Chapter 94 tighter than average town

Qiu Weida directly submitted his opinion to He Yingqin, the commander-in-chief of the Xiangxi Battle.He Yingqin immediately approved it, and began to dispatch troops: the Wang Jingjiu Corps of the Sixth War Zone was transferred to the front line of Changde and Taoyuan to take over the defense of the Eighteenth Army. The main force of the Ninety-fourth Army under the jurisdiction of the Three Fronts rushed to Wuyang and Wugang; in case of emergencies, Liao Yaoxiang's new Sixth Army was listed as a strategic reserve team, which was airlifted to Zhijiang from Kunming to stand by. Before the second-line corps arrived, the persistence of the first-line corps became crucial.Only when the important strongholds of Wugang, Jiangkou, and Xinhua are not lost, and can cover the entry and exit of the second-line corps that come up later, can it be possible to encircle and annihilate the enemy in the second phase of the battle.

Qiu Weida asked all the troops to firmly stick to their existing positions and not to change their defensive positions at will without the permission of their superiors, so as to wait for the implementation of the second phase of the strategic plan.For this reason, the staff officers rushed to the front line separately to convey this intention, so that the front-line commanders could be aware of it and avoid errors. This kind of long-lasting general battle is the most test of people's nerves and will. In some theaters, because of the fierce fighting, both sides can't care about picking up the dead, so the corpses of Japanese soldiers are scattered in front of the defensive positions. There are also the corpses of our own officers and soldiers. After the corpses decompose, they emit a pungent stench, which is disgusting.Everyone had to plug their nostrils with leaves with a strong smell. Sometimes after a day of starvation, they were already hungry, but because the smell of corpses affected their appetite, they could eat half full at most and couldn't eat any more.

If there was a sudden heavy rain, the traffic trenches would be knee-deep in blood, and the soldiers could only stand in the blood all night to fight. Some people would take turns standing on one foot and lifting the other foot out of the water to dry.If things go on like this, many people's feet are covered with chickenpox, which is unbearably itchy. In the harsh environment, most of the officers and soldiers showed perseverance and bravery. Many left suicide notes before attacking, asking the comrades who stayed behind to send the suicide notes and relics to their families once they died. However, some people could not stand the test. I panicked before the battle.

At that time, some grassroots troops had added the position of instructor. The instructors of the Kuomintang army were different from the Communist army. They could not play too many political and educational functions, and they generally served as military assistants. Deputy company commander.A platoon leader of a certain battalion was killed, and the battalion commander ordered the company instructor to act as the platoon leader and lead the platoon to occupy the high ground.Unexpectedly, the instructor kept saying that he was a political worker and should not lead troops to fight. The battalion commander gave repeated orders, and even said that if you disobeyed the military order, you would be shot.This coward refused to go up for life and death, and the whole person was so frightened that he was speechless.The battalion commander was furious and ordered someone to execute him on the spot.

Knowing that they will continue to stick to it, all the troops have carried out spiritual mobilization again. Of course, the mobilization methods are various.A commander repeatedly emphasized to his subordinates that Zhijiang is behind the defensive positions, and ensuring the safety of Zhijiang is related to whether the Chinese army can control the air, "more important than ordinary towns." He also said that if the first-line corps fought poorly and lost Zhijiang, then Chongqing, the rear area, would be under the greatest threat, and this would affect the development of the situation in the various battlefields of the allies, thereby delaying the final victory in the war against Japan.

At that time, the Allies were holding a United Nations conference in San Francisco, USA, with the purpose of drafting the Charter of the United Nations.As the founding country of the United Nations, China has been identified as one of the five permanent members. This is an unprecedented event in modern history. It is the result of China's bloody struggle and tragic sacrifice in the War of Resistance. The status is not what it used to be.The commander used this message to motivate officers and soldiers: "All the countries participating in the meeting are very concerned about our battle on the Zhijiang River in western Hunan. We must fight this battle well, and we must make our country's representatives participating in the meeting able to Walking into the meeting with your head held high, you can also be respected by all major countries at the meeting."

After finishing the sentence, the crowd was excited.One officer immediately stood up and said: "Even to die in battle, we must fight with the enemy!" Then another officer shouted: "Down with Japanese imperialism and defeat the invading enemy!" The commander had served in the army for four years, and he said that this was the first time he heard such angry roars from his subordinates, and the first time he experienced such an exciting scene. In the past eight years, the people of this country have experienced too many painful failures. It is the courage and strength soaked in the blood that support them to fight their fate to the end.

Banxi's life gradually became more difficult.At first, the Chongguang detachment on the North Road was blocked, and it took two weeks of onslaught to advance less than 25 kilometers.However, it can also be considered that only the North Road has encountered problems, and other roads are still progressing normally. In Banxi's telegram instructions to the 116th Division and the 58th Brigade, they also clearly requested that the original plan be implemented. . But soon the 58th Brigade of the Japanese Army fell into an embarrassing situation under the city of Wugang.Banxi felt that the brigade was moving slowly and failed to effectively support the 116th Division, so he ordered the brigade to move westward quickly in order to cut off the Chinese army's westward retreat in the Xuefeng Mountains.

The 58th Brigade of the Japanese Army obeyed the order and withdrew an infantry brigade that was besieging Wugang from the city. After meeting with the main force of the brigade, they launched an attack north of Wugang.The main force of the 58th Division of the Chinese side assembled in the Xuefeng mountain area was ordered to attack immediately. Its avant-garde 173rd regiment first encountered the Japanese army at Chashan Pass in the northwest of Wugang City. Zhang Lingfu had already been promoted to deputy commander of the 74th Army when the Battle of Changheng started, but because of the intense battle, he had also been serving as the commander of the 58th Division.After that battle, he quit his part-time job, and later, like Qiu Weida, he successively entered the Youth Army Cadre Research Class (also known as the General Officer Team) and the Army University General Officer Class for further study.The current commander of the 58th Division is Cai Renjie.According to the fact that the opponent had no artillery support at the time of the battle, Cai Renjie and his staff analyzed that the Japanese army that rushed into Chashanao was only an infantry regiment without special forces, and the 58th Division had the conditions to encircle and wipe it out.

At this time, it was almost dusk and it was impossible to use a strong force, so Cai Renjie ordered the 173rd Regiment to maintain contact with the enemy with one part to prevent the enemy from advancing, while making preparations for encircling and annihilating the Japanese army the next day. The 173rd Regiment was still the main force in the battle of encirclement and annihilation. The division headquarters set up a command post behind the regiment. The deputy division commander personally led the staff and the US air liaison officer to station there, and commanded the operations through telephones set up to the front line and the reserve team.

That night, all three regiments belonging to the 58th Division arrived at the designated attack positions.The Japanese army who entered Chashanao also occupied the high ground and built solid field fortifications all night. Both sides are accumulating strength for the upcoming big fight.