A Journey Through the Flames of War in the Republican Era

The soldiers of the 3rd Regiment held their weapons and gazed at the plumes of smoke rising into the air in the distance.

Song Hongfei dispatched staff officers from the regimental headquarters to inspect the combat readiness of each battalion. Company and platoon leaders moved among the soldiers, carefully checking and reminding them of important points.

The veterans remained unperturbed, their faces stern and their gazes resolute, as they spoke in hushed tones.

Some of the soldiers had never been on the battlefield, and their faces were tense. Their anxious eyes and the way they gripped their weapons revealed their inner tension.

The whole world seemed to freeze, with only the distant rumbling of explosions and the billowing black smoke, like messengers of war, seemingly telling of an unknown fate to come.

The soldiers waited silently for the order to be given and for the battle to begin.

At this moment, Song Hongfei frowned slightly as he stared at the battle map, pondering how to defend against air attacks along the more than 10-kilometer stretch from Xinzhuang to the front line.

This section is entirely flat terrain, with the highway passing through several villages and crisscrossed by numerous small rivers and ditches, as well as many bridges. During the day, if the army were discovered by the enemy, they would likely be subjected to air raids.

Song Hongfei mentally simulated various possible scenarios again and again, devising corresponding countermeasures. He knew that if the marching speed and safety could not be guaranteed, it might even affect the command headquarters' operational plans.

Qujiaqiao was originally a beautiful and peaceful village. To the east was Beixinjing Town, and to the northwest was Zhangxiang Village. The Wusong River came from the northwest and meandered eastward from Qujiaqiao, forming a natural defensive line. The Japanese army and the National Army faced each other across the river.

Further up from Zhangxiang Village are Yaojiadu and Yaojiabao, where the Yangjing and Wusongjiang rivers converge. Surrounded by water on three sides and crisscrossed by small streams, it forms a triangular protrusion on the entire defense line.

The Japanese 9th Division had captured Yaojiabao and the north side of Zhangxiang, and established bridgehead positions on the south bank. To intensify the artillery bombardment, Division Commander Yoshizumi Ryosuke ordered the artillery to advance to the north bank of the Wusong River and bombard the Nationalist army positions on the south bank with all their might.

With a gap torn in the defense line by the Japanese army, Zhu Yimin, the commander-in-chief of the Central Operational Army, decided to take advantage of the Japanese army's unstable foothold and transfer the Training Corps and the 18th Division to reinforce the 46th, 67th and 154th Divisions along the Qujiaqiao and Zhangxiang lines to consolidate the defense line and seize the opportunity to launch a full-scale counterattack.

At the same time, additional troops were added to the Nanxiang area on the western front to press on the right flank of the 9th Division, while the 160th Division of the left-wing combat army was also transferred to Xujiaqiao to support the operation.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The muffled sound of cannon fire drifted from afar.

The Japanese army's large-caliber heavy artillery was shelling the Zhangxiang and Qujiaqiao line.

Subsequently, under heavy artillery fire and air cover, the 35th and 7th Regiments of the 9th Division launched a full-scale attack on the Nationalist 67th Division south of Zhangxiang and Qujiaqiao.

The 19th and 36th Regiments, which had crossed the river earlier, maintained a strong offensive on the west side at Tianduoli and Xujialong, tying down the forces of the Nationalist Army's 46th and 154th Divisions and launching counterattacks.

With their fierce heavy artillery firepower, the 19th and 36th Regiments successively stormed into Tianduoli and Xujia Lane.

The Nationalist Army's 46th and 154th Divisions immediately launched a fierce and large-scale counterattack, and for a time, the sound of gunfire and artillery shook the heavens.

"Brothers, kill the Japanese devils!"

A platoon leader on the front line of the 154th Division roared as he picked up a Czech machine gun and stood up from the trench, firing fiercely at the enemy swarming towards him. He was hit by several bullets but remained standing until all 20 magazines were emptied, at which point his mountain-like body finally collapsed and died.

The two sides quickly engaged in close combat, resulting in a bloody battle.

"Kill the Japanese devils! Avenge our platoon leader!"

Seeing his comrades fall one by one, a 19-year-old boy, his eyes bloodshot, picked up a 4-kilogram broadsword, rushed out of the trench and into the enemy ranks to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the Japanese soldiers. His broadsword flew, blood and flesh splattered everywhere, and he was incredibly brave, killing with every strike! His military uniform was stained red with his own blood and the blood of the Japanese soldiers, making him look like a blood-soaked god of war.

The Japanese soldiers were terrified at the mere mention of it and dared not approach, turning around and fleeing in droves.

Post-war statistics show that this soldier killed 13 Japanese soldiers single-handedly with a knife! He earned the title of "Knife God" in the National Revolutionary Army.

After fierce fighting, the 46th and 154th Divisions recaptured the positions on the west and southwest sides of Tiandoli. Three companies of the Japanese 36th Regiment that had broken into the area were isolated and forced to retreat.

Meanwhile, the main force of the Japanese 35th Regiment on the right launched a fierce attack on Qujiaqiao. The National Revolutionary Army's 67th Division withstood the intense Japanese artillery fire and held firm.

During this period, several divisions of the National Revolutionary Army have taken turns defending the area. Taking advantage of the crisscrossing waterways, they have built a large number of field fortifications using riverbanks, dikes, streets, villages, houses, hills, and even graves. Important positions have been reinforced with materials such as sandbags, timber, barbed wire, steel plates, and gasoline drums.

When the local people learned of this, they spontaneously collected a large amount of materials, even dismantling their own doors and roof beams, and delivered them to the front lines at night. Some young people even braved artillery fire to help build fortifications on the front lines, which deeply moved the Nationalist soldiers.

Under the leadership of Division Commander Huang Wuwo, the 67th Division of the National Revolutionary Army fought with great agility and discipline.

Following the principle of flexible defense tactics, the 67th Division deployed a three-tiered configuration. When Japanese aircraft and heavy artillery bombarded the area, all front-line troops, except for a small number left to guard the rear, quickly retreated to shelters and anti-artillery bunkers in the rear.

When the enemy's artillery fire extended and their infantry launched an attack, they quickly moved to the forward positions and bravely waited for the enemy to get close before unleashing a fierce barrage of machine guns and mortars. The Japanese artillery was rendered ineffective and suffered heavy casualties.

The Japanese army launched several unsuccessful attacks, then concentrated their fire with grenade launchers and brought in 37mm anti-tank guns to bombard our heavy machine gun positions. They also used 75mm mountain guns to suppress and bombard our mortar positions, and then launched an attack with infantry. Their offensive was extremely fierce.

Without the suppressive firepower of heavy machine guns and mortars, our frontline casualties surged, putting us under immense pressure.

"The front-line troops should abandon the forward positions and retreat to the second-line positions! Lure the enemy to attack!" Division Commander Huang Wuwo calmly responded and gave the order to the two regiments defending the front line.

The 67th Division's frontline troops immediately and quickly withdrew, luring the Japanese army into the pre-set defensive perimeter for pursuit.

"Yosh, pursue! Pursue them immediately!"

"Hold them down and wipe them all out!"

Colonel Fujii Suekichi, commander of the 35th Regiment of the Japanese Army, saw the National Revolutionary Army retreating and thought that the National Revolutionary Army had finally given up. The brutal and arrogant Colonel was determined to annihilate the National Revolutionary Army and immediately ordered two main attack battalions to push forward to the rear of the National Revolutionary Army.

The main force of the 67th Division on the second line of main positions calmly and quietly maintained fire silence until the Japanese army entered the pre-set crossfire range of our army before suddenly opening fire.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

"Da da da!"

"Da da da da da!"

In an instant, our army's guns and cannons roared, their sound echoing through the sky!

The concealed mortars roared, unleashing a barrage of shells with deadly force. Light and heavy machine guns, like raging fire dragons, spewed scorching flames, weaving a dense, impenetrable net of death.

A dense barrage of fire swept wildly through the Japanese ranks, creating bursts of blood mist and felling countless soldiers.

Caught off guard, the Japanese troops were engulfed in flames and thrown into chaos. They scattered and fled for cover, unable to organize a counterattack.

"kill!"

The regimental commander on the second-line main position shouted a loud call.

"Kill! Charge!"

The soldiers shouted in unison to launch a counterattack, their battle cries shaking the heavens as they charged towards the Japanese army like tigers.

Unable to maintain their footing, the Japanese troops finally gave in and retreated repeatedly.

"Baka! Don't retreat! Hold them off!" Colonel Suekichi Fujii roared furiously, but the soldiers of the 35th Regiment were still pushed back like a tide.

Not long after, the deafening sound of shells exploding suddenly rang out again!

The Japanese army raised artillery observation balloons behind the north bank of the Wusong River. Like the eyes of a demon hanging high in the sky, they looked down on our positions and guided heavy artillery fire, fiercely bombarding our exposed first and second-line positions and those crucial firing points.

The devastating 105mm and 150mm shells rained down. The fortifications were blown to pieces, with countless stones and dirt flying everywhere. The violent explosions raised clouds of dust and thick smoke, and the powerful shockwaves swept everything away, as if it were an apocalyptic catastrophe.

Our soldiers on the first and second lines of defense struggled to hold on under the ravages of enemy artillery fire. Some were buried in the ruins and sand, some were seriously wounded, and some were killed by the powerful shockwaves while bleeding from their mouths and noses.

随后，日军第7联队加入攻击，在20多辆94式轻战车和89式中战车的掩护下，第7、35两个联队气势汹汹再次向我军防线发起猛攻。

When Huang Wuwo, commander of the 67th Division, received the report from the front lines, he was shocked: "Tanks? How did the Japanese manage to get tanks across the river?"

This sudden situation caught Huang Wuwo completely off guard. The area was crisscrossed by rivers and ponds, and he never expected that Japanese tanks would appear here. The 67th Division was one of the reorganized divisions, equipped with a 37mm anti-tank gun company, but Division Commander Huang had not made any combat deployments. He quickly ordered the anti-tank gun company to rush to support the front line.

It turned out that the commander of the 9th Division, Yoshizumi Ryosuke, seeing that the battle had been raging for days and still could not advance, strongly requested that the tank units cross the river to participate in the attack. The Japanese army secretly brought tanks the night before and transported them across the Wusong River from Yaojiadu.

Our army lacked anti-tank weapons, and the officers and soldiers of the 67th Division had no means of counterattacking the Japanese tanks. The few 37mm anti-tank guns they had were quickly suppressed by Japanese artillery fire. Helpless, they could only rely on soldiers carrying cluster grenades and explosive packs to carry out human bomb attacks in a tragic and heroic manner.

Despite suffering heavy casualties, the 67th Division held its ground and stubbornly resisted the enemy's attack with its rudimentary weapons.

The Japanese offensive became increasingly fierce. The two forward positions in front of Zhangxiang had been captured by the Japanese 35th Regiment. Our casualties were increasing and the positions were in grave danger.

"Immediately reinforce the 67th Division!"

The order from Zhu Yimin, Commander-in-Chief of the Central Operational Army, was issued to the Training Corps.

"Yes! Understood! Our regiment will immediately reinforce Qujiaqiao!"

Song Hongfei then received orders from the chief commander, Gui Shuaizhen.

"Dump all unnecessary supplies! March forward at full speed!"

Song Hongfei ordered all battalions to lead the 3rd Regiment to rush to the aid of Qujiaqiao.