Chapter 74 Chapter 74 Hengshan’s Miscalculation 1

After the first round of the Battle of Changheng, the Japanese army had all the advantages in the Battle of Xiangbei, and the national army was defeated.For a long time, not only were the soldiers running around with their heads in their arms, the lieutenant could not find the colonel, the colonel could not find the general, and even the general couldn't find the commander. The specific location, the main forces of the theater were squeezed into the mountains on the border of Hunan and Jiangxi.The 74th Group Army of Wang Yaowu, the leader of the Sixth Theater, who was ordered by Chairman Jiang to cooperate with the coordinated operations, was blocked by the Japanese army on the west bank of the Xiangjiang River.The strategic deployment of old man Jiang and the National Army Command is just a dead letter, how can it be implemented!

Xue Yue hadn't planned to have the battle of southern Hunan, that is to say, there would be no battle to defend Hengyang at all.Changsha has won a great victory, and it is still necessary to defend Hengyang. Where did the defense of Hengyang come from?That's why the 10th Army came to guard Hengyang in a hurry.The fortifications have not yet been dug, and the 10th Division has to be prepared to go north to Lukou; the troops have just boarded the train and left Hengyang to Chashanao and received an order not to leave Hengyang; originally the 19th Division of the Guangxi Army cooperated with the 10th Army to defend Hengyang. As soon as the outer fortifications were dug, the 19th Division was transferred to Quanzhou as the outer security force of Guilin... In short, many orders were sent out, and the orders were changed day and night, making people at a loss what to do.

Fang Xianjue was temporarily ordered to lead the 10th Army to guard Hengyang. When he received the order to stick to Hengyang, no one informed him of the battle situation and overall situation in northern Hunan.Fortunately, General Fang has experienced the battlefield for a long time and is experienced. On the one hand, he ordered the 3rd Division to stay in the Hengshan area to prevent the enemy from advancing quickly, and to cover other divisions to step up the construction of field fortifications; How to abide by the law here in Hengyang! When the news of Changsha's fall reached Hengyang on June 18, Fang Xianjue was inspecting the construction of fortifications at the outskirts of the city.I saw Master Ge Xiancai rushing to report: "The military seat, Changsha has been lost!"

Fang Xianjue was quite surprised, and said: "Why did you lose Changsha so quickly? What can Zhang De do? The majestic National Army's ace Fourth Army, known as the 'Iron Army', is so iron-minded? It was invincible and unstoppable during the Northern Expedition. ah!" Ge Xiancai also showed a complicated expression: "This moment, that moment! His old Zhang has lost all his face this time. Someone outside will question the principal again: What kind of virtue is this person? You let him carry such a heavy burden. !?" Fang Xianjue sighed: "General Zhang also has military exploits. This time, the ship capsized in the gutter and lost in Changsha in a day. I don't know if I can save my life!"

Ge Xiancai asked worriedly: "Junzuo, when do you think the Japanese army will attack the city of Hengyang?" Fang Xianjue said: "It shouldn't be so fast! If it is fast, it will be at the end of the month, and if it is slow, it will be the beginning of next month. Yipu, our army is short of heavy weapons. You need to find more grenades. It seems that this time the Japanese army spent a lot of money. Hengyang is the key point of the battle, they will definitely fight desperately!" "Decree!" Ge Xiancai replied draggingly without losing his true colors and humor.

However, Fang Xianjue's inference was still too optimistic. On June 23, the vanguard of the 68th Division of the Japanese Army had arrived at Quanxi Temple in the northern suburbs of Hengyang City.Upon receiving the report, Fang Xianjue couldn't help being taken aback, and quickly ordered the entire army to enter a battle state, and the peripheral troops retreated while fighting to block the Japanese attack.However, on June 24, the Japanese army made a detour around Dongyangdu, about 10 kilometers south of Hengyang City, and then crossed the Xiangjiang River, encircling Hengyang with the 116th Division, which attacked from the west bank of the Xiangjiang River.

The next day, Fang Xianjue said with great concern at the military meeting held at night: "Everyone, our army has not fought well outside Changsha. Changsha changed hands in a day, and Hengyang suddenly became an isolated city! Therefore, We must pay attention to it, and we must not take it lightly! First of all, we must fight the peripheral battle well, build morale, and build momentum! Don’t let the little devils underestimate us! Let’s fight freely, food in the city will not be a problem, and ammunition will not be a problem for ten and a half months !" On June 26, the 68th Division of the Japanese Army advanced northward to Huangchaling, a suburb southwest of Hengyang. On the 27th, Iwanaga Wang's 116th Division also advanced near the West Bus Station in the western suburbs of Hengyang City.This night, Yokoyama Yuka slept soundly.The battle situation is developing smoothly, and everything is under control.Hengyang has only a broken and incomplete army in Zhina, and there is no other Chinese army within a radius of 100 miles.Taking Hengyang with two main divisions, I dare not say that it is like Changsha, one day, three days is finally enough!

Yokoyama lay comfortably on the bed, thinking that his magical calculation was being realized step by step, he felt relaxed all over his body, and fell asleep soon. On the morning of June 27, the 68th and 116th divisions of the Japanese army launched a general attack on Hengyang City as planned.Isamu Hengshan is leisurely admiring the curiosities of calligraphy and painting that he just found in Changsha, waiting for the good news from the front line.However, the telegram from the Hengyang front line made Isamu Yokoyama's eyes black: it turned out that at 10:30 not long ago, the commander of the 68th division, Sazakuma, was a lieutenant general, chief of staff of the division, Harada Tesaburo, and others. When a large number of generals were observing the enemy's situation on the front line, they were hit by mortar shells from the national army, causing heavy casualties, and the entire command system of the 68th Division was paralyzed.

Yongshan Yong saw that the momentum was not right, and quickly ordered: "Immediately call General Yan Yongwang, asking him to immediately take over the command of the 68th Division and command the two divisions to continue to attack Hengyang City. At all costs, we must ensure that within three days Take Hengyang as scheduled!" After giving the order, Yokoyama walked around in the command post in Changsha, thinking about the candidate for the commander of the 68th Division.Shima Genkichi should be a candidate, but he is unbearable and just a material for the captain of the death squad.After thinking about it, thinking about it, finally decided to suggest to Hata Junliu that the head of the 55th Brigade currently stationed in Wuxi be transferred to Mikio.Ti San Shuan is a fellow of Yokoyama Isao, but this is second, the main reason is that Ti San Shu Nan can grasp the overall situation well, and is very good at attacking tough battles, doing so is easy to explain in public and private.

This time Yan Yongwang was not as lucky as the last time he attacked Changde. He commanded more than two divisions and fought until July 1. He only advanced less than 1 km in 4 days, but the casualties greatly exceeded 2,000. Only then did Yokoyama feel that he had miscalculated, and he didn't expect Hengyang to be so difficult to fight.He originally wanted to use Hengyang as a bait to attract Xue Yue's main force to come to rescue, and then command the superior forces of the 3rd, 13th, 27th, and 40th divisions to wipe out Xue Yue's main force in the ninth theater.If Xue Yue is not fooled, winning Hengyang will also be of great benefit to the next step in the battle in Guangxi.Besides, if Hengyang is not taken quickly, the elite Chinese expeditionary force may be attracted back from Burma.That would be a big problem.

Isamu Yokoyama was not a man of bravery. He was very shrewd. After considering various factors, he immediately issued an order to stop attacking Hengyang on the night of July 2, and set the time for the next attack on July 11.He believes that it will take a week for the troops to train and replenish. However, Yokoyama is no longer able to carry out this battle according to his own thinking.