On the evening of November 8, 1937, the Supreme Command of the Nationalist Government issued a general withdrawal order.
However, the retreat order was obviously too late at this time, because at the time when the order was issued, the 10th Army commanded by the Japanese Army Yanagawa Heisuke not only attacked Songjiang, Pingwang Town, and Jiaxing with one unit, but also used the main force to attack Songjiang, Pingwang Town, and Jiaxing. Assemble near Jinshan. At the same time, the 114th Division and the troops directly under the corps are near Jinshan. The 6th Division uses part of its combat troops to advance into Pingwang Town. The main force is assembled on the Songjiang line. The 18th Division also commands the left detachment to capture Fengfeng. Jingzhen, prepare to advance to Jiaxing.
The national army troops on the entire front, whether on the left, center or right, received orders to retreat on the night of November 8th to 9th. Almost at the same time, the retreat order was out of control.
What's even worse is that the out-of-control retreating troops of the left wing and the central corps did not retreat according to the prescribed route, but retreated westward along the Anting line, making the situation even worse.
In terms of military common sense, judging whether an army is well-trained depends not only on whether ordinary soldiers follow orders and prohibitions, but also on whether the commander-in-chief is good at organizing attacks and retreats, and whether middle- and lower-level officers have the ability to organize the troops well. Advance and retreat.
Especially in terms of retreat organization, tens of millions of people gathered on the front line. If the organization is improper, the retreat is likely to turn into a rout. There is an example of "Fu Jian Feishui Defeat" in history.
When the high command ordered the general retreat from Songhu, hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops scrambled to seize the road, and the order was chaotic, so much so that their combat capabilities were completely lost in the rout.
This is the most distressing part.
In the past three months, hundreds of thousands of Chinese soldiers fought bloody battles, fought to the death, and fought against the Japanese army. Although they suffered heavy casualties, their morale was still high and their combat discipline was good.
Even if most of an army is lost, it can be withdrawn for a while to reorganize and replenish before fighting again. After all, as long as the morale remains, the military spirit of this army will still be there.
However, from the moment the order to retreat was received on the 8th to the moment of the great rout, within a few days, hundreds of thousands of the elite divisions who had fought bloody battles with the Japanese army for nearly a hundred days were lost, and military discipline was completely lost.
National Army, Left Wing Corps.
When the retreat order was issued on the night of November 8, the pressure on the left-wing corps was still relatively small. Therefore, the commander of the Third Theater Command requested that all units of the left-wing corps must still stick to their original positions to cover the retreat of the right-wing combat army. The 74th Army 51 The division used Qiu Weida's 306th Regiment to occupy Qingpu to cover the retreat of the left-wing corps.
In other words, the 306th Regiment is the rearmost unit of the entire national army.
At this time, due to the extremely backward communication methods of the Chinese army, in order to ensure that most of the troops could receive the order to retreat, human communication became the most important method.
Military agents became the "main force" in conveying orders.
From the perspective of a modern man like Meng Shaoyuan, the way these military agents convey orders is a bit ridiculous and comical, but more of it is sad.
They rushed everywhere, shouting "Retreat, retreat, the Supreme Command orders the entire army to retreat!"
Except for those troops serving as cover, more than half of the troops on the Songhu battlefield received retreat orders in this way.
The order given by Dai Li himself was: "Run every corner of the battlefield. Even if you run to death, you must do everything possible to deliver the order to every company and platoon."
These military agents jumped up and down, running from night to day, and were still running on the battlefield.
Some agents were running when a bomb fell and their whole bodies were blown into the air. They were already torn apart when they landed.
Some agents fell to the ground while running and never got up again.
Some agents worked hard to deliver the retreat order to a certain company commander who was fighting a bloody battle with the Japanese army. The company commander didn't even think about it and just slapped him:
"Asshole, retreat? Just retreat, the battalion commander ordered us to defend to the end!"
In fact, even he himself didn't know where his battalion commander was at this time.
The agent, whose face was so painful from being beaten, ignored his grievance and knelt down with a bang: "Company Commander, it's true, it's true, the retreat order issued by the Supreme Command! My name is Chen Youde, and this is mine. Certificate, I want to fake the order, you kill my whole family. I beg you, please, retreat quickly!"
That's it.
So original and simple.
It's a mess, it's a mess.
After receiving the order to cover the retreat, the 306th Regiment hurriedly assembled and marched in the direction of Qingpu and Songjiang, preparing to block the 10th Japanese Army Corps that was bypassing from the south of Shanghai and cover the retreat of the entire western Shanghai battlefield. .
However, when the troops passed the Beijing-Shanghai Railway, the 306th Regiment began to be bombed and strafed by Japanese aircraft. Therefore, it was not until the early morning of November 9 that the 306th Regiment arrived at Zhujiajiao Town, west of Qingpu, but at this time news came that no one expected:
Songjiang was already under Japanese attack and had probably fallen.
The 306th Regiment could only make a temporary decision to use Zhujiajiao Town as a stronghold, establish cover positions, build fortifications, and prepare to fight against the Japanese troops encircling Songjiang.
At this time, because many divisions of the Japanese Army's 10th Army and the Shanghai Expeditionary Army were advancing here, especially the 6th Division, which came with the power of new victory, the 306th Regiment's mere team strength was the fundamental It could not withstand the Japanese onslaught.
Therefore, the regiment commander Qiu Weida decided to use mobile defense, resist one after another, and establish large-depth positions to delay the Japanese attack and gain more time to cover the retreat of the troops in western Shanghai.
The day of November 9th was peaceful with almost no fighting.
Using this day, the 306th Regiment built multiple positions on the defensive front and improved the position foundations such as fortifications, bunkers, and firepower points.
From the morning of the 10th, the Japanese army began to launch an offensive in the area west of Qingpu from the Songjiang line. At noon that day, after the Japanese army had an initial engagement with the 306th Regiment at the cover position outside Zhujiajiao Town, they found that the Chinese army on the Zhujiajiao front line only had one team, so they launched a fierce attack, using two infantry brigades to attack the 306th Regiment. The 306th Regiment launched a roundabout encirclement.
After discovering the Japanese army's intention, Qiu Weida ordered to fight while retreating, using deep positions to resist step by step and delay the Japanese attack.
That night, the 306th Regiment retreated to Qingpu County and stood there to resist the Japanese attack. The Japanese 6th Division launched a fierce attack on Qingpu County.
The 306th Regiment used the city wall as cover and resisted tenaciously.
The battle was so brutal that it was unimaginable.
"Retreat, retreat!"
At this moment, a voice sounded over Qingpu.
"Who! Who the hell ordered the retreat!"
Yin Yuanzhi, commander of the 2nd Battalion who was directing the battle at the front line, yelled angrily.
"I am Meng Shaoyuan!"
Braving fierce artillery fire, Meng Shaoyuan rushed in front of Yin Yuanzhi: "Military Commander Colonel Meng Shaoyuan, I want to see your regiment commander, I want to see regiment commander Qiu Weida!"
"Come here, take this agent to see the leader!"
At this time, Qiu Weida, the commander of the 306th Regiment, and the regiment headquarters were under crazy attack from Japanese artillery fire.
When he heard the word "retreat", Qiu Weida suddenly became angry: "Fart, I just received the task of serving as the rear guard of the entire army and sniping at the Japanese army, why do I have to retreat!"
"Captain Qiu, it's in chaos, it's all in chaos, Baihe Port was lost yesterday!"
"What?" Qiu Weida took out his pistol and pointed it at Meng Shaoyuan's head: "Say it again!"
Baihe Port is a flank cover position. If this place is lost, it will be meaningless for the 306th Regiment to continue to stay here.
"It's lost, it's really lost!" Meng Shaoyuan's voice was a little hoarse: "The Japanese army's advance speed far exceeded imagination. Yesterday, the 174th Brigade of the 58th Division fought bloody and hard, but still failed to stop the Japanese army. The brigade commander Wu Jiguang was killed in action , Baihe Port has fallen into the hands of the Japanese army, and your troops, who hold the rear position, are actually behind enemy lines now!"
Qiu Weida's body shook.
The left-wing regiment is the covering position of the entire army, and the own 306 regiment is the rear unit of the entire army.
But now, his unit, the rearmost unit, is actually trapped behind enemy lines?
"Commander Qiu, all our military commanders are dispatched, and I, the colonel director, are here." Meng Shaoyuan roared there: "It is meaningless to continue to hold on to Qingpu. If calculated according to the current time, the Japanese forward troops are already ahead. You have a day's journey.
The Luo Zhuoying Command of the 15th Group Army and the Xue Yue Command of the 19th Group Army have the possibility of being breached by the Japanese army. Maybe as we speak, the two officers are already fighting hand-to-hand with the Japanese troops! There are no more orders, Commander Qiu, there are no more orders. The last order we received is for you to retreat! Withdraw. "
He gasped: "Kunshan is not safe anymore. Commander Qiu, I will show you the safest retreat route. After you break out, you can carry out guerrilla operations."
"Come here!" Qiu Weida yelled: "Give me the order to retreat! Map, map! Colonel Meng, tell me how to get to Kunshan!"
"You want to go to Kunshan?"
"Yes, as an officer, I must not change the battle plan without receiving direct orders from my superiors. My mission is to retreat to Kunshan after completing the cover mission." Qiu Weida was very stubborn: "Colonel Meng, please .”
Meng Shaoyuan felt helpless. He pointed to the map and said: "Retreat from here and march for an hour. There will be a trail. When you get here, find a guide. It is safest to walk along the trail. You can reach Kunshan in about two days." "
"Okay!" Qiu Weida put away the map: "Colonel Meng, come with us."
"I can't." Meng Shaoyuan shook his head.
"Why?" Qiu Weida was startled.
Meng Shaoyuan laughed miserably: "Because I still have five hundred brothers who are trapped in the enemy's camp."
"Five hundred brothers?"
Meng Shaoyuan nodded slowly.
It comes in time, it should come in time.
Hope, it should be too late, right?
