Chapter 15 The Ambush at Qiuling

As the Hyakudai Daixiong Company’s rear guard was reorganized into the front, they retreated under a hail of bullets and shells from the mountain slopes.

“Da-da-da!” “Boom!”

Another intense explosion rang out, scaring Company Commander Hyakudai Daixiong into falling to the ground. He then raised his head to see where the next blast had hit.

When he saw the location of the latest attack, a heart already plunged into hell fell even deeper, to the eighteenth level.

What he saw was the Numayama and Kase squad, which had been at the rear but was now at the front of the retreating column, was under heavy bombardment.

This time, it wasn't a landmine explosion! But the result was the same!

Machine gun fire and artillery shells rained down on Numayama and Kase's squad, who had been trying to escape as quickly as possible. In an instant, more than a dozen Japanese soldiers fell.

Squad Leader Numayama and Kase was on the verge of tears. His squad had already lost more than ten men in the previous attack, and now another dozen were dead.

It felt as if his entire squad was being wiped out!

The previous assault had been absorbed by the entire company. But this bombardment was focused solely on Numayama’s squad.

A single squad of Japanese soldiers couldn’t withstand such focused attention.

The distance between the First Company’s current position and Numayama and Kase's squad was less than two hundred meters as the crow flies. But the distance along the road was much longer, at least six or seven hundred meters.

The First Company’s machine guns, heavy machine guns, and infantry cannons fired in a straight line, pinning the entire Hyakudai Daixiong Company in the mountain hollow.

Company Commander Hyakudai Daixiong immediately understood the problem: If his company wanted to escape, they had to knock out the First Company’s machine gun nest.

“Grenade launchers!” he roared.

At this distance, only grenade launchers could hit the artillery and machine gun positions.

Sergeant Asano Sota, upon receiving the order, immediately began to aim, firing at the heavy machine guns not far away.

The first grenade missed its target, landing far away on the hillside and exploding.

Battalion Commander Jing ordered, "Infantry cannons! Target the middle of the mountain hollow, where the Japanese grenade launchers are. Mortars, follow up!"

The mountain hollow was curved, like a bow.

The First Company occupied one end of the bow, and their heavy machine guns and infantry cannons had already driven back the Japanese soldiers trying to escape from the other end.

Now, the infantry cannons and mortars began to target the Japanese soldiers within the curve.

The Fifth and Sixth Companies on the mountaintop had a clear advantage, firing with ease.

Blind spots for the Fifth and Sixth Companies were easily covered by the First Company. Likewise, the First Company's blind spots were easily targeted by the Fifth and Sixth Companies.

Caught in a crossfire, the Hyakudai Company couldn't find a single position that offered cover from both sides.

Under the relentless attack, the Hyakudai Company suffered heavy casualties. Company Commander Hyakudai Daixiong was in a difficult position: he couldn't break out towards Gao'an.

In reality, his company couldn't break out in any direction. With no way out, the Hyakudai Company gathered its remaining strength and charged towards the First Company.

Company Commander Hyakudai Daixiong wanted to fight to the death, but it was just a gambler’s mentality.

Dozens of Japanese soldiers charged towards the First Company’s position, shouting. But under the First Company's machine gun fire, all of them fell before reaching within a hundred meters.

Seeing that there were no more Japanese soldiers fighting back, the soldiers of the three companies charged into the Hyakudai Company's ranks to mop up the battlefield.

The battle was short, lasting less than half an hour from start to finish.

Just as the Second Regiment finished fighting here, the Naito Hirotada Battalion, advancing from Fengxin to Dacheng, engaged with the Third Regiment.

The Third Regiment Commander Zheng Tianan’s mission was to hold Dacheng. He sent the First and Second Companies.

The First Company Commander Jiang Gao Dan led his troops, marching quickly along the road towards Fengxin. His reconnaissance platoon leader, Yue Chang He, reported, "There's a mountain peak called Qiuling between Dacheng and Fengxin. It's a good position for an ambush."

When Jiang Gao Dan arrived with his troops, he saw that the Fengxin-Dacheng highway was only a hundred meters away from the foot of the mountain. Setting up an ambush position here was indeed a good idea.

He immediately ordered his troops to start building fortifications. At the same time, he ordered the Second and Third Platoons to set up directional mines, while the First Platoon continued to scout ahead.

The Second Company would lie in wait in Suihu Village, in front of Qiuling, ready to cut off the Japanese retreat.

The two companies were assigned their missions.

The reconnaissance platoon quickly reported sighting the Japanese. This was good news.

Jiang Gao Dan was overjoyed. He knew that the last time the Second Regiment's First Company had set up an ambush between Fengxin and Gao'an, the battle had ended without seeing a single Japanese soldier.

However, Yue Platoon Leader's subsequent report dampened Jiang Company Commander's enthusiasm: "The Japanese formation is very long. I estimate that two battalions of Japanese soldiers are heading towards Dacheng."

Although Jiang Company Commander had confidence in his abilities, he knew that he couldn’t take on two Japanese battalions with just his First Company, not even with the Second Company.

When Regiment Commander Zheng heard that two Japanese battalions were approaching Qiuling, he was overjoyed. He immediately consulted with the Fourth Regiment Commander Hua Zizai. Since he was defending Dacheng, he wanted the Third Regiment to fight the Japanese.

The Fourth Regiment would wait in Dacheng as a reserve. That was how it should be.

The Fourth Regiment Commander Hua Zizai believed: I am the reserve force, you are the city defenders. You should focus on defending the city, and the Fourth Regiment will take care of the Japanese outside.

The two regimental commanders couldn't agree, so they asked Ji Wudi for instructions. The Captain Ji, who was cleaning up the battlefield, thought for a moment and ordered, "The Third Regiment will leave behind one infantry company, one anti-aircraft machine gun company, and one rocket launcher company to defend the city.

The Fourth Regiment will leave behind two infantry companies in Dacheng as reserves. The remaining companies of both regiments will immediately proceed to Qiuling to annihilate the two Japanese battalions.

Move quickly and act swiftly. Qiuling is ten kilometers from Fengxin. The Japanese can quickly retreat or send reinforcements from Fengxin if they are attacked."

The two regimental commanders received the order and slapped hands in celebration! This was the result they liked the most. Captain Ji understood his subordinates’ hearts.

The two regiments immediately began to move, developing their battle plan on the way.

Regiment Commander Zheng said, "My regiment will travel light and insert itself behind the Japanese formation to cut off their retreat, while also blocking any Japanese reinforcements.

The Fourth Regiment, with its rocket launchers, can block the Japanese at Qiuling, bombarding and pushing them forward."

The two regiments now had a total of nineteen companies deployed towards Qiuling, with a total strength of more than four thousand seven hundred men, twice the strength of the Japanese.

This battle would indeed be easy.

Regiment Commander Hua agreed to the plan. While the main forces of the two regiments were setting off from Dacheng, the First Company Commander at Qiuling was already engaged with the Japanese.

Company Commander Hasegawa Hibiki watched as the squad led by Kuninaka Naoki, which was at the front of the column, came under machine gun fire from the mountain peak on the right.

He immediately ordered the entire Kuninaka Naoki squad to attack that mountain peak, and immediately dispatched a signalman to report to the battalion commander that their advance was blocked.

Upon receiving the report, Battalion Commander Naito Hirotada immediately ordered, "The Hosho Soto Company will move forward to cooperate with the Hasegawa Company and annihilate the small force of enemy troops blocking our path with lightning speed.

Open up the path to Dacheng, and they must occupy Dacheng as quickly as possible.

We cannot let the Nationalist troops surrounded between Dacheng and Shengmi Street escape after learning of the situation."

When Squad Leader Kuninaka Naoki led his squad forward, they were still more than fifty meters away from the defenders' first line of defense.

The defenders' bullets became more concentrated, and more than a dozen Japanese soldiers in the squad fell in an instant. The attack could not continue.

The entire squad retreated.

Both company commanders understood the mission when the first attack had already been repulsed.

Battalion Commander Naito Hirotada, knowing the defenders' fierce firepower, immediately dispatched a machine gun company to assist in the battle. At the same time, he ordered the entire battalion to concentrate their mortars to bombard Qiuling.

More than three hundred Japanese soldiers gathered, preparing to charge as soon as the bombardment ended.

The Narumi Saburo Machine Gun Company had already rushed forward, quickly setting up a machine gun nest with twelve heavy machine guns and twenty-four light machine guns.

They were ready, waiting for the shelling to stop before opening fire.

The Japanese shelling continued. As soon as the shelling of the defenders’ front line ended, more than three hundred Japanese infantrymen immediately launched an assault.

However, the Japanese shelling did not end. They simply extended the barrage further back, shelling the rear positions of the First Company.

When the Japanese infantry were still two hundred meters away from the defensive line, the First Company's machine guns opened fire.

Just as Company Commander Jiang Gao Dan ordered his soldiers to open fire, dozens of machine guns from the Narumi Saburo Machine Gun Company also opened fire.

Their opening fire immediately suppressed all of the First Company's firepower.

The soldiers couldn't even raise their heads. Company Commander Jiang could only order the company's mortars, infantry guns, and heavy machine guns to concentrate all their fire on the Japanese machine gun nest.

The situation for Company Commander Hosho Soto in the other position was the same. He didn't know exactly how many Japanese soldiers in his company were still able to fight.

He could only tell that very few guns in the entire company were still firing, and the returning fire was sparse and weak.

What to do?

The Narumi Saburo Company was under heavy shelling. In order to support the attack of the two infantry companies, this company's machine guns had never stopped firing.

From his position, it did seem that he had suppressed the enemy's firepower. Both infantry companies were now charging towards the defenders' positions.

They were only a few dozen meters away when a sudden change occurred in front: a series of explosions erupted in the charging formation.

Then, both companies of Japanese soldiers were shrouded in smoke, making it difficult to see clearly.

According to the Special Operations Brigade's previous tactics, a wave of directional mine explosions, followed by a round of machine gun fire, should be followed by an infantry charge to deliver the coup de grâce to the wounded Japanese soldiers and kill the uninjured ones, ending the battle.

But today was different. The Japanese firepower was too strong. Unless that machine gun nest was destroyed, no counterattack could be launched.

Company Commander Jiang was also loudly ordering the two infantry guns and mortars to speed up the bombardment of the Japanese machine gun nest.

The smoke from the directional mine explosions eventually dissipated, and Company Commander Hasegawa Hibiki, lying on the ground, could finally see the situation on the battlefield.

His company still had forty or fifty Japanese soldiers firing back. This was far beyond his expectations.

A company of more than a hundred Japanese soldiers was now less than half its original strength.

The situation for the Hosho Soto Company was similar. The two companies combined had less than a hundred Japanese soldiers capable of continuing to fight.

How to fight?

As the smoke cleared, the First Company's soldiers, looking down from above, also spotted the Japanese soldiers who were still firing.

The Japanese soldiers within fifty meters were greeted with hand grenades. After a barrage of grenades rained down, Company Commander Hasegawa Hibiki sadly saw that the number of Japanese soldiers in his company who could continue fighting had been reduced by another half.

This battle could not continue: "Retreat!"

As his side retreated, the Hosho Soto Company was also overwhelmed and retreated as well.

Battalion Commander Naito Hirotada, watching this scene from afar, was frustrated: he had seen the attacks of the two infantry companies.

It couldn’t be said that the attacks of these two companies were not valiant, but the enemy was too cunning. They had actually planted mines in front of their trenches.

The minefield was planted so close, it was clear that they were only defending and not attacking!

What to do now?

The Narumi Saburo Machine Gun Company had been diligently escorting the two infantry companies to the battlefield and only stopped firing when they had completely withdrawn from the battlefield.

The company commander ordered the entire machine gun company to quickly move to a new position. They had been stubbornly defending this position and had now lost twelve machine guns.

If they didn’t change positions, the entire company would be wiped out here.

The second attack had failed. Did they need to continue attacking?

Battalion Commander Naito Hirotada asked Battalion Commander Egasaki Isamu to concentrate all the artillery on the front line to bombard the defenders on Qiuling.

The two previous attacks had already rendered two companies in his battalion combat ineffective. This time, he couldn’t be so reckless again.

Concentrating the artillery fire of two battalions would definitely drive away the troops defending Qiuling.

This was his only wish now.

Battalion Commander Egasaki Isamu fully cooperated. They had been here once yesterday, and although they hadn't been ambushed by infantry, they had been strafed from the air.

Their morale had already been shattered. Now that the Naito Hirotada Battalion was holding the front, Battalion Commander Egasaki Isamu felt relaxed: sending some artillery to help was no problem.

Battalion Commander Egasaki Isamu pulled out all the mortars, infantry guns, and grenade launchers from his entire battalion.

His cooperation greatly moved Battalion Commander Naito Hirotada: "Egasaki-kun! Thank you!"

After saying thank you, he turned around and ordered, "Level that mountain peak for me!"

All the artillery of the two infantry battalions opened fire on Qiuling. The First Company's positions were all under heavy bombardment.

At this time, Regiment Commander Zheng was leading his troops past behind Qiuling. Hearing such intense explosions, he couldn't help but worry about the First Company.

He spoke to Company Commander Jiang through the field radio: "I am leading the main force to insert ourselves behind the Japanese retreat. Hold on. The Fourth Regiment has already arrived. Once I have blocked the Japanese's retreat, the Fourth Regiment will launch a counterattack.

You must hold this position!"

Company Commander Jiang didn't expect that both the Third and Fourth Regiments had arrived. He ordered this good news to be spread to every soldier in the company: "The regimental commander has already arrived with his troops and is inserting himself behind the Japanese's retreat.

Once the encirclement is complete, it will be the end of these Japanese soldiers."

The Japanese artillery bombardment continued. The Fourth Regiment's rocket launcher company's reconnaissance platoon had already taken up position, guiding the rocket launcher company's fire.

Company Commander Sha received the regimental commander's order and had already cut off the Japanese's retreat to Fengxin, planting many directional mines along the road.

Regiment Commander Hua Zizai was waiting for Regiment Commander Zheng's message. As soon as he received the message that the Third Regiment's main force was in position, he would launch an attack.

The Japanese artillery fire in the distance was deafening, still bombarding Qiuling. Thinking of the First Company holding out on the ridge, Regiment Commander Hua Zizai's hands were sweating: How could the First Company hold out under such heavy fire?

Finally, he received Regiment Commander Zheng's report: "My regiment's main force is in position. Close the net!"