The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 247: That Year I Fight the Japanese with Commander Hu (Part )

As the two sides fought frantically like wild beasts, the time came to March 3, 29, which was the third day after Hu Biao and others entered Taierzhuang.

It was also the second to last day that they expected to stick to the time.

As the Kuomintang's encirclement of the area around Taierzhuang gradually tightened, both sides knew the importance of whether Taierzhuang could be captured or whether the town could be defended.

So from that day on, the Japanese attacks became even more frenzied.

They deployed more troops and used heavy artillery, tanks, air strikes, poison gas bombs and other means they could think of, ready to take Taierzhuang at all costs.

On the national army side, not to mention others, even the bald principal became extremely nervous.

Although no one flew over from the Wuhan headquarters, they sent a telegram with an unprecedentedly strong attitude.

The content is: Taierzhuang is a barrier between Xu and Hai, which is of great importance to the second phase of the battle, so the Second Army must defend it with all its strength. Even if every soldier is left, they must fight to the death with a spirit of sacrifice.

If we lose, not only will all officers and soldiers be punished more severely, but Commander Li, Deputy Chief Bai, and Deputy Chief Lin will also be punished.

In short, all of the above represent one thing: the battle of Taierzhuang on the 29th was destined to be bloodier and more crazy than before.

It’s just that the same old descriptions of time-traveling teams are starting to make people aesthetically tired after a while.

So let’s change the perspective here and talk about some of the scenes that happened that day from the perspective of one of the surviving soldiers.

The perspective switches to the modern dimension, a ward in a tertiary hospital in the early morning.

After a period of silence, the voice of the centenarian veteran rang out again, ringing in the ears of intern Xiao Wang, several young girls at the nurses' station, and a group of awakened patients and their family members who accompanied them.

A picture of Taierzhuang 87 years ago gradually formed in their minds, where a group of ancestors were facing backward military strength and equipment.

How he remained there stubbornly, relying on the heart of defending his country...

On the 29th, I trained until two in the morning before going to bed. When I was woken up, I felt like I had only taken a short nap and didn't get enough sleep at all.

I felt like my head was hit by a stick, and I was very confused.

But when I heard what Commander Anne said, I immediately perked up because she was shouting:

"Assemble, everyone in the Second Battalion, assemble! We're heading to Taierzhuang soon."

Entering Taierzhuang, I naturally had to fight the devils to the death. I immediately got up from the ground with a shudder.

He hurriedly hung a backpack containing four grenades and a canvas bullet bag containing 50 rounds of bullets on his body, picked up an % new Hanyang rifle, and ran towards the assembly point.

It was only at this time that I realized that it was just dawn.

The chaos took at least ten minutes before all 413 people from our Second Battalion were finally assembled.

But this is normal. All the officers and soldiers in the Second Battalion joined the Subei Independent Regiment just yesterday. Except for some officers, most of them are ordinary people who have never touched a gun.

In other words, we stayed up most of the night last night and were trained in shooting, throwing grenades, and some simple tactical movements. We had no time to train in formations.

There are even more than a hundred people in it, and they joined one after another during the training process.

After rushing here overnight, we were registered with our names and basic information, given a gun, some bullets and grenades, and assigned to the Second Battalion.

I didn't even have time to complete these simple trainings.

After the assembly, our second battalion commander, Captain Yuan, who was said to be the major training staff officer of the 110th Division the day before yesterday, did not even mention any mobilization for battle.

Pointing at a pile of boxes and a cannon with a long, narrow barrel, he gave the order directly:
"Everyone, take note! After you've gathered these weapons and equipment, trot into Taierzhuang by squad or platoon. Handle those boxes with care. They contain secret weapons for fighting the enemy tanks."

So, at the call of our squad leader Xie Daya, a man who was said to be a former coal miner, I carried a box and ran with the team.

As I ran, I took a look and found that in front of a shack that served as a recruitment office not far away, there were already fifty or sixty men dressed in different clothes waiting there.

So I believe that within just one day, the third battalion of our Subei Independent Regiment can be mobilized.

******
Soon, the opened south gate of Taierzhuang appeared before my eyes.

The original stone bridge at the entrance had long been blown down, and now a simple floating bridge has been built.

It must have been around this time when the sky was still not completely bright. When I saw the wide-open South Gate, I couldn't help but shudder in my heart.

Because the gate looked like the gaping mouth of a demon, I felt that once I entered, I would be in the demon's belly, with no way of getting out alive. This feeling became even more pronounced after our Second Battalion crossed the pontoon bridge and entered Taierzhuang.

Not only Taierzhuang, I have been here once before, and I remember it was a very prosperous and bustling town, but now it is all in ruins, and it is as quiet as a ghost town.

Moreover, after a creaking sound was heard behind him, the thick door of the south gate was closed.

About twenty or thirty people appeared on top of the city gate and set up a heavy machine gun facing this side.

Fortunately, Hu Tuanzuo appeared at this time. It was the first time I saw the famous Hu Tuanzuo. He was not as the legend said, a nine-foot-tall, bearded general with arms big enough for horses to run on.

He is 1 meters tall, which is considered tall, and he looks pretty strong.

However, his face was covered with gunpowder, and although it was impossible to tell whether it was fair, his facial features were quite delicate; he looked like a young teacher, not a fighter.

But when Hu Tuanzuo stood on a stone more than half a person's height and started shouting at us.

We new recruits no longer have any doubts about Hu Tuanzuo's great reputation. Hu Tuanzuo doesn't say much, but he is always convincing:

"Brothers! Welcome to join the Subei Independent Regiment, my Hu Biao regiment.

Please explain why the South Gate is closed and machine guns are set up.

In order to resist the Japanese, we must not retreat even a single step and must fight to the death. Except for the seriously wounded and the brothers who died in the battle, no one can go out, including me, Hu Biao.

As long as the Japs don't retreat, no matter when, if any of my brothers find out that I, Hu Biao, want to leave the city, just shoot me..."

As early as yesterday when we were chatting on the way here in the truck, we all agreed that Commander Hu would definitely become a general or a marshal in the future.

So even he is not afraid of death and is willing to fight to the death with everyone in Taierzhuang. What should I be afraid of when I was still working hard at Xuzhou Railway Station yesterday morning and my life is at stake?
After thinking about these, I was no longer afraid of anything...

Commander Hu spoke to everyone for more than a minute, promising that the injured would be treated and that the disabled or dead would receive a large sum of compensation. Then the Second Battalion was led by different commanders to different areas for defense, divided into companies and platoons.

The people following our fifth company were our two commanders, Xufeng and Van Gogh.

It was unknown where Commander Xufeng was injured. His face was as pale as paper and he had difficulty walking.

Because the National Army now controls very few areas in Taierzhuang, a position on the left side of the village appears before us.

Just as I was trying to recall what the ruins in front of me looked like before.

Suddenly, a terrifying shrieking sound came from the air. Before I could figure out what it was, Commander Van Gogh started shouting:

"Bombardment, enter the bombardment hole."

I did see the anti-artillery hole on my way here.

They were the ruins of some solid blue brick houses, with some small holes built with thick beams. You could only hide in them by crouching down. There were quite a few of them in the village.

The inside was supported by a lot of wood and covered with a thick layer of soil, so it looked quite solid.

At Commander Van Gogh's shout, everyone hurried towards the nearest anti-artillery hole.

But when I ran to a cave with Xie Daya, I found that except for the squad leader who could hide in there, I couldn't squeeze in at all.

Fortunately, there was another anti-artillery hole about twenty steps away, and I finally got in.

After I hid inside, the Japanese artillery shells fell nearby. The sound was like thunder from the sky falling right next to people.

It was not until after we had fought more battles that I realized that the Japanese had used 150mm heavy artillery.

I'm not afraid of you laughing at me, I was so scared that I peed my pants, and it was really uncomfortable to feel the heat in my crotch.

But there was nothing I could do except to follow the instructions in last night's training, squatting like I was taking a shit, holding my head with both hands, and silently praying for blessings from my parents and ancestors.

It felt like at least a day had passed before the Japanese artillery shells stopped.

After crawling out of the anti-bomb hole, I found that the anti-bomb hole not far away had collapsed; after hurriedly digging it open, I found that eight people, including the squad leader Xie Daya, were all dead.

After hearing this, intern Xiao Wang couldn't help but shudder.

Having grown up in peacetime, he felt for the first time how cheap and fragile life was in such a terrible era...

(End of this chapter)