Songhu: Never Give Up

After the general attack on Lu'an City was launched, the first and third battalions began to wipe out the remaining Japanese in the city;

At this time, there were less than a thousand remaining enemies in the city, while the first and third battalions still had more than 3 people. Especially the third battalion that joined later, the organization was basically complete.

The Second Battalion blocked the Japanese troops advancing eastward in succession. While Luo Wenxing and his men were destroying the Oda Battalion, other units were also doing their best to destroy the Japanese troops. In just half a day, they basically wiped out the enemy in the city.
Before they had time to clean up the battlefield, the vanguard of the Seya Detachment had already launched an attack from the north.

Duan Yulin decisively gave up the encirclement and annihilation of the remaining enemy forces and ordered the first and third battalions to withdraw from Lu'an City and retreat southward.

The Second Battalion also quickly broke off contact with the Sebu Brigade and also retreated to the southern mountainous area. The Seya and Sebu Brigades met in Lu'an City, but unfortunately they only got an empty city.

The angry Japanese set fire to the city of Lu'an, and then went south in several directions to pursue the Third Detachment, but they were hit head-on by the First and Second Detachments, losing hundreds of people, and then retreated obediently;

The three detachments of the guerrilla column took advantage of the Japanese's retreat and retreated deep into the Dabie Mountains. They set their defense line at Lihuong, Heishidu and Huoshan, blocking the Japanese's route to flank Fujin Mountain from the south.

The Japanese were not willing to give up. After the main force arrived, the Lai Gu Brigade launched a fierce attack on Huoshan.
The 1st Battalion of the nd Detachment withdrew from Huoshan after a brief resistance, leaving the Japanese with an empty city.

Since the main attack route of the 10th Division was replaced by the 16th Division, and the middle route was the attack direction of the 13th Division, the two old devils, Seya Kei and Semuhei, discussed and decided to attack Fujin Mountain from the south.

The two sides fought fiercely at Heishifu, resulting in casualties on both sides.

Heishidu Town is located about 8 kilometers northwest of Huoshan City. It is the only way to go west from Huoshan to Lihu County. It is also an important defense line of the National Army on the northern foot of Dabie Mountains. It has a large number of strong fortifications and is the focus of the guerrilla column's defense.

Lihuang County is located in the southwest of Fujin Mountain. Once Lihuang is lost, the flank of Fujin Mountain will be exposed. The Japanese can attack the Fujin Mountain defense line to the north, and continue to attack Shangcheng, the headquarters of the 2nd Army Group, to the west, opening a passage to Wuhan in the south.

Therefore, before the Fujinshan position was breached by the Japanese, Heishidu was the place that the guerrilla column had to defend.

Yue Qianli handed over the Heishifu-Lihuang line to the Second Detachment for defense, and the First Detachment was deployed on the Second Line as a reserve. The Third Detachment and the column headquarters, which had been fighting in Lu'an City for several consecutive days, were resting in Lihuang City and could support the First and Second Detachments at any time.

Heishifu is a small ferry crossing on the Pi River. It is surrounded by the Pi River, Shenshui River and Kongjia River to the east, north and south respectively, and is surrounded by continuous mountains to the west. It is surrounded by water on three sides and faces a mountain on one side, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack.

The Second Detachment deployed the 1st Battalion and the Artillery Battalion in Heishidu Town, the 2nd Battalion was deployed along the Shenshui River to prevent the Japanese from crossing the river from the outside, and the 3rd Battalion served as the reserve.

The line from the 2nd Battalion to Lihu is the defense line of the st Detachment, so if the Japanese want to go south, Heishidu Town is still the first choice.

A small river, the Pi River, naturally could not scare the Japanese. The vanguard of the Seya Brigade set out from Huoshan City and arrived at Hengshan Town opposite Heishi Ferry Town. They immediately began to collect ferries and rubber boats carried by the engineering troops to prepare for a forced crossing of the Pi River.

The Seya Brigade was composed of the 10th Regiment, the 63rd Regiment, the st and nd Mountain Artillery Battalions, with a total strength of approximately troops.

The Seya Detachment was almost completely wiped out by the Fifth War Zone in Taierzhuang. The current 10th Regiment and 63rd Regiment have been rebuilt, and their combat effectiveness has obviously declined, but their morale is not low at all. Seya Kei is eager to make a comeback, and the guerrilla column is the best "stepping stone".

Seya Kei said confidently:
"Gentlemen, the guerrilla column is nothing but a vain name. Under the powerful attack of my 33rd Brigade, we defeated Lu'an once and Huoshan twice. We ran faster than rabbits!"

After hearing this, the Japanese soldiers couldn't help but burst out laughing, with arrogance all over their faces. It was like they had forgotten the pain after the wound had healed.

Colonel Yaezō Akashiba, the commander of the 10th Regiment, took over and said:
"The famous generals of China since ancient times are all exaggerated. Yue Qianli sent Zhao Zilong to the present day. I don't think he has much ability except running away.

It was simply wishful thinking for the guerrilla column to block the Imperial Army's southward advance with just a small Black Stone Ferry.

My Akita Battalion is already gathering boats to cross the river. As long as the artillery is in place, we can force a crossing of the Pi River and capture the Black Rock Ferry within half a day!"

Seya Kei nodded with satisfaction and said:
“Yoshi, Chishiba-kun’s bravery is obvious to all, so the task of capturing Heishi Ferry is now left to you;
Fu Rongjun sent a part of his army westward to find a new crossing point, feinting to attack the Deepwater River to tie down the defenders' forces. The main force will be used as a reserve force to launch an attack at 1 pm and spend the night in Black Rock Ferry Town!"

Black Rock Crossing, the defense line of the 1st Battalion of the nd Detachment, filled with smoke
Rows of artillery shells fell from the sky. The soldiers of the 1st Battalion hiding in the fortifications silently endured the ravages of the artillery fire. The trenches they had built with great effort were destroyed piece by piece, and those with unlucky luck were directly buried alive in the floating ground. This was the price that the defending side had to bear.

The fortifications at Heishifa were built with great effort by the Fifth War Zone. There were more than a dozen permanent bunkers, as well as a large number of trenches, communication trenches, and caves for hiding soldiers. The defense system was very sound.
After the 1st Battalion took over, it dug a large number of fortifications on the reverse slope of the back mountain to hide the artillery battalion and reserve troops. Without artillery support, it would be difficult to stop the Japanese attack.

The defense of the first battalion was also very particular. It can be summed up in one sentence: the firepower was heavy at the front and light at the back, and the manpower was light at the front and heavy at the back. Obviously, this was another masterpiece from Yue Qianli, copied from later generations;

This kind of deployment can maximize the firepower advantage and reduce the casualties of artillery fire. As long as there are enough reserves, it is possible to defend for ten days or half a month. Du Mingkun is a heavy machine gunner in the main fort. In order to avoid being killed by direct artillery shells, they all hid in the soldier cave more than ten meters away from the side and rear, leaving only three observers;

As soon as the Japanese artillery fire extended, shrill whistles rang out one after another. Du Mingkun was the first to rush out of the soldier hiding cave, quickly ran into the bunker along the communication trench more than one meter wide, and deftly set up the Type 92 heavy machine gun.

The others also aimed their Type 99 rifles at the river. During the reorganization in East Henan, the Second Detachment had already replaced its weapons with Japanese ones. Except for some submachine guns and box guns, all other weapons were Japanese ones.

Du Mingkun only had the Type 92 heavy machine gun left. Although it was not as good as the Maxim heavy machine gun, it was also a magic weapon for killing the Japanese.

The observer quickly found the enemy's fleet, which was so dense that it almost filled the entire river. Under the guidance of the observer, Du Mingkun also found the enemy group. He immediately loaded the bullet with a grim smile and muttered to himself:
"You bastard, you really think highly of me. I'm going to have some foreign food again this time!"

The assistant gunner had already prepared a few bullets for him, which was enough for him to fire for a while. Everything was ready, except for the east wind.
Just when Du Mingkun was getting impatient, three flares sounded. Du Mingkun tightened his grip on the trigger and fired a long burst of shots.

More than a dozen bullets were fired, and the two Japanese soldiers on the leading boat fell into the river like dumplings. Du Mingkun was so happy that he felt refreshed all over, and he didn't even bother to change the two Japanese women.

The deputy shooter's eyes were shining with envy. He also wanted to bring honor to his family. Just looking at the volley of bullets that Brother Du had just fired, if it were him, he could go back to Lijiazhuang and brag about it for the rest of his life, and he could pick any girl from the surrounding villages - Sichuan girls like boys who can kill the Japanese.

Li Ernao was a replacement soldier of the Sichuan Army. He was assigned to the guerrilla column by Commander Li during the Battle of Xuzhou. He used to be the main shooter, but now he can only serve as the deputy shooter for Lao Du. He can only watch the main shooter feasting.
Soon Du Mingkun used up all the bullets and yelled:
"Bullets - change the magazine quickly!"

Li Ernao had no choice but to quickly replace the spring for him, and then watched Lao Du enjoy himself.

The Japanese were "making dumplings" on the river, and Keita Koguchi's hand holding the rifle was shaking uncontrollably, which made him feel ashamed;

As a replacement soldier of the 10th Regiment, he was a first replacement soldier and was a student before joining the army.

Originally it was not his turn, as there were a large number of reserve and reserve personnel ahead of him. He got the spot by using connections, and for this he even sacrificed his girlfriend Yuka Oda.
The price to pay is to go to China to expand the empire's territory, kill people, rob money, and rob women!

There were good news of victory every day in the country, and China was almost completely occupied by the empire. If he didn't join the army, he would miss everything, so he gave up his studies and came to China;

This was the first real combat he participated in. The previous attacks on Lu'an and Huoshan made him taste the sweetness. The Chinese were indeed as vulnerable as reported in China.

They occupied Lu'an and Huoshan without bloodshed. He even set fire to Lu'an City and burned down several houses of the Chinese, but he did not steal anything, which was a bit regrettable.

He was surrounded by soldiers who had the same dream as him. They shouted excitedly when they boarded the ship. The captain allowed them to relax military discipline after they captured Heishi Ferry. Every Japanese soldier's head was occupied by sperm.
Before Keita Oguchi's boat reached the shore, 30% of their men had already been killed or injured. After seeing one of his companions have his head blown off by a heavy machine gun bullet, his hands began to tremble uncontrollably.

This was nothing like the war he had heard about…

"Bakayaluo, you piece of trash!"

Keita Koguchi was kicked down by the Japanese sergeant. Only then did he realize that the ship was about to reach the shore. Fortunately, Amaterasu blessed him and he was still alive.

The riverbank was covered with mud, and his short legs were almost stuck in it up to his waist, making every step forward difficult.

Bullets whizzed past his head, and his short stature showed his advantage, as it was not easy to hit them;
The barrel of Du Mingkun's gun was red from firing, but he still didn't hit Keita Oguchi. Instead, he shot off the leg of a Japanese sergeant hiding behind him.

The sergeant plunged headfirst into the river, and his blood immediately dyed the water red. Just when he was about to be submerged in the waist-deep water, he luckily grabbed the hem of Keita Oguchi's clothes and almost dragged Keita Oguchi into the river.

"Xiaokou-kun, save me!"

Keita Oguchi looked back and saw that it was the sergeant who carried him into the river. This old Japanese had bullied him a lot and he was still in pain.

Seeing that no one noticed them, he became more and more fearful and stabbed the sergeant's head with his rifle.
The butt of the rifle hit the sergeant's head hard, splitting his head in an instant. He trembled all over with pleasure, and he was instantly overwhelmed with pleasure...

"Go to hell!"

(End of this chapter)