Chapter 9 CHAPTER IX IN THE NAME OF THE VICTOR

In the early days of the Pacific War, the United States took the lead, and more than 20 countries including Britain, the Netherlands, and China declared war on Japan, but almost no one could stop the crazy momentum of the Japanese army. On December 9, 1941, the Japanese army invaded the Philippines. Only five months later, the entire territory of the Philippines fell.MacArthur, smoking a pipe, was so anxious to commit suicide with a pistol, but he couldn't save the situation. America's bad luck also appears to be spreading to allies. On December 25, the British troops stationed in Hong Kong announced their unconditional surrender. In February of the following year, the Dutch governor in Indonesia raised a white flag to the Japanese troops.

In a blink of an eye, the Japanese army seemed to be an invincible monster in the Pacific Ocean, reaching the point where people block people and Buddha blocks people. Heaven Furnace Tactics After Japan launched the Pacific War, the Chinese High Command consciously deployed elite troops to the southwest one after another in order to contain the Japanese army attacking Hong Kong there. Among them, the Fourth Army and the Seventy-fourth Army that originally belonged to the Ninth Theater were transferred to Guangdong and Guangxi. area. If you hold me back, of course I have to hold you back.Among all the troops of the "China Expedition Army", the Wuhan Eleventh Army has a very special status. It belongs to the same position as China's Seventy-fourth Army, that is, the strategic army, which can regularly maintain the strength of nine divisions.

Gathering so many people, and letting the opponent draw troops from the south, is of course intolerable. On December 24, 1941, the 11th Army of Wuhan launched an invasion of Changsha, which opened the curtain of the third Changsha battle. This aggression was almost a repeat of the second Changsha battle. Except that the invading force was reduced to three divisions, there were no obvious changes in other routes and tactics. Because in Anan's view, he fought the battle two months ago very successfully, and there was no need to change it.Think about it, defeating the opponent's four armies including the 74th army in a row, if there is any problem with the command, it is purely nitpicking.

As for the little loss suffered during the retreat, it was purely accidental. Anan's success is undoubtedly his opponent's failure.But sometimes failure is not necessarily a bad thing, on the contrary, it will make people more rational and mature. Xue Yue is a person with great emotional ups and downs.When the battle is going well, he is often elated and responsive to requests. When someone asks him for an errand, he will be approved in just a few strokes.But if you lose the battle, then you'd better stay away from him. The one standing opposite is a fierce god, who will get angry and even smash the telephone on the table.

When the phone is dropped, it is impossible to even swear over the phone, and the tiger cub has no one to bite, and then he squats on the ground, panting for breath, and baring his teeth, wondering why he made a mouthful last time hair. From the expression on Xue Yue's way of dealing with people, one can know whether he is winning or losing In the second Changsha battle, the newspapers were all promoting the "Changsha Great Victory", but Xue Yue himself was criticized by Chiang Kai-shek at the Nanyue Conference, which hurt his already strong self-esteem. Think about the problem.

The first time, he just retreated, and only got a little advantage during the pursuit. The second time, he wanted to be more ruthless, but he made a mistake in the location of the decisive battle. If there is a third time, how should you fight? I will combine the experience and lessons of the previous two times into one, lure it in front, and consume its strength one by one. When it is exhausted, I will choose a location for a decisive battle. Xue Yue called it "Tianlu Warfare". To be the Taishang Laojun, no matter whether you are a monkey grandson or a bull devil king, once you enter the gossip furnace, you will only be melted and refined, and finally obediently become the elixir of immortality in the furnace.

As soon as he got out of the Tao, Anan came, and it seemed that he would not succeed without practicing. early celebration What made Anan gasp was that his attack this time was much smoother than the last time. There were very few troops blocking the way in the front. When crossing the Xinqiang River, the biggest difficulty came not from the bullets on the opposite side, but that it rained heavily that night, so they could not see clearly. Some officers and soldiers were confused by the cold bullets from time to time, and lost their way unconsciously. out of the way. Without any setbacks or shells, all three divisions crossed the Xinqiang River.

Anan came to the conclusion that the second battle of Changsha had indeed decimated the main force of the Ninth War Zone, so no one dared to stand in the way.But the real situation is that the Xinqiang River is only the first decoy location of Xue Yue's "Tianlu Warfare", and will soon enter the second decoy location - the Miluo River. Sure enough, when we arrived at Miluo River, the situation was very different.The firepower on the other side of the river began to intensify, and the cavalry regiment of the Sixth Division of Kumamoto was knocked down immediately when it was about to pass through.

At this time, news came from outside that Hong Kong had been invaded and there was no need for the Eleventh Army to support it. Moreover, when they set off from Wuhan, it was determined that the stop line was the Miluo River. However, Anan shook his head with a smile: "No, go ahead and go straight to Changsha." He analyzed: "The mobility of the Chinese army is very poor, and the main force drawn out has no time to return to the division. Therefore, Changsha's current defense force must be extremely weak. The difficulties encountered in the Miluo River just show that the Chinese army is very anxious, afraid that we will attack them. Changsha. We must seize this god-given opportunity and occupy Changsha in one fell swoop just as we occupied Hong Kong!"

Staff officers, big and small, you look at me, I look at you, no one speaks. "You are so timid, how can you achieve great things." Anan restrained his smile, "Okay, first send a telegram to the headquarters of the 'China Dispatch Army', and ask for instructions." Before Hata Junliu in Nanjing could reply, Anan received a piece of information: According to the observation of the aerial reconnaissance plane, the Chinese defenders on the south bank of the Miluo River were retreating to Changsha. Anan slapped his thigh, "I said what's the matter, they can't stand it anymore, don't wait for a reply, hurry up and catch up!"

On January 1, 1942, the Nagoya Division took the lead, fording across the Liuyang River in the southeast of Changsha, and launched an attack on the defending positions outside Changsha. At this moment, no one thinks that Changsha will not be captured, it's just a question of whether you want it or not. What the Nagoya Division was thinking about was not thinking of any way to defeat the opponent, but how to celebrate New Year's Day in Changsha City at night.The captains of the regiment had put on brand-new military uniforms, toasted frequently in the barracks tent, and the celebration began in advance. Flying down three thousand feet, it is suspected that Changsha fell into the hands.The front line was jubilant, and the rear was unwilling to be lonely. Those staff who were hesitant at first kept flattering Anan, saying something like "the coach is brave enough, forgive me for my short-sightedness at the beginning". Anan's face was full of spring breeze, he waved his hands again and again, and said, "It's okay, it's okay, I'm very generous in my heart, and I will never care about it." Isamu Kinoshita, the chief of staff of the Eleventh Army, felt that as the chief of staff, it was no longer enough to pat on the lips. He immediately organized a group of reporters accompanying the army and took a plane to Changsha for a circle. Of course, you can’t go for a ride in vain. You have to write a news report when you come back. Isamu Kinoshita also got two telegrams himself, one sent to the headquarters of the “Chinese Expeditionary Army” in Nanjing, and the other to the Japanese Command in Tokyo. The content was to report victory in advance. : We have already set foot in Changsha, haha. can fight army The actual situation of the Japanese army was not as wonderful as Anan imagined. Even though the first line seemed to be smooth, it could not hide the distress of the second and third lines. Just south of the Xinqiang River, Yang Sen's Sichuan army attacked a heavy Japanese regiment at night. The latter suffered heavy casualties, and the captain of the regiment was killed immediately. It has been a week of fighting from Xinqianghe to Changsha, and during this week, offensive methods like Yang Sen emerged in endlessly. A large number of side attacks, ambushes and attacks made the Japanese army's transportation and supply lines the first to appear in crisis, and thus buried hidden danger of failure. According to Xue Yue's Tianlu tactics, he will use Changsha to attract the Japanese army, and then mobilize the peripheral decisive battle corps to encircle it. The key is to defend Changsha first, not to break the bottom. Of course, this is difficult. Xue Yue took the lead on the battlefield Of the three divisions that invaded Changsha, except for the 40th Division, which was a new division, which may be slightly inferior, the Kumamoto 6th Division and the Nagoya 3rd Division were all Japanese first-class or first-class troops. The army and the fourth army were defeated when they were there, but now that they are gone, it is even more difficult to say who will cut who. Courage is important.Xue Yue set an example. When the soldiers of the Nagoya Division approached the city, he did not retreat south as usual, but moved the commander's department of the war zone to Yuelu Mountain in Changsha City. The supreme commander is so close to the frontline battlefield, what if there is a mistake? Xue Yue said it's okay, if this happens, my position can be directly represented by the deputy commander-in-chief Luo Zhuoying, and so on. Seniors can be replaced immediately. In addition, it is necessary to find an army capable of fighting to defend Changsha. The Seventy-Fourth Army is not there, and neither is the Fourth Army. Changsha City can rely on the Tenth Army, but this is a strange army without an army commander. The former commander of the Tenth Army was Li Yutang. He, Li Yannian, and Li Xianzhou were both natives of Shandong and were senior generals who graduated from the first phase of Whampoa, so they were called the "Three Lis of Shandong". The Tenth Army belongs to the strategic reserve army, which is directly commanded by the Military Commission. It was not until the second Changsha battle that it was temporarily allocated to the ninth theater. At that time, the Tenth Army rushed to Changsha, but it fought a useless battle and became one of the three armies that were defeated by the Japanese army. At the subsequent Nanyue meeting, Chiang Kai-shek stood on the stage to investigate the responsibility one by one. When he found the Tenth Army, he gave a comment: the command was incompetent and the battle was ineffective. Li Yutang was sitting below, his face turned pale when he heard it, and the other division commanders of the Tenth Army were also extremely nervous. Fortunately, Yang Sen captured a Japanese combat map during the pursuit.Chiang Kai-shek saw that at the front of the Tenth Army's position, the numbers of three and a half divisions were marked. According to common experience, it is very difficult for a Chinese army to deal with a division, let alone three and a half.So at the meeting the next day, Chiang Kai-shek took a breather, "It seems that even if you are a fortress of iron and steel, it will be difficult to stop the enemy's advance. It is not bad to be able to do so." Said it was "not bad", but Li Yutang was still dismissed.Under the punishment order, all the officers and soldiers of the Tenth Army complained for Li Yutang's grievances, and the newly appointed army commander and Li Yutang were classmates. No matter how capable the army was, it would be difficult to be effective without a good general, so Xue Yue had to find Li Yutang again, but the latter was deeply wronged, and he was bored at home all day long and didn't want to go anywhere. Difficult things have to be done by the tall ones.Chiang Kai-shek made the phone call himself, but only spoke a few words. The first sentence asked: "Are you Li Yutang, commander of the Tenth Army?" The second sentence asks: "Are you a student of Whampoa Phase I?" After Li Yutang gave an affirmative answer, Chiang Kai-shek said "Changsha will be handed over to you" and hung up the phone. It is said that Chiang Kai-shek kept almost every general's appearance, personality and degree of obedience to him in his mind. Although this is "unscientific", it is very useful. Li Yutang immediately returned to the Tenth Army in the name of being dismissed and stayed on, and took on the important task of guarding Changsha. bunker tactics After the second battle of Changsha, although the Tenth Army had been reorganized, it only had 20,000 men, equivalent to only one division of the Japanese army in terms of numbers, and it was not certain that it would be able to hold Changsha. However, Li Yutang had no choice.Since ancient times, "It's not enemies who don't get together", the same opponent, he must use different methods to take back what belongs to him. The mission of the Tenth Army was to hold off the Japanese army in Changsha. Li Yutang was very aware of this, so he implemented a defensive principle of exchanging space for time in the defense of Changsha, that is, from far to near, from outside to inside, against the enemy. The Japanese gradually weakened and blunted until their advance was retarded. Under the supervision of Li Yutang day and night, there are many small bunkers outside Changsha City.Although it is small, it is only one person tall, but at least for infantry, each one is not so easy to attack. The infantry couldn't, so they pushed on the artillery. Li Yutang was eating when the Japanese artillery bombarded him. A shell fell into the command post, shattering the glass on the wall and breaking the dishes and chopsticks. Gathered up and continued to eat. If there were no chopsticks, I would grab it with my hands. The aide hurriedly asked, "Should I change my position?" Li Yutang replied: "Not moving." The staff suggested again: "Then let's eat quickly." Li Yutang remained calm and composed, "No need." He was not surrounded by photographers, so Li Yutang didn't need to put on a show. He was so calm because he was confident. Since the road from Xinqianghe to Changsha had been completely destroyed long ago, it was difficult for the Japanese special forces to march into Changsha in large numbers. The infantry divisions fought only with mountain cannons carried by horses and peacefully fired cannons, and the number was limited. The artillery of the Tenth Army and the artillery directly under the theater were combined, but there were as many as forty or fifty, and there were many heavy howitzers among them. Li Yutang lined them up on Yuelu Mountain, waiting for the Japanese artillery to show up. After finding the correct position, the heavy artillery blasted violently, completely suppressing the opponent's artillery position. Under the cross-fire of the bunker group, the reinforced brigade directly under the Nagoya Division was wiped out overnight, and only one Japanese soldier survived in the entire brigade. There is no city wall in Changsha, and the Nagoya Division was able to enter Changsha city entirely by paving the way with dead bodies and forcing their way in. However, after entering the city, another nightmare began again. It is impossible to build densely packed bunkers in the city. Li Yutang adopted a method similar to that of locking ships in the Chibi War, and dug through all the walls of the houses so that the combat troops could shuttle back and forth between each house. Observation posts and firepower points, the threat of "chained ships" to the Japanese army is no less than that of bunkers. The artillerymen did not dare to show their faces, and the infantry could not climb up the house, so the Nagoya Division dispatched engineers. The latter not only repaired bridges and paved roads, but also was good at climbing heights. The two sides quickly started a fight on the roof. You have engineers, but it’s not like I don’t have them. Li Yutang also gathered the engineers from the Tenth Army and let them go to the roofs. They did nothing but set fires. In China, fire used to be a magic weapon to break the "lock ship", but now it is a sharp weapon to deal with attackers.The Japanese engineers couldn't stand the fire, so they had to go back to the ground. Li Yutang then charged with infantry, and quickly dispersed these guys. For two days in a row, the Nagoya Division was unable to occupy Changsha, which made Anan feel something was wrong. As in the past, the telegram sent by Xue Yue to the Decisive Corps was intercepted and deciphered by the headquarters of the 11th Army.After reading the contents of the telegram, Anan woke up like a dream, only then did he realize that the prey in the game was actually himself! However, it has become impossible to retreat at this time. Not only is it difficult to account for the top and bottom, but it will inevitably suffer great losses during the retreat, just like the second Changsha battle. Now that the bet has been placed, the only way is to bet to the end. Anan knew that he would only have a chance of turning defeat into victory if he invaded Changsha before Xue Yue's anti-siege was fully prepared. If the Nagoya Division is not enough, then send the Kumamoto Division. The two veteran divisions will fight together. After the Kumamoto Division went up, they also suffered a lot in front of the bunkers outside the city and lost many people. This bunker is really abominable, but in the absence of artillery support, it cannot be destroyed for a while.Fortunately, the addition of the two divisions already had a sufficient numerical advantage, so they organized a small group of troops to take the opportunity to sneak into the building between the bunker and block the bunker with firepower, and the others used it as a cover. Yuebao entered Changsha city. As a result, there were more and more Japanese troops in the city, and the offensive became more and more fierce. As a result, most of Changsha City fell, and the Tenth Army also suffered one-third of its casualties. The situation was very critical. Xue Yue saw this situation clearly on Yuelu Mountain, and he telegraphed Li Yutang: "The Decisive Corps has launched a full-scale counterattack, and even the Fourth Army has been transferred back from Guangdong. I hope you will persist for another night." After the telegram was sent to the entire army, the soldiers of the Tenth Army put forward a slogan: "Fight hard all night, repel the enemy, defend Changsha, and return to the commander!" Without waiting for Li Yutang to mobilize and organize, the tenth army even the cooks and buglers took up bayonets and went to the front to participate in hand-to-hand combat. The Tenth Army was the main force in the Third Changsha Battle The Kumamoto Division and the Nagoya Division were originally the strongest units in the Japanese army, but due to years of wear and tear, their combat effectiveness has been greatly reduced. The most obvious thing is that the proportion of recruits has continued to increase. These people used to have a variety of occupations, including teachers, students, and lawyers. , and even a dentist, it’s okay to shoot a gun at ordinary times, but when the other party goes crazy and wants to come up and desperately, it will be revealed. A heavy soldier of the Tenth Army drank some old wine, held a pole in the dark, and followed the assault troops into the enemy's line, swinging around with a pole, the brother was not injured at all. After dawn, corpses and wounded soldiers abandoned by the Japanese army were scattered inside and outside Changsha City, and Anan's hope of making a comeback was shattered. The Tenth Army was awarded the title of "Taishan Army" by the Chinese Command after the war. While saving the honor of the army with their blood and lives, they also returned their commander: Officer Li Yutang was reinstated and promoted to the 20th Army. Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Seventh Army. eat me three punches The front enemy command post of the Eleventh Army has been completely plunged into gloom. The two main divisions could not occupy Changsha in a short period of time anyway. The worst thing was that due to constant attacks on the rear, it was difficult to deliver supplies, resulting in a lack of ammunition for the frontline troops. The staff had a premonition that something bad was going to happen, and they were all helpless and panicked, but their commander acted more masculine. Anan just said lightly: "Victory or defeat is a common matter in military affairs." But when you ask what love is in the world, you just say that one thing is one thing, since you, Anan, lost to Xue Yue, you can only bet and admit defeat. Since he had deciphered Xue Yue's telegram in advance, Anan knew that January 4 was the final deadline for the Chinese decisive battle corps to form an encirclement. If he could not withdraw from the battlefield before this time limit, he would be met with disaster. Right now, I can't care about losing face, thirty-six strategies are the best. On the evening of January 4, the Eleventh Army was ordered to retreat. Anan's reaction was quick, but with Xue Yue's decisive battle corps all in place, at this time he had become the butcher Zheng who was kicked down on the street by Lu Tixia. No matter how you flash, you will only be beaten by others. It doesn't take much, there are only three punches in total, but they are all fists "the size of a vinegar bowl". The Nagoya Division was still struggling because the body of a captain was not found, and asked Anan to allow him to stay in Changsha for another night. Unexpectedly, he was the first to be beaten and lost his way during the retreat. At first, they waded across the Liuyang River, but now they thought they could go back in vain, but they didn't expect Xue Yue to control the other side, how could this beating be avoided! More than 500 people were killed or injured by the Nagoya Division just in the middle of the river. Not counting the crooked nose, there seemed to be a sauce shop in front of them, and salty, sour, and spicy food rolled out. It was already late at night, gunshots were all around, and everyone was in a panic, not knowing where to flee.Since the supply troops and the wounded and sick had no combat capability, they could only shrink back to the division headquarters, which made the atmosphere even more tense and terrifying. At a time when there was no way to go to heaven and no way to go to earth, fortunately the Kumamoto Division still controlled an important road, which allowed everyone to evacuate to the north bank of Liuyang River. Well, the second punch is reserved for this "Japan First Division". The Kumamoto Division behind the Nagoya Division was considered quick-witted. Based on the deciphered code, they judged Xue Yue's blockade route, so they changed the original northward withdrawal route. This kind of appearance is very bad, and it is clearly the performance of "dare to answer", Xue Yue chased after him, and raised his fist again.In an instant, the oil sauce shop turned into a silk shop, with red, black, and purple flowers all blooming—the main force of the Kumamoto Division was surrounded and divided into several sections. At that time, the Japanese army was out of food and ammunition, and many Japanese soldiers had no bullets in their guns. They were just holding the rolling pin for show, and some were so hungry that they couldn't even walk. What can help them maintain their dignity is a large number of Japanese bombers that hastily arrived. The air special forces allowed the Kumamoto Division to sustain for a while, but the command organization had prepared for the worst and began to burn all documents. As soon as Anan dragged the Nagoya division out, the Kumamoto division fell half into the soil again. He was so anxious that he saw stars in his eyes, and hurriedly mobilized the troops to go south to meet them. The last punch is given away for free. The 40th Division that came to respond was blocked many times. Starting from the captain, a lot of people died. What was worse than this was the independent and mixed 9th Brigade. The Ninth Independent Mixed Brigade was originally stationed in the north, but it was only recently transferred to Wuhan.They were blocked by Yang Sen on the way, four of them ran out in an organized manner, and one was tightly besieged by Yang Sen in a place called "Yingzhu Mountain". After the war started, Yang Sen mostly adopted the local tactics of "the eagle catches the chicken", and often ran out from the side or behind to fight. His characteristic was that he only picked the baggage troops to fight, and he ran away after the fight.This style of play is very flattering, but it somewhat conceals the fierce temperament in the bones of the Sichuan Army. Regardless of high-level fierce men like Yang Sen, Yang Hanyu, and Xia Madao, in the Sichuan Army, there was also a battalion commander who died in hand-to-hand combat with the devils with a bayonet in his hand. There was a super warrior who picked out six devils. When he was in the rear, he still held three captured light machine guns on his chest and refused to let go. The Japanese brigade trapped in the siege rushed left and right, but there was still no way to break out. The final punch is for you, temple.Doing the dojo, chimes, cymbals, and cymbals all sound together. Finally, a sergeant ran out. According to his report, the Japanese plane then flew to Yingzhu Mountain for reconnaissance, but the battlefield was dead silent, and there were corpses of Japanese soldiers everywhere. From the brigade leader down, the brigade was completely wiped out from the organizational structure, no matter whether it was exhaled or inhaled, there was nothing left. The Independent Ninth Brigade had experienced the Hundred Regiments War launched by the Eighth Route Army, so it was considered to have seen the world, but the danger in the south was indeed not something it could bear. If you want to blame, you can only blame yourself, who made you meet the fiercest Sichuanese. On January 11, after paying heavy casualties, Anan was able to rescue the Kumamoto Division.After four days, return to the original departure point. In the third battle of Changsha, the Japanese side counted more than 6,000 casualties. This was a big victory recognized by both China and Japan, and the winner was the Chinese side ("It is actually the most reliable and proud work since 1977") . As soon as the battle was over, the Kuomintang command immediately sent a telegram to the front: "The battlefield is not moving, waiting for a visit." The visitors were not high-level officials of the High Command, but foreigners with blue eyes and high noses, that is, envoys of allied countries to China.When they saw fragments of bullets and the corpses of Japanese soldiers everywhere in Changsha, they were amazed. Allied envoys marvel as they tour battlefields The three divisions, and the other two claiming to be the strongest in the Japanese army, are now defeated in Changsha. On the Chinese battlefield, Wuhan alone has held back the nine main divisions of the Japanese army all year round. The number of troops that continue to be used in China's customs is close to one million. If they move to other battlefields, what kind of terrible situation will happen? You must know that since the outbreak of the Pacific War, Japan has fought invincible opponents all over Nanyang with only ten divisions. Not to mention ordinary small and medium-sized allies, even Britain and the United States have avoided it. Who dares to underestimate such a country and such an army? The governments of the United States and Britain sent congratulatory messages, and the Chinese battlefield became an irreplaceable and important battlefield in World War II.