On May 30, 1943, on the cliffs of Yichang Shipai Village on the rolling Yangtze River, an earth-shattering and deadly struggle took place. The Nationalist troops and Feng Xiao, the main force of the Japanese army that caused the Nanjing Massacre, did not fire a single shot throughout the three-hour battle. It was not a truce between the two sides, but that they chose the most brutal and bloody way of fighting in human history. White-knife warfare, Sino-Japanese sword-drawing, hand-to-hand combat. White knives enter, red knives come out, the sky is dark, the sun and moon are lightless, corpses are all over the field, and blood flows like a river.
This was the largest hand-to-hand combat in the history of World War II, known as the "Stone Tablet Defense Battle" of the Stalin Goerre Defense War in the East. So why are China and Japan facing each other here? Why would such a large-scale white blade erupt on a battlefield dominated by thermal weapons? Historical rumors today will reveal the Secret of the Japanese Army's attack on Pearl Harbor one by one. Immediately, the United States, which had always maintained a neutral position, declared war on Japan, and the Pacific War began. Embarrassed by two-front combat. In order to withdraw a large number of troops as soon as possible and reverse the unfavorable situation in the Pacific region, the Japanese army decided to gather troops to capture Chongqing and crush the rear area of the Kuomintang in order to have a chance to defeat China.
At that time, the traffic conditions in the southwest region were poor, and the only way to send a large army to attack Chongqing was to take the Yangtze River waterway. But as a result, the steep Three Gorges of the Yangtze River became the biggest obstacle for the Japanese army. The Three Gorges of the Yangtze River stretch from Baidi in Fengjie County, Chongqing City in the west to Nanjinguan in Yichang City, Hubei Province in the east. It consists of Qutang Gorge, Wuxia Gorge and Xiling Gorge, with a total length of 193 km. Shipai Town is located about 20 kilometers west of Xiling Gorge. At the corner of the Yangtze River, all boats passing through the Xiling Gorge have to turn at the foot of Shipai Town. Therefore, Shipai Town has been a natural danger of the Yangtze River since ancient times.
On February 27, 1943, the Supreme Commander of Japan issued an order requiring the commander of the Japanese 11th Army, Isamu Yokoyama, to lead his troops to attack Shipai Town and then Chongqing. The 11th Army, led by Heng Yong, was the strongest fighting force of the Japanese army, and the Japanese army participated in the battle this time, the 3rd, 13th, and 39th divisions and some temporary troops, totaling about 100,000 people. In order to crush the Japanese conspiracy, Chiang Kai-shek transferred Chen Cheng, who was then the commander-in-chief of the Expeditionary Force, back to Mary to take command of the Sixth Theater of Operations, and specifically instructed Chen Cheng to send a fierce general to defend. No matter what happens in Shipai Town, you can't back down, and even if you do, you will die. At Shipai Town, Chen Chen thought twice and decided to send the 11th Division to guard Shipai Town.
At that time, Chen Cheng had two ace troops in his hands, namely the 11th Division and the 18th Army. It was Chen Cheng's own army and a rare soldier in the Kuomintang. The teacher of the 11th Division was named Hu Lian, who was both literate and martial, and could fight well. Chairman Mao once commented that Hu Lian of the Eighteenth Army was as cunning as a tiger and as brave as a tiger. You can see how good he is. Chen Qiang Hu Lian was sent to guard Shipai Town, which was simply a broken arm. So how dangerous was the situation at the time? Sure enough, with the outbreak of war, the defensive positions laid out by the Kuomintang along the Yangtze River fell one after another, and the elite 339th Division of the Japanese Kou quickly annihilated all the Kuomintang troops near Shipai Town, leaving only Shipai Town, a difficult bone to gnaw.
At this moment, Chiang Kai-shek was completely panicked. Although he was famous for the importance of Shipai Town this time, he was still worried that Hu Lian would flee without a fight. Therefore, on May 26, he issued an order that Shipai Town was Stalin of China, so it was a matter of the survival of the entire country. I hope that Zhu Jun can kill the enemy and bravely annihilate him. There is a stone fortress. Retreating if not ordered to do so will be treated as treason. After receiving this news, Hu Lian looked calm because he was ready to sacrifice his life for the country.
In the early morning of May 27, after Hu Lian finished writing his suicide note, he led all the officials of the 11th Division to stand on the edge of a steep cliff and swore to heaven that Hu Lian, commander of the 11th Division of the whole army, was willing to sincerely tell the mountain god. I lead a good teacher today, defend my ancestors, work hard, and leave our land. I have every reason. I was determined to be the first to die. Thieves do not stand at the same time, there are ancient precepts, Huayi must be strictly discerned, spring and autumn exist, born as soldiers, dead as military souls. Future generations look at the present and look at the past. Why should I worry? Today, when the thief pounces on him, he will die in pain, he will die with all his strength. However, I firmly believe that God blesses loyalty. When we are in a bloody battle, victory is at hand.
On May 28, 1943, the Japanese 3rd Division broke through many obstacles and came to the position of Nanlinpo, the first line of defense of Shipai Fortress. With a deafening gunshot, the Battle of Shipai Town officially began. The 3rd Battalion of the 31st Regiment of the 11th Division was responsible for the Position of Nanlinpo. Faced with the Japanese army coming like hungry wolves, the three battalions were not afraid. Taking advantage of the favorable terrain in the area, they continued to harvest the lives of the enemy with verbal assault guns and heavy machine guns. But this time, the Japanese army was determined to take the town of Shipai. Despite the heavy casualties, they ordered their soldiers to attack again and again. However, five consecutive attacks ended in failure. It was not until the sun set that the Japanese army broke through the Position of Nanlinpo with absolute strength and firepower. The left and right flanks were responsible for guarding the eighth and ninth companies on either side, and these two companies were almost completely destroyed, leaving only the vanguard of the entire Nanlinpo position. Nanningpo was equipped with heavy machine gun platoons and attack artillery platoons at West Point, and with their heavy machine guns, they constantly dealt heavy blows to the Japanese army and repelled the Japanese charge five times.
At about 7 a.m. on the 29th, the joint frontal forces of the Japanese forces on both sides once again launched a charge against the Western Union, but under the attack of the Western Union, they were beaten back. Subsequently, for the next three days, the Japanese bombed the positions of the 7th Company and specially deployed aircraft and tanks to capture the positions on the slope of Nanning. Unfortunately, they refused to retreat, insisting on fighting the Japanese to the end. It was not until the 31st that the Seventh Company received orders to retreat. Compared with 300 men in the 17th Company, only 70 were left, and nearly 80% of the soldiers fell under the guns of the enemy. At the same time, another unit of the Japanese Third Division was also attacking in the direction of Niu Changpo, which was on the outskirts of the Shipai position and where the defense was the focus. With the steep and favorable terrain, the Nationalist army fought a bloody battle with the Japanese army for several days. Finally, the initiative was thorough due to the lack of firepower and troops. The Niu Changpo defense line turned to organize the next line of defense. Meanwhile, on the bank of the river behind Tendai-ji Temple, a Japanese army was quietly walking along the path of Xiaomu towards Tendai Pavilion. This was the Japanese Third Division, which had just attacked the Position on Nanning Slope.
None of the four rounds of japanese offensives made a substantial breakthrough, so they became angry. The approaching fighters bombarded the Tiantaiguan position, and the entire hill was directly razed to the ground, and none of the entire row of fighters survived the tragic sacrifice. By 29 May, the outer positions of the Lion Fortress had all fallen under the enemy's mighty offensive, and the monarch was forced to retreat to the main position of Shipai, where they would engage in a final duel with the enemy. In fact, at this time, the Japanese army's life was not good. They fought in western Hubei for 25 days and lost nearly 20,000 men. Enough supplies to support the end of the war were also exhausted in a tug-of-war with the Nationalists. Moreover, the western Hubei region is full of mountains and dense forests, and there is not even a decent path. Even their path was completely destroyed by the Chinese residents.
Waiting for supplies is obviously unrealistic, because the supply troops can not get here, and the Nationalist army has been sending small units to attack their urgent and heavy troops, resulting in the huge loss of the existing supplies of the Japanese army, and the Japanese army has now reached a desperate situation. If they could not capture the stone tablets in one fell swoop, they would have to retreat. At that time, their efforts for so long will be in vain, so the decisive battle is the only chance. The revolutionary army was already short of supplies, and after several days of resistance, the ammunition had been exhausted. But they can't leave. If they withdraw, Chongqing will be lost. If they withdraw, the country will cease to exist. If they quit, the brothers would die in vain. So Guo Jin decided to complete their last stop with his flesh and blood.
On May 29, Hu Lian ordered the whole division, starting tomorrow, that we would fight the enemy in hand-to-hand combat until the last moment, burying the enemy's bones here and scribbling our wisdom and flesh on the rocks of the stone tablets. On 3 May, the Director was removed from office. At this time, the ammunition of the Nationalist and Japanese troops was running out, so it only took a few hours for both sides, but it was now completely lost. On the battlefield, where there are many gunshots in the usual days, now it is eerily silent, and both sides are there. On the high ground, they confronted each other, then silently put on their bayonets and charged toward the enemy. For a moment, the cry of killing resounded throughout the sky.
The largest hand-to-hand combat of the Second World War broke out, and the enemy and our army twisted together. Every inch of the enemy's advance will claim dozens of lives. The two armies repeatedly charged and killed in this land of bullets, and the sun and moon were eclipsed. The corpses in front of the position piled up like pyramids. China National Geographic once described teenagers who died in this hand-to-hand battle. At that time, the children of Chinese peasant families were generally poorly nourished. Most of the 16- and 17-year-olds weren't as tall as rifles with bayonets, so they fought longer with guns than they did themselves. If they were still alive, they would already be seventy or eighty years old, and they would drink fragrant tea in their orangery and leisurely watch their children and grandchildren play.
Thousands of years of warm care, but for other Chinese to have died. At noon on May 30, the battlefield was so quiet that Qiu's voice could not be heard. After three hours of live-and-die matches, the hand-to-hand combat was over. The loess was soaked with bright red blood, and the air was a little fishy, making people breathless. The few remaining soldiers were holding bayonets and looking around with red eyes. They won, but 1500 comrades lay on the land forever.
On 31 May, the Japanese general offensive failed, morale and confidence were severely damaged, and they began to turn around and flee in droves. In this battle for the defense of Shipai, the Japanese suffered as many as 7,000 casualties, and their plot to occupy Chongqing was crushed. The Japanese army's attempt to quickly destroy China was even more distant.