该书由著名作家张恨水创作于1945年，是一部直接描写国民党正面战场著名战役——常德保卫战的长篇小说，也是中国第一部现代战史小说。作品描写代号“虎贲”的74军57师在日军六万余人的包围中，同仇敌忾，背水一战，“以一敌八”，苦战十余日，与日寇浴血奋战，得以使援军合围，保卫住了常德。全师八千余人，仅有83人生还，全书写得可歌可泣，气壮山河。（ Authored by the famous writer Zhang Henshui in 1945, the novel directly describes Changde Battle, a frontline battle of Kuomintang, and it is the first novel on modern war history in China. It narrates how the 57th Division of 74th Corp (named “Brave Warrior”) fought with only one eighth of the enemy’s force when surrounded by over 60,000 Japanese soldiers. They battled courageously in blood for ten days to realize encirclement by the reinforcements, successfully defending Changde. At last only 83 people survived out of the 8,000 members of the Division. The book is capable of evoking praises and tears with magnificent scenes.）