Tiger Troops: The 74th Army of the Kuomintang Anti-Japanese Ace

Chapter 4 Where is the Secret (Battle of Songhu) (4)
Carlson froze.He immediately understood that Matsui's statement was by no means groundless. This kind of air strike was targeted, and its purpose was to destroy the Chinese reserve position and accelerate the retreat of the Chinese army.In this way, there is no doubt about the retreat of the Chinese army.

In fact, on October 10, when most of the Chinese positions were destroyed by Japanese artillery fire, the Japanese army had broken through Dachang.Once the field was lost, the Chinese side was threatened with their backs and had to retreat to the south bank of the Suzhou River the next day.

The Chinese army fought in Dachang with the same tenacity and persistence as in Luodian, but their spirit, body and blood could not be used indefinitely. They lacked sufficient weapons for positional warfare and air power to provide cover.

On October 10, the Japanese army forcibly crossed the Suzhou Creek and seized several key points on the south bank. However, the Chinese front remained intact, and even if the Suzhou Creek could not withstand it, there was still a pre-built "defense line" that could be used.Based on this, Carlson judged that the Battle of Songhu would continue for several more months.

Of course, the Japanese cannot tolerate this situation going on, and their high command once again sent four divisions and one brigade to Shanghai. On November 11, with the cooperation of the navy, reinforcement troops landed from the north shore of Hangzhou Bay, forming a double-team attack on the Chinese army.

out on a limb
Seeing that the situation in the battle was taking a turn for the worse, in order to avoid being copied by the Japanese army, the Chinese Command decided to retreat across the Shanghai Theater.

A hasty retreat in a bad situation is a very complicated problem for any army, let alone the Chinese army, which is relatively backward in organization and training.German advisers could tell the Chinese how to build positions and increase defensive density in the narrow Yangtze Delta, but they did not teach them how to withdraw large troops in an orderly manner.The hundreds of thousands of troops retreating westward were in chaos like a pot of porridge. The troops were all over the mountains and plains, rushing westward like a tide, and the necessary military discipline and order disappeared.

On the afternoon of November 11, the 8th Army (which no longer included the 74th Brigade alone) was ordered to cover the westward withdrawal of the army. The 34th Division took the lead in a fierce battle with the Japanese forward troops who were chasing up, and the troops suffered heavy losses. The defense line was subsequently breached by the Japanese army, and Wu Jiguang, the commander of the 58th Brigade, was killed in battle.

Wu Jiguang likes to sing Peking opera in his spare time, especially good at making faces.There are different accounts of his death.Some people say that after the defense line was breached, the troops were eager to cross the river, but there were few ferry boats. Wu Jiguang hurriedly sailed before all the soldiers came up.As a result, the soldiers on the shore who hadn't boarded the ship yelled: "You officials are fighting and hiding behind, and now you want to run ahead when you run away. It's not that cheap!" Guns fired indiscriminately, killing Wu Jiguang on the ship.

Although this rumor may not be true, it can also be seen how chaotic and disorderly the troops are.The Wu Yafu Battalion belonging to the [-]th Brigade walked at the end of the main force as a covering force. On the way, Wu Yafu heard a rumbling sound from behind. When he looked back, he saw that the air was covered in darkness, all of which were Japanese planes catching up.

Wu Yafu hurriedly shouted: "Get down!" As soon as the words fell, the Japanese plane launched a machine gun fire, and the ground was beaten up with dust, and many people fell headfirst into a pool of blood.Among the survivors, many were shot. Wu Yafu was shot in both legs, and the blood continued to flow out along his thighs. Fortunately, the guards escorted him to a nearby hospital in time, so he was rescued.At that time, no one could control this chaotic situation, and some senior generals could only look up to the sky and sigh, in vain.

On November 11, the 11th Army retreated to Suzhou as a whole, and the order was initially stabilized at this time.As the general cover team, the 74th Regiment of the 51st Division was ordered to rush to Qingpu and Songjiang for delayed cover.Early the next morning, Qiu Weida led his troops to Zhujiajiao, west of Qingpu, but learned that Songjiang had been occupied in advance by the Japanese advance team.

Some of these Japanese advancing teams followed along with the retreating troops, and some took shortcuts and made detours, so the advancing speed was extremely fast.Their non-stop harassment and attacks caused varying degrees of confusion to the retreating army.

The Japanese army occupying Songjiang then approached Zhujiajiao and launched an enveloping attack on the [-]th regiment.The [-]th Regiment was single and weak, and withdrew to Qingpu after a little resistance.

There is a city wall in Qingpu, which can be raised first.After almost losing a battalion, Qiu Weida ordered to move to Kunshan. Unexpectedly, the road leading to Kunshan was cut off by the Japanese army, and the troops had no way to retreat.

In a critical situation, Qiu Weida recruited two local farmers.Leading the way through them, the [-]th regiment was able to get in touch with the brother troops after two days and two nights of marching along remote country lanes.

When the Chinese army retreated, it was originally prepared to continue to organize resistance with several "defense lines".These "defense lines" were also constructed under the guidance of German consultants.The first is the Wufu line, which is the defense fortification line from Suzhou to Fushan in Changshu. However, because the Japanese army landed near Fushan Port, Fushan's defensive position was lost before it could be used.

After the Wufu line is the Xicheng line, which is the defense line from Wuxi to Jiangyin. On November 11, the 16th Army was ordered to deploy troops on the line from Suzhou to Wujiang, while covering the flanks of the retreating army, while buying time for the defensive deployment of the Xicheng Line.

Knowing the heavy responsibility, Yu Jishi, the commander of the 74th Army, personally surveyed the defense line, and finally selected Wangting Town, located in the northwest of Suzhou, as the key point of defense, and asked Wang Yaowu to send troops to guard it.

At this time, most of the regiments of the 51st Division were severely damaged, and the [-]th Regiment, which was responsible for the first phase of the cover task, had not yet returned to the team. group.

Before entering the Songhu battlefield, the 51st Division had already decided to expand from the B Division to the A Division, increasing from three regiments to four regiments, and the increased regiment was the [-]th Regiment.The predecessor of the [-]th regiment was the security regiment of the Shaanxi Garrison Brigade. Because of the need for training, the regiment did not come to Shanghai until October.

The head of the [-]th regiment was Zhang Lingfu, who was formerly attached to the colonel's division.Similar to the English-speaking private soldier Carlson met, Zhang Lingfu in the early days was an intellectual youth full of idealism, and he even worked as a teacher for a while.However, Zhang Lingfu's more widely known experience is the "Wife Killing Case in the Ancient City".

At that time Zhang Lingfu was the head of Hu Zongnan's First Army.It is said that the cause of the incident was as follows: the First Army fought against the Red Army in northern Shaanxi, and the officers and their families lived in the ancient city of Xi'an.One of Zhang Lingfu's colleagues went to Xi'an to visit relatives. After returning to the army, he chatted with Zhang Lingfu and bragged.

In dealing with such matters, Zhang Lingfu's mind is not much wider than the heroes depicted in "Water Margin". He not only listens to the wind, but also thinks that he was instantly dazzled by the anger of wearing a cuckold.During the Spring Festival holiday, Zhang Lingfu brought his wife and children back to his hometown from Xi'an. On New Year's Eve, when his wife was bending over to cut leeks to make dumplings in the backyard, he pulled out a pistol from behind and beat her to death.

After killing his wife, Zhang Lingfu returned to the army.Naturally, the woman's natal family refused to let him go, and kept suing upwards. The pleadings were handed over from the First Army Headquarters, the Northwest "Suppression General", all the way to the Shaanxi High Court, but they did not get an immediate response.After some twists and turns, the Xi'an Women's Association, which accepted the complaint letter, found Zhang Xueliang's wife, Yu Fengzhi.

The Northeast Army was stationed in Shaanxi at this time.Yu Fengzhi asked Zhang Xueliang to take care of it, and Zhang Xueliang replied very simply: "This is a matter of the Central Army. I can't control it, and I can't control it."

You can't control it, someone else will.Yu Fengzhi told his best friend Song Meiling exactly what happened, and Song Meiling told her husband Chiang Kai-shek.

Chiang Kai-shek has always cared about the reputation of his Whampoa students outside the world. Hearing this, this is not bad: "Immediately escort Nanjing to a military court trial!"

Out of the siege
During the interrogation, Zhang Lingfu submitted a complaint, arguing that his wife had taken away his military documents without authorization, and could not explain the reason, so he was "suspected of being a communist party", that is to say, his killing his wife had nothing to do with the turmoil of jealousy, but Out of "anti-communist" needs. "Anti-communism" was a hot topic at that time, and anyone could use it as a shield for themselves. Perhaps for this reason, Zhang Lingfu was not sentenced to death row, but was sentenced to ten years in prison.

Human feelings are like iron, and official laws are like furnaces. Zhang Lingfu was put in prison and put on a livery.During those days in the prison, this reckless guy tasted the taste of life over and over again, and the reality of ruined future and life without personal dignity made the world before his eyes dark.

However, he did not sit through the prison.Soon, the relationship between China and Japan became extremely tense, and the Nationalist Government ordered that all officers and soldiers serving sentences should be transferred to military service, and they would perform crimes and make meritorious deeds while retaining their original military ranks.

Zhang Lingfu was released from prison, and he needed another way to repent and atone for himself, to slowly reduce the darkness and violence hidden in his heart.The First Army had no face to go back. At this time, the 51st Division was stationed in Hanzhong and was recruiting talents. Zhang Lingfu thought that he had worked with Wang Yaowu in the past, so he introduced himself and approached Wang Yaowu.

Wang Yaowu had a good impression of Zhang Lingfu, thinking that he was a bloody man and capable of fighting, so he readily took him in.It's just that there is no real shortage in the division, so we can only temporarily appoint him as the colonel's division assistant.

After receiving the letter of appointment from Wang Yaowu, Zhang Lingfu joined the 51st Division without saying a word.In the final analysis, he is still more suitable for the army. Only the army can allow him to find himself and reshape himself.

Being attached to the colonel's division is an idle job, compared to the thickness of the bench. For Zhang Lingfu, commanding the [-]th Regiment is a truly enjoyable thing, because it means that he can show his skills in battle.

Although the 11th Regiment was reorganized from the local security regiment, the soldiers from the north were all tall and well-trained, and once formally incorporated, they would be competent for front-line operations.According to Wang Yaowu's order to watch the pavilion, Zhang Lingfu deployed the third battalion of the 21th Regiment to the Wangting Iron Bridge. On November [-], the Japanese army who came after them attacked the iron bridge, and the third battalion tried their best to hold on, making it impossible for them to pass through smoothly.

Feeling overwhelmed, Battalion Commander Liu Guangyu hastily reported to Zhang Lingfu.Zhang Lingfu sent more troops and personally rushed to the Tieqiao position to supervise the battle. In the end, the 600th Regiment stayed at Wangting for three days at the cost of [-] casualties. It was not until Yu Jishi and Wang Yaowu gave the order to retreat that they blew up the Tieqiao and left. Wangting.

On the way, the [-]th Regiment ran into the [-]th Regiment who took a trail and retreated. The two regiments caught up with the headquarters one after the other.Before that, Wang Yaowu lost contact with both regiments. He thought that the two powerful troops were in danger, so he was in a hurry at the division headquarters.Seeing Zhang Lingfu and Qiu Weida suddenly appear in front of him, Wang Yaowu felt overjoyed, and he held their hands tightly: "I've been worrying about you for three days, it's really lucky to break out of the siege!"

On November 11, the 28th Army withdrew to Nanjing and stationed from Tongji Gate to Chunhua Town.In view of the fact that the troops have been seriously injured in the Songhu Battle and there is a serious shortage of soldiers, everyone hopes to withdraw to a safer place and fight after a period of training.Yu Jishi entered Nanjing with this expectation and reported to Chiang Kai-shek, but he was instructed not only to not conduct training, but also to join the sequence of the defense of Nanjing.

The reason is that although the [-]th Regiment completed the cover task brilliantly, at best it only bought three days of respite for the retreating army, and when almost all the troops were in a state of retreat, the Xicheng Line did not Playing the expected role, the original concept of step-by-step resistance also came to naught.

The 74th Army was not in the troops defending Nanjing at first. They filled the gap of Hu Zongnan's First Army.The First Army was known as the "No. [-] Army in the World" at the time, and it was the top trump card in the Central Army. However, the Battle of Songhu also crippled this first-class army, so that it could only cross the Yangtze River and go to Pukou to serve as a support Task.

Yu Jishi lacked confidence in defending Nanjing, and most of the generals did not advocate defending Nanjing.Only Chiang Kai-shek and Tang Shengzhi advocated the defense of Nanjing, and Tang Shengzhi also served as the supreme commander of the city defense.

Yu Jishi was reluctant, but helpless.He didn't dare to make irresponsible remarks to Chiang Kai-shek, so he had to cast his anger on Tang Shengzhi: "The purpose of Tang Shengzhi (who advocates defending the city) is to get promoted and get rich!"

heart sank

Carlson also came to Nanjing by boat.The Nanjing city in front of him has become a dead city, the streets are empty, only military trucks are running back and forth non-stop.

The purpose of Carlson's trip was to get a military pass to the area controlled by the Eighth Route Army through Chiang Kai-shek's foreign adviser, Duan Na.Because his friend Snow told him that the Eighth Route Army was implementing a tactic called "guerrilla warfare" in the north, and Carlson was very interested in it.

Of course, there is another thing that Carlson is eager to know.Under the recommendation of others, he met Tang Shengzhi, the commander-in-chief of the city defense.Tang Shengzhi assured him: "I will defend Nanking to the last man. The Japanese may eventually take the city, but they will pay a great price for it."

Compared with oath and determination, how to defend the city is more critical.However, during the conversation between the two, Tang Shengzhi mainly talked about barricade tactics and defensive measures used in the city, and did not even mention a word about establishing a foothold outside the city.

From a military point of view, the premise of defending the city is that the key points on the outskirts of the city must be guarded, so as to form a defensive depth, otherwise it is very easy to be breached.Tang Shengzhi, who graduated from Baoding Military Academy, has more than 20 years of experience in the army. He even fought against Chiang Kai-shek in the melee of warlords. Obviously, he is not ignorant of this, but he lacks enough confidence in guarding the suburbs.

Carlson's heart sank.Before he got the military pass and left Nanjing, he concluded that the first capital of the Ming Dynasty was about to fall, and the time of fall was not far away.

(End of this chapter)