When Zhang Tianhai, Guo Qiliang and others desperately ran to Suzhou, Suzhou had become an empty city. The streets were deserted and quiet. Only the geese flying south were left croaking and screaming when they passed by in the air. This once gentle city The Jiangnan water town seems to be dead.
It was already dusk on the 17th, the doors and windows on the street were closed, and no one could be seen. However, the antique buildings around were quite interesting. At this time, Zhang Tianhai could not care less about admiring these scenery. He had to go He led the remaining officers and soldiers of the first battalion to join the main force of the division. Looking at the hungry and emaciated officers and soldiers behind him, you can tell how they have been here in the past few days.
If it weren't for the fact that the people's homes along the way didn't have some leftover food left over from being moved away in the future, they would have starved to death long ago.
Zhang Tianhai sent people to check the situation and found out that almost all the people in Suzhou had fled, and even many military and political agencies had moved away. Occasionally I saw one or two people staying behind, and they said that these military and political agencies had already withdrawn to Wuhan.
"Brother Yulin, what should we do? We can't find the main force of Master Zuo. Our situation is very embarrassing..." Guo Qiliang reminded Zhang Tianhai, after all, no matter how disciplined their troops are, people have to eat. If you don't have enough food to eat, it's easy for problems to arise.
Zhang Tianhai thought for a moment, gritted his teeth and said, "Let's go to the telephone office and have a look. If we can't find anyone there again, we'll run directly to Nanjing."
After saying that, Zhang Tianhai led the officers and soldiers of the first battalion and ran towards the Suzhou Telephone Exchange.
The telephone exchange is located in the middle of Suzhou City. It is a small two-story building and a very typical ancient city building. Since the communication facilities in this era are very backward, radio stations are very rare. Generally, only the division, brigade and regiment level are equipped with one. Wired telephones are a relatively common communication tool in this era, so the establishment of telephone exchanges It becomes particularly important.
After hurriedly running to the telephone office, Zhang Tianhai finally met the large troops of the 36th Division, and finally met the long-lost regiment leader Hu Jiaji.
After seeing Hu Jiaji, Zhang Tianhai finally let go of the big stone in his heart: by following the large army, at least he didn't have to worry about the officers and soldiers of this battalion starving to death on the road or having soldiers snatch food.
When Hu Jiaji saw Zhang Tianhai, he felt a little more relaxed. After all, he had single-handedly promoted Zhang Tianhai. It would be a pity if such a very appetizing general died in the battle behind the scenes.
Hu Jiaji told Zhang Tianhai that the commander had received an order from Commander Gu, who was in charge of commanding Gu Zhutong in Wuxi, and was to continue westward to Wuxi to meet Commander Gu.
"Wuxi? Do you want to leave immediately?" Zhang Tianhai took a deep breath and said. To be honest, he couldn't bear it anymore, let alone the more than 300 officers and soldiers of the first battalion behind him, running from Shanghai to Suzhou. It has been almost more than a week, and everyone's bodies have reached their limits. If they don't rest for a few hours before taking action, their bodies will collapse.
Hu Jiaji shook his head and said, "No, the master ordered us to find a place to rest for a few hours. Brothers are too tired."
After hearing this, Zhang Tianhai finally breathed a heavy sigh of relief, and then let the troops rest on the spot. Many officers and soldiers sat down and fell asleep, even Zhang Tianhai was no exception... There was no way, they really too tired.
The departure order was issued at nine o'clock in the evening. After receiving the departure order, Zhang Tianhai let his officers and soldiers eat the distributed dry food and water, and then rested for nearly 20 minutes before setting off.
Hu Jiaji didn't say much about Zhang Tianhai's delay in executing orders at a critical period. He could also understand Zhang Tianhai. After all, Zhang Tianhai and the others were the last troops to join together, and they fought the most critical battle in Shanghai. war.
This time, Zhang Tianhai and others never broke away from the large force of the 36th Division, but just ran at the back of the team.
It was already noon the next day when we arrived in Wuxi. After arriving in Wuxi, Song Xilian ordered the troops to rest on the spot, and then took the guard company directly to the Wuxi Chief's Office to meet with Chief Gu. (Note: Song Xilian is the army commander and division commander, and has a special Jeep off-road vehicle to ride in.)
"Sir Gu, led by Song Xilian, who is of humble rank, come to report to Chief Gu." After seeing Gu Zhutong, Song Xilian immediately saluted with a military salute.
Gu Zhutong nodded with a heavy face and said: "Yin Guo (pseudonym of Song Xilian), regardless of the relationship between superiors and subordinates, you and I can be considered old friends. Let's make a long story short. The Military Commission ordered your Thirty-sixth Division Drive to Nanjing immediately, and the vehicles transporting the troops are ready. Your 36th Division will drive to Nanjing immediately!"
"Sir Gu, can you tell me how corrupt the situation on the frontline battlefield has become?" Song Xilian said seriously.
Speaking of this issue, Gu Zhutong's already heavy face became even heavier. He said: "This time the retreat of the Shanghai battlefield troops was very hasty. Many troops were in such a mess that they could not occupy the position as planned. To prevent the Japanese army from advancing westward, the Japanese 9th, 13th, and 16th divisions are advancing westward at full speed. The situation is very urgent. Even Suzhou fell at 5 o'clock in the morning today. Wuxi is probably about to fall... "
After hearing this, Song Xilian clenched his fists tightly and soon released them. He just let out a long sigh and said: "I didn't expect that the situation on the frontline battlefield has deteriorated so much. In fact, it is a tragedy for our soldiers. That's all. I will lead the army right now." The remaining troops of the Thirty-sixth Division should return to Nanjing!"
"By the way, how many people are left in your Thirty-sixth Division now?" Gu Zhutong asked.
"The officers and soldiers of the Thirty-sixth Division are below me, and there are still more than 3,400 people left. The battle between Lu and Songhu lasted more than three months, and our division suffered heavy casualties." Song Xilian looked very solemn. The situation on the front line is so critical. How many people can laugh? Have to come out? Commander Gu's words were a bit euphemistic, but he also heard that many troops had lost their command, and he didn't even know which troops were where or what they were doing.
There are not many troops who can find superiors like the 36th Division. In fact, the chaos of this retreat is very rare in the history of war: hundreds of thousands of large regiments retreated, and they could neither carry out organized resistance one after another. The enemy's actions were delayed and there was no clear retreat goal, causing each unit to work independently and desperately retreat in detail. The theater headquarters did not know the location of many troops, which made the enemy feel as if they were in an uninhabited territory. Commanders at all levels did not have appropriate retreat arrangements and were unable to effectively control the troops. They should be held responsible for the loss of divisions and ground.
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