The Japanese heavy artillery bombardment really shook the earth. The earth seemed to be turned upside down. The exploded mud and flesh were mixed together and slowly flew up to the sky, then fell heavily. The entire river beach turned into a Shura hell.
There was a buzzing sound in Yang Ling's ears. Battalion Commander Zhao Wenbin dragged him towards the river. The shells fell, and the two of them were like kites with broken strings, and were thrown high to the ground by the air waves, landing on the ground.
He fell into the cold and biting river water and filled his mouth with blood.
"Batalion Commander! Battalion Commander!" Lao Yanqiang and the others hurriedly jumped out of the boat and dragged Yang Ling and Zhao Wenbin onto the boat after they had fallen into the shallow water.
Those brothers who narrowly escaped being bombarded by heavy artillery didn't care about anything. They threw away everything and jumped into the water with a splash. Lao Yanqiang and the others dragged them onto the boat one by one.
Some of the brothers ran too slowly and were instantly engulfed in the flames of the artillery fire, blasting them to pieces. Yang Ling opened his eyes and saw Yang Dashu holding a machine gun in his hand, limping towards the river.
"Stop! Wait for him!" Yang Ling's head was too dizzy and unclear. When he saw Yang Dashu running towards the river, he hurriedly shouted to Lao Yanqiang, who was rowing hard.
Before he could finish his words, the artillery shell had blown up the running poplar tree into the sky. The smoke dissipated and the place turned into a huge crater with green smoke.
Seeing helplessly that his brothers had been bombed to pieces, Yang Ling wanted to cry but couldn't. His chest felt like a stone was being pressed against him, his chest was tight and he was short of breath. His originally groggy head was overtaken by sleepiness again, and he passed out.
The heavy artillery of the Japanese army blew up the river beach into mud and left corpses everywhere. Those soldiers and civilians who were still alive ran towards both ends.
However, from Xiaguan Wharf to the upper and lower reaches of the river, there are cliffs and reedy beaches. These soldiers and civilians who are rushing around have no way to go.
The heavy artillery stopped roaring, and gunshots rang out from the east. Thousands of Japanese soldiers armed to the teeth were crushing towards the river beach. Light and heavy machine guns, grenade launchers and Type 92 infantry cannons opened fire towards the river beach.
On fire.
Those desperate soldiers and civilians who were pressed on the river beach fell into a pool of blood like wheat. Many people rushed into the cold Yangtze River one after another in order to escape, just like a dam broke.
He could knock down dozens of people, and the river surface was stained red with blood.
Japanese gunboats and patrol boats that broke through the Wulongshan blockade continued to pour in from downstream. Those fishing boats tried to rescue soldiers and civilians who fell into the water, but they encountered a head-on attack from the Japanese gunboats.
These Japanese gunboats ran rampant on the river, constantly firing at the fishing boats that were rescuing people. The fishing boats were blown to pieces one after another, and the sky was filled with fragments.
The remaining fishing boats no longer dared to stay, and fled upstream one after another. The morning glow reflected the blood-red Yangtze River, and swarms of Japanese aircraft flew back again, firing mercilessly at the fishing boats on the river, wailing for a while.
Continuously, the explosions and flames continued.
Lao Yanqiang and the others no longer cared about the brothers who stayed on the river beach, and rowed desperately toward the north bank. Behind them, the Japanese army was carrying out a ruthless massacre on the river beach. More than 50,000 civilians and soldiers stranded on the river beach were stained with blood.
Yangtze.
Medical soldier Xizi pinched the unconscious Yang Ling. Yang Ling woke up and found that he had been desperately rescued by Lao Yanqiang and the others and brought him back to the north bank. He was blown away by the air waves several times, and he had a severe headache.
He was helped to sit up and looked back at the city of Nanjing, which was already in flames. The explosions were still ringing one after another. The Purple Mountain in the distance was like a giant burning in the fire, and the fire was like a song.
The Japanese gunboats were already on the river mercilessly shooting at the fleeing fishing boats and ferries, watching helplessly as they all sank to the bottom of the river.
Many brothers knelt on the wet river beach and cried bitterly, thankful that they had crossed the river alive. Some of them yelled at the Japanese, and their eyes became red as they cursed. Most of them collapsed on the ground without saying a word, shouting loudly.
Breathing heavily.
Yang Ling shook his groggy head and asked Lao Yanqiang: "How many brothers have we come here?"
Lao Yanqiang looked at the brothers lying on the river beach without any strength, and said painfully: "All the ones who are still alive are here."
Yang Ling looked around, and he saw Wang Huzi with a bloodied face, Liu Yidao with a gray face, and also saw familiar faces such as Jiao Chaoming, but Yang Dashu and a large number of brothers stayed in Xiaguan Jiangtan forever.
, never come here again.
"The brothers on the other side can't get over. It's not suitable to stay here for a long time. We'd better leave quickly."
The battalion commander Zhao Wenbin, who was covered in wounds, saw the deeply sad people and persuaded them to leave the dangerous river beach.
Yang Ling thought he could turn the tide and save the soldiers and civilians on the river beach, but he found that his power was too weak, so weak that he could not change anything. The deep feeling of powerlessness filled him with pain.
After a series of fierce battles, and when he saw the fallen city, his whole body felt as soft and weak as if his bones had been sucked out. He had to tell Lao Yanqiang in a low voice: "Take our brothers who are still alive and let's go."
Lao Yanqiang responded, turned around and gathered the more than a hundred brothers who had successfully crossed over, and they all walked towards Pukou Town on the north bank.
They fought bloody battles with the Japanese army in the city of Nanjing for so many days. They watched the capital fall to the enemy and countless brothers died. Everyone looked depressed. The team entered the town of Pukou on the north bank in boredom.
Pukou Town is only separated from the city of Nanjing by a river. It was also bombed by Japanese aircraft. When Yang Ling and others arrived, many wooden houses were still burning and smoking.
The town was in a state of depression, and the common people had already fled. The defeated soldiers who had successfully broken out from Nanjing were wandering in the streets in small groups, smashing shops and houses in search of food, and no officers came out to restrain them. Those who had not had time
Most of the evacuated officers did not break out and died in the city.
Yang Ling and his group of over a hundred brothers narrowly escaped death. Their soles were weak and their stomachs were raging. They fled in a helter-skelter manner. All their weapons and equipment were lost on the other side. Many of them were empty-handed at the moment. Fortunately, there were officers commanding them, so they did not die.
Coaxed to disperse.
These brothers had been fighting fiercely for a long time, and now they were so hungry that they could no longer walk. Before the Japanese army could catch up, Yang Ling ordered them to rest on the spot temporarily.
They stopped temporarily in Pukou Town. Captain Qin Shou, the company commander, took more than a dozen brothers to collect food from house to house. At this moment, they could not care about military discipline. They wanted to survive first. They wanted everything they could eat.
However, the defeated troops who broke through early had already swept away Pukou Town. Qin Shou didn't gain much. He only found a large basket of potatoes in a cellar, which he fed his brothers.
"The railway was bombed. There are no trains. It seems we have to walk." Lao Yanqiang took people to Pukou Station to investigate and brought back bad news.
However, for everyone whose morale is now low, there is no difference between good news and bad news. Being alive is already a great blessing.
Yang Ling and others did not leave Pukou immediately, but gathered up the broken troops who broke out while resting. By noon, they had gathered about 300 soldiers from each unit.
Most of those who successfully broke through were the lucky ones. Almost all their troops were wiped out. Eleven battalion commanders were killed among the thirteen infantry battalions guarding the Zhonghua Gate.
Among them, the 87th and 88th German Arms Divisions, except for the more than 2,000 sick and wounded who were evacuated in advance, were completely destroyed in Nanjing. More than 6,000 people were killed in Yuhuatai alone. Among them, the 88th Division alone had two brigade commanders, Major General Gao Zhisong and Major General Zhu Chi.
Nanjing did not fall without a fight, but countless Chinese soldiers paid huge sacrifices to defeat the city.
Yang Ling learned from a soldier who successfully broke out that Captain Xie Chengrui, who fought alongside him at Guanghua Gate, also failed to break out, which made him feel even heavier.
"Battal Commander, there are Japanese soldiers coming along the railway!"
Yang Ling and the others gathered up their defeated troops and waited until one o'clock in the afternoon, when Liu Yidao, who was in charge of perimeter security, hurriedly came to report.
The Japanese Kunozaki detachment crossed the river from the upper reaches and rushed towards Pukou along the Jiangjin line. The Japanese army was so fierce that Yang Ling only had a few hundred soldiers in his hands. He had to stop gathering the defeated troops and evacuate along the railway line to the rear.