Chapter 58 Chapter 58: Exploding Cannons Across the River

After receiving continuous supplies and reinforcements from the rear, the Japanese army still adopted the tactics of combining artillery and air firepower to support the infantry charge, and continued to attack the positions of Tianma Mountain and Xichan Temple in the west of the national army.Hengyang City was under bombardment by Japanese bombers and planes all the time, and the fire in the city burned day and night without stopping for a moment.It is almost difficult for officers and soldiers to move during the day.At night, the flickering flames illuminate the dilapidated buildings, broken trees, telephone poles, and huge bomb craters in a dark, unpredictable, and eerie way.

In the basement of the central bank in the center of Hengyang, the command post of the 10th Army, the air is so dull that it is difficult to breathe.General Fang Xianjue picked up a cigarette and was about to light it, when he suddenly remembered something, split the cigarette in two and broke it, put one half in the cigarette case, lit the other half and smoked it.General Sun Mingyu, chief of staff of the army, is reporting the casualties of the national army to Fang Xianjue. "The three regiments of the Reserve 10th Division and the troops directly under the division defending the main positions in the south and southwest of the city had more than 90% casualties; the three regiments of the 3rd Division defending the west of the city reached 70%; the three regiments of the 190th Division in the north of the city and Jiangfang There are only 700 officers and soldiers left; except for the 500 officers and soldiers of the supply regiment, the remaining troops directly under the army, such as the search battalion, special agent battalion, engineer battalion, communication battalion, and artillery battalion, are less than one-third of the remaining troops." "The biggest loss is Those parts?" Fang Xianjue asked as he dropped the cigarette butt that was about to burn his fingers.The cigarette butts thrown on the ground were quietly picked up by the clever guards and put into the cigarette case.Due to the continuous shrinking of the positions, airdrops are becoming more and more difficult. This is a rare food for the army commander!

"The lower-level officers of each division and infantry regiment suffered a lot of casualties, especially the infantry battalion commander with the highest casualty rate. Often the most sacrificed battalion commanders were in defensive operations and counter-attack tug-of-war, and sometimes several battalion commanders had to be promoted in a row. During the battle for Wuguiling , the battle was fierce, the 8th Regiment of the 3rd Division, in the half-day battle, was promoted to 5 battalion commanders in a row, and all of them died heroically!" Sun Mingyu continued to report: "It is really like the army yesterday, and the division died under the seat of the division. As at the time of the order, the officer positions formed a reversed replacement method. A regiment was sacrificed to become a battalion, and the regiment commander became the battalion commander; a battalion became a company, and the battalion commander became the company commander; a company became a platoon commander. , the company commander acted as the platoon leader, and in the end there was a regimental leader acting as the squad leader to fight."

"With such a fierce battle, if there is no good commander, it will be difficult to persist for a day!" After listening to General Sun's report, all the senior officers of the military department sighed. "During the battle, because our army did not have artillery shells, the artillery fire could not support the infantry. Most of the officers died under the enemy's artillery fire! It is really my deep regret!" General Cai Rulin, the war zone supervisor and artillery commander of the army Say. "Otherwise, this frontline position wouldn't be lost like this! It seems that I have to blow up a few heavy artillery pieces of the devils to relieve my hatred!" In the hands of our army!" Peng Gaocan wanted to divert General Cai's emotions and let everyone focus on Fang Junchang. "I'm not that capable. I just faithfully carried out the instructions of the commissioner. Remember, the commissioner said: No matter how many casualties there are or how short the troops are, the troops must be fully assembled; the troops can be downsized, but one A battalion is a battalion, and it must be real, so it will be useful if you pull it up and fight! This is a very practical experience on the battlefield!" Fang Xianjue said reverently and lamentingly, humbly and sincerely.Everyone nodded in admiration.

Although the 10th Army of the National Army was trapped in the isolated city of Hengyang, Fang Xianjue used its forces flexibly in battle and constantly adjusted and replenished; such continuous reorganization and integration restored the combat power of the entire army and improved morale. Condensed into a whole, formed into a joint force, so as to achieve such a brilliant record.Fang Xianjue thought for a while that he had won the secret of the principal's command, and he was very happy in his heart.But how did he know that Principal Jiang also paid the tuition fees, and his experience came from the Red Army of Chinese Workers and Peasants.Back then, Principal Jiang tried his best to break through the Central Soviet Area and force the Red Army to march.General Xue Yue was sent as the commander of the pursuit and suppression army, and the national army chased after him all the way, trying to destroy the Red Army.The Red Army suffered heavy losses. In the battle of the Xiangjiang River, only 30,000 of the 80,000 Red Army remained; when they moved to Guizhou, Guangxi, Sichuan and Yunnan, only more than 10,000 remained; when they finally reached northern Shaanxi, there were less than 10,000.However, the Red Army continued to reorganize and adjust the troops, and the team was always complete. A division was a division, and a regiment was a regiment.Therefore, during the entire Long March, which lasted for more than a year, traveled 25,000 miles, and spanned more than 10 provinces, the Red Army always retreated without collapsing, marched without disorder, and fought without breaking up.This has become Chairman Jiang's lifelong regret, but it is by no means without benefits. The extremely clever President Jiang has learned one or two things from it.This method is one of them.

"General Cai, don't be impatient. Chief of Staff Sun, please make arrangements, and the task of bombing the artillery will be handed over to Company Commander Zang of the 1st Company of the Military Search Battalion! But they must first ensure that the bombing is successful; Covertly engage the enemy!" "Yes!" Chief of Staff Sun replied. Company Commander Zang of the 1st Company of the Military Search Battalion received the bombing mission, which was exactly what he wanted.Because Xiao Min, the sergeant squad leader, had suggested bombing a few days earlier. "Reporting to the company commander, there are several Japanese heavy artillery on the east bank of the river, causing casualties and damage to our army every day. Why don't you let Corporal Wang Youwei and I swim across the river quietly and risk our lives to blow up the enemy's artillery. Greatly increase the morale of our army, destroy the enemy's arrogance and arrogance; secondly, it can also reduce the loss of our army. What do you think?" "Hey, what a hero sees the same thing! I just received an order from the commander here, asking us to choose an opportunity Go blow up the enemy's cannons. Alright, make some preparations and take advantage of the night to cross the river tonight. Try to succeed in one fell swoop!"

Company Commander Zang knew that Squad Leader Xiao was from the Yangtze River in Anhui, and Wang Youwei was a descendant of the Hunan Army and Navy from Dongting Lake.The two are not only excellent in water, but also thin and strong, smart, alert, and courageous.Company Commander Zang was pleased with his self-recommendation and volunteered, so he checked their equipment in person after the two had rested and were ready to set off.I saw two young men full of energy, eyes shining in the night, each carrying a sharp dagger, 4 grenades, and a wooden stick for swimming.Company Commander Zang beat the well-developed chest muscles of the two with satisfaction, and after telling him the location of the Japanese artillery position and the surrounding terrain and features, he told him: "Go to the south side of the original Xiangjiang Bridge for the round trip—that is, to the upper reaches. One end can be prescribed, so as not to be washed downstream by the current and make it difficult to go ashore. Do you understand?" "Understood, please rest assured, sir, and promise to complete the task!" The two strong men answered at attention.

"Also, safety must be the top priority. If you can't do it, come back as soon as possible, don't force it! I will lead my brothers to meet you by the river!" Company Commander Zang was reluctant when it came to parting, and he looked like a mother-in-law. "Thank you, Commander, for your concern! Although this is the first time our army has crossed the river to conduct reconnaissance and blasting behind enemy lines, please believe that we will succeed!" "Okay! Let's go!" Following Company Commander Zang's order, the two of them flickered and disappeared into the dark night.

At 8 o'clock in the evening on July 16, the two warriors set off from Shangxin Street near the Xiangjiang Bridge, bypassed the Japanese cordon on the west bank, and groped forward to the river.Company Commander Zang ordered our army's light and heavy machine guns to be ready, and to support them with firepower at any time if they encounter obstacles while sneaking.The midsummer night was dark, and the two used wooden sticks to brush aside the thorns and weeds on the shore, and groped their way down.In the grass, unknown zergs were singing to each other, and when they heard the sound, they immediately shut up; but the little fireflies were fluttering in panic, seeming to light the way for the warriors intentionally or unintentionally.After going through hardships, he finally came to the riverside.Because Hengyang is already in the middle and lower reaches of the Xiangjiang River. The river is wide and wide. On the surface, the river flows quietly and silently. In fact, the river flow is still very fast, especially when bypassing the bridge piers. .

Although the two armies faced each other, they did not set up defenses in the river. It would be troublesome if mines were laid or something.The two quietly slipped into the water and swam.Both of them are master swimmers who have experienced strong winds and waves, and crossing the Xiangjiang River should not be a problem.However, after days of fierce fighting, the food was poor, and his physical strength was exhausted.Therefore, it is still a bit difficult to swim.In normal times, it is not a piece of cake.The two, one behind the other, gestured like dumb words to encourage each other and moved forward bravely.Sometimes the searchlights of the Japanese army swept over, and the two simply lay quietly on the water to rest for a while.About an hour and a half later, the two finally reached the east bank of the river.I thought the Japanese army would be heavily guarded, but I didn't expect such an omission.The two successfully bypassed the Japanese sentries and patrols.Slowly approaching the artillery positions of the Japanese army.I saw ghost soldiers in groups of three or five, some were telling interesting stories about Chinese flower girls, and they were not laughing obscenely; They went; some were playing finger-guessing, gambling and drinking; the sentinels lazily stretched their necks to look at the place where they were laughing wildly, and the corners of their mouths also smiled foolishly, and even salivated, whether it was the attraction of the flower girl or the spirits.

Finally, at 12 midnight, the devil soldiers gradually fell asleep.The sentinel also yawned and shrank to the side to doze off.Without further ado, Xiao Min stretched out his finger to Wang Youwei as a gesture.The two smiled knowingly for a while.But seeing that the artillery position of the Japanese army is high and low, there are six 100mm cannons far and near.The cannon is covered with a cannon coat, a muzzle cap is also worn on the muzzle, and a camouflage net is hung on the whole cannon.It is a pity that the range of each gun is relatively long, the grenades are limited, and it is difficult to allow time to stay for a long time.So one of them had no choice but to touch a cannon closer to the shore.He took off the muzzle cap and tucked it into his waist, and stuffed the four grenades into the muzzle after firing.Before the explosion was heard, the two had already rolled on the spot and arrived at the riverside early.Just hearing two loud bangs, bang and bang, the flames shot into the sky!The Japanese army was awakened in their sleep and hadn't reacted yet.Our warriors have dived into the river.The Japanese army was in chaos, light and heavy machine guns fired blindly, and the 38th Dagai also fired randomly all over the sky.But it seems to be seeing off our bomber hero, and it's just a waste of ammunition.Soon the Japanese army themselves thought it was futile, and the gunfire fell silent. Since the two of Xiao Wang set off, Company Commander Zang and the brothers of Quan Company have been counting the time and waiting in extreme worry.It really feels like years!Everyone prayed silently in their hearts: May a miracle happen, and may our warriors return safely!Finally, in the early morning of the next day, the two warriors Xiao and Wang returned to our army's position safely.Both men are intact save for a few abrasions.But exhausted, he almost struggled to crawl back to the position. When he saw his comrades, the tension was relaxed, and he fell to the ground.Everyone cheered and carried the two into the shelter in a hurry. Those who lit the fire lit the fire, those who poured ginger soup poured ginger soup, and those who fed the porridge fed the porridge. They were extremely busy.Company Commander Zang hurriedly turned in the muzzle cap he had brought back, reported his merits to the commanders of the division and army, and asked for rewards and honors for the two warriors.Commander Fang Xianjue immediately reported to the Military Commission for approval, and awarded each of them a Medal of Loyalty and Bravery.The whole army is full of joy and encouragement, and the hearts of the people are very happy.The Japanese cannons on the other side had been silent for several days, presumably they were busy shifting their positions.