Chapter 1481: Initial Shaping!

May 24, 1944!

Fang Xianjue arrived at Hengyang Airport on the outskirts of HY City on a military transport plane!

Fang Xianjue, who walked down the ramp of the plane, looked at Zhao Zili, Zhao Junmai, Sun Minyu and others who came to pick him up. His face was not too heavy, but more confident.

Because he did not return to Hengyang alone. The special plane that arrived with him was a huge fleet of 20 transport planes and 16 fighter jets.

Moreover, such a huge fleet of aircraft and the massive amount of materials transported will last for 7 days.

At this time, Tanzhou had fallen, but the aerial battle finally decided the winner. The Chinese and American sides suffered huge losses of 143 fighter jets and bombers, and shot down and damaged more than 220 Japanese aircraft.

The Japanese Fifth Air Corps deployed on the front line suffered heavy losses and was no longer able to carry out air strikes on the urban area of ​​​​HY in the short term.

The mountain city government did not hesitate to spend a lot of fuel to replenish supplies to the Hengyang area through air channels. This was the only request Fang Xianjue made after asking his teacher for the help of Tang Dao and Si Xing Tuan.

Tang Dao finally took action again. The US military stationed in the Chinese theater promised to provide China with 15 transport aircraft free of charge to help transport supplies.

In the next week, 20 transport aircraft formations will arrive at Hengyang Airport every day. The field rations imported from the United States alone amount to 160 tons, enough to feed the 20,000 troops in Hengyang City for 20 days.

If medicines, ammunition and other supplies are added, this crazy round of air transportation will reach an unprecedented 560 tons!

This is probably the largest amount of transportation force China has invested in a city defense battle since the war began.

Because Fang Xianjue promised that he would defend Hengyang City with 20,000 troops for 15 days to delay the troops south of the Yangtze River from arriving on the battlefield.

This request was actually made specifically by Tang Dao when he sent him away a month ago.

"20,000 rounds of various artillery shells, 1.5 million rounds of machine rifle bullets, 10,000 landmines, 50,000 grenades, 160 tons of military rations, and many drugs such as hemostasis, anesthesia, and antibiotics! How can he provide so many supplies? Even if he can "Here, how can we transport it to the Hengyang battlefield in a short time?" Fang Xianjue was shocked by Tang Dao's lion's opening.

"Don't worry, as long as you promise him to stick to Hengyang for the 15th, let alone this small amount of supplies, he can even pick the moon from the sky for you. As for transportation, there will be a way." Tang Dao's face was calm but full of confidence.

Perhaps, only Tang Dao knew that from the moment Fang Xianjue agreed to lead the 10th Army to defend Hengyang, they were destined to become abandoned sons.

"Reinforcements will arrive tomorrow!" These six words are destined to become the comforting answer this lone army receives every day.

Of course, it's not that this person doesn't want to save Hengyang, in fact, he is the one who wants to save Hengyang the most.

Because Hengyang is so important, once Hengyang is lost, the Japanese army will face the southwest, open up Yunnan and Burma, and spy on the mountain cities, and the southwest rear will be doomed.

In the later period of the Battle of Hengyang in the past time and space, the man who tossed and turned and couldn't sleep at night, got up and made a great wish: May the Lord grant me victory in the Hengyang War, and I will build a large iron cross on the top of Nanyue to repay the Lord's kindness. "

Throughout the entire 14-year Anti-Japanese War, the only thing that could make that man so anxious that he could not sleep all night long and make such ambitious plans in the middle of the night was the Battle of Hengyang.

However, how could the serious diseases in the Chinese army at that time be changed because of the importance of the Battle of Hengyang?

"Everyone sweeps away the snow in front of their door, but doesn't care about the frost on other people's tiles." This is a stubborn problem that has plagued the Chinese military for many years.

During the Battle of Yu Province, the Japanese army attacked too quickly, resulting in a lack of troops in the rear. On a battlefield, the Chinese army had several infantry divisions to deal with a small number of Japanese troops, but none of the troops were willing to take the initiative to attack or volunteer to undertake reinforcement tasks for friendly forces. Most of them stood aside and hoped. Others stepped forward to resist, but as soon as the Japanese army attacked, the surrounding troops began to withdraw. When the infantry divisions who were still fighting saw it, they had to run, but this would create a large number of unbearable scenes of collapse without a fight.

After the Hengyang Defense War broke out, the reinforcement officers from all walks of life saw that the Japanese army used 2 divisions to siege the city and 5 divisions to block the reinforcements. It was an obvious strategy of "siege the city and fight for reinforcements", so they all found a few troops to station troops and refused to enter. To preserve their strength and consolidate their position, no one has any reason to fight to the death with the Japanese army.

As Stilwell, who is familiar with China's national conditions, pointedly pointed out: For a senior Chinese general, if he risks his army, he is risking his own property. A division reduced to a regiment due to an attack cannot be expected to be immediately The original number of soldiers will be replenished, and the division commander will actually become the regiment commander. This kind of attrition must be avoided at all costs.

Otherwise, let alone the 100,000 Japanese troops, the hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops surrounding them could crush them all and eat them alive as long as they worked together and marched forward bravely.

Another main reason why the siege of Hengyang could not be relieved was "multiple commands and inconsistent military orders." The chaos of the command system has always been another major problem that plagued the Chinese army. It can be said that it lasted throughout the entire Anti-Japanese War, and in this Hengyang siege relief battle The center is fully exposed.

In this Hengyang siege relief battle, there were several people with direct military command: The first was Li Yutang, as the former commander of the 10th Army and the current deputy commander-in-chief of the 27th Group Army. He was the commander of the Hengyang siege relief battle. Direct commander, unified command of the 10th Army in Hengyang, the 62nd Army, and the 46th Army outside Hengyang City.

The second is General Xue. As the commander of the 9th theater, he has the power to dispatch troops and generals within the theater.

The third is Minister He, who gave orders on behalf of the Ministry of Military Affairs; the fourth is General Bai, who, as the Deputy Chief of Staff, represented that person. The last is the one in the highest position, who has the highest command authority.

Except for Li Yutang, these people all like to command beyond their level, but they have different ideas and perspectives, and military orders are often inconsistent. As a result, the previously well-planned Hengyang Defense War and the Rescue War fell into chaos under their joint "efforts" command. The troops below were often at a loss, exhausted, but still could not make any progress.

From the perspective of the future Tang Dao, these people are really smart-level Crouching Dragons and Phoenixes, and they just happened to get together.

Of course, the Battle of Hengyang eventually saw this strange phenomenon where the 10th Army was isolated against 100,000 enemies, while the 500,000 troops outside could not make any progress and were defeated one by one by the Japanese army. Apart from other reasons, it was ultimately determined by the current Chinese military and political system.

This system is just as Stilwell said: This is a structure based on fear and favor, in the hands of an arbitrary and stubborn person. As for the evaluation of that person, this American general who was promoted to a four-star general in 1944 was even more incisive: "Not a soldier, but a warlord!"

Soldiers and warlords are only one word apart, but there is a world of difference.

Soldiers follow normal military rules; warlords follow "ruling the army with power".

Only Tang Dao knows the final fate and direction of the 10th Army. He knows that the so-called stubborn defense and waiting for reinforcements to arrive will eventually become empty talk. Instead of doing so, it is more practical to ask for some supplies.

Because Tang Dao doesn't know what the final outcome of Hengyang City will be in this time and space because of the addition of himself and the Four-Line Regiment, he can only do his best.

Of course, it is not right to pay the sky-high price on the spot. If the lion's mouth can't give the supplies, then half of it will do! At worst, one-third is not unacceptable.

Perhaps everything that Tang Dao predicted was coming true. Fang Xianjue didn't know why he was so obsessed at that time that he actually said what he wanted.

Unexpectedly, the Ningbo accent on the other end of the phone only paused for three seconds and agreed to everything, which was much faster than his reaction when he mentioned Tang Dao.

Even Laura, the deputy general manager of Rockefeller Company and the general manager of the Far East Branch, made a request to the Military and Political Department that 600 members of the International Red Cross would arrive in Hengyang for humanitarian assistance, and that person also acquiesced.

That was a huge medical team composed of 80 doctors and nurses. The surgical instruments and various medical supplies alone filled two large transport planes.

Except for 15 doctors from the United States, the rest of the doctors and nurses were actually from Taihang Mountain Hospital in North China.

In early April, under the escort of the Rockefeller Company's armed transport team and an elite guard company sent by the Dakouzidong Town Defense Camp, this horse team carrying 600 medical staff and supplies set out from Taihang Mountain, crossed the entire Zhongtiao Mountain defense line, crossed the Yellow River and arrived in Chang'an, where they changed to a US transport plane and flew directly to the mountain city.

The 20,000 elite troops were ready for battle, with plenty of food, ammunition, medicine and medical personnel. In addition, the construction of fortifications in Hengyang City started a month in advance. Fang Xianjue was confident that he could defend for half a month.

Fang Xianjue, who arrived in Hengyang City, didn't even have time to eat, and immediately convened a military meeting of generals at all levels in Hengyang.

The meeting had only one theme: to determine the supreme commander and command organization!

Although Hengyang currently has only one regular army, the 10th Army, there are actually many other faction troops, such as the Four-Line Regiment that has begun to march from the foot of Hengshan Mountain to Hengyang City, the Hengyang Guard Regiment under the command of Mayor HY in Hengyang City, and a guard battalion under the War Zone Guard Brigade led by Lieutenant General Zhao Zili, Chief of Staff of the War Zone.

Without a unified command, the armies can only run around like a headless fly, unable to form a joint force, and may also reveal flaws.

What makes the generals in the city very embarrassed is that Fang Xianjue, who has been entrusted by the Military Commission, is not the highest position in Hengyang City, but the Chief of Staff of the War Zone Zhao Zili.

According to the position, Zhao Zili, Chief of Staff of the War Zone, is naturally the highest commander, but obviously, the first main force in the city is the 10th Army. If the highest commander in Tanzhou City cannot command the infantry army at all levels, then the Battle of Hengyang will hardly need to be fought, and the city will be broken in two or three days at most.

Fortunately, Fang Xianjue was not the two-faced Zhang Deneng, and Zhao Zili was not the cautious Xu Benchang. At this military meeting, Zhao Zili clearly stated his attitude, saying that he started as a senior staff officer, all the way from the chief of staff to the chief of staff. Providing staff advice to the commander was his specialty, but actual combat command was his weakness. He could not be the highest commander in Hengyang City.

As long as Zhao Zili did not fight for power, no one in Hengyang City could compete with Fang Xianjue.

Fang Xianjue, who returned to the throne of the 10th Army Commander, became the highest commander in Hengyang City, responsible for commanding all troops inside and outside the city, including the Four-line Regiment and the Hengyang Guard Regiment.

The Hengyang War Zone Command was established, with Fang Xianjue, the commander of the 10th Army, as the first commander, and Zhao Zili, Hengyang Guard Commander Zhao Junmai, 3rd Division Commander Zhou Qingxiang, and 10th Reserve Division Commander Ge Youcai as members of the command.

There is no such thing as a ranking in no particular order. This is the order of the commanders in the headquarters. If the highest commander dies on the battlefield, the other five can take over in sequence, and the troops will never be put into a situation where they lose command.

In addition, the headquarters has a staff department, with Sun Minyu, the chief of staff of the 10th Army, as the chief of staff, and Tang Dao, the commander of the Four-Line Regiment, as the chief of operations.

This is an extremely important position, with great authority to directly mobilize regiment-level troops to combat positions. He is also one of the most important think tanks under Fang Xianjue. He can even suggest the positions of two infantry divisions.

When it comes to rewarding merits after the war, the ranking of the chief of operations is even higher than that of the brigade commanders.

Obviously, according to Tang Dao's position and rank, he was not qualified for this position.

According to the recollections of the generals who attended the meeting after the war, although it was the supreme commander Fang Xianjue who suggested Tang Dao to be the chief of operations, Zhao Zili's speech also played an extremely critical role before the generals voted.

"To be honest, I have been very pessimistic about the Battle of Hengyang these days. I do not deny the bravery of the 'Taishan Army' and their determination to defend Hengyang, but the Japanese army has been planning for a long time, and China is in a passive position everywhere. Although we are alone, we can do our best to defend for half a month, but what if the reinforcements do not arrive for a long time? Ladies and gentlemen, who dares to pat your chest and say that you can defend for another half a month or longer?" Zhao Zili held the table with both hands, looking at the division commanders and brigade commanders present with burning eyes.

The generals looked at each other, even the brave general Ge Youcai, who personally carried a machine gun and led the remnants of his 30th Regiment to rush towards the Japanese army and repelled the last wave of the Japanese army's charge during the third Tanzhou Battle, opened his mouth but did not say anything against it.

The information about the Japanese army's deployment had already spread to Hengyang like snowflakes. The 11th Army was not a force of 80,000 or 90,000 or even 100,000 people. They actually assembled more than 200,000 troops. The permanent divisions alone included the 3rd and 13th divisions. When fighting against Xiangbei, they deployed as many as 7 divisions on the front battlefield, which was more than twice the number of troops deployed in the previous three Tanzhou battles.

Even a brave man like Ge Youcai would not dare to say that the 20,000 people in the city could stop the Japanese army, which would definitely exceed 100,000, for dozens of days. 15 days was already the limit!

"But today, after receiving a telegram from General Fang that he will soon return to the 10th Army, and then receiving a telegram from General Fang himself, I suddenly gained confidence.

First of all, General Fang's return has given me a backbone for the 'Taishan Army', and the 10th Army is still the iron army that cannot be defeated or smashed in the three Tanzhou Battles and the Changde Battles.

Secondly, and this is also extremely important. The Four-Line Regiment, under the order of the War Zone Command, became another main force in the Hengyang Defense War.

The combat effectiveness of the Four-Line Regiment is mostly in the battle report, and I have not seen it with my own eyes, but there is no false reputation under the reputation, and their combat effectiveness is definitely not weak.

But what really makes me happy is that I can fight side by side with Tang Dao, the commander of the Four-Line Regiment! With him, I may still not dare to easily claim victory, but I can assert that the Japanese army will pay an unimaginable price if they want to break through my Hengyang!" Zhao Zili's words made the entire venue silent for a full minute.

No one would have thought that the chief of staff of a war zone would be so respectful of Tang Dao, a small regiment commander who had been silent for almost two years.

Although Zhao Zili put Fang Xianjue's return to the 10th Army first, which greatly improved the morale of the 10th Army, the smart people present could hear that in the mind of this lieutenant general chief of staff, the Four-Line Regiment, no, more precisely, Tang Dao's participation in this battle was more important for him to have the confidence to defend Hengyang City.

"Everyone, maybe you think I'm going too far and praising a regiment commander too highly, but this is the fact.

Regiment Commander Tang Dao is the purest and most intelligent soldier I have ever seen. More than half a year ago, he deduced with me the process of the fourth battle of Tanzhou and the inevitable defeat. I agree with most of his guesses and assumptions, but I didn't think the situation would be that bad.

Even before the Japanese army launched the attack, Regiment Commander Tang Dao sent me a telegram, asking me to persuade Commander Xue to pay more attention.

As the Japanese army entered Tanzhou, I regretted not fighting with Commander Xue again. Perhaps if I had tried harder, Tanzhou would not have ended up like today." Zhao Zili said with a sad look in his eyes the reason why he admired Tang Dao so much.

The whole audience was in an uproar!

Even Fang Xianjue, who had a calm face, had his pupils shrink. He thought that when Tang Dao argued with him, it was only because the battle in central Henan aroused his vigilance on the defense of the Hunan-Guangxi region. This was also in his guess. Unexpectedly, Tang Dao had already deduced this battle last year.

This is simply too incredible. His strategic acumen is comparable to Mr. Baili!

Of course, Zhao Zili's words also indirectly told everyone present why he, the chief of staff of the theater, was sent to Hengyang. It was because of a dispute with General Xue over the tactical deployment of Tanzhou.

The 10th Army has no good feelings towards their theater commander now. Zhao Zili has brought the 10th Army, including Fang Xianjue, closer.

Zhao Junmai, who rarely spoke to express his opinions during the meeting, raised his hand first to agree that Tang Dao would serve as the chief of operations of the Hengyang Command.

This is also a very smart person. He also used this action to tell everyone present that it is not important who the commander of the war zone is. What is important is that I, the Hengyang Garrison Commander, have decided to advance and retreat together with everyone present. We are now people in the same trench.

What we are doing now is to unify our thoughts and deal with the Japanese together.

Let’s not talk about whether it was out of sincerity or forced. At least at the beginning of the Battle of Hengyang, the generals of the Hengyang Command had reached a preliminary consensus. Even if they were not a solid block, they were much stronger than the terrible command system of Tanzhou City.

With the arrival of Tang Dao in the afternoon, the war machine of Hengyang, which assembled 20,000 elite Chinese troops, was gradually turned on!