The two big bosses in the Songjiang headquarters who were puzzled finally knew the real reason why their artillery losses were minimal.
The air defense battalion directly under the military headquarters that accidentally shot down the Japanese observation balloon and Mo Songzi himself both received commendations.
Mo Songzi was directly promoted to second lieutenant, but there was no platoon-level position suitable for him, so he could only continue to serve as his machine gun squad leader.
The Dongcheng District 643 Regiment performed bravely and tenaciously in this battle. Although it suffered heavy losses due to the continuous deployment of follow-up troops to break through the artillery blockade to support the front line, from the colonel commander down to a private, their determination to fear no death convinced the Songjiang Command.
All the generals were shocked.
When receiving the battle report that 834 people of the 643rd Regiment were killed and missing just when they broke through the artillery blockade, several times the number of frontline officers and soldiers, all the personnel of the Songjiang headquarters in the underground warehouse took off their hats and saluted.
Tantai Mingyue reported the heroic achievements of the 643rd Regiment to the entire city of Songjiang via radio, and at the same time, telegraphed the record of the regiment’s battle on the evening of November 7 to the newspaper headquarters overnight.
Major newspapers and periodicals that were looking forward to the famous war correspondent's diary were published overnight. In the early morning of November 8, the front page headlines of morning papers sold in major cities were "Move towards the artillery fire!"
Caring for the safety of the flanks of hundreds of thousands of troops, 30,000 versus 100,000, they have been holding on for a whole day and night. The eyes of the military and civilians across the country have once again focused on this small city in southeastern China.
The 67th Army from Northeast China and the 43rd Army from Sichuan Province became synonymous with heroes in this period.
It's just that for their family members, it is an extremely painful title.
What they want is not a heroic title or a commendation, but the safe return of their husband and son.
But obviously, this is destined to be just a good wish.
Everyone knows that Songjiang City will become a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
The Japanese must advance, but the Chinese cannot retreat.
If we retreat, white flags will be hung on the doors of countless houses, and many mothers will be blinded by crying.
For the Japanese, the small town of Songjiang, which is stuck on the road to Kunshan, is like a stuck in the throat.
Except for the hapless boy who was blocked by the Tenth Army, the two Japanese high command headquarters in North China and Southeast China all set their sights here.
Although the Songhu Expeditionary Army Headquarters does not have command authority over the Tenth Army, as a theater-level headquarters, it naturally has the authority to advise and guide military-level troops in areas such as the Tenth Army.
"Gentlemen of the Tenth Army, the strategy of encircling and annihilating hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops in the west of Shanghai has been decided. The Chinese army has a strong tendency to flee upon hearing the news. If this continues, it may not take more than two days for the prey rounded up by the army to escape. Chapter 2
When will the commanders of the Tenth Army arrive? The two hundred thousand comrades of the imperial army dispatched by Songhu are eagerly awaiting it!"
The telegram that Matsui Iwane, the commander of the Songhu Expeditionary Force at the time, sent to the Tenth Army Headquarters overnight was very literary in wording. Songjiang was not mentioned a word in the whole article, and there was not even much urging.
It’s just that everyone who understands understands.
When Lieutenant General Commander Yanagawa Heisuke of the Tenth Army saw this message, his fair face turned red instantly.
Matsui Iwane was very polite and his words were not harsh, but the eldest brother's arrogance towards his younger brother was beyond words. The subtext of the literary message was just: Two days, give you bastards two more days, or we'll just wait and see.
“Call Hisao Tani, Shigeharu Suematsu, and Kunizaki Zheng to tell them to come to the headquarters.” Yanagawa Heisuke, who blushed and was silent for a long time, ordered.
The staff officer who was familiar with his character remained silent. The lieutenant general of the Army, who usually pays great attention to personal etiquette, even skipped the official title of several generals and called them by their first names this time. This shows the extent of his anger.
The warring sides of China and Japan paid great attention to Songjiang, a small town that might determine the outcome of a battle. The Western world, which was sitting on the mountain watching the fight between tigers and tigers, also set its sights here.
They may not care too much about the victory or defeat of China, an already declining giant, in this Great Patriotic War, but from the perspective of their own interests, they do not hope that the Japanese can win the war so quickly.
The most promising outcome of the war is for them to reach a stalemate and form a tug-of-war. In this way, China will be even more inseparable from the support of the Western world, and will even be willing to pay a higher price, just like it did nearly a hundred years ago, opening various ports to open up various ports.
It is convenient for capital to obtain more wealth and minerals from this land.
China’s land is so large that its rich mineral resources are even comparable to those of the entire European continent.
As for Japan, as the war progresses, they will need more steel and energy. American giant ships filled with iron ore have been parked at major ports. As long as the Japanese give money, they will sail to the main island of Japan.
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War is a disaster for the people of the warring countries, but for those capitals, it is an enchanting feast.
That night, Brigadier Liu of the 322nd Brigade did not find Tang Dao to treat him to the promised drink, but Brigadier General Smartet, the commander of the coalition forces in the Songhu Western Concession, found Colonel Xie who was detained in the military camp of the concession.
The two of them drank wine over two plates of side dishes in the tavern next to the military camp.
The cost of the drinks was naturally paid by the coalition commander, because Xie Jinyuan, who had been promoted to army colonel, had no money.
Because of the treachery of the concession, more than 200 elites who lost all their heavy weapons and kept only rifles were restrained by an infantry battalion of the Western army with ten heavy machine guns and machine guns. The entire army could not leave the abandoned military camp, and more than 200 elites lost their supplies.
Even the meals for the elite elites had to be donated by citizens in the concession.
The army colonel remembered what Tang Dao had reminded him that this might be a long-term phenomenon, so he had to sell off all the valuable belongings of the officers in exchange for food. For this reason, even the beloved pocket watch given to him by his wife was sold.
The dignified army colonel now has nothing but a few holes in his but cleanly starched military uniform and a polished pistol.
Naturally, he doesn’t have a good attitude towards the person who invites him to drink, even if he showed enough gentlemanliness and sincerity in the Battle of Four Elements.
"Commander, do you have any advice? Xie is now a prisoner under your command, so there is no need to be so solemn." Xie Jinyuan looked calm.
"Colonel, it was not my intention to keep you here. The will of the country is not based on our personal will. I hope this will not affect the friendship between you and me." The originally arrogant white-haired old man could express
The reason why he took such a low profile was because of his admiration for the commander in front of him who had commanded the Battle of the Four Elements.
“Please tell me!” Xie Jinyuan’s expression remained unchanged.
The old man is a nice person, but he does not represent himself, but only the Western world. They are destined not to be friends.
The so-called friendship can only be a polite expression.
“Colonel, what do you think of the Battle of Songjiang?” Smartet was a straightforward person and directly stated the purpose of his trip.
In his heart, he hoped that the Chinese in Songjiang could block the Japanese Tenth Army, but his reason told him that this was impossible.
So, he wanted to hear the opinion of this Chinese army colonel.
“In the battle of Songjiang, our army will be defeated!” Xie Jinyuan, his eyes flashed slightly.
“Why does Colonel Xie have so much distrust of your country’s army?” Smartet took a breath.
He had no idea that the Chinese colonel would be so pessimistic.
"General, I haven't finished speaking yet." Xie Jinyuan suddenly stood up, put his finger into the wine in the cup, used his hand as a pen and the table as a cloth to draw a simple map.
Poke your finger firmly on the circle representing Songjiang.
"Our Songjiang Army is far inferior to the Japanese Tenth Army and is bound to be defeated. However, the Japanese pirate base camp planned a strategy for several months, but it failed and went bankrupt. At least two out of three of our hundreds of thousands of troops in the west of Shanghai can enter the second line of defense."
.”
“Crooked?” Smartet looked confused.
He understood clearly. What Xie Jinyuan meant was that Songjiang City could not be defended in the end, but it could hold off the Japanese Tenth Army long enough for the hundreds of thousands of troops located in the west of Shanghai to successfully retreat.
By then, even if the Japanese Tenth Army captured the small town, it would be completely useless.
This is called tactical failure and strategic victory.
"There is no need for a reason, because they are Chinese, a group of Chinese who dared to enter that small town after receiving a death order."
Although the Sihang Warehouse will be destroyed due to obstruction, the Japanese will shed all their blood here."
The white-haired old man was stunned.
He understood what the Chinese colonel meant, Songjiang City would become the second Sihang Warehouse.
Only this time, there were 30,000 Chinese people stationed in the ‘warehouse’.
Chinese people who are not afraid of death.
At the wine table in the concession, the Chinese colonel had not even touched a drop of wine.
In the air-raid shelter in the east area of Songjiang City, there were also two tables of wine. The major general and brigade commander hosted a banquet for all lieutenant-level officers who rushed into artillery fire and front-line battles.
The wine was Songjiang's specialty rice wine. The white wine was mainly used as disinfectant alcohol and had already been used as war preparation supplies. The dishes were white flour steamed buns and a few bowls of meat. It was very simple, but it was enough to fill the stomachs of these officers who had just fought a big battle.
It’s just that there are too few people.
Most of the infantry regiment plus the support troops of the anti-aircraft battalion and artillery battalion, there will be no more than 16 lieutenant-level officers who can attend the celebration banquet of the major general and brigade commander.
Among them are second lieutenants like Mo Songzi who were promoted due to merit.
Before the wine was finished, the general’s tears had already dripped into the wine glass.
Tang Dao, who was supposed to be a special guest, was not found. The stubborn little signal soldier who asked him was only told that his commander had a new combat mission.
