Songhu: Never Give Up

Left wing, Seven Star Peak, poisonous fog

Private First Class Kanai Yukihei believed that there would be no more living Chinese people on the battlefield. The squad leader told them that the poison gas produced by the empire was extremely powerful. Not only could people not survive, even grass could not survive. They only needed to go up and collect the bodies.

As a reserve soldier, he had been out of the army for more than five years. He was very excited to be called up again. He came to China to burn, kill, rob, and steal money and women. Being loyal to the emperor was just an excuse.

After arriving in China, he was added to the 13th Division. Most of his companions were veterans, but only the squad leader, Sergeant Ikeda, was a veteran who had experienced actual combat.

He kept reminding them to be careful of the Chinese, but the Jinjing devils didn't take it seriously and rushed to the front with their heads held high;

The Chinese positions were getting closer and closer, but it was still quiet. Private Jin Jing was becoming more and more convinced that the Chinese had been poisoned to death, but he didn't know that his chest had already been caught in the muzzle of Wu Lei's gun, just waiting for the battalion commander's gunshot.

Wu Lei is a veteran who participated in a series of battles including the Battle of Shanghai. He is now a sergeant squad leader and a key member of the guerrilla column.

Originally, a little Karami like Jin Jing would not be worthy of his attention, but the boy was too arrogant, and he would not allow such an arrogant devil to exist.

He estimated that the distance between the two sides was less than 80 meters, and at this distance he was almost certain to hit the target.

At 60 meters, Wu Lei could already see the "big nose" of the little devil. Just when the devil was about to rush to the position to collect the bodies of the Chinese, a crisp gunshot suddenly broke out from the position;

Just as the Japanese were looking for the source of the gunfire, more than a dozen heavy machine guns deployed on both wings of the deep position suddenly opened fire.

Countless bullets rained down on the group of Japanese soldiers, and soon a large number of them were knocked down. The Japanese soldier Jinjing was completely dumbfounded. This was completely different from what he had imagined!
Suddenly he felt a heavy blow on his chest. A 7.92mm Mauser bullet hit his left chest. The bullet rolled inside his body and blew a trumpet-shaped hole.

He could clearly feel the god of death waving at him, and he fell down unwillingly. This was his first battle.

The ideal of robbing money, food and women was shattered, and the only thing China could offer to the robbers was a hunting rifle...

Wu Lei quickly changed a bullet. To him, Jin Jing was just a corpse. Anyone who dared to come to China to do evil must be prepared to become a corpse.

The dense firepower of the defenders dealt a heavy blow to the Japanese and also avenged their comrades who were poisoned to death. The soldiers of the 523rd Regiment were holding back their anger, so they kept the Japanese very close in order to give them big surprises.

"Baka, the Chinese are so cunning and crafty!"

The 65th Regiment commander was so angry that his nose was smoking. The defenders were obviously plotting against them. The firepower configuration was brutal and very reasonable.

The heavy machine guns were deployed on both wings, which not only maximized the advantages of side firepower, but also reasonably avoided the enemy's artillery fire.

The dense firepower from thousands of machine guns and rifles in the middle made it difficult for the Japanese to move forward. They could only passively take the beating. Hundreds of people were killed or injured in just a short time, and they ended up losing more than they gained.

"Fire! Blow them to death!"

The old Japanese soldier was shouting frantically, and it was obvious that he was unwilling to accept defeat. He tried to suppress the heavy firepower of the defenders with artillery.

This trick worked well for them, especially the infantry guns, which were accurate in every shot. After seeing several machine guns of the defenders being destroyed in succession, the old Japanese finally smiled;
Unfortunately, his smile soon froze, as the Chinese people's revenge came much faster than he had imagined.

The 523 mortars (including 9 captured ones) of the 3rd Regiment's artillery battalion dealt a heavy blow to the Japanese artillery. With just 6 rapid shots, they destroyed several Japanese artillery pieces and taught the Japanese artillery a lesson.
Although there was a big gap in the artillery firepower of the two sides, the defenders would not be at the mercy of others, and a sharp counterattack could also kill the Japanese.

After being beaten, the Japanese artillerymen became much more obedient and no longer dared to fire recklessly.
Without the full support of artillery fire, the Japanese infantry was completely suppressed, corpses covered the ground, and casualties continued to soar.

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, the Japanese regiment commander had no choice but to order a retreat. The defenders took the opportunity to launch an assault, killing the Japanese soldiers and leaving behind more than 200 corpses.

Wu Lei had enjoyed his killing spree. With rich battlefield experience, he was ready to retreat at any time, and the call from the battalion headquarters did not make them wait too long.

The soldiers of the 523rd Regiment, who had gained a great advantage, immediately stopped the pursuit and quickly retreated to their starting positions. By the time the Japanese opened fire in retaliation, they had already hidden in the fortifications. The Japanese retaliatory artillery fire did not have any effect as the defenders were on guard against them.

When the shelling ended, Wu Lei, the squad leader, began to count the number of people. It was clear at a glance that there were more than a dozen people, three of whom were injured and one was sacrificed, which was barely acceptable.

Fortunately, they had control of the battlefield. The three wounded were treated, one seriously injured was carried away, and the two lightly injured were bandaged and continued to fight.

The wounded soldiers of the Japanese were not so lucky. The lightly wounded soldiers followed the fleeing soldiers and fled. The seriously wounded soldiers lay on the battlefield struggling in pain. No one cared about them.

Senior Private Dazhu was thinking about firing another shot at the squirming devil, but was stopped by an old soldier standing beside him, who glared at him with eyes as big as copper bells and said:
"That's a lot of bullets, right? One bullet is enough for you to eat for a few days. Just let him struggle. He'll be dead in a matter of minutes at most."

Ding Dazhui had to smile in a flattering manner. He couldn't afford to offend the old soldier, so he had to put away his gun obediently.

After a while, the Japs launched another attack, and the old soldier muttered:
"Damn it, you're not done yet, are you? If you have the guts, stop firing and fight me in a duel!" Tanaka Shizuka had lost his patience. This time he used almost all of his belongings and launched another fierce attack on Hill 800 and Seven Star Peak. The offensive was one wave after another, and it was a fight to the death.

The defenders fought desperately, not giving up an inch of ground, killing each other in a bloodbath, with blood flowing like a river...

On the southern front, the 10th Division's offensive was equally fierce, but most of their punches hit the air, wasting countless emotions.

"Bakayarō, guerrilla warfare is not a job for samurai. They will only run away and damage their reputation!"

Major Ohno Eihito of the 63rd Regiment of the Seya Brigade cursed angrily. They had never suffered a beating from the guerrilla column, so they were extremely arrogant.

The squadron leader, Miyashita Ansai, was much more cautious and reminded him carefully:
"Sir, our troops have already broken through the rear, but the second and third battalions on both wings have not caught up yet. Should we stop and wait for them?"

Major Ohno had understood what Captain Miyashita meant. He was worried about being ambushed. He was even more timid than a mouse, so he said nonchalantly:

"Miyashita-kun, you are too cautious. The Chinese have become frightened birds and are in disarray.
Besides, this isn’t a good place to set up an ambush—”

"Boom boom boom..."

A row of shells fell from the sky, interrupting his words. His face was almost swollen. It was really true that he was struck by lightning when he was showing off.

Major Ohno was right that the terrain here was indeed not suitable for an ambush, but he had no idea of ​​the horror of mobile warfare;
They don't need to ambush them by relying on favorable terrain, they just need to wait and set up an ambush.

One unit is responsible for luring the enemy, while the other unit sets up an inverted figure eight formation. When the enemy chases the bait into the figure eight formation, they will be blocked from the front.

When the Japanese stopped and made a full-scale breakthrough, the ambushes on both wings would slowly approach and lie in ambush in the ravines several hundred meters away, so they naturally could not detect them.

A distance of several hundred meters only took a few minutes. It was difficult for the Japanese to break through the frontal blockade in a few minutes. As soon as the heavy firepower was deployed, the ambushes on both wings arrived;

Next, the Ohno Battalion endured the attack of two battalions of the guerrilla column alone. With an odds of 4 to 1, the Japanese had an absolute advantage in manpower and firepower. It would be difficult for the Japanese to avoid defeat.

This kind of mountain mobile ambush does not require high terrain requirements, but can be carried out anytime and anywhere. The main feature is "speed", just like pulling teeth from a tiger's mouth;

The 1st and 2nd Battalions of the First Detachment ambushed the Ono Brigade this time. They moved very swiftly. They blew the charge after firing a few rounds of artillery shells, leaving no time for the Japanese on both wings to rescue them.

The initial fire attack killed at least 200 Japanese soldiers and caused great confusion among them.

Then they launched a massive charge, using guns from a distance and grenades at close range. Before the Japanese could react, the bayonets had already been pressed against their chests.

Faced with the guerrilla column's almost suffocating offensive, the Japanese quickly collapsed and ran away. Only a small number of Japanese soldiers resisted.

Major Ohno waved his command knife and killed several fleeing Japanese soldiers in succession, but he still couldn't stop the decline. In the end, he himself was caught in the tide of fleeing soldiers. It was Captain Miyashita who led the others to run away with him. If he didn't run away, he would die.

The soldiers of the 1st and 2nd Battalions would not let them escape easily. The encirclement was tightened continuously, and the short-legged devils were eliminated one by one.

The ambush in this campaign came quickly and ended quickly, encircling three sides and leaving one side open, and then chasing and killing them;

Although this style of fighting cannot completely wipe out the Japanese, it is highly efficient and causes few casualties on our side. Most importantly, it does not require high terrain requirements and can be organized at any time.

No matter how many ways they come, I will only attack them one by one, and I will take every one I can. Only Major Ohno knows whether it is difficult or not;

After he finally gathered the defeated soldiers, he wanted to die when he saw the casualties. He didn't even understand how he was defeated. He lost nearly half of his soldiers, artillery and baggage. He was so angry that he cursed:
"Bakayarō, the Chinese are too despicable. They only know how to use despicable means to launch sneak attacks. They are not true warriors."

Captain Miyashita looked at him as if he was an idiot. He had reminded Major Ohno to be cautious before, but he just didn't listen. Now that something happened, he blamed the Chinese for being too cunning. Why didn't he say that he was too stupid?

Of course he didn't dare to say this, he just comforted him:
"Captain, victory and defeat are common in the military. The guerrilla column used harassment warfare only to delay the pursuit of the imperial army.

As long as we advance in unison with the troops on both wings and support each other, the Chinese will not have a chance to launch a surprise attack."

Major Ohno finally realized the situation and stopped being arrogant.

While the Ono Battalion was waiting for the two wings to catch up, the first and second battalions also finished cleaning up the battlefield, and they were so happy that they couldn't even close their mouths;

The second battalion commander Han Xianyuan excitedly said to the first battalion commander Wu Qiujian:
"Old Wu, this battle was so exciting, so cool!" (End of this chapter)