Tiger Troops: The 74th Army of the Kuomintang Anti-Japanese Ace

Chapter 20 Only the Strongest Have a Chance to Survive (Shanggao Battle) (3)
Dahe knew that time was getting worse and worse for him, and the best solution was to drill a gap from the front of Shanggao.So he personally rushed to supervise the battle near Bi's house, south of Guanqiao, and commanded the troops to launch a general attack on Shanggao.

After a see-saw battle, the No.30 Fourth Division of the Japanese Army rushed across Shanggao Avenue and went straight to Jingshan, which is only three kilometers north of Shanggao City.

Blockbuster

On March 3, just after dawn, the Japanese Third Flying Regiment arrived early.At first there were 23 or [-] Japanese planes, and later they reached [-] or [-] at most. Like locusts, they flew continuously over the upper sky, covering the sky and covering the sun.After repeatedly circling and reconnaissing the upper heights, these planes painted with the "red plaster" logo began to dive and drop bombs on the city and its periphery in turn.

As tons and tons of ammunition poured down from the plane, Shanggao City was quickly reduced to ruins, and all the reinforced concrete fortifications and solid trenches in the city were bombed and flattened.While letting the flying regiment assist in the battle, the No.30 Fourth Division of the Japanese Army also concentrated artillery to violently bombard the defenders' positions.The commanders of the troops who had not received combat missions looked and observed from the high mountains in the south of the city, only feeling the ground shaking and deafening, but looking at the front position in the distance, there was thick smoke billowing and a sea of ​​flames.In the memory of Zou Jiyan, battalion commander of the [-]th Army, it was the first time since he entered the war that the Japanese army used so many planes and such powerful artillery fire.

Shanggao City is surrounded by mountains on three sides, east, west and north, except that it is traversed by the Jinjiang River in the south.The No.30 Fourth Division of the Japanese Army focused its attack on Xiapi Bridge in the northeast of the city that day, which is the core position guarded by the 57th Division.In order to create panic, Japanese planes even blew up the military bridge connecting the two sides of the Jinjiang River.

When Japanese planes and artillery bombarded, the position of the 57th Division remained silent and unresponsive, as if the defenders had been wiped out or completely withdrawn.Only when the Japanese army launched the last step in the "old trilogy"-implemented an infantry charge and reached the effective firing range of the defenders, did the position burst out like a sudden awakening.This is the most classic style of play in the "mobile warfare in positional warfare" genre.

In just the blink of an eye, all kinds of concealed and ingenious firepower points set up in trenches and caves were sprayed together, and the bullets of light and heavy machine guns were sprinkled on the enemy group like water.The divisional artillery battalion equipped in the rear also roared, and the long-range and large-caliber artillery roared like thunder, firing carpet-style swiftly and violently.

The Japanese infantry rushed up in batches, and then were swept down in batches.The Japanese soldiers in the charge were fierce and persevering, but in front of the iron-walled defense of the 57th Division, they had nothing to gain except being beaten to the ground.

Zou Jiyan, who was watching the battle on the top of the hill, was stunned by the strict battlefield discipline, strict firepower network layout, and tacitly coordinated infantry coordination tactics.He understands that troops that can withstand such a powerful offensive today are rare in China, and the 57th Division is indeed an elite division that is good at defense.

The 57th division is a good defense teacher, and the teacher is of course a good defense general. Yu Chengwan, the commander of the 57th Division, is not tall, but he is shrewd and capable.He was one of the first batch of top-notch figures who were promoted to major general in the first batch of Whampoa students.In terms of Whampoa qualifications, he is older than Yu Jishi, let alone Wang Yaowu and Zhang Lingfu.In private, Wang Yaowu and others are also called old seniors.The reason why Yu Chengwan was promoted slowly was mainly because he had been studying for a long time after graduating from Whampoa. The higher the education, the less military exploits.

If you lose something, you gain something. In the Kuomintang military system, there is a saying of "yellow robe plus land cap", that is, those who were born in Huangpu and later obtained a diploma from the Army University have an advantage in promotion.After returning to the first-line army, Yu Chengwan's rise was very strong, and he was relied on by Wang Yaowu, and this late blooming general did indeed achieve "If you don't make a name, you will be a blockbuster".Among the "Third and Five Forces", the reputation of the 57th Division's good defense began to be heard from Yu Chengwan's era.When deploying defenses, Yu Chengwan skillfully took advantage of the characteristics of the terrain and the advantages of the 58th Division's assistance in defense and support. He boldly used only one regiment to defend the front each time. Whenever this regiment was exhausted or faced the danger of being defeated, He immediately pushed another regiment up, and the four regiments of the whole division took turns to take over, so as to maximize the efficiency of the use of troops in hand.

Obviously, Shanggao City was close at hand, but it was out of reach and unable to get closer. The No. 30 Fourth Division of the Japanese Army fell into an extremely embarrassing situation, and its offensive became more violent and frantic.

Under the desperate attack of the Japanese army, some positions were broken through, and the Xiapiqiao position was in danger.The division headquarters of Yu Chengwan and Zhang Lingfu were both located on the mountainside on the side of Jingshan Mountain, just one step away from the Xiapi Bridge pass.Seeing that Jingshan may not be safe, the atmosphere in the military headquarters is also extremely tense.

The telephones in the command post rang non-stop, and the commanders couldn't rest quietly.Wang Yaowu had been up all night, his entire lower jaw was red and swollen, and his index and middle fingers were even worn out and bled because he kept clicking on the map.

Facing the local people who came to express condolences, although Wang Yaowu's voice had long been hoarse, he still told everyone firmly: "The enemy will not hesitate to take Jingshan and break through the gap, so we will defend Jingshan at any cost. Never let the enemy advance a step!"

I am not afraid of the enemy, but the enemy is afraid of me.Wang Yaowu clearly told Yu Chengwan: "You must stick to Shanggao, and if you lose Beicheng, you will be shot."

Strict rewards and punishments are the main characteristics of Wang Yaowu's leading troops in war. In this regard, he has always kept his word, and there is no room for sloppy eyes.

Yu Chengwan had no choice, he personally led the sergeant brigade to the front line.

Post-control
The sergeant brigade is different from the sergeant training class: the sergeant training class selects seedlings from recruits; the sergeant brigade selects the best from veterans, and most of the members are squad leaders and deputy squad leaders in the company. officer.Therefore, the sergeant brigade is different from the general company and looks particularly strong.When these battle-hardened and well-trained veterans fought with bayonets, their ferocity was by no means inferior to that of Japanese soldiers who were good at charging, stabbing and stabbing.

"Short-handed soldiers meet each other, and long swords reflect the sun." Blood rained in the sky, no one could escape, and only the strongest had a chance to survive and continue to fight.The Xiapiqiao position was lost three times and regained. The corpses of Japanese soldiers were piled up in front of the position. With the recovery of each position, the 57th Division brought down an endless stream of wounded. Six out of ten of these wounded suffered bayonet wounds, which shows that The intensity of melee combat.

On the other side, the Baimao Mountain position defended by the 58th Division was once captured by the Japanese army, and Zhang Lingfu took it back after leading his troops to counterattack.

The battle for the core position of Xiapi Bridge was the focus of the Battle of Shanggao. In just one day, the number of casualties on both sides reached more than 4000.By the morning of March 3, despite the heavy casualties of the No.24 Fourth Division of the Japanese Army, they were still unable to move forward and could only look at the high city wall and sigh.

Dahe decided to launch the last general offensive.The 160rd Flying Regiment of the Japanese Army also poured their money into the battle, dispatching [-] sorties to repeatedly bomb the Xiapiqiao and Baimaoshan positions, dropping more than [-] bombs.More than [-] bombs were dropped on a small hill with a radius of only tens of feet opposite Xiapi Bridge alone.

The excessively frequent impact of the Japanese army made the "old trilogy" almost without gaps. Bombs and artillery shells could injure the enemy or us, and "mobile warfare in positional warfare" could no longer be carried out smoothly. The focus is on the battle for positions, indeed to the extent that no matter the cost.

On the forward position of the 74th Army, the trenches were dug and flattened, and then dug again. The entire hill as a defensive position was almost turned over by bombs and shells, and it looked like a field plowed by cattle. .It's just that this field is not the other field, and the soil and flesh mix and infiltrate each other, filling the air with the smell of blood.

When the former people came to the forward position, they saw the living soldiers rushing to dig trenches, and everyone's face was either smoke or blood.The grass, stones and trees on the top of the hill were all blown to pieces. Although there were still a few trees that were lucky enough not to be blown down, only bare trunks and big branches remained.Clothes and rags blown up by shells hung on the branches, swaying in the cold wind in early spring. In addition, there were stumps, severed hands, and even bloody heads...

In the defense of Shanggao, the people of Shanggao also played a big role.The stone bridge of Jinjiang was blown up, and the forward transport team and stretcher team, regardless of the danger, braved the bombing and strafing of Japanese planes, and came and went between the north and south banks through the only pontoon bridge.In the meantime, the bombs dropped by the plane stirred up a column of water beside the pontoon bridge, and the pontoon bridge has been violently bumping and shaking, but it still couldn't stop the rolling flow of people on the bridge.

Seeing that the battle situation was at a critical juncture, the friendly troops in the south of the city asked for battle at the headquarters of the group army one after another, but Luo Zhuoying did not agree to their request because of the consideration of a late attack. Show confidence and determination to stick to the high.

Wang Yaowu personally went to the front to supervise the battle. In just one hour, he commanded the army reserve team to launch seven counter-charges, and finally withstood the crazy onslaught of the Japanese army, blocking the No. 30 Fourth Division of the Japanese army outside Jingshan Mountain.

When the 74th Army was tenaciously holding on to the front, the 49th Army (Hunan Army) and the 70th Army (Northeast Army) approached the Japanese army from the left and right flanks, and the two divisions of the No.[-] Second Army (Sichuan Army) also arrived on the same day. Lingjiangkou on the high border.

There was neither bridge nor boat on the Lingjiang River, and the Sichuan army could not cross it. The people in front of the support unloaded the door panels, propped up large and small wooden and bamboo rafts, and built a new pontoon bridge in a day.After passing the Lingjiang River along the pontoon bridge, the Sichuan Army cooperated with the Hunan Army and the Northeast Army to form an encirclement circle of 30 kilometers from east to west and [-] kilometers from north to south against the No. [-] Fourth Division of the Japanese Army.

Sensing the danger around him, Dahe quickly sent an emergency telegram to the No. 11 Army Headquarters of the Japanese Army, and at the same time ordered to stop attacking Shanggao and stand firm on the spot for help.

At 3 pm on March 24, Luo Zhuoying issued a general attack order, ordering all encircled troops to attack the enemy in front of them.Wang Yaowu was very hesitant to join the offensive battle at first, considering that his army had fought too hard in the defensive battle, suffered heavy casualties, and had been fighting for more than ten days.

If the 74th Army does not participate in the offensive, the effect of the general offensive will inevitably be greatly reduced.Luo Zhuoying put the No.20 Sixth Division and the 57th Division on standby in the south of the city under the command of Wang Yaowu, and after a lot of encouragement, he persuaded Wang Yaowu to send the 58th and [-]th Divisions up.

What Luo Zhuoying told Wang Yaowu was that this offensive battle was actually a pursuit battle: "In the pursuit battle, there is no need to cook and eat. The food cooked by the enemy will be given to us to eat!"

Japanese Nuzuka

Luo Zhuoying concentrated the superior forces of nine divisions in total, encircling the Japanese army from the north and the south.At two o'clock in the middle of the night, the 57th Division took the lead in counterattacking, and drove the No.30 Fourth Division out of its original position with hand-to-hand combat.

After dawn, the Japanese army tried to regain the position under the cover of aircraft, but was repelled by the 57th Division.After hitting a wall, the No.30 Fourth Division of the Japanese Army made a violent assault on the side of the No.70 Second Army, and the two divisions of the No.70 Second Army were beaten back four or five miles.

After receiving the report, Luo Zhuoying looked at the map first, and then asked Lan Jieyu, the staff officer of the headquarters: "How do you see the situation?"

(End of this chapter)