Chapter 27 6. Please bury me here

On November 4, 1943, the 57th Division of the 74th Army marched into Changde City singing military songs. The people of the small town stood by the roadside with their elders and children, looking at the heroic demeanor of this team as if in review, while the teachers and students of the school and the government staff rushed back and forth to help the troops pack up their residences and carry supplies.Changde people are familiar with this so-called "Tiger Ben" team, and are familiar with Yu Chengwan, the teacher who leads this team. It was half a year ago, when the battle in western Hubei was in full swing, the 57th Division was ordered to set off from Hengshan, and marched 11 days to Changde.At this time, the Japanese army was approaching, and all the people in the city fled.Yu Chengwan ordered the whole division to strictly enforce military discipline, and not to tamper with the common people in the city.Fortunately, the battle did not reach Changde. When the residents returned one after another, the soldiers voluntarily helped them transport their luggage at various docks and intersections.After the residents were basically stable, Yu Chengwan pulled the troops to the Hefu area outside the city.During the training, the troops did not disturb the people or damage the crops.During harvest time, soldiers assist farmers in cutting and threshing rice.The army and the people get along well, and the relationship is harmonious. The local people once beat gongs and drums to send a pennant to the troops, and wrote a letter to Zeng Guofan in the "Song of Love for the Folk" written by Zeng Guofan for the Hunan Army.

On November 9, a week after the Japanese army launched the offensive, the intention to capture Changde became clear. The 57th Division stepped up the construction of city defense fortifications, and at the same time organized the evacuation of citizens.The poor people have no homes to live in, carrying boxes and cages, leading their children and children, and embarking on the heartbroken road in disorder.It's really "I would rather be a dog of peace than be a chaotic person". The soldiers of the 57th Division still often go back and forth to help the people carry their shoulders to the docks and intersections.

On November 12, the officers and soldiers of the whole division and the people who had not left the city were shocked by a notice. Liu Weicai, a senior soldier of the 9th Company of the 3rd Battalion of the 171st Regiment, asked for two yuan of Guangyang's labor when he sent the luggage out of the city for the people. Yu Chengwan ordered Liu to be shot on the spot.The announcement stated: "The war is imminent. Strict law and order, caring for the people, and reducing wartime worries are the key to victory. Huben troops have always had a good reputation, and they will never be humiliated by one or two black apples. I reiterate that during the evacuation of the people, we will never accept it." For half a reward, you can only drink a cup of hot water at most. After the evacuation, no one is allowed to enter the civilian house to take things without permission, and this division commander is also the same. If there is any violation, take Liu Weicai, the upper class soldier, as an example. He will be executed on the spot and will not be tolerated. !"

Due to the misjudgment of the enemy's intentions by the Military Commission and the Sixth War Zone at the beginning of the operation, the main force of the army was mobilized westward by the enemy, and there was only one 57th Division near Changde.Xue Yue originally wanted to send a division from the 100th Army to strengthen Changde's defense, Shi Zhongcheng, the commander of the 100th Army, immediately called Chiang Kai-shek for instructions.Jiang replied to Xue Yue: "Zha Changde has 57 divisions on defense. There is no need for this army (note: referring to the 100th Army) to open Deshan (note: in the eastern suburbs of Changde City) with one division."

After November 16, the Japanese army broke through the deep defense of the defenders starting from Dongyueguan in the west, Shimen in the middle, and Xinjiatai in the east.When the Military Commission finally understood the Japanese army's intentions and mobilized the 10th Army and other troops to reinforce Changde, Yokoyama Yong had already placed the 3rd Division and other troops across the reinforcements' various routes, forming a combat deployment to encircle and fight for reinforcements.Therefore, when several Japanese troops approached, Changde, a dangerous city facing Dongting in the east and Yuanjiang in the south, was easy to attack and difficult to defend militarily. At this time, it became an isolated and dangerous city guarded by only one division.

However, this teacher is Huben. The three infantry regiments 169, 170, and 171 are attached to the Army Artillery Regiment and the 2nd Company of the Military Engineering Battalion. There are 8,315 officers and soldiers participating in the battle, and a tiger division. On November 15, the city defense fortifications were ready, and Yu Chengwan and the division headquarters inspected the position. According to Yu's ideas, the defense of the city is divided into three stages: the suburbs, the city walls, and the urban area.According to the overall battle situation and the size of the Japanese army attacking Changde, the whole division must do its best and must prepare for the worst.

Yu Chengwan, courtesy name Shi Jian, was born in Taishan, Guangdong, and lived in Phase 1 of Whampoa.Before joining the army, he studied at Guangdong Panyu Normal School and Guangdong Railway Specialized School, and he has a deeper foundation among the first-term students.After graduating from Huangpu, he participated in the Northern Expedition. Because of his courage and strategy, he became the second officer in Huangpu to be promoted to the rank of major general (the first was Li Zhilong, the captain who became famous because of the Zhongshan ship incident).Later, he successively entered the ninth period of the Army University and the first period of the Continental Research Class for advanced studies. These experiences made him one of the division commanders who read the most.When the Anti-Japanese War broke out, he was transferred to the deputy commander of the 57th Division of the 74th Army, and participated in all the operations of the 74th Army against Japan until 1940, when he succeeded Shi Zhongcheng as the division commander, and concurrently served as the deputy commander according to the practice of the 74th Army that facilitates coordinated command.

In the few battles he led the troops to fight after he became the division commander, he has never fought alone like this, and the victory and defeat of the overall situation. When he came to a hill during the inspection, Yu Chengwan said to the people around him: "If I die in this battle, those of you who survive, please bury my bones here." On November 18, the vanguard of the Japanese army had entered the vicinity of the advance position of the 57th Division on the outskirts of the city, and the war knocked on the gate of Changde with gunshots.Yu Chengwan ordered all the ministries to enter the combat position, and at the same time issued a combat announcement with a length of more than 3,000 words, ordering the officers and soldiers of the whole division with moral and military laws, requiring every soldier of Huben to defend Changde and complete the mission with the determination to die.The announcement said:

No matter how much pressure the enemy puts on us, our only answer is blood, death, and glory! Officials at all levels and brothers!The most dangerous and difficult time is when the revolutionary cause is successful. We should not relax in every most dangerous situation, because it is an excellent opportunity to save the country's crisis and develop our own future! We want to live and die with Changde, exchange our flesh and blood for the vitality of the whole country, and fight the Japanese invaders to the last person and the last bullet with the determination of the greatest sacrifice!With Huben, Changde must exist!

We should especially recognize the boundary between life and death. Death is more important than Mount Tai, and some is lighter than a feather. To defend Changde and fight for the independence and freedom of the country and the nation, even if we die, we still live.Our names will be written in history, and our parents and wives will also be honored and enjoy generous pensions.If you are punished by the law and shot on the spot by the supervising team because of wavering, retreating, and ineffective combat, then you will be a sinner of the country and a scum of the nation... I decided to fight this battle. Level 1, and there are other praises and rewards from the government.

I am ashamed and courageous officers and soldiers, we have to fight for the country, we have to fight for the leader, show your loyalty in adversity, now is the time for you to wipe out the enemy and make contributions! The war was approaching, and the Military Commission ordered the Sixth and Ninth War Zones to rush to Changde for reinforcements with the nearest troops. Wang Yaowu assigned the 188th Regiment of the 63rd Division of Shi Zhongcheng's 100th Army, which was the only one in the encirclement, to Yu Chengwan's command. Yu is about to deploy the regiment to Deshan, the commanding height on the south bank of the Yuan River, 5 kilometers southeast of Changde.This is the only way for the defenders to retreat across the Yuanjiang River as a last resort.Yu Chengwan repeatedly told the leader Deng Xianfeng to stick to it. On November 20, 1943, the 68th Division of the Japanese Army moved from east to west, and the 116th Division moved from northwest to southeast, forming a large siege of Changde.The suburban battle is in full swing. Huben: Ben, the pronunciation and meaning of the word are the same as "Ben", known as a warrior. "Book (Music Oath) Preface": "King Wu has three hundred military chariots, three hundred tigers, and three hundred people, and he was fought in Muye." They are fierce, and they are all centurion commanders." "Warring States Policy · Chu Policy I": "There are more than one million people in the tiger and the tiger, with thousands of chariots, and ten thousand horses. "Tiger Ben".During the Han Dynasty, it was changed to Huben Zhonglang General, leading thousands of warriors, guarding the palace on weekdays, and also led orders to fight. When the 74th Army set up a code name, the draft code names of the military headquarters and each division were submitted to Chiang Kai-shek for review, and Jiang praised them all, and then said: "Hu Ben is the best." From the division commander to the soldiers, all the personnel of the division wear a palm-sized logo with a narrow top and a wide bottom on the left arm of the military uniform, with the word "Tiger Ben" printed on it.For officers and soldiers punished by military law, the first item is to tear off this sign. This is a kind of aura, a kind of momentum, the spiritual pursuit of this army and this group, and it is also the honor that the officers and soldiers who have gone through hundreds of battles have won for themselves.Throughout the history of this army, it should be said that the most glorious history of Huben was the Anti-Japanese War, and the most powerful battle was the Battle of Changde.