The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 283 Hankou
December 28, 1937, Hankou Railway Station

In the cold winter wind in the three towns of Wuhan, accompanied by the crisp collision of wheels and rails, a camouflage-painted railway armored train spewed out a cloud of black smoke and slowly drove into the Hankou Railway Station amidst the sharp whistle. On the platform, this majestic armored train looks extremely out of place in the Hankou Railway Station, which has not yet been affected by the war and still maintains a peaceful atmosphere.

Behind the armored train is an ordinary troop carrier that looks like a long queue with dozens of carriages hanging on it and no end in sight.

Compared with the armored trains in front, these ordinary flat roofless or stuffy-tank personnel carriers are much simpler. The carriages are full of mottled bullet marks, and even have large holes and bloodstains exploded by shrapnel. They are also full of long-lasting Traces of war.

The armored train leading the way slowly slowed down, but the officers and soldiers on board did not reduce their alertness at all. The black muzzle of the modified Type 38 75mm field gun on the armored turret of the first carriage was raised high. , and several Sulothong 20mm anti-aircraft guns on the rear carriage were pointed at the sky. The gunners operating the guns were solemn in appearance, well-guarded, and filled with the smell of war and gunpowder smoke.

Several cordons have been set up on the platform inside the station. The station that used to be crowded by travelers, fleeing people, and organizations that moved in due to the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War has become extremely quiet today.

Instead, there were armed soldiers standing all over the platform and Maxim anti-aircraft machine guns mounted high on the top floor of the platform building and waiting room. These soldiers were all wearing gray winter cotton military uniforms, wearing British Tony steel helmets with blue sky and white sun badges on their heads, and held weapons in their hands. The rifle was made in Hanyang with a bayonet, and the armband with "185D" written on the arm revealed the identity and number of this unit - the th Army Division.

The 185th Division is a field force that was recently reorganized and upgraded from the Wuhan Guard Brigade. This field force suddenly appeared at Hankou Railway Station because important figures and a large number of troops arrived in Hankou today, so this field force was specially sent to Hankou. A troop stationed in the city was mobilized to perform security duties.

Amidst the roar of the huge whistle, all the soldiers on the platform concentrated on staring at the armored train entering the station, and several mobile patrol posts also began to move closer to the platform where the train was about to stop.

There is no doubt that these important people are in this armored train that is slowly driving into Hankou Station.

"Battal Commander, Battalion Commander, we're here, we're here!"

In the last carriage of the train, Tao Heiwa was about to gently and carefully shake He Wei awake who was lying on the camp bed. However, when He Wei was touched by Tao Heiwa, He Wei's originally tight eyes suddenly widened. He closed his eyes and woke up from his drowsiness in an instant. He also reached out to his waist to grab the pistol, but He Wei, who woke up, missed it. What was around his waist was not a pistol, but a thick of gauze.

When what came into view was not a battlefield with heavy artillery fire, but a train station full of Western style, He Wei realized that he had already left the battlefield. He breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the train outside the window with a dull look. He stood there, but his thoughts still stayed on the battlefield of Jinling where blood and fire were intertwined.

The scenes of the bloody battle that day seemed to be still vivid in his mind, as if it was a movie, with scenes passing before He Wei's eyes.

The siege of the Japanese army that invaded the 48th Division's position that day was a brilliant battle, and it was also a tragic battle. After He Wei led the spy battalion to take the lead in attacking the Japanese army's position, more than 7,000 soldiers from Chinese officers and soldiers from various units invaded one after another and started a close combat with more than 2,000 Japanese troops.

The intensity of this battle cannot be described as intense or tragic.

What the Chinese army achieved in this battle of annihilation was the annihilation of all more than 2,000 Japanese troops in the position, including two infantry brigades of the 41st Infantry Regiment and an infantry brigade of the 38th Infantry Regiment. , and the brilliant result of killing Colonel Tetsujiro Yamada, captain of the 41st Infantry Regiment. Almost a Japanese army of the size of a field unit was just eaten by the troops of the Jinling Garrison.

Among them, the 41st Infantry Regiment was previously taught to eat a brigade. If it is included, all three infantry brigades of the 41st Infantry Regiment have been annihilated. In fact, it has been It became the first complete infantry regiment lost by the Japanese army on the Chinese battlefield.

The resistance battlefield outside the main battlefield of the annihilation war was also vigorously fought, consisting of Zhao Huzhen's Army Armored Corps Tank Company, Army Armored Corps Tank Defense Artillery Platoon, Fu Chen's First Infantry Company of the Secret Service Battalion, and Chen Xinsheng's Secret Service Battalion. The artillery company's resistance force fought bloody battles with the Japanese reinforcements' desperate attack for several hours, blocking the Japanese's return reinforcements.

Until more than 2,000 Japanese troops on the main battlefield were wiped out, the troops blocking reinforcements did not let even half a Japanese reinforcement pass.

He Wei achieved his campaign goal, and the Chinese army indeed achieved extremely brilliant results. However, victory requires blood, and the price paid by the Chinese army was also heavy.

On the main battlefield of the attack team executing the annihilation operation, He Wei's special agent battalion, the 103rd Division, the 48th Division, and the 44th Division participated in the battle, and the participating units paid a total of more than 4,300 killed officers and soldiers, and injured There were more than 1,000 officers and soldiers, and the total casualties were more than 5,000. The price paid was almost three times that of the Japanese army. The losses were not small.

Of course, compared with the current battle loss ratio between the Chinese and Japanese armies on various battlefields in China, which is often 7 to 8 to 1, or even more than 10 to 1 or even more than 20 to 1, the casualties of more than 5,000 officers and soldiers are exchanged for the total annihilation of 2,000. The results of the many Japanese troops were simply brilliant!

Among the various units participating in the battle, He Wei's Special Agent Battalion and the 103rd Division, as the main offensive forces, suffered the greatest casualties. More than half of the more than 5,000 people in the 103rd Division who participated in the battle were lost. After the battle, There are only more than a thousand combat-capable combat soldiers left.

He Wei's spy camp also suffered casualties of nearly two hundred brothers, and even He Wei himself almost lost his life.

During the battle, He Wei, who had invaded the Japanese position, was like a murderer. He killed Shaoshuo Japs No. 20 by himself. He led Yang Biao's special agent platoon to attack along the transportation trenches in the Japanese position until they reached the position. At the Japanese command post in the center, He Wei, who was red-eyed, personally killed Colonel Tetsujiro Yamada, the captain of the 41st Infantry Regiment of the Japanese Army, and beat him into a sieve with a flower machine gun.

Other Japanese officers in the command post were also sent to see Amaterasu by the officers and soldiers of the special agent platoon, but Yang Biao's special agent platoon was almost completely wiped out. He Wei was seriously injured in a hand-to-hand fight with the Japanese army and was stabbed in the body. He Wei was stabbed twice and shot twice. He Wei, who was seriously injured, relied entirely on his energy and spirit to fight the Japanese army. He was stunned to fight the Japanese army even though he was seriously injured. The melee fighting continued until the end.

When the battle was over, the energy subsided, and He Wei, who had been killed and covered in blood, fainted and became a bloody man.

When He Wei woke up again, he was already in the field hospital south of Hu Zong in Pukou on the other side of Xiaguan.

Sitting blankly on the camp bed, looking at the exquisite Western classical platform architecture of the train station outside the train, He Wei felt like he was in another world. Looking at the gauze wrapped all over his body like rotten rice dumplings, he felt like he wanted to smile bitterly. a feeling of.

His neck, arms, shoulders, and thighs were all wrapped in thick gauze. The gunshot wound on his shoulder was stuffed with drainage strips and cotton wool. As long as his body moved a little wider, he would feel a sharp pain.

Hu Zongnan's military medical skills were passable, and he successfully rescued He Wei from the gate of hell, but his method of bandaging and dealing with the aftermath was really not commendable. His luck seems to be bad recently. Whenever he encounters a big battle, he will be seriously injured. In other words, whenever he wins or wins a battle, he will definitely be injured.

Last time I almost died when I killed the emperor's uncle outside Jinling. This time I almost died after annihilating more than 2,000 Japanese troops in one go. It was really extremely dangerous.

Thinking of the time he spent resting in Pukou Field Hospital, and the final stage of the Battle of Jinling he witnessed while recuperating in the hospital, He Wei felt a sense of relief and satisfaction in his heart, and the wounds on his body didn't seem to hurt much.

After that annihilation battle, the Japanese army certainly could not turn a blind eye to the tragic defeat of more than 2,000 people who were annihilated. After learning of the tragic defeat that occurred near Xiaguan, the Japanese army quickly mobilized heavy troops from Jinling City and launched a retaliatory attack on Xiaguan. large-scale attack.

The Jinling Garrison, which had just won the victory, was also in high morale. Facing the crazy Japanese attack, the Jinling Garrison relied on the existing fortifications of the Xiaguan Defense Circle and had the support of land and naval gunfire. They refused to give in and fought the attack. The Japanese troops came and started a bloody battle.

The Jinling garrison with high morale fought for every inch of ground in the battle and fought to the death. The attacking Japanese army was also eager for revenge and attacked Xianguan at all costs. Both sides fought for almost every inch of ground in the battle, killing mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Rivers of blood flowed.

The land near Xiaguan and even the river near the river bank were dyed blood red by the corpses of fallen officers and soldiers from both sides.

Thanks to He Wei's advance deployment of the Xiaguan defensive circle and the support of naval gunfire, in the end, in this duel between the desperate Japanese attack and the desperate defense of the Jinling garrison, the Jinling garrison was slightly better. The Jinling garrison firmly held the defensive position in Xiaguan at a huge cost of casualties, and held on for another full week, successfully covering the hundreds of thousands of people gathered in Xiaguan to evacuate to the other side.

Afterwards, after covering the evacuation of the people, the Jinling garrison also successfully completed the retreat in front of the enemy with alternate cover. All its units withdrew to the other side of Xiaguan and completely withdrew from Jinling.

Of course, during this week's defense, the Jinling garrison successfully held its position, successfully covered the people's retreat, and successfully evacuated to the other side. At the same time, it also caused huge damage to the Japanese army.

However, the losses incurred by the Jinling Garrison were also huge. During this week of defense, the Jinling Garrison suffered casualties of more than 20,000 officers and soldiers, and all its military divisions were disabled.

But in He Wei's view, this result was enough to satisfy him. In the original Jinling defense battle, the Jinling garrison had no order at all during the retreat phase. It was a complete rout, and this rout eventually evolved into It was the one-sided massacre of the Jinling garrison by the Japanese army.

Although today's Jinling Garrison also suffered heavy losses, the troops did not suffer a large-scale rout during the retreat. The organization and combat effectiveness of the troops are still relatively intact, not to mention that the Jinling Garrison also successfully rescued a large number of soldiers. The people, to the greatest extent possible, avoided the tragedy that broke He Wei's heart and left him heartbroken.

In He Wei's view, this result is satisfactory enough. All his plans and arrangements in advance have achieved considerable results. At least the fate of hundreds of thousands of civilians and hundreds of thousands of officers and soldiers has been changed because of He Wei. Changed quietly.

Thinking of this, He Wei's eyes, which were originally dull due to the injury, became a little brighter, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

Just when He Wei was thinking a lot, the compartment door of the compartment where He Wei was sitting opened with a loud bang, and a energetic middle-aged officer smiled and walked into the compartment where only He Wei and Tao Heiwa were. Then he said with concern, "He Wei, you're awake, how do you feel?"

This person was General Xiao, the commander-in-chief in the final stage of the Jinling Defense War.

After the Jinling Defense Battle ended, the combat structure of the Jinling Garrison was naturally disbanded. The various military divisions of the Jinling Garrison that successfully broke through and crossed the river moved to different areas for rest and recuperation under the command of the Military Commission.

The military police units of the Jinling Garrison, the Central Military Academy Teaching Corps, the 103rd Division, He Wei's Special Agent Battalion and the troops of the Army Armored Corps were ordered to take the armored trains and troop transports of the Railway Corps under the command of General Xiao. The train departed from the station near Pukou and headed all the way to the three towns of Wuhan, the center of China's Anti-Japanese War today.

It is precisely because of this that He Wei and the majestic armored train he was on appeared at Hankou Railway Station.

Compared with He Wei's fatigue and weakness after being seriously injured, General Xiao was much more energetic. Although the battle to defend Jinling had ended for some time, this traditional soldier who cared about his family and country was still fighting for Jinling. I am heartened that the lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians were saved in the final stage of the defense war.

Seeing the smiling and energetic General Xiao, He Wei was also very happy and relieved.

This is not only because General Xiao gave him a lot of selfless assistance in his own layout and plans, but also because the fate of this senior general who was supposed to die heroically in the defense of Jinling was also determined by his own layout and planning. Changes have occurred.

"Sir, I feel much better. If I rest for a few days, I can still fight, and I can still eat two thousand more Japanese!"

He Wei said with a smile.

General Xiao also said with a smile: "This can't be done. You are our key concern now. If you feel uncomfortable, please tell me immediately. After the battle in Jinling, you have been registered with the senior management again. If If there is any problem, I can’t afford it.”

In response to General Xiao's joke, He Wei could only shake his head with a wry smile.

After the Jinling garrison crossed the river, General Xiao immediately reported the specific situation of the battle, and the battle situation in the final stage of the Jinling defense immediately caused an uproar among the top management of Guozhou.

Among them, this is especially true of Guo Preserved’s current supreme leader, micro-manipulation master Chang Kaishen.

(End of this chapter)