A Journey Through the Flames of War in the Republican Era

"Baka! You piece of trash! You coward!" Matsui Iwane, the commander of the Shanghai Expeditionary Army, was furious in his headquarters and lashed out in a fit of rage, though it was unclear who he was cursing.

With a loud crash, a set of precious early Qing Dynasty tea utensils, which he had just looted from a wealthy family near the Ye Family Garden in Jiangwan, was smashed to pieces.

The clever ones had already run far away, but the staff officers who had to stay at their posts and couldn't find an excuse to escape were in a bad mood. They could only obediently endure the commander's anger and pray anxiously that this bad luck wouldn't touch them.

Today is Meiji Day, and Matsui Iwane, that old Japanese devil, had been planning for days. His original plan was to first occupy Jiading and Nanxiang, and then break through the Suzhou River in one fell swoop, so as to present the Japanese devils with a birthday gift when this day arrives.

Under his repeated orders, the 3rd, 9th and 101st Divisions, which had been fighting hard for a long time, continued their fierce attack on the Suzhou River with great enthusiasm.

In order to achieve a breakthrough as soon as possible, he strongly supported the idea of ​​the 9th Division Commander Yoshizumi Ryosuke to order the tank troops to cross the river and strengthen the attack, and kept praising Yoshizumi Ryosuke, saying, "Your spirit of fighting bravely and winning is the martial honor of the Imperial Army."

Regardless of whether the triangular protrusions covered by ditches were suitable for tank movement, he ordered the engineers to do everything possible to transport the tanks from Yaojiadu across the Suzhou River.

Yesterday he was saying "Yoshi, yoshi," but now he's shouting "Baka, trash, coward!" Won't that make others think he's moody and capricious?

To Matsui Iwane's utter surprise, the battle turned out to be contrary to his wishes. The three divisions fought for several days, but not only was the progress slow, but they also suffered heavy losses. In the last two days, they had lost 3 men. How could he not be furious?

The 3rd Division, which attacked Zhoujiazai from the east, made no progress. The 68th Regiment, which had crossed the river, had nearly three battalions whose positions shrank under the counterattacks of the 88th and 36th Divisions and could not stand firm. They were forced to retreat to the north bank.

Today, tank units were deployed to cooperate with the 9th Division on the west side. After a fierce attack for half a day, they finally occupied the southern part of Zhangxiang. Just when it seemed that they were about to break through the enemy's defenses, they were thwarted by a sudden and fierce flanking attack from the Chinese reinforcements. The 7th Regiment, which had already broken through Caijiazhai, was forced to retreat.

The offensive on the western flank of Wusong was extremely difficult at every step, with staggering losses. Major Kawasaki, the battalion commander of the 36th Regiment, was shot in the neck and killed instantly while attacking the 46th Division's position southwest of Xujia Lane. This was the third battalion commander to be killed or wounded since the battalion entered the war.

The defeated 7th Regiment adjutant, Captain Fujita, was so enraged by the heavy casualties that he got into an argument with the 5th Tank Battalion Commander, Hosomi Koreo, and they blamed each other.

Fujita said angrily, "The tank convoy did not cross the river ditch south of Caijiazhai. The front-line troops had no cover and encountered fierce resistance from the enemy's waterfront positions. The follow-up troops were unable to expand the breakthrough for a long time and were ambushed on the flank, resulting in heavy casualties for the 7th Regiment. If the tank convoy could break through, it would lure the enemy's flanking fire to be exposed as soon as possible."

Hosomi Koreyu was already dissatisfied with the deployment of tanks to areas with dense ditches, believing that the infantry commanders did not understand armored tactics at all. Now, after being squeezed out, he became even more furious and accused the infantry of not cooperating: "The infantry do not know how to use tanks, do not know how to cooperate with tanks, and the tanks cannot go to the other side of the ditch to support the infantry, otherwise they will get stuck in the mud and be unable to move forward or backward, and will be subjected to concentrated fire from the enemy."

Hoshino was deeply saddened by the loss of five Type 89 medium tanks and six Type 94 light tanks in his battalion, which was almost an entire tank company wiped out.

The two men glared at each other, their necks bulging, like a pair of fighting cocks.

If Song Hongfei knew that such a scene had occurred, he would probably laugh his head off.

Song Hongfei, a later scholar, was keen on studying military history and always looked down on the Japanese armored forces in World War II, believing that they were not up to par. He thought that the Japanese army's understanding and use of armored forces was still at the level of World War I, dispersing tanks to support infantry attacks and using them as mobile turrets and fortifications.

With its weak firepower, thin armor, and poor mobility, the bean-shaped anti-tank tank was essentially a "thin-skinned can," only able to bully the Nationalist army, which lacked advanced technology and anti-tank capabilities, and exploit its weakness. The Nationalist army had only a small number of anti-tank guns, and local troops had none at all, often resorting to suicide attacks with explosive charges and cluster grenades.

Song Hongfei discovered the weaknesses of the Japanese tanks, one of which was poor communication. The Japanese tanks and armored vehicles were not equipped with radio communication devices, and communication mainly relied on signal flags or infantrymen tapping the tank shell with their rifle butts to shout messages.

Their infantry-tank coordination was mediocre at best; they had tanks but couldn't coordinate effectively, resulting in disastrous defeats. Based on his two personal experiences in the Battle of Shanghai, the Japanese mixed infantry-tank formations often operated independently, with infantry and tanks barely coordinating and instead hindering each other.

Tank formations often break apart shortly after setting off. Tank drivers have limited visibility and cannot open the hatches to observe during combat. Without infantry following them as eyes, they cannot see the hidden anti-tank gun positions of the Nationalist Army and lack infantry fire support.

Song Hongfei astutely seized upon these two weaknesses.

Song Hongfei, who was constantly observing the battlefield situation, accurately captured the fatal flaw that the two Japanese regiments that were flanking were only focused on their strong attack and neglected their flanks and rear. Their defenses were non-existent, and the more fiercely they attacked, the wider the gap became at the junction of the two.

Song Hongfei seized this opportunity; the 3rd Regiment of the Training Corps, like a surprise force, launched an attack unexpectedly.

Suddenly appearing on the flanks and rear of the two Japanese attack arrows, before the Japanese could even react, they swiftly and decisively penetrated the gap between the 7th and 36th Regiments.

Song Hongfei deployed an anti-tank gun company to quietly ambush on the right flank. Six 47mm anti-tank guns concentrated their fire and bombarded the Japanese troops. Before they could react, a salvo destroyed three Type 89 medium tanks. The once unstoppable Type 89 medium tanks were instantly turned into a pile of scrap metal.

Another brilliant move he made was deploying the small artillery battery on the left flank, leveling the muzzles for precise direct fire. The six Solothurn 20mm anti-aircraft guns were like lurking beasts, ready to deliver a fatal blow to their prey.

The 36th Regiment and an entire company of Type 94 light tanks, which were launching a fierce attack on the 46th Division's positions along the Xujialong line, were caught off guard and suffered a devastating blow.

"Thump thump thump thump!" A series of booming sounds suddenly rang out, and the 20mm anti-aircraft gun with an extremely high rate of fire roared and spewed out its fury. In the blink of an eye, it poured out 20 shells from its magazine. The dense rain of shells was like a violent torrent of metal, shooting straight towards the enemy position.

After two rounds of rapid and intense concentrated fire, an astonishing result was achieved—six Type 94 light tanks were successfully destroyed in one fell swoop!

The poor Type 94 tank was now in a terrible state, riddled with bullet holes, and the crew inside had been reduced to scrap metal and wreckage.

A barrage of high-explosive shells swept across the battlefield with overwhelming force, leaving a trail of blood and carnage in their wake. The Japanese soldiers had no time to react before being swallowed up by the merciless barrage.

The Japanese soldiers who were directly hit were instantly blown to pieces, with limbs, broken arms, and internal organs splattering everywhere. The bursts of blood mist and flying pieces of flesh intertwined in the air to create an extremely terrifying scene, like a blood-soaked hell.

As the saying goes, "Put the anti-aircraft guns down, and you'll face a military court!"

This awe-inspiring scene not only terrified the Japanese troops, but also left the officers and soldiers of the 46th Division, who were struggling to resist the fierce attack of the 36th Regiment supported by tanks, dumbfounded and their hair stood on end.

The power of these anti-aircraft guns to hit people is terrifying.

I never imagined that the Japanese tank that I had to sacrifice the lives of seven or eight soldiers to exchange for a human bomb would be destroyed by the artillery fire of the Training Corps in the blink of an eye.

The 82 mortar gunners fired rapidly, wave after wave of shells whistling down towards the Japanese soldiers desperately swarming through the breach. With each violent explosion, countless shrapnel fragments scattered, creating deadly storms of metal.

Those Japanese soldiers who were unfortunate enough to be at the center of the explosion were blown into pieces of all sizes. Their severed limbs were thrown into the air by the powerful shockwave, and then fell back down like kites with broken strings, leaving a tragic trail in the sky.

Most unexpectedly, whether it was a 75mm shell or an 82mm mortar shell, it struck a Japanese transport vehicle loaded with ammunition behind the lines, causing a series of earth-shaking explosions and bursts of intense flames, as if bidding farewell to the retreating Japanese troops.

The 46th and 154th Divisions were greatly encouraged and sounded the charge to launch a fierce counterattack!

The Japanese 9th Division launched a fierce attack for most of the day. The 7th Regiment, which broke into the second line of defense at Caijiazai, was attacked from the flank by the 3rd Regiment of the Training Corps. Its supplies were cut off, its food and ammunition were exhausted, and the wounded could not be evacuated. It had no choice but to retreat in defeat.

The 35th Regiment, which bypassed Caijiazai's right flank to attack Qujiaqiao, encountered fierce resistance, with the defending 402nd Regiment fighting to the death.

When the situation became critical, the soldiers of the 67th Division were greatly encouraged upon hearing that the reinforcements and training corps had arrived. Division Commander Huang Wuwo organized the last reserve force to launch a valiant counterattack.

Smoke filled the air, and the sounds of battle shook the heavens. The intensity of the battle eventually escalated into a thrilling close-quarters combat.

Both sides gave it their all.

Huang Wuwo took the lead, wielding an MP28 submachine gun and charging to the front lines with his personal bodyguard. Under the desperate and relentless resistance of the 67th Division soldiers, the 35th Regiment was ultimately forced into a series of retreats.

The gunfire subsided, but the smoke of battle lingered.

Torn military uniforms, charred flesh, and weapons scattered everywhere—the scene was one of utter devastation, filled with the thick smell of gunpowder and blood—a horrifying spectacle of hell.

After a fierce and brutal offensive that lasted most of the day, the 9th Division finally captured the southern part of Zhangxiang.

However, Division Commander Yoshizumi Ryosuke could not feel joy. The small Cai family residence, now a ruin, seemed like an insurmountable obstacle, firmly blocking the 9th Division's path forward.

Despite being so close, the Japanese troops could only gaze at Qujiaqiao in the distance, feeling as if it were a mirage, something they could only dream of but never reach.