The Fall of Militarism

The Flames of Songhu: 1937 In August 1937, twenty-two-year-old Qin Chuan is unexpectedly transmigrated through time and becomes an ordinary soldier in the 88th Division of the National Revolutionary Army. The smoke of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident has yet to clear, and the clouds of war are gathering over Shanghai. Wearing a German-style steel helmet and carrying a Mauser rifle, he hears the nation’s roar in response to the Lushan Speech and witnesses the somber resolve of a united people determined to resist the invaders. When the battle erupts, Qin Chuan joins the elite German-equipped division as they race through Shanghai’s streets by night, cheered on by crowds of civilians as they head for the front lines in Hongkou. They fight desperately at Bazi Bridge and storm the Marine Corps headquarters. Every inch they advance is soaked in the blood of their comrades. Japanese warships thunder with their guns and aircraft ravage the skies, reducing the bustling city to scorched earth. As comrades fall in droves to booby traps and hidden bunkers, tanks go up in flames in the streets, and the main Japanese reinforcements land on their flank, Qin Chuan must draw on his modern knowledge to survive in this hell on earth. With vivid, stirring prose, this work recreates the entire Battle of Songhu, from Chiang Kai-shek’s strategic decision to “strike first” and Zhang Zhizhong’s deployment of troops at the front, to Song Xilian’s overnight reinforcement and the bloody meat grinder at Huishan Pier, from fighter pilots’ tragic stand against the enemy to the desperate struggle for every inch in street battles. Through Qin Chuan’s eyes, we witness courage and cowardice, wisdom and ignorance, hope and despair interwoven amid the flames of war. This is not only the survival epic of one time traveler, but also the unyielding legend written in the lives of 300,000 soldiers, revealing how the Chinese people built an iron wall with their flesh and blood despite their inferior equipment.