The 145th Regiment of the 25th Division was the last to withdraw from the position, and they were also the troops guarding the flank positions.
Their regiment had suffered more than half their casualties. Since reinforcements failed to arrive in time, they could only retreat under the unified arrangements of the division headquarters.
Because they were afraid of being discovered by the Japanese army as they retreated, they naturally took extra care to avoid exposing themselves to bright lights or making loud noises.
But even so, it was impossible for hundreds of people to march in the dark without making a sound. There were rustling footsteps, the clash of weapons, and occasionally soldiers slipping on the mountain road.
The entire 17th Army was fighting the Japanese army at Gubeikou this time. The Nationalist Government issued a death order to defend the Japanese army from Gubeikou.
You must know that the front line of the Great Wall is the gateway to North China. If the front line of the Great Wall falls into the hands of the Japanese army, then the Japanese army can spy on Peiping.
In the eyes of someone in the current National Government, the three and even the fourth northeastern provinces can be lost. After all, they are not their own territory. However, if the Japanese army attacks Peiping, it will threaten their own safety.
How could the 17th Army, as a direct line force of the Nanjing government, risk life and death?
Isn’t that what war is all about? It does not mean that you will definitely win if you are not afraid of death. The entire 25th Division on the Gubeikou front line has already suffered heavy casualties. Knowing that it will be futile to resist any longer, we can only withdraw to preserve the strength of the 25th Division.
No matter what happens in the future, the 25th Division was also defeated this time, and the 145th Regiment was naturally defeated.
Although they are now retreating to Nantianmen, which is thirty miles away from Gubeikou in the south, the first line of the Great Wall has finally been lost. In other words, the longest pass that has guarded the Central Plains since ancient times has been lost. The fallen are determined to kill The enemy is no longer able to serve the country, how can the survivors not feel heavy?
The troops had been marching in this heavy atmosphere for more than an hour. The last soldier in the last company of the 145th Regiment couldn't help but look back at the dark twilight as the troops marched.
The night was deep, everything was pitch black, and the Daoguan Mountain had long since melted into the darkness.
The reason why he looked back was just because he was thinking about his comrades who had died in battle. There were only one class left in each of their platoons.
Although he has no education, in two days, those people who were once so vivid in front of him were separated from him. How could he not feel sad?
But just as he was turning around, he suddenly heard some kind of sound behind him.
No way? Hearing the voice behind him, he couldn't help but get excited.
He was the last person to withdraw from the position, so how could other voices appear behind him?
Is it haunted? But the soldier's first thought when he heard the voice behind him was immediately rejected.
Before he joined the army, he really believed that there were ghosts in the world.
But after he experienced the war, especially this battle with the Japanese army, he no longer believed that there were ghosts in the world.
If there are ghosts in this world, then there aren't any ghosts floating around on the flank position where he has been defending in the past two days!
Thinking of this, he stopped and listened again. This time he was right, there were indeed footsteps behind him.
Didn't the little devil catch up again?
Thinking of this, he quickly turned back and trotted forward.
It was just that he ran into the person in front of him after running a few steps.
"What are you doing? You're so careless!" The person who was hit scolded him in a low voice.
That was a platoon commander of their company and the highest remaining commander of their company.
"Platoon Leader Sun, listen, there is a sound behind you! Is it the little Jaap who is following us?" the soldier quickly reported in a low voice.
When Platoon Leader Sun heard what he said, he stopped and began to listen. Sure enough, he heard the faint sound of footsteps not far away on the mountain they had just passed.
"It's okay, the sentry from Mao'er Mountain must be back!" Platoon Leader Sun guessed, and then he lectured the soldier, "Where did the Japanese devils come from? Do you think those little Japanese dare to fight with us in a night battle?"
"Oh," the soldier responded and stopped talking, so he continued to move forward with the troops.
He knew about Mao'er Mountain, because when he was guarding his position in the past two days, he heard gunshots coming from the direction of Mao'er Mountain.
He knew that when a battle was about to begin, the regiment sent a checkpoint consisting of seven people in the direction of Mao'er Mountain.
But those seven people were not from their company.
And just before dark, he saw some soldiers secretly heading towards Mao'er Mountain to signal the people at the checkpoint to retreat.
Since the platoon leader said that he was one of his own, and that this was really the case, the soldier felt relieved and continued walking at night with the rest of the group.
As the team moved forward, the footsteps behind them got closer and closer, but at this time, the soldier felt something was wrong.
Does he think something is wrong?
He suddenly felt that the sound of footsteps was wrong. This was a mountainous area. When walking, it was a mountain road, and sometimes the mountain road was inevitably made of rocks.
Different shoes make different sounds when walking on mountain roads.
For example, the shoes worn by the soldiers of the 145th Regiment are all rubber-soled shoes. The shoes are relatively comfortable to wear, very light, and the soles are moderately soft and hard. They also make a rustling sound when walking on the mountain road.
But now he heard the "dang-dang" sound in the footsteps behind him, like the sound of metal hitting stone slabs.
Although the sound was not very loud, he could confirm that it was definitely not the sound of rubber-soled shoes stepping on stones.
"Platoon Leader Sun, that's not right!" The soldier called to the commander again.
"What's wrong?" Platoon Leader Sun asked a little unhappily.
"Listen to the sound from behind again. Why doesn't it sound like the sound of our shoes stepping on rocks?" the soldier reported quickly.
"Huh?" Upon hearing what the soldier said, Platoon Leader Sun also stopped and began to listen.
After listening for a moment, his expression changed slightly in the darkness.
You can't blame the soldier for being careless. The "dang-dang" sound he heard mixed with the footsteps behind him was definitely not a sound that the soldiers of the 25th Division could make.
The sound was more similar to the sound made by leather boots with heels stepping on stones.
But at first he judged that the soldiers who were chasing after him were people from the Maoershan sentry post. This was wrong!
A total of 7 people came, all ordinary soldiers. How could any of them wear leather boots?
Thinking of this, Platoon Leader Sun felt a warning sign. He whispered to the soldier, and then he quickened his pace and moved forward.
The footsteps of those chasing the large troops behind did not stop because of this, but they continued to rush forward. At this time, the soldier had already picked up the rifle in his hand.
In a matter of life and death, it's better to be careful!
A few minutes later, amidst the sounds of chasing footsteps, a shout came from the front: "Stop and don't move! If you dare to move, we will shoot! Which part?"
Just after this shout, the footsteps behind him suddenly stopped, and then someone loudly replied: "Don't shoot your own people!"
"Which one of you is one of your own?" someone shouted again in the darkness.
Even my own accent smelled like dirt!
The 145th Regiment belongs to the 25th Division, which belongs to the 17th Army. Most of their soldiers come from the south.
The accents of southerners are naturally different from those of northerners. It is normal for them to call grandma "lǎilǎi" and call drinks "drinking urine".
There is nothing funny about this. China has too many people and many dialects!
"Don't shoot, don't shoot, we are from the Northeast Army!" At this time, someone from behind answered loudly, but it was Mr. Wang's voice. Shang Zhen and the others finally caught up.
Shang Zhen and the others were lucky.
They moved over from the flank position, just in time to catch up with the 25th Division that had withdrawn from the position, so they did not fall into the enemy's double-team.
They think they should be the last group of soldiers to go back, so they feel lucky, but are they really the last group?
