A Journey Through the Flames of War in the Republican Era

Because it was daytime, we encountered Japanese aircraft several times along the way.

The rearguard company of the 1st Battalion sounded the piercing air raid siren, and soon the buzzing of Japanese aircraft filled the sky.

"Air raid! Evacuate and take cover!"

"Set up the anti-aircraft machine guns!"

"Quick! Move quickly!"

The officers shouted urgently.

Following the air defense plan, the 3rd Training Regiment used the terrain to set up anti-aircraft tripods for each of the 24mm general-purpose machine guns, preparing to engage any enemy aircraft that dared to fly low.

Just as the troops entered a concealed state, a formation of more than 20 Japanese aircraft emerged from the clouds.

Perhaps because they dispersed and concealed themselves quickly, the Japanese aircraft group did not seem to take Song Hongfei's small regimental-sized unit seriously. Two escorting fighters slipped out of formation and symbolically dropped a few small bombs, while the massive aircraft group headed straight ahead to bomb the retreating army.

"I never imagined that being the rearguard would have such advantages," Song Hongfei said with a self-deprecating laugh. "However, the main force ahead isn't having such a good time..."

Song Hongfei unfolded the map, pointed to the location of the Huangdu Highway Bridge that had already been marked on it, and said to the regimental commander and several battalion commanders: "Look, the only road that can be driven on Yunzaobang is the Huangdu Bridge, which is very suitable for ambush. We will deploy positions on both sides to form a crossfire network, and at the same time lay a minefield on the highway, using all kinds of booby traps."

"Various booby traps?" Battalion Commander Wu Xiuyuan's eyes lit up. "Does the regimental commander mean not only instantaneous mines, but also various delayed and release mines?"

“That’s right,” Song Hongfei said with a sneer. “Don’t the Japanese like to chase? Let them taste the ‘chain formation’.”

"Second Battalion Commander, your battalion and the engineering company must immediately proceed to Huangdu Bridge to construct positions and lay minefields."

"Yes!"

"Third Battalion Commander," Song Hongfei said to Zhou Huaijin, the Third Battalion Commander, "your battalion will lay minefields and deploy defenses here, and take over the cover once the First Battalion catches up."

"Understood!" the battalion commander replied.

"Remember, don't fight head-on, be flexible and mobile!" Song Hongfei added. "Our mission is to buy time, not to hold the line. If necessary, we can abandon the front line and retreat to the second line."

"After the entire regiment arrives at Huangdu Bridge, we will harass the enemy with firepower, drive them into the minefield, use landmines to wear them down first, and once they are in disarray, we will suppress them with firepower and eliminate them!"

"Understood!" everyone responded in unison.

The returning Japanese bomber group spotted the 3rd Training Regiment, which was methodically deploying defenses on the ground, but they had already run out of bombs and could only watch helplessly.

Several escorting fighter jets broke formation, circled for more than half a circle, adjusted their course, lowered their altitude, and dived to straf the enemy. Their machine guns spat out streaks of fire, whipping the ground as they swept directly toward our positions.

The 3rd Training Regiment simultaneously opened fire with its concealed small cannons and dozens of anti-aircraft machine guns!

One enemy plane exploded in mid-air, bursting into flames, before crashing to the ground and exploding. Another plane was hit, caught fire, and fled in panic, billowing black smoke. The other enemy planes hastily pulled up and fled, no longer daring to act recklessly.

Some stragglers who had fallen behind on the way cheered and applauded when they saw this, which greatly boosted the morale of our troops.

Song Hongfei used a regiment and an attached engineering company to cover the rear of the army retreating from the south bank of the Wusong River and Pudong and the city. This move was extremely bold, and some Nationalist generals thought it was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

Behind him, the pursuing troops of the Japanese 9th and 101st Divisions advanced side by side.

To the northeast, the 11th Division is launching a fierce attack on Nanxiang, penetrating our army's weak flank.

In the southwest, the main force of the 6th Division is approaching Qingpu at top speed, and its vanguard is already engaged in fierce fighting with the 51st and 58th Divisions of our army, which are holding Qingpu.

The 3rd Training Regiment acted swiftly, launching mine-laying operations on the east side of the Huangdu Highway Bridge, meticulously laying a minefield 500 meters deep along the highway and extending 500 meters to each side.

The engineers fully utilized their creativity and wisdom, making use of all available resources. They transformed anti-personnel mines, anti-tank mines, grenades, shells, and explosive blocks into various booby traps, which were then cleverly modified into powerful chain-reaction explosive devices.

Landmines are buried everywhere – on highways, beside roads, in fields, in ditches, among grass, in crevices of rocks, under trees, and on trees. They are just waiting for the enemy to arrive so that they can trigger the deadly mechanism, explode with a loud bang, and deliver a fatal blow.

Instantaneous, delayed, tripped, loose, and triggered grenade attacks, with pressure-activated grenade followed by loose grenade, and tripped grenade followed by triggered grenade, all combined to create a variety of real and fake grenades, making it difficult for the enemy to detect them.

The engineers dared not slack off in the slightest, working continuously for several hours, using every trick in the book to lay mines, their uniforms soaked with sweat.

After the rearguard caught up, the engineer company completely blocked the specially left passage, turning the area into a veritable death zone.

To avoid friendly fire, the 3rd Training Regiment placed Chinese warning signs in the minefield to warn Chinese soldiers not to enter by mistake. They weren't afraid of being exposed; the purpose of the minefield was clear: to successfully hinder the enemy's advance.

Commander Hitomi Hidezo of the 19th Regiment of the 9th Division, who had just broken through a battalion's blocking force, led his troops in pursuit. While riding his horse, he secretly cursed Fukui Kotaro of the 157th Regiment of the 101st Division, saying that he was a coward who was afraid to advance after being ambushed once.

"Boom! Boom!" Several violent explosions suddenly came from ahead.

"What's going on up ahead?!" Ren Jianxiu was startled.

A short while later, an adjutant quickly reported that the advance scout team had entered the minefield, resulting in multiple casualties.

"Send the engineers to clear the mines immediately!" Hitoshi shouted hoarsely.

The 19th Regiment triggered a minefield laid by the 3rd Battalion in front of a river branch called Xinkai River. Song Hongfei had carefully chosen this location, making it impossible for the Japanese army to bypass it.

The Japanese engineering company began mine-clearing operations, carefully searching for over 200 meters before finally clearing some mines. There seemed to be no more mines ahead, so the engineering squad leader in charge of mine-clearing wiped the large beads of sweat from his forehead and signaled that they could continue.

Hitoshi Hidezo waved his hand forward, signaling the troops to continue advancing.

Not long after, just when the Japanese army thought they were safe, a sudden disaster struck.

With a deafening roar, an engineering platoon and most of an infantry company of Japanese soldiers were plunged into a hellish state of carnage, with dead and wounded scattered everywhere amidst the deafening explosions of landmines.

Some were thrown into the air by the powerful explosion, some were blown to pieces with their limbs flying everywhere, and some were seriously injured, lying on the ground howling in pain. Their miserable cries were terrifying.

"Damn it! Those damned Chinese soldiers!" Hitoshi was completely stunned, staring blankly at the limbs flying through the air and the torn flesh and blood, his heart pounding with horror.

Enraged, Hiroshi saw Hidezo with wide eyes, veins bulging on his forehead, and spitting as he cursed Hirata Ichiro, the temporarily assigned engineering company commander, mercilessly.

Hirata Ichiro explained with a wronged expression: "The cunning Chinese army used time-delay fuses and various chain-reaction explosive devices. Moreover, the way they buried booby traps was extremely special, making them very difficult to detect and very dangerous and time-consuming to remove."

Seeing that Xiu San's anger had not subsided, he coldly said, "No matter what, the engineer company must always stay ahead of the regiment, clear the mines as quickly as possible, and ensure the smooth advance of the troops! Do you understand?"

"Damn it! That arrogant and rude guy, it's true what they say, 'a higher rank can crush you'..." Hirata Ichiro cursed inwardly.

Although the engineer company was directly under the division's engineer regiment, it was now assigned to the command of Hirata Ichiro, who could only grit his teeth and helplessly turn around to order his engineers to continue clearing mines.

At this moment, our troops harassed the Japanese from a distance with heavy machine gun and mortar fire, raising clouds of dust on the ground. The sudden attack caused some casualties among the Japanese troops, and a commotion ensued.

There are landmines on the highway, but surely the fields on either side should be safe?

Following operational orders, the soldiers of the 19th Regiment hurriedly ran off the road and quickly dispersed to form a defensive formation in preparation for an enemy attack.

However, to the Japanese army's utter surprise, a series of explosions rang out all around them, accompanied by the heart-wrenching screams of wounded soldiers.

The terrified Japanese soldiers, like headless flies, frantically ran out of the fields and woods on both sides, completely losing their composure.

After things calmed down a bit, when the personnel were counted, Hitoshi was furious. In just over 200 meters, he had lost a full one and a half companies of soldiers!

Heaven knows how many landmines the Chinese army has planted.

Enraged, Hitoshi was forced to order his troops to halt their advance, and the main force of the regiment retreated to a safe location to organize a defense.

"The 1st Battalion will send two companies to cover the engineer company and clear all the landmines on the road!"

"The regimental artillery company is to deploy on the spot and bombard the Chinese army with a vengeance!"

As Hitoshi roared, his already grotesque and distorted face became even more hideous and terrifying, like that of a demon, due to extreme anger.