144th Division, Chencun Reservoir Position.

Like the 26th Battalion and 1st Company of the 151st Regiment of the 76th Brigade of the 144th Division, the 144th Division had been holding its position until the fourth day.

At this time, although the 144th Division suffered heavy casualties, it had completely occupied the position from Lujia Village in the east to Taohuatan in the west, the front of the position was about two kilometers wide, and it was connected to the main position of the Chencun Reservoir in the east.

Beginning on the 26th, for three consecutive days, the position of the 144th Division was filled with gunsmoke every day, and the army launched a frantic attack on this position.

As soon as dawn broke, the observation balloons of the army rose behind the battle line, and the words continued. Indicate the target of the bombardment for their artillery, correct the point of impact. At the same time, also to give instructions to bomb targets for their aircraft. As soon as the balloon was lifted into the air, our position was exposed, and all activities were under the control of the Japanese army, and it was completely possible to attack calmly.

The soldiers of the 144th Division gritted their teeth at the observation balloon, and sometimes even the flickering reflection on the telescope on the balloon could be seen, because there were no long-range weapons, only dry stare. The bullets couldn't hit, but the mouth could reach, and the soldiers scolded it as a "pig urine bag". It is also a method of warfare that both despises the enemy and boosts morale.

As soon as the balloon was lifted into the air, the planes flew over in turn, cooperating with the artillery bombardment to strafe and drop bombs in the open air.

Sometimes a thousand bombs and five thousand shells were fired in a day on a kilometer of frontage. As a result, the activities of the 144th Division during the day were extremely difficult. Fortunately, there was a cotton field to use as cover, and as soon as the enemy plane came, it would lie still in the cotton field, and when the enemy plane turned around, it would leap forward or crawl forward.

The army took advantage of their three-dimensional advantage to constantly launch attacks, and the attacks were extremely active, and if they wanted to intersperse, they would attack the gaps of our side; If you want to fight the power of 144 teachers and students, find a place where there are people to fight.

The 144th Division was in a passive defense, with only one advantage, a large number of people. No matter how dense the artillery fire and bombs are, there is always a gap, and those who survive in this gap are the enemy's death! The tactics are also very simple, there is only one, when the enemy charges, let it go and fight closely!

After the cotton field of the 144th Division, there were also two captured mountain guns, but they basically did not work and could only be camouflaged. As long as one cannon is fired, it will immediately attract an overwhelming bombardment, and it is necessary to protect these cannons, and it is better to have more dead than to be damaged. There are many Chinese, few artillery.

The cooking class can only cook one meal before dawn and one meal after dark, and does not dare to light a fire during the day. From the very beginning of the Chencun Reservoir Defense Battle, the brothers of the 144th Division had one meal in the morning and one in the evening, and when there was a lot of food, they could pinch a bag of rice balls and put them in their pockets. The enemy attacked with a full meal, and the soldiers of the 144th Division fought with the enemy on an empty stomach. During the day, he fought hard with the enemy, and at night he desperately repaired the fortifications, and there was no time to rest.

The troops were constantly attritional, and the reserves were all on the front line, and there was no replenishment. The officers and soldiers in the trenches looked at their comrades-in-arms and fell to the ground one by one, and the wounded could not be sent to the rear. The dead mingle with the living, just like camping.

The rest encouraged each other, and the morale of the troops remained high.

On one position, Liu Yishun, a seriously wounded old squad leader, did not eat, his eyes stared straight at the stiff corpses of the dead soldiers in the squad, and he kept crying. The dozen or so brothers who came out of the class were all killed, and he was the only one left, still seriously wounded. Chen Deshao, a native of Mawang Township, Youyang County, Yucheng City, who was appointed as the company commander with a major staff officer next to him, saw this and immediately encouraged Liu Yishun and the soldiers around him to avenge their brothers who had sacrificed their lives.

Before the company commander's words were finished, Liu Yishun shouted: "Company commander, wrap my wounds tighter, return the gun to me, I will participate in the battle and avenge the dead brothers!" ”

Company Commander Chen Deshao prudently returned the gun that Liu Yishun had handed over to him and continued to participate in the war. Liu Yishun was wounded in the battle, and this spirit of doing it alive and counting it dead has always been there to inspire all officers and soldiers.

At noon on the third day of the Taohuatan position, the army launched a fierce attack on the Taohuatan position defended by Zeng Xuehua's regiment, and the position was in a sea of fire, most of the soldiers had been killed or seriously wounded, and all those who could take up arms, including the clerks, had already gone into battle. Up to now, only a few people are still resisting under the command of Zeng Xuehua, and the gunfire has begun to thin out, and the position is in danger

The division commander Fan Ziying was so anxious that he gritted his teeth and made up his mind to send the last battalion in his hand!

Wu Boxun, the battalion commander who was ordered to reinforce, ignored the bombardment of the enemy's artillery fire, and led the whole battalion of soldiers to run along the bank of the Taohuatan River to the position in broad daylight under the noses of the enemy's observation balloons.

The enemy soon spotted this reinforcement, and the closer it got to the position, the denser the enemy's artillery fire became. Soldiers were constantly killed in the sound of shell explosions, and the battalion commander Wu Boxun was also hit by artillery fire and fell to the ground with serious injuries.

The rest of the soldiers did not dodge the continuous explosion of artillery fire around them, and finally rushed to Zeng Xuehua, and before they even had time to shout "report", they rushed into the trench and shot under Zeng Xuehua's gesture command.

The arrival of this last battalion finally repelled the enemy and held the position at a critical moment.

Sticking to the Taohuatan position, there is Yao Jiong, the commander of the 3rd company, who is strong in martial arts. He is very brave in battle, as long as he is close to the enemy, one person can deal with several devils, his big knife is left and right, and a gust of wind is turned, and the sound is loud, killing the enemy and crying wolf. His soldiers cooperated with him, repelling the enemy and multiple attacks with broadswords, grenades.

He called back from the position and said that the devil was afraid of big knives, so please send a few more big knives to the front line.

After the big knife was delivered, he had just finished fighting to the death with the devil, and said heartily: "You can kill more devils again." ”

On the second day of holding the Taohuatan position, in a battle, the battalion commander was wounded and retreated from the line of fire, and he led the officers and soldiers of the battalion to continue to charge and kill. After being wounded, he continued to fight, and it was not until he had driven the enemy back that he felt the world spin, his eyes blackened, and he collapsed on the ground. When the soldiers came to the rescue, the company commander Yao Jiong finally died for the country due to excessive bleeding.

Gao Zaitian, the commander of the 1st Company, led the whole company to fight hand-to-hand with the enemy many times, and after recapturing the position, he was wounded several times, and his blood flowed, and he said in a loud voice: "You must drive the devil out of the country." ”

His herald shouted, "Company commander, you have been wounded, go to the back!" ”

He glared at the herald fiercely: "What is this! It doesn't matter if you are seriously injured, for the survival of the nation, sacrifice should also be made! ”

There were only a dozen people left in the whole company, and they were still charging. As he rushed, he shouted, "Brothers, go up!" The devil is almost finished! As he was shouting, a volley of machine-gun bullets strafed him, and he was hit and killed several times.

Another company commander, Gao Jun, left his home address and future affairs to the battalion commander before participating in the battle, in order to show his determination to serve the country with his body and regard death as his home, and he also died in the battle.

After two days of fighting in the Taohuatan position, at this time, only the battalion commander Yu Jingming was left, commanding the last few soldiers to stick to a few dilapidated houses and not retreat until death.

On the morning of that day, several planes flew over the brigade headquarters, and with a flick of their wings, more than a dozen bombs fell in volley, and the brigade headquarters was in a sea of fire. The chief and deputy brigade commanders survived, but the people on duty at the brigade headquarters and the guards and soldiers were blown up and their whereabouts were unknown.

In the face of such a precarious situation in Taohuatan, where can the brigade send people to reinforce it? found the division headquarters, and the division commander Fan Ziying had just sent the last battalion, and there was only one division pistol company in his hand, which was the only force that could be adjusted in the division.

The situation was so critical that he could no longer care about anything else, so he immediately gathered a pistol company and ordered to run for reinforcements with a wave of his hand. The pistol company has a box gun per person, and a bright big knife on his back, all of them are well-honed heroes. As soon as the company commander accepted the order, he led the troops to the brigade headquarters in the face of artillery fire, and the brigade commander Liao Jingan was a little embarrassed at first glance: "How can we use this personal unit of the division commander?" ”

However, the deputy brigade commander Ma Ruixiang had an idea: "The pistols are good to play a role in close combat, so let's use them first." Maybe there's a long guy left on the field. ”

The pistol company has always served as a guard, and it did not directly catch the battle, and everyone held back their strength, and rushed up with a rain of bullets.

The position was finally saved. Lieutenant Colonel Battalion Commander Yu Jingming held his position and was promoted to colonel.

26 p.m., the good news finally came:

The Guoqiden detachment of the army has taken the bait, the 144th Division has completed the task, and the Chencun Reservoir still has the role of containing the army, which cannot be lost!

However, the 144th Division has completed the task of holding the position, waiting for the handover, and has sent Liao Lei's army of the Guangxi Army, which is moving in the Wuhu area, to take over the defense.

Soon, Liao Lei's army and Wei Yunsong's division quietly entered the Chencun Reservoir from the flank to hand over the position.

The officers of the 144th Division were relieved, and after four days of hard fighting, they finally completed their task without losing an inch of land: the soldiers were also relieved, and they did not know whether they were human or ghosts for four days, and now they could finally leave the position alive.

The Guangxi army has always been known for its courage and tenacity, and its ability to fight through battles is much more energetic than the French soldiers who are dressed in tatters and carry hats on their backs.

As everyone knows, at the time of the handover, the first part of the army suddenly launched an attack on the Taohuatan position. When the Guangxi army saw that the devils were rushing over with bayonets under the cover of artillery fire, they immediately retreated, and those who had already entered the position also withdrew from their positions.

When the brigade commander Liao Jing'an saw this, he immediately ordered Zeng Xuehua's regiment to resolutely resist, repel the enemy and consolidate the position before handing over.

Zeng Xuehua immediately commanded Wu Boxun's battalion to reoccupy the position and fight back, launching a counter-charge, and finally repulsing the enemy. However, the price was also heavy, Zeng Xuehua was wounded in the hand, and another group of soldiers lay down on the ground and never got up again.

Falling to the ground in this last charge was Zhou Wengao, a company commander from a famous mountain in Sichuan. When the grenade exploded in the enemy group, Zhou Wengao jumped out of the trench and led the soldiers to shout and pounce on the devil. Before he could run ten steps, a burst of machine-gun bullets swept over, and Zhou Wengao was seriously injured in the chest, and blood was gushing out. But he still led the charge until he fell to the ground.

After Zhou Wengao was martyred, in his hometown, Xiong Shanzhang, the magistrate of Mingshan County, held a grand memorial meeting for him in the county seat, and personally mentioned the couplet: "The first time I won the name, just in March, I came to the right strong man and did not return; Looking at the heroes from afar, they will be immortalized through the ages, and the death of the king is equal to Mengshan! ”

Mengshan Mountain is a generation of famous mountains in Mingshan County, and it is famous for its tea production, known as "the water in the Yangtze River, the tea on the top of Mengshan Mountain". My martyr is as famous as Mengshan, and he deserves it!

The clansmen took Zhou Wengao as unmarried and had no queen, and continued the heirs of the third brother.

After the handover of positions, there were only about 40 soldiers left in Liao Jing'an's brigade who could stand up and gather. After the withdrawal, the Military Committee promoted Zeng Xuehua to colonel and awarded the Navy, Army and Air Force a first-class medal.

After four days of fierce fighting, the 144th Division suffered heavy casualties. The captain of the officer corps was responsible for registering the number of casualties in the whole army at the military headquarters, and more than 5,000 people were paid disability allowances, and more than 2,000 were killed in battle, totaling more than 7,000 casualties. Among them, one was wounded by the chief of staff of the division, more than 20 regimental and battalion commanders were wounded, and more than 200 company and platoon commanders were killed.

When the 144th Division withdrew, Fan Ziying insisted on going to the position to take another look. Looking at this sea of corpses and blood, Fan Ziying's heart fluctuated, and those who really experienced the battlefield can better understand what the Great Wall of flesh and blood of the Chinese nation is!

In the frontal confrontation on the battlefield, countless Chinese [***] teams went forward one after another, not afraid of sacrifice, of course, a mere 144th Division could not play much role, but the 144th Division did its best, and the Sichuan people did their best! Thinking of this, this hard-hearted man didn't feel tears in his eyes.

He said that he still paid a heavy price. After that, the [***] team seized a book of the battlefield notes of the army officers, a total of eight books, seven texts, and a photo album. The person who wrote the note was a senior soldier of the Fifth Division of the Japanese Army, Shizuo Hajima. Who is Shizuo Hakushima? What happened to him? No one knows that.

However, his account more truthfully records the actual situation of the Battle of Chencun Reservoir in which he participated:

"Last night, I went with my adjutant to Taohuatan to count the dead and wounded in the key battle of crossing the river, and slept all night with Uchida in the middle of a large bundle. (January 23) "I feel desolate because there are only four or five people left in the headquarters.

"Second Lieutenant Yasuda and Private Yuuki were wounded. (January 23) "The personnel of the headquarters also cried and wanted to go back to the other side of the river, but they were not allowed to go up, and said that if anyone dared to cross the river without permission, they would be shot."

"But I just joined the headquarters when I was grouped last month, and anyway, there are 25 people in the headquarters, so why do you say that I am the most suitable person?

"Of the corporal officers of the headquarters, two were killed in battle, two were wounded, and only one was fine. I don't know what it would be like if I became a captain myself.

"The situation in this department is the most serious; Five were killed, five were wounded, and three were sick, and only 30 percent survived.

"The soldiers on Takahashi have finally crossed the river. "At about 10 o'clock in the evening, I returned as a part-time field crematorium staff member with the herald and others.

In the middle of the night, we arrived at the large baggage department, and everyone got into the tent and slept on the hard soil.

What an enviable thing, as an infantryman, there is no such treatment. (October 24) "Going to the crematorium with a roster with hiragana pronunciation on it were about fifty mournful cremators. Those who died 10 days ago were cremated together this time. We took the list and identified the deceased.

Yesterday, I knew that Ichikawa-kun of Takatsuki was killed in battle, and I heard that Shimizu-kun was wounded"

"It's a blessing that I became a crematorium crematorium. (January 25)"

"There was a lot of gunfire, and projectiles were constantly flying in the places where we lived. A soldier of the 2nd Squadron was shot in the head and died instantly.

"I heard that Private Takahashi died in battle last night, and there was nothing left. He's my closest friend and family, but where are you now? If I'm lucky enough to survive, I hope to go home again. (January 26)"

"I still want to eat everything, because no one knows what kind of fate they will have tomorrow"

"To sleep is to sleep in the trenches, to strafe indiscriminately at night with machine guns, and to sleep even if you want to, only to pray for God's blessing, when the dawn comes, you will breathe a sigh of relief: your life was saved last night.

To be precise, Taohuatan is divided into three rivers, and so far, hundreds of soldiers have been killed and wounded in this river crossing battle, and the infantry Yuan Rong Wing has so far suffered 2,000 casualties. This is a position secured by a mountain of dead men, and it is said that this army used the mountains of dead men to save the fate of defeat

I am extremely happy as a cremator.

In the evening, the cremation of comrades-in-arms took place all night. (January 26)"

"In the afternoon, when Yamashita Guncho, who met Enkata, and Takagi Superior, Ogawa, were waiting for the people, I heard that there were people who had died in battle in a nearby village. When I heard this, I only burst into tears.

I must work hard to complete the task of cremating the cremator. (January 26)"

said that his sorrow is unobstructed in this book. In fact, the seemingly fierce Yue Jun, under the blow of the Chinese [***] people who are not afraid of sacrifice, is actually full of panic in his heart

After Fan Ziying's 144th Division was replaced, the troops were ordered to retreat to Xuzhou. At night, a waning moon has been hung high above the treetops, and the fields exude a fragrant smell, if it were not for the occasional one or two dull explosions in the distance, it would really make people reminisce in the charm of the moon and breeze in the water towns in the south of the Yangtze River.

At this time, Fan Ziying and the deputy division commander were standing in the moonlight outside the military headquarters, quietly waiting for a distinguished guest.

The communications corps has already called, and the guests are about to arrive.

The guest was Hu Lanqi, a well-known Sichuan woman, journalist, graduate of the sixth phase of Huangpu, and former head of the Shanghai Field Service Corps. Fan Ziying and Hu Lanqi are old acquaintances, they met in Sichuan 14 years ago, and they both have a good impression of each other. At that time, Fan Ziying, who already had a wife of the fifth aunt, still wanted to build a love nest with Hu Lanqi, but because Hu Lanqi had his own ambitions in his chest, he despised the small family designed by Fan Ziying and threw himself into the revolution.

Now I heard that Fan Ziying brought a new force to participate in the great war of resistance against Japan, and specially braved artillery fire, regardless of life and death, to the front line to visit and interview Fan Ziying.

In the haze, the guests arrived. Fan Ziying let Hu Lanqi and others enter the military headquarters, and under a not too bright horse lamp, they were full of energy, calm and calm, and talked eloquently. He talked about the situation between China and China, the cruelty and tragedy of the battlefield, and the sacrificial spirit of the 144th Division. Fan Ziying said with a little sadness:

"Of course, this sacrifice is great, and only under such sacrifice can we prove the personality of our army." Fan Ziying told the guest that he had recently written two poems to fulfill his ambition.

The first is a sentimental poem written during a field trip:

"Only then do I try to cool the new cool, and Woye is happy to smell the fragrance of the crops; In order to save the hardships and dangers, they did not teach the Japanese to do things. ”

The second song is a recent work from the frontline:

"The sky is full of beacon fires looking at each other from afar, and the gnashing teeth are being opened; Pointing to the three armies to kill the enemy, the sword light is like snow and frost. ”

When the conversation was late at night, the guests said goodbye, and when they parted, Fan Ziying said to Hu Lanqi: "Don't worry, this war of resistance, victory must belong to us." ”

After seeing off the guests, Fan Ziying saw the division flag that was hunting and flying in the night wind.

His mind seemed to have suddenly returned to the day when the Sichuan army swore to leave Sichuan

To the sound of military music played by the military band, the presidium displayed fifteen satin colored flags, including:

Commander's flag, apricot red heart, blue edge, yellow silk, book: Bingyue Eagle Yang.

The army commander's flag, the yellow heart, the blue edge, the vermilion silk, the book: for the national dry city.

Division Commander's Flag, Vermilion Heart, Blue Edge, Apricot Yellow Silk, Upper Book: Anti-Enemy Vanguard.

The flagpole is red and covered with gold at the top and bottom.

With solemn expressions, the ministers took over the banner representing the hope of the people of Sichuan from the chairman, handed it over to the flag-holding adjutant, and displayed it on both sides of the rostrum.

Sichuan University presented thousands of towels to the soldiers on the expedition, and each towel was printed with the words: "Work hard to kill the enemy." ”

The Women's Support Association presented 250 dozen hand towels.

The repertory troupe performed a new drama "Defending the Lugou Bridge".

Finally, the meeting closed and adjourned. The soldiers lined up singing military songs and left the venue amid slogans and fists.

After the Chengdu swearing-in meeting, the commanders and soldiers' representatives who participated in the meeting returned to their stations, held the swearing-in meetings of each department in their respective stations, and then went to the front line along their respective routes out of Sichuan.

A few days later, in early October, the Military Council adjusted the order of battle, abolished the reserve army, and established the seventh theater of operations. Liu Xiang was announced as the commander of the Seventh Theater of Operations, and the theater was divided between Anhui, Henan, and Hubei along the Pinghan Railway, and the headquarters of the theater commander was located in Zhengzhou, Henan.

The original 1st Column along the North Road out of Sichuan was renamed the 22nd Group Army; The original Second Column along the South Road out of Sichuan was renamed the 23rd Group Army. The two units were ordered to concentrate in the theater after leaving Sichuan.

The two teams, along the long road out of the river, in the rugged mountain road, in the scorching winds, under the torrential rain, in the cold wind, single clothes and grass shoes, carrying a hat, a two-foot-wide straw mat and a two-pound quilt, carrying inferior weapons, Xiaoxing stayed overnight, and walked to the war zone on foot

Now, Brother Sichuan has fought from Shanghai to Nanjing, and from Nanjing to Wuhu. Although the counterattack on Wuhu failed, the Sichuan brothers were still fighting.

The flag of the 144th Division with a vermilion heart and blue seems to be telling the determination of all the [***] people who are not allowed to shed their blood for the War of Resistance!

(To be continued)