Songhu: Never Give Up

East of Niujiaoling, 50th Regiment position
The 50th Infantry Regiment, which followed the sound of gunfire, still failed to catch up. When they hurried to the foot of the mountain, the gunfire had stopped.

They just made a symbolic charge, and retreated after finding that the defenders' defense was very tight. The regiment commander, Colonel Toyama Noboru, even ordered the troops to retreat thousands of meters and then set up camp on the spot.

Then they sent out a small search team to scout the enemy situation. After learning that there were a large number of Chinese troops blocking the Da Niu Jiao Ling, they roughly guessed the fate of the Caesar Battalion.

I was instantly scared and broke out in a cold sweat. This was a large battalion, and it was wiped out in just two hours. Such a powerful opponent must be treated with caution.

So he reported the collected intelligence and his own judgment to Sakai Takashi, and waited patiently for the arrival of the main force.

Yuan Shandeng's caution saved the 50th Infantry Regiment. Relying on their remaining manpower and firepower, they would have been willing to surrender their lives if they had stormed Big Horn Ridge.
In Yuanshandeng's opinion, if they wanted to capture Daniujiaoling, they would have to rely on the heavy artillery regiment temporarily reinforced by the detachment.

Yuanshan Deng's caution also gave the defenders enough time to prepare, and the advantages and disadvantages were mutual.

When the main force of the detachment arrived, it was already five o'clock in the afternoon. Major General Sakai did not launch an attack immediately, but instead convened the commanders of two infantry regiments and one heavy artillery regiment to discuss matters.

He first listened to Colonel Toyama Noboru's report, and then said in a low voice:
"Yuanshan-kun's caution is necessary. We must learn from the lessons of the Caesar Battalion. We cannot treat the guerrilla column with ordinary Chinese troops.

If I don't attack, it's fine. But if I do attack, I must attack with all my strength. I decided to adjust on the spot for one night and launch the attack at 8 o'clock tomorrow morning.

Artillery preparation time is 8 to 9 o'clock..."

Nothing happened overnight. At daybreak, the Japanese began to prepare for the attack, the most important of which was the construction of artillery positions.
The attack on Big Horn Ridge was divided into two parts. The first part was a frontal assault along the railway line, undertaken by the 15th Infantry Regiment.
The second part was to launch a flanking attack from the south, with the aim of going around the flank of Da Niujiaoling and attacking the defenders from the flank. Under normal circumstances, the national army did not pay much attention to the flank defense, and the Battle of Shanghai was defeated due to the flanking maneuver of the defenders. Sakai Takashi decided to repeat the same trick.

The 15th Infantry Regiment was rebuilt, with the skeleton being two field battalions of the mixed infantry brigade and more than 1 reinforcements.

The regiment commander, Lieutenant Colonel Tsuyoshi Kamijima, was the lieutenant colonel chief of staff of the mixed brigade. He was successfully promoted to regiment commander this time, but his military rank has not been adjusted yet.

Lieutenant Colonel Ueshima Tsuo had been fighting the Anti-Japanese United Army in Manchuria before. The two field battalions were also the foundation of the Kwantung Army. They had always looked down upon the Chinese army.
He did not agree with Major General Sakai Takashi's caution. The name of the guerrilla column sounded like a ragtag group, similar to the volunteer armies outside the Great Wall. They were all brave enough to charge recklessly as a large group.

Sakai Takashi obviously noticed this and patiently reminded him:
“Mr. Kamijima, the predecessor of the guerrilla column was a part of the Chinese 88th Division equipped with German weapons. Its status in the Chinese army was equivalent to that of the Imperial Guard Division.
They are not a mob, but the real elite, and must be treated with caution and given enough respect."

Major General Sakai did not say that the 15th Regiment was annihilated by the guerrilla column. After all, the North China Front Army also had to save face.

It was told to the outside world that several battalions of the 15th Regiment were transferred to other divisions. When the Japanese got ruthless, they would even deceive their own people.

Lieutenant Colonel Kamijima did not take Sakai Takashi's words seriously and said nonchalantly:
"The backbone of the 15th Regiment is part of the Kwantung Army, the flower of the empire. China has no elite troops in front of the Kwantung Army. Your Excellency General, just wait and see how these warriors will conquer the Big Niujiao Ridge!"

Sakai Takashi was so angry that his nose was smoking, but he still held back the curse that was about to hit his throat. The Kwantung Army had always been arrogant and looked down on everyone, so he was too lazy to talk nonsense with them. It was just the right time to sit back and watch the fight.
The Kwantung Army was indeed a bit crazy, but Sakai Takashi also recognized their combat effectiveness. He did not say anything that would hurt morale. He wanted to see whether they were a mule or a horse first, so he nodded and said:
"Yo, the bravery of the Kwantung Army is naturally beyond reproach, but I want to remind Uejima-kun that you are now affiliated with the North China Front Army and must adapt to your new identity." Lieutenant Colonel Uejima also realized that he had let the cat out of the bag, and quickly bowed to Major General Sakai to admit his mistake. He said that one should sing the song according to the mountain he is on, but his contempt for the defenders did not change at all.

The pride of the Kwantung Army is engraved in his bones, not only him, but also the soldiers under him.

The artillery preparation of the Sakai detachment began, and rows of heavy artillery shells flew straight to the Big Horn Ridge, almost plowing the entire hilltop;
The field fortifications hastily built by the defenders were destroyed piece by piece, and the entire hilltop was shrouded in smoke from the explosion. Seeing this, Lieutenant Colonel Uejima's blood was boiling, and he gave the order to attack before the artillery fire extended.

Thousands of Japanese soldiers charged at the defenders' positions, and the coordination between infantry and artillery had almost reached perfection. Even Major General Sakai, who was unwilling to accept the situation, nodded repeatedly and said:
"Yoshi, the Kwantung Army is indeed the flower of the empire. There are still things that the North China Front Army can learn from. There is always someone who can teach me something."

Lieutenant Colonel Yokota, Chief of Staff, took over and said:

"Your Excellency the General's heart is as broad as the sea. Mr. Kamijima is too arrogant. The Kwantung Army is indeed very powerful, but the North China Front Army is not weak either.
Yue Qianli's guerrilla column was not just a name; it was said that the 3rd Division of the Central China Front Army also suffered heavy losses.

The defenders are much tougher than he imagined, and Uejima-kun and his men might suffer a setback. "

Major General Sakai showed a barely perceptible smile, which he quickly put away and nodded.
"Yoshi, as the Chinese say, let's wait and see whether it's a mule or a horse!"

Major General Sakai wanted to see the performance of the Kwantung Army, and Lieutenant Colonel Kamijima also wanted others to see the bravery of the Kwantung Army, and Ai Jian's expression became unusually serious;
As a connoisseur, he could tell at a glance that this group of Japs were extraordinary and had a different temperament. They seemed to be elite.

The guerrilla column attacks the elite!

"Send a signal to the artillery battalion on the top of the mountain, blow them up!"

After seeing the Japanese's tactics, Ai Jian was no longer arrogant and directly called for artillery support using flag signals;

The guerrilla column battalion level is equipped with a radio, but for short-distance communications it is more convenient to use signal flags, which is very practical.

After receiving the signal from the First Battalion on the mountainside, the Second Battalion's observer on the mountaintop immediately reported it to the Second Battalion Commander Deng Zhuxiu, who took unified command.

Deng Zhuxiu immediately gave the artillery battalion an order to fire six rapid rounds, and then quickly moved to another position, as the reinforcement detachment could not afford to lose such a small amount of belongings.

The artillery battalion also acted quickly. After receiving the order, it launched a fierce artillery attack on the Japanese attack group, blowing the Japanese soldiers and horses to pieces and leaving corpses all over the ground.

After hundreds of soldiers were killed by the artillery of the defending army, Lieutenant Colonel Kamijima finally saw the special features of the guerrilla column. Compared with their opponents outside the Great Wall, they were completely an army of two different eras. (End of this chapter)