In the defense of Nanjing during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, I believe that everyone is no stranger, after three months of the Battle of Songhu, the next target of the Japanese army is Nanjing, the capital of the Kuomintang at that time. At this time, having just experienced the Battle of Songhu, it can be said that at this time, the Nationalist army was already scarred, the soldiers were uneven, and the weapons were mutilated. The Japanese army was inevitable to Nanjing, but at this time, the Nationalist army had a dispute over whether to defend Nanjing or abandon Nanjing.
If you don't let go of the city without letting go of a shot, it will lose the hearts of the people, and it will also damage the image of the national army, plus the mausoleum of Sun Yat-sen, the father of the country, is also in Nanjing, and if the Japanese army enters Nanjing, it will definitely be destroyed. What to defend Nanjing! At this time, most of the generals of the Nationalist army had no confidence, and no one was willing to serve as the commander of the Nanjing garrison. As the saying goes, there must be brave men under re-employment.
At this time, Tang Shengzhi, a general of the Xiang Army, stood up and said that he was willing to serve as the commander of the Nanjing garrison, and Chiang Kai-shek, who wanted to retreat, thought that since someone had stepped forward and was willing to accept a heavy responsibility, he pushed the boat along the water and let Tang Shengzhi defend Nanjing, and praised him for his loyalty and courage, and he could take up heavy responsibilities when the party and the state were in danger, and he was worthy of being the pillar of the country.
In addition to Tang Shengzhi, there were also Luo Zhuoying, Xu Yuanquan, Wang Jingjiu, Sun Yuanliang, Yu Jishi, Song Xilian and others.
However, due to the disparity between the enemy and us, Tang Shengzhi, who had previously vowed to defend Nanjing, ran away, and the generals of the Nationalist army at this time knew that the commander-in-chief had run away, so they withdrew from Nanjing, and for a while there was chaos in the city of Nanjing, and there were deserters everywhere, but there were exceptions, when the generals of the Nationalist army withdrew to Nanjing, there was a general who vowed not to retreat, he was Xiao Shanling, the general of the Xiang Army who guarded Nanjing with Tang Shengzhi.
Xiao shan ling Hunan Yiyang people, graduated from the baoding military academy of the third phase of the infantry section, after graduation to serve in the Xiang army, should be heroic and good on the battlefield plus excellent command, soon stood out in the army, got Tang Shengzhi's appreciation was promoted to regimental commander, and then participated in the Northern Expedition war with Tang Shengzhi, and after the end of the Northern Expedition, Tang Shengzhi rebelled against Chiang three times, and after the outbreak of the War of Resistance, he also joined Chiang Kai-shek, and naturally Xiao Shanling also joined the nationalist army.
During the defense of Nanjing, he and Tang Shengzhi defended Nanjing together, and before the battle began, Chiang Kai-shek withdrew many important organs and units from Nanjing in advance, leaving only the combat troops.
However, when the battle began a few days later, the nationalist soldiers could not stop the Japanese army's attack at all, and in the case that the victory and defeat had been divided, Tang Shengzhi ran away, everyone saw that the commander-in-chief had withdrawn, and all the combat armies had retreated, only Xiao Lingshan still held Nanjing, and at this time, most of the leaders of the organs and units fled. In the absence of a leader, Xiao Shanling held six positions, such as the chief of the police department, the mayor of Nanjing in wartime, the acting commander of nanjing police, the commander of air defense, and the commander-in-chief of crossing the river. It sounds very beautiful, but it is actually helpless.
However, at this time, Tang Shengzhi repeatedly sent orders to Xiao Shan ling to withdraw from Nanjing, but the general was a citizen, saying that the general who abandoned the people in a time of crisis was not worthy of being a soldier, and it was the duty of a soldier to defend the land for the country. Tang Shengzhi, who saw the telegram, was ashamed and embarrassed, and there was no persuasion.
However, the building will fall, Xiaoshan Ling alone can not recover the defeat, but the general alone insisted on the true character of the soldiers, vowed to die and not retreat, under the onslaught of Japanese artillery, the city was finally destroyed, and General Xiao Lingshan, who was unwilling to be a prisoner, committed suicide with a gun, martyred the country, and fulfilled the promise of "swearing to coexist and die with Nanjing". Later, chiang kai-shek, in praise of Xiao Shan's merits in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, posthumously awarded the rank of lieutenant general.