On July 7, 1937, the Japanese invading army launched the Lugou Bridge Incident in North China, and then began a comprehensive invasion of China. In order to offset the mechanized superiority of the Japanese army at that time, Chiang Kai-shek took the initiative to launch a counterattack in Shanghai, hoping to use the dense water network in the south to contain the main force of the Japanese army in the Songhu area.
Although Chiang Kai-shek threw 800,000 elite Kuomintang troops into the Songhu battlefield, he was still defeated in the face of the Japanese army's naval and air superiority. In particular, in early November 1937, after the newly formed 11th Army of the Japanese Army landed at Jinshanwei in Hangzhou Bay, the main force of the Chinese army was in danger of being completely annihilated by the Japanese army. Therefore, Nanjing's defensive problems were unexpectedly put on the agenda in advance.
Many generals of the Kuomintang army were pessimistic about the defense of Nanjing, because after the Battle of Songhu, the Japanese army could use its advantages to reload equipment and navy and air force along the Yangtze River and the Shanghai-Nanjing Highway and the Nanjing-Hangzhou Highway to quickly reach Nanjing. Nanjing is in the bend of the Yangtze River, the terrain is backwater, so the Japanese army can also blockade and shell Nanjing with the navy from the river surface, from the land can also be cut off by Wuhu to our rear communication line, and then with the navy, land and air force coordinated attack, then Nanjing is under the three-dimensional offensive of the Japanese army, it is difficult to defend.
During the Battle of Songhu, although the Kuomintang army only invested half of the country's troops at that time, these troops were all the elite troops in China at that time, and the central army was exhausted, and the major warlords took out their own family units to fight with the Japanese army. During the Battle of Songhu, our army suffered 300,000 casualties, and the most elite German mechanic divisions lost more than half, and there were not many combat effective troops to continue fighting with the Japanese army. Therefore, if you want to defend Nanjing at this time, it is simply impossible.
On November 15, 1937, Chiang Kai-shek held the second meeting of senior staff members, which was attended by He Yingqin, Bai Chongxi, Tang Shengzhi, Gu Zhenglun and other generals. When talking about the defense of Nanjing, most of the generals did not approve of defending Nanjing, but Tang Shengzhi said: Nanjing is the capital of our country, and it is the place where Premier Sun's mausoleum is located.
But when Chiang Kai-shek asked who stayed behind to guard Nanjing, all the generals were silent, because everyone knew that Nanjing would certainly not be able to hold it, and no one was willing to bear this ancient infamy. Finally, Tang Shengzhi broke the silence and said: "Chairman, if no one is responsible, I am willing to make it difficult for me, stick to the end, and coexist and die with Nanjing!" Chiang Kai-shek was very touched and immediately agreed to his request.
After Tang Shengzhi was appointed commander of the Nanjing garrison, he held a press conference on November 17, 1937, at which he said: "I am at least sure of two things that I have been ordered to defend Nanjing: first, that is, my troops will swear to coexist and die with Nanjing, and will not hesitate to sacrifice in the defense of Nanjing; second, such sacrifices will certainly cause the enemy to pay a great price." In order to show his determination, Tang Shengzhi also withdrew all the ships at the Xiaguan ferry port in Nanjing, calling on all the soldiers to fight a battle.
However, on the evening of December 11, only two days after the battle for Nanjing, Chiang Kai-shek issued a retreat order to Tang Shengzhi. Because there was no retreat plan in advance, the retreat was very hurried, some troops were missed, and some troops surrendered in the encirclement of the Japanese army, but there was a general who desperately refused to surrender and was bent on death, this person was Xiao Shanling, the mayor of Nanjing.
During the Nanjing Defense War and the Nanjing Massacre, many people are probably most concerned about the mayor of Nanjing, and many people want to know what is the choice of the mayor of Nanjing as the parent official of the city in the face of this disaster, whether he retreated in advance like Tang Shengzhi, and whether he surrendered to the Japanese army! What moved us was that at the time of national crisis, at the juncture of the nation's life and death, Xiao Shanling, the mayor of Nanjing at the time, did not choose to flee like other generals of the Kuomintang army and other government officials of the Kuomintang, but chose to kill Chengren! Choose to fulfill your vow to coexist and die with Nanjing!
During the Nanjing Defense War, there were two positions that could be said to be hot potatoes, one was the commander of the Nanjing garrison served by Tang Shengzhi, and the other was the position of mayor of Nanjing. These two posts, one is the supreme commander of the Nanjing garrison and the other is the supreme commander of the Nanjing government, if it is left in peacetime, these two positions can be held by the most promising officials, but at this critical juncture, no one is willing to take up this important post.
The two positions were held by the generals of the Xiang Army, and Xiao Shanling was still An old subordinate of Tang Shengzhi. Tang Shengzhi was a Confucian general, he was born in Yiyang, Hunan Province, a scholarly mendi, three generations of the family are Xiucai, Xiao Shanling graduated from the Hunan Army Primary School in his early years, Baoding Phase III, and later the army general Zhang Zhizhong is the same window. He also participated in the Northern Expedition, served as a company commander, battalion commander, regimental commander, and also served as a county magistrate.
Before the Defense of Nanjing, Xiao Shanling served as deputy commander of the national gendarmerie. At that time, Gu Zhenglun, commander of the national gendarmerie and commander of the capital police, ran to Wuhan, and The mayor of Nanjing, Ma Junchao, also fled in danger, and Xiao Shanling took up the post of mayor of Nanjing, director of the Nanjing Police Department, commander of the national gendarmerie, commander of the Nanjing garrison, commander of the Nanjing air defense force, and other important posts.
After the defense of Nanjing began, Xiao Shan ordered the mobilization of gendarmerie troops and police to maintain order and reinforce the troops on the front line. December 8, December 9, Xiao Shan Ling's friend
Chen Jichuan came to his command post twice and advised him to leave this place of right and wrong and not to make senseless sacrifices, but Xiao Shanling replied: "Ordered to defend the capital, there is no way to defend, there is no way to defend the party state, there is no way to kill the enemy, there is no way to treat the old and young in Jinling, greedy for life and afraid of death, bowing down to the slave, how can I see the father and elder of Jiangdong, I go, what should the people of Nanjing do?" Defending the land for the country is the duty of a soldier, I should be loyal to the country, smile on the battlefield, and stick to Nanjing, I intend to make an early decision! It can be seen that Xiao Shan Ling has no intention of surviving.
On December 12, after Chiang Kai-shek and Tang Shengzhi issued retreat orders, Xiao Shan Ling was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the river crossing, directing the evacuation and breakthrough of the various legions. However, before Tang Shengzhi had a tough attitude, he said that he wanted to coexist and die with Nanjing, and did not formulate a retreat plan at all, which led to difficulties in the process of retreating.
After Xiao Shanling led the gendarmerie troops to the Xiaguan ferry port, while organizing the troops to maintain order, he ordered the troops to dismantle the wooden planks on the houses and transport the troops across the Yangtze River. The night of the 12th is a very critical night, if you can withdraw this night, you can survive and escape the pursuit of the Japanese army, if you can't cross the Yangtze River, you can only fight with the Japanese army to the death.
As the commander-in-chief of the river crossing, Xiao Shanling had a number of ships and rafts in his hands, and he had the best chance of leaving Nanjing. On the night of the 12th, Xiao Shanling's men repeatedly pushed him onto a small raft and tried to get him out of here, but Xiao Shanling struggled to climb back and continued to command the troops to retreat. In the early morning of the 13th, the Japanese army attacked the Shimonoseki ferry from land and water, and at this time, the Shimonoseki ferry port was still crowded with tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians.
Xiao Shan Ling not only did not retreat, but raised his arms and shouted: "Success into Ren, today is also!" Xiao Shan Ling led the remaining gendarmerie troops to fight fiercely with the Japanese army, covering the retreat of the army and the people, and at the last moment, Xiao Shan Ling also raised his bayonet and launched a fierce white-knife battle with the Japanese army. During the battle, General Xiao Shanling was shot several times in his body, and stood on the river in half an amputation, still shouting "China will not die." After all the troops were wiped out, Xiao Shanling shot himself, fulfilling his vow to coexist and die with Nanjing, becoming the first mayor of the martyrdom during the War of Resistance.