Chapter Eighty-Six: Bloody Nanjing (5)

Chiang Kai-shek's face was haggard and his spirit looked very tired. After leaving Nanjing and arriving in Wuhan, there was no good news received.

The two fronts in the north and south were all defeated all the way. Shanxi has been completely lost, Taiyuan has not held on, and the fifth theater is also retreating. Yan Xishan's Jin Sui army was okay, but the reinforced Sichuan army was too weak in combat effectiveness, and the weapons and equipment were not good.

But Yan Xishan only armed his Jin Sui army, and did not care about other troops, at this time, even the Eighth Route Army attacking Shanxi also asked the government for weapons and ammunition, Hebei lost a large area, Shanghai and Nanjing's factories were evacuated to the west, and it took time to install and produce, but the battlefield did not wait.

The Soviet Union promised to send troops, but there was no movement for a long time, and the meeting of the League of Nations was held, and Japan even announced its withdrawal from the League of Nations, which was a good thing, but Britain, France, and the United States actually used Germany's threat as an excuse to only morally condemn Japan and admit that it was illegal for Japan to attack China, but in fact there was no action at all.

This annoyed Chiang Kai-shek, and he also knew that these foreigners saw that China might fail and did not want to support a failed government. How Chiang Kai-shek hoped for a victory at this time, to reverse the world's perception of the Nationalist Government, but unfortunately it was all defeat, defeat, retreat, retreat.

Several people sitting in the seats lowered their heads and did not speak, the battle situation in Nanjing was unexpectedly fast, Shanghai held out for three months, and Nanjing could not hold out for even half a month.

Chen Cheng looked at the face of the chairman of the committee, he was the commander of the left wing army of the Songhu battlefield, and he knew very well how far Shanghai had been fought and what the losses of the troops were. It is even more impossible to hold on to Nanjing, but it is really unreasonable for a country's capital to withdraw without a fight. Fortunately, there is such a person as Tang Shengzhi to stay.

At this time, only he could speak, and the chairman had to hold on at that time, leaving behind all the elite troops. However, after receiving the battle report, the First Army stationed in Pukou had already exchanged fire with the Japanese army, and if Pukou fell, the Nanjing troops would be surrounded and cut off from retreat, and hundreds of thousands of troops would be wiped out in Nanjing, which was not worth it. coughed: "Principal, I'll see if I give Tang Shengzhi an order to retreat." Nanjing has lost the meaning of perseverance. “

When he spoke, He Yingqin opened his mouth and said: "At the beginning, the chairman proposed to stick to it, but he gave up in just a few days, how can he explain to the people?" “

A trace of anger flashed in Chiang Kai-shek's eyes, He Yingqin and Chen Cheng did not deal with each other, this is a well-known thing, this is a beating on himself, not Chen Cheng.

But Chiang Kai-shek did not expect the Japanese army to break through so quickly, two days, two days, the entire Nanjing three defense lines turned into a walled position, the Japanese 18th Division has attacked the direction of Ningguo, Wuhu and Dangtu lost, the Japanese army crossed the Yangtze River to attack Pukou Yangzhou, cut off the Jingpu Road. Nanjing has been surrounded. Holding on really loses its meaning, losing troops in vain.

Admiral Xu Yongchang still understood this, so he said: "What Minister Chen said is reasonable, the Nanjing troops should retreat as soon as possible to avoid the situation in Shanghai. “

At the beginning, everyone suggested that Shanghai retreat early, but Chiang Kai-shek wanted the intervention of the League of Nations and did not agree to retreat early, resulting in a late retreat and the collapse of the troops. Fortunately, there was a niece of Xue Yue, who blocked from Taicang to Kunshan, delayed the pursuit of the Japanese army, and also sorted out a lot of troops, so that there was the defense of Nanjing.

But it didn't have much effect, but the annihilation of tens of thousands of enemies did play an exciting role. But then there was no news of them, and Chiang Kai-shek wanted to meet this Xue Ru, but he didn't see it. At this time, I really hope that she will come out again and destroy the Japanese army to give the anti-Japanese troops a hope, but unfortunately there are too many things to forget about it.

Hearing Xu Yongchang's words, he was also worried about the situation in Shanghai, nodded and said: "Give Gu Zhutong an order and ask him to inform Tang Shengzhi to withdraw from Nanjing." The troops were placed under the command of the 3rd Theater of Operations. ”

Now that Chiang Kai-shek has given the order, these people will no longer say anything, Nanjing has become a thing of the past, but what to do next? It is still necessary to figure out what to do after the Japanese occupy Nanjing.

In fact, it is not difficult to understand that their goal should be Wuhan, as long as Wuhan is occupied, China will be cut into two sections, so the top priority is to strengthen the defense of Wuhan, Jiangxi and Anhui are the key, and at the same time, if Xuzhou can hold on, it will be able to block the convergence of the Japanese army from north to south, Jingpu Road and Pinghan Road are also the key.

Subsequently, a military conference was held to study the Xuzhou and Jiangxi operations. Nanjing no longer cares about him, there is no longer a need. Now how to establish the Xuzhou defense line and the Jiangxi Anhui defense line to block the Japanese army's westward and southward advance.

In Nanjing City, Tang Shengzhi's face changed and he hesitated. Just received a telegram from Gu Zhutong, asking him to abandon Nanjing, the troops retreat in the direction of Ningguo and Huixian, and part of them retreated to Pukou, Jiangbei, Gu Zhutong suggested that Tang Shengzhi immediately cross the river, and he was waiting for Tang Shengzhi in Pukou.

Tang Shengzhi hesitated for a long time, he strongly advocated sticking to Nanjing, and more than once conveyed to the troops that he would live and die with Nanjing, but the chairman of the committee left on the 7th, and announced that he would abandon Nanjing on the evening of the 11th today, where would he put his face? What's more, Xue Ru pointed a gun at him. When he wanted to shoot people, he said that Xue Ru shook the morale of the army, and he actually ordered the destruction of all the ships.

Tang Shengzhi felt that he didn't give an explanation, and he also felt blushing, and it was even more strange how Xue Ru judged that there would be such an ending. After thinking for a long time, he said to the staff officer: "Send a telegram to Commander Gu." It is hereby thought that the chairman of the committee ordered to stick to Nanjing, and to fulfill his duties and live and die with Nanjing, and Tang would not retreat without an order from the commission. Thank you for your understanding. ”

The meaning of Tang Shengzhi's telegram is obvious, that is, he wants him to retreat, and he needs Chiang Kai-shek's order, he will not listen to Gu Zhutong, and he does not want to carry the black pot.

When the telegram was sent, Tang Shengzhi sat down in his chair, and he understood that Chiang Kai-shek, whether he agreed to retreat or not, had offended the chairman of the committee.

I originally wanted to take this opportunity to return to the power center of the national government again and control the army, but the Japanese army was too strong to surround Nanjing. If you don't retreat, once the Yangtze River is blocked, you will really live and die with Nanjing. Called his adjutant over and whispered a few words, and then breathed a sigh of relief.

If Xue Ru knew that Tang Shengzhi had received the order to retreat, instead of hurrying to study the retreat plan, she wanted to think about how not to take responsibility and arrange her own retreat, she would regret even more that she didn't kill him.

Xue Ru really didn't have time to study what Tang Shengzhi was doing, she was commanding the 58th Division in the battle at Shuiximen. Sure enough, early on the morning of the 12th, the Japanese launched a full-scale attack.

On the 11th, the attack on the south was ineffective and the losses were still very large, and the former enemy's commander Lieutenant General Hatohiko of the former enemy came to the front line to command, ordered the 16th Division to increase the attack in the direction of Taipingmen, reduce the pressure of the frontal attack, and at the same time ordered the 114th Division to increase the attack on Shuiximen, hoping to break through from the middle and attack the city of Nanjing.

Last night, Wang Yaowu contacted Feng Shengfa, and when he knew Xue Ru's plan, Feng Shengfa agreed at that time that it was not a question of whether he could destroy the Japanese army, but whether he could hold the position of Shuiximen.

Since Xue Ru has a way to hold it, of course he will not object, whether it will be said after the street fight, after all, Xue Ru said that the retreat was speculation, and he had not received the order yet, so he promised Xue Ru that if there was an order, he would definitely find Xue Ru to study it before deciding.

This reassured Xue Ru that at least two divisions of troops would not escape without permission. In addition, what reassured Xue Ru the most was that Song Xilian said that if he received an order to retreat, he would open other city gates and let the troops cross the river, and he would also block the Japanese troops along the river to protect Xue Ru and their rearguard.

In this way, with the fifty-one, fifty-eighth, and thirty-sixth divisions cooperating with him, Xue Ru's confidence was greatly increased. As soon as the morning dawned, he led a part of the soldiers of the police regiment and brought the guard squadron to the headquarters of the 58th Division of Shuiximen.

Seeing that Feng Shengfa and Chief of Staff Ding Yuan were waiting for her, he also said: "Senior Commander Feng, I won't be wordy, take most of your troops off the city wall, ambush inside, and keep ten for each soldier*." Obey the command of the guard squadron and conduct an ambush. ”

Feng Shengfa was stunned: "Give up the city wall, there is no support in the city, how can you defend it?" ”

Xue Ru said: "The devils can't fly, they want to come in through the city wall, and it is impossible for them to swarm in." The offense is like that, it's better to block than to sparse. Give them a place to come in, order the troops to concentrate on the sides, leaving a gap of fifty meters. ”

Feng Shengfa was the division commander in the end, and he was also promoted from the platoon commander, and immediately understood that they were indeed more than Wang Yaowu, and there were more than 5,000 people, so they gathered together and began to prepare according to the orders.

Feng Shengfa and Chief of Staff Ding Yuan have been observing, and they have also found that Xue Ru's victories are all about novelty, and she is worthy of the title of fox spirit. It's not a tactic, it has little to do with military combat, and it's basically nothing like a military infantry drill. No military academy would teach students like this, and it can be basically concluded that Xue Ru is smart.

Attacking outside the city was the 102nd Wing of the 127th Brigade of the 127th Division of the Japanese Army. It was a wing that had just been replenished with a supplementary corps, and it was the 22nd Wing of Field Heavy Artillery that cooperated with the attack. Yesterday, in order to avoid the dispersion of troops, the attacking troops concentrated heavy artillery to cooperate with the attack of the 6th Division, so the attack here at Shuiximen was not very strong.

Today, the commander has ordered that the Chinese troops defending the city are very depleted, and will not give them the opportunity to concentrate their forces, and the five points will be scattered to attack, making it difficult for the Chinese army to concentrate its forces, and as long as one point breaks through, it can cause the collapse of the entire front.

To this end, the division commander, Lieutenant General Shigeharu Suematsu, transferred the 22nd Field Artillery Wing to the attacking 127th Brigade. The brigade commander, Major General Mitsuzaburo Akiyama, ordered the 102nd Wing to be the main attack, and the 66th Wing to be the reserve, and to start the attack early in the morning.

From Shanghai to Nanjing, the Japanese army basically learned the tenacity of the Chinese army's defense, they were not good at attacking, but they were very good at defense. There is also a tenacious spirit that is not afraid of death.

The commander of the 102nd Wing, Chiba Kotaro Osa, who commanded the attack, was still very cautious, and the Japanese attack relied on artillery aircraft and combat vehicles. Without this, many sensible Japanese officers also admitted that in infantry combat, the Chinese soldiers were no worse than the imperial army in terms of will and determination, except that their training was inferior to that of the imperial army.

It's just that their officers are incompetent, tactically dull and backward. In order to understand the configuration of the firing points, he ordered a squadron to conduct a tentative attack. Everyone understands this, so the squadron leader of the attack, Captain Okawayamaro, is not worried that he will be punished for retreating, but he will also be reprimanded if he does not know the point of fire. The soldiers carried ladders and pushed wooden poles closer to the city walls. At this time, there can be two companies of troops in the bunkers and battlements on the city wall, including the squadron of Tian Jiasheng of the Snow Fox Guard Squadron.

All that remains is a soldier with good marksmanship selected from the 58th Division, a Snow Fox member, and a soldier of the 58th Division. The official rifle was pointed at the outside of the city, and there was not a single machine gun on the wall, not even a light machine gun. In the distance, on a dilapidated three-story building, Feng Shengfa held a telescope and looked at the city wall. He wasn't sure if Xue Ru's tactics were good, but it was too low to see the outside.

can only see his own people, Xue Ru is not worried, he has used this tactic several times, and the people of Snow Fox have mastered the essentials. I just don't know what the devil's reaction will be next.

The attacking Dahe Shanlang was very strange, why there was no shooting gunshot, the city was silent, and there was not even a single figure. The captain and wing commander in the back are also very strange, so difficult that the Chinese army has run away? Carrying the ladder forward, this is no way but to attack the city like this.

Safely crossed the moat, but there was still no movement at all, but the attacking Okawa Shanlang began to worry and looked at the city wall carefully. Further forward is the most powerful distance of rifle shooting, Tian Jiasheng in the city raised his hand, more than three hundred soldiers moved their guns to distribute the target, this is what has been told several times, each person only has two shots, and one person must be killed. In this way, there are more people in a squadron than the devil, and the average two people aim at one.

Tian Jiasheng's rifle was aimed at which officer with a command knife, they are a guard squadron, and there are not many opportunities to participate in the battle, this time you have to take advantage of it, otherwise it doesn't look like the tax police corps is nothing? How can you be worthy of Captain Sun.

"Fight" Tian Jiasheng finally gave the order, and the gun in his hand also fired, and there was a burst of gunfire on the city wall.