A Journey Through the Flames of War in the Republican Era

After chatting for a while, Song Hongfei realized that Commander Gui and Chief of Staff Qiu hadn't come solely for his sake. He also wanted to report the problems exposed during the tactical exercises to Commander Gui.

Song Hongfei has a great style; he is used to handling problems on the spot. He will deal with anything that can be done on the spot, and he is very efficient. This saves everyone from having to run around. This is why he is well-liked by his subordinates.

Song Hongfei said to Liang Wanyi and Lin Shuyao, "Why don't you go to the Imperial Stele Pavilion on Yanziji first? The sunset at Yanziji is one of the most famous scenic spots in Jinling. The weather is nice today; there should be a magnificent sunset this evening."

Gui Shuaizhen said, "This place is built to field standards, there isn't even a place to receive guests, and tea is not served. I'm truly sorry. Ladies, please take a tour of Yanziji Park first, and Hongfei will keep you company tonight!"

Worried that Gui Shuaizhen might say something even more shocking, Liang Wanyi quickly said, "You're busy with military affairs, we'll just stroll around by ourselves." She then pulled Lin Shuyao away.

Song Hongfei, Gui Shuaizhen, and Qiu Yu'an entered the command post, spread out a map, and studied the defense deployment.

Gui Shuaizhen said, "The Garrison Command has clearly ordered that our brigade's operational area be the eastern and northeastern part of Nanjing, with Tangshan as the forward outpost, and a tiered deployment through Qilinmen, Chalukou, Zijinshan, Zhongshanmen, and Taipingmen. This is the direction of the Japanese army's attack along the Nanjing-Hangzhou National Highway. The brigade's main defensive focus is on the south and north sides of Zijinshan, and maintaining contact along the line from the north side of Zijinshan to Mufushan."

Song Hongfei said, "The north and south sides of Zijin Mountain are largely in line with our previous expectations, but the line of defense from the north to Mufu Mountain is too long and our forces are insufficient."

Gui Shuaizhen nodded and said, "The two key locations, Zijin Mountain and Mufu Mountain, at both ends, are mutually supportive and have long been the training grounds for our brigade, so naturally our brigade will be the main force. As for the troops, the 83rd Army, the 66th Army, and the 2nd Army Corps that are gradually withdrawing from Jiangyin, Zhenjiang and other places will be used to strengthen the defense line in the future."

"Hongfei, you have been in charge of the Mufushan training ground. The line from the north side of Zijinshan to Mufushan, starting from the fork in the road, through Yangfangshan and Yinkongshan, is the responsibility of your 3rd Brigade for defense."

Song Hongfei nodded and said, "Yes."

Gui Shuaizhen said, "The three-month-long air and sea battle at Jiangyin is coming to an end. The Japanese army has outflanked and encircled us from the land. The Military Commission has decided to abandon the fortress of Jiangyin and the troops will retreat to Zhenjiang. I just received some news today that you probably wouldn't expect: the 2nd Battalion of the 10th Heavy Artillery Regiment—the same heavy artillery battalion that cleared mines on the Meipu Highway Bridge to free the artillery vehicles when you covered the retreat—has made a great contribution and played an unexpected role."

Song Hongfei asked, "What great achievement did you make?"

Gui Shuaizhen said, "This artillery battalion withdrew from the Shanghai-Nanjing battlefield to Jiangyin, where it set up concealed firing positions and inflicted heavy casualties on the Japanese troops who were attacking Jiangyin County and the fortress from the land, providing strong support for the defense of Jiangyin."

Gui Shuaizhen continued, "The shipwreck blockade of the Jiangyin waterway by our navy was breached by the Japanese fleet's continuous mine-clearing and obstacle-breaking operations, creating a channel that could accommodate 1000-ton vessels. The Japanese then dispatched the destroyer 'Suzukaze' and several gunboats, including the 'Atake,' to cover a formation of minesweepers as they continued to clear mines upstream of the blockade."

"After the artillery battalion withdrew to Jingjiang, it launched a surprise concentrated bombardment, severely damaging the Japanese naval fleet that was clearing mines. The 'Suzukaze' and 'Atake' were seriously damaged. Although they were not sunk, their engines and steering gear were destroyed. In their hasty escape, the two Japanese ships, which lost power and directional control, successively collided with mines and sunken ships, and capsized in the blocked waterway. This was the heaviest blow suffered by the Japanese navy since the start of the war!"

"Our navy took the opportunity to lay a large number of mines overnight. According to the assessment, Japanese 500-ton ships will not be able to pass through the blockade line in a short period of time. The only ships that can pass through are shallow-draft inland river gunboats of two to three hundred tons, with the largest caliber naval guns being no more than 76 mm. The pressure on our Yangtze River defense line has been greatly reduced."

Song Hongfei was shocked. The power of the butterfly effect was truly astonishing!

Out of camaraderie, he bravely intervened and rescued a 150mm heavy artillery battalion. The original river defense cannons of the Jiangyin Fortress were not effective against the Japanese troops who were flanking from the land due to the limited firing angle. After this mechanized heavy artillery battalion was withdrawn to Jiangyin, it filled this firepower gap and played a huge role, causing the Japanese army a lot of trouble.

More importantly, this artillery battalion subsequently withdrew to Jingjiang on the north bank of the Yangtze River, fully utilizing its mobile deployment capabilities. This caught the Japanese minesweeping squadron off guard, resulting in unexpected success. The Japanese Navy's "Suzukaze" and "Atake" ships were severely damaged, and the Japanese minesweeping squadron retreated in panic.

Most unexpectedly, as the two Japanese ships were retreating downstream through the sunken ship blockade, the powerless "Suzukaze" ship collided with a mine mooring mine that our army had laid in the water. With a huge explosion, the bow of the "Suzukaze" ship was blown off. Under the impact of the rapid current in the narrow channel, it then collided with the sunken ship obstacle and capsized across the channel.

After its rudder was damaged and it lost control, the "Atake" crashed into the capsized "Suzukaze" and slowly capsized as well. With a terrifying and ear-piercing sound of masts breaking and metal clashing, the two ships were locked together, and the largest channel that the Japanese had painstakingly opened was blocked again.

The gunboat "Atake" was the main battleship and flagship of the 11th Squadron of the Japanese Navy, which was dedicated to operations on the Yangtze River. It had a displacement of 725 tons and was equipped with communication, command and living facilities that commanders and staff officers did not have. It was armed with two 120 mm guns and two 76 mm dual-purpose guns, and its firepower far exceeded that of other inland river gunboats.

The Chinese army, weak and suffering repeated defeats, with its capital on the verge of falling, actually sank two of the Japanese army's elite warships? This explosive news immediately caused a sensation in the world, with various sectors reporting extensively on the heavy blow the Japanese navy suffered at the hands of the Chinese army on the Yangtze River, leaving the Japanese high command feeling humiliated.

The Japanese navy was in complete chaos. To save face, the Japanese repeatedly insisted that the two ships had accidentally struck a mine due to mechanical failure, and were not destroyed by the Chinese forces during combat. But no matter how much they denied it, the fact remained that they had indeed sunk!

When the news spread, the entire nation, both military and civilian, rejoiced, the country was in an uproar, and morale soared.

Emperor Hirohito was furious and severely reprimanded the navy. The commander of the fleet, Kiyoshi Hasegawa, was given a severe dressing-down by the Imperial General Headquarters.

On the same day, Yoshida Yoshimitsu, commander of the 11th Squadron, was immediately dismissed and replaced by Major General Kondo Eijiro.

Song Hongfei never imagined that the flapping of a butterfly's wings would inadvertently trigger such a series of chain reactions, drastically changing history!

Gui Shuaizhen stared straight at Song Hongfei and sighed softly, "Sometimes I can't help but think that this is fate! Just like your fleeting encounter with Miss Liang, it's unbelievable, it really is fate."

Song Hongfei felt a chill run down his spine and remained silent for a long time.

His thoughts were churning like a raging tide; this was a golden opportunity, no matter what.

Song Hongfei knew perfectly well that historically, the Japanese naval fleet had sailed up the Yangtze River, coordinating with army divisions for a combined land and water advance. After capturing Zhenjiang, the 11th Division's Amaya Detachment, along with part of the 13th Division, crossed the river with the support of the river-going fleet, capturing Yangzhou, the gateway to the north of the Yangtze. They then outflanked and attacked Chuzhou, cutting off the Tianjin-Pukou Railway and the Grand Canal. Together with the Kunisaki Detachment, which crossed the river from the Wuhu and Dangtu areas, they encircled and blocked the Nanjing garrison's retreat to the north.

Now that the flagship of the Japanese fleet has sunk, they need to spend a lot of manpower, resources and time to reorganize and carry out obstacle clearing and mine clearance. If the Japanese naval fleet cannot launch an attack upstream along the river as scheduled in a short period of time, cannot coordinate with the army, and cannot cut off our army's retreat route across the river, will our army's deployment be adjusted accordingly?

Faced with this situation, which is completely different from history, what kind of response and strategy should we adopt?

Could the fate of Nanjing have been changed? Could the tragedy of 30 people have been prevented from happening again?

The shock in Song Hongfei's heart lingered for a long time. This mysterious and unpredictable power was both unbelievable and awe-inspiring.

The two remained silent for a long time.

Gui Shuaizhen only felt that there was a divine will at play, but Song Hongfei knew very well how astonishingly history had changed.