Spy Wars: I am the Captain of the Military Police

Songhu.

In early October 1937, the sky in Shanghai was dyed gray and black by gunpowder smoke.

Hu Zongnan's First Army had held the Liuxing position for seven days and seven nights.

The shells fell like raindrops, turning up the soil again and again, and the position had already been completely changed.

The soldiers huddled in the trenches, hearing the continuous sound of explosions and the painful groans of the wounded.

Hu Zongnan stood in front of the command post, his hand holding the telescope trembling slightly due to days of fierce fighting.

He watched with his own eyes as his troops were reduced from full strength to less than 20% of their original strength, familiar faces disappeared in the artillery fire, and rows of soldiers fell on the way to the charge.

This general, who was known for his calmness, had sunken eyes and his uniform was stained with mud and dark red blood.

"Commander, we're running low on bullets. Each man gets less than five grenades," the Chief of Staff reported hoarsely, his lips chapped from lack of water. "The First and Third Battalions have been merged, and the officer casualty rate is 70%."

Hu Zongnan did not respond. His eyes pierced through the thick smoke and saw that the Japanese troops on the opposite side were mobilizing their troops again.

The Japanese 9th and 13th Divisions moved south along the Shanghai-Taiyuan Highway and launched round after round of fierce attacks on the Liuxing area.

On the evening of the seventh day, the sound of gunfire suddenly became more frequent.

The Japanese army launched its sixth charge of the day.

Hu Zongnan grabbed the phone and called the front line: "Hold on! Even if there is only one person left, you must stand firm on this position!"

There was an explosion and a faint shout from the other end of the line, and then the line was disconnected. Hu Zongnan put down the receiver heavily and said to the staff officer beside him: "Send my guard company up."

When night finally fell, the position temporarily returned to an eerie calm.

Hu Zongnan dragged his tired body to inspect the front line.

In the trenches, soldiers were leaning against the mud walls, many of them with bloody bandages on their bodies.

The ammunition boxes were empty, and the soldiers had rifles with fixed bayonets in their hands and beside them, which meant that there were few close combat weapons left.

Just then, the sound of a car engine came from behind.

Gu Zhutong finally arrived with his troops. When he saw the tragic scene on the battlefield and Hu Zongnan's haggard face, he was speechless for a moment.

Hu Zongnan smiled bitterly and said in a hoarse voice: "If you don't come soon, we will be wiped out."

Gu Zhutong held his hand tightly and said, "You have been guarding for seven days and seven nights. You have created a miracle."

Hu Zongnan looked at the vaguely visible outline of the position in the darkness and said in a low voice: "This is not a miracle, it was filled with lives. Although Liu Xing is still in our hands, the price is too high..."

That night, the remnants of the First Army evacuated their positions. The army, which had tens of thousands of troops seven days ago, now had less than two thousand people left, and most of them were injured.

They paid an 80% casualty rate in exchange for Liu Xing's seven-day defense, buying precious time for the entire Songhu defense line.

But Liu Xing was ultimately unable to hold on...

. . . . . . . . . .

It was occupied by the Japanese army on October 2.

The Japanese army encountered stubborn resistance from the Chinese army here. The battle was extremely brutal, with heavy casualties on both sides.

Faced with the fierce artillery fire and attacks of the Japanese army, the Chinese defenders put up a tenacious resistance. Guan Huimin, commander of the 540th Regiment of the 90th Division, once led his troops in hand-to-hand combat with the Japanese army.

The Japanese army also paid a huge price to capture Liuxing. During the entire Liuxing battle, about 1300 Japanese soldiers were killed and the total number of casualties was about 5000.

The losses of the Japanese junior officers were particularly severe, with many units suffering heavy casualties.

After Liuxing fell, the Chinese army was forced to retreat to the line of Zhuozaobang. This river, which was about tens of meters wide, became the last natural barrier to defend Shanghai.

Zhuobang is the third largest river in Shanghai after Huangpu River and Suzhou Creek. It flows northeast from the Nanxiang section of Suzhou Creek to the Huangpu River, with a total length of more than 30 kilometers.

It forms an equilateral triangle with the Beijing-Shanghai Railway in the southwest and the Songhu Railway in the southeast. The Shanghai-Taiyuan Highway intersects with it, forming an important water and land transportation route in the northern suburbs of Shanghai.

If the Japanese army wanted to capture Dachang and then Shanghai, they had to break through Zhuozaobang.

This will become the decisive battlefield of the Battle of Shanghai.

The Chinese army urgently built defensive fortifications along the south bank of Zhuozaobang.

Due to time constraints and lack of tools, many fortifications were very crude.

The soldiers used the existing terrain and features along the river to reinforce the walls of the farmhouses, dig foxholes, and set up machine gun positions.

On the other side, Japanese troops were gathering.

The main forces, including the 2nd Division, the 9th Division, and the 13th Division, were deployed along the river bank, followed by the 101st Division and other units as reserves.

The Japanese army dispatched a large number of heavy artillery and armored vehicles, and Japanese reconnaissance planes flew over the river from time to time.

The weather in October has turned cold, and the soldiers are guarding their positions in thin uniforms.

Many of them were remnants of troops who had retreated from other positions such as Liuxing, and their uniforms still had holes and blood stains left by the battle.

Most of the newly recruited soldiers were new recruits with no combat experience, and some were even students and farmers who had just joined the army.

Company commander Li Jianfeng was a graduate of the 10th class of the Whampoa Military Academy. He was responsible for defending a section of the river bank about 500 meters long.

There were more than 30 veterans who had withdrawn from Liuxing, plus more than 70 new recruits on the battlefield.

He organized veterans to teach new recruits their experience: "The Japanese will definitely fire artillery before attacking. When you hear the sound of artillery, you must immediately hide. When the artillery fire spreads, when the Japanese rush up, don't rush to shoot. Shoot when you get close..."

As night fell, the Japanese positions on the opposite bank were brightly lit and vehicles were constantly coming and going.

The Chinese army's position was completely dark, and a strict curfew was enforced.

The soldiers took turns to rest, two people in a group cuddling each other for warmth.

No one is sure what will happen tomorrow, but everyone understands: behind them is the big field, that is Shanghai, and they have no way to retreat.

At dawn on October 6, the Japanese army launched a fierce attack on the south bank of Zhuozaobang.

At daybreak, a sharp whistling sound cut through the sky. Then, Japanese artillery fire poured down on the Chinese army positions like a torrential rain.

The earth trembled, dirt and rubble were blown everywhere, and the entire riverbank was instantly covered in smoke and fire.

The Japanese army used their standard tactics, first carrying out carpet bombing with heavy artillery and aircraft, then using tanks to lead the way and infantry to follow.

Japanese warships in the Yangtze and Huangpu rivers also joined in the bombardment, and large-caliber naval gun shells fell on the positions, causing huge damage.

The shelling continued for about an hour and then extended forward, which meant that the Japanese infantry was about to start crossing the river. The Chinese army climbed out of the bombed-out fortifications and quickly took up combat positions.

On the river, Japanese engineers began to build a pontoon bridge under the cover of artillery fire.

At the same time, thousands of Japanese infantrymen began to force a crossing in canoes and landing craft.

The river was full of Japanese boats, densely packed like locusts.

The Chinese army immediately opened fire back.

Machine guns, rifles and limited heavy weapons fired at the river.

The bullets hit the water, causing countless splashes.

From time to time, Japanese ships were hit and soldiers fell into the water, but more Japanese troops continued to advance.

"Beat him! Beat him hard!" the officers shouted hoarsely.

The soldiers fired desperately, not even bothering to aim.

The hot barrel burned my palms, and bullet casings kept jumping out and piling up on the battlefield.

The Japanese army finally landed on the south bank.

The first group of Japanese troops that landed immediately established a bridgehead to cover the landing of subsequent troops.

The Chinese army launched a counterattack, trying to drive the Japanese back into the river.

The two sides engaged in fierce close combat on the river bank.