Songhu: Never Give Up

Chapter 298: Huaibei Victory
There was only the 18th Regiment left in the North City. There was actually no need for them to persist, but they still had two battalions scattered around the city and could not gather together for the time being.

Ishii Yoshie had ordered his men to blow the assembly call, but the effect was not good. Many squadrons and teams were already entangled with the defenders, making it difficult to retreat unscathed.

As the pursuers got more and more numerous, Ishii Yoshie became a little worried. Once the pursuers brought in heavy weapons, their machine gun positions would be useless and a few mortar shells would be enough to stop them.

Another half an hour passed, and nearly a thousand people from Ishii Jiahui's side gradually returned, which means that only one of the two battalions returned;
There is no time left, the senior staff officer urged anxiously:
"Sir, the time for assembly has passed. The main force of the Chinese has arrived. It will be too late if we don't retreat now!"

Ishii Yoshie looked at her watch, then glanced at the city, and finally gave the order to move forward. The 6th and 34th Regiments had already retreated, and there was no need for the 18th Regiment to continue.

Right wing, 58th Regiment position, filled with smoke

The Chinese encirclement was getting tighter and tighter, and the commander of the regiment, Colonel Katsuzo Kitamura, had realized that the final moment was approaching;

Although the Third Brigade had suspended its attack, he, with his rich battlefield experience, knew that this was the attacking force accumulating strength, and once the attack was launched, it would be the final blow.

“Iwata-kun, the 58th Regiment has finally followed in the footsteps of the 116th and 65th Regiments. This is the third regiment of the 13th Division to be annihilated by the guerrilla column;
If nothing unexpected happens, the 65th Regiment will be annihilated for the second time. Yue Qianli is definitely the nemesis of the 13th Division. Fortunately, the division commander was wise and let us leave the military flag on the other side, otherwise you and I would become sinners of the empire. "

Kitamura Katsuzo had just taken over as the wing commander and had not expected to encounter such a bad thing. Major Iwata expressed his deep understanding and took over the conversation and said:

"The three regiments of the 3rd Division have already broken through. Has your Excellency, the regiment commander, ever considered this?"

Major Iwata didn't finish his words, but Kitamura Katsuzo understood and waved his hand:
"Iwata-kun, don't even think about it, the Chinese won't give you a chance!

If we don’t break out, we can still hold out for a while with the help of our fortifications, killing and wounding many Chinese people. But if we break out, the last bit of our morale will disappear, and we will be destroyed even faster.”

Major Iwata fell silent. He had just graduated from the Army University less than a year ago, and he had been congratulating himself on his good fortune for not joining the other two regiments that were wiped out.
They didn't expect the boomerang to come so quickly. Now they are alone and their destruction is only a matter of time. The process of waiting to die is simply a torment for those who don't want to die.

They are now a group of abandoned pawns. The division headquarters used to provide them with artillery support, but now it has been saved. Who would waste precious artillery shells on a group of abandoned pawns?
Outside the encirclement, the Third Squadron had already made final preparations for the general attack, with mortars and flying thunder guns already set up;

Although the range of the flying thunder cannon is short, it is powerful and can be thrown farther than a grenade. Even an ordinary rifle cannot compare to it. This is enough. What we want is the shocking feeling of exploding a large area.

At the detachment's field command, Liao Jianping was in high spirits. The military affairs officer came over to ask for instructions:
"Deputy Captain, the time for the general attack is about to come. Can we open fire?"

Liao Jianping took out his pocket watch, took a look at it and said:
"Send the signal flare and launch the general attack!"

The military staff officer excitedly took the order and left. The battle on the southern front had been going on for two months, and it was finally time to end.

A few minutes later, three flares were fired into the sky. Kitamura Katsuzo breathed a sigh of relief. What was supposed to come finally came. Then he shouted:

"Warriors, the time has come to serve His Majesty the Emperor—"

"Boom boom boom..."

A series of explosions drowned out his voice, and the more than 3 soldiers of the Third Brigade would fulfill their wish;

At the same time, another small encirclement also launched a general attack. Rows of artillery shells rained down on the narrow positions of the Japanese, and each shot killed several Japanese.

"Boom, boom, boom..." A row of huge explosive packs whizzed into the Japanese position. Although the distance was less than 200 meters, there were very few survivors in the area bombed by the flying thunder cannon.

Clearing out one area and then advancing another, this clumsy method greatly reduced the casualties of the attacking troops, and the depth of the Japanese defense line was only 500 meters.

Although mortars have a long range, their numbers are small, and the Flying Thunder Cannon is the best firepower supplement.

The third detachment used flying thunder cannons to advance, which made the Japanese dizzy, dazed and completely defeated.

As soon as the artillery preparation was over, the terrifying military call sounded, and thousands of soldiers launched the final charge from all directions;

Kitamura Katsuzo knew that he had no chance of survival, so he pulled out his pistol and shot himself in the head. At least this one shot could end his life and preserve his last dignity as a soldier.

Major Iwata's last act of dignity was to commit seppuku, but time was too short and he failed to make the sign of the cross beautifully. He returned to his hometown with infinite regret.

When rows of Chinese soldiers rushed to the enemy's position, the enemy went completely crazy. They screamed and rushed towards the national army. The two torrents collided fiercely.
Due to the huge gap in strength between the two sides, the Japs' charge was more like a suicidal one, and they just wanted to die on the way.

The soldiers of the Third Detachment fulfilled their wishes and turned them into corpses with rain of bullets and sharp bayonets.

When the last devil fell, the blood-soaked soldiers shouted in unison:
"We are victorious!"

"We are victorious!"

At the same time, the supplementary detachment also eliminated the remaining enemies of the 65th Regiment in the encirclement, and annihilated the unlucky 65th Regiment once again.

At this point, all the Japanese troops who had broken into Huaibei were annihilated or driven south of the Huai River, and the Second Huaibei Campaign ended in victory.

At the guerrilla column headquarters, Yue Qianli studied the map as usual. In an era without mobile phones and the Internet, he seemed to like looking at maps, sometimes staring at them for days;
After looking at it for a long time, the mountains, lakes, rivers and seas were all in his mind. He now completely understood why people like 101, 502 and others always liked to look at maps.

Chief of Staff Chen Zhongyuan walked in excitedly, and Yue Qianli raised his head suddenly. Although he was trapped in the map, he could still keep his eyes and ears open.

The contents of the telegram were written on Chen Zhongyuan's face. Yue Qianli understood it at a glance, but he still waited quietly for Chen Zhongyuan to report to him.

"Commander, victory news from the front!"

After Chen Zhongyuan finished speaking, he handed the telegram to Yue Qianli. Yue Qianli took the telegram naturally, glanced through it, and then announced loudly:
"Brothers, several detachments have completed their work. They have completely wiped out the 13th and 65th Regiments of the 58th Division, severely damaged the 3th and 6th Regiments of the 34rd Division, and defeated the 18th Regiment. They have wiped out more than 1 Japanese soldiers and seized countless equipment and supplies!"

There was a cheer in the headquarters; this victory belonged to everyone.

Yue Qianli waited until the cheers ended and continued:
"In order to annihilate these devils, our guerrilla column also suffered thousands of casualties, especially the 1st Battalion of the Independent Column, which suffered more than 6% casualties, and the 2nd and 3rd Battalions also lost nearly half of their lives.

I propose a three-minute silence for our fallen comrades!"

"Old Chen, report the great victory in Huaibei to the headquarters and ask for credit for the soldiers!"

(End of this chapter)