Songhu: Never Give Up

Gao Zhisong and others also understood that the time had not come yet, and they had to finish the Battle of Wuhan first. No one wanted to miss a decisive battle involving millions of people.

As for this national catastrophe, we can only bury it deep in our hearts. For now, we must unite against external enemies, and fighting the Japanese is our top priority!

“Brothers, our enemies are far more powerful than we imagined. The crisis China is facing exceeds any period in history.

We have no way out. If we lose, our country will be destroyed and our race will be extinct. Therefore, China's war of resistance can only be fought by the entire nation and all classes. Only by uniting millions of Chinese people to fight the Japanese together can we defeat them completely!
The devils will lose, and China will win. The more difficult the moment, the more we must have confidence in victory, and we must never give up and never give up! "

Yue Qianli's words won everyone's applause and also reshaped the belief in their hearts, that is, to fight for the country, for the nation, and for millions of ordinary people.

Next, they took a short break in southern Henan and northern Hubei, mainly to unify their thoughts and use ethnic hatred to dilute the negative emotions caused by the Yellow River bursting. They also unified their views on the fact that it was the devils who did it.
At the same time, most of the food and medicine were used to support the disaster-stricken people and enhance the relationship between the soldiers and the people. An army can never be separated from the people, and the same goes for the National Government Army.

After a period of rest, the officers and soldiers became united in their thinking and their morale was restored;

In order to better cope with the upcoming war, Yue Qianli made appropriate adjustments to the organization of the guerrilla column.

Each company was reduced to 150 men, the firepower platoon was disbanded and supplemented with three infantry platoons, each platoon had three squads of 3 men, and the company level had a reconnaissance squad directly under it, with a total of 3 men including the company headquarters;
每个大队辖3个步兵连和1个90人的炮连，装备2门迫击炮、2门步兵炮，6门飞雷炮，加上大队部580人；
营下辖3个580人的步兵大队和1个220人的炮兵大队，装备4门75炮和6门迫击炮、6门步兵炮，加上80人的大队部，总人数约2100人；
每个支队下辖3个步兵营和1个1200人的炮营，装备12门75炮、16门迫击炮、12门步兵炮，加上支队部约8千人。

The independent detachment was temporarily disbanded, Duan Yulin was appointed as the leader of the third detachment, and Yue Qianli no longer served as the leader of the detachment.

纵队辖三个步兵支队（游击支队隐藏编制），直属部队包括1个装备了12门火箭炮、16门75炮、16门迫击炮（减少了75炮和迫击炮）的炮营，计1200人；
In addition, there was a reconnaissance battalion, a training battalion, a baggage battalion, a medical team, a communications team and other units. The total number of people was reduced to 1. Even with the more than 2.8 people taken away by Wang Jianfei, the total number of people was sharply reduced to 7, but the organization was more streamlined.

The extra officers left over from the independent detachment were led by a battalion commander across the Yellow River flood area to support the guerrilla detachment. This way, the guerrilla column's organization would not seem so enviable.

6月12日凌晨，安庆，27集团军20军134师防线

The river was covered with mist, and the Sichuan Army soldiers responsible for the river defense of Anqing fell asleep in the river defense fortifications, leaving only a small number of guard posts;

On the river, densely packed ships were sailing up the river, slowly approaching the Anqing River position, and the murderous aura overwhelmed the fog on the river surface;
These were more than 40 warships, 13 merchant ships, and more than 80 motorboats of the Japanese Navy's Third Fleet, escorting hundreds of wooden boats and carrying the vanguard of the Hata Detachment, the Izu First Regiment, preparing to launch a surprise attack on the 134th Division's defense line from Zongyang to Anqing.

On the bridge of the flagship, Vice Admiral Kawako Shiro, commander of the Third Fleet, was talking to Rear Admiral Hata Shigeichi. Although the Japanese army and navy had always been at odds, it did not affect the two men's cheerful conversation.

They may sabotage each other behind the scenes, but they are still harmonious on the surface, which fully demonstrates the hypocrisy and cunning of the Japanese nation.

"Hatada-kun, in front of the Empire's powerful navy, China's so-called natural barrier of the Yangtze River is like a flat ground. This landing will be as easy as a picnic in a park in Kyoto."

Vice Admiral Kawako was ostensibly trying to cheer up Hata Shigeichi, but in reality he was bragging about the navy. His implication was that with the navy around, the army only needed to pick up what was available.

Hata Shigekazu could naturally hear the hidden meaning in Lieutenant General Kawako's words. Although he had already greeted Lieutenant General Kawako's female family members in his heart, he still forced a smile and said:
"Kawako-kun, this is natural. Since the great victory in the Battle of Tsushima, the Imperial Navy has not encountered an opponent in the East for decades?
The Imperial Navy is invincible, but the Army cannot even afford tanks due to budget constraints. If they build one less warship, the Army will be able to expand 5 tank divisions.
If there were five tank divisions, the Chinese would have been destroyed by the Empire long ago."

There was a strong hint of sourness in Hata Shigeichi's words. When it comes to competing for resources, both sides have never given in. Not to mention a warship, the navy would not give in even for a small gunboat. Vice Admiral Kawako pretended not to hear the sourness in Hata's words. The navy always had to make some sour comments when it took advantage, so he said hypocritically:
“Hatada-kun, I also hope that the Army can have five tank divisions sooner rather than later. That is something the headquarters should consider;

The bravery of the Imperial Army is well known to the world. Even without enough chariots, Hata-kun can lead the Izu people to break through the Chinese defense line."

Lieutenant General Kawako really brought up things that were not relevant to the topic, and every word he said was hurtful. This definitely hit Hata Shigekazu's sore spot.

The Hata Detachment was formed in Izu, and it was composed of the Izu Infantry 1st Regiment, the 2nd Regiment, and the Artillery Regiment. Just like the British Indian Army and the British Australian Army, the word "Izu" was added in front of the unit, indicating that it was a colonial army.

Except for officers and a small number of non-commissioned officers, the rest are Izuns. Such troops have no status among the Japanese, and their commanders are also lower than those of the established local regiments.

Hata Shigeichi was hit in the sore spot and could no longer keep a straight face. He immediately put away his smile and snorted coldly:
“Kawako-kun, Izu has been in the service of the Empire for over forty years, and the Izu people are just as willing to serve Your Majesty as the warriors of Okinawa;

They will not only capture the south bank of Anqing, but will also capture Wuhan all the way, establishing Chinese merits for the empire.”

Lieutenant General Kawako saw that Hata Shigeichi was getting angry and said:

"Yoshi, I am also optimistic about the Yizhou people of the Hata Branch. The cowardly Chinese are naturally no match for the Yizhou people. I am waiting for the good news of your victory!"

While the two old devils were bickering with each other, they had already entered the range of the ship's guns;
Vice Admiral Kawako just wanted to let Hata Shigeichi see the power of the navy, so he ordered all ships to open fire using signal lights.

Although most of the fleet was made up of landing ships and transport ships, the firepower output by the dozen or so escorting warships was terrifying enough;

Rows of naval gun shells whizzed towards the defenders' positions, instantly setting them on fire. Figures fleeing in panic could be seen everywhere on the defense lines on both sides of Anqing.

The defenders had never seen such fierce artillery fire. Most of the river defense fortifications were quickly destroyed and the defenders suffered heavy casualties.

The river defense artillery fired a few symbolic shots before falling silent and could not reach the Japanese warships at all.

The 134th Division only resisted for more than ten minutes before it began to collapse. The firepower of the two sides was not at the same level at all, so it was normal for them to be defeated.

The 20st and nd regiments of the Hata detachment landed on the north and south banks kilometers away from Anqing;
There were two landing points on the north bank, Mawozi in the east and Daiwangmiao in the west. The defenders were all defeated, and the Hata Detachment completed the landing without bloodshed.

The Japanese troops that landed immediately approached the city, and the Battle of Wuhan officially began.

(End of this chapter)