Songhu: Never Give Up

After the guerrilla column recaptured Lanfeng, Xue Boling immediately commanded the various units of the Henan East Corps to begin encircling and annihilating the Doihara Division;

The 74st Division of the 51th Army and the 71th Division of the 88st Army recaptured Neihuang, the 87th Division recaptured Yifeng, and the remaining troops continued to encircle the Doihara Division according to the established plan, dealing it a heavy blow.

The Doihara Division fled to Yangguji, Donggangtou, Maoguzhai and other places;

Hundreds of thousands of troops from both sides fought around the Lanfeng area. Several Japanese detachments attacked left and right, but were finally pushed back by the various units of the Yudong Corps. Both sides suffered heavy casualties.

The 14th Division ultimately failed to break out, and the outer encirclement became tighter and tighter. Kenji Doihara then set his sights on Lanfeng City, which he regarded as the key to breaking the deadlock.

另一时空此时第一兵团也夺回了兰封城，并且指定27军桂永清指挥的李良荣第46师、钟松第61师、沈克第106师、龙慕韩第88师262旅防守；
The main target of the Doihara Division's breakout was Lanfeng City. In just three hours, Lanfeng's outer defense line was breached.

This frightened the commander of the 27th Army, Gui Yongqing, so much so that he ignored the order from Commander Xue and led the three main divisions to abandon Lanfeng City and retreat towards Kaifeng and Qi County, leaving only a brigade of the 3th Division to garrison Lanfeng.

Long Muhan only had one brigade. Seeing that his old classmate had fled with three divisions, he retreated to Hanling in the north without asking for permission. In this way, the Japanese occupied Lanfeng City again without bloodshed.
Doihara Kenji's Division thus controlled the front-line positions of Lanfeng, Luowangzhai, Sanyizhai, Yangtan, Quxingji and Chenliu Town, and put up a tenacious resistance until the arrival of the reinforcements from the 16th Division.

At this time and space, the troops defending the Lanfeng area were replaced by Yue Qianli's guerrilla column. The first "thunderbolt" was eliminated, and Xue Boling had another 27th Army under his control.
Yue Qianli calculated that with sufficient troops, the second "thunder", the 8th Army defending Dangshan, should not flee without a fight when facing the reinforcements of the 16th Division.

Of course, if he really wanted to escape, Yue Qianli was out of reach, and even the commander-in-chief Xue Boling couldn't stop him. As a sixth-term student, he didn't even have the right to speak.

All he could do now was to defend Lanfeng City and withstand the counterattack of the 14th Division.

After joining the main force, Kenji Doihara became more confident and used three infantry regiments and three heavy artillery regiments to block the siege of the Henan East Corps;
He personally led two infantry regiments and two heavy artillery regiments to attack Lanfeng City. The battle first broke out on the outskirts of Lanfeng City.

Yue Qianli's defense of Lanfeng City was divided into two parts. The first part was the outer positions, mainly in the north and northeast directions;
The east and south were still in the hands of the National Army, and were also areas where the two sides were fighting. The West also had heavy National Army troops.

The first and second detachments were defending the outer positions, the third detachment and the supplementary detachment were defending the core positions in the urban area, and the column headquarters and the direct-affiliated troops were on guard westward along the Longhai Line to prevent small groups of Japanese from launching roundabout operations from the western front, while retaining the opportunity to retreat westward to Kaifeng overnight.

Yue Qianli made preparations for both scenarios. If the Henan East Corps was defeated and the encirclement and annihilation of the Doihara Division failed, the main force of the guerrilla column would retreat to Kaifeng and block the enemy's way to continue their westward advance.

At the position of the 1st Battalion of the First Troop, rows of heavy artillery shells whizzed down, blasting the hastily built earthworks of the 1st Battalion to pieces, causing heavy casualties among the soldiers;

It had been a long time since the guerrilla column had faced the enemy's attack head-on. The 1st Battalion Commander Wu Qiujian felt so painful that he roared:
"Damn it, what's the point of relying on heavy artillery shells to attack? If you have the guts, come fight me in single combat!"

The Japs responded with another round of artillery fire, and the defenders could only endure it silently. The Japs' heavy artillery positions were seven or eight kilometers away, and the artillery of the first battalion could not reach them;

Even if they could reach it, the two sides were not on the same level. He suddenly remembered the rocket launcher of the column's artillery battalion, which had used special operations to destroy the Japanese's Fifth Heavy Artillery Brigade before.

He acted immediately and sent a telegram asking for help to the detachment headquarters. Zhu Chi thought it was a good suggestion, so he forwarded it to Yue Qianli as it was. As for whether Yue Qianli would adopt it, it was not his concern.

His reply to Wu Qiujian was just one sentence: "Based on the current conditions, we should resist the attack of the devils. The column will consider his suggestions."

Seeing that the telegram for help had already been submitted to the column headquarters, Wu Qiujian no longer worried about it and commanded his troops to repel the Japanese attack with all their strength.

At this time, the Japanese artillery preparation had ended, and the first battalion's position was filled with smoke, making it impossible to tell how many people were left.

Before the smoke had dispersed, more than 20 tanks rumbled over, accompanied by no less than a thousand infantrymen;
Wu Qiujian was immediately infuriated when he saw this and cursed:
"Damn it, you really think highly of me. It's fine if you use heavy artillery to clean up the place, but now you even send in the iron bastard. Are you bullying me because I don't have diamond drills?"

The 40 rocket launchers were just equipped to the battalion level, and the right to use them was in the hands of Wu Qiujian. He had no power to dispatch rocket launchers, but he had the final say over rocket launchers, and he immediately dispatched the rocket launcher platoon of the artillery battalion.

Captain Qiao Wanchun, the direct firepower company commander, had been eager to try it out. They were equipped with a total of 16 rocket launchers, 4 squads, 4 in each squad;
Rocket launchers have always been the equipment that the guerrilla column focuses on protecting. Each rocket launcher platoon is protected by two infantry platoons, forming a firepower company directly under the battalion headquarters.

After receiving the mission, Qiao Wanchun personally led two bazooka squads and an infantry platoon to sneak into the first trench;

The 1st Battalion only deployed one infantry platoon in the first trench, mainly for a guard role.

150 meters in front of the first trench there was an anti-tank trench, which had been blown to pieces by the Japanese heavy artillery and filled with loose soil.

It is hard to say whether the tanks can be stopped, but at least it will slow down the Japanese tanks. This is the moment Qiao Wanchun is waiting for.

The 1st Battalion has practiced this tactic many times. The combination of anti-tank trenches and rocket launchers is specifically used to deal with Japanese tanks. The distance of 150 meters is also important, as it is right within the optimal shooting range of the rocket launcher.

200 meters away, the tank squadron leader Watanabe Kazuo had already spotted the defenders' anti-tank trench, but he paid no attention to it;
The anti-tank trenches destroyed by heavy artillery could not stop their advance at all. The Type 95 tank was no match for the Chinese.

The 14th Division not only strengthened a heavy artillery brigade, but also had a high degree of mechanization. It had 48 tanks alone, and this time 24 of them were deployed at once in an effort to break through the defenders' defenses and capture Lanfeng City in one go. They no longer had enough time to launch a tentative attack.

"Ishihara-kun, don't worry about the Chinese ditches, just charge straight ahead!"

Watanabe Kazuo ordered the driver to continue the charge, as he would not be stopped by a ditch.

Seeing that the No. 1 tank did not stop, the other tanks also rushed towards the anti-tank ditch. The 24 tanks were arranged in two rows, 12 in each row, 60 meters apart;
There were two groups of infantry accompanying the attack between the tanks, and there were a large number of infantry behind the tanks, exactly an infantry battalion.

"Kill the chicken and give it to me!"

Watanabe Kazuo roared and commanded the tanks to rush through the anti-tank trench at high speed, with a very arrogant attitude. (End of this chapter)