Chapter 12: The Bloody Battle of Nanjing (2)

  The battle is still going on, and it's worth noting that the 77th Army is facing many of the Japanese army's elite divisions, such as the 6th Division, 9th Division, and 16th Division. The 77th Army is inferior to the Japanese army in terms of equipment and numbers. For the past two days, they have been relying on their shared hatred for the enemy and their passion to fight against them. The Japanese army has been thoroughly stunned by the 77th Army's ferocious fighting style. Now that the main force has entered Nanjing City, both sides are intertwined, and heavy weapons and aircraft cannot be used, leaving only the sight of the Japanese army struggling in the city.

  The news of the battle reached General Ishiwara Kanji, who was recuperating from illness in Suzhou. He could no longer sit still, for if things continued this way, the Empire's soldiers would eventually collapse spiritually.

  "Eight o'clock! Order the troops in the city to withdraw to the outer positions before the 16th, and then send bombers to heavily bomb me, heavily bomb!" Matsui Iwane shouted in a state of desperation.

  On December 16, 1937 (the 14th day of the 11th month in the lunar calendar of the 26th year of the Republic of China), after the last Japanese troops within Nanjing City - the 45th Regiment of the 6th Division - withdrew from Guanghua Gate to positions outside the city walls, there were no more Japanese soldiers inside Nanjing City. Liu Zhenfeng knew that since the enemy had voluntarily withdrawn to outside the city, they must be planning to launch an attack using heavy weaponry. He therefore ordered each unit to make preparations for defense, paying particular attention to attacks by enemy aircraft and artillery.

  Sure, here is the translation:

  As expected, early next morning, hundreds of Japanese bombers took off and indiscriminately bombed Nanjing city, attempting to annihilate the entire 77th Army within the city.

  "Order the troops to take cover! Minimize casualties as much as possible, and we'll fight again after those damned bombers are finished!" Liu Zhenfeng hastily ordered the telegraph operator to send messages to each brigade and regiment.

  The bombing lasted for more than two hours, and almost all areas of the city were bombed except for the International Safety Zone, the Ming Palace and the Presidential Palace.

  After the bombing ended, the Japanese attacking troops began a new round of attack...

  December 16, 1937 Liu Gong's residence in Wuhan

  Blue Rainbow happily pulled Blue Butterfly: "Second sister, I heard that Second Brother-in-law and my two sons arrived at the headquarters this morning, and they can come back to see us at noon, great, nothing is wrong with that!"

  "I don't know if Jiang Peng has found Yunxuan, but seeing Sanmei so anxious, it pains me as her sister." Lan Caibei couldn't help but think of her little sister's distress and hoped that her husband would bring back their little niece. Fortunately, she didn't know that her beloved youngest son was currently fighting bravely in Nanjing, or else she might be even more anxious than her little sister.

  At noon, Liu Jiangpeng brought back Da Wu and Xiao Wu, the two nephews, to the Liu Mansion. Lan Caihong saw her two sons standing in front of her, unharmed, and was overjoyed, hugging them tightly and bursting into tears. Meanwhile, Lan Caixia noticed that her husband's face was gloomy.

  "What's wrong? Aren't you happy to be back safely? Did something unpleasant happen?" Blue Butterfly asked with concern.

  "I'm sorry for the soldiers defending Nanjing! I'm sorry for the people of Nanjing!" Liu Jiapeng could no longer hide his emotions. Thinking about how he and Tang Shengzhi had issued the order to retreat and abandoned the 100,000-strong army, hastily fleeing Nanjing, his heart was bleeding. What would happen to these 100,000 soldiers? Had they safely broken through or met with disaster? At that time, the Garrison Command had ordered all defenders to fight to the death, to share life and death with Nanjing. He himself had even passionately told the soldiers that he would die defending Nanjing together with them, never abandoning the capital. Now, he and Tang Shengzhi had broken their promise, abandoned Nanjing, and didn't care about the lives of the defenders. How could he lead troops again in the future?

  Just now at the headquarters, Liu Jiapeng learned that the Japanese army besieging Nanjing was still desperately attacking the city, and the defending troops inside the city were still stubbornly resisting. The street fighting was extremely fierce. What's going on? Almost the entire command system of Nanjing had already withdrawn, and it is estimated that even regimental commanders had mostly withdrawn from Nanjing. Could it be that some regimental commander had such great appeal to command troops that were already in a state of defeat? How could this be possible?

  Looking at her husband's frowning face, Lan Cai Die felt a great deal of heartache. She comforted him, "Alright, don't blame yourself. If there's an opportunity in the future, we can avenge those deceased warriors. Come, let's eat quickly!"

  Lan Cai Die invited Big Sister and her family, they all sat around the dinner table eating lunch together.

  "Mom, this time the defense of Nanjing was a real mess. The Japanese army sent out hundreds of planes to bomb Nanjing every day, and our division was responsible for defending Zhongshan Gate. You know? We were facing the strong 16th Division of the Japanese army, their equipment was far superior to ours, but we still held on to Zhongshan Gate, the battle was extremely fierce. I don't know how many times my brigade headquarters was bombed by the Japanese army, I almost died several times! Luckily, this time I was transferred back to the General Staff Department, from now on I don't want to be a chief of staff in any combat unit again, I'd rather be an ordinary staff officer in the General Staff Department, it's safer and more peaceful. This defense of Nanjing is something I will never forget!" Little Wu sighed, recalling his life-and-death experience amidst blood and fire.

  "I'm the same, I'm the same. It's too scary. The warriors rushed up in batches, but fell down in batches. This time, the Japanese army that attacked Nanjing was all Japan's elite troops, too powerful! In the future, let me go to the combat unit again, I don't want to go." Da Wu also said with lingering fear.

  "Is it really so cruel?" Blue Butterfly asked.

  "Yes, Second Auntie, at that time, not to mention ordinary soldiers, even the regimental commander and division commander had to rush to the front line to fight with the devils. The little devils were good at bayonet fighting, we couldn't beat them." Little Wu said to Blue Butterfly.

  "Is it? Then isn't Zhenfeng in great danger?" Blue Butterfly couldn't help but feel some worry.

  "Second aunt, to be honest with you, our division is the Central Army, Chiang Kai-shek's direct forces. Troops like ours have suffered heavy casualties fighting against the devils, let alone those ragtag troops that your nephew is in?" Da Wu also chimed in.

  "What's good about that?!" Blue Butterfly suddenly became anxious again.

  "Big Wu, shut up for me, don't scare your second aunt." Lan Caihong saw her sister's tense expression and immediately scolded her eldest son. She smiled at Lan Cai Die and said: "Sister, rest assured, haven't the main forces of the Japanese army been attracted to Nanjing now? What are you still worried about your son?"

  "Although I said so, my heart is still fluttering." Blue Butterfly replied with a forced smile.

  A lunch, everyone eating with their own thoughts...

  December 17, 1937, afternoon, Headquarters of the 77th Corps in Nanjing

  "Damn it, these sons of bitches are really rich, with planes and heavy artillery, it's making me drool. If we weren't here in Nanjing to cover the retreat of the entire city's military and civilians, I'd definitely take all their 92-style infantry guns, mountain guns, and field guns for myself. It would be even better if I could get some planes too, and establish a mixed brigade to thoroughly wipe out these sons of bitches." Liu Zhenfeng said while gnawing on a dry biscuit.

  "General, after seeing this, I think it's not too late for us to fight a decisive battle later. Now, shouldn't we be thinking about how to safely evacuate the civilians in the city?" Reminded General Xu Zhongqiang.

  "Hmph, isn't this easy? Dig a hole and drill out!" Liu Zhenfeng gave Xu Zhongqiang a white eye.

  "General, let's be serious. In this situation, it's not just the ordinary people who can't go out, even we ourselves don't dare to go out now," said Xu Zhongqiang discontentedly.

  "That's it, since we can't get out now, what else can we think about? Anyway, the city's arsenal and grain are sufficient for now, let's just consume them with the enemy first. I see that the enemy's defense at the Xishui Gate is relatively weak, and that's also our main direction of breakout. Let the 109th Division prepare to open up a lifeline from there and assist in the evacuation of civilians!"

  "Yes, sir!"

  The battle is still intense, and we have also recaptured many positions outside the city, mainly including: Mufu Mountain position, Zijin Mountain position, Yuhua Tai position, Xiaolingwei position, etc. They are all in our hands now. It can be said that my 77th Army and the Japanese army are now in a stalemate, neither of us can take another step forward.

  On December 18th in the morning, Liu Zhenfeng had the telegraph operator formally send a telegram to the headquarters of the First Group Army, the First War Zone and the Military Commission.

  My 77th Corps of the First Group Army in the First War Zone, formally entered the Battle of Nanjing on November 11, 1937, and has now basically controlled the situation, forcing the enemy out of the city. My troops are currently fighting a bloody battle with the enemy in Nanjing, striving to evacuate the refugees in the city as soon as possible. After completing the task, we will immediately break through the encirclement and withdraw. At the same time, my 77th Corps requests that the General Headquarters agree to let us take command of the troops that have not yet withdrawn from Nanjing, complete the task, and then break through the encirclement together with them! I hope the General Headquarters will agree!

  This time our department's unauthorized action was solely my decision, Liu Zhenfeng. If I'm lucky enough to survive after completing the mission, I am willing to accept military punishment!

  National Revolutionary Army First Group Army 77th Corps Headquarters

  November 16th, 1937, Nanjing

  After a while, the headquarters finally replied, and it was a direct order from the General Staff Headquarters. They agreed to my plan, and all the troops stranded in Nanjing would be under my command. However, they stipulated that by January 15th, 1938 (the 14th day of the 12th lunar month of the 26th year of the Republic), regardless of the evacuation situation, the troops must withdraw from Nanjing and break through the encirclement. The National Army had suffered too much loss in the Battle of Shanghai, the Battle of Taiyuan, and the Defense of Nanjing, and could not afford to continue consuming its forces like this.

  Liu Zhenfeng could also understand the meaning of the General Staff, after all, maintaining living forces to carry out protracted warfare in the future is extremely important. It seems that he must transfer as many people as possible before the final deadline.

  "Order the 109th Division to ensure that a lifeline from Shuixi Gate to Wuhu is opened up before Christmas Eve, and then deploy defenses along the way, configure them in a staggered manner, and block the enemy's attack layer by layer. The smooth passage of this line must be guaranteed. Also, after it is opened up, at least two weeks' smooth passage must be ensured. And let Deputy Commander Zhang Zizhong immediately put into action the reserve troops he has organized to defend the city!" Liu Zhenfeng gave the order.

  December 18, 1937 night Wuhan Liu Gong Guan

  "What! You're saying that Zhenfeng is now in charge of the city defense in Nanjing?" Blue Butterfly asked disbelievingly.

  "Second aunt, no mistake, this morning, the staff department received a message from Nanjing, Zhenfeng's younger brother took unauthorized action and led the 77th army to fight against the enemy in Nanjing city. Now the staff department agrees that the tens of thousands of garrison troops still staying in Nanjing will be commanded by his younger brother." Little Wu said to Blue Butterfly.

  "Xiao Wu, what nonsense are you talking about! Er Yi Niang, it's nothing, don't be anxious!" Da Wu glared at Xiao Wu with annoyance and comforted his Er Yi Niang.

  "No, Xiao Wu never lies in front of me. I know, I know that Zhenfeng must have been fighting in Nanjing." Lan Caidie almost burst into tears.

  "What's wrong?" Liu Jiapeng asked as soon as he came home from work, looking at his wife's anxious appearance.

  "Jiang Peng, tell me, is our son Zhenfeng now guarding Nanjing? Tell me quickly!" Blue Butterfly tightly grasped Liu Jiangpeng's clothes and asked anxiously.

  "Cai Die, sit down, don't be in a hurry!" Liu Jiangpeng pulled out a chair for his wife to sit down while giving a stern look at Da Wu and Xiao Wu. "Since both Da Wu and Xiao Wu have told you, I won't hide it from you either. Yes, Zhenfeng is indeed a worrywart child, taking unauthorized action and heading to Nanjing to fight without any orders. If he wins, that's fine, but if he loses, not to mention whether he'll be killed in battle or not, even if he can come back, he'll still face severe punishment from the military law!"

  "What can we do? You'd better think of a solution quickly!" Blue Butterfly said tearfully.

  "What can we do now, everyone is in Nanjing. I said Cai Die, maybe our precious son is still proud of himself now. As the military commander of a local unit, he came to command Chiang's direct line troops and now he is the garrison commander of Nanjing. You just take it easy first!"

  "Can I be at peace now?" The helpless Blue Butterfly could only express her current sorrowful mood with tears.

  At this time, Liu Zhenfeng was indeed as pleased as his father said, suddenly becoming the commander of a hundred thousand troops from being the commander of tens of thousands of troops, which is not something that anyone can become just by wanting to!

  "Report to headquarters! A part of our 109th Division is making an all-out effort to break through the enemy's Sixth Division in the direction of Shuixi Gate, and has already opened up a gap!" a communication soldier reported.

  "Ah, ah." Liu Zhenfeng took a sip of water and called out, "Which part is it?"

  "Report to the commander, it's the 109th Division AK Regiment!" The communications soldier continued.

  "Hmm, no wonder, the AK team is indeed the most elite unit of our 77th Army. Alright, immediately order the 109th Division to clear the passage for me at all costs!" Liu Zhenfeng continued to give his orders.

  That night, the 109th Division, led by Commander Ji Xingwen, adopted a surprise attack and destroyed the command post of a part of the Japanese Sixth Division outside the city, thus opening up the road to Jiangning Town. The vanguard regiment of the 109th Division, the AK Regiment, advanced with the momentum of a tiger descending from a mountain, overcoming five passes and beheading six generals. Finally, on December 21st, the entire division thoroughly opened up the transportation route to southern Anhui Province. To ensure the safety of the evacuation route for civilians, I ordered one brigade from the reserve forces to go to the lifeline and assist the 109th Division in defense.