Songhu: Never Give Up

The front line of Dongxi Ridge is filled with smoke
Rows of Japanese soldiers fearlessly rushed towards the defenders' positions, but fell down in whole rows under the intensive fire of the defenders. The corpses of Japanese soldiers could be seen everywhere in front of the positions.

Dongxi Ridge is located on the right side of the Jining-Heze Highway, with a river on the left. If the 10th Brigade wants to pass through, it must capture Dongxi Ridge;
Of course, the Japanese could also choose to cross the river, but their baggage could not keep up, and it would be too risky to go deep into the guerrilla base that had been operating for a long time without baggage, so Major General Mizuno Nobuyuki chose to attack the river. A small hill could not scare him.

The forward position of Dongxi Ridge was defended by a company of the Second Battalion of the Military Sub-district. They were only serving as outposts to block the Japanese vanguard and dampen their morale.

Captain Yu Youqing gave the 1st Company the task of holding the frontline position for an hour, but the company commander Xia Chenhui would not give up the position easily;

Facing the dense crowds of Japanese invaders, he had only one word in mind - fight!

The vanguard of the 1st Infantry Battalion of the 10th Independent Mixed Brigade attacked the 41st Company's position. It had about 300 men and was commanded by Squadron Leader Fujii Eiji.

As the vanguard, they encountered guerrilla resistance and started fighting directly, trying to break through the defenders' defense line in one fell swoop.

The company's battle line is located at the foot of the mountain. It consists of three trenches and is a standard civil engineering structure of the guerrilla column. It looks simple, but is actually quite complex.

Captain Fujii didn't take the trenches seriously at all, and kept driving his soldiers to charge the first company's position, but they were suppressed by the Type 92 heavy machine guns deployed on both wings of the first company;
It was at this time that Captain Fujii discovered that the weapons used by the defenders were the same as theirs. Two Type 92 heavy machine guns were deployed on the commanding heights on both wings, forming cross fire.

In the middle, there were at least 6 Taisho -year type light machine guns and over a hundred Type rifles. They continuously sprayed bullets at the Japanese. Not only was the firepower dense, but the shooting was also very accurate. Basically, every shot hit the enemy's flesh. They did not look like guerrillas at all.

"Damn it! Where did they get so many weapons made in the Empire? Are they still a beggar-like guerrilla group?"

The 10th Independent Mixed Brigade had been fighting the guerrillas of the Eighth Route Army in North China. Not to mention the local Eighth Route Army, even the old Eighth Route Army did not have such fierce firepower. They almost doubted their lives.

Another squadron leader, Captain Nakamura, said with a gloomy face:
"Fujii-kun, these are not guerrillas. They are the elite of the Chinese government army. I have heard of them. They are well-known!"

Fujii frowned and said:

"Nani, government troops? Weren't the Chinese government troops driven across the Yellow River?"

All along, in order not to affect morale, the Japanese had been deliberately downplaying the guerrilla column's achievements. The battle reports were all exaggerated, and any losses were exaggerated to be victories, causing many Japanese to be unaware of the truth.
Although they were informed that their opponent was a guerrilla column, everyone took the guerrilla column seriously and thought it was a guerrilla force like the Eighth Route Army.

Captain Nakamura obviously knew more than the other devils, so he said in a boastful manner:
"This guerrilla column is indeed the regular army of the Chinese. It is said that the first-class divisions have suffered losses at their hands. Their combat power is not inferior to that of the Imperial Army."

"Mr. Nakamura, there is no army in China that is as powerful as the Imperial Army. Your fear of the enemy is unacceptable. No one can stop the Imperial Army's attack!"

After Fujii finished speaking, he ignored Captain Nakamura and continued to drive the Japanese to attack the defenders' positions. He wanted to defeat the first company before the main force of the battalion arrived.

Captain Nakamura also shut his mouth. He also wanted to see whether the guerrilla column was really as powerful as the rumors said, or just an exaggeration. He would only know after fighting.

Although the Japanese in the garrison brigade were not as good as those in the first-class division, they were also well-organized in terms of skills and tactics, with strict formations and a strong offensive. Ordinary guerrillas could not hold them off for long.

It’s a pity that the defenders had seen the world, and Xia Chenhui just watched the Japanese jumping up and down coldly, and would never open fire unless they were within a hundred meters.

一连下辖3个步兵排和一个装备了2门飞雷炮和2挺九二重机枪的火力排，每个排4个步兵班和1个装备了3门掷弹筒的班，全连260多人，兵力和火力都是完爆鬼子一个中队；
They were able to withstand the attack of an incomplete battalion in defense, so they fought calmly. They even hid an infantry platoon as a reserve.

Zhang Dashan was a bandit before he joined the guerrillas. He became a bandit just to make a living, and this was his idea when he first joined the guerrilla column.
His thinking had changed greatly in the past few months, and now he knew why the war was fought and had a sense of belonging to the guerrillas.

The difference between him and the veterans is the lack of practical experience. Fortunately, more than half of the class are veterans. With their guidance, his skills and tactics improved rapidly. He was no longer afraid of the Japanese when he saw them, but instead wanted to kill them.

He aimed his rifle at a sly Japanese soldier, who was so cunning that his waist was almost bent to the ground, ready to lie down at any time;
Zhang Dashan was waiting for the order to open fire. The squad leader had told him that he could not shoot without orders even if the Japanese got under his nose.

The Japanese were getting closer and closer, and his palms began to sweat. If it were in the past, he would have greased the soles of his feet.

"beat!"

The platoon leader fired a shot. This was an order. Just as the Japanese soldier Zhang Dashan was aiming at was about to lie down, he pulled the trigger. The bullet hit the Japanese soldier, and he fell to the ground.
Zhang Dashan didn't know whether he killed the Japanese soldier or not, but at least it was a victory. This was also the first Japanese soldier he eliminated, and he was very happy from head to toe.

He also imitated the old soldier and drew a thin line on the butt of the rifle, then loaded the bullet into the chamber and continued to look for the next target;
The remaining Japanese soldiers had all fallen to the ground. Some hid in bomb craters, and some hid behind the corpses of Japanese soldiers and fired back. The bullets raised dust in front of the defenders' positions, and people were hit from time to time.

Zhang Dashan was not frightened. He aimed at the Japanese and fired again. This time he missed, but instead exposed himself and brought revenge from the Japanese. He was so scared that he retreated into the trench.

Bullets whizzed past his head and he huddled in the trench, trembling. He was terrified at the thought that he had almost been killed by the Japanese bullets.

"Zhang Dashan, you coward, the devils are coming!"

An old soldier was yelling at him. He wanted to get up, but his legs were shaking. The old soldier fired another shot at the Japanese and had no time to care about him.

"Fuck you, I've already killed a Japanese soldier. I'm either a coward or my legs just don't obey me."

Zhang Dashan was very stubborn and even found an excuse for his cowardice. He didn't feel it at first, but he felt scared after he had a close brush with death.

After being yelled at by the old soldier, Zhang Dashan's legs became noticeably stiffer. He had no choice but to stiffen them as he could not afford to lose face.

He climbed up from the trench tremblingly and carefully stuck his head out. This boy was quite cunning. He even knew to use the tip of his gun to pick up the helmet to test the enemy.
After making sure it was safe, he stuck his head out and continued fighting. After that, he looked guiltily to see if the squad leader had noticed him.

At this time, the Japanese had already rushed to the front under the cover of the Type 92 heavy machine gun. Zhang Dashan targeted a Japanese sergeant. Because the two sides were very close, he could even see the Japanese's Rendan beard clearly;
The Japanese soldier was jumping around, and Zhang Dashan tried to lock on to him several times but failed. The more this happened, the more he became more competitive, and he got into a fight with the old Japanese soldier.

Although there were Japanese soldiers everywhere, he stared at the Japanese sergeant and fired decisively after figuring out the Japanese soldiers' jumping and running patterns.
The bullet hit the devil's chest accurately, and Zhang Dashan breathed a sigh of relief. This was the second devil he had killed. After he was done, he looked at the squad leader as if to show off. This time the squad leader saw him and gave him a thumbs up, which completely got rid of the reputation of a coward.

No matter whether he was a veteran or a new soldier, anyone who could kill two devils would win the respect of others. After this battle, he officially became a veteran.

In the following battles, although Zhang Dashan failed to achieve any results, he was no longer afraid and even had a little expectation for the arrival of the devils.

Unfortunately, the Japanese disappointed him. Captain Fujii saw that he could not break through the defenders' line of defense and suffered heavy casualties, so he ordered a retreat.

The Japanese retreated under the cover of each other. After testing the strength of the defenders, Captain Fujii could only swallow his anger and suspended the attack after leaving behind dozens of corpses.

The first contact between the two sides ended there. The defenders, under the command of the squad leaders, hid in the anti-artillery caves, leaving only a small number of observation posts.
They were very familiar with the Japs' offensive tactics, and the next attack would definitely be a rain of artillery shells.

The Japanese soldiers of the 41st Battalion arrived one after another. The battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Takuma Tanabe, took over the command. After listening to Captain Fujii's report, he did not blame him, but said arrogantly:
"Yoshi, I was just worried that I couldn't find them. These guerrillas are rarely willing to fight a positional battle with the Imperial Army. We can just wipe them out together!"

Lieutenant Colonel Tanabe issued the attack order without waiting for the main force of the brigade to arrive. He concentrated all the mortars of the four squadrons for use;

First, they launched a fierce artillery attack on a company's position, which blew the defenders' positions into pieces and destroyed many trenches. The outcome of the battle is unknown.

As soon as the artillery preparation was completed, dense crowds of infantry rushed to the position of the first company, as many as five or six hundred, intending to defeat the defenders in one fell swoop.

Seeing that the Japanese were using human wave tactics, Captain Yu Youqing was worried that he would suffer a loss, so he immediately ordered the artillery companies deployed in depth to fire at the Japanese.
Rows of artillery shells whizzed into the Japanese group. Although there were only four artillery pieces, they caused heavy casualties to the Japanese infantry in field combat.

"Kill the chicken and give it to me!"

"Itaya!"

The Japanese were not frightened by the defenders' artillery fire. They just rushed forward fearlessly, completely ignoring their companions who were being torn to pieces around them.

After suffering dozens of casualties, the Japanese finally broke through the artillery blockade, and were greeted by another battery of light and heavy firepower;

This time the Japanese didn't dare to charge forward, but lay on the ground to avoid the rain of bullets. The Japanese's four mortars were also constantly bombarding the defenders, and the company's casualties were rising sharply.

The Japanese light and heavy machine guns and grenade launchers took the opportunity to suppress the heavy firepower of the defenders, while the infantry group pushed forward little by little, refusing to give in to either side, and the battle became fierce.

At the field headquarters of the 10th Independent Brigade, the brigade commander, Major General Mizuno Nobuyuki, was staring at the map and thinking about how to break the impasse, accompanied by the chief of staff, Lieutenant Colonel Gentaro Yamashita.

Yamashita Gentaro admired Major General Mizuno's calmness. This was the style of a great general. He felt like he was being scratched by a cat in his heart.
Major General Mizuno seemed to sense the impetuousness in Lieutenant Colonel Yamashita's heart and snorted coldly:

"Yamashita-kun, you need to be patient. The competition between the two sides has just begun. Slow work makes fine work."

Lieutenant Colonel Yamashita bowed to Mizuno in shame, and then said flatteringly:
“General, what I am teaching you is that I am worried that if the battle in Dongxi Ridge drags on for too long, the Chinese will move their military factories.

The guerrillas were rarely willing to engage in positional warfare with the Imperial Army, which showed that they needed time.

Major General Mizuno nodded and said:
"Mr. Yamashita, there is a saying in China that the monk can escape but the temple cannot. The purpose of this encirclement and suppression is to destroy the foundation on which the guerrillas depend for survival.
Without a foundation, their military factories are just empty shells. The Chinese obviously understand this, so they have to bite the bullet and fight the Imperial Army in a position they are not good at.

In positional warfare, the imperial army can afford the consumption, but the guerrillas cannot, so there is no need to worry too much;

As long as we maintain a continuous offensive and allow the guerrillas to continue to invest manpower, the Imperial Army will have the initiative. "

Lieutenant Colonel Yamashita thought about it and realized that this was indeed the case. He bowed to Major General Mizuno again and said:
"General, I have learned a lot from you! Listening to your words is worth ten years of reading. It is unfortunate for the guerrillas to have met you."

Although Mizuno knew that Yamashita was flattering him, he still couldn't help but smile triumphantly. The guerrillas were fighting in the way he liked, which made him very happy. He continued:

"The firepower of the 41st Battalion is still too weak. Let the Mountain Artillery Battalion provide support and consume as much of the guerrillas' manpower as possible."

Lieutenant Colonel Yamashita took the order and left with a grunt. Major General Mizuno continued to think about things. He was considering the possibility of sending a small force to sneak across Dongxi and launch a roundabout operation.

"Yoshi, let's fight for a while first. After the main force of the guerrillas is tied down, we can quietly cross the river. Don't shoot..."

The more Mizuno thought about it, the more excited he became, and a smug smile appeared on his face. He seemed to have seen the grand scene of a special force destroying the Chinese military factory.

At the front line of Dongxiling, the Japanese attack was repelled again, and nearly half of the company's soldiers were killed or wounded. Zhang Dashan's squad leader was also injured, but he behaved more and more like a veteran.

Just when the first company was rushing to repair the fortifications, Yu Youqing ordered them to abandon the front line. Although Xia Chenhui was reluctant, he still carried out the order without compromise;
The fortifications at the frontline were too simple, and the goal had been achieved after half a day of defense. The remaining 170-odd people in the company all retreated to the main position, and more than 80 people were killed in the battle.

The Japanese suffered far greater casualties than them, estimated to be around 200 people, and both sides were dissatisfied with the outcome of the battle.

Just as the first company had evacuated, the Japanese launched another attack. This time the scale was much smaller, with about two squadrons, divided into two echelons on the left and right, rushing towards the defenders' positions.

The main position of the defenders was divided into two lines of defense. The first line was on the mountainside, consisting of three horizontal and four vertical trenches and a large number of anti-artillery holes. The second line was on the top of the mountain and was defended by the third battalion.

(End of this chapter)