Songhu: Never Give Up

Linyi City, the gates were closed, and the part of the city wall that was blown down by the Japanese had been repaired. The Chinese soldiers were at the gates of the city, and the Japanese were waiting on the brick and stone walls;

Linyi City, also known as Yizhou Prefecture City, was built in the third year of Lu Ai in the Spring and Autumn Period. The original city was a rammed earth city with a history of 2500 years. The old city covers an area of ​​1.64 square kilometers.

The ancient city wall was rebuilt several times in successive dynasties. Before the Japanese invaders attacked Linyi at the beginning of the year, the city wall had a circumference of 4.5 kilometers, a height of 8.3 meters, a top thickness of 3.3 meters, 3782.5 battlements on the parapet, 50 castles and 4 artillery batteries.

There is a 2.67-meter-wide horse path around the city inside the wall, which can be used to transport troops and ammunition. Therefore, although the city is built on a plain, it is easy to defend and difficult to attack.

There are more than 1 residents in the city. The handicraft industry is well developed and the commerce is prosperous. There are more than 200 shops of various types, making it an important commercial port in southern Shandong.

During the Battle of Xuzhou, the two sides fought fiercely over the city of Linyi. Pang Bingxun defended the city to the death, and General Zhang provided full support, blocking the fierce attack of the Sakamoto Detachment of the 5th Division and annihilating 5 enemies, laying the foundation for the victory of the Battle of Taierzhuang, but also causing great damage to the city wall.

Due to the strategic location of Linyi City, the Japanese deployed a garrison regiment to defend it after they occupied it. It was a heavily fortified city.
However, the main force of the Ishii Regiment has now marched to Tianjia Town. The total number of defenders in the city is over a thousand, and there are only more than 800 troops that can actually be used for combat. Faced with the siege of thousands of people, the expression of the battalion commander, Major Ando Kosuke, is also very serious.

Although the Chinese had not launched an attack yet, Major Ando did not dare to relax at all and had sent three consecutive telegrams for help to the regiment headquarters. 3 people were not enough to stand on the city wall. As long as the attacking troops had artillery, it would be easy to blast open the city wall.

Surrounding Linyi City were the main force of the military sub-district, the First Battalion, and two garrison battalions, with a total of about 2 people;

The only ones who can really be used here are the more than 1 people in the 600st Battalion. The two garrison battalions are good for fighting a favorable battle, but they are useless in an offensive battle.

In order to put enough pressure on the Japanese, Captain Li Jiaxun ordered the artillery company's two mortars and two infantry guns to launch a fierce bombardment on Dongcheng, and asked the soldiers of the garrison battalion to cheer from behind.

The organization of the garrison battalion was very different from that of the main force. They cancelled the brigade organization and directly governed 3 to 4 garrison companies. If there were enough personnel, the number could be increased to 6 at most.
The number of people in each company varies, but there are at least three platoons and 3 squads, about 12 people.

The two garrison battalions that Li Jiaxun brought over each consisted of four companies, about 4 men, all of which were reorganized from bandit armed forces, with only the backbones above squad leaders being veterans;

After undergoing political transformation, their morale is pretty good, but their skills and tactics are too poor and they need more training and actual combat.

The artillery preparation of the First Battalion lasted for more than ten rounds, causing many casualties to the Japanese on the city wall, and at the same time, the East Gate was blasted open with infantry artillery;

Then the main company launched a feint attack on Dongcheng. The Japanese fought back desperately on the city wall, and bullets rained down on the charging soldiers, causing the company's casualties to increase sharply.

The second and third companies, which were responsible for fire cover, concentrated their firepower on firing at the city walls, and from time to time, some Japanese soldiers were shot and fell down;

The two Type 92 heavy machine guns on the city wall had just fired two shells when two mortar shells flew over and destroyed one of the heavy machine guns. The Japanese in the machine gun crew were either killed or injured.

The other machine gun group was so frightened that they immediately changed their firing positions, and the enemy's firepower dropped significantly in an instant.
The brothers of the first company took the opportunity to advance dozens of meters. The Japanese squadron leader immediately mobilized firepower to suppress them, and only then was he able to barely stop the charge of the brothers of the first company. The two sides fired at each other across the city wall, and both suffered casualties.

The National Army's artillery posed a great threat to the Japanese. Major Araki saw that the Chinese were focusing their attack on the East City, so he immediately sent his infantry artillery squad to support them.

The Japanese's heavy firepower gave the attacking forces a warning from the very beginning. In just two rounds of shooting, they destroyed a heavy machine gun and almost hit a mortar.

The attacking forces would not passively take the beating. Their four artillery pieces also fired at the Japanese artillery, and with their numerical advantage, they quickly suppressed the Japanese heavy firepower.

Major Araki's face was so gloomy that water could drip out of it. He said to the communications staff:
"Hurry up and send a telegram to the commander of the brigade. Tell him that the Chinese have a large number of artillery, many parts of the city wall have been blown up, and they have at least two regiments of troops. Please provide tactical guidance."

This was already the fourth telegram he had sent to the regiment headquarters, and it was like a death-chasing ghost;
Compared to Major Shinohara and Major Suzuki who were experienced in many battles, Major Araki was just a rookie. He had been living a lazy life in China before, and envied others who were making a fortune in China, so he used his connections to get a job as a garrison battalion captain.

He had never seen such a big scene before, so he kept asking for help from the regiment headquarters. He had not enjoyed enough and did not want to be killed by the Chinese.

"Bakayaro, that idiot Araki has a solid city wall, but he can't even stop a few thousand rabble. He has brought shame to the Imperial Army!"

After receiving Araki's fourth telegram for support, Colonel Ishii was so angry that his nose was almost crooked. He greeted Araki's family with all the vicious words he could think of, and still cursed:
"Bagayalu, you coward, you wimp!"

At this point in the battle of Tianjia Town, the Ishii Corps had already been completely defeated. Not only did they fail to capture Tianjia Town, they also lost hundreds of people.

Now their old nest has been attacked by the Chinese again. This guerrilla column is really fierce and lives up to its reputation.

Major Watanabe seemed to always be able to see through Colonel Ishii's thoughts, and came over and said:
"Sir, as long as we defend Linyi City, the two sides will at most be tied.
Araki had never participated in actual combat before, so he was a little flustered and had no accurate judgment on the strength of the guerrilla column. They had at most 2 people. The walls of Linyi City were very strong and easy to defend but difficult to attack. The guerrilla column would definitely not be able to capture Linyi City in a short period of time. We still had a chance.

As long as the main force of the regiment suddenly appears behind the Chinese, they will surely be defeated by the imperial army's two-sided attack."

Colonel Ishii's expression looked better, and he snorted coldly:

“Araki is a useless piece of shit, but the thousands of warriors in the city are still very strong. Relying on the solidity of the city walls, even 2 Chinese people are no match for them!

Ahead is Black Rock Ridge. After Black Rock Ridge, the road is flat and we will definitely reach Linyi City before dark.
Tell that bastard Araki that if Linyi City is lost, he will be loyal to the Emperor!"

Major Watanabe took the order and quickly called Major Araki back, while the others continued to run towards Black Stone Ridge.

Colonel Ishii didn't like sitting in the turtle-shell-like cab, so he chose to march on horseback. His short stature of less than 1 meters looked very funny riding on a nearly 5-meter-high Japanese horse.

On the top of Black Rock Ridge, Liao Jianping, the military sub-district commander and commander of the 2nd Battalion, showed a hunter-like smile. He had been waiting for Colonel Ishii for a long time.
Although he only brought one infantry battalion and one artillery battalion, while the Japanese had thousands of people, he was still full of confidence in victory.

The captain of the second team, Yang Junkai, a seventh-term student, came over and said:
"Commander, the Japanese are coming in force, there are at least a thousand of them. It's not easy to wrap dumplings, make sure the fillings don't burst the skins."

Liao Jianping nodded and said:

"Old Yang, this time it's up to you. I didn't think of swallowing the devils in one bite. We don't have such a big appetite. We just need to give them a good hammer.

The artillery battalion will give the devils a big gift first, and the rest will be left to you. You must not let the devils pass Black Stone Ridge!"

After listening to this, Yang Junkai said excitedly:
"Commander, don't worry. It's difficult to encircle and annihilate this group of devils, but I am confident that we can cripple them. The Second Battalion will ensure that the mission is accomplished."

After Yang Junkai made some harsh words, he left in a murderous mood. He still needed to make some final adjustments. It was better to provoke him than to please him. A smile appeared on Liao Jianping's face again.

He was very envious of Yang Junkai for being able to command from the front, but now he didn't even dare to think about it. On the one hand, Old Yue had issued a strict order, and on the other hand, he was responsible for the safety of more than 100,000 soldiers and civilians in the military sub-district and could not take the risk.

Black Stone Ridge is extremely steep and rugged with jagged rocks. The road a few hundred meters below the ridge is like a ribbon, and on the other side of the road is a winding river.

Although this place is dangerous, it is not suitable for ambushes, mainly because the distance is too far.

Both sides of the road were open, so the Ishii Battalion never expected to be ambushed here, which just happened to achieve the effect of surprise.

The Japanese marched in a long snake formation, with the strongest Shinohara Battalion leading the way, followed by the regiment headquarters and the Suzuki Battalion in the rear.
Several trucks were filled with seriously wounded soldiers, and the bodies were abandoned. The lightly wounded soldiers were all marching with the team. There was no one to take care of the more than 200 wounded soldiers.

When the Japanese entered the ambush area in a mighty force, Liao Jianping decisively gave the order to fire. More than 40 cannons from the artillery battalion and the second battalion fired fiercely at the Japanese.
Rows of artillery shells whizzed into the Japanese marching columns, and each round of explosions knocked down a large number of Japanese soldiers.

Colonel Ishii was so frightened that he fell off his horse and shouted in horror:
"Enemy attack!"

The firepower of the artillery battalion of the guerrilla column is not inferior to that of a Japanese field regiment. Mountain artillery, mortars, and infantry artillery are all long-range firepower with a range of more than two kilometers, so they are not restricted by terrain.

The Japanese were suddenly hit hard by the artillery, suffering heavy casualties. The remaining Japanese were blown to pieces, and the coordination between the various units was lost, so they could only passively take the beating.
Before the artillery preparation was completed, Yang Junkai gave the order to blow the charge, and they rushed out from the gullies under the Black Stone Ridge, like necromancers coming out of hell.

A full-speed sprint of several hundred meters only takes a few minutes. Their fighting style is to cut them off in the middle.
At this time, the Japanese truck was also blown up and broke down. Thick smoke billowed up and the Japanese were running around at the foot of the mountain. Major Shinohara tried his best to restrain the panicked soldiers, but unfortunately it was of little use.

The assault troops charging down from a high position were like a sharp bone-cutting knife, stabbing fiercely into the waist of the Japanese soldiers and cutting them off in half. The remaining Japanese soldiers then collapsed in both the front and rear directions;

A part of the attacking force was sent to drive away the Japanese who were fleeing towards Tianjia Town, while the main force stayed behind to chase and kill the fleeing soldiers heading towards Linyi. The Japanese were divided into two unconnected groups.

(End of this chapter)