Chapter 14 1. The hasty withdrawal order

The Battle of Songhu ended with the Chinese defenders retreating across the board and the Japanese occupying Shanghai.Matsui Iwane proudly clamored: "We must punish the violent China and make China subdue!" Without waiting for the approval of the headquarters, he immediately led the army to follow and pursue, and went to Nanjing in a mighty manner.They thought that as long as they captured Nanjing, the capital of China, and forced the national government to be an ally under the city, the realization of China's plan to bow its knees and surrender would be just around the corner.Little do they know that the Chinese government has made preparations for a long-term war since the day it decided to defend itself in the war of resistance. In November 1937, the Nationalist government moved to Chongqing in the southwest, and when it issued the "Declaration on Moving the Capital", it clearly expressed its determination to resist the war of "it is better to destroy the jade than to destroy it".

Tang Shengzhi fully supported Chiang Kai-shek's determination to resist the war. He volunteered to defend Nanjing, that is, he held the attitude of sharing life and death.However, the rapid reversal of the war situation was far beyond his expectations. On December 10, the Japanese army began to attack the city. The 114th Division, the 16th Division, the 9th Division, and the 6th Division attacked at the same time from Yuhuatai, Tongji Gate, Guanghua Gate, Zhongshan Gate, and Zijin Mountain. The enemy is not only ferocious and crazy, but also well-equipped, with fierce artillery fire and the cooperation of aircraft.On the first day of the battle, the Zhonghua Gate, Guanghua Gate and other places were breached by enemy artillery fire, and a small number of Japanese troops even rushed in through the gaps. Bloody battles were fought everywhere.The smoke filled the air, the blood was flying, and the bloody battle reports flew to the headquarters from all directions, which brought thrills, tension and shock to Tang Shengzhi from time to time. He even felt that the time for his martyrdom for the country was not far away.

The situation is changing rapidly. December 11. At noon, Tang Shengzhi was preparing to have lunch when the phone rang suddenly, and he immediately walked over to pick up the receiver.The voice of Gu Zhutong, the deputy commander-in-chief of the third war zone came over the phone. Gu Zhutong notified Tang Shengzhi in a hasty tone: "The chairman has ordered the Nanjing defenders to retreat. Come to Pukou as soon as possible. I want Hu Zongnan to wait for you in Pukou." you!" Tang Shengzhi was taken aback when he received the order, and then hesitantly said: "The front line is very urgent, and there are many places that have been broken through. The troops and the enemy are mixed together. How can we retreat immediately?"

Gu Zhutong said: "There can be no delay! The enemy has reached Liuhe, and the situation is very urgent. You must retreat across the river tonight!" Tang Shengzhi paused for a while, but still insisted: "Not tonight, there are many things that need to be explained to the commanders of the troops before we can retreat; otherwise, who will bear the responsibility in the future will not be able to cross the river until tomorrow at the earliest." Putting down the microphone, Tang Shengzhi's heart was full of ups and downs, full of thoughts.It turned out that I was well prepared to stick to Nanjing, and all work started from the decision to fight to the death.Now the troops are fighting the enemy desperately at the breakthroughs of the city gates. Suddenly they received an order from the chairman to retreat. He was unprepared to retreat, and he wanted to command an army of 100,000 soldiers surrounded by the enemy on three sides and facing water on one side, and fighting bloody battles with the enemy. The task of evacuating Nanjing in a very short time is indeed quite arduous.He sighed that he underestimated the situation at the beginning, and deeply felt the urgency of the current situation and the heavy burden on his shoulders!

That night, Tang Shengzhi summoned Luo Zhuoying and Liu Xing, the deputy chiefs of the Garrison Command, Zhou Lan, the chief of staff, and She Nianci, the deputy chief of staff, in the mansion to urgently discuss and study the evacuation deployment.Everyone believed that due to the lack of ships, except for the personnel of the headquarters, the special forces directly under Song Xilian, and the 36th Division of Song Xilian, who could cross the river and retreat in the direction of Pukou, the rest of the troops should take a frontal way to break out of Nanjing.A retreat should be scheduled for tomorrow evening.The meeting decided to hold a meeting of generals above the division commander of the guard force at 5 pm on the 12th to convey the chairman's retreat order.

After the meeting was adjourned, Tang Shengzhi immediately ordered Liao Ken, chief of staff of the headquarters, to lead Tan Daoping, Lin Weizhou and others to draft a retreat plan overnight. At about eleven o'clock in the evening, the retreat plan was presented to Tang Shengzhi, who carefully examined it: 1 After reading the retreat order, Tang Shengzhi carefully reviewed the two appendices, the Nanjing garrison breakout plan and the contact signal regulation form for each unit when they moved in. The specific arrangements for the headquarters, air defense command, and tank units, artillery units, engineering units, signal units and other units to cross the river and withdraw from the north were slowly brought up.A burst of sadness and sorrow suddenly surged in his heart, and he suddenly felt that the pen in his hand was extremely heavy.He knew that after this order was issued, it would leave a very regrettable and gloomy chapter in his military career.He stared, thinking.

"Report!" The voice of a staff officer interrupted his thoughts.Afterwards, the staff officer came in and delivered a telegram to the table. He took it over and saw that it was taken by the chairman from Lushan Mountain in Jiangxi Province, and he quickly read it attentively: "If the situation cannot be kept on time for a long time, the camera can be retreated to plan for the future." After reading the telegram, he breathed a sigh of relief, and finally signed his name on the retreat order in grief and resignation.Then, he sat silently, with his brows furrowed, his pale and thin face, and his two sunken eyes staring at the table for a long time, smoking the Three Fortress cigarettes one after another, as if there was only the billowing smoke at the moment , to entrust his heavy thoughts and endless sorrow.

At 5 pm on the 12th, the Nanjing Garrison Headquarters.The meeting of the generals above the division of the guard troops was urgently held amidst the fierce gunfire and fighting sounds all around. The atmosphere was heavy. The generals did not smile when they met, but nodded silently.Tang Shengzhi spoke first. He said: "The situation in Nanjing is now very critical. A few enemies have rushed into the city, and fierce street fighting is going on in the area of ​​Zhonghuamen. From your point of view, do you think it is still safe to defend?" After speaking, he scanned everyone with questioning eyes.

No one spoke, and no one spoke. The silent air was so cold that it made people shiver, and everyone was immersed in an atmosphere of tension and grief. At this point, Tang Shengzhi had no choice but to read Chiang Kai-shek's order on the retreat of the Nanjing defenders.Afterwards, Chief of Staff Zhou Lan gave instructions on the garrison command's retreat order, breakout plan, assembly location, and precautions, and distributed the mimeographed retreat order and two attachments to the generals present.Looking at the different expressions of the generals, Tang Shengzhi said in a sad and angry tone: "Everyone! The war does not end today, but continues tomorrow; the war does not end in the Nanjing Garrison, but outside Nanjing." The region is infinitely extended. Please remember today's shame and avenge today's shame!"

Speaking of this, although it was cold, he still had sweat on his forehead. The guard hurriedly handed over a hot towel. Tang Shengzhi wiped his face indiscriminately, and continued: "Everyone, after you return to the army, you should quickly appoint the commander of the army to break through the siege. Sir." Then he said with concern, "If some officers are out of control and unable to command, they can cross the river with me!" Finally, Tang Shengzhi asked, "Do you have anything else to say?" There was still no sound, and extreme grief and indignation enveloped the entire venue.At this moment, the generals have complicated moods and thoughts.Some people were extremely sad and indignant, some were in pain, some were thinking about the route to break out, and some were worried about the safety of the troops.Of course, there are also people who are worried about themselves, how to get out of the dangerous situation as soon as possible...

Seeing that no one was talking, Tang Shengzhi looked at his watch: at 5:20, he waved his hand and said with a heavy heart, "Hurry up and go back!"