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

Chapter 8 What kind of person is a warrior (Lanfeng battle Wanjialing victory) (3)
The latitude of Minshan is lower than that of Jinguan Bridge, and the left back of Jinguan Bridge defenders is thus exposed. At 8 a.m. on August 29, Xue Yue, the commander of the First Corps, sent a telephone order to the 9th Army Headquarters, asking the 74st Division to send a regiment to occupy the road from Ruichang to Minshan. While observing the movement in the direction of Ruichang, they covered the The left side of the Jinguanqiao position is on the back.

When the call came, the 51st Division was constructing fortifications on the outskirts of De'an, and the regiments were relatively scattered. Therefore, it was not until 4 pm that the [-]nd Regiment of the [-]st Brigade was able to set off.

When Xue Yue gave the order, he judged that the 74th Division of the Japanese Army would not send more than a few hundred troops to Minshan, so it was enough for the [-]th Army to send one regiment. Originally expected to be much more serious, the Ninth Division of the Japanese Army came with bad intentions, and sent more than a few hundred troops to Minshan.

Concerned that the Ninth Division of the Japanese Army was coming aggressively and would surely outflank the rear of Jinguan Bridge, Xue Yue hurriedly sent an additional telegram to the 6th Army at 74:51 p.m., requesting the [-]st Division to send a brigade (including the previous regiment) to occupy the front line of Minshan Mountain .

According to the order, the 51st Brigade dispatched by the [-]st Division had to arrive at Minshan that night, but because the Sichuan Army retreated chaotically and disorderly, they were all blocked in the middle of the road in a chaotic manner, which made the advancing troops unable to move quickly, and arriving at night became a sentence. empty words.

At 8 am on August 30, the 7nd Regiment arrived at the foot of Minshan Mountain, but they were one step too late. About a brigade from the Ninth Division of the Japanese Army had already occupied Minshan Mountain and controlled the corresponding commanding heights.

There is no turning back when you open the bow.The [-]nd Regiment immediately launched a fierce attack. After four and a half hours of fierce fighting, the regiment occupied the Japanese position at the foot of Minshan Mountain.Continuing to attack up the mountain, Japanese reinforcements just arrived, making the attack more difficult. Hu Liqun, the commander of the [-]st Battalion, was shot and died, and the [-]nd Regiment had to retreat to wait for reinforcements.

At 3 p.m., Zhou Zhidao, commander of the [-]st Brigade, led the brigade headquarters and the [-]st Regiment to arrive.Starting in the evening, the whole brigade marched towards Minshan.

The [-]st Division and [-]th Division of the Japanese Army were unable to attack for a long time, largely due to the fact that the other side attacked and the other side defended. The solid positions built by the Chinese army on the mountains made the enemy very troublesome.Now it is reversed, the enemy is defending and we are attacking. The Japanese army, relying on the favorable terrain, condescended to block with fierce firepower, thus pushing the same problem to the side of the Chinese army.

The [-]st Brigade approached the Japanese positions several times, but all failed due to excessive blocking firepower.On that day, the casualties of both the enemy and our armies were more than [-].

In order to eliminate the offensive threat of the 8st Brigade, at 31:7 am on August 30, the Japanese army turned from defense to offense, and under the cover of aircraft, they charged the [-]st Brigade's position.

The [-]st Brigade couldn't attack the mountain for a while, so it wouldn't be a big problem to hold the position.The three Japanese charges were all resolved one by one.

The tug-of-war situation on the Minshan front line made Xue Yue feel the need to increase his troops.In the afternoon, he sent an order to the 74th Army, requesting that Wang Yaowu personally lead the 51st Division to help, in order to capture key points such as Gaoling, Egongbao, and Hongjiashan.

When the brigade was promoted to the division, some of the battles were fought.

Long line to catch big fish
Wang Yaowu's side has just started, and Minshan has good news: After avoiding the opponent's three moves, the [-]st Brigade took advantage of the situation to launch a counterattack, and the key points of Gaoling, Egongbao, and Hongjiashan were all taken down. .

Among the targets set by the [-]st Brigade, there were Jinlonggeng and Zuoyunling, but they failed to capture them for two consecutive days and nights, and the brigade commander Zhou Zhidao had to find another way.

Before the 74th Army arrived at Minshan, not all the mountains here were controlled by the Japanese army, and Huaguoshan was occupied by a certain unit of the New [-]th Division.At night, Zhou Zhidao sent out all the main force of the brigade except for a small number of troops to defend the original position, and attacked the Japanese army's left back along the south side of Huaguo Mountain.

The Japanese army was also very vigilant. They had actually discovered the [-]st Brigade that had come to attack at night, but they did not shoot at first.

Japanese reporter Komata once interviewed with the army during the Xuzhou Battle.One night they were attacked by the Chinese army at night. Machine gun bullets rained down, and mortar shells "chirped" across the night sky. It was obvious that the attackers were not ordinary small troops.At that time, Xiaomata was so panicked that he even wore his shoes upside down, but the Japanese commander beside him was very calm. He ordered: "No shooting!" "No sound!" Noise, no bombs fired.

It was not until the Chinese army sounded the bugle and shouted to charge that the commander gave the order to shoot.That night attack by the Chinese army failed, and more than 200 corpses of Chinese soldiers were left on the battlefield after dawn. Xiao Mata said: "The number of two hundred does not sound like much, but seeing more than 200 corpses is really serious. "

Whether you can hold your breath or not determines whether the soldiers are well-trained.The military quality of the Ninth Division of the Japanese Army was praised by even Neiji Okamura. Instead of firing rashly at the [-]st Brigade, they just wanted to put a long line to catch a big fish and let the opponent die in front of the formation—not two hundred, Ask for more!
As soon as the [-]st Brigade approached the enemy's position, the Japanese army's light and heavy machine guns fired, followed by grenades, mortars, and small steel cannons (that is, ultra-light mortars, also called grenades). The torrential rain generally engulfed the officers and soldiers who attacked at night.

The night attack turned into a massacre, and the [-]st Brigade suffered heavy casualties.However, this army is not the kind of fish belly that retreats and collapses as soon as it is hit. I don’t know how many times it has encountered similar thrilling scenes, and they immediately turned to attack on the spot.

The Japanese army seems to have picked up a bargain, but don’t forget that such a bargain can only be implemented when the opponent is closest. In other words, it also shortens the attacking distance of the attacker and increases the possibility of a successful attack. .

The [-]st Brigade charged all night, and before dawn, Jinlonggeng and Zuoyunling were conquered one after another, and along with it, Guandi Temple, Pingfengao and other places were also captured by victory.

This is a good report card, with many blood-stained names on it: In the night attack, Zhai Yuben, the commander of the third battalion, died heroically in the line of duty, and more than [-] officers and soldiers were killed or injured.

Minshan has become the focus of attention and contention between the enemy and ourselves.The Japanese army sent massive reinforcements to Minshan, reaching a brigade. Judging from the documents seized later, the troops included not only the Ninth Division, but also the [-]th Division. May have been summoned.

On September 9, under the cover of aircraft, the Japanese army launched a three-dimensional attack on the position of the 1st Brigade.

From the mid-to-late period of the Battle of Songhu, the Japanese army has controlled the air supremacy on almost all battlefields. In the words of Chinese soldiers, there are only "plaster flags" in the sky at ordinary times, but no "blue sky and white sun". no.

The Chinese army not only lacks air supremacy, but also has no anti-aircraft equipment, and all units have no anti-aircraft guns, which allows Japanese aircraft to lower their flight altitudes recklessly.The so-called three-dimensional attack is to let the aircraft take turns to fly at low altitude over the Chinese position before the infantry attack, and after finding the target, drop bombs and use machine guns to shoot.

If it can be dispersed and concealed in time, the lethality of the Japanese aircraft is not great. , Only the garrison troops were left on the position, and the rest were all disguised and hidden.The Japanese planes couldn't keep bombing. Once their infantry approached the Chinese position, they could only temporarily stop their flags and drums in order to avoid accidentally injuring their own people.

Usually, when the Japanese infantry entered the range of 400 meters to 150 meters before the position, it was the best time for the defenders to counterattack. They could concentrate light and heavy machine guns and rifles and rely on blazing firepower to repel the enemy.The [-]st Brigade used this experience to defeat the Japanese attack.

The frontal attack and defense entered a stalemate, and the Japanese army could only look for other weak points of the Chinese army.At 11 o'clock in the morning, they launched a fierce attack on the New [-]th Division.The New [-]th Division belonged to a part of the Sichuan Army, and its combat capability was very weak, and its position was broken through in one fell swoop.

The position was lost, but what was worse was that the Japanese army followed suit and cut the position of the [-]st Brigade into several sections in the process of chasing after the New [-]th Division.

The Japanese army launched a general offensive across the board, and the battle became fierce in an instant. Before dusk, the Japanese army's offensive became more fierce.After repeated charges, the [-] regiment, Luo Heng, was killed by Goose Gongbao.Seeing that the troops suffered too many casualties, the [-]st Brigade withdrew to defend that night.

Just when the [-]st Brigade was in a bitter battle, Wang Yaowu actually led the [-]rd Brigade into position. After receiving the order, the [-]rd Brigade rushed through the starry night and arrived near Dongling before dawn.The reason why they couldn't come for reinforcements in time was that they were bombed by enemy planes and couldn't carry out a large-scale march.

A battalion of the [-]th Regiment was ordered to attack the Japanese side to assist the [-]st Brigade's frontal offensive and defensive battle.

All the 51st divisions were transferred up, but they still had to retreat, which made the headquarters of the First Corps feel very nervous.

Xue Yue shrunk the two wings of the Jinguan Bridge defense line and restructured the hook-shaped positions on the two wings, while sending all the 74th Army to Minshan to fight.

Yu Jishi, who had been promoted to the commander of the regiment but was still the commander of the 74th Army, gave instructions to Wang Yaowu to order the 51st Division to stick to the original position, and when the 58th Division arrived, they would join forces to attack the enemy in front of them.

save people must save

When you punch me and kick me in the arena, people won't wait for you to find helpers before restarting the game. He will just kick you off the stage when you can't hold on.

After dawn on September 9, the Japanese army concentrated four mountain artillery to bombard the position of the 2st Division, and the position was immediately shrouded in billowing smoke.Under the cover of the mountain artillery, more than a thousand infantrymen of the Japanese army charged forward and backward three times, especially between 51:51 am and [-]:[-] am.During this period, the Japanese army once broke into a position called the mountain behind the mountain, but before they could stand their ground, the [-]st Division launched a counterattack from all directions and regained the position.

At this time, behind the attacking Japanese army, the strength of the troops was still increasing, and it was estimated that it had reached half a division. The defense line of the 51st Division was in danger of being overwhelmed at any time.Of course, the Japanese army came not only for the 51st Division, they wanted to use this to threaten the flanks of the Nanxun Line and outflank the Jinguan Bridge defense line.As a precaution, the headquarters of the First Corps ordered the defenders of Jinguanqiao to move to the "Huanglaomen line" (referring to the defense line from Minshan to Huanglaomen), and at the same time strictly ordered the 74th Army to take responsibility for covering.Xue Yue said to Yu Jishi on the phone: "If you want to retreat further and make the front troops withdraw, I will follow the military law!"

Firefighting must be extinguished, and people must be rescued thoroughly.The problem Yu Jishi is facing now is not just cover, but the need to drive out all the Japanese troops in Minshan, so that the retreating Jinguanqiao defenders can have the greatest sense of security.After the 58th Division reached the front, the 74th Army readjusted its deployment and began to launch a full-scale counterattack.

From the afternoon of September 9, the 2st Division was in the west and the 51th Division was in the east, and they launched an attack on the enemy in front of them at the same time.This is an important moment to test the overall combat effectiveness of the 58th Army. Whether it can crack the hard bones depends on it.

The surrounding mountains echoed with the sound of guns and artillery from both sides, and the battle continued without a break.During the attack, the 74th Army fought hand-to-hand with the enemy again and again, and they would not let go if they bit them.

After two days and nights of fierce fighting, on September 9, the 3th Army finally occupied Minshan, ensuring the integrity of the "Huanglaomen Line".Except for the part that was wiped out, the enemies of Minshan all retreated to Ruichang.

In the Battle of Minshan, the 74th Army captured five light machine guns, five small steel cannons, 23 sabers, more than [-] rifles, and dozens of "Wu Yun Chang Chang" flags.In addition, two Japanese soldiers were captured.

On the anti-Japanese battlefield, the number of weapons handed over to the Japanese army is generally not large. This is because even if the Japanese army retreats, they will not easily discard complete guns and corpses on the battlefield.The Chinese army has a ban on not killing prisoners, and stipulates that anyone who turns in a prisoner can be rewarded with [-] yuan, but it is very difficult to catch them alive on the battlefield.There were nine Japanese soldiers who were besieged in a cave on Lushan Mountain. They were searched after dawn and found that they had committed suicide collectively after destroying their guns. One of them was seriously injured and survived.Soldiers who had just experienced bloody battles were often filled with hatred in their hearts. Seeing that the Japanese soldier was so stubborn, he simply added a bayonet, which ended in his life.

If you don't lie about the results of the battle, as far as an army is concerned, such a number of spoils and prisoners are already considerable. Although the 74th Army invested in troops one by one, it did not spare money from the beginning to the end. At the end of the battle, the 51st Division had a total of more than 160 officers and more than 58 soldiers. The [-]th Division had a total of more than [-] officers and more than [-] soldiers. .

After the Jinguanqiao defenders retreated to the "Huanglaomen Line", the [-]th Division of the Japanese Army, which was originally confronting it, also approached the "Huanglaomen Line" position and continued to attack.Therefore, the headquarters of the First Corps believed that the "Huanglaomen Line" was not strong enough, so it decided to move the overall defense line to the "Wushimen Line" north of De'an.

The Chinese army took a step back, and the Japanese [-]th Division took a step forward. They occupied Mahuiling in front of the "Wushimen Line".Mahuiling is a small basin surrounded by mountains on three sides. The defenders have deployed heavy machine gun positions along the edge of the basin.In other words, relying on favorable terrain, the First Corps formed several tight firepower nets in Mahuiling with infantry firepower.

The ground barrier is the force, and the danger is the weapon.The [-]th Division of the Japanese Army seemed to be steadfast, but in fact it put itself into a passive position.For fear of being attacked by firepower, the Japanese army always hid in the fortifications during the day and did not come out. Even from Mahuiling to Huanglaomen, they only dared to come and go in tanks and armored vehicles.

Can't match the elite
"The Japanese are not as difficult to fight as they used to be." Ateli, a British reporter, went deep into the battlefield in northern Jiangxi for interviews. She randomly interviewed several veterans who participated in the Battle of Taierzhuang, and these veterans all said this sentence in unison.

Most of the generals also held the same view.Tang Enbo, who had commanded the Battle of Nankou and the Battle of Taierzhuang, based on his personal experience, defined three stages for the Japanese invaders: the first stage was the Battle of Nankou (the same period as the Battle of Songhu), and the Japanese fought like lions; The second stage was the Battle of Taierzhuang. The Japanese were still good at charging, but they were a little frustrated; now they are obviously not as fierce as a few months ago, and they even have the mood to fight unintentionally.

War weariness and anti-war are both psychological reactions that are inevitable in a protracted war. Especially in a morally untenable war of aggression, soldiers are under greater mental pressure and are more likely to be negative and angry. bored.The Chinese army seized many letters and diaries of the Japanese army on the battlefield in northern Jiangxi. General Li Hanhun of the Cantonese Army showed one of them to Ateli.It was written by a Japanese army captain, and there was a family photo of him in it.

Judging from the diary, this captain is a man with a conscience.From the moment he landed in Shanghai, he has seen the cruelty of war and is horrified at the cruelty of his companions.In Japan, he was undoubtedly a good man, not only a good husband, but also a good son and a good father, but when he set foot on a foreign land with a gun, all he did was murder and arson.Although he also believed that "we should fight for victory by all means", he still felt very painful in his heart: "Why and for whom did I commit this crime? I have to understand in my heart, because I dare not say it out of my mouth."

If the war went smoothly and ended soon, that would be fine, but the reality is that after entering the battlefield in northern Jiangxi, fierce and bitter battles continued one after another.One night, in the dark night, the captain's unit fought hand-to-hand with the Chinese army, resulting in "extremely heavy losses".Only two days later, a shell fell next to him and almost killed him.

(End of this chapter)