Songhu: Never Give Up

As the Henan East Corps evacuated the Lanfeng area, the side quest of the Battle of Xuzhou ended with the defeat of the Nationalist Army. At this point in time, the Battle of Xuzhou was officially over.

The Japanese army completely controlled the Jinpu Road, occupied Xuzhou, and won the Battle of Xuzhou, but their strategic intention of forcing the National Government to surrender was not achieved, nor was their military goal of annihilating the main forces of the Five War Zones realized.

As the battle line was too long, the Japanese were a little overwhelmed, so the headquarters requested that the battle line be limited to Lanfeng, Guide, Yongcheng, Mengcheng, Zhengyangguan, and Lu'an, and that no battles could be carried out across the line without the headquarters' permission;
Unfortunately, the North China Front Army ignored them and ordered the three armies to continue pursuing them. The so-called military stop line became a joke.

Even if the North China Front Army did not disobey orders, the subordinate divisions would not stop fighting. The division commanders all wanted to achieve great things and destroy China. It was impossible to ask them to stop with just a telegram.

Kenji Doihara would not agree to this, and the 16th Division took the lead and headed straight towards Weishi;

After receiving reinforcements from the direction of Xuzhou, the 14th Division regained its vitality.

In order to quickly restore the combat effectiveness of the 14th Division, the North China Front Army not only allocated a newly formed independent mixed brigade to Kenji Doihara, but also gave them 4 reinforcements, which made the 14th Division vigorous again;
Kenji Doihara had a lot of connections in the army, and basically he replenished the army as many people as were killed. He announced to the public that only 3 casualties and enemies were killed, and he was commended by the headquarters.

When the Japanese learned that the guerrilla column stayed behind to cover their retreat, they became extremely excited and immediately led the main force of the division to attack the guerrilla column in two directions.

The first route was the Sakai Detachment, which advanced westward along the Longhai Road with the goal of capturing Kaifeng, which was heavily defended by the guerrilla column.
The other route was the 27th Infantry Brigade, which attacked Zhongmu. He himself led the newly formed division headquarters to follow up, and the target was still Yue Qianli's guerrilla column. This time he was in conflict with the guerrilla column.

The Japanese advanced very quickly, but they were also harassed by small guerrilla column units along the way, which greatly slowed down their march. They did not advance to Kaifeng, Zhongmu, and Weishi until June 6.
Immediately, the three armies launched an attack on the guerrilla column's outer defense line. The various detachments of the guerrilla column fought back. The battle became intense from the start, and casualties on both sides increased sharply.

In order to inflict damage on the 14th Division and at the same time give the National Government some confidence, Yue Qianli decided to use a large-scale rocket launcher group to teach the old devil Kenji Doihara a lesson.

The outer position of Kaifeng City, Da Niu Jiao Ling, the railway passed through the valley, and the defense position of the supplementary detachment was set up on the mountain;

Da Niujiaoling is not steep. If it were in the mountainous south, it would be just a low hill at most.

But this can be called a ridge in the northern plains. It is the commanding height along the Longhai Line entering Kaifeng City, and it is also a dangerous place.

Due to the rush of time, they only managed to build a defensive fortification on the mountain, which consisted of three trenches;

The trenches were connected by communication trenches, with anti-artillery holes on both sides. The fortifications were located on the mountainside and were defended by a battalion.

The Second Battalion and the Artillery Battalion were deployed on the reverse slope of the mountain top as reserve forces. The Third Battalion was deployed south of Daniujiaoling and also built several simple fortifications to prevent the Japanese from making a roundabout attack on the Daniujiaoling position.

Such a defense was shabby and puzzled others, as it was not in line with the guerrilla column's combat style.

Yue Qianli did not give too much explanation, and others did not ask too many questions. They chose to believe Lao Yue unconditionally.

The first to attack the 1st Battalion's position was the vanguard battalion of the Sakai Detachment, which belonged to the 50th Infantry Regiment. It had not been severely damaged in the previous Battle of Lanfeng and its organization was intact.

In the Battle of Guide, the 50th Regiment defeated the 8th Army with just one charge. This was a German-equipped unit, which made everyone in the 50th Regiment extremely confident and crazy.

When the battalion commander, Major Daigo Nishizawa, learned that the blocking position was just a small hill, he did not take it seriously and immediately ordered his troops to charge towards the Big Horn Ridge.

Seeing that the Japanese were arrogant, the first battalion commander Ai Jian decided to teach them a lesson and teach the 14th Division a lesson.

He immediately called several captains together to give them instructions. He was really a man of great skill and courage. Several captains did not object to the battalion commander's "playing with fire" and expressed their approval.
A company commander was sent to the top of the mountain to communicate with the second battalion commander Deng Zhuxiu. Old Deng naturally fully supported Ai Jian and sang with him in the party.

The attack of the vanguard of Nishizawa's battalion was stubbornly resisted by the defenders, resulting in heavy casualties. This not only failed to scare off Major Nishizawa, but instead aroused his competitive spirit.
The entire brigade was immediately sent forward. With wave after wave of attacks, the defenders' defense line began to crumble. This made Major Nishizawa very excited, and he shouted:
"Warriors, the Chinese can't hold on any longer, kill some chickens!"

The Japs intensified their offensive again. Ai Jian shouted:

"Brothers, we can't hold on any longer. Retreat!"

A large number of grenades were immediately thrown from the position, forcing the Japanese to retreat dozens of meters. The first battalion took the opportunity to escape to the top of the mountain and the two wings. They were in a very embarrassed state and even abandoned their heavy machine guns.

Major Nishizawa was a little dazed by the bombing and was considering whether to retreat, when he saw the first battalion's rout.

Major Nishizawa couldn't help but laugh. It turned out that this was prepared for escape. It was indeed the Chinese style. He ordered a pursuit without even thinking about it.

Major Nishizawa saw that the defeated soldiers were fleeing in three directions, but he did not split his troops, but headed straight for the top of the mountain along the middle road;

Judging from his long combat experience, the defenders must have another line of defense on the top of the mountain. As long as he could capture the top of the mountain, he would get the first credit.

When he saw that the defenders even threw away the captured Type 92 heavy machine guns, he became more convinced that the defenders had lost their will to fight. Heavy machine guns were very valuable in the Chinese army.

"Warriors, kill the chicken!"

Major Nishizawa followed his previous fighting style, charging and attacking fiercely, taking the lead and rushing to the front;

The other Japanese soldiers did not dare to fall behind and chased the fleeing soldiers to the top of the mountain. When they were about to reach the top of the mountain, Major Nishizawa stopped very cleverly, allowing the other Japanese soldiers to overtake him. He was able to survive on the battlefield until now not only because of his bravery, but more because of his brains;

Not long after he stopped, intensive gunfire was heard from the top of the mountain. As he expected, there was another line of defense on the top of the mountain.

A group of the Japanese soldiers in the front were killed, and the rest cleverly lay down on the hillside. Major Nishizawa even hid behind a rock and continued to command the battle.

Major Nishizawa underestimated the defenders on the top of the mountain. He thought there were only one or two thousand infantrymen, but he didn't expect there was also an artillery battalion!
This is the artillery force of the guerrilla column detachment level, with 75 12mm mountain guns, 16 mortars, and 12 infantry guns. This artillery strength is comparable to the first level of the Japanese army regiment;

Their infantry battalion was not worthy of the artillery battalion's attention, so they just used the mortar battalion to entertain them.

When rows of mortar shells fell from the top of the mountain, Major Nishizawa knew that he had hit a wall this time. The infantry that matched the artillery firepower was at least at the level of the National Army division.
Just when he was hesitating whether to temporarily avoid the attack, the troops that had previously fled to the two wings made a comeback and temporarily formed an inverted eight-character formation on the two wings in a field combat state. If the Japanese wanted to escape, they had to endure the layers of resistance from the two wings.

Under the firepower of the defenders' mortar group, Caesar's battalion suffered heavy casualties, and the morale of the troops began to waver;
Indecision on the battlefield is a taboo in military strategy. Major Nishizawa has rich combat experience. When it comes to the decision of whether to advance or retreat, he chose to continue the attack. Only capturing the position on the top of the mountain would provide the best result.

After realizing this, Major Nishizawa immediately ordered a desperate charge, driving the Japanese to attack the top of the mountain with all their might;
Rows of Japanese soldiers braved the dense artillery fire and rushed to the top of the mountain fearlessly. As soon as one group fell, another group rose up. The offensive was extremely fierce.

If there are only artillery and a small number of infantry on the top of the mountain, this is indeed the best option, because the artillery will have blind spots, and once the infantry get close, the power will be greatly reduced;
Unfortunately, the Japanese miscalculated this time. What awaited them was an incomplete infantry battalion, more than 1600 people, and hundreds of light and heavy machine guns alone.

The rain of bullets from hundreds of machine guns became the nightmare of the Japanese. Major Nishizawa knew he had been fooled and cursed:
"Bakayaloo, you are so cunning!
Turn around and work! "

In fact, there was no need to wait for his order. The Japanese soldiers, who had suffered heavy casualties, collapsed instantly and crawled down the mountain to escape. Although the Japanese soldiers were fearless, they were not stupid.

Lieutenant Colonel Nishizawa also ran away, saving his life was the most important thing, but he had to ask the defenders whether they would agree. The soldiers of the first battalion had already set up a net on the mountainside and waited for them.
When the Japanese fleeing soldiers rushed into the "inverted eight-character formation" of the first battalion, the flanking fire from both wings completely killed the Japanese.

The Second Battalion on the top of the mountain also took the opportunity to launch a pursuit, and drove the Japanese into a pocket position from a high position;
Major Nishizawa felt bitter in his heart. What he worried about finally happened. The defenders had indeed ambushed them behind their backs. The "ruined soldiers" who had fled to the two wings before were a conspiracy of the Chinese.

"Warriors, fight the despicable Chinese people, kill the chickens!"

Major Nishizawa still chose to charge forward like a warrior under the rain of bullets, but was riddled with bullets.

The power of the inverted eight-character formation was far greater than he had imagined. The further he rushed forward, the narrower the passage became, and the firepower increased exponentially, while the Japanese troops were visibly decreasing, and they didn't even have a chance to fight back.

In actual combat, the threat of side fire is far greater than that of frontal fire. The surrounded enemy cannot run and shoot sideways at the same time. Few people can do that.

They will be pushed forward passively by other fleeing soldiers, and if they are not careful they will fall down and be trampled to death by the fleeing soldiers behind them. This is a complete defeat.

It was a complete massacre, the defenders were as relaxed as if they were shooting at targets, and their efficiency was extremely high;

Driven by the Second Battalion on the front, the Japanese poured into the inverted eight-character formation like a tide, and then fell down in rows. The Japanese corpses covered the hillside, and the dark blood formed a stream, watering the flowers and plants with unusual brightness. The Xize Battalion finally paid the price of blood for their arrogance.

The Japanese had always pursued the Chinese army desperately after defeating it, with one squadron daring to chase thousands of people;

Unfortunately, the National Army only cared about eating and not fighting. No one was willing to stay behind to cover their retreat, allowing the Japanese to succeed time and time again.

This was the case in North China, Hedong, Songhu, and Nanjing. Far more soldiers died in the rout than in the fierce fighting. No wonder the Japs dared to do this; it was all because they were spoiled by the National Army.

This time they encountered a guerrilla column that had no moral principles. The price paid by Caesar's battalion was that the entire army was annihilated, and not a single soldier escaped.
More than 800 Japanese soldiers, including Major Nishizawa, were lying on the hillside. It was very relaxing to watch. Battalion Commander Ai Jian shouted excitedly:

"Why are you all standing there? Have you ever seen a Japanese corpse? Hurry up and clean up the battlefield!"

Everyone was excited after the victory in the previous battle, but Ai Jian knew that this was just the beginning. The subsequent battles would be difficult and every bullet had to be collected for use.

The Japanese vanguard was defeated, which bought some time for the defenders. Before the main force of the Japanese arrived, the defenders rushed to repair the fortifications.
The Second Battalion began to dig anti-artillery holes and tunnels on the reverse slope. They first dug cat-ear holes for hiding, and then widened and deepened them. With the support of the First Battalion in front, they still had time to dig enough tunnels to protect themselves.

The first battalion was not idle either, it was "digging, digging, digging". This was a habit developed over a long period of time by the guerrilla column and was also written into the infantry drill manual. Everyone from top to bottom took it very seriously and there was no need to mobilize for anything that could save lives.

The bad news that the 50th Infantry Regiment's Vanguard Battalion had lost contact was reported to the Sakai Detachment Field Command. Combined with the gunfire heard earlier, the 28th Infantry Brigade Commander, Major General Sakai Takashi, was furious and cursed:
"Bakayaloo, a bunch of rubbish!
I repeatedly told them to be cautious in the pursuit, but they refused to listen. They ignored my orders and have a very bad conscience!"

Lieutenant Colonel Yokota Kimiyama, the chief of staff of the Sakai detachment, automatically ignored Sakai Takashi's words. If he remembered correctly, it was he who gave the order to pursue the Chinese fleeing soldiers with all his strength.
Ever since the main force of China was defeated, the Japanese from top to bottom have been eager to rush to Wuhan in one breath, and Kaifeng was only the first target of the Sakai detachment.

Lieutenant Colonel Yokota naturally didn't point it out. His EQ wasn't that low. He just bowed deeply and said:
"General, according to intelligence, the Chinese who stayed behind to cover the retreat are Yue Qianli's guerrilla column. The 15th Regiment suffered a loss at their hands before, so we have to be cautious."

When the 15th Regiment was mentioned, Sakai Takashi's face turned very ugly. As another main regiment of the Sakai Brigade, it was only supporting the Itanishi Regiment in combat, but ended up getting itself involved;
By this calculation, the guerrilla column and the Sakai detachment also had a deep hatred. If the front army had not completed their organization, Yue Qianli would have labeled him as a "regiment commander."

Thinking of this, Sakai Takashi got angry for no reason and said with a gloomy face:
"Mr. Yokota, tell Mr. Toyama that the guerrilla column is a tough opponent. Do not act on your own. Switch to defense and wait for the main force to arrive before launching an attack."

(End of this chapter)