It is not the most glorious moment that deserves to be written into history. Those most painful memories will become epics that will be sung for eternity.
The story of the "Blood Battle of the Four Hing Warehouses by Eight Hundred Soldiers" is one of the most shocking scenes in the history of the Chinese War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. From October 27th when the army was ordered to stay in Zhabei, to October 30th when it was ordered to withdraw into the concession, four days of fierce fighting made the Sixing Warehouse on the Suzhou River become the focus of worldwide attention.
In the eight years of the Anti-Japanese War, as long as the "loneliness spirit" and "eight hundred heroes" were mentioned, it was enough to make people bloody and fight high. It has become a symbol of the Chinese people's patriotism in fighting foreign aggression. To this day, this heroic history has become a cherished national memory.
The movie "Eight Hundred" based on this history was released on August 21 and set off a box office boom. However, this special topic does not use the popular number "eight hundred", but uses the real number of "four hundred and twenty" that has been rigorously verified by historians.
These are four hundred and twenty living lives. Even today we are 83 years apart from them. But if they take off their uniforms, you will find that these heroes admired by later generations are no different from us. They also have irritable tempers, the restlessness of young people, they also speak ill of their superiors behind their backs, and they tremble with fear when the enemy approaches.
But in those four days, each of them burst out with the most heroic and fearless character in human beings. They know that under the siege of a strong enemy, no matter how strong the fortifications can last for long; they also know that they are fighting alone, and there will never be reinforcements to rescue them. The moment they accepted the order, death was the doomed end.
But it was they who, with their bravery and perseverance, carried the country's hope and determination to fight the war to the end in those four days. Although in today's view, this battle is insignificant in the entire history of the Anti-Japanese War, its influence surpassed those major battles measured in tens of millions. This has to be said to be a miracle. It makes one believe that there is always something in human beings that is so sacred and inviolable. Even these blasphemous and false words are under the banner of "questioning" and "seeking truth".
History is not intolerant of myths, but false remarks will eventually pass away with the wind. Only the myths constructed by real history can become epics and be passed down through the ages.
Written by | Li Xian
The plume of smoke rises into the sky, connects with the low-hanging dark clouds, and forms a thick smoke wall, winding between the broken walls. Wherever it passes, the blazing flame greedily devours everything, weathering the sweltering cold in late autumn and October. for a scorching heat wave. But the gray-white embers, like snowflakes in the winter, slowly fell on this scorched black earth with residual warmth. The wide streets have turned into potholes, and the paths have been buried by rubble and turned into jagged hills, and the crumbling buildings occasionally drop gravel and bricks, desperately adding to the ruins.
This is what Zhang Qiuming saw in front of his eyes. He is an ordinary soldier who belongs to the 1st Battalion and 2nd Company of the 524th Regiment of the 88th Division. In the past 70 days, he has witnessed with his own eyes how Zhabei, the bustling and bustling place in Shanghai's Chinese world, survives the frequent bombings and fierce battles. Turned into ruins in street fighting. During the worst two weeks of the fighting, an average of more than 200 bombs fell on the land every day. On this deadly killing field, the brothers around him were harvested like straw, and almost two out of every five soldiers would die.
It can be said that half of Zhang Qiuming's ability to survive until now is due to luck. Looking around, those familiar figures have been sleeping on the battlefield, and the new faces, which he has not yet been familiar with, are already separated by yin and yang.
Soldier
Ordinary people pushed to the battlefield
Zhang Qiuming can be regarded as a veteran in the battalion. But just a little over two months ago, he was just an ordinary coppersmith in Shanghai. The only thing that has anything to do with the profession of a soldier is that he once worked in the Hanyang Arsenal to repair firearms. His experience as a soldier is also quite accidental. As a craftsman who relies on his hands to eat, he does not have to regard "serving as a soldier's food" as a way of making a living like those poor people.
"Fuck, go to the battlefield!"
This idea, when the war was getting closer and closer before the "August 13" Incident, had been wandering in Zhang Qiuming's mind, but it had not been put into practice. Until August 11, when he was walking on the road, he was suddenly pulled by the army and dragged to carry the sack. Zhang Qiuming "had no rest for a day and a half, and only ate one meal." He didn't get a single salary, but he ate a lot of sticks, "I couldn't do it anymore, and the sticks made me so thick. I was deeply resentful, and my temper made me unbearable, so I decided to take revenge.”
So, at two o'clock in the afternoon on August 12, he took the opportunity to escape, went straight to the recruitment office of the 88th Division, and volunteered to join the army.
The 88th Division was originally one of the four most elite German weapon divisions in China before the war. In the photos that have survived to this day, you can see the majestic appearance of this mighty master wearing a German steel helmet, a crisp uniform, and a firearm. But the addition of Zhang Qiuming has somewhat broken this mighty appearance. Such a young soldier with no combat experience, just by being able to manipulate a few light machine guns, is "very qualified" to join the army successfully. It can be inferred how many newcomers such as Zhang Qiuming were urgently recruited by this elite division before the battle. After a simple training, they were thrown into the fierce killing battlefield, and they used their fragile bodies to dodge the dense shells to gain experience points.
Many were ruthlessly eliminated. After more than two months of fierce fighting, very few veterans initially entered the battlefield. "There are only 20 to 30 percent of the original officers and soldiers left." In a report to Gu Zhutong, deputy commander of the Third Theater Command on October 26, Zhang Baiting, chief of staff of the 88th Division, said, "This division has been replenished six times. There are currently only two or three out of ten veterans." He likened this situation to brewing tea. Veterans are tea leaves, while recruits are boiled water: "The taste is very strong when first brewed, but after six times of brewing, the water is diluted once, and the more it is washed, the weaker it becomes."
The combat effectiveness of the 88th Division has deteriorated sharply. A friendly soldier described that these additional recruits did not even know how to crawl forward in battle, and also laughed loudly that this kind of "fighting on the stomach" was "hiding head and tail, a little afraid of death", while On the other hand, he raised his chest and raised his head, "standing and playing". Although standing up to fight looked brave and fearless, but charging into battle, "the sound of the enemy's guns, their wailing, has unfortunately made a symphony". The soldier's military appearance is naturally no longer as straight and mighty as before. After interviewing a group of soldiers from the 88th Division up close, Rodz Farmer, a reporter from the "Linxi Daily" wrote:
"They looked frail, some carried oil-paper umbrellas; one soldier had a canary. A lot of soldiers walked hand in hand. It's funny how these thin, ragged boys are all Chinese hero."
Jiao Yousan is one of these added "Chinese heroes". He is from a small village called Yangzhen in Tongcheng, Hubei. He is a member of the Hubei Provincial Security Team. The security force is not an official military organization, but a local policing force, similar to a complex of village police and militia.
The security team described by writer Wang Zengqi in "Da Nao Chronicles" can be described as a typical example. They are like a group of stragglers who gather together. Most of them waste their time in virtual training, boring gun cleaning and gambling, and occasionally fight with local small groups of bandits. even military practice.
These security guards were simply assembled and reorganized, and they boarded the train, which was disguised with branches, and arrived in Shanghai after seven days and seven nights of exhaustion. Jiao Yousan was recruited into the 3rd Company of the 1st Battalion, and he soon discovered that eight-tenths of the people in this battalion were from Hubei. Tongcheng fellows who were with him accounted for 60 to 70 percent of them, a total of more than 150 people. His fellow villager Fan Cheng noticed that before they arrived, the troops suffered heavy sacrifices.
The brutality of the war can be imagined, and they can naturally realize how cruel the battle situation they are about to face. After simple training, these recruits were immediately thrown into the Zhabei battlefield to accept the trial of death. They each got a neutralized rifle, 300 rounds of ammunition, and two boxes of grenades. Few combat experience is that "when the enemy charges, shoot with rifles from a distance, and throw grenades when they are close."
Courage and conviction more or less make up for the lack of training, experience and tactics. On October 18, the 88th Division organized a large-scale raid. Under the cover of artillery and mortar bombardment, the lightly armed soldiers marched rapidly along the North Railway Station Street. When the Japanese army was still in shock, With lightning speed, they occupied a section of Sichuan North Road and cut off the supply chain of the Japanese army. But just five days later, the tide turned. The Japanese army made a violent counterattack. The Japanese fighter planes, which had absolute superiority in the air, bombed the Chinese positions in turn. Many soldiers were smashed to pieces before they could fight back, or they were smashed into the soil by the ground caused by the air waves of the artillery shells.
On October 26, under the offensive of the Japanese army's powerful suppressive firepower and sophisticated armored forces, the field fell and immediately fell into a sea of fire. The military pressure north of Suzhou River was almost entirely on the defenders of Zhabei. The Japanese army carried out large-scale air raids on Zhabei. A Chinese reporter stood on the new garbage bridge leading to Zhabei in the public concession and looked north. He saw that starting at 5:00 in the morning, the Japanese army sent 40 or 50 planes to carry out indiscriminate bombing, and it was not until 5:30 p.m. A paragraph, "The flames caused by the enemy are several meters high, and the whole is surrounded by red light."
Defeat is inevitable. For China, the only reasonable plan is to ensure an orderly retreat as much as possible, and to preserve the living forces. On the evening of the 24th, the general retreat of the Chinese army took place in an almost silent manner. In the front, fierce fighting was used as a cover to ensure that the retreat of the large army could be carried out in a secret and orderly manner, and a large number of soldiers and carriages were constantly transferred. On the evening of October 26, almost all the troops withdrew from their positions north of the Suzhou River. It is puzzling that the Japanese army hardly noticed any sign of the large-scale transfer of the Chinese army. After the indiscriminate bombardment of Zhabei, they did not pursue the victory, but were busy planting the sun flag on the ruins.
The veterans of the 88th Division like Zhang Qiuming and the new recruits like Jiao Yousan who have been replenished soon, if there is no accident, they will also evacuate with the main force and move their positions. At least at 10 p.m. that night, the first battalion they were in was ordered to:
"The big field has been lost. There is news of our troops moving to a new position tonight. Each battalion can immediately order each company to prepare properly and stand by at the original position. Tools, utensils and ammunition are not allowed to be lost."
But just an hour later, their fortunes are about to change dramatically.
Order
The fate of the little man and the calculation of the big man
Two cannonballs roared from the front, and Yang Ruifu fell to the ground keenly, dodging to avoid the bombs, but the dust and smoke from the explosion almost suffocated him. The sound of gunfire around him became more and more tense. He gathered up his courage and rushed to the regimental headquarters building at Shanghai North Railway Station despite shrapnel.
Yang Ruifu, 35, is the battalion commander of the 1st Battalion of the 524th Regiment of the 88th Division. If extant photos are any guide, he looks more like a suave scholar with gold-rimmed glasses. But in fact, he is already a battle-hardened, seasoned veteran. Since joining the army at the age of 19, he has been transferred from Wu Peifu's army all the way to the National Revolutionary Army during the Northern Expedition, and was not promoted to battalion commander until shortly before the Battle of Songhu.
An hour ago, he had just been ordered to go to the regiment headquarters to receive orders for the troops to move to new positions that night. This order made Yang Ruifu feel "indescribably painful as if he had lost a precious thing". Back at the battalion headquarters, he called Han Xianyuan, the head of the regiment, to express his dissatisfaction with the evacuation order. He cited that in the two months since the start of the war, our army has successfully repelled four general attacks by the enemy with a large number of artillery fire, and he asked: "Today, although our army has suffered casualties, there are still many fortifications and strengths to consolidate. Just throw away our big field like this?"
The head of the regiment refused his request to hold his position on the grounds of "strategic relations". Yang Ruifu had no choice but to answer: "Okay!"
But an hour later, he braved the hail of bullets and went to the regiment headquarters again, and what he saw was a tense and strange scene: "I saw the regiment commander saluting and staring at the regiment commander for a long time, but the regiment commander did not say a word. , looking at his face, his private distress is hard to describe." Twenty minutes later, Xie Jinyuan, attached to the regiment, came back from the division and handed a small note to him with the same nervous expression. The answer was finally revealed. A battalion sticks to Zhabei's orders.
For Yang Ruifu and the officers of the 524th Regiment, the order came out of the blue. But it is not a temporary initiative, but the result of some consideration and weighing. On the morning of October 26, the division headquarters of the 88th Division received a call from Gu Zhutong, deputy commander of the theater. On the phone, Gu asked the division leader Sun Yuanliang's opinion, intending to keep the 88th Division in the Zhabei area, spread the defense, and start guerrilla warfare. Sun Yuanliang thought that this was a pointless waste of troops. He knew very well that the 88th Division was not an excellent German engineer before the war, but a team assembled by the security team and recruits. In his much-maligned memoir, "A Moment in Hundreds of Millions of Light Years," he wrote that he bluntly rejected Gu Zhutong's inquiries:
"I don't agree. Why? If one of us dies and one enemy dies, or even ten of us die and one enemy dies, I'm willing to stay in Zhabei and defend Shanghai. The most worrying thing is that we are isolated here, After the fierce battle, the cadres were killed or injured, the liaison was cut off, the organization was disintegrated, food and ammunition were not kept, and there was chaos and no command, and they were arbitrarily massacred by the enemy army. Although morale is very high, and we have shown our record of sticking to Zhabei for more than two months, we have also been replenished five times! Although the recruits are equally loyal and patriotic, they have a short training time and lack the skills to fight on their own. The actual situation, so I can't agree."
If Sun Yuanliang's recollections are reliable, his objections are indeed irrefutable. Dismantling a group of untrained recruits into positions occupied by well-equipped enemy forces is tantamount to collective death. He specially sent Chief of Staff Zhang Baiting to meet with Gu Zhutong for a detailed explanation. On the way to the headquarters, Zhang Baiting saw three or five groups of wounded soldiers who were scattered from the large field positions are fleeing in a hurry, and the enemy planes kept circling and strafing in the air. After repeated parking and dodging, Zhang Boting finally arrived at the headquarters. He first reported to Gu Zhutong the collapse he saw along the way, and planned to use this to inspire Gu Zhutong to change his idea of letting the 88th Division stay in Zhabei. But Gu Zhutong told him that this was not his personal opinion, but an instruction from Chiang Kai-shek, the chairman of the Supreme Commander. Gu Zhutong explained that the League of Nations will hold a meeting in Geneva in early November. During the meeting, my country will accept the complaint and discuss how to stop the Japanese army's aggression. Therefore, Chiang Kai-shek intended to let the 88th Division stay behind to continue fighting:
"We must fight for every inch of land, and the enemy will pay the price in blood; we should fight against the camera, try our best to buy time, and arouse the sympathy of allies."
Zhang Boting's recollection of the conversation between him and Gu Zhutong many years later can easily give readers the impression that the purpose of the bloody battle of the soldiers of the 88th Division who stayed behind in Zhabei was just to please the Western powers and win The "show war" of "sympathy of the friendly countries", and further concluded that the military high-level is sacrificing the flesh and blood of the soldiers to seek peace.
After all, the League of Nations has a reputation for being weak and incompetent, and there are many precedents for this incompetence. Two years ago, when Italy invaded Ethiopia, the League of Nations made sanctions that were never implemented. Four years earlier, when the Lytton Investigation Team appointed by the League of Nations went to the Northeast to investigate the puppet Manchukuo concocted by Japan, although a statement condemning Japan was made after the investigation, Japan's response was to withdraw directly from the League of Nations.
Now, since the Lugouqiao Incident, Japan has occupied North China, and the Shanghai and Sujia areas are also in jeopardy. Apart from holding meetings and making some seemingly innocuous statements, the League of Nations seems to be of no use. After the Lugouqiao Incident broke out, on July 14, the ambassador to the UK, Guo Taiqi, was instructed to submit a complaint to the League of Nations to the British government, but was rejected by both Britain and France. Until the outbreak of the Battle of Songhu, the diplomat Gu Weijun lobbied, but the heads of state still only verbally claimed to be sympathetic to China's war of resistance, but "no one can take any action alone."
However, one month after the Battle of Songhu broke out, the 18th General Assembly of the League of Nations, which opened on September 13, announced that China's appeal would be included in the agenda of the General Assembly. As the chief representative of China, Gu Weijun spoke at the meeting and asked the international community to assist China in resisting Japanese aggression. On the 16th, the General Assembly decided to submit China's complaint to the Far East Advisory Committee for investigation. On the 28th, the League of Nations General Assembly passed a resolution condemning the indiscriminate bombing of innocents by Japanese planes.
On October 6, the League of Nations General Assembly passed a resolution: "Express moral support for China, and recommend that the members of the League of Nations shall not take any action that will weaken China's resistance and increase its difficulties in the current conflict. It is recommended that member states We should consider how to provide assistance to China respectively." He suggested that a meeting be held as soon as possible for further discussion. On the same day, the United States officially declared Japan an aggressor country, breaking the Nine-Power Pact and the Locarno Non-War Pact.
Why has the attitude of the international community changed so much? The answer lies in the outbreak of the Battle of Songhu.
piece
An international choice leading to Sihang Warehouse
"I feel shameless and China will be the laughing stock."
Gu Weijun felt isolated and helpless. On July 29, after learning the news of the fall of Peiping, the always eloquent diplomat ran into obstacles in front of dignitaries from various countries. The French ambassador to the UK, Corbyn, responded coldly to his visit, and the British Prime Minister Eden's report in the House of Commons declared that Japan had the right to station troops anywhere in North China, and the current crisis was not provoked by the Japanese. U.S. Ambassador Polider showed sympathy for China on the surface, but it was false. The attitude of the United States, until two days before the Battle of Songhu, was "careful and silent."
The most frustrating thing about modern warfare is that only the war under the camera is the real war. For the international community, despite China's vast territory, its national image is concentrated in such cosmopolitan cities as Peiping and Shanghai. Only a war there will be enough to attract the attention of the international community. However, in the Battle of Pingjin, which broke out in July, the sudden defeat of the Chinese army made the international community believe that China's fate as a failure is inevitable, and no one will risk betting on the party destined to fail.
However, the outbreak of the war in Shanghai has made the world see an image of a China that has been struggling and indomitable. Although the cost is huge, the Chinese soldiers will fight for every inch of land and regard death as home. This dogged belief and several timely victories in September have given the international community the confidence that China has the potential to ultimately win. The balance of international snobbery has gradually shifted to the side of justice.
However, these resolutions and statements made by the League of Nations mentioned above are, after all, lip service rather than reality. Chiang Kai-shek, the supreme military commander of China at the time, knew this. On October 24, Gu Weijun and others, who were planning to attend the international conference in early November, received an order from Chiang Kai-shek, which clearly stated:
"According to the current situation, the meeting has no hope of success, and we must understand this level clearly."
But recognizing the failure is not without purpose: "Our purpose in dealing with the meeting is to make countries take sanctions against Japan after the meeting fails." For a more detailed explanation:
"(1) To maintain that the governments and societies of the participating countries intensify their economic oppression against Japan, that is, to actively boycott Japanese products, and passively not to help Japan with financial and material resources, so that the resolution of the League of Nations condemning Japan should be factualized. (2) To The major powers participating in the request for war loan and ordnance loan should meet the conditions as far as possible, especially regarding transportation matters, it is necessary to provide China with the greatest convenience at all times, so that the League of Nations will not reduce China's resistance, and help China's resolution to be concrete."
The latter part of the resolution is particularly important, and it can almost be said to be related to the future direction of China's war of resistance. According to the research of Huo Anzhi, a historian of the Anti-Japanese War, for China at that time, weapons and equipment can be said to be the biggest shortcoming. Although China has formulated plans to build a defense industry since 1931, it has invested heavily in the purchase of weapons and equipment and the establishment of factories. But even so, according to the plan, the factory is expected to be completed only by 1939.
However, the war that broke out in 1937 abruptly interrupted this process. At the beginning of the Anti-Japanese War, China was in a crisis of weapons shortage. On August 1, 1937, Yu Dawei, director of the Ordnance Department, made an urgent report to Chiang Kai-shek that the existing domestic ammunition could only last for three months. At the same time, the arms dealers in Europe and the United States, who witnessed the collapse of the war in Pingjin, China, turned down the arms orders urgently sent by China. Fear that they will offend Japan for accepting Chinese arms purchase orders. European and American countries have a de facto arms embargo on China.
To make matters worse, the day after Peiping fell. On July 30, Gu Weijun called on Varenna, the Governor of French Indochina, and asked him whether France would allow China to freely use the coast of Indochina to import weapons if China and Japan went to war and Japan blocked Chinese ports. Japan's bombing and blockade of China's seaports made the issue urgent. But Varenna rejected Gu Weijun's request, saying that if Chinese weapons and military supplies were allowed to pass through the border, France and Japan might have a big dispute. Not only that, but France even "tends to prevent China from using the Indochina coastline".
Pingling, a powerful domestic enemy, and foreign allies, left China alone and helpless. But on the Shanghai battlefield, the heroic performance of the Chinese army boosted the confidence of European and American countries. On October 6, the League of Nations General Assembly approved that countries should consider providing assistance to China. Two days later, Gu Weijun set off for Paris to meet with French leaders and discuss the issue of the transit of Chinese supplies through Indochina.
With the expansion of the Battle of Songhu, France's attitude is softening, but still wavering. On October 19, in negotiations with French Foreign Ministry Secretary-General Leger, Gu Weijun almost persuaded Leger to dispel Japan's concerns about retaliation. But Léger said at the end of the conversation that he hopes to wait until the international conference to be held after October 30. If all the participating countries agree to take a more positive attitude towards assisting China, then France is also willing to reconsider the availability of military supplies in Indochina. transit issues.
But at this time, the sudden defeat of the big battle on October 26 put China at a sudden disadvantage in the war. The balance of international snobbery is swinging again. China urgently needs a battle to restore its reputation and boost confidence in the eyes of the international community. In order to have enough confidence in the upcoming international conference to achieve the goal of obtaining foreign aid and combat readiness support.
When Gu Zhutong mentioned the reason of "evoking the sympathy of allies", Zhang Boting keenly captured this point. He pointedly pointed out that "the commander's instruction is a political purpose", not a strategic consideration during combat. Therefore, as long as it can achieve the purpose of political propaganda to attract domestic and foreign audiences, then "there is no need to rigidly stipulate the strength of troops, and there is no need to stick to any method. It is possible to authorize the responsible troops as much as possible and take appropriate measures according to the actual situation on the battlefield."
Although Zhang Boting and Gu Zhutong decided to leave only one regiment to defend after deliberation, Sun Yuanliang felt that one regiment would make him lose too much after pacing, so he reduced it to one regiment. Battalion - 1st Battalion of the 524th Regiment. Led by the lieutenant colonel attached to Xie Jinyuan, the major regiment attached to the official logo and the major battalion commander Yang Ruifu, they shouldered this arduous task.
For Yang Ruifu and Xie Jinyuan who received the order, they naturally did not necessarily know the hidden trade-off game behind the order. The snobbery and scheming of the international community, the urgency and efforts of the Chinese government to seek foreign aid, and the ardent expectations of the Chinese people who are eager for a victory to strengthen their confidence. In a sense, they are indeed chess pieces, puppets on the international stage, tools used by big men to achieve their goals. No matter how noble or important the purpose, they are pawns as tools.
But there is no doubt that when the entire army retreats, the only ones who stay behind and stand firm are the lone troops whose reinforcements will never appear. Fighting against a powerful enemy alone, the most likely fate is the annihilation of the entire army. At the moment of receiving the order, death had put the scythe across the necks of every soldier, ready to harvest their lives at any time.
At this point, their hearts must be very insightful - they know exactly what they are about to face. When the head of the regiment, Han Xianyuan, handed over the order to Yang Ruifu, he expressed very sadness, and he knew that it was an order to die. But Yang Ruifu was very excited: "Please rest assured, head of the regiment, I swear to fight for the personality of the Chinese nation with the last drop of blood." Before the words were finished, the head of the regiment quickly came over to hold his hand and said, "Okay! You Let's fight the enemy for the last time here!"
No complaints, no anger, no regrets, just calm and even excited to accept this lonely and helpless task of dying. When the eyes of the Chinese people's sincere hope are poured into their bodies that are also sincerely dying, they are no longer chess pieces, puppets, or tools, but live people with flesh and blood and independent consciousness. . This is of course obedience to orders, but it is also a choice of personal will. When Xie Jinyuan shouted to the soldiers:
"Who is willing to stand up and raise their hands."
Zhang Qiuming saw that many comrades raised their hands enthusiastically, "I also raised my hands high."
At 0:20 on October 27, 1937, these 420 soldiers will go to the fateful place where history is destined to be turned into a myth - the Sixing Warehouse.
The fiery snake danced wildly, twisting its scorching body, and surrounded these young Chinese soldiers fiercely. Thick smoke enveloped the crackling sparks, lingering in all directions, waiting for an opportunity to pounce. At 7:00 am on October 27, the Japanese army, who had occupied almost all of Zhabei, began to purposefully set fire to all directions. As of noon, a 6-kilometer-long smoke wall rose from the ground. Aided by the wind, thousands of fiery snakes roamed around in search of anything inflammable to devour. Of course, they also attracted these young bodies, especially with the accompaniment of bullets, they appeared more aggressive.
This is Zhang Qiuming's first close contact with death in this battle. He and a few comrades were performing cover missions on the periphery, and all the soldiers who were responsible for covering them rushed to the Sixing warehouse. But encountered a sudden fire attack. "We were wrapped in the middle like rice, and we were about to die at once."
In the desperate situation, Zhang Qiuming and his colleagues were determined to face the violent fate bravely and survive from the dead. And the life is actually hidden in the closest place to death - a wooden row that is being swallowed by fire. His background as a craftsman made him realize that the more flammable the place, the more fire-fighting facilities will be installed. "I found seven or eight fire extinguishers in the wooden row where the fire was most prosperous. I carried two of them on my back and poured them all the way."
In the hustle and bustle of putting out the fire and saving themselves, Zhang Qiuming and his comrades finally waited for this late order - the messenger who was supposed to be responsible for the messenger has been injured and the company commander had to personally deliver the order to let them The soldiers responsible for the outer cover retreated to the Sixing warehouse.
Since its inauguration in 1935, Sihang Warehouse has been one of the strongest reinforced concrete buildings in Shanghai. For a long time, it has been mistaken for the design of the talented Hungarian architect Hudak, but in fact, this simple and huge warehouse came from the hands of Scottish and foreign companies. As a warehouse for the big four banks, it was designed and built with two characteristics of sturdiness and practicality in mind. Covering an area of more than 20,000 square meters, it has a huge interior space with five floors, making it one of the tallest buildings within a 0.53-acre radius. Although its original location was entirely based on the three major considerations of commerce, transportation and land price, it was deliberately selected near the North Station of Shanghai's transportation hub, the Suzhou River, and only a new garbage bridge away from the public concession. But by accident, it became a fortification in the wartime. Yang Ruifu, who was in charge of building fortifications, was very excited to see this warehouse:
"This warehouse is really a 'natural fortress', storing tens of millions of bales of grain. The first, second, and third floors are wheat grains, and the fourth and fifth floors are cowhide and silk cocoons, all of which are very useful. From the first floor to the third floor, we completed it after three days. We closed the door of each window. The sacks on the south wall were pushed five meters thick, and the doors on the north were built more than ten meters thick. It is from the floor to the roof. The fourth floor is not enough materials and consumes a lot of ammunition to lure the enemy. In fact, none of us live on the fourth floor. The fifth floor fortification was completed yesterday. The bank warehouse is much higher, we can completely control the enemy, the enemy has nothing to do with us.”
What Yang Ruifu did not mention is that in addition to the convenient transportation, this "natural fortress" is also adjacent to a huge flammable and dangerous goods: the huge gas storage tank of the British Fire House. If the Japanese army rashly bombarded the Sihang warehouse, in case the gas storage tank was accidentally hit and caused an explosion, it would surely shake the public concession on the other side of the river, attracting international negotiations from Western powers. Even out of the consideration of throwing rats at risk, the Japanese army had to be timid when attacking the Sixing Warehouse and did not dare to act rashly. This kind of measure using the kidnapping of the public concession as a shield, although it may seem cunning, plays an indispensable and important role in defense. But the lone army guarding the warehouse was not worried about heavy artillery attacks. The location near the concession also prevented Japanese fighters from dropping bombs easily, so as not to miss the concession on the other side of the river and the huge gas storage tank.
The "natural fortress" has a solid outer wall and occupies the best possible location, which solves the two biggest dangers facing the Chinese defenders. But time is not for me. Just when the fortifications on the first floor of the warehouse were being built, at 8:10 in the morning, the reconnaissance troops outside reported that the enemy had occupied the North Station Building where the original regiment headquarters was located, and planted the sun flag. Three hours later, the first group of enemies approached the Sixing warehouse. Holding the flag of the sun, they were aggressive and seemed to despise these Chinese soldiers guarding the warehouse alone, but their arrogance was immediately attacked by the defenders in the outer positions. Yang Ruifu claimed that they were victorious, killing five enemy troops, while the others fled.
An hour later, the Japanese army once again assembled troops and made a comeback. This time they learned the lesson of underestimating the enemy and were more careful. Journalist Rodez Farmer watched the fierce battle across the river with thousands of Chinese who had heard the news in the safe concession on the other side of the river. He saw the group of Japanese soldiers creeping slowly and cautiously through the rubble, crawling from cover to cover, taking them 50 minutes at a distance of more than 40 meters. But what they didn't expect was that the Chinese defenders who were hiding in the dark had been watching their every move. Once the Japanese army got close enough, the Chinese soldiers would use the basic methods of defeating the enemy that they had learned when they first joined the army, and the grenades were like rainstorms. smashed at them. After the smoke cleared, the still-moving Japanese soldiers were eliminated one by one with rifles. Several Japanese soldiers who tried to rescue the wounded were also killed mercilessly.
War is so cruel. The methods of the Japanese army were even more cruel. Zhang Qiuming saw that the nine brothers of the guard force had not yet retreated into the warehouse, but were captured by the Japanese army, their arms were tied behind their backs, and they were killed by the Suzhou River. During this round of offensive, the soldiers had to abandon their outer positions and withdraw into the warehouse. The onslaught of the Japanese army continued, and several enemy soldiers even rushed into the warehouse. In the four-line warehouse, the first bloody battle also kicked off. The third company commander, Shi Meihao, who was in charge of the door handle, was covered in flour. "His face was shot through and his face was covered in blood. He was still covering it with a towel, and he didn't leave his position." Soon after, he was also hit by a bullet in his hind leg. Seven or eight Japanese soldiers who had entered the warehouse were seen by Zhang Qiuming. At this time, he was the only one guarding the post, and the others were strengthening the second fortification inside.
This is the second provocation of death. Although he has experienced a hail of bullets on the Zhabei battlefield in the past two months, the imminent crisis still makes him fearful. He gently climbed into the sack, but his body Trembling involuntarily:
"I hugged the pillar tightly without shaking, and at the same time slowly raised the gun, with the upper end against my face and the lower end against my butt, and touched my waist. I put it in without breath, poked a hole in the sack, and aimed the muzzle at the enemy. The sound of guns and guns bombarded outside. At this time, I heard it especially loud, terrible, and my body was hot, as if immersed in boiling water. , my skin was burning, and everything I could see from the sack was terrifying and hideous. I waited and waited for the opportunity for them to gather by the door. The 'pat pat pat' gun was fired, and three or four enemies fell in response. On the ground, the rest fled in embarrassment. I breathed a sigh of relief."
Zhang Qiuming's witty act of escaping and killing the enemy was praised in unison by his compatriots. Although the sound of the shooting broke his nerves, it was the most glorious thing in his life. But for the soldier who escaped death, the deepest impression was the tragic sacrifice of a comrade he witnessed:
"There is a comrade, very old, surrounded by seven or eight grenades, and holding one in his hand, he climbed to the highest building, look, when he saw a group of enemies coming, he jumped down, and the grenade was thrown out at the same time. The enemy is dead, and he himself is sacrificed."
This story of jumping from a high-rise building with a bomb attached and dying with the enemy was the most tragic scene in the battle of the Sixing Warehouse. In addition to Zhang Qiuming's mention of this in an interview a year after the battle, he also received support from at least two of his comrades. In his memory 54 years later, a veteran named Zhang Weiyuan mentioned that the sacrificed comrade was named Chen Shusheng. He tied a bomb to his body and jumped from the window on the sixth floor, but it was not only the enemy who was killed. But an enemy tank. Another veteran named Jiao Yousan recalled in his memories 50 years later that not only Chen Shusheng had jumped off with a bomb, but at least Zhang Qiumin and Yang Shunguang had also killed more than 200 enemy troops. The lower floors have also gone from sixth to seventh - but as pointed out earlier, the warehouse itself is only five floors.
Therefore, some researchers doubt the authenticity of this detail. They pointed out that the windows of the warehouse were equipped with metal grids at the time, and it was impossible to smash the glass in a hurry. Moreover, the windows of the upper floors could not be fully opened due to the special design of the warehouse, and naturally they did not. Space for an adult to jump out.
Therefore, this story of jumping out of a window with a bomb tied to it is a myth made up by some tabloid media who do not understand the structure of the warehouse to promote the bravery of the four-line defenders. These myths spread and even infiltrate the memories of experienced veterans, creating false memories mixed with real memories.
But if you look closely at the ins and outs, you will find that this tragic sacrifice story has already spread, at least in the month following the end of the battle. In the first edition of the album "Eight Hundred Heroes Guarding Zhabei" in November 1937, the editor Zhao Jingshen had already told this story: "When a soldier in our army caught a glimpse of his death, the grenade bullet was tied to his waist, and it burst from the sixth floor. Leap down, a burst of blue smoke, the enemy and me together with the fireworks."
Zhao Jingshen specifically stated in the preface that although this book was originally drafted before he left Sixing alone, he deliberately waited until after he had withdrawn from Sixing warehouse, and asked Battalion Commander Yang Ruifu, who commanded the battle, to modify and add the content in person. , to be printed. Therefore, at least in terms of authenticity, this story should be recognized by those who experienced it. Zhang Qiuming's memory a year later, although no name was mentioned, retells the story again.
Looking at Yang Ruifu's account, you will find that he and Zhang Qiuming have one thing in common, that is, Yang Ruifu arranged for the soldiers to throw grenades down and Zhang Qiuming saw the places where his comrades jumped off the building with bombs tied up, both on the top floor. Therefore, instead of jumping out of a window, the victim jumped from the roof and perished with the enemy.
Whatever the ultimate truth of the story, casualties haunt the defenders, swooping down to test their nerves from time to time. On October 28, at three o'clock in the afternoon, the second bloody battle began in a drizzle. The number of casualties is increasing rapidly, but the rudimentary conditions of the warehouse cannot provide them with the necessary treatment. A soldier named Zhou Fuqi could only watch the wounded comrades groan in pain with his comrades, "They died one by one, but we had nothing to do. Some of the wounded even asked comrades to give him a shot to end his death as soon as possible. pain."
Conditions are getting tougher. It was not until nine o'clock in the evening that they found a phone, contacted the outside world, and asked for the assistance of the British and American troops stationed in the concession area, which was close at hand, to transport the wounded soldiers into the concession area for treatment. Before the wounded soldiers left, Yang Ruifu specifically told them that if someone asked how many people there were in the Sixing Warehouse, "Let's say there are 800 people, and never say that there are only one battalion, lest the enemy know that we are small and even more vicious." ——The myth of "Eight Hundred Heroes" was born.
At the same time, there was also a bundle of letters bundled together - this is the suicide note written by the soldiers in the warehouse. Most of the Chinese soldiers were of humble origin and were barely literate. Zhou Fuqi recalled that at that time, he could only ask his literate compatriots to help write, "it was nothing more than some words of relief for his parents". Some soldiers can't even write their names, they can only bite their fingers and put their handprints where they should be signed - if they die, this is the only relic they will leave in the world.
But there are also some educated soldiers, when faced with the imminent death, they use short but affectionate pen and ink to leave their last words in the world:
"Now we are staying here; we must die when we die, but I want a chance. When I die, it will change the lives of more than 20 Japanese soldiers. Wife: Don't think about me coming back, and don't think about my whole corpse. The child is still young, this is my suspense. But I and you are both educated, I am fortunate to not have to worry about your future life, I cut the thread of my own life, you put away your tears. Farewell. "
donate
popular desire
The word "death" flashed through Qin Ge's mind. A few words popped out of his mind: "We have shed the last drop of blood, and fought to the last breath for our beloved motherland!" But before he could hum, a young child next to him couldn't help but sing more and more happily : "The future is infinitely bright! Go up..."
"Hey! Don't sing!"
An angry shout from the driver cut off the singing. Except for the sound of the engine, there was silence all around.
It was half past eight at night, and the twilight was deep. Although the concession during the war was not as prosperous as before, it was still brightly lit compared to Zhabei, which was shrouded in darkness and dead on the other side of the river. Looking at Zhabei in the distance, you can only see the unextinguished war in the ruins. And the flickering light in the four-line warehouse-in order to prevent the enemy from snooping, Yang Ruifu ordered to break all the lights on the first day of entering the warehouse. It was the kerosene lamps illuminating the fortifications of the four lines of lonely soldiers who had never been able to sleep, rushing to build fortifications before the enemy's surprise attack the next day.
The three trucks drove all the way to the north, and the further north they went, "the night became more desolate and tragic. On the road near the north, only a few shadows of patrolling were moving in the faint light." They have reached the Junk Bridge leading from the concession to Zhabei. The British garrison knew the purpose of these vehicles, and they pulled the barbed wire in the middle to clear the way. The car slid slowly into the darkness across the bridge. The coachmen drove the vehicle to the lightest and slowest speed, turning off the front and rear lights, so as not to attract the attention of the enemy. But even so, there was still an annoying sound coming from the bottom of the car, making Qin Ge and other companions' hearts "suddenly heavy like molten lead."
Qin Ge and his party went to Zhabei so anxiously at night, and the risks they took were not fantasy. What they have undertaken is a dangerous and arduous task, delivering the supplies that the people helped to the four lines alone during the day to the warehouse at night. Although the Sixing warehouse occupied by the lone army was abundant in materials, and there was no shortage of rice and grain, other materials were quite scarce. It is very likely that the enemy troops cut off the water supply, which made it difficult for the warehouse defenders to even have basic washing and drinking water. Yang Ruifu had to order all sewage and urine to be collected and stored properly for firefighting purposes. Naturally there is no excess water to cook food. Since the running water was cut off, the soldiers continued to fight for two days in a row, but no grain of rice came in. They are in desperate need of food and water supplies. And these are the best and most willing actions of the people who stood in the safe zone on the other side of the river to watch the battle across the water during the day.
The scene of donating supplies to the Si Xing Solitary Army may be one of the most passionate scenes in the war. It fully reflects the enthusiasm of the people to fight against the war by no means a few slogans shouting, but actually doing what they can. Since Qin Ge and his comrades opened the back office, the telephones in the office have been endless. When I come here, I almost think of opening a large-scale department store." The variety is dazzling to the point of dazzling, "Drinks include beer, soda, fresh orange juice, Coca-Cola, and food includes light cakes, bread, biscuits, steamed buns, Cakes, coffee, sugar, bamboo shoots braised in oil, assorted vegetables, jackfruit, fruit, eggs, milk, salt, sugar…”, even including cod liver oil and white fungus, which were expensive at the time.
Donors also cover all strata of society, from big businessmen to peddlers. There were apprentices of destitute old-fashioned stores, clerks of new-style stores, many lovely children and young ladies, rich people bought them in bulk with their bank deposits, and workers bought them with their hard-earned money. Among the donors, including all the refugees in the refugee shelter, they launched a one-day hunger strike and donated the food money they saved to the lonely soldiers.
This kind of enthusiastic donation movement by the whole people is behind the reshaping of the image of soldiers in modern China. In traditional China, the occupation of soldiers has always been regarded as a low-level occupation for low-level people. The so-called "Qiu Ba" is a contempt for soldiers. Since the end of the Qing Dynasty, the reality of the continuous disaster of the soldiers and the melee of the warlords has also caused the public's impression of the soldiers to fall again and again. They think they are just a group of bandits who kill and loot for their jobs. The only difference between a soldier and a robbery bandit is that the former wears a uniform during the robbery. In the 1920s, one commentator pointed out that one of China's major scourges was the "family of soldiers and bandits."
However, the Battle of Songhu completely changed the public's view of the profession of the soldier. The public watched as these uniformed men charged into battle to defend their homes, fighting hand-to-hand with the invaders. Especially in the early days of the war, those elite German guns who had received strict military training, their mighty and majestic appearance on the battlefield was overwhelming. The positive image of the national army, fighting for every inch of the country rather than grabbing turf power, was quickly shaped in the early days of the Anti-Japanese War. The Miller Review reported:
"Millions of Chinese have united and enthusiastically supported their soldiers. High-society men donate; women dress and bring condolences to the soldiers; boys and girls serve as 'boy scouts' to the best of their ability, serving soldiers on the front lines Fundraising. Now the Chinese are starting to say, this is 'our army', this is 'our warrior' and 'our hero'."
The self-consciousness of the soldiers themselves has also changed, and their allegiance is no longer a certain ruling group, but has risen to the country itself. The purpose of joining the army is no longer to serve as a soldier for food, but to protect the family and the country, which has become a common sense of modern soldiers. The traditional Chinese moral concept of "loyalty" is combined with the modern national consciousness to form the modern Chinese military concept. It is the duty of a soldier to pursue righteousness and sacrifice for the country. As Yang Ruifu wrote in his diary:
"I think: If I succeed this time, I am worthy of being a revolutionary soldier of a country... I believe that after I become a benevolent, as long as the history of the Chinese nation continues, I will definitely leave a glorious name in history. ."
……
The truck carrying the supplies finally slid outside the four-row warehouse under the cover of darkness. They climbed into a shop outside the warehouse, climbed over the pile of sandbags, and finally saw four rows of lonely soldiers waiting for supplies in the dark:
"They are so thinly dressed, with grenades hanging from their waists, their strong eyes are projected over them, like a few bright lights, they are all twenty years old, Shen Yi and brave, they have an eternal life, like the waves of the sea and the sky There were turbulent bursts. Although the devil's hand of the god of death was grabbing in front of them, there was no trace of fear or sadness."
When Qin Ge handed ... and cigarettes into their hands, the young soldiers "suddenly cried out with ecstasy, and their bodies jumped up like wild children."
bloody battle
battle not over yet
"It's a fact that you haven't slept for three days and you're mentally tired, but if we don't try our best to finish the fortification, the enemy bandits will kill us immediately. Do you want to sleep or die? In the future, if I see that I don't obey orders and sleep I will absolutely punish them severely."
Fatigue is spreading, consuming the fighting spirit of the lone soldiers. At 3:00 a.m. on October 29, when Yang Ruifu went to each company to inspect the progress of the fortifications, he found that some soldiers were exhausted and sleeping on the ground, like dead people. He had to issue a stern warning and force them to get up and continue working. But not long after, Yang Ruifu discovered that these exhausted soldiers had learned how to obey the yin and the yin. They established an offensive and defensive alliance, one slept secretly and the other kept a watch. When the battalion commander came over, he hurriedly woke the other party up. And some soldiers, even when Yang Ruifu came to supervise the work, still sat still, and said to him with a smile: "battalion commander! We just rested, and we really didn't sleep."
No one knows how long the lonely days will last. They can only try to seize every second of time. Through the newspapers sent from outside, they already knew that their perseverance here has become the focus of attention in Shanghai and even the whole world. What they shoulder is not only to defend the entire warehouse, but also the belief and determination of the people across the country to fight to the end.
But they are also very clear that the glorious image they have established in the international community has already made the Japanese army lose face. If in the first two days, the Sixing Warehouse was just a burr on the finger of the Japanese army, then now, after repeated renderings by the public opinion media, this lonely fortress with flying flags on the ruins has become a barb in the heart of the Japanese army. They could not tolerate such a small barb becoming a problem to their own hearts.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, the Japanese army launched the first wave of the general offensive, and the dense guns smashed into the warehouse, but it was blocked by the solid outer wall. A naughty soldier used a long bamboo pole to pick his steel helmet out of the window to make a prying appearance, which attracted the enemy's machine guns to focus on shooting. Became a moment of laughter in a lonely, exhausting battle. The sound of enemy gunfire continued throughout the night. But Yang Ruifu found that some extremely tired soldiers ignored the fierce artillery fire and slept sweetly on the ground.
It's finally October 30th. The fierce artillery fire even forced the British soldiers stationed on the garbage bridge to retreat. On this day, the Japanese finally fired at the wall with flat-fire guns and opened several holes. But in Yang Ruifu's view, these holes can be described as "extremely grateful". He immediately asked the soldiers to set up machine guns at the entrance of the hole and strafe where the enemy troops gathered. But that optimism didn't last long. At about 11 o'clock in the middle of the night, the Japanese army began to bombard the warehouse with heavy mortars and flat-fire artillery. "When it was the most intense, the cannons fired every second. The sound of banging broke the silence of the long night." At the most intense moment of the battle, they suddenly received an order to retreat directly from the military commander-in-chief.
It was 12 o'clock at night. The sudden retreat order was just like the original stay-at-home order, which made Yang Ruifu and Xie Jinyuan inexplicable. But they can only follow the order to withdraw from the warehouse as soon as possible. Although reading the newspapers for the past few days let these lonely soldiers know that one of the important reasons for staying behind in the warehouse is to attract the att
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