Songhu: Never Give Up

Chapter 8 The bayonet is red
The battlefield fell silent in an instant. Under the smoke, the yellow bodies of Japanese soldiers could be seen everywhere. Some of them were still wriggling in pain, obviously not dead yet.

The defenders would not rescue them, and the Japanese did not dare to rescue them, so they could only let them die slowly. Captain Inoue, who was in the second echelon, could hardly believe his eyes.

"Bagayalu, turn in and get to work!"

He finally made the best choice. It was not that he didn't want to continue attacking, but that retreating was more cost-effective.

The Japanese were badly hit. Only a few technical soldiers were left in one squadron, and almost all the riflemen were killed in the defenders' positions. Inoue's squadron was almost wiped out.

At the 9th Division Headquarters, Lieutenant General Kenkichi Ueda was burning with rage, and Chief of Staff Colonel Nakamura carefully accompanied him, fearing that he would get into trouble.

After the 9th Division landed, Yoshisaburo Nomura was dismissed on the spot due to "unfavorable combat performance" and Kenkichi Ueda succeeded him as commander-in-chief.

Ueda Kenkichi was even more arrogant than his two predecessors. He issued an ultimatum to the 19th Route Army as soon as he took office:

"Your troops should immediately stop fighting and withdraw from the following areas before 2:20 p.m. on February 5th...

If the above provisions are not implemented, the Japanese army will be forced to take free action against your army, and all the consequences arising from this will be borne by your army. "

The 3000th Route Army gave him no face at all, and he did not expect to win the war by talking, so he ordered the th Division to adopt the tactic of "attack on all fronts and break through the middle", using the firepower advantage of aircraft and naval guns to launch an all-out attack from Zhabei to Wusong to tie down the defending forces. The main force of the th Regiment, about people, launched an assault from Jiangwan and Miaohang.

He thought it would be an easy battle, but he suffered a heavy defeat. The 7th Regiment asked the division for tactical guidance. This made him very angry as he was ready to show off in front of the Emperor. He cursed:
"Bakayaluo, Lin Daba is a loser. A regiment can't even break through the small Maijiazhai position, and yet he still has the nerve to ask the headquarters for tactical guidance. When did the combat effectiveness of the Jinze regiment become so low?"

Colonel Nakamura quickly explained:
"Your Excellency, the Chinese government has already increased its troops. The garrison at Miaohang has been replaced by the more powerful Fifth Army. This unit is China's first German-equipped unit, with strong combat effectiveness and tens of thousands of troops. The Seventh Regiment's difficulties are understandable.

Wars are never won by numbers. It's time to let them see the might of the Imperial Army's combined firepower of land, sea and air. Flesh and blood cannot stop it!"

"Yoshi, what Nakamura said is absolutely right. The Chinese people's combat thinking is still stuck in 30 years ago. They want to stop the powerful imperial army by just buying a few German rifles.
This is just wishful thinking!

Since the Chinese are not convinced, then defeat them and send a telegram to the navy..."

At the Damaijiazhai battlefield, the 7th Regiment, which had suffered a great loss, temporarily stopped fighting and raised a white flag to demand that the bodies of the dead soldiers be collected;
After Yue Qianli sent people to mend the wounded Japanese soldiers, he agreed to their request, but stipulated that they were not allowed to take away any spoils.

The densely packed corpses of Japanese soldiers in front of the position were indeed likely to cause infectious diseases, as this was Shanghai, a city with a very high population density.

The Japanese corpse collection team was relatively well-behaved. They only carried away the bodies and did not dare to take any weapons or equipment. The defenders did not shoot at them either.

Yue Qianli was not without ideas, but he couldn't. The current international environment did not allow him to order the fire on the body collection team, which would cause dissatisfaction among mainstream Western countries.

The Japanese even unilaterally announced a two-hour ceasefire and allowed the Chinese to withdraw their positions. Yue Qianli was too lazy to pay attention to them and sent people to pick up all the Japanese equipment. According to the rules, the Japanese were not allowed to shoot.

Before and after World War I, Europe advocated aristocratic wars. War had to be declared before it could start, civilian casualties should be avoided as much as possible, prisoners and wounded soldiers should not be massacred, the other side was allowed to collect bodies, etc. These rules were not completely destroyed until the Japanese army in World War II. To use an ancient Chinese saying, this was the collapse of rituals and music.

The Third Company took advantage of the ceasefire to repair fortifications. They dug several anti-artillery holes on both sides of the longitudinal communication trench, and cut down trees and covered them with soil as roofs. Each hole could accommodate a squad. Yue Qianli, who knew the trend of the war, knew that in the next three days, the Japanese would launch as many as a dozen offensives, and digging more fortifications was the key to saving lives.

Soon the ceasefire period passed and the Japanese resumed their attack, really deciding when to attack.

The Japanese used naval guns and aircraft to bombard the small town of Miaohang. Damai House was the focus of the Japanese attack and suffered the most shells.

Several planes flew over the Third Company's position with great momentum, dropping dozens of bombs. The violent explosion destroyed a large number of fortifications, and the officers and soldiers of the Third Company could only huddle in the shell shelter and let the bombs ravage them.
Fortunately, the aircraft of this era had limited ammunition capacity and their power was mediocre. The most terrifying thing was the naval guns. As long as they were hit directly, the hastily built anti-gun holes would be useless. Often the holes would be destroyed and people would die. The difference in heavy firepower between the two sides was too great.

During this round of sea-air artillery preparation, the 13rd Company was hit in an anti-artillery hole, suffering 8 casualties, 5 dead and wounded, which was barely acceptable.

Chen Pumin, deputy brigade commander of the 262nd Brigade of the brother unit, was seriously injured, and Chen Zhenxin, the third battalion commander of the 527th Regiment, was killed.

As soon as the artillery fire extended, dense groups of Japanese soldiers rushed up again along the artillery points, and whistles suddenly sounded all over the third company's position;
Teams of soldiers ran out from the anti-artillery shells, set up light and heavy firepower, and fired wildly at the Japanese. A new round of offense and defense began again.

The only advantage of the Damaijiazhai battlefield is that the front of the battlefield is narrow, and the Japanese troops cannot deploy their forces. One squadron is the limit, and any more will just be giving away lives.

So although the Japanese had a battalion, they could only deploy one squadron at a time, thus adopting the tactic of adding fuel to the fire.

On the right wing, at Zhuyuandun, the position of the 262th Regiment of the 524nd Brigade, the fierce battle entered a white-hot stage.

Hundreds of Japanese soldiers had already rushed to the position. The commander of the 524th Regiment roared and led the last reserve troops to rush towards the Japanese soldiers.

The two sides engaged in a brutal hand-to-hand fight, and the ground was littered with the bodies of soldiers from both sides, many of whom died fighting each other...

At the 262nd Brigade Command, the brigade commander, Major General Qian Lunti, was extremely anxious. As the Japanese had dispatched a large number of aircraft and warships for fire support, the defenders' fortifications were severely damaged, and the casualties among officers and soldiers were heavy. The Japanese infantry took the opportunity to advance on all fronts, and the position was in jeopardy.

"Commander, the situation at Zhuyuandun is critical, and both sides have already engaged in hand-to-hand combat!"

Brigadier General Qian's eyes widened with anger. He pulled out a pistol from his waist and shouted:

"Then what are you still standing there for? Bring along the brigade's special forces company and come with me to reinforce Zhuyuandun and drive the damn devils off the battlefield!"

The chief of staff and several brigade staff officers followed suit, drawing their guns and rushing out with Brigadier Commander Qian. In times of crisis, the Whampoa officers would choose to go into battle themselves. From the brigade commanders of the first term to the staff officers of the fifth and sixth terms, they all rushed to the battlefield without hesitation.

"Brothers, the brigade commander is here to reinforce us, kill the devils!"

The 524th Regiment Commander Zhu Chi roared, holding a rifle with a bayonet, and stabbed it towards the Japanese's chest. With a "whoosh", the Japanese second lieutenant raised his saber high and stopped a few dozen centimeters above Zhu's head.
Without even frowning, Captain Zhu kicked the Japanese soldier's body away, drew his bayonet, and rushed towards another Japanese soldier...

(End of this chapter)