Chapter 14 Chapter Fourteen The Broken Ballad

On December 1, the Soviet Air Force took the lead in kicking off the defense of Nanjing. As early as more than three months ago, China and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression treaty. Since then, the Soviet Union has become the main military aid country to China.From Xinjiang to Lanzhou, a 3,600-mile-long transportation line was specially established for the delivery of military aid materials. It was the most important international life supply line to maintain China's continued war of resistance at that time. Not only aid materials, the Soviet Union also directly sent troops to support, this is the Soviet Volunteer Air Force.

The "volunteering" here, of course, does not necessarily mean personal voluntary, behind it is actually the result of the will of the government, just like the volunteer army sent by China to resist US aggression and aid Korea more than ten years later.At first, Lao Mei was foolish, and really thought that the people who crossed the Yalu River were Chinese folks, practicing individual heroism in a foreign land. The so-called Soviet Volunteer Air Force was actually the Soviet Union at the request of the Chinese government. It organized various air force divisions distributed in Central Asia and Siberia, and sent them to China in turn to participate in the regular combat troops in the name of volunteers.

As fighter pilots, Soviet pilots have different habits from American pilots.If it is on vacation, the Soviets are actually very indulgent, almost rude. In contrast, the Americans are not as unruly as the legend says, and most people are relatively well-behaved. But it is different when it comes to the working stage.Many American pilots seem to be doing nothing. Some people will steal a break to play cards in the guard room after they are on duty.The Soviet pilots had iron-like discipline, and they fought even more mechanically and desperately than the Japanese. To put it simply, they are the kind of people who can party all night long, but also fight 24 hours a day without sleep.

The fighters used by the Soviet Air Force were the Orioles and Swallows. Among Westerners, the Soviets are very aware of aesthetics. In the 1950s, when Sino-Soviet relations were at their best, Soviet songs fascinated our fathers time and time again. This is probably not accidental. Just like they named the rocket launcher "Katyusha", it is completely the image of a beautiful girl, which fully proves that the battlefield is not only bloody but also poetic. The scientific name of "Yellow Oriole" is Yi-15, which is a biplane. It is characterized by high power, which is almost twice that of ordinary aircraft, so it stays in the air for a long time and is suitable for air combat. "Swallow", that is, Yi-16, is a monoplane that looks rough, but it is fast and suitable for pursuit.The performance of these two aircrafts cannot be said to overshadow the Japanese Type 96, but the performances of the two are roughly close.

"Yellow Oriole" and "Swallow" are really a good pair. These two light birds fly alternately, one high and one low, and often dazzle the opponent's eyes. On December 1st, the Japanese government made the decision to capture Nanjing.So nine Type 96s were ordered to fly over Nanjing to spread leaflets persuading them to surrender. The Sino-Soviet Air Force stepped up the accelerator and rushed out with a whoosh.A total of six "Yellow Orioles" were piloted by five Soviet pilots and one Chinese pilot. The Type 96 was really good, and immediately set up the decoy formation that Chennault said. After two rounds, a Soviet "Yellow Oriole" was shot and fell down. I can't even talk about proficiency, so I had to evacuate quickly.

Six to two, four to nine. The remaining four Soviet "Orioles" did not choose to escape, but continued to fight.Among them, a "Yellow Oriole" was tightly bitten by the Type 96, and it could not be shaken off no matter how hard it was.The Japanese plane chased closer and closer, and started shooting for the first time. At this critical moment, "Yellow Oriole" suddenly swooped down and dodged all the bullets behind it.Seeing this, the Japanese plane also dived down at full speed, but the "Yellow Oriole" turned over again amazingly, dodged to the side, and fired at the Type 96 in turn.

Although none of them hit anyone, they completely stunned a person on the ground. This person is Chennault.He has experienced too many air combats and has seen countless air combat masters, but the Soviet pilots in front of him still amazed him. So many complicated aerial tricks can be done in one go, you are the first person I know! Generally speaking, air battles are very short, and the winner can be determined within a few seconds or at most a few minutes, but the Nanjing air battle that day was particularly long, totaling half an hour.As a result, the Japanese fighters fled with no casualties on either side.

An expert stretches out his hand to know if there is one. After seeing this scene, Chennault immediately asserted that the Soviet Air Force and the Japanese Air Force were absolutely comparable when the Chinese Air Force was actually paralyzed. Sure enough, in the following time, there was good news that a "Yellow Oriole" shot down three Type 96 bombers, and the "Swallow" made five sorties, and also knocked down six Type 96 bombers in one go. At the same time, the unsuspecting Japanese ships on the river were also attacked by Soviet bombers.Although the number of bombers was limited and they failed to achieve the same effect as the later attack on Pearl Harbor, they still sank a cruiser and two transport ships, and another six Japanese ships were hit by bombs and set on fire.

This is the prologue of the Nanjing Defense War, and it is also one of the few wonderful moments.Soon, it will all be over, because three days later, the Soviet Air Force will not even have a base from which to take off. On December 4, the sound of rumbling guns began to come from the outskirts of Nanjing. The Soviet Air Force has been forced to abandon Nanjing Airport, and the sky over Nanjing is full of Japanese planes, and Chiang Kai-shek was also forced to move out of the Nanjing Mausoleum official residence. Before leaving, he spent another day checking the Zijin Mountain defense position.

In the "Inspirational Speech", Tang Shengzhi told everyone that Chiang Kai-shek asked him to stay in Nanjing for three months, but he actually raised his own. Chiang Kai-shek never expected that Nanjing could defend for such a long time.What he said to Tang Shengzhi was: It would be best if he could support it for two weeks. However, when the "chairman" inspected the position again and again and looked around the rolling mountains in front of him, he couldn't help sighing: the capital Jindai Jiangshan is a natural fortress, and it should be fine to guard it for a month or two.

If there is a miracle, Chiang Kai-shek at this time should really hope that a miracle will happen.In a month or two, the respite of the Chinese army will definitely make a comeback and make a comeback, and Nanjing may be safe. Although all military officials in North Korea and Chinese have withdrawn from Nanjing one after another, he is still reluctant to leave. By December 6, it was impossible to leave, because the Japanese army had approached the first line of defense on the outskirts of Nanjing, and the long-distance battle began. After confirming that he had to leave, Chiang Kai-shek drove to Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum early in the morning to bid farewell for the last time. Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum is the holy land of the Kuomintang, and it can also be regarded as Chiang Kai-shek's personal blessing. He once launched the second Northern Expedition here, completed the "Feng'an Grand Ceremony" here, and leveled one mountain after another here, thus reaching the pinnacle of his career and power. But now he can only wave his hands away—even he himself doesn't know whether this will mean temporarily or forever. On the one hand, "the country has been in the past forty years, and the mountains and rivers are three thousand miles away", but on the other side, "the most hasty resignation from the temple is the most hasty day, and the church hall still plays a farewell song." Years have passed, and people can be different and have different personalities. However, at that moment, the situation and mood are very similar. At the turn of autumn and winter, the aisle was covered with fallen leaves of phoenix trees, and a purple mountain looked so desolate. Faced with this situation, he could no longer completely conceal his feelings, and began to look melancholy and gloomy. Going up one step at a time, walking down another step at a time, looking back, all the scenery is so familiar, but even the plants and trees are deeply hurting people's hearts. Time is like a dream, and success is like an illusion. Regardless of whether you want to admit it or not, fate is always stronger than people. Apart from Nanjing and the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, there is another person Chiang Kai-shek needs to bid farewell to solemnly, and that is Tang Shengzhi, the sworn enemy of the past and the current courtier. Without this person's generosity to take up the post, I am afraid that I will really be the commander-in-chief to defend the city in the end. A friend in adversity sees the truth, you must thank him, not in the name of the "lord". Chiang Kai-shek brought Song Meiling to Tang Shengzhi's mansion, and said to him in front of him: Brother Meng Xiao, I know that your body has not fully recovered, but I am very sorry to ask you to guard Nanjing. This sentence moved Tang Shengzhi quite a bit. I am a soldier, and it is the duty of a soldier to guard a city.Now, I still want to repeat the words I once said to you, that is, "Don't be chaotic in the face of danger, and be conscientious in the face of difficulties." I will never retreat without your order! When parting, Chiang Kai-shek told Tang Shengzhi that Yunnan Longyun had agreed to dispatch the Yunnan Army to fight against Japan. It was a very strong local army, and it was now marching eastward to Zhejiang along the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Railway.If Nanjing can support for a longer period of time, after the arrival of the Yunnan Army, it will be able to relieve the pressure on the periphery of Nanjing first. I'm leaving, you must take care of yourself. In the early morning of December 7, the Jiang couple flew out of Nanjing by plane. On December 8, the first line of defense on the periphery of Nanjing was broken, and the long-distance battle was defeated. Tang Shengzhi turned to organize the second line of defense and started close combat. Due to the complete loss of air supremacy, Japanese planes were able to carry out intensive bombing of Nanjing. Tang Shengzhi's mansion, which was used as a command post, was also bombed repeatedly. The glass was shattered and objects on the table were flying in the air. The staff were very worried and asked to move the location, but Tang Shengzhi shook his head. The enemy is at present, and I want to conduct command here. I can't move away just because of a few bombs. You can go, and I can stay here with the two deputy chiefs. In the end, everyone else moved to the basement, and Tang Shengzhi was still conducting on the ground. In modern history, Nanjing has suffered repeated wars.The closest two times were the Taiping Army attacking the city and the Hunan Army attacking the city again, but both times have one thing in common, that is, to occupy Zijin Mountain first. Zijin Mountain is the highest point in Nanjing. Occupying it here is tantamount to taking the initiative. Both the Taiping Army and the Hunan Army relied on the height of the Zijin Mountain to suppress the opponent with firepower, and then took advantage of the situation to blow up the city wall and attack the city from the Taiping Gate. Once Zijin Mountain is lost, Taipingmen will be in danger, and the history of Nanjing being captured twice will be replicated in situ. The main force of the Japanese army that launched an attack on Zijin Mountain was the 16th Division in Kyoto.This division is both a teacher group and has not suffered any losses since landing, so it is particularly arrogant. However, what they encountered was an equally well-trained and tenacious steel army-the teaching corps. Before the war, a certain division of the Hunan Army designated a platoon leader from the teaching corps to take up a post in Hunan. This time, he was not a platoon leader, but was directly promoted to a company commander. "Iron Guard", who can not believe it.The company commander is just the beginning, and he will be promoted to battalion commander, regimental commander, or even brigade commander and division commander in the future. The superiors nodded and agreed that the platoon leader could leave immediately, but he himself said that he would never leave until the battle was over. Before the battle was over, the heroic officers died on Zijin Mountain. Strong against strong, fierce against fierce, the "Iron Guards" defending Zijin Mountain were fortified layer by layer, and played a mainstay role in the defense of Nanjing. Until Nanjing was about to fall, the Kyoto division failed to break away from them. gap. If Tang Shengzhi commanded all such troops, it would be easy to handle, and there would be absolutely no problem in guarding for three months or even six months. But no. Although Zijin Mountain and Taiping Gate in the east were safe, the defense line of Yuhuatai in the south was breached. On December 9, Matsui Iwane, commander of the Central China Front, sent an envoy to Tang Shengzhi to persuade him to surrender. I was talking about Nanjing, but I suddenly thought of Yangzhou across the river. Yangzhou under the rule of the Ming Dynasty 300 years ago was comparable in size to Nanjing today, but it was also besieged by enemy soldiers. The complacent Dorgon gave an ultimatum to Shi Kefa, the minister of the Ministry of War in the city, and what the latter returned to him was the famous "Fu Dorgon Book" in history. Regarding whether to sacrifice the city or not, Shi Kefa said a word, that is, "Exhaust my strength, followed by loyalty"-although my strength is limited, I will definitely serve the country with my death. 300 years later, Tang Shengzhi faced similar threats in terms of caliber and tone, and adopted a method similar to that of the "Shi Ge Department", that is, flatly rejected them. If you lose in close combat, defend the city! I have not been to many places, but the ancient city walls of two cities have left a deep impression on me, one is Xi'an and the other is Nanjing. It is said that Guanghuamen no longer exists now, but one only needs to look at the remaining city walls to know how towering and strong they were once. If they do not occupy a high ground like Zijin Mountain, it is really difficult to capture it immediately . There is also a moat in front of Guanghua Gate. Listening to storytelling and Tanci, it is extremely difficult for such a brave general in ancient times to attack a city, and the same is true in modern times. But no matter how strong a city is, it must have its "Achilles heel", and that fragile heel is the city gate. Using tanks and chariots as cover, the Japanese army organized death squads to storm Guanghuamen.Mortars and machine guns were fired from the city, but many members of the Death Squad got into the door openings. As soon as they entered the doorway, they entered a shooting blind spot. No matter how dense the defenders' bullets were, there was nothing they could do about them. These devils are not here to play hide and seek with you, a group will come in this time, and a group will come in next time. No matter how thick the city gate is, it is just two panels. The defenders first attacked with fire, throwing barrels of gasoline barrels at the gate of the city in the middle of the night, and then lit them on fire. They used the fire wall to completely separate the Japanese troops outside the moat and in the gate hole, so that those inside could not get out, and those outside Can't get in. Then the door was suddenly opened, machine guns swept over, and the members of the Japanese Death Squad inside the door were immediately killed on the spot. The door could not be smashed open, and the Japanese army began to concentrate their flat-firing artillery and bombarded the city wall with high density. On December 10, the city wall of Guanghuamen was finally blasted open. Under the cover of the aircraft, the 9th Division of Jinze climbed the city with bamboo ladders and swarmed in from the gap. More than a hundred Japanese troops rushed into the city and broke into the city gate to a depth of 200 meters.They used houses along the street as their base in an attempt to cover the continued advance of large troops. Knowing that the city was broken, Tang Shengzhi strictly ordered the nearby troops to launch a counterattack by enclosing both sides, and finally annihilated them all. However, under the command of Matsui Iwane, the Kanazawa Division then bombarded the city gate with mountain artillery. As soon as the city gate was broken, the Japanese army poured in like a tide. The defenders hurriedly blocked the gate, and it took a lot of effort to block the city gate. However, the Japanese army that came in this time was very ferocious, and they could not be completely wiped out. In a blink of an eye, the defense of the city has turned into street fighting. The city entered an extremely tense period, and the smell of gunpowder and sulfur was everywhere. Tang Shengzhi sent the chief of staff to the scene of Guanghuamen, and stipulated that the two sides should talk to each other every ten minutes to report the battle situation there. The air in the Minister's Department was so depressing that it would explode, because everyone knew that if the phone didn't work, everything would be over. Even though the situation was so dangerous, Tang Shengzhi did not appear panicked, rather he looked like a general defending the city. Because of poor health and no rest day and night, when he gave orders, he had to wipe his face with a hot towel every few minutes and drink a sip of tea to stay awake. In addition, his appearance is really as calm and peaceful as his nickname "Monk Tang", no matter how scary the frontline situation is, he never loses his composure, just smoking cigarettes one after another.In the evening, when the Japanese plane stopped bombing, he would even take a small teapot and take a walk in the yard. Not everyone can do this. During the defense of Taiyuan, Fu Zuoyi, who was known for being good at defending the city, was so anxious that his eyes turned red. It is conceivable that if Tang Shengzhi's eyes were red at this time, how would the other members of the chief's department feel .You know, after all, Fu Zuoyi still has the Sui Army brought out by himself to rely on, but Tang Shengzhi does not have the Hunan Army as a guarantee. He commands and dispatches all kinds of troops that have no historical relationship with him. At this time, Tang Shengzhi was indeed ready to die with the city, and he didn't even leave a life-saving boat for himself. Everyone held their breath and stared at the phone. The phone rang, and the staff rushed over to pick it up, and finally let out a long breath. The street fighting ended and all the Japanese troops in the city were wiped out. Tang Shengzhi received a lot of gifts that day. There are light machine guns with crooked handles, revolvers, sabers, Type 38s, steel helmets and woolen coats, all of which were handed over from the Japanese army. The freshest gift was sent by the Cantonese army. It was a dozen devil heads picked from a vegetable basket! Although he was lucky enough to be in danger, Tang Shengzhi's intuition from fighting for many years still told Tang Shengzhi that sooner or later the next city gate would be breached, and if the Japanese army rushed in again this time, he might not be so lucky. Except for the teaching corps on Zijin Mountain, the other troops he can mobilize are literally a division or an army. Most of the soldiers are actually only one battalion left, and most of them are recruits. The troops have no cannons, but even rifles. Not neat. Today's ability to block the city gate does not depend on strength, but on the flesh and blood of the soldiers. Chiang Kai-shek felt the same way as Tang Shengzhi. After leaving Beijing, although he had tried everything, he was unable to recruit strong reinforcements in a short period of time. Even the Yunnan Yunnan Army, which was the closest, had just arrived in Zhejiang at this time. Still out of reach. Chiang Kai-shek has been in touch with Tang Shengzhi through the radio station, and he is very familiar with every step of the defense of Nanjing.After learning the latest situation and studying and judging the situation, he directly sent a telegram to Tang Shengzhi: If Nanjing is really unable to defend, the camera will retreat! On December 11, Tang Shengzhi received another call from Gu Zhutong, who forwarded Chiang Kai-shek's order for Tang Shengzhi to retreat personally: cross the river and retreat north. Gu Zhutong said to Tang Shengzhi, hurry up and cross the river to Pukou, and I will send Hu Zongnan to Pukou to meet him. Tang Shengzhi was already prepared not to leave, otherwise he wouldn't be so calm that he wouldn't even leave a lifeboat for himself. The front line is so critical, I can't go! Gu Zhutong was in a hurry: You must leave tonight, this is an order from above. Tang Shengzhi said, I have many things that I haven't explained clearly to the troops. Who will take the responsibility after leaving like this? Gu Zhutong eased his tone: This is easy, you just ask the chief of staff to explain it. Tang Shengzhi still disagreed, how could a chief of staff take charge of the overall situation, let alone at such a critical juncture. He said categorically: Even if I leave, I will not be able to leave until tomorrow night at the earliest. I can't just care about my own life and leave the army alone. In fact, there was a reason why Gu Zhutong was so urgent.Because the 13th Division, the second-line unit of the Central China Front Army, has crossed from Zhenjiang to the north, the next step is to block the north bank of the Yangtze River. Gu Zhutong said that he would send Hu Zongnan to Pukou to meet Tang Shengzhi because of this concern. Although he knew that if he told the truth about this situation, it would definitely affect Tang Shengzhi's psychology, but until now, Gu Zhutong had no choice but to tell the truth: the Japanese army occupied Liuhe in Jiangbei, and they could take Pukou again at any time. It was too late to withdraw to the north. Tang Shengzhi was stunned, but he still insisted: It is absolutely impossible for me to cross the river tonight. That night, instead of looking for a boat to cross the river, Tang Shengzhi settled down to formulate a breakout plan. Sure enough, the huge danger struck again. In the early morning of December 12, the 6th Division of Kumamoto entered the city from near the Chinese Gate. The two sides quickly entered a short-circuit from the street fighting. But before that, Tang Shengzhi had to make one last effort. At 4 o'clock in the afternoon, he called all the generals above the division to the mansion for a meeting, and only asked one sentence: Nanjing is now in critical condition, are you still sure to guard it? Everyone looked at each other in blank dismay, the air in the room was so cold that it could make one's blood coagulate. Tang Shengzhi didn't need to ask any more, retreat was obviously inevitable. Tang Shengzhi had carefully studied how to break out of the encirclement. There were clear regulations on when each unit would withdraw, who would withdraw first, where to break through, where to assemble, and even the contact signals. He distributed the mimeographed breakout plan to everyone present, and emphasized: the war does not end today, but continues tomorrow, and we will continue to fight in the future.