A Journey Through the Flames of War in the Republican Era

Heisuke Yanagawa, commander of the Japanese 10th Army, was arrogant and domineering, and was known for his skill in flanking maneuvers.

The original operational plan devised by the General Staff and Matsui Iwane stipulated that the 10th Army should advance to the southwest of the city as soon as possible and join forces with the Shanghai Expeditionary Army to encircle and annihilate the Nationalist troops in the city and around the Wusong River.

However, Yanagawa Heisuke's appetite was not satisfied with this. His bold and arrogant "overthrowing superiors" operation plan exceeded the original plans of the General Staff and Matsui Iwane. He intended to carry out a larger-scale flanking maneuver to the west, attempting to encircle all the main forces of the National Revolutionary Army on the southern front of Shanghai in one fell swoop.

Heisuke Yanagawa mastered the Japanese army's "central breakthrough, flanking maneuver" tactic to perfection.

After capturing Songjiang, the 10th Army quickly split into two routes. The 6th Division marched north to penetrate deep into the rear of the Nationalist army and attack the flank and rear of the Nationalist army on the south bank of the Wusong River. The 18th Division, the 114th Division, and the Guoqi Detachment rushed westward, making a wide-ranging flanking maneuver.

The situation on the Wusongjiang battlefield, where the two sides had been deadlocked, took a sharp turn for the worse. The right flank of the Nationalist army's defense line in Shanghai was breached. Fighting on two fronts and attacked from both sides, our right flank army was in danger of having its retreat cut off at any moment. Continuing to hold on was no longer meaningful.

At night, the Third War Zone urgently issued a retreat order, and the units of the right wing army moved towards the Wufu and Pingjia defense lines. About 10 divisions along the Wusong River line, except for the 51st and 58th Divisions which built blocking positions in the Qingpu area, mostly moved towards Huangdu and Anting in succession.

In addition, a part of the 55th Division, together with the Shanghai Police Corps and Security Corps, defended the southern part of the city.

Commander Gui Shuaizhen originally intended to convene a combat meeting to arrange the retreat deployment, but Song Hongfei suggested that redeployment would take time, so it would be better to directly follow the current defensive positions and transfer in an alternating manner from west to east.

Song Hongfei's 3rd Regiment, located at Qujiaqiao in the far east, would be responsible for covering the retreat. The danger of being the rearguard was self-evident, and no one else objected.

Song Hongfei was not being arrogant, nor was he putting on airs.

He knew that the National Revolutionary Army, due to various long-standing problems, had poor organization, making it only capable of positional warfare, defensive battles, or fighting when the tide was high. Often, even when facing overwhelming Japanese attacks and suffering heavy casualties, they were able to put up a tenacious resistance, and their units remained intact.

However, during retreats, they often fail to achieve organized retreat; if not handled properly, they turn into a rout, and the organization simply falls apart.

Song Hongfei was well aware that a powerful army needs to be able to fight against the wind, conduct mobile and maneuver warfare, and carry out complex tactical coordination in field environments. This requires not only that the commander has excellent control capabilities, but also that the troops have strict organization, discipline and resolute execution, as well as that the officers and soldiers have strong initiative.

He hoped that his troops would be indestructible and resilient in adversity, and that they would serve as a model for the National Revolutionary Army in every aspect.

Upon seeing Song Hongfei take the initiative to cover the rear, Commander Gui Shuaizhen exclaimed in admiration and immediately said, "Just let us know what you need, and we'll supply you with all the equipment, ammunition, and supplies!"

Song Hongfei said, "An engineering company and a large number of landmines."

"No problem. I'll also assign you a supply company."

Song Hongfei was overjoyed.

Gui Shuai patted Song Hongfei on the shoulder and said meaningfully, "The Battle of Shanghai was extremely arduous and earth-shattering. When we return to Nanjing, the higher-ups will definitely not treat us unfairly."

Song Hongfei's heart skipped a beat, and he thought to himself, "Captain Gui seems to have something in mind. Judging from the situation, he must have received news of the upcoming expansion."

With the war at stake, he didn't think much of it.

The Japanese troops on the north bank of the Wusong River discovered that the number of Nationalist troops on the south bank had been rapidly decreasing since the previous night, and thus decided to launch a pursuit.

The 11th Division on the western front immediately resumed its offensive, launching an attack from north to south along the line of Xiaonanxiang, Jiangqiaozhen, and Qianjiawei.

The main force of the 3rd Division on the east side moved south to capture Longhua, while the 6th and 68th Regiments blocked Nanshi.

The 9th Division was the first to finish its rest and replenishment and quickly pursued westward. At the same time, the 101st Division, which was also resting, received orders to temporarily halt its rest and cooperate with the 9th Division in order to expand the gains.

Despite the danger, Song Hongfei remained calm and began to direct the troops to retreat in an orderly manner.

He arranged for the four companies of the 1st Battalion to cooperate and provide alternating cover; he also ordered the 2nd Battalion to guard the flanks to prevent the enemy from launching a surprise attack from the flanks; after the 1st Battalion caught up, the 3rd Battalion immediately took over to provide cover in turn.

In this alternating cover, they retreated step by step, leading the entire regiment to join the retreating army.

Seeing signs of wavering among our troops in the Qujiaqiao and Xujiaxia areas, 101st Division Commander Ito Masayoshi quickly deployed the 157th Regiment and part of the 101st Cavalry Battalion to the west of the 9th Division, pursuing them from the west of Tiandoli towards the Xiajiazai area in the southwest.

To Ito Masaki's utter surprise, the 3rd Training Regiment, responsible for covering the retreat of the main force of the Training Corps, was already waiting in ambush. Song Hongfei had meticulously set up the ambush, waiting for the prey to take the bait.

The 101st Division's pursuing force was led by a cavalry battalion, with infantry regiments following closely behind.

The Japanese 101st Cavalry Battalion galloped westward in pursuit.

Song Hongfei issued a series of orders:

"Stay hidden and don't expose yourself!"

"The 1st and 2nd Battalions, let the vanguard cavalry go, and focus all your efforts on annihilating the enemy infantry!"

"The 3rd Battalion must block the enemy cavalry at Erdaohuzi and prevent them from advancing an inch!"

"Once the battle begins, swiftly break them in half and wipe them out completely!"

The unsuspecting Japanese cavalry and infantry stumbled into the carefully designed ambush like headless flies.

In an instant, gunfire erupted as the Type 24 general-purpose machine gun spat fire, raining down a dense barrage of bullets and grenades.

Caught off guard, the Japanese army was thrown into chaos. Many Japanese soldiers died before they could even react. In just 20 minutes, more than 100 Japanese soldiers were killed on the spot.

The Japanese army never expected that the hastily retreating Nationalist army would not only remain calm but also dare to set up an ambush? They were astonished to find such formidable fighting power!

157th Regiment Commander Kotaro Fukui was greatly alarmed, and his mouth was already full of bitter taste.

The soldiers of the 101st Division were terrified by our army's general-purpose machine guns. As soon as they heard that familiar machine gun sound, they became like startled birds, their expressions changed drastically, and they fell to the ground, trembling with fear.

Japanese soldiers called our army's general-purpose machine gun the "devil's machine gun." This machine gun would always appear out of nowhere and suddenly launch a fierce barrage that would cause you a lot of casualties. By the time you reacted and tried to retaliate with heavy machine guns, grenade launchers and infantry guns, the enemy had already calmly walked away.

But you must not let your guard down, because it will suddenly reappear in unexpected places. It is extremely mobile and flexible, and does not even need a tripod. A single soldier can set up a bipod. Unlike their own Type 92 heavy machine gun, it does not require the construction of a suitable firing position. The Japanese soldiers were so nervous that they were on edge.

"Is the retreat a trap? Is the Chinese army luring the enemy deep into our territory?" Fukui Kotaro has now learned to be cautious.

This sudden ambush not only effectively delayed the enemy's pursuit, but also created a favorable opportunity for the main force of our army to retreat.

The 101st Division truly lived up to its reputation as the worst-performing Japanese division in the Battle of Shanghai.

Their pursuing troops learned to slack off, pretending to work while firing their guns and cannons fiercely, but they were too slow to move forward. They would only start following after our army had gone far away, gradually moving out of sight of our rear guard.

Overall, although the retreat of our Songhu army was rather hasty, the plan was still quite reasonable.

There are numerous rivers of varying sizes along the route from the southern front to the rear defense line, but only one relatively wide road is available for large troops to pass through, and only this road has bridges along its entire length.

The roads were crowded with people and vehicles, and refugees were mixed in with them.

By the second day, the retreating army was completely exposed to Japanese air reconnaissance during its march.

A sharp alarm sounded, and soon the hum of airplane engines filled the sky.

"Japanese planes! Anti-aircraft warning!"

"Air raid! Evacuate! Lie down!"

With screams, panic engulfed the fleeing crowds on the highway like an avalanche, and the people scattered in all directions, mingling with a marching army.

"Don't panic! Evacuate and take cover! Don't run around!"

The officer roared, but the chaotic flow of people scattered the troops in an instant, and the troops immediately fell into disarray, leaving the road and running towards the woods on both sides.

As a result, the troops experienced a period of chaos, their organization was disrupted, officers could not find their soldiers, and soldiers could not find their officers. There was no order to speak of, and commanders could not control their troops or give them effective command.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Japanese aircraft repeatedly strafed and bombed at low altitudes. With each loud bang, earth and rocks flew, smoke and dust billowed, and the earth shook violently.

When the 3rd Training Regiment caught up, the scene was horrific. Several large craters, each over two meters in diameter, littered the road, and the surrounding area was littered with the corpses of people and animals, still partially burned cars and horse-drawn carriages, and scattered parts of bombed-out weapons.