Songhu: Never Give Up

Chapter 365: You hit yours, I’ll hit mine

In positional warfare, the Japanese grenade launcher group posed a great threat to the defenders' heavy firepower, but it also had its own shortcomings: the range was too short, normally around 170 meters, and this distance made it easy for the defenders to detect it.

Fujin Mountain's firing range was very wide. The 36th Division had fought against the Japanese many times and knew them well. After suffering many losses, each company had its own tactics to deal with grenade launchers.

Using mortars for long-range attacks and sharpshooters for close-range attacks, Pan Bao kept on guarding against the Japanese. As soon as the Japanese showed his head, his gun fired, accurately hitting the Japanese at a distance of nearly 200 meters, sending him back home.

The machine guns of the ninth squad continued to suppress the Japanese soldiers at the foot of the mountain, making it impossible for them to raise their heads. This tactic of the entire squad fighting around a machine gun was very effective and killed several Japanese soldiers.

"boom!"

A 70mm infantry artillery shell hit the machine gunner's position. The huge shock wave threw the machine gun into the air, and Liu Mancang fell in a pool of blood.

He dodged the Japanese grenade launcher, but still could not escape the infantry gun. The Type 2800 infantry gun with an effective range of over meters was always the biggest threat to the Kuomintang machine guns.

A trace of sadness flashed in Pan Bao's eyes, but soon he returned to normal. Another old brother returned to the ancestral hall. The living had to continue fighting.
Without machine guns, they could only use rifles to smite the Japs, and casualties began to increase.

In the National Army, most recruits could not survive the first battle, and the recruits in Class 9 were no exception.

The Japanese's shooting skills were very accurate, and their long, medium and short range firepower were well matched. Not to mention the new recruits who were participating in actual combat for the first time, even veterans like Pan Bao had to rely on luck to survive.

The Japanese artillery shells fell from time to time, and many new recruits were unable to dodge them. This is exactly what the saying goes: old soldiers are afraid of guns, and new recruits are afraid of artillery shells.
After less than an hour of fierce fighting, Class 9 suffered 5 casualties. Except for Liu Mancang, the other 4 were newly recruited soldiers, 3 of whom died and 1 was injured.

It was getting dark, and the Japanese showed no intention of retreating. It seemed that they were going to fight a night battle.

There has always been a misunderstanding that the Japanese are not good at night combat and close combat. This is a big mistake. The Japanese are best at these two things. The poorer the training and supply of the troops, the easier it is for them to collapse in close combat and night combat.

Under the cover of darkness, the Xijing Battalion successfully rushed to the position of the 212th Regiment, and a hand-to-hand fight broke out between the two sides;
Although the 36th Division was the elite of the National Army, it was still far behind the Japanese in terms of fighting power. One regiment was unable to stop the Japanese attack, and the two sides engaged in a melee, with casualties among the defenders increasing sharply.

The battle line began to crumble, and the division commander Chen Ruihe had to reinforce the 215th Regiment. Only then did they rely on their absolute advantage in manpower to drive the Japanese back. Just one vanguard battalion forced the 36th Division to mobilize its reserve forces, which was not a good sign.

The Japanese's first attack was repelled, leaving behind more than 300 bodies, and the 212th Regiment also suffered more than 400 casualties. Together with the nearly 215 casualties of the 36th Regiment, the 500th Division suffered a total of more than casualties;

Considering that the Japanese took away a lot of wounded when they retreated, the casualties on both sides were basically the same.

Although the result looks good, the Japanese only deployed a large team and launched an attack hastily, so this exchange gave us an advantage over the Japanese.

Squad 9 suffered 3 more casualties in the close combat, 1 dead and 2 injured, leaving only 5 people. Fortunately, 3 of the 2 injured were lightly wounded and were able to fight again after simple treatment of their wounds.

In just one battle, only 9 of the 13 soldiers in Class 7 were able to fight. Such casualties made the squad leader Pan Bao very sad. The losses inflicted by leading new soldiers into battle were too great.
Only two recruits survived the first battle, one of whom was injured. These two were considered veterans.

Those who survive are veterans. This is the rule of the battlefield: survival of the fittest.

The biggest problem of the National Army now is that there are too few veterans. In the Battle of Songhu and the Battle of Nanjing, too many veterans were lost, and the combat effectiveness has obviously declined. This also reflects from one aspect the preciousness of the more than 3 veterans of the guerrilla column.
If he hadn't been fighting all the time and hadn't had the big support of General Chen, his tens of thousands of veteran soldiers would have been divided up by the big guys long ago.

The guerrilla column is now composed of only one regiment, which provides a good excuse to divide it up.

"What the hell are you all standing there for? Waiting to get bombed?"

At the critical moment, Pan Bao played the role of a veteran again, shouting at them to squat down and defend against artillery fire. The 36th Division still had not formed the habit of digging holes to defend against artillery fire, which was too laborious.

Most of the national army had to drink liquid food in peacetime, and could only eat dry food during wartime, and they were not able to eat enough to fill their stomachs.
In order to conserve their limited physical strength, they would rather lie down and suffer bombing than dig fortifications. In addition, their self-awareness was poor, so it was rare for them to be able to dig a few trenches like the 36th Division.

As soon as everyone retreated into the trenches, the Japanese artillery shells whizzed over, lighting up the dark night in an instant;
Pan Bao started worshipping his ancestors again, and he even worshipped his great-grandfather's grandfather. Even so, he was still terrified because he had heard that the Japs' firepower had been strengthened, which meant that their artillery had crossed the river.

A more brutal battle awaits them. Pan Bao doesn't know if he can survive until dawn, but he will keep fighting until he can go down to accompany his brothers...

Guerrilla Column Temporary Headquarters in the Mountain Area South of Lihuang
The battle of Fujin Mountain had been going on for three days. The soldiers of the 71st Army, led by Song Xilian, fought desperately, killing people and leaving corpses all over the ground and blood flowing like a river. Both sides suffered heavy casualties.
After three days of fierce fighting, the 116th Regiment failed to open the Fujin Mountain Gorge. In anger, Tanaka sent two battalions from the 65th Regiment to join the 8th Brigade in an attempt to break through from the left wing, but was repelled by the 213th Regiment defending the northern line.
The rumbling sound of artillery fire on Fujin Mountain continued all night long. The sentence Song Xilian said most often to the defenders was: Hit them hard for me!

The artillery deployed on the top of the mountain also provided sufficient firepower support to the defenders, but the effect was not very good. After the Japanese found out the location of the 71st Army headquarters, they sent a large number of planes to bomb Myoko-ji Temple. As a result, the original large-scale Zen temple of Myoko-ji Temple was almost completely razed to the ground, leaving only the mountain gate;
Fortunately, Song Xilian saw the opportunity early and evacuated the command center in advance, thus escaping the disaster.

At the same time, the Japanese also sent a large number of planes to bomb Gushi City, causing heavy casualties among the military and civilians in the city.

The fierce battle at Fujin Mountain concerned everyone in the command center. Yue Qianli stared at the map all day long, and played war chess on the sand table with several detachment leaders, trying to find the best strategy and route for reinforcements.

Chen Zhongyuan came from the secret room again and brought the latest war report from the front:
"Old Yue, the old devil Tokuguni Palace has sent reinforcements to Fujin Mountain. He not only ordered the Seya Detachment of the 10th Division, which was advancing towards Gushi County, to reinforce the 13th Division;

At the same time, the 16th Division was transferred from the northern front to support Fujin Mountain. The 51st Army, which was assisting in the northern front, was blocking the enemy at every level, but the difference in strength between the two sides was too great, and the 51st Army could not hold out for long.

After hearing this, everyone couldn't help but exclaimed, and Gao Zhisong said anxiously:

"Old Yue, with the reinforcement of the Japanese troops, the number of Japanese troops in the Fujin Mountain direction has increased to two divisions. Both the Seya Detachment of the 2th Division and the 10th Division are the elite troops of the Japanese, with a total of 16.
The 71st Army under General Song has the 88th, 36th, and 61st Divisions under its command. Even with the 51st Army and part of the 77th Army, the total force is still weaker than the Japanese. It will be difficult to hold the position in a long battle. We have to apply to the headquarters for reinforcements. "

The 88th Division is an old unit of the guerrilla column. Although they have now formed their own system, they still have deep feelings for the old unit, and they have to take action both for public and private reasons.

Yue Qianli naturally knew this truth. They were very close to Fujin Mountain. If the 88th Division was annihilated by the Japanese, it would be a great blow to the morale of the guerrilla column.

After all, all the main officers, including himself, came from the 88th Division, and he certainly could not sit idly by when his mother's family was in trouble.

Yue Qianli clearly remembered that in another time and space, in the battle of Fujin Mountain, the 71st Army suffered 1.5 casualties, almost wiping out its entire structure. The main 36th Division of 1 people was reduced to only 600 people, which shows how tragic it was.
The three Japanese divisions also suffered 3 casualties, with 4 killed and 6 injured. The enemy-to-our-own casualty ratio was 1.5 to 1, which is extremely rare.

Since they are nearby at this time and space, they naturally have to help. They can't let the 36th Division, an elite force equipped with German weapons, be wiped out.

Thinking of this, he nodded and said:
“If it’s just reinforcement, this is very simple, but the two sides will fight a war of attrition, which is meaningless, and the Japanese will also increase their troops;

The best way is to implement a large-scale flanking operation, sending a powerful force to penetrate between Huoshan and Mabu, and raid the enemy's baggage assembly area in Lu'an to cut off their supplies!

At the same time, a part was sent to attack Huoshan City, and the main force also secretly moved towards Huoshan City, waiting for an opportunity to ambush the Japanese troops who were reinforcing Huoshan. If the time was right, Mabu would be captured to cut off the retreat of Fujinshan's 13th Division.

In a word, they fight theirs and we fight ours!

Chief of Staff Chen, please report to the headquarters immediately. The specific battle plan must not be disclosed, in case it is intercepted by the devils and we lose the opportunity to surprise them.

In addition, immediately dispatch a reconnaissance battalion to scout the enemy situation in the three directions of Huoshan, Lu'an, and Mabu, and be ready to cooperate with the main force in combat at any time."

Zhu Chi immediately praised:
"Old Yue, I knew you would have an ingenious plan, just like Zhuge Liang's brilliant plan. This plan is really great!"

After hearing this, everyone followed suit and flattered him. This was not a good trend, so Yue Qianli waved his hand and dismissed them.

Now everything is ready, except for Commander Li's order. We cannot act on our own.

When large-scale troops are fighting, military discipline must be strict. He cannot set a bad example, otherwise it will be difficult to lead the troops later.

Commander Li was also worried about the battle at Fujin Mountain. Seeing Yue Qianli volunteering to fight, he agreed to their request out of trust in him and gave him the power to make decisions on the spot.

After Yue Qianli got the Imperial Sword, he immediately called in several key personnel to deploy the battle:
"Duan Yulin, you lead the main force of the Third Detachment to penetrate the direction of Lu'an City after dark, bring the local guides, and arrive at the foot of Lu'an City before dawn.

With the cooperation of the First Reconnaissance Battalion, we captured Lu'an City and blew up the combat supplies stored in the city. We were able to take away some light supplies, but it would not affect the combat.

Wait for my order on when to withdraw from Lu'an City."

Duan Yulin took the order very straightforwardly. Then Yue Qianli sent a second team to capture Huoshan, and he personally led the main force towards Mabu. Yue Qianli, who liked to stir up trouble, took action again.

(End of this chapter)