Chapter 17 Chapter Seventeen Long Live the Tiger (2)

Desolate battle Changde's terrain is not conducive to defense. There is no danger in front of the city, and the Yuanjiang River is behind the city. An unusual battle. On November 23, China and Japan exchanged fire in the north of Changde City. The Seventy-Fourth Army is a strategic army, equipped with special equipment, and each division has a mortar battalion. The Fifty-seventh Division is responsible for defending the city, and is equipped with an artillery regiment directly under the Army. Mountain cannon, the shooting data has been measured in advance. In the artillery battle that day, the artillery regiment first silenced the opponent's artillery positions, and then fired air-blast shrapnel at the encroaching troops of the 116th Division.

This is a special artillery shell designed to bomb infantry. Its warhead is equipped with a timed fuze. It can be bombed whenever you want. After it explodes, it is like a goddess scattering flowers. The lethality will definitely make you feel that you have never been so happy in your life Pass. The captain of the main wing of the 116th Division was killed in the artillery fire, and had to be replaced by the captain. After just one meeting, the captain of the regiment died, and the casualties below can be imagined. After receiving the battle report, Yokoyama's feelings for the "Tiger Squad" deepened.

It seems that it is not enough for the 116th Division to be responsible for attacking Changde. The division was immediately promoted to an army, and the semi-encirclement also became a four-sided encirclement. There are four gates in the east, west, north, south, and the most important thing is to close the south gate, which is equivalent to cutting off the retreat of the defenders.In Yokoyama's view, in that case, the "Tiger Army" will definitely lose their fighting spirit and collapse without a fight. It was the main force of the Nagoya Division that attacked the south gate, led by Mamoru Nakahata, the commander of the regiment.

Even though Nakahata was just a regimental commander, he was very experienced in leading troops in battle. After the outbreak of the Pacific War, various divisions in Southeast Asia appointed him to serve as a garrison, which was a sign of trust in him. To deal with the "Tiger Army", you can't do without spending a lot of money, so you have to use the best generals in the best army. The Nagoya division came round from the south, and had to cross the Yuanjiang River to the south to reach the south gate.Before the crossing, Nakahata decided to perform a "Reconnaissance Story of Crossing the River" to scout the defensive deployment of the defenders on the other side.

The captain of the Da Zuo Lian did not dare to swim across the river, he just stood by the river and looked through the binoculars, but he underestimated the quality of the officers and soldiers of the Huben Division too much. In the 74th Army, including the Huben Division, most of the grassroots officers were sent here as soon as they graduated from the Whampoa Military Academy. Even ordinary soldiers, many of them have a certain level of education and have learned new tactics such as ground-air coordination. Since the Battle of Western Hubei, the Chinese and American air forces have completely shifted from defense to offense on the Chinese battlefield. Not only can they skillfully repel the Japanese air force, but they can also regularly cooperate with ground forces.

The sneaky figures of Nakahata and his party were seen by the observation post on the city wall, and the latter notified the Air Force Headquarters through radio contact. At that time, there happened to be a Chinese pilot cruising with a tomahawk in the sky above Changde. After receiving the order, he immediately dived at low altitude and carried out strafing. Zhonghata couldn't dodge in time and became the second captain to die in Changde. Since the third battle in Changsha, the Japanese army had not killed an officer above the regiment captain, but in just two days in Changde, two people died in a row, as if they were cursed.Let's say that the captain and the squadron leader died in those few days, but no one mentioned them anymore as they rose in rank.

The "Curse of the United Captain" indicates that the battle of Changde will continue to be cruel, and this is true for both sides of the battle. On November 25, after the Nagoya Division crossed the Yuanjiang River from the south, Yokoyama finally encircled Changde and forced Yu Chengwan, who had run out of shells, to withdraw into the city. At this time, the Japanese army that invaded Changde City had already reached four divisions in terms of organization, and almost all Japanese soldiers swarmed up from all directions. The Huben Division was fighting half the opponent's army with one division, but the half army could not be easily broken. their line of defense.

Within the 74th Army, there is a saying that the 51st Division is good at attacking and the 57th Division is good at defending.The 57th Division was the main defensive force as early as the battle of Shanggao. The officers and soldiers were good at building field fortifications and defensive operations, and they were able to fortify at every step. If the first line of city defense cannot be defended, it will retreat to the second line, and if the second line cannot support it, then defend the third line until close-range street fighting. As the encirclement became smaller and smaller, Division Huben opened up the houses on every street and built sandbags for street fighting. All the things that could be found in the room, and even the corpses of Japanese soldiers were moved to make bunkers. When the battle was urgent, Even the cooking soldiers who brought up the food also automatically joined the battle group, helping to throw grenades wildly.

Huben Division's Battle to the Death Yokoyama knew that the "Tiger Troops" were known for their tenacity, but he didn't expect that the opponent's division would be so difficult to deal with. Let alone cutting off the rear, even if they were besieged on all sides, they would not lose their fighting spirit. What to do, poison! Gas bombs were thrown into the city, Master Huben lacked a gas mask, and everyone was choked to tears and nose, and it was very difficult to breathe. Yu Chengwan commanded the officers and soldiers to cover their mouths and noses with wet towels. This is a simple method that everyone usually adopts, but it is different if you have knowledge or not. In addition, he also has a way to deal with poisonous gas.

The poisonous gas is heavier than air, so it can only stay in low-lying areas. Yu Chengwan sent people to collect charcoal from the whole city, light it on high ground, and use smoke to attack the poisonous gas, so as to disperse the poisonous gas. Soon, gas warfare turned into hand-to-hand combat. In the case of equal numbers or in a weak position, the Chinese army is generally inferior to the Japanese army in terms of stabbing skills, even the 74th Army, and this requires long-term training. There is no way to make up for this shortcoming. , Master Huben has specially intensively trained ultra-close range shooting within ten steps.

Seeing that the opponent's bayonet could not be stopped, a bullet passed by, and all problems were solved. Three days later, the city of Changde became a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood. This place became a nightmare for all the Japanese soldiers who participated in the war. The Japanese war history called it the "War of Desolation". Breakthrough The Battle of Changde once again verified Chen Cheng's point of view, that is, excellent combat effectiveness can sometimes save strategy and tactics. Hengshan's treacherous use of troops not only made Sun Lianzhong dizzy, but even Xue Yue, who was called "China's most talented theater commander" by the Japanese, almost capsized. In the early days of the Battle of Changde, Sun Lianzhong thought that Heng Shanyong was going to continue to attack the stone cards, while Xue Yue judged from past experience that the opponent might be attacking the west. However, the main force went straight to Xiangbei secretly. It wasn't until the Japanese army went south to Changde that he woke up like Sun Lianzhong, and hurriedly organized troops to rescue him. Without Master Huben, Changde would not be able to persevere for a day, and the two would have already lost completely. It was Master Huben's bloody persistence that made it possible for Xue Yue and Sun Lianzhong to turn defeat into victory. In addition to Sun Lianzhong's own troops and generals, Xue Yue drew four troops to help, of which the Tenth Army rushed forward. The Tenth Army is the hero of the third Changsha battle, and it is also the most likely to be the first to break the siege of Changde. From Xue Yue, Sun Lianzhong to Yu Chengwan himself, they all have high hopes for it, and they are also very confident. Race against time on the road for a forced march. It's a pity that it is difficult for a single tree to form a forest. The other three armies were too slow to keep up. As a result, the Tenth Army went deep alone and fell into a dangerous situation. Through aerial reconnaissance, Heng Shanyong found that reinforcements were coming straight to the south of Changde, and quickly ordered the Nagoya Third Division and the 68th Division to block the attack. Due to the urgent need for rescue, the Tenth Army was unable to march in concealment, and its direction and route were detected by Japanese aircraft. As a result, it was ambushed by the Japanese army when passing through the jungle. Division commander Sun Mingjin was killed in battle, and other divisions also suffered heavy casualties. At this time Li Yutang had been promoted, and the new commander of the Tenth Army was Fang Xianjue.When encountering such an extremely difficult and unexpected situation, he still kept a clear head and refused to get too entangled with the blocking Japanese army. Instead, he recklessly tore through the line of defense and forcibly advanced to the south of Changde. It's just that after being severely injured, this army, which was sufficient to succeed the 74th Army, was no longer able to enter Changde. Even if the small vanguard reached the bank of the Yuanjiang River, they could only fire their guns in the mountains as a sign of solidarity. That's all. Even though the Tenth Army was blocked, Yokoyama Isamu was in much distress. Due to the encounter with Master Huben, his painstakingly designed strategies and tactics have been greatly depreciated. The entire large army was restrained and attracted to Changde, allowing the Chinese army to outflank from the periphery, and the battle situation became quite passive. In fact, the 57th Division in Changde City has basically been wiped out. It used to have 8,000 people. At this time, the division staff, wounded soldiers and the rest of the artillery regiment were only a few hundred people, and they were completely surrounded. But these hundreds of people are still very tenacious, and even the artillerymen are ready for hand-to-hand combat after burying the mountain cannons. Yokoyama sent planes to the city many times to throw letters of persuasion, but they were all torn to pieces. However, the Japanese troops who invaded the city suffered many casualties, and even the acting captain of the 116th Division was seriously injured. It's hard to ride a tiger. Hundreds of people, even if it is made of steel, will melt, but the problem is that there is not much time left, and these hundreds of people who risked their lives, you must use close numbers to offset. Originally, Heng Shanyong encircled Changde from all sides, and he also wanted to completely wipe out the 57th Division—being able to establish a system and wipe out the main force of the "Tiger Army" is not necessarily worse than occupying Changde, but now he is "brave" Not to this extent. On November 28, Yong Shanyong ordered to give up the south gate side, which was already very pitiful-let me use Changde City, otherwise I will not be able to explain to the above. The city of Changde had long been in ruins, and Heng Shanyong desperately wanted to occupy this empty city, and he still had to "account for it". The retreat miraculously jumped out by himself, but Yu Chengwan couldn't just leave because he didn't receive the retreat order. On December 2, the defenders in Changde City were fighting less and less, and there was a shortage of food and ammunition. They relied entirely on airdrops for maintenance, but the encirclement became smaller and smaller, and the space they could control was only a hundred square meters. Only then did Yu Chengwan think of breaking out. In the early morning of December 3, the 57th Division held a temporary emergency meeting. Everyone can't leave, someone has to stay, so a few commanders started a dispute, not for who to leave, but for who to stay. Yu Chengwan asked the head of the regiment, Chai Yixin, to break through and ask for help, but the head of the regiment Chai suggested that the arrival of the reinforcements should be led by at least a general above the division commander. A regiment leader cannot command and communicate, so it is better for him to stay. Breaking out and asking for help is only one reason, the most important thing is to leave a fire for the 57th Division.Since the establishment of Songhu, the Huben Division has almost won every battle, and for a unit that values ​​​​honor above everything else, "annihilation" is absolutely unacceptable. As long as the division commander can break through, it means that the division still exists and can be rebuilt in the future. At that time, Chai Yixin knew that if he stayed, he would die. However, this young officer in his early thirties and newly married still chose to leave the chance of life to others, to his chief officer and other brothers. That morning, Chai Yixin was shot four times and died. His military uniform was soaked in blood. Most of the officers and soldiers who remained in the city died in battle. The defense of Changde was unprecedentedly tragic.After the war, the bodies of the dead on both sides were scattered all over the city and outside the city, and many of them died in close combat. Some Chinese soldiers still tried their best to stab their bayonets into the opponent's abdomen the moment before they died. The withdrawal of Yu Chengwan and the remnants left a spark for the division's reconstruction According to Japanese statistics, more than 3,000 people were killed or injured in the Battle of Changde, most of whom were killed by Huben Division in Changde.Among this number, there are more than 300 officers, including the regiment captain and the battalion captain, which means that on average one out of ten officers will die as an officer.At that time, the new divisions formed by the Japanese army had to be supported by officers or veterans with combat experience. This move was really traumatic. Yu Chengwan, who only escaped with his own life, was detained in Chongqing for "abandoning his subordinates" because he retreated without an order, and was tried by military law. Thanks to the advice of his superiors and 60,000 people in Changde who signed an intercession, he was spared the death penalty and his sentence was commuted He was imprisoned for two years and later released early. A few years later, the writer Zhang Henshui was commissioned to create a literary work of "real people, real events, real times, and real places". little tiger and big tiger On December 3, Yokoyama completely occupied Changde. At this time, reinforcements from all walks of life have gathered around one after another, forming a great momentum of attack, but the momentum is only momentum.After the Battle of Western Hubei, a total of seven armies were drawn to Yunnan and Burma. The shift of military focus made each theater feel embarrassed in terms of the use of troops. There is still an advantage in numbers, but what is the use of numbers alone, there are not many who can really fight, and when the tenth army is weak, no road below will dare to launch a thunderous attack, even the 70th army who arrived later The Fourth Army, because of the loss of a main division, is also unable to take the initiative to fight the enemy. Combat strength is too important to win. At this time, if you don't have troops with super attack power, how can you imagine that you will win the battle of Shanggao or the third battle of Changsha? Xue Yue lost his sharp claws, his prestige was greatly reduced, and he was anxious to find someone to take advantage of. The local "tiger troops" couldn't jump up, so he fell in love with the foreign tigers—the Flying Tigers, or the Fourteenth Air Force. From the Battle of Western Hubei to the Battle of Changde, Xue Yue discovered the power of the special air forces. Like a treasure. Xue Yue and Chennault, the soul of the Flying Tigers, cherished each other and became close buddies.Xue Yue gave Chennault mushrooms and captured Japanese sabers as gifts, and the latter also gave whiskey and cigars in return. The two brothers were small and big, and they called each other "little tiger" and "big tiger" in the code. The American tiger is very aware of the difficulties of the Chinese little tiger. Although he is a military genius stronger than Stilwell, the material conditions of the army under his command are really poor. Except for a small number of troops, most of the troops do not have strong firepower. The rifles they use are even polished with smooth barrel chute. If it is limited, it can only be placed in the warehouse for a look, and no one is willing to use it. Needless to say, Chennault has directed the Chinese and American air forces to fly to Changde again. In the autumn of 1943, the Flying Tigers were equipped with a batch of P-51 Mustang fighters, which was one of the most advanced models in World War II. Not to mention that the Type 97 of the Japanese Army Air Corps was incomparable, it was the Type 2 that was just equipped. The dragon-slaying fighters can only stand aside. When the wild horses attacked, the "faces" of the Japanese planes including Tulong changed drastically, and they quickly disappeared from the sky over Changde, because they knew that if they didn't run away, they would be the ones who would be slaughtered. There were no Chinese in Changde City, so don’t be afraid of accidentally injuring yourself. Chennault sent four fighter squadrons and two bomber squadrons in a row. The task was to drop bombs down. On December 3, the Japanese army withdrew to the outside of the city before their butts were warmed up in Changde, so as not to be bombed in vain. After driving Yokoyama out of Changde by plane, Chinese troops from all walks of life accelerated to gather the Japanese troops outside the city. Although it was impossible to "slam" and so on, the pressure on Yokoyama was not small. After all, they fought so much Day battle, his troops are also very tired. Xue Yue repeated his old trick and used the trick frequently used in the previous Changsha battles, that is, to harass the Japanese army's logistics supply line without stopping. Seeing that food and ammunition could not be delivered, even if Yokoyama pretended to be calm, Hata Shunroku couldn't bear it anymore. Isn't Changde already occupied?Then come back soon. On December 6, the headquarters of the "China Expeditionary Army" issued a withdrawal order to the 11th Army, making Hengshan as brave as an amnesty. Any tactics that are used too much are not new. In the past, the Chinese army always took advantage of tail pursuit, but since the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Battle, the Japanese commanders have learned the experience of failure. When retreating, all the divisions moved closer together and retreated side by side. It's hard for you to sneak a stab at it from behind. On December 12, Hengshan bravely retreated to Lishui. But what he never imagined was that after finally leaving Changde, Hata Shunroku sent another telegram with completely opposite meaning at this terrible time: "Please attack Changde again." are you crazy! Hata Shunroku is not sick, he is under orders. The Japanese High Command sent a telegram to Nanjing, saying that it was better to keep Changde for the sake of opening up the mainland communication line in the future. Since these people above did not know that the Wuhan Eleventh Army had withdrawn from Changde, Hata Junroku had no choice but to follow the prescription and ask Yokoyama to fight back. "Brother Yong" never regarded the leader as a leader, so he called back immediately: "I think it's better to attack Changde next year." Hata Shunroku was so angry that he almost vomited blood when he received this obviously provocative telegram. No matter how much I paid, I did not hesitate to ask the 116th Division to come over to you, but I have such an attitude towards me! Isamu Yokoyama is a person who doesn't know how to advance or retreat. He doesn't care whether Junliu Hata vomits blood or not. He only knows that it's too dark and dangerous outside, and he has to go home. Soon, he sent a telegram to the "China Dispatch Army" and the Japanese High Command, but he still insisted that he could not go to Changde again.This time, paper can't contain fire, and everyone knows about the "mother-in-law and daughter-in-law dispute" between Yokoyama Isamu and Hata Shunroku. Under the pressure of the Japanese High Command, Hata Shunroku sent people to the scene to have a look, and the people who went concluded that it was really not easy for Yokoyama Isamu. If the original plan was to be followed, it would be absolutely useless without adding three divisions. On December 18, the 11th Army of Wuhan all withdrew to the original defense area, but in the end it did not really affect the mobilization of Chinese troops. Of course, it could not stop the second big expedition that had already begun.