Songhu: Never Give Up

Chapter 414: The real intention is revealed? The troops surround Linyi

After listening to Major Shinohara's introduction, Colonel Ishii waved his hand to boost morale and said:

"Gentlemen, the Chinese have at most 1 men, while the Imperial Army still has over a thousand men capable of fighting, and 14 artillery pieces. The advantage is on my side!

Even if our opponents were the elite troops of the Nationalist Army, under the condition of equal strength, no Nationalist Army could stop the attack of the Imperial Army;
The terrain of Lijia Valley is not difficult to penetrate. Normally, the ratio of our forces is more than 5 to 1, so it is only a matter of time before we defeat the defenders. "

The Japanese soldiers all agreed that in previous battles, more than 1 Japanese soldiers could break through the defense of a Chinese division.

Colonel Ishii then deployed the specific operations, with Shinohara Battalion still in the lead, the artillery squadron in support, and Suzuki Battalion in the reserve.

Now that they are fighting deep in the guerrilla activity area, he must leave some troops behind to deal with emergencies, such as guerrilla reinforcements.

Major Shinohara was also a veteran in the army. He was transferred from the 5th Division and participated in the battle to capture Taiyuan. He and Itagaki Seishirō created the feat of half a division sweeping across Hedong. He had extensive practical experience.

After he took over the combat mission, he first sent a squadron to feint and attack the right wing to tie down the defenders on the right wing;

Then send two squadrons to attack the commanding heights on the left wing. As long as they can occupy the commanding heights, the whole line will be broken if one point is broken.

Major Shinohara's deployment of troops was standard, and the rest will only be known after the battle;

Before launching an infantry charge, the artillery would appear first. This was the most commonly used infantry and artillery tactic of the Japanese, but the firepower of the garrison regiment was far behind that of the field regiment.

The general field regiment has two artillery squadrons, and some are even equipped with an artillery battalion, but the garrison regiment has only one field artillery squadron, equipped with 6 infantry guns, 6 mortars and 2 37mm anti-tank guns;

Even if you add the 3 infantry guns of the three infantry battalions, there are only 6 artillery pieces.

This time they only had two battalions, so only 18 guns, and they had lost 4 guns in the previous battle, so now there were only 14 guns left;
At the command of the Japanese, more than a dozen artillery pieces launched a fierce bombardment on the commanding hill. Rows of shells hit the defenders' positions, stirring up thick smoke.

The commanding heights were almost covered by artillery fire. If the artillery company's four long-range artillery pieces had not been hidden on the reverse slope, this round of artillery preparation would have destroyed them all.

The other six flying thunder guns of the artillery company were all buried in the foxholes behind the defenders' trench line. Each foxhole supported a flying thunder gun, and the muzzle exposed outside was only more than a foot high.
The right to use it was in the hands of the first company commander Sun Yuandong, who was the commander of the left-wing defenders and commanded the first and second companies to fight the enemy.

On the right wing are three companies, who can also receive support from the artillery on the left wing, and if necessary, the garrison battalion can also support them.

The Japanese artillery preparation lasted for more than half an hour, and they fired almost 30% of the shells. They had several trucks accompanying them on this raid, so they had plenty of ammunition.

As soon as the artillery fire extended, the three squadrons of Shinohara Battalion launched a fierce attack on the left and right wing positions of the defenders. Three squadrons were deployed at the beginning, intending to make the first battle a decisive one and end the battle with one charge.

On the left wing, two squadrons of Japanese launched a charge from the east and west. They rushed to the top of the hill in a strict attack formation. The first to bear the brunt were the linear positions of the first and second companies on the hillside.
The Japanese skirmishers continued to advance forward, as densely packed as a group of ants. From a distance, it seemed like a human wave tactic, but in fact it was not.

They were divided into three attack waves: front, middle and rear. The front ones were the riflemen, followed by the light machine guns and grenade launchers, and finally the infantry guns, mortars and heavy machine guns that supported the attack. They were deployed in the valley, hundreds of meters away from the defenders' positions.

The defenders were all veterans. None of them would be frightened by the Japs' posture. They just lay quietly at the edge of the trench, aiming at the Japs, waiting for Captain Sun's gunshot.

Due to the limitations of the terrain, the Japanese's supporting firepower could not be deployed several kilometers away and could only be placed at the bottom of the valley at risk. Unless they could seize the commanding heights on the left wing or the positions on the right wing, they would be in a very passive situation.

Soon the Japanese skirmishers advanced to the front of the defenders' defense line. Less than a hundred meters away, even the Japanese's red beards could be vaguely seen;
The gun in Sun Yuandong's hand fired, and a Japanese soldier fell down. In an instant, the position "came alive" and two or three hundred machine guns and rifles fired fiercely at the Japanese attack group.

The dense volley of bullets sprayed at the Japanese like a storm, and before the Japanese could lie down, a large number of them were swept down. From a distance, it looked like autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves.
As the autumn wind blew, the hillside was covered with shit-yellow corpses. The Japanese soldiers who had not turned into corpses also lay obediently on the ground and spontaneously fired at the defenders.

The Japanese's shooting skills were very accurate, and the defenders began to suffer casualties. Fortunately, due to the terrain restrictions, the Japanese's hit rate was much lower than on flat ground;
The Japanese artillery also joined in the fun, firing shells at the defenders' positions, focusing on the machine gun fire points, posing a great threat.

Zhao Kun, who was commanding the battle on the top of the mountain, immediately ordered the artillery to open fire to tie down the enemy's artillery.
When rows of artillery shells hit the valley, the Japanese artillery could only turn their guns around and fight back. Their target was too conspicuous and they lost two artillery pieces in a short period of time. If they did not suppress the defenders' artillery, all of their dozen or so artillery pieces would be destroyed.

Seeing that all the Japanese soldiers were lying on the hillside and firing at the defenders, Sun Yuandong ordered the flying thunder cannon to open fire. He intended to give the Japanese soldiers a great gift.
In the previous artillery preparation, the Flying Thunder Cannon was fortunately not damaged. The Japanese artillery would have to be extremely lucky to hit a foxhole.

Each gun had only two gunners, a chief gunner and a deputy gunner, and was equipped with five explosive packs. The foxholes were also dug based on natural trenches.

It was only 2 meters long, 1.5 meters wide, and 1.2 meters deep. The gunners were squatting inside, one on the left and one on the right, leaning against the barrel. The command to fire was also simple flag language. Raising the flag meant firing, and shaking it a few times meant firing a few shots. The wisdom of the Chinese people was brought to the extreme in the war;
After the gunners received the order to fire three explosive packs, the assistant gunner was responsible for loading the explosive packs and the main gunner was responsible for igniting them.

As for aiming, it doesn't exist. The angles are fixed in advance, and the shell will land wherever it wants.

The Japanese were concentrating on competing with the defenders in shooting skills, covering a part of the assault team who were crawling towards the defenders' positions and constantly pushing the front line upwards;

One after another, explosive packs whizzed down. At first, the Japanese thought they were stones. They had never seen the power of conscienceless artillery. Some of them even laughed at the defenders.

It was not until the explosive packs hit the ground and exploded that their smiles suddenly stopped. Their eyes were filled with fear, their smiles were frozen forever, and they were shocked to death.
Then came the second and third rounds. Each explosive pack caused a lot of casualties to the Japanese, which dealt a heavy blow to their morale.

They were completely frightened. It was too horrible. A large number of people died. There was almost no one alive within 30 meters of the explosion center. It was almost as heavy as a heavy artillery shell.
The Japanese collapsed instantly. Those who were still alive no longer had the courage to continue attacking. They fled down the mountain in a hurry, just wanting to get away from this devil's land.

The defenders took the opportunity to fire at the backs of the Japanese soldiers, killing many of them.

Not only were the attacking Japanese soldiers stunned by the explosion, but Major Shinohara, who had been watching the attacking troops, opened his mouth in horror, wide enough to fit his butt;

It was not until the Japanese were defeated that he came to his senses and angrily cursed:
"Bakayalu, what kind of work is this? Heavy artillery?"

If it was heavy artillery, that would be too much of an insult. They were only a battalion. Not to mention the Chinese, even the Japanese heavy artillery was at the strategic level.

He immediately rejected the idea of ​​heavy artillery because the range was too short and it could only be a crude cannon.

"Bagayalu, the Chinese have no moral principles!"

Due to the appearance of weapons of mass destruction, Major Shinohara suspended the attack, and the Suzuki Battalion, which was launching a feint attack on the right wing, also retreated. Their losses were not great.

It was different for Shinohara Battalion. Two squadrons rushed forward, and only one squadron retreated. Nearly half of the soldiers were killed or wounded, and most of them died from the mysterious cannons of the defenders. This time they didn't even rescue a single wounded soldier, and it was an absolute loss.

"Sir, this should be a mortar similar to a trebuchet. The Imperial Army had it two hundred years ago. It is an obsolete weapon."

"Bagayalo, the obsolete weapons are so powerful. This guerrilla group is so weird. Their fighting methods remind me of the Eighth Route Army in North China."

Major Shinohara, who had fought against the Eighth Route Army in Hedong, said with lingering fear. Major Watanabe, as a senior staff officer, had a broader vision. He shook his head and said:
"The Eighth Route Army did not have such strong firepower. They would charge after firing a few shots, but this guerrilla army not only used Soviet weapons, but also bullets as if they were free. Most of the soldiers had steel helmets, and they were M35 steel helmets.

This is a German-equipped division, it reminds me of another powerful army!"

Major Shinohara said in horror:
"You mean the guerrilla column? Yue Qianli's guerrilla column!"

Major Watanabe nodded and said:
"Does China have another army that can fight the Imperial Army 1:1? They are the guerrilla column!"

Colonel Ishii also knew about the guerrilla column. Yue Qianli and the guerrilla column's reputation had long been known throughout the country and abroad.
Although the Japanese high-ranking officials tried their best to block some information, people at the level of Colonel Ishii knew some of it.

A person's reputation is like a tree's shadow. The always arrogant Colonel Ishii also became cautious. He even thought of giving up the attack.

The guerrilla column was not something his regiment could afford to offend. At this moment, the communications staff ran over in a panic and reported loudly:

"Linyi Araki Brigade sent an urgent message, thousands of Chinese are besieging Linyi City!"

Colonel Ishii almost fell down after hearing this. He was completely confused, and his mind was a mess. However, Major Watanabe reacted quickly and exclaimed:
"The Chinese are trying to lure the tiger away from the mountain. Their real target is Linyi City!"

Colonel Ishii's eyes went dark, and a feeling of being fooled surged into his heart. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that there was a large amount of supplies stored in Linyi City, as well as a huge amount of wealth that he had plundered by trickery;

The defenders only had a few hundred men, and the consequences were disastrous. Ishii no longer had the heart to accompany the guerrillas into the mountains, and he shouted:

"Hurry to help Linyi City!"

(End of this chapter)