Chapter 1480 The Tough Guy Is Coming

General Xue fled to Leiyang, but was worried that the 4th Army would be difficult to support independently. Originally, Chief of Staff Zhao Zili was the best candidate and could stay as the supreme commander of the city defense, but he was sent to Hengyang by himself. After much deliberation, he left the trusted Operations Director Xu Benchang in Tanzhou.

The military order said that the Tanzhou defense war should be coordinated and commanded in a unified manner, but the key was that Xu Benchang himself was only a major general of the army, and the 4th Army was an army-level unit. From the army commander to the three division commanders, they were all lieutenant generals. It was funny for a major general to command a lieutenant general!

To put it bluntly, even at this time, General Xue was still extremely conceited, thinking that as long as he issued a military order, the generals of the 4th Army had to execute it unconditionally.

But following Commander Xue's footsteps did not mean that he could send anyone to command the brave generals of the 4th Army.

Xu Benchang was actually a cautious person. After more than 20 years in the army, he had only served as a brigade commander at most, not to mention the experience of commanding large-scale military operations.

But this person was also an extremely smart person. Seeing that he was left as a "fire-fighting pot", he also knew that he lacked this ability, so he could only ask for help from Lieutenant General Chief of Staff Zhao Zili, who had already gone to Hengyang.

Zhao Zili called him back: The main force of the entire army should be deployed in Yuelu Mountain, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack, instead of in Tanzhou City!

On May 19, the Japanese army officially began to attack Tanzhou.

The Japanese army learned from the lessons of the previous three direct attacks on Tanzhou. Instead of attacking Tanzhou directly, they adopted a large detour tactic to attack Tanzhou City and Yuelu Mountain from the east and west.

That night, the 58th Division attacked Changsha City, and the 34th Division and part of the 68th Division, which had received mountain combat training, bypassed the flank of Yuelu Mountain to attack. They used ground, artillery, and air coordinated tactics to try to destroy the artillery positions on Yuelu Mountain first.

The 3rd Brigade of the 9th War Zone and the 4th Army's artillery battalion deployed more than 50 fixed artillery positions on Yuelu Mountain and the defensive positions of the 90th Division, all aimed to support the safety of the eastern flank of Tanzhou. Unexpectedly, the Japanese army launched an attack from the flank this time, and they could only hastily turn the guns to meet the enemy.

After receiving the news, Xu Benchang immediately called Zhang Deneng, the commander of the 4th Army, and told him that if Yuelu Mountain was lost, Tanzhou would definitely not be able to be defended. If Yuelu Mountain was not lost, the artillery fire of Yuelu Mountain could be used to control the entire Tanzhou city area, and Tanzhou would not be lost. Therefore, the top priority was to ensure Yuelu Mountain first, and asked the 4th Army to immediately transfer another division of troops to Yuelu Mountain.

There was nothing wrong with this tactic, but the key was that when Lieutenant General Zhang Deneng heard it, he thought that the operations director was giving him orders. Isn't this using the commander's military order to get ahead of himself?

He directly used the excuse that this was the military deployment made by General Xue before he left, and he, as the army commander, could not change it and had to ask General Xue for instructions.

Xu Benchang had no choice but to call General Xue, who was already far away in Leiyang, but was criticized by General Xue.

At this time, whoever admitted that Zhao Zili was right at the beginning would completely deny everything he had said before, which was something that the conceited General Xue could not tolerate?

So, this chaotic night was when the Japanese army was attacking hard, the Chinese officers and soldiers were desperately defending, and the generals in Tanzhou City were still worried about how to deploy defense.

This was already a fatal mistake!

On the morning of the 20th, the lieutenant general of the 4th Army, who had been thinking hard all night, finally decided to adjust the deployment according to what Xu Benchang said in view of the current offensive of the Japanese army, and ordered the 59th Division and the 102nd Division to leave one regiment each to guard Tanzhou, and the rest all crossed the Xiangjiang River to Yuelu Mountain.

But at this time, he once again committed a taboo in military strategy. The 4th Army had no plan to cross the river before, and the military did not have enough boats. Whether to cross the river or how to cross the river was lacking from beginning to end. During the crossing, General Xue called to inquire about the deployment of his own subordinates, and his words were quite dissatisfied, which caused Zhang Deneng to hesitate again and hesitate, making the crossing operation on the 20th fall into extreme chaos from the beginning.

The Xiangjiang River is more than 1,000 meters wide. Crossing the Xiangjiang River from Tanzhou City to Yuelu Mountain must be completed in two sections with Shuiluzhou in the middle of the Xiangjiang River as a transfer station. Each section of the crossing takes about half an hour by steamer and one hour by wooden boat.

However, at this time, the 4th Army had only one small steamer from Tanzhou to Shuiluzhou, and only a dozen wooden boats from Shuiluzhou to the west bank, but the troops who received the order to prepare to cross the river were as high as 17,000 people.

Due to insufficient preparation and poor coordination, the 4th Army began to cross the river from the evening of the 20th, but had not completely crossed until the morning of the 21st. Tens of thousands of people lined up on the riverside. After dawn, the crossing troops were constantly strafed by the Japanese army on the other side with machine guns, and then bombarded by the Japanese artillery in the Yuelu Mountain area. The troops gradually began to waver, and soon developed from the escape of individual soldiers to the collapse of the entire army.

But these were not the most fatal. The most fatal thing was that the officers and soldiers of the 4th Army's crossing troops suddenly couldn't find their own commander.

It turned out that after the commander of the 4th Army crossed the river with his guards that night, the lieutenant general of the army, who was extremely exhausted mentally and physically, fell asleep. Before going to bed, he ordered people not to disturb him. He didn't know that such a serious situation had happened outside that night.

When he woke up, it was already bright, and the situation on the Xiangjiang River was already out of control. The army of tens of thousands of people collapsed across the board. Many officers and soldiers no longer crossed the river and fled south in panic.

As the saying goes, a defeat is like a mountain collapsing. At this time, let alone the lieutenant general, even if General Xue was here, he could not stop this avalanche-like defeat. The lieutenant general could only follow the defeated soldiers and flee to Xiangtan.

Before the Japanese army had fought much, only one division and two regiments of an elite main infantry army were left to defend Tanzhou, and the other six infantry regiments just disappeared.

Do you think Yokoyama Yong was shocked by this extremely stupid operation of the Chinese side?

In the end, the artillery positions on Yuelu Mountain were bombarded by Japanese planes and artillery. Although the four 150-meter howitzers with the most fierce firepower were not directly exposed, other artillery positions were severely damaged, and the combat effectiveness of the artillery was severely damaged. The 90th Division, which had been unable to obtain support for a long time, was in low morale. It lost its position within 2 days, and its division commander led the division headquarters and guard battalion to flee the battlefield.

The Yuelu Mountain position was lost on the 23rd. Except for a few troops who continued to hold on, the two infantry regiments in Tanzhou City also began to break out of the city.

On May 24, the 4th Army's remaining troops suffered heavy casualties and Tanzhou City fell!

The fourth Tanzhou battle, from the Japanese army's opening of the offensive mode on May 8 to the fall of the entire city of Tanzhou, was only half a month, and its collapse speed was comparable to the first war zone in Henan Province.

After receiving the telegram that Tanzhou City had fallen completely, Admiral Xue stood blankly in his temporary headquarters in Leiyang for a full hour.

His former arrogance and arrogance were replaced by a face full of bitterness!

The prediction of the young chief of staff who was exiled to Hengyang by him turned out to be fully realized!

Tanzhou fell at such a fast speed, and the whole country was in an uproar! He was also extremely embarrassed!

This pressure not only comes from domestic military and civilian public opinion, but also from the Allied forces in the European battlefield and the Pacific battlefield. The Chinese theater of war in East Asia is facing unprecedented severe tests since the full-scale war of resistance.

Tanzhou is an important place in Hunan Province. Once Tanzhou is lost, all of northern Hunan will be lost. If Hunan Province is fully occupied by the Japanese army, it will mean that southern China and the Central China Plain will be cut off, which is extremely disadvantageous to the national war situation.

On the day when Yuelu Mountain fell on the 23rd, the Japanese army held an emergency military meeting in the mountain city to re-select the location of the decisive battle. The senior generals attending the meeting unanimously agreed that with the troops invested by the Japanese army at this time, they would not only occupy Tanzhou, but they would definitely attack Hengyang, the most important city in southern Hunan.

The deputy chief of staff, General Bai, who was commanding the battle outside, specially called the Military and Political Department: "In order to have enough time to organize the Liugui battle, I hope that a garrison can delay the Japanese army in Hengyang!"

The military meeting on that day finally determined the tactical plan of "blocking in the middle and clamping on both sides", and the center of this plan was Hengyang!

Hengyang, the city that Tang Dao and Fang Xianjue had mentioned constantly a month ago, just appeared in the eyes of the Chinese and Japanese high-level officials.

Hengyang, this city that has been a county since the Western Han Dynasty, what kind of magic does it have that makes the Chinese and Japanese high-level officials regard it as a must-fight place, even more important than the provincial capital Tanzhou.

All this is determined by Hengyang’s current geographical location and the current war situation in China!

In the early years of the Republic of China, Hengyang had a population of less than 60,000. The roads were so narrow that cars could not pass. There were no lights in the city. It was pitch black at night. It was just a small county town with dirt.

But in the 1930s, China’s booming railway and highway transportation construction boom completely changed the fate of this small city in southern Hunan.

By 1939, after the Hengbao Highway from Hengyang to Baoqing was opened, it could directly connect to Guizhou Province! So far, Hengyang has become an important hub of the highway network of Hunan, Jiangxi, Guangdong and Guangxi provinces.

After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, major ports along the coast of China fell one after another. A large number of materials could only be imported from Hong Kong, loaded in Guangzhou, transported to Hengyang, and then transported from Hengyang to the whole country by rail and road.

In 1938, Guangzhou fell, and materials could only depart from small docks in Guangdong, Fujian, and Zhejiang provinces, and gather along the spider-web-like transportation lines to distribution centers such as Shaoguan in Guangdong Province and Qianshan in Jiangxi Province. In the end, all roads led to Hengyang, and all were transported to the whole country through Hengyang.

There is also a developed water system in Hunan Province. As long as it passes through the Xiangjiang River from Hengyang, passes through Xiangtan, passes through Tanzhou, enters Dongting, and then enters western Hubei, and finally changes to the road to Shancheng, the materials can be sent to the southwest rear.

Because of the war, most people who fled from Jiangnan, North China, and Central China arrived in Hengyang through Tanzhou and then chose to go to Guizhou Province or Yunnan Province. Many people simply stopped their retreat to the south in the small city of Hengyang and stayed there.

In just four years, Hengyang's population surged from 60,000 to 300,000. By 1942, the government simply set Hengyang as a provincial city, with Zhao Junmai, a Hengyang native who had studied in the United States, as the mayor of Hengyang.

Zhao Junmai was indeed a good administrator. In two years, he developed Hengyang into an extremely important financial and manufacturing center in China with 6,000 businesses and more than 130 factories. In the first quarter of 1944, Hengyang's industrial and commercial tax revenue ranked second in the country, second only to the capital city of Shancheng.

Yokoyama Yong and Shimanuki Takeshi regarded the city of Hengyang as an extremely important node on the important channel for the Japanese army to advance into the southwest and finally connect the Chinese battlefield with the Southeast Asian battlefield. They hoped to fight a decisive battle with the main force of China at this node, bring news of victory to the demoralized Japanese soldiers and civilians, and lay the groundwork for the subsequent attack on southwest China.

In the eyes of Chinese generals, Hengyang is the waist of South China and Central China, and the gateway to the southwest. It can control Guangxi Province, clamp Yunnan and Burma, and spy on the mountain city; it can contain Central China and guard South China. Its location is extremely important.

At the same time, China's fourth, sixth, seventh, and ninth war zones are surrounding it. Only Hengyang has the advantage of quickly concentrating the forces of various war zones in Jiangnan in one place.

On the 26th, Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, who entered Tanzhou City in a tank, said to the reporters accompanying the army in the courtyard of the headquarters of General Xue in Yuelu Mountain: "Although Hengyang is important, it is not difficult to conquer Hengyang!"

"Sir Isamu Yokoyama, I wonder how long it will take to conquer Hengyang?" The Japanese reporters accompanying the army should have guessed that Isamu Yokoyama was happy, and took the initiative to help him increase the topic.

"Give me 10 days for the 11th Army Imperial Warriors. A week to march. If we defeat the enemy, 3 days will be enough!" Yokoyama Isamu thought for a moment and held up three fingers!

The photo of Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama making an "OK" gesture at the headquarters of the 9th Theater Commander-in-Chief of the Chinese Theater was on the front page of the Japanese "Asahi Shimbun" a week later.

The entire Japanese people were boiling over it!

Since the defeat in the Battle of Midway, the Imperial Navy has been losing ground in the Pacific battlefield. The American bombers have even threatened the main island. A sense of sadness about the impending defeat has begun to spread among the Japanese people.

The victory of the Imperial Army on the Chinese battlefield this time was like a shot in the arm, allowing the Japanese people to see that although the navy did not seek to march, they still had a strong army.

The Japanese Army Ministry took the opportunity to request additional funds to purchase more equipment for the army at the military meeting organized by the headquarters. The limelight completely overwhelmed the Japanese Navy, which had suffered heavy losses. The army generals were so high-spirited!

However, the final result of the Battle of Hengyang will determine the outcome of the Battle of Hengyang. Otherwise, it will be a case of being beaten instead of being a show-off.

Under the strict order of Yokoyama Yong, the 11th Army did not rest in Tanzhou City for a long time, but immediately rushed to Hengyang.

On the Chinese side, they were also making final preparations for the Battle of Hengyang.

He telegraphed General Xue: "The purpose is to stop the enemy from going deep into Hengyang!" He hoped that the 9th War Zone would gather troops to stop the Japanese army from going south to Hengyang and buy enough time for the Hengyang defenders.

At the same time, Fang Xianjue, who was idle in the mountain city, also received a call from him!

At 3 a.m. on May 24!

Fang Xianjue was awakened by his military secretary, who said that the person came to ask for General Fang.

Fang Xianjue was still in a dream. He had been watching various telegrams from Hunan Province about the unfavorable battle situation in the military and political department these days. For a general who was determined to serve his country, it was simply a torment.

Perhaps since the sleepless night of May 9, Fang Xianjue finally understood what he really wanted in his heart.

He was heartbroken by the sacrifice of his best friend, and was also indignant at General Xue's exclusion of dissidents, so he was disheartened and wanted to retire. When the transfer order from the Military and Political Department arrived, he was even more disheartened. It was only after talking with Tang Dao that he regained his fighting spirit.

However, he still did not dare to hope to return to the 10th Army. He knew too well the weight of General Xue in that person's heart. Although he was not the confidant of the confidant, he was much more important than him, a general who did not belong to the Central Army faction.

For half a month, Fang Xianjue could only sleep three hours a day. He was extremely worried about his 15,000 brothers who were still in Hengyang.

He knew too well in his heart that if the battle situation was really as Tang Dao and he deduced with the chess game, Hengyang would become a battleground for the Chinese and Japanese armies, and his 10th Army would definitely stay there, either defending the city or turning into ashes with the entire city.

The 10th Army will not retreat without a fight, because they are the 'Taishan Army'!

"What General Fang, I am no longer a general." Fang Xianjue said impatiently.

"It's that one!" The military secretary could only whisper to him.

Fang Xianjue suddenly woke up and quickly went to the living room to answer the phone.

There was a strong Zhejiang accent on the other end of the phone: "Is it Fang Xianjue from the 10th Army?"

Fang Xianjue stood at attention and answered loudly: "Sir, I am Fang Xianjue!"

The voice on the other end of the phone was neither slow nor fast: "Fang Xianjue Fang Zishan, because of a personal grudge with the commander, you have ignored the national justice. Are you still my student?"

To Fang Xianjue, these words did not sound like a reproach, but rather showed that the two had a close relationship, and tears flowed on the spot.

After calming down his excited mood, Fang Xianjue answered loudly: "I know I am wrong. As long as the country and the nation need me, I will go through fire and water and never shirk my responsibility! I am determined to lead my old subordinates to fight the Japanese invaders in Hengyang to buy time for the main force to gather."

"Good! It seems that you have not stayed out of the matter in the Military and Political Department these days. Very good! This battle is related to the overall situation of our war of resistance and the survival of the country and the nation. I hope that all officers and soldiers of your 10th Army will work hard and encourage themselves in the face of this national crisis. Everyone dares to take on the heavy responsibility and live up to my expectations of the 10th Army.

If you have any requirements, you can tell me now!" The voice on the phone spoke earnestly.

"Please rest assured, sir. The 10th Army will fight the Japanese invaders to the death at any cost!" Fang Xianjue answered loudly. After a slight hesitation, he whispered, "It's just that my 10th Army currently has only 15,000 troops. We are short of manpower and would like to ask for help from a friendly army!"

"You say, as long as there is, I, as a teacher, will definitely be satisfied!"

"Four-line regiment!" Fang Xianjue was a little nervous.

There was silence on the other end of the phone for ten seconds, and the voice became a little deeper.

"Accurate!"

"Yes!" Fang Xianjue was very happy.

But he could not see the face of the man who suddenly became gloomy in the quiet little hall more than ten kilometers away.

Tang Dao and the Four-line Regiment were like a thorn in his flesh. Whenever he thought of them, he could not help but feel some pain.

But now, he could only temporarily hold back his anger, because in Hengyang, there were only Fang Xianjue and the 10th Army and Tang Dao and his Four-line Regiment.

Hengshan Yong, who was about to enter Tanzhou City and start to show off, might not have expected that he was about to face a tough old opponent and an equally tough new opponent. Two Chinese tough commanders were about to lead 20,000 tough commanders and the 11th Army to fight a fierce battle in Hengyang that would shake the world and make ghosts weep!