A Journey Through the Flames of War in the Republican Era

Song Hongfei traced his finger across the map and said, "The Japanese army's powerful maritime mobility completely exceeded our army's usual understanding. Their naval ships can carry two divisions fully equipped and manned for long-distance cross-sea transport in one voyage."

Song Hongfei then rowed along the Yangtze River to the north bank of Hangzhou Bay: "Our navy is too weak to fight, and our air force is almost exhausted. With their absolute naval and air superiority and mobility, the Japanese can choose any landing area along this 200-kilometer stretch."

Gui Shuaizhen said, "With the Nine Powers Conference about to convene, the island nation is also eager to win. They are trying every means to find the weak points in our army's defense. A strategic landing is imminent, and they are attempting to decide the outcome in one battle, create a fait accompli before international intervention, and occupy an advantageous position."

Gui Shuaizhen sighed again: "No matter where the Japanese army lands, the addition of 4 divisions and 1 brigade, more than 100,000 elite troops, is enough to determine the outcome of the Battle of Shanghai."

All three were elite officers of the National Revolutionary Army. They knew very well that our army was not strong enough to defend everywhere, and its battlefield mobility was far inferior to that of the Japanese army. Once a breakthrough was made, our army, which had been fighting for a long time and was exhausted, would find it difficult to block the Japanese army from expanding the breakthrough and developing in depth. It might even be shaken across the entire front.

From a tactical perspective, the Japanese army had already set a precedent of landing on both flanks during the January 28 Incident. However, the current weak national strength and high casualties left the National Revolutionary Army with no choice but to rob Peter to pay Paul, using its limited forces on the front lines where the situation was more dire, in order to alleviate the immediate crisis.

The three of them could only sigh in despair.

Song Hongfei said, "The Japanese army is keen on flanking maneuvers, and a landing at Hangzhou Bay is inevitable. It will strike at the rear of our army, leaving us vulnerable from both sides. However, it is impossible to predict how many troops they will deploy here."

He added, “The Japanese army is not without weaknesses. Without good ports and docks, their field landing capability is greatly limited. They need to switch to small boats to storm the beach. One wave can only guarantee a landing at the regimental level. Their movements are slow and they have to lick the ground one by one to continue to advance on land. This is the best opportunity for our army to defend and counterattack.”

Song Hongfei sighed, "If we had a strong navy or enough air force, we could launch an attack while they were anchoring at sea to change ships, and severely damage their fleet, so that the Japanese army would not dare to carry out a landing so recklessly."

Qiu Yu'an sighed helplessly, "Alas! Brother Hongfei, let alone having a navy and airplanes, we are now extremely short of even mountain guns and field guns!"

Song Hongfei said with a wry smile, "Those cunning Japanese devils launched a sudden attack before you had become stronger! If we had been prepared, would they have dared to come?"

The three could only remain silent and helpless.

Song Hongfei continued, "The experience of resisting the landing in the early stage shows that as long as our army can make preparations in an organized manner in a timely manner, it can still block the Japanese offensive, suppress the battle line within 5 kilometers of the coast, and put the battle into a stalemate. The bloody battles of Baoshan and Luodian have proven this point."

Gui Shuaizhen and Qiu Yu'an both pondered the matter carefully.

Gui Shuaizhen said: "The Military Commission previously believed that the Jinshanwei area of ​​Hangzhou Bay was the most suitable place for landing. However, the water was shallow and there was a lot of silt on the beach, which limited the large-scale mechanized units of the Japanese army and made it difficult to send more than a division of troops ashore."

Qiu Yu'an said, "Jinshanwei was one of the main routes by which Japanese pirates invaded our coast during the Ming Dynasty."

Gui Shuaizhen looked at the deployment map and said, "The troops responsible for the coastal defense of Hangzhou Bay include two divisions of the 28th Army of the 8th Group Army, under the command of Commander-in-Chief Zhang Xianghua of the Right Wing Army. The 8th and 10th Group Armies are defending the vast area south of the Suzhou River, Pudong, and Hangzhou Bay. In order to deal with Matsui Iwane's fierce attack, their troops have been constantly transferred. It is hard to say how many troops are left in Hangzhou Bay now. I hope Commander-in-Chief Zhang has a countermeasure."

Song Hongfei continued, "The Japanese army's usual tactic is to outflank from both sides and break through in the middle. Our generals, constrained by the military thinking of the long civil war, have always focused on the front and neglected the flanks, deploying a large number of troops on the defensive line."

"The troops that underwent reorganization in Nanjing received training in flexible defense tactics to some extent, but deeply ingrained mindsets are difficult to change in a short time. Moreover, we have learned and grown, and the Japanese army is not stupid. They will not fail to change, especially since they have deployed more aircraft, heavy artillery, and armored vehicles, greatly enhancing their firepower and mobility."

He added, “Our brigade has an advantage in light weapons, which can ensure sufficient firepower density for flexible mobile defense. We need to further expand the width and depth of our defense and add more layers to the configuration. We need to make full use of the tactical application of the ‘Min 24’ general-purpose machine gun. This is our way of dealing with the enemy’s superior heavy firepower and large-scale casualties.”

"Combat deployment must pay attention to flank protection, with more troops stationed and fewer deployed, lighter troops in front and heavier troops in the rear, and sufficient reserves must be maintained to block enemy breakthroughs and deal with enemy flanking maneuvers."

Gui Shuaizhen nodded and said, "Let's do it that way. Yu'an, you and Director Wan of the Staff Office should take the lead and get this done."

"Yes!" Qiu Yu'an replied, "I will immediately organize the staff to formulate detailed operational guidelines and distribute them to all units."

Deep down, Song Hongfei did not approve of the Military Commission's high-ranking officials' practice of using the Training Corps for maneuvering and filling gaps in the battlefield.

He believed that the Training Corps should be used as a strategic mobile force, flexibly and dynamically deployed to the weak points of the campaign, rather than using its own weaknesses to fight the enemy's strengths and wasting its time filling gaps on the front line.

Song Hongfei paused for a moment, then sighed, "Looking at the overall strategy of the Battle of Shanghai, the Japanese army took the initiative everywhere, and we could only deal with them with great difficulty, losing sight of one thing while trying to do another. Unfortunately, we were most lacking in operational reserves."

Qiu Yu'an also sighed, "Even before participating in the war, I have already truly felt how difficult it is to fight the Japanese army, which consists of only a few divisions."

Gui Shuaizhen sighed helplessly, “We are a poor and backward agricultural country fighting against a modern industrial country. Twenty years of internal strife have exhausted too much of our vitality. We are in dire straits and everything needs to be rebuilt.”

Song Hongfei said, "Even without considering the difference in heavy equipment and firepower, a Japanese division can have as many as 28,000 men in wartime, while a Chinese division has only 9000 men. Even the elite Central Army's reorganized divisions would need three divisions to fight against them. Not to mention that our army is generally understaffed and underpaid. Some local armies only have five or six thousand men per division. It would take five or six divisions to equal one Japanese division."

Song Hongfei continued, "The Japanese army has a well-established reserve and replenishment system, and can replenish its front-line combat troops very quickly."

He continued, "The Japanese military stipulated that after the two-year active duty period, the soldiers would be transferred to the reserve. After the reserve period, they would be transferred to the post-reserve service. They also had a national conscription system, which organized military training in peacetime and accepted conscription to supplement the army in wartime."

"The 17 standing divisions before the war had been established for decades. With a two-year military service period, each division could train more than 100,000 reserve soldiers in 10 years, who could be added to the division at any time. It was equivalent to enlisting again and serving in the old unit. They could be replenished and put into battle immediately on the front line without losing their combat effectiveness."

"So the Japanese army's so-called division number does not mean that the strength was only 2 or 3. Even without counting the additional reinforcements, the number of troops replenished could sometimes reach 4 to 5."

"This is why the Japanese front-line troops suffered such heavy casualties, yet they were still able to continue fighting. For example, the 3rd and 11th Divisions, which were among the first to be deployed to Shanghai, suffered heavy casualties, but were able to continue fighting after multiple rounds of reinforcements. This created a sense of psychological disparity and fear in our army, making them feel like 'they can never be defeated.'"

Qiu Yu'an said with sincere admiration, "Brother Hongfei, your research is truly incredibly detailed!"

"This guy started studying Japanese tactics and methods back in time of the 'September 18 Incident'!" Gui Shuaizhen said with a smile. "Not just anyone can teach at the Central Military Academy and the Army University. Even General Baili was full of praise for him."

Song Hongfei just smiled faintly and said, "This is also a manifestation of a country's strong military strength, but we are far behind in this regard. Our training corps and the Central Army's troops that have completed their adjustments are doing well. The supplementary regiments have all undergone tactical training and have combat capabilities."

Song Hongfei continued, "Some of the reinforcements from other provinces are just groups of civilians who have just learned to shoot after putting down their hoes. They are physically weak and have no military skills or tactics at all! To be honest, I can't bear to send them to the battlefield like this. It's no different from sending them to their deaths."

Gui Shuaizhen sighed, “We don’t have the conditions and ability. The country only started implementing the military service law in 1935. The civil war lasted until 1937. In just over a year, we simply couldn’t organize many reserve soldiers, and we also lacked systematic mobilization preparations.”

That's just how things are in our country; what can we do about it?

When the front line urgently needs reinforcements, the only option is to compensate by sending reserve reinforcement regiments to the battlefield, breaking them up and using them in various positions. This is a last resort.

All three of them were well aware of the huge gap between the two armies in terms of technology and equipment, and the advantages of the Japanese army's modern multi-service joint operations were fully demonstrated on the Shanghai battlefield.

Faced with a huge technological gap, it is often impossible to bridge the gap with strategy, tactics and command, and the gap is often easily wiped out by the opponent's overwhelming firepower.

However, our army can only rely on strategy, tactics and command to make up for it, relying entirely on passion and courage to fight one after another, filling the gap with blood and flesh.

If you fall behind, you will be beaten!

These words resonated deeply with the three elite officers of the National Revolutionary Army at that moment, a feeling that was both profound and deeply painful.

If you don't have enough equipment, make up for it with tactics!

When steel is insufficient, flesh and blood will suffice!

This is the tragedy of a weak nation.

A sorrow tinged with grief and helplessness.

Like these three, countless Chinese soldiers lamented the poverty and backwardness of their nation.

Countless Chinese soldiers, facing powerful adversaries and knowing they were no match, still resolutely drew their swords and fought to the death with their flesh and blood, even if it meant falling and shedding their last drop of blood.

It is countless Chinese soldiers like them who, at critical moments of national and ethnic crisis, have upheld the steel backbone of the nation with their own flesh and blood—an indomitable will that no enemy can defeat.