In the Battle of Wuhan, Song Xilian led the 71st Army to block the Japanese army at Fujin Mountain. Fujin Mountain was a fan-shaped position, on the southern flank of the highway, commanding to control the road, and the combat terrain was very favorable to the defenders. Song Xilian immediately decided to set Chen Ruihe's 36th Division on the left wing, Zhong Bin's 88th Division on the right wing, and Zhong Song's 61st Division to Gushi, occupy the position, and try their best to block the Japanese army's westward advance.
The main direction of the Japanese attack on Fujin Mountain was the position of the 36th Division. The 36th Division was deployed along the mountainside, and the army command post was located at the top of the mountain. The Japanese attacked upward along the ridge of the mountain range, first bombarding in turn with aircraft, and then intensively bombarding with artillery, the bullets fell like rain, and the smoke was filled with gunfire.
The Chinese defenders, with the help of the excellent terrain and the trapezoidal formation, effectively blocked the Japanese attack, making it pay a heavy price for every step forward. Song Xilian often personally visited the front line to supervise the battle on the mountain, and during the ten days and nights of fierce fighting with the Japanese army, Song Xilian and the soldiers of the 36th Division died together, suffering together, and the morale of the defenders was high and their spirits were uplifted. After ten days and nights of fierce fighting, the Japanese army was never able to reach the main position of the defenders on the mountainside. The Japanese newspaper had to admit: "Due to the stubborn resistance of the enemy's main force, Song Xihao's army, the Japanese newspaper had suffered heavy casualties and made no progress in the battle. ”
Song Xilian's only regret was that the defenders were on the top of the hill and could see the Activities of the Japanese Army, the artillery positions, and the transport convoy clearly, but unfortunately they did not have the support of their own artillery and aviation, and if there were artillery, they could immediately deal a devastating blow to the Japanese army.
Because the Japanese army could not be attacked for a long time, it sent Major General Kei Setani of the 33rd Brigade of the 10th Division regiment to lead the troops to provide support, and the unit took advantage of the night to carry out a roundabout encirclement, in an attempt to unknowingly break the Wu Temple, the command of the Chinese defenders, and cut off the communication line between the 71st Army and the rear mall. However, this attempt was detected by Liang Jun, commander of the first battalion of the 88th Division's search force sent to the Japanese flank reconnaissance, and immediately reported it to the division commander Zhong Bin. Zhong Bin quickly dispatched his troops to Wumiao to ambush him.
The Japanese army thought that the operation was confidential, and the mountains and hills in the Dabie Mountains could cover their actions, but they did not expect that the Chinese reconnaissance troops not only obtained accurate information, but also the commander reacted quickly, took the first step, and laid a network of heaven and earth on important passes. Instead, the Japanese army could not be commanded, and the beaten ghosts cried wolf, suffering more than 500 casualties, and retreated.
The 36th Division was a unit trained by Song Xilian that could fight good battles and fight hard battles. He has fought vicious battles with the Japanese army many times in the battles of Shanghai, Nanjing, Xuzhou and other battles, and has rich combat experience and tenacious style. However, after this battle, the 36th Division also suffered heavy casualties. After ten days of hard fighting, the whole division still had enough personnel to reduce the number of one regiment.
The Japanese 13th Division also suffered more than half of the casualties, including many casualties at the brigade commander level. The Japanese army replenished its troops five times, but never made any progress. After the war, the Japanese army transported more than 4,000 corpses to Yeji for incineration, smelling for more than 10 miles. According to another record, the Japanese army's attack on Fujin Mountain was originally planned by the traitors, and the Japanese army suffered such a strange and heavy loss, and became angry, blamed the traitors, vented their anger on the heads of the traitors, slaughtered more than a hundred traitors in Kaishun Street, and saw the fate of the tigers.
The Central Military Commission issued a nationwide commendation to the Song Ministry, and awarded Song Xilian an individual medal and a certificate of commendation.