Songhu: Never Give Up

"Kill the chicken and give it to me!"

The Japanese chased after them screaming. Their armored vehicles were extremely valuable, not to mention that the squadron leader was still inside.
There were only three attackers, so they naturally would not let them go. They chased them and shot at them.

Soon they entered the ambush position of the first company. Sun Yuandong immediately ordered to open fire, and the machine guns and rifles of the entire company fired at the Japanese.
A dense rain of bullets sprayed towards the Japanese, knocking down a large number of them in an instant, and the road was littered with shit-yellow corpses.

The Japanese marched in four columns. When they were chasing the demolition team, their formation was relatively scattered, but they still deployed a battle formation, which was a standard long snake formation.

The first company was lying in ambush on the left mountain and suddenly opened fire from the flank of the Japanese. The attack area was very wide, so the killing effect was very good, which was equivalent to stabbing the waist of the Japanese long snake formation.

After the sudden attack, the Japanese launched a counterattack against the first company position of Tianmenling under the command of the squad leader and the team leader, and a fierce battle broke out between the two sides.
A squadron of Japanese soldiers, consisting of more than 180 men, suffered thirty or forty casualties in the first round of fire attack. The remaining Japanese soldiers responded quickly and rushed towards Tianmenling fearlessly.

The soldiers of the first company were lying in a natural trench and firing at the Japanese, which gave them a lot of advantages from a high position.
Two Maxim heavy machine guns were deployed on the top of the mountain, suppressing the Japanese and knocking them to the ground.

The third detachment was mainly equipped with Soviet weapons. The heavy machine guns were originally assigned to the battalion, but in order to strengthen the firepower of the infantry company, the battalion transferred them to the company, with two guns per company.
The Japanese squadron also did not have heavy machine guns at the first level, so they were suppressed by the first company in terms of heavy firepower. In addition, each platoon had a "big plate chicken" gun, so the Japanese could not break through the first company's firepower network at all, and only increased casualties.

The Japanese retreated after attacking for more than ten minutes, leaving behind corpses all over the ground. Now they could only wait for the main force to arrive;
The gunfire from Tianmenling soon attracted the attention of the main force of the Japanese army. Ishii Kazuyuki immediately sent hundreds of Japanese soldiers to run up as reinforcements, and the rest followed closely.

The terrain of Tianmenling is very suitable for blocking, but the disadvantage is that there are no fortifications. As long as the Japanese artillery reinforcements come up, the battle will be difficult to fight;

Most of Sun Yuandong's company were veterans, and they were the seed troops for developing the base. They must not be consumed in positional warfare, so he did not plan to defend Tianmenling to the death, but would decide based on the situation.

Ten minutes later, the Japanese reinforcements arrived, at least two squadrons, but fortunately they did not carry artillery, so Sun Yuandong was not afraid of them and continued to block the Japanese.
As the number of Japanese soldiers increased, the battlefield could no longer be expanded. The Japanese captain sent dozens of people to attack from the left wing, but they ran into a minefield and more than a dozen people were killed or injured. The remaining Japanese soldiers were scared and retreated.

Major Suzuki looked very serious. Tianmenling was easy to defend but difficult to attack. The firepower was very fierce. It didn't look like a guerrilla force at all.

Their first attack was quickly repelled, and they gained nothing except more than 30 bodies. So Major Suzuki suspended the attack and called two squadron leaders to discuss countermeasures.

Captain Jiro Noguchi, the squadron leader, spoke first:
“Captain, the defenders are definitely an elite force. They are equipped with rare Soviet weapons and have very strong firepower.
The soldiers were all wearing steel helmets and their marksmanship was very accurate. In addition, the terrain of Tianmenling was difficult, so without artillery support, it would be difficult to capture the Chinese positions. "

Major Suzuki snorted coldly:

"Baga, since when did the Imperial Army stop fighting without artillery?
Although the Chinese have strong firepower, they only have about a hundred soldiers, which should be one company. Can three squadrons of the Imperial Army be stopped by one company of the Chinese?"

Captain Noguchi lowered his head in shame. This was indeed a very embarrassing thing for them, and he very wisely kept his mouth shut.

Another squadron leader changed the subject:
"Captain, reinforcements are needed to put out a fire. A mere hundred or so Chinese people are nothing to be afraid of. I am willing to lead the Moon Watching Squadron to attack the Chinese people. I will not withdraw until the position is broken!"

Major Suzuki said with satisfaction:
"Yoshi, I agree with Mr. Mochizuki's bravery. I have decided that the Mochizuki Squadron will take the lead in the attack, and the Noguchi Squadron will go around from the left wing. A few land mines can't stop the Imperial Army at all.

Gaoqiao Squadron will cooperate with Mochizuki Squadron in the battle. We must defeat the defenders and occupy Tianmenling before the commander arrives."

Captain Takahashi had been killed in the explosion and the unit had suffered heavy casualties, so he could only assist.

After only a slight adjustment, the Japanese attacked the company's position again. They formed a strict attack formation and rushed towards the company's blocking position with great momentum.
Led by Sun Yuandong, a company of officers and soldiers fought desperately to stop the enemy. There were casualties on both sides, but the casualties of the Japanese were far greater than those of the defenders.

In order to avoid landmines, Noguchi's squadron carried out a large-scale roundabout operation, climbing over the steep mountains on the left wing, which was very time-consuming.

After the Wangyue Squadron attacked for a while, the Japanese infantry artillery squad finally came to reinforce. With just a few shots, they destroyed a heavy machine gun of the defenders. Sun Yuandong knew that he could not fight any more.
Moreover, the main force of the Japanese also arrived one after another. They had a field artillery squadron, and their company could not withstand several rounds of bombardment. So after repelling an attack by the Japanese with all their strength, they voluntarily gave up their positions.

Seeing that the first company was about to run away, Major Suzuki immediately ordered a pursuit. At this time, the main force of the Japanese regiment had not yet gathered, and they once again left the main force far behind;
Sun Yuandong led his company to fight and retreat. In order not to affect the marching speed, they even threw away their only heavy machine gun, so the Japanese could only follow behind them and eat dust.

The main force of the guerrilla column is composed of veterans who have fought many battles. Even though some fresh blood was added later, they were also trained under the guidance of the old ones.
They were able to hold their own against the A-class division, so it was no problem for them to outrun the Japanese garrison battalion.

The Japanese were out of breath in pursuit, and were about to catch up, but ended up running headfirst into the blocking positions of the second and third companies;
This time they suffered a great loss, losing hundreds of men, and the defenders also had mortars and infantry guns, which forced the Suzuki Battalion to retreat several hundred meters, thus avoiding the tragedy of being severely damaged. "Bakayarō, you have brought shame to the Empire!"

When Kazuyuki Ishii arrived, he was furious. He slapped Major Suzuki several times and cursed their ancestors.

"Bagayalu, you are a bunch of cowards. You can't even defeat a small guerrilla force. What are we doing with you?"

"waste!"

"Rubbish!"

"The ancestors of the Suzuki family must be so angry that they must crawl out of their graves to apologize to the emperor..."

The expedition was unsuccessful, and Colonel Ishii vented all his anger on Major Suzuki. He thought that it would be easy to wipe out the guerrillas around Linyi with just one regiment.

Unexpectedly, before even reaching the edge of Tianjia Town, they had lost an entire squadron of troops, and another squadron was surrounded in the direction of Tianjia Town, which made the arrogant Colonel Ishii lose face.

Major Suzuki fully demonstrated his style of being a dead pig that is not afraid of boiling water, just nodding and bowing. As for committing suicide by seppuku, there was no such thing.

Senior staff officer Major Watanabe saw that the situation was about right and stepped forward to say:
“Sir, based on the intelligence we have so far, the guerrillas in Tianjia Town are far more powerful than we thought;

Judging from the skills and tactics they demonstrated, this is definitely a regular army of the Chinese government.

Suzuki-kun's problem was that he underestimated the enemy and rushed in recklessly, falling into the trap set by the Chinese. I suggest that you wait until the artillery squadron is deployed before launching a thunderous attack."

Major Suzuki looked at Major Watanabe with gratitude. Watanabe was right. It was not that Suzuki was incompetent, but that the Chinese were too cunning!

Colonel Ishii had almost vented his anger, and his expression became much better. He snorted coldly and said:

"Yoshi, Suzuki-kun, I'll give you one more chance to prove yourself. After the artillery preparation is complete, you must defeat the enemy in front of you, otherwise you will be loyal to His Majesty the Emperor!"

Major Suzuki bowed deeply to Colonel Ishii, then turned and left. Colonel Ishii's expression had returned to normal, and he turned to Major Watanabe and said:
"The Chinese's goal is to use Gaoqiao Squadron to lure the Imperial Army into a trap, consume the Imperial Army's manpower and weapons through layers of blocking, and then fight a decisive battle with the Imperial Army in Tianjia Town!

If I'm not mistaken, there should be another troop in Tianjia Town. Their reinforcements scattered all over Linyi are rushing to Tianjia Town. Gaoqiao Squadron can't hold out until we arrive. I even suspect that they have been wiped out by the Chinese. "

Major Watanabe took a deep breath and followed Colonel Ishii's words:

"If this is the case, the most prudent response should be to abandon the attack on Tianjia Town, retreat to Linyi City, and then ask the commander for tactical guidance and send heavy troops to wipe out the guerrillas in Linyi."

Colonel Ishii was moved after hearing this, but still shook his head and said:
"If this is the case, the Ishii Regiment has become a waste in the commander's mind. No one from top to bottom takes the guerrillas seriously. They still haven't changed their minds and are all keen on the front battlefield.

Only when the Commander sees the huge threat posed by the guerrillas will they take it seriously. This time, let the Ishii Regiment be a touchstone to measure the weight of the guerrillas. "

Major Watanabe understood what the commander meant and took over the conversation.
"Your Excellency, the guerrillas do have some strength, but they cannot defeat a regiment of the Imperial Army. At most, they will be deadlocked in Tianjia Town. In this way, Your Excellency, the Commander, can see the harm of the guerrillas."

"Yoshi, Watanabe-kun is the one who knows me well, order the artillery to attack!
If nothing unexpected happens, they will retreat. This place is not suitable for a blocking battle. They should be waiting for the imperial army in Lijiagou."

Major Watanabe took the order and left. Colonel Ishii breathed a sigh of relief. He had become pragmatic now and no longer looked down on the guerrillas in Linyi, but this made him full of fighting spirit. He murmured:
"I already value you guys very much, please don't let me down!"

The guerrillas blocked the positions, and rows of shells fell from the sky. Each round of artillery fire caused many casualties to the defenders;
Zhao Kun didn't want to fight a positional battle, but the main force of the military sub-district was still on the way to Linyi. They had to delay the Japanese for a while and at least withstand one more round of attacks.

(End of this chapter)