Chapter 5 The Eve of the God of War

"Why hasn't the Army Artillery Regiment arrived yet?" Chen Xiaoyun, the deputy division commander, turned his gaze away from the military map on the wall, and walked to Chief of Staff Long Chuyun to ask. Long Chuyun said that he didn't know either. All eyes were on Yu Chengwan.He sat on a chair and smoked a cigarette, exhaling smoke rings one after another.He realized that his subordinates were expecting him, so he got up and walked out the door. Strangely, the staff of the division headquarters and the battalion and regiment leaders all followed him to the door. It was around 4 o'clock in the afternoon, the sun slanted to the west of the city, and the clouds covered with fish scales under the sky covered the sun.The golden sunlight leaked from the cracks in the fish scales, and slowly the big fish scales inlaid with gold became a mass of orange red glow, a mass of blood-colored halo.Looking at the blood-colored dusk, no one made a sound.

The sluggish clatter of horseshoes and the sound of cannon wheels pierced the tranquility shrouded in red light.Moreover, the sound shook the stone-paved streets more and more, boiling the blood of the people gathered at the gate of the division. "Here we come! The artillery regiment is here!" Artillery is the soul of infantry, and the 57th Division has been looking forward to it for a long time. But the artillery that came was not all the troops of the 74th Army's Direct Artillery Regiment, but a battalion, an anti-aircraft machine gun company, and an artillery command post.The head of the regiment, Major General Jin Dingzhou, led the team. The rank of the artillery of the national army is generally one level higher than that of the infantry. The battalion commander is a lieutenant colonel, and the company commander is a major.

Hope is looking forward to the artillery, but the chiefs of the 57th Division are not as excited as expected.There are only 8 Soviet-made mountain guns, more than 1,000 shells, 1 anti-aircraft machine gun, and a few small boxes of bullets, which seems a little pitiful. Major General Jin also felt the disappointment of the infantry brothers, and explained: "This is no longer easy. The eight guns are all the best guns in the regiment. The commander was reluctant to let them go. I fought hard." Commander Jin He is an overseas student who graduated from the Japanese Non-commissioned Officer Gunnery School. He is from Haicheng, Northeast China, and speaks a drawling Northeast dialect.

"Okay, we welcome Commander Jin's artillery to join our ranks, something is better than nothing!" Yu Chengwan smoothed things over, "Okay, let's have a meeting now!" He called everyone into the room. This is the division's first battalion-level and above officer combat meeting to formulate a defensive combat guidance plan.A defensive operation plan was made for the purpose of "ensuring that strategic points stick to the defense", the specific content is: "Occupy a deep position on the outskirts of Changde City and the line that crosses the East Deshan Mountain to the West River and Mt., strengthen the fortifications and hold on to them. When the enemy's offensive falters and our friendly forces on the outside line form an anti-encirclement situation, the main force will be transferred from the northwestern suburbs of Changde City. The offensive and friendly forces worked together to crush the enemy on the west bank of Dongting Lake and annihilate them. Under the guidance of this operational policy, the operation was carried out in three phases.

"Phase 1: 1. If the enemy uses its main force to attack Changde from Deshan, Deshan's garrison stands firm and resists. After blowing it up and exhausting it, the right area team takes the opportunity to attack Changde from Xinminqiao and Xiamahu. It attacks from the side and back, and cooperates to suppress and destroy it in the triangle area between Yuanjiang and Dongting Lake; 2. If the enemy uses its main force to attack Changde from Hefu Mountain, the garrison of Hefu Mountain will resist firmly and give it a blow. Afterwards, the left area team took the opportunity to use a powerful part to attack it from the high embankment and the Chuanbing embankment, and together they surrounded and wiped out the enemy in the area northeast of Hefu; When attacking Changde directly, the Zuo District team resisted firmly one after another, inflicting heavy damage on it. When its offensive faltered, the reserve team counterattacked it from Xinglong Bridge and Zhugentan. 4. If the enemy uses its main force to attack Changde from the east and west sides of Deshan and Hefu Mountains at the same time, and attempts to flank or surround Changde, the division will use persistent resistance to hold on to the surrounding areas of Changde. Stronghold, attract the main force of the enemy, try to consume it, use space to gain time, and wait until our friendly forces from all sides on the outside line encircle Changde concentrically, then use all our strength to shift the offensive from the northwest suburbs of Changde, and work together with friendly forces to defeat the enemy. The enemy surrounds and oppresses the west bank of Dongting Lake and annihilates it; 5. If a part of each regional team is broken by the enemy, we should take advantage of the moment when it is not firmly established, use the reserve team to launch a decisive counterattack, overwhelm the enemy, and quickly In order to recover, the adjacent area troops and artillery should provide fire support in due course.

"Phase II: 6. If the enemy is repeatedly consumed and reinforced, and oppresses us in the core of the city wall, and violently invades the city wall, the defense team of the city wall should put up a strong resistance, and the rest of the teams and artillery in the city should be transferred. The team should adjust immediately, seize the opportunity, strengthen the battle on the city wall, and continue to carry out local counterattacks, blow and consume it, and really stick to it. When our friendly forces around Changde form a centripetal encirclement situation, we will take advantage of the setback of the enemy's offensive and press on. 7. If the enemy breaks into the city with a surprise attack on the city wall, the defense team of the city wall should seize the opportunity to seal the entrance tightly, and then quickly use a mobile force in the city to cooperate , to capture the enemy's attempt.

"Phase III: 8. If the enemy sticks with me for a long time and continues to increase the number of persistent criminals, when I take advantage of my heavy casualties and rush into the city, I will use the fortifications and house strongholds in the streets and alleys of the city to resist desperately and resolutely, and continue to use small troops. Counterattack the enemy, give it exhausting blows, and when all the friendly forces around us are approaching Changde City and the enemy's offensive is sluggish, follow the essentials of the fourth case of the first phase, and work together with the friendly forces to attack and wipe out the enemy."

Yu Chengwan scanned the venue with extremely serious eyes, and asked, "Everyone, who has a good opinion?" The officers all replied with fighting spirit and pride: "No more!" Only Captain Jin stood up dissatisfied, and asked with a flushed face, "I said brothers, this plan is very good, but why are you infantry rushing to kill on the front line, and our artillery? Are you looking down on me?" Where are my eight cannons telling us to sit on the bench?" Yu Chengwan smiled and remained silent for now. Sun Jinxian, the head of the 170th Regiment who served as the first-line guard at the North Gate, stood up and replied: "Don't get me wrong, Jintuan, you probably think that we thought you brought less guns, and we deliberately arranged this way, no! Our Huben We have decided to use our own flesh and blood to defend Changde City and serve the party and country. Our infantry has always had a glorious tradition of charging forward and never retreating. Therefore, our morale will not be high just because we have artillery, and we will not shrink back without artillery. Speaking of this battle plan expresses our fighting desire to live and die with the city, without any distracting thoughts!"

"Yes, yes!" The other battalion and regimental leaders also echoed. "Old Jin, don't be in a hurry." Yu Chengwan motioned for Captain Jin to sit down, "I have my own arrangements for your cannon, and I promise I won't be idle!" After saying this, Yu changed the subject, " In view of the above-mentioned combat plan, all battalions should go back and prepare!" He drew a circle on the map with his arm, "The most urgent task is to reinforce and build new defensive positions." After the fall of Wuhan, all the national troops stationed in Changde had built fortifications, but they all built their own defenses according to their own ideas, denying the original and rebuilding. The manpower, material and financial resources were huge, but they never had a decent defense. system.Now the 57th Division must do some comprehensive management.

The first is the excavation of bunkers on the city wall and the firepower points of the skirmisher line. The three city gates are built with earth bags and sandbags to form light and heavy machine gun positions, and the city towers are reinforced into bunkers to form a double-layer firepower network.Cement bunkers were built at the intersections inside and outside the city, bunkers under the houses, and multi-level barbed wire fences were laid out to prepare for street fighting.The reinforced concrete basement of the Central Bank of Xingjiekou was used as the command post of the division, and a bunker room was built under the wall behind the Confucian Temple near the command post as a field ambulance hospital.The above-mentioned city walls and fortifications in the city were all completed by the 1st Battalion, the Mortar Battalion and the Engineer Battalion of the 171st Regiment within a time limit.

Followed by Yanbao, Dongmuguan, Dou Wharf, Xinmin Bridge, Shigong Temple, Luowan, Xindi, Qili Bridge, Sanlu Port, Jiajia Lane in the northeast suburb of Changde City, and Huangtu Mountain and Nanping in the northwest suburb of the city. Gang, Shagang, Zhugentan, Banpu City, Changsheng Bridge, Luolukou, Nanhupu Line.Here is a complex terrain with staggered lakes and harbors and criss-cross dams. When building fortifications, make full use of favorable terrain such as bridgeheads and dams to build bunkers, dark forts and foxholes.The task here was completed by the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 169th Regiment and a company of the Engineer Battalion. The tasks in the northwest suburbs were completed by the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 170th Regiment and a company of the Engineer Battalion.Hefu Mountain is the commanding height in the western suburbs of the city, and its military position is dangerous. It is necessary to build blockhouses along the top of the mountain. This task is entrusted to the 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 171st Regiment and a company of the Engineer Battalion.The lonely peak of Deshan rises from the river, and the terrain is dangerous. It is an important military site in the eastern suburbs of the city. So far, Changde has truly become a military fortress, with reasonable distribution and a strong defense network that echoes from far and near, tightly surrounding it. On November 13, Commander Yu, Deputy Commander Chen, and the staff of the division headquarter inspected around the city and came to the Huangtu Mountain outside the north gate.He pointed in all directions with confidence and said: "The defensive position is solid, the Great Wall of flesh and blood of the soldiers in Huben, Changde City will stand proudly on Yuanshui and be invincible!" He asked the guards if they had any wine? After a while, the guard brought the wine. Yu Chengwan and everyone drank the wine in one gulp. Pointing to the hill at his feet, he said, "I would like to exchange my death for the life of Changde City. If I die in battle, you survivors, please bury my bones here!" Taking advantage of the wine, Yu Chengwan returned to the division headquarters of the Bank of China, which had just been relocated to Xingjiekou, gathered under the lantern, and wrote a letter to his wife Kuang Yuan who was far away in Kunming. "...Cheng Wan graduated from Whampoa at an early age. He was deeply influenced, loyal to the party and patriotic. It is very important, but I am honored to take on this task. I have made up my mind to sacrifice for the country and vowed to wipe out the stubborn bandits. Fortunately, I will not miss it. "The only thing in the world is hard, death" is the ultimate practice. In order to harm benevolence, I decided to stick to it, hoping to live up to the expectations of the leader and the kindness of parenting.” After writing this, he raised his head, and his eyes could not help but look out of the window. A round of moon in the sky is very bright and cold, its brilliance shines on the world, arousing the infinite thoughts of people who are on a blind date.At this moment, his beloved wife and children are probably looking at his corner through the moon. They are chanting the strange name Changde on the map, guessing what her husband and their "old bean" are doing?They may be counting the days on their fingers, looking forward to the day when the whole family can be reunited.It's cold, and they may go to the post office to inquire again and again, wanting to send him some cold clothes and some warm photos... Yu Chengwan was dreaming, and there were strands of love and tenderness in his steely soldier character. .At this moment, a line of soldiers walked through the gate of the division forcefully. The metal sound of their gun stocks colliding was heard far away in the quiet winter night, pulling him back from the hallucinatory state. He went on to write: "Wen Tianxiang's 'everyone in life has died since ancient times, keep his loyal heart to reflect the history', when I bid farewell, I changed the latter sentence to 'keep the light to shine on Wuling', what does my wife think? At that time, there was no other order for family affairs, but I wanted to join the army for more than 20 years. I lost my family property and my situation was depressed. , especially must be carefully nurtured, and follow Yuzhi well. Wanfang's daughter must also be able to be independent. If something happens to Yuguo, she will be a lover again under the nine springs..." In order to express his determination to stick to Changde, Yu Chengwan encouraged everyone from officials to soldiers to leave home letters and hand them over to the postman of the division headquarters to take them away and send them out.Although it is said to be writing a letter from home, many people seem to be writing a suicide note, full of tragedy. On November 14, in Changde, gunshots and cannons could be heard faintly from the battlefields of the surrounding counties and cities.Therefore, the combat units of the 57th Division entered the defensive position according to the combat deployment and waited for the enemy to come. It seemed that the "guests" that the master had been looking forward to for a long time came to the door. Although these "guests" were armed to the teeth, they would not hesitate. The battle lineup is: 1. Meng Jidong, commander of the 3rd Battalion of the 169th Regiment, was the captain of the Deshan garrison. He commanded the 1st company of the battalion's attached chariot defense artillery battalion, and occupied the established strongholds of Deshan's Old Wharf, Gufengling, and Deshan City with the main force. The position was indeed firmly held, and a reinforced company occupied the forward position of Niubitan, and a platoon of the company occupied Tujiahu City. Guan Miao and Ma Jiaji sent troops to guard. 2. Chai Yixin, the head of the 169th Regiment, was the captain of the right area, and commanded the main force of the regiment to occupy the Youziyan Bao outside the east gate of Changde, passing through the guiding monument, the city barrier, Gaopingtou, Xindi, and the Qili Bridge on the left (including ) to the deep positions on the line of Huangmuguan, Xinminqiao, Shigongmiao, and Luowan security positions, and advance strongholds such as Barengang, Shuangqiaogang, and Ershilipu, and sent troops to occupy Liuhuakou and Hangongdu areas. And the west of the lake is closely guarded. 3. Sun Jinxian, the head of the 170th regiment, was the captain of the left area, and commanded the regiment (owed to the 3rd Battalion) to occupy Qili Bridge (not included) on the right, passing through Xiajiagang, Shagang, Banpu City, Baima Temple, Changsheng Bridge, The deep position on the line from the left to the Luo intersection, sent troops to occupy Jinniudui, Sanqianqiao, Shangliujiarong, Limuqiao, Zhugentan, Yangjiaqiao, Huangtushan and other advanced strongholds, and strictly guarded the north. 4. Du Ding, the head of the 171st Regiment, was the captain of the Hefu Mountain garrison. He commanded the 2nd Company of the Mortar Battalion and the 1st Radio Squad of the attached regiment (less than the 1st Battalion) to occupy the established stronghold position of Hefu Mountain and really stick to it. , sent teams to guard Guanxi City, Jiaoding, etc., and strictly guarded the northwest. 5. The 3rd Battalion of the 170th Regiment is the city wall defense team, which is under the direct command of the division headquarters, occupies the core position of the city wall, and sends out anti-air security troops to assist the air defense forces in air defense. 6. The 1st Battalion of the 171st Regiment was the reserve team of the division and was left in Changde City.At the same time, Jin Dingzhou, the head of the Artillery Regiment, was ordered to command a battalion of the regiment to enter near the North Gate of Changde with a company, and the main force entered near the South Station of Changde.The mortar battalion (less than the 2nd company) reconnaissance positions in the area guarded by the left and right area teams.The 1st Platoon of the 9th Company of the 42nd Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment entered the vicinity of Changde South Station and was responsible for the air defense of Changde City.The engineer battalion assisted the left and right areas and the two garrison teams of Deshan and Hefu in laying mines and setting up obstacles on the south of the city and in the city, and one was in charge of guarding the ships.The communications corps is responsible for the communications of all parties. After each regiment, each battalion, and each arm entered their combat positions, the officers and soldiers of the whole division held combat mobilization meetings layer by layer. Combat mobilization meetings have always been a form of spiritual replenishment for insufficient troops.Perhaps it is the characteristic of Chinese culture that pays attention to spiritual functions. Whether it is the Kuomintang army or the Communist army, there must be a mobilization meeting for combat. Fifty years later, the author visited Mr. Ren Boxi, who was the platoon leader of the 9th Company of the 3rd Battalion of the 169th Regiment of the 57th Division. I asked Mr. Ren, did you hold a mobilization meeting during the Battle of Changde? "Driving." Ren Boxi, who has been farming for decades and is now at home, still remembers it vividly. "What content?" I asked with interest. "Read the oath, the letter of determination, and sign it with blood by biting your finger." After Ren Boxi finished speaking, he smiled lightly like a child. In 1981, before the battle at Fakashan on the Sino-Vietnamese border in Guangxi, the author also witnessed a mobilization meeting held by a company of the People’s Liberation Army. It seems that only the Chinese can do things well for the Chinese. After the 57th Division's combat mobilization meeting, Yu Chengwan, in the name of the division commander, summarized the wishes of the officers and soldiers of the division into an official statement and announced it to all soldiers. The statement said: "Changde's topography is adjacent to Dongting Lake in the northeast and Yuanjiang River in the south. Obviously, it is a back-to-back battle. It is not conducive to holding on tactically. However, the bounden duty of soldiers is to protect the people. It is unfavorable to stick to it and the will will be shaken. Our battle area is to draw a unequal pentagon outside Changde, that is, a line drawn by the Tashui Bridge in the northeast and Shibantan in the northwest is the north; a line drawn by the Tashui Bridge passes through Deshan From the street to Maowan on the south bank of the Yuanjiang River is the east; if a line is drawn from Shibantan, through Hefu and Xujiawan to Doumu Lake on the south bank of the Yuanjiang River is the southwest; if a line is drawn from Doumu Lake to Maowan is the south. Changde City In this unequal core of more than forty miles from north to south, we cannot get out of this fortified circle. We must live loyally and bravely in this circle if we live, and we must die heroically in this circle. With such great pressure, our only answer is blood, death, and glory! "Officials at all levels! The most dangerous and difficult time is when the military career is successful. We should not relax every most dangerous situation, because that is the perfect opportunity to save the country's crisis and develop our own future." The statement also said: "The gain or loss of Changde is a task related to the entire destiny of the Republic of China. It is as difficult as it is sacred. For the sake of the country, for the people, and for ourselves, we have no reason not to achieve this task. We must work with Changde coexists and dies. We must exchange our flesh and blood for the vitality of the entire country. We must have the determination to sacrifice the most, and fight the enemy to the last person and the last bullet. In short, with our tigers around, Changde It must exist. Even if all our soldiers in Huben sacrificed for this sacred mission, Changde must still exist and must not be occupied by the enemy. My dear officers and brothers! The military career is on the battlefield, which is exactly what you stand for. At the time of immortal achievements and immortal reputation, you must seize this opportunity and never give up any chance to kill the enemy. Only in this way can you have a bright future and maintain the dignity of the country and the prestige of the leader, and our glory , it will become stronger and more brilliant.” The statement also strongly emphasized: "What needs to be announced now is that I have ordered the platoon, company, battalion, regiment, and division to organize supervisory teams at all levels. Although they do not have the power to command you when fighting, they have the power to supervise you." You. Our current combat principle is to stick to it. Under this principle, their only task is to supervise you and not to retreat. If there are such things as retreating or ineffective combat, the supervising team should be able to arrest these people on the spot. Shoot and kill a scum for us. "Our division has followed the regulations of the Supreme Command, and has implemented the method of continuous sitting for quite some time, and the effect is very good. This battle will continue to be strictly implemented. Therefore, officers and soldiers at all levels should have firm determination, especially we should recognize life. The boundary between death and death. If we fight to the death in order to defend Changde and fight for the independence and freedom of the nation, not only are we more valuable dead than alive, but each of us has a name in history. It is our parents, Wife, you are also honored. In society, your family members will receive generous pensions. In particular, my teacher has always paid attention to the handling of pensions to set an example. I am concerned about the families of every comrade who died. Life is guaranteed. So you don’t have to worry about anything now. The country is planning everything for us. We can only fight with peace of mind in order to be worthy of the country and the leader. If the will wavers and you are punished by the law, even If your family members do not receive people's sympathy and respect, then you are not only the sinners of the nation and the 57th Division, but also the sinners of your whole family. Therefore, it is said that death is more important than Mount Tai, and some are lighter than a feather. If We are lucky enough to survive and complete the mission, then you are the heroes of the Republic of China. Your honor and your future are of course unpredictable. I have decided that in this battle, every officer and soldier who completes the mission will be promoted to one level, at least The super treatment, the warm love and condolences from the compatriots all over the country and overseas, and the praise and rewards from the government are even more worthy of our excitement and comfort." The statement concludes: "Finally, I would like to remind everyone that our soldiers belong to the country, the interests of the country are our interests, and the glory of the country is our glory! Besides, our army has never been defeated. , so this battle, we have such confidence that we will win the battle! We must know that the 57th Division was glorious in the past, it is glorious now, and it should be even more glorious in the future! We must be able to do this, so that we can live up to our 57th Division’s past. The martyrs who died for the country must be like this in order to wash away the shame of the country. It must be like this so that the officers and soldiers of our 57th Division have a future! Now more than 40 miles north of Changde has kicked off the prelude to the battle. It can be seen from the newspapers that the anti-aggressors are sincerely looking forward to the good news of our victory. We must not lose face and let them down. We must fight for the country and for the leader. I am ashamed Brave officers and soldiers! Now is the time for you to annihilate the enemy and make great achievements. Difficulties show your loyalty. I will carefully examine the loyalty and bravery of each officer and soldier. Seize the opportunity and fight for the future!" On a rainy day in the summer of 1992, the author came to the Second Historical Archives of China near Nanjing Banshan Garden to check the materials of the Battle of Changde.When I saw the fragment of the proclamation listed above, my heart trembled. I asked the lady who received me, is the deep dark red color on this fragment stained by the blood of the anti-Japanese soldiers? The answer was no. It is the imprint left by time.