Songhu: Never Give Up

Chapter 311: Joining the Lanfeng Campaign
The Japanese artillery preparation caused a lot of damage to the defenders' positions, especially the field fortifications, at least 30% of which were destroyed, and 20 to 30 people were killed or wounded.

There are only more than 400 people left in the Second Battalion, many of whom are wounded. Although they have suffered heavy losses in the battle, their positions are still as solid as a rock.

As soon as the artillery preparation was over, the Japanese devils of Shibata's battalion once again launched a group charge. The defenders fought back. The battle between the two sides became fierce from the beginning. The casualties on both sides soared, and it seemed that no one could hold on in the end.

West of the Longhai Line, at the guerrilla column's field command post, Yue Qianli and a few old brothers were playing a war game around a map, and the content was the ongoing Lanfeng Campaign.

On the sand table, the flag of the 14th Division has been planted on the top of Lanfeng City, but the First Detachment has not caught up yet. They can only wait in the forest south of Lanfeng City.

为了应对日军攻击，在豫东战场，一战区预东兵团已经集结了8、27、64、71、74军和61、106师等主力部队，准备围歼孤军深入的第14师团，国军指挥员正是军中宿将薛伯陵；
In addition, Hu Zongnan's 17th Corps was also urgently transferred from Shaanxi to eastern Henan. On the sand table, more than 14 central troops had completed the strategic encirclement of the th Division.

They deduced several times that the National Army would win a great victory, and the best outcome for the 14th Division would be to break out in part and avoid the tragic end of being completely wiped out.

"Old Yue, I really don't see why Commander Xue would lose. Commander Xue is the commander of your guard battalion, a veteran in the army, and has made great achievements in battle.
71军、74军、27军等部都是我中央军精锐，第8军更是116师和税警总团改编，更不说还有胡长官17军团作为总预备队。

Song Xilian of the 71st Army, Yu Jishi of the 74th Army, Gui Yongqing of the 27th Army, and Huang Jie of the 8th Army, which one of them is not a brilliant senior in the first batch? "

Gao Zhisong really couldn't think of a way to lose this battle, and the others looked at Yue Qianli, and Old Yue could only smile bitterly;
Of course, he couldn't talk about something that didn't happen. If he did, it would be slandering Shangguan. These first-term elites were not something a sixth-term student like him could afford to offend.

The reason why this battle was lost was because of two major runs, which were the critical moment to encircle and annihilate Kenji Doihara's 14th Division;
First, Gui Yongqing of the 27th Army was so afraid of the enemy that he fled without fighting, causing a hole in Xue Boling's encirclement.

After finally capturing the Japanese, Huang Jie of the 8th Army ran away again. Commander Xue was so angry that he wanted to quit on the spot. These arrogant and brave soldiers of the first class ignored him and ran away without hesitation.

"Old Gao, we are just conducting a deduction now, and I am just preparing for danger. Commander Xue will be in charge of the battle of Lanfeng.
What you and I can do is to defend Zhaozhuang and stop the Japanese reinforcements coming from Xuzhou.

As Commander Xue's encirclement tightens, the main forces of the 14th Division occupying Lanfeng City will be constantly drawn to fight and block the enemy;

When the military strength in Lanfeng City was reduced to a critical point, my first team, which was lurking on standby, took advantage of the cover of darkness and secretly moved to the foot of Lanfeng City, and then captured Lanfeng City in one fell swoop, cutting off the enemy's source of support!

Then our main force retreated westward along the Longhai Line, and sent a part to occupy Kaifeng, thus blocking the enemy's way westward along the Longhai Line and protecting Zhengzhou.

The main force will wait for an opportunity to meet this old spy Kenji Doihara!"

After listening to this, Duan Yulin immediately agreed:
"I agree with Lao Yue's plan. This is a strategy that focuses on me. As long as Lao Zhu recaptures Lanfeng City, the 14th Division will face the risk of the center of my guerrilla column blooming.

If Commander Xue can handle it well, it is possible to annihilate this isolated group of troops. The worst result is that the guerrilla column will defend Kaifeng City and prevent the Japanese from advancing westward along the Longhai Line. "

Everyone agreed and reached a consensus. They also understood Yue Qianli's battle intentions.

Yue Qianli shook his head, drove away the negative emotions in his heart, and said after cheering up:
"From the enemy situation detected by the secret telegram, the 14th Division still has two regiments and the division headquarters in Lanfeng City, which means that Kenji Doihara has not yet reached the most difficult time;
Old Zhu has to wait patiently for a few more days. What we need to do now is to cripple the 106th Division and eliminate the pressure on the eastern front.

The 106th Division's troops deployed in the direction of Zhaojialing were not enough, and they had to lure the enemy deep into their territory;

Send a telegram to Wang Jianfei, telling him to abandon the frontier positions at Zhaojialing and retreat to the core positions, giving the Japanese a chance to attack Zhaozhuang in a roundabout way."

Duan Yulin took over and said:

"I understand. Only by hurting the mountain detachment can we force the 106th Division to send reinforcements to Zhaozhuang.

By using Zhaozhuang to hold back the mountain detachment, the main force can encircle and annihilate the main force of the Japanese gathered near Zhaozhuang from the west and north.

Force them to flee eastward, and then the defenders of Zhaojialing can flank the enemy's waist, cripple the 106th Division, and make it unable to advance westward. "

Gao Zhisong said excitedly:
"What a good strategy of surrounding three sides and leaving one side open. When the Japanese are defeated, the troops on the main peak of Zhaojialing will kill them."

Seeing that the two brothers had finished talking to him, Yue Qianli had no choice but to speak in the name of Chief of Staff Chen:

"Old Chen, just do as they say. Send a telegram to Wang Jianfei immediately and inform him of all the strategic intentions of the column. This guy knows what to do!
Tell him that he must defend Zhaozhuang at all costs, otherwise there will be no chance for the party to go on."

After hearing this, everyone laughed out loud, and the previous oppressive atmosphere was swept away. Now these tens of thousands of people have formed their own system, and they must always take me as the leader;

You can help, but you can't get yourself involved. Now there is no chance to gather tens of thousands of defeated soldiers. Every loss counts.

These were elite soldiers who had fought in many battles. All officers were graduates of military academies, and many squad leaders were graduates of the Whampoa Military Academy. Even the ordinary soldiers were literate.

After going through the brutal test of actual combat, any soldier can be a squad leader or platoon leader, with no difference from the officer corps.

If the guerrilla column wants to persist in the long-term war of resistance and grow stronger, the skeleton of these veterans must be preserved and not be killed off.

At Zhaojialing, the Japanese launched another attack and used the tank squadron. Just when the 2nd Battalion Commander Deng Zhuxiu was about to use a 40 rocket launcher to shoot down the Japanese tank;
The communications staff brought him the latest instructions from the detachment, so he had to change his strategy and notify the front-line positions to pretend to be unable to hold out and retreat to the main position.

The slope of the main position was too steep, and the Japanese tanks could not continue to attack upwards. They had to stop at the front position and use it as a fixed turret to provide fire support to the infantry.

The infantry cluster took advantage of the victory and continued to attack the core position.

When the Japanese infantry group approached the main position, the defenders fired fiercely at the Japanese with dozens of light and heavy machine guns and thousands of long and short guns;
Tens of thousands of bullets rained down on the Japanese soldiers, killing them instantly. The yellowish bodies of the Japanese soldiers could be seen everywhere on the hillside. Colonel Harada was just happy for a while, and he wanted to take the main peak of Zhaojialing in one go, but he kicked on the iron plate;
In just a short while, the attacking force suffered two to three hundred casualties, and the rest were pinned down on the hillside, unable to raise their heads. The number of casualties continued to rise, and Colonel Harada was so angry that he cursed:
"Bakayaloo, the guerrilla column is so cunning!
Fire and blow them up!"

Following Harada's order, the remaining dozen or so artillery pieces of the field artillery battalion fired madly at the main peak;

The defenders did not give in this time. More than 20 artillery pieces from the detachment's artillery battalion began to counterattack. Just a few rounds of volleys suppressed the Japanese artillery and destroyed several artillery pieces, causing heavy losses to the Japanese, who dared not fight back again.

Then they began to bombard the enemy's tanks, scaring them so much that they turned around and ran away. Their thin-skinned and small-filled "little beans" would be destroyed if hit by a single shell.

No matter how fast the Japanese tanks ran, they could not outrun the artillery shells. Even though they saw the opportunity early, two of their tanks were still destroyed. Colonel Harada was so distressed that he convulsed.

The Japanese have always been short of resources, and more than 80% of the resources are monopolized by the navy, so there is very little steel to build tanks and artillery, and every tank is a treasure.

When Colonel Harada saw that the situation was not right, he immediately gave the order to retreat. The infantry attacking the main peak retreated like a tide, leaving nothing behind except a pile of corpses.

Of course, some lessons were learned. After the infantry retreated, Colonel Harada went to the brigade headquarters to report the situation. Colonel Tanaka was there, so Colonel Harada got straight to the point and said:

"General, the guerrilla column has thousands of people hiding at the main peak of Zhaojialing, and has at least one regiment of artillery. It is very difficult to capture the main peak.

After occupying the Chinese frontier positions, the main peak's blockade of the railway line was not very effective. After all, they had limited artillery shells and the machine guns were out of reach.

The imperial army can leave a part to contain the enemy on the main peak, and the main force can bypass Zhaojialing and attack Zhaozhuang directly!
Zhaozhuang is just a small town with no strategic location to defend. Once we capture Zhaozhuang, the enemy at Zhaojialing will be isolated and it will only be a matter of time before they are annihilated.”

After hearing this, Major General Shandi had an idea. The reason for bypassing Zhaojialing was simply because he was afraid that Zhaojialing would cut off the supply line of the 106th Division at a critical moment.

Now that the frontline has been occupied, Zhaojialing's control over the railway line has been greatly reduced, and we can now bypass it and attack Zhaozhuang directly.

Colonel Tanaka also interjected:
"General, I also agree with Mr. Harada's suggestion. As long as we capture Zhaozhuang, all problems will be solved."

Seeing that the opinions of his two captains were consistent with his own, he immediately made the decision:
"Yoshi, the remaining troops on Zhaojialing are nothing to be feared. They have no supplies, and every shell they consume is a shell. They can't block the railway line at all.
Leaving behind a reinforced infantry battalion to continue to put pressure on them, the main force immediately bypassed Zhaojialing and attacked Zhaozhuang!
According to the latest war situation report, the 14th Division has occupied Lanfeng City, a key point on the Longhai Line, and is heading straight for the Central Plains;
How can the feast of competing for supremacy in the Central Plains be without our 106th Division? Kill a chicken for us!"

After several old devils reached a consensus, they left the 113rd Battalion of the 3th Regiment to continue to contain the Zhaojialing defenders. The main force, led by the tank squadron, swaggered around the main road on the north side of Zhaojialing.
As expected, the defenders did not open fire to block the attack, which confirmed their judgment that the defenders did not have too many artillery shells to block the Longhai Line.

The mountain detachment successfully circled to the north of Zhaozhuang, then set up camp on the spot. According to the Japanese habit, they first built a circular defensive fortification before sending out a squadron to launch a tentative attack on Zhaozhuang.

Zhaozhuang is located on the south side of the Longhai Line and is built along the railway. Zhaozhuang Station is a large station before entering Xuzhou. It has frequent passenger traffic, developed economy and trade, and is a densely populated town.

To the east is Zhaojialing, and to the south are also hills. Only the east and west are flat lands. After the Japanese bypassed Zhaojialing, Zhaozhuang was no longer defensible.

At this time, all the people in Zhaozhuang had been evacuated to the mountains in the south, and only two infantry battalions and an anti-aircraft artillery company of the Third Detachment were left in the entire Zhaozhuang.

The Japanese were delighted when they saw the terrain of Zhaozhuang. This kind of terrain was easy to attack but difficult to defend, and they were confident that they could take it with one charge.
Before that, they sent out a squadron to launch a tentative attack in order to find out the troop strength and firepower deployment of the defenders.

Since there was no strategic location to defend outside the village, the defenders simply gave up on the outskirts and retreated into the village, determined to engage in street fighting with the Japanese inside the village.

Although it was a tentative attack, Kamei's squadron still formed a strict attack formation and moved towards Zhaozhuang from the front.

At first their attack was very smooth. They reached the entrance of the village before they were blocked by people inside. The defense line was also a very ordinary barricade.

Dozens of flames opened fire on the Japs first, instantly killing a large group of them. This was the preparation firepower configuration of a battalion of the supplementary brigade;

The 1st Battalion's 500st Battalion defended the front line. More than 30 people opened fire on the Japanese. Naturally, Kamei's squadron could not withstand it and retreated after only a short attack, leaving behind more than bodies.

Although the Japs had lost more than 30 men, they seemed quite excited. Now they could conclude that the main force of the guerrilla column was in Zhaozhuang;

Fighting a decisive battle in such a favorable terrain was simply a gift to them. Several old Japanese soldiers even felt lucky to have been blessed by Amaterasu. Major General Yamaji Wataru said to the two regiment commanders with full confidence:
“Tanaka-kun, Harada-kun, the situation is now very clear, there is no need for any tricks;

After the artillery preparation is completed, each of your two regiments will send out a battalion, one on the left and one on the right, to accompany the tank squadron to launch a fierce attack on Zhuangnei. The first battle will be the decisive battle!"

The two old Japanese soldiers, Tanaka and Harada, stood up and bowed, then turned and left with a "Hey", and each of them exuded a strong murderous aura.

In Zhaozhuang, the enemy's artillery preparations arrived as expected, and the defenders had already taken shelter in the tunnels they had dug in advance. Although many houses were destroyed, the casualties to the defenders were limited;
Even if the regiment's artillery was included, they only had a dozen guns left, which could not cause much damage, and the Japanese did not have the strength to flatten Zhaozhuang to the ground.

When the Japanese saw that the defenders were only bombed but did not fight back, they thought that all the defenders' artillery were in Zhaojialing. This discovery made them very confident, and they were determined not to withdraw their troops until Zhaozhuang was captured.

"Warriors, charge into Zhaozhuang and kill all the Chinese people, leaving no one alive!"

It was indeed the Kumamoto Division. When they heard that they could burn, kill and loot, they screamed with excitement and wanted to run in front of the tanks to grab the credit.
Unfortunately, wherever there are chariots, it is not their turn to play the leading role, as the chariots are always in the front.

At the anti-aircraft artillery position 1 kilometer away on the west side, the remaining dozen or so anti-aircraft guns had removed their vegetation camouflage, and their muzzles were all lowered, waiting for Tian Zhongbin's order.

(End of this chapter)