Chapter 34 1. Commander Liu Guangyu was unfavorable in two battles

The main battlefield of the Battle of Xiangxi is Xuefeng Mountain, which is a good place selected by He Yingqin and Wang Yaowu through on-the-spot investigation.However, the Xuefeng Mountains span hundreds of kilometers and are lofty mountains between Anhua, Xinhua, Xupu, Dongkou, Longhui, Wugang, Suining and other counties.The battlefield chosen in the mountains is not like in the great plains, there is no such space in the deep mountains.Therefore, when planning the battlefield, He Yingqin and Wang Yaowu knew in their hearts that there would be no spectacular scene of a decisive battle between large armies.

A valley, coupled with the slopes on both sides, can hardly accommodate a regiment of Japanese troops.Besides, the terrain of Xuefeng Mountain is dangerous, with ravines and ravines. It is impossible for Japanese army commanders with combat experience to deploy troops of one regiment at a time in the valley.Wang Yaowu judged that the Japanese army must use squadrons and brigades as combat units and adopt wave-like offensive tactics.To enable the squadrons and brigades to achieve their strategic goals, they must strengthen the distribution of various arms in the squadrons and brigades in order to increase their combat effectiveness.

Wang Yaowu knew that the Japanese army had a very strong combat effectiveness. If the squadrons and brigades were strengthened, the same number of Chinese troops would not be able to win.Commander Wang's understanding was correct. In actual battles, a squadron of the Japanese army needed a regiment from the Chinese army, and a brigade needed a division of the Chinese army to deal with it.This posed a problem to Wang Yaowu, the commander-in-chief of the front line, because the troops were not enough to allocate.Therefore, Wang Yaowu emphasized that relying on favorable terrain, when choosing a position, it is best to find a place with a pass or a valley.Fortification on favorable terrain can get twice the result with half the effort.

When we consulted a large number of historical documents, there was a kind of confusion about most of the battles in the Xiangxi Battle.A division of the Chinese army fought bravely and tragically. Only after looking at the situation of the Japanese army did we realize that the others were a large army with seven or eight hundred soldiers.What's going on here?The key issue is the ability of the Japanese soldiers to fight.The Japanese soldiers have good military qualities, strong combat capabilities, and the ability to coordinate operations is beyond words, which greatly improved their overall combat effectiveness.Situations like those on Xuefeng Mountain Qingyan and Tieshan positions are rare and not universal.

Because of these reasons, Xuefeng Mountain has hundreds of small battlefields, fighting fiercely in different ravines at the same time on the same day.Therefore, it is difficult to use words to reflect the whole picture of the Battle of Xiangxi in an orderly manner. It is like snow peaks, mountains and ravines intertwined, which makes people unable to figure out the clue for a while. Don't say that we didn't personally experience that battle, but Wang Yaowu, who commanded the whole team, knew at that time that once the entire Xuefeng Mountain fought, it would be a mess.A group of Japanese troops was trapped in this ravine, and a large group was trapped in that valley. In addition, the Japanese troops were scurrying around like headless chickens in the deep mountains and valleys. It was really difficult to contain them for a while.But Wang Yaowu was calm and composed, and let the Japanese army run wild in the mountains. As long as they guarded a dozen key points and blocked the main road for the Japanese army to attack and retreat, no matter how capable the Japanese army was, they would not be able to escape.

That being said, it is not an easy task to really block the Japanese army.A dog jumps over a wall in a hurry, and a rabbit bites a person in a hurry.Take the 109th Regiment of the Japanese Army in the previous stage as an example. Two or three divisions of the Chinese army surrounded them, but they didn't take it seriously at all. Deep in the trapped mountains, they burned, killed and looted everywhere. grab.Yasuzaburo Takidera led the 109th regiment to break through. Although it was the remnant of the regiment, it was still rampant.In the end, they were surrounded and annihilated by the 63rd, 19th, 51st, and 11th divisions of the Chinese army in Pubanxi, killing 1,300 enemies.

Commander Liu Guangyu of the 56th Regiment was not as lucky as other troops.This regiment is Yang Yin's unit of the 19th Division of the 100th Army. At the beginning of the Xiangxi Battle, this army was in charge of the line from Xupu to Longhui. As mentioned earlier, the Shanmen Fortress of Xuefeng Mountain is a gateway to the eastern foot of Xuefeng Mountain, and it is a place that both sides must contend for in the Xiangxi Campaign.It is also considered to hand over the mountain gate to the 56th regiment. This regiment has been very effective in previous battles, especially in defense.

Unexpectedly, the mountain gate is so important. The Japanese army rushed into Xuefeng Mountain and vowed to capture this fortress, restraining the Chinese army from entering and leaving Xuefeng Mountain. It was also an important retreat for the Japanese army to return to Hengyang.The 116th Division of the Japanese Army would not fail to see the importance of this place. Before attacking the mountain gate, it first captured the west wing of the mountain gate and fought fiercely with the 169th regiment of the 57th Division of the 74th Army for a day.After the turn, another regiment began to attack the east side of the mountain gate, fighting with the 170th regiment of the 57th division of the 74th army.The fighting on the east and west sides of the mountain gate was extremely fierce, but there was no movement on the front of the mountain gate.Head Liu Guangyu believed that this was a sign before the war, that if the water does not boil, if the water does not boil, a bad battle is coming.

Commander Liu Guangyu did not expect that the Japanese army did not attack from the front, but divided their forces from the east and west wings.The real intention of the Japanese army was a sneak attack on the back of the 56th regiment, a large-scale sneak attack.From the back hillside, it came suddenly like a flash flood, and the momentum was unstoppable. More than 2,000 Japanese troops marched in three directions, and at the same time started in front of the 56th regiment. crushed. More than 100 people retreated and crowded the defensive positions of other companies. In this way, the Japanese army took advantage of the victory to occupy the main position of the 56th regiment, and used the bunker fortifications on the position to attack the surrounding forward positions.

Liu Guangyu, the head of the regiment, was injured, and the deputy head took over as the commander.In order to preserve its vitality, the 56th regiment withdrew from the mountain gate.The fall of the mountain gate alarmed Chiang Kai-shek.Looking at the topographic map, Chiang Kai-shek criticized the regiment leader Liu Guangyu, saying that the camp site was not chosen properly, so how could he not be attacked by surprise.He also talked about Zeng Guofan's experience in choosing a place to set up camp. Zeng Guofan also suffered from the Taiping Army's losses. Camping must choose a place with a wide and flat top and steep sides.It is best to choose a terrain with mountains behind and water in front, and it is also convenient to fetch firewood and water.Some of our teachers and regiment leaders don't study hard at ordinary times, and they lack basic common sense when fighting.

This word spread to Commander Yang Yin and Commander Liu Guangyu, and they were also given a copy of "Zeng Hu Zhibing Quotations" compiled by the Military Command Department, so that they could study hard.Chiang Kai-shek ordered Li Tianxia and Shi Zhongcheng's troops to take back the mountain gate and strengthen the guards on the front line. The mountain gate was later taken back by Yang Botao of the 11th Division of the 18th Army.Because Liu Guangyu fought fiercely with the Japanese army, one regiment fought against the Japanese army and one regiment, and was injured. Although he lost the mountain gate, objectively the responsibility was not on him, so he was not held accountable. After the Japanese 116th Division broke through the mountain gate, they continued to attack Longhui, Shixiajiang and Niaoshuxia.Liu Guangyu's 56th regiment was transferred to the position under the bird tree to guard.The battle between a brigade of the Japanese army and the 56th regiment started.That day, it was raining heavily, and there was a thick white fog floating on the mountainside, and the visibility was only fifty or sixty meters away.The Japanese artillery bombarded the 56th regiment's position wildly, and almost all the big trees on the mountain were broken by the shells.The shells kicked up the mud on the ground and covered the soldiers' heads and bodies. They seemed to have emerged from a mud pit, only showing a pair of big eyes, smiling, and setting off a row of white teeth. They looked very funny. The soldiers didn't care about the mud or mud, and didn't even wipe it off.When the guns stopped, they got up and looked down on the ground. The attacking Japanese soldiers were more than ten meters away, and their grenades could be thrown directly into the trenches.Soldiers in the trenches also threw grenades at the enemy group, using grenades to stop the Japanese attack. The 56th regiment fought tenaciously. The head of the regiment, Liu Guangyu, said on the battlefield with injuries that he could not lose the position even if he was beaten to death. The 56th regiment couldn't afford to lose this man!The commander's words inspired the fighting spirit of all the soldiers. One hundred and ten members of the 1st company jumped out of the position with swords and guns in hand, and they rushed towards the enemy like tigers.Immediately afterwards, the 2nd and 3rd companies rushed out, and they suppressed the attacking enemy.Liu Guangyu immediately withdrew his team and reinforced his position under the bird tree.The division commander Yang Yin called several times to inquire about the situation of the positions, and told Commander Liu that the Japanese troops currently under siege in Xuefeng Mountain were rushing from east to west, trying to gather small groups of troops. In this way, the positions of the Chinese army may appear at any time. Accident.He told the front line to be on constant alert. The terrain of the 56th regiment under the bird tree was well chosen, and the Japanese army was blocked outside, unable to get through the position of regimental commander Liu Guangyu.Japanese planes, cannons, death squads, commandos and other attack methods were all used, but the Chinese army could not be repulsed.Liu Guangyu's regiment lost a lot, more than 200 soldiers died in battle, and more than 100 wounded were carried off the position.The attacking Japanese army lost more than 500 people.But neither side is good at letting go. The Chinese army has stood firm on this line for four or five days, and the rain soaked the soldiers' clothes and pants.For the past few days, the soldiers have been rolling in mud and water, and now they burn a lot of bonfires when they are free.Soldiers in each squad took turns roasting by the fire, with wet clothes on their bodies for days and nights.Liu Guangyu knew that this was the most difficult time and he had to get through it.It is difficult for us, and the Japanese army is even more difficult than us. They have no logistics and are even more short of food.Whoever can persist at this time will win the final victory. The battlefield suddenly changed, and another brigade of Japanese soldiers came over. They joined the Japanese army attacking Liu Guangyu's regiment to form a larger attacking force.Liu Guangyu found out later that the brigade of the Japanese army was driven over by Tao Fuye and the others from the 55th Regiment.The Japanese army gathered in one place was afraid of being attacked from front and back, so they organized a death squad of more than 200 people. Before the Chinese army arrived, they must break through the forward position and get out of the crisis situation. Break through Shaoyang. The Japanese army did not put the death squads on the frontal attack, but when the frontal attack was very fierce, they got through the gap between the 56th regiment's defense line and occupied the high ground of Lingjie to restrain the main position of the Chinese defenders.When Commander Liu was repelling the Japanese attacking frontally, he discovered that the Japanese Death Squad got in through his gap.The Tulingjie Highland on the side was occupied by the Japanese death squads. They tied the white cloth strips of the Sun Flag on their heads and suppressed Liu Guangyu's position with heavy machine gun fire, causing the main position to be attacked on both sides. Liu Guangyu immediately asked Battalion Commander Tang Qisheng to take the whole battalion there, and he must take back the Tulingjie highland.Tang Qisheng led the whole battalion of three or four hundred people to fight for the Tuling Realm with all their strength.Unexpectedly, a large follow-up group of the Japanese army appeared behind them, and the battle was extremely fierce.Liu Guangyu had to draw troops to rescue Tang Qisheng and the others.At this time, the Japanese brigade launched a full-line attack on the main position of the 56th regiment. Liu Guangyu led the remnants of the regiment to retreat, and met Tao Fuye of the 55th regiment in a valley. Tao Fuye was leading the 55th Regiment to pursue in this direction. He heard from Regiment Commander Liu Guangyu that the Japanese army had broken through their defense line and was in the Tulingjie area.So they joined forces and marched towards Tuling Realm.The Japanese army did not stop after occupying the highlands of Territory and Ridge. They marched in the rain and climbed the mountains all the way to the Yangzhu River. They knew from the military map that they could reach the entrance of the cave after crossing the pass in front of them. Bright hope is in sight, and more than 1,000 Japanese soldiers are happy.The breakout battle along the way was finally not in vain, and we were finally able to join forces with the main force. Unbeknownst to the Japanese army, a company of the 55th Regiment had long guarded the narrow mountain pass in front of them.Can a company withstand a thousand-man Japanese army?The Chinese soldiers defending there have this confidence.Yangzhu River is a small basin on the mountainside of Xuefeng Mountain, surrounded by high mountains on all sides, and there is only a small path in and out.At the most precipitous part of this trail, there is a defensive position of a company of the 55th regiment. In Yangzhujiang, there has been a saying since ancient times that "one man is in charge of the gate, and ten thousand men are not allowed to open it".It is said that when the Miao people revolted, they only needed to place a local cannon and dozens of archers here to stop the imperial court's thousands of troops.What's more, the current army not only has light machine guns, heavy machine guns, and mortars, but also has air force support, sufficient food, and ammunition. Not afraid.The Japanese army did not know, and sent a small team to explore the way first.They were crawling like snails on the narrow path. It had just rained, and the muddy floor of the path was very slippery. Big lumps of yellow mud were stained on the big leather shoes. There were thorn bushes growing on both sides of the path, and there was not even a place for a handrail. The Chinese defenders on the pass position saw it clearly. When they entered the range of the position, a machine gun rang out, and five or six fell down at that time.The other Japanese soldiers who had no place to hide simply lay down on the spot and looked up.Rows of heads were shaking on the ground, and snipers from the Chinese army were shooting at them.The Japanese squad leader ordered to retreat, and the Japanese soldiers who got up turned around and ran down the mountain.Their legs couldn't run the bullets, and the snipers fired three or four shots, and the shots rang out. The remaining two or three Japanese soldiers did not dare to get up. They crawled down the mountain, and then rolled down the slope.The Chinese soldiers laughed loudly on the mountain, and from time to time uttered a few horns calling for the mountain, and the sound echoed in the valley, very loud. After listening to the team leader's report, the Japanese army concentrated all the cannons and small steel cannons to bombard the Chinese positions with intensive and precise artillery fire.Except for three or four surveillance posts left by the Chinese defenders, the other hundred or so people all went to a cave behind the mountain.They ate dry food, drank water, smoked cigarettes in the cave, and some soldiers even played poker, all when the war did not happen. At the same time as the Japanese bombarded the Chinese defenders' positions, about two squads of Japanese soldiers began to advance along the narrow path.When the artillery fire stopped, they climbed to less than 20 meters from the position.The Chinese defenders don't panic, no matter how many people there are, they have to pass one by one. It is impossible to swarm up, and the terrain does not allow two people to walk side by side.The three or four surveillance sentries in the position can cope with it. They shoot single shots from their rifles, and sometimes they can shoot through the heads of two people with one shot. As soon as the gunfire stopped, the people in the cave would be able to return to their positions in less than half a minute.There was a burst of heavy machine gun fire, and all the corpses fell on the trails down the mountain.In less than 20 minutes, the Japanese soldiers in the two teams will be reimbursed.In order to cover the retreating Japanese troops on the trail, the Japanese troops at the foot of the mountain fired heavy machine guns and cannons up the mountain at the same time.The Chinese defenders returned to the cave, and they were unscathed. The despondent Japanese brigade did not believe that their thousand-man team would be blocked here by a hundred Chinese troops.They bombarded again with cannons, and the stones and soil lifted up by the shells rolled down the mountain with a clatter.The Chinese defenders knew that the artillery could not flatten Xuefeng Mountain, nor could it collapse the surrounding cliffs.So they don't have to worry about this at all in the cave. The Japanese army's fierce artillery fire blew up the Yangzhujiang Chinese defenders' positions. The rocks and cliffs were completely exposed, and there were no trees or bushes in front or behind. .When this squad went to a place where the Japanese heavy machine guns could not shoot, it was hit head-on by the Chinese defenders.The Japanese army realized that this road was impassable, so they began to climb from the cliffs on both sides. The engineering team was a good climber. They had all the tools, including ladders, rope ladders, and ropes for individual soldiers. The Japanese army stayed in the small basin of the Yangzhu River for one day. This day was too important for the Chinese army.The remnants of the chasing 55th and 56th regiments quickly caught up.Spread the net, and after the firepower is deployed, a report is sent to the division headquarters, requesting air force support.Head Tao Fuye was afraid of the bad weather and poor visibility, so he made a ten-meter-long indicator at the entrance of the small basin, with the arrow pointing directly in the direction of the basin. The Japanese engineers and soldiers went all out, and they now have no way out.A group of people cannot stay in this dead place for too long. There is nowhere to hide in this place. Once attacked by planes or troops, it can be said that there is no place to die, and the entire army must be wiped out.The engineers tried their best to get over no matter how high or steep it was.Behind the engineers, there are more than 100 death squads. The Chinese garrison immediately organized more than a dozen snipers, holding rifles, leaning over in the best position and firing at the climbing Japanese army.On the cliff walls, climbing Japanese soldiers are like shooting targets.For snipers, this is the simplest thing. They don't need to aim too much at all, they can shoot one by one, which is much easier than shooting wild rabbits. The Chinese garrison on the top of the mountain also threw grenades down the cliff, and some soldiers threw explosives.Three or four successive climbs were repulsed by hand grenades.The Japanese army had no choice but to build fortifications in the basin in an attempt to stand by and wait for help. The mortars and heavy machine guns of the 55th and 56th regiments began to attack the Japanese troops in the basin.Cannon fire and machine guns fired all morning, and the thick fog in the valley was broken up. The sun came out, illuminating the basin brightly.Four or five Chinese fighter planes flew over, and they dropped bombs and strafed the basin.As soon as this batch left, another batch of bombers came, and the blockbuster bombs and napalm bombs made a mess of the entire basin.The basin became a sea of ​​flames, and a large number of Japanese troops fought in the sea of ​​flames. More than half of the Japanese troops were killed or injured. Tuan Zhang Tao and Tuan Zhang Liu took advantage of the victory to launch an attack, and the sound of cannons, grenades and gunfire lifted the valley basin up.The Japanese army panicked and terrified.Under the attack of the Chinese army, they lost the power to resist and were defeated all at once, and all retreated under a cliff.The defenders on the mountain threw grenades and explosives downwards, and the Japanese army was in such a mess that they couldn't reach them or break out, so they had to run from the east to the west, and then from the west to the east in the basin. Wandering back and forth, dodging the Chinese army's shells and grenades. The Japanese army was bombarded by artillery fire and kept strafing by planes, and the morale of the Japanese army was completely destroyed.The Japanese army roared, and some of them dropped their guns and hid in the bushes and thorns.Commander Tao and the others launched a final charge against the Japanese army. The soldiers were as fierce as tigers. They first annihilated the Japanese artillery unit and captured five or six Japanese mountain artillery pieces and more than a dozen heavy machine guns.Although the Japanese army had no assault force, a group of more than a dozen soldiers still did not put down their weapons, and they fought to the death with the Chinese army.Sporadic small battles continued for more than an hour, and the two brigades of the Japanese army were completely wiped out, and no one slipped through the net.Tao Fuye and Liu Guangyu won a complete victory. When the news of the victory reached Commander Yang Yin, he immediately asked Wang Yaowu for merit for the troops, and asked Tao Fuye and Liu Guangyu to commend the two regiment leaders.Wang Yaowu was very happy and asked the 19th Division to report the military achievements to the front army immediately, and the front army reported to Commander-in-Chief He Yingqin. The 19th Division of the 100th Army has made outstanding achievements in combat, and the three regiments under its jurisdiction are tenacious and brave.Although the entire division suffered more than a thousand casualties including battalion commanders and company commanders, the number of Japanese troops killed and wounded was several times higher, and a lot of them were captured.The Supreme Military Committee of the Kuomintang awarded division commander Yang Yin, regiment leader Tao Fuye, and Zhong Xiongfei the Baoding Medal. Battalion Commander Tang Qisheng of the 56th Regiment was promoted to deputy regiment commander. The battalion, company, platoon, and squad of the division were upgraded or awarded medals for meritorious service. Because Liu Guangyu lost the mountain gate in the first battle, and later because of improper command under the bird tree, the Japanese army occupied the highland of Lingjie, causing heavy casualties to the Chinese army.However, because Liu Guangyu fought bravely and led the remnants of the regiment to cooperate with the brothers to win the victory, so the merits and demerits were offset, and he was exempted from punishment, and he was not awarded any honor.Liu Guangyu didn't have any emotions, he thought the officer was just and realistic.Compared with the comrades who died, Liu Guangyu said that it is good to be alive. The 19th Division did not rest on the credit list, and Yang Yin's three regiments were still cooperating with other troops to pursue and suppress the Japanese army.Hu Lian's 18th Army had already detoured to the northeast of Xuefeng Mountain, completing the encirclement of the Japanese army.After they cut off the retreat route of the Japanese army in the mountains, the armies and divisions participating in the war began to launch a general attack from the front, driving or destroying the Japanese army from various mountain nests.For the Japanese army who had nowhere to escape, a squadron or a brigade drilled into the deep forest, into the depths of the mountains and dense forests, which was much safer than on the main road or near an important fortress. The besieging forces began to gather their nets.The counterattack in the Battle of Xiangxi is not a magnificent scene in the movie, unlike the Liaoshen Battle and Huaihai Battle in the War of Liberation, there is no such scene at all.Since the start of the battle, all of them have been small battles. As mentioned earlier, this is limited by the terrain of Xuefeng Mountain.So don't think of the scene of an army or a division fighting as soon as you hear about the big counteroffensive. Battles in western Hunan are rare. The counter-offensive troops collected their nets, just like hunters hunted, they could fight if they could, and drove them out of the deep mountains and old forests if they couldn't, let them meet in some places, and finally wiped them out in one fell swoop.The 19th Division was desperately carrying out the pursuit operation, and received an order from its superiors to stop the pursuit and gather on the spot to stand by.Master Yang Yin didn't know what was going on, he was chasing well, why did we stop.He asked upwards, but Commander Li Tianxia said he was not sure.Master Yang asked Commander Wang Yaowu again.Wang Yaowu obeyed when he said it was an order. The division has been fighting for a long time and suffered heavy casualties, so you should take a rest.