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

Chapter 6 What kind of person is a warrior (Lanfeng battle Wanjialing victory) (1)
The Nanjing Massacre turned an ancient oriental city with countless moving stories into a hell on earth.At that moment, it was as bleak and powerless as the whole of eastern China.

Of course, there are still many people who have hopes and expectations. Carlson knew all this would happen before he left Nanjing, but he believes that this is just "another turning point in China's development", and the Chinese troops retreating westward will change. To become stronger and more vital, China will one day join the club of world powers.

Encouragement from foreigners is a good thing, but the Chinese army that has survived the catastrophe does not mean that it will recover immediately after recovery.Taking the 74th Army as an example, the 51st Division evacuated about 3000 people from Nanjing, the 58th Division evacuated about 4000 people, and took in about 2000 people when they arrived in Bengbu.This is all the surviving troops of the 74th Army. As for the weapons and equipment, they were completely lost.

The backbone was seriously damaged. After the battle in Nanjing, the four regiment commanders of the 51st Division, Cheng Zhi, were killed. Zhang Lingfu, Qiu Weida, and Ji Hongru were all seriously injured. Qiu Weida was already in a coma before crossing the river, and the small steamer could not dock at that time. , the comrades in arms had no choice but to tie the rope thrown from the small steamer around his waist, and drag him aboard from the icy river.

Fortunately, the Japanese army did not immediately launch a pursuit along the river at this time, which gave them time to recover.Soon after, the 74th Army was transferred to Jingmen and Shashi, Hubei Province for rest and reorganization. During this period, in addition to the lost officers and soldiers returning to the army one after another, many new recruits were added.

The regiment leaders who left the brigade for recuperation also rushed back to the army. Among them, Zhang Lingfu was promoted to the deputy brigade commander of the [-]rd Brigade (still serving as the commander of the [-]th Regiment), and Qiu Weida was promoted to the deputy brigade commander of the [-]st Brigade.Now their main task is to train new recruits so that the troops can go to the battlefield with a new camp as soon as possible.

Wu Qi's military training mode

In this world, no one is the most perfect. Even if he makes mistakes, as long as he knows his mistakes and can redeem them, he can still be regarded as an upright man.This is exactly the case with Zhang Lingfu. In fact, his arm injury has not yet healed, but the news of the war published in the newspaper made him unable to stay in the hospital any longer.

Only by training good soldiers can we regain our strength.Zhang Lingfu has always been known for his strict military training. The bloody winds of the Battle of Songhu and the Battle of Nanjing further revealed the hardship and harshness of the War of Resistance Against Japan. Only when there is less bloodshed and less sacrifice.

In the [-]th Regiment, anyone who wanted to be lazy and slippery during training would surely be unable to escape Regimental Commander Zhang's army stick.While strictly controlling the quality of training, military discipline has been strongly emphasized. To a certain extent, this is also a lesson learned from the abolition of military discipline during the retreat, which led to a sharp decline in the combat effectiveness of the troops.Therefore, Zhang Lingfu summarized "fear of death in combat, backwardness in academics, many deserted soldiers, and lax discipline" as the "Four Disgraces of Soldiers".

In addition to the "Four Disgraces of Soldiers", there are also "Four Joys of Soldiers". The "Four Joys" are "saving the people from fire and water, increasing the reputation of the army, uniting with sincerity, and defeating the enemy to win the victory." The first of which is to require officers and soldiers not to touch the needles of ordinary people. Once violated, they will be severely punished according to the law.

Zhang Lingfu's military training method is the military training method of the 74th Army. It is a bit like Wu Qi's military training model during the Warring States Period: on the one hand, he has strict training and military discipline, but on the other hand, he emphasizes loving soldiers like children.The recruit Hu Liwen was only 17 years old when he arrived in the [-]rd Brigade. He was still a middle school student and short in stature. Zhang Lingfu arranged for him to work as a clerk in the regiment headquarters of the [-]th Regiment.In Hu Liwen's impression, Zhang Lingfu treated the soldiers very kindly in private, never reprimanded him, and sometimes touched his head when they met each other, encouraging him to do a good job.

In April 1938, the 4th Army was inspected by the Military Commission in Huangpi and received an excellent evaluation. The 74th Regiment stood out and ranked first in the division after the evaluation.

At this point, you basically meet the conditions for going to the battlefield.After all, the battle situation on the front line is still deteriorating, and it is impossible to leave too much training time for the 74th Army.

At the beginning of May 1938, the 5th Army was transferred to Xue Yue's Eastern Henan Corps to participate in the Battle of Lanfeng along the Longhai.

The Battle of Lanfeng is a continuation of the Battle of Xuzhou.In the just-concluded battle of Xuzhou, the Japanese army adopted the tactic of encircling and attacking from the north and the south at the same time, and occupied Xuzhou, thereby controlling the entire Jinpu line.Japanese newspapers called it the "Great Battle of the Century", and the Japanese people were all intoxicated with the great victory, but in fact the results achieved by the Japanese army were not as great as they imagined.

Since the number of Japanese troops was less than one-third of that of the Chinese army, it was difficult for them to completely encircle the Chinese army on the vast plain.Some Japanese soldiers hidden in the villages clearly saw the Chinese troops moving, but in the case of the disparity in numbers, they could only watch them with bated breath and did not dare to pursue them.

After the Japanese army occupied Xuzhou, they found that what they got was only an empty city, so they began to mobilize their forces to pursue along the Longhai line. The initial task of the 74th Army was to stop and chase the enemy on the Dangshan line west of Xuzhou. On May 5, the 13st Brigade of the 51st Division arrived in Dangshan by train, and the 58th Brigade of the [-]th Division entered Feng County, thus forming a horn-shaped defensive formation.

Dangshan is the shortest road for Xuzhou's westward withdrawal troops to enter Henan. Naturally, it is also an important place for the enemy and us to compete for.On the day the 150st Brigade arrived in Dangshan, a small group of Japanese troops launched a tentative attack with the cooperation of cavalry and armored vehicles.The [-]st Brigade was also unambiguous, and the brigade commander Zhou Zhidao immediately sent the [-]nd Regiment to intercept it.Due to the emergency, Ji Hongru, the head of the [-]nd regiment, selected [-] elite soldiers, led by Liu Wenfeng, a major battalion, to launch a surprise attack on the Japanese army at night.

In the absence of anti-tank guns and tank defense guns, the main way for the Chinese army to deal with Japanese tanks is to organize sharpshooters to shoot at the lookout holes on the roof of the tanks to divert their sight, and at the same time send death squads to jump forward. Pounce, stuff the bundled cluster grenades into the tank tracks.Using this method, Liu Wenfeng led his team to blow up four armored vehicles and wiped out a hundred enemies. However, most of the attacking officers and soldiers fell on the battlefield. By the end of the battle, only 20 people survived.

On May 5th, a large Japanese army marched north from Yongcheng to invade, and it happened that the 14rd Brigade also arrived in Dangshan in time by car.The deputy brigade commander Zhang Lingfu got out of the car and commanded the troops to join the blockade. The 51st Division went into battle with a basically complete lineup.After three days of fierce fighting, two battalion commanders of the division were killed and one injured, and more than [-] officers and soldiers below the battalion commander were killed or injured.

In Fengxian County in the northeast of Dangshan, the 58th Brigade of the [-]th Division was also violently attacked by the Japanese army. The casualties there were even greater.

The retreat was not easy. The 74th Army had an unforgettable experience in Shanghai and Nanjing.The officers and soldiers are very clear that only by ensuring Dangshan and Fengxian can the losses and sacrifices of the westward retreating army be minimized, so no matter how much pressure there is, everyone will not retreat a step.

On May 5, the 23th Army was ordered to hand over the defense to friendly forces, and then moved westward to Lankao and Kaifeng.On the Lanfeng battlefield, an exciting battle of encirclement and annihilation is waiting and calling them.

Relics of the old dynasty
After the Battle of Xuzhou, in addition to the enemy chasing westward along the Longhai Line, the No. 14 Division of the Japanese Army crossing from the Yellow River south also posed a threat to the troops retreating westward. However, due to the lack of tacit cooperation between the two Japanese armies, the No. The .14th Division eventually fell into a Chinese encirclement.

This is the most spectacular scene in the Battle of Lanfeng.A total of 14 troops of the Eastern Henan Corps launched a full-scale attack on the No. [-] Division of the Japanese Army entrenched in Neihuang and Yifeng from the east, west, and north.

As the forward of the 74th Army, Wang Yaowu personally led the 51st Division to rush into Inner Yellow City and started a fierce battle with the Japanese army.

The terrain of the Central Plains is quite different from that of the water towns in the south. In particular, Neihuang is full of sand and gravel.This flat terrain created conditions for cavalry operations. Hundreds of Japanese cavalry rushed to the 51st Division on horseback, and the 51st Division's offensive was frustrated.

Some people hit the cavalry first on the horse, and after the cavalry fell off the horse, they used light and heavy machine guns to attack.Wang Yaowu did the opposite. He ordered the snipers to occupy the commanding heights and directly ordered the cavalry one by one.

The method is different, but the effect is the same.Seeing that the cavalry in front were shot off their horses one after another, and the cavalry in the back had to retreat, the 51st Division took advantage of the momentum to attack and regained Neihuang City in one fell swoop.

At the same time, the Japanese army in Yifeng also abandoned the city under the Chinese attack.The No.14 Division of the Japanese Army was not really incapable of defending Neihuang and Yifeng. The main reason was that in the absence of follow-up military aid, its rear contact line had been cut off by the Yudong Corps.The head of the division, Doihara, sensed the danger, and decided to move the rear from Longhai Road to Liuyuankou on the south bank of the Yellow River.

Liuyuankou is an old ferry along the Yellow River. The No. 14 Division of the Japanese Army can get food and ammunition supplies from the north bank of the Yellow River through Liuyuankou, and its main force is divided into large and small fortresses west of Lankao.

The Eastern Henan Corps launched a siege again, and Zhou Zhidao led the 51st Brigade of the 74st Division to attack Maoguzhai.The walls of the siege are very strong, and it can't do anything without heavy weapons.Although the Nanjing Defense War caused the 51th Army to lose all its heavy weapons, during the training period, the [-]st Division was re-equipped with medium-sized mortars.Before the attack, Zhou Zhidao ordered to use mortars to aim at the stockade and bombard it. After the small opening was blasted, he sent the commando to rush in at night.

That night, after five hours of fierce fighting, the [-]st Brigade captured Maoguzhai in one fell swoop after annihilating hundreds of enemies and destroying five Japanese tanks.

It was relatively easy to win Maogu Village. In contrast, Luowang Station, Sanyi Village, Quxing Village and other strongholds were much more difficult to conquer.Luowang Station is a small station on the Longhai Railway, but because it is located between Kaifeng and Lankao, its strategic position is very important, so long before the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, there was a permanent national defense built with reinforced concrete. Fortifications, artillery bunkers, machine gun bunkers, shelters, and headquarters are all available.It was originally used for the Anti-Japanese War, but as the situation changed dramatically, it was used by the Japanese army instead, which is unexpected.

On May 5, when the 25th Division and its friendly forces launched an offensive on Luowang Station, the Japanese army used these fortifications to resist desperately, and the battle was very fierce.

At 58 o'clock in the evening, the 74nd Brigade of the 58th Division once broke into the shelter of Luowang Station, but lost it again an hour later.At this time, Yu Jishi was already serving as the commander of the [-]th Army, and Feng Shengfa, the deputy commander of the [-]th Division, concurrently served as the commander of the [-]th Division.Seeing that the troops suffered heavy casualties, Feng Shengfa ordered to suspend the attack.

Luowang Station has become the focus of the tug-of-war between the enemy and us.At this time, Xue Yue, the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Henan Corps, found that the frontline food delivery was not ideal, and some soldiers had not eaten for more than a day, so he hurriedly issued strict orders to the logistics supply department by phone, demanding that they be improved quickly.

People are like iron, food is like steel, they are full of food and drink, and after a night of rest, the morale of the attacking troops is boosted. On May 5, Feng Shengfa, the commander of the 26th Division, went to the front to supervise the battle in person, and concentrated artillery fire on the Japanese positions.

Like the 51st Division, the 58th Division was reequipped with heavy weapons, and the division's artillery battalion was equipped with six German Krupp field guns.These Krupp field guns were purchased from the German Krupp company in the late Qing Dynasty. The guns are also engraved with "Guangxu Years of the Qing Dynasty" and a round auspicious dragon logo.Although it is a relic of the old dynasty and its style is relatively old, don’t underestimate it. The artillery produced by Krupp has always enjoyed a reputation for good quality and high shooting accuracy. During World War II, not only China, but also Japan Did not give up either.

The Krupp field artillery was indeed quite powerful, and it could blow up the Japanese army's position to pieces, so that the Japanese army had to temporarily use the truck on the station as a protective bunker.With the support of artillery fire, the 58th Division approached the station step by step through individual blasting and group assaults. On May 5, Luowang Station and Luowang Village were recovered successively.

In the command post of the Japanese army, the Chinese army seized a command sword worn by Doihara himself, which confirmed that Doihara personally commanded the battle for the king of Luo, which shows how much he attached importance to securing the Luowang station.The failure to capture Doihara was regretted by the whole army at that time. However, from a rational point of view, with the strength of the Chinese army at that time, this goal was extremely difficult to achieve.

Difficult to advance
At the same time that the 58th Division was attacking Luowang Station, the 51st Division was cooperating with friendly forces to attack the periphery of Sanyizhai. At 5 o'clock in the morning on May 25th, the [-]st Brigade first made a breakthrough, captured Chailou in one fell swoop, and continued to advance in depth relying on Chailou.

At five o'clock, the Japanese army launched a counterattack.Ji Hongru, head of the [-]nd Regiment of the [-]st Brigade, led his troops with bayonets and started hand-to-hand combat with the enemy.

If you want to fight the Japanese soldiers on the plain with bayonets, the Chinese soldiers will generally suffer.You may have just made an assassination move, and the opponent's blade is already approaching the chest, and although the Japanese soldiers are generally not tall, they are thick and strong, and their strength is stronger than that of the Chinese soldiers. .On the battlefield of Lanfeng, a soldier who was born as a student was extremely heroic. The bayonet of the Japanese soldier pierced his chest through his back first, but when he was dying, his bayonet also pierced into the Japanese soldier at the same time. belly.When cleaning the battlefield, the comrades found that the bayonets of both sides had been left on each other.

Experienced veterans know that their guns are short, and generally they will not fight face to face like this, but will use evasive movements reasonably.The dodge will not happen so coincidentally that when the bayonet swings past the elbow, the point of the knife can easily cut the flesh.

Pain is inevitable, but you have to endure it, otherwise it will be more than just pain.The important thing is to do the following action: After avoiding the stabbing, or turn sideways to the side of the Japanese soldier, stab him to death with a knife, or simply sweep over with the butt of the gun and smash his dog's head!

Of course, the Japanese soldier is not stupid, and his reaction may be faster than yours.When you smash it with the butt, he catches your gun and tugs hard, and you have to hold down hard on your side.If the physical strength is about the same, when they lose their center of gravity, the two will fall to the ground at the same time - even if they twist into a ball on the ground, they cannot let go. At this time, whether it is a fist or a head, it can be used as a weapon, as long as it is enough to kill the other party.

What kind of person is a warrior?Such a person deserves to be called a warrior.Some machine gunners rely on their own strength, and simply swing the machine gun and shoot from left to right, which can also smash the enemy's brains.

After a hand-to-hand battle, the [-]nd Regiment defeated the Japanese attack.By nine o'clock in the morning, the Japanese army's outer defense line collapsed and gradually retreated to the inside of the village.

On May 5, the 27st Division conquered the last line of defense on the periphery of Sanyi Village.The ministries seized the time to conduct field reconnaissance and prepare to take down Sanyi Village.

Unexpectedly, the situation changed the next day. All the Japanese troops who had escaped from Luowangzhai and other encircled villages entered Sanyi Village, and the strength of the Japanese troops in the village increased greatly.At the same time, a large number of reinforcements from the Chinese army also arrived one after another, encircling Sanyizhai on three sides.

As one of the main offensive forces, the 51st Division was divided into two groups. Among them, Ji Hongru's [-]nd Regiment was responsible for the frontal attack, and Zhang Lingfu's [-]th Regiment was responsible for assisting.When the [-]nd Regiment advanced to the Japanese security position in front of the gate of Sanyizhai, the battle had already become quite fierce. Under the stubborn resistance of the Japanese army, the troops were unable to advance an inch.

Sticking to the edge of the gate like this, with the fierce Japanese firepower, the Chinese army may be wiped out.Therefore, Ji Hongru and the officers and soldiers rushed into the village despite the danger.They once rushed into the village, but were beaten out again after being counterattacked by the Japanese army.

After the two regiments organized their teams, they launched another onslaught.Ji Hongru took the lead and rushed to the front. He was seriously injured and unfortunately died in battle.

That night, Wang Yaowu replicated the night attack tactics he used when attacking Maogu Village, and sent Li Tianxia to lead a commando team to climb up the wall of the village and enter the village in the dark.It's a pity that no follow-up troops came in to respond, and the commando had to withdraw from the original route.

On May 5, the offensive still failed to make any progress.On the one hand, it is due to the lack of sufficient weapons and firepower to attack fortified positions; on the other hand, although the Chinese army is large in number, it lacks elite main forces like the 29th Army. The young soldiers and even the newly captured strong men ran back as soon as they heard the sound of the Japanese artillery, and the officers were sweating profusely just to contain and organize the troops.

(End of this chapter)