Songhu: Never Give Up

On the main road, the remaining 179nd Cavalry Battalion was also fiercely attacked by the main force of the th Division;

The 179th Division has 2 brigades and 4 regiments, as well as an artillery battalion, and is part of the adjusted division.

A regiment of the Japanese cavalry brigade was ambushed on the flank, and a regiment was blocked in front to block the reinforcements. A total of two infantry regiments and one artillery battalion ambushed the main force of the Japanese, which had an absolute advantage in terms of manpower;
The combat effectiveness of the artillery regiment was negligible, and the escort force available for combat consisted of only more than 500 cavalry and 200 infantry.

The troops ambushing the main force of the Japanese were under the unified command of Ji Xingwen. At his command, thousands of Northwest Army soldiers fiercely fired at the Japanese cavalry and infantry, and the Japanese cavalry who were on alert fell off their horses one after another;
The Japanese infantry squadron was not much better off. After the First Cavalry Battalion chased them out, the main force of the Japanese stopped.

The cavalry deployed to both wings, and the infantry squadrons went on the defensive on the spot to prevent new attackers.

While the cavalry searched the two wings, the 179th Division's ambushers opened fire first, hitting the slowed-down cavalry in the open wilderness as easily as shooting at a fixed target;
It was the Third Regiment that ambushed the Japanese infantry. Dozens of machine guns fired at the Japanese, knocking down dozens of them in an instant.

The remaining Japanese soldiers began to resist stubbornly. After a few bursts of machine gun fire, more than a dozen shells fell from the sky. The violent explosion engulfed most of the Japanese soldiers, and almost all the machine guns were silenced.
After being attacked, the Japanese artillery also fell into great chaos, with people shouting and horses neighing, and the stimulated mules and horses began to become restless.

Ji Xingwen took the opportunity to order a charge. Thousands of soldiers rushed out of the ambush positions and rushed towards the Japanese like a tidal wave, killing all the Japanese within their sight with their weapons.

The difference in strength between the two sides was too great, and the cavalry was too dispersed to form an impact, and was knocked off their horses one by one by the riflemen, just like dumplings being dropped into the water.
When the commander of the artillery regiment saw that something was wrong, he ordered the cannons to be blown up immediately. Unfortunately, it was too late. Ji Xingwen was prepared for this move by the Japanese.

For the Northwest Army, artillery was more important than life. A division had only about ten or eight artillery pieces, and they were small-caliber artillery pieces like mortars. A division with four 4mm mountain artillery pieces was considered the main force.

The dozens of large and small artillery pieces of the Japanese artillery regiment have already made Lao Ji drool, so how could he possibly give the Japanese a chance to detonate their artillery?

As soon as the order to charge was given, at least a thousand soldiers rushed straight towards the Japanese artillery, and soon reached a distance of several hundred meters;
They first killed dozens of cavalry guards, suffering hundreds of casualties, and then rushed into the Japanese artillery group, with their swords flying, and killed any living Japanese they saw.

The Japanese soldiers in the artillery regiment had never seen such a bloody fighting method. They just chopped off the heads with knives. This was too brutal. It was said that even Aunt Amaterasu would not take the heads after they were chopped off.

The artillery's fighting spirit was originally inferior to that of the infantry, and they were defeated on the spot when they were frightened by the big swords. However, the soldiers of the Northwest Army did not intend to let these devils go. Their hatred for the devils was engraved in their bones.

The soldiers held high their gleaming ghost-head knives and chased after the Japanese. When they caught up with them, they would cut them with the knives, and a big, healthy head would roll to the ground. It was so cool!

"Grandpa, spare my life. I am from Yizhou!"

A Japanese soldier knelt down and begged for mercy. The sergeant of the Northwest Army who caught up with him said disdainfully:
"Grandpa doesn't have an unfilial descendant like you. Go be a devil in your next life!"

After saying this, he ignored the devil's cries for mercy and raised his knife, chopping off his head with one stroke. Not even a drop of blood got on the blade.

Then another Japanese soldier said he was a Korean and was captured by the Japanese. The soldiers could not understand the Korean language at all, so they just killed him with a knife. The ground was littered with the bodies of the Japanese soldiers.

This battle lost suspense from the very beginning. The difference in strength between the two sides was too great. At the suggestion of the reconnaissance battalion commander, the 179th Division used guerrilla tactics, splitting the most threatening cavalry regiment of the Japanese into two and defeating them one by one; then concentrated two infantry regiments and an artillery battalion to ambush the main force of the Japanese and quickly wiped them out.

At the same time, the Third Brigade that was blocking the 58th Brigade's attack also pretended to be defeated and fled to the mountains on both wings, opening up the passage;

In addition to sending out a part of the 58th Regiment's two wings to pursue the defeated remnants, the main force of the Japanese drove straight into the Horseshoe Valley.

When they heard the sound of gunfire from the direction of the artillery regiment outside the valley, they realized that they had been tricked. Ueda Michihiro immediately sent a battalion back to provide support, while he led other Japanese soldiers to continue to reinforce the 104th Regiment.

Colonel Ueda judged that this was a harassment plan by the Chinese to force the 58th Regiment to return. He would not fall for it and only sent a battalion to welcome them. Rescuing the 104th Regiment was their core mission.

When Yue Qianli learned that the main force of the 58th Regiment had entered the Horseshoe Valley, he ordered the Third Detachment to start setting up a pocket;

The Third Detachment, which had been defeated on both wings, launched a counterattack and swept away the two pursuing squadrons of Japanese soldiers.

The Aida Battalion, which returned to reinforce the artillery, was surrounded. At this time, the main force of the 58th Regiment had just joined up with the remnants of the 104th Regiment.

The Japanese were divided into four parts. The first part was in the Horseshoe Valley, with a total of about 3 people, surrounded by the First Detachment, the Second Detachment, and the 77nd Division of the 132th Army.

The second part, the 58th Regiment's Aida Battalion, was outside the Horseshoe Valley, between the Horseshoe Valley and the Artillery Regiment, only a few hundred meters away from the Artillery Regiment, and was surrounded by the 179rd Detachment and the st Regiment of the th Division;
The third part was the remnants of the artillery regiment and part of the cavalry regiment. There were still several hundred people left, and they were being surrounded and annihilated by the main force of the 179th Division.
The fourth part was in an unnamed valley on the flank, with more than 200 remnants struggling to survive. They were surrounded and annihilated by the Second Regiment of the 179th Division and part of the reconnaissance battalion of the guerrilla column.

Due to the lack of information on the battlefield, Tanaka Shizuka misjudged the situation and sent a rescue force mainly composed of the 104th Regiment to reinforce the 58th Regiment. As a result, they were divided and surrounded at several points by the 77th Army and the guerrilla column.
The remaining soldiers at each point had to face sieges from troops several times or even ten times their strength, and the situation was extremely unfavorable for the Japanese.

Now that both sides have revealed their cards, Yue Qianli chose to eat the outer enemies first and issued the order for a general attack;

All the units began to annihilate the besieged devils with all their might. The first to reach the brink of destruction were the remnants of the cavalry surrounded in an unnamed valley, with only more than 100 riders left.

Colonel Nojima was quite lucky. He escaped several times without getting hurt, but there was no sign of emotion on his face. After destroying the cavalry regiment flag, he prepared to launch a final desperate charge and shouted:

"Gentlemen, the time has come to show loyalty to the Emperor. The cavalry must die on the way to the charge. Kill the chickens!"

The remaining Japanese soldiers followed him and rushed towards the blocking position of the Second Regiment. Rows of machine guns and rifle bullets were fired at them, and they were immediately thrown to the ground.
In front of machine guns, cavalrymen are just targets. The era of cavalrymen has long ended, and only they themselves are still living in a dream...

Colonel Nojima's luck had run out, and he was riddled with bullets. The rest of the Japanese were also wiped out, and the Second Regiment's mission was successfully completed.

Soon after, the other two remnant troops outside the Horseshoe Valley were also annihilated, and Yue Qianli's first stage goal was completed. (End of this chapter)