Chapter 9
On November 29th, Zhang Wenbin's Pre-First Regiment hastily started their training.
However, the Jinling garrison troops and the Japanese were already at loggerheads.
The historical defense of Jinling began on December 1st, but it was actually the Japanese army entering the territory of Jinling and fighting with the Congress army.
In fact, the war had already begun. The Japanese had come from outside of Jinling.
The battles on the 29th were mainly in Jurong and Ma 'an Mountain.
The garrison troops in Jinling and the surrounding areas were mainly the troops that had been defeated from the Songhu frontline. They had fled all the way to the surrounding areas of Jinling and had not had time to rest before they rushed into the battle. Many troops had not had time to replenish their soldiers and weapons before they joined the battle.
The result was obvious. Morale was low, the troops were incomplete, and weapons and equipment were missing. On the other hand, the Japanese.
Although they didn't have enough ammunition, their morale was high and they vowed to take down Jinling.
Coupled with Lu Hang's cover, the Chinese soldiers could only resist the Japanese's attacks with difficulty.
By the evening of the 29th, the defensive line between Ma 'an Mountain and Jurong was already on the verge of collapse, and it felt like it would be breached at any moment.
At five o'clock in the morning on the 30th, the Japanese launched a surprise attack. The exhausted national army could no longer resist the Japanese's attack and had to retreat.
Ma 'anshan, Jurong, Lishui and other places were lost, and the national army in these places could only retreat into Jinling.
At the same time, the Japanese soldiers in Zhenjiang had also defeated the Chinese army in front of them and advanced towards Jinling.
On the night of the 30th, the Japanese followed the Chinese army all the way to Jinling and then gave up.
The changes in the war were far beyond the chairman's expectations. He originally thought that he could hold on for a few days at least, but who knew that in just two days, the Japanese had reached Jinling.
That night, the rest of the Japanese troops also followed. By now, 200,000 Japanese soldiers had surrounded Jinling.
At the same time, the Guoqi Division and the 18th division that came to support the Japanese that night headed south to Dangtu. They were prepared to take down Dangtu overnight and stabilize their rule around Ma 'an Mountain.
The Dangtu garrison fought bloody battles through the night and vowed not to give up their positions. They were in a stalemate with the Japanese.
On the morning of the 1st of December, the Japanese commander, Prince Asaka, ignored the fatigue of the soldiers who had attacked overnight and decisively ordered the troops to launch an all-out attack on Jinling the next morning.
The 3rd division, 9th division, Yamada division, 6th division, 114th division, and other troops, a total of 100,000 troops, attacked Jinling.
At this point, the defense of Jinling officially broke out.
When the Battle of Jinling broke out, there were hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the city, but in fact, there were only about 170,000 soldiers.
The scattered soldiers in the city were now moving to the north of the river. The chairman was going to settle them in the rear and reorganize them. Even for those miscellaneous troops, the chairman did not give up and kept moving them.
In terms of military strength, both sides had similar numbers, but in terms of firepower, the national army was slightly weaker.
In terms of morale, the Japanese had won a great victory, so their morale was high. The national army had just lost, so their morale was low.
From another perspective, the Jiangyin Fortress had sunk, and the Japanese's river fleets could not enter. However, their land fleets could continuously provide cover for the ground forces.
The national army was bombarded by the Japanese army while struggling to defend against the Japanese attack.
As for the chairman's Air Force...
The three-month-long Battle of Songhu not only consumed a large number of the chairman's elite troops, but also exhausted the few old fighter planes of the Congress Party. Now the chairman is waiting for the fighter planes of the northern bearded man to support him!
Therefore, the defense of Jinling would be a battle of great disparity in strength.
...............
"Kill ~"
"Kill ~"
"Kill ~"
...
"All of you, use some strength! Didn't you eat?"
"What are you showing me with your eyes?”
"Why are you looking at the back? Are you still thinking of escaping?"
"Look at you. Do you still look like soldiers?”
"I only feel shame when I wear this military uniform on you! Our empire is ashamed to have soldiers like you!”
"What are you staring at? Unconvinced? Look at the way you ran. Was that a retreat? Dozens of Japanese chased after hundreds of you, and thousands of you.
Tell me, isn't this glorious? Are you really a bunch of cowards, a bunch of cowards?”
Zhang Wenbin's angry voice was constantly heard on the training ground. The constant gunfire in the distance was undoubtedly telling everyone that outside the city, the national army was fighting a bloody battle with the Japanese!
All of them were unconvinced by Zhang Wenbin's angry shout. They really wanted to say that they were not defeated!
They were only ordered to retreat by their superiors. However, when they heard Zhang Wenbin's words, they were so ashamed that they did not dare to speak.
That's right! Were they retreating?
They were defeated!
Dozens of Japanese were chasing after hundreds of them!
This was a humiliation. They didn't want to admit their defeat, but reality told them that they had really lost. This was a humiliation that they would never be able to wash away in their lifetime!
"Why aren't you talking? All of them were mute? Weren't you guys staring at me with a lot of spirit just now? Look at them. Our brothers are fighting with the enemy outside the city. They are fighting under the artillery fire.
What are you doing here?
You guys are training here, but are you putting your heart into it? Look at your arms that are holding guns. Haven't you eaten enough?”
Zhang Wenbin pointed the horsewhip at the soldiers one by one. Then, he raised the horsewhip and pointed it forward as he shouted,"Look carefully. In front of you are the enemy, the Japanese.
They are the beasts who burn, kill, plunder, and commit all kinds of crimes. They are the beasts who trample our brothers and sisters under their iron hooves.
Think of your family, think of your wives and children, think of your brothers and sisters, think of your relatives! When they were trampled by the enemy's iron hooves, that helpless cry, that heart-wrenching roar, didn't you feel heartache?”
Everyone's eyes turned red. They didn't dare to imagine this scene, and they were even more afraid of it.
Now that the Japanese were on the offensive, no one knew if the Japanese would attack their hometown because of their cowardice.
Zhang Wenbin's tone slowly calmed down. He walked in front of the soldiers and looked at them calmly."It's not scary to be afraid of death! Everyone is afraid of death, including me. I'm afraid of death too!
When death comes, I will also be afraid. However, this was not the main point. The main point was whether we could face death and bravely tell it: Even if I die, I want to drag someone down with me!
Even if we die, we have to die in a worthy way and do our best to protect our loved ones.”
At this point, Zhang Wenbin raised the horsewhip in his hand and pointed behind him as he said sternly,"Look! What is behind me? It was Jinling, Hubei, Hunan, and Southwest!
This is our home, our family, our future. What is this place?
This is Jinling, the capital of the Celestial Empire. We have nowhere to retreat. We are already in a desperate situation. If we retreat again, we will be handing over our loved ones to the enemy.
Right now, our families are waiting for the good news of our victory. Can we disappoint them?
No! They couldn't let them down, and they couldn't hand them over to the enemy.
Now, tell me, what should I do? What should I do?"
Zhang Wenbin's hoarse and exhausted roar entered the ears of every soldier. At this moment, everyone's morale had already begun to rise.
"Kill them! Wrapped in horse leather! Died in battle!"
Countless soldiers began to roar in anger. They did not dare to imagine the scene of retreating again, and they were even more unwilling to think about it. For this, they could only fight to the death!
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