Chapter 13 1. Teachers and students face off against Xuefeng Mountain

After Chairman Jiang summoned the commanders of various armies in Chongqing, He Yingqin immediately rushed to Zhijiang County. He wanted to set up an army headquarters in Zhijiang and hold a military meeting here.The Battle of Xiangxi was very important to He Yingqin. He knew very well that this might be the last battle with the Japanese army, and it was also He Yingqin's last chance. Everyone knows very well that during the eight years of the Anti-Japanese War, He Yingqin was a pro-Japanese faction of the Kuomintang generals, and he was only one step away from Wang Jingwei and his like. In May 1933, after the failure of the Great Wall Anti-Japanese War, he signed the "Tanggu Agreement" with Okamura Ningji, the deputy chief of staff of the Kwantung Army, his Japanese teacher. According to the requirements of the Japanese army, Feng Yuxiang and Ji Hong The Chasui People's Anti-Japanese Allied Army organized by Chang, Fang Zhenwu and others. In 1935, He Yingqin, who had just been promoted to a first-class general of the army, signed the "He Mei Agreement" with the Japanese army to sell the sovereignty of North China. In early 1941, He Yingqin participated in instigating the Southern Anhui Incident that shocked China and the world.Therefore, it is difficult to find out things that are beneficial to the Chinese people's war of resistance during the War of Resistance Against Japan.

The eyes of the Chinese people are discerning, especially in the days when the Japanese devil slaughtered tens of millions of Chinese compatriots, who did what, the people have their own weight in their hearts.Therefore, He Yingqin attached great importance to the Battle of Xiangxi. This battle was a decisive battle for him to wash away his pro-Japanese reputation and make his final contribution to the bloody battle of the Chinese people to thank the people of the country. He Yingqin had unspeakable difficulties. Some things were beyond his control, but Chiang Kai-shek instructed him to do them.Of course, he is also willing to do it, and there is a mixed feeling in it.He was born in Xingyi, Guizhou, and was admitted to Guiyang Army Primary School in 1901, when he was just 11 years old.After graduating from primary school, he entered Wuchang Army No. 3 Middle School.

In 1908, he went to Japan to study. He first entered Zhenwu School and later entered the Japanese Army Non-commissioned Officer Academy. Okamura Neiji happened to be his district captain and teacher.He Yingqin's military career was the result of training in the Japanese Non-commissioned Officer Academy. He had a deep affection for Japan, especially his instructors, who had been training him. What surprised him later was that the instructors who trained him were the vanguards who invaded his country.As a soldier, He Yingqin was really embarrassed by the motherland he was born and raised on the one hand, and the teacher who was so kind to him on the other. Therefore, he has always adopted a passive resistance attitude and advocated peace talks with Japan for amicable settlement.

Chiang Kai-shek is a gang member born in the rivers and lakes. He is best at employing people. When the Japanese imperialists invaded, Chiang Kai-shek just took advantage of He Yingqin's ambivalence.And He Yingqin also knew Chiang Kai-shek very well. He knew Chiang Kai-shek's intentions and wanted to stabilize the Japanese side first, so that he could take his hand to eliminate the power of the Communist Party first.So the two of them used each other and worked together. In fact, Chiang Kai-shek and He Yingqin were competitors from the very beginning.Under Sun Yat-sen, the two of them had equal status, but Chiang Kai-shek was better at playing tricks and took a step forward.He Yingqin has always been Chiang Kai-shek's right-hand man.But He Yingqin has ideas. Once the domestic situation changes, he will attack Chiang Kai-shek.The opportunity finally came. It was the Xi'an Incident in December 1936. Chiang Kai-shek was detained in Xi'an by patriotic generals Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng.He Yingqin was in charge of the military power in Nanjing and served as the commander-in-chief of the rebellion army, attempting to disregard Chiang Kai-shek's life and death and resolve the Xi'an Incident by force.But this proposition was strongly opposed by Song Ziwen and Song Meiling.The Xi'an Incident was resolved peacefully, and when Chiang Kai-shek returned to Nanjing, he began to be wary of He Yingqin, and he was on guard everywhere, losing Chiang Kai-shek's trust in him.Since then, the two are no longer heart-to-heart brothers.

During the eight years of the Anti-Japanese War, Chiang Kai-shek's position was consolidated, and He Yingqin had to bow his head and proclaim himself a minister. I don't know if it's the arrangement of fate or a coincidence of things, but where did He Yingqin and Neiji Okamura get so much fate?Both of them were appointed commander-in-chief by their respective base camps in November 1944. One was the commander-in-chief of the Chinese Theater Army, and the other was the commander-in-chief of the Japanese Expeditionary Forces in China.After the armies of the two sides fought for 8 years and were engaged in the final battle, the two of them lined up on the same battlefield again. In 8 years, hundreds of big battles and fierce battles have never met, but on the last day, the two will have a showdown.What do you mean it's not God's will?Maybe God deliberately teased them, no one can tell.

He Yingqin didn't dare to think too much, thinking about it further, he was afraid of shaking his determination, and at the same time he was afraid of scaring himself.He pushed the glasses on the bridge of his nose, resolutely stepped on an American jeep, and went to inspect the main battlefield he was going to plan in person.The winding road of Xuefeng Mountain is very bumpy, and the mountains on both sides are steep, making it a good battlefield that is easy to defend but difficult to attack.Will the Japanese attack on Zhijiang change their offensive tactics this time?While inspecting the terrain, He Yingqin thought about the tactics of the Japanese attack.

During the Anti-Japanese War, He Yingyin seldom visited the front line in person. He had been serving as the Chief of Staff of the General Staff Headquarters. He knew the situation in various battlefields across the country. He was used to analyzing some battle cases. According to the experience of various battlefields, the Japanese army was very particular about tactics. Applied and coordinated, there are few mistakes in tactics.However, the Japanese army has shortcomings in combat. It only depends on its excellent equipment and high military quality of individual soldiers, so it does not take its opponents seriously.Either tanks, armor to clear the way, aircraft and artillery to cover, Bushido's group charge, or wave-like advancement, or the desperate death squad.

In each battle, Japan's firepower was strong, concentrating on one point, and then expanding outward from that point, which was fatal to the Chinese army.The Chinese army often failed to hold the key points, allowing the Japanese army to break through the occupation, and then quickly consolidated and strengthened.He thought of Taierzhuang in Xuzhou. At that time, Li Zongren chose Sun Lianzhong, who was the most able to defend, to defend Taierzhuang and prevent the Japanese army from breaking through. Only in this way could they have the opportunity to encircle the Japanese army and finally win.

He Yingqin let the jeep park on the side of the road. He got out of the car and pushed aside the bushes on the side of the road. He walked alone to the small river ditch below and washed his face with the clear river water.In April in western Hunan, although spring has already entered, the late spring cold in the deep mountains is still very cool, and the water in the deep ditch feels a bit soaked to the bone.Washing his face with cold water made He Yingqin much more refreshed. While He Yingqin was surveying the terrain, Wang Yaowu, the commander of the Fourth Front Army, who had always been careful and careful, was also leading a large group of staff officers to walk in a 20 li valley between the two main peaks of Xuefeng Mountain.He knew the weight of the burden on his shoulders. There were 3 armies under him. Although there were 14 divisions, due to the long defensive front and scattered troops, it was necessary to do a good job of frontal defense and resist the fierce Japanese attack. The key to winning.Then, as the commander-in-chief, he must have an understanding of the terrain, and it is very important to find a favorable defensive position for the defensive troops.

He Yingqin had a conversation with Wang Yaowu in Chongqing, and he asked him to help him think about how to use the favorable terrain of Xuefeng Mountain to make a fuss.Wang Yaowu understood He Yingqin's intention, and led the main force of the Japanese army into the mountains, and blocked the Japanese army tenaciously in the front, giving the neighboring troops enough time to outflank and block the Japanese army's rear.Wang Yaowu thought this was a bold idea. It was not easy to encircle the powerful Japanese army. He Yingqin knew his opponent well, and Neiji Okamura had studied mountain warfare and guerrilla warfare very well.When he came to China to fight, he studied the battles between the Chinese Red Army of Workers and Peasants and Chiang Kai-shek's army. He believed that the Communist army first lured the enemy, then concentrated its superior forces, divided and encircled them, and defeated them individually.Then there are the Chinese ancient books to encircle and fight for aid, or to find the opponent's weak link in sports.

He Yingqin had a profound lesson in fighting the Communist army. He, a victorious general in the Northern Expedition, fell twice under Mao Zedong, and both times were very tragic.One was to launch the second "encirclement and suppression" with an army of 200,000. Zhu Mao's Red Army had only 30,000 people, but was beaten to pieces by Mao Zedong.Immediately afterwards, he led an army of 300,000 to carry out the third "encirclement and suppression". At that time, Zhu Mao's Red Army was only 50,000, and was defeated by Mao Zedong, almost ruining the entire 300,000 army. It was only later that He Yingqin realized that Mao Zedong's guerrilla tactics consisted of only 16 words in Mao Zedong's words: When the enemy advances, we retreat; when the enemy retreats, we advance; when the enemy is stationed, we harass;There is also the method of mobile warfare, luring the enemy to go deep, dividing and encircling, concentrating superior forces, and defeating and annihilating each one.He admires Mao Zedong from the bottom of his heart, but he is not convinced. How can a normal student be compared with a professional soldier with a professional background? He was inspired by the lessons of failure. He wanted to learn from the Communist Party's method in this Xiangxi defense battle.He Yingqin has been thinking about it. When he was in Chongqing, he hadn't thought it through and the plan was not yet mature.It was Chiang Kai-shek's words when he made the final decision, which opened up the joints and made him suddenly enlightened. Chiang Kai-shek said, let Wang Jingjiu's 10th Army and Li Yutang's 27th Army take the lead in attacking the invading Japanese army.This is what reminded He Yingqin that the two armies resisted head-on, beat the Japanese army hard, and then retreated back, defeated and left.The plan to lure all the attacking Japanese troops into Xuefeng Mountain suddenly matured in He Yingqin's mind. Okamura Ningji looked down on China's Chongqing Army the most. He believed that the gang led by Chiang Kai-shek had neither combat effectiveness nor sacrifice spirit, and would be defeated in one blow.In the eyes of Japanese soldiers with Bushido spirit, this is the most shameful army.This time, He Yingqin wanted to take advantage of the arrogance of the Japanese army to make the Kuomintang army vulnerable and let the Japanese army chase down the defeated Kuomintang army.He wanted Neiji Okamura to never imagine that the Kuomintang would also learn from the Communist Party and use the Communist Party's methods of combat to deal with the Japanese attacking army. He Yingqin thought it was funny when he thought about it, because he was good at regular warfare and positional warfare, the dignified Kuomintang regular army played cat and mouse in the Xuefeng Mountains today.And my opponent is an expert who studies the combat of the Communist army, and my student actually uses the results of his research against him.At this point, it was something neither of them had ever thought of. The Zhijiang Military Conference was held at the Zhijiang Army Command.Attending the meeting were Commander-in-Chief He Yingqin, Chief of General Staff Xiao Yisu, Deputy Chief of Staff Leng Xin, Commander of the Third Front Army Tang Enbo, Commander of the Fourth Front Army Wang Yaowu, Chief of Staff Qiu Weida, and the commanders of the participating troops.In the Air Force, there are Chennault and the captains of the Chinese Air Force.The small meeting room was filled with smoke, especially the cigars smoked by the Americans, which made Xiao Yisu, chief of the army's general staff, so smoked enough. He Yingqin presided over the military meeting. He succinctly explained the importance of the Xiangxi battle, and introduced the favorable terrain of Xuefeng Mountain to everyone.He said that the terrain in western Hunan is steep and the mountains are undulating, and Xuefeng Mountain is the first backbone of the mountains in western Hunan.These hills are the biggest obstacles to the attackers, and they have virtually increased the resistance of the defenders. When he was studying at the Japanese Army School, he was interested in geography, and studying combat terrain was He Yingqin's strength.Pointing to the map, he said that the rivers in western Hunan are criss-crossing, from the upper source to Guizhou in the rear, and from the lower to Dongting and the Yangtze River. These rivers and lakes are natural barriers to prevent the Japanese mechanized troops, and our army can make more use of them. He Yingqin looked up at the generals present. He found that a group of Americans in the front row were not interested in the terrain, and then he turned his conversation to another question.He said: "Our coalition forces of the three major allies of China, the United States and Britain have worked closely together in Burma, fought side by side, defeated the Japanese invaders, and opened up the China-India highway. If we work together in western Hunan, we will surely be able to defeat the enemy's new attempt and achieve victory. Defend our Zhijiang Airport." He asked Chennault: "When can Liao Yaoxiang's New Army be transported by air?" Chennault said, "Soon, please rest assured that I will be responsible for transporting the New Army to Zhijiang. Before the battle, bomb the transportation hub behind the enemy, and Stations, warehouses and other facilities. After the battle begins, we will attack the Shaoyang, Dongkou, and Wugang areas. Our air force promises to seize the air supremacy and ensure that the ground troops will fight.” As soon as Chennault finished speaking, there was warm applause in the meeting room.The army likes to hear such words the most. In the past, when we fought against the Japanese army, we suffered a lot from the bombing of Japanese planes.He Yingqin waved to everyone and asked Chief of Staff Xiao to give a brief overview of the deployment of the battle. Xiao Yisu, a soldier with a background in martial arts, joined the Yunnan Lecture Hall in his early years, and was promoted from company commander to brigade commander in the Sichuan Army, and was promoted to deputy commander of the 43rd Army at the beginning of the Anti-Japanese War.Later, he followed Stilwell to participate in the Burma campaign and served as the chief of staff of the headquarters. After returning from Burma, he was appointed as the chief of staff of the Army General Command. According to He Yingqin's combat guiding ideology, Xiao Yisu summarized the deployment of this battle as: taking advantage of the favorable terrain in the Xuefeng Mountains, building in-depth defenses, adopting an offensive and defensive strategy, implementing successive counterattacks, luring the enemy deep, dividing and encircling, gathering and annihilating tactics. The frontal battlefield defense was undertaken by Wang Yaowu of the Fourth Front Army; Tang Enbo's Third Front Army was responsible for the defense of Guisui Road, and deployed the 94th Army as a campaign mobile corps, stationed in Jingxian County and Suining to support the right wing operations of the Fourth Front Army; Wang Jingjiu of the group army took over the defense of northern Hunan. The 18th Army, which was originally in northern Hunan, assembled in Yuanling and Chenxi as the mobile corps of the Fourth Front Army;A total of 20 army divisions participated in the battle, with a total strength of 200,000 troops. After the Zhijiang military meeting, Wang Yaowu immediately deployed the specific combat plan of the Fourth Front Army.The 74th Army was in charge of operations in the Wugang-Anjiang area; the 100th Army was in charge of operations in the Longhui area; and the 73rd Army was in charge of operations in the Xinhua area.Tang Enbo's 94th Army was placed under the command of Wang Yaowu, who was in charge of the Hongjiang area and ensured the safety of the 74th Army's right wing.The 18th Army and the New 6th Army were stationed near Zhijiang and used as second-line mobile forces.The headquarters of the Fourth Front Army was located in Anjiang, and the headquarters of the former enemy was located in Chenjiaao, Xupu, with Lieutenant General Qiu Weida, chief of staff of the Front Army, in charge. Wang Yaowu followed the trend of Xuefeng Mountain and spread out the fourth front army. Each army guarded a line of defense, and the defense front was more than 200 kilometers from north to south.It can be clearly seen from the combat map that 4 armies and 14 divisions, like a copper wall, blocked the west of Xuefeng Mountain.There is also the 94th Army of the Third Front Army on the right wing, and Liao Yaoxiang's New Army behind the line of defense. It can be said that Zhijiang is safe. For the convenience of command, Wang Yaowu divided the headquarters of the Front Army into two parts. Chief of Staff Qiu Weida was in the north, responsible for the operations of the 18th Army and the 73rd Army, and coordinated the 10th Army of the left wing Wang Jingjiu.Wang Yaowu was in the south, responsible for the operations of the 74th Army and the 100th Army, and coordinated matters related to the right-wing Tang Enbo Third Front Army. After Wang Yaowu arrived at the designated location, he found that the 94th Army of the Third Front Army had not arrived, so the right wing of the defensive position was empty. If the Japanese army attacked from Quanzhou, Guangxi or Dong'an, the entire defense line would be in vain. He immediately telegraphed Chairman Jiang and General He Yingqin. commander. Chiang Kai-shek was very satisfied with Wang Yaowu's deployment. When he heard that the 94th Army had not arrived and the right wing of the Fourth Front Army was exposed to the enemy, he called Tang Enbo and ordered his 94th Army to rush to the front line.Chiang Kai-shek knew that Mou Tingfang, the commander of the 94th Army, built a house in Guiyang some time ago to accept concubines, spend a lot of time and drink, and caused a lot of trouble in the city.But Chiang Kai-shek just beat him on the sidelines and didn't say anything else.He knew that Mou Tingfang had this problem, he didn't stick to small details, but he could fight well.So Chiang Kai-shek personally drafted another telegram and sent it directly to Mou Tingfang. Tang Enbo was taken aback. He scolded Mou Tingfang severely, and said, "I tell you, if I move my head this time, I will remove yours first!" When I received the chairman's telegram, I felt that things were getting serious, so I hurriedly bid farewell to the bride, and led the 94th Army to the front line of Suining. Just after He Yingqin completed the deployment of troops for the Xiangxi battle, the commander-in-chief of the Japanese Expeditionary Forces in China also approved the deployment of the Zhijiang operation by Ichiro Sakanishi of the 20th Army.The Japanese army divided into three armies, adopted the strategy of dividing into encirclement, and attacked Zhijiang.The 68th Division, under the command of Lieutenant General Di Shangshu, the commander of the division, marched from the southern end of Xuefeng Mountain, Dong'an on the border of Guangxi, and mainly attacked the defense lines of the 74th Army of the Chinese Army in Wugang and Dongkou.The 116th Division is the main attacking force of the Zhijiang operation. It is commanded by Lieutenant General Yan Yongwang, the division head. Lieutenant General Watanabe Yang was in charge of the command, starting from Ningxiang, and went straight to the Anhua and Xinhua defense lines defended by the 73rd Army of the Chinese Army. The 64th Division and the 34th Division of the Japanese Army followed up quickly, forming a group-style echelon advance, and hitting the frontal Chinese army in waves.The 44th Squadron of the 13th Flying Division of the Japanese Air Force and the 54th Squadron of Independent Flight cooperated with the ground forces to bomb the defensive positions and fortresses of the Chinese army, as well as the important towns in the rear. The Chinese Supreme Command called this battle the Battle of Xiangxi, and the Japanese China Expeditionary Army Command called it the Battle of Zhijiang.Regardless of whether it was the Xiangxi battle or the Zhijiang battle, the gongs and drums of both sides sounded on April 9, 1945.