Songhu: Never Give Up

Chapter 91: The Flesh Grinding Wheel (3)

Wang Yaowu did not expect that a reinforcement force of 2 people would suddenly appear. It seemed that the Japs were also on guard against them.

As the enemy situation changed, Wang Yaowu immediately made adjustments and ordered the 306th Regiment to retreat to the two wings, while the 301st and 302nd Regiments continued to pursue the remnants of the Japanese army and launched a charge towards the Japanese reinforcements.

The bravest will win when two meet on a narrow road. The more they cannot afford to give in at this time, they have three regiments and still have a huge advantage over the more than 2,000 Japanese soldiers. So Wang Yaowu ordered:
"Blow the charge horn, the entire division will launch an attack on the Japs, everyone in the division headquarters, follow me to kill the Japs!"

The Japanese reinforcements had originally intended to catch the 51st Division off guard, but they did not expect the entire 51st Division to charge and fight them with swords against swords;
As most of the main forces of the Kuroki Battalion were annihilated and morale was low, Colonel Sakai saw that he had lost the initiative and could not gain any advantage by continuing to fight, so he chose to retreat after rescuing the remnants of the Kuroki Battalion.

The 51st Division did not dare to pursue too far. After all, their ambush point was within the Japanese defense zone. So they decided to quit while they were ahead. They had already made a lot of money in this battle and there was no need to put their troops in danger.

The two sides soon broke contact. Although Wang Yaowu's plan to completely wipe out the Japanese was thwarted due to Colonel Sakai's caution and the early dispatch of reinforcements, the Kuroki Battalion was crippled and 1,000 enemies were killed.
If we add the more than 305 Japanese baggage soldiers annihilated by Zhang Zhongling's 300th Regiment, more than a thousand enemies were killed in this battle, and a large amount of baggage was seized, which dealt a heavy blow to the Sakai Regiment, known as the "Luodian Victory."

Because of this battle, some military fans in later generations even said, "The seven division commanders of the first phase are not as good as Wang Yaowu of the third phase." Of course, this statement is not objective. The seven divisions of the 18th Army fought equally bravely in Luodian, but they were not as dazzling as Wang Yaowu.

The victory achieved by the 51st Division at Caowangmiao effectively eased the pressure on the 74th Army's front and gradually stabilized the battle situation. The two sides once again fell into a tug-of-war and both paid a heavy price.

On September 9, the advance party of the 22st Division of the Japanese Army arrived in Shanghai and launched another fierce attack on Luodian;
The Japanese reinforcements continued to arrive, and Hu Shoushan's 17th Corps of the National Army also arrived in time to reinforce them. The two sides once again fought on equal terms.

The two sides fought repeatedly over Luodian, and the position even changed hands several times in one day. Even the Japanese aircraft could not figure out who was temporarily controlling the position, and there was an oolong incident of accidentally bombing their own side.

The two sides fought until the end of the month, with corpses scattered all over the ground and blood flowing like a river. The Japanese army called it a "bloody meat mill".
Within ten days, the Japanese army only advanced about 10988 kilometers to the west and south of Luodian at the cost of 3 casualties.

The Nationalist army also suffered heavy casualties. Among them, 1% of the officers below the rank of Hu Shoushan's 98st Brigade were killed, 4960 officers and soldiers of the 14th Division were killed or wounded, and nearly 6000 people were lost in the th Division. If the casualties of several other divisions are included, the enemy-to-us exchange ratio is about :.

This was the exchange ratio achieved under the heavy bombardment of aircraft and naval guns. It can be seen that the elite of the Central Army was basically evenly matched with the Ghost Guards in the first phase of the battle, and they lost only because of the huge gap in firepower.

During this period, Yue Qianli's Second Battalion basically did not participate in the battle, but he was always paying attention to the fighting in Luodian, and would do war game simulations with several company commanders every day.

Every day they would receive battle situation reports from their superiors, and then they would calculate them on the map. Yue Qianli regarded this as a way to train his generals.

Although they are now only battalion and company commanders, not worth mentioning in the battle of millions of troops, the war games simulated by Yue Qianli and others are all confrontations at the division level and above;

Yue Qianli plays the role of the Japanese army. Various offensive tactics emerge one after another, which makes the "defenders" exhausted. Then he starts to review the situation and look for strategies to defeat the enemy.

On September 9, the Japanese completed their plan to add three additional divisions, bringing their total strength in Shanghai to over 30.

Matsui Iwane immediately issued an order to the Japanese army to launch the fourth general offensive, and successively broke through the Liuxing, Wanqiao, Yanqiao and other positions.

In order to avoid further breakthroughs by the Japanese army, the left wing troops moved to the positions of Chenxing, Shixianggong Temple and Liuhe on the right bank of Yunzaobang the next day. During the transfer, the troops were intercepted by air and sea fire, and suffered heavy casualties. The "Japanese Army" played by Yue Qianli began to launch a fierce attack on Yunzaobang. Aircraft, tanks, artillery and infantry worked closely together to repeatedly attack the positions of the national army.
Although the "National Army" played by Liao Jianping fought desperately, the difference in firepower was too great, and the defenders were almost fighting with their lives.

Although the two sides fought back and forth at the beginning, as the "Japanese Army" launched thousands of aircraft to bombard the city, and under the impact of the tank cluster, the defenders' defense lines were broken one by one, with an average of one division killed and wounded every day. The elite of the National Army was gradually wiped out, and Dachang was lost...

Liao Jianping hugged his head in pain, and everyone else had a sad look on their faces. Once the big field was lost, the fight for the urban area would come to an end.

"Captain, is there really no other way?"

The second company commander Ai Jian asked almost in despair. Even though they knew the result long ago, they couldn't accept it when they really faced it. After all, hundreds of thousands of people had sacrificed their lives, and everyone wanted to win.

Yue Qianli also felt bad. Although he had a God's perspective of knowing the future, he still could not do anything.
War has its own inherent laws, and will not undergo major changes just because of the presence of a time traveler like him.

Historical materialism told him that any change in anything is not achieved overnight, but must go through a long process of transformation from quantitative change to qualitative change. This is the universal law of historical development, and no one can change it.

"Brothers, China is an agricultural country, while Japan is an industrial power. Modern wars are fought on industry and comprehensive national strength. The gap between the enemy and us in this regard is huge.
It is impossible for China to win this national war by relying on one or two decisive battles, and it cannot win such a decisive battle with such a huge disparity in strength in the early stages of the war.

The Japanese army can continuously transport troops to Shanghai by sea. If the current five divisions are not enough, they can send in five or even ten more divisions. The mobilization capacity of industrial countries is not comparable to that of agricultural countries.
Such a decisive battle would only deplete the blood of the Nationalist Army, which would be exactly what the Japanese wanted. Once the big battle was lost, the Nationalist Army should have left some troops to defend the south bank of Suzhou River.

Cover the main force's retreat to the national defense line, and then use the national defense line to block the Japanese step by step. This way, at least most of the elite veterans can be saved and the strength can be preserved for a long-term war of resistance. "

"Old Yue, what should we do? Just stand there and watch?"

Yue Qianli laughed and cried and said:

"How can we just sit there and watch? My 88th Division will also join the battle as ordered. First we have to stay alive, and then we have to kill more Japanese!

Win or lose, never admit defeat. If you can’t win in one year, then fight for ten years.
If we cannot win in East China, we will retreat to Central China or South China. Even if the whole country is occupied by the devils, we will advance behind enemy lines. As long as we keep fighting, we will win one day! "

Yue Qianli originally wanted to propose the theory of a protracted war, but after thinking about it, he gave up. It was too sensitive. They were too weak now. The most important thing was to stay alive first, and then kill the enemy.
As long as we kill the hundreds of thousands of elite Japanese soldiers in the early stages, the battles will be easier as the battle line lengthens...

He is the only one who has seen the prosperity of China after the victory, so he is full of confidence in this war. All he has to do now is to fight on - never give up!
"Captain, the regiment commander notified you to attend a meeting."

Yue Qianli knew that his short period of comfort was coming to an end.

(End of this chapter)