Songhu: Never Give Up

In order to capture the main peak of Taibai Mountain, the Japanese even pushed the infantry artillery to the flat part of the mountainside, used the engineer shovel to build a small artillery position, and fired at close range, specifically targeting the machine gun fire points of the defenders, which posed a great threat to the defenders.
The two infantry guns of the defending artillery company were also suppressing the Japanese's heavy firepower. The mortars were trying to find ways to deal with the Japanese's infantry guns, which posed the greatest threat, while the heavy machine guns were deployed on both wings to form cross fire, pinning the Japanese infantry to the hillside.

In the valley, thousands of Japanese soldiers were trying their best to break out. They were divided into several attack groups, constantly looking for weak links in the ambush to break out. Every time they broke out, they would leave behind a lot of corpses.

The first and second teams fought with great patience. They did not rush to launch infantry charges. Instead, they used their advantages in manpower and firepower to continuously shoot and kill the Japs. Machine gun bullets were poured at the Japs as if they were free, killing them and leaving their corpses all over the ground.

The 104th Regiment was ambushed by an unknown force, and a telegram requesting tactical guidance had been delivered to Tanaka Seiichi, which gave him a great shock;

Tanaka Shizuka, who had experienced the annihilation of two regiments on the Huaihe River front, was still in fear. The 104th Regiment was the only regiment in the 13th Division that had not been annihilated, and nothing could happen to it again!
He immediately ordered the 58th Regiment, the Cavalry Regiment, and the Mountain Artillery Regiment to rush to the rescue, and at the same time asked the commander of the Second Army for tactical guidance.

The vanguard of the Japanese reinforcements came very quickly, but they ran into the blocking position of the Third Detachment. The 1st Battalion was responsible for blocking the reinforcements. Their three battalions set up defenses in echelons and blocked the Japanese outside the Horseshoe Valley.
At this time, Yue Qianli still had many cards to play. The Third Detachment still had two battalions, and the column's artillery battalion, training battalion and other units were all reserve forces, so he had plenty of time to waste time with the Japanese. It was always better to lead the Japanese by the nose than to let them attack wherever they wanted.

In order to rescue the besieged 104th Regiment, the reinforced 58th Regiment attacked the blocking position of the Third Detachment at all costs. The intensity of the battle was no less than that in Horseshoe Valley.

As the Japanese reinforcements continued to arrive, the pressure on the 1st Battalion to block the reinforcements gradually increased. Li Jie, who was always good at defense, did not ask for support from the detachment headquarters. It was obvious that they could still cope with it.

Battle reports from the two battlefields were constantly delivered to Yue Qianli. After reading them, he signed silently and handed them back to Chen Zhongyuan for filing.

Chen Zhongyuan couldn't help but ask:
"Old Yue, the enemy's reinforcements are increasing. If we don't close the net, we'll be in trouble. Don't forget that the enemy's planes may come to reinforce us at any time."

Chen Zhongyuan's idea was obviously to stop while he was ahead and annihilate the 104th Regiment first. This was the safest way. However, Yue Qianli had a much bigger appetite. Seeing that Old Chen was worried, he comforted him:
"Old Chen, we are bound to be bombed, but the Japanese only have 300 planes. There are many places that need air support in the thousands of miles of battlefield in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. There won't be many planes coming.

This is a mountainous area with ravines and numerous trees. Everything looks the same from the air. It is difficult for them to find the target accurately. At most, they can just drop the bomb and leave. It is not certain who will be hit by the bomb. "

Chen Zhongyuan thought about it and it was true. This was a mountainous area with low visibility. The battle lines of both sides were not far apart. It was difficult for the Japanese planes to distinguish between the enemy and us in the air. However, he was still confused and continued:
"Even if the enemy's planes are not very effective, there is a division and a half on the ground. If we attract all of them, the casualties among our brothers will be great. I still think it is most cost-effective to destroy the 104th Regiment as quickly as possible."

"Old Chen, the Japanese have one and a half divisions, and the Nationalist army also has 10 troops. They will not send all their troops to reinforce us, which is exactly what I want.

Commander Li is not so easy to deal with. Once the main force of the Japanese is tied down and consumed near the Horseshoe Valley, the main force of the Second Army will surround them, and the 13th Division and the 8th Brigade will be badly damaged if they don't die.

I have been hungry for a long time. How can a regiment satisfy my appetite? This is a mountainous area. I can fight when I want and retreat when I want. What can the devils do to me? "

Chen Zhongyuan said no more. He was just the chief of staff. Once the commander made up his mind, he had to carry it out unconditionally and assist the chief officer in achieving the objectives of the campaign.

Speak of the devil, and he will appear. Not long after Yue Qianli finished speaking, a dense group of aircraft flew over from the northeast. Yue Qianli couldn't help but complain:
"Damn it, I underestimated you!"

After complaining, they immediately found a place to hide. The mountains were covered with vegetation, and they were covered with vegetation camouflage, so they could not be found even if they lay down in the ravine. The two warring parties in the Horseshoe Valley could not hide, especially in Taibai Ridge, where the target was too obvious;

In order to facilitate bombing, the Japanese aircraft group lowered its altitude and then dropped rows of bombs. The violent explosion almost engulfed the entire mountain, causing heavy casualties to the defenders.

Just as Yue Qianli judged, the Japanese pilots could not distinguish between friend and foe, and the Japanese were also bombed, but the casualties on the defenders were less;

When the 104th Regiment entered the valley, they formed a long snake formation with battalions as the units, and the guerrilla column's ambush line was also the same, stretching for several kilometers, with smoke everywhere.

The Japanese pilots couldn't tell friend from foe, so they just bombed randomly so they could clock out after dropping their bombs.

The advantage of the guerrilla column is that they have been camouflaged with vegetation in advance, which is the same color as the mountains and forests, and is difficult to detect from several hundred meters in the air.

The Japanese machine guns fired at anything that moved, and many bullets were sent to the Japanese soldiers below, which made Yamamura Zhixiong so angry that he cursed:
"Bakayalu! You have lost your conscience. I will accuse you to the Commander!"

The Japanese pilots could not hear anything, and they flew away after using up all their machine gun bullets, causing a lot of damage to both sides of the fierce battle below.
That was the end of it. They were unable to mount bayonets and went into battle. After using up all their ammunition, they had to roll away, and the fierce battle between the two sides continued.

"Sir, the warriors suffered heavy casualties. At least hundreds of them died in the bombing."

Senior Staff Officer Hanada Masato's report made Yamamura Osamu furious, but he could only scold the air force like a shrew. He still had to fight the rest of the battle on his own, so he asked:
"Hanada-kun, where are the reinforcements?"

Major Hanada quickly replied:
"Sir, the commander of the wing, they were strongly blocked by the Chinese 5 kilometers east of the Horseshoe Valley. There were thousands of them, and their progress was very slow."

When Yamamura Osamu heard that there were still thousands of people blocking the way for reinforcements, panic flashed across his eyes and he continued to ask:

"There are at least 104 people besieging our 2th Regiment, and now there are several thousand more people blocking reinforcements. This is a considerable force. Why didn't the intelligence department detect it in advance?
They are dereliction of duty and are unworthy of the Emperor's trust!

Have you identified which unit this is?"

Major Hanada replied with a chuckle:
"Based on the information we have on the battlefield, this should be the 13th Division's mortal enemy - the guerrilla column!"

Yamamura Osamu shuddered, and the command knife in his hand fell to the ground without being held firmly. Major Hanada pretended not to see it.

Yamamura Jixiong took a deep breath;
"Sodesnai, the work of the guerrilla column is justified." (End of this chapter)