Chapter 30 7. Hold on, my brother

The Battle of Taierzhuang began on March 23 and ended on April 6. When Sun Lianzhong received a call from Li Zongren on March 30, there were still 7 days before the final victory. When Chi Fengcheng received a telegram from Commander Guan Linzheng of the 52nd Army of the 20th Army, it was also 7 days before the final end. The guard troops, who lived like years, faced seven days and seven nights of suffering.It is said that Tang Enbo's army has arrived, but there are still dozens of kilometers to go. Besides, there are powerful Japanese troops blocking the way. In any case, they see hope, and the day of the big counterattack is just around the corner, maybe tomorrow.War is unpredictable, and the situation on the battlefield changes rapidly, and both good and bad developments may happen.Commander Guan Linzheng of the 52nd Army attacked the enemy, greatly reducing the pressure on the troops defending Taierzhuang.But the good times didn't last long, and major changes took place on the battlefield.

Suddenly, the Sakamoto detachment of the 5th Division drove over. This was the main force of the 5th Itagaki Division. They attacked the back of the 52nd Army Commander Guan's troops from the north of Taierzhuang.After receiving the support of the Sakamoto detachment, the trapped Isoya Division in Taierzhuang jumped up from the ground like a mad lion, and immediately launched a desperate counterattack. The situation in Taierzhuang, which had just improved a bit, was reversed in an instant.What is a dying struggle?As long as you see the appearance of the Isoya Rensuke Division, it is not difficult to understand.All the Japanese soldiers looked like a wounded wild boar, with red eyes and fangs.The Chinese army had just regained its position, but was unable to stand firmly, and was taken back by the Japanese army.They had no choice but to retreat and were forced to the south corner of Taierzhuang.The wounded who were too late to retreat were all stabbed to death by the Japanese soldiers with bayonets. Some wounded pulled the grenades on their bodies, and some had no time to pull the strings. The scene was simply horrible.

The last remnants of the 31st Division held on to a small position in Nanguan. They built a third line of defense with stones and bricks, and they refused to give up even if they were desperate.The Isoya Rensuke Division was also in the most difficult time. The reason why they wanted to fight for the final battle was very clear, that is to wipe out all the Chinese troops defending the city, so as to avoid being attacked by the enemy, so that they could better turn around and at the same time Together with the Sakamoto detachment that came for reinforcements, they attacked the Chinese army on the outskirts of Taierzhuang back and forth.

This is just the wishful thinking of the head of the division, Rensuke Isotani. The Chinese soldiers guarding the city will never put down their weapons and the ground under their feet. Even if there is only one wounded soldier left, they will fight the hateful Japanese army to the end.Commander-in-Chief Sun Lianzhong knew the situation of the troops. They were at the most dangerous moment, facing the test of life and death. This was the last 5 minutes on the battlefield and the darkest period before dawn. Hold on, my brother.He almost cried out this sentence. Inspired by Kang Faru, deputy division commander and brigade commander of the 31st Division, regiment commander Wang Zhen, and brigade commander Nie Zibin, who were injured and unable to leave the line of fire, Sun Lianzhong dismissed the right-wing brigade commander Hou Xianglin, who was ineffective in combat, and sent him to the Military Justice Department for trial. Battalion Commander Zhang was shot dead on the spot.Immediately, he ordered the troops on the left and right wings to outflank, sneak attack, and cut off the Japanese army's rear.Call on all combat units of the entire group army to organize death squads, broadsword squads, and death squads to carry out night battles and hand-to-hand combat with the Japanese army. Human bombs are better than Japanese artillery shells.

Lai Huipeng, a Kuomintang general who personally experienced the Battle of Taierzhuang at that time and was then a senior staff officer in the Fifth War Zone, recalled: Under the heavy artillery attack of the Japanese army and the continuous bombardment of aircraft and artillery, most of the houses have been razed to the ground.In fierce times, three-quarters of the urban area was captured by the enemy, and our troops occupied only one-fourth of the urban area. Most of the people who resisted the enemy were simple paved houses and ruined walls that had been blown up by enemy planes. .Soldiers chiseled the remaining walls with "shooting holes" and small holes for throwing grenades, or dug along the base of the wall into vertical shooting trenches as high as half a person to fight against the enemy.When the house was blown up by the enemy, they dug a simple trench and continued to resist, resolutely not taking a step back.Due to the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party in the early days of the Anti-Japanese War, the national crisis was at the forefront, and the righteousness of the nation inspired every Chinese. Although the anti-Japanese troops were poorly equipped and supplied, their morale was high.During the days when the Japanese army attacked the most fiercely, in Taierzhuang, no matter day or night, the sound of guns like firecrackers never stopped.From dawn to dusk, the enemy planes took turns to reconnaissance, bombing, and strafing, without giving our army a chance to breathe.Because our resistance was a just national war, the officers and soldiers loved the country and the nation, and with the determination to live and die with the Chinese nation, they finally stopped the enemy's offensive and kept their positions.

He Zhanghai, then chief of staff of the 2nd Army, recalled how the 2nd Army organized death squads and broadsword squads: Huang Qiaosong, the commander of the 27th Division, personally led 20 groups of death squads to carry out the assault. They carried empty kerosene barrels, filled with firecrackers, and used them as machine guns. They also carried fire materials and set fire to chase the enemy everywhere.In addition, we sent Wu Pengju, the commander of the 44th Brigade, to lead another regiment to enter and exit the defense line of the 30th Division, and to advance and attack the enemy's command structure in Zaozhuang to cooperate with Huang Qiaosong's actions.Around midnight, fire broke out outside Taierzhuang, people shouted and neighed, and the common people fought together, the enemy army panicked and retreated one after another.In this way, our army finally recovered its original position.The Huang division and the Wu brigade each suffered casualties, but they still returned to the original organizational system.

Another time, we asked the soldiers to wear woolen military uniforms and Japanese hats, and we found a few Japanese-speaking people to accompany them to set off at night, disguised as Japanese soldiers, sneaked into the Japanese army's positions, took advantage of the unpreparedness, and used big knives and hand grenades. Fight the enemy and win in the melee.We have also used cluster grenades (a bunch of 12—the quoter’s note) to blow up many enemy tanks. The 31st Division defending Taierzhuang had been fighting the enemy Japanese army for more than 10 days and nights at this time. They were almost exhausted and had to send reinforcements. Sun Lianzhong thought of the 30th Division on the left wing, so he called the division commander Zhang Jinzhao in the middle of the night , Teacher Zhang Jinzhao recalled:

At around twelve o'clock in the evening, Sun Lianzhong called me and said: The battle in Taierzhuang was very chaotic and extremely critical, and there was only one Ximen left in Taierzhuang.Hurry up and call your Wu Minglin regiment, pack lightly and run quickly, and drive to Taierzhuang immediately, enter the city from the west gate, and the troops will be under the command of Division Commander Chi.When I received the call, I felt a little nervous, but I still pretended to be calm and said: Please don't worry, Commander-in-Chief, I will immediately call Wu Tuan to set off.I randomly ordered Wu Minglin to use the battalion as a unit to run quickly and send reinforcements within one hour.After the regiment arrived on time, it withstood the enemy's attack.In the early morning of the next day, only a dozen officers and soldiers from Wu Minglin's regiment left the city.

With his body covered in mud and dust on his face, he came to the headquarters to report the battle.Sun Lianzhong comforted and praised him, and at the same time ordered him to go back to the rear to make up. Sun Lianzhong sat on the chair and covered his head with his hands. His head was about to burst. He spent more than 10 days in a state of nervousness, irritability and anxiety.At this critical moment, he couldn't collapse himself. He asked his brothers to hold on, and he had to hold on himself first.A commander-in-chief can't stand it anymore, how can the officers and soldiers under him stand up?You can't let Chief Li Zongren change generals temporarily, can you?If someone could be replaced, Li Zongren wouldn't be in such a difficult situation.

It is necessary to send troops to the city, and it is impossible not to send them.Thinking of the frontal position in Taierzhuang, Sun Lianzhong suddenly stood up from his chair. He had no soldiers to send, so he still drew the 30th Division on the left wing and asked Master Zhang to send two more regiments to rush into the city to join Chifeng City. Two regiments of the 30th Division went in, and together with Commander Chi's troops, they fought against the attacking Japanese army.The Isoya Division made a final effort, seven or eight consecutive general attacks, using a large number of incendiary bombs and flamethrowers on the defenders' positions.Many soldiers of the Chinese army were burned like charcoal, curled up on the ground, exuding a strong smell of burnt burnt, and the two regiments of the 30th Division lost more than half.

The defenders of Taierzhuang had no way of retreating, and the canal was the way to retreat, and the wooden bridge of the Grand Canal was demolished by the division commander Chi Fengcheng, and a machine gun was set up on the ferry.Anyone who dared to escape would be shot on the spot, leaving cowards, fear of death, pustules, and deserters dead without a place to bury them. When the Japanese army launched a new round of offensive, more than a dozen wounded soldiers in the Chinese army's position supported each other, gritted their teeth and raised their chests. Many soldiers lacked arms and legs, and formed a line of defense in front of the position with their crippled bodies. , Holding grenades in their hands, they built the human wall of Taierzhuang with their bodies. Does Little Japan want to go there?Then come on, use your tanks and chariots, run over our bodies, let us die together.Even if you die, you Japanese soldiers must know what a real Chinese soldier is!