Chapter 91: Retreat (2)

The Japanese troops outside the city did not know about the changes in Nanjing, and although for decades, Japanese spies had infiltrated thousands of people inside China, and it was impossible to know such a secret military plan within a few hours.

Lieutenant General Hatohiko of Asakanomiya held a meeting. In the eyes of the Japanese army, tomorrow was the time to occupy Nanjing. Guanghua Gate, Zhonghua Gate, Tongji Gate and Zhongshan Gate had been broken through by the Japanese army several times, and the defenders of the city fought desperately to prevent the imperial army from entering Nanjing, which proved that they were already at the end of their strong crossbows.

Tomorrow is the general attack, and the imperial army has been fully prepared, mobilizing more than a hundred aircraft, four heavy artillery wings, and a chariot wing, intending to occupy Nanking in one fell swoop with powerful weapons.

There were also disagreements among the Japanese troops as to which force would be the main force to occupy Nanjing. The reason is simple, this is a great honor, the attack on Nanjing is a total of five divisions, study for an afternoon, in order to balance the relationship, it was decided that each division and regiment should send a wing, which will attack from five directions.

The 6th Division attacked Zhonghuamen, the 9th Division attacked Guanghuamen, the 16th Division attacked Taipingmen, the 114th Division attacked Shuiximen, and the 3rd Division attacked Shangyuanmen. In this way, each division and regiment will receive the honor of entering Nanjing.

The most dissatisfied with this arrangement are the 16th Division and the 114th Division, which may be facing the Snow Fox Corps. Although according to the intelligence, Shuiximen and Taipingmen are the 74th Army, but during the day, they have already seen what is powerful, and they are a little uncertain.

The happiest was the 6th Division, because three walls had collapsed here at Zhonghua Gate, and there were large gaps. There is a place where tanks can pass, and it is simply useless.

At the same time, Yoshizumi Ryosuke of the 9th Division was also very proud, and the resistance of Kokwamen was the most resolute, but the casualties were the largest. The Chinese army was absolutely unable to resist the onslaught of tanks and aircraft artillery.

Until the evening, the Japanese army disbanded, and King Hatohiko of Asakanomiya reported to the commander of the dispatch army, Matsui Ishine, that a general attack would be launched early tomorrow morning and that Nanjing would be captured. This was exciting news for the Japanese army.

On August 13, the attack on Shanghai began, and today is December 12, four months, to occupy the Chinese capital, although it did not reach three months to destroy China, but it was about the same.

This is not only a question of military achievements, but also a matter of honor for the entire army, and each division and regiment is ready to win this honor for its own division and regiment by using the newly replenished wing.

More low-ranking officers and soldiers were looking forward to making a fortune and venting, from Shanghai to Nanjing, almost unrestricted along the way, raping and burning all the way. This is the capital of China, and the people who saw the evacuation did not bring anything with them, and there were no large quantities of supplies to be transported out of the city. That is, the Chinese only want to save people's lives, and the supplies should still be in the city.

In the eagerness and extreme excitement, the Japanese troops did not rest well all night, and as soon as the morning dawned they gathered their troops and prepared to attack.

Lieutenant General Gu Shoufu of the 6th Division was the most active, and he also believed that his division could be the first to enter Nanjing. This time the vanguard was the 11th Wing of the 47th Brigade Regiment, which was personally commanded by Wing Commander Kanji Tsuneoka. Toshio Tani and Chief of Staff Yoshira Sasaki Yoshira Osaku also went to the front line to encourage the attacking 47th Wing.

Tsuneoka Kanji Osaku is full of ambition, and this honor falls on his head, and the other wing captains must be dissatisfied, after all, the desperate attacks in the early stage are carried out by other wings.

With the use of new wings, maintaining combat effectiveness was a common idea of the Japanese army. The Chinese troops in the city had no intention of surrendering, that is, they wanted to resist to the end, and the battle would be fierce. So each division sent the most elite wing.

At seven o'clock in the morning, with the arrival of the first planes in the sky, the city wall and the city inside the south of Nanjing began to be turned upside down. Dozens of Japanese planes bombed indiscriminately within the city walls at a distance of several kilometers.

At the same time, the heavy artillery of the artillery wing also began to bombard, and in an instant, the entire southern part of Nanjing was plunged into gunpowder smoke and explosions, which was like the end of the world. The five attacking wings, as well as the commanders, all raised their binoculars to watch, and each of them had a smug smile on their lips.

The already dilapidated walls collapsed in the explosion of aviation* and heavy artillery shells, and bricks and tiles flew everywhere. From 7 o'clock until 8:30 a.m., the Japanese carried out a full hour and a half of saturation shelling and bombardment. Nanjing, an ancient city of hundreds of years, was reduced to ruins in the explosion.

As the order was issued, the Japanese chariots opened the way, the infantry followed, and the soldiers attacked Nanjing in five directions. Every Japanese officer and soldier believed that the resistance would be slight, and that it was not just a bombardment of the walled positions, which were razed to the ground within a few kilometers of depth. The Chinese army can now only be corpses, and even if they dodge, they will be several kilometers away.

Indeed, in the gap of the original collapsed city wall, the 1st Brigade of the 47th Wing entered the city of Nanjing. Commanding the attack was Captain Miyamoto Takeshita Nakasa. A brigade of more than a thousand people, marching in a straggler.

Miyamoto Takeshita Nakasa is a cautious person, and he doesn't want to capsize in the gutter. The battle has reached the time of final victory, and the casualties are too great, not only will the credit be ridiculed.

Shelling and aircraft bombardment, after all, can't, every inch of land is blown up, it's better to be careful.

He was very careful on this side, in fact, the commander of the 36th Wing of the 9th Division of the attacking Awasaka Jiro Osa, was also very careful, after all, he had been strongly blocked by the Chinese army. They were all like this, and the 114th and 16th divisions were even more cautious.

After all, almost one wing was wiped out yesterday. Today, it is possible that the Snow Fox Corps will make the Japanese army a little frightened, so the attack is more careful.

Another point that Lieutenant General Shigeharu Suematsu was dissatisfied with was that the aircraft and heavy artillery mainly supported the attack due south, and their side became a diversionary force. But I can't say it, after all, yesterday failed, and the losses were quite large.

Another point is that they belong to the 10th Army, not the Shanghai Dispatch Army. King Hatohiko of Asakanomiya is, of course, to take care of his own troops.

Despite this, Lieutenant General Nakajima Imago, who attacked the Taiheimun Gate, was also dissatisfied, believing that this was a transfer of honor to the 6th and 9th Divisions. The only noncommittal among them was the 3rd Division, which was attacking in the direction of Shimonoseki and had to occupy Shogunate Mountain in order to attack Shanggenmon.

This distance is not as fast as other divisions even if it is not blocked, so on the contrary, it is not in a hurry. One wing was ordered to attack Shogunate Hill and the other in the direction of Kamigenmon.

As soon as yesterday's meeting was over, Xue Ru and Xiao Shanling rushed back to Xue Ru's headquarters. This has become the command center of Nanjing, and Xiao Shanling has moved his headquarters here. The garrison headquarters no longer existed, and Tang Shengzhi announced that the Nanjing garrison headquarters had been moved to Pukou.

As soon as the meeting was over, he also took the personnel of the headquarters to retreat to Xiaguan, and from there crossed the river by boat to Pukou to meet with the Third Theater Command and command the troops in Nanjing to retreat.

As the Xiaoshan Commander who stayed behind, he naturally became the supreme commander of Nanjing, Xue Ru's blocking corps, that is, the troops behind the palace.

The other troops didn't wait at all, they didn't say a word about Xue Ru at the meeting, Xiao Shanling didn't ask a word, Tang Shengzhi didn't explain a word, and everyone could see the contradictions between the two sides.

Most of the generals thought that Xue Ru would not listen at all, and it was nonsense to block it. Therefore, the time was basically not observed, and as soon as it was dark, they withdrew from their positions and moved in their respective directions.

The 66th Army was preparing for street fighting in the city, and according to the order, they broke through the siege in the direction of Tuqiao Town at Kirin Gate and assembled in the direction of Tennoji Temple towards Xiuning. The Eighty-fourth Army was also in the same direction, assembling in Shexian.

There is also a teaching corps in this direction, but Tang Shengzhi's plan is obviously problematic, the three troops break through in one direction, there is no unified command, there is no unified planning, and the assembly location is actually different.

There were no assault troops, no covering troops, no broken rear troops, so each army fought on its own. Such a chaotic plan, Xue Ru didn't understand it, and the other generals didn't say it, everyone has their own little abacus.

When returning to the troops, the 66th Army did not say hello at all, and immediately left the city from Qilin Gate, took advantage of the night to pass through the gap of the Japanese army, and retreated in the direction of Jurong. The same was true of the 84th Army, but it was discovered by the Japanese that it could only break through in fierce battles and was completely defeated.

It was the Japanese army who discovered that the Chinese troops in the city had fled, so King Hatohiko of the Asakanomiya judged that he would definitely be able to occupy Nanjing. Although the 84th Army and the 66th Army were both Guangdong and Cantonese troops, their uniforms were different, and the Japanese army judged that these miscellaneous troops wanted to escape, and it should be the Central Army of the Nationalist Government guarding Nanjing, and their combat effectiveness was still very strong. Therefore, we concentrated the aircraft and artillery to bombard indiscriminately, hoping that the resistance would be lighter.

Xue Ru had no right to intervene in these matters, nor was he qualified to manage people's homes, but he just kept in touch with Song Xilian, opened the Rujiang Gate, let the troops pass, and at the same time organized ships to transport soldiers as much as possible.

As soon as it was dark, news came from the three passages that the 71st Army, the 72nd Army and the Teaching Corps did not break through from the front according to the plan at all, but retreated to Xiaguan according to Tang Shengzhi's verbal order.

Looking at Xiao Shanling's bitter face, Xue Ru smiled: "Forget it, it's okay, we don't have to hold on for too long, Commander Song is prepared, and we should be able to complete the river crossing in one night, and it won't affect our river crossing." ”

Xiao Shanling is strange except for admiration, all of this can be clearly seen, Xue Ru knew in advance that this would be the case, otherwise he would not have kept asking for the concentration of ships to ensure the retreat route.

Knowing that Nanjing could not be held, sooner or later it would have to retreat. This can also be explained by strategic vision and judgment of the situation. But to be able to know the retreat plan, and also know that these generals will not obey orders, this is not a matter of vision, nor is it a matter of military ability, it is a problem of goblins.

Even if Xue Ru is a military strategist and a genius, there are some things she won't know. Xiao Shanling, who also participated in Xue Ru's plan, was of course shocked and strange.

The night passed, and no one slept, and they were all busy all night. Xiao Shanling said: "It seems that there is basically no problem, but unfortunately Division Commander Wang and Division Commander Feng have also withdrawn, we only have these troops, and we can't hold the city gates on both sides." I suggest that we should not block the attack, and we should retreat. ”

"Who said that? Dare to underestimate me? Commander Xiao said nonchalantly, "With the voice, Wang Yaowu and Feng Shengfa came in outside."

Xiao Shanling said in surprise: "Didn't Commander Yu say that you withdrew?" His military headquarters had already crossed the river in the middle of the night. ”

Wang Yaowu said with a smile: "We promised Captain Xue that if we retreated, we would be notified, how could we say goodbye." ”

Feng Shengfa also said: "That's, this is an opportunity, it's not a cheap devil to give Nanjing to them like this." Since there is a way back to worry about something, it is not too late to teach them a lesson. ”

Xiao Shanling said: "Indeed, the heart of the two anti-Japanese war is admirable. According to the order, the 36th Division and the 2nd Army were to retreat last. As long as the Yangtze River is still in our hands, there will be no worries. ”

According to the plan, the Japanese army will attack again today, and the 74th Army on both sides will block the Japanese army for a day, and the devils in the front will drill into the death zone arranged by Xue Ru for them without any resistance, eliminate some of the devils, and then retreat It is not too late.

A few people were very happy, opened the map, studied the 51st Division and the 58th Division, abandoned the city wall, and used the street fighting fortifications prepared in the past few days in the city to delay the advance of the Japanese army.

The staff officer, who was studying very energetically, shouted: "Commander Xiao, the 36th Division is calling." ”

Xiao Shanling took the phone and listened, his face changed greatly at that time, and he asked in surprise: "Commander Song, you hold on, we will study reinforcements immediately." ”

Seeing his appearance, several people looked at him in surprise. Xue Ru asked, "What's wrong?" ”

Xiao Shanling was so angry that he broke the pencil in his hand: "Xu Yuanquan, I want to sue him to the chairman of the committee, I am afraid of dead ghosts, the scum of soldiers." ”

After speaking, he continued: "Xu Yuanquan's Second Army actually withdrew from the Wulong Mountain Fortress overnight. The third battalion of Jiangfang Fortress was attacked by the Japanese marines, and all of them were martyred, and the Wulongshan Fortress was lost. The Japanese 3rd Fleet went up the river and attacked the Shogunate Mountain position. The naval fleet blocked the Xiaguan River, our retreat was cut off, and Commander Song was blocking the devils from landing on the shore. At the same time, it was attacked by the 16th Division and was flanked from the front and rear. ”

"Huh?!" Several people in the command opened their mouths in surprise.