As night fell, the fighting outside Jiangyin City still continued, with rumbling artillery fire mixed with fierce gunfire, and the Japanese attacks became increasingly fierce.
The Thirteenth Division has been blocked in Jiangyin for a full week. Seeing the other divisions sweeping towards Nanjing with overwhelming force, the commander of the Thirteenth Division, Ogisu Tatebei, seemed more and more anxious.
"Capture the capital of China and force China to surrender!" the slogans of the attacking troops shouted loudly. Of course, the Ogisu Rippei army was not willing to miss the supreme honor of capturing Nanjing, the enemy's capital.
However, the Chinese Jiangyin defenders fought extremely tenaciously, causing heavy losses to the various offensive regiments of the Thirteenth Division and preventing them from advancing any further. The Chinese Army would often organize death squads to take back the positions captured during the day at night.
Many positions have been bloody after repeated battles. The tenacity of those Chinese soldiers frightened Ogisu Ripei. If all the Chinese troops fought like this, Ogisu Ripei could not imagine the consequences.
"End the battle within two days!" Ogisu Rihei issued a death order to each of his subordinate brigades and regiments. He did not want to waste time here anymore.
Because of Ogisu Ripei's strict order, the Japanese soldiers' attacks became even more frenzied, almost regardless of casualties, which suddenly increased the pressure on the Chinese defenders.
The commander of the 13th Division, Ogisu Ribei, was in a irritable mood and wanted to capture Jiangyin as soon as possible and open the Yangtze River waterway. Liu Xing, the commander of the Jiang Defense Group Army who was guarding Jiangyin, was also under tremendous pressure.
The map in the group army commander's office was completely covered with red and blue lines, and the staff members had not slept for several days. The Japanese were attacking like crazy, so they did not dare to relax at all.
"At three o'clock in the afternoon, Lieutenant Colonel Li Yichang, deputy of the 618th Regiment, and Major Li Zhongchun, commander of the second battalion, were seriously injured during the fierce battle and have been sent down. All efforts are being made to rescue them."
"At five o'clock in the afternoon, Major Chen Shaopei, the first battalion commander of the 618 regiment, and Major Liu Songsheng, the third battalion commander of the 613 regiment, died heroically. The troops are currently commanded by their respective deputy battalion commanders."
"At six o'clock, Commander He had ordered the 615th Regiment to join the battle. However, the battle was severe. The regiment leader Zhou Xiangkui and the two battalion commanders were injured and evacuated. Currently, the 103rd Division Acting Chief of Staff Li Yuchun is commanding the troops to continue to resist."
"Is the situation really that bad?" Commander General Liu Xing frowned after receiving the report.
The staff officer smiled bitterly and said: "The situation of the 112th Division is not good either. Commander Huo was injured by a shell and has been evacuated. His 334th Brigade has retreated towards Qingshan and Banqiao. The 667th Regiment in Huashan only has one battalion left.
I have called several times to request reinforcements.”
Facing the bad situation, Liu Xing was under tremendous pressure. He asked his staff: "What news is there from the Military Commission?"
"Nanjing's order is to hold on for at least three more days to allow friendly forces in the rear to deploy their defenses calmly."
"That's nonsense! We've all lost our money, so what can I do to protect you?" Liu Xing angrily threw his belt on the table, venting his dissatisfaction.
Although he is the commander of the Jiang Defense Group Army, the troops at his disposal are stretched thin. He has been able to hold on for a week with weak troops and has reached the end of his strength.
After venting his anger, Liu Xing sighed helplessly. There were orders from above, so he had no choice but to carry on.
"Command the frontline regiments to hold their existing positions. If anyone loses his position, come to see him!" Liu Xing had no choice but to pass the pressure on to the frontline troops.
After he finished speaking, he turned to his staff and ordered: "Immediately formulate a retreat plan and prepare ships to cross the river. Once Nanjing issues a retreat order, you will not be in a hurry."
"Yes!" the staff officer replied loudly, preparing to leave.
Liu Xing stopped his staff and asked, "Wait a minute, how is Yang Ling's guerrilla camp doing?"
The staff officer pondered for a moment before replying: "It was quite impressive, but some people thought that Battalion Commander Yang had a warlord style and the discipline requirements were too harsh."
Liu Xing's curiosity was aroused: "Tell me more specifically?"
"He asked the soldiers to do push-ups, run, and practice lunging, and any of his orders must be carried out unconditionally. If you are late for a meeting for one minute, you will be punished. If you dare to say no, you will be punched and kicked immediately.
Let those soldiers dare not speak out in anger."
"Oh? Is there such a thing?" Liu Xing frowned, "Okay, I understand, I'll go take a look later."
When the staff officer heard this, he showed a smile of success on his face, and felt very happy in his heart. He was finally able to vent his anger on his relatives. Damn it, just for saying one more thing, he was actually fired by Yang.
Let's see how your boy ends up.
Yang Ling's guerrilla battalion is directly under the Jiang Defense Group Army Headquarters, and the battalion commander Yang Ling is a celebrity who killed the Japanese general. Although the commendation from above has not yet come, it will definitely prosper in the future, so while the commander is wooing the officers, he starts to
Be careful.
The guerrilla camp was established, and these generals even sent their cronies and relatives inside, hoping to catch a ride. However, little did they know that Yang Ling was a freak, with terrifyingly strict discipline. He kicked some people out, which naturally offended them. Of course they
I can no longer speak well of Yang Ling.
Liu Xing originally thought highly of Yang Ling. Firstly, Yang Ling looked majestic and had the air of a general. Secondly, both his temperament and ability were excellent, so he wanted to cultivate him.
I heard that Yang Ling had done something like this, so I took advantage of my break to eat and planned to see for myself what was going on in the guerrilla camp.
"Tell me! What is our slogan!"
"Dare to kill and dare to fight! I am invincible!"
As soon as Liu Xing walked to the gate of the camp, he heard a thundering roar from inside, which made him take back his steps.
He looked inside through the gate and saw more than 600 soldiers running around the school grounds in neat lines, shouting slogans loudly and with high morale.
Are these still those sluggish stragglers? Liu Xing looked confused. If he hadn't looked at the mottled military uniforms on their bodies, he would have thought they were some elite troops.
He didn't expect that in just one day, these stragglers would be manipulated into such a state by Yang Ling. This guy is not simple.
"Hello, sir!"
While Liu Xing was watching Yang Ling's training outside, Lao Yanqiang came back with more than 20 brothers carrying things. When he saw Liu Xing at the door, he immediately stood at attention and saluted.
"Yes," Liu Xing straightened up and nodded. He recognized Lao Yanqiang. He was the company commander who went to attack the Japanese artillery positions and is now the company commander of the guerrilla battalion.
"What are you carrying?" Liu Xing asked, pointing to the bamboo baskets and wooden barrels carried by Lao Yanqiang and the others.
"Sir, it's food!"
"Eat?" Liu Xing frowned: "Open it and take a look."
"Yes!" Lao Yanqiang hurriedly ordered to open the wooden barrel and bamboo basket.
These wooden barrels and bamboo baskets were filled with delicious food, which made Liu Xing even swallow his saliva.
"Your food is quite good." Liu Xing looked displeased. The brothers were eating their croquettes, but Yang Ling actually prepared so much good wine and food.
"Report, sir! Our battalion commander said that the brothers are training intensively and must eat good food. The battalion commander bought these for the brothers with his own money."
"Oh? This is not what Yang Ling ate by himself..." Liu Xing wanted to ask, but he swallowed it back because he looked at so much food and suddenly felt that he had wronged Yang Ling. How could he eat it alone?
"Okay, bring it in for the brothers. Don't catch a cold." Liu Xing waved his hand and was completely relieved that Yang Ling was not only brave and resourceful, but also caring about his subordinates. This was his evaluation.
"Yes!" Lao Yanqiang saluted: "Sir, aren't you going in?"
"I won't go in. You send a message to Yang Ling. The front line is tight. Be prepared to pull up at any time."
Seeing how well Yang Ling organized his troops, he now felt that he could rely on him to recruit the guerrilla camp. This was because of his trust in Yang Ling.