Chapter 56: Dragon and Tiger

  Tang Enbo, the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Section of Pingxi Road and the commander of the 13th Army, was in charge of the 4th Division (10th, 11th Brigade, 4 regiments) Wang Wanling, the 89th Division (265th, 267th Brigade, 4 regiments) Wang Zhonglian, and the 94th Division (3 regiments) Zhu Huai Bing.

  The 5th Division consists of the 9th Infantry Brigade (11th and 41st Regiments), the 21st Infantry Brigade (21st and 42nd Regiments) and the 5th Field Artillery Regiment, with Lieutenant General Itagaki Seishirō as division commander.

  July 20 noon, Huailai 13th Army headquarters.

  "89 Division deployed along the line of Badaling and Juyongguan, with 529 Regiment located in the area of Nankou and Longhutai as the forward position; to the east of Nankou, 530 Regiment was responsible for flank protection. 534 Regiment was located south of Juyongguan, building a second line of defense in the Fenghuangtai and Qinglongqiao areas. 533 Regiment was stationed at Badaling as the reserve force."

  Chief of Staff Wu Shaowu pointed to the battle map as he briefed Zhu Huai-bing (Commander of the 94th Division and Chief of Staff of the Eastern Section of the Ping-Sui Railway Frontline Command), "The area west of Juyongguan is the defensive zone of the 4th Division, with the first line of defense located in the area of Henglingcheng and to its west. The reserve force is currently still at Shiba Jia, preparing to move forward."

  "How should we deploy between the two armies?"

  "The terrain there is more rugged and will not be the main direction of the enemy's attack. Since you have come to take up the post of Chief of Staff, the Army Commander has already decided that I will lead the 4th Division's 22nd Regiment and one regiment from your division to take charge of defense. Currently, the troops stationed in Huai are the Military Department, the Army Supplemental Regiment, and the regiments from your division that have arrived successively."

  "Alright, how many artillerymen does your army have?"

  "89th Division has a Japanese-style mountain artillery battalion, 4th Division just configured a new-style artillery battalion, and each division also has a small cannon company; oh, we also have two war defense guns (except for the new-style artillery battalion, all are historical facts). The Japanese army has been conducting harassing bombing since I arrived, with increasing intensity, and today is already the third day; according to the reconnaissance team's report, the enemy in front of us is the 5th Division and other units, gathering in front of Nan Kou, and Japanese scouting cavalry have appeared in the LonghuTai area."

  "I think the Japanese army will launch an attack soon, our army must speed up the construction of the second line of fortifications."

  "Yes, I'll go and hand it over to the teacher right now."

  "Good."

  "Rumbling", a low explosion sound came from the southeast, Wu Shaozhou took out his pocket watch, "It's now 12:10, the Japanese planes are bombing again!"

  Longhu Ridge, the southern entrance's high ground and gateway; The 5th Divisional Cavalry Regiment (5th Squadron composite search unit) launched a raid under cover of the Army Aviation Corps' 9th Flying Battalion.

  Two squadrons of 93-style light bombers swooped down from the clouds, dropping strings of small bombs on the battlefield in front of Longhu Pavilion and Nanmen Railway Station. As explosions and smoke erupted, a cavalry squadron charged towards Nanmen Railway Station with swords drawn, but the charge was quickly proven ineffective as they faced machine gun fire from three directions. The leading horses and riders were easily mowed down by the hail of bullets, and the rest turned around in panic and fled.

  Meanwhile, about two companies of infantry advanced towards Longhu Pavilion under the cover of motorcycle-mounted machine guns, firing at the Japanese vanguard who were crawling forward with their heads bowed. However, the Japanese troops deployed in hidden positions began to retaliate with accurate fire from 200-300 meters away, hitting one or two machine gun nests and sending them flying.

  As the Chinese machine gunners fell, the firepower weakened, and large numbers of Japanese troops closed in on the position. "100 meters! 80 meters!" someone shouted, and a row of hand grenades flew out of the trenches. Most of the Japanese soldiers continued to advance nonchalantly, but as most of the grenades failed to explode and instead rolled under their feet, the charging Japanese soldiers realized they were their own "dud" grenades.

  A loud explosion followed, and dozens of Japanese soldiers fell. Taking advantage of the smoke-filled air, some Chinese machine guns began firing again, with the help of numerous rifles, forcing the remaining Japanese troops to retreat down the slope in disarray. At this moment, mortar fire began, and the first salvo hit a motorcycle, instantly turning it into a blazing inferno.

  The Japanese troops were now in full retreat, but they left behind many dead and wounded comrades on the battlefield.

  Seeing the Japanese army retreat, Luo Fanggui (Commander of the 529th Regiment) immediately ordered: "The 2nd Company brings the 2nd Platoon of the 4th Company to take over the defense and replace the 1st Company. Tell them not to fire their machine guns randomly!"

  Seeing the reinforcements advancing rapidly, Luo Fanggui smiled and said to Deputy Li Youyu: "Fortunately, we have this batch of Japanese-made hand grenades. Otherwise, if the Japanese army had attacked Dragon and Tiger Platform once, we would have lost it and all lost face!"

  "Heh heh! Captain, judging from the situation, there aren't many Japanese soldiers. Should we launch a counterattack?"

  "No need, who knows how many Japanese troops are behind?" Luo Fanggui paused for a moment, "This is probably the main attack direction of the Itagaki Division, and some battles have been fought."

  At 12:50, the Japanese Army's 21st Brigade Mountain Artillery Battalion began firing, and the Longhu Tower was immediately shrouded in smoke; mud, stones, and wooden debris were blown into the air. Without seeing any counterattack, at 1:00 pm, the 5th Field Artillery Brigade also joined the bombardment, with shells continuously falling on Nankou Town and the train station. As houses were hit one after another, thick smoke rose from Nankou, eventually merging into a single cloud. At 1:20, two groups of Japanese troops finally left their starting positions, with about two companies rushing towards Longhu Tower, while another company advanced steadily towards Nankou Train Station in an attempt to pin down the enemy.

  Accompanied by infantry artillery and heavy machine gun fire, the attack on Longhu Ridge resumed. This time, the Japanese army charged all the way to within 200 meters of the front line before the machine gun squad opened fire. The Japanese soldiers who were charging forward fell one after another under the intense firepower, but more Japanese troops continued to surge forward. The Japanese mortar team also moved up and began firing, causing both sides to suffer heavy casualties. As they approached each other within 50 meters, "Grenade!" A large number of long-handled grenades flew out from the trenches, while the Japanese army also threw "pineapples" into the trenches; "Boom boom boom" continuous explosions, exposing the Japanese army to a large area of death and injury. However, the Japanese army with superior numbers continued to approach the position, 40 meters, 30 meters, 20 meters, and the third and fourth companies followed closely behind. The grenade throwing also began to harm the troops in the trenches; just as the situation was critical, the mortar fire began shooting accurately at the dense formation of charging Japanese soldiers, blowing them up into pieces. However, soon after, each mortar platoon suffered more accurate counterattacks from the Japanese mountain artillery and infantry artillery, with the entire 1st Battalion mortar platoon being destroyed, and the rest forced to relocate. Seeing that the artillery had stopped firing, the Japanese army launched another attack on Longhu Ridge, while the 3rd Company dispatched by Luo Fanggui was also moving towards Longhu Ridge. The Japanese infantry artillery immediately intercepted and fired, with the 3rd Company suffering more than 20 casualties before entering the position, just in time to encounter the charging Japanese army face-to-face. The superior performance of the Czech-made light machine gun was evident, as it delivered intense firepower at close range, making it impossible for the Japanese army to approach the position; although some machine gunners were hit, they were immediately replaced by soldiers who continued firing, causing large numbers of Japanese casualties in front of the trenches. At 1:40 pm, with the last round of Japanese artillery fire, the 21st Regiment's 1st Battalion left behind more than 300 bodies and retreated; Luo Fanggui had long prepared the 3rd Battalion's 9th and 12th Companies to quickly move forward and take over the position.

  "Commissar, we've lost nearly half a battalion in just an hour and a half?" Deputy Commander Li You said.

  "Report the losses to the superior department and ask Commander Li to send reinforcements." (Li Xiang, Commander of the 265th Regiment of the 89th Division)

  "I have reported it, but the travel department said they can't find the tour leader."

  "What? Another soft egg? Report directly to the instructor!"

  At 2:25 pm, the Japanese artillery bombardment resumed, this time with an entire field artillery battalion targeting Longhu Ridge and another field artillery battalion simultaneously bombarding Nankou. Wang Zhonglian knew something was wrong and personally led a regiment to rush to the headquarters of the 265th Brigade. Li Xiang had just run out of his hiding place, frantically searching for Wang Zhonglian in tears. Wang could only send Li to a hospital in the rear.

  At 3:00 pm, with the extension of the Wild Cannon Brigade's firepower, the commander of the 21st Brigade was slapped twice by his superior and ordered to send the 2nd and 3rd Battalions together to launch another attack on Longhu Island and the direction of Nankou Railway Station.

  On the Longhu Ridge, more than half of the trenches built by the 529th Regiment in three days had been destroyed, but most of the small artillery caves withstood the test of field artillery. When the Japanese 21st Brigade's 2nd Battalion approached with over a thousand soldiers, the lifeless position suddenly came alive. The 9th and 12th Companies, as well as more than 200 officers and men from the 1st Battalion who refused to leave their positions, were waiting in ambush. Just when the Japanese thought that everyone on the position had been wounded or killed by the half-hour artillery bombardment, the commander of the 9th Company shouted: "Open fire!" More than a dozen light machine guns fired at the same time, and the Japanese soldiers who were climbing the slope 200 meters away were caught off guard. Dozens of them were shot down, and the rest were pinned to the ground. When the Japanese stopped advancing, the machine gunners quickly retreated into their caves, but the firing positions were soon hit by accurate mortar shells, causing continuous explosions. When the machine guns stopped firing, the Japanese continued to climb the slope, but this time they were more cautious. 80 meters from the position, still no shots were fired, and the Japanese advanced even slower. At 70 meters, "Throw grenades!" A cluster of 'hand grenades' fell to the ground in a parabolic arc, then rolled towards the charging Japanese soldiers, who shouted "Ah!" as they were hit by continuous explosions that blew them apart. In the rear, Japanese soldiers tried to retreat, but their battalion commander waved his command sword, and the company commanders drove their soldiers forward, continuing the charge. The mortars and infantry guns in the rear also continued to fire, eliminating the machine gun firepower.

  Seeing the situation was critical, Luo Fanggui shouted loudly, "The 10th row follow me!" The officers and soldiers of the 10th row instantly broke out of the second line of defense and ran towards Longhu Pavilion.

  Li Youyu and the 3rd Battalion Commander seized Luo Fanggui, pulling the Regimental Commander back to the shelter. Just as Luo Fanggui was about to get angry, the 3rd Battalion Commander shouted: "I'll go!" He took these two guards and chased after the 10th Company.