A Journey Through the Flames of War in the Republican Era

"Place all available obstacles on the road and immediately build fortifications! Bring up heavy mortars and anti-tank guns, and bombard them as soon as enemy tanks get close! No matter what, defend to the death! We absolutely cannot let the Central Army cross Zhao Wang Village!" Division Commander Liu Fangdu shouted into the phone.

"Understood! I have organized a suicide squad and prepared explosives and grenades. When the tanks come up, the suicide squad soldiers will rush up and blow them up!" replied Gao Pengyun, the brigade commander of the 3rd Brigade.

Liu Fangdu's eyes welled up with tears, and she could no longer utter a single word.

But could flesh and blood alone stop this armored formation? This crucial question struck everyone's mind like a heavy hammer.

No one could answer, and no one spoke.

The soldiers' faces were solemn. The garrison commander, who had rushed to Zhao Wang Village to take command, clearly sensed the shock and unease in the silent soldiers' hearts. The garrison commander felt both immense grief and helplessness.

The garrison commander knew very well that this strategic location was the last barrier between Weizhou and Xijing. The deputy commander, division commander, and brigade commander all issued orders to defend the position to the death, with the principle of "as long as we are here, we will hold the position!"

Military orders are like mountains.

Looking at the faces of the young soldiers, the garrison commander's eyes welled up with tears. This is war. War is subordinate to politics. To achieve one's goals, one will stop at nothing. In the face of war, soldiers are just numbers.

Song Hongfei, citing insufficient follow-up troops and the fact that it was not part of the battle plan, strictly ordered the 1st Company Commander Zhang Yi and the tank company commander Guo Hengjian, two eager warmongers, to stop their request to attack Zhao Wang Village.

Zhang Yi felt a pang of regret. The Battle of Chishui River had been incredibly exciting. The combined infantry and artillery, infantry and tank, and armored assault formations had surged forward at breakneck speed. He was ambitious and eager to overtake Zhao Wang Village and crush Xijing all the way. He and Guo Hengjian were confident that they could take the position in one wave of attack.

Zhang Yi knew Song Hongfei's style well; an order was an order, with no room for negotiation. He replied into the vehicle's radio, "Yes! Understood! Leave a small force to monitor and contain him!"

He suddenly understood what Song Hongfei had said before the battle: "The purpose of this battle is not to kill people."

The long-range artillery fire from the rear once again accurately bombarded the Zhao Wang Village position. A small detachment consisting of a platoon of infantry and armored vehicles was left behind to hold back the defenders, while the main force of the right-wing assault formation completed its turn and regrouping several hundred meters away, and quickly moved from west to east along the Xitong Highway and the passage in the open ground.

The Zhao Wang Village garrison, who were on high alert, expected a fierce battle, but the enemy suddenly turned around and left. The garrison soldiers breathed a sigh of relief.

The defending commander was puzzled. Why had the enemy retreated?

The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt, so he quickly grabbed the phone and reported the situation to the brigade commander.

Brigade Commander Gao Pengyun pondered for a while, then said into the phone, "Your regiment shall remain in place, strengthen fortifications, and maintain vigilance!"

Commander Gao was also filled with doubts. This Central Army force that had suddenly advanced was small in number, but had more than 10 tanks and their combat power was formidable. Behind them were three regiments of the 1st Brigade, as well as the 9th Regiment he had sent to reinforce them. Although all units were engaged in fierce fighting, they were not a force that could be easily manipulated by this small group of enemy soldiers who had penetrated deep behind enemy lines.

Commander Gao fell into deep thought. What were they planning to do? A small force of two or three hundred men wanted to outflank four regiments? How arrogant! Even the Japanese army wasn't this crazy!

This was due to ingrained thinking and a limited understanding of armored warfare. Analyzing it according to the conventional wisdom of infantry warfare, no one would have thought that such a small unit could achieve anything. However, after this battle, the shocking reality of mechanized warfare taught everyone a profound and unforgettable lesson.

Inside Weizhou City, Liu Fangdu, the commander of the 105th Division, stared at the battle map, deep in thought. After much deliberation, Commander Liu realized that he had two brigades and six regiments at the front. No matter what, he could not allow this small group of enemy soldiers to run rampant. If he did not take strong countermeasures, how could his division save face?

The order was quickly relayed from the division and brigade to the 7th Regiment defending Zhaowang Village: "Attack immediately, eliminate the small detachment left behind to hold them off, and engage the enemy tank formation! Hold them off and find a way to eliminate them!"

The garrison commander secretly groaned, thinking to himself, "You make it sound so easy. You officers are hiding far away in the rear command post. You have no idea how powerful this armored formation's assault is. Do you expect me to go and ram my head into a tank?"

Although reluctant, military orders are military orders, and military orders are as solid as mountains. Besides, the small detachment in front only looked like a platoon with a few tanks. If his entire regiment was intimidated by a small detachment and dared not move, how could he ever hold his head high again?

So he decided to send two forward companies to attack the small detachment first, and then decide what to do next depending on the situation.

In fact, the garrison commander's assessment of the enemy situation was quite accurate. He left only one infantry platoon, one tank platoon, one heavy machine gun unit, and an artillery observation group to hold them off.

Under the cover of mortar fire and several heavy machine guns, two infantry companies at the front of the defending force crossed the trenches and launched a fierce attack on the small detachment, with two wavy lines of troops constantly approaching.

As the two companies advanced to an open area, a small detachment of the Central Army suddenly opened fire with heavy machine guns, providing cover.

The garrison commander's heart sank. He realized that he had misjudged the enemy's firepower. Judging from the intense gunfire, there were several heavy machine guns that were constantly moving and that the mortars could not lock onto. In addition, there were machine guns mounted on several armored vehicles. The number of heavy machine guns in this small detachment was equivalent to that of his two infantry battalions!

The two companies' attack formations were suppressed by heavy machine gun fire in the open area halfway through their advance, leaving them in a dilemma. The heavy machine gun emplacements that were providing support from behind were precisely targeted and bombarded by tank cannons, and they were blown up one after another.

Immediately afterwards, a terrifying whistling sound of artillery shells piercing the air came and struck the two companies with perfect accuracy, causing blood and flesh to fly everywhere, a truly gruesome sight!

The garrison commander's trembling hands could no longer hold the binoculars. He closed his eyes in anguish, unable to bear watching his soldiers suffer under the barrage of artillery fire any longer.

He still can't understand how the Central Army's artillery could fire so accurately from such a distance, where long-range artillery would have no view. Weren't they afraid of hitting their own people?

In fact, it wasn't just him; the coordinated infantry-artillery fire and indirect fire demonstrated a level of skill that far exceeded the understanding of artillery use held by infantry officers of that era. This brilliant battle left officers of all ranks in the Central Army, who were watching from the rear, in awe.

Two company commanders were killed and seriously wounded, and the soldiers suffered heavy casualties. The remaining soldiers fled back to the village in terror. The Central Army tanks pointed their guns at them, but did not pursue or fire, as if to warn: Stay put and all will be well, or this will be your fate!

The dark muzzle of the cannon was like the gaze of death, and immense fear gripped the hearts of every defending soldier. The defending commander was speechless with despair, and the attack was declared a failure.

On the Xitong Highway, with a concentric assault distance of about 3 kilometers on both the east and west sides, the two armored formations of the 2nd and 3rd companies quickly met up. The infantry-tank combined formations of each platoon had already deployed their formations as planned and occupied various key control points.

The entire battlefield area, about 5 kilometers west of the Chishui River, was breached by the assault formation along the main trenches, and a "土"-shaped blockade was formed by relying on the Longhai Railway and highways.

After the 2nd and 3rd companies regrouped, they immediately deployed into combat formations and launched a fierce attack from the highway towards several small villages and garrison positions near the foot of the highlands to the south. After a fierce battle, the garrison could not withstand the attack and retreated continuously into the hilly area, out of the range of light weapons. The assault formations ceased their pursuit and turned to attack north of the blockade line.

Facing fierce attacks from the 2nd Regiment of the Training Corps and the 28th Division on the east side, the 1st Regiment of the 3rd Brigade defending the west side of Chishui River put up a desperate resistance and held on, and the battle became a stalemate for a time.

At this moment, the defending troops suddenly noticed that there was billowing dust on the Xitong Highway behind them, and a tank formation was rapidly approaching from their rear. They were all greatly alarmed, and some less bright soldiers were still wondering if their own tanks were coming to provide support.

"Boom!" A 47mm tank shell blasted a fortification and the soldiers' illusions into the air.

Besieged on all sides! This time, everyone clearly understood their predicament, and their will to resist vanished.

The defenses of Chishui Street collapsed instantly. Before the tanks could launch another attack, the defenders scattered like birds and beasts. Those who were agile fled Chishui Street and headed for Zhangjialing Highlands in the southwest. Those who could not escape surrendered with their guns raised.

The 1st and 2nd Regiments of the Training Corps, the Special Service Battalion, and the 28th Division sounded the charge and launched a full-scale attack. The defense lines, which had been divided into isolated sections, collapsed instantly. The fleeing soldiers scattered like wolves and pigs, and officers could not find their soldiers, nor could soldiers find their officers. They could no longer organize an effective resistance.

The Central Army infantry pressed forward fiercely, and the remaining soldiers on the eastern front of the main trench defense line, who had suffered heavy losses, had nowhere to escape and surrendered in groups.