Songhu: Never Give Up

Chapter 3 The Cruelty of National War

Although Lieutenant Hatano is arrogant, he values ​​his life more than anyone else. It is not because he is afraid of death, but because he wants to occupy Shanghai with the 9th Division and establish eternal merit for the empire.

He didn't want to die on the battlefield right after the battle began, so he kept his head down while giving orders;

The other soldiers followed suit and were suppressed by half a platoon of defenders and could not even raise their heads. The squadron leader was still watching from behind, so he could only risk leaning forward and giving the order to continue the assault.

Before he could retract his head, his eyes were instantly filled with fear. The sharpshooter that he was extremely afraid of appeared again. He could even smell the other party's scent, as if the god of death had come;

He almost watched the high-speed bullet hit his forehead. He did not do anything in vain. At that moment, he seemed to see his mother waving at him under the cherry tree...

At the moment Lieutenant Hatano's body fell, there was a strange smile on the corner of his mouth, but his eyes were full of fear;
This moment was captured by the 7th Regiment's military reporter and published in the Asahi Shimbun with a very sensational title - "The Warrior Facing Death with a Smile".

"Bah, you bastard, just pretend!"

After Yue Qianli let out a breath of anger, he continued to search for his target. This was a hunt for him.

After Lieutenant Hatano was shot, Second Squad Leader Nakamura Toshio took over the command, which was also clearly stipulated in the Japanese Infantry Drill Manual;

This can minimize the problem of troops losing command after the commander is killed on the battlefield, which is undoubtedly better than what the Kuomintang army did.

The Japanese attack did not stop because of the death of Lieutenant Hatano. Instead, it stimulated them to launch a more frantic attack on the defenders' positions.

After the squad leader was killed, if the others retreated they would be punished. This was their shame, which could only be washed away with blood, either the enemy's or their own.

As the enemy's offensive intensified, the pressure on the first platoon increased dramatically. More than half of them had been killed or wounded, and many of them were lightly wounded but still fighting. There were about 40 enemy soldiers left, many of whom were also lightly wounded.

The resilience of the two Eastern nations was fully demonstrated in this small battle. According to Western standards, these two small forces had already been crippled, and they would not be condemned even if they retreated or surrendered.

But this is the East, and it is a life-and-death contest between the He people and the Huaxia nation. It will only end when one side falls.

"Kill the chicken and give it to me!"

"Fuck him, son of a bitch!"

The two sides continued to fight each other, and the casualties were rising sharply. Yue Qianli could no longer remember how many Japanese soldiers he had killed. He just pulled the trigger mechanically, sending each Japanese soldier back to hell.

The bodies of his comrades were lying around him, and most of them were fighting with injuries. As long as the Japanese continued to attack, they would fight to the death.

"Captain, the first platoon is almost wiped out, let me lead the second platoon to reinforce!"

The second platoon leader usually has the closest relationship with Yue Qianli. Seeing that the first platoon was having a hard time fighting, he asked the third company commander Li Jie to join the fight.

"Duan Yulin, what are you yelling about? There are only 20 or 30 Japanese soldiers left. One platoon can hold their own.
Sending troops up now to reinforce would be like sending heads to the enemy's artillery. Do you think I don't feel sorry for my brothers in the first row?"

Seeing the first platoon fighting desperately with the Japanese while the second and third platoons were just watching, he, as the company commander, felt bad;
Li Jie graduated from the fifth term of Whampoa Military Academy, and Duan Yulin from the sixth term. They and Yue Qianli were all comrades in arms at Whampoa Military Academy, so their statements of not worrying would be false.

"Captain, we can't just sit there and watch. We have to leave some seeds for the first row!"

Li Jie said with a gloomy face:
"The frontline position has been destroyed by the Japanese artillery fire. After we repel this attack, let the first platoon withdraw, and you will take a squad from the second platoon to provide support." Duan Yulin then left excitedly. There were not many people left in the first platoon, and they were retreating in a scattered line. It was not worth the Japanese artillery fire to cover them.

In the temporary command post of the Japanese Inoue Squadron, the squadron leader, Captain Inoue, was also closely watching the battlefield. His hand holding the telescope was shaking slightly.
His squadron had only three infantry squads in total, and the two squads that pressed forward were less than half of their strength. This was the most brutal battle that Inoue's squadron had ever experienced.

If the fighting continues, the two teams on the battlefield will be wiped out, but they are unwilling to retreat, as it is more uncomfortable to stay there than constipation.

The deputy squadron leader seemed to smell the feces in Captain Inoue's crotch and quickly came to his rescue:

"Mr. Inoue, the Chinese defense is very tenacious. The warriors have done their best. Why don't we let them withdraw and let the third team, who have been well-rested, take over the attack."

"Bakayaro, this loser Hatano has really brought shame to the Kanazawa United!
——Okay, let them withdraw."

Captain Inoue took the opportunity to issue an order to retreat, and the deputy squadron leader immediately asked the signalman to send them the signal to retreat. Only then did the remaining Japanese soldiers retreat with a sense of relief.

At the same time, the first platoon also received the signal from the company headquarters, and also carried the seriously injured comrades, taking turns to cover and withdraw from the front line;
Duan Yulin led a squad to provide support, and the remaining soldiers in a row successfully retreated to the main position without the Japanese firing at them.

After counting the remaining personnel and equipment, Yue Qianli hurried to the company headquarters to report to Li Jie:
“Captain, there are 23 people left in the first platoon, 5 of whom are seriously injured, and the rest are slightly injured;

One of the three squad leaders died, two were injured, and one of the three machine guns was left. More than 3 Japanese soldiers were killed or wounded. It was estimated that there were at least 1 Japanese corpses on the battlefield, and no spoils were seized. "

Li Jie was also in a bad mood. A platoon had a full strength of 42 people, and more than half of them were killed and seriously injured. If the lightly injured were included, it could be said that all of them were killed or wounded.

He didn't know how to comfort Yue Qianli, so he just patted his shoulder and said:
“Brothers are great!
They withstood the repeated attacks of the Japanese that were several times their number and killed nearly a hundred enemies. I will report this to my superiors and ask for credit for the whole platoon.

You guys go down and rest first, take good care of the injured brothers, hand over the position to the second and third platoons, and the first platoon will serve as the reserve."

In the 88th Division, there is no such thing as leaving the front line with minor injuries. This is a national war, and we have to hold on even if we are wiped out.

Yue Qianli also breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. It was not that he didn't want to continue fighting, but he really couldn't beat the whole row.

In his impression, the third company commander Li Jie died in Nanjing a few years later. He was also an upright man. This time, letting them withdraw to serve as the reserve team was considered to have left some bloodline for the first platoon.

Yue Qianli silently saluted Li Jie before turning and leaving. He still had a lot of things to do, and those seriously injured brothers still needed his care.

At the Inoue Squadron Headquarters, the Japanese were also licking their wounds. The two squads had a total of 108 people, and they brought back more than a dozen wounded in the first attack.
In the second attack, only 27 people were evacuated, including the wounded (including 1 machine gun team and 1 grenade launcher team). Together with the wounded left over from the first attack, there were only 42 people left, including 7 seriously wounded, and 66 killed in action.

The absolute loss of 73 people, Captain Inoue could not accept such a cruel reality and cursed:
"Where's that bastard Hatano? Why doesn't he apologize to the Emperor?"

The deputy squadron leader replied in a gloomy tone:

"Hatano-kun has served the Emperor faithfully!"

"idiot!"

Captain Inoue couldn't continue to scold, after all, the dead are the most important.

(End of this chapter)