The severity of the Battle of Nanking and the stubborn will and fierce firepower of the Chinese defenders shocked the Japanese army, especially Prince Hatohiko of Asakanomiya, who had stayed up all night, and Prince Hatohiko of Asakanomiya, who originally wanted to bring good news to Emperor Hirohito, was almost eager to see through.

However, all the people of his subordinates are not fighting, and the defense of [***] seems to be as difficult to break down as a copper wall? Prince Hatohiko of the Asaka Palace stood in front of the huge Nanjing sand table and was stunned, and the invincible Imperial Army of the Great Emperor first met in Chengde, Rehe, and broke his blood, so that His Majesty the Emperor was extremely angry.

The 200,000 heavy troops of the Kwantung Army were unable to break through the city of Chengde, which was held by a mere branch division? This is simply unimaginable, and the tragedy of Chengde's offensive and defensive battles even exceeds the battle for the Lushun Fortress, which can be called the iron backbone of the emperor [***] during World War I.

The many problems exposed by the war also made the military department speechless, the bushido spirit armed with the Yamato soul in the face of pouring artillery fire and dense bullet rain, it seemed so pale and powerless, and the death of tens of thousands of officers and soldiers made the empire's top brass suddenly realize that it is not enough to have a strong navy alone, because it is said that the relationship between the island country and the empire has always been the absolute surname of the navy.

Emperor Hirohito issued three successive edicts on the reduction of salaries and food, and canceled the annual cherry blossom party in the royal garden, so it can be said that the whole country began to cut down on food and clothing from top to bottom in 1933, and made machine guns, heavy artillery, and combat vehicles for the army, vigorously developed the army aviation, and constantly formed new divisions and regiments.

Under the impetus of the propaganda media, the people of China who believe that they do not deserve to have fertile land and rich resources have exceeded ninety percent of the people, a nation is preaching revenge, and the whole country and even the entire nation are actively preparing for this war, and at the same time, he also firmly remembers the name of a butcher, that is, Zhang Xuewu!

But now it seems that all the previous preparations seem to be in vain, Nanjing is no longer the crumbling capital of China, Zhang Xuewu actually came to Nanjing secretly from Rehe? Originally, it was a battle of revenge, but now it seems that the city of Nanjing, which is easy to attack and difficult to defend, is not easy to gnaw.

Could it be that there is some curse on Zhang Xuewu? Why did he know so much about the strategy and tactics of the Imperial Army? Like a strange circle, once the invincible and invincible Imperial Army met Zhang Xuewu, it seemed that it was far away from the goddess of victory.

Hatohiko Asakanomiya recalled yesterday when he inspected the attacking troops, and almost every infantry brigade had a shrine, and the troops would collectively pray for blessings before attacking, which seemed extremely ridiculous before, but it was rumored among the soldiers that if they did not pay homage, they would be swept away by the demons on the side of the [***] team, and they would become lonely ghosts and never return to their homeland.

Since the general attack last night, Prince Hatohiko of Asakanomiya, as the commander-in-chief of the former enemy who captured Nanjing, has stayed up all night, and part of the position in the middle [***] has been continuously occupied, and then it was lost under the enemy's counterattack, and some brigade commanders have reported that the division headquarters has occupied a certain height, and before the division headquarters can sort out and report to the headquarters of the Central Branch Dispatch Army, the brigades below hurriedly report that the position has been gained and lost.

Although the brigade commanders of the three heavy artillery brigades of the Chinese army did not admit that the German-made FH18 Rheinland heavy howitzer with 32 times the body was capable and the firing range would exceed that of the Type 38 heavy howitzer equipped by the Empire, and they all agreed that the surname of the Type 95 150 mm heavy howitzer equipped by the Imperial Army could and the range far exceeded that of the FH18 Rheinland heavy howitzer with a body barrel that was 32 times that of the German-made system.

However, the brigade commanders of these three heavy artillery brigades have always arranged their artillery positions with extreme care, one for air defense, and the other for the resolute refusal to cross the mine pool by half a step, and always keep them outside the maximum range of the German-made FH18 Rheinland heavy howitzer with a 32-fold barrel.

At 14 o'clock in the afternoon of May 26, the 16th Division of the Chinese Army finally occupied the forward position of the Niushou Mountain Fortress, and the defending National Revolutionary Army Rehe Corps temporarily organized the first mechanized division, the fifth brigade, the ninth regiment of the first battalion, the tenth regiment of the first battalion, the fourth battalion of the tenth regiment, the four battalions of the three battalions under the 2,239 people, except for the commander of the fourth battalion of the 10th regiment Guo Xiangfei and 17 lightly and seriously wounded, all of them were martyred. Most of the 4,000 corpses were also destroyed by their artillery fire, making it difficult to identify.

On the forward position, there was a sea of flesh and blood, scattered stumps, broken arms, broken corpses, organs, twisted and damaged weapons, and so on, and it can be said that the bodies of the officers and men defending the army have become one with the land of the motherland.

The army that had occupied the forward position of the fortress of Niushou Mountain immediately began to attack the position on the mountainside, and Nakajima Imasago transferred the 20th Infantry Wing from the headquarters of the 19th Infantry Brigade of the 19th Infantry Brigade Kusaba Tatsukisuo in an attempt to bypass the left flank of the fortress and attack the circular position on the mountainside from the rear of the flank.

Sun Guiming, who was wearing a new military uniform and wearing a tassel, appeared in the headquarters, and everyone in the headquarters was suddenly a little stunned.

Feng Bin, an operational staff officer, immediately reported that he found that a unit of the Yue Army was about the level of an infantry wing, and it quickly penetrated towards the left flank of the fortress, which was still a certain distance from the Qinhuai River, and was the dead end of the direct fire of the Jiangjun Mountain Fortress, which could be said to be the only weakness of the Niushou Mountain Fortress.

Sun Guiming took a deep breath and said, "That's the red zone marked by the heavy artillery brigade before, right?" Immediately ask the commander of the regiment for instructions and ask the heavy artillery brigade to cover the red zone with firepower, I want to let the little man who likes to steal chickens and dogs have no return, and order the ninth regiment to transfer a battalion of the reserve plus the brigade headquarters guard battalion, after the heavy artillery brigade began to shell the red zone, I ordered the 75th field artillery group to carry out a 10-minute fire raid, and the forward position must be recaptured. ”

Sun Guiming stretched his military uniform and said: "The commander of the army is carrying the coffin to defend the lonely city, and this Niushou Mountain Fortress is the place where Lao Tzu and I are buried!" I brought five sets of new clothes, Lao Tzu came cleanly, he was a bright and upright person, and he had to go cleanly! All cheered up Lao Tzu, and the forward positions must be restored before 16 p.m. ”

As soon as Sun Guiming's words fell, the phone rang, Sun Guiming picked up the phone a little impatiently and fed him, and suddenly changed into an angry little daughter-in-law, holding the phone like a baby, and his cautious actions made several staff officers on the side laugh.

People who know Sun Guiming know that they can be 100% sure that it must be Commander Zhang who calls, Zhang Xuewu asked about the casualties of the Fifth Brigade on the other end of the phone, and the situation reported by Sun Guiming scared him into a cold sweat, and the casualties of the troops greatly exceeded Zhang Xuewu's expectations and ability to bear.

The battle has been going on for more than 14 hours, and the battle for the front line of the Niushou Mountain Fortress is just an example, plus the losses in the artillery battle and the casualties in the mountainside position and the main peak position, almost one of the main regiments of the Fifth Brigade has been completely disabled, and the 75-mm field artillery group has also lost eight artillery pieces.

The Niushou Mountain Fortress, which is only less than two square kilometers, is only 10 times the size of the Jiangjun Mountain Fortress, so once it encounters the artillery bombardment of the Yue Army, the casualties of the defending troops will be very heavy, and whether it is the 75 mm field artillery group on the Niushou Mountain Fortress or the 105 mm howitzer group on the General Mountain Fortress, they are not the opponent of the 150 mm howitzers of the Yue Army, and the former two and the latter are not at the same level of firepower platforms at all.

Zhang Xuewu hesitated for a moment and said to Sun Guiming: "Withdraw the main force into the tunnel, first abandon the mountainside position, in order to facilitate a group to hold the main peak position to contain the consumption of the army, and cooperate with the operation in the direction of the general mountain fortress, if it is really impossible to hold the surface position, then withdraw all the troops into the tunnel." ”

For Zhang Xuewu's order, Sun Guiming suddenly struck like a lightning strike, and begged with a crying voice: "Commander, this old grandson who is sticking to the fortress of Niushou Mountain has made a military order!" My Fifth Brigade is made of iron and bronze! I can't withdraw first, our Rehe Legion can't afford to lose this person! I, Sun Guiming, would rather die than retreat, and swear to live and die with the position! ”

Zhang Xuewu's voice sank and said: "Pull your mother's light!" You are responsible for your subordinates, behind you is the position along the Qinhuai River, behind you is the city wall of Nanjing, Nanjing is the capital of the national political axe, the honor of your Fifth Brigade and your Sun Guiming's personal honor and disgrace are more important than defending the capital? ”

Sun Guiming was also choked up with excitement: "Legion Commander, we are tigers!" I can't figure it out, my casualties are large, but if you look at the tired abandoned corpses of Xiao Yuben in front of the position, their casualties are even greater, let the heavy artillery brigade move along the north bank of the river to give fire support to our brigade, and I guarantee that not an inch of land will be lost. ”

Zhang Xuewu also slapped the table angrily and shouted: "If you can't figure it out, you are not worthy of being a soldier, if you can't do it, this brigade commander will take the initiative to let Lao Tzu be virtuous, how many times have I said it?" The purpose of nailing Lao Tzu to the fortress of Niushou Mountain is to make the army dare not attack along the Qinhuai River with all its might, and cover the frontal position of the main peak of the fortress of General Mountain, instead of letting you Sun Guiming fight with himself on the fortress of Niushou Mountain, each of your soldiers is Lao Tzu's hard work, and it hurts to sacrifice one. ”

Sun Guiming suddenly died down and said, "Yes!" Legion Commander, I obey orders! Hold the position of the main peak, and the rest of the troops withdraw into the tunnel. ”

(To be continued)