Songhu: Never Give Up

Chapter 73: Stealing a Chicken, Losing the Rice (Please Read, Collect, Vote, and Recommend)
The devils of Koizumi's battalion successfully rushed up the river bank. There were no Chinese on the position, which made them ecstatic. As expected, the cowardly Chinese gave up their position.

This was a rare opportunity, so they would certainly not let the fleeing defenders go. Under the command of the officers, the commandos chased them deep into the woods.

When the following Japanese soldiers saw that Koizumi's battalion had already captured the Chinese position, they also followed to reinforce, screaming with excitement.

After a day of hard fighting, the 12th Regiment suffered 2 casualties (replenished once) and finally captured the Lion Ridge Fort, which was definitely a huge victory.

Just as the main force of the 12th Regiment rushed onto the river bank, intensive gunfire was heard in front. Major Yamazaki, who had rich battlefield experience, changed his expression because he heard that they were all German equipment, with at least nearly a hundred light and heavy machine guns.

"Bagayalu, there's an ambush!"

Major Yamazaki has a very strong sense of battlefield. There are two options before him. One is to reinforce Koizumi's battalion, but the outcome is uncertain;
If we retreat immediately, all our previous efforts will be wasted and we will end up losing more than we gain. If we return home, we will definitely be scolded by the squadron commander.

Indecision is a taboo on the battlefield. After weighing the pros and cons, he decided to take a gamble;
The Japanese are addicted to gambling, and they even dare to gamble on the fate of their country. Betting a few thousand people is nothing. Major Yamazaki led the main force of the 12th Regiment to reinforce.

As it was pitch dark, Major Yamazaki did not notice that the riverbank was covered with weeds, leaves, branches, reeds and other flammable materials;
Just as the main force of the Japanese invaders was reinforcing the Ginkgo Forest, several mortar shells flew in from a distance. They used white phosphorus incendiary bombs and ignited the flammable materials on the river bank after the explosion.

For a moment, there were little flashes of fire on the river bank, which could be seen from a long distance, but this still did not attract the attention of the Japanese. These scattered fires did not threaten the safety of the Japanese at all, but only increased the visibility on the battlefield.

Major Yamazaki was a suspicious person by nature. He always felt that there was a conspiracy. Just as he looked up to look for suspicious points, he suddenly found someone setting off fireworks in the distance.

He was instantly frightened and broke out in a cold sweat, remembering the previous heavy artillery coverage, and exclaimed:
"Enemy attack!"

As soon as he finished speaking, those beautiful "fireworks" covered the area where they were. He now understood the purpose of those bonfires. They provided targets for the artillery groups to fire.

"Bakayalu, you're so cunning!"

Major Yamazaki was lucky enough not to die in the first round of shelling, but now his life is worse than death. He has to watch his soldiers being slaughtered without being able to do anything. It would be better for him to die and be done with it all.

Now they had hundreds of light and heavy machine guns blocking their way in front of them, and there were definitely ambushes on both wings, so they only had one way out behind them;
If they turn around and run away now, the consequence will be that they will be trampled to death. Those who can survive the pursuit of the Chinese are the ones with strong luck!
"Surround three and leave one, what a vicious plan!"

"Boom boom boom..."

Another group of shells fell down, and the Japanese completely collapsed. Those who survived fled to the two wings reflexively. Major Yamazaki closed his eyes in pain. He had already guessed the result...

Sure enough, there were dense gunfire and shouts on both wings, as well as the terrifying military bugle calls that made them hear them.

The troops ambushed on both wings did not launch an attack. They just used rain of bullets and shouts to create chaos. As expected, the remaining Japanese soldiers were like frightened birds. They crowded back and then fell off the river bank.
Seeing that the time was ripe, Yue Qianli issued the order for a general attack. The night was filled with the sounds of bugles, shouts, gunfire and cannon fire. The Japs had completely lost their will to fight and were pushed off the river bank one after another, fleeing for their lives in the depths of the river beach, where countless others were trampled to death.

Yue Qianli no longer had to worry about the melee, and could safely let his troops chase the Japanese from three sides. The wisdom of his ancestors told him that a melee in the dark was very dangerous, and the best effect would be achieved only by driving the enemy far away and then chasing them from behind.

As expected, since the Japanese had an escape route, no one thought of resisting. They just wanted to run faster than others, just like a herd of wildebeests on the African savannah.
A few lions can chase thousands of wildebeests, but the number of wildebeests killed by the lions is less than one thousandth of that killed by each other. The same is true for the fleeing soldiers.

Major Yamazaki wanted to give a thumbs up to Yue Qianli, but he couldn't do it. He was so desperate that he became the first major in the Japanese army to be trampled to death by the fleeing soldiers. His body was trampled to pieces and even his mother couldn't recognize him. Major Koizumi escaped by luck. In order to save his life, he killed at least seven or eight "yellow dogs" who blocked his way along the way.
A good dog does not block the road, if it does, he will chop it down. A man is not a hero without venom, and a friend would rather die than let me die.

"Bakayalu, how dare you come back? You have brought shame upon the Koizumi family!"

Ando Nijisan beat Major Koizumi into a pig's head with one hand, but Major Koizumi was not afraid of boiling water and refused to commit suicide.
His personnel relations were with the General Staff, and Ando Twenty-three was powerless to deal with him. The most he could do was slap him a few times and scold him a few times.

He would not commit suicide. He was still waiting to go home and marry Liangzi after occupying China. He had even thought of a name for the child: Ichiro, and the child would be a purebred!

Anda 23 was tired and in no mood to fight any more. He now had to think about how to report to the division commander.

Major Yamazaki had already finished his business, and now the only one left who could take the blame for him was Major Koizumi, so he snorted coldly and said:

"Koizumi-kun, how many people are left in the regiment now? Tell me what happened."

Seeing that Colonel Anda had finally let him go, Major Koizumi replied cautiously:
“It’s less than a thousand in total!”

Anda Twenty-three suppressed the anger in his chest and snorted coldly:

“I want specific numbers.”

"Not counting the wing headquarters, there are still 419 left——"

Koizumi's words were interrupted by a slap again. Ando Nijisan couldn't help it. It was too fucking stupid. Is this less than a thousand?

Why don’t you say it’s less than three thousand!
Major Koizumi used his usual Spring and Autumn style of writing, but he still got beaten. He had a bad day today.

Then Major Koizumi briefly recounted the whole process, naturally bragging about his own bravery in breaking out of the encirclement, and blamed Major Yamazaki for betraying the regiment commander, and put all the blame for the defeat on Yamazaki.

"Sodsnai, that bastard Yamazaki betrayed His Majesty's trust. Since he has already apologized to His Majesty, I will no longer pursue his responsibility. If the division commander asks, you should know how to answer, right?"

Koizumi still has some connections in the military, and his family also has deep roots in the country. Ando Nijisan has no way to deal with him, so he can only push the responsibility to Major Yamazaki. He doesn't know if he can get away with it and try his best to save the situation.

The Second Battalion cleaned up the battlefield at dawn and killed all the Japanese soldiers, leaving more than 800 bodies, not including those lying on the river beach. They would not take the risk to collect the bodies of the Japanese soldiers.

The battle was a great victory. The Second Battalion suffered almost no casualties and taught the Japanese a severe lesson. However, Yue Qianli still had a sullen face because he had used up 107% of his rockets.

Poor!

The manual production of the baggage train cannot meet the huge consumption. With two days left, the key is whether or not the Lion Grove rocket launcher can be defended. No wonder Yue Qianli is worried.

(End of this chapter)