Chapter 7 Chapter Seven

Changsha fell. In order to protect Hengyang, Chiang Kai-shek decided to adopt the strategic method of "blocking in the middle and clamping on both sides" in the area from Lushui to Hengshan to block the enemies in Changsha area to the north of Lushui.Chiang Kai-shek sent an order to Xue Yue, Commander of the Ninth War Zone, to quickly adjust the deployment to achieve the above strategic goals.Chiang Kai-shek's telegram reads to the effect: 1. Order the 10th Army to guard Hengyang City. 2. Order General Ouzhen to lead the 37th Army and temporarily form the 2nd Army to occupy positions along the railway line and both sides of the Xiangjiang River between Lushui and Hengshan to block the enemy who invaded from the south.

3. Order the 72nd, 58th, and 26th armies of the 30th Army of Wang Lingji of the Sichuan Army, and the 20th and 44th Armies of the 27th Army of Yang Sen of the Sichuan Army to attack the Liling area from east to west on the east bank of the Xiangjiang River The enemy ordered the 73rd, 79th, 99th, and 100th armies of Wang Yaowu's 24th Army, and a part of the 4th Army, to attack from west to east on the west bank of the Xiangjiang River, forming a confrontation with the Sichuan Army on the east bank. Use the momentum to cut off the enemy attacking south. Due to the rapid changes in the battlefield situation, Chiang Kai-shek's strategic attempt has become a "painting cake".

When Xue Yue received Chiang Kai-shek's telegram, the Ninth War Zone was still implementing the order of "each unit seeks the enemy to attack". In fact, each unit was in a state of being tracked and attacked by the enemy, and it was impossible to gather the troops and organize the implementation of Chiang Kai-shek's strategic plan.It was not until June 23 that Xue Yue got in touch with the various ministries and issued their respective assembly points and attack targets.But by this time the situation on the battlefield had changed greatly, and it was too late.Because Xue Yue gathered the remaining troops of the Ninth War Zone in the border area between Hunan and Jiangxi, he tried to counterattack the Japanese army's rear after the Japanese army penetrated deep.However, Xue Yue's formation was besieged by the Japanese army's main corps rotating eastward from multiple directions. Therefore, not only could it not play the role of outflanking the Japanese army, but it also caused the Hengyang position in the south to suffer from a crisis of insufficient military support.

While the Japanese army captured Changsha, Yokoyama launched a long-distance raid on Hengyang. The Japanese 6th and 8th Divisions (Sakuma) and 116th Divisions (Iwanongwang) surrounded Hengyang along the east and west banks of the Xiangjiang River. The 6th and 8th Division's death commando captured the Hengyang Airport, the largest US air force base in China, in the middle of the night on June 26, and received a commendation from the Japanese Emperor himself.It was not until June 23 that Xue Yue got in touch with the various ministries and issued their respective assembly points and attack targets, but by this time the battlefield situation had changed greatly, and it was too late.

Hengyang Airport is located in the eastern outskirts of Hengyang City, under the Bachi Ridge on the east bank of the Xiangjiang River.Since one of the objectives of the Japanese army’s operation this time was to destroy the airport system in the southwest of the national army, and the Japanese army wanted to capture the forward airfield closer to the front line in order to cover the troops to achieve the goal of opening up the southern section of the Guangdong-Han Railway during Operation No. 1, Hengyang The airport became a place of contention between the two armies, so the war zone assigned the temporary 54th Division (less than two regiments) guarding the airport to the Tenth Army, which was fully commanded by the Tenth Army.

On June 1, Fang Xianjue, Commander of the Tenth Army, together with the division commanders and staff officers of his divisions, as well as the U.S. Brigadier General He Ke who came here made a special trip to formulate a defense plan for Hengyang.Among them, in order to cover the airport and the east of Hengyang, the 190th Division and the provisional 54th Division were deployed on the east bank of the Xiangjiang River, the former in the south and the latter in the north.However, the deployment had just begun. On the 13th, the newly formed 19th Division, which was originally responsible for the defense of the north of Hengyang City, was ordered to be transferred to Quanzhou. As a result, the already insufficient Hengyang defenders were even more stretched.Fang Xianjue had to adjust the deployment, the arrangement is as follows:

1. The 190th Division under the jurisdiction of the military established a forward base at the new wharf on the west bank of the Leishui River in Quanxi City with a battalion attached to the artillery company, and used a railway on the south bank of the lake to pass through the west bank of the lake, Wantang to Centipede Bridge The main force occupied the lines of Wumaguicao, Rubber Pond, and Lianhua Pond to form a stronghold position, keeping the focus on the right wing. 2. One regiment of the provisionally organized 54th Division attached to the theater occupies a security position along the line from Dongjiawan to Hejiashan; the main force occupies Fengjiachong, and forms a stronghold position along the line from the left bank of the Leishui River to the mouth of the Leishui River. Stay on the left.

The national army intends to use the established positions to consume the enemy's troops one by one to achieve the purpose of blocking the enemy's rapid advance.In addition, due to the military value of Hengyang Airport, it was decided in the planned plan of the national army that complete destruction must be carried out before the final airport fell, so as not to be easily used by the Japanese army.Since the various units of the Tenth Army have been in battle for a long time, the distribution and technicality of the fortifications constructed are very important.On the east bank of the Xiangjiang River, relying on the Xiangjiang River, build a small number of bunkers to monitor the waters, and use various firepower points to form a cross-fire network for advancing bases, which can support each other.This played a big role in the future battle.

The battle plan of the enemy's 11th Army Corps Isamu Hengshan even stipulated that while capturing Changsha, he would quickly advance southward with artillery, tanks, and railway troops, and quickly attack the Hengyang area by means of sudden attacks and strong attacks. ; It is necessary to attack before the Chinese army is deployed. According to this strategic intention, the 68th and 116th divisions of the Japanese first-line corps on the central road continued to move south along the east side of Changsha when the second-line corps besieged Changsha City. The army, in fact, has other plans.

When the 58th and 34th Divisions of the Japanese Army had just captured Changsha, the 116th and 68th Divisions, which had undergone some rest and replenishment, immediately advanced from the vicinity of Zhuzhou along the banks of the Xiangjiang River to Hengyang. Smacking your tongue, it's like a raging wave rising from the ground and rushing southward. On the east bank of the Xiangjiang River.The enemy's 68th Division, under the command of Lieutenant General Sakuma, marched south frantically.The main sequence of the 68th Division advancing towards Hengyang: Sakuma, head of the 68th Division Headquarters, is Lieutenant General

Chief of Staff Chief of Staff Harada Sadaburo Major General Ota Sadasaki, Fifty-eighth Infantry Brigade (owed to two brigades) Lieutenant Commander Tabe Kyujiro, 116th Battalion, Independent Infantry Major Tsunehiko Nagato, 117th Brigade, Independent Infantry Hashimoto Detachment Captain Takashi Hashimoto The order of battle of the 10th National Army of the Hengyang Garrison: Army Commander Lieutenant General Fang Xianjue (Whampoa Phase 3), Army Chief of Staff Major General Sun Mingyu (Whampoa Phase 3) There are three divisions under its jurisdiction: The third division, Major General Zhou Qingxiang (Whampoa Phase 4) The 10th Preparatory Division, Commander Major General Ge Xiancai (Whampoa Phase 4) The 190th Division (for the post-adjustment division, there is actually only one regiment), the division commander is Major General Rong You (Phase 1 of Whampoa) The temporary 54th division of the assisted defense (only one regiment, the last two battalions did not enter the city to participate in the battle, actually only one division headquarters plus one battalion), the division commander Major General Rao Shaowei (Whampoa Phase 4) At that time, a division of the Japanese army was equivalent to an army of the national army.It can be seen that there is a huge difference in strength.Our army was ordered to defend the city. Chairman Jiang personally called Commander Fang: If you don’t hesitate to sacrifice, stick to Hengyang for 7 to 10 days. The 10th Army had just participated in the Battle of Changde, and suffered heavy casualties. When it returned to Hengshan, it was not complete.Although there are quite a few wounded and recovered officers and soldiers returning to the army one after another, it is still less than half of the establishment, and the shortage of combat soldiers is the largest.In particular, the 190th Division is a post-transfer division. The so-called post-transfer means that all the existing soldiers of the division will be allocated to the 3rd Division and the 10th Reserve Division, and only military cadres and business technicians at all levels above the squad leader will be retained. Designate an area to accept recruits, train them, and return to the building after the expiration.Before the troops were dispatched, the battle began.Commander Fang had no choice but to keep the division, and one more person would have more fighting power, so he did not let the 190th Division leave, but took part in the Hengyang Defense Battle together.At this moment, the total number of officers and soldiers of the 190th Division is only about 1,200. At that time, the Supreme Command of course understood the strength of the 10th Army, and ordered the new 19th Division, which was originally from Guizhou, to return to the command of the commander of the Fang Army and participate in the battle of Hengyang.But on June 13, at the instruction of the Guilin, they changed their focus and transferred the division back to Guangxi to prepare to guard Guilin.The temporary 54th Division of Xue Yue's Cantonese nationality was reassigned to the 10th Army.However, the division has only one regiment and division headquarters in Hengyang, which is responsible for guarding the Hengyang Airport.The other two infantry regiments were on duty in other areas and never came to Hengyang to report.Moreover, when the enemy attacked the airport at night on June 26, the garrison regiment of the 54th Division temporarily had only a little contact with the enemy. In order to preserve its strength, it withdrew south without authorization, so that the airport was occupied by the enemy overnight.The division has only one bare division headquarters and one battalion in the city.Therefore, before the war, including non-combatant soldiers, there were more than 17,600 soldiers from the army commander down, and the actual number of combat soldiers was less than 14,000. Hengyang, the headquarters of the 10th Army, had a tense pre-war atmosphere. "Commander Fang! We meet again! How are you!" Major General Cai Rulin and Lieutenant General Fang Xianjue warmly shook hands and said hello. "Oh! Who am I talking about? It's General Cai, our theater supervisor and artillery commander. Welcome! Welcome!" Commander Fang Xianjue greeted loudly. "Junzuo, you, a famous defender of Changsha, how do you plan to defend Hengyang this time?" Cai Rulin asked with concern. "Heroes don't mention their bravery! To tell you the truth, this Hengyang is also different from Changsha. Firstly, except one side facing the river, Hengyang is flat on three sides, so there is no danger to defend. None; the third is that our army has been newly defeated and scattered, and it is difficult to form a joint force for the time being; the fourth is that our army rushed to rescue Changde at the end of last year, with heavy casualties, and there will be no good rest and supplement in the future. It seems that there are many difficulties!" Fang Xianjue was full of conflicts in his heart , although his face is resolute, it reveals melancholy and helplessness. "You need artillery to attack a city, but you also have to rely on artillery to defend a city. What is the number and caliber of artillery in our army?" Cai Rulin is more concerned about his profession and job. "Our army originally had a field artillery battalion, and 12 Type 38 field guns, which have been reserved for the Changsha defenders to guard Changsha! Battalion Commander Zhang of the Field Artillery Battalion of the Military Department led his troops to Kunming to replace the 12 new American Type 75 mountain guns. The gate has not yet been built. You are a war supervisor and you are an artilleryman, please think of a way!" Fang Xianjue said sincerely. "Don't worry, the military seat. I will immediately ask Shangfeng to assign some artillery units to help defend the city!" Although Cai Rulin expressed his position so firmly, he was not sure how confident he was. Coincidentally, as soon as we talked about artillery, there was a report on the situation of artillery.A staff officer recently reported: "Report to the war supervisor. According to the search battalion's report, there is an artillery unit heading towards Shaoyang. Please give instructions." "Oh, which part is it? Let them find out quickly." Cai Rulin was overjoyed. "yes!" Not long after, the staff officer reported again: "Report to the war supervisor, and it has been found that this department is the Artillery Battalion of the 74th Army." Please leave this department to participate in the war." "Zhang Guangkuan, hurry up and go by car. You must find a way to stay here." Fang Xianjue ordered. "Yes! Military seat. I will do it immediately!" However, due to the different command systems, despite several negotiations, it was finally rejected.In the end, we had to submit a telegram to the command headquarters, and then transferred to the war zone commander's department for a telegram, and the artillery of the department dispatched a field artillery company to perform Biqiao Huiheng from the suburbs of Hengyang to participate in the city defense.In addition, the New 19th Division of the 46th Army at that time originally planned to defend the city with the 10th Army, and was later ordered to go to Quanzhou, Guangxi to prepare for the next stage of the War of Resistance.However, the 1st company of its mountain artillery stayed in Hengyang and still served as the task of coordinating the defense of the city.It seems that there are only so few artillery units in the defense of Hengyang.