At about four o'clock in the morning, this unexpected encounter on the main battlefield finally came to an end. Of the more than 4,000 student soldiers (plus Chi Guanxing's guerrillas), in the end, less than 1,000 people were left. In Jiangbei, there were only about 500 people gathered around Ye Zhao, and all of these 500 people were injured. Even Ye Zhao had half of his left ear missing from a stray bullet.
This was the largest casualty in a single battle since the founding of the cadet army. Three thousand cadets sacrificed their young and precious lives in the six-hour battle. The long battle consumed everyone's energy. After confirming that the little devil had "escaped", everyone except Ye Zhao and Gao Yongxiang sat down on the cold river beach stained red with blood, gasping for air.
Looking at the corpses everywhere, Ye Zhao felt sad and painful in his heart, without any joy of the rest of his life. According to his own thoughts, the best destination for him in this battle was to die here. However, Nishio Juzo did not make it happen. His wish,
Ma Yishan was quickly found. This kid was very lucky, but his left arm was only penetrated by a bullet, which was considered a very minor injury. He was brought to Ye Zhao, who asked him: "Ma Yishan Yishan, you are very good, tell me how you came up with the idea of using the suspicion strategy."
At this time, Ma Yishan also knew that there were no so-called reinforcements. He recalled the scene when he was the first to rush in, with bullets flying around him. He couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat. "Suspicious soldiers' plan", Ye Zhao said it This word made him sweat again, but this time it was because of shame. He replied with a red face: "Master, I, I just woke up at that time, heard the sound of cannons, and thought reinforcements were coming, and then, then... Rushed up."
This answer was beyond Ye Zhao's expectation. He said "ah" and asked, "You mean, you were unconscious before the cannon was fired."
"Well, I got a bullet in my helmet, I was knocked unconscious, I was woken up by the explosion, and then, then..."
"Haha." Ye Zhao laughed again. Things are already like this. Instead of thinking about how to face the commander-in-chief when he goes back and what kind of punishment he will receive, it is better to enjoy the joy of this hard-won "victory" first. He slapped Ma Yishan hard, and then said: "You are a lucky general, Ma Yishan. Listen, I am appointing you as the commander of the third battalion of the 127th Regiment. Tell me whether you have the confidence to be a good battalion commander." "
Ma Yishan was a little dumbfounded. He thought for a moment and said, "Master, I don't know how to read, so I'm afraid I won't be good at it."
According to the promotion rules of the Xuebing Army, officers above the company commander level must be literate at least 1,000 characters, so that’s why Ma Yishan said this,
Ye Zhao naturally knew this, and he smiled and said: "It doesn't matter if you can't read now. It will take some time before the appointment letter is issued. You should use this time to learn how to read. Well, when you return to Jiujiang, I will let Director Jiang teach you personally. Patting him on the shoulder again, Ye Zhao said with a smile: "You are not afraid of killing Japanese soldiers, so why are you afraid of literacy? Okay, this matter is settled. Brothers, hurry up and clean up the battlefield. The bodies of the fallen comrades must be found." , Gao Yongxiang.”
"Master's seat." Gao Yongxiang stood up with one leg lame. During the battle, he was shot in the left thigh. Fortunately, the aorta and bones were not damaged, so he can still stand up after the explosion.
"The Japanese probably won't come back, but to prevent them from counterattack, you choose those who can still fight and organize defense. Captain Chi, thank you very much for today. You can withdraw first later."
Chi Guanxing finally killed a Japanese in the pursuit just now. He was very excited about this. The battle ended about a quarter of an hour ago. His face was still flushed and he looked overly excited. When he heard Ye Zhao's words, he He quickly came over and said: "Mr. Ye, my brothers didn't do much just now, so let us stay and help defend. Please take the wounded and evacuate first."
When the fighting was at its most intense, Chi Guanxing and his group of guerrillas still showed the courage a man should have and withstood the Japs' offensive with real swords and guns. Chi Guanxing had three hundred men under him. There are so many people, not to mention the personal combat effectiveness, just this number of people here can already play a role in stabilizing the morale of the army. The structure of the Xuebing Army is very complex, not to mention the old factions such as the Guangdong Clan and the Fujian Clan. , there are also characters like bandits among them. For example, the Huang brothers, their mountain division, seventy-eight percent of them were adapted from the original bandits, so Ye Zhao didn't take it seriously because of their identities. They were discriminating against them. Seeing Chi Guanxing's sincere words, he felt that it would be better to give them more opportunities for actual combat. After all, this guerrilla group was now named the Xuebing Army. He thought for a while and looked at the obvious differences with the The guerrillas who showed a different temperament when they were on the south bank said with a smile: "Thank you for the hard work. Okay, brothers, get moving. We must evacuate to Jiujiang as soon as possible."
Cleaning the battlefield is a sad thing. So many young cadets with great future fell into a pool of blood forever. Ye Zhao walked past the remains of each cadet, and his heart was touched again. I was filled with regret. If the preparations for crossing the river had been more complete and the reconnaissance work had been better done, today's battle could have been avoided.
The results of the battle were quickly calculated. In this battle, a total of 3,274 people were killed in the troops directly under the 12th Xuexi Division and the 36th Xuexi Division. Among them, the regiment commander and the colonel and staff were killed two each. The battalion The Lieutenant Colonel and Staff Major of Changhe were killed in the battle. Sixteen people were killed, and the company platoon leader was almost wiped out. As for the wounded, there were only more than ten seriously wounded, and everyone else was injured. There is a reason why there are so few seriously wounded, because in When the battle was at its most intense, these seriously wounded men on the front line almost unanimously chose to die with the enemy. Therefore, a considerable number of their bodies only collected an arm or a helmet.
In terms of enemy annihilation, a total of 3,703 Japanese troops were annihilated, including two lieutenants, 17 majors, and several lieutenant-level officers. 339 Japanese troops were captured, including 104 lightly wounded. people, the others are all seriously injured,
The enemy is outnumbered and we are outnumbered. It is said that it is very good to be able to achieve such a result with a weak force. However, considering that our own side has an absolute advantage in light weapons and is assisted by heavy artillery, the result is like this, which makes Ye Zhao even more regretful. ,
The little Japs are very tenacious. Most of them were captured because they ran out of weapons and ammunition or lost mobility. How to deal with these Japs gave Ye Zhao quite a headache.
During the Battle of Nanjing, because of the evil done by the Japanese army in Suzhou and other places, Ouyang Yun usually ordered the enforcement of battlefield discipline to deal with the Japanese who had lost their combat effectiveness or were captured. But this time, one thing was different, because the Japanese in the anti-war alliance
If people follow, then it seems inappropriate to adopt such a rough approach.
After Ye Zhao, Gao Yongxiang and Qian Shuanglin discussed it, the three of them made a decision. The seriously wounded will still be subject to battlefield discipline. As for the lightly wounded, they will be brought back to Jiujiang first.
"One day, we will erect a monument here." Before boarding the ship, Ye Zhao looked at the blood-stained land under his feet and said: "Those who have contributed to the country and the nation will be remembered by the country and the people.