Chapter 39: Difficult to Support (1)

Xue Ru took the phone: "I'm Xue Ru, please instruct." ”

The call was made by Luo Zhuoying, who had all withdrawn his troops to the rear, and the three divisions of the Eighteenth Army were crippled and repaired in the rear, and the front line was full of new troops.

However, Xue Yue went to Suzhou to discuss the problem with Chen Cheng, and together with Gu Zhutong, deputy commander of the Third Theater, he wanted to persuade Chiang Kai-shek to abandon the Shanghai line and retreat to the second line of defense to block the Japanese army. If the former enemy commander-in-chief is not there, then Luo Zhuoying, the deputy commander, will be in charge.

Hearing Xue Ru's words, he said: "Lead your Snow Fox Brigade to the Zhentai Highway immediately, block the devils, cover the retreat of the Tax Corps and the 61st Division, and protect the 19th Division from entering the position." ”

"Yes, Snow Fox will leave immediately." Xue Ru is in such a hurry to train because of this. This is a battlefield, and there is a possibility of going into battle at any time. Many of the withdrawn troops were basically repaired after the second line of defense, but the Snow Fox Brigade retreated to Putuo, which was not far from the real forward position, and Xue Ru also understood that Xue Yue planned to let the Snow Fox Brigade participate in the battle at any time.

Sure enough, he destroyed the 10th Heavy Artillery Wing and severely damaged the 22nd Wing for only two or three days to block the Japanese army. The adjusted Japanese army was more ferocious and prepared, and the casualties on the front line were greater.

Each of the four regiments of the Tax Police Corps suffered more than 1,000 casualties, and it can be said that it has lost its combat effectiveness. The 61st Division was even more serious, with a few hundred men left in the division, not even a battalion, two brigade commanders killed and one wounded, and two regiment commanders killed. Only one battalion company commander was not wounded, and the junior officers were almost cleanly lost.

Needless to say, what the battle situation was, just look at the casualty figures to know the severity of the tragedy at that time, and we can also understand the determination of these officers and men to resist the war; in more than a day, the Japanese army concentrated four divisions and regiments and charged with a wing as a group, but they only grabbed a beachhead on the river bank and could not move forward.

The casualties of the Tax Police Corps were so large that the positions on the left and right flanks were all broken through, and they were surrounded on three sides at Tangqiao. Xue Ru didn't know the specific battle situation, but Sun Liren was seriously injured, and it was clear that the regiment commander had rushed to the front line.

Xue Ru didn't know that the Tax Police Corps belonged to the Eighth Army, and even the army commander Huang Jie was present at the front line, so at the last moment, the Japanese army did not break through the Tangqiao position and cover the withdrawal of the 61st Division.

Commanding the attack in front was Lieutenant General Ryosuke Yoshizumi of the 9th Division, and the more time passed, the more sober the direction of the Japanese army became. These high-ranking generals gradually understood that the Republic of China was not the Qing Dynasty, and the National Revolutionary Army was not the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty.

Songzhong Shigen had no choice, and the base camp repeatedly asked about the battle situation in Shanghai, and the formation of the 10th Army was completed, and it was on its way. If he can't take the other side, he will lose his exploits in capturing Shanghai, and he will also have no capital from now on.

The Japanese army increased its troops to Shanghai three times, and this time it landed from Hangzhou Bay, which was the fourth increase in troops. Eight divisions, two brigades, and 10 marines were put into the front and rear, with a total strength of 250,000.

According to the changes in the battlefield, General Matsui Ishine issued a death order to all divisions and regiments that they must break through the defense line of Yunzaohama and occupy Shanghai at any cost.

It is impossible for Matsui Shigen not to be in a hurry, fighting on the northern front, the Japanese army has attacked along the Yellow River and is advancing in the direction of Xuzhou. How is this possible? At first, Matsui Ishine thought that it was the North China Front bragging about it, but the battle report of the General Staff Headquarters was indeed so, which made Matsui Ishine very incomprehensible. Why was the Shanghai Resistance so stubborn?

For Yoshizumi Ryosuke, the commander of the 9th Division commanded in front, his troops also suffered heavy casualties in one day of the attack, and had to be replenished from the supplementary corps.

There are too many Chinese troops, and if it drags on for a long time, China will transfer more troops into Shanghai, so it is impossible for him to wait. Receiving information, China is blocking the elite troops head-on, and the 8th Army Tax Police Corps is retreating at this time, replaced by the 19th Division. If it is replaced by a new force, the effect of the imperial army's attack in a day will be gone.

He immediately ordered the 7th Wing of the 6th Brigade to pursue forward along the Taicang Highway, and the 35th Wing to attack head-on and pursue backwards, so as to defeat the Tax Police Corps and seize the positions that the 19th Division had no time to enter.

The commander of the 7th Wing, Iza Ichiro, who received the order, was very excited, and the Imperial Japanese Army was promoted by virtue of his military exploits. The 18th Brigade attacked, the two wings suffered excessive losses and were reprimanded by the division commander, which was an opportunity to show itself.

Without much preparation, the entire wing gathered in pursuit in the direction of Guojia Village. At this time, the war with the Chinese army had just begun, and the permanent divisions and regiments of the Japanese army had left a part of the remaining troops in the country, and the divisions and regiments that entered China did not reach the full level, with less than 20,000 people in one division and only 3,000 people in each wing.

But the Japanese army was very confident that even if there were more than 800 people per brigade, the Chinese army would not be an opponent. Because they do not have airplanes and lack heavy artillery, the most important thing is that China does not have air supremacy, and airplanes have a natural advantage over artillery, so that the Chinese army, which has not many artillery, does not dare to fire at all.

As soon as the artillery is fired, the position is exposed, and it is either destroyed by artillery fire or blown up by aircraft. The Nationalist troops were the defenders, with positions to rely on, but they were also fixed fortifications, and the Japanese artillery could give full play to their advantages and inflict a large number of casualties on the Chinese army.

In the entire Songhu battlefield, 780 percent of the casualties of the national army were under the aircraft artillery, so the casualties of the Japanese infantry attack were limited, which also made the infantry wing very arrogant. Iza Ichiro Osa was not prepared and led his three brigades and an artillery group to immediately launch a pursuit.

The Tax Police Regiment was behind, the 61st Division was in front, and had just withdrawn from its position, and the 77th Regiment of the 38th Brigade of the 19th Division's forward unit had just moved forward when it was attacked by the Japanese 35th Wing and had to be blocked. And the 7th Wing launched a flank pursuit in the direction of the retreat of the Tax Police Corps.

The retreating army itself suffered heavy casualties and lost its morale. He Shaozhou, commander of the first detachment, and Wang Gongliang, commander of the second detachment, ordered the troops to speed up their retreat while asking for help from the left wing corps headquarters.

However, Luo Zhuoying has no troops to send, and his reserves are long gone. It was Wu Yizhi who said: "Commander Luo, the Snow Fox Brigade is in Putuo, let them block it, and let Division Commander Li Jue block the Japanese army's frontal pursuit." ”

Luo Zhuoying reported to Chen Cheng and Xue Yue on the one hand, and ordered Xue Ru to block the devil's pursuit from the Taicang Highway on the phone, and also gave an order to the 19th Division to cover the retreat of the tax police regiment to prevent the devils from making a detour on the side, quickly enter the position, and ensure that the coastal positions are not lost.

The advancing 19th Division was considered to have just entered the battlefield. On the side of the highway, Li Jue looked at the map, he was also worried, but as a soldier, there was no hesitation at this time. Chief of Staff Lin Kai handed over the telegram: "Division commander, the command orders." ”

Li Jue took it and said, "Order the 55th Brigade to launch an attack on the Japanese army, contain the pursuit of the devils, and the whole division will enter the forward position." ”

Lin Kai said: "Are we too far ahead? ”

Li Jue shook his head: "You can't defend too far, the Japanese army has all entered the north bank of Yunzaobang, they only have a beachhead that is not wide on the south bank, we are too far, the Japanese army may establish a large landing field on the south bank to cover more troops coming." We had to take advantage of the conditions of Yunmohama to stop the Japanese army. Ordered, in the Qianzhai, Huli House, Daxing Five Houses to Guojia Archway line to set up positions, to prevent the Japanese army from crossing Yunzaobang. ”

"Yes." Lin Kaili was agreeing and conveying the order to the below. The 19th Division moved quickly, and Major General Tang Boyin of the 55th Brigade received the order and immediately issued an order for the 109th Regiment to attack the Japanese 35th Wing, cover the retreat of the 61st Division, and at the same time seize the position.

The wing commander of the 35th Wing, Fuji Suekichi Daisa, thought that he had a good opportunity, and the tax police corps had just withdrawn, and he wanted to seize the positions of the Chinese army as soon as possible and crush the retreating forces. Not only can he seize the position, but he can also defeat the Chinese army, so he is much more successful than the 7th Wing.

The eager Fujii Raiyoshi Daisa sent one brigade to attack, and the other two battalions seized the positions of the Chinese troops in Koritachi. But he didn't expect Li Jue's reaction to be very fast, and the commander of the 109th regiment, Zheng Fengzhong, was also a brave general, and he did not hesitate at all, and the four battalions launched an attack on the attacking Japanese 1st Brigade as a company.

The captain of the brigade, Sakai Taima Shaosa, was taken aback, so many people attacked, he was worried that it was an ambush, and immediately ordered to stop the pursuit and retreat back.

The 19th Division has just come up and is a fighting army. Zheng Fengzhong's offensive method is also very special, he is a scattered multi-way column attack, in fact, there are not many troops attacking, with the combat effectiveness of the national army, a regiment of 1,500 people to attack the Japanese army and a brigade of 800 people, the possibility of victory is not great. However, Sakai Taizhen Shaozo was a little scared, and when he saw that it was a large-scale attack, he thought that he was ambushed, so he was so frightened that he stopped the pursuit and retreated.

Zheng Fengzhong was greatly pleased, and immediately ordered the whole line to pursue. The Chinese army defeated the Japanese army, and they fled in confusion, and the morale of the 109th Regiment was greatly increased.

The fleeing Sakai Taizhen Shaozo couldn't contain the troops, and directly led the two brigades of the 35th Wing to attack and fled to the north shore in a rubber boat.

Fujii Sueyoshi Daisa's face was pale, and he looked at Sakai Taizhen Shaosa, who had lost hundreds of people and fled back in embarrassment, and came up with two big mouths: "Yaga, the shame of the Japanese Imperial Army." ”

"Hi" Sakai is too real and rarely sasa fart, and he doesn't dare to put one. He already understood to some extent that his misjudgment had affected the entire attack: "Your Excellency Dazuo, please let the humble attack, a shame." ”

The people had already been beaten, and the anger was out, Fujii Sueyoshi Osa said viciously: "Lead your brigade to attack the Kozato house position, and if you fail, then apologize to the emperor." ”

Sakai Taima stood up and ran towards the shore with great momentum, he wanted to wash away his shame and capture the positions of the Chinese defenders.

Blocked by the 19th Division, He Shaozhou bought a little time and led his troops to retreat. But battlefield communications are very problematic, and China still relies on telegraphs for the transmission of information.

The disadvantage of wireless communication stations is that the amount of communication is small, and if you want to make contact, you must stop and set up antennas to communicate from a distance. Too far away without underground cables, without air relay stations is still not enough. Therefore, the Songhu battlefield is still being transmitted manually in large quantities. The command could only send heralds to ride horses to convey orders, and sometimes the heralds died, and the order may not have been delivered at all.

At this time, the tax police headquarters was that they did not know that Yoshizumi Ryosuke ordered the 6th Brigade to attack, and the brigade commander, Major General Yoshiyoshi Akiyama, also had military capabilities, and both wings were put into the battlefield at one time.

His plan was that the 7th Wing pursued along the Taicang Highway, defeated and eliminated the retreating Tax Police Corps, and copied the 19th Division that was holding on to Qianzhai, Hulizhai, and Guojia Archway from behind, so that it could break through the defense line of the Chinese defenders in one fell swoop.

The tactics were good, and sure enough, Li Jue did not notice that the 7th Wing was pursuing the Tax Police Corps from the flank, and at the same time approaching his back.

As soon as the retreating tax police corps arrived in Guojia Village, a reconnaissance soldier ran over: "Report to the commander, the devil is less than a kilometer away from here." ”