Songhu: Never Give Up

Chapter 331: Bombardment of the 14th Division Headquarters

At the guerrilla column headquarters, Yue Qianli was thinking about something when Chen Zhongyuan walked in excitedly and said loudly:
"Old Yue, good news! Commander Xue has launched a general attack and asked our troops to immediately encircle and annihilate the enemy in the direction of Lanfeng City;

Even if we cannot annihilate them right away, we must hold them back and not let any of their soldiers leave Nanfeng City."

Yue Qianli's eyes flashed with brilliance after hearing this. Since Commander Xue had already launched a general attack, Kenji Doihara, who was always as cunning as a fox, would definitely be able to smell it.

At this time, we must not let the two regiments in Lanfeng City escape, otherwise the Henan East Corps will not be able to cope with it and might cause trouble again.

"Chen Zhongyuan, immediately telegraph Wang Jianfei and ask him to lead the supplementary detachment to move to the location overnight and surround the enemy's heavy artillery regiment and infantry regiment headquarters outside the city;

The two battalions of the first and second detachments that remained outside the city cooperated in the battle and ended it before dawn.

If we cannot annihilate them completely, we will drive the remaining Japanese forces into the city and deal with them together after daybreak!
The Third Detachment, the Artillery Battalion, and the units directly under the Detachment remained unchanged and continued to guard the western front;

I have a feeling that Kenji Doihara will not surrender easily, so I have to be on guard against him."

Chen Zhongyuan excitedly took the order and left. Yue Qianli continued to bend down and think about how to deal with Kenji Doihara. For a spy chief who was as cautious as a loach, it was never too cautious.

Night finally fell, and the sound of gunfire in Lanfeng City gradually became sparse. Another day had passed, and the battle in the city had not yet been decided;
Inside the 59th Regiment's field command post, two old Japanese soldiers, Colonel Itanishi and Colonel Morita, were studying the battle situation, their brows were almost twisted into a line.

Colonel Morita was the first to speak:

"Mr. Banxi, the current battle situation is very clear. Our troops have surrounded Lanfeng City, and more than 100,000 elite Chinese Central Army troops have surrounded the main force of the division. They may launch a general attack at any time!"

Colonel Itanishi nodded in agreement, and then followed Colonel Morita's line of thought and said:
"The only troops your Excellency the division commander can mobilize are three detachments, which are pinned down in three different locations.

It seems that each detachment has an infantry regiment and a heavy artillery regiment, but the total number does not exceed 5. Taking into account the casualties, there are only 4 of us.

Facing enemies several or even ten times their number in each direction, the pressure can be imagined;

We can't fight Lanfeng City any longer. We should gather and assemble our troops as quickly as possible, and quickly move towards the division headquarters. After forming a fist, we can choose one side and break through with all our strength. This way, we may be able to break out."

The two old Japanese reached a consensus on the withdrawal of troops, but they had no final say in this matter and had to consult Kenji Doihara. So they sent a request telegram to the division headquarters in their own name, and then waited patiently for a reply.

An hour later, at the 14th Division Headquarters, Kenji Doihara was still as steady as a rock, but his eyes began to wander, a sign of his inner struggle;

Even Colonel Morita and Colonel Itanishi, two idiots, could see clearly, so how could he not see clearly? It was nothing more than a gambler's unwillingness to give up, and a little bit of luck...

“Your Excellency, the division commander, we can’t wait any longer. As the frontline commanders, Mr. Morita and Mr. Itanishi’s judgment will not be too far off. Lanfeng City will be difficult to break through in the short term.

Now the teams are scattered and at risk of being defeated one by one by the Chinese. Only when the five fingers are clenched into a fist can we have the power to fight back. "

Colonel Sano's words finally made him make up his mind. He had realized that he had fallen into Xue Boling's trap. Yue Qianli's guerrilla column still had some strength left, so they could hold out for at least two more days.

The 14th Division could not wait for two days, so they said to Colonel Sano:
"Then agree to the request of Morita and others. After daybreak, allow them to abandon the elimination of the remaining enemies in Lanfeng City and quickly move closer to the division headquarters."

Colonel Sano originally wanted to persuade Doihara to evacuate Lanfeng Castle overnight, but he took the words back.

He also had a lucky mentality. He thought that it would not be long before dawn and there shouldn't be any big problems. There was no need to cause trouble for the division commander over such a small matter.

Kenji Doihara actually wanted to withdraw his troops from Lanfeng City overnight, but as a celebrity, he still had to save some face. This was his last stubbornness as a famous general.

To the north of Lanfeng City, teams of soldiers moved rapidly under the cover of night and soon achieved their first goal, cutting off the field heavy artillery regiment from the 59th and 15th regiments, and then surrounded them respectively;

The next step was to tighten the encirclement, during which time there was an exchange of fire with the Japanese guard troops, which was unavoidable.

Seeing that their battle intentions had been exposed, the encirclement and annihilation troops simply launched a strong attack. The specific division of labor was that the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the Supplementary Detachment encircled and annihilated the 2nd Regiment of the th Heavy Artillery Brigade;

补充支队3营、炮营以及第一、第二支队留在城外的2个营共5千余人围歼59、15联队部。

The troops in the city also launched a fierce counterattack against the Japanese at the same time, tying down the Japanese in the city. For a while, there was chaos both inside and outside the city.

The heavy artillery regiment defended its position, thousands of Chinese launched a fierce attack from multiple directions, and the guard force consisted of only one squadron;
The two Type 92 heavy machine guns deployed by the Japanese on the east side were firing crazily, and members of the attacking troops were shot and fell from time to time.

Battalion Commander Ai Jian shouted:

"Where's the artillery battalion? Hurry up and blow up those damned bastards!"

Soon three infantry guns were pushed forward, while the six mortars of the mortar company continued to suppress the Japanese. Rows of shells hit the Japanese deep positions, making the Japanese howl.
The Japanese heavy machine guns relied on their cover and mortars to do nothing to them. They fired crazily, forcing the infantry brothers to unable to raise their heads.

When the infantry guns were pushed up, the good days of the Japanese heavy machine guns were over. They were targeted one by one, and it only took one or two shots to hit them.

The "Shorty Tiger" was indeed effective in dealing with targets inside simple fortifications, and the boomerang finally hit the Japanese themselves.

Ai Jian, who was watching the game from a distance, praised excitedly:
"Okay, our infantry brothers have done a great job, let's fight like this!
Tell the brothers, those heavy artillery pieces are good, don’t blow them up.”

This time, Yue Qianli did not send artillery to attack the heavy artillery regiment. He just wanted to seize the Japanese's heavy artillery, which he could use to bomb the Japanese during the war. After the war, he would take it to exchange for equipment with Commander Xue. I'm sure Old Xue would drool when he saw this.

In order not to give the Japanese time to react, the first and second battalions attacked very fiercely, almost without regard for casualties;

The escort force of a Japanese squadron could not withstand the siege of troops more than ten times their number and was quickly overwhelmed.

At this time, the Japanese regiment finally thought of blowing up the artillery, but it was too late. The Chinese offensive was too swift and fierce. They broke into the artillery position in just over ten minutes and controlled most of the heavy artillery. Only 5 guns were blown up by the Japanese and 31 guns were captured.
The Japanese artillery were also completely wiped out, and more than half of them were captured. Compared with the diehard army infantry regiment, the fighting will of the Japanese navy, flying regiment, artillery and other technical arms was much worse.

Yue Qianli clearly remembered that the air force of the Dragon Kingdom in later generations was established under the guidance of a group of captured Japanese devils; as for the technical arms of the Japanese devils, as long as they were willing to surrender, Yue Qianli would generally show mercy, provided that they were willing to be used by him.

Yue Qianli couldn't find a regiment of heavy artillery at once, so he told the main attack force to capture as many prisoners as possible from the Japanese artillery.

Although Ai Jian did not understand, he was still determined. He carried out the order, captured most of the Japanese artillerymen, and then began to "educate" them.

Since it was wartime, Ai Jian's education to the captured Japanese artillery soldiers was very simple, that is, those who obey me will prosper, those who disobey me will perish, and those who want to survive must surrender, and those who hesitate will be executed on the spot;
The Japanese are such a despicable people. At the beginning, many prisoners were unwilling to fire at the main force of the Japanese. They were very tough and demanded that Ai Jian abide by the Geneva Convention. Some of them wanted to survive and didn't want to contribute.

Ai Jian gathered all these cunning people together, set up his machine gun, and asked coldly:
"I don't have time to waste with you. I'll give you one more chance. Those who are willing to atone for their sins can go to the left. Those who are not willing can only send you home."

When Ai Jian counted down to 5, a few more Japanese soldiers slipped into the main force on the left. A Japanese squadron leader who stayed in place cursed:
"Bakayalu, you have lost your conscience and are unworthy of the Emperor's order."

Seeing that those who remained were stubborn diehards or opportunists, Ai Jian was too lazy to count them and directly ordered to open fire;
The machine gunners shot all the diehards in front of the other devils. The devil squadron leader cursed loudly before he died:
"Baga, you broke your promise. Didn't you have to count to ten?"

After firing all the guns, he still felt unsatisfied, so he sent someone to stab them again, and then said to the remaining devils:
"Are there still people who want to be loyal to your damn emperor?"

No one stood up, and Ai Jian smiled. The reason why he was so unethical was because he had a troop deployment map of the 14th Division in his hand, which was drawn in advance by the direct reconnaissance battalion.

During this period of time, they did just this one thing, scouted out the positions of several Japanese detachments, and drew a detailed troop deployment map.

The first "pledge of surrender" that Ai Jian asked the Japanese to pay was to bombard them with heavy artillery, with the focus on the Japanese heavy artillery unit, in order to remove the "thorn" in their bodies.

After shooting down a group of diehards, the other Japanese soldiers returned to their positions and pointed their large guns at the direction of the main Japanese force. The first one they fired was at the division headquarters, paralyzing its command.

At four o'clock in the morning, at the 14th Division headquarters, Kenji Doihara was pulled out of his sleep with a very ugly face. What made him most angry was that he still hadn't figured out what had happened.

Just when he was on the verge of going berserk, Colonel Sano hurriedly sent him a telegram for help from the Banxi Detachment;

Kenji Doihara finally found a vent for his anger and snorted coldly:

"Bakayalu, how can you be so flustered? Do you still have the composure of an imperial soldier?"

Colonel Sano no longer cared about being polite and said directly:

“Your Excellency, the Division Commander, the Banxi Detachment was besieged by tens of thousands of Chinese and suffered heavy losses!
The heavy artillery regiment has been unable to contact—"

"Bakayaluo, Banxi bastards don't do the work of samurai, where did tens of thousands of Chinese people come from?

In the dark, there are only a few thousand people bluffing. Tell them to immediately stop the attack on Lanfeng City and withdraw the troops to protect the heavy artillery regiment. Make sure the safety of the heavy artillery regiment is ensured."

Kenji Doihara finally stopped pretending and gave up his unrealistic fantasy, but it was too late. Sano's answer to him was that the Chinese in the city had also launched a counterattack and the troops in the city could hardly protect themselves, so he asked for tactical guidance.

"Damn it! Where can I find reinforcements for him? Xue Boling's main force has already launched a counterattack. Let them withdraw from Lanfeng City at all costs and move closer to the division headquarters—"

"boom!"

A huge explosion interrupted Kenji Doihara's words, frightening him so much that his face turned pale and he asked in a trembling voice:
"Bagayalu, what kind of work is this?"

The knowledgeable Colonel Sano immediately replied:

"The Imperial-made Type 150 mm heavy howitzer is coming from the direction of Lanfeng City—this is a test firing!"

Colonel Sano's eyes were filled with fear. He thought of a terrible thing, and Kenji Doihara seemed to have thought of the same thing. Both of them saw fear that was almost desperate in each other's eyes.

"Boom boom boom boom..."

A series of explosions confirmed their suspicions, and Sano stammered:
"The Chinese controlled the field artillery regiment—"

"Boom boom boom boom..."

Another round of artillery shells directly covered the location of the 14th Division Headquarters, and a large number of Japanese were engulfed by the artillery fire.

Colonel Sano pulled Kenji Doihara, who was already stunned by the explosion, out of the command center without saying anything.

It would have been better if he hadn't come out. After he came out, he was terrified. The area where the division headquarters was located was already a sea of ​​fire. The baggage train, field hospital, engineering regiment and other units were all affected. There were casualties everywhere, and flames were everywhere.

"Boom boom boom boom..."

Shells fell one after another, the division headquarters suffered a devastating blow, the command system was completely paralyzed, and Kenji Doihara, who had escaped by chance, was in tears and immediately pulled out the turtle box to commit suicide to apologize to the emperor;
Fortunately, Colonel Sano was quick-witted and snatched the gun from the old devil's hand, then said in a firm tone:
"Let's go to the Sakai Detachment first. They are closest to the division headquarters. It will be easier if they have a radio station."

Kenji Doihara seemed to have found a savior. He immediately gave up his stupid act of suicide and followed Colonel Sano straight to the Sakai Detachment.

After bombing the Japanese division headquarters, Ai Jian commanded the heavy artillery group to bomb the Japanese heavy artillery regiment. Because they had the coordinates, every bomb was accurate and they destroyed another Japanese heavy artillery regiment, forcing the Japanese to flee in a panic.

The commotion caused by the guerrilla column naturally alarmed Xue Boling. Seeing that the guerrilla column had already started, he immediately ordered all the armies on the front line to attack across the board and begin to encircle and annihilate the Doihara Division.

When Kenji Doihara arrived at the Sakai Detachment, the unit was in a panic. Colonel Sakai was already confused and kept calling the division headquarters.

After meeting Kenji Doihara, he finally found his backbone and very tactfully handed over the command.
At this time, Kenji Doihara had regained his composure. Although he had not yet figured out what had happened, he had already found a way to deal with it. He contacted the other two detachments through the Sakai detachment's radio station to ask them to move closer to them. The first thing he had to do was to concentrate his forces. Only in this way could he accomplish great things.

As for the Japanese in the direction of Lanfeng City, he could no longer care about them. As long as they could tie down the guerrilla column, it would be acceptable even if they all died. In the moment of crisis, he chose to sacrifice the car to save the king.

(End of this chapter)