Rise from eight hundred.

Chapter 1436: Sun and Moon Without Light

"That battle was so bloody that the sun and moon disappeared!" This sentence is often used in novels to describe the brutality of ancient battlefields, and it is not an exaggeration to use this sentence to describe the battle of Gaojialing.

There is no need to describe the tragic details. Just look at the Japanese soldiers' corpses piled up like pyramids on the battlefield. There are such piles of corpses all over the mountains and plains.

In order to make room for maneuvering during bloody battles, Chinese soldiers would often roll the enemy's bodies down the mountain until they reached a flat area, where the bodies would naturally stack up together, forming a small pyramid pile of corpses.

  And this battle lasted for a full three hours!

Neither the Chinese nor the Japanese could count how many troops they had deployed or how many people had died in the battle. Both the division commander surnamed Hu and Murakami Qisaku were constantly deploying all their reserve troops to this battlefield.

The engineers and logistics troops had already been thrown into this terrible meat grinder. The signalmen, cooks and even the clerks of the division headquarters all carried their best weapons to the battlefield at the last moment.

When the battle was the most intense, there was only a medical soldier on guard beside the lieutenant general division commander. Even the major general chief of staff walked up to Gaojialing with a pistol in one hand and the Zhongzheng sword in the other.

Finally, as the sun set, a long and shrill sound of hand-cranked alarms came from the Japanese side, and the exhausted Japanese infantry retreated from the hillside in small numbers.

The Chinese soldiers, who had just been roaring and fighting hard, looked at the retreating Japanese army and were unable to catch up. Their legs went limp and they lay among the corpses of both sides, gasping for breath.

No one cheered for victory, not because they didn't want to or because the battlefield was too brutal, but because they simply didn't have the strength to do so.

Even if the Japanese launched an artillery attack at this time, they didn't want to lift a finger.

"Is this the elite force of the Chinese? They are really strong." In the twilight, Murakami Qisaku looked at the remains of Chinese and Japanese officers and soldiers lying on the hillside, his eyes full of loneliness.

He knew that this battle had exhausted the spirit of more than 9000 imperial officers and soldiers under his command, and the remaining officers and soldiers were no longer able to fight.

What was even more terrifying was that he could clearly see the ferocious eyes of the remnants of the 13th Infantry Regiment of the 104th Division evacuating from the front line looking at his command post.

It was unbelievable that a low-ranking soldier would not hide his hatred for an army lieutenant general, which was a famously hierarchical Japanese army. But after this bloody battle, it actually happened right before his eyes.

Murakami knew clearly that if he ordered this group of remnants of the army to repeat the battle of Gaojialing, there would be no less than ten people shooting him in the back.

"The entire army retreats and temporarily breaks contact with the Chinese army!" In the deep twilight, no one could see the face of this Japanese Army Lieutenant General, and no one knew what his mood was when he issued this military order.

But there is no doubt that when this military order was passed to various units, it was a disguised admission that the offensive on the 23rd was an extremely failed battle.

This is before taking into account the casualties in the hand-to-hand combat in the afternoon.

When the losses of various units were reported to Murakami in the evening, even though the Japanese Army Lieutenant General had made sufficient mental preparations based on the situation on the scene, when he saw the long string of numbers, his eyes still twitched violently and veins on his forehead popped out.

Throughout the day, in front of the last line of defense of the Chinese side, the Japanese army suffered as many as 3700 casualties from various units, and 3053 casualties in the hand-to-hand combat in the afternoon. There were also as many as 500 seriously injured soldiers. Because all of them were injured by cold weapons, their wounds were seriously contaminated. If it were not for the antibiotics developed by the United States, their deaths would have been basically inevitable.

This means that on that day alone, half of the 9000-plus infantrymen commanded by Murakami died. This horrific death rate was not as high as the 17th Division's previous Battle of Niangzi Pass, which suffered so many casualties that even Commander Zhao burst into tears.

"The enemy has reached a desperate situation and fought a desperate battle. Our troops have suffered heavy casualties and are no longer able to fight. In order to avoid losing all the previous results, we request to retreat!" After thinking for a long time, Murakami Kisaku finally sent a telegram to Yokoyama Isamu with a serious face.

"OK!" Yokoyama Isamu's telegram was not sent to Murakami until 4 hours later.

It can be seen that the commander of the Japanese 11th Army also found it difficult to decide whether to withdraw or not.

If they don't withdraw, Murakami Kisaku will only have more than 4000 troops under his command. If they attack for another day, there is a risk that the entire army will be wiped out, and there is no guarantee that the Chinese positions can be captured. This is a typical case of risks outweighing benefits.

Moreover, on the right wing battlefield at Qianniuling, the 18th Division of the 18th Army of China was also fighting back hard. It seemed to be on the verge of collapse, but no one knew when these people would fall.

Even someone as proud as Isamu Yokoyama had to feel an inexplicable awe for the 18th Army. This was the first such army he had ever encountered on the battlefield in China.

This Japanese Army lieutenant general, who was destined to be defeated several times on the Chinese battlefield, might not know that such ideas would appear at a level no less than '5' in the next few years.

And the Battle of Shipai was not his worst defeat on the Chinese battlefield.

If they retreat, it would mean that the attack on Shipai, which had been planned for half a year, would end in failure. Even more tragically, the Jingu Detachment, which was surrounded in the mountains of China, would completely lose its chance of survival.

Apart from the Japanese troops on the front and right wing battlefields who could break through the Chinese defense lines, no other Japanese troops could rescue them.

After receiving his military order, the Nogou Detachment and the 39st Infantry Regiment of the 231th Division on the left wing battlefield, which once had a strength of 1.6, were only able to muster four infantry squadrons and one infantry artillery squad. The reasons given were that they had suffered heavy casualties and were not only unable to attack, but also had to guard against Chinese night attacks.

The Chinese launched a small-scale night attack on the night of the 21st, with the 231st Infantry Regiment being the hardest hit, being attacked 14 times throughout the night. Thousands of soldiers in the 231st Regiment could not sleep at night and could only wait till dawn with their eyes wide open.

It was no longer realistic to expect the two closest units to rescue the Jingu Detachment. If they retreated again on the front battlefield, the lives of 2000 imperial officers and soldiers would be almost wasted.

No matter who it is, I'm afraid no one can bear this infamy.

However, all of Yokoyama Isamu's hesitation turned into determination after a battle report arrived at 24 a.m. on the 2th.

At 10:23 on the 12rd, the Chinese 5th Army defeated the Japanese defenders at Yuyang Pass and recaptured Yuyang Pass. Its main force of five divisions had advanced to the Tianzhu Mountain line. The 74th Army and the 79th Army had also arrived at the designated position. The time for the Chinese army to counterattack was ripe.

At this time, Yokoyama Isamu knew that the battle in western Hubei that he had carefully planned had failed. If he did not retreat, not only would the Jingu Detachment be hopeless, but the Japanese troops attacking the Shipai front battlefield would also end up being attacked in a back door.

Murakami felt more relaxed than ever after receiving the order from Isamu Yokoyama to retreat. He sat in his field command post most of the night, not only to wait for Isamu Yokoyama's order, but also because the Chinese on the opposite side had gone crazy.

Yes, Commander Hu is really going crazy.

The battle on the 23rd almost made Murakami Kisaku cry, but the young commander of the 11th Division, named Hu, really cried a lot.

Because this battle was so tragic.

In the battles a few days ago, the 11th Division, which relied on fortifications to continuously resist, lost 10 infantry companies. When we say "loss", it means that it completely lost its combat effectiveness.

At the rooftop position, all members of an infantry company were killed;

At the important road on the south side of Shipai Fortress, the battalion commander of the 33nd Battalion of the 2rd Regiment, You Guozhen, led his entire battalion to defend the city. Under the fierce attack of Japanese artillery fire, most of the 600 men in the battalion were killed. Battalion commander You himself was also seriously injured. A bomb dropped by a Japanese plane exploded next to him.

The deputy battalion commander asked him to go to the rear for treatment, but Battalion Commander You Guozhen refused to retreat and instead grabbed a Czech light machine gun and shot at the Japanese. The entire battalion finally defeated the Japanese attack. After the Japanese retreated, the officers and soldiers found that Battalion Commander You Guozhen had shed his last drop of blood, and he was still holding the machine gun and shooting when he died.

In the end, less than 100 people from the battalion were able to return alive, with four fully-strength infantry companies not enough to form two infantry platoons.

On the 23rd, casualties reached their peak. A total of two infantry regiments were deployed in Gaojialing, but only 2 people were able to stand up and walk back to the position. 800 soldiers were lying on the hillside.

If the corpses of the Japanese soldiers piled up into nearly a hundred "pyramids", then the remains of the officers and soldiers of the 11th Division could cover the entire hillside.

It took three hours just for his own soldiers to carry the bodies to the battlefield after sunset. Originally, he, as the division commander, personally ordered that the fallen soldiers be temporarily placed in the valley behind his headquarters, but in the end, there was no room for them.

Even if the remains were placed shoulder to shoulder and row to row, the valley, which is hundreds of meters long, still could not hold them all.

Division Commander Hu was walking in the valley filled with corpses. He was pretending to be strong and holding back his grief until he saw the body of a young soldier who was so young that he didn't even have hair on his lips. His head and face were covered in blood and he got furious. "Damn it! My soldiers died and no one cares? Where's his platoon leader? Where's his company commander? The 31th Company of the 9st Regiment, no matter who it is, get an officer here."

An equally young soldier heard the roar and hurried over from the other side of the valley. He stood at attention and reported to the division commander surnamed Hu: "Reporting to the division commander, Shi Dakuan is here to report."

"You are a young recruit, what are you doing here? Go and ask your squad leader to come." The division commander surnamed Hu looked at the obviously young recruit in front of him and tried his best to suppress his anger.

"The squad leader is dead!" Shi Dakuan lowered his head.

"Then get your platoon leader and company commander!" Hu's heart trembled. "The platoon leader is dead too. The first platoon leader, the third platoon leader, the company commander, the deputy company commander, all dead!" Shi Dakuan's tears rolled down, washing away the dried blood on his face again. Under the dim lantern, he looked ugly and terrifying.

  It was quiet all around!

"Then you guys..." Commander Hu stood there with sobs in his throat.

"I'm in the 9th Company, and there are still 22 living brothers, but they are all injured and are being treated in the field hospital. I'm the only one here. Don't blame me, Commander. I'll go wipe Yumi's face clean right now." Shi Dakuan tried his best to look mature, raised his head and said.

He was the only intact soldier in the 3th Company, and was able to find the bodies of all his brothers in the infantry company within 9 hours. His luck was much better than that of other companies.

It was just that it was too difficult to wash a brother's face clean. The blood on his face seemed impossible to wipe clean. He had tried very hard, but he could only barely clean the blood of the brothers in his class.

"I don't blame you. I can't blame you. I only blame myself as the division commander." Division Commander Hu suddenly looked up at the sky. Otherwise, the tears that suddenly welled up in his eyes would not be able to return to his eye sockets.

Everyone can cry, except him, the supreme commander.

Unfortunately, Shi Dakuan, who was very close to him, still saw a string of rolling tears soaking the woolen military coat of the lieutenant general division commander.

When he wrote a farewell letter to his father and wife, Commander Hu had no tears in his eyes. When he received the casualty figures, Commander Hu tried hard to hold back his grief. But when facing the only soldier in the infantry company who could report to him and who promised to cleanse the faces of all the brothers in the company, Commander Hu could no longer hold back.

a long time!

"May I have your name!"

"Shi Dakuan!"

"Okay, Shi Dakuan, let me ask you, if I asked you to fight the damn Japanese devils again, would you dare?"

"There's nothing I'm afraid of. The captain said that there's a mountain city behind us. My mother and sister are there. I'm willing to exchange my life for their safety." Shi Dakuan said without hesitation, then hesitated a little.

"Just tell me what it is! As long as it's reasonable, I will satisfy you."

"I think I'm going to die. I don't know if this month's military pay will be paid. The New Year is coming soon, and I want to let my two sisters have some meat."

The whole audience fell silent again.

Everyone thought about what the soldier's expectations were, but no one thought his wish was so simple, just to get his salary and let his sister have a meal of meat.

"I will cover all your sister's living expenses from now on!" The division commander surnamed Hu looked seriously at the lowest-ranking soldier under his command.

Then, he turned his gaze to the brigadier general and several colonels who were following him, his face full of pride: "You all saw and heard what happened just now. How about it, are you proud of your soldiers?"

Pointing to the rows of soldiers lying quietly, he shouted in a deafening voice: "We are the 11th Division, and we are so good at fighting. If the damn devils want our country, then we will fight them to the end.

I am standing here and asking you again on behalf of these good brothers, do you still dare to fight the devils?"

"I dare! Please give the order, Commander!" The Brigadier General tapped his heels hard and stood straight.

"We dare! Please give orders, Commander!" The other officers all stood straight.

"Good! There are not many people in this world who can make me cry so hard today. The Japanese commander on the opposite side should feel honored. I have always been a vengeful person. If he makes me cry, then I will make him bleed.

During the Three Kingdoms period, Gan Ning of the Eastern Wu attacked Cao Cao's million-man camp with only a hundred cavalrymen. Today, by the river, I want to follow his example!

Inform all units of our division on the front line to carry out continuous harassment against the Japanese army in infantry squads. Each Japanese head will be worth 10 dollars. I will use my personal belongings to pay for this reward." The division commander surnamed Hu growled.

"Yes!" All the officers accepted the order with murderous intent.

"Master, I want to join too!" Shi Dakuan suddenly asked when Master Hu turned around to leave.

The reward of 10 dollars for a Japanese head was really too tempting, especially for a private whose salary was only 6 dollars.

"Good!" There was praise in the eyes of the teacher surnamed Hu.

"If you can come back alive tonight, you will be the acting commander of the 9th Company. You are the only one in the 9th Company now, but after this battle, you have to stand up for me and build up the 9th Company for me."

. . . . . . . . .

That night, the remnants of the 11 regiments of the 5th Division sent out more than a thousand soldiers for a night attack, who fired continuously at the Japanese army. They even took advantage of the terrain to lurk less than 20 meters in front of the Japanese position and threw grenades into the simple trenches, causing the Japanese army to scream in terror.

What's even more outrageous is that Chinese soldiers often took huge risks and crawled into the positions under the cover of night, cut off the heads of dead Japanese infantrymen with bayonets and took them away.

Such crazy behavior of risking one's own life for the sake of heads almost scared the Japanese infantrymen to death. During the long night, the Japanese soldiers did not dare to close their eyes at all. In their hearts, they cursed the Japanese Army Lieutenant General who commanded the hand-to-hand combat yesterday.

If that guy hadn't been crazy and kept investing troops to play a game of white knife in and red knife out with the Chinese, could the Chinese be so crazy?

If possible, the 2000th Infantry Regiment of the 13th Division, which lost more than 104 men in World War I, would be the one who wanted to kill this bastard with a single blow.

Under threats from both China and Japan, Murakami Kisaku even moved his command center to a destroyer on the river.

But the sounds of gunfire and explosions in the dark night never stopped, and the torment was truly beyond the reach of ordinary people.

Until around 4 a.m., he received the telegram from Isamu Yokoyama.

"The entire army will evacuate in batches and the transport ships will dock!" Murakami immediately issued the military order.

Finally they could leave this damn place, and the entire Japanese army, like their commander, breathed a collective sigh of relief.

The Chinese sneak attack was not completely stopped until 5 a.m.

The Japanese army, which had not slept all night, was incredibly efficient. After the sun rose over the mountain, the scouts of the 11th Division who were responsible for observing the Japanese positions were surprised to find that there was not even a ghost on the opposite side of the Japanese position.

Fearing that it was a deliberate attempt by the Japanese to evade capture, the scouts spent nearly an hour observing closely before they were sure that there was no one on the position.

The Japanese army actually completely abandoned the Chinese positions that they had spent a lot of manpower to capture a few days ago. There is only one possibility.

The devil escaped!

"We won this battle!" Looking at the military flag being re-planted on the mountain ahead and hearing the continuous cheers in his ears, Shi Dakuan could no longer hold on. He lay down in the bushes with his face up and fell into a deep sleep.

More than two hours later, the new recruit with two Japanese heads hanging on his waist was shaken awake.

"Damn it, you, the acting company commander, slept so soundly, but you almost scared me to death!"

The battalion major, with a smile on his face, wanted to give this rookie a good kick. The division commander was furious, saying that he wanted to see Shi Dakuan alive or dead. He, the battalion major, had to go out and look for him himself. He was worried and tired, but this guy only snored in his sleep. How could he not be angry? But looking at the two stinking heads beside him, he finally endured it.

What the army lacks most is this kind of ruthless person! His luck is also against the sky.

(End of this chapter)