A Journey Through the Flames of War in the Republican Era

After news of the Jiangwan victory was widely reported by domestic and foreign news agencies, newspapers, and radio stations, the 87th Division became famous overnight.

People from all walks of life only know that the 87th Division fought this brilliant victory.

Wang Youping, the commander of the 87th Division, was a generous and forthright man. After this battle, he admired Song Hongfei even more. Wang Youping did not hide his achievements or claim credit. In the battle report, he presented the entire course of the battle, describing in detail Song Hongfei's planning and deployment, and requested that Song Hongfei be awarded the greatest merit in this battle.

The Battle of Jiangwan received considerable attention and support from Commander-in-Chief Zhang Wenbai of the Ninth Army Group from the moment the 87th Division submitted its battle plan. He was well aware of Song Hongfei's role in this battle.

Then came another surprise at the Battle of Zhanghuabang. This battle was equally exciting, with the Japanese regimental commander being killed cleanly and decisively. This was the first time our army had killed a Japanese colonel-level officer since the start of the war.

"It's true what they say: 'A thousand days of training hone a sword, but a single moment of use reveals its skill!'"

Commander-in-Chief Zhang couldn't help but admire him. As the Director of Education at the Central Military Academy, he was well aware of the tactical reforms and training achievements Song Hongfei had made in the Training Corps.

"Song Hongfei, who has been prolific and rising to fame in recent years, has been the focus of attention from all sides of the National Revolutionary Army since the Battle of Xi'an..."

Zhang Wenbai knew that Song Hongfei was not just a figurehead, nor was he merely a theorist. These brilliant battles were the best proof of that. His organization, planning, tactics, and command were all impressive, and his outstanding results were enough to convince everyone.

Zhang Wenbai even secretly wondered, "If he had been involved in the early offensive operations, would our army's results have been different?"

Zhang Wenbai submitted a summary of the experiences gained since the start of the Battle of Shanghai, along with the battle report. The Third War Zone and various command levels of the Military Commission were well aware of the ins and outs of the situation.

After more than half a month of fierce fighting in Shanghai, the high command of the Military Commission realized that our army was far inferior to the Japanese army in terms of equipment, training, the quality of officers and soldiers, and tactical level. The officers and soldiers lacked understanding of modern warfare, and their rigid and outdated military thinking and tactics were unable to cope with modern warfare, resulting in the fact that although the officers and soldiers fought bravely, they could not win any attacks or defend any positions.

The high command clearly understood that if they continued to use the old tactics of massed attacks during offensives and holding the line during defense when facing the Japanese army's planes and artillery, wouldn't that be like throwing flesh and blood into the enemy's sea of ​​steel and fire? Wouldn't that be exactly what the Japanese army wanted?

The Jiangwan battle demonstrated the remarkable power of flexible and mobile defense, causing a great stir and arriving at an extremely opportune moment.

The Military Commission believed that as long as our army's tactics were appropriate, it could make up for the equipment gap between the two sides with flexible tactics and methods, thus being able to contend with the powerful Japanese army and even defeat the enemy.

Standing at a strategic height with an overall view of the situation, the highest level of the Military Commission decided to set up training courses at the Army University, the Central Military Academy, and the Sergeant Battalion of the Training Corps. These courses would provide short-term education and training in modern military concepts and tactics to officers, colonels, and key sergeants from all over the country who came to reinforce Shanghai. After completing the training, they would be sent to the Shanghai battlefield.

And isn't Song Hongfei the perfect candidate to shoulder the heavy responsibility of training troops? In today's world, who else could it be but him?!

A telegram from the Military Commission went directly to Song Hongfei, who was in the 2nd Regiment of the Zhanghuabang Training Corps on the Shanghai-Nanjing battlefield.

In fact, the highest level had another unseen intention: to conduct training and education to improve and transform combat capabilities under the guise of not distinguishing between close and distant relatives, or between loyalists and miscellaneous troops, so as to both intimidate the heroes of China and strengthen the influence and control over various factions.

Song Hongfei had never thought of this.

Zhou Zhenqiang said to Song Hongfei, "It's not just the Training Corps anymore, but also other Central Army units and troops from various places. You're being forced into this situation, and you'll be very busy now."

"Fortunately, we have the experience and ready-made teaching materials from a year of training, as well as the case studies from these two battles, so you won't be completely clueless when implementing it."

Song Hongfei was staring blankly at the telegram.

Zhou Zhenqiang continued, "The tactical principles of 'one point, two sides, three-three system, four groups per team, small groups attacking from multiple directions,' and 'three fierce tactics,' as well as infantry-artillery coordination and infantry-tank coordination, are all so urgent! Our training brigade has only achieved some success after a year of training, and we dare not say that we have mastered them all."

Song Hongfei came to his senses and said with a wry smile, "Of course it's impossible to learn everything; we can only make choices. The most crucial thing is to know how to defend against air defense, artillery fire, and large-scale heavy fire. Mastering this will greatly reduce unnecessary casualties among our soldiers."

Song Hongfei also had some headaches: "I don't even dare to think about infantry-artillery coordination or infantry-tank coordination. Some local troops have never even seen a tank, and some divisions and companies don't even have many mortars. How can they coordinate?"

Zhou Zhenqiang suddenly said, "Speaking of infantry-tank coordination, I have some news to tell you, I don't know if you've heard it yet."

His tone became calmer: "In the previous phase of the siege of Hongkou and Yangshupu, our armored corps deployed Vickers tank companies to cooperate in the attack. However, due to a lack of training in combined arms operations, the infantry did not provide cover and support for the tanks, and the tanks could only fight alone."

“战车营副营长兼1连长郭恒建、2连长汪文彦壮烈殉国，维克斯战车有3辆全毁、8辆损坏、2辆撤退时丢弃，损失了大半。”

"What?!" Song Hongfei was shocked and his face paled.

During the Battle of Xijing last year, Guo Hengjian, the company commander of the "Tiger Company," and Wang Wenyan, the company commander of the "Dragon Company," fought alongside him. The sergeant battalion and the tank battalion formed a combined infantry and tank assault formation and carried out a brilliant armored assault, breaking through the Chishui River defense line and defeating four regiments of Zhang Shaoshuai's Southeast Army.

For his meritorious service, Song Hongfei was promoted to colonel and regimental commander, while Guo Hengjian was promoted to deputy battalion commander of the tank battalion. Song Hongfei forged a deep friendship with the officers of the tank battalion. However, he was shocked to hear the news of their deaths on the Shanghai battlefield, and Song Hongfei could not help but sigh with regret.

After careful investigation, Song Hongfei learned that during the early stages of the siege, the 1st and 2nd Tank Companies were ordered to be attached to the 87th and 36th Divisions to attack Japanese Marine Corps strongholds in the Hongkou and Yangshupu areas.

During the battle, the infantry ordered these indestructible "iron turtles" to attack immediately, while the tank crews ordered the infantry to follow behind and provide necessary cover. Subsequently, the six tanks swept through all the Japanese machine gun positions along the Sichuan North Road, broke into the Japanese positions, and even once reached Huishan Wharf.

Although our tanks caught the Japanese off guard, coordination and tactics were problematic. The infantry believed that the tanks were heavily armored and did not need to be protected, resulting in the infantry failing to keep up with the tanks in time.

The most fatal flaw was that the infantry habitually neglected flank protection and failed to block adjacent streets, which allowed the Japanese army to mobilize a large number of troops and armored units to flank and cut off the communication between our infantry and tanks.

After our tanks broke into the enemy lines, the infantry did not follow for a long time! Company Commander Guo was anxious. At this time, the fuel was also running low, so he jumped off the tank and went on foot to contact the infantry. However, he was hit by a bullet from the Japanese invaders and died a heroic death.

Zheng Shaoyan, the company commander of the 2nd Tank Company who also broke into the vicinity of Huishan Wharf, knew that he was also surrounded by the Japanese army. He chose the most heroic and tragic action: he revved the engine and drove the tank at full speed to charge the Japanese army's position, crushing the enemy with the tracks!

This heroic act earned the deep respect of the Japanese army.

The Vickers light tank had thin armor, with many parts having armor only a few millimeters thick, barely enough to protect against bullets. Meanwhile, the Japanese army possessed a wide array of anti-tank weapons, including the 20mm Type 97 anti-tank rifle, the Type 94, and the Type 1 anti-tank guns, all of which could easily destroy the Vickers tank.

Finally, a Japanese anti-tank gun hit Zheng Shaoyan's vehicle, killing him and his car.

Song Hongfei recalled the heroic deeds and fates of the Nationalist Army's armored forces on the Shanghai-Nanjing battlefield, as recorded in later war histories. He had originally thought that with the good start in the Battle of Xi'an and the agreement reached during the imitation of German tanks to import the Panzer II, which was unprecedented in history, the Nationalist Army's armored forces could embark on a smooth road ahead.

However, harsh reality slapped him in the face. This is war, real war!

War is nothing like those wish-fulfillment novels and war dramas, where the protagonist raises his arm and shouts a few inspiring words, and a few advanced weapons appear out of nowhere or even a burst of inexplicable artillery fire can wipe out a powerful enemy as easily as cutting melons and vegetables!

Song Hongfei suddenly realized that he was too insignificant in the face of the torrent of history. His previous idea that he could change the course of history with his God's-eye view, his own strength, and a few advanced weapons was really too unrealistic!

"Loyal bones are buried everywhere in the green hills!" Zhou Zhenqiang exclaimed.

He was unaware that Song Hongfei had so many thoughts. Seeing him silent and heartbroken, he said, "The training is still up to you. No one else is as good as you. The brigade has urgently replenished a large number of new recruits before the battle, and the training of these new recruits must also be expedited. Just focus on training the troops and don't worry about the battle for now. We'll talk about everything when Commander Gui comes back."

Song Hongfei said, "I understand!"

Zhou Zhenqiang added, "By the way, I haven't told you about the personnel changes in the brigade. Chief of Staff Fu Zhaoqian has been transferred elsewhere. The current Chief of Staff is Qiu Yu'an, a graduate of the second class of the Whampoa Military Academy, who just returned from studying in Germany three months ago."

The famous scene of Qiu the Madman "smashing the sand pot" in later TV dramas flashed through Song Hongfei's mind, and he blurted out: "Chief of Staff Qiu is indeed a fierce general."

Zhou Zhenqiang looked at him and said, "You know him? You saw him in Germany? Yu'an dropped out of university to study at Whampoa Military Academy, and later went to Germany to study mechanized warfare. He has a high level of education and has the demeanor of a scholar-general."

Song Hongfei realized he had spoken out of turn and wondered how he could have forgotten this. Perhaps it was true, as later generations had said, that Qiu Yu'an was trapped in the city after the Battle of Nanjing and witnessed the atrocities committed by the Japanese army, which led to a drastic change in his personality and the later nickname "Crazy Qiu".

Hongfei was a little embarrassed and said, "I've never met him. Judging from the time, he should have already set off for home when I went there. However, I did hear him mention it when I was talking with German generals such as Guderian, the Inspector General of Armored Forces."

Zhou Zhenqiang added, "After returning to Beijing, you must work together with Chief of Staff Qiu to ensure the success of the brigade's training."

Song Hongfei nodded and said, "I understand."