Rise From Eight Hundred

Night battles are not the first time for the Chinese and Japanese armies that are currently confronting each other.

Whether in North China or in the southeast, fighting at night is inevitable.

But those are basically small groups of troops that come into contact with each other in the dark. Such a large-scale night battle with more than 2,000 troops on both sides is probably a rare experience for both sides.

Ordinary Japanese soldiers may think that their lieutenant general division commander is cruel and drives them to die, but for senior officers of both China and Japan, although Suematsu Shigeharu's move is extremely cruel, it is the best solution for the moment.

Because Songjiang must be conquered, otherwise, the main force of the Japanese army cannot pass the road near Songjiang City. In this case, a dangerous place like Cangcheng will be fought sooner or later, so why wait until tomorrow daytime?

Shigeharu Suematsu did not intend to give the defenders of Songjiang another night, as that would only make their fortifications stronger and stronger. The defenders of Cangcheng could maintain strong combat effectiveness under such fierce artillery fire, naturally because they built fortifications to avoid artillery fire in Cangcheng.

Therefore, after observing the front line of Cangcheng, the lieutenant general division commander immediately ordered to continue the attack.

But this time, it was not just the 1st Infantry Battalion that was beaten to a bloody pulp in front of Cangcheng in the evening, but another infantry battalion was sent, with nearly 1,500 infantry and 600 to 700 various auxiliary arms.

Of course, before the infantry attack, it was the conventional tactics of the Japanese army with artillery advantage.

Using artillery to destroy the opponent's positions and fortifications and pave the way for the infantry is the first choice of any army with firepower advantage. Artillery proved their status as the god of war as early as the First World War.

But this was exactly the shortcoming of the Chinese Army at this time.

The ability to drag the war into a quagmire-like overtime was entirely exchanged for huge sacrifices.

Dozens of shells screamed and drew fiery red tracks in the sky. From a distance, it looked like a meteor shower.

Hidden in the splendor was the grim smile of the god of death.

The defenders of Cangcheng had keenly sensed something was wrong when the Japanese infantry retreated. Except for the observation post, everyone hid in the bullet shelter.

Shells continued to explode inside and outside Cangcheng, and the burst of fire illuminated the originally dark night sky as bright as day.

The shells from the 105 howitzer and the destroyer 127 naval guns were like a giant hammer, shaking the entire Cangcheng.

Or it can be said that the area within a kilometer of Cangcheng was trembling.

The security forces hiding in the residential area looked at Cangcheng, which was only a few hundred meters away, trembling in the artillery fire, and their faces were pale.

The rabbit died and the fox mourned!

Of course, they knew that when the Japanese army finished dealing with Cangcheng, it would be their turn. Not to mention the Japanese infantry attack, it was unknown how many people could walk out of this area alive after just this round of artillery fire.

Many weak-willed people were already in a state of extreme collapse after the bombing in the afternoon. Seeing this hellish scene at this time was like the last straw that broke the camel's back.

In the invisible darkness, I don't know how many people instigated their superiors to escape.

As a security army that had never experienced a war, they had not completely collapsed after an artillery bombardment in the evening and could still hold on until now. From a human perspective, it was actually quite good.

If Tang Dao was here, he would definitely praise them.

However, when dozens of artillery pieces were all concentrated on Cangcheng, the rising fireballs and the shaking of the earth were beyond the limit of many people's tolerance.

They wanted to escape before their position was about to become hell.

However, these people are usually smart and they know that they can only run to the city if they want to run. If they leave this area and go to the wilderness, they will definitely be caught by the Japanese like catching mice, and they will definitely die.

But if they run to the city without a taller leader, they also know that it is wartime now, and it is absolutely in line with his current crazy personality to chop off a bunch of heads for Commissioner Wang, who can kill his own cousin with one shot.

In this way, Cangcheng is still in dire straits, and many people in the Songjiang Security Corps in the residential area were scared by Suematsu Shigeji's trick of killing chickens and scaring monkeys.

Several squad leaders joined together to instigate the platoon leader, and the platoon leader instigated the company commander. Dozens of people came to the front of Zhuang Shisan, the commander of the first battalion of the security regiment, with guns on their backs.

As the commander of the first battalion, in the absence of Wang Gongyu, who is also the commander of the security regiment, he is almost the first commander of the security regiment, although in fact the three battalion commanders each lead their own security battalions to defend the areas they are responsible for.

Usually, the three battalion commanders don't get along with each other, which is also a means of Wang Gongyu's rule.

At this time, they basically fought on their own and only needed to obey the orders of Wang Gongyu in the city.

Zhuang Shisan didn't have much ability. He mainly relied on his brother-in-law's wealth, provided enough supplies to Commissioner Wang, and was good at figuring out his superiors' thoughts. However, he was promoted to the position of battalion commander in just three or four years. Two company commanders who were originally his trusted subordinates came to him with dozens of people, so he was still somewhat confident.

It was also mainly because this person was Commissioner Wang's favorite general. With him coming forward to support him, maybe everyone would not have deserted the battlefield.

Besides, as long as everyone didn't flee Songjiang City, they could still fight the Japanese there, so they couldn't be considered deserters, right?

In a house, dozens of fully armed security guards stood in the yard, and in front of them stood Zhuang Shisan with his own guard squad.

This is the result of watching the Japanese artillery shelling for twenty minutes, all directed at Cangcheng, and not like the outskirts of Songjiang and Songjiang City in the evening.

Otherwise, no matter how scared these dozens of people are, they may not dare to gather in front of Battalion Commander Zhuang Da's temporary headquarters like this.

Don't ask for help, you will be killed by the Japanese with one shot, right?

"Battal Commander, do you think how the Japs bombed Cangcheng? If they bombarded us with such density of artillery fire, how many of our brothers would have a chance to kill the Japs?" a captain and company commander complained indignantly. "Besides, why should our security team be allowed to endure the bombardment of the Japanese here, while a bunch of regular troops are huddled in the air-raid shelter in the city?"

"Yes, Lao Feng is right. Why can they hide in the city and eat hot and spicy food, while we have to be bombarded by Japanese bombs here in vain? This is not fair." Another captain and company commander were also standing by. go along.

"Yes, battalion commander, we also want to go back to the city. We are not cowards. We fight the Japanese just like in the city. We just don't want to die in vain."

"That's right!"

Several officers of the security regiment who usually stayed very close to Master Zhuang expressed their opinions in various ways. They were basically unhappy that they were staying here, while the two regular armies of the 67th Army and the 43rd Army were able to hide in the city.

The security battalion commander, who usually didn't have many ethics buttons and was so careless that he just had the word "bully" written on his face, was looking sideways at the Cangcheng that was already a sea of ​​fire hundreds of meters away. , without saying a word.

From time to time, the firelight from the explosion of artillery shells reflected on his face, making his expression very uncertain.

This gave several officers a little more confidence, and just as they were about to add more fire and persuasion, they saw the major battalion commander turning his head and looking at them with an extremely ugly expression.

"Is it all over?"

There was some silence.

"Then let me summarize what you guys just said. It's just that if you stay here, you will be bombed to death by the Japanese devils. If you stay in the city, you won't. Is that so?" Zhuang Shisan asked unhurriedly. "Actually, you don't need to remind me. I thought the same thing when the Japanese artillery came over in the afternoon."

"Ha, battalion commander, you see, we are on the same page! It's still too late to leave now. While the focus of the Japanese is still in Cangcheng, we will inform all the brothers, including the other two battalions, if our security team More than 2,000 people have withdrawn, and I believe Commander Wang will fight for us based on the actual battle situation." Captain Daxi was the first to speak.

"What do you want Commander Wang to fight for?" Master Zhuang asked calmly. "Because more than 2,000 people have fled, and the law does not punish everyone, can we ask the headquarters not to kill our heads?"

This honest question made the officers standing in front of him look a bit shocked.

Apparently, that's what they meant. The whole regiment has retreated. Who will the command take to enforce military law and kill more than 2,000 people? This is obviously impossible.

"If this is the case, your heads can be saved, but my old Zhuang's head can't be saved!" Zhuang Shisan suddenly shook his head slightly and said in a cold tone. "You must know that leaving the position without respecting military orders is considered a deserter!"

"Battal Commander, that's not what you said. We are assessing the situation." The captain, who was defined as a deserter by Zhuang Master San Leng Bingbing, was startled and quickly defended subconsciously.

"Assessing the situation? Haha." Zhuang Shisan suddenly laughed. "It's ringgit, and I even used idioms for it. Fortunately, I have read a few books, otherwise I really wouldn't understand it."

"Yes! Battalion Commander, it's all because of your good teaching." The captain felt relieved when he saw the major battalion commander's face suddenly softened, and gave him a habitual flattery along with his smiling face.

"Did I teach you well? When did I teach you to be deserters?" Zhuang Shisan's eyes suddenly became sharp and he waved his hand violently. "If you want to be a deserter, you really deserve to be killed!"

"Batalion Commander, I" the captain was instantly horrified.

But, he hadn't finished speaking yet.

"Bang!" A gunshot rang out.