Chapter 40 6. Fight hard to win the position

More than 40,000 outstanding Yunnan sons and daughters of the 60th Army rushed to the front line of the Anti-Japanese War with enthusiasm. As soon as they arrived in the designated area, they encountered the Japanese army going south.During the three-day fierce battle from April 22 to 24, the Isoya Division and the Japanese and puppet troops devoted all their strength in an attempt to destroy the fighting spirit of the 60th Army. There were aircraft bombing in the sky and tanks and artillery attacks on the ground.Although the 60th Army suffered heavy losses, the Japanese army also paid a huge price in the battle for positions in each village.

Chief Li Zongren and Sun Lianzhong, commander-in-chief of the Lunan Corps, both sent telegrams to Lu Han, requesting the 60th Army to resolutely resist the Japanese attack. The neighboring troops were outflanking the Japanese army's flanks. This battle was well fought, and it may be another Taierzhuang victory. Lu Han knew it well, and he was full of confidence.He knew that his two wings were also outflanking and attacking the Japanese army.Following the instructions of Chief Li and Commander-in-Chief Sun, as long as the current enemy is blocked, the battle can be won.Could it be that Li Zongren used another strategy of guarding the spot and fighting for aid, so that Lu Han would play the leading role instead.Lu Han knew that it was difficult to play the leading role, just like playing the leading role in the Taierzhuang War Sun Lianzhong would fight the entire division and brigade.Isn't it the same for Mr. Chi Fengcheng and Mr. Huang Qiaosong in Taierzhuang?

For the victory of the Anti-Japanese War and the great cause of the nation, our 60th Army went all out. The 60th Army adjusted its combat deployment, shifting the 184th Division from Taierzhuang to the right, echoing the nearby 51st Army's Yu Xuezhong Division on the left, and keeping in touch with Chen Yanghao's Division in Chahe Town on the right.The regiments adjusted the configuration of light and heavy firearms to form a firepower network that was both deep and capable of mutual support, and ordered all front-line troops to strengthen fortifications, especially to improve fortifications, prevent enemy plane bombing and artillery bombardment, and better protect themselves.The 60th Army was also reinforced by tank defense artillery, which played a role in the Battle of Taierzhuang.The divisions put all the newly added tank defenses on important positions to attack Japanese tanks and tanks at any time.

On April 25, the focus of the Japanese attack was still on the front line of Huoshibu, and the 1077th Regiment of the 182nd Division stood firm on this position.The newly repaired positions and fortifications of this regiment were almost completely destroyed by the bombardment of more than a thousand rounds of Japanese artillery.Under the overwhelming artillery fire from the Japanese army, the soldiers jumped from one bomb crater to another, changing their positions back and forth from left to right, and avoided the fierce artillery fire in the traffic trenches. When the Japanese artillery fire stopped, all the soldiers unscrewed the back cover of the grenade, and quickly put light and heavy machine guns on the position, and their eyes were fixed on the charging Japanese soldiers.The soldiers did not open fire, they wanted to make the charging Japanese soldiers mistakenly think that the position had been flattened, and the defenders suffered all casualties.When the enemy soldiers came to a place more than ten meters away, one or two thousand grenades were fired, and light and heavy machine guns swept violently.Then the soldiers jumped out of the trenches with bayonets and guns in hand, and defeated the enemies who rushed up.This method was very effective. Every time the Japanese soldiers were defeated, hundreds of corpses were left along the road.

The 1077th regiment fought the enemy for a whole day in this way, and its own losses were also great.In some battalions there were only seventy or eighty people left.When it was dark, the 1083rd regiment came up, and they came for reinforcements.The division commander saw fierce fighting here at the headquarters, and the Huoshibu position is an important support point. This position cannot be lost, and it must be fought with the Japanese army to the end.As soon as the 1083rd regiment came up, they resumed their fortifications overnight, preparing for more brutal battles. The 1st Battalion guarding the position lost contact with its regiment headquarters, and the telephone line was blown up by enemy artillery fire. The 1st Battalion is still holding on to the position and must report the situation to the regiment headquarters, so Battalion Commander Zhang sent a letter to the regiment headquarters with a wounded person, reported the situation to the regiment headquarters, and asked the regiment headquarters to come to the regiment tomorrow for support.The wounded man who sent the letter was a machine gunner. The bullet hit the front rib and passed through the back. One bullet head was still half exposed outside the skin, and blood flowed from the wound.The head of the regiment, Yu Jianxun, felt sorry for his soldier and asked him if it hurt. He said it didn't hurt, and asked the head of the regiment to cut the bullets out with a knife.Captain Yu Jianxun recalled this little soldier and said:

It doesn't hurt, cut it off!It's a good deal for me to die!I carried my light machine gun and fought from the east to the west, changing positions dozens of times. All the machine gun bunkers around Huoshibu were used up, and the enemy's flat-fire guns could never find me or hit me.I saw many devils fell under my machine gun with my own eyes, and I can afford it!What is this damage?If Commander Zhang didn't ask me to send you an important report, I wouldn't want to go down the line of fire. The divisions, brigades, and regiments of the 60th Army fought fiercely with the Japanese army day and night on their respective lines of defense. For a village, for a position, both sides had to fight desperately.When the whole army was fighting vigorously, Army Commander Lu Han received an order from Sun Lianzhong's headquarters to order all the troops of the 60th Army to attack the frontal Japanese army in an all-round way, and strive to wipe out the invading Japanese army in the area north of Yuwang Mountain.

Commander-in-Chief Sun Lianzhong said that the enemy's main force has penetrated into the front of the 60th Army and entered our army's pocket positions.In order to cooperate with Tang Enbo's 20th Army and the friendly and neighboring troops on both sides to carry out a flanking attack on the enemy, it was decided that at 10 o'clock on April 27, all armies would start a full-scale attack. The opportunity for the 60th Army to destroy the Japanese army came. Commander Lu Han ordered all divisions to prepare for an attack across the board, and instructed the attack targets of each division: the 182nd Division attacked Puwang and Houbao; the 183rd Division attacked Lizhuang and Wushengtang ; The 184th Division attacked Taogou Bridge.

Each division and each brigade also divided specific attack targets. In order to cooperate with neighboring troops, the 60th Army was mobilizing and preparing for the attack. The 182nd Division, after careful discussion by the division headquarters, proceeded from the actual situation and on the basis of preserving the existing positions, the whole division mobilized outstanding troops to implement the headquarters' will. On April 27, the attack time of the whole army was changed to 12:00.At this time, the 60th Army launched a fierce attack on the Japanese army on time. More than 30,000 officers and soldiers jumped out of their positions and rushed towards the Japanese army.

Dong Wenying is the head of the 1078 regiment. As soon as he came to the front line, he wrote down his will, with the determination to succeed if he fails.Hearing the order to attack, he personally led the whole regiment to attack, followed by a machine gun company and a mortar platoon.He divided the regiment into two teams, he played forward in the first team, and the second team was 500 meters behind him. Head Dong rushed into the enemy's camp, killing left and right in the Japanese camp.The sound of killing spread to the second battalion, and the officers and soldiers of the second battalion also rushed forward. After several rounds of fighting, they got the echo of the attack team of the 1077th regiment on the left, and the support of the division's heavy weapons on the right. They seized a small village. After stabilizing their position, they fought a decisive battle with the enemy on the spot.But the enemy soon got reinforcements, and countless chariots surrounded them.The division headquarters hastily ordered Dong Tuan to retreat. When retreating to the positions of Hushan and Guoshan, Liu Guitang's puppet army changed into the uniform of the 60th Army, mixed with the retreating wounded soldiers and sneaked into the Hushan position. There was a scuffle with the defenders in Hushan , As a result, Hu Shan fell, Dong Wenying of the 1078th regiment died unfortunately, and the entire regiment suffered 2/3 casualties.

When the 1077th Regiment on the left wing attacked Xinzhuang and Houbao, it was discovered by the observation balloon of the Japanese army and was attacked by the enemy's heavy artillery.The officers and soldiers of the whole regiment were on the flat wheat field, with high morale, rushing towards the target one after another.When the 5th Company of the 2nd Battalion had no cover available, in order to cover the attacks of other troops, they sang "March of the Volunteers" and directed the enemy's artillery to themselves.The attacking troops on both sides seized the opportunity and quickly rushed into the Japanese positions to fight hand-to-hand with the enemy.

The 184th Division's attack was relatively smooth. They defeated the Japanese army at Taogou Bridge in one fell swoop.When the 182nd Division was in a tight situation, the military headquarters hurriedly transferred the 184th Division to take over to replace them, and tried their best to hold the key positions. The units of the 183rd Division once captured the positions around Xiaolizhuang. Later, a large number of Japanese troops counterattacked. With the help of planes, artillery, and tanks, the regiments of the 183rd Division suffered heavy casualties. After losing some positions, they shrank across the board and concentrated their forces. Fighting against the enemy, barely holding up the position, but the battle was miserable.The enemy artillery bombarded the Dongzhuang position of the 183rd Division day and night. Dongzhuang was engulfed in a sea of ​​flames, and the whole village was reduced to ashes. When the enemy bombarded Dongzhuang, the 2nd Battalion of the 1082nd Regiment of the 183rd Division was in the trenches outside Dongzhuang. Under the leadership of the battalion commander Zhang Zhongqiang, they tried their best to hide. , They held their breath and waited for the attacking Japanese soldiers.Sure enough, a brigade of Japanese troops came over. When they entered the ambush circle of the 2nd Battalion, the soldiers of the whole battalion stood in front of the Japanese soldiers in a sudden attack. First, there was a burst of hand grenades, then various firearms, and finally there was a cold light. Almost all of the Japanese brigade was wiped out, with only a few remnants escaping. The 2nd Battalion seized more than 20 light and heavy machine guns, more than a dozen sixty guns, and hundreds of rifles, dealing a heavy blow to the enemy.