The First Sacrifice of the Lonely City: Blood War Chapter 28: Never Abandon (Part 1)

  Through the telegrams exchanged with Song Xilian over the past few days, Chiang Kai-shek clearly understood that the garrison in Song had reached a desperate situation where they were out of ammunition and food, and there was no hope of reinforcements. As the commander-in-chief, he knew that his subordinates had done their duty, defending the isolated city to the death, but reinforcements were slow to arrive. However, from the perspective of the overall situation, the bloody battle fought by the 200th Division in defending Song against two Japanese divisions was of great significance for both the international and domestic war efforts.

  From this Battle of Shanghai, Chiang Kai-shek discovered that as long as the firepower level was close to that of the Japanese army and there were no serious mistakes in command, a Chinese army with numbers equal to those of the Japanese could completely hold its own against the Japanese, giving Chiang hope for the domestic battlefield!

  The stubborn defense of Tengyue also allowed the Allies to see the strength of the Chinese army, especially the United States. Since the Battle of Tengyue, after the Japanese army invested two divisions, the US attitude towards China's military aid has undergone a huge change, and even actively proposed a plan for 20 American-style light divisions to be re-equipped and trained in Yunnan.

  Inside the third floor combat room of Chongqing Military Commission, many high-ranking officials proposed various plans after several hours of meaningless discussion and debate, but they were soon overturned one by one.

  Chiang Kai-shek, who had long been accustomed to such scenes, closed his eyes and waited for the outcome of the debate.

  In Chiang Kai-shek's subconscious mind, he selfishly thought that since reinforcements were impossible, fighting to the last soldier and bullet with the old troops was probably the best outcome at present. It would also serve to refute those who said that Old Chiang was using the war of resistance as an excuse to consume local miscellaneous troops! And it could let the Allies see the combat effectiveness and determination of the Chinese army.

  But another voice kept warning Chiang Kai-shek, that was the 200th Division, China's only German-style light mechanized division! It was his favorite, and recently he had also taken a liking to Song Xianyang who was among them.

  Chiang Kai-shek deliberated repeatedly and finally ordered the 200th Division to be ready to break through at any time, while ordering the New 22nd Division and two regiments of the 96th Division to send out small teams to infiltrate in the direction of Songgu to meet up with the remnants of the 200th Division.

  When Song Yuanhang received this breakout order, he understood that this order was actually a talisman given to him by Old Chiang, meaning as long as you use all means to escape back, it's okay.

  Give yourself a despicable excuse, and openly abandon so many brothers? Song Yuanhang knew he couldn't do it, now his only bet is the torrential rain that will start on April 6th and last for three days.

  If heaven itself doesn't help, then losing won't be unjust! Having made up his mind, Song Yuanhang crumpled the telegram and threw it aside, immediately starting to arrange the breakout work! To break out, they must first hold their ground. While the Japanese were dragging away the bodies, Chinese soldiers were busily repairing fortifications.

  The Japanese army did not pay much attention to the actions of the Chinese garrison, and in their view, the surface fortifications repaired by the Chinese could only futilely increase defensive casualties under artillery fire.

  Under the sunset of dusk, the Japanese army's corpse-removing team went back and forth, many fallen soldiers' bodies had severely rotted, and the air was filled with a nauseating smell! The preciousness of life is not to be doubted, but as a soldier, it is destined to sacrifice one's life in the flames of war.

  For several days, the Japanese army's long-awaited white blade battle did not knock down the Chinese defenders, but instead made their already low morale even lower. The Chinese soldiers used the weapons in their hands to ruthlessly trample the already scarce self-esteem of the Yamato people. In the face of the tenacious Chinese soldiers, the Japanese soul trembled, and their invincible spiritual beliefs were thoroughly shattered.

  Chinese soldiers in the front-line fortifications tightly grasped their weapons and vigilantly stared at every move of the Japanese army.

  Most of the bodies of our fallen soldiers had rotted, and under helpless circumstances, Song Yuanghai ordered the dismantling of everything that could be burned to cremate the remains of the fallen officers and soldiers.

  Song Yuanhang personally ignited the raging flames, and the firelight illuminated the peaceful faces of the fallen soldiers! In the distance, the Japanese army was also cremating the bodies of their fallen soldiers, and a mournful flute sound floated intermittently in the night sky.

  After counting the personnel, weapons and ammunition, Song Yuanhang realized that he had previously thought of breaking through too lightly. First, he needed a dare-to-die squad to take over the defense of the position. Secondly, more than 2,000 wounded soldiers, both light and heavy, could not follow the team to break through the river!

  Under the accompaniment of Xu Tu'an, Song Yuanhang almost visited every fortification and bunker, nominally to show concern for the soldiers, but in fact, he wanted to know how many troops could be allocated under his command.

  The result was very disappointing, and the defensive circle commanded by Song Yuanhang had only a little over 3,000 people in its formation, but the lightly and heavily wounded accounted for two-thirds of them. Except for more than 200 medical personnel in the field hospital, there were only more than 700 combat troops.

  Are we going to leave all the wounded to the Japanese? Song Yuanhang sat in the command center, smoking one cigarette after another. According to his personal wishes, he not only wanted to give up on the wounded but also wanted to bring back the bodies of the fallen soldiers. He still remembered the slogan he shouted at the beginning of the war: "Don't abandon a single comrade!" This was the difference between ideal and reality.

  After smoking several cigarettes in a row, Song Yuanhang finally made up his mind and let Xu Tu'an gather the troops. Half an hour later, he would give a speech!

  When reorganizing the troops, Song Yuanhang was surprised to find that the team he commanded had only more than 20 officers. The highest position among them was only a lieutenant colonel, which can be seen from the general situation of the ancient war.

  Song Yuanhang took a cold breath and quickly promoted all the officers by two ranks, and rapidly promoted a batch of experienced old soldiers to serve as platoon and company commanders.

  "There are only six connections left!" Song Yuanhang let out a faint sigh, he knew that there was still something very important waiting for him.

  After dinner, the Japanese continued to collect bodies with torches and flashlights. Song Yuanhang gathered most of the wounded in the basement, where the narrow space was crowded with people, even the corridors were packed.

  Song Yuanhang glanced around at the many wounded and pulled his collar, due to the large number of people, the originally cool basement became stuffy.

  If he had to say it, Song Yuanhang had already rehearsed countless times, but when he truly faced those pairs of eager eyes, he suddenly found that he wasn't prepared yet?

  Really want to abandon these so-called burdens? Song Yuanhang found that his previous excuses were so shameless!

  Xu Tu'an, who was standing beside him, saw that Song Yuanhang's expression had fallen into a dilemma and lightly coughed, saying: "Next, I will announce the sequence and arrangement of the breakout!"

  As soon as Xu Tu'an's words came out, all the wounded soldiers immediately tensed up, and the entire underground room suddenly fell silent. Like most Chinese troops, the soldiers of the 200th Division were also most afraid of being injured, and it had always been the case that the wounded were the first to be abandoned.

  Although every time the summit gave wounded soldiers the power to 'act freely', the consistent policy of the Japanese towards Chinese wounded was to use them as bayonet practice materials, and since the 200th Division had defeated the little devils so badly at Songgu, the wounded defenders who fell into Japanese hands were guaranteed a fate worse than death.

  Suddenly, a lieutenant colonel with injuries to his left arm and eye stood up and shouted: "Brothers, I am Deputy Chief of Staff Cui Zhi-jun of the 600th Regiment. Can someone tell me who ordered the breakout? What about these wounded brothers if we break out?"