PDLP Chapter 213: Jinling Defense
Chapter 213: Jinling Defense
Guanghua Gate.
After the battle of Chunhua Town, the 51st Division had less than half of its strength left. Later, it was arranged by the headquarters to retreat to Guanghua Gate and cooperate with the 87th Division in defense.
However, under the fierce attack of the Japanese 3rd Division, they were ultimately unable to hold on.
The Japanese 3rd Division suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Shanghai. Gu Changfeng assisted in the battle at Dachang and annihilated many of them.
Before entering the Nanjing battlefield, the 3rd Division's combat effectiveness was restored with the reinforcement of new soldiers sent by the Japanese headquarters, and its troop strength was as high as more than .
The 87th Division, after passing through the Battle of Shanghai, arrived in Nanjing and was replenished, but its strength was only a little more than what it had.
Wang Yaowu's 51st Division was even worse, with only a pitiful 3000 troops left after the battle of Chunhua Town.
Facing the well-mannered and well-equipped Japanese 3rd Division, the result was naturally not surprising.
"Brothers, we may have reached the most critical moment."
Wang Yaowu's expression was filled with sadness. Up to now, they were short of guns and ammunition. Facing the bombing by Japanese planes and artillery, they were almost paying with their lives.
"Commander, brothers are not afraid of death. Since I, Cheng Zhi, dared to come out to fight the Japanese, I didn't want to go back alive."
In the face of the sad atmosphere, Cheng Zhi's words are very inspiring.
Cheng Zhi looked at his colleagues and said with a smile: "Perhaps everyone will die after this battle, or perhaps some brothers will be able to break out."
"I, Cheng Zhi, have only one thing to say. Brothers who have managed to escape, please help me take care of my family."
"They are orphans and widows, and they are living in such a chaotic world. I am afraid for them..."
"Old Cheng, don't say that. I, Wang Yaowu, understand." Wang Yaowu interrupted Cheng Zhi before he finished speaking.
Then he continued to look at everyone and said: "We are all brothers. No matter who can get out alive, remember to help take care of your family."
At this point, everyone in the 51st Division Command seemed inclined to leave a last will and testament, but it was Cheng Zhi who said it first.
"Master, you don't have to come with us. You can go first."
Ji Hongru couldn't help but say,
The regiment commander, who was supposed to be seriously injured and sent away from Jinling, was eventually rescued by Gu Changfeng and continued to stay on the Jinling battlefield.
Wang Yaowu glared and said angrily, "I can't leave until the command from the headquarters comes down. And neither can you."
"Don't the Japs want to fight? Then let's fight these little Japs."
At this point, Wang Yaowu no longer had the desire to survive, he just wanted to fight the Japanese.
"We must fight, but we can't fight like this." Chief of Staff Gao Ling said slowly.
"Lao Gao, at this point, don't keep us in suspense. Just tell us directly." Ji Hongru urged.
Gao Ling gathered his thoughts and said, "I think Commander Tang's intention is to evacuate the civilians first, which means to buy time."
"I've inquired, and as of this morning, more than 20 people have been evacuated."
"Now we only have a little over a thousand people left, and the 87th Division under Commander Wang Jingjiu only has a little over 5000 people left."
"Perhaps we can negotiate with them to draw the Japanese into street fighting. At least if they separate, they won't have to worry about tanks and artillery fire."
Gao Ling's words made Wang Yaowu fall into deep thought. He remembered that he had discussed this issue with Gu Changfeng once.
Later, when the battle started, he had no time to take care of it. Now when he heard Gao Ling bring it up again, he felt it was okay.
Anyway, Guanghua Gate has already fallen, so it doesn’t matter whether we defend it or not.
The important thing is to prevent the Japanese from advancing too quickly and buy time for the people to evacuate.
Thinking of this, Wang Yaowu smiled bitterly and said, "I don't know what Changfeng is doing. He went back to Zhonghuamen and lost contact with us."
"Or else, we can get some rocket launcher shells and some rocket launcher racks, and fight the Japanese in street battles."
His words brought smiles to everyone's faces.
Cheng Zhi continued, "Master, you're still thinking about him. I guess there's nothing good left in him."
"I heard before that he beat the Japanese badly at Zhonghua Gate, but later his heavy artillery was also destroyed by the Japanese."
"I estimate that his strength has been greatly reduced by now. If you ask at this time, I guess he has no more in stock."
The two places are not far apart, so they naturally pay special attention to the movements of Gu Changfeng's troops. However, after the fall of Zhonghua Gate, they have lost news.
The main reason is that everyone has tasks to do, and they can’t always ask others how they are doing.
Wang Yaowu waved his hands, sighed and said: "Forget it, let's wait until we brothers get through this disaster.
You guys continue to discuss street fighting matters and compile an effective street fighting strategy. I'll go to the 87th Division."
.........
Zhonghua Gate,
The defending 88th Division was much more comfortable than Wang Yaowu. Although Gu Changfeng's support weapons and ammunition were not much,
But facing the main attack of the Japanese 114th Division, they still fought well, at least the losses were not as great as those of the other guns.
The Japanese 6th Division is still resting after the Battle of Yuhuatai, otherwise Xie Jinyuan would definitely not be so comfortable. This is also a point.
In the command center, brigade commanders Gao Zhisong and Zhu Chi sat on both sides, while several regimental commanders including Han Xianyuan and Xie Jinyuan sat below.
Since the division commander Sun Yuanliang had run away, the combat affairs were naturally presided over by the two highest-ranking officials, Gao Zhisong and Zhu Chi.
It is worth mentioning that due to the appearance of Gu Changfeng, the two brigade commanders did not die in Yuhuatai, and both evacuated safely to the defense near Zhonghuamen.
This can be considered as the result of Gu Changfeng, the little butterfly, flapping his wings.
"Let's talk about it next. How are we going to fight?" Zhu Chi said seriously.
Although we have resisted the Japanese attack today, everyone knows what the consequences will be if we continue fighting.
Xie Jinyuan moved his mouth, wanting to speak but hesitant.
Gao Zhisong noticed Xie Jinyuan's strangeness and said with a smile: "Jinyuan, if you have something to say, just say it."
Zhu Chi also smiled and agreed, "Jin Yuan was able to get back tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition and more than a dozen Type 99 rifles at a time like this. I think he must have some resources. Tell me about it."
Xie Jinyuan blushed at this, and he forced a smile and said, "Two brigade commanders, please stop laughing at me."
"I only have a good relationship with Changfeng. He provided me with some weapons and ammunition. Otherwise, how would a mere regiment leader like me get the resources?"
Gao Zhisong waved his hand and said, "No matter where it came from, we have received it. We should acknowledge this friendship."
Zhu Chi nodded, then looked at Xie Jinyuan and said, "The battle situation is urgent, let's get down to business. Jinyuan, what are your thoughts?"
Xie Jinyuan hesitated, thought for a moment, and then said, "When we received the weapons this morning, Changfeng told me to hold out for another day or two."
"The evacuation of the civilians is now complete. By then, there will be enough ships to allow the Jinling defenders to withdraw from the battlefield."
Gao Zhisong frowned upon hearing this and said, "We have no problem gritting our teeth and persevering, but I'm really unsure about the rest."
"Especially Purple Mountain. Under the bombardment of the Japanese heavy artillery, it's hard to say whether it can hold out until tomorrow."
As a brigade commander, he dared to join the suicide squad in person at a critical moment, so he was naturally not afraid of fighting the Japanese to the death.
But he was afraid that if Purple Mountain fell, the Japanese would be in a dominant position and the city of Jinling would be in danger.
Given the nature of the Japanese, they will definitely bombard the city of Nanjing directly. By then, the various armies will be in chaos and the battle will be impossible to continue.
Zhu Chi continued, "I don't think the Japanese are going to stop fighting tonight. It's hard to say how far they will advance tonight."
Xie Jinyuan also knew this problem, and continued according to Gu Changfeng's intention:
"If we can't hold on, we'll keep retreating and engage in street fighting with the devils. At least we can hold off until tomorrow night."
Gao Zhisong sighed and said, "Let's just fight the devils in the streets. The devils have tanks to clear the way, and our brothers can only fight them with explosive packs. The losses are too great."
Street fighting was a problem that Gu Changfeng had thought about early on. In the end, he failed to carry out the fight, but he did use it with two familiar troops.
I have to say that this is the only solution I have.