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

Chapter 31 Man Lives on Hope (Battle of Changde) (5)
rescue boat

During the defense of Changde, the Cairo Conference was held. On December 12, Chiang Kai-shek flew from Cairo to Chongqing. After learning about the situation in Changde, he called Yu Chengwan specifically, saying that the 1th Division's heroic deeds in annihilating the enemy in Changde had "caused the greatest respect from all friendly countries in the world."

It is of course a great thing to be able to gain the attention and respect of the whole world, but the problem is that the 57th Division can no longer sustain it.The focus of the meeting was not on whether to break through, but on the fact that everyone couldn't break out, and someone had to lag behind to cover.At the same time, because the 57th Division withdrew from Changde, it did not report to the theater and get permission, so a small part of the force had to be left behind to explain.

It is said that at the beginning of the meeting, Yu Chengwan ordered the head of the [-]th regiment, Chai Yixin, to lead his troops to break out of the siege, and he himself led a reinforced company that was contained and repaired to continue street fighting with the enemy.However, in the army, such a method can also be understood as, among all the regiment leaders, Chai Yixin is the one Yu Chengwan admires and is closest to. The meaning of staying behind.

Chai Yixin was unequivocal, and immediately said: "The division commander is the hope of the whole division. I hope that the division commander will break through the siege as soon as possible. I will stand here and wait for the division commander to lead the reinforcements to rescue the siege."

The meeting finally decided that the rest of the 51th Regiment and the first part of the [-]st Regiment, with a total of [-] people, would be commanded by Chai Yixin and be responsible for containing the enemy.

Everyone knows what staying behind means.Chai Yixin had only been married for seven months at the time, and it took a lot of courage and a truly selfless and fearless spirit for him to do so.When Wu Rongkai was the captain and secretary of the [-]th Regiment, Chai Yixin said to him: "You also go (referring to breaking through), and head Sun (Sun Jinxian, head of the [-]th Regiment), and Duan Zhang (head of the [-]st Regiment) Du Ding) they are together."

Wu Rongkai was extremely unhappy leaving his regiment leader alone in the city, so he shook his head: "I won't go."

Chai Yixin was in a hurry: "I'm trying my best here, I order you to leave the city immediately!"

Wu Rongkai had no choice but to say: "Leader, then I will obey the order and leave."

He saluted Chai Yixin before he turned back and took two steps. Chai Yixin stopped him again: "Tell you, be careful along the way." Saying that, he pointed his hand forward.

At that moment, Wu Rongkai's tears flowed down his face.

Due to the fall of the Confucian Temple, those who are not near the meeting place can no longer be notified directly, and can only be notified by firing signal flares.There are also scattered troops who learned of the decision to break out of the siege only after calling the regiment command post on their phones to no avail.

The retreating personnel boarded the ladder and crossed the city wall of the south gate, that is, punted and left the shore. Before the war, the 57th Division hid a few wooden boats under the hanging towers along the Yuanjiang River, but there were not many of them. The wooden boats of the officers of the guard.The moment the boat was about to leave the shore, Jin Dingzhou jumped onto the boat. Seeing this, dozens of people on the shore also jumped into the water and swam towards the boat.

Everyone quickly grabbed the edge of the boat.Due to the small number of people on the boat, the boat gradually lost its center of gravity, tilted to one side, and was about to capsize, and the people on board suddenly became a mess.The guards found something was wrong, swung a captured Japanese command knife and chopped it towards the side of the ship.Immediately, one person sank into the water with his severed hand.Others who hadn't boarded the boat hurriedly begged, saying that I was the adjutant of the division, or the military supply of the division, but it was useless to say these things at this time, unless you were Yu Chengwan.

The guards continued to swing their knives, and the people sank into the water one by one, crying and cursing. The situation was horrible.Jin Dingzhou found that his adjutant was also in the water. Seeing that the guard's knife was about to hit the adjutant's head, he hurriedly stopped him: "He is the adjutant I brought, please let him come up!"

The guard put away his command knife after hearing this.Jin Dingzhou grabbed the adjutant's hand and pulled it up desperately.The adjutant was already exhausted, if Jin Dingzhou hadn't saved his life, he would have died even if he hadn't been stabbed.

There were no oars on the boat, so they had to use wooden planks instead. With the help of the strong northeast wind, they rowed to the opposite bank and joined the friendly forces in Tokuyama.

This is the last lifeboat.The latecomers and some wounded officers and soldiers could only lie on their backs or wander around the river. Some of them groped along the north bank of the Yuanjiang River and escaped from the danger before dawn, but more people faced the fate of either being sacrificed or being captured.

On the morning of December 12, Chai Yixin led his troops to defend Huajing Glass Factory.They repelled the enemy's attack many times, and after shooting out all the bullets, they took up the bayonet and made a suicide charge.During the charge, Chai Yixin was killed by four bullets, and all 3 people in his unit were also killed.

At eight o'clock in the morning, Changde fell.A total of three batches of nine Chinese bombers launched an air strike on the city. At dusk, Iwanaga had to withdraw most of his troops to the outside of the city, leaving only one force to guard the city.

Now that Changde has been occupied, Yokoyama is ready to retreat, but his boss, Commander of the "China Expeditionary Force", Hata Shunroku, persuades him to take a long-term view and make changes to the retreat plan.

I have more than enough energy
Hata Shunroku didn't think so.Originally, he believed that due to the Battle of Changde, many of the Chinese troops that were gathering in Yunnan had been restrained in the Changde battlefield, and that the Chinese expedition to Burma would not go smoothly. combat purpose.

Hata Shunroku suddenly changed his mind because on November 11, Hsinchu, Taiwan was attacked by US aircraft stationed in China.Although China and the United States had sent planes to attack Japan before, they mainly played a role of propaganda and deterrence. This time the air strikes are not limited to propaganda, but have entered the actual level of strategic bombing.

Evidence shows that the United States may send a large number of B-29 heavy bombers known as "super sky fortresses" to Chengdu in the future, starting from western China, and directly attacking the Japanese mainland.

This incident greatly stimulated the Japanese base camp.So the base camp gave way to the headquarters of the "China Expeditionary Force" in Nanjing to consider launching the "Operation to Open the Mainland".

The staff officers in the Nanjing headquarters have wanted to fight a big battle for a long time, but they have never had the conditions. Now that they heard that the headquarters has this idea, everyone is very excited.On the contrary, Hata Shunroku was more calm and restrained. He told the chief of staff: "This is a major event that cannot be easily accepted, and full research must be carried out."

After the outbreak of the Pacific War, the "China Expeditionary Force" has been acting as a supply source for the Japanese army, and its troops have been continuously deployed to the Pacific battlefield.Long before the "Operation on the Continent", the headquarters of the "China Expeditionary Force" had secretly planned the "Operation Sichuan" (also known as "Operation No. [-]"), which had to be suspended due to the unfavorable situation in the Pacific War.

As the saying goes, small people come to wear thread, big people wear silk, so much money and material resources can accomplish so much.Hata Shunroku is very clear that under the current circumstances, in order to launch any super-large-scale battle, the necessary troops must be mobilized from the Northeast and the interior of Japan, otherwise there is absolutely no possibility of victory.

When Hata Junliu was thinking about it, he just received a telegram from the No. 11 Army to "completely occupy Changde".While sending a congratulatory message to Yuko Yokoyama, Hata Shunroku suddenly realized that the first task of "opening up the mainland" was to defeat Xue Yue's Ninth War Zone.In this process, the movement of the sixth theater is very important. If the sixth theater provides support from the side, it will undoubtedly have a negative impact on the attacking Japanese army.

This involves a detail that absolutely cannot be ignored, that is, where is the starting point for "opening up the mainland"?Hata Shunroku's judgment is that it is ideal to launch operations from the vicinity of Changde.

According to Hata Junroku's instructions, the Chief of General Staff hastily sent a telegram to the No.11 Army: "As for the timing of returning from Changde, we must temporarily stand by."

For Yokoyama Isamu, this telegram from his superior was almost an idea to rub the living.Since the start of the Battle of Changde, the No. 11 Army of the Japanese Army has lost 11 troops, and there is only one supply line before and after it.In addition, the Chinese army on the outskirts of Changde is still under siege, and the No. [-] Army is in danger of being surrounded at any time.

Yokoyama Isamu's reply to Hata Shunroku was both negative and indifferent: due to limited military strength and other reasons, he lacked the confidence to ensure Changde.Let us return to the original station for the time being this time, and we will talk about it later if we want to come to Changde.

After the simple answer, without waiting for Hata Shunroku and the base camp to discuss, Yokoyama Isamu put down the challenge on his own and ordered the ministries to withdraw northward according to the original plan.

After the fall of Changde, the Chinese High Command repeatedly issued instructions to Sun Lianzhong and Xue Yue: "Regardless of whether the situation in Changde changes, we will besiege the enemy according to the established plan." The troops were ordered to act, but the Tenth Army suffered heavy losses in order to reinforce Changde. Obviously, everyone has more or less a psychological shadow, and few troops dare to encircle, detour, divide and intersperse boldly.Even Wang Yaowu's corps, which was the most active in action, had difficulty advancing due to the stubbornness of the enemy in front of it.

Until December 12th, a unit found out that the Japanese army was transporting vehicles frequently in Changde, with empty vehicles coming and heavy vehicles that were well covered.They concluded that Japanese troops were transporting casualties and loot, a sign of preparations to flee.

After receiving the information, the Chief of the Sixth War Zone dispatched urgent telegrams to all armies, preparing for a pursuit battle.The next day, the Japanese army really began to retreat.

On the outskirts of Changde, there is an east-west hill called Sun Mountain. The 57rd Battalion of the 11th Regiment of the 22th Division is stationed on the hill.After the main force of the division withdrew from the outskirts of the city, the third battalion still held on to Sun Mountain. Counting from November [-], it lasted for [-] days and nights.

Being able to persist for such a long time is firstly due to the favorable terrain.Although Sun Mountain is not high, it is still a high ground after all, and it is easy for the defenders to use their firepower. On the contrary, it is much more difficult for the Japanese army to shoot upwards or charge from the flat ground without barriers.Secondly, in the later period, the large Japanese army had shifted its focus to Changde City, and only a small army besieged Sun Mountain, and there was a small drinking pond nearby, so there would be no risk of water shortage.Even so, by the end of the war, a battalion that once had more than 50 men had dropped sharply to less than [-] men.

At midnight on December 12, the entire line suddenly fell silent.The battalion commander said to everyone: "It seems that the enemy has retreated. We should have attacked, but now we are all lying on our stomachs, and we can't even stand firmly. We really have more energy than energy!" After finishing speaking, he sighed deeply.

On the morning of December 12, Yu Chengwan, who had already contacted the 9th Army Headquarters and the 74st Division, led his troops into Changde City, and personally planted a brand new national flag on the tower of Xiaoximen.Then he sent someone to notify the third battalion to withdraw from Sun Mountain and gather at the Catholic Church in Changde City.

It was the first time for the surviving officers and soldiers of the third battalion to face Changde after the catastrophe.

The rest of the 57th Division participating in the assembly was less than a thousand people.Yu Chengwan and infantry commander Zhou Yizhong spoke successively.When Zhou Yizhong said that there were 7000 people at the beginning of the battle of the whole division (it was said to be more than 8000, which seems to be inaccurate), and now it is less than 5.00%, everyone cried.

stain of infamy
Two months after the end of the Battle of Changde, Chiang Kai-shek made a comment at the Nanyue Conference.At the meeting, Chiang Kai-shek made special praise for the excellent performance of the 74th Army, especially the 51st and 58th Divisions in the periphery, saying that they fought against nearly six Japanese regiments with six regiments, and they were able to take the initiative and continuously attack the enemy. The attack can be regarded as the most brilliant record in the history of the War of Resistance.

After the meeting, Zhang Lingfu, commander of the 58th Division who was praised by Chiang Kai-shek as a "model soldier", was awarded a Yunhui Medal. He was also one of the few generals who were honored to be honored in the Battle of Changde.In addition, 74 people from the 89th Army were commended as special meritorious personnel, including Jin Dingzhou, head of the Artillery Regiment, and Du Ding, head of the 57st Regiment of the [-]th Division.

In the 74th Army, Yu Chengwan, the commander of the 57th Division, was the only one who was punished.In his commentary, Chiang Kai-shek directly called him a "stain of disrepute", and the crime was that he failed to stand firm and wait for help, resulting in the loss of Changde.

During the Cairo Conference, Chiang Kai-shek talked about the Battle of Changde to Roosevelt and Churchill.It is conceivable that during this period, he could not help but express that the 57th Division would live and die with Changde City.Although the Western heads of state are not as persistent as the Easterners in the concept of preferring death to surrender, swearing to die rather than retreat, Lao Jiang still feels that Yu Chengwan has made him lose face.On the other hand, if you want to blame a little bit, Yu Chengwan is indeed to blame for the failure to properly deal with the wounded.

Yu Chengwan was escorted to Chongqing for trial, and it is said that Chiang Kai-shek had issued an execution warrant.At that time, many people inside and outside the army complained about it.The people of Changde first complained about Yu Chengwan, thinking that although Yu had only been stationed in Changde for half a year, he was one of the better generals of the Kuomintang with his dedication and love for the people. He chose to break through when he ran out of ammunition and food and had nowhere to go.

Wang Yaowu has strict requirements on his subordinates, but he also feels that Yu Chengwan abides by Changde and has basically fulfilled his due responsibilities, so he specially wrote to Chen Cheng, enumerating Yu Chengwan's various achievements to plead for him.

Both the Military Command and the Sixth Theater Chief's Department have conducted special investigations on this.The military command also organized a field investigation team with Chinese and foreign journalists to inspect the battlefield in Changde.According to the bullet marks on the ground, battle relics, and the casualties of the 57th Division, the inspection team determined that the 57th Division had tried its best and had no choice but to withdraw from Changde when it ran out of ammunition and food, had no soldiers to defend, and had no place to retreat. .

According to the petition materials posted by all parties, the Military Advocate General Department signed and asked Chiang Kai-shek to commute his sentence.After reading the materials, Lao Jiang also gradually calmed down, and finally closed the case by "don't give up the name, hand over the crime to the No. 20 Fourth Army, and see the effect".

The characteristic of the Chinese army is that the authority of the chief mainly depends on his exemplary role in front of the battle. Once a general has similar "stains", it will be difficult to be convincing when commanding a battle, and he will also have a psychological shadow because of this. Dare to make decisions easily and punish his subordinates.In other words, his glory in the military is basically over.Yu Chengwan is a typical example. Although he was able to return to the No.20 Fourth Army under the control of Wang Yaowu, it was difficult to make achievements.Zhang Lingfu privately commented that if Yu Chengwan could persevere to the end in Changde, even if he died in the end, it would be a "good opportunity to die more than Mount Tai". "It's a pity to lose it."

In fact, most people would not necessarily do better than Yu Chengwan in the same situation.In the Battle of Changheng not long after, Fang Xianjue, commander of the Tenth Army, aroused even greater controversy.

(End of this chapter)