The order for a general retreat was finally issued. The troops who had lost their command retreated to Xiangguan along the relatively safe Zhongshan Road. The left and right door openings of Yijiang Gate had long been blocked. Only the central gate could pass through. The various departments were scrambling to be the first. You Fighting for each other, swarming by, tragedy happened here. Commander Xie Chengrui of the teaching corps, who led his troops to kill countless Japanese troops at Guanghuamen, and hundreds of soldiers were trampled to death. This kind of hero's death is deplorable.
Because there were too few ships, various troops rushed to get on board. Many ships sank one after another after sailing for a while. The soldiers who fell into the water struggled to call for help. Their condition was terrible. Some people saw that there were no ships to cross, so they used door panels and iron pots to cross the river by themselves. , As a result, they sank one after another in the middle of the river and were buried at the bottom of the river.
The various departments of the 74th Army organized manpower to attack the Japanese army in the south of the city in accordance with the order. Due to the insufficient strength of the Japanese army, the 51st Division paid a heavy price and broke through the Japanese encirclement. The subsequent military headquarters and the 58th Division successively broke out of the encirclement and arrived at Shuangzha Town. After seizing part of the troops here, they regained Zhonghua Gate again and eliminated a Japanese squadron and part of the artillery that broke into Zhonghua Gate. However, the 51st Division basically lost its combat effectiveness at this time. Yu Jishi, commander of the 74th Army, adjusted the deployment in time, and the 58th Division took charge. Take the lead in the assault mission and lead the entire army to break out. The 74th Army moved to Saihongqiao, Xinhe Town, and Beihe Town. There were fierce battles and heavy casualties. However, the army was fully organized, the command structure was complete, and the orders of the commanders at all levels could be implemented. These are the guarantees for the 74th Army to break through the encirclement. When the 74th Army left Saihongqiao, it also left behind the 1st Battalion of Xu Jingming of the 302nd Regiment. The battalion staged the most heroic scene of the Battle of Nanjing with blood and lives. On the 13th, the entire city of Nanjing fell, but the officers and soldiers of the 1st Battalion were still there. Under the command of Major Xu Jingming, they continued to fight alone and repelled 7 Japanese attacks. The remaining 20 people continued to fight in the city under the leadership of Major Xu, killing a large number of Japanese troops. They picked up Japanese ammunition and outnumbered the enemy. , fully developed the best qualities of the Chinese nation, no one surrendered to the Japanese army, and the battle continued until the night of the 16th. When they finally ran out of ammunition, Major Xu and the remaining three soldiers set fire to the house they were guarding and burned with their own lives. The fighting spirit of Nanjing will never fade away. Major General Guo Qi, the commander of the Japanese Army Brigade, ordered his subordinates to bury the officers and soldiers of the 1st Battalion who died in the battle. He said sadly: "Today's Chinese army is not as weak and vulnerable as it was during the civil war. , in the face of our attack, they refused to give up an inch of ground, and their brigade commander even charged with a bayonet. Such an army will definitely cause us to suffer in the near future."
When the troops arrived at the riverside, Commander Yu Jishi had already fulfilled his request to his uncle, and Minister of Transportation Yu Pengfei was preparing to launch a small steamer to transport the troops. The Japanese Tanaka Brigade, with 20 tanks as the leader, attacked the 74th Army's riverside positions with all its strength. There were more than a dozen aircraft circling and bombing the 74th munitions steamer. Fortunately, Lieutenant General Ouyang Ge commanded the torpedo boat squadron to arrive and covered the steamer transfer force with all firepower. Moreover, the Chinese army in Jiangbei used the remaining two 105mm howitzers to bombard the Japanese tanks. The Chinese soldiers on the position braved the hail of bullets from Japanese tanks and made a desperate attack, blowing up three Type 89 tanks and two Type 97 light tanks. At this time, part of the 87th Division also broke through and attacked Tanaka's brigade from the rear. Tanaka thought that Being surrounded, he hurriedly commanded the troops to retreat. Until the remnants of the 74th Army and the 87th Division had all withdrawn across the Yangtze River, they did not launch an attack.
During the retreat, the 74th Army killed 3,700 Japanese troops at the cost of 6,000 casualties. 2 regiment commanders were killed, 4 were wounded, 8 battalion commanders were killed, and 7 battalion commanders were wounded.
Tang Shengzhi's play came to an end. Fires were burning in many places in Nanjing at night. Gunshots and cannons were heard from time to time, and more screams. At this moment, Tang Shengzhi regretted that he had to defend Nanjing and went out. What kind of limelight was gone now? It not only harmed himself, but also harmed the people of Nanjing and so many soldiers. He regretted it, but it was too late.
The guard battalion commander and the commander of the 2nd Gendarmerie Regiment, Cao Da, hurriedly walked in from outside, "Commander, the vehicles are ready." Cao Da also advised Tang Shengzhi, "Commander, leave quickly, the Japanese army will come in too late." , if we go now, we can still cross the river."
Tang Shengzhi grabbed his hat, looked at the messy headquarters, looked at the documents and maps scattered on the ground, walked out of the headquarters, and got into his car without raising his head. The guard battalion commander held the door with one hand and Holding a submachine gun in one hand, he was dangling in the air, shouting: "Get out of the way, get out of my way." The black car with the admiral's flag and a long list of other headquarters vehicles kept shouting Using the trumpet, he slowly pushed through the retreating soldiers and civilians and headed straight for Xiaguan. From the car window, he looked at the soldiers and citizens retreating on foot on both sides. What he saw on their faces was despair, frustration and pessimism.
When the car arrived at Xiaguan, it was already past 10 o'clock in the evening, and Song Xilian personally greeted Tang Shengzhi at the pier.
When Tang Shengzhi got out of the car, he took a step forward and said, "Commander Tang, the steamer is ready. When will you cross the river?" Tang Shengzhi slowly turned around and stared at this miserable building again. In the city, troops of the 36th Division are maintaining order around the pier. Countless wounded soldiers and citizens are helplessly surrounding the cordon, pushing the officers and soldiers of the 36th Division, hoping to squeeze into the pier and board a steamer to evacuate to the other side. , but the soldiers of the 36th Division did not give in, and pushed hard to push out the defeated officers and soldiers. Abuse, crying, screams, and gunshots filled Tang Shengzhi's brain. He could no longer bear to watch this human tragedy. After boarding the steamer, a fire broke out in a house not far from the dock. With the help of the fire, two Japanese planes swooped down and dropped two bombs. The water column rising into the sky splashed Tang Shengzhi all over. The guard battalion commander and Cao Da blocked Tang Shengzhi, and Tang Shengzhi shouted angrily: "You just let me be bombed to death by a Japanese plane." Cao Da: "Commander, keep Qingshan here, don't worry about not having firewood, we will make a comeback. Chance." Tang Shengzhi knew very well that he was afraid that he would never have any hope of making a comeback this time. The shore of Jiangbei was slowly approaching. Tang Shengzhi set foot on the land of Jiangbei and never looked at Nanjing again. He would never have the chance to see Nanjing again. In July 1938, after a military court trial, he and more than a dozen others A number of national army generals who had neglected their duty during the Battle of Nanjing were executed together.
After Tang Shengzhi escaped, Song Xilian, the commander of the 36th Division, immediately took a steamship to cross the Yangtze River. Most of the soldiers of the 36th Division also crossed the Yangtze River on a steamship. The loss was not great. However, two steamships were attacked by Japanese aircraft while crossing. It was bombed and strafed, hit by bombs and sank, and all the soldiers on board were killed. The soldiers and civilians waiting on the dock were brutally killed by the Japanese troops who arrived. As many as 50,000 people were killed. The river was dyed red with blood, and corpses were floating all over the river. , flowing down the river, its misery beyond words.
At this critical moment, the Wuming Brigade had used up all its fuel and was no longer able to cover the retreating troops.
Around 11 o'clock, the Japanese Coast Guard Brigade reoccupied Pukou, blocking the Nanjing defenders' final retreat route. Nanjing's last moment inevitably arrived.
Cao Lei's tank unit still had 4 No. 1 tanks and 1 No. 2 tank at their disposal. They drove the tanks to Xiaguan and participated in the final battle of Xiaguan. After running out of bullets, they were lucky enough to meet Lieutenant General Ouyang Ge. , accompanied them to the naval anchorage near Xiaguan, preparing to command the torpedo boats to break out. Cao Lei reported the enemy situation to Ouyang Ge, and Ouyang Ge decided that the boats would line up in a single column and rush through the enemy's fire net as quickly as possible to Datong Sandbank to stand by. . In order to block the torpedo boats from breaking out, the Japanese machine guns and artillery fired wildly in an attempt to intercept the torpedo boats. Although many people were shot and killed, each boat tried its best to suppress the Japanese firepower and braved the Japanese artillery fire to sail upstream. At this time, in the city of Nanjing The flames were soaring into the sky. Lieutenant General Ouyang Ge sent a message to the Chongqing Supreme Military Commission, saying that it was as far as he could see.
"Every inch of mountains and rivers is filled with tears of sadness."
The city of Nanjing suffered the greatest disaster at this moment. Countless Chinese soldiers and citizens fell into the hands of the brutal Japanese army and were brutally killed.
"Order that in future battles, the troops under the jurisdiction and command of the Republic of China will never allow the capture and retention of any Japanese troops fighting in the Nanjing area. Any violation of this order will be punished by military law. The Supreme Court of the Republic of China Military Commission.”
The first kill order in Chinese military history was promulgated.
