Rise From Eight Hundred

As far as the eye can see, a huge gap was blown out of the city wall a hundred meters away.

The rammed earth that was as solid as stone and had stood proudly for hundreds of years was extremely fragile in front of the power of the 105 howitzer. The collapsed loess and blue bricks formed a huge gentle slope inside and outside the city wall!

The Japanese infantry might be able to attack the city with bayonets on this gentle slope.

But this was not the reason why his heart was tightly clenched.

The gap would become a breakthrough point for the Japanese army, or perhaps a sad place for the Japanese army. If there was no threat from artillery, the crossfire formed by various light and heavy machine guns set up inside Cangcheng would definitely turn the gap with an extremely obvious target into a graveyard for the Japanese.

The autumn wind from the south of the Yangtze River blew over, further dispersing the smoke. The two signal soldiers who came out looked around with a dazed look. The green-tiled and white-walled buildings in the south of the Yangtze River in Cangcheng, which used to have a garden style, were bombarded into a mess by the terrible artillery fire. The small bridges, flowing water and people were no longer seen, leaving only clusters of darkness and ruins.

The residential area outside Cangcheng was not much better. Many houses were reduced to rubble, and more houses were on fire with billowing black smoke.

The Japanese artillery fire did not stop completely. After bombarding Cangcheng and wreaking havoc on the houses outside the city wall, the artillery fire continued to extend forward, all the way to the inside of Songjiang City. There were still groups of terrible fireballs rising into the sky in Songjiang City, and the rumbling explosions were still deafening.

But these were not the reasons for the young deputy squad leader to worry.

He remembered that more than 150 meters away from him was the observation post fortification of the 67th Army. They also sent out three observation posts. When the six soldiers went to their posts, they also met across a small river flowing through Cangcheng. Both sides knew what the other was going to do.

So, the six soldiers who originally belonged to two infantry armies and had never met each other saluted each other. It was both a tribute to each other's bravery and a different kind of farewell.

No one knew whether they could return after stepping on the top of the city.

Now, the three observation posts of the 43rd Army were lucky enough to survive.

But what about the 67th Army comrades who raised their right hands with them? Why didn't any of them appear?

However, he couldn't take care of these things for the time being, and looked towards the Japanese position 500 meters away.

The faint shit-yellow figures were moving, and it was obvious that they were preparing for the attack.

Farther away, several black shadows were moving towards this side with rumbling black smoke.

Those were Japanese tanks.

The artillery fire hadn't stopped yet, and the Japanese were about to start the attack. Their determination was much stronger than expected.

"Go inform the battalion commander!" Without hesitation, the young deputy squad leader shouted at two of his soldiers who had not yet recovered from the fierce artillery bombardment.

He himself raised his rifle and fired "bang! bang! bang!" at the distance, emptying the magazine full of five bullets in one breath.

That was shooting, but not a real attack. The main purpose of the young deputy squad leader was to use the gunshot to warn his comrades in the bullet shelter who could hear it, although he also knew that his comrades who were also buzzing in their ears due to the rumbling of the artillery might not hear it.

But this was his mission.

Based on the principle of not wasting bullets, his gun was aimed at the Japanese army in the distance that he could hardly see clearly. What if! If you are lucky, a blind cat can catch a dead mouse, right?

After firing five bullets, the young deputy squad leader ran along the wall to the other side of the wall, shouting loudly while running: "Brothers of the 67th Army, come out quickly, the devils are coming up."

Although the location of the howitzer explosion was on the top of the wall that the 3rd Company of the 43rd Army was responsible for, it was actually at the corner of the wall over there, which was closer to the observation post on the 67th Army side.

If something goes wrong, it is not impossible to be stunned alive in the fortifications.

However, no one responded.

Until he ran to the gap, no one on the wall of the 67th Army defense could come out to respond to him.

His face was miserable at first, and then he suddenly realized something. He took out the cotton in his ears and continued to shout loudly with hope: "I almost forgot that I plugged my ears. Brothers from the 67th Army, come out..."

However, apart from the crackling sound of burning wood and the rumbling of cannons from afar, no one responded on the top of the city.

The voice of the young deputy squad leader seemed to be swallowed up.

The clear scene in front of him told him that no one could respond to him.

A fortification point built with sandbags and roof beams that could withstand infantry artillery collapsed not far from him.

Although the howitzer did not hit the fortification directly, they were too close after all. The huge shock wave actually collapsed such a solid fortification, which was covered with sandbags weighing more than a thousand pounds. The fate of the soldiers hiding inside can be imagined.

A fortification farther away was turned into a charred ruin along with the parapets. It seemed that it was hit head-on by a 75-caliber field artillery.

The main attack coordinates of the Japanese artillery were Cangcheng. At least now, it seemed that the concentrated fire of dozens of artillery pieces was not in vain. Even the fortifications on the top of the city wall were destroyed.

The tears of the young deputy squad leader fell down, and his face, which had been blackened by the smoke, was washed into a big clown face.

He didn’t recognize the three Northeastern Army soldiers who saluted him and turned away. In fact, because they all participated in the construction of fortifications as soon as they arrived here, their heads and faces were covered with dust and sweat, making it impossible to see their eyebrows.

He didn’t know whether the other party was a big brother or a little brother. The only thing that could distinguish their identities was that the other party was blue, they were black, and the common enemy was shit yellow.

But when they came here, whether they were from the Northeastern Army or the Sichuan Army, these 750 people were comrades. Just like what his fearful Captain Liu said at the oath-taking ceremony of all the garrison troops in Cangcheng at noon: "Damn it, this time Liu's wife is really going to remarry with the baby! Brothers present, I don't care whether you are from the 67th Army or my 43rd Army, as long as you can leave this place alive, remember to help me bring a message to my wife, saying that I am sorry for her and the baby.

If my pension is issued, half will be given to her as a gift for remarriage, and the other half will be sent back to my hometown for me. As a son, you should support an old man anyway. That's it."

The young deputy squad leader saw that most of the blue and black soldiers present at the time had red eyes, but when they looked at each other while sitting together, their eyes were not only firm but also recognized.

They were the 67th Army transferred from the battlefield in North China, the 43rd Army returning from the Battle of Dachang Town, and the Songjiang Army stationed in Cangcheng together. They were comrades and comrades who could rely on each other and bring back each other's entrusted.

They were one.

But now, it's gone.

A few minutes later, when a major of the Northeast Army led his soldiers to rush to the top of the city, he saw a young Sichuan Army soldier digging frantically in the rubble on the top of the city, trying to dig out his unknown comrade. His hands were already bloody.

My heart suddenly felt miserable.

Everyone knows that once buried in the fortifications, the possibility of coming out alive is almost zero, not to mention the other fortifications destroyed by artillery fire.

However, although they knew that this Sichuan Army soldier was doing useless work, the Northeast Army who rushed up were all extremely grateful. Perhaps it was because of his efforts that they won a glimmer of life for their brothers.

This scene may always be engraved in the hearts of the Northeast Army soldiers who survived the extremely cruel Cangcheng Battle.

The Cangcheng garrison is no longer divided, and they are truly one.

Just before the outbreak of the war.