The First Part of the National Martyr's Lonely City Blood War Chapter 19 Siege Blood War (Part 2)

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  Song Yuanhang heavily pounded his fist on the map, facing the Japanese army's advantageous troops' crazy attack day after day, the 200th Division could only passively defend itself, and many of the company's positions were breached by the Japanese only after the entire company was wiped out.

  The Japanese army, with the advantage of heavy artillery and air support, while continuously compressing the defensive position of the 200th Division, was also consuming the effective strength of the Chinese army in the city, especially the 600th Regiment and the 598th Regiment who were fiercely fighting outside the city suffered even more casualties.

  That night, a large Japanese army broke through and inserted itself behind the 131 high ground, completely separating the 131 high ground from the urban area. The 598 regiment retreated back to the city after organizing a second counterattack failed, according to Dai Anlan's order. It was clear that the Japanese were using the importance of the 131 high ground to lure Chinese troops into attacking and consuming the combat effectiveness of the Chinese defensive forces, paving the way for an attack on the urban area.

  In Song Yuanhang's view, the loss of 131 high ground was just a matter of time! At this moment, Dai Anrui only had one mechanized cavalry regiment defending in the old city area, and this cavalry regiment was the only mobile force that the 200th Division could use.

  At this moment, Tong Cheng was like a pot of boiling water, and I believed that Dai An would not easily pour the last ladle of cold water into it until the very end.

  At dawn, under the circumstances of the whole line being in a state of emergency, Dai Anrui held a meeting of all regimental officers at the division headquarters. After Song Yuanhang arrived at the meeting venue, he found that there were many fewer participants than at the pre-war mobilization meeting. The familiar faces of the past were no longer seen, and most of the battalion commanders wore the rank of senior lieutenant or even junior lieutenant. Almost everyone had a face covered in gunpowder mixed with sweat and even blood, and the reason for this was naturally self-evident.

  Everyone sat there with a serious expression, and several familiar ones were passing cigarettes to each other. One of them saw Song Yuanhang coming and hurriedly got up and moved inwards on the bench.

  Many officers turned around and nodded at Song Yuanhang!

  The lieutenant in front of him looked familiar, but Song Yuanghai didn't know what his name was! He just awkwardly nodded slightly to express gratitude.

  In fact, Shang Wei, the deputy captain of the 599 Brigade's Third Battalion, did not know Song Yuanhang. Due to his previous military supplies and yesterday's batch of medicines, his prestige quickly rose among the grassroots officers and soldiers of the 200th Division. Many people saw Song Yuanhang as representing the Military Department, with a momentum that was second only to that of Commander-in-Chief Dai Anrui.

  Chinese soldiers and most grassroots officers are very simple-minded. They know who is good to them and who is genuinely helping and taking care of them!

  In the sweltering bunker, Dai Anrui scanned the officers present with a piercing gaze. When his eyes passed over Song Yuanhang, they lingered for a few seconds. Song Yuanhang noticed that Dai Anrui's gaze contained very complex elements. Dai Anrui gestured to the Chief of Staff, Zhou Zhi, who sat beside him, indicating that he should speak first.

  "Today is the tenth day of our defense battle in Songhu. One part of our division has been holding off two enemy divisions and a brigade, although we are still keeping the enemy outside the city walls. However, the Japanese army's superior artillery fire and absolute air superiority have caused severe casualties to our division. Currently, the area east of the railway, including the outer defenses of 131 high ground, have largely fallen into enemy hands. Almost all buildings in the old city district have been flattened by Japanese artillery fire. This is our division's first overseas battle, and we are not familiar with the terrain, communication is not smooth, and the hot weather and lack of drinking water have made the fighting extremely difficult. All units have suffered significant losses. According to adjustments, our next phase of combat will shift to the new city district to the Xitang River line."

  Dai Anru and others finished speaking, wiped a handful of sweat, today he wore a yellow shirt with a few missing buttons, wearing shorts on the lower body. However, his spirit appeared extremely excited, with an air of fearlessness, a pair of tiger eyes staring widely, his big hand waved, ringing out loudly: "Today's meeting has no other meaning, just four words, 'Prepare to die in battle'!"

  Song Yuanhang heard Dai Anlan's words and his heart suddenly thudded. In history, Dai Anlan made this statement on March 24th and left a will. More than 400 Japanese soldiers launched a surprise attack on the headquarters of the 200th Division on the night of the 28th. On the morning of the 30th, the remaining troops of the 200th Division were ordered to break through the siege.

  However, at this moment, history has taken a dramatic turn. The 143rd Regiment of the Japanese army was annihilated, causing the 56th Division to be prematurely deployed into battle. At this point, the Japanese had already established defensive fortifications on the west bank of the Sitang River, and the breakout along the river had become an illusion. The only lifeline for the 200th Division had been completely blocked by the Japanese, and Tonggu City had become a truly isolated city in a desperate situation.

  After quickly arranging the combat mission, Dai Anrui fiercely extinguished the cigarette butt, slowly stood up, put on his military cap, adjusted his collar, and his eyes were like fire and electricity. The subordinates present knew that the division commander had an important decision to announce, and they all stood with their hands down.

  In the midst of the rumbling cannon fire, Dai Anrui stood up with his characteristic heavy and hoarse voice to make a last statement: "I have been ordered to defend Songgu firmly, and I swear to live or die with the city. If I die, the deputy commander will take over; if the deputy commander dies, the infantry commander will take over; if the infantry commander dies, the chief of staff will take over." The sound was loud and clear, echoing through the land.

  "Wei Liao Dai An added: "Japan's tiny country has deceived us too much. Today, the situation is self-evident. The Japanese invaders have surrounded our city on all sides, and our reinforcements have not yet arrived. This battle is of great significance. I hope you will report to the nation with determination and dedication! We cannot let the Japanese army occupy Songgu lightly. We must fight to the last soldier and die before we surrender."

  The officers in the auditorium were infected by the commander's passionate speech, and they followed suit, designating their own agents on the spot. Each person had a solemn and resolute expression on his face, as if this was a pre-arranged memorial service.

  After the meeting, Dai Anlan left Song Yuanhang alone in the headquarters. There were only three people left in the headquarters: Dai Anlan, Zhou Zhi and Zheng Tingji, the commander of the infantry and the 598th regiment. For a while, the atmosphere inside the command center became very strange.

  The current situation is clear to Song Yuanhang, but historically, the 200th Division took advantage of the dense fog on the morning of the 30th to break through from Tonggu and retreat. After the defeat of the Battle of Tonggu, on May 18, Dai Anlan led his troops to withdraw into the country, where they encountered a Japanese ambush and were seriously injured and died. However, because he had heavily damaged the Japanese 143rd Regiment, the situation in Tonggu underwent a huge change, and the Japanese army's two divisions and one regiment surrounded the 200th Division in Tonggu. In the eyes of the Japanese General Staff, the temptation to annihilate the Chongqing elite troops was far greater than occupying several cities!

  The sudden change in history made Song Yuanhang depressed, and what he couldn't accept even more was that the new 22nd Division, which had been reinforced day and night with Zhang Guotao, was stuck again just like in history. First, because the British took away the locomotive, then because the train cars were delayed for several days without reason, and finally they were blocked by the Japanese army at Nanyang Railway Station, more than 50 kilometers north of Songgu City.

  And the 96th Division of Yu Xiang was still struggling to advance on the British railway, and all this was due to the selfishness and incompetence of the British. First, the British 1st Division, which was responsible for covering the task, retreated without a fight, exposing the left flank of the 200th Division, equivalent to giving the Japanese 56th Division a road. Then the British army's evacuation of personal property and fleeing troops blocked the railway, trapping the 96th Division in Ba Maw!

  Japanese devils, British devils! Song Yuanhang made a secret decision that one day he would make these devils pay tenfold or even a hundredfold.

  After Dai Anrui lit a cigarette, he handed it to An Yi and said: "Brother An Yi, since the battle has reached this point, we brothers have nothing to hide from each other. The 200th Division has acknowledged your feelings and can only repay you in the future! Although I didn't succeed today, the entire division has made up its mind to sacrifice itself! At the same time, I also want to trouble you, brother, I have an important secret letter here that I ask you to hand-deliver to Commander-in-Chief, brothers are counting on you!"

  Dai Anruo suddenly realized that Song Yuanghai was actually telling him to go back, and had even found a good excuse for him to escape.

  Song Yuanhang smiled slightly and unexpectedly tore open the secret letter in front of Dai Anrui, shaking out two white papers from inside.

  Dai An and others did not expect Song Yuanhang to make such a move, and for a moment they were stunned on the spot. Zheng Tingqi's expression was shocked, and he even forgot the match in his hand, until it burned his hand, and then he shook it violently several times.

  Song Yuanhang couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh: "Brother, I've never caused any trouble for everyone, on the contrary, I've provided help, yet it's still not enough, and instead makes people feel disgusted?"

  Zhou Zaiyi hastily wanted to explain, but Song Yuanhang waved his hand and said: "Everyone's kindness is in my heart, I've been muddled for over 20 years, now the country has fallen, the enemy is rampant! I'm going to join the army to serve the country, I've already made preparations to sacrifice myself for the country, my determination is like iron! From now on, I swear to live and die with all of you!"

  "Good!" exclaimed Dian Zhen, Zhou Zhizai, Zheng Tingqi and others in unison!

  From Song Yuanhang's firm gaze, they could see that Song Yuanhang was not pretending to be generous. Song Yuanhang's image in the hearts of the crowd suddenly rose high! If even such a young master has this awareness, China will surely not perish.

  They all clearly remembered that this was Song Yuanhang's third time to shirk, and everyone knew that although the risk of sneaking across the Xitang River was extremely high, it was still entirely possible for a small team to infiltrate, and staying in Tonggu would only result in fighting to the death.

  Song Yuanhang knew he had been recognized, so he changed his tone and said: "I, Song, have always been someone who can't sleep if I don't take advantage of a good deal. You all want to be famous anti-Japanese generals for eternity? But you kick me out with one foot? Humph! It's not that easy."

  The feeling of life and death can change so quickly, the previous gloom disappeared without a trace.

  Song Yuanhang's words triggered a burst of hearty laughter, and the commanders in the center of the pressure vortex got a rare moment of relaxation.

  Pleasure is always short-lived, the rumbling cannon fire of the Japanese army's attack made everyone's nerves tense up!