A Journey Through the Flames of War in the Republican Era

The headquarters of the 3rd Regiment of the 1st Brigade, the frontline garrison of the Chishui River defense line, was located west of Chishui Station. Lin Damu, the commander of the 3rd Regiment, spotted through his binoculars a tank formation about 1 kilometer to the south on the Xitong Highway, which was advancing irresistibly towards Chishui Street from the rear, raising clouds of dust.

"It's over!" A wave of despair washed over Commander Lin. He knew perfectly well that this was the Central Army tank formation that had broken through from the northwest of Yantou Village, and that it had already outflanked the enemy from the west. However, the speed of the armored forces' attack had greatly exceeded his expectations. He never imagined that this tank formation could outflank them so quickly; he feared that their rear was already riddled with holes.

He no longer hesitated, nor did he bother to gather the remaining soldiers from Qinglong Village, Ganjiazhuang, and the eastern front of Chishui Station. Things had come to this point; let them fend for themselves and see how many escaped.

Lin Damu led his regimental headquarters and ran westward along the railway line for over 1000 meters, desperately crossing the vertical blockade line along the main trench, and escaped to Changmin Village in one breath, heading towards the 2nd Regiment behind him. His idea was to stick together with the 2nd Regiment, forming a hedgehog formation, and hold out for reinforcements.

However, what Commander Lin was unaware of was that the area west of the main trench defense line had already been divided and encircled by armored assault formations, and the harsh reality shattered his beautiful illusions.

Lin Damu desperately fled back to the 2nd Regiment headquarters west of Changmin Village. Before he could even catch his breath, the 2nd Regiment Commander, Ge Yanchun, told him dejectedly that Central Army tanks had formed two lines of blockade along the railway and highway. Except for the troops at a few positions south of the Xitong Highway, most of the 2nd Regiment and the entire 9th Regiment of the 3rd Brigade were cut off and surrounded, pinned down on the flat land of Changmin Village, Tianjia Village, and Baijia Village. The 2nd Regiment had lost all its heavy firepower; only three mortars and one field gun remained. Even the telephone lines to the rear had been cut.

"How many troops do you have left?" the 2nd Regiment Commander asked.

Lin Damu slumped down, almost fainting. His eyes welled up with tears as he murmured, "Only the regimental headquarters, the special operations company, and one company from Xinzhuang along the way managed to escape to Changmin Village. I don't know about the others; they were all scattered."

The outcome for the other troops was self-evident, unless a miracle occurred, but Lin Damu felt that this was just an unrealistic fantasy. He couldn't even bring out a single heavy machine gun.

"What do we do? How can we fight?" The two regimental commanders looked at each other speechlessly, their hearts filled with frustration and shame at their defeat.

教导总队2团迅速穿过赤水街沿着西潼公路西进，随后接替了2连、3连两支装甲编队的封锁任务。“龙连”的维克斯水陆坦克和装甲搜索连10余辆Sd.Kfz.221型装甲车也陆续开来，沿着公路布防巡逻。

The heavy firepower of the defending troops on the hills a few hundred meters south of the highway had been completely wiped out. The sporadic heavy machine gun fire posed no threat to the amphibious tanks and armored reconnaissance vehicles. The armored soldiers were not afraid at all. The vehicle-mounted machine guns were enough to suppress the firepower of the defending troops. The 2nd Regiment of infantry occupied key points under the fire support of the armored vehicles, and were ready to launch a powerful attack on the high ground at any time.

On Zhangjialing Heights, the defending troops were facing a fierce attack from the north and east by the 2nd Regiment of the Central Army's Training Corps and the main force of the 28th Division. A unit of the 28th Division was also flanking from the southeast and advancing directly south of the heights. All long-range artillery had been rendered ineffective, and the positions were firmly suppressed by the Central Army's powerful firepower. They could only hold on desperately and were unable to provide any support to the north of the blockade line.

The gunfire on the eastern side of the main trench had gradually subsided. Regiment Commander Lin Damu sat slumped in a daze, tears welling up in his eyes. There was no miracle, no defeated soldier could escape back from the eastern blockade. He understood that his regiment was completely finished.

The 1st Regiment of the Training Corps, the Special Service Battalion, and the 1st Company of the Sergeant Battalion advanced towards Changmin Village from the east. To the north were the Sergeant Battalion Headquarters, the Machine Gun Company, the Artillery Company, and the Engineer Battalion detachment. To the west and south were two assault formations of more than 20 tanks and armored vehicles from the 2nd and 3rd Companies. The defending troops in the Changmin Village, Tianjia Village, and Baijia Village area were surrounded and trapped on all sides with no way to escape.

The only unit within the encirclement that did not engage the assault force and suffered no major losses was the 9th Regiment of Zhang Xuewen from the 3rd Brigade of the 105th Division, which came to reinforce them.

When the 3rd Company of the Sergeant Battalion broke through from the flank of the south bank of the Wei River, Zhang Xuewen's regiment was rushing to reinforce Changmin Village from the rear. The two forces were about 1000 meters apart, one to the south and the other to the north, advancing separately along the railway line. However, the 9th Regiment was observed by an artillery observation team and was bombarded by long-range artillery fire from the Central Army while advancing in the open area west of Tianjia Village. It lost more than one company and suffered a significant blow to morale.

Subsequently, Zhang Xuewen commanded the 9th Regiment of the 3rd Brigade to set up defenses in Tianjia Village, constructing artillery firing positions on the south side of the village, and standing ready for battle.

The 2nd and 3rd armored assault teams deployed into combat formations and were fully engaged in the attack on the area north of the railway line. The two armored teams launched a fierce assault on Tianjia Village and Changmin Village from the southwest and southeast.

The most intense fighting took place on the 9th Regiment's position defending Tianjia Village. The 9th Regiment first used mortars and heavy machine guns to fire long-range harassing fire, which was quite fierce. Although it did not cause any damage to the tanks, it posed a significant threat to the infantry accompanying the attack.

The 9th Regiment's defensive fortifications were built very close to the village houses. If long-range artillery fire were called in from the rear, the shells would have to pass over the village from behind, which was too dangerous and would inevitably cause significant damage to the lives and property of the people.

After receiving the report from Zhang Yi's 3rd Company, Song Hongfei decided not to use long-range artillery from the rear. However, this might cause unnecessary casualties for the assault formation. The battalion's mortars and anti-tank guns could not be moved north of Changmin Village, which gave him a major headache.

Song Hongfei thought to himself, "Now I finally understand how wonderful the 120mm self-propelled howitzer of later generations is!"

Song Hongfei spoke into the radio to Zhang Yi and Guo Hengjian: "Some tanks will engage from the front, while others will attack from the flanks! Tank guns and machine guns, move forward and aim directly at the fortifications, but do not destroy the village houses! The time has come to test the gunners!"

He then ordered Liao Yaoxiang's 2nd Company formation: "Your company formation will break through between Tianjia Village and Changmin Village and completely divide them up!"

The 3rd Company's armored formation on the left flank deployed into three attack formations: left, center, and right. The 2nd Company's right flank formation also moved simultaneously, with both formations launching a converging attack from the west, southwest, south, and southeast. As they moved, the vehicle-mounted machine guns fired incessantly, fiercely suppressing any fortifications they considered heavy machine gun positions or direct-fire artillery positions, sending sand and dust flying. The defenders inside the fortifications wished they could bury their heads in the ground.

Looking out from the defending troops' positions, the Central Army's tank formation formed a semi-circular encirclement, pressing in with murderous intent.

Regiment Commander Zhang Xuewen cursed under his breath: "Damn it, so many tanks from all sides! I only have four direct-fire guns!"

As the Central Army tanks drew closer, the heavy machine gun company was suppressed by the vehicle-mounted machine guns and autocannons. If the enemy got any closer, their artillery positions would be exposed. Zhang Xuewen ordered the direct-fire guns to open fire on the tanks and the mortars to hold off the infantry.

The gunners fired at a rate of fire they had never seen in their usual training, but they only managed to fire two or three volleys before their positions were locked.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!—" A series of loud explosions erupted as the armored formation opened fire one after another. Several times the number of tank guns and machine guns retaliated, turning the two-way exchange into a one-sided battle. The anti-tank gun positions were scattered and billowing with thick smoke, and limbs and severed parts flew off to the ground.

After firing several rounds, the armored formation quickly accelerated and charged forward. The vehicle-mounted machine guns fiercely spewed long tongues of fire, and the infantry, with overwhelming momentum, shouted and followed closely behind the armored vehicles in their charge.

"Pay attention to infantry-tank coordination, push forward!" Song Hongfei ordered. "Shout to the defending troops and tell them to lay down their weapons!"

The Central Army launched an attack from all sides. The right wing formation broke through directly from south to north to the sand embankment on the south bank of the Wei River, cutting off Tianjia Village and Changmin Village in the middle. The tanks formed triangular attack formations and advanced rapidly, accompanied by the infantry to form a series of combined arms combat formations.

The tanks roared as they rolled over the makeshift fortifications, the screeching tracks making the earth tremble. Facing the impenetrable steel monsters so close at hand, the defending soldiers were terrified. The fear of being dominated by the tanks had long since shattered their last will to fight.

Sometimes battles can become so simple. When the momentum is strong, the battle becomes more and more favorable, and the Central Army soldiers, like tigers descending the mountain, closely follow the tanks and charge forward, carrying out encirclement and severance.

The defending troops were routed in a panic, fleeing in disarray.

The gunfire suddenly subsided, and the garrison commanders sat blankly in their bunkers, speechless and dejected. At this point, issuing any orders would be pointless.

"Put down your weapons! Surrender and you will not be killed!" shouted the Central Army soldiers.

"Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!" A burst of bullets from a vehicle-mounted machine gun fired warning shots at the fleeing crowd, sending dust flying everywhere.

With tanks maneuvering and surrounding them from all sides, leaving them nowhere to escape, groups of desperate defending soldiers surrendered.