Chapter 20 6. The heroic 59th Army

The 59th Army of the Kuomintang is a unit led by Commander Zhang Zizhong, a national hero of the Anti-Japanese War and a famous patriotic general of the Kuomintang.The army has jurisdiction over the 38th Division and the 108th Division. Huang Weigang, the commander of the 38th Division, has jurisdiction over the 112th, 113th and 114th Brigades; Liu Zhensan, the commander of the 108th Division, has jurisdiction over the 26th and 39th Brigades.The entire army, together with troops directly under the army and divisions, totaled about 30,000 people. This heroic force was stationed in the eastern part of Henan when the Anti-Japanese War broke out.After the Japanese army conquered Shanghai and occupied Nanjing, they attempted to open up the Jinpu line in one go, forming a north-south attack on the Xuzhou area.Therefore, the 3rd Division of the Japanese Army launched a large-scale attack on the Mingguang, Chihe, and Dingyuan areas in the Huaiyuan area.The Yu Xuezhong Department of the 51st Army defending in Huainan did not know the strategic intention of the Japanese army, so the frontal feint attack by the Japanese army resulted in a passive situation where the troops were not enough to allocate.After the Japanese tactics achieved their goal, they turned to concentrate their forces to conquer Mingguang, and then broke through Chihe.Subsequently, Dingyuan, Fengyang, and Bengbu in the Huainan area fell one after another.The 51st Army had to retreat to the north bank of the Huaihe River.The Japanese army made progress and increased the strength of one division. In February 1938, they forcibly crossed the Huaihe River in Linhuaiguan, Xiaobengbu and Huaiyuan.Under the powerful offensive of the Japanese army, Yu Xuezhong's 51st Army could not resist, and the situation was extremely urgent.

Li Zongren, the commander-in-chief of the Fifth Theater, sent an urgent telegram to the Supreme Command, and the Military Order ordered the 59th Army to transfer from the First Theater to the Fifth Theater, under the command of Li Zongren.In order to ensure the victory of the Xuzhou Battle, Li Zongren ordered Zhang Zizhong to lead the 59th Army to assist Huaibei.Zhang Zizhong's fortifications in Shangqiu, Henan were not yet completed, so he immediately put down his work and rushed to Huaibei. As soon as the 59th Army arrived in Guzhen, it exchanged fire with the Japanese troops marching northward.Before the Japanese army could figure out the opponent, Zhang Zizhong led the 59th Army to rush forward.The brave wins when they meet on a narrow road, and the 59th Army attacked across the board, fighting fiercely.The Japanese army could not resist the brave momentum of the 59th Army and retreated in a panic.Zhang Zizhong ordered the troops to take advantage of the victory to pursue, beat the enemy's buttocks, and regained the Caolaoji, Xiaobengbu, Huaiyuan and other strongholds occupied by the Japanese army along the way, and then wiped out all the Japanese troops who invaded to the north of the Huaihe River, stabilizing the situation in Huainan.

The Battle of Huaibei was the first battle General Zhang Zizhong fought after he was released from Nanjing.Zhang Zizhong was carrying a big punishment on his back, and he was only an acting army commander.However, General Zhang did not have any personal emotions. He put the great cause of the nation as the most important thing, and led his troops to fight bloody and heroically kill the enemy. Zhang Zizhong's 59th Army, since the first theater was transferred to the fifth theater, has become a mobile force in the fifth theater to cope with the operations in the south and north sections of Jinpu Road.General Zhang is like an excellent firefighter, leading his team to fight fires without stopping.As several brigade commanders of the 38th Division later recalled: From the beginning of 1938, he fought almost all stages of the Xuzhou Battle in the Fifth Theater.

After being hit head-on by Zhang Zizhong's 59th Army, the Japanese army on the South Road retreated to the south of the Huaihe River.The strategy of the Japanese base camp is to defend from the south and attack from the north. That is to say, the attack on the Xuzhou area relies on the 10th Division of Isoya and the 5th Division of Itagaki in the north, while the main task of the south is to defend and intercept.In this way, the two armies in Huainan formed a state of confrontation across the river. Due to the relatively stable battle situation on the southern front, the enemy on the northern front attacked fiercely.After the Huaibei War, Zhang Zizhong's 59th Army was ordered by the theater to hand over the Huaibei position to the 51st Army's Yu Xuezhong, and he went to southern Shandong by himself and assembled near Xuzhou for orders.

At the beginning of March, the fighting in the area north of Xuzhou became urgent.Li Zongren ordered Zhang Zizhong's 59th Army to go north to attack the Japanese army in Zou County, Shandong, and ordered the main force of the 59th Army to attack the Japanese army between Jining and Yanzhou. After the battle plan was drawn up, the troops began to move.The 59th Army was suddenly ordered to change its plan during the operation, saying that the 40th Army of Pang Bingxun in Linyi County was in danger, and the Linyi defenders were about to collapse. They ordered the 59th Army to immediately take the train to the south of Yi County, and then marched 90 kilometers a day and night. Arrived in the west of Linyi City on March 12, and rushed to aid Pang Bingxun's department in Linyi.

After Zhang Zizhong received the order, he really felt very embarrassed.The soldiers carried heavy luggage, and the snow and ice melted in spring, making the roads muddy. The 90-kilometer rapid march traveled day and night, which was not an easy task for the Kuomintang army.But General Zhang Zizhong did it. Without saying a word, he took the 38th Division and left ahead. When Zhang Zizhong arrived at the designated place on time on March 12, General Pang Bingxun was moved to tears.He knew that only his little brother could do this, and no one else could do it. General Zhang Zizhong is not only brave, but also very careful.His carefulness can be seen from a small matter, that is, on the way of the rapid march, he wrote a warrant to Zhang Zongheng, commander of the 26th Brigade of the vanguard, which contained four items: First, according to information from all parties, the Japanese army in the west of the city only had Itagaki A regiment of a division has no more than 3,000 people at most, several guns and more than 1,000 puppet troops. As long as you deal with it calmly, it is not difficult to eliminate.The second is to use various methods to clearly detect the enemy's situation.The third is that after arriving at the destination, the officers and soldiers must be fully rested.Finally, I reminded Brigadier Zhang that we must be careful everywhere.An army commander has to consider the major issues of the entire army, and he does not forget the details. This fully demonstrates General Zhang Zizhong's shrewdness.

After Zhang Zizhong met with Pang Bingxun, Pang Bingxun suggested that the two armies should join together and stick to Linyi City to prevent the Japanese army from passing through.At that time, Pang Bingxun considered that their task was to stick to Linyi and block the Itagaki Division.But Zhang Zizhong didn't think so. After all, he was young and vigorous. Just blocking it would not do, that would only lead to passive beating. The best way to defend Linyi was to destroy the Banyuan Division, at least to defeat their main force, and fundamentally restrain the enemy. The momentum of the offensive broke the Japanese army's delusion to pass through Linyi, and it made the Itagaki Division dead.

Pang Bingxun disagreed. He believed that the strength of the Japanese army should not be underestimated. The Japanese army was very effective.The 59th Army took field battles outside the city. Once it was defeated by the Japanese army, the consequences would be disastrous.It is much more certain to stick to the city. Fighting positional warfare is the housekeeping skill of the Kuomintang army. We cannot abandon our strengths and make use of our weaknesses.Pang Bingxun wanted to try his best to persuade Zhang Zizhong. General Zhang Zizhong knew it well.The reinforcements arrived here quickly, which the Japanese army did not expect.Give the Japanese army a surprise, and if they are unprepared, they can disrupt the Japanese army's position.When the Japanese army retreated, our army pursued bravely, so that the Japanese army had no room to breathe, so that they could be sure of victory.The premise is that the defenders must attract the main force of the enemy's attack and distract the enemy's attention.

Regarding the combat plan for the Linyi War, Liu Jingyue, then chief of staff of the 113th Brigade of the 38th Division, and Yu Linzhang, deputy brigade commander of the 112th Brigade, wrote an article recalling: General Zhang Zizhong believed that instead of waiting for the enemy to attack, it is better to take the initiative to attack the enemy's side and back to relieve the danger of Linyi.In the end, after repeated discussions with Zhang and Pang, the chief of staff Xu Zuyi in the theater, it was decided to implement the offensive-defensive combat plan proposed by Commander Zhang.At the military meeting, Zhang Zizhong was the first to speak on the issue of the start time of the attack. He said: "Under normal circumstances, the 59th Army has marched here in a hurry and is very tired. It seems appropriate to take a short rest before fighting the enemy. However, speed and surprise are very important, and I am equipped with inferior equipment. Against a powerful modern enemy, I must use night combat and close combat to be effective. We should break the routine and start action in advance."

Later actual combat proved that the combat plan proposed by Zhang Zizhong was feasible.The 59th Army adopted field operations and attacked the enemy behind the siege, which could not only reduce the pressure on the defending troops, but also cut off their retreat and prevent their reinforcements.It is also the best way for the two armies to cooperate effectively. Of course, this requires the courage and sacrifice of the field combat troops. If the 59th Army is unwilling to pay a heavy price, then no matter how good the combat plan is, it can only stay on paper. The 59th Army is a responsible force.Commander Zhang Zizhong returned to the station from the Linyi Military Conference and held a meeting of officers above the battalion commanders of the two divisions.He first explained the situation of the enemy and us to the participants. He told his commanders and fighters that Pang Bingxun's 40th Army held on tenaciously. Now there is only one complete brigade defending the city, and the combat effectiveness of the rest is very weak.The Itagaki Division of the Japanese Army is an elite unit of the Japanese Army, known as the Iron Army, and is an ace unit.He looked at everyone's serious expressions, smiled and said, what's so great about Tiejun and Ace? In the Battle of Pingxingguan in Shanxi, weren't they also defeated by Hao Mengling's army and the Eighth Route Army?This shows that no matter how fierce the enemy is, it can be defeated.The enemy soldiers were on the line from the north of Linyi City to Tangtou Town, with more than 10,000 infantry.As long as we can fully develop our army's strengths in close combat and night combat, and concentrate on using light and heavy weapons according to the existing conditions, we will definitely be able to defeat this mighty Itagaki Seishiro.Fight for China, win glory for the Chinese nation, and fulfill our bounden duty to protect the country and serve the people.Even if you die in battle, it is an honor to die.

Commander Zhang Zizhong's speech spread throughout the army like a gust of wind.The soldiers of the whole army were greatly encouraged, calling for meritorious deeds to kill the enemy and to be heroes on the battlefield. This is the 59th Army led by the patriotic general and national hero Zhang Zizhong.