allonlinenovel Chapter 643: Gathering the Infantry and Recharging
Chapter 643: Gathering the Infantry and Recharging
Here, Zhou Zhengqing was busy with his own affairs.
The battles in Nankou and Shanghai were also in full swing.
Let’s go back to August 1937, 8.
Huishan Wharf. This seemingly ordinary Chinese place name is actually a transliteration of the English word "Wayside". At this time, it had become an important military stronghold of the Japanese army in the Hongkou area.
On the dock, the Japanese army built solid fortifications, with machine gun positions and barbed wire densely packed together, making it look like a heavily guarded military fortress.
Two days ago, at 8 p.m. on August 19, the telephone in the 5th Division headquarters rang urgently.
Division Commander Wang Jingjiu was reporting the battle situation to Zhang Zhizhong via the battlefield telephone.
"Our division has advanced to the Yuezhou Road line and is now steadily advancing along Broadway Road toward the enemy's deep positions."
Zhang Zhizhong on the other end of the phone heard this.
He walked quickly towards the battle map and pointed his finger at Yuezhou Road, which was only a stone's throw away from the Huangpu River!
A bold combat concept quickly took shape in his mind. If Huishan Wharf could be captured in one fell swoop, the Japanese occupied area in Hongkou could be cut off in half, completely severing the connection between the Japanese Marines and the International Settlement.
Zhang Zhizhong acted decisively and quickly adjusted the combat deployment.
He ordered the 36th Division, which had just arrived at the front line, to replace the 87th Division and serve as the main attack force to launch an attack on Huishan Wharf.
Song Xilian, commander of the 36th Division, immediately organized his troops to launch a night attack.
After a whole night of fierce street fighting, the officers and soldiers advanced inch by inch with their flesh and blood, finally breaking through the three lines of defense of the Japanese army and successfully occupying the front-line positions of Tangshan Road and Kunming Road.
The Japanese army was unwilling to accept defeat and launched several fierce counterattacks from the south side of Kunming Road, but they were all stubbornly repelled by the officers and soldiers of the 36th Division relying on barricades.
21 days
The commander of the Japanese Third Fleet, Kiyoshi Hasegawa, was urgently escorted by Hayato Yoshida to evacuate the Hongkou Naval Headquarters. At the same time, the Japanese Fifth Division in North China was attempting to encircle Nankou.
As night falls, the clock strikes 21 p.m.
Song Xilian stood in the temporary command post and gave the order for the general attack with a sharp gaze: "Tanks lead the way, infantry follow, and attack south along Gongping Road and Zhaofeng Road! We must capture Huishan Wharf before dawn!"
With the roar of the engines, the tank company that was transferred to reinforce the 36th Division rolled over the rubble and led the infantry to charge towards the core position of the Japanese army.
Standing in their way were the densely packed bunkers, barbed wire and machine gun fire points between Tangshan Road and Xihuade Road.
Only by breaking through this death line of defense can the strategic goal of cutting off the Japanese-occupied area of Hongkou be achieved.
The bullets drew scarlet tracks in the night, and the flames of the explosions illuminated the soldiers' resolute faces.
This night, Huishan Wharf was destined to witness a baptism of blood and fire.
The Japanese Marines had already built solid machine gun fortifications on the rooftops on both sides of the road, forming a cross-fire network from a high position.
As the 36th Division's offensive forces advanced along the street, dense bullets poured down like a rainstorm, the charging soldiers fell in large numbers, and their blood dyed the broken asphalt road red.
However, the Chinese tanks continued to roar forward! Although these tanks had weak armor, they were still unstoppable in the narrow streets.
The defending Japanese army did not expect the Chinese army to have armored vehicles and tanks at first. They were unable to react for a while and did not mobilize anti-tank firepower. They could only huddle behind sandbags and tremble.
But as mentioned earlier, the charging tanks failed to receive timely support from the infantry.
The infantry regiments that followed the charge were all stopped by Japanese fortifications at the previous intersection of Seward Road, and were shot down in large numbers by machine guns from high positions.
If the area cannot be occupied, the tanks can only retreat to the starting point, gather infantry, and charge again.
But by this time, the Japanese army had already dispatched many anti-tank guns, and everything was too late.
The Japanese army urgently dispatched anti-tank artillery. When the Nationalist army reorganized its troops and launched another charge, they were already waiting for the anti-tank firepower that was ready to be unleashed.
boom!
The first tank was reduced to scrap metal in the dazzling flames, followed by the second, the third...
Every inch of land was soaked in blood.
The broken helmets, twisted rifles, and scattered leggings silently tell the story of this tragic charge.
. . . . . . . . . .
On another nearby street, Zhoushan Road, the battle also entered a white-hot stage.
The soldiers of the 36nd Battalion, 215th Regiment, 2th Division rushed forward like a tiger descending from the mountain, and soon advanced to the intersection of Huade Road.
Just as they were about to advance further, the situation on the battlefield suddenly changed.
"Battalion Commander! There's something happening behind us!" The signalman's hoarse voice was particularly harsh amid the sound of gunfire.
The battalion commander turned around suddenly and saw that a Japanese tank had blocked their retreat route, with the black muzzle facing them.
What was even more terrifying was that countless torches suddenly appeared from the windows of the high buildings on both sides, followed by a torrent of Molotov cocktails pouring down.
"Hide! Hide quickly!" The battalion commander's roar was drowned out by the sound of the explosion.
In an instant, the entire intersection was engulfed in flames. More than three hundred soldiers were trapped in the blaze, as the flames licked their uniforms and burned their skin.
Some people tried to rush out of the fire, but were knocked down by Japanese machine guns; some people rolled on the ground, but could not put out the flames on their bodies.
Scary screams rang out one after another, and the air was filled with the stench of burnt flesh.
However, this tragic scene did not crush the fighting spirit of the 36th Division.
The follow-up troops continued to charge, stepping on the charred corpses of their comrades, with the rage of revenge burning in everyone's eyes.
They know that only by moving forward can they avenge the blood debt of their sacrificed brothers!
Under the desperate attack of the tanks and the fearless charge of the infantry regiment, the 216th Regiment finally broke through the Japanese defense line on Broadway Road.
The one rushing in the front was none other than Captain Hu Jiaji.
At this moment, he was shirtless, holding a pistol in one hand and a battle axe in the other. His bronze skin was covered with bullet marks and blood.
"Captain! You've been shot!" the guard shouted and tried to help.
"Don't worry about me!" Hu Jiaji pushed the guard aside, raised his battle axe high, and said in a loud voice: "Brothers! The brothers of the tank company are risking their lives to help us clear the way!
Huishan Wharf is just ahead! Charge over and drive the devils into the Huangpu River!
The iron-blooded commander had at least three gunshot wounds on his body, with blood constantly flowing down his chest, but he still rushed to the front like an angry lion.
Behind him, hundreds of soldiers rushed in like a flood.
Faced with such an iron-clad army ready to die, the psychological defenses of the Japanese Marine Corps finally collapsed.
Many Japanese soldiers dropped their weapons and fled in panic towards Waibaidu Bridge, attempting to hide in the British Concession.
When the brave warriors of the 216th Regiment rushed to the front of the dock, they were suddenly blocked by a three-meter-high iron fence.
Bullets splashed sparks on the iron bars, and the Japanese army was making its last dying struggle.