Chapter 64 Chapter 64 Relief from Hengyang

On July 24, just as the 62nd Army, the Cantonese Army unit in the 7th Theater that entered the 9th Theater, was hesitating, it received a telegram from Chairman Jiang of the Military Commission: "Hengyang is in danger, and the 62nd Army will quickly advance to Hengyang. Relief...". Previously, because they were newcomers, they were not familiar with the situation, and they were commanded by multiple leaders, the generals of the 62nd Army looked around and couldn't figure it out.Now it's all right, with the warrant of appointment, it seems to have a direction.Commander Huang Tao immediately ordered: "The whole army advances towards Hengyang, that is, with the 151st Division as the forerunner, the 157th Division as the rear guard, and the troops directly under the army in the middle of the battle sequence, attack the enemy in Hengyang along the Xianggui Railway via Hongqiao and Baihepu. go ahead."

On the 25th, the 151st Division set off from Hongqiao, with the 451st regiment along the front of the railway, and the 453rd regiment on the south side of the railway, and attacked the Japanese army at Baihepu.After a day and night of fierce fighting, although the Japanese security forces were expelled.However, Baihepu has 1,000 Japanese troops occupying strong fortifications. Many fortresses were built with rails and sleepers, and machine guns were set up on the roofs to form a tight firepower network.The attacking troops of the 151st Division were difficult to approach, difficult to advance, and suffered heavy casualties.

From the end of the war to the afternoon of the 26th, Commander Huang visited the front line of the 453rd Regiment in person. He believed that if he wanted to capture Baihepu, he must increase his troops, otherwise the time would be too long and the loss of strength would increase; When to arrive in Hengyang.Therefore, it was decided to change the original frontal attack plan and adopt a detour to advance on the flanks. For this reason, the order: 1. The enemy besieged Hengyang very urgently, and part of it occupied Baihepu, about 35 kilometers away from Hengyang on the Hunan-Guizhou Railway, Tanzishan, 25 kilometers away from Hengyang, Santang, about 15 kilometers away from Hengyang, Dongyangpu and Yumu Mountain in the suburbs of Hengyang, etc. and other places in an attempt to prevent our army from advancing.

2. Our army was ordered to advance into Hengyang to relieve the siege. Hou Mei, the deputy commander of the 151st Division, led the 469th Regiment to set off from Baidi City on the evening of the 26th, detour around the right side of Baihepu, attack the enemy at Tanzishan, advance and occupy it. 3. Commander Li of the 157th Division led the 470th Regiment and the 471st Regiment to advance to Gushan Temple with the army headquarters. 4. The 452nd Regiment of the 151st Division departed from Hongqiao after the 469th Regiment on the evening of the 26th, detoured around the right side of Tanzishan, attacked and occupied the enemy at Dongyangpu and Yumushan.

5. The 452nd Regiment of the 151st Division stayed at Hongqiao and kept in touch with the enemy at Baihepu.The 453rd regiment broke away from the enemy at Baihepu after nightfall, and was led by Commander Lin to follow up with the army. On the evening of July 26, the 469th Regiment of the 157th Division detoured from the right side of the Xianggui Railway to Tanzishan. When they arrived near Tanzishan Station on the 27th, they found that the Japanese army was active in the east of Tanzishan Station, and immediately sent a company to occupy the commanding heights of Tanzishan to guard against the enemy, and set up a wired telephone connection.At 9 o'clock in the morning, about hundreds of Japanese troops attacked the commanding height position of Tanzishan.Colonel Huang Zhonghan, head of the 469 regiment of the national army, immediately strengthened the defense of the Tanzishan position with a battalion.At noon, the reinforced Japanese army launched a fierce attack on the Tanzishan highland. After two hours of fierce fighting, the national army's Tanzishan position was lost; the defenders retreated to the southwestern highland of Tanzishan.In the evening of the same day, Captain Huang personally led the 1st and 3rd battalions to counterattack several times, and fought fiercely until 11 o'clock in the middle of the night, causing more than 300 officers and soldiers to be killed or injured.

That night, the headquarters of the 62nd Army arrived about 15 kilometers southeast of Mount Tanzi.Commander Huang Tao and Deputy Division Commander Hou Mei spoke on the same page through an American speaker.Huang Tao asked Hou Mei not to get entangled with the enemy, but to fight for the Tanzishan highland, as long as he kept in touch with the Japanese army.However, Hou Mei misunderstood that Tan Zishan could not be lost. Therefore, Hou Mei ordered his troops to launch a strong attack on Tan Zishan's Japanese positions with all their strength, resulting in huge losses.After receiving the report, Commander Huang immediately ordered Commander Li Hongda of the 157th Division to lead two regiments for reinforcements.

After nightfall, Major General Lin Weichou, commander of the 151st Division, led the 453rd Regiment to the military headquarters.It was reported that hundreds of Japanese troops occupied positions in Yumu Mountain, and a large number of Japanese troops occupied the road from Yumu Mountain to Hengyang.Commander Lin feared that the 452nd Regiment was weak, so he commanded the 452nd and 453rd Regiments to travel in starry nights, bypassing Tan Zishan and advancing. Yumu Mountain in the suburbs of Hengyang is about 400 meters above sea level, with rolling mountains and steep peaks.There is a Yumu Temple on its main peak, which is dedicated to the legendary Yumu Empress who saved the people by rain.There are no trees on the mountain, so it is difficult to approach during the day.

Therefore, Master Lin ordered two battalions to carry out night raids in two routes.After an hour of fierce fighting, Yumu Mountain was finally captured at dawn on the 28th.In the morning, continue to attack and occupy Dongyangpu.Relying on the cover of fierce artillery fire, the Japanese army repeatedly fought for three times.But they were all repelled by the national army. "Deputy Commander Hou, the 157th Division has already occupied Yumu Mountain and Dongyangpu. Don't waste your time in Tanzishan! Except for the 469th regiment to monitor the enemy facing Tanzishan, the rest of the troops should rush to Dongyangpu immediately. Gather and stand by!" Commander Huang Tao suppressed his anger and ordered.The headquarters of the 62nd Army immediately advanced to Gushan Temple, about 5 kilometers away from Dongyangpu.

On the afternoon of the 29th, the 40th Division of the Japanese Army stationed in the southern suburbs of Hengyang launched a counterattack from Toutang to Yumu Mountain, and fought fiercely with the national army.Commander Shi Lin had already led his troops to the highland on the right side of Yumu Mountain. Seeing the ferocious approach of the Japanese army, he immediately ordered the 453rd Regiment to send reinforcements to repel the Japanese army. "Order Cui Zhixing, the 1st Battalion of the 452 Regiment, to lead his troops to hold on to the Yumu Mountain and occupy the position; Xue Shuda led the 2nd and 3rd battalions to chase after the retreating enemy. Try to rush into Hengyang!" Master Lin Weichou Order decisively.

However, due to their eagerness to win, they did not send troops to search closely during the pursuit. When they entered Toutang, they were ambushed by the Japanese army, and then flanked by the Japanese army on the Hunan-Guizhou Railway. , mortars and other firepower nets.Zhong Jingfu, deputy head of the 452nd regiment, was killed and Liu Daguang, the political instructor of the regiment, was injured. The regiment suffered huge losses and the situation was very critical.Commander Lin immediately ordered the 543rd Regiment to attack the enemy from the right flank, and then used the division search company to occupy a position on the high ground on the right side of Yumu Mountain to cover the 452nd Regiment to accommodate the assembled troops.The Japanese army finally failed to attack, and at dusk, the battle gradually fell silent.

After Army Commander Huang Tao led the army to the Yumu Mountain position, he immediately convened a meeting of officers above the group to study the enemy's situation and discuss the next action plan.Decision: Li Shangda, head of the 470th Regiment of the 157th Division, sent a battalion to the Yumu Mountain position of the 452nd Regiment of the 151st Division.Commander Lin commanded the 452nd, 453rd and 157th Division 471st regiments to attack Hengyang West Railway Station.That night, the 451st Regiment of the 151st Division was still monitoring the Japanese at Baihepu, Xianggui Road; the 469th Regiment of the 157th Division was still in contact with the Japanese at Tanzishan.At this time, it was decided that the two regiments would leave one battalion to monitor the Japanese army, and the rest of the troops would quickly return to the formation. On July 30th, while advancing towards Hengyang West Railway Station, the 452nd regiment was on the left, advancing along the Xianggui Highway from Dongyangpu to Hengyang, and encountered the Japanese army near Toutang. The Japanese army flanked, the offensive faltered, the progress was slow, and the enemy was in a stalemate. The 453 regiment and the 471 regiment were on the right, desperately advancing towards the outskirts of Hengyang.After repelling the enemy in the southern suburbs of Hengyang, they continued to chase the retreating Japanese army and assaulted Hengyang West Railway Station.But soon encountered an intensive counter-charge of 400 Japanese troops, and then another intensive side attack of more than 100 Japanese troops and a group of dozens of people, but they were all repelled by the national army.The 1st and 3rd Battalions of the 453rd Regiment of the National Army and the 1st Battalion of the 471st Regiment all entered Hengyang West Railway Station and nearby houses. I saw a lot of corpses of the Japanese army, many of them were Japanese army officers.The national army seized a lot of spoils such as pistols, sabers, telescopes and military maps from the remains of the Japanese soldiers, and it was difficult to count the weapons and ammunition.From the diary of the Japanese army, it was found that the enemy was part of the 116th Division of the Japanese army.When I asked the local residents, it turned out that this was the headquarters of a regiment of the Japanese army.After the Japanese army entered, the residents were not allowed to approach.In fact, it is not the 116th Division of the Japanese Army, but the 234th Regiment of the 40th Division of the Japanese Army. Master Lin immediately sent Major Wan Tianbao, deputy battalion commander of the 1st Battalion of the 453rd Regiment, to lead several capable soldiers to contact the 10th Army of the Hengyang Defenders.When passing through a large rice field, he was blocked by the Japanese guards on the opposite side, and returned home injured, failing to achieve his wish. On the same day, Army Commander Huang Tao immediately informed the Military Commission of the progress of the army.Generalissimo Chiang immediately ordered the air force to go to cover, and issued a reward: "The 62nd Army quickly advanced to the West Station in the suburbs of Hengyang, and immediately sent an order to reward. I hope to make persistent efforts to break the siege of Hengyang..." Since then, for three consecutive days from July 31 to August 2, the 62nd Army fought fiercely with the 40th Division of the Japanese Aid Force at Yumu Mountain, Toutang, and Hengyang West Railway Station.The battle situation was in a state of fierceness, and the two sides engaged in hand-to-hand combat in many places, after repeated hand-to-hand combat.Lin Zhiwen, the commander of the 1st Battalion of the 470th Regiment, died in battle, Ding Kejian, the commander of the 471st Regiment, died, the Yumu Mountain position was lost, and the 62nd Army of the reinforcements suffered huge losses. At this time, the Japanese army concentrated all the siege artillery and concentrated firepower to violently bombard the national army at the West Railway Station.The Chinese Air Force was also in the air to help out, but they left quickly after dropping the bombs, failing to cooperate with the infantry in combat.Whenever the national army planes came, the Japanese artillery stopped firing, and the 62nd Army of the national army launched a charge; when the national army planes left, the Japanese army launched a frenzied counterattack.The battle thus became a seesaw state.The reinforcements also failed to contact the 10th Army in the city, and reached a cooperative combat situation, so that the siege failed.