November 28, 1937:

Tang Shizun, Commander-in-Chief of the 23rd Army of the Nationalist Army, returned to the General Headquarters from a meeting in Nanjing.

From the reports, he learned that Zhong Si'an and Xia Si'an had been occupied by the Japanese army.

He immediately made a plan to recover Zhong Si'an and Xia Si'an.

Zhong Si'an and Xia Si'an were the only way for the Japanese devils to attack Nanjing from the south, and there was no way to bypass them.

Therefore, to defend Nanjing, it was necessary to defend Zhong Si'an and Xia Si'an.

Tang Shizun ordered the 146th Division, which had just won a great victory, to attack Hongxing Bridge to cut off the retreat of the Japanese devils who had occupied Zhong Si'an and Xia Si'an.

He ordered the 148th Division to attack Xia Si'an from the west, and the Independent 14th Brigade to attack Zhong Si'an and Xia Si'an from the south with all its strength.

The 13th Brigade was the reserve team.

This time, Tang Shizun wanted to fight a battle of annihilation here.

The 56th and 114th Regiments of the 18th Division of the Japanese Army, which occupied Zhong Si'an and Xia Si'an, easily occupied the most important strategic location for attacking Nanjing yesterday.

They thought that the Sichuan Army was vulnerable and would not dare to come again.

They were completely unprepared.

Suddenly hearing gunshots coming from all directions, they were shocked and immediately began to defend.

This time, the team still had the same attire and weapons as yesterday.

There was not even a single machine gun in this team, and the weapons used by the soldiers were older than they were.

Many of these soldiers were still wearing straw sandals and carrying bamboo hats.

It was with such soldiers and such weapons that they fought completely differently today.

They were not afraid of casualties at all, and charged forward without fear of sacrifice.

The fearless Sichuan Army bravely attacked.

The two regiments of Japanese devils, six thousand in total, could not resist at all.

They had to desperately call for help from the Japanese air force and the troops on the left and right.

Soon, eighteen Japanese planes took off from warships on Taihu Lake.

At the same time, Lieutenant General Sadashige Ushijima, commander of the 18th Division, also sent a brigade to reinforce.

The Zhang Yizhai Regiment of the Pan Zuo Brigade of the 148th Division of the Sichuan Army was marching on the flank.

Preparing to attack the Japanese devils who were still stubbornly resisting in Zhong Si'an from the flank.

Suddenly, they discovered that outside the encirclement, a Japanese brigade was rushing towards the battlefield.

They immediately began to intercept.

Among this brigade of the 18th Division was the 55th Regiment, which had suffered a great loss at the hands of the 146th Division yesterday.

Using the four tanks that had luckily not entered the crematorium set up by the 146th Division yesterday to lead the way, they led thousands of Japanese devils to charge towards Xia Si'an.

Attempting to meet the two Japanese infantry regiments that were surrounded.

Zhou Shaoxuan, the commander of the Independent 14th Brigade, immediately ordered Regiment Commander Liu Keyong to organize a death squad to blow up the Japanese devils' tanks.

Regiment Commander Liu said to Hu Rongcheng, the company commander of the guard platoon beside him, "You have always been known as a daredevil hero. Today is the time for you to show your skills. Can you go and blow up the Japanese devils' tanks?"

Company Commander Hu stood up and said, "Report to the regimental commander! I can!"

He ordered to the entire company, "The country has raised soldiers for a thousand days, to use them for one moment. Those who are not afraid of death, take grenades and follow me!"

Platoon Leader Zhao Xuegui and more than twenty soldiers, each carrying a bunch of grenades, stood in front of Company Commander Hu.

This team of more than twenty people ambushed on the road where the Japanese devils' tanks were advancing.

When the tank passed by, Company Commander Hu jumped onto the tank and threw the grenade inside the tank.

Platoon Leader Zhao Xuegui also jumped onto a Japanese self-propelled artillery vehicle and threw a bunch of grenades into it.

The Japanese devils, seeing that two vehicles had been blown up, immediately strengthened their defenses.

Under the powerful fire of the Japanese devils.

The daredevils could no longer approach the enemy tanks.

They could only throw grenades one by one at the Japanese devils' tanks. The power of the grenade explosions, of course, could not blow open the armor of these tanks.

The entire death squad died under the guns of the Japanese devils.

When Regiment Commander Liu saw Company Commander Hu blow up the first Japanese devils' tank, he ordered loudly, "Kill!"

All the officers and soldiers of the entire guard platoon charged towards the Japanese devils.

There were more than three thousand Japanese devils who were fleeing outwards.

Regiment Commander Liu ordered Battalion Commander Zhou Haojian, "Immediately lead the remaining three companies to run forward to meet the guard platoon.

I will bring the Third Battalion to reinforce."

The hundred or so Sichuan soldiers of the guard platoon blocked the retreat of the three thousand Japanese devils, and were quickly overwhelmed by the Japanese devils.

The three companies led by Battalion Commander Zhou Haojian, who rushed up behind, also投入入ere all four hundred soldiers into the battlefield.

They were also immediately surrounded by the Japanese devils.

Battalion Commander Zhou directed the soldiers, trying to get closer to the position where the guard platoon was surrounded.

The Japanese devils had several times more troops, making it difficult for the hundreds of soldiers under his command to move forward.

At the same time, they were now unable to protect themselves.

The situation was critical. At this moment, Zhou Boqi Regiment of the 146th Division arrived. They had a British-made light machine gun.

They immediately opened fire, and the bullets were like locusts, instantly suppressing the momentum of the Japanese devils' attack.

These Japanese devils could only give up escaping from the position where Battalion Commander Zhou and the others were intercepting.

They found another position and broke through a gap to break out of the encirclement, not daring to think about annihilating this team.

After this battle, the two regiments of Japanese devils escaped from Zhong Si'an and Xia Si'an.

They had only occupied these two strategic locations for less than twenty-four hours.

Zhong Si'an and Xia Si'an were recovered, and all the officers and soldiers of the entire guard platoon were martyred.

The position was handed back to the Sichuan Army 145th Division to defend.

Zhong Si'an and Xia Si'an were the only way for the Japanese Tenth Army to attack Nanjing from the south, and there was no way to bypass them.

When Iwane Matsui learned that the 18th Division had lost Zhong Si'an and Xia Si'an after gaining them.

He was extremely angry and ordered the 18th Division to occupy Zhong Si'an and Xia Si'an without fail on the 29th.

Otherwise, the designation of the 18th Division would be revoked and all officers and soldiers would be executed.

This was an order from the Japanese China Area Army. Under strict orders, Lieutenant General Sadashige Ushijima did not dare to neglect.

On the 29th, the 18th Division concentrated all its forces and requested special guidance from the Air Force.

More than fifty planes and more than twenty tanks cooperated with the 18th Division to attack Zhong Si'an and Xia Si'an with all their strength.

At 2:00 p.m., Zhong Si'an and Xia Si'an were occupied by the 18th Division.

Tang Shizun ordered the 145th Division to occupy Zhong Si'an and Xia Si'an without fail on the 30th.

Now the Japanese Tenth Army was attacking everywhere in the entire south, and the entire Seventh War Zone was full of smoke.

The teams that cooperated to attack Zhong Si'an and Xia Si'an yesterday were now entangled by the follow-up teams of the Japanese devils.

The task of regaining this strategic location could only be completed by the 145th Division alone.

Division Commander Rao Guohua felt that the Japanese devils had more than 20,000 people in one division, and they also had planes and tanks to help them attack.

Relying solely on the strength of the 145th Division, it was impossible to complete the task of occupying Zhong Si'an and Xia Si'an.

The Japanese army used planes, artillery, and heavy artillery to press forward.

No matter how brave the Sichuan Army soldiers were, they could not make up for the gap in equipment.

A regiment of Rao Guohua retreated without a fight. Division Commander Rao, feeling that he had no face to see the elders of Sichuan again, sat upright and committed suicide with a pistol.

On the same day, November 29, 1937, the Japanese army attacking the Jiangyin defense area continued to attack the Jiangyin defense area with heavy troops and heavy artillery.

Xia Anmin, the company commander of the 9th Company of the 618th Regiment, who was defending Dingshan, rushed to the regimental headquarters of Wan Shi'an and reported, "Regiment Commander! The Japanese devils' bombing of Dingshan is too fierce. I have withdrawn the 9th Company."

Before Regiment Commander Wan could speak, Dai Ziqi, the deputy division commander of the 112th Division who had just arrived at the 618th Regiment to supervise the battle, heard that Xia Min'an had abandoned the position.

His eyes immediately turned red. He was shocked and angry.

He rushed forward, grabbed Xia Min'an, and roared loudly, "What should happen to a deserter? Tell me yourself!"

Xia Min'an was so frightened that he quickly explained, "Report to the division commander! The Japanese devils' artillery fire is really too fierce.

If the soldiers guarding the position do not retreat, they will all be killed by the Japanese devils' artillery fire.

Instead of making this meaningless sacrifice, it is better to withdraw.

After the Japanese devils' artillery fire ceases, we will rush up to hold the position again.

Please, Division Commander, have mercy!"

"No! We must not spare you, a deserter who is greedy for life and afraid of death. Execute him immediately!" Xia Min'an's explanation made Dai Ziqi even more angry.

"If everyone is like you, thinking about living to fight another day, then who will be the vanguard?"

After saying that, he pulled out the pistol from his waist and pointed it at Xia Min'an's head.

No sooner said than done, Wan Shi'an stepped forward quickly and pushed Dai Ziqi's hand holding the gun upwards.

This shot flew over Xia Min'an's head.

Regiment Commander Wan said, "Division Commander, let me say a few words. First, Company Commander Xia was wrong to withdraw the company without reporting.

Second, Company Commander Xia is really very brave in battle. They歼滅ed more than 300 Japanese devils yesterday.

Division Commander, with a major battle ahead, let Company Commander Xia atone for his crime and immediately let him recapture Dingshan."

Regiment Commander Wan's words made Dai Ziqi think for a while, and he said to Xia Min'an, "For the sake of your regimental commander, I will spare you from death.

But you must immediately lead the team to rush up to Dingshan. If you don't take Dingshan, bring your head here!"

Xia Min'an immediately guaranteed, "Report to the division commander, I will definitely take Dingshan."

The regimental headquarters immediately informed the entire regiment that Xia Min'an had withdrawn without asking for permission and was almost executed by military law. Only after the regimental commander interceded was he allowed to atone for his crime.

Similarly, the Wushan position was also being bombarded by the Japanese devils' artillery fire.

The Fourth Company and the Fifth Company did not dare to retreat even half a step and were struggling to hold on under the Japanese devils' artillery fire.

Xia Min'an had just returned to the company when Wan Shi'an came over with the Tenth Company:

"Your company has suffered too many casualties and is short of troops. I will give you the Tenth Company. You must recapture Dingshan."

At this time, Xia Min'an's gratitude to Regiment Commander Wan was beyond words.

Tears welled up in his eyes. Just now, the regimental commander had saved him from the muzzle of a gun in the regimental headquarters.

Now, he had brought the last company in the regiment to let him complete the task of recapturing Dingshan.

Xia Min'an said to the regimental commander, "Regiment Commander, don't worry, I will definitely fight to the death to recapture Dingshan and prove to the division commander that I am not afraid of death.

Regiment Commander, just wait for my good news!"

Wan Shi'an had someone bring up a jar of wine, a gift from the people of Jiangyin:

He poured a bowl for each officer and soldier of the Ninth Company and the Tenth Company. He raised his bowl of wine and said, "Brothers, Jiangyin is the eastern gateway to Nanjing.

Behind us is Nanjing. In order to defend the capital and defend President Chiang Kai-shek, we need to sacrifice.

If we sacrifice today, we will die for the country and for the people.

This is a glorious death, a great death.

People will remember our names.

Drink this bowl of wine. I hope you can all come back alive."

The Ninth Company and the Tenth Company rushed up to Dingshan, looking at the Japanese devils who had just rushed up to Dingshan after the artillery fire had stopped.

Enemies meeting each other are extremely angry.

The two sides did not say much and directly began a melee with bayonets.

Xia Min'an, the company commander of the Ninth Company, was now determined to die. If he could not recapture Dingshan.

He would have no face to go down the mountain alive.

Therefore, Xia Min'an rushed to the front of the two companies.

The soldiers of the Ninth Company knew that the company commander had almost been shot in the regimental headquarters.

They also knew that if it had not been for the company commander withdrawing everyone from Dingshan just now, they would have all died in the Japanese devils' artillery fire.

Now that they were rushing up to Dingshan, they did not have the idea of going down the mountain alive.

Especially when they saw craters more than one or two meters deep everywhere on the top of the mountain.

These were all shell craters left by the Japanese devils' artillery shells.

Being able to leave such deep craters, one could imagine how powerful the artillery shells used by the Japanese devils were.

A large-caliber shell like this was enough to kill everyone within a radius of fifty meters around the impact point.

Even if they were not scratched by the shrapnel, they would die from damaged internal organs.

The Yokota Yuta Company, which had rushed onto the position, also had no reason to retreat.

Not to mention their losses here yesterday, the Yokota Yuta Company was already the third wave of troops to launch an attack today.

Colonel Shinoda Ryuunosuke learned from yesterday's lessons and did not use a large group to attack at once today.

Instead, he let one company attack each time. If this company could not rush up, it would retreat to rest.

He replaced it with another company to charge, in order not to discourage the morale of his men too much.

He also wanted to ensure that there were always troops attacking.

The Yokota Yuta Company finally rushed up to Dingshan this time. When they were about to completely occupy the peak.

Nationalist Army soldiers rushed up from the other side of the mountain. Of course, they could not easily hand over the peak that they had finally occupied.

In this situation, the Nationalist Army soldiers were superior in number, and the Japanese devils were stronger in physical strength and fighting skills.

The Yokota Yuta Company commander would not retreat no matter what. He would never do that.

Therefore, when he saw the Nationalist Army soldiers rushing up the mountain, the Yokota Yuta Company commander immediately waved his knife, pointed at the Nationalist Army soldiers, and issued the order, "Kill!"

Both sides rushed close before they discovered each other. The initial contact was a melee with bayonets.

Xia Min'an, the company commander of the Ninth Company, saw that the eyes of these Japanese devils were red, and shouted out one word loudly:

"Kill!"

He was the first to rush towards the Japanese devils.

Just as Company Commander Xia was about to make contact with the Japanese devil in front.

Ma Biao, the first platoon leader behind him, rushed forward suddenly, his bayonet thrusting towards the belly of the vicious-looking Japanese devil opposite him.

Hagiyama Yuuki was just an ordinary soldier. If there was really a strength to be found, it would be his courage and ferocity.

Such soldiers were originally the most welcome in the imperial army.

However, Hagiyama Yuuki was missing a screw in his brain and had the same attitude towards superiors and subordinates.

This meant that he was always the bravest when fighting, but he never got any credit.

Fortunately, Hagiyama Yuuki, who was missing a screw in his brain, did not care about this.

What he cared about was the pleasure of killing.

Today was like this. When the Hisakota Yuta Company attacked, Hagiyama Yuuki was in the front.

When he discovered the Nationalist Army soldiers rushing up to seize the position on Dingshan, Hagiyama Yuuki was still in the front.

Although Hagiyama Yuuki was missing a screw in his brain, he could see that the one rushing to the front of the Nationalist Army rushing up was an officer.

He was the one who shouted the first "Kill!"

Hagiyama Yuuki rushed straight towards the officer, looking at the spear that the other party刺突ing out.

Hagiyama Yuuki grinned and, along the trajectory of the other party's stab, blocked the spear with his gun towards the position where Xie Wu was pointing.

The next step was to take advantage of the situation to block the other party's bayonet, and then he would take the opportunity to kill him with one knife.

The original good plan was suddenly ruined by a person, a gun, and a bayonet that rushed out from behind that person.

Hagiyama Yuuki watched helplessly as that bayonet, with a cold light, pierced into his waist like lightning.

He roared loudly, not knowing whether it was out of fear or to embolden himself.

He wanted to stab down the target he was staring at before he died.

He did not know whether the gallbladder had been punctured by the knife that had just been stabbed in, or for some other reason.

Hagiyama Yuuki only felt his body go limp and most of the strength in his hands disappear.

The remaining strength was only enough to barely hold the gun and barely make a blocking gesture.

This false gesture could not stop Xia Minan's full-strength attack at all.

He completely failed to block the shot that was刺突ing towards Hagiyama Yuuki's chest.

This time, Hagiyama Yuuki finally lost all his strength and fell down unwillingly.

Having won the initial battle, the soldiers of the Ninth Company and the Tenth Company who had just rushed up were now entangled with the Japanese devils who had rushed onto the position.

The two sides collided together, stirring up only a bloody storm.

The Japanese devils were determined to win, and the Nationalist Army would not give in to death.

When Xia Minan stabbed the third Japanese devil to death, the position of their team had been swapped with the Japanese devils.

Just now, the fighting between the two sides had already penetrated each other's阵勢.

Xia Minan tore off a piece of cloth and wrapped it around his stomach for a lap, then tightened it.

Looking at the soldiers around him, at least half of them had been reduced.

Ma Biao, the first platoon leader, had been replaced by Ye Junlu, the first squad leader, at some point.

When the first squad leader saw the company commander looking over, he immediately reported, "Report to the company commander! Platoon leader Ma Biao and platoon deputy Jiang Xiang have been killed in action. The first platoon is now commanded by Ye Junlu, the first squad leader.