Chapter 60 Chapter 60 Advance to Hongqiao 1

On June 17, Pingshi, Qujiang (now Shaoguan), Guangdong, the headquarters of the seventh theater. "Commissioner, you know that this under-represented army is the reserve force in our war zone. The 158th Division of this army should be transferred to Luoding and Yunfu counties to receive new recruits. Now there are only 151 The division and the 157th division consisted of 6 regiments, about 20,000 people, and the American equipment has not arrived for a long time, and the combat power is limited!" Yu Hanmou, the commander of the seventh theater, promised to send troops to help Heng, and at the same time sang bitter words to Chiang Kai-shek.

"Mr. Yu, I understand the situation in your theater. The Seventh and September theaters are neighbors, and our lips are dead and our teeth are cold. Now that the military situation is urgent, let's put the overall situation first and unite to resist insults! Let Huang Tao of the 62nd Army return to the command of the 27th Army Li Yutang , overcome difficulties, and get in place quickly!" Generalissimo Jiang's tone was calm and majestic, so Yu Hanmou couldn't say much. On June 23, in Toutang, a suburb of Hengyang, the temporary headquarters of the deputy commander of the 27th Army.

Li Yutang, deputy commander of the 27th Army, is holding a pre-war military meeting.Attending the meeting were Fang Xianjue, commander of the 10th Army, and its chiefs of staff, division commanders, and chiefs of staff; Huang Tao, commander of the 62nd Army, and its chiefs of staff, division commanders, and chiefs of staff. "According to the enemy's situation and our army's strength, the group army made a preliminary plan and reported it to the command headquarters: the 10th Army will be stationed in the urban area of ​​Hengyang; the 62nd Army will be stationed in the second and third ponds on the outskirts of Hengyang, and will be responsible for the peripheral operations of Hengyang, and the 10th Army will guard Hengyang City. What advice do you have for this deployment? Please feel free to speak up!" General Li Yutang said gently.

"Reporting to the Deputy Commander, I secretly thought that the 62nd Army is currently stationed in Ertang and Santang, which is too close to Hengyang City. If the Japanese army surrounds Hengyang quickly with a strong force, it will be difficult to guarantee that the army will not be encircled by the Japanese army. So It would be difficult to achieve the supporting task. It is better to gather the main force of the 62nd Army near Wutang and Liutang and wait for orders. The attack can break the siege of Hengyang; Suggested to Li Yutang. "Well, it's more prudent and safe!" Li Yutang turned to ask: "Commander Huang, what do you think?"

"I have no other opinions. Everything is under the command of the deputy chief!" Huang Tao, commander of the 62nd Army, stood up and replied. "That's good! That's it! The 10th Army must quickly check and improve the fortifications, and be ready to respond to the enemy at any time; the main force of the 62nd Army will move to the Liutang Tanzishan area to gather and stand by! The meeting will be adjourned." Li Yutang finally announced the order. When he stepped out of the venue, Fang Xianjue said to Huang Tao: "Commander Huang, our army depends on you for the rear! When the time comes, I will call for your help!"

"Where is that! Brother Xianjue, you are being polite. Since you are ordered to cooperate with each other, you should support each other and cooperate closely. The first priority is to eliminate the enemy. However, brother Xianjue, you also know that it is really difficult to do this! "Huang Tao said with emotion. "Oh, what's the matter? What problem did Commander Huang encounter?" Fang Xianjue asked in bewilderment. "You don't know? Our army just arrived in Santang, a suburb of Hengyang the day before yesterday, when we received a call from Commander Xue of the Ninth War Zone, saying that the 151st Division of our army was to be transferred to the east bank of the Xiangjiang River, under the command of the Chief of the Ninth War Zone." Huang Tao With a helpless look on his face.

"What? And this?" Fang Xianjue asked in surprise. "Commander Fang is not an outsider. In fact, it is because Chief Xue's younger brother Xue Shuda is the commander of the 452nd Regiment in the 151st Division, and he is worried about his safety. What time is it, and he is still talking about it like this." Huang Tao was not angry. Come. "I originally thought that Fang Xianjue was a thorn in someone's side. Why did your Guangdong Army suppress you like this?! How did you get rid of it later?" Fang Xianjue expressed his heartache and sympathized with Huang Tao's difficulties.

"Is there any way? I have to move out the old man to challenge Luo! I told him that he was ordered by the Commissioner to go to Heng to participate in the war, and the task was very important. If you want to divide the troops, you must obtain the approval of the Military Commission. Only in this way can you avoid the crisis of division. Huang Tao sighed: "I still don't know how to deal with it in the future? In name, our army is a unit in the seventh war zone, so we should obey Commander Yu's orders; this time, the order was clearly ordered to be under the command of Deputy Commander Li of the 27th Army. ; Chief Xue commanded in the name of the commander-in-chief of the Ninth War Zone; Lin Wei, the director of the attendant office of the Chongqing Military Commission, also directly commanded under the order of Chairman Jiang. Such a multi-man command, how can we fight a war!"

Fang Xianjue felt the same about this.Cherish each other, cherish each other when parting, obey the fate, do your best, and do what you want. On June 30, near Hongqiao Town, Qiyang, the 62nd Army advanced to the command post. "Military seat, the chairman has an urgent call." "According to the Air Force's reconnaissance, the enemy trapped in Changsha is about 20,000 to 30,000 people. They are divided into two routes and march southward along the west bank of the Xiangjiang River. Your army should immediately defend Hongqiao with a regiment, and gather the main force in Qiyang to prevent the enemy from advancing westward along the Xianggui Road. ..."

The 62nd Army had just been deployed according to the telegram, and Huang Tao received a call from Lin Wei, the director of the attendant office of the Military Commission: "Commander Huang, the commissioner ordered your army to quickly build fortifications in Qiyang and stick to the city!" "Yes! Immediately deploy and stick to Qi Yang!" ?Huang Tao, the commander of the 62nd Army, immediately called a meeting of officers above the regiment commander of the army to study the deployment of Qiyang. "Army seat, whose command should we listen to! Deputy Commander Li of the 27th Army asked us to take charge of the outskirts of Hengyang; Commander Xue of the Ninth War Zone asked us to divide the troops on both sides of the Xiangjiang River; the Commissioner called again to stick to Qiyang. What should we do? "Major General Zhang Chen, chief of staff of the 62nd Army, said with great concern.

"That's right. This small city of Qiyang has neither strong fortifications nor food and ammunition reserves. The city is less than three miles in length and width, and the city can't even accommodate a regiment of garrison troops. How can it be defended?" Deputy Army of the 62nd Army Changlian Tisheng agreed. "No matter where the multi-headed command came from, in the end we still listen to the command of the chairman. Qiyang is located at the hub of the Xianggui Railway and the Xiangjiang River, and it is a place that our army must defend; since the Anti-Japanese War, Qiyang has lived in the rear for a long time and has a prosperous economy. The law and order are stable, the people live and work in peace and contentment, and there are still a lot of material savings. Based on the above points, the order: Hou Mei, the deputy commander of the 157th Division, is the Qiyang garrison commander, and leads the 469th regiment of the division. Build stronghold fortifications." Commander Huang Tao made a decisive decision. "Report to the army, I have a request." Hou Mei stood up and reported. "Say!" Commander Huang nodded. "According to the emergency measures to prevent air raids and completely evacuate urban residents during the Anti-Japanese War, the evacuation of residents, supplies, and livestock in the entire city should be completed within 5 days, and no one person should stay. Otherwise, they will be punished as spies." Hou Mei petitioned. "This is no problem, you can arrange to execute it!" Commander Huang immediately approved the request of Deputy Commander Hou.