Rise From Eight Hundred

Because Tang Dao boldly used Japanese surrendered soldiers to bombard the 36th Infantry Brigade with heavy artillery, the Chinese soldiers on the blocking position were able to stop risking their lives to fight against the Japanese artillery.

The reinforcements led by Lei Xiong and the original two battalions and one company on the position did not suffer any casualties on the front battlefield, and the blocking battle ended.

But the battle did not end because of the fierce artillery fire. The final battle for "Guling" ended in this bloody blocking battle for both China and Japan.

The reason was that all the heavy machine gunners and infantry artillery soldiers of the Japanese army fell on "Guling". The Japanese infantry on the front line could run away, but they could not run away on "Guling".

The Japanese army was ordered to retreat, not to be defeated by heavy artillery. The 36th Infantry Brigade was the elite transferred by the Japanese North China Expeditionary Force after all, and it was not so fragile.

It was not a retreat. The Japanese army, which always regarded equipment as life, did not dare to abandon equipment.

The Japanese troops on the ‘Lonely Mausoleum’ were on one side of the battlefield, and they received the order to retreat much later than other troops.

Moreover, the front of the blocking position was bombarded with artillery fire, and the ‘Lonely Mausoleum’, where no heavy artillery shells were miraculously dropped, gave people the feeling that it was the safest place, which also created a false impression for the Japanese troops on it who were slid down by heavy artillery.

It is safer to stay still than to move.

Perhaps only Pang Dahai, who was responsible for providing the bombardment coordinates, knew the secret.

On that hill, a guard company and dozens of machine gunners were killed, a total of more than 200 people! The Japanese on it were bombed by mortars, and the threat was reduced by half. He didn’t want the brothers who had fallen into deep sleep on it to be dead.

About 20 minutes into the bombardment, Lei Xiong observed that his own artillery fire was accurate enough. Although shells occasionally fell near the trenches, they had not killed his own people. Seeing that the Japanese troops on the front battlefield were running wildly and had no intention of fighting, he decided to use this gap to recapture the "Guling", a high ground that was extremely important to the defense line.

Lei Xiong could become Tang Dao's most trusted deputy, not just because Tang Dao trusted him enough, but because he was very capable.

His experience as a commander at the grassroots level for many years was like laying a foundation for him. When it came to the Battle of Shanghai, this army captain who served as the company commander of the fire support company had accumulated a lot of experience and showed his command ability and decisiveness that attracted people's attention.

Whether it was following Tang Dao's advice in the Battle of Sihang and disobeying orders to blow up all retreat routes and defend the warehouse, or serving as the first commander at the Baihegang Bridge to kill six Japanese fighter planes with ground ambush tactics and completely crush the crude special warfare of the Japanese disguised sneak attack, it was a manifestation of Lei Xiong's decisiveness and command ability that was higher than his current rank.

Although at that moment, his own artillery fire could almost dominate the battlefield, he still made a tactical arrangement to prepare for a rainy day - taking advantage of the Japanese army's confusion to retake the "Gu Ling" high ground.

He had to consider the possibility that if the Japanese army reinforced from the 18th Division, the main force led by Tang Dao would have to turn the muzzle. Without the power of heavy artillery, the Japanese army would never let go of the Chinese infantry in front of them.

So Lei Xiong made a prompt decision and ordered Leng Feng to take his two infantry squads to kill the Japanese troops still active on "Gu Ling" and recapture "Gu Ling".

Leng Feng led the first and second squads of Gu Xishui, who had become the squad leader, to maneuver towards "Gu Ling" amid the rumbling of artillery.

At that moment, the Japanese troops on the hill had received the order to retreat, and were carrying heavy machine guns and dragging two infantry guns to retreat.

The two infantry squads with several submachine guns and Mauser pistols did not attack as imagined, and were waiting at the bottom of the hill.

However, at a distance of 30 meters, the heavy machine guns that rushed to meet the enemy had not had time to fire a few bullets before they were blown up by a group of experienced infantrymen who threw grenades like raindrops.

The heavy gun mounts clanged in the shrapnel of the grenades, but the human body was splashed with blood.

The remaining two infantry guns were not even as good as fire sticks at this moment. A group of stunned Japanese artillerymen finally woke up and threw away the iron lumps and shells to run away, but in the face of the firepower of close-range artifacts such as submachine guns and Mauser pistols, whether they resisted, lay down, or struggled hard, it was useless.

The entire battle did not last for ten minutes. A group of Japanese soldiers who did not have time to withdraw all became dead souls under the guns, and the thousands of Japanese soldiers on the front battlefield were still busy with the fireballs constantly thrown by heavy artillery. Even the highest commander like Seto Uchida became ashes, and of course no one cared about these miserable machine gunners and artillerymen.

That was the battlefield where Tang Dao's troops captured the most in this blocking battle. As many as 5 92 heavy machine guns and 2 92 infantry guns became the spoils of the Chinese soldiers.

However, no one was happy about this rich spoils.

Because this was also the most painful battlefield for the Chinese army.

More than 200 defenders were on this high ground isolated from the main position.

The whole army was wiped out!

No one survived!

Even in the battle where Gu Xishui lost his lover, there were still two female nurses and dozens of seriously injured soldiers alive.

Instead of being dead silent like the position on the hilltop where they reoccupied it.

Because the battle continued, the Japanese army had not had time to clean up this high ground.

The high ground was covered with khaki corpses, but the higher they went, the more dark gray bodies came into view.

That almost represented all the traces of their battle.

Traces of fighting!

Traces of sacrifice!

Traces of unyielding!

Until there was no more room to retreat!

The last piece of scarlet flesh and blood was the last monument that Major Scar left for his comrades!

The Japanese army may not have time, or they may have been shocked. They did not use this bomb crater full of Chinese soldiers' flesh and blood as their position, but chose a new location.

Tang Dao, who led the main force to arrive, stood in front of this bomb crater full of Chinese soldiers' flesh and blood with Tan Tai Ming Yue for a long time without saying a word!

Tan Tai Ming Yue's face was full of tears!

Tang Dao stood straight, his eyes were as deep as the night, and no one knew what he was thinking at the moment!

The only remaining guard company commander of the 108th Division knelt on the ground and cried loudly.

How could he not cry?

In this battle, the guard battalion of the 108th Division lost its highest officer and two infantry company commanders, and more than 60% of the battalion died in battle.

How could he not cry so bitterly.

His battalion commander and the last group of defenders turned into a bloody rain, and he was not even allowed to see their last appearance.

His soldiers, with tears and blood mixed together, picked up the blood and flesh scattered within a hundred meters.

Several living people weighing hundreds of pounds! Only a small pile was left.

The officers of the guard battalion, headed by Major Stingy, standing on the side, were all in tears.

In this battle, they successfully completed the combat mission arranged by Tang Dao, blocked the fierce attack of the 36th Infantry Brigade, and allowed the Tang Dao troops to successfully annihilate the 6th Heavy Artillery Brigade, winning the most noteworthy victory in the southeast battlefield that has entered its final stage.

But their losses were too great, so great that it hurt people's hearts and lungs.

Although the casualties of nearly a thousand people in the two battalions and one company on the blocking position have not been counted yet, it is roughly estimated that more than half of them were killed in the battle, and there are countless people with minor or serious injuries. There is almost no one who can still be on the battlefield.

And the area where they are standing now is even more tragic and unbearable to look at.

The trenches dug with huge manpower on the three sides were blown into ruins by artillery fire and explosives prepared by themselves. Only more than 100 bodies of officers and soldiers were found. Including the highest commander, Scar Lao Zhao, more than one-third of them were dead.

Counting the Battle of Songjiang, this can be regarded as the most tragic battle in the history of the 67th Army, without a doubt.

"Bury all the brothers here here!" Tang Dao, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke.

"This is where they fought and where they guarded. I believe they would like to rest here."

Looking around, Tang Dao continued: "If I die in battle one day, please scatter some of my ashes on this hill. They died under my order, so I will accompany them in the future."

"Here, it's really picturesque!" Tang Dao looked up at the bright moon in the sky and poured his tears that had slowly overflowed back into his eye sockets.

War does not need tears, and the comrades here will understand!