Chapter 91: Heroic Sacrifice For The Nation
On the morning of March 17, 1938, just as the sky began to show a faint white light, a thin mist still enveloped the sleeping town.
The dirt road, which was originally dusty, was still covered with night dew. After several days of fighting, this once peaceful and harmonious county town had long become scarred, and with most of the residents having fled to the outskirts, it appeared exceptionally desolate.
Suddenly, a muffled thunder-like roar came from the sky, and the ground began to tremble slightly.
The northern sky had been dyed orange-red, and dozens of fire trails tore through the morning mist, pouncing toward the county town like venomous snakes.
When the first shell fell, the sound of roof tiles shaking off and screams exploded simultaneously.
“Boom…”
When the first 150mm shell from the Type 96 15cm howitzer fell on the county town, the huge explosion reverberated throughout the entire town.
Brick walls twisted like pieces of paper in the shockwave, and the crisp sound of breaking beams was drowned out by the successive explosions.
Immediately after, more than twenty Type 96 attack aircraft from the Japanese army dived down from the clouds, casting shadows as their wings swept by, followed by bombs dropping one after another into the county town.
After several days of fierce fighting, all the outer positions of Teng County had fallen, most of the more than three thousand officers and men of the 122nd Division had already been killed in action, and Division Commander Wang Mingzhang personally led the division headquarters personnel and the division guard company to form a mobile unit, rushing to rescue wherever there was danger.
But as the troops inside the city dwindled, the defenders fought with increasing difficulty, and even Division Commander Wang Mingzhang had been wounded.
As the Japanese army began shelling, the city was filled with smoke everywhere, walls collapsed and houses fell, the streets were piled into small hills by collapsed buildings, the original stone slab streets were bombed into deep pits, the whole city was a sea of fire, and scorched earth was everywhere.
“Cough cough cough…” Wang Mingzhang had just stood up from behind a broken wall when he heard someone shouting loudly nearby.
“The Japanese are coming up!”
Accompanying the shout, about sixty meters away, a group of khaki military uniforms could be seen moving in the smoke and dust, the sunlight reflected off their bayonets stinging the eyes painfully.
The position remained silent. When the Japanese reached more than thirty meters away, an old soldier suddenly sprang up and shouted loudly: “Throw!”
In an instant, more than seventy arms swung out in arcs simultaneously, and handmade grenades from Gong County flew over the breach almost at the same time. Seeing a swarm of black dots flying toward them, the front-row Japanese soldiers gaped in shock.
“Boom boom boom…”
The blast from the explosions flipped the front row of more than ten Japanese soldiers to the ground, and scorching metal fragments traced crimson paths through the air.
A Japanese soldier whose leg had been blown off screamed as he ran back, but in his terror, he didn’t notice that his belly had also been torn open by shrapnel, with grayish-blue intestines spilling out, so he screamed while dragging his intestines as he crawled, leaving a winding blood trail on the ground.
Seeing the attack fail, the Japanese grew anxious and subjected the stockade wall to fierce shelling.
For a moment, smoke enveloped falling rubble, and the breach in the southeast corner of the stockade wall grew larger and larger.
To prevent the defenders from sealing the breach, several Type 92 heavy machine guns also fired at the gap, the machine gun bullets chiseling dense pits into the green bricks, with sparks flying everywhere.
Watching the soldiers around him fall one after another, Wang Mingzhang’s heart ached like a knife twist, but he was powerless. Now, all he could do was personally go to the front line to fight and kill the enemy, making his final effort for the country.
At the same time, the 20th Army Group headquarters in Lincheng.
Army Group Commander Tang Enbo was discussing matters with several senior army group generals.
Army Commander Wang Zhonglian of the 85th Army said worriedly to Army Group Commander Tang Enbo: “Commander, we just received a telegram that the Japanese army has split into two columns advancing toward Lincheng, clashing with Guan Linzheng’s unit, and our army has suffered heavy casualties.”
Tang Enbo’s face was ashen and he said nothing, just pacing back and forth.
Wang Zhonglian said worriedly: “Right now, the Sichuan 122nd Division in Teng County is in dire straits.”
Tang Enbo let out a long sigh: “How could I not be anxious? In the Battle of Shanghai, we used our forces piecemeal, feeding in division after division in vain, and it was like a drop in the bucket, to no avail.”
Wang Zhonglian said helplessly: “But others may not understand our difficulties.”
Tang Enbo removed his white gloves and snorted lightly: “Enough talk, prepare to reinforce.”
“But… what if our reinforcements are blocked and time runs out?”
Tang Enbo said with a cold face: “Do our best… we can only do our utmost.”
Almost at the same time, the blood-soaked Division Commander Wang Mingzhang was sitting on the city wall littered with corpses, counting the grenades beside him.
Chief of Staff Luo Jiaxin stumbled up to the city wall and said urgently: “Report to the Division Commander, the positions on the south, east, and north sides of the city have been occupied by the Japanese.”
Wang Mingzhang’s hand paused while picking up a grenade and asked: “What about Staff Officer Zhao?”
Luo Jiaxin said with red eyes: “Staff Officer Zhao and 740th Regiment Commander Wang Lin fought to the death without retreating, and have already heroically sacrificed themselves along with the brothers on the position!”
Wang Mingzhang looked around: “Where are our reinforcements now?”
“No contact, no news at all.”
Wang Mingzhang was silent for a moment: “In that case, send a telegram for me immediately.”
Luo Jiaxin quickly pulled out paper and pen from the satchel at his waist.
Wang Mingzhang said in a low voice: “Most urgent… Xuzhou… Commander Li for forwarding to Chairman Jiang.
Currently, the Japanese have breached the defenses of Teng County, our reinforcements have no news to this day, I, Wang Mingzhang of this unit, and all officers and men of the division, are determined to repay the country with our lives, to fulfill our resolve to die for the cause. This is the urgent telegram.
Republic of China, 27th year, March 17 afternoon.”
At this point, Wang Mingzhang pulled out a pocket watch from his pocket, looked at it, and added: “3 PM!”
After speaking, Wang Mingzhang looked at the adjutant who was writing the telegram with his head down, then touched this rather old pocket watch and sighed: “This pocket watch has been with me for many years, I’ll leave it to you as a memento.”
“Division Commander…” The adjutant couldn’t help but shed tears.
Wang Mingzhang ignored him, turned around, and continued sorting the grenades.
The adjutant solemnly saluted his division commander for the last time, then went down the city wall.
After another fierce battle, the thick smell of blood filled the city wall, and Wang Mingzhang slowly slid down against the broken merlon.
His uniform was torn open in several places by shrapnel, dark red bloodstains spreading into hideous swamps on the khaki fabric.
His right index finger trembled slightly on the trigger, the sticky sweat in his palm mixed with the rusty smell—that was the warmth splashed from stabbing a bayonet into an enemy’s belly in close combat moments ago.
“Division seat!”
A hoarse shout from a soldier in the distance was shredded by the heavy machine gun fire.
Wang Mingzhang wiped the blood obscuring his vision and discovered a dandelion sprouting from the cracks in the green stone slabs, its fluff trembling in the explosion blast.
He cracked his dry lips into a smile, drew his pistol from his waist, pressed it against his jaw, and shouted loudly.
“Fight to the end, never surrender!”
The earth-shattering shout startled the gray pigeons sheltering on the eaves, and with a muffled bang, the sound of the bullet penetrating the skull was like a ripe wild jujube falling into a deep pool.
