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The brothers around heard the commotion and turned their gazes this way. Wang Dacheng suddenly froze, his left hand raised halfway before stopping.
Sensing everyone's attention, Wang Dacheng slowly scanned the surroundings, glaring at Er Dan as he spoke each word deliberately, "Has everyone forgotten the Company Commander's orders? Unless we receive a retreat command, we hold our ground! If the Company Commander falls, the Squad Leader takes charge! If the Squad Leader falls, the Team Leader takes over! We fight to the last man! As long as there are people, we hold the position!"
Er Dan felt pressured by Wang Dacheng's commanding presence and involuntarily took a few steps back. Just as he was about to say something, he heard Wang Dacheng's tone drop, "Old Li, take two injured brothers and get the seriously wounded down!" After a pause, he added, "And bring Zhang Gosheng with you!"
Li Erdan looked at Wang Dacheng in disbelief and suddenly spat on the ground. "Dacheng, do you look down on me? I'm telling you to send away all the seriously wounded brothers to leave us a chance to regroup, not to run away like a coward!"
Wang Dacheng felt a bit awkward. He glanced at Li Erdan and was about to respond when suddenly a voice came from behind the trench. "Where's the officer? Who's in charge of this position?"
Everyone's eyes turned toward the source of the voice, and they saw a private running up from behind the trench, panting heavily. "The commander has ordered! Who is in charge here?"
All eyes were on Wang Dacheng. He had no choice but to straighten his Steel Helmet and said aloud, "I'm in charge right now, but I'm not an officer. Brother, what orders does the commander have?!"
The private looked at Wang Dacheng's Infantry Sergeant rank with some confusion. It seemed he understood something quickly as he stood at attention and saluted. "Xu Shizhang commands: All units engaged must swiftly withdraw from their positions and fall back to Zou City!"
Finally, a retreat? Wang Dacheng felt a sudden release of tension but then realized he was reluctant to leave. Although he longed for this order, having experienced life and death with his brothers on this position made it hard for him to let go of those who had fallen.
The surviving soldiers on the position stood up one by one and gathered around. Seeing his weary and battered Brothers, Wang Dacheng no longer hesitated. He knew that if he delayed even for a second, the entire position could be covered by Japanese artillery fire, making any retreat impossible.
"Er Dan!" "Here!"
"Organize the injured brothers; carry the seriously wounded down first!"
Just as Wang Dacheng was about to issue another command, Zhang Gosheng shouted in alarm, "Big Brother Dacheng! The Japanese devils are coming again! This time there are many of them!"
What! Wang Dacheng was taken aback and rushed to peek over the edge of the trench. A sea of yellow figures swarmed forward; was the Japanese Army launching a full-scale assault? Did the commander pick up something from the gunfire during the previous skirmish?
Without delay, Wang Dacheng shouted, "Yang Zhu! Guo Dashan! You two stay with me to cover! The rest of you, get out now!"
After shouting those words, Wang Dacheng instinctively reached for his grenade, only to find it missing. He paused for a moment, then turned around to call for everyone to gather ammunition, only to discover that they were all standing still.
"Are you all stupid? I told you to move!" Wang Dacheng said, a hint of urgency in his voice.
"Squad Leader!" Turning around, he saw that Old Li was bringing two severely injured comrades over. "Why aren't you leaving?"
"Squad Leader, leave us behind! We'll cover your retreat!" One of the injured men said, tilting his head back to look at Wang Dacheng. Both of his legs were broken and hastily bandaged. Due to excessive blood loss, his lips were cracked, and his upper body was covered in wounds.
"You?!"
"Squad Leader! If you take us with you, you won't be able to move quickly. If the Japanese Devil catches up, we'll all die together!" The other injured man shouted. His abdomen was torn open by shrapnel, exposing his intestines, which had been stuffed back inside and wrapped up. But Wang Dacheng knew that such injuries were usually fatal.
"Dacheng, I'm here too." Li Erdan said softly. He reached out and took Wang Dacheng's Hanyang rifle. "Leave the bullets behind; I want to take down a few more Japanese Devils."
"Erdan!"
"Dacheng, what did I just say? Leave us a seed! You can command and fight; take the Brothers and retreat first. I'm already useless; there's no need for anyone else to die with me!"
At this point, silence enveloped them. Li Erdan stomped his foot in frustration. "What are you still thinking about!? Hurry up and get out of here!"
In that fleeting moment, Wang Dacheng felt dazed and almost resolved to lead everyone in a desperate defense of their position. But looking at the faces of his brothers, especially Zhang Gosheng's expression, he opened his mouth but found no words. Why should he lead these brothers into a meaningless fight?
With a heavy heart, Wang Dacheng placed all his ammunition in front of the three men, forcing himself not to look at them as he turned away. The other brothers silently followed suit, leaving all their ammunition for those who would hold the line.
The messenger hesitated for a moment before unfastening two grenades from his waist and gently placing them in front of the three men. "Brothers, well done!"
Without the severely injured men weighing them down, the group quickened their pace and gradually distanced themselves from the position. Soon gunfire erupted behind them, mixed with faint voices chanting: "The winds rise, mountains shake; Huangpu builds its might with great force; revolutionary heroes pledge their loyalty. Clashing swords and iron steeds on battlefields; securing peace within and repelling foes without as vanguards. Sweeping across lands to revive China; invincible wherever they go; achieving great deeds." The voices were mournful yet filled with determination—a resolve to fight to the death.
That was an army song. At the rear of the group, Wang Dacheng suddenly halted but remembering Li Erdan's and the other two brothers' gazes, he steeled himself and urged the entire team to quicken their pace.
Not long after setting out, Wang Dacheng could no longer hear the gunfire. A heaviness settled in his heart, causing him to slow his pace. Just then, two muffled explosions echoed from behind him. Wang Dacheng spun around sharply, looking toward the direction of the sound. He knew that those three brothers would never be seen again.
He straightened his uniform and solemnly saluted the direction of the battlefield. After lowering his hand, he resolutely turned and rejoined the retreating troops heading toward Zou City.
It was the summer of 1943, and the Japanese Army had shifted from an offensive to a defensive stance in the Pacific War. In the China theater, Allied forces were planning to coordinate with the National Army to counterattack in Burma, aiming to support operations in the Pacific and India while diverting the National Army's forces from Sichuan and Hunan to Yunnan and India. To break free from the impending overall strategic offensive against Japan in Asia and the Pacific, China's military commander, General Yamamoto Junroku, was determined to carve a bloody path through Hunan and Changde, capturing Changde to sever ties between the Chinese government and Britain and America. Upon learning of General Hata Junroku's resolve, the Japanese Army headquarters issued Order No. 853 on September 27, authorizing operations in Changde.
On September 28, Hata Junroku issued a mobilization order to Special Forces. By the evening of November 2, the Changde Campaign commenced. Under the command of Lieutenant General Yukiyama Isamu, 100,000 Japanese troops split into four columns and advanced from Songzi to Huarong, engaging in fierce battles with the National Army outside Changde. After six days of fighting, to avoid further losses against the Japanese Army's onslaught, the National Army withdrew from their frontline positions to regroup at their main defensive lines outside Changde. The Japanese Army's 116th Division launched an attack from Ouchi Kou and pressed forward relentlessly, reaching the eastern bank of Mist River by dawn on November 2. The National Army's Forty-Fourth Army valiantly resisted and repelled assaults from Buchang Battalion. Frustrated by their lack of success since beginning their attacks, Bu Shangzhao selected over a hundred elite soldiers to form a death squad that captured Sanhan Nao on November 5. On the evening of November 7, Bu Shangzhao organized another assault against the Forty-Fourth Army defending Hongmiao. As Buchang Battalion approached Hongmiao, the Forty-Fourth Army suddenly breached a dike, flooding Buchang Battalion with torrents from Mist River. Bu Shangzhao hurriedly ordered a retreat but still lost many men to drowning. On November 8, Bu Shangzhao regrouped his forces and commandeered civilian boats to launch another attack on Hongmiao under cover of various weapons. Seeing that their objective had been achieved, the Forty-Fourth Army voluntarily withdrew from their positions. On November 18, Buchang Battalion crossed Li River and split into two groups: one attacking Lixian along both banks of Li River; while the second and third battalions launched a fierce assault on Huangye Ridge under Bu Shangzhao's direct command. After nearly two days of intense fighting, they finally broke through Huangye Ridge and prepared to launch an assault on Zou City.
Wang Dacheng hurried along with what remained of his company until they finally reached the west side of Zou City. At this point, barricades had already been set up at the western entrance of the town, with machine gun positions established on both slopes nearby in readiness for defense. Engineers were laying mines along the roads through town. Upon spotting Wang Dacheng and his group, the alert troops immediately fired warning shots. Wang Dacheng quickly stepped forward and shouted, "We are from New First Regiment’s Company One that retreated from Huangye Ridge! Brothers received orders to defend Zou City; I am Sergeant Wang Dacheng!"
Perhaps seeing only a dozen or so men without proper weapons or noticing their battered appearance made them seem less threatening; a squad leader waved them through quickly past the minefield.
Once inside town, Wang Dacheng noticed soldiers from the National Army everywhere; it seemed civilians had long since evacuated. Groups of National Army soldiers rushed about in a flurry of activity on the streets, appearing extremely busy. Watching these unfamiliar faces bustling around left Wang Dacheng feeling somewhat lost; he wondered how things were going for New First Regiment and how they would regroup now.
Yang Zhu timidly tugged at Wang Dacheng’s sleeve. "Squad Leader, what should we do?" Wang Dacheng glanced back at his weary brothers and decided they should first find someone to ask for directions.
"Excuse me, sir!" Wang Dacheng called out to a passing squad leader in haste. "Sorry to bother you; where is New First Regiment?"
"New First Regiment? Never heard of it; we are part of 450th Regiment!"
"Sir, we are all subordinates of Xu Shizhang; we are newly formed reinforcements. Could you please tell me where I can find 450th Regiment headquarters?"
After receiving directions from the squad leader, Wang Dacheng led his group straight to the headquarters of 450th Regiment. The situation at Huangye Ridge needed reporting up the chain of command; it was only about ten miles away from here and getting late made it difficult to ensure that Japanese forces wouldn’t launch a night attack on Zou City.
The headquarters was located within a large estate. After reporting their situation to the guards at the entrance, Wang Dacheng’s group was allowed inside. Aside from Wang Dacheng himself, everyone else was directed into a courtyard where food and water were provided; his brothers immediately began devouring their meals ravenously.
Wang Dacheng was taken by an officer into the operations room at regiment headquarters. Upon entering, he found himself surrounded by colonels and lieutenant colonels which made him hesitate momentarily.
"From New First Regiment? Which unit are you from? What’s happening up front?" A man of medium build with thick eyebrows approached him with questions. Noticing his colonel rank insignia at his collar made Wang Dacheng stand at attention and salute respectfully.
The man immediately returned the salute. "I am Commander Li Lin of the 450th Regiment. Commander Xu is on his way. Quickly report the situation!" Wang Dacheng responded, "Report, sir! We are from the New First Regiment's Company One, tasked with defending the Huangye Ridge area. We have held our ground for two days, but Commander Xu has ordered us to retreat to Zou City. Two battalions of the Japanese Army have already crossed Huangye Ridge!"
Li Lin was taken aback for a moment, then turned to look at the map, his brow furrowed tightly. After a while, he asked, "How many of you are left?"
"Only eleven remain in the entire company!"
Li Lin was shocked again and pondered for a moment. "Send a telegram to the higher-ups. The New First Regiment has already sacrificed its entire unit for the country. It’s truly remarkable that you held out for so long! Now, I order you to be reassigned to my 450th Regiment's Special Operations Unit."
"Understood!"
"Sergeant Wang Dacheng!"
"Yes!"
"I have an important mission for you. Do you have the courage to go back one more time?"
(To be continued, more exciting content tomorrow!)
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