Songhu: Never Give Up

The flanking operation of Noguchi's brigade was not very smooth. After crossing the river, they were constantly harassed by guerrillas.

These guerrillas do not have uniform uniforms and their weapons are of various kinds. It is obvious at first glance that they are not regular troops.

At first, Major Hiroshi Noguchi did not take them seriously and just tried to drive them away. Their target was Changling Town and they did not want to cause any trouble.

The garrison battalion that harassed them was completely clueless. They buried a few mines here and fired a few cold shots there. Although the damage to the Japanese was limited, it was still annoying.
As time went on, the Japs became more and more angry and the distance they chased became farther and farther.

"Sir, Captain, don't enter the forest. The guerrillas have hidden in the forest. We can't chase them anymore. Be careful of an ambush."

The squad leader, Lieutenant Shohei Oshima, did not calm Captain Hidetaro Nagai down, but he shouted coldly:
"Bakayalu, this is not the work of a samurai. What kind of waves can a few dozen beggar-like guerrillas make?
They killed five warriors of the empire, we must not let them go!

Kill the chicken for me!"

Lieutenant Oshima saw that the squadron leader's eyes were blinded by anger. If he dared to say any more nonsense, he would definitely get a few big mouths. So he had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow in pursuit.

On the nameless mountain, Yue Wanli finally smiled. The fish had taken the bait...

"DaDaDa..."

"Boom boom boom!"

When the Japanese soldiers of Yongjing's squadron rushed into the inverted eight-shaped ambush array set up by the guerrillas in advance, the 1st Company of Yue Wanli's battalion suddenly opened fire on the Japanese soldiers;
The crossfire composed of two Type 92 heavy machine guns and more than a dozen Type 99 light machine guns swept down a large number of Japanese soldiers who had rashly intruded.

Then, in the woods on both sides, the terrifying military trumpets sounded, followed by the sound of gunfire, shouts of killing, and the noise was so loud that it seemed as if there were thousands of ambushes. Captain Nagai was so frightened that he exclaimed:
"Damn it, there's an ambush, turn around and get to work!"

The Japanese, who suffered heavy losses, instantly lost the courage to fight on and turned around and ran away;
The ambush troops pursued the enemy and killed the Japanese soldiers in panic, leaving behind numerous corpses. In particular, the soldiers of the garrison battalion who were good at mountain warfare chased the Japanese soldiers for several miles in one breath and killed many lone Japanese soldiers.

Just when they were about to continue the pursuit, the call for retreat was sounded in the forest. The pursuers stopped and took turns to cover each other and retreat into the forest, cleaning up the battlefield in the process.

Captain Nagai finally gathered the fleeing soldiers together, and then saw the number of casualties and broke the defense on the spot, cursing:
"Bakayaloo, the Chinese are not good at doing the work of warriors, they only know how to steal and cheat, their consciences are totally ruined!

Once we occupy Changling Town, we must make sure they know how powerful the Imperial Army is."

It was no wonder that Captain Nagai was so angry. In just one ambush, his squadron suffered nearly half of its casualties, more than 60 of them were killed, and more than 20 were slightly injured.
As for the seriously injured, they can be counted as dead in battle. It is a blessing to be able to escape with the lightly injured.

After being beaten up by the guerrillas, Captain Nagai kept a low profile. He now only dared to vent his anger on the common people of China.
He retreated back to the main road with his remaining troops, where he was severely scolded by Major Noguchi, who warned them not to chase them too far and just drive them away, as their target was Changling Town.

Major Noguchi readjusted the marching formation. In order to avoid the Chinese's sneak attack, he changed the long snake formation into an inverted triangle formation.

Nagai Squadron and Yanagihara Squadron were in the front, guarding the two wings, with the battalion headquarters and the other two squadrons following closely behind.

They were still more than ten kilometers away from Changling Town, but the further they went, the more frequent the harassment they received, all from soldiers from the garrison battalion;
Yue Wanli deployed the battalion's four infantry companies in echelons, and each main company was equipped with a garrison company and a small number of militia.

The main company was responsible for setting up the pocket formation, and the garrison company was responsible for harassing along the way. As long as the Japanese pursued, they would lead them into the pocket formation;

A main company of more than 200 people is more than enough to ambush a squadron, killing thirty to fifty Japanese devils at a time. Even ten or eight is not too few, and small victories can accumulate into a big one.

Ever since Nagai's squadron suffered a great loss, they have learned their lesson. When they encounter cold guns or cold artillery, they use machine guns to drive them away. If they are bombed by landmines or roadside bombs, they can only give in.

Captain Nagai had never fought such a frustrating battle. After being killed or wounded by the guerrillas, Captain Nagai drew his command knife and chopped down fiercely at a dirt pile standing on the roadside.

There were a few big words written on it - Tombstone of the Invaders.

"boom!"

When the command knife chopped down the wooden stake, it triggered the mine buried underneath, blowing Captain Nagai to pieces on the spot;
The other Japanese soldiers were so scared that they opened fire into the woods, but this could not save the life of the little Japanese soldier Nagai.

After experiencing the tragedy of Captain Nagai, the Japanese soldiers behind became more honest, not daring to leave the main road for more than 200 meters, and ignored the harassment of the guerrillas;
After stumbling along the way, Noguchi's battalion finally arrived at Changling Town. They did not dare to attack a big city like Heze.

The Japanese intelligence work was indeed powerful. They knew that Heze was the headquarters of the guerrilla column, and the most important military factory was located in Leishenling, west of Changling Town;

So they went straight to Changling Town without even going to Cao County. Captain Noguchi's goal was very clear, which was to destroy the guerrillas' military factory.

When they reached Changling Town, they were greeted by a solid blocking position with more than a thousand soldiers guarding it.
Major Noguchi did not expect that there was a garrison in Changling Town, and the number of troops was quite large, but he was not discouraged.

The Noguchi Battalion had a full complement of 860 men. When they set out, the brigade headquarters reinforced them with an infantry artillery squad and a baggage squad, totaling nearly a thousand men.

In the attacks along the way, 127 people were killed and 55 were injured. These were lightly wounded and able to fight. In other words, they still had more than 800 people, which was a considerable force.

If they were in the Eighth Route Army's base in North China, they could run wild and it would be impossible to deal with them without concentrating several thousand men.
There were only more than a thousand defenders in Changling Town now, so Major Noguchi immediately ordered an attack. There was no exploratory attack. More than 500 people were sent to charge in the first round, with the idea of ​​defeating the defenders in one fell swoop.

"Damn it, these little devils are really crazy!"

Song Yunhan, the commander of the guard battalion directly under the column, said contemptuously. He was observing the devils in the field command post. Sun Yifeng, the commander of the military factory garrison battalion, took over and said:
"Captain, there are only a few hundred devils here. I can lead my brothers to kill them with a single charge. Why do we need to do so many things?"

Lieutenant Colonel Sun Yifeng was one of the defeated soldiers gathered in Jinling City. He was the captain of a temporary detachment at the time and had experienced the test of many major battles. After the reorganization of the troops, he became the battalion commander and later was transferred to the guard battalion as the battalion commander.

The Guard Battalion is a direct-affiliated unit. Previously, there was only a Guard Battalion. After the military factory was established, it was upgraded to a battalion, with Yue Qianli's old friend Song Yunhan as the battalion commander.
A direct-affiliated battalion is half a level higher than a battalion in an ordinary unit and is at the same level as a detachment. Sun Yifeng's guard battalion has 1500 people, all of whom are elite veterans. Naturally, they look down on a few hundred Japanese devils.

Song Yunhan shook his head and said:

"Old Sun, it's easy to defeat this group of devils, but this is the heart of the base area, and there are villages full of common people. If we let them sneak into the villages, the villagers will suffer.
So we have to show weakness and not fight too hard, so that the devils can see the hope of victory and then we can stick to them. When the devil's troops and spirit are almost destroyed, and the first battalion of the military sub-district has completed the encirclement of them, then we can cooperate inside and outside to completely wipe out these sons of a bitch. "

Sun Yifeng thought that this tactic was indeed safer, so he stopped talking and just admitted defeat.

When the Japanese skirmish line advanced to the fire blockade area of ​​the defenders' positions, the defenders' two Maxim heavy machine guns opened fire;

The two long tongues of fire were like the god of death's scythe, efficiently reaping the lives of the Japanese. The name of "Infantry Meat Grinder" was indeed well deserved.

Seeing the fierce firepower of the defenders, Major Noguchi immediately ordered the infantry artillery squad to support the infantry operations and try to destroy the heavy firepower of the defenders.

"boom!"

"boom!"

Two consecutive rounds were fired at the heavy machine gun position on the left wing. The most recent shell exploded a few meters behind the heavy machine gun position, and the flying shrapnel caused several casualties.
The others were so scared that they immediately moved their positions, but it was too late. Two more shells flew over and blew away the main shooter who was holding the gun.

The Japanese infantry artillery is still the biggest threat in positional warfare, even more than the 75mm mountain/field artillery;

Fortunately, the defenders also had their own artillery. The artillery company of the guard battalion was equipped with three infantry guns and three mortars. If they had not hidden their strength, they would have bombarded the Japanese long ago.

Sun Yifeng decided to use only three 3mm mortars. After the Japanese infantry guns fired a few rounds of shells, the mortar platoon locked onto the Japanese artillery positions.

Three mortar shells flew towards the Japanese in a triangle, covering the position of one of the infantry guns. More than a dozen Japanese were killed or injured, and the infantry gun was blown into pieces.

The other infantry gun was so frightened that it immediately moved its position, no longer caring about the ravaged infantry. As soon as they left, the second round of shells came and landed exactly at their original position.

Although this round of artillery fire did not achieve any results, it frightened the Japanese and made them behave themselves a lot more.

When Major Noguchi saw that the Chinese had several artillery pieces, he gathered the mortars of each squadron and prepared to ambush the defenders' artillery.

Each squadron of the garrison brigade was reinforced with a mortar and two Type 92 heavy machine guns to form a machine gun unit. Now these mortars were being used in a concentrated manner by the Japanese, posing a great threat to the heavy firepower of the defenders.

The frenzied Japanese first ordered the heavy machine guns to suppress the defenders' firepower, luring them to fire, and then they could launch a surprise attack on the defenders' artillery. It was a good plan.
Unexpectedly, the defenders also made adjustments, and ordered the three mortars to operate separately, changing positions after each shot, making it impossible for the Japanese to lock on them. They were unable to use their strength, and instead one of their Type 3 heavy machine guns was destroyed.

With the defenders' deliberate restraint, the Japanese gained a certain advantage, which gave Noguchi's team the illusion that they could defeat the defenders in the next moment.
With hope, the Japanese offensive continued, and they persisted even though casualties rose sharply. This led to a stalemate between the two sides, with the enemy and our casualties ratio as high as 3 to 1. This kind of war of attrition was what Song Yunhan liked.

Outside Changling Town, Yue Wanli's troops were surrounding them from multiple directions. Not only were there main forces, but also garrison troops and militia.
Just when Yue Wanli was about to close the net, something unexpected happened...

Behind the Shitang Village in Changling Town, a group of Japanese soldiers were wandering in the mountains. The leader of the advance team, Major Ishida Nobuyuki, was looking for targets on the map.

They had been wandering in the mountains for some time and were very close to Leishen Ridge, but the road ahead was blocked by a village. If they took a detour, they would have to walk more than ten kilometers of mountain roads, which would easily lead to complications.

Captain Arai Eiji, the leader of the advance team, suggested:
“Ishida-kun, the 10th Brigade’s offensive in Changling Town has tied down the main force of the defenders. Now is our best chance;

It's just a village. We can disguise ourselves as reinforcements of the guerrilla column and pass through. If they find out, we can kill them all. It will save a lot of time than walking more than ten kilometers of mountain roads."

Nobuyuki's Advance Team came from Xuzhou and was directly under the 114th Division. It was an experimental unit. Its captain, Nobuyuki Ishida, had returned from studying in Germany and his main focus was special operations.

The new commander was not interested in special operations, but he did not reject them either, so he agreed to let him conduct a pilot program in the 114th Division.
If it is effective, they will get policy and material support, so this sneak attack on the guerrilla column's military factory is their chance to prove themselves.

Ishida Nobuyuki had wandered in the mountains for several days and knew what it meant to walk more than ten kilometers of mountain roads. This was only the distance on the map. The actual walking distance was at least 30 kilometers, and it was easy to get lost.
After weighing the pros and cons, he decided to adopt the plan proposed by Captain Arai. All members changed into the "Type 24" uniforms of the National Army. The equipment they could use was also German, and there was no difference in equipment from the German-equipped divisions of the National Army.

After changing into a new outfit, Xinzhi's advance team cautiously moved towards Shitang Village. Soon they found the militia sentries hiding in the woods.
Although the secret sentry was hidden very secretly, it was still a little naive in front of the quasi-special forces. Captain Arai, the squad leader who served as the vanguard, made a few gestures, and then three Japanese soldiers quietly approached the militia secret sentry.

Wang Changhe didn't notice the enemy approaching at all. He just felt something strange in the forest, but he didn't know what went wrong.

He adjusted himself, raising his head a little higher and his ears pricked up.

Suddenly he realized what the problem was. The forest was too quiet, and his first feeling was that something was wrong;
Just as he was about to fire a warning shot, a sinful hand covered his mouth, and then he felt a sharp pain in his chest.

He struggled desperately, but his strength gradually disappeared. The leader of the Japanese vanguard team showed a cruel smile on his face...

"Bagou!"

The devil's smile suddenly stopped, and for a moment he seemed to see Amaterasu waving at him;
After firing a bullet, Sha Zhu's face was full of sadness. He almost watched his childhood friend being killed by the "National Army".

"Tattoo..."

The other two Japanese soldiers fired a volley of bullets towards the direction where Sha Zhu was hiding. The bullets caused branches and leaves in the bush to fly everywhere, and almost hit Sha Zhu. He was so scared that he rolled on the ground and hid behind a rock.

The two submachine guns of the devils suppressed him tightly, and the two devils surrounded him, covering each other alternately.

"Boom! Boom!"

With two loud bangs, the two Japanese soldiers rushing towards him stepped on landmines one after another, one died and the other was disabled, and the Japanese soldiers' whereabouts were completely exposed.

"Bakayalu! Trash!"

Captain Arai, the leader of the vanguard squad, waved his hand and the Japanese began to attack after exposing themselves. He did not take a small village seriously. (End of this chapter)