Songhu: Never Give Up

Chapter 366 Recovering Lu'an City

After Duan Yulin left the headquarters, he immediately called several battalion commanders to issue combat missions. Ten minutes later, the 1st Battalion, the vanguard force, was the first to complete the assembly and set off towards Lu'an City.
The 2nd Battalion, the detachment headquarters and the artillery battalion followed closely behind, and the 3rd Battalion lagged behind for half an hour to guard the position. The night infiltration of 8 people had to be properly organized to avoid disturbing the enemy.

At this time, the main force of the Japanese was besieging Fujin Mountain, and they left a part to defend the city at Huoshan, Lu'an and Mabu.
There was a battalion each in Huoshan and Lu'an. After Mabu was captured by the 13th Division, it became the headquarters of the division. Lu'an was the transit station for the 8th Brigade's supply materials. Huoshan also stored a large amount of supplies for the 13th Division. Part of the 13th Division's combat supplies were transported to Mabu.

The Third Detachment adopted a method of breaking up into smaller pieces and maneuvering at night in battalion units, which made their targets much smaller. In addition, they all took country roads, so the infiltration route perfectly avoided several key points. With the assistance of local guides, they successfully completed the infiltration mission.

1 Battalion Commander Li Jie also met with the Reconnaissance Battalion Captain Gan Zhongqiang, who immediately reported the enemy situation he had discovered to Li Jie:
"Captain Li, we have two squadrons that have infiltrated the city and are ready to assist the main force in attacking the city at any time.

There was only an undermanned battalion of the 8th Brigade in the city, with a strength of about 800 men. Lu'an was a small city without a proper city wall;

The Japanese had blown the low city walls to pieces when they attacked the city before, and there was no time to repair them, so they could only build defensive positions on the periphery.

All the supplies were stored in the former county government compound, and a squadron of Japanese soldiers were guarding it. Once a fierce battle broke out outside the city, it was possible that the Japanese soldiers would blow up the stored supplies in desperation;

The Japs' brigade headquarters is located in the teaching building of the county middle school, and there is a small team of guards..."

Following Captain Gan's report, Li Jie had a detailed understanding of the enemy situation and immediately said to Captain Gan:
“Captain Gan, although the order given to us by our superiors is to capture Lu’an City, there are not many requirements for seizing the supplies in the city;

But there is a brigade of combat supplies stored in the city. The quantity is very large, which is exactly what our unit needs. It would be a pity to blow it up. We have to find a way to get it. Do you have any idea for this?"

Captain Gan naturally understood the importance of combat supplies to the troops and said immediately:
"Leave the task of controlling the county government compound to our reconnaissance brigade. I will bring the 3rd Squadron to reinforce it in a moment. Once we control the compound, I will give you the signal and the main force will launch the attack. What do you think?"

"Captain Gan, how long will it take you?"

Captain Gan looked at his watch and said:

"It's 3:47 in the morning now. Is it possible to finish the battle before 5:30?"

Li Jie smiled and said:
"No rush, it's fine before six o'clock, that's it, three shots as the signal;
At 6 o'clock, no matter whether you have completed it or not, the main force will launch the attack on time. You must control the progress well. Even if you cannot get the supplies, Lu'an City must be taken. This is the key point!"

After Captain Gan clarified the mission, he turned and left. Li Jie waited quietly. He had completed the deployment, and it depended on whether the brothers in the reconnaissance battalion could give them a surprise.

Gan Zhongqiang led the 3rd Squadron and sneaked in from the West City where the defense was the weakest. He contacted the captains of the 1st and 2nd Squadrons using their unique communication method and immediately issued a combat mission.

The two squadrons had already figured out the enemy situation before Gan Zhongqiang entered the city. The main forces of the Japanese were defending the outer perimeters to the south and east;

The North City and the West City were both controlled by the Japanese, so only a small team was left near the city wall for guard.

A squad has only about 50 people. The puppet army has not appeared in large numbers yet. It is indeed difficult for them to rely on dozens of devils to control a city wall of more than a thousand meters. It takes half an hour to patrol a circle.

The county government compound was not very big, and the Japanese deployed a squadron to defend it, which showed how much they valued supplies.
A squadron of the reconnaissance battalion has 82 people, and three squadrons have more than 200 people. The strength exceeds that of a Japanese infantry squadron. Moreover, they are special forces, so it is not difficult for them to deal with a Japanese infantry squadron. Gan Zhongqiang immediately ordered:

"It is now 4: in the morning. Most of the Japanese are asleep. The first squadron is responsible for dealing with the night patrol outside the compound, the second squadron is responsible for dealing with the sentry at the gate, and the third squadron is responsible for climbing over the wall at the back gate in small teams.

After entering, you must first control the Japanese squadron headquarters and dormitory building. It is best to use cold weapons to solve the problem, but if that doesn't work, you can use hot weapons.

After the second squadron dealt with the gate guard, they headed straight for the supply warehouse and took control of the supplies;

After destroying the patrol team, the first squadron will be on guard outside to block any enemy reinforcements that may appear..."

Following Captain Gan's order, each squadron began to act separately. Using the special operations battalion to deal with a squadron of the Japanese devils was simply using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

The Second Squadron used the cover of the wild colors to quietly reach the gate of the county government. The night patrol had just left, and it took them almost half an hour to circle the compound.

The Japanese arranged a squad of guards at the gate, with a half-moon-shaped barricade on each side, and a machine gun group deployed on the right wing;

There were six riflemen in the left barricade, the squad leader was in the box on the right, and there was a sentry on each side of the gate.

Their defenses seemed tight, but they were only for ordinary troops. They were useless against special forces, as they would not attack from the front.
The second squadron leader sent a squad to each of the two wing walls. Under the cover of darkness, they easily climbed over the walls and then reached the back of the gate.

After using a knife to kill the two hidden sentries inside, he climbed out from the wall behind the Japanese barricade;
Then they easily dealt with the two sentries at the gate and appeared behind the Japanese without anyone noticing. A squad pounced on the Japanese machine gun team and sentry box and easily cut their necks.

The other squad was responsible for eliminating the six riflemen on the left wing. Two members took care of one Japanese soldier, and they were all as easy as cutting melons and vegetables. Soon they controlled the gate. The second squadron left one squad to pretend to be Japanese soldiers on guard, and the others all entered the compound through the gate and rushed straight to the warehouse where the supplies were stored.

At the same time, the first and third squadrons also began their own performances. A killing spree unfolded inside and outside the county government compound, and the air above the compound was filled with a thick smell of blood.

Although the plan was very careful, accidents still occurred. When they were slaughtering the Japanese in the barracks, they made a noise and were discovered by the Japanese.

The squadron leader who led the team opened fire first, and the other team members followed suit. Dozens of submachine guns were used to kill all the confused Japanese soldiers in the barracks, and no team member was injured or killed.

When Gan Zhongqiang heard the sound of gunfire in the compound, he immediately took out his signal gun and fired three flares into the sky. If the sneak attack failed, he would launch a strong attack.

All of this was part of the plan. After all, using cold weapons to deal with nearly 200 Japanese devils, it was inevitable that something unexpected would happen, and the special forces were not gods.

There was only one battalion headquarters and two squads defending the city. Gan Zhongqiang was not afraid of so few people coming, so he activated the emergency plan and decisively notified the third squad outside the city to start attacking the city.

In the prefectural middle school, Major Mizutani Yukio climbed down from the belly of a Chinese woman he had robbed, and killed the woman who had been tortured by him on the bed with a single blow;
The deputy squadron leader rushed in and reported to him:
"Mizutani-kun, there are a lot of German submachine gun fire coming from the direction of the supply warehouse. It should be that the supply warehouse was attacked by the Chinese. The enemy situation is currently unknown."

Captain Mizutani looked very unhappy, and said to Lieutenant Fujita in a low voice:
"Call Ono-kun immediately and ask what happened?"

"Mizuguchi-kun, I've called, but no one answered. They might be in combat."

Captain Mizuguchi shook his head and said:
"Even in combat, there are always people on duty. It seems that the situation at the material warehouse is very bad. Gather all personnel to provide support immediately. We must not let the Chinese blow up the materials!"

There was only one squad to guard the squadron headquarters, and even with the 29 people in the squadron headquarters, there were only more than 80 people. But Captain Mizutani had already given the order, and Lieutenant Ono had no choice but to execute it.

Before he could turn around, there was a intensive sound of gunfire outside the city. The noise was very loud, with at least thousands of people involved.
Captain Mizutani immediately realized the seriousness of the situation. This was definitely not a sneak attack by a small group of troops. He immediately shouted:

"Hurry up, go reinforce the supply warehouse and blow up all the supplies. Don't leave them to the Chinese."

Captain Mizutani's reaction was indeed quick. He could tell from the noise outside the city that Lu'an City could not be defended;

If the supplies cannot be preserved, they must be blown up. The Chinese cannot get away with it. The Japanese are indeed ruthless.

After the Japanese gathered, there was no more gunfire from the direction of the supply warehouse. Instead, the noise outside the city became louder and louder, and the shouts and screams were getting closer and closer. They didn't have much time left.

"Hurry up! Kill the chicken!"

The county middle school is not far from the county government, and it only takes about ten minutes to run. Even if the attack outside the city is fast, it will take more than an hour to kill them. They still have a chance.

When Captain Shuikou and dozens of Japanese soldiers rushed to the county government road, they were ambushed from both wings of the main road;
The dense submachine gun bullets knocked down more than half of the Japanese soldiers in an instant. The remaining thirty or so Japanese soldiers fought back indiscriminately, and there were fatal gun muzzles everywhere.

After taking control of the warehouse, Gan Zhongqiang left one squadron to guard the warehouse, while the other two squadrons set up an inverted eight-character ambush formation on the main road leading to the county middle school.

The Japanese reinforcements rushed into the pocket of the reconnaissance brigade, and dozens of Japanese were not enough to fill their teeth.

The first round of firepower killed more than half of the Japanese soldiers, and the terrifying continuous firepower of the submachine guns made it difficult for the remaining Japanese soldiers to react;

Most of them fired only one shot, and then were riddled with bullets from submachine guns.

Captain Mizuguchi was not spared either. The gap in strength between the two sides was too great. In the close combat in the city, the Type 38 rifle was beaten to pieces by the submachine gun.

The battle outside the city was also not very suspenseful. 8 people faced a few hundred Japanese soldiers. After a few rounds of artillery fire from the artillery battalion, all the Japanese heavy machine guns were destroyed.

It only took one charge to break through the enemy's defense line, and all that remained was to wipe out the remaining enemies.

By 8 o'clock in the morning, all the Japanese on the east and south lines of the Shuikou Battalion were wiped out. Only the small team in the north city took advantage of the chaos to escape. This was intentional by the Third Detachment. Someone had to go and inform the Japanese.

The city of Lu'an was recaptured by the Chinese army after being lost for several days, shocking the Japanese.

(End of this chapter)