Volume 1 Deserter's Bloodbath Chapter 4: The Fall of Chuansha
Starting from August 13, 1937, the Ninth Army, under the command of Commander-in-Chief Zhang Zhizhong, led the 87th and 88th Divisions to launch a general offensive. The Chinese Air Force also went to Shanghai to cooperate in the operations. The brave soldiers launched a siege on the Hongkou Base of the Japanese Marine Corps in Shanghai, trying to drive the enemy into the sea.
On the 15th, Emperor Hirohito of Japan ordered General Matsui Iwane as the commander of the Shanghai Expeditionary Army, commanding the 3rd Division, the 11th Division and other army-affiliated units to attack Shanghai, further expanding the war of aggression against China.
Dachang, the headquarters of the 33rd Brigade, the brigade commander Ye Peigao is holding the battle report he has just received. The Japanese landing troops have been discovered in the direction of Zhang Huabin. Shanghai is a port city, and there are many places around it where they can land. As for their northern Shanghai, they can land in Chuansha, more than 20 kilometers north of Dachang.
"Order Han Yingbin at Gu's residence to be on guard towards Chuansha. His guard post must at least advance to Luodian. Which unit is stationed in Luodian?"
Looking at the battle map, Ye Peigao frowned and asked.
On the battle map, he did not find any defensive signs of any troops in Luodian. In his mind, Luodian, although a small town, was a transportation hub from Liuhe to Dachang and from Jiading to Wusong and Baoshan. If the Japanese army landed in Chuansha and seized Luodian, the war situation in Shanghai would take a sharp turn for the worse. Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that this is a place that both China and Japan must fight for in the northern suburbs of Shanghai.
"Brigade Commander, the Chuansha defense line is defended by the entire 56th Division. Even if the Japanese want to land, it shouldn't be that easy to break through the defense line ! Luodian is less than ten kilometers away from us. We have plenty of time to react!"
The staff officer said indifferently,
"Before the war, who would have thought that thousands of Japanese marines could stop the attack of our army group, not to mention that the attacker was our German-equipped model division, with two heavy artillery regiments and more than 300 aircraft support. After more than ten days of fighting, the Japanese are still resisting stubbornly in the reinforced concrete fortifications in Hongkou. So it's better to be cautious. Go and tell Han Yingbin!"
Ye Peigao sighed and said that the current battle situation was unclear, with more and more troops involved. He was worried about the fate of himself and the 33rd Brigade.
"Yes, sir!"
After hearing what his brigade commander said, the small staff officer could only salute loudly and pass on the order.
Han Yingbin's death squad was a bit special. With more than 600 men, it had no auxiliary arms. Apart from a squad of supervisory team members who served as guards at his battalion headquarters, there was only a cooking squad. Even the messengers were concurrently served by the supervisory team members. This made his four death squads very strange.
Why is it so bizarre? According to the standards of the National Army, a company should have 166 people, but the suicide squad only had 158 people; he built four suicide squads, which was a few short of the number.
"Let the captain of the first company lead the company to search and advance to Luodian. If there are no Kuomintang troops stationed in Luodian, let them build a position there. If there are already troops there, let them return."
After receiving the order, Han Yingbin thought about it for a long time and made a decision.
Feng E was in the Death-Defying Company, and his platoon leader was the old soldier with bared yellow teeth. Luodian was only ten kilometers away from the seaside. To the east was Yuepu, and to the north was Chuansha, which was suitable for landing and had the defensive positions of the 56th Division. Hundreds of high and low houses were closely clustered together. Two small streets ran north-south through the town. A dirt road at the north end led to Chuansha, and the end of the avenue in the east was Yuepu Town.
The town was surrounded by large tracts of scattered paddy fields and crisscrossing ditches. The sound of artillery fire from Shanghai had been rumbling for nearly ten days, and the residents had long since fled, leaving behind only a quiet empty city, sleeping in the dark night sky, as if it would never wake up again.
There were no new recruits in the Death Squadron. They were wearing yellow-green uniforms and German-style steel helmets. Although they were searching and advancing, the veterans did not hold their rifles. Instead, they walked through the fields with rifles on their backs, bent over. Their cloth shoes were already wet from the night dew. The air in Shanghai in early autumn is very humid.
“Pah, pah…”
The cloth shoes gradually became wet and made light sounds when they stepped on the fields.
"Boom, boom..."
The earth was shaking, causing the marching team to stop in silence.
"It's the Chuansha direction. It looks like the Japanese have really landed here. I hope the 56th Division can hold on!"
Looking at the flames coming from the sky, the company commander's face turned pale. The bombing noise of this large-caliber naval gun was too loud. They were more than ten kilometers away, but they could still feel the obvious tremors. I wonder what the brothers of the 56th Division on the position felt?
"Third Platoon Leader, go back and report to the battalion commander that the Japanese have begun to attack from the Chuansha direction; the rest of you, march quickly to Luodian!"
The company commander shouted loudly, and then urged the lazy-looking old soldier to run.
At this time, on the Chuansha defense line, the Japanese Navy's naval guns were pouring a large number of shells at sea, 155mm, 265mm, and occasionally more than 3oomm of battleship main guns. The shells hit the Chuansha defense line with powerful kinetic energy, and a huge crater of several hundred meters was created when they landed. Entire units of the National Army near the impact point disappeared on the defense line, and many people's bodies could not even be found.
After less than ten minutes of artillery bombardment, the unguarded 56th Division could not even stop the first wave of attacks. Under the attack of a battalion from the 22nd Brigade of the 11th Division, the defense line was penetrated!
"Kill him!"
Colonel Yoshio Asama, commander of the 43rd Regiment, screamed at the top of his lungs, ordering the Japanese army to attack quickly.
"Order the First Battalion to break through the Chuansha defense line without stopping, and go straight to Luodian behind Chuansha to defend it; the Empire's artillery and aviation will provide them with fire support; order the Second Battalion and the Third Battalion to eliminate the Chinese troops near Chuansha."
Colonel Yoshio Asama, wearing white gloves, issued orders. Under his orders, team after team of Japanese soldiers crossed the beach, rushed madly onto the river sand, and spread out like flowing water.
“ Bang, bang, bang…”
“Da da da…da da…”
The chaotic rifle shooting and the crazy shooting of machine gunners never stopped from the beginning. Under the cover of grenade launchers and mortars, the crazy Japanese army frantically attacked the positions of the 56th Division.
“Kill!”
The remaining defenders on the position raised their swords, jumped out of the broken trenches, and bravely rushed forward, trying to use their swords to stop the Japanese attack.
“Puff, puff…”
The sound of bayonets piercing bodies continued to ring out. Most of those who fell were ragged National Army soldiers. At this time, the Japanese troops invading China were all elite veterans who were proficient in marksmanship and hand-to-hand combat. As more and more soldiers fell, the Japanese troops who surged in like a tide finally occupied the position and built a bridgehead in Chuansha.
"Kill him!"
The Japanese squad leader and company leader screamed at the top of their lungs, commanding the Japanese troops to attack from both sides of the gap. As the gap grew larger, Chuansha was lost faster and faster!
What kind of unit is the 56th Division? It was reorganized from the former Five Provinces Allied Forces and was a complete product of warlord infighting. Military discipline and training were all a mess. As officers continued to die, the desperate screams became less and less. It took only two hours for the 43rd Regiment of the Japanese Army to break through the Chuansha Defense Line. The Japanese Army chased the Kuomintang soldiers who were fleeing frantically in the Chuansha area.
