Songhu: Never Give Up

Kenji Doihara said ostentatiously:
“Mr. Guan Yu, in the face of absolute strength, the guerrilla column is also vulnerable;
I have seen too many elite troops of the Nationalist Army that started off strong but ended badly. They all fought brilliantly at the beginning, but their true colors were revealed after a while, like a flash in the pan. Do you know why?"

Doihara Kenji is a well-known expert on China, and he often has many unique insights. Major General Guan Yu pretended to be very interested and asked:

"I haven't really studied this in detail. I'd like to hear more about it!"

At this time, Doihara was in a very good mood, so he continued:
"China is an agricultural country, and its weapons and equipment are largely imported. For example, the most powerful German-equipped divisions of the Nationalist Army imported most of their equipment from Germany, and their training was also provided by German instructors, as was their supply system.

It has to be said that the German-equipped divisions are very powerful, and with sufficient ammunition they can achieve some amazing results.

But once these equipments were used up, their ammunition supply could not keep up, and the Empire put pressure on Germany, so they could not get any ammunition now;
The guerrilla column has even been completely replaced with weapons made in the Empire. With the large number of veterans being consumed, their combat effectiveness has been greatly reduced. It is not surprising that they have become a short-lived force. "

Major General Guan Yu nodded in agreement and said:

"What Doihara said is absolutely right. The 87th and 88th Divisions and the Training Corps that had amazed the battlefields of Songhu before have all fallen silent. The 8th Army, which was reorganized from the Tax Police Corps, was even defeated by a battalion of Sakai-kun at Guide Field. This is why the Chinese suffered a disastrous defeat in the Battle of Lanfeng.
The guerrilla column was born out of the German-equipped 88th Division. They were previously equipped with German equipment. After several months of consumption, their German equipment had no ammunition and could only be replaced with captured Imperial equipment.

There is no army in the world that can fight for a long time relying on captured spoils. It is not sustainable. Wars are fought based on national strength.

When the Huaxia government's army, which was built up with loans, is almost exhausted, their combat effectiveness will drop significantly, and Yue Qianli's guerrilla column is no exception. It is only a matter of time before they are annihilated by the imperial army."

The two old Japanese were quite knowledgeable. Doihara Kenji, an expert on China, discovered more problems. For example, there were numerous factions in the army, such as the Central Army, the Northwest Army, the Sichuan Army, the Guangxi Army, the Guangdong Army, the Hunan Army, and the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army. It was a headache just thinking about it.

"Guan Yujun, they also have more special troops, the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army, which have been fighting the Nationalist army for ten years. It is rare for such a group of ragtag troops to hold out for a year without surrendering.

The Wuhan strategy was their last glory, like a last ray of light. As long as the empire captured Wuhan, the Chinese government would surely surrender.

This is also our last chance, we must not miss it! ”

Major General Guan Yu strongly agreed. He was still thinking of being promoted to lieutenant general based on his military achievements. If China surrendered, he would have no chance.

"Doihara-kun, fortunately the warriors have defeated the guerrilla column. The 14th Division will not miss the feast in Wuhan again!"

Kenji Doihara nodded very proudly, full of infinite expectations for the future.

Hujiawan, the fleeing soldiers
It was a complete defeat. Thousands of soldiers of the independent detachment were chased by the Japanese and fled in all directions, with small groups of stragglers constantly fleeing to the mountainous areas on both wings, leaving their weapons and equipment all over the ground.
The Type 75 heavy machine gun and the Type 41 light machine gun are not uncommon, but the rarest one is the mm Type mountain cannon, which is too much. I won’t elaborate on how precious cannons are to the Chinese people.

The five mountain guns were thrown away as soon as they were said to be thrown away. Even the Japanese were jealous when they saw them, but they had no time to seize them now. They felt it was a waste to even take a second look at them. They were so focused on catching up with the main force of the Chinese army that they didn't bother to deal with the stragglers who ran away to the two wings. The Japanese tank squadron was the first to rush to Hujia Bay. Although the terrain of Hujia Bay was a bit like a huge gourd belly, they didn't care at all and rushed in;

Not long after, a large number of infantrymen followed and also chased into Hujia Bay. Any hesitation would be unfair to Duan Yulin's base camp. Who would pretend to be defeated and abandon 5 mountain cannons?
In addition, the terrain of Hujiawan is very open and flat, low in the middle and high at both ends, like a big bathtub;

It is several hundred meters or even thousands of meters wide from north to south, and more than ten kilometers deep from east to west. This kind of terrain is everywhere and there is no steepness at all, so it is not suitable for ambushes.

The most important thing is that they have two infantry regiments. In this kind of terrain, they are not afraid even if there are ambushes. At most, they can only engage in a skirmish.

On the left wing high ground, Yue Qianli saw that most of the Japanese had entered Hujia Bay, and a smug smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. After putting down the telescope, he said to the communications staff:
"Signal the artillery battalion—fire!"

The communications staff officer and two communications soldiers immediately ran to a conspicuous place and sent a signal flag to the artillery battalion to fire.

After receiving the order, the observer of the artillery battalion reported it to He Qizheng, the battalion commander directly under the column, who decisively ordered the artillery to fire.

Rows of shells flew out of the guns like fireworks, smashing into the defenseless Japanese troops like a violent storm, sweeping the Japanese troops to the ground like autumn wind sweeping fallen leaves. The 107mm rockets were too lethal to living targets in the field.

Each round of salvo firing from 12 rocket launchers is 144 rounds, which is more powerful than the single firepower of a heavy artillery brigade, not to mention the dozens of 75mm mountain guns and mortars. The firepower delivery of an artillery battalion is terrifying and also devastating.

In order to completely hurt Kenji Doihara and vent his inner anger, Yue Qianli was really ruthless this time. He specially approved more than 1 rockets, which was % of the guerrilla column's rocket inventory, almost enough to survive.
More than 75% of the mm shells were consumed. This saturation coverage method dealt a devastating blow to the Japanese.

The "bathtub" in Hujiawan became a mass grave for the bodies of Japanese soldiers. After the bombardment, the bodies of Japanese soldiers were piled up in the depression of Hujiawan, and blood was flowing everywhere.
The Japanese who were lucky enough to survive were stunned by the explosion. They stood in a daze in the sea of ​​corpses and blood. It was not until the charge was sounded that they were pulled out of the endless fear, and then they fell into even greater fear...

"Brothers, charge! Kill all the devils!"

"Brothers, kill!"

"Kill the devils..."

When the bombardment began, the ambushers who were far away crawled up from the ground one after another, each of them covered with thick vegetation camouflage, as if they were soul-snatching messengers suddenly jumped out of hell, rushing towards the remaining Japanese soldiers like a tidal wave;
The long and short guns in their hands were like the god of death's scythes, constantly reaping the lives of the Japs. The previously densely packed groups of Japs disappeared visibly, but the corpses on the ground were increasing rapidly. The efficiency of the slaughter was astonishingly high.

The remaining Japanese remnants began to collapse, like a herd of wildebeests driven by a lion, rushing towards the 14th Division headquarters without a clue, like a torrent of water that could not be stopped...

(End of this chapter)