Chapter 47 6. The Unbeatable Sichuan Army

After the July 7 Marco Polo Bridge Incident in 1937, China began a full-scale war of resistance against Japan.The Sichuan army volunteered to go out of Sichuan and went to Shanxi to participate in the battle to defend Taiyuan. Afterwards, it was transferred to Xuzhou to be incorporated into the fifth theater sequence to undertake the task of blocking and defending the area north of Xuzhou. In March 1938, the 22nd Group Army fought a fierce battle with the 10th Division of the Japanese Army Rensuke Isoya in the Tengxian area of ​​Shandong Province. The heroism shown gave great encouragement to the soldiers and civilians of the Anti-Japanese War in China, and let the Chinese army and the people see the war of resistance. The dawn of victory.

The heroic 22nd Army was outnumbered, the defense line was broken by the Japanese army, the troops were defeated by the Japanese army, and Teng County fell.But they won the most precious time for Xuzhou Fifth Theater to achieve the goal of forming troops in the Taierzhuang area, provided a prerequisite for the victory of Taierzhuang, and won high praise from the people of the country.This is the pride and pride of the military and civilians in Sichuan. During the Taierzhuang War, the officers and soldiers of the 22nd Army went through hardships. They wiped off the blood on their bodies, buried the bodies of their comrades, and searched for their own troops in the Japanese-occupied area.Under the leadership of Sun Zhen, the General Command of the 22nd Army moved from Lincheng to Liguoyi in Jiangsu Province on the south bank of Weishan Lake, and sent a large number of personnel to search for the Sichuan soldiers scattered on the battlefield.

They took in the remaining stragglers who retreated along the Jinpu line, and also took in many small groups of remnants who had drifted to the west bank of Weishan Lake.After reorganization, more than 5,000 people formed 5 infantry regiments. The Fifth War Zone also has an artillery battalion attached to this heroic unit.On the occasion of the victory in the Taierzhuang War, these five infantry regiments were dispatched to the south bank of the canal to the south bank of Weishan Lake to serve as defense missions. The Supreme Military Commission of the Nationalist Government did not abolish the corps, divisions, and brigades under the 22nd Army. Although it was a miscellaneous army, Chiang Kai-shek was unwilling to provoke public opinion. Besides, there were still hundreds of thousands of miscellaneous troops on the front line. In combat, the only way at this time is to appease them, to act as a leader and commander, to care for and love them.They should also be given a certain amount of preferential treatment without prejudice to the overall situation.Like Lieutenant General Wang Mingzhang who guarded Teng County, after he died for the country, he was posthumously awarded the posthumous title of Army General.Even though his 122nd Division was wiped out, the unit designation remained there.

After receiving a large number of skirmishers and remnants, the 22nd Army resumed its original organizational system.This can be seen from the defense deployment of the troops when they served as the defense mission on the south bank of Weishan Lake.The defensive combat deployment issued by the group army at that time was roughly as follows: 1. Zeng Suyuan, acting commander of the 124th Division, the former enemy commander of the 41st Army, commanded the 727th Regiment (two battalions) of the 364th Brigade of the 122nd Division of the 41st Army, the 1st and 2nd Division The 4th Division and the 743rd Regiment of the 372nd Brigade (two battalions), the 739th Regiment of the 370th Brigade (two battalions), and a battalion of attached artillery, guarding the embankment on the south bank of the canal on the east bank of Weishan Lake And the area from Chenzhuang via the south end of the canal iron bridge, Nanhanzhuang street, the south end of Weishan Lake gate to Tieshan Temple, Liguoyi Station, and Liuquan Station on the south bank of Weishan Lake.

2. Wang Xuejiang, Commander of the 125th Division, former enemy commander of the 45th Army, commanded the 745th Regiment (two battalions) of the 373rd Brigade of the 125th Division of the 45th Army; The 752nd Regiment (three battalions) of the 376th Brigade of the 27th Division guarded the Tieshan Temple, Nanshilou, Shangmazhuang and Xiaowangzhuang north of Shitun on the south bank of Weishan Lake. 3. The recruit units of the 41st Army and the 45th Army are temporarily training in Zhengji and Jing'anji on the road from Xuzhou to Fengxian County, and they are ordered to participate in the battle.

From the above deployment, it is not difficult to see a problem. The designation system is relatively sound, but the actual force is only 5 infantry regiments, plus the attached artillery battalion, a total of more than 5,000 basic forces.The corps, divisions, and brigades are all empty shells, and those with actual content are regiment-level units. A regiment has only two battalions, a total of 12 battalions. The Zouxian and Tengxian battles were defeated, the Chinese army suffered heavy casualties, and the officers and soldiers resented the Japanese invading army more deeply. However, the troops that were taken in and reorganized broke the original organizational system and were somewhat confused in organization and thinking.However, under the call of the Anti-Japanese National United Front, the officers and soldiers soon settled down after a short period of work, determined to stick to their posts, obey the command, and actively participate in various combat activities.

Only the units of the 41st Army of the group army are actually capable of combat, and the lines of defense they guard can more or less meet the Japanese army.When the fighting in the Taierzhuang area was not over, the area was still relatively calm. After the victory in Taierzhuang, the Isoya Division received supplementary support from the Japanese headquarters, turned around and retaliated against Taierzhuang. At this time, Hanzhuang was not peaceful.Therefore, the 41st Army deployed its troops and divided the line of defense into two areas, the left and the right. Right area team: the captain is Si Jifu, commander of the 727th Regiment of the 364th Brigade of the 122nd Division, commanding the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the regiment, guarding the line from Chenzhuang to Hanzhuang Iron Bridge on the South Embankment of the Canal. The regiment headquarters is in Xiaochen village.

Left Regional Team: The captain is Cai Zheng, head of the 739th Regiment of the 370th Brigade of the 124th Division, commanding the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the regiment, guarding the embankment on the south bank of the canal. Turn southwest along the south bank of Weishan Lake to the area between Tieshan Temple and Xiaobaizhuang.The regiment headquarters is in Xiaobaizhuang. Artillery: The captain is the commander of the 1st Battalion, 10th Regiment, 5th Artillery Brigade.Command the 3 artillery companies of the battalion, and occupy positions from the south of Caizhuang to near Zhangxiaotun to attack the enemy artillery positions at Hanzhuang Station, the north bridgehead of Hanzhuang Iron Bridge, Beihanzhuang, the north head of Weishan Lake gate, and the southwest of Hanzhuang Station Focus on each point, and prepare to shoot at the right time at key points such as Duoyigou and Zhouguanzhuang to the north of Hanzhuang Station and near the Jinpu Railway.

Reserve Team: The captain is Yu Jian, head of the 743rd Regiment of the 372nd Brigade of the 124th Division, commanding the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the regiment, and building a reserve position in the Liguoyi and Caizhuang areas. Although the combat troops of the 22nd Army have only more than 5,000 people, they have extremely strong combat effectiveness. More than 5,000 soldiers have been tested by blood and fire, and they crawled out of the dead. Most of them can be said to have died once or even twice.They fought with bayonets and hand-to-hand combat with Japanese soldiers who were armed to the teeth, encountered Japanese aircraft shooting, and witnessed the bombardment of Japanese artillery.They jumped from one crater to another and blew up Japanese tanks and armored vehicles with grenades.In short, they have a wealth of combat experience.

This can be seen at a glance from the fortifications they built.The two regional teams first repaired and increased ground fortifications on the embankment on the south bank of the canal, and gradually moved from point to surface, from above ground to underground, and competed with the enemy to build various high forts, low forts, ground forts, and underground forts. Use various material conditions to eliminate a few more enemies and reduce your own casualties.With the help of the local people, various machine gun bunkers, traffic trenches, personnel and ammunition shelters were dug up within a few days, and an extremely tight firepower network between the ground and underground fortresses was formed to confront the Japanese army.They also set up some water barriers on Weishan Lake and south of the canal to prevent the enemy from smuggling.

The artillery battalion was the first to attack the Japanese army, using cannons for long-range shooting, blocking the opposite Hanzhuang Railway Station, preventing the munitions train coming from the rear of the Japanese army from passing through Hanzhuang.The artillerymen of the artillery battalion are almost all veterans. They are skilled and know that the current cannons and shells are not what they were in Teng County.The artillery is a new type of artillery, and there are sufficient shells. It is time for the Chinese artillery to show their skills.Indeed, the artillery battalion's shooting was so accurate that the Japanese trains did not dare to approach Hanzhuang Station and were forced to stop at Shagou Station, which increased the difficulty of the Japanese army's transportation line. In order to ensure the normal operation of Hanzhuang Station, the Japanese army increased their troops in Hanzhuang, and they also built fortifications and established strongholds on the north bank of the canal.Every day, the two sides engaged in artillery battles across the river. The artillery placed by the Japanese army in Hanzhuang was not good enough, not as many as the artillery battalion of the 22nd Army, and not as good as the artillery of the Chinese army. In the fierce artillery battle, they were often beaten into a mess.As long as there was cooking smoke in the Japanese strongholds, the Chinese artillery would shell them, making them unable to eat hot food or drink hot water. The Japanese army also took retaliatory measures. Instead of confronting the artillery of the Chinese army, he looked for opportunities to bombard villages and houses. More than 10 villages were destroyed by Japanese artillery, and hundreds of households fled to the south bank of Weishan Lake.At the same time, the Japanese army dispatched planes to bomb the south bank of the canal, causing great harm to the local people. The enemy's infantry used light machine guns and rifles to block the passing people on the south bank in various strongholds and bunkers on the north bank of the canal, killing and wounding many soldiers.They also fired light machine guns at the firing ports, lookout holes, and observation posts of the fort on the south bank, causing casualties to Chinese soldiers. Under such circumstances, the South Bank troops of the 41st Army also responded flexibly, selecting sharpshooters, organizing sniper teams, and shifting from ground combat to underground combat.In the underground sniper battle, a group of snipers emerged, and they used machine guns and rifles to snipe at the Japanese officers and soldiers on the other side.For a long time, the officers and soldiers of the Japanese army were in constant panic. A Japanese squad leader just got out of the bunker, and before he could straighten his body, he fell to the ground. Bullets flying from nowhere opened his head.There was also a Japanese soldier who wanted to bask in the sun in the yard. Before he could sit down, a bullet pierced his chest, and he fell in the sun like a dead dog.As long as the Japanese soldiers were exposed to the ground, whether they were messengers, food deliverers, changing guards or mending fortifications, they were all within the hunting range of snipers.The snipers of the Chinese army also attacked the observation posts, lookout holes and machine gun firing ports of the Japanese army, and gained a lot. The snipers of the Chinese army were cautious, and did not shoot if they could not see clearly.Later, the despicable enemies adopted despicable methods. They captured the villagers, changed them into Japanese army uniforms, and deliberately made them appear indistinctly, and let the snipers of the Chinese army shoot and kill them.Under the condition that the sniper rifle does not have a scope, it is easy to accidentally injure.So, you have to check it out later. The officers and soldiers of the 22nd Group Army, with the cooperation of the local people, did a lot of reconnaissance, anti-rape, and anti-espionage work.Through artillery battles and sniper battles, their morale was high, and they actively cooperated with the victory of the entire Taierzhuang, annihilated the Japanese army on the other side, opened the passage from Weishan Lake to Lincheng, cut off the front and rear communication lines of the Japanese army, and pushed the battle line far away from Xuzhou. , to facilitate subsequent operations.The scouts made a map of the reconnaissance situation on the north bank of the canal and sent it back to the headquarters. The Front Enemy Headquarters of the 22nd Army worked out a counter-offensive plan for April and submitted it to the Commander-in-Chief of the Fifth Theater Command, which was soon approved by the Fifth Theater Command and implemented on April 17. Commander Zeng Suyuan, the former enemy commander of the 41st Army, learned about the situation of the 24th Wing of the 10th Division of the Japanese Army. They had a brigade with two artillery companies, about 800 people, 4 heavy machine guns, and 30 light machine guns. 2 mortars and 8 field guns.They occupy Beihanzhuang, the north end of the Datie Bridge and the north end of the Weishan Lake Gate, and their core positions are near the train station. Commander Zeng Suyuan convened a meeting of the regiment and battalion commanders in Caizhuang, and issued an attack order: At dawn on the 17th, attack the enemy in Hanzhuang, focusing on the direction of the railway station, annihilate the enemy in one fell swoop, and quickly attack in the direction of Lincheng to cut off the enemy's main force rear contact line. At dusk on the 16th, the 1st company of the engineering corps erected a column bridge on the canal east of Chenzhuang, and then formed several mine removal teams with one part, assigned to the right-wing team leader, the 122nd division, the 364th brigade, and the 727th regiment Commanded by Si Jifu, he assisted the main attacking force to attack Hanzhuang Station; one part assisted the left-wing team to forcibly cross the gate of Weishan Lake, and the main force followed the sniper team to advance to the north of Hanzhuang Station near Liuqiao and Zhujizhuang, destroying the railway line and breaking the railway line. Communication in the enemy's rear, trapping and killing the enemy. Hu Shaoai, the commander of the 1st Battalion of the 372nd Brigade and the 743rd Regiment of the 124th Division, commanded the battalion as a blocking team and attached it to the second platoon of engineers. On the night of the 16th, he crossed the canal from the east of Chenzhuang on the column bridge and advanced to Hanzhuang Station. To the north, Duoyigou, Zhouguanzhuang and other places took advantage of favorable terrain to build blocking positions to block enemy reinforcements and disrupt railway traffic. Right-wing team: Si Jifu, commander of the 727th Regiment of the 364th Brigade of the 122nd Division, commanded the regiment to cross the canal from Chenzhuang at midnight on the 16th, and began to attack the enemy at Hanzhuang Station at dawn. Attack in the direction of the city, cut off the rear contact line of the enemy's main force, and support our army in Taierzhuang. Left Wing: Cai Cheng, head of the 739th Regiment of the 370th Brigade of the 124th Division, commanded the 1st Battalion of the regiment to forcibly cross the canal from the Weishan Lake gate, and after occupying Beihanzhuang, the bridgehead of the gate, and the bridgehead of the Datie Bridge, he assisted the right wing team attack.After the attack worked, they followed the 727th regiment and advanced towards Lincheng. Artillery Team: The battalion commander of the 1st Artillery Battalion directed the battalion's main firepower to support the right-wing team's attack on the enemy's stronghold at Hanzhuang Station.A fire support left-wing team attacked North Hanzhuang's east and west strongholds. Reserve team: Yu Jian, head of the 743rd regiment of the 372nd brigade of the 124th division, commanded the regiment. Except for the first battalion as the blocking team, the rest were controlled in the area near Chenzhuang. After the combat order is issued, all regiments, battalions, and companies participating in the battle enter the predetermined position within the specified time. At dawn on April 17, the artillery team of the Chinese army began to shoot. The shells fell on the Japanese positions, the soil was thrown into the sky, the houses were burned, and the Japanese soldiers in the positions were blown up. With the bombardment of artillery fire, the two wings of the 41st Army began to attack, and suddenly machine guns, rifles, grenades, and mortars rang out. The 727th Regiment on the right wing quickly entered the core position of the Japanese army at Hanzhuang Station, and the two sides fought close to each other, preventing the enemy artillery from supporting them with cannons.Seeing that the enemy's position at the station was about to disintegrate, unexpectedly, all the Japanese troops from Beihanzhuang stronghold rushed over.The two Japanese forces converged and used their core positions to block the Chinese army's attack. It was the 739th regiment of the left wing who drove the Japanese troops from various strongholds in Beihanzhuang.When the battle started, the 739th regiment crushed the Japanese army stronghold in North Hanzhuang with overwhelming momentum.The Japanese army guarding the various strongholds couldn't hold on, so they retreated to Hanzhuang Railway Station, which was the core fortress position of the Japanese army. The 739th Regiment fought bravely. Cao Xianzhe, the commander of the 1st Battalion, seized the opportunity and led the whole battalion to forcibly cross the gate at Weishan Hukou. , More than 10 Japanese soldiers were captured in hand-to-hand combat.All the enemies guarding the strongholds in Beihanzhuang all retreated to the railway station.The attacking troops on the left and right wings of our army besieged Hanzhuang Railway Station. The fortifications such as bunkers and bunkers built by the Japanese at the railway station are indeed strong, and the 727th regiment, which attacked from the right, could not destroy it with grenades.The enemy soldiers huddled in the fortress used violent heavy machine guns to shoot at the Chinese soldiers, blocking the way of charging. The 739 regiment on the left was separated by three barbed wire fences of the Japanese army, and they could not enter the center of the train station.A grenade can't blow through the dense barbed wire fence, it just blows up one, and there are second and third barbed wire fences. On the station building of the railway station, there is a high-rise fortification of the Japanese army, and a heavy machine gun is facing the direction of the 739th regiment's attack.The offensive and defensive battle lasted from the afternoon to midnight, and both sides suffered heavy casualties.The most terrible problem is that the left and right wings are isolated, and they are all blocked by the Japanese army's violent light and heavy machine gun fire. More than 800 Japanese troops were attacked by the 41st Army, at least half of them were killed or injured.According to Zeng Suyuan, the head of the former enemy general headquarters, there are only four or five hundred people who are stubbornly resisting at the moment, and we must find a way to eliminate this enemy.He ordered the mortars to concentrate fire on the Japanese bunkers, and organized death squads to use grenades and explosives to destroy the enemy bunkers. The bunkers, bunkers and high-rise fortifications of the Japanese army formed a cross-fire network to cover each other.Over the railway station, enemy flares came one after another.The offensive troops could only shoot at the enemy on the ground, and could not get close to the defending Japanese army at all.Chinese soldiers can only worry on the periphery.The battle continued until dawn. The attacking force of the 41st Army concentrated its firepower, blocked the enemy's fortress, and organized another charge.The enemy outside the bunker started close combat with the Chinese soldiers who rushed in, and both sides fought with swords and guns.Thinking this was an opportunity, taking advantage of this time, another company of Chinese soldiers rushed in.The Japanese soldiers in the bunker jumped over the wall in a hurry and fired at the crowd. Many Japanese soldiers also fell under their machine guns. The new round of attack did not make much progress, and the troops that rushed in were unable to stand, and gradually retreated. At this critical moment, Commander Zeng Suyuan received a report that more than 1,000 Japanese troops came from Lincheng, the train stopped at the south of Shagou, 12 chariots and 12 cannons were heading towards Hanzhuang for reinforcements. Commander Zeng Suyuan had expected this early on, and he placed Hu Shaoyuan's 1st Battalion in Duoyigou, which was used to block the reinforcements of the Japanese army.He immediately ordered the artillery to reinforce Duoyigou, trying to block the reinforcements. The blocking forces fought miserably in Duoyigou.There were half a regiment of Japanese soldiers who came for reinforcements, more than a thousand and several hundred. Hu Shaoyuan's 1st Battalion was no match at all.Five Japanese tanks were destroyed by Chinese artillery, and the infantry could not advance for a while.The enemy fired at the 1st Battalion's position, and 20 cannons blew up the 1st Battalion's position. All the surrounding trees were blown up, and a raging flame was burning. The thick smoke blinded the soldiers on the ground.Then came the swarming charge of more than 1,000 Japanese troops.Hu Shaoyuan concentrated the firepower of the whole battalion to block the enemy's attack, and each company retreated in an orderly manner. They fought and retreated like this, causing heavy casualties.Commander Zeng Suyuan planned to attack the enemy's reinforcements first, and then turned around to attack Hanzhuang Station, but the headquarters of the group army disagreed. In order to preserve the existing strength and avoid excessive casualties, they strictly ordered the retreat to ensure the safety of the canal. Heavy. The front-line troops had no other choice but to retreat in batches at night, first the 1st Battalion of the blockade team, then the right-wing troops, and finally the left-wing troops.The 41st Army completely withdrew to the south bank of Weishan Lake, entered its original position, and fought against the enemy across the river. With the assistance of reinforcements, the Hanzhuang Japanese army recovered all the positions on the north bank.In the afternoon, the Japanese artillery bombarded the Chinese artillery positions, and the Chinese artillery counterattacked calmly, and the two sides engaged in an artillery battle.The enemy dispatched 9 formation planes to bombard the Chinese defense forces on the south bank.The Japanese army on the north bank also launched a feint attack. The fortifications of the 41st Army's south bank positions are solid, and the functions of the fortification bunkers are relatively complete.They counterattacked calmly, inflicted great damage on the attacking Japanese army, and contained the enemy's attack.After leaving more than 500 Japanese troops who came to reinforce that night, they hastily led more than 1,000 people to leave Hanzhuang. Perhaps the fighting in other places was tight, so they sent reinforcements. In the area of ​​Hanzhuang, the enemy and us are still fighting across the river, and everything remains the same. Here I want to talk about the guerrillas in the Weishan Lake area.In order to defend their homeland, under the leadership of the local CPC district and county committees, they mobilized the masses while producing.After the 22nd Group Army was stationed on the south bank of Weishan Lake, they provided all conveniences for this anti-Japanese force.The anti-Japanese guerrillas often went deep into the north bank of the Canal, destroying the enemy's railway lines, besieging Japanese detachments, bombing enemy artillery towers, touching Japanese sentry posts, and cutting off Japanese communication lines, making the enemy restless. They use the shotguns and harpoons in their hands to capture the enemy's weapons and continue to develop and strengthen themselves. There is a local armed force with more than 300 people, and even wiped out a small team of the Japanese army, and seized two light machine guns, more than 30 rifles, and fifty or sixty grenades.From harassment to attack, they fought more and more. The guerrillas in Weishan Lake also organized people to go to the lake to catch fish and shrimp to condolences to the local Chinese army. The relationship between the army and the people is very harmonious.Under the protection of the Chinese army, the local people can work with peace of mind.The consciousness of the masses is high, and the determination to resist Japan is also great.The women organized to mend clothes and make insoles for the officers and soldiers. The aunts and aunts regarded the soldiers of the Chinese army as their own sons and sent all the delicious food to the troops. Children and teenagers served as air defense surveillance posts for the troops and played a very important role in defending against enemy aircraft bombing. The 22nd Army retreated later and left the Xuzhou area, but these Weishanhu guerrillas still insisted on fighting behind the enemy lines, and they fought against the Japanese army until the victory of the Anti-Japanese War.It is said that the anti-Japanese guerrillas in this area have grown to thousands of people after eight years of resistance, which shows the power of the people's war.