Songhu: Never Give Up

Chapter 19: Bloody Battle at Liuhe Town (1)

Liuhe Town, 87th Division 261st Brigade defense line, the sound of fighting resounded through the sky

Tens of thousands of Japanese troops were carrying out landing operations. Two regiments of the 261st Brigade were desperately resisting under the heavy rain of naval artillery shells. The casualties were very heavy. The Japanese naval artillery had great destructive power?

At the brigade headquarters, the brigade commander Song Xilian had a gloomy face. Even though the Kuomintang army had guessed that the enemy's landing site was Liuhe, and they would attack our army's flanks, they were unable to withdraw troops for reinforcement because of the fierce fighting on the entire front.

Only Song Xilian knew that the president was still undecided. Shangguan Yunxiang's 47th Division had already arrived in Kunshan and could support the Songhu front at any time.

The troops of his old classmate Hu Zongnan, his old superior Liu Zhi, and Wei Lihuang have all been mobilized, but they just can't make up their minds to go into the battlefield and are dithering. It is too late to send them now. All he can do now is to defend Liuhe Town, do his best, and leave the rest to fate.

Deputy Brigade Commander Liu Baoding lost his patience and said anxiously to Brigade Commander Song:

"Brother Yin Guo, we can't keep fighting like this. We need to ask the teacher for help. The 88th Division is not under much pressure to defend Miaohang. It is feasible to dispatch one or two regiments of reinforcements.
Once the enemy breaks through our defense line, the flanks and rear of our Fifth Army will be completely exposed to the enemy's front line."

"Brother Yizhi, the 88th Division's defense zone was also attacked by the th Division, and the support they can provide us is limited;
The Japanese have a whole first-class division. Even if the 88th Division can send a regiment to reinforce, it will be a drop in the bucket. Instead, it will disrupt their deployment. The current problem is that the entire line is short of troops. "

Song Xilian was the youngest among the first class of Whampoa Military Academy, but he was fierce in combat and had a sense of the overall situation. He was a rare warrior among the first class of graduates. He would not easily ask for help from brother units unless it was absolutely necessary.

As his old classmate, Liu Baoding naturally knew his character. He did not even suggest that Brigade Commander Song ask for help from the 259th Brigade, because Sun Yuanliang's character was not something he could be relied on at all.

He still insisted:
"Brother Yin Guo, even if there is one more regiment, the pressure will be reduced by more than half. The 88th Division is not short of one regiment. Let's hold off the Japanese first."

Brigade Commander Song heard the shouts and screams coming closer and closer from the front, and knew that he could not wait any longer, so he nodded and said:
"Then send a telegram to the teacher. Only he can make Brother Liangzhen give us this honor.

Draw a battalion from the 521st Regiment to support the 522nd Regiment, and tell them to hold out until reinforcements arrive!"

Song Xilian still mobilized some of the reserve troops. The battle had only been going on for half a day when he was forced to mobilize the reserve troops. The prospects of this battle were not optimistic.

The 2th Division, commanded by Lieutenant General Naoaki Matsugi, was landing in Liuhe Town. It had the 50nd, 59th, 66th and 1.4th Regiments under its command. It was still a small organization at that time, with a total strength of about troops.

The attack of the 2nd Infantry Regiment was once again repelled by the defenders, which made Matsugi Naoaki very angry and he cursed:
"That bastard Tanaka Shizuka is really out of his mind. The defenders only have two regiments at most, and they lack heavy weapons. They have been attacking for a long time but have made no progress. Is he planning to let the navy see the joke of my Utsunomiya Division?"

Chief of Staff Colonel Jiro Yamamoto gritted his teeth and explained on behalf of his friend:
"Your Excellency, the division commander, according to intelligence, the garrison defending Liuhe Town is the enemy's 87th Division 261st Brigade. This is a reorganization of the Imperial Guard of the Huaxia Government. It is one of the three German-equipped adjustment divisions, with two infantry regiments and more than 2 people. It has strong combat effectiveness and complete fortifications-"

"Bakayaro, you are just making excuses for your cowardice. There is no such thing as an elite force in front of the Utsunomiya Division!

Tell Tanaka Seiichi that I will give him one more chance. If he still cannot take Liuhe Town, let the 50th Regiment replace them."

Colonel Yamashita was very wise to keep his mouth shut. The 2nd Regiment had always been the absolute main force of the 14th Division. Once the division commander replaced the 50nd Regiment with the 2th Regiment, Tanaka Shizuka would have no place to hang his face. The honor of the 2nd Regiment could only be washed with blood. Sure enough, after receiving the order from Colonel Yamashita, Tanaka Shizuka immediately called several captains over and scolded them, and greeted all the female relatives of their families, and finally gave them a death order:
"The honor of the 2nd Regiment must not be insulted. You must capture Liuhe Town before dark, otherwise you will be loyal to His Majesty the Emperor!"

As the 2nd Regiment began to fight desperately, the pressure on the 522nd Regiment's defense increased sharply. If it hadn't been for the support of a battalion from the 521st Regiment, their position would have been broken through by the Japanese. Both sides suffered heavy casualties, and corpses were everywhere.

At the same time, after receiving the telegram from General Zhang Zhizhong, the commander of the 88th Division, Yu Jishi, dispatched the 527th Regiment to support Liuhe Town.

The 88th Division was also under great pressure to defend. Being able to send a main regiment to support friendly forces was already a great honor to the Dean of Education. General Zhang still had a strong appeal among the Whampoa Student Army, and even Sun Yuanliang, who loved to disobey orders the most, did not dare to act rashly.

The person who came to the rescue this time was his old classmate Song Xilian. He had a good personal relationship with Song Xilian. If it was Sun Yuanliang, it would be a different story.

After receiving the order, the commander of the 527th Regiment, Zhu Chi, handed over the defense zone to the reserve 258th Regiment and led all the officers and soldiers of the regiment to rush to Liuhe Town late at night. Reinforcements were needed like putting out a fire and no delay was allowed.

When Yue Qianli heard that they were going to reinforce Liuhe Town, a lingering shadow suddenly covered his face;

The Battle of Liuhe Town was the most tragic battle fought by General Hawkdog. The 261st Brigade was almost wiped out, but they still held their positions until the th Route Army sent reinforcements to take over the defense line.

He could not remember whether the 88th Division sent reinforcements during the period. Many tragic battles were only briefly mentioned in military history, with only the results but rarely the process. After all, it was only a regiment of reinforcements.
It seems that the 527th Regiment will suffer a lot of casualties this time, and may even be wiped out. Since they have also sent reinforcements, Song Xilian cannot let them be spectators.

It's not that Yue Qianli is selfish, but his Third Company has just recovered its vitality. More than half of them are reinforcements. They have to go to the battlefield again before they are well equipped. Moreover, not many people can come back alive from this battle. No one would feel good about it, but this is war!

"Brothers, run!

The brothers of the 261st Brigade are fighting the devils, saving lives is like putting out a fire, charge! "

Captain Zhu roared and rushed to the front. Yue Qianli had no choice but to chase after him. Their third company was the vanguard company, and they could not fall behind the captain no matter what.

After a night of rapid march, the 527th Regiment traveled more than 30 kilometers and finally arrived at Liuhe Town, Taicang before dawn.

The 261st Brigade finally withstood the attack of the 2nd Regiment before dark, killing one of its battalion commanders and causing more than half of the 522nd Regiment to suffer casualties.

At night, they launched another attack, and the two sides fought fiercely for half the night, with casualties on both sides;
At the most critical moment, Brigade Commander Song also sent the Second Battalion of the 521st Regiment forward. Now he only has one battalion of reserves left.

After learning that Brother Liang Zhen had supported his entire regiment, he excitedly took the hand of his third-term junior and said:

"Brother, you came just in time!"

(End of this chapter)