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

Chapter 25 Death's Paradise (Battle of Changsha, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Western Hubei) (4)
The Tenth Army has too many similarities with the 74th Army. The officers above the regiment commander are all outstanding in the fourth and fifth phases of Whampoa. They not only have certain military theoretical qualities, but also have rich practical experience.The officers below the regiment are either trained cadets or veterans who have experienced many battles.The combat style of the soldiers is also very fierce, daring and good at using grenade combat and hand-to-hand combat. The [-]th Division to which they belong is known as the "Loyal and Brave Division". The word "Loyal and Brave" is embroidered on the sleeves of the soldiers. Song Zheyuan's Broadsword Team is on par.

Others such as strict training and iron-like military discipline, the Tenth Army is also comparable to the 74th Army.If anyone can compete with the 74th Army for the top spot among the super-class and powerful corps of the Chinese army, the Tenth Army must be among them.

Accompanied by officers of the Tenth Army, the staff group visited the positions in the city.The battle has ended, and the battlefield has been cleaned long ago. However, the traces of fortifications destroyed by the Japanese army have not been completely repaired, and some walls are riddled with bullet marks.The staff members were all experts, and they heard that although the Tenth Army's introduction was exaggerated, judging from the bullet marks and the degree of damage to the fortifications, the defensive battle was indeed very difficult, and the Tenth Army did its best.

The 74th Army is also known for being good at defense, but in the past, it mainly participated in field defensive warfare. There is not much successful experience in urban defense warfare, and whether the defensive warfare can be fought well depends to a large extent on whether the construction of the defensive position is reasonable and harmonious. careful.

The Tenth Army built a solid machine gun bunker at the intersection in the center of the street, which communicated with the houses through the traffic trench.Other than that, the rest are guarded by houses.There are shooting holes at the foot of the walls of each house, and bunkers are dug out and covered with quilts in the house, so that the fortifications converted from the houses can cover the ground-to-air artillery fire, and the people inside can reduce the risk of being injured by shrapnel. , even if the house is blown down, not only is the bunker unobstructed, but it also increases the thickness of the bunker.

This fortification construction method of the Tenth Army was not the first of its kind. The Chinese army had practiced it as early as the Battle of Taierzhuang. The Tenth Army only pushed it to the extreme on the basis of another successful application.

Making full use of all surrounding terrain and features is undoubtedly the highest level of defensive warfare.The staff group was deeply impressed by the experience of the Tenth Army defending Changsha. They knew that as long as the strength of their troops could be fully recovered, one day these experiences would be of use.

ace is ace
The third battle of Changsha started after the outbreak of the Pacific War.Some people say that Chiang Kai-shek is not a brilliant tactician, but he is at least a visionary strategist. In the first four years of the War of Resistance, whenever he encountered a situation that was about to fail, Chiang Kai-shek encouraged the people of the country and said to hold on Well, if we hold on a little longer, the international situation will surely change.

Indeed, at the beginning of 1942, the international situation really changed fundamentally.Japan fought an undeclared war against the United States at Pearl Harbor, dragging its allies into the war in the Asia-Pacific, and China no longer had to resist alone.

In the spring of 1942, the United States dispatched a fleet to bomb Tokyo.After the bombing, the plane originally planned to fly to Quzhou Airport in the third war zone to land. Although the pilot failed to land at the airport as scheduled due to bad weather and other reasons, Quzhou Airport became a thorn in the side and a thorn in the flesh of the Japanese army. quick.

In mid-May, the No. 13 Army of the Japanese Army headquartered in Shanghai concentrated more than 5 troops and began to launch a large-scale offensive along the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Road. On May 26, the No. 13 Army Headquarters of the Japanese Army received information that the 74th Army, known by China as the "Tiger Force", had entered the third theater.

In the Battle of Chunhua Mountain, despite the setbacks of the 74th Army, its powerful combat capabilities and the battle process that severely damaged the Japanese army still made the Japanese command feel afraid, and marveled that the 74th Army was "a very active army." The 74th Army once disappeared on the battlefield for a period of time. Now that it has returned to the rivers and lakes, it is natural that those who are kind do not come, and those who come are not good. Therefore, this information immediately aroused the attention of the No.13 Army of the Japanese Army.

The intelligence did not disclose the specific location of the 74th Army.The No. 13 Army Headquarters of the Japanese Army inferred that the 74th Army would be deployed in the expected position near Quzhou, and the possibility of attacking the vicinity of this area was also very high.

The intelligence is true, and the inferences are roughly the same.In fact, before the Japanese army launched the attack, the Chinese High Command also detected the Japanese army's battle plan in advance and made preparations for it.

The third war zone is located behind enemy lines in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and the troops under its jurisdiction are either miscellaneous or guerrillas. No matter the equipment or combat effectiveness, it cannot compare with the main theater in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.Therefore, the Military Commission temporarily decided to transfer to the 74th Army and other departments to enhance the strength of the third theater.

According to the scheduled combat plan, the third war zone will take Quzhou as the core to fight the enemy decisively.This combat plan basically applies the mature experience of the "retreat decisive battle" in the inland theater.

The 74th Army was accused of being placed on the outskirts of Quzhou, preparing to counterattack after the frontline corps defeated the enemy.After the 74th Army entered the third war zone, Chiang Kai-shek specifically instructed that the location and actions of the 74th Army must be kept strictly confidential, and no one is allowed to disclose it, let alone mention it in telegram exchanges. However, it is impossible to grasp the specific location and behavior of the 13th Army.

On May 5, the westward Japanese army gathered in the southeast of Quzhou and began to search in front of the 27th Army.Prior to this, the 74th Army had undergone continuous training for nearly five months in Shiwan, Hengshan. The lost soldiers and combat power have been fully recovered, and the officers and soldiers have a strong desire to fight. The 74st Division first fought against the No.51 Second Division of the Japanese Army. The two sides fought fiercely for two days and were in a stalemate.

The Third War Zone was a backward war zone, and the military depots were very unsound. At that time, it was the rainy season in the south of the Yangtze River. It caught up with the heavy rain that had not been seen in 60 years. The 74th Army had great logistical difficulties. The 400 million rounds of ammunition that should have been reissued were only 50 rounds, and the army rations could not be shipped. For several days, the entire army had to live on porridge in the mountains.These unfavorable conditions undoubtedly affected and limited the performance of the 74th Army, but the trump card is the trump card. Under the blocking of the 51st Division, the No. 20 Second Division of the Japanese Army could not get through, and in desperation, they simply chose to bypass the 51st Division position.

The 51st Division was followed by the 58th Division. The No.20 Second Division of the Japanese Army still had trouble getting through and encountered unusually strong resistance, while the Japanese troops from other directions reached the predetermined location with almost no resistance.The No. 13 Army Headquarters of the Japanese Army was very surprised, and thus suspected that the 74th Army might be hiding in the mountainous area opposite the No. 20 Second Division of the Japanese Army.

In order to find the 74th Army, the Japanese army tried many reconnaissance methods.They realized very early on that the "Central Army", including the No.70 Fourth Army, had officers from the Whampoa faction as the backbone.It is not easy for such troops to instigate mutiny and obtain intelligence through inside lines. The best way is to understand its dynamics through radio listening and deciphering codes.

The No.11 Army of the Japanese Army used multiple direction finders to detect the location of the 74th Army's radio station.Because according to the common practice of the Chinese army at that time, the radio station was always close to the commanding agency, and the location of the commanding agency could be known by measuring the position of the radio station.

Just as the Japanese army was implementing direction finding, an unexpected event fully confirmed their original guess. On May 5, the No. 31 Second Division of the Japanese Army intercepted a Chinese military vehicle on the road with an adjutant of the 20th Army on board.After the adjutant was shot and died, the Japanese army found some documents and radio information from him, and learned that the 74th Army was in the mountainous area south of Quzhou, and the specific locations of the military headquarters and its three divisions were also determined one by one. .

Low-level error
Based on various intelligence sources, the No.13 Army Headquarters of the Japanese Army realized that the third war zone wanted to replicate the tactical thinking of previous Changsha battles. Unleash a side attack.

Every time there is a failure, the Japanese strategists will think hard about countermeasures after research. The "retreat decisive battle" is to wait for work at ease, weakening its strength first and then defeating it; and in this Zhejiang-Jiangxi battle, the Japanese No. 13 army was almost dispatched.

In order to further increase its strength, on May 5, the No. 31 Army of the Japanese Army stationed in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River also suddenly dispatched two divisions to attack from the western front.The Japanese army dispatched so many troops and on such a large scale that they had never been seen since the Battle of Wuhan, which made it difficult for the "decisive retreat" to achieve its original tactical purpose.

"Going for the outside line" is about starting from the best position and hitting from the side.The No.13 Army of the Japanese Army has set up an independent mixed brigade on the second line in advance to prepare for flank attacks.

After such an arrangement, Lieutenant General Shigeru Sawada, commander of the No.13 Army of the Japanese Army, believed that he did not have to worry too much about the two wings for the time being. His first task was to break through Quzhou.

On June 6, the Japanese army launched a full-line attack on Quzhou.In addition to throwing heavy troops frontally, the No. 3 Second Division attacked the defensive position of the 20th Division.

The No.20 Second Division of the Japanese Army did not make any substantial breakthroughs that day, but Zetian's main purpose at this time was to prevent the 74th Army from attacking from the side. As long as the 74th Army "basically fell into a passive position", he felt that it was already very good .

(End of this chapter)