Songhu: Never Give Up

The main position of Fujin Mountain was filled with smoke

Several regiments of the 13th Division took turns to attack, with wave after wave of offensives. The defenders, who had rested for two days, were also in high spirits and responded calmly. The two sides fought fiercely.

At the 71st Army Headquarters, Song Xilian stared at the map with his eyebrows furrowed as he pondered over a countermeasure. The enemy's offensive suddenly intensified, and the 71st Army's defensive pressure increased dramatically.

Chief of Staff Xia Sheng hurried in and reported to Song Xilian:
"Commander-in-Chief, the Japanese 10th Division has captured Gushi County and is marching south with a regiment of troops, heading straight for Wumiaoji west of Fujin Mountain, threatening the safety of our Fujin Mountain flank."

After listening to this, Song Xilian immediately found Wumiaoji on the map, took a quick look and said:

"Chief of Staff Xia, Wumiao Ji cannot afford to lose. Although the Japanese have dispatched a regiment, the one rushing in the front is probably a battalion. These Japanese are really crazy and want to use the same old tricks again, using a small force to tie down our main force.

This time I will teach them a lesson. I will immediately send the 88rd Regiment of the 523th Division of the Reserve Force to rush to Aokoutang to set up an ambush. This is the only way for the Japanese to go south. We will teach them a lesson."

After the guerrilla column separated from the 88th Division, the Military Commission reorganized the 88th Division and participated in the Lanfeng Campaign. Because the battle was not fought well and the division commander Long Muhan had no support, he was shot by the Military Commission. He was the first Huangpu officer to be shot, and was used to stop the gossips behind the river.
The death of Commander Long was somewhat unjust. The real runner Huang Jie was only sentenced to one month in prison, and the interrogation period was also counted into the prison period. He didn't stay in prison for many days at all.

Gui Paopao, who had connections, was even forced to drink three cups of wine as punishment. He was dismissed from his post and investigated, but he was immediately appointed to another position, and his career was even more successful than before.

After Long Muhan was executed on June 6, Song Xilian took over the position of commander of the 21th Division himself and used it as the army reserve.

The 523rd Regiment at this time was completely different from the original 523rd Regiment. The main combat force was left in the guerrilla column and reorganized into the 1st Battalion of the st Detachment. The battalion commander and the battalion commander were the previous regiment commander and battalion commander. Some battalion commanders went to other detachments to serve as battalion commanders.
There is only one exception here, that is Wei Mingzhang, the former commander of the 2nd Battalion. He should have died in Nanjing in another time and space. When the division was divided, he and some people chose to stay in the 88th Division, and these people also became the backbone of the reconstruction of the 88th Division.

Those who stayed behind did not do so voluntarily, but were persuaded to stay by Yue Qianli. Especially Wei Mingzhang, Old Yue chatted with him alone for a whole night. No one knew what they talked about, but they ended up arguing.
The next day, Wei Mingzhang left in anger with a group of people. They were all combat backbones of various regiments and battalions. Now these people are developing better than those who stayed.

Wei Mingzhang was appointed Colonel Commander of the 213th Regiment, and several other commanders were transferred from other units. They were all graduates of the first four classes of the Whampoa Military Academy, and everyone wanted to take the position of the 4th Division's Yulin Army.
But the backbone members who stayed behind are now battalion and company commanders and have a certain say.

Since Wei Mingzhang was in charge of the 523rd Regiment, many of the battalion and company commanders were veterans brought over from the guerrilla column. Therefore, all the techniques and tactics were from the original guerrilla column. They were the combat power of the 88th Division and were highly regarded by Song Xilian.
When it came to ambush the Japanese this time, the first group Song Xilian thought of was the 523rd Regiment. How reliable!

After receiving the order from the military headquarters, Wei Mingzhang immediately led the 523rd Regiment to set up an ambush at Aokoutang. Due to the short time, it was too late to build fortifications when they arrived.

So, according to the previous fighting style of the guerrilla column, an inverted eight-character formation was set up at Aokoutang. The first battalion was responsible for blocking the hole, the second and third battalions were placed on the left and right, and the artillery battalion was deployed on the commanding heights of the left wing.

Aokoutang is a small town, with a valley between two mountains. The valley road is the only way for the Japanese to attack Fujin Mountain from the south.
In another time and space, the 16th Division sent a regiment, which was ambushed by the 523rd Regiment at Aokoutang, and more than 400 people were killed.

The 523rd Regiment in this time and space adopted the guerrilla column's fighting style. Wei Mingzhang's morale was obviously much higher, as he was determined to inflict pain on the Japanese.

They had just set up their ambush when the reconnaissance platoon on guard outside sent someone over to report:
"Commander, a battalion of the Japanese vanguard is running towards us, and behind them is the main force of the regiment. The distance between the two is less than ten kilometers."

Wei Mingzhang thought about it in his mind and said:

"The main force of the Japanese regiment carried a lot of baggage, and they could not walk fast. It took at least two hours to travel 10 kilometers.
Tell Platoon Leader Lin that after the main battle begins, you must use harassment tactics to delay the Japanese for more than an hour.

We must find a way to attack their baggage train, force them to stop, and buy time for the main force to annihilate the enemy's vanguard."

The reconnaissance squad leader who came to report the news took the order and left. Wei Mingzhang hurriedly adjusted the deployment. It was somewhat difficult to ambush a battalion of the Japanese with a regiment.
It is not difficult to inflict heavy damage on him, but it will take more effort to annihilate him. Now that the guerrilla column's efficient command system is gone, ambushes will test his command ability greatly.

A few hundred meters away, Major Kameda Shigeyoshi of the 33rd Regiment was urging his troops to speed up. The squadron leader, Captain Kawanishi Takeshi, warned him vigilantly:
"Kameta-kun, the terrain of Aokoutang ahead is a bit complicated. Should we wait until the search team has finished a thorough search before entering?"

Major Kameda said nonchalantly:
"That's not necessary. If we search all of them, it will take at least two hours. Speed ​​is of the essence in war, and flanking attacks require that they be done with difficulty. Opportunities are fleeting, and we can't afford to waste this time.

Besides, the Nationalist Army has no habit of protecting its flanks, so let the search team search both sides and speed up, hurry up!"

Captain Hexi only asked one more question for safety reasons. He didn't quite believe that the 71st Army had the strength to attack them. The 13th Division on the front had put enough pressure on Fujinshan.

At the Aokoutang ambush position, several three-wheeled motorcycles charged in aggressively, followed by an armored vehicle and twenty to thirty infantrymen advancing;
The machine gun on the tricycle occasionally fired a burst of bullets at both sides of the valley, and the armored vehicle did the same, startling a few birds and beasts, which made the Japanese laugh.

A Japanese infantryman raised his hand and fired a shot, shooting down a pheasant, then ran over to pick it up happily, urinated on it after finishing, and then left triumphantly. After the Japanese left, Sergeant Hu Haibo, who was lurking in the bushes and was covered in the smell of urine, slowly raised his head.

He was not in a hurry to shake off the urine on his body, but was observing the situation of the Japanese search team. It was so thrilling just now that he almost couldn't help but pick the Japanese's green beans;

He even dared to take out a thing as small as a mung bean and hit him all over. He really doesn't take Chinese men seriously.

Of course, he was just thinking about it. The Japs were eager for him to take action, otherwise the ambush plan would be ruined. The hot-tempered company commander insisted on cutting off his meat. It was not cost-effective to exchange the big club for small green beans.

The Japanese search was just a formality. The arrogant 16th Division did not take the Chinese seriously at all. They were eager to rush to Fujin Mountain to do big things, and no one took a small Aokoutang seriously.

Soon after the search team left, a large group of Japanese soldiers rushed in with murderous intent. In order to prevent being ambushed by the Chinese, the Japanese were still a little cautious and sent out a "long snake formation";
The troops were divided into four echelons. The first and second echelons each consisted of an infantry squadron, arranged in two rows, with 4 people in each row. The row spacing was about 90 meters, and one squadron could form a marching formation of more than 1.5 meters.

In the middle was the infantry artillery squad and the battalion headquarters, and behind them were two squadrons, each of which was dozens of meters apart. The entire long snake formation was nearly a thousand meters long.

Major Kameda thought that even if they were ambushed, their casualties would not be too great, and they could then evacuate to both sides.

Fortunately, the inverted eight-character formation of the 523rd Regiment was just the right way to restrain the vertical long snake formation, which was too weak to attack from the front.

It was difficult to turn around and escape, so they could only spread out to both wings and quickly transform into a horizontal "long snake formation" or "carrying pole formation".

After all the Japanese entered the pocket formation, Wei Mingzhang decisively ordered to open fire. The first to attack were the six Maxim heavy machine guns of the 3rd Battalion's machine gun company. Their first target was the tail of the "long snake formation". The professional term is "closing the door to beat the dog".

The six heavy machine guns were enough to block the enemy's retreat. At the same time, the six mortars in the middle and the machine guns and rifles of the 6nd Battalion focused on attacking the enemy's waist.

This is the Japanese battalion headquarters and artillery squad, which can not only cut off the "Long Snake Formation" in the middle, but also destroy the Japanese heavy firepower and command system.

Finally, the troops responsible for blocking the enemy head-on are the most practical way to deal with a long snake formation.
Under the combined attack of the ambush troops, Kameda's battalion quickly fell into chaos, and corpses filled the valley.

"Kill the chicken and give it to me!"

The Japanese officer was the first to react and led hundreds of Japanese soldiers to attack the left wing commanding heights, trying to seize the Luohan Temple commanding heights.

The 1rd Company of the 3st Battalion defending the Luohan Temple responded calmly under the leadership of Company Commander Yu Guolin, firing bullets at the Japanese like rain.

Sergeant Hu Haibo finally seized the opportunity and continued to shoot the Japanese with the rifle in his hand, focusing on the lower three routes.

"I'll let you pee and poop anywhere, and then I'll burst your balls!"

"Itaya!"

A Japanese second lieutenant had just gotten into position when a bullet hit his testicles, physically castrating him. The pain was so severe that he rolled over in agony while holding the wound.

Hu Haibo did not shoot the Japanese again, but aimed his gun at other Japanese. He was very angry today and the grudge of being urinated on was irreconcilable.

The Japanese attack on Luohan Temple had no real effect. There was not only a company of defenders but also two mortars.
Artillery shells were thrown at their heads like they were free, and each shell could knock down several Japs. The coordination between infantry and artillery was very good, pinning the Japs on the hillside, and every step forward came at a huge cost.

Since the Japanese had a large army behind them, Wei Mingzhang did not have much time to waste with them. Seeing that the Japanese were already in chaos, he immediately ordered the charge horn to be blown;
Inspired by the loud military bugle calls, the soldiers of the 523rd Regiment rushed down from the mountains on both sides like a tidal wave.

Before they even made contact, grenades rained down like a hail, instantly knocking down a large area and knocking the Japanese soldiers unconscious;
Then thousands of soldiers rushed into the Japanese group and began to strangle the remaining Japanese soldiers, and the battle gradually lost its suspense.

After dozens of minutes, the melee was decided. Except for a small number of Japanese soldiers who took advantage of the chaos to break out, the main force was completely wiped out.

The 523rd Regiment became famous in one battle...
(End of this chapter)