The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 45 Sichuan Army (Please read and vote)
...Except for the uniform military caps, their other attire was whatever they pleased. Umbrellas, towels, teapots, and straw sandals were all hung on the muzzles of their guns with ropes.

Some people were carrying bird cages and dogs, and some were even holding monkeys...

The above content about the image of the Sichuan Army in the early period of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was written by a foreigner named Graham Peck in his book "Across the Walls of China".

I have to admit that the Sichuan Army brothers' military appearance was so bad that it could even be described as funny; but it did not affect them at all, and they were so brave when fighting the Japanese devils...

...Excerpt from Hu Biao's diary collection "Hu Shuo"...

"Colonel Liu, where are you taking us in the dark of night?"

While asking, Hu Biao came forward with a shy face, handed over a pack of unopened Shazi cigarettes, and asked while smoking them.

It should be noted that all the items Hu Biao brought from the modern dimension were disguised by that unknown mysterious existence after arriving at the Battle of Shanghai.

Like this pack of sand cigarettes, when Hu Biao and the others saw it, it naturally looked like the normal modern dimension.

But when the people on the Battle of Shanghai, or in other words, people in this world saw it, they saw the familiar Lao Dao brand cigarettes, the kind without even a filter.

Hu Biao confirmed this point in Zhu Cong.

Facing Hu Biao's question, Staff Officer Liu remained indifferent. After pushing away Hu Biao's cigarette, he replied lightly:
"Stop talking nonsense, you'll understand once we get there."

"Fuck! What the hell? I just brought two cigarettes, and I'm not going to give them to you." After Hu Biao put away the cigarette, he cursed in his heart.

In the following time, Hu Biao and others got on a truck and set off.

The next section of the journey was actually not too far, only about 20 kilometers, but it took almost an hour and a half to get there.

The main reason was that on the road where almost no one walked during the day, there were now an astonishing number of troops, cars, horse-drawn carriages, and donkey carts moving.

Even on the narrow streets, there were many people carrying their elderly and children, who seemed to want to carry all their belongings on their backs.

The combined number of military and civilians was quite astonishing, and the road was blocked from time to time.

As the truck stopped and started, Uncle Bo, who was already in a bad mood, couldn't help but complain: "What a psychopath! What are you doing so much trouble in the middle of the night? Can't you just drive this road during the day?"

After the voice fell, the old man Hu Biao had no time to say anything.

A corporal who was also squatting in the carriage, probably to prevent them from escaping midway, spoke with a bitter face:
"Of course not. Now our planes have been basically destroyed. So the Japanese often launch large balloons after daybreak, and they can see them as soon as our troops move.

Then the Japanese planes or artillery shells will come over.

Every artillery bombardment and airstrike would result in heavy casualties. A battalion might lose a company or even more.

After so many times of being wronged, I now have to do everything at night."

Hearing this, Chaozi habitually wanted to complain a few words, but thinking of the troubles he was in, because he couldn't control his mouth during the day, he closed his mouth again...

******
At around 11 o'clock in the evening, Hu Biao and his companions finally arrived at their destination. After getting off the tarpaulin-covered carriage, they found themselves in an unexpected place: the train station in Nanxiang Town.

What was even more unexpected to them was that they saw an unexpected army here: the Sichuan Army.

Yes! It was the Sichuan Army, or more precisely, the 20th Army led by Yang Sen.

There were 12000 of them in total. They were ordered to set out from your province in early September and first walked nearly miles to reach Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province.

Then, they took the train and marched towards Shanghai along the Yuehan, Pinghan, Longhai, Jinpu and Beijing-Shanghai railways.

With the simple idea of ​​defending their country in mind, they traveled for more than forty days and thousands of miles before finally arriving in the Magic City.

At this moment, they were standing or sitting in the open space outside the station, looking at this place which was completely different from their hometown with expectant and confused eyes.

One thing has to be admitted: compared to the elite Central Army that I have seen, these people look very shabby.

The Sichuan Army was generally short and somewhat thin. They wore large bamboo hats on their heads, and their uniforms were old and severely inconsistent. In the October weather in Shanghai, many people were still wearing shorts.

He just had leggings tied around his bare legs and a pair of straw sandals on his feet.

Many people had leaf tobacco pipes hanging around their waists. In the crowd, Hu Biao could also see bird cages, Chinese pastoral dogs, monkeys and other magical creatures.
This dress and image are not only inferior to the Central Army, but even to the Third Supplementary Company of the Su Province Security Corps that Hu Biao originally joined.

The gap in weapons with the Central Army is even more astonishingly large.

No other reason! These Sichuan troops should have just gotten off the vehicles and were gathering in regiments, so their light and heavy equipment would be concentrated on the open ground, making it easy to see at a glance.

Artillery? A regiment only has four mortars, which should be the Type 20 82mm mortar, and the number of shells is not large.

Machine guns? It seems that only the regiment's own troops have heavy machine guns, and there are only six of them in total.

There are more light machine guns, but each company only has two or three.

It seems that there is no way to equip every person with even the most basic rifle; a company of over a hundred people may only have about sixty or seventy rifles.

Moreover, half of the rifles did not even have bayonets.

Therefore, many people carry a big knife on their backs.

That’s right! Hu Biao had fired at least hundreds of rounds of ammunition with the Hanyang rifle on Battlefield No. 7 that day, so he was quite familiar with this weapon.

Looking at these Hanyang rifles supported by each other in a pile, I always feel that something is wrong.

It was only after I got a little closer that I realized that this thing should be the legendary Sichuan-made Type 79 rifle.

The so-called Type 79 rifle is another name for the Hanyang-made rifle; the Sichuan-made Type 79 rifle refers to the one produced in the Chengdu Arsenal in Sichuan Province.

The quality of the steel used does not meet the standards, the processing precision is not enough, and the workmanship is rough.

This resulted in poor performance of the entire gun, short range, and many malfunctions. Some bullets did not travel in a straight line after leaving the barrel 200 meters away. After firing a few shots, the barrel became hot and the bolt could not be pulled.

Of course! Although the Sichuan troops were quite poorly equipped and looked very poor, Hu Biao and the others did not look down on them at all. Instead, they showed them even greater respect.

As modern people, how many of us don’t know the contributions made by the Sichuan Army during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression?

350 million people participated in the war, including large-scale battles, with casualties and deaths on the battlefield. The number of participants and the degree of sacrifice were the highest in the country.

Especially when they fought with such inferior equipment, it made people respect them even more.

The only problem was that just when they were filled with deep respect for these Sichuan Army ancestors, a huge piece of bad news came.

Staff Officer Liu turned around and yelled at them:

"What are you guys dawdling for? Hurry up! I have to hurry back after I finish the handover. From now on, you will be part of the Sichuan Army."

After hearing this, Hu Biao and others all cried out "Ah".

It was only at this point that they realized that the new force they were about to join was actually the Sichuan Army.

Well, it is true that they admire the ancestors of the Sichuan Army, but it is a different story if they are asked to follow the Sichuan Army in the future. After all, according to legend, the Sichuan Army was severely despised in the early days of the Anti-Japanese War.

We didn't want to go to any war zone, and there was almost no supply. Life was extremely difficult.

So, since they were all fighting the Japanese on the battlefield, why didn't they join a more affluent army and die more comfortably?

Even if the Tax Police Corps, the Training Corps, and the German-equipped Divisions can't be relied upon, the Civil Engineering Corps and the like are at least worth considering. If that doesn't work, the Northeast Army can be considered, because while they're not well-received, they have more financial resources.

But why, it was the Sichuan Army...

(End of this chapter)