Chapter 42 Chapter 42 Blocking the enemy Xiangjiang River

Shigu Street in the north of the city, the headquarters of the 9th Regiment of the 3rd Division. Colonel Xiaogui Tiantian, the head of the regiment, had just returned from supervising the battle at the northern end of Caoqiao. Seeing that the situation was extremely unfavorable to me, he hurriedly reported the battle situation to the division commander Zhou Qingxiang: "Master, our regiment's forward positions at Wangcheng'ao and Laiyanta have been fighting unprecedentedly fiercely for days. Now The 8th and 9th companies of the 3rd Battalion were all killed, and the 3rd Aircraft Company also suffered all casualties. The chief officers of the platoons were all sacrificed. It is really difficult to continue fighting against the enemy in the narrow area on the north bank of the Cao River. In order to ensure the main position of the North Gate, Request the division commander's approval to shrink the troops north of the Caohe River to the south bank, and blow up the Caoqiao at the right time."

"I agree with your arrangement. But you must stick to the position on the south bank of Zhengshui. Even if there is only one battalion left, you will be the battalion commander; if there is only one company left, you will be the company commander; Be the platoon leader and squad leader. Even if you are all dead, you must hold the position for me. Don’t take another step back!" Zhou Qingxiang instructed without negotiating. "Yes! Master. I am in the position! Even if I am gone, I will eat these little devils if I become a ghost!" "Okay, I'll send the engineer company to help you blow up the bridge." After speaking, he hung up the phone.

Head Xiao ordered Battalion Commander Sun to quickly rectify the troops and retreat to Shigu Street while fighting.Under the cover of artillery, they finally successfully retreated to the south bank of the Cao River after sunset. The afterglow of the setting sun leaves a bright red in the western sky.The bright red gradually turned pale yellow, and soon, dusk was everywhere, and night fell.At this moment, a flame rose into the sky, and after an earth-shattering loud noise, the grass bridge connecting the two banks of the Cao River and extending the Changheng Highway was completely blown up.The defenders gathered all the river crossing equipment such as wooden boats and bamboo rafts to the hidden place in the river bend on the south bank for later use.

When the Japanese army chased to the river, they got nothing but firepower from the south bank of our army.The Japanese commander stood in the Wangchengao position, which he had just acquired in the distance, and looked at Hengyang City, which was usually brightly lit and illuminated by thousands of houses. At this time, except for the sporadic flames of war, it was dark. He shook his head helplessly, and only Wangcheng sighed. The Xiangjiang River originates from Haiyang Mountain and Maoer Mountain in Guangxi, runs through the entire Hunan Province from south to north, enters Dongting Lake in the north, and reaches the East China Sea through the Yangtze River.Looking at the land of China, whether it is the Yangtze River, the Yellow River, the Pearl River, or the Heilongjiang River, all major rivers either flow from west to east or from north to south.Because the general trend of China's geography is from southeast to northwest, the southeast is low and the northwest is high, and there are very few rivers from south to north.

This vast Xiangjiang River is an outstanding representative of these few.Maybe going against the trend has created reverse thinking, rebellious psychology and unruly character traits, which may make Hunan Province and the people from other provinces who have lived in Hunan Province for a long time more or less branded with these marks, "Hunan people are good Fighting" became famous like this.Especially represented by the leader Mao Zedong, from his two masterpieces "Qinyuanchun" in his youth and middle age.Changsha" and "Qinyuanchun".Clues can be found in "Snow".It is really admirable to the Chinese people in the north and south of the Yangtze River and in the upper and lower reaches of the Yellow River.And his fearless spirit of "fighting with the sky, fighting with the earth, and fighting with people" and "ordering the three mountains and five mountains to clear the way, here I come!" is jaw-dropping.

The Xiangjiang River enters Hunan from Quanzhou, Guangxi, and the upper reaches of Huaihua and Lingling are called Xiaoxiang because it receives Xiaoshui; when it goes out to Hengyang, it receives distilled water, so it is said to be steamed.The Xiangjiang section that flows through the urban area of ​​Hengyang, enters from Dongyangdu in the southern suburb of the city, and exits from Dashidu in the northern suburbs, forming a beautiful S shape. According to modern people, it is called "extremely beautiful in curves". Generally speaking, the east bank of the river and the main urban area of ​​the west bank are two blocks.

Chaibumen Wharf between Taizi Wharf on the west bank and Tielumen Wharf is the main port area of ​​Hengyang River Port. The river is wide and the port is wide. The workers are like tireless ants, carrying them on and off the ship, creating a bustling scene.Now it is deserted and lonely, and it seems that the face of the pink beauty has aged overnight, and the scenery has disappeared.Only a few very hungry waterfowls are still looking for food, flying up and down. After the 190th Division successfully crossed the Xiangjiang River, the large section of the river defense line from Shiguzui to Xinjiebei was defended by the 570th Regiment of the division.The current Hengyang City has no complete city walls. Due to urban development, the ancient city walls have been demolished intermittently on the north, south and west sides, leaving only the city wall on the west bank of the Xiangjiang River.The defenders temporarily built some fortifications and closely monitored every move of the Japanese army on the other side.

Since June 28, the Japanese troops on the east bank of the river have been mobilizing frequently, collecting boats, rafts and other river crossing equipment everywhere; the Japanese troops occupying Hengyang Airport are busy repairing the airport so that the fighter-bombers from Wuhan and Changsha can move over in time and go into battle nearby.Five or six heavy artillery pieces from the Japanese artillery position near the airport fired disruptively at Hengyang City from time to time. "Header Feng of the 570th Regiment? How is the situation in Jiangfang?" General Fang Xianjue called early in the morning.The army commander directly asked the regiment about the situation, which was rare before.It seems that the relationship between the army commander and Chief Xue has more or less affected his relationship with Commander Rong Youlue.Of course, Feng Zhengzhi, the head of the 570 regiment who had just been promoted from deputy head to head, could only know this well, but he must not point it out, it must not be said.

"Hey, Commander Feng, are you listening? Why aren't you talking?" Fang Xianjue asked angrily. "Report to the military seat, Feng Zhengzhi, the head of the 570th regiment, is listening to your lecture!" Feng Zhengzhi was so distracted that he almost broke out in a cold sweat. "The current situation on Jiangfang is very good! However, the Japanese army has been mobilizing frequently recently, and they are collecting boats, rafts and other equipment for crossing the river. It is estimated that there will be a big operation today or tomorrow. Our regiment is waiting in full force and closely monitoring the enemy's movements. According to the current military situation , Can you ask the air force to send out bombing to destroy his plan to cross the river. Please give instructions to the army commander!"

"En, er, er..." Fang Xianjue listened, and instructed: "Coordination between artillery and air is very important, and I will coordinate it. Your regiment must closely monitor the enemy, and make no mistakes! Otherwise, no one can afford this responsibility." !Understand?" "Understood! Please don't worry, Commander! I promise not to let go of any suspicious things. I will report to you as soon as I discover the situation!" Feng Zhengzhi stood at attention and assured Fang Xianjue. "En, good! That's it." Probably Fang Xianjue had heard the sound of Feng Zhengzhi standing at attention and hitting his spurs, smiled, and hung up the phone very satisfied.

In the early morning of July 1, just after dawn, the observation sentry of the 570th regiment discovered that there were 30 to 40 wooden boats on the east bank of the river, full of Japanese troops, rushing towards the west bank.Because the east bank of the river is straight and unobstructed, every move of the Japanese army is in the eyes of the defenders.The situation was quickly reported to the military department.Fang Xianjue immediately ordered the Army Artillery Battalion and the affiliated 48th Division Field Artillery Company to intercept and shoot, and asked Captain Chen Xiangrong of the Air Force to recruit the Sino-US joint air force to bomb the Japanese fleet in time. The Japanese artillery fire also rushed over like a storm.For a while, the shelling from both sides of the strait came and went, very intensively, and some shells even collided and exploded in the air.The anti-aircraft firepower of the Japanese army on the east bank of the river also woven into a dense fire net, interfering with the bombing of the national army and air force. Under the strong three-dimensional firepower of the defenders, the Japanese fleet had lost most of it before it reached the middle of the river.The few Japanese ships that crossed the center line of the river and tried to approach the west bank were also capsized under the heavy fire of the 570 regiment anti-aircraft guns and light and heavy machine guns.The light and heavy firearms of the defenders are condescending, and the fight is so smooth!The Japanese army suffered heavy casualties, and a section of the river was stained red with blood.The river was full of wrecked ships, sun flags and the bodies of drowned Japanese soldiers drifting downstream with the current. The Japanese soldiers buried in the Xiangjiang River became a rich meal for finless porpoises and waterfowl.The rabbit died and the fox was sad. Seeing the miserable end of their comrades, many Japanese soldiers on the east bank of the river called out the names of the dead, beat their chests and feet in grief, and burst into tears. After more than a week of careful preparation by the Japanese army, a large-scale cross-river attack was aborted.This time I was so scared that I was beaten hard, and the Japanese army never dared to carry out large-scale offensive operations across the river. Commander Fang Xianjue ordered the news of victory to be reported to the outside world, and the whole army was sent an order.The officers and soldiers of the national army heard and witnessed this victory scene, and their hearts were greatly cheered, and their morale was greatly increased.