Chapter 39 take a step back

Beginning in June 1939, the Ninth War Zone, with Xue Yue as the commander-in-chief of the theater, launched a three-month guerrilla operation against the Japanese army. Although the results were not great, the threat to the Japanese army was not small.At the same time, the espionage personnel and armed units that infiltrated into enemy-occupied areas also took advantage of the momentum to launch operations. The Japanese post offices and transport teams were often attacked. The pictures were all intercepted by Chinese personnel. In order to counter the guerrilla warfare in the ninth theater, ensure the security of the enemy-occupied area, and create momentum for the soon-to-be-established Nanjing Wang puppet regime, Commander Neiji Okamura decided to launch a sweeping large-scale attack on Changsha.

When Okamura planned this attack, he did not plan to occupy Changsha like Nanchang. This was mainly because of the shortage of garrison troops due to the expansion of the combat and occupation area.He plans to deal a huge blow to the ninth theater in a short period of time through the tactics of surprising victory, and then quickly return to the original defense zone. In view of this, Okamura did not first touch the "Xue Boling defense line" in northern Hunan (that is, Xue Yue's defense line, Xue Yue is also known as Boling), but planned to break through from the west of Fengxin in order to confuse and contain the Chinese defense forces. The main attack direction of the first army.

On the front line about 30 kilometers from Gao'an to Fengxin, four armies of Luo Zhuoying's 19th Army were deployed to block the way for the Japanese army to advance westward.The Seventy-Fourth Army, as a theater reserve, was placed near Fenyi where it could move toward Gao'an and Changsha. In response to China's deployment, Okamura mobilized the entire 106th Division and the two regiments of the 101st Division to form the "Northern Jiangxi Attack Army".At this time, the 106th Division and the 101st Division had been adjusted to a three-team system, and mules and horses had been fully implemented. The Japanese Eleventh Army Headquarters also assigned heavy artillery directly under the army to the 106th Division. , tank and engineer units, greatly enhancing its mobility and firepower.

On September 15, the 106th Division of the Japanese Army was assembled in Fengxin.According to Okamura's prior design, the 106th Division adopted a surprise attack method, with a small number of troops to contain the front, while the main force made a detour from the north wing, so that it penetrated into the rear of the Chinese Nineteenth Army at once. The defender's defensive front was in chaos, and the four armies responsible for the defense were forced to retreat again and again. Luo Zhuoying urgently asked for help from the ninth theater, requesting that the 74th army be transferred to Gao'an to fight.

The wall has wind, and the wall has ears. Xue Yue has obtained accurate information, knowing that the main force of the 11th Japanese Army is rushing to Changsha. Several armies of the Nineteenth Army came to participate in the battle in Changsha.For Xue Yue, those armies could not come. The Seventy-Fourth Army was recognized as the most effective army in the Ninth War Zone at that time. Of course, he still wanted to use this army to fight in Changsha. Each had their own ideas and considerations, but in the end, unable to withstand Luo Zhuoying's repeated pleadings, in order to stabilize the defense line in northern Jiangxi, Xue Yue ordered the 74th Army to immediately start from Fenyi and go to Gao'an to fight.

With the situation as urgent as sparks, Luo Zhuoying, then commander-in-chief of the 19th Army Group, wanted to rush up all the 74th Army to help the 32nd Army stationed in Gao'an to support the line of defense, but Chiang Kai-shek personally gave it to him at this time. Xue Yue sent a telegram to inform that except for the Seventy-Fourth Army, the Ninth War Zone could not transfer the rest of the troops to the Gao'an front line for reinforcement under any circumstances. Chiang Kai-shek's telegram indicated that even if the defense line in northern Jiangxi was penetrated, Luo Zhuoying should no longer expect to use troops from northern Hunan to fill the loopholes in the defense line. The Seventy-Fourth Army was Luo Zhuoying's only trump card and reserve team.After weighing it over and over again, Luo Zhuoying chose the safe method of saving troops. On September 18, the 32nd Army was ordered to withdraw from Gao'an City, and other troops also fought and retreated, entering the second line of defense.

After occupying Gao'an, the 106th Division of the Japanese Army was very proud. When reporting to the 11th Army, they claimed that they had defeated the enemy in front of them through surprise attacks and roundabouts, and began to capture the retreating "Chongqing Army". "The loss is small, the result is big." The happy news of the 106th Division was delivered a bit too early.Taking a step back, Luo Zhuoying quickly figured out that the main force of the 106th Division of the Japanese Army was in Huibu, west of Fengxin, and Gao An's side was just a feint attack, so there was no need for him to shrink the defense line on Gao'an's side.

After grasping the reality of the opponent, Luo Zhuoying ordered the 32nd Army to launch a counterattack against Gao'an again.The Japanese army occupying Gao'an belonged to a reinforced unit sent by the 101st Division to help out. It was numbered Saeda Detachment. Its strength was not very sufficient, and the terrain of Gao'an itself was not conducive to defense. Once a strong impact was made, it would lose its position. . On September 22, the 32nd Army invaded Gao'an, and the Zuozhi detachment was extremely embarrassed when it withdrew, and even the combat order was seized.

Seeing that the Saeda Detachment suffered a defeat, the Japanese 106th Division simply gave up the offensive in Gao'an and put the Saeda Detachment on the defensive in order to attract as many Chinese troops as possible. The sudden advance of the 106th Division gave Luo Zhuoying a good opportunity to wipe out the enemy.Because at this time, with the timely recovery and expansion of the Chinese second-line positions, the Japanese 106th Division has already been strategically isolated and in-depth. As long as the Nineteenth Army sends strong troops to advance northward, it can intercept the Japanese army in Fengxin. retreat.

Luo Zhuoying saw this good opportunity, he decided to stand firm first, and after the formations of the various armies were connected with each other, he divided his troops and marched northward in multiple ways.During this period, he made up his mind to call the Seventy-fourth Army. After receiving Luo Zhuoying's order, Wang Yaowu immediately sent the 51st Division northward to help the friendly army hold on to the line of defense and buy time to attack the flanks of the 106th Division of the Japanese Army. After the 51st Division went north, it got in touch with the friendly army and intercepted the Japanese army at the same time. The defense line in the north was gradually consolidated.Seeing that the time was ripe, Luo Zhuoying sent a telegram to order all the troops to switch from defense to offense. At the same time, the 57th Division was also ordered to advance towards Huibu and directly capture the enemy's flank.

There have been new changes in the battlefield situation.The main force of the 106th Division of the Japanese Army was besieged from three sides, and the rear was threatened by the 57th Division. The situation was very embarrassing.The head of the division, Lieutenant General Ryotaro Nakai, felt extremely panicked. He had intentionally given up on the originally scheduled division plan and withdrew to Fengxin. Therefore, Okamura strictly ordered the 106th Division not to retreat before defeating the Chinese army in front of them. With the order in hand, Nakai concentrated all his strength to resist, and counterattacked with small troops from time to time, which weakened the offensive of the besieging troops. Everyone could only wait for the good news from the 57th Division. The Fifty-seventh Division lived up to expectations. At midnight on October 1, the division broke through the Japanese security position at Hengqiao. One company rushed to the high ground northeast of Hengqiao and fired down with superior firepower, forcing the Japanese security forces to abandon their positions. escape. Conquering Hengqiao is equivalent to cutting into the flanks of the 106th Division of the Japanese Army.When its position was shaken, the frontal friendly forces took advantage of the momentum to attack fiercely. According to the Japanese military history: "The enemy's resistance gradually became tenacious, and they repeatedly counterattacked."