The heavens start from Changjin Lake

On the afternoon of November 1937, 11, a team drove along the winding path from the direction of Jurong to Chunhua Town, outside Jinling Tongji Gate.

People and horses walked at a leisurely pace, military vehicles and jeeps galloped one after another. The team marched quietly, with only the sound of the collision of weapons and other metal equipment, and the horses transporting artillery shells walking on the muddy and somewhat elastic path after the rain. The horse's hooves make the sound of 'dedede'.

Like the 66th Guangdong Army, they were also Chinese troops who retreated from the Songhu battlefield. They were ordered to travel a long distance to Chunhua Town to assume the task of defending the capital of Jinling, the 74st Division of the 51th Army. Xia Yuan was familiar with the division, and the division commander It was Wang Yaowu who had stayed at Luodian.

The subsequent battle in Luodian seemed to be in a quagmire. The Japanese 11th Division did not give up the attack on the southeast of Luodian, but the progress was slow. The Japanese army used to contain Luodian and attacked Yanghang, Zhongzaobang, and Dachang.

After breaking through the battlefield, the entire Songhu battlefield was cut open by the Japanese army, and the quagmire of Luodian was broken by itself.

The 51st Division suffered the least losses in the bloody battle of Luodian, and was a victorious division with many battles. It defeated the Japanese troops and fled. This time they entered Chunhua Town to defend Jinling and stop the Japanese troops.

The commander of the 51st Division, Wang Yaowu, was Xia Yuan's old friend. He was from Dongshan and a third-generation student in Huangpu. He was known for his skill in using troops and his courage in fighting. Therefore, he had received many awards from the bald head.

During the Battle of Songhu, he commanded the 51st Division to compete for the Xianggong Temple in Luodian West. He entered and exited three times, annihilated more than 300 Japanese troops, and handed over a large number of weapons and equipment. He was praised by the bald head.

Moreover, Bald Head once said in a combat meeting: "If our national army division commanders are as good at fighting as Wang Yaowu, there is hope for victory in the War of Resistance."

What Xia Yuan did on the Songhu battlefield was far more than a simple letter of commendation. As everyone guessed, by the end of the war, his position might improve by leaps and bounds, and he might even be on an equal footing with Commander Tang, the commander of the Jinling garrison.

At the moment, guarding Jinling is the top priority, and Baldhead also has the idea of ​​​​hardening Xia Yuan.

Wang Yaowu also heard about Xia Yuan's achievements along the way, and lamented more than once that if such a strong general could serve the party and the country, the Japanese army would not dare to be rampant.Xia Yuan alone set an unprecedented example in the Battle of Songhu, which not only shocked the country, but also shocked the Japanese army.

According to spies in Shanghai, in order to get rid of Xia Yuan, the Japanese army did not hesitate to offer high rewards, and even used secret chess to eliminate Xia Yuan.

For this reason, Xia Yuan's whereabouts have been mobilized by Commander Tang and Chairman of the Committee, and the telegram orders are only sent to the military advisor level for the sake of absolute confidentiality.

Xia Yuan was heading to Jinling's last line of defense at this time.

Wang Yaowu arrived in Chunhua Town, unloaded his luggage, walked around the town, and said to his adjutant Yang Xingsheng: "Chunhua Town has small bridges and flowing water, and the scenery is great. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, I want to come here to study in the fields. day."

"report!"

At this time, the messenger sent an order from Commander Tang, the commander of the Jinling Guards: "The 51st Division will use its main force to guard the area from Fangshan to Chunhua Town, focusing on national defense fortifications, build field positions, and try to strengthen them by contacting and strengthening them. One unit is located on the line between Gaoqiaomen and Heding Bridge, building a preliminary position, dispatching security troops in Hushu Town, closely monitoring it, and establishing contact with the 66th Army on the left and the 58th Division on the right."

In response to the order issued by Commander Tang, Wang Yaowu did not hesitate for a moment and immediately sent people to summon Ji Hongru, the leader of the 301st Regiment, Li Fuluo, the leader of the 302nd Regiment, and Qiu Weida, the leader of the 306th Regiment, to the temporary command post for a meeting.

Wang Yaowu opened the map and said to the three regiment leaders: "The current situation is quite serious. Chunhua we are guarding is the barrier of Jinling. Once the Japanese army opens the barrier of Chunhua, Jinling will be exposed to the guns of the Japanese army. Therefore, we It must be like a nail, firmly nailed to the position.”

To encourage fighting spirit, he took the Battle of Songhu as an example: "The ferocious Japanese devils are nothing to be afraid of. We have fought them in Shanghai. They are the same as us, with one pair of eyes and two legs. If we want to say special, they are the ones who are special." There is the spirit of Bushido.”

Talking about the spirit of Bushido, Wang Yaowu said: "This spirit of Bushido means not being afraid of death. None of our soldiers are afraid of death. When we meet on a narrow road, the brave will win. What nonsense is Bushido? As long as we are brave and good at fighting, Bushido will not work."

The three group leaders listened to Wang Yaowu's words and nodded while listening.

Wang Yaowu then began to make arrangements: "My command method is to fight in turns. In the Battle of Songhu, the 306th Regiment fought, and the 301st Regiment and the 302nd Taunt served as the reserve team. This time, the 306th Regiment served as the reserve team, and the 301st and 302nd Regiment fought. Our defense line It's from Fangshan to Chunhua. Defense fortifications were built here in the past few years. We can use it. If you don't have any doubts, let's start taking action now."

These defense fortifications were built around Jinling in 1931. After the September [-]th Incident, Baldhead had a premonition that China and Japan would have a war. Under the guidance of the German advisory group, the defense fortifications were built around Jinling.

To defend Jinling City, we can make use of these defense fortifications.

However, after the telephone lines between the 51st Division headquarters and each regiment headquarters were connected, Ji Hongru and Li Fuluo called and reported to Wang Yaowu that the national defense fortifications were in dilapidated condition, some were buried by soil, and some were filled with water. Some places are occupied by ordinary people and used as pig pens and sheep pens, and some are used by ordinary people as warehouses, where messy things are piled up.

There are more fortifications that are locked with iron cables and cannot be opened without keys. There are also some fortifications with huge problems. The direction of the shooting holes is not accurate and cannot be put into use at all.

Problems were overwhelming Wang Yaowu.

Wang Yaowu was shocked. The defense fortifications built with great effort and a lot of military expenses could not be used. Wang Yaowu knew very well what this meant.

They did not have time to build strong fortifications. The Japanese had already attacked and would not give them time to build field fortifications.

Although Wang Yaowu was anxious, he was not in complete chaos. He immediately ordered people to prepare horses and check the defense fortifications left behind. As the commanders of the regiments of the 51st Division said, there were very few usable fortifications and most of them were unusable. As for the fortifications, it had rained heavily in the past few days and many of them were soaked with water and could not be used at all. They were painstakingly built and consumed a lot of military expenditures. They were called the "Chinese Hindenburg Line of Defense". However, when the Japanese army arrived, they could not be used.

Wang Yaowu returned to the division headquarters and immediately reported the situation on the front line to Commander Tang. Commander Tang sighed on the phone: "It's useless to scold anyone now. The devils are going to come. Now it's not about holding anyone accountable. The top priority is Officers and soldiers must be mobilized immediately to repair the fortifications.”

What Commander Tang said was true. Wang Yaowu thought for a moment, hung up the phone, and immediately ordered the officers and soldiers of each regiment to seize the time to repair the fortifications. The fortifications that were not seriously damaged and still usable were repaired as soon as possible. Those that were not usable were simply abandoned and rebuilt. Within three days, complete fortifications capable of defending against medium-caliber artillery shells.

After receiving the order, the officers and soldiers raced against time to build the fortifications, but Wang Yaowu frowned and looked worried.

The time was too short. It was not easy to build a fortification that could withstand the bombardment of medium-caliber artillery shells within three days.In the past few days, Wang Yaowu was worried and unable to sleep peacefully. He simply put on his clothes and joined the team building fortifications.

As Wang Yaowu expected, the fortifications had not yet been repaired. In the early morning of December 12, the stars and the moon had just disappeared, the sky was filled with white bellies, there was still thin morning mist in the forest, and billowing dust and smoke rose in the direction of Jurong Earth Bridge. , a large number of Japanese troops swarmed towards Chunhua like locusts.

The Japanese 9th Division attacked Chunhua. It was characterized by many veterans, good weapons and equipment, full personnel, and 37 aircraft. Although it experienced the Songhu Battle, the losses were not large and the attack was still rampant.

The division leader is Lieutenant General Yoshizumi Ryosuke, a native of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. He graduated from the Japanese Army Non-commissioned Officer School in 1911 and went to Taiwan and the four northeastern provinces of China. His combat characteristics are that he can attack well and defend well. The types of combat he is particularly good at are: Combination of offense and defense.

After the 9th Division passed Jurong, Yoshizumi Ryosuke sent two teams to advance while exploring the road. One team consisted of more than 500 infantrymen and was equipped with 15 Type [-] infantry guns. Attack Chunhua.

The other group consisted of 200 cavalry, followed by more than 500 infantry, and attacked Hushu in front of Chunhua via Tianwang Temple.

Each of the two teams was covered by 15 aircraft and 20 tanks.

The Japanese army was like a rampaging bulldozer, advancing towards Chunhua.

The 301st regiment was guarding the front line. The regiment leader Ji Hongru raised his shell gun suddenly above his head, and when the Japanese cavalry rushed over, he gave an order, and the officers and soldiers picked up their weapons, mortar shells, bullets, and grenades, like dense raindrops. , pouring into the enemy group.

The Japanese cavalry were not prepared for such an attack. They were beaten so dizzy that their horses ran around in chaos.

After all, the Japanese army's military quality was strong. After a brief formation chaos, the tanks and infantry formed an infantry-tank coordination. Under the cover of aircraft, grenade launchers, and infantry artillery, they gradually took control of the situation and began to rush towards the 51st Division position in an orderly manner. The bullets hit the thick armor of the tank, making a clanging sound and sparks flying everywhere.

The grenade fell under the tank, and the rolled up soil was mixed with shrapnel, which was unable to break through the tank's defense.

The trapezoidal Japanese hedgehogs gathered behind the tanks, advancing step by step and shooting at the 51st Division position along the way. The ground behind the tanks was completely crushed and deformed.

Ji Hongru, the leader of the 301st Regiment, had experienced the Battle of Songhu and had experience in using explosive bags to blow up tanks. He asked each soldier to dig a single hiding hole on the flat ground in advance, and then asked the soldiers to hold the explosive bags and hide them in the ground. Hide in the cave, wait for the Japanese tanks to approach, and use explosive bags to blow up the Japanese tanks.

Therefore, despite the fact that the Japanese tanks are rampaging now, they are actually under Ji Hongru's control. Most of the soldiers hiding in the hiding holes are veterans, and they are given a large amount of salary and sent back to their hometowns. These soldiers are already It is with the thought of seeing death as home.

When the Japanese tank approached, the ground began to shake. The Chinese soldiers hiding in the hiding hole carefully looked through the gap and saw the tall armor of the tank. They fired the explosive pack and sneaked under the tank.

A rumbling sound rose into the sky, and the tank that had just been charging rampant suddenly burst into billowing smoke and was paralyzed in place.

Seeing that some tanks were in the way of the national army, the enemy tanks did not dare to move forward and began to shrink their defenses and retreat to the rear.Seeing this, Ji Hongru couldn't help but let the Japanese devils escape so easily. The rifles and light and heavy machine guns of the entire regiment sprayed angry tongues of fire, beating the Japanese devils and fleeing in all directions.

Today's confrontation has come to an end.

In the morning of that day, Bald Head, accompanied by Commander Tang, braved artillery fire and came to Jiangning Town behind Chunhua Town. He held up a telescope and watched. When he saw the Japanese attacking tanks being blown up, a string of black smoke emitted from them, and his face was filled with tears. He showed a pleased smile and couldn't help but clapped his hands and praised: "Well, the 51st Division fought hard and beautifully. If our troops are as brave as the 51st Division, the Japanese will not be able to enter Aurous Hill."

After that, he ordered Commander Tang, "Immediately send someone to purchase 2000 meat buns and send them to the front line to express condolences and reward the officers and soldiers."

"Yes!" Commander Tang was about to instruct his men when the bald man added: "We will also send 5000 kilograms of pork and 5000 kilograms of rice."

On the way back to Jinling, Bald Head told Commander Tang again: "We cannot let the 51st Division suffer. We must send 30 tanks to assist the 51st Division in resisting the Japanese. We want the Japanese to have a taste of the power of our tanks."

That night, Commander Tang secretly dispatched 30 tanks into Chunhua Town.

With 30 tanks as secret weapons, Wang Yaowu's confidence was greatly increased. He held a meeting that night and decided to severely defeat the Japanese devils tomorrow.

Early the next morning, after breakfast, the officers and soldiers of the 301st and 302nd regiments entered the position in high spirits. According to Wang Yaowu's battle plan, 3rd company commander Wu Fulin led a platoon of soldiers to run back and forth in front of the position to lure the enemy. They From time to time, he would fire a machine gun in the direction of the enemy in the east, and then run to the west and throw a few grenades to confuse the enemy.

Coincidentally, as soon as the red sun appeared in the sky, it was blocked by a burst of dark clouds. The black clouds rolled, the wind and sand blew up, and a lot of dust and smoke blew up, and the earth was dark.

This was conducive to the Japanese attack. Following the special weather that day, the Japanese army gathered more than a thousand soldiers and launched an attack on Chunhua.

The person in charge of leading the team was Brigade Commander Ide Nobutoki. Due to yesterday's attack, many tanks were blown up by the National Army. He was worried that the National Army would repeat its old tricks, so he changed the attack strategy that day and did not send tanks into the battle. Instead, 100 cavalry covered the infantry attack.

However, what he never expected was that the Chinese army was equipped with tanks.

When he directed the cavalry and infantry to rush towards the 51st Division position, 30 tanks hidden in the woods came out, followed by Chinese soldiers, and ruthlessly crushed the Japanese cavalry and infantry.

When the Japanese saw the Chinese tanks, they seemed to see something incredible. They opened their mouths in surprise and looked at the tanks that were crushing them. They never seemed to expect that the backward Chinese people were actually equipped with tanks.

Under the coordinated operation of 30 tanks, the enemy group fell down with a large number of cavalry and infantry, and the ground was in chaos. The Chinese tanks majestically crushed the five-mile road, and then turned back to clean up the battlefield.
More than 1000 Japanese soldiers were killed by the 51st Division, and more than 300 Japanese soldiers were killed. Their bodies were scattered in the wilderness, and they even captured two squad leaders.

This time, it was a heavy loss for the Japanese army.