The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 210 Wang Yaowu

The position of the 301st Regiment, which was fighting fiercely in the hail of bullets, was not far from the headquarters of the 51st Division. At this time, in the headquarters of the 51st Division, the commander of the 51st Division Wang Yaowu was in the command post. Pacing repeatedly, even the continuous artillery fire outside the command post did not interrupt his calm thoughts and reflections on the complicated and dangerous battle situation.

The character and thoughts of this Shandong man are completely different from his rugged appearance. Although Wang Yaowu is tall and powerful, he has an exquisite mind. His experience as an apprentice in a biscuit shop before entering the third phase of Whampoa Military Academy gave him even more experience. His calmness and Qi-nurturing skills are beyond the reach of ordinary people.

In January 1926, Wang Yaowu graduated from the third phase of infantry science at Huangpu Military Academy. He served successively as platoon leader, company commander, battalion commander, regiment commander, etc. He participated in the Northern Expedition and warlord melee campaigns. During the battle, Wang Yaowu took the lead. He fought very bravely. During this period, Wang Yaowu's career development was no different from that of his classmates who graduated from the same period. They all rose steadily according to seniority.

However, looking at Wang Yaowu's resume in recent years, it can only be described as brilliant and flying.

After the Great Wall Anti-Japanese War ended in 1933, the Ministry of Military Affairs organized six supplementary regiments in Baoding. Although these troops were named "supplementary", they were actually elites trained to prepare for future wars against Japan. After the troops were organized, the six regiments were reorganized into two brigades, one of which was designated the 1st Supplementary Brigade and was directly under the Military Commission.

The candidate for the brigade commander was a highly anticipated candidate at that time. Many graduates of the first and second batches of Huangpu were gearing up for this position. It can be said that the competition was very fierce. In the end, the Military Committee wanted to balance the various factions and make this brigade possible. Directly in the hands of the Military Commission, Wang Yaowu, a young officer with brave combat, honest and down-to-earth character, and no obvious factionalism, became the ideal candidate for brigade commander.

In this way, Wang Yaowu was lucky enough to become the first general among his classmates in the third batch. He was only thirty years old. Three years later, the 1st Supplementary Brigade was expanded into the 51st Division. Wang Yaowu was promoted to lieutenant general and division commander, and became a classmate in the third batch again. benchmark in.

However, the mood and condition of this rising star in the army, who is only thirty-three years old and is the first general and first lieutenant general in the third phase of Whampoa Military Academy, are really not very good.

Since the Battle of Nanjing had not yet begun, Wang Yaowu had little hope for this hastily launched battle to defend the capital. According to the original plan, Hu Zongnan's First Army should be incorporated into the battle order of the Battle of Nanjing, but in the end the First Army Jiang Fang, who was transferred to Pukou on the other side of Nanjing, escaped the disaster, but the Seventy-Fourth Army took the blame for the First Army.

Even if the commander of the 74th Army, Yu Jishi, argued to no avail, the 74th Army was still incorporated into the battle order of the Nanjing Garrison, even though Yu Jishi himself was a bodyguard of the supreme leader Mr. Chang, and his clan The uncle is the current Minister of Transportation Yu Feipeng, but all this still cannot change the fate of the 74th Army to fight to the death here.

Sure enough, just two days after the war started, the 51st Division's casualties reached nearly 3,000 people. The already dilapidated troops suddenly suffered heavy losses. Especially in yesterday's battle, the core position outside Chunhua was once lost. In the end, the reserve team was put in to barely regain the position, but the troops also suffered heavy losses. Even Zhang Lingfu, the leader of the 305th Regiment, who served as the reserve team, was seriously injured.

Amidst the rumbling cannons, Wang Yaowu kept asking himself, how to defend next? How to retreat? The dangerous situation of the battle is by no means comparable to ordinary battles. Although the frontline regiments are fighting hard, they can't hold on for long at all. The officers and soldiers are completely using their own flesh and blood and their lives to fight against the absolutely superior force and firepower. The enemy fights for consumption.

All the thoughts in his mind were so precariously occupied that this Shandong man felt a chill running down his spine.

"Teacher, something serious has happened."

Suddenly, a major general officer rushed into the temporary command post of the 51st Division, holding a telegram in his hand.

"Brother Shangzhi, what's wrong?"

Wang Yaowu hurriedly ran to receive the telegram, and the major general officer said with a slight panic: "A telegram was sent from the 301st Regiment in front of our brigade. The position is in danger. The Japanese army is attacking fiercely and may not be able to hold it. This regiment's The commander of the regiment was injured in yesterday's battle, and the deputy commander now is the lieutenant colonel of the regiment. There were heavy casualties yesterday, and if we continue to fight, we may lose all our troops."

The 51st Division has two infantry brigades, the 151st and 153rd. The commander of the 153rd Brigade is Major General Li Tianxia, ​​Wang Yaowu’s classmate in the third phase of Huangpu Military Academy. The leader is Major General Zhou Zhidao, who graduated from the fourth phase of Whampoa Military Academy.

This major general was Zhou Zhidao, the major general commander of the 151st Brigade. He graduated from the fourth phase of Huangpu but was two years older than Wang Yaowu, and the 301st Regiment was the infantry regiment under the brigade.

After reading the telegram, although Wang Yaowu's expression did not change, his heart thumped. But soon, he calmed down again and thought about countermeasures in his heart. The position could not be defended, and the best way was to send reinforcements.

But he no longer has any extra troops on hand. The supply battalion and the special agent company directly under the division have all gone to the front line to fight the Japanese army. If reinforcements are sent out, I am afraid that Wang Yaowu will have to personally lead the guards to fight back. .

Since his own troops were no longer sustainable, he could only seek help from friendly forces. The first thing Wang Yaowu thought of was another infantry division that belonged to the same order of battle of the 74th Army as the 51st Division - the 58th Division. .

"How is the situation of the 58th Division? Can you help us?"

Zhou Zhidao shook his head: "It's impossible. The 58th Division also fought miserably on the front line of Niushou Mountain, and their positions have collapsed. In the morning, a group of troops from the 58th Division came from our brigade. The defense zone passed, and there was a battalion commander among them. According to them, the people in his battalion who retreated did not even have an infantry company, so there is no way they would have any remaining strength to support us."

"Are there any friendly forces nearby?"

"In addition to the 58th Division, there are the Guangdong troops of the 66th Army."

When talking about the Sixty-sixth Army, Wang Yaowu and Zhou Zhidao were silent. On the one hand, although the enemy is at hand, the Sixty-sixth Army is the Guangdong Army, and there are some gaps between it and the Central Army. If it is not necessary, it is best to It is better not to provide reinforcements to them. On the other hand, in fact, just yesterday, the 51st Division had already asked the 66th Army for help.

In yesterday's battle, Chunhua's position was lost for a time, and the reserve team of the 51st Division in the rear was too late to move forward, so it had to ask for reinforcements from the 66th Army. The 66th Army was also afraid that the Japanese army would knock down Chunhua. Then they outflanked them from behind, so they urgently removed the 960th Regiment of the 160th Division from the front line and rushed to Chunhua for emergency reinforcements.

Of course, in the end, the reserve team of the 51st Division arrived in time and recaptured the core position of Chunhua after a bloody battle. As a result, the 960th Regiment's trip was in vain, but the trouble it caused to the 66th Army was also limited. Not surprisingly, after the 160th Division transferred the 960th Regiment, there was a gap in the defense line of the forward position in Tangshan.

It was under this circumstance that He Wei's special agent battalion and Cai Rubai's 956th Regiment replenished the Tangshan forward position.

"That's all, the situation is urgent. I personally drafted a message and sent it to Commander Ye of the 66th Army. I can only trouble them again."

Wang Yaowu said firmly.

Zhou Zhidao hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

Although it has caused a lot of trouble to the Sixty-sixth Army, it is somewhat unjustifiable to trouble others today, but after all, the military situation is urgent and the military situation comes first. Moreover, Zhou Zhidao knows enough about his division commander and believes that Wang Yaowu has Sufficient emotional intelligence and ability to handle this matter well.

When Wang Yaowu was young, due to his poor family, Wang Yaowu had to drop out of school prematurely and went to work as an apprentice in a biscuit company in Jinan. With his intelligence, he was quickly promoted to a full-time employee and sent to work in the Shanghai branch.

It is precisely because of this experience that he has extraordinary emotional intelligence and the ability to observe people's emotions. He can give gifts that others cannot give, and he can make good relationships with others. Wang Yaowu can Becoming the best among the third batch of students of Whampoa Military Academy has a great relationship with this ability.

Soon, a telegram asking for help found the command post of the 66th Army.

Frontier, position of the 301st Regiment

Under the hail of bullets, Ji Hongru, the acting commander of the 301st Regiment, led the last reserve team of the entire regiment into the front-line position, walking along the trenches in a low profile. There were dead officers and soldiers of the 301st Regiment everywhere, some with different heads. Everywhere, some were shattered to pieces, discarded grenade boxes, broken weapons, and the remains of fallen officers and soldiers even blocked the corner of the traffic trench.

Grenade caps and polished 79 bullet boxes were piled up, and bloody bandages and first aid kits were thrown everywhere.

Sawed-off legs and arms, feces and urine, bombed military telephones, double wires and I-frames were piled up in a mess. Even the bottom of the traffic trench was soaked with the blood of officers and soldiers.

Many seriously injured soldiers were crawling slowly in the traffic trench, leaving blood stains all the way. From time to time they cried out in pain and called for help. Unfortunately, no one could treat them. The lightly wounded soldiers, health soldiers, and stretcher bearers of the 301st Regiment all rushed in. the frontline position.

"Sir, please help me, please help me."

"Who can give me a shot? Please give me a shot. Please give me a shot."

"You bastards, if you don't care about us when you get hurt, who will work for you in the future?"

Facing these subordinates who were seriously injured after the bloody battle, Ji Hongru could only hold back his grief, close his eyes and run away cruelly. There was no other way. The battle had reached this level, and all available personnel had been put into the front-line battle. Faced with these The subordinates in charge, as the acting captain, must not only have the courage of a strong man to cut off his wrist, but also have a tough and determined heart of stone.

Ji Hongru walked all the way and finally arrived at the center of the position.

This is the position guarded by the second battalion of the 301st Regiment. The major battalion commander of the second battalion was killed in yesterday's battle. After the battalion commander died, it was natural that the captain battalion of the second battalion would take over the command. . However, less than half an hour after the death of the major battalion commander, the captain of the second battalion was also killed in the battle. Immediately, in accordance with the succession principle of wartime command procedures, the commander of the fourth infantry company of the second battalion acted as the battalion commander. Unfortunately, in today's Japanese shelling, the commander of the fourth company was also killed. Finally, the position of acting battalion commander fell to the commander of the fifth infantry company under the second battalion.

In less than two days, three commanders of an infantry battalion were killed in succession, which shows how brutal the battle was.

"Ji Tuanfu, why are you here? It's dangerous here."

Zhou Hanchen, commander of the 5th Company of the 2nd Battalion of the 301st Regiment, looked at Ji Hongru who had just arrived beside him and shouted, but he refused to let go of the trigger he was pulling. A 30-section heavy machine gun kept swinging left and right, moving forward. Spitting tongues of fire, strings of heavy 7.92mm caliber bullets flew out of the barrel and fired at the Japanese troops in front of the position. Steam emerged from the thick, dark cooling water cylinder from time to time.

Hanging on the left side of the machine gun's bullet inlet, a wooden bullet box with the words "Calm Fire" engraved on it continued to tremble with the continuous firing of the machine gun. There was still a lot of bright red flesh and mud on the machine gun's tripod.

"With everything being beaten like this, what else is dangerous? How is your camp doing?"

Ji Hongru picked up a medium-sized rifle from a corpse and asked while firing.

"Da da da da da da da da"

Zhou Hanchen continued to pull the trigger and said: "I can't hold it anymore. The firepower of the Japanese tanks and artillery is too fierce. There are only two 30-knot heavy machine gun companies in my battalion left out of the six. The others are all gone." It was destroyed. The first and third battalions couldn't hold it anymore. The commander of the first battalion was killed. All the heavy machine guns of the machine gun company of the first battalion were destroyed in the bunker. The situation of the third battalion is unclear. It is estimated that it is not much stronger. Go, all the 82nd Mortar Platoon in my battalion is gone, the 82nd Mortar Platoon of the 1st Battalion should still be there, and the 3rd Battalion may have one gun left."

At this time, the firepower on the 301st Regiment's position dropped sharply. The single-shot rifle firepower of the Hanyang Peace Center was significantly greater than the continuous firepower of the light and heavy machine guns. After direct fire from the Japanese artillery, the 301st Regiment's light and heavy machine guns The losses were serious.

The remaining light and heavy machine guns are obviously unable to support the defense of an infantry regiment's position. The regiment's position is already in danger. The last bit of troops brought by Ji Hongru is just a drop in the bucket and cannot reverse the situation on the battlefield. The balance of troops and firepower All are completely tilted towards the Japanese army.

Ji Hongru kept firing and looked around his own position. He saw that almost all the light and heavy machine guns placed in the bunker were destroyed by direct fire from the Japanese artillery. There were only three or four heavy machine guns and light machine guns still firing on the position. There were only five or six troops, and the remaining soldiers were all made in China and Hanyang.

"Fight, let's fight. I have put all the people who can move in. Everyone from the regiment command post is on board. I have sent a telegram to Commander Wang for reinforcements. No matter whether the reinforcements can arrive in time or not, we have to Hold on until the very end.”

"Don't worry, Ji Tuanfu, we are here."

Zhou Hanchen roared and swung the thirty-section heavy machine gun left and right, and another string of bullets was shot out, knocking down several Japanese soldiers who were trying to charge forward. The heavy machine gun bullet belt drilled out of the ejection port like a shed shell, and the heavy machine gun The cooling water cylinder also emitted hot steam.

"Bullets, bullets, quickly get a box of bullets and a box of water. The machine gun is on fire."

Zhou Hanchen dropped the machine gun that was empty of bullets, picked up a rifle and started shooting. He yelled for the ammunition soldiers, and cursed at the messenger who was guarding the ammunition and cooling water not far away: "Fat Ding, your fucking ears." It’s stuffed with donkey hair, please bring the bullets and cooling water?”

"Drawing it up, come on, what are those guys at the back doing? Move the things over here quickly, you can't move things even if you don't know how to use a gun."

Ji Hongru looked over and saw a storage area with seven or eight heavy machine gun bullet boxes and machine gun cooling water cylinders more than ten meters away. A soldier wearing a helmet and dressed as a messenger was holding a box of bullets and leaning on his head. He stood at the edge of the trench, followed by seven or eight soldiers wearing coarse military uniforms with grenades on their chests.

Zhou Hanchen kept yelling at this place. The leader was his orderly soldier, and the few soldiers behind him were all new soldiers added after the 51st Division arrived in Nanjing. These new soldiers were all captured from Henan. Strong man.

Except for a very small number of people who took the initiative to serve as soldiers, the rest were all farmers who were forcibly recruited from the countryside. In less than a month, although Zhou Hanchen and others used all kinds of methods to train and use fists and scolds, they could not Until now, these recruits have not completed even the most basic enlistment training, and they have only been taught how to use weapons and throw grenades and load and retract bullets from rifles.

Therefore, these recruits with low combat capabilities can only serve as ammunition soldiers and porters on the battlefield, and their only advantage is that they are obedient.

But no matter how Zhou Hanchen yelled and cursed, these recruits didn't even react at all.

"I come."

Ji Hongru knocked down a Japanese soldier with his rifle, then bent down and rushed to the ammunition storage station quickly, pushing the leader of the ordering soldiers. As a result, with this push, the ordering soldiers and the seven or eight recruits behind him were all at the same time. After falling down, Ji Hongru saw that the face of the messenger had been punched with a big bloody hole, and it was impossible to tell what this person looked like.

The recruits behind him also had huge bullet holes in their bodies. On the ground behind the last soldier, Ji Hongru saw a 37mm armor-piercing bullet soaked in blood and inserted into the ground. He Everything suddenly became clear.

A 37mm armor-piercing bullet fired by the Japanese army first penetrated the head of the first soldier, and then penetrated several soldiers behind him.

Without enough time to feel sad, Ji Hongru picked up a box of ammunition belts and a box of cooling water and rushed back, and he and Zhou Hanchen scrambled to refill the cooling water tank of the 30-section heavy machine gun and replace it with a brand new ammunition belt.

Da da da da da da

Heavy machine gun fire rang out again.

In front of the position, the Japanese infantry were knocked down one after another. The six Type 89 infantry fighting vehicles covering the advance of the infantry, after dealing with the light and heavy machine guns of the Chinese army in the bunker, began to rush towards the position of the 301st Regiment in unison.

After the light and heavy machine guns in the bunker were killed, the 301st Regiment Company's heavy machine gun steel-core armor-piercing cluster firepower, which was specially designed to attack tanks, could no longer be organized. It could only use the firepower at hand to attack the Japanese infantry as much as possible. As for the tanks, Completely helpless.

The friction of the tanks' tracks and the rumble of the ground being crushed came. Ji Hongru looked at the approaching Japanese tanks and knew that if these tanks were not dealt with, the position would be lost soon. There was nothing else at this time. The only way was to organize soldiers to rush up and blast the tank with grenades. Just when Ji Hongru was about to give the order, he remembered that the officers and soldiers on the position had suffered heavy losses and the position was in danger. More than half of the thirteen company commanders in the regiment had been killed or injured.

At this time, if he, the acting commander, does not take the lead and fight desperately, how can he let the soldiers hold on to their positions until the last moment.

So he dropped the formal suit in his hand, shouldered the machete, threw out the speed machine at his waist, took off the leggings from the corpse of the dead soldier, pulled a box of grenades and bundled them into cluster grenades, and then waved his arms, He shouted: "Brothers, where are the old brothers who retreated from Songhu? Where are the veterans who replenished the first brigade? Come with me if you have the guts."

"Ji Tuanfu, let's follow you. Everyone with eggs has come out."

"I'm not going to survive anymore because I'm going to fight like a fool."

Immediately, more than thirty officers and soldiers stood up. Among these brothers were second lieutenants, warrant officers, and even more sergeants. They all came from the battlefield of Songhu Battle. The predecessor of the 51st Division was The Army directly under the Ministry of Military Affairs supplemented the First Brigade, and many of these officers and soldiers who stepped forward also supplemented the First Brigade's veterans.

"Damn it, you have the guts. Brothers, rush forward with me and fight against the Japanese chariot."

Ji Hongru picked up the grenade and waved his shell gun to rush upward. However, Zhou Hanchen, the commander of the fifth company beside him, grabbed the grenade and jumped out of the trench.

"Ji Tuanfu, kill a few more Japanese to avenge me."

With only these words left, Zhou Hanchen rushed out, and the more than thirty officers and soldiers followed closely behind, rushing out of the trench with rifles and grenades. The officers took the lead and led the troops. The soldiers also risked their lives, and even some The brave recruits also rushed out of the trenches with grenades and rushed towards the Japanese tanks.

"Damn it, brothers, take cover, hit the gun holes and observation ports of those tanks."

With his eyes about to burst, Ji Hongru fired the 30-section heavy machine gun left behind by Zhou Hanchen. A large number of brass bullet casings were thrown out, and the canvas bullet belt was twitched randomly. Steaming hot air spurted out from the cooling water cylinder of the machine gun, and it was hot. The air wave is just like Ji Hongru's current state of mind, and even more like the position of the 301st Regiment.

"You idiot, I'll fight with you."

Ji Hongru roared loudly with red eyes, and fired a string of angry 7.92mm heavy-pointed projectiles at the Japanese tank.

There was a sudden burst of gunfire on the position, and the soldiers all concentrated their firepower and opened fire on the six Japanese tanks that were rushing towards them. The 30-knot heavy machine gun, the Jinling-made Type 24 Maxim heavy machine gun, and the Czech light machine gun fired 7.9 The 2 mm heavy pointed bullets, the 7.92 mm light pointed bullets fired from the official rifles and the 7.92 mm round headed bullets fired from Hanyang were shot out like raindrops, sending sparks flying across the Japanese tanks. .

(End of this chapter)