Songhu: Never Give Up

Chapter 90: The Flesh Grinding Wheel (2)

There was no suspense in this ambush. Zhang Zhongling lost interest after watching for just a few minutes. The Japanese were too arrogant and only sent a small team for protection. The 305th Regiment had a plan and it was easy to defeat a small team.
If it weren't for the need to send some devils back to report the news, it would have been easy to wipe them out. The drivers were all controlled by the first battalion. Some of those who escaped were killed, and the rest were taken care of. The battalion commander excitedly reported to him:

"Captain, we've made a fortune. We have dozens of carts of food and ammunition. There are more than a dozen carts of bullets. The shells are thicker than my calves. But we don't have any guns or cannons. We have captured more than 200 Japanese baggage soldiers. What are we going to do with them?"

Zhang Zhongling said dissatisfiedly:

"Where did the prisoners come from? Kill them all! Do I need to teach you this?"

The battalion commander who was scolded rushed towards the Japanese baggage soldiers with murderous intent. Inoue Chengen saw the Chinese people coming towards him with murderous intent and felt that something was wrong. He immediately shouted in Chinese:
"Grandpa Huaxia, I'm not a devil. I was captured by the devils from Goryeo. We are family!"

Tanaka Xingwen mustered up the courage to say:

"I reported that his name is Inoue Chengen, and he helped the devils kill Chinese people."

"Bakayalu, you have a very bad conscience!"

Inoue Chengen cursed Tanaka as usual, then raised his whip to beat him, but unfortunately his whip was not faster than a battalion of bullets.

After the battalion commander shot Inoue Chengen to death, he shouted coldly:
"What are you all standing there for? They are a bunch of beasts with the blood of the Chinese people on their hands. Kill them all!"

Gunshots rang out instantly, and some used bayonets to save bullets. The efficiency was very high, and in just a few minutes, more than 200 real and fake Japanese devils were all eliminated, without a single one left. Now Inoue Chengen, Tanaka and others were no different from other Japanese devils, and they all became part of the military merits of the 305th Regiment.

The Japs would never admit their existence, and the battle reports would only record the deaths of a few real Japs.

The 305th Regiment also had many people who were good at driving carts. After destroying the Japanese's baggage train, the 305th Regiment left a part to continue shooting to attract the Japanese, while the main force evacuated the ambush point with the captured supplies.

After receiving the report from the defeated Japanese soldiers, Lieutenant Commander Sakai was furious and immediately sent a reinforced battalion to the ambush point in an attempt to recapture the baggage.

These baggage were supplies for the Sakai Regiment for a few days. Food was okay, but without ammunition they could not maintain a sustained attack on the 74th Army's positions.

"Kuroki-kun, the Chinese can't run fast with dozens of carts of supplies. Hurry up and catch up with them, and then kill them all. If anyone dares to touch the Sakai Regiment's stuff, we won't take any prisoners!"

Major Kuroki took the order and left. In order to maintain the marching speed, they didn't even bring the infantry artillery team.

Caowang Temple, ambush position of the 51st Brigade of the 151st Division

Division Commander Wang Yaowu personally commanded the deployment of the pocket formation, waiting for the Japanese to fall into the trap.

Wang Yaowu was good at ambushes. He ambushed the two main regiments of the 151st Brigade (301st and 302nd Regiments) on both sides of the main road, setting up an inverted eight-character formation. The 306th Regiment was responsible for blocking the outside. This was the old tactic he used to ambush the Red Army's anti-Japanese advance team in southern Jiangxi. In that battle, the 502nd Regiment was almost defeated.

It is said that Wang Yaowu still showed mercy, otherwise it is hard to say whether 502 could break out. This is a mystery.

Later, Wang Yaowu was captured in the Battle of Jinan. 502 also gave him enough courtesy. After graduating from Gongdelin, 502 also invited him to dinner, and he was treated well afterwards.

During the Battle of Jinan, Wang also released all the underground party members of the Red Army. The people in the city allowed them to leave, which reduced a lot of casualties. In addition, given his contributions in the War of Resistance, it is understandable that he was treated with courtesy by the top leaders of the Red Army. He has always been a wise man and lived very transparently.

There was no need to be polite in this ambush of the Japanese. There was only one goal: to kill all the Japanese. He said to Li Tianxia, ​​the commander of the 153rd Brigade:
"Brother Yaozong, once the two regiments of the 151st Brigade start fighting, the Japanese will definitely turn around and break out. The 306th Regiment responsible for sealing the way is under great pressure. Are there any difficulties?" Li Tianxia is Wang Yaowu's third-term classmate. Although he is a little unruly, he is still very convinced of Wang Yaowu and is not ambiguous about fighting the Japanese. He immediately expressed his position:
"There will be no difficulty. We will never let a single devil escape!"

Wang Yaowu praised loudly:

"Okay, I feel relieved with Brother Yaozong's words. I will set up a celebration wine for you at the division headquarters and exchange it for the heads of the Japanese!"

Shortly after Li Tianxia left, the divisional communications staff ran in and reported:
"Commander, the Japanese are coming. There are about 1500 of them. The vanguard has entered the pocket."

Wang Yaowu rushed out immediately after hearing this, raised his telescope to observe the enemy situation, and saw thousands of Japanese soldiers marching into the pocket formation he had carefully prepared. He shouted:

"Send flares, fire!"

After hearing the news, the communications staff fired three red flares into the sky. The six Type 6 mortars of the division's artillery battalion fired the first round of shells at the Japanese, hitting them right in the waist, blowing them to the ground.

The artillery battalion fired six rounds of shells in one minute, sending the Japanese soldiers fleeing in all directions;

Then the two regiments ambushed on both wings fired fiercely at the Japanese. The dense firepower network composed of hundreds of light and heavy machine guns and more than 2,000 rifles killed the Japanese and left corpses all over the ground.

At first, the Japanese, under the organization of officers at all levels, counterattacked on both wings and tried to seize the commanding heights, but they were driven back by the dense firepower of the National Army, leaving only dense corpses.

The 51st Division was the third batch of German-equipped adjustment divisions of the National Government. The organization had just been adjusted and the equipment had not yet been issued, so they were still using the old equipment. The rifles were all made in Hanyang and the machine guns were also imitated by the Hanyang Arsenal, but they were also equipped to the squads, so the firepower was still very fierce.

Inside the encirclement, Major Kuroki was completely stunned. He had never thought that the Chinese would dare to ambush them. In just over ten minutes, more than half of Kuroki's troops had been killed or wounded.
After several failed attempts to break out to the wings, there was no chance of succeeding in attacking from the front. The Chinese ambush position was shaped like the mouth of a trumpet. The further forward you advanced, the narrower the front became. In addition, you would be hit by side fire from both wings. A frontal breakout would be a dead end.

Unable to break through the two wings, he completely gave up all his illusions and reluctantly gave the order to turn back.

He was more or less an expert on China, having read the art of war thoroughly. He knew that the Chinese liked to surround their enemies on three sides and leave one side open, so that he could chase them and kill them. He would not retreat unless it was absolutely necessary.

The best direction to break out was the two wings, but unfortunately he couldn't break out at all, so he retreated honestly, thinking that he could at least break out a part of the way;

He thought Wang Yaowu was too kind. Even if it cost more to fight the Japanese, he would try his best to wipe them out completely.

The Japanese soldiers ran headfirst into the guns of the 306th Regiment, who were trapped in a trap. With no way to retreat, the Japanese soldiers of the Kuroki Battalion rushed into the blocking position of the 306th Regiment like a group of madmen;

After one group is eliminated, another group rushes up, fearless of death.

Li Tianxia had already issued a military order, so he would not let the Blackwood Brigade break out easily. The two sides fought fiercely.
The 301st and 302nd Regiments on both wings also began to tighten the encirclement. Seeing that the Kuroki Battalion was about to be wiped out, intensive gunfire suddenly rang out behind the 306th Regiment, all of which were Japanese weapons.

Li Tianxia broke out in a cold sweat. Captain Qiu Weida, who was in charge of the outer perimeter security, sent someone to report:
"Commander, a group of Japanese reinforcements suddenly appeared, at least two thousand strong, and the first battalion can no longer hold on."

Seeing that there were only three or four hundred Japanese soldiers left in the encirclement, Li Tianxia thought there was no need to sacrifice the 306th Regiment to annihilate them, so he had to order a retreat to both wings and let the remaining Japanese soldiers leave.

(End of this chapter)