A Journey Through the Flames of War in the Republican Era

As a model unit in the army's reorganization plan, the Training Corps bears the heavy responsibility of reforming the army's organization, equipment, and tactical training. Simultaneously, as a seed force, it cultivates junior officers and key non-commissioned officers for the entire army to adapt to the construction of a modern military.

Graduates of the Central Military Academy were continuously incorporated into the cadet companies of the Training Corps. After passing the practical training, they branched out and were assigned to other units.

The Military Commission originally had no plans to deploy the Training Corps to the battlefield. The high command believed that using the Training Corps for education and training, and cultivating a large number of qualified officers and sergeants to fill other units, would better reflect its role.

In addition, since the commander-in-chief Gui Shuaizhen was still abroad and had not yet returned, the 2nd Regiment of the Training Corps was transferred to the Ninth Group Army of Songhu and was led by the deputy commander-in-chief Zhou Zhenqiang and incorporated into it as the general reserve force to increase the practical experience of facing a modern enemy with superior land, sea and air forces.

The 2nd Training Regiment suffered heavy losses in the fierce fighting at Zhanghuabang for several days, and several companies that had completed pre-battle training have been urgently transferred from the General Corps' Supplementary Regiment to reinforce them.

At the same time, the Training Corps recruited and supplemented a large number of new soldiers, reaching full strength.

The newly recruited soldiers and reinforcements from various places who rushed to Shanghai underwent joint training. Every unit training in Nanjing had to practice how to construct tiered defensive positions.

In accordance with Song Hongfei's requirements for flexible defense:

"Forward positions, guard positions, main positions, reserve positions, oblique positions, and flank positions. Trench, bunkers, sentry posts, foxholes, machine gun nests, strongpoints, main bunkers, subsidiary bunkers, clusters of hidden bunkers, concealed firing points, mortar positions, anti-artillery shelters, and concealed locations, all connected by communication trenches. Furthermore, a minefield, abatis, barbed wire, anti-tank ditches, and other obstacles are set up on the outer perimeter."

The entire training troops, regiments and divisions, were brought in. Shovels and picks flew, and everyone was drenched in sweat, working with great enthusiasm.

A series of layered, ring-shaped defense systems gradually took shape and spread across the original land outside Jinling City.

Then, the sergeant battalion of the training brigade and the third regiment acted as the hypothetical enemy, and conducted live-fire simulated attack and defense drills.

Frontal attack and defense, flanking attack and defense, outflanking maneuver, encirclement, assault, counter-attack.

Practice, review, practice again, review again, continue practicing, repeat until everyone masters the flexible and mobile defensive tactics.

Song Hongfei emphasized making full use of the terrain, relying on tiered defense, and carrying out meticulous in-depth deployment to compensate for the disadvantage in firepower, and to destroy the enemy's offensive with multi-layered firepower and counter-attacks.

First on flat ground, then on higher ground.

Song Hongfei demanded the construction of positions on the reverse slope and flanks of the high ground, including numerous trenches, reverse firing points, anti-artillery bunkers, and concealed fortifications. Song Hongfei even demanded that they be connected to form tunnels.

Many troops were puzzled as to why they had to go through the trouble of building fortifications on the reverse slope.

"Sweat more in peacetime, bleed less in wartime!" Song Hongfei said.

"It is mainly used for how to defend against air and artillery fire when the enemy has an overwhelming firepower advantage. It can both conceal troops for preparation and allow for mobile counterattacks. Also, it can be used for reverse slope tactics!"

"A reverse slope? Well, neither of us can hit the other."

It's okay if you don't understand at first; you'll understand after practicing a few more times.

Some were more understanding of this, such as the 49th Army of the Northeast Army who participated in the reorganization. Song Hongfei met with Liu Fangdu, Gao Pengyun, Zhang Xuewen and others from the former 105th Division.

They still vividly remember the "Steel Armor Ridge" high ground from the Battle of Xijing, and Song Hongfei's words from back then still resonate in their ears.

After this training, they personally verified the reverse slope tactics and gained a deeper understanding of them. They were all filled with mixed feelings and couldn't help but be convinced.

Song Hongfei said to them, "Just as we said before, the time has come for our brother units to fight side by side and unite against the enemy!"

Several hands clasped tightly together.

A deep defense system was constructed along the line of Tangshan, Qilinmen, Zijinshan, Yinkongshan, Yangfangshan, Hongtushan, Mufushan, Wulongshan, Gaoqiaomen, Chunhua, Fangshan, Niushoushan, and Yuhuatai outside Jinling City.

In fact, Song Hongfei had a purpose that was not known to outsiders: he was to lead the trained troops to build defensive positions based on the deployment of the Fulang position in the historical Battle of Nanjing.

Historically, since the hasty retreat from Shanghai, Nanjing had not yet been able to build a tight defense system. After the outer positions of Nanjing were breached, the defending troops lacked effective defense and cover measures. The Japanese army took advantage of the situation to pursue and attack, so that some outer positions were breached by the Japanese army before they could be firmly occupied.

Unbeknownst to everyone, Song Hongfei was preparing for the future defense of Nanjing!

The effects of the training exercises on all sides were immediate.

The Japanese army initially looked down on the local troops that were being reinforced by the National Revolutionary Army, believing that these poorly equipped and weak warlord troops were nothing but a disorganized mess and would surely collapse at the first touch in the face of their aircraft, tanks and artillery.

But the Japanese army never expected that these local armies, which had been fighting each other for a long time, would become united and share a common hatred of the enemy when the country was in crisis, and that they would be so brave and good at fighting.

Despite their inferior equipment and raw flesh and blood, they fought bravely and fearlessly against the powerful combined land, sea, and air firepower of the Japanese army.

The battle was so fierce that it was enough to terrify the Japanese army.

The Japanese army was surprised to find that the tactical level of these newly deployed troops had suddenly made a huge leap, which was completely different from the backward level of warlord infighting that they had learned from previous intelligence gathering on China.

The defensive operations of the Chinese National Revolutionary Army became very organized, no longer rigidly adhering to trench confrontations along a single defensive line, but instead constructing a multi-layered defensive system with great depth.

Its defensive tactics were flexible and mobile, just like those in the battles of Jiangwan and Zhanghuabang.

Originally, the Japanese army, relying on its naval and air superiority and heavy artillery firepower, employed a rather simple and brutal attack method:

First, they dispatched aircraft to bomb and strafe, and then used observation balloons to guide and direct artillery fire, attempting to destroy the fortifications and personnel of the Nationalist army.

Then, smoke grenades were fired to blind the defenders and reduce casualties during the attack. Artillery fire was then extended to block reinforcements from the second line of Nationalist troops.

Immediately following, the infantry, accompanied by armored vehicles, launched a coordinated attack, advancing step by step. After breaking through the defenders' lines, they fiercely pushed inwards to expand their position. At each point of advance, they constructed machine gun emplacements to prevent a counterattack by the Nationalist army.

The original deployment of the National Revolutionary Army was also unreasonable. The battle line was long and narrow but failed to form depth. It also did not pay attention to flank defense, making it easy to be broken through and outflanked.

Although the Japanese army's three-pronged attack was simple and brutal, it was quite effective in traditional positional warfare where both sides fought to the death, often causing the National Revolutionary Army to suffer heavy casualties and be unable to withstand it, thanks to its superior firepower.

However, the Japanese offensive is becoming increasingly difficult. The new offensive launched by the 3rd, 9th, 11th and 101st Divisions in Jiading, Wusong and Yunzaobang sometimes advances no more than 1 kilometer in a day, and they also have to be constantly on guard against counterattacks by the Chinese army.

Matsui Iwane secretly groaned. The Chinese army had been fighting day and night with the Japanese army in a bloodthirsty frenzy, charging and counter-charging repeatedly, and both sides suffered heavy casualties.

Matsui Iwane discovered that the fighting spirit of the Japanese soldiers was gradually fading. The idea of ​​"conquering China in three months" had vanished from the soldiers' minds, and no one believed it anymore.

In fact, he himself believed that this was just a boastful remark by those high-ranking guys in the military, and there was absolutely no hope of it coming true.

After a prolonged and fruitless battle, Matsui Iwane had no choice but to request reinforcements from the domestic military headquarters once again.

Seeing the excellent results of the troop training, the Military Commission and the Ministry of Military Affairs thought that if more troops could have such combat capabilities, what would they have to fear from the rampant Japanese invaders?

Having tasted the benefits, the top brass of the Military Commission already had plans to expand the Training Corps.

Ordnance Department, Director's Office.

"Good lad, you've done a great job with the training as soon as you got back!" Yu Dawei said as soon as he saw Song Hongfei.

Song Hongfei came specifically to give Yu Dawei a detailed report on the matters during his visit to Germany.

Yu Dawei was overjoyed to have reached an agreement with Germany to import 150mm and 105mm howitzers, "Hausch" armored vehicles, and Panzer II tanks.

However, he was also very worried that the island nation had completely blocked my country's foreign aid transport lines, so how much of this equipment could be transported?

Song Hongfei sighed inwardly, realizing that this was beyond his control.

Song Hongfei then recounted the events of the Battle of Shanghai to Yu Dawei, suggesting that the Ordnance Department immediately introduce and produce 60mm mortars as a powerful countermeasure against Japanese grenade launchers for infantry companies.

Yu Dawei also knew that the battle on the Shanghai-Nanjing battlefield was fierce, and that our army was at a great disadvantage in terms of firepower. The rank-and-file infantry had no effective means to deal with the Japanese grenade launchers, and the light and heavy machine guns, which were the mainstay of firepower, were often easily destroyed by the Japanese grenade launchers. Without fire support, the infantry were suppressed and unable to fight back.

Yu Dawei sighed deeply: "Before the outbreak of war, the Ordnance Department also realized the deficiencies in infantry firepower and wanted to introduce the French-made Brand M1935 60mm mortar for imitation. However, due to the sudden outbreak of war, we were caught off guard and the research and development process was forced to stop."

"Out of necessity, the Ordnance Bureau urgently copied the Japanese Type 89 grenade launcher, working day and night to produce it, but it was still far inferior to the mortar."

Song Hongfei sighed, "The Japanese invaders had been planning this for a long time. Their Type 94 mountain guns, Type 92 infantry guns, and grenade launchers are easy to disassemble, transport, and use, making them very suitable for my country's complex terrain and poor road conditions. It's as if they were designed specifically for you!"

He then muttered to himself, "If research and development can't keep up, could we make an emergency purchase? Let's buy a batch directly from France to equip several elite reorganized divisions, and then plan for its widespread adoption."

Yu Dawei nodded: "With the Japanese exerting international pressure and blocking our military purchases, it's probably unrealistic to import large quantities. But it's still possible to manage to buy a small amount."

Finally, he added earnestly, "It's never too late to mend the fence after the sheep are lost."

Xu Yuexiang, the chief of the armored forces, and Du Guangting, the regimental commander of the armored forces, were overjoyed at the introduction of the Panzer II tank.

Xu Yuexiang joked, "Back then, you poached a company of Vickers amphibious tanks, but unexpectedly, we got two companies of Krupp Panzer II tanks and 'Hausch' armored vehicles in return. We really made a huge profit!"

Song Hongfei said calmly, "I'm just worried that the island nation will definitely negotiate with Germany, and the Japanese navy has also blockaded my overseas transport lines. It's still unknown how much of the goods will be able to arrive smoothly."

Du Guangting couldn't help but scratch his head.

Xu Yuexiang frowned in thought, then sighed, "Success depends on man's will, but fate has other plans. Now, the only option is for the highest levels of the National Government to step in and continue the negotiations."

The three then discussed the armored warfare on the Shanghai-Nanjing battlefield.

Du Guangting sighed with regret: "Our infantry did not know how to coordinate with tanks. Although our armored troops were brave and fearless in this battle, we suffered heavy losses."

Xu Yuexiang also said solemnly, "There is too little training in combined arms operations. Of the 200 million troops in the country, only the Training Corps has a basic grasp of it. We really need to strengthen this aspect."

Song Hongfei nodded solemnly, feeling overwhelmed with a thousand and one things to do, knowing that the task ahead was arduous and the road ahead was long.