Quartermasters can also fight the devils

At this time, all the mobile members of the 57th Division had gone to the battlefield to fight the Japanese army desperately, including the more than 40 policemen who had stayed in Changde City before, all of whom had also been thrown into the battle.

Among these more than 40 policemen, Jian Xiangjun, who was originally a patrolman of the Changde City Police Department, voluntarily stayed in Changde City after the war broke out in Changde City. As a native of Changde, Jian Xiangjun was tall and had some martial arts skills, so people in the police station used to call him Jian Mazi.

After the street fighting began, Jian Mazi was arranged to defend in a bunker at the Xiaoxi Gate of Changde City. When the offensive forces of the Japanese 11th Army attacked Xiaoxi Gate fiercely, the defensive position and bunker where Jian Mazi was located were destroyed by the artillery fire of the Japanese 11th Army.

Jian Mazi had now run out of bullets in his rifle, and his brothers around him fell one after another in the attack of the Japanese 11th Army's offensive forces. Facing the rushing Japanese infantry, Jian Mazi was also blood-thirsty. He jumped up with his rifle with a bayonet on it and started fighting with the rushing Japanese infantry.

It can be said that Jian Mazi's bayonet fighting skills were completely acquired through actual combat in the past few days. However, the Japanese infantryman who was fighting with Jian Mazi at this time was also one of the few veterans. The two fought for almost a minute, but neither of them could defeat the other.

When Jian Mazi saw that the number of Japanese infantrymen was increasing, he knew that he could not continue to waste time like this. He had to get rid of the Japanese soldier in front of him as soon as possible. Then, relying on his familiarity with Changde City, he sneaked into the city and engaged in street fighting with the Japanese.

So, Jian Mazi took the initiative to rush forward, deliberately creating a flaw, allowing the Japanese soldier opposite to knock his rifle away. While the Japanese soldier was knocking his rifle away, Jian Mazi kicked the spear out of the Japanese infantryman's hand, then pounced on the Japanese soldier and pinned him to the ground, and strangled the Japanese soldier's neck with both hands until he strangled the soldier to death.

After killing the Japanese soldier, Jian Mazi was exhausted, but the current situation did not allow him to rest for even a minute. So, Jian Mazi forced himself to collect the Japanese soldiers' rifles and ammunition, then hunched over and quickly retreated to the defensive position at the west gate behind him.

The fierce fighting lasted until noon, with only more than 30 officers and soldiers of the 1st Battalion of the 171st Regiment defending the Xiaoxi Gate of Changde City left at the Xiaoxi Gate defense position, while hundreds of attacking troops of the Japanese 11th Army had already rushed up the city wall.

Subsequently, under repeated attacks by the offensive forces of the 11th Japanese Army, the company commander of the 2nd Company of the 1st Battalion, Deng Xuezhi, was shot and died. The only platoon leader Zhao Xiangqing and five lightly wounded soldiers left in the entire Xiaoximen defense force were squatting in the bomb crater and making the final resistance.

Platoon Leader Zhao, along with five wounded soldiers, used a Czech light machine gun, two rifles, two pistols and a box of grenades and actually held out in the bomb crater of Xiaoximen for two hours. As the five lightly wounded soldiers died one after another, only Platoon Leader Zhao, whose legs were injured by Japanese artillery shells, was left.

When the attacking forces of the 11th Japanese Army saw that the shooting of the Chinese army at the Xiaoxi Gate of Changde City had finally stopped, they rushed into the Xiaoxi Gate in ecstasy. The Japanese officers and soldiers at the front saw that there was a river of blood around Platoon Leader Zhao, and they all thought that Platoon Leader Zhao had been killed, so they all stepped over him and prepared to continue charging forward.

However, as more and more Japanese soldiers gathered in the bomb crater, Platoon Leader Zhao, who was lying in the bomb crater, used up his last bit of strength to detonate a grenade under him. With the sound of a grenade explosion, five Japanese soldiers who were passing by fell into the bomb crater.

With the fall of the Xiaoxi Gate of Changde City, the Daxi Gate not far away was also occupied by the attacking forces of the Japanese 11th Army when almost all the defensive forces of the 57th Daxi Gate were killed.

Because the bullets of the officers and soldiers of the 57th Division were almost used up, if they threw grenades at the attacking forces of the Japanese 11th Army from a long distance, the Japanese officers and soldiers could dodge, and the killing power of the grenades would be smaller.

Therefore, some officers and soldiers of the 57th Division felt that they were going to die anyway, so they simply resorted to suicide to stop the attack of the Japanese 11th Army's offensive forces.

Now the whole city of Changde has entered into fierce street fighting. After many soldiers have used up their bullets, they rush into the attacking ranks of the Japanese 11th Army with grenades and detonate the grenades, hoping to die together with the Japanese officers and soldiers.

In Changde City, in addition to such suicidal attacks, officers and soldiers of the 57th Division and the attacking forces of the Japanese 11th Army were engaged in fierce hand-to-hand combat almost throughout the city.

By the afternoon of the 29th, fierce fighting was going on everywhere in Changde. In order to achieve a quick victory and force out the officers and soldiers of the 57th Division who were hiding in the houses for street fighting, the attacking forces of the Japanese 11th Army began to systematically set fire to the houses in Changde. As most of the more than 8,000 buildings in Changde were made of wood, the fire soon engulfed some houses.

Since the Big and Small West Gates of Changde City were less than 300 meters away from the headquarters of the 57th Division, and now there were only more than 700 officers and soldiers of the 57th Division available for combat in Changde City, Division Commander Yu could only order all units of the 57th Division to retreat to the core streets of Changde City and engage in the final street fighting with the attacking forces of the Japanese 11th Army.

Commander Yu ordered the surviving officers and soldiers of the 57th Division to divide into groups of two to three and resist the attacking forces of the Japanese 11th Army on their own. They must hold on to every house in Changde City and delay the time for the Japanese 11th Army to occupy Changde City.

At the same time, Commander Yu also ordered the 57th Division's acting chief of staff, Chen Xuyun, to lead the last reserve team composed of lightly wounded soldiers, ready to rush into the most critical areas for rescue at any time.

Based on general military common sense, the 57th Division's Commander Yu judged that the 57th Division's current strength could only defend Changde City for ten to twelve hours at most. After that, the 57th Division would be completely destroyed, and Changde City would be occupied by the offensive forces of the Japanese 11th Army.

Knowing that the final moment had come, the commander of the 57th Division, Yu, sent a desperate telegram to the acting commander of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese government, Commander Sun, and Chief of Staff Guo of the War Zone:

"We have run out of ammunition, reinforcements and people, and the city has been breached. I will lead the deputy division commander, artillery commander, division deputy, political director, and chief of staff to defend the Central Bank (the location of the 57th Division headquarters). The regiment commanders will divide the area and hold a house for the last resistance until death. I wish you victory."

(Thanks to Huang Lang, who only eats dumplings without vinegar, and Wei Guogong who loves beef jerky for their gifts! Thank you all for your support and encouragement!)