Chapter 15 3. The silence before the war

In western Hunan, there are high mountains and dense forests, and the traffic is blocked. In the past, this land was extremely quiet, and few outsiders came in.It's different now. Hundreds of thousands of troops gathered here, making the atmosphere in Xiangxi a bit too tense.The Chinese army, which has just been equipped with American equipment, is full of energy and eager to try.Of course, this is not the reason for wearing the new uniform.The main reason is that the Chinese army has not been going well on the frontal battlefield in recent years, and they are full of anger. Is the Chinese military really so incompetent?no.Now the Supreme Military Council has made up its mind to defend Zhijiang Airport to the death.Then, the Chinese troops participating in the war can fight with all their might, and no one will shrink back to preserve their strength. They will fight for the honor of Chinese soldiers.

Han Jun, the commander of the 73rd Army, has put his troops into position. They occupy the counties of Xinhua and Anhua, and use part of their troops to keep in touch with the invading Japanese troops on the east bank of Zishui, and harass the Japanese troops in guerrilla ways. The local Chen Zaihua guerrilla The detachment is under the command of this army. Shi Zhongcheng, the commander of the 74th Army, built the favorable terrain at the eastern foot of Xuefeng Mountain as the main position for the decisive battle, and built strong and deep fortifications at the Shixia River and the entrance of the cave in Wugang, and guarded the Japanese troops in Dong'an and Shaoyang. way to resist.Commander Shi was very sorry that Zhang Lingfu, who was brave and good at fighting, had just been promoted to major general and deputy commander, and at a critical moment he went to the army university for training in the first-class general officer class. If Zhang Lingfu was here, he would not have to worry so much.

Li Tianxia, ​​commander of the 100th Army, deployed fortifications on the Shanmen, Longhui, and Xupu lines of Xuefeng Mountain, and set up strong fortifications at Longhui, Shanmen and other key points, which were the key points of the Japanese attack.They highly guarded against the invading Japanese troops from Shaodong and Xiangxiang.Chen Guangzhong's guerrillas belonged to them. Hu Lian, the commander of the 18th Army, assembled in the Yuanling and Chenxi areas. This is an ace army and Chen Cheng's old base. This time he was transferred to Western Hunan to belong to the Fourth Front Army.Chen Cheng called Hu Lian to let the 18th Army make achievements and bravely kill the enemy.

Wang Yaowu inspected the position. Looking at the layout, he was not impeccable. The defense on the front line of Wuyang was still weak.However, the limited force and the long battle line left Wang Yaowu with no good solution.The New Army came, but he didn't want to pull this army up. For such a large-scale battle, it would be impossible without heavy troops as a reserve force.Based on many years of battlefield experience, unless the troops are exhausted, any battle without reserve troops is difficult to fight.What's more, we should be more cautious when fighting against the Japanese army, which is very powerful.

The situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly, and anything can happen. It is good to keep more hands, Wang Yaowu thought.Qiu Weida, chief of staff of the Fourth Front Army, also went to the front line. He saw the problems of the troops from another angle.From the officers to the soldiers, everyone in the army is gearing up, full of energy, determined to fight the Japanese army, and their spirit is commendable.However, they did not really understand the strategic intent of the Xiangxi battle, and the tactical essentials of the Front Army Command were not conveyed, which would have adverse consequences for the entire campaign.

Therefore, wherever he went, he had to explain to the division commander, regiment commander, or battalion commander, emphasizing that the Fourth Front Army implemented the strategic policy of Commander-in-Chief He Yingqin, and this time it adopted offensive defense instead of dedicated defense.What is offensive defense?That is to defend first and then attack. The purpose of defense is to consume the active forces of the Japanese army, and the purpose of attack is to further annihilate most or all of the active forces of the Japanese army. Taking advantage of the favorable terrain of Xuefeng Mountain, the Fourth Front Army arranged a pocket position.The three points of Wugang, Xinhua, and Anhua stick to it as the support points for the two wings.It is expected that the main attack direction of the Japanese army will be in the Shaoyang Highway area. Because they are equipped with a large number of armored troops, only this area is conducive to their attack. Therefore, the 74th Army should concentrate infantry artillery and rocket launchers on both sides of the road, and prepare a few more in a flexible and mobile way. After each line of defense has achieved its intended purpose, it can be shifted in camera. It is not to fight for consumption, but to lure the enemy to go deep.As long as Wugang, Xinhua, and Anhua are not lost, then the strategic reserve corps, which will act as a cover, will be able to encircle and annihilate the enemy if they take action on camera.

Neji Okamura didn't sleep well for several nights, he kept thinking about the battle in Zhijiang.When he knew that the opponent's commander was He Yingqin, he understood Chongqing's strategic determination to fight Zhijiang. Using the commander-in-chief of the army on the Xiangxi battlefield means defending to the death.From the perspective of the battle specifications, this is an exception. The Xuzhou defense battle is Li Zongren, Nanjing is Tang Shengzhi, Wuhan and Changsha are Xue Yue, and Henan is Tang Enbo.This time, He Yingqin, who was trained by a Japanese army school, was used. Neji Okamura felt a little interesting. He smiled and took out a book from the bookshelf.

The lights were a little dim, Okamura Ningji sat quietly at the table, once again studying the information on "Military Keys in Combat Areas" collected by the intelligence department.In fact, he was already familiar with the situation of Zhijiang's military history. He didn't know why, and he didn't want to read anything these days. He just wanted to read this document, as if there were some secrets and mysteries hidden in it. Zhijiang is located in the west of Hunan, bordering on the Qiandong area of ​​Guizhou.Due to its unique geographical location, the dynasties of all dynasties stationed heavily guarded troops to prevent the barbarian people from the southwest from making troubles.During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, uprisings by the Red Horn Army and the White Horn Army took place in eastern Guizhou and western Hunan, and even the Miao people rose up on a large scale to fight against the imperial court.Therefore, important military institutions such as state capitals, governors, governors, guards, towns, and battalions were set up in Zhijiang and Tongren, Guizhou very early.

Okamura Ningji was also interested in the Great Wall in the south, starting from Tongren in the west and ending in Fenghuang in the east. Handsome as Lin". Professional soldiers are sensitive to important military locations. Neiji Okamura noticed many fortresses and passes in China very early on.When he took office as the commander-in-chief of the dispatched army last year, he discovered the military value of the small town of Zhijiang when he was formulating a plan to attack Sichuan. "I must go and see it if I have the chance." Okamura Neiji closed the book and thought. Wang Yaowu walked out from the doorway of the headquarters when the crescent moon was to the east.He sat on a big rock and rolled his favorite old tobacco.This is a habit he developed when he worked in a tobacco company in the Tianjin Concession in his early years. He is addicted to smoking, and only this kind of local tobacco can satisfy him.

Tobacco leaves are very choking, not to mention smoking, even a couple of puffs are unbearable.Wang Yaowu is also self-conscious, trying not to smoke during meetings, he is afraid of affecting others.I have to smoke hard on the side alone to get enough of my addiction.The orderly came over, and he brought him a coat. It was very cold in the deep mountains. There is a folk proverb in western Hunan: "On April 8th, ducks freeze to death." Wang Yaowu's orderly is a distant relative from his hometown in Shandong. He has been with him for more than ten years, and his nickname is Wang Laohei.Wang Laohei put his coat on Wang Yaowu's body, and sat down on the big rock beside him.Wang Wuyao looked at his simple and honest appearance, and handed him a big rolled cigarette.

He said, "Old Hei, after this battle is over, you can go back." Wang Laohei took a puff of his cigarette, wiped the drool on the corner of his mouth with his hand and said, "I don't, I won't go home until Little Japan is driven away." Wang Yaowu rolled cigarette leaves again, and he said: "Little Japan is at the end of his life, I said he is a grasshopper after autumn, and he has been jumping around in a few days." "Oh," Wang Laohei said happily, "That's all right. We ordinary people can live a peaceful life.” Wang Yaowu stopped his work and repeated what Wang Laohei said: “A peaceful life. Well, the common people look forward to a peaceful life. You go back and buy two acres of land and build two houses. Marry a daughter-in-law and have a few children, and live in peace." Wang Laohei chuckled: "Uncle Wu, what about you?" Wang Laohei was older than Wang Yaowu, but his seniority was a generation younger. Wang Yaowu said that he also wanted to disarm and return to the fields, and return to his hometown to live the lives of ordinary people.However, soldiers take obeying orders as their bounden duty, so it is up to the peak to decide whether they can go home or not.Wang Laohei nodded and said that was true.In fact, Wang Laohei didn't know, but Wang Yaowu did.When he was the commander of the Fourth Front Army, Chiang Kai-shek talked to him and asked him to try his best to train an elite team for the party-state.The chairman of the committee told him frankly that the war would still be fought, and if he, Mao Zedong, could disband the army, that would be easy.Do you think Mao Zedong will disband his army? Chiang Kai-shek shook his head, and Wang Yaowu also shook his head.When will this battle be the first?Looking at the watery moon, Wang Yaowu sighed deeply.Wang Laohei was startled, he stood up and asked, "Uncle Wu, what's wrong with you?" Wang Yaowu was so preoccupied that he didn't speak, but just waved his hand gently towards Wang Laohei. The moonlight covered the mountains with a layer of silver light. What a peaceful night, the world without the sound of guns and guns is so beautiful. "Report to Commander Wang." It was Wu Yuan from the Operations Department who reported to Wang Yaowu that the 116th Division of the Japanese Army in Shaoyang had been dispatched.The soldiers are divided into three groups, and the progress is faster.Wang Yaowu stood up from the stone and walked towards the headquarters together with Director Wu Yuan.Wang Laohei followed behind, and he has been like this for more than ten years, like a follower, inseparable from Wang Yaowu.No way, he has learned a lesson. It happened during the Battle of Shanggao. At that time, Wang Yaowu was the commander of the 74th Army. In the command post of the Maoshan position, a bomb from the Japanese army blew up the command post. Hei was five or six meters away from him, and Wang Yaowu was buried in the soil without supporting the roof of the house with his own body.When Wang Laohei pulled Wang Yaowu out of the dirt, he cried and swore that he would never leave his fifth uncle. Shaoyang is only 500 kilometers away from Zhijiang in a straight line, and Xuefeng Mountain is just across the two.The 116th Division of the Japanese Army was the one that mainly attacked Hengyang. The division head, Lieutenant General Iwa Yongwang, was a well-known warrior with deep experience in the Japanese military.When attacking Hengyang, the division lost a lot of casualties, and was supplemented by Naozaburo Okabe of the Sixth Front Army. There are currently 8 regiments including infantry, cavalry, artillery, baggage, and engineers, with a strength of more than 16,000. The main force of the battle. The head of the Yan Yongwang division divided the offensive troops into three groups: left, middle and right. In the early morning of April 9, they quietly set off from Shaoyang. By April 11, they had advanced more than 100 kilometers. blocked by the Chinese army.For a moment, the sound of gunfire was earth-shattering, and the sound of rumbling explosions echoed in the valley. Flocks of birds flew up in the woods, and they chirped non-stop in the sky.The quiet Xiangxi was pierced by dense artillery shells, and the soaring flames dyed the night sky red. Thousands of villagers in Miaojia Village, Dongjia Village, and Tujiawan, who have never seen the world, panicked. Bandits came?It's not like, how could the bandits make such a big noise.When the big iron birds flew in the sky, they knew it was a big battle, and even the iron birds were used.They heard people say that when Changsha was attacked, Changde was attacked, and Hengyang was besieged, flocks of iron birds flew overhead, and the iron eggs they laid could blow up a small building into the sky. The faces of the villagers were pale from fright, and they dragged their children and daughters into the deep ravine.There are many karst caves in western Hunan and eastern Guizhou, which are good places for hiding soldiers and bandits.A hole can sometimes hide a hundred people.They led the cows and drove the pigs into the forest, and from time to time a bomb fell from the sky, which made the fleeing villagers tremble with fear.