The heavens start from Changjin Lake

When the commander of the 9th Division, Yoshizumi Ryosuke, learned about this incident, his face turned red and his neck was thick with anger. When the brigade commander Ide Nobuki reported to him dejectedly, Yoshizumi Ryosuke tried his best to give Ide Nobuki a He slapped him twice, gritted his teeth, and cursed Ide Nobutoki.

He also asked Nobuhiro Ide to personally take action tomorrow and win a big victory to recover this loss.

After suffering such humiliation, Ide Nobutoki commanded 5 tanks, 100 cavalry, and 200 infantry on the morning of the 1500th, and launched a mighty attack on Chunhua Town. Due to continuous fighting for many days, the 51st Division's position fortifications were damaged. The damage was quite serious, and many bunkers were basically razed to the ground. In addition, too much ammunition was consumed, and there was no time to replenish it.

The enemy rushed forward, but the officers and soldiers of the 51st Division gritted their teeth and fought back against the Japanese army.

Planes, artillery, tanks, bombs, and artillery shells were constantly unleashed on Chunhua. A large number of houses were blown up and bunkers were destroyed. The 51st Division put the Japanese army in front of them and launched a brutal hand-to-hand battle. Blood and water gathered in the trenches. The land was made muddy, with corpses strewn all over the place.

In a whole day of fighting, the Japanese suffered more than 1000 casualties, and the Chinese army also paid a heavy price. The regiment leader Ji Hongru was seriously injured, 9 company commanders were killed, and the officers and soldiers below the platoon suffered more than 1400 casualties. The 301st regiment was basically wiped out.

Commander Tang learned of this incident and quickly ordered the 51st Division to shrink its position, abandon Chunhua Town, and move to the Heding Bridge and Matian lines to prepare for a new battle.

Niushou Mountain, also known as Niushou Mountain, is located 15 kilometers outside the Zhonghua Gate of Jinling. It is named after two peaks facing each other and shaped like a bull's head.

It is an important passage from Jurong, Lishui in Sujiang, Dangtu and Ma'anshan in Hui'an to the Chinese Gate in Jinling. It has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times. Especially since the Tang and Song Dynasties, it has been a battlefield for many times.

There was a poet in the Song Dynasty who once wrote, "There are ridges upon ridges, mountains behind mountains, and strange peaks reaching into the clouds and piercing the sky."The clouds and mists are lingering, the miasma is diffuse, and the road is so misty and confusing that it is difficult to see. '

This poem is the best portrayal of the terrain of Niushou Mountain. During the Southern Song Dynasty, Yue Fei set up a camp here, ambush deep in the mountains, and defeated the Jin soldiers.

Baldhead and Commander Tang also came here when they inspected the defense line. They took a fancy to the dangerous terrain between two mountains and wanted to use it as a barrier to defend the capital.

Baldhead and Commander Tang immediately placed another tiger general of the 74th Army, the commander of the 58th Division, Feng Shengfa, here to organize defense.

On November 11, Feng Shengfa led his troops into Niushou Mountain. He knew Yue Fei's deeds quite well. When he was in elementary school, he had read Yue Fei's poem "Man Jiang Hong", and his Chinese teacher told the story of Yue Fei's fight against the Jin soldiers vividly. , Therefore, Feng Shengfa fell in love with the national hero Yue Fei.

When he was in the second grade of high school, he learned that Guangdong Whampoa Military Academy was recruiting new students. This news revived his dream. His long-cherished wish to imitate Yue Fei and serve the motherland was about to come true. He immediately decided to abandon literature and martial arts and come to Guangdong. Apply for Whampoa Military Academy.

He once gave a sonorous and powerful answer in front of the examiner: "I applied for Whampoa Military Academy because I want to learn from Yue Fei and serve the country with loyalty!"

During the Northern Expedition, Feng Shengfa repeatedly made military exploits. After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, he specifically asked for leave and returned to Hangzhou. In front of the statue of Yue Fei, he reviewed Yue Fei's "Man Jiang Hong", bit his own finger, and wrote this vow: Learn from Yue Fei. , serve the country with loyalty, and will never go home until the Japanese army is defeated!

When he came to Niushou Mountain this time, he led the troops and told the officers and soldiers about Yue Fei's deeds in fighting against the Jin soldiers in Niushou Mountain. Then he introduced the terrain of Niushou Mountain and asked each regiment to buy more time to repair the fortifications.

This year, winter came very early in Niushou Mountain. To be precise, winter came very early in the whole of Jinling. The north wind blew and the weather was extremely cold. In early December, snowflakes started flying on the mountain and slapped on the face. Cold to the bones.

The officers and soldiers had just retreated here from Shanghai, and before they had time to put on their winter clothes, they were wearing thin singlets, waving shovels in the cold wind, and building fortifications.Feng Shengfa saw this and was anxious in his heart. While commanding the soldiers to repair the fortifications, he also reported to his superiors and requested that winter clothes be distributed quickly.

At night, he was afraid that everyone would get sick from the cold and affect their combat effectiveness, so he organized everyone to go up the mountain to chop wood and light a fire to keep warm.

In order to annihilate more enemies, Feng Shengfa asked everyone to do two things when building fortifications.

First, the fortifications should be built in a winding shape, extending 500 meters forward.Second, the main position must be built into a Bagua formation, which is convenient for concealing oneself and allows the enemy to enter but not get out.

On December 12, the fighting in Tangshan and Chunhua became fierce, and the enemy began to attack Niushou Mountain again. This enemy was the Takeshita and Okamoto brigades of the Japanese 5th Division.

The Japanese 114th Division won the battle in Shanghai and thought the Chinese army was defeated.

In their view, occupying a small Niushou Mountain is almost effortless. Therefore, the vanguard troops responsible for attacking Niushou Mountain are very arrogant. The Japanese are leisurely and contented, and the team is sparse, searching and advancing along both sides of the mainland. Stopping and walking is like admiring the scenery.

The team entered the Bagua Formation of the 58th Division, still more than 20 meters away from the outpost, and no Chinese troops were found yet.

To be precise, this Japanese army completely regarded the Chinese as they did in the Eastern Four Provinces, and ran away without shooting, which completely formed a stereotype. Therefore, at the end of the Battle of Songhu, the national army's great rout was not seen by the Japanese. In the eyes, it was the same as when they were in the four eastern provinces. When they entered the Chinese city, their army was vulnerable and began to flee and evacuate, leaving behind a large number of people and supplies, and even gave away the land.

From Shanghai, we followed the highway and passed through villages and towns one after another without encountering any resistance from the Chinese. Isn't this the same as in the fourth eastern provinces?

Along the road, you can reach the Chinese capital directly.

Every move of the Japs was seen by Feng Shengfa. Seeing that the Japanese Japs were so rampant, he was furious. When the Japanese troops entered their ambush position, he decisively ordered: "Hit!"

There were light and heavy machine guns mounted on the hills on the left and right sides. The spray of bullets shook the weeds in the mountains and fields. The bullets were like raindrops, dripping from the mountains. The grenades were all over the sky and landed on the road, erupting with a deafening explosion. The roar echoed between the two mountains.

The sudden attack immediately stunned the Japanese army. When they realized it, it was too late to escape from the rear.

The road back was tightly blocked by the 58th Division, and the battle was carried out cleanly. A squadron of Japanese troops were completely annihilated in Niushou Mountain.

The loss of a squadron in the direction of Niushou Mountain gave a severe blow to the two captains Takeshita and Okamoto. They suddenly woke up and analyzed that Niushou Mountain must be heavily defended by the Chinese army, and they must not be paralyzed and underestimate the enemy.

Therefore, before the next day's attack, the Japanese army dispatched 25 aircraft, coupled with 35 [-] infantry guns, to conduct intensive bombing on the two hills of Niushou Mountain.

The bombing lasted for half an hour, and the entire Niushou Mountain was shrouded in dark smoke.

The bombing of the Japanese army was effective. The fortifications on Niushou Mountain were bombed beyond recognition. Half of the forest on the mountain burned red. Immediately afterwards, 1000 or 58 Japanese troops began to attack Niushou Mountain. However, as soon as this group of Japanese troops climbed halfway up the mountain, they were attacked by 58 The soldiers of the [-]th Division fiercely counterattacked, and the soldiers of the [-]th Division, who were not afraid of death, fought bloody battles with the Japanese army for two hours, repelling the enemy, and suffered heavy casualties themselves.Night shrouded the battlefield. Feng Shengfa listened carefully to the battle reports of each regiment under the oil lamp. Then, he concluded: "Based on today's situation, the Japanese army has discovered the location of our position and also estimated the strength of Niushou Mountain. I estimate that the Japanese army will gather a larger force to retaliate tomorrow, which will be very detrimental to us."

At the meeting, everyone looked solemn and listened to Feng Shengfa's speech quietly.

Feng Shengfa stood up, looked at the map, thought for a moment, and suggested that instead of waiting for the enemy to come to the door, it would be better to take the initiative.

"The Japanese army chased them all the way from Shanghai to here without any rest. In addition, they organized several large-scale attacks today. They must be very tired. We should seize the opportunity and take the initiative to attack at night, even if these Japanese devils If they want to rest, they can’t sleep comfortably.”

When everyone heard about the night attack, they all agreed. In positional warfare during the day, the Japanese had aircraft and artillery, so they might not be able to defeat them.

But at night, when the eyes are dark and the aircraft and cannon are useless, that is the real battle.

The most critical point is that the Japanese army was on the road during the day and organized attacks. The soldiers were tired. This was a good opportunity.

Seeing that everyone agreed with his opinion, Feng Shengfa thought for a moment and said: "Each regiment will send a reconnaissance company to form a night attack team and set off in two hours."

Two hours later, in the middle of the night, the moon was obscured by a thick dark cloud, and Niushou Mountain was submerged in this hazy darkness. The cold wind made the leaves rustle. Three reconnaissance companies quietly gathered in this dark night. There was no mobilization before departure. In the howling cold wind, every soldier still felt that the blood around his body was burning, and he did not feel cold at all.

The Japanese troops were stationed in Chenxu Village, Yanhu Village, Zhucun, Taoxiang and other places. After a hard day's work, the Japanese fell asleep one by one after dinner at night. When the reconnaissance company visited these villages, they only saw cold weather. There were sparks flickering in the wind, but no Japanese Japs were seen moving around.

As they approached the village, they could hear loud and low snores. The officers and soldiers of the reconnaissance company neatly eliminated the Japanese sentries, successfully entered the village, and threw a lot of grenades at the sleeping Japanese soldiers. Some used Czech-style sweeps, while others used grenades to blow up the Japanese's gasoline barrels.

I don’t know which village opened fire first, and then there were explosions and gunshots. Many Japanese soldiers went to the west while still sleeping.

The awakened Japanese soldiers were in a mess. They were looking for clothes and weapons in a panic. They couldn't find the target and fired indiscriminately. Most of the Japanese soldiers died in the fire.

When the officers and soldiers of the reconnaissance company successfully returned to the camp, fires were still burning in the direction of the Japanese camp, and gunfire was still ringing. Without detailed statistics, it was estimated that this night attack on the Japanese army cost the Japanese army at least more than 800 people. This is a huge victory.

On the morning of December 12, the Japanese did not make any move. Obviously, the night attack last night had a great impact on the Japanese.

Feng Shengfa analyzed that the Japanese were probably cleaning up the damage done last night and burying the corpses of the Japanese, so they had no time to attack Niushou Mountain again.

We can take this opportunity to let the troops seize the time to dig trenches, build fortifications, and be fully prepared to fight a fierce battle with the Japanese devils.

In the afternoon, the sky was a little gloomy. Above the thick clouds, the roar of the engines of Japanese fighter jets could be heard. They headed straight for Niushou Mountain. They were very arrogant. They broke out of the clouds and flew low against the top of the mountain, making a piercing roar. The sun mark is smeared on it and can be seen clearly.

Flying over the top of the mountain, sometimes you can even see the faces of the Japanese pilots quite clearly.

About a dozen enemy planes launched successive bombings on Niushou Mountain. Then the Japanese heavy artillery began to roar, and the roar echoed in the valley. The huge roar spread deafeningly in the valley. The hard mountain was shattered by the bombing, and the gravel Splashes were everywhere, rolling down the ridge like raindrops.

The rocks hit by the shells shattered and turned into countless fragments flying around. Many officers and soldiers were injured on the head by the gravel.

Huge explosions shook every corner of Niushou Mountain, thick columns of smoke rose one after another, and the choking smell of gunpowder smoke filled the air.

Bombs and artillery shells were like huge hailstones, leaning towards the Niushou Mountain position. The shrapnel was as fast as a sharp knife, cutting off huge branches one after another, and the broken branches and leaves smashed towards the heads of the officers and soldiers. Come.

As soon as the artillery fire stopped, the Japanese troops, like locusts, began to charge towards the mountain.

On the other side, at the 58th Division headquarters, Feng Shengfa used the phone to mobilize the commanders of each regiment. While asking about the battle situation, he asked them to withstand the Japanese attack and repel the Japanese army.

The Japanese army was coming fiercely and vowed to swallow Niushou Mountain, so the fighting was quite fierce. The defending national army struggled to hold on. Both sides came and went. The positions changed hands back and forth. The two sides repeatedly fought for a hilltop. There were corpses and blood everywhere. Infested mud.

During this period, countless soldiers died heroically to defend the country.

Among them, there are many stories of Yu Peiyi disguising herself as a man and joining the army to join the war.

The time came to the 9th.

Commander Tang received information that the Japanese army had broken through Banqiao Town on the right side of Niushou Mountain and Fangshan on the left. The 58th Division, which was defending Niushou Mountain, had become the only force on Niushou Mountain. If they did not retreat in time, the Japanese army would cut off the retreat of the 58th Division, and the 58th Division would surely fall into Surrounded by Japanese troops on all sides.

Therefore, Commander Tang immediately ordered Feng Shengfa to retreat.

Feng Shengfa commanded the troops that night and took advantage of the hazy night to leave Niushou Mountain.

The loss of Niushou Mountain is painful, and it also proves that the Japanese attack cannot be stopped by the national army.

During the loss of Niushou Mountain, positions such as Tangshan and Chunhua were lost one after another. Just like the Battle of Songhu, the Japanese army's attack was rapid and fierce, and it was encroaching on the Jinling defenders' positions bit by bit.

Just like in the national government meeting, the loss of Jinling is inevitable. Even if more troops are sent to defend Jinling, it still cannot be defended.