Songhu: Never Give Up

Chapter 228 Battle of Wuhu (1)

Kitano Battalion was the vanguard battalion of the 65th Infantry Regiment. The three regiments of the 13th Division were advancing side by side. The commander of the 3th Regiment knew that the Wuhu Campaign had attracted the attention of the Emperor, so he wanted to take the lead and ordered Kitano Battalion to charge all the way. Now they have advanced several kilometers.

On the left wing of the 65th Regiment was the 58th Regiment, on the right wing was the 104th Infantry Regiment, and behind them were the 116th Regiment, the division's direct troops, and the division headquarters.

The 13th Division was also a horse-drawn division. The 13th Field Artillery Regiment, which was responsible for firepower, lagged behind, and the Kitano Battalion, which was the vanguard, was only reinforced with three 3mm mortars.
After the exploratory attack, Major Kitano Mitsutomu ordered the mortar team to fire at the defenders' positions. Rows of shells fell from the sky, focusing on the defenders' machine gun positions.

What he didn't know was that the defenders only used light machine guns, which could be moved very quickly. No one was stupid enough to wait for the Japanese to bomb, so the Japanese artillery preparations did not cause many casualties to the defenders.

The Japanese fired 12 rounds, but the casualties of the defenders did not exceed double digits. The mortars posed little threat to the defenders hiding in the earthworks.

After the bombing, the Kitano Battalion launched the first general offensive. To the arrogant Major Kitano, the first offensive was the general offensive, and the entire battalion pressed forward.

Seeing that the Japanese were ready to fight him right from the start, Shi Song excitedly led the third company, which was the reserve, to move forward. All six flying thunder cannons of the artillery company were set up on the left wing, lined up in a row, as a flank firepower to give the Japanese a surprise.

Although the range of the Flying Thunder Cannon is only about 200 meters, and its stability and accuracy are not high, it still plays a great role as auxiliary firepower in defense;
Deployed on the flank of the main position, it posed a great threat to the charging Japanese troops and was the "feast" that Shi Song prepared for the Japanese troops.

As a standing division, the Hojo Battalion's attack was also very methodical. It was divided into three echelons. The first echelon consisted of several hundred riflemen, light machine gunners, and grenade launcher groups. The second echelon consisted of a heavy machine gun squadron and infantry artillery squad, protected by a squad of infantry.

The third echelon is three mortars. They carry out long-range fire suppression from one kilometer away. The combination of short, medium and long-range firepower is very reasonable.

When the skirmish line of the first echelon of the Japanese army pushed to the front of the defenders' positions, the light and heavy machine guns on the defenders' positions suddenly opened fire, spraying countless bullets, suppressing the Japanese army so much that they could not raise their heads, and the number of casualties also rose sharply;

The Japs were also very cunning. The riflemen who had avoided the first round of firepower attacks lay on the ground and fought back. For a while, light and heavy machine guns fired directly, causing many casualties to the defenders.

The heavy firepower of the Kitano Battalion used the same old tricks again, with heavy machine guns suppressing at medium and long range, while the Type 90 infantry guns and mm mortars continuously launched long-range sneak attacks on the exposed heavy firepower of the defenders. The battle was very lively.

Just as the Japanese infantry groups were getting up from the ground, several "big rocks" flew over from their flanks. Before the Japanese could react, these "big rocks" began to explode, making a noise comparable to that of heavy artillery.

The destructive power is even more terrifying. One explosion will cover a large area. There will be no survivors within 20 meters of the explosion center, and there will still be casualties within 50 meters. Lying on the ground is useless as you will be shocked to death.

"Bagayalu, what kind of work is this?"

The leading officer asked in horror. These "stone bullets" from the flank caused heavy losses to their warriors. Even though they were well-informed, they didn't know what was going on.

Then came the second round, the third round, and the fourth round;

The Japanese soldiers howled in despair as rows of explosive packs exploded, and their morale was instantly destroyed. Without waiting for orders from the officers, the Japanese soldiers in Kitano's battalion fled in panic as if they had seen a ghost.

The light and heavy machine guns in front took the opportunity to fire at the backs of the Japanese soldiers, leaving them in rows. At this time, they could no longer care about these things and just ran for their lives...

"Damn it, what a bunch of cowards! Is this still the invincible Sendai Division?" Major Kitano has begun to doubt his life. This sudden blow was too cruel. He thought it was a light attack, but it turned out to be a major defeat, with heavy casualties and corpses everywhere.

He resisted the urge to shoot them all, and ordered the artillery to fire on the flanks. He wanted to destroy all the Chinese heavy artillery;
However, the muzzles of the Kitano Battalion's guns were all pointed forward, and it would take time to turn them to the flanks. The Flying Thunder Cannon was extremely light, and after launching the explosive pack, two people could just pick it up and run away. The Japanese artillery had no time to react at all.

Although they were just some gasoline barrels, the thrifty Chinese people were reluctant to throw them away and had already carried them to another position, so the Japanese artillery shells only exploded in vain.

When all the fleeing Japanese soldiers gathered together, Major Kitano felt like committing suicide after seeing the casualties.

More than 400 people were killed or wounded in just one attack. If he attacked again, he would be alone. What made him most uncomfortable was that he could no longer attack the defenders' positions with the remaining remnants of his army. He could only wait for the arrival of the main force of the regiment.

Half an hour later, he waited for the main force of the regiment, and also waited for a slap and a cordial greeting from the commander of the regiment:
"Baka, where did the Chinese get their heavy artillery? You're just making excuses for your own incompetence!

You lost half a battalion in less than an hour. Why don't you go and apologize to the Emperor, you idiot! "

Faced with the furious commander of the regiment, Major Kitano, who had been beaten into a pig's head, could only swell his left cheek and then extend his right cheek. Sometimes there is a price to pay for stealing credit.

It was not until the commander of the regiment, Colonel Ryokaku Gyōsaku, was exhausted that Senior Staff Officer Oi Hideichiro finally gritted his teeth and spoke up for Major Kitano:

"Sir, I remember that Yue Qianli's troops had a powerful mortar. The Ninth Division suffered from them. I have a classmate in the Ninth Division, so I have heard a little about it."

"Mortar? Is this ancient artillery still useful on modern battlefields?"

Colonel Ryokaku asked suspiciously, and Major Kitano interrupted and said:
"Sir, Commander, what Oi-kun said is correct, it is a mortar!
The range is less than 200 meters, the accuracy is very poor, the rate of fire is very slow, but the power is very strong, and it can explode a large area;

They were deployed on the flank, and the warriors didn't pay attention, so they suffered a great loss."

Colonel Ryokaku was also an experienced man. He roughly guessed what was going on through their descriptions. He also knew the limitations of this mortar. In order not to affect morale, he waved his hand and said:

"This type of mortar is nothing to be afraid of. The Chinese lack the industry to manufacture modern artillery, so they can only produce some weapons that have been eliminated by the times.
Next time you launch an attack, you can bombard both wings to prevent them from launching a sneak attack. At the same time, you can send troops to the flanks to eliminate the threat from the flanks.

The Chinese can only resort to some petty tricks that are not worthy of being shown on the stage, but they are vulnerable in the face of the absolute strength of the Imperial Army!"

Major Oi, Major Kitano and others expressed their agreement. Colonel Ryokaku had always been arrogant and would not be intimidated by a few homemade cannons.

He then took over command of the front line and began to launch a regiment-level attack on the defenders' positions.

(End of this chapter)