other two company commanders were Ai Jian and Liao Jianping. At that time, Duan Yulin was still the company commander of the first battalion.

He actually had a long history in the guerrilla column. He was one of the first officers to accept Yue Qianli's combat thinking after he returned to China. He also experienced the brutal street fighting in Shanghai and Nanjing, so he had his own ideas.

Seeing Duan Yulin asking, he thought for a moment and said:
"Old Duan, although the tunnel fortifications can effectively reduce casualties, after the bombardment, I, as the battalion commander, will definitely lose contact with the troops;
Instead of doing this, it would be better to proactively break up the troops, delegate command authority to the company level, and then divide the North City into nine areas, like a nine-square grid.

Each company had its combat area divided beforehand, and the nine infantry companies had exactly one area for each company, with the battalion headquarters moving with one company;

In addition, the artillery battalion and battalion headquarters followed the outermost company and hid in the tunnel as a reserve force.

Although it looks chaotic, the division of labor is clear, and the companies and platoons can fight in unison..."

Duan Yulin smiled. It was obvious that his old brother was always worthy of being entrusted with important matters. Then he said:

"Old Sun, just fight according to your own ideas. If your battalion of 2,000 people fight well, it can hold back more than one regiment of the Japanese.
As long as you hold on, the enemy's heavy equipment will not dare to cross the river. But you must be prepared to be wiped out. As long as you hold on, you will be in position!"

Sun Gang bowed his head heavily and said:
"Old Duan, don't worry. The brothers have all crawled out of the pile of dead bodies and know the cruelty of street fighting.
When I delegated the command to the company, I was mentally prepared to fight to the last soldier.

As long as there is one person alive, the battle in North City will not stop. As long as there is life, the battle will not stop, all for China!"

Duan Yulin held his old brother's hand tightly. Perhaps this separation would be forever. He said in a firm tone:

"Everything for China!"

(End of this chapter)