Songhu: Never Give Up

Chapter 157: Great Defeat, the Battle of Songhu Ends
After suffering a loss, the Kunisaki detachment did not launch another attack. It was obvious that they were waiting for reinforcements.
Everyone in the 67th Army understood that a brutal battle was still to come, and they hoped that the Japanese attack would come later. Anyway, they only had to hold on for three days.

Unfortunately, the Japanese did not give them a chance. Their reinforcements slowly and continuously poured into Songjiang. The next morning, the main force of the 6th Division arrived at the foot of Songjiang City. The dark cloud of war loomed over the city walls of Songjiang.
Starting from the morning of the next day, Japanese carrier-based aircraft continued to fly over Matsue City. Strings of bombs fell from the sky like bird shit. Countless houses were destroyed, thousands of soldiers and civilians were engulfed by artillery fire, and the defenders suffered heavy casualties.

After noon, the Kunisaki Detachment launched another attack after a day of preparation. Under the heavy bombardment of planes and artillery, most of the 107th Division's fortifications north of Matsue City were destroyed, and the officers and soldiers suffered heavy casualties.

Under the cover of ground-to-air firepower, the main force of the 41st Regiment forced its way across the river from Jinhebang and Deshengxiang. The main force of the 107th Division fought desperately, and entire battalions and companies were wiped out.

At the critical moment, the division chief of staff Deng Yuzhuo led the reserve troops to reinforce the river defense, engaged in close combat with the Japanese who had crossed the river, and forcibly drove the Japanese into the river. Major General Deng Yuzhuo, chief of staff, was hit by a stray bullet and died for his country.

The 107th Division fought fiercely for half a day and blocked the Kunisaki Detachment south of the Huangpu River. The main force of the 319th Brigade suffered more than half of its casualties and wiped out thousands of enemies.

At the same time, the 108th Division encountered a part of the th Division that had come to reinforce it at the No. Bridge between Songjiang and Shihudang, and a fierce battle broke out between the two sides.
During the fierce battle, Major General Liu Qiwen, commander of the 322nd Brigade, died. The Japanese army took the opportunity to bypass the rear of the 108th Division. Xia Shuxun, commander of the 324th Brigade, led the remnants to defend the West Gate of Songjiang to prevent the enemy from approaching Songjiang City.

By six o'clock in the afternoon, the main force of the 108th Division arrived one after another and launched a fierce attack on the defense line south of Songjiang City. The th Division fought desperately, and even the entire regiment and battalion were wiped out, and they barely stopped the Japanese attack.

The 107th and 108th Divisions were both Grade B divisions of the 2th Regiment of the 4nd Brigade. They had just fought several fierce battles with the enemy in North China and had not received any replenishment of personnel or equipment. Now they were having to fight against a semi-permanent division and were finding it extremely difficult as the firepower of both sides was simply not on the same level.

The 6th Division and the 2nd Division (Sendai) are known as the two strongest and most combat-capable divisions in the Japanese Army. The predecessor was the Kumamoto Garrison, which was one of the earliest "Six Garrisons";

The division was formed in Kumamoto, code-named "Ming", also known as the Kumamoto Division. It participated in the Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War, and the First Battle of Shanghai, and was responsible for the Port Arthur and Jinan massacres. It was a pioneer in the invasion of China and the infamous "Beast Division."

It has 4 infantry regiments, cavalry, artillery, engineering, and logistics regiments, as well as an additional regiment that is not part of the establishment, with a total strength of more than 3 troops;

The field artillery regiment was equipped with a 105mm howitzer battalion. The 12 105mm heavy howitzers posed a great threat to Songjiang City.

As the main forces of the 107th Division arrived one after another, the pressure on the 108th and th Divisions defending the two wings increased sharply. They were almost using their lives to stop the Japanese from approaching Songjiang City. They suffered heavy casualties under the Japanese's multi-pronged attacks and were beaten back step by step. Before dark, the Japanese had surrounded Songjiang City from the east, south and west.

Lieutenant General Tani Hisao, the commander of the Sixth Division, was eager to make achievements. He had received news that the main force of the Chinese Nationalist Army gathered south of the Suzhou River was already retreating;

Several divisions south of the Suzhou River are gearing up for battle, waiting to pursue the National Army on all fronts after its defeat. Now is the perfect opportunity to seize military merits, and they must not let the small Songjiang River block their path to establishing eternal merit.

So, regardless of the fatigue of the troops, they launched an attack overnight, and the main force of the 67th Army refused to give in. Both sides killed corpses all over the ground, and even brutal hand-to-hand combat and street fighting broke out.

At the most critical moment, Generals Wu and Guo, who were in Songjiang City, led the city defense troops to reinforce the front line. They disregarded their personal safety and led the charge, eventually suppressing the Japanese offensive and gradually stabilizing the battle situation.

At 10 o'clock in the evening, an important military meeting was being held urgently in the 67th Army headquarters. The central topic was to discuss the retreat, because by 12 o'clock, the military order to hold out for three days would be completed. In the previous battle, the 67th Army suffered heavy casualties, with three generals killed, more than half of the officers below the regiment commander, and more than 3% of the main force casualties;
Some officers argued that since there were only two hours left, they should take advantage of the opportunity when the Japanese paused their attack and retreat northward, thus seizing the initiative and reducing casualties.

Commander Wu waved his hand and said:
"Brothers, we have received the order to hold our ground until 12 o'clock. Retreating now will give others something to talk about.

We have held out for three days, so we can survive for the last hour or so."

Since the 67th Army had participated in the "Xi'an Incident" and their status and position were relatively sensitive, it would have been fine if they retreated on time. If they retreated too early, someone would definitely come out to find trouble with them.

Those attending the meeting were all middle and senior military officers, and most of them understood this logic, so no one objected and they just waited patiently until 12 o'clock.

Next they agreed on a retreat plan. In this regard, General Wu Keren showed the magnanimity of a Northeastern man. He took the initiative to propose that the 43rd Army of the Sichuan Army withdraw first, and he would lead the 67th Army to withdraw afterwards. No one had any objection.

It was not until the early morning of the 9th that General Wu ordered a breakout. After the remnants of the 43rd Army evacuated, he led the command staff and Wang Gongyu to attack from the north gate and break out in the direction of Kunshan.

Due to proper organization, the 67th Army's retreat was very smooth, and the th Division did not pursue them. It was not that Tani Hisao did not notice it, but that they were going to pick up the ready-made opportunity and then chase after them after daybreak, as they did not know the way at dark.

At this time, the area south of the Suzhou River was already in ruins. Since the Nationalist government hastily issued an order for a general retreat, there was no complete retreat plan, and there was not even a plan on who would retreat first, who would retreat later, and who would block the attack.

The 100,000-man 10th Army was still blocked in Songjiang, and the main force of the Japanese was at least a day away from them;

The 67th Army blocked the enemy in Songjiang for three days, buying enough time for the main force to retreat. If it was properly organized and a part was left to guard the Suzhou River, three days would be enough to withdraw behind the national defense line.

Although the 67th Army successfully withdrew from Songjiang City, Commander Wu was unfortunately shot and killed in the subsequent Japanese bombing. He was also accused of being a traitor because of the Xi'an incident.

The 67th Army, which had been wiped out, was also abandoned and its organization was directly disbanded by the Military Commission. The 107th Division was disbanded, leaving only the 108th Division, which was placed under the command of the 25th Army and took the blame for the defeat in the Battle of Shanghai.

After the National Government issued the military order, hundreds of thousands of troops fled in a swarm, and no one was willing to stay behind to cover their retreat. Small groups of troops north of the Suzhou River took the opportunity to cross the river and create chaos with gunfire.

The Japanese planes also came to join in the fun. They bombed and strafed the fleeing soldiers continuously, leaving a field of corpses behind when they left, further exacerbating the panic.
Many army commanders, division commanders, and regiment commanders abandoned their troops and fled in order to escape. Battalion commanders could not find their company commanders, company commanders could not find their platoon leaders, and platoon leaders could not find their soldiers.
Those small groups of troops that crossed the river were moving around and killing anyone they saw, creating even greater panic. One small team dared to chase down an entire regiment and kill them.

Hundreds of thousands of troops were defeated and countless people were trampled to death. Under the Kuomintang's manipulation, the Battle of Shanghai, which lasted for nearly three months, ended in a disastrous defeat for the Kuomintang. It was a typical anticlimax but a whimper, which was very frustrating!
(End of this chapter)