Chapter 45 Lishui River confrontation

The 116th Division, the 3rd Division, and the 68th Division of the three Japanese divisions that participated in the siege of Changde were still under the command of Division Chief Iwa Yongwang during the retreat. On the night of December 12, Japanese troops crossed the Lishui River along the lines of Shimen, Lixian, and Jinshi.The wind was strong, the stars were sparse and the moon was bright. After Yan Yongwang led the command post to cross the river first, he stood at the head of a bridge on the north bank of the river, raised his wrist and looked at his watch, and counted the time for the troops to cross the river.After a while, each regiment came to report one after another, and the crossing of the river was completed.Yan Yongwang said "huh" in satisfaction, and was about to issue an order to continue marching northeast, when suddenly, the radio officer sent a telegram, which was an urgent telegram from Commander Yokoyama Isao from the command post of Guanyin Temple in Shashi, which said, Yan Yongwang ordered the troops to temporarily stop moving along the Lishui River, and he rushed there immediately to discuss urgent military affairs.

Yan Yongwang did not know why, so he conveyed the order. At the same time, he quickly asked the service team to set up a tent and light a fire, and asked several other division heads and chiefs of staff to come and wait for the commander. A few hours later, Yong Shanyong arrived in an off-road vehicle.He stepped out of the car, and first asked the head of the Iwan Yongwang Division, the Sakuma Division Head, and the Yamamoto Sannan Division Head who came forward: "Do you know how many rivers there are in Hunan?" Everyone didn't understand what kind of medicine he was selling in the gourd, so they didn't make a sound.

"There are more than 4,700 rivers and rivers in Hunan, and the four rivers of Xiang, Zi, Yuan, and Li are the largest. We conquered the Yuan River this time, and now we have occupied the Li River. There is an old saying in China, that is, relying on mountains to eat mountains, relying on water to drink water, Let's drink this water now." After answering himself, Yokoyama seemed to be intentional or unintentional, and then went straight into the tent and sat down at the temporary conference table. "Everyone," Yokoyama Isamu said straight to the point, "The Sixth General Hatatoshi of the Nanjing Dispatch Army General Command wants me to convey to you a message, that is, stand by at the front line of Lishui River."

At first, the generals thought it was a decision to hand out a reward, because Changde was defeated and the expected goal of the operation was achieved. This important decision would definitely not escape the scope of the reward, so they all came to the meeting with secret joy. But they also have doubts, how come to praise the troops halfway?But they never expected such a bad decision, they all looked at each other in blank dismay, stunned. "Do you have any comments?" Yokoyama asked, and he didn't seem to be in a high mood. "Your Excellency, Commander, I don't think we can stay in the Lishui River for long. Although the operation was said to be successful, we encountered unexpected and tenacious resistance in Changde and took it after a hard fight. The troops suffered heavy casualties and urgently needed to return. Replenishment and recuperation at the camp." Sakuma, the commander of the 68th Division, stood up and said, and sat down again after speaking.

Yokoyama was silent. Sano Yamamoto, the head of the 3rd Division, also stood up and stated his opinion bluntly: "I agree with Saku-kun's thoughts. Our army not only suffers heavy casualties, but also has a shortage of supplies. What's more serious is that the enemy's regular army is currently following our army. 3 armies , only 5 miles away from our rear guard, fierce battles may break out at any time, and there is even a danger of being flanked by the enemy's sixth and ninth theater troops. Therefore, I think our army should retreat as soon as possible and restore the original situation."

Yokoyama Isamu did not reveal any blame for the negative attitude of the two division heads.But he didn't agree either.He just said indifferently: "I understand what Saku-kun and Yamamoto-kun mean. However, it doesn't matter whether it's okay or not, it's the same, and we must act according to the instructions of the six generals of Hata Toshi." "I agree with the commander's opinion!" Yan Yongwang stood up at this time and echoed, "Although we have fought beyond the defense line for more than a month and a half, we still have many difficulties, but we are a victorious army, and we can inspire high spirits Morale, so we don't have to worry about the enemy's pursuit at all. In my opinion, we have three divisions in front of us, and we are fighting the enemy on the Lishui River. However, we are not fighting guns, but fighting Bravery and fighting spirit! Isn’t there a story in China about Zhang Fei, the general of Shu, and Chang Banpo, who scared the general of Wei Xia Houjie to death, and drove away millions of Wei soldiers? This is fighting with courage. Now, we can just borrow it Come here? Your Excellency, Commander, in the name of all the officers and men of the 116th Division, I express to you that I obey the order!"

"Then I order you," Yokoyama said indifferently to Yan Yongwang, "continue to be the commander-in-chief of the Lishui River confrontation operation!" "Hai!" Yan Yongwang stood at attention and bent down. The cold wind was biting, Yokoyama rushed back with the stars.He just sat in the cab with his teeth shaking, when he suddenly remembered something, he poked his head out and called Yan Yongwang.He whispered to Iwan Yongwang who rushed to him: "There are two Korean comfort women. I will send a car to bring them to you!" "Thank you!" Yan Yongwang bent his waist to ninety degrees.

Strictly speaking, Iwa Aeon is taking a risk, and it is hard to say what kind of psychology he is motivated by.What Lieutenant General Yamamoto said was very reasonable. Behind their buttocks, there were three Kuomintang armies recharging their energy. If they attacked the Lishui River in one go, then the three Japanese divisions would have no room to fight.However, it is a pity that the Chinese army, as Yan Yongwang expected, was intimidated by the momentum of the Japanese army sitting on the Lishui River, and did not dare to take an extra step to the other side of the river. On the evening of December 9, the Chongqing Kuomintang Military Commission officially issued a pursuit order.In fact, it was a telegram order sent by Chiang Kai-shek himself:

After receiving the order, the 18th Army, 79th Army, and 44th Army of the National Army immediately chased the devils happily.Being a chaser is the most comfortable, relaxed and majestic, and you can also pick up "foreign fishing" left by the Japanese along the way.Usually a soldier got a trophy, such as a telescope or a command knife, and the squad leader took it away first, and then the platoon leader said, what do you want this thing for?give it to me!The platoon leader didn't play for a long time, and was seen by the company commander again, and cursed, you kid still hide such a treasure?Let me go!After leaving it for a few minutes, it was detected by the battalion commander and asked the messenger to take it to see if it was genuine?It's true and stay.But the battalion commander is not safe there, and the regiment commander will come to appreciate it after hearing about it.And the head of the regiment will not want it in the end, he will give it to the teacher as a gift.

But not everything was passed on in this way, there were too many picked up, and almost every officer and soldier had some traces of trophies on their bodies.Some wear Japanese military uniforms, wool coats, and suede shoes; some eat Japanese bento (rice balls), canned food, and cigarettes; There are everything, and at a glance, this mighty team can hardly tell whether it is the national army or the Japanese army. Everyone is happy to fight like this.Just follow the spring breeze all the way.Chasing and chasing, chasing to the edge of Lishui, stopped. Wang Jiaben, commander of the 79th Army, looked at the Japanese troops on the other side of the river and cursed:

"Mom, why don't you run away, Little Japan?" Not only did the Japanese army stop running away, but they also set up a village on the bank of the Lishui River and built a fire for cooking. "Huh?" Wang Zejun, the commander of the 44th Army, stroked his goatee, feeling very strange. Immediately report the enemy's situation to the theater and to the Chongqing Military Commission.The highest military authority of the Kuomintang, regardless of the reason, immediately ordered the troops to stop the pursuit. Yan Yongwang lived safely in the Lishui River for a week, and the three armies of the Chinese army also honestly accompanied him for a week.There was a reason for the Japanese army's confrontation, but there was no other reason for the national army's confrontation other than fear of the enemy. After the war, many Chinese and foreign high-level people could not help but regret the loss of such a great opportunity for the national army to encircle and wipe out the main force of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army! It stands to reason that in this battle of Changde, the national army used 12 armies and 28 divisions on the frontal battlefield in Changde, with more than 260,000 troops, and more than 170,000 troops participated in the support operations. There are more than 430,000 troops.The Japanese army directly participated in the offensive with only about 90,000 troops, and there were no more than 100,000 troops including support operations and puppet troops.Judging from the comparison of troops, it is 4 to 1.Moreover, the Japanese army invaded from afar, and the national army is ready to fight. The situation is absolutely beneficial to China.Therefore, there is no reason for the Chinese army to be overwhelmed, and there is no reason not to fight across the river. Zhang Bingjun, an official of the Operations Department of the Kuomintang Military Command, also pointed out that the national army is located in the Sixth and Ninth theaters outside the Japanese Wuhan theater, with a total strength of 10 group armies, 31 armies, and 104 divisions, with a total of 1 million people.The army of one million should not say that it ate up the three divisions of the Japanese army facing each other in the Lishui River. lair". So why can’t all these strategic goals be realized?Just because the Kuomintang Military Commission is incompetent?Incompetent and short-sighted?Nor is it. Just look at the quality of the Chinese army at that time. Most of the soldiers of the Kuomintang came from captured young men, with low pay, poor treatment, and extremely hard life.Moreover, there is a lack of strict military training in normal times, and military discipline is lax. Whenever the battle situation is not good, the morale of the army will be shaken, and they will run around in order to save their lives. Soldiers are like this, and there are many officials who are greedy for life and afraid of death.According to the regulations of the Military Commission, the division commander is 3 to 5 kilometers away from the front line, the army commander is 8 to 9 kilometers away, and the commander-in-chief of the group army is 12 to 20 kilometers away. This regulation is already far from the front line, but the commander of the national army We still think it is not enough, and still exceed the specified number of kilometers.Xu Yongchang, Minister of the Military Command, concluded: "Most of the positions of senior commanders still failed to advance in accordance with the regulations, and they were often unable to grasp the opportunity to adapt to command operations." Since the command post of the military division was too far away from the front line, once the frontline troops were attacked by the Japanese army , they fled around, lost contact, and could not carry out a powerful blow to the enemy. For example, after the 44th Army moved south from Jinli, the divisions were often unable to communicate with each other. When the 73rd Army was surrounded by the Japanese in Shimen, all the units scrambled to escape for their own lives. Except for the temporary 5th Division, the other two divisions basically did not attack the Japanese. Fight back and run away.As for the common people in Shimen City, they didn't take it seriously. The Japanese army surrounded Shimen, and the army commander Wang Zhibin "did not deal with the residents and communication agencies in the city beforehand, causing heavy losses." In addition, the weapons and equipment of the Kuomintang army at that time were poor, and coupled with the lack of strict drills in peacetime, the firepower of a division of the national army could only match a brigade of the Japanese army.According to the Headquarters of the Sixth Theater Command, they are usually "busy with tasks that are not required for actual combat, consuming training time, resulting in inadequate combat preparations, and insufficient shooting education in all units, so that they cannot fully annihilate the enemy when there is a good opportunity." Changde The Chinese army consumed more than 17 million rounds of bullets (infantry machine guns) in the battle. According to the 30,000 casualties of the Japanese army announced by the Kuomintang, more than 500 bullets could hit a Japanese army; It takes 2,000 rounds of bullets to hit a Japanese army. What is this level of operation?God knows! The officers and soldiers of the national army, including the generals, scolded those who were in office in Chongqing as "bureaucratic lords", but these "bureaucratic lords" are also considering using these Chinese-style troops to fight the Japanese army. Not good, didn't you lose all your money by hitting a pebble with a stone? They have their reasons. In this sense, the heroic resistance of Yu Chengwan and the "Hu Ben" troops of the 57th Division is recognized internationally as the famous "Second Stalingrad" defensive battle, which is really a rare miracle! Hatatoshi’s six generals ordered the Japanese 11th Army to stand by at the Lishui River because after the Battle of Changde began, the Chinese and American Air Forces bombed the Japanese-occupied Taiwan’s Hsinchu on November 25, which dealt a heavy blow to the Japanese army. It has been seriously threatened, and the request to open up the communication line in mainland China is imminent. On December 3, when the 11th Army captured Changde, the Japanese headquarters in Tokyo immediately ordered the headquarters of the Chinese Expeditionary Army to report the combat plan to open up the Guangdong-Han Railway.Commander-in-Chief Hata Shunroku of the dispatched army believed that Changde, an important military stronghold, must be maintained in order to open up the Guangdong-Han Railway. However, he also considered whether the 11th Army, which had been fighting for more than a month, could continue in Changde?He asked for the opinion of Isamu Yokoyama, and Isamu Yokoyama believed that "with the current strength, we are not confident. At this time, the original situation should be restored, and we hope to start the retreat on the 11th as scheduled."Although Hata Shunroku wanted to take root in Changde, according to the situation at the time, he felt that he was really not sure about occupying Changde at this time, so he agreed to Isamu Yokoyama's request to retreat. As soon as the Japanese army retreated, the national army recovered Changde. But on December 12, Japan's Tokyo base camp once again sent a telegram to the headquarters of the dispatched army, requesting that Changde be secured so as to run through the Guangdong-Han Railway.Hata Toshiroku took it as his duty to seek the great interests of the Japanese Empire, so he made up his mind to order the 11th Army of Isamu Yokoyama to stop the retreat and turn around to recapture Changde. Heng Shanyong knew the situation of his troops, and it was almost impossible to return to Changde, but he couldn't immediately disobey the order, so he let the troops stand by the national army at the Lishui River.At the same time, he personally asked Hata Shunroku to ask the dispatched army headquarters to take back the order.He said that according to the army's "combat preparations and the actual situation of troop fatigue, and the limit of frontal security guarantees", "it is advisable to suspend this operation quickly and start the operation after replenishment in the next spring." Although Yokoyama Isamu said so tactfully, Hata Toshiroku was still extremely annoyed by the 11th Army's resistance to orders.Hata Shunroku sent the chief of staff, Lieutenant General Matsui, to the field to investigate and observe the "fatigue" of the Japanese troops by the Lishui River.When Matsui arrived at the command post of Guanyin Temple in Shashi, Yokoyama Isamu personally accompanied him to the front line to inspect. After a circle, Matsui couldn't help crying when faced with the embarrassment of the troops who were tortured by hunger and exhaustion and couldn't stand upright.He returned to Nanjing and reported sincerely to Hata Toshiroku: "In this Changde annihilation battle, China's defenses were strong, and the troops suffered a lot of damage. 50,000 troops participated in the attack, and about 10,000 people were reduced. Therefore, it is really necessary to restore combat power." Under such helpless circumstances, the General Command of the Chinese Expeditionary Force and the Tokyo base camp gave up their plan to recapture Changde.Change the decision to launch an offensive in the spring and summer of 1944. Yan Yongwang stayed by the Lishui River with his arms around two Korean comfort women for a week before continuing to retreat. On December 18, the Japanese army began to retreat, and the 18th Army, 79th Army, and 44th Army of the Chinese Army took advantage of the momentum to pursue them.The Chinese and American air forces assisted the ground forces in bombing and strafing the enemy.At the same time, the peripheral troops also easily invested in the counterattack.By the 21st, Nanxian, Anxiang, Jinshi, Lixian, Wangjiachang, Zhijiang, Yangxi and other places were recovered. From the 23rd to the 25th, they arrived at Songzi and Gongan respectively, and fully restored the pre-war situation.