Songhu: Never Give Up

Chapter 295: Head-on Confrontation (3)

Under Fujita Susumu's strict order, the Japanese once again launched a fierce attack on the defenders' positions, but this time there was no air fire support, the heavy artillery preparation time was shortened a lot, and the heavy artillery shells were not fired from bird rifles.

After withstanding the three attacks of the Japs, the Japs' attack intensity obviously dropped a lot. It was just like the first attack was strong, the second was weak, and the third was exhausted. Each wave of attack was weaker than the last.
The defenders had already survived the most difficult period. In the previous battles, the Third Detachment had also tried its best. Duan Yulin did not even have any reserve troops, and nearly half of them had been killed or wounded.

Fortunately, the Japanese offensive was finally repelled, and the morale of the soldiers was greatly improved. They became more confident in dealing with the Japanese attacks, and never asked for reinforcements from the column headquarters no matter how difficult the situation was.

Fortunately, the subsequent offensives were getting weaker and weaker, and they were able to respond calmly. The goal of consuming the enemy's manpower and morale was basically achieved. It all depended on when Lao Yue would launch a counterattack.

In the north city, gunshots rang out. After receiving Fujita Susumu's order, the 18th Regiment did not dare to neglect it and sent out two battalions of troops to launch a dragnet-style encirclement and suppression in the city, trying to capture all the defeated soldiers in the city.
The 3rd Battalion and the Regiment Headquarters continued to stay at the north end of the railway bridge, and soon the two sides engaged in a fierce battle in the city, just like frying beans.

Since the main weapons used by both sides were Japanese weapons, it was difficult to tell who had the upper hand, and the outcome was determined.

The regiment commander, Colonel Yoshie Ishii, did not take it seriously at first, thinking that they were just a bunch of guerrillas, about 800 men at most, and that his two elite battalions were more than enough in terms of manpower. He even felt like he was using a butcher knife to kill a nut.

In the 6rd Division, the only unit that could compete with the veteran 18th Regiment was the th Regiment, and both were responsible for the combat power of each brigade.

As for who will be the 1st Regiment of the 3rd Division, Colonel Kawanami thought it was an easy question, while Ishii Yoshie thought it was a multiple-choice question and everything was possible.

Now the two regiments were given the same test question, and Colonel Kawanami answered it incorrectly, and received a zero;

When it was his turn, he immediately sent out two battalions, expecting to win by relying on his troop advantage, but ended up being slapped in the face.

2 people thrown into the huge North City could not make much of a splash. They fought with the defenders, and only the sound of gunfire could be heard, but it was difficult to tell who had won.

With the 18th Regiment holding back the fleeing soldiers in the city, Colonel Kawanami could finally focus on attacking the frontal position of the nd Detachment;
The 34th Regiment cooperated with the 6th Regiment on the right side of the railway bridge. With the lessons learned from the previous incident, Tagami Hachiro was now much more cautious and did not compete with the 6th Regiment, so the casualties were much less.

Gradually, Colonel Kawanami also noticed this, and angrily cursed, "You have such a bad conscience," and then reduced the intensity of his attack. No one is stupid.

This offensive continued for another two days. The 6th Regiment had suffered more than half casualties, the 34th Regiment had suffered 18% casualties, and the th Regiment had been fighting with the defenders in the city. Even Ishii Yoshie couldn't figure it out.

It is not so easy to withdraw, so we can only let it go.

The situation on the right wing outside the city was better. Although the 13th Division suffered heavy casualties, the combined casualties of the two main attack regiments did not exceed %, which still hurt Tanaka Seiichi.

At the guerrilla column headquarters, Yue Qianli had been staring at the map and thinking about things. Every once in a while, a telegram would arrive from the front line, including battle reports forwarded from the war zone headquarters.

There were frequent reports of victory. If Yue Qianli did not have a God's perspective, he would have really believed that this was just the afterglow of the victory in Taierzhuang.

Once the six armies of the devils arrived, the situation would take a sharp turn for the worse. He didn't have much time left. He gradually made up his mind and his eyes became firm...

“Old Chen, the Third Division has already deployed three infantry regiments on the front. Considering that they also have to guard the First Detachment, it will be difficult for them to add more;

Tanaka Shizuka on the right wing was very cunning and only sent two regiments across the river. Five regiments is enough. I decided to close the net!

The focus is still on the Third Division. This time I'm going to give Fujita Susumu a thorough beating!"

Chen Zhongyuan and others were very excited after hearing this. They had finally waited for the moment to counterattack. It was really frustrating to always be suppressed.

Chen Zhongyuan quickly prepared to record and waited for Yue Qianli to give orders.

"The general offensive will be launched at 8 a.m. tomorrow..."

As Yue Qianli issued orders one after another, the guerrilla column prepared to launch a full-scale counterattack, but before that they had to show weakness, lure the enemy deep into their territory, and paralyze the Japs.

That evening, as the defenders deliberately let the water flow, the Japs made some progress, especially on the right wing, where they captured the defenders' second position;
The Third Detachment was defeated all the way to the last core position and lost a lot of heavy weapons and supplies, which made the commander of the 58th Regiment very excited.

After discussing with the commander of the 65th Regiment, it was decided to launch a general offensive after daybreak in order to break through the right wing defense line in one fell swoop, break the deadlock before the rd Division, and let others see that the th Division was no worse than other divisions.

Victory blinded their eyes, making the old Japanese who were eager to prove themselves become arrogant and forget what Tanaka Shizuka had told them. The Japanese regiment commander loved to act on his own and defeat his superiors with his inferiors.

The progress made by the 13th Division on the right wing also stimulated Colonel Kawanami and Colonel Tagami. After discussing it through telegram, the two decided to launch a large-scale attack after dawn. They could not let the 13th Division, which they looked down upon, steal the limelight.

That night, the Japs were rubbing their hands in preparation for a decisive attack, breaking the deadlock with a thundering blow and thus winning the battle on the southern front.

The night is the best camouflage. Both sides are making intensive preparations under the cover of darkness. Everything is ready, just waiting for dawn!

When the red moon rose again, both the enemy and us looked up to the sun with infinite expectations, and both believed that this was a good omen...

"Tsuchiya-kun, what a beautiful rising sun! It looks just like a rising empire. No country or individual can stop the rise of the empire, not even Huaxia or Yue Qianli!"

There should have been a poem here, but unfortunately Colonel Kawanami couldn't come up with a single word after trying for a long time. He regretted not having enough knowledge when he needed it.

Major Tsuchiya quickly said in a humorous tone:
"The words of the commander exude a strong sense of romanticism, just like the poems of the Chinese people. Even if Li Bai and Du Fu were alive, they would not be more romantic than this."

Although Major Tsuchiya's flattery was a little stiff, Colonel Kawanami still felt very comfortable listening to it and said in a good mood:
“Tsuchiya-kun, whether a view is beautiful or not depends on the mood when you look at it;
The rising sun is a good sign, telling the warriors of the empire that the imperial army will win, and may His Majesty the Emperor be victorious!"

Opposite them, Yue Qianli was also looking at the sun at five or six o'clock in the morning. The red sun rose in the east, which was also a good sign for the guerrilla column, but it would be the last morning for the Japanese.

"Old Chen, give the order - fire!"

Yue Qianli gave the order to fire while chatting and laughing, and Chen Zhongyuan excitedly took the order and went. Fighting the Japs should be simple and direct, just one word - fire!

(End of this chapter)