Chapter 1497 Reading More Will Be Helpful!

The war in Hengyang is getting more and more intense!

More and more Japanese infantrymen were thrown into this meat grinder by Isamu Yokoyama.

Since the outbreak of the Leishui battle on June 1, until Isamu Yokoyama issued a full-scale attack order on June 3, Hengyang City has actually been surrounded on all sides. Fierce fighting is taking place in the south, west and north of the city. Only in the east of the city, because there is the Xiangjiang River, the Xiangjiang River Bridge, which was just built not long ago, was blown up by the 10th Army Engineer Company on the evening of June 1, and it still remains quiet.

Especially at this time, it is the flood season, the upper reaches of the Xiangjiang River are flooded, and the river surface has increased from more than 400 meters in winter and spring to 600 meters. The river is wide and the water is fast. Whoever wants to swim across without a boat is really a way to die.

However, the 190th Division, which was withdrawn from the Hengyang Airport to the city and was responsible for defending the river bank, did not dare to be careless at all. They were on guard day and night and were ready for battle.

Rong Youlue, the commander of the 190th Division, knew very well that he had asked Tang Dao for mercy in the battle to defend Hengyang Airport, and Fang Xianjue was persuaded, but that didn't mean that he had completely let it go. He must still have some opinions about him not fighting to the death and leaving.

This guy! As long as he has opinions, small mistakes will be big mistakes in his mind, not to mention big mistakes. There have been many cases of beheading generals in battle.

Since he was stationed at the river bank in the evening of the 3rd, Rong Youlue placed his division headquarters in a bunker less than 150 meters away from the river bank, and told his subordinates in person that he, the major general, would fight with them on the front line. If the defense of the river bank was broken, no one would have to retreat back to the city, because they would all die anyway.

The division commander was like this, so his subordinates were of course even more vigilant. In the early morning of June 6, the sentry of the 190th Division on guard at Tielumen suddenly found that the usually calm Xiangjiang River seemed unusual today. There were suddenly many black shadows in the haze. After firing flares and carefully identifying them, they saw that there were thirty or forty motorboats and wooden boats on the other side. Many Japanese soldiers were gathering there. Just looking at those shadowy figures, there must be at least a thousand people.

Rong Youlue, who received the news, dared not neglect it. He personally arrived at Tielumen and ordered the communications officer to report to the headquarters.

Fang Xianjue was also shocked. The Japanese were so anxious that they wanted to attack from all sides. He immediately telegraphed Cai Rulin of the artillery headquarters, asking him to adjust some mountain artillery and field artillery to prepare for the enemy. He also sent a telegram to Zhijiang Airport in Huaihua to dispatch fighters to destroy the enemy.

In recent days, the Chinese Air Force has been fighting fiercely with Japanese planes over Hengyang every day. It is naturally easy to use fighters to attack motorboats and wooden boats.

But obviously, the Japanese also knew that they could not control the air now. So many ships and personnel left on the river during the day would be a perfect target. The best opportunity was at night.

At 5 o'clock, the river was still covered with a layer of mist like a veil. In the hazy fog, nearly a thousand devils crossed the Xiangjiang River in more than 30 motorboats and wooden boats and quietly headed to the west bank.

The Chinese soldiers on the shore had been ready for battle. Rong Youlue personally commanded a battalion to meet the enemy at the Tielumen Wharf position, while Fang Xianjue, Tang Dao, Cai Rulin and others watched the river from the commanding heights of Yanhui Peak.

Although the Japanese army invested heavily in the other three directions of Hengyang City, the Chinese side also invested nearly 17,000 people. After three days of fierce fighting, they suffered a lot of losses, but the blow to the Japanese army was even greater, especially in Huangchaling, where a Japanese infantry regiment was crippled in a head-on way, which undoubtedly gave great confidence to the Hengyang defenders.

But the river defense has not been tested yet. Everyone knows that these thirty or forty motorboats may be just a test attack by the Japanese army. The larger-scale attack has not yet arrived. Even Tang Dao can't help but want to see how determined the Japanese are to attack this natural barrier.

When the Chinese army crossed the Yangtze River with a million troops, they had a complete advantage in manpower. They also prepared for several months before they dared to act. Could it be that Yokoyama Isamu, this bastard, could mobilize the Japanese Navy's destroyers to participate in the action?

However, Tang Dao really overestimated Yokoyama Isamu. The Japanese Navy is now in the Pacific Ocean. Not to mention that its strength is no longer as strong as before, the Japanese Army also looks down on these millipedes.

This is purely a desperate attempt to find a cure. No matter whether there is a date or not, just try a few strokes first. Anyway, the 11th Army has invested enough troops, 70,000 people, and Yokoyama Isamu is also ruthless. He can pile up the Chinese in the city with human lives.

Facts have proved that Yokoyama Isamu thought too much!

When the Japanese boats were about to reach the center of the river, Cai Rulin gave an order with a walkie-talkie, and the 6 new American mountain guns and 4 field guns deployed in the city made a deafening roar, and the flames flashed, tearing through the night under the mist, and blew up the Japanese fleet crossing the river, causing the boats to capsize and the people to drown.

The Japanese artillery on the opposite bank of the river was not to be outdone, and immediately counterattacked. For a time, the sound of artillery on both sides of the river rumbled, and the city of Hengyang suddenly burst into flames.

"Pang Dahai, don't be idle for me, find the damn artillery position, and do it." Tang Dao also picked up the walkie-talkie and notified the artillery battalion of the Sihang Regiment under Yanhui Peak.

Sun Mingyu looked at the walkie-talkie in Tang Dao's hand with envy. Although he also had this thing, it was also given by Tang Dao. The 10th Army received a total of 50 sets of this communication equipment from the Sihang Regiment, realizing the direct communication from the infantry battalion to the regiment, the division and even the command center.

This was something that commanders at all levels of the 10th Division had never dared to think of before, but the Sihang Regiment achieved a direct connection between the infantry squad and the regiment headquarters. How amazing is that? How could Sun Mingyu, the chief of staff of the 10th Army, not be envious?

"Just watch, sir! I've been waiting for you. We haven't been in the battle much these days, and the brothers are so bored." Pang Dahai's voice was heard by several senior commanders.

"Captain Pang is also a fierce general! I have long proposed that he serve as the deputy commander of the artillery. Director Tang is too cautious. In such a wartime, the whole army of Hengyang is united against the enemy. There is no need to worry!" Sun Mingyu said with a smile.

"It doesn't matter whether he holds that position or not. Dahai still has a big picture view. Please rest assured, sirs." Tang Dao smiled and took the initiative to avoid the topic.

According to the pre-war command, the artillery units of the entire army were a chess game, and the artillery battalion of the Four-Line Regiment was also assigned to the command of the Hengyang Artillery Command. When the artillery organization of the artillery battalion of the Four-Line Regiment was reported, it almost blinded the eyes of several commanders.

The 10th Army Artillery Battalion complained to Minister He, and they fought hard to bring back 12 American 75mm mountain guns. As a result, the Fourth Regiment Artillery Battalion was not only equipped with 12 150-caliber heavy mortars, but also 12 Bofors mountain guns with a range of up to 9,000 meters. With this strength, it was enough to defeat the entire 10th Army.

Regardless of whether the artillery was accurate or not, just looking at these equipment, the artillery battalion commander was worthy of the title of deputy artillery commander.

As a result, Tang Dao refused to accept it, and his reason was very sufficient. As the commander of the Fourth Regiment, he had become the fifth-ranked commander in the Hengyang Command, ranking above many generals and lieutenant generals. If even his subordinates served as commanders, there would always be people in each division and department who would not accept it.

This is actually the truth. The command sequence of the command headquarters established in Hengyang has been reported to the Ministry of Military Affairs. If the Hengyang defense battle fails, everyone will die here. Naturally, there is nothing to say. But if this battle is won, then everyone present will benefit greatly from the reward.

Fang Xian must have the title of deputy commander of the group army. This is something that General Xue cannot stop. For someone like Tang Dao, as long as there is no moth, it is a sure thing to be promoted to major general of the army and serve as brigade commander. If there is someone in the court, it is estimated that no one will say anything about it if he is directly promoted to division commander.

And Cai Rulin, who is the war zone supervisor and artillery commander, must at least be given the title of army colonel, and it is even possible to directly skip the colonel and become a major general of the army.

To put it bluntly, the more important the position you hold at this time, the higher the probability of promotion after the war. No matter when, the Chinese people's desire for official positions is engraved in their bones. This has a huge relationship with the continuation of the feudal dynasty for more than 2,000 years. Even in the next hundred years, the end of the universe is still the examination.

The Japanese army organized at least two artillery battalions with a total of more than 20 cannons to bombard Hengyang City. The artillery battalion of the Four-line Regiment naturally could not show weakness. 12 Bofors mountain guns lined up in the mountains and forests. According to the guidance of the artillery observer on Yanhui Peak, they launched artillery retaliation against the Japanese artillery positions thousands of meters away.

The two sides came and went, and it was difficult to tell who was better for a while.

The Japanese troops in Hedong were the 32nd Infantry Battalion of the 6th Regiment of the 3rd Division of the Japanese Army. Today's 3rd Division is no longer the 3rd Division in Tongguan. Due to the heavy losses in Tongguan, the 3rd Division rested for 10 months in North China before it recovered some of its vitality.

By 1941, taking advantage of the opportunity to establish a large number of Type B and Type C divisions, the Japanese headquarters simply cancelled the two brigades under this permanent division that had not yet recovered its combat effectiveness, and assigned the 18th Infantry Regiment to the 29th Division. The 3rd Division directly governed three infantry regiments and four regiments of cavalry, artillery, engineering, and logistics. The total strength was reduced from 26,000 to 22,000. In addition, a large number of veterans were lost, and the combat effectiveness was no longer as good as before. They just relied on the name of the permanent division to bluff people.

Just like the 3rd Division that arrived in Hengyang, it was a brigade in size on the surface, but it was actually led by the 6th Infantry Regiment, with 2 artillery battalions, 3 logistics squadrons and two cavalry squadrons. The highest commander was Colonel Matsuyama Yoshimasa, the commander of the 6th Infantry Regiment.

If a field battle really broke out, the Four-Line Regiment could beat this old opponent with a strength of only more than 6,800 people.

Matsuyama Yoshimasa was also forced to do so. The main force of the division, led by the division commander Lieutenant General Yamamoto San'nan, set up defenses 30 kilometers away from Hengyang, waiting for the main force of China to come to the rescue, in order to achieve the strategic goal of the military headquarters to "encircle and attack the reinforcements" and seek a decisive battle with the main force of China. He was originally responsible for the battle in the north of the city, but the military headquarters changed its orders every day, and felt that encircling three sides was not enough, and it was necessary to attack from four sides to make the Chinese side unable to support themselves in order to find a chance to fight.

So Matsuyama Yoshimasa could only cross the Xiangjiang River with his troops to the Hengyang Airport in the east of the river, which had been destroyed to the point of being useless, and planned to cross the river to fight.

It was not easy to gather thirty or forty ships. In the first wave of tentative attacks, Matsuyama Yoshimasa sent three infantry squadrons to prevent accidents.

Who would have thought that the Chinese artillery fire was so fierce, more than ten artillery pieces hit the ships in the middle of the river, and more than ten artillery pieces retaliated against their own artillery positions.

Fortunately, the ships were very sparsely distributed, and only about 3 were lost, while the rest were relatively intact. However, the Chinese defense line on the river bank was not to be trifled with, and heavy machine guns opened fire from more than 400 meters away, causing sparks to fly from the bow of the motorboat.

Although the motorboats and wooden boats were also prepared, with a lot of sandbags piled up as fortifications, the Chinese side relied on probabilistic shooting, that is, shooting at the dark shadows in the night. Many bullets directly penetrated the hull and entered the cabin, shooting the infantry hiding inside with blood.

The artillery positions did not dare to stay in place to fire at the Chinese artillery in Hengyang City because of the Chinese artillery fire retaliation. They often had to use pack horses to drag them away after firing a few rounds and move to another place to fire again, which greatly affected the continuity of the artillery fire.

The Japanese army had to retreat temporarily and wait until dawn to accurately determine the Chinese artillery positions before attacking again.

At 8 o'clock in the morning, under the command of Matsuyama Yoshimasa, the remaining 34 Japanese ships set sail again.

This time, the large amount of gunpowder smoke rising from the artillery positions in Hengyang City was discovered by the high-altitude reconnaissance balloons released by the Japanese army, and the Japanese artillery positions immediately launched artillery fire.

Although this is a double-edged sword, when they discovered the approximate area of ​​the Chinese artillery positions, the Chinese side could also see them on Yanhui Peak. Pang Dahai immediately commanded the mountain artillery company to fire back.

However, this time the Japanese artillery learned their lesson. Taking advantage of the vastness of Jiangdong, they distributed 24 guns on a vast plain, with a distance of 300 meters between each gun. Unless the Chinese artillery fire is as accurate as a sniper rifle, or there are hundreds of artillery guns to carry out a covering attack on the area, it is difficult to inflict heavy damage on it.

This is indeed the weakness of the current Chinese artillery, but it also takes a huge risk. All the premises are that there are no more Chinese infantry in this area. Otherwise, with the protection of only two infantry squadrons in these two artillery battalions, it is impossible to defend such a large artillery position.

Fortunately, until the end of the battle, the 400 Japanese soldiers who were responsible for guarding the artillery did not see a single Chinese infantryman.

I don’t know about other directions, but at least in Jiangdong, the Chinese should have retreated back to the city in fear. This is the general conclusion reached by the Japanese infantry.

They will pay a heavy price for this conclusion later, but at least they are safe now.

As the artillery was suppressed by the Japanese artillery fire, the intensity of the defenders' artillery fire on the river center was also sparse, and Matsuyama Yoshimasa saw the opportunity for victory.

This time, he stuffed 5 infantry squadrons in the cabin, just to have enough infantry for the landing operation.

"Forward!" Lieutenant Colonel Kakutaro Yamamoto, the major captain of the 32nd Infantry Battalion who boarded the motorboat in person, howled excitedly.

Suddenly, a huge explosion sounded in the air. The Japanese looked up and saw a dozen small black dots flying rapidly in the sky, diving from high altitude to the river surface.

You don't even need to look at the paint of the plane, just look at the direction they dived, you know that this is not the Empire's fighter plane, Yamamoto Kakutaro shouted "Disperse! Disperse!", but it was too late. With the 12 P40 fighter planes diving down and firing at full firepower, the wooden boats on the river were hit by heavy machine guns.

Although the P40 fighter, nicknamed "Little Eagle", has poor high-altitude combat performance, it is equipped with 6 12.7mm Browning heavy machine guns on its left and right wings, and can carry two 500kg bombs. It is a standard fighter-bomber and is still very popular with the Chinese side, which is in urgent need of fighters. Since 1943, two flying squadrons have begun to equip this type of fighter.

The P40 squadron that took off from Zhijiang Airport was under the command of the 4th Squadron of the Chinese Air Force. They took off from Zhijiang Airport in Xiangxi an hour ago and flew over Hengyang. They have been hiding behind the peaks of Hengshan Mountain 40 miles north of the city, waiting for the best time to attack.

When the Japanese army half-crossed the Xiangjiang River, Hengyang City sent them a signal. This flying squadron jumped into the sky. When they arrived near Hengyang, they even boldly turned off the aircraft engine and glided quietly. They did not turn on the engine again until they entered the medium and low altitudes and suddenly dived towards the river, catching the Japanese army off guard.

None of the 12 fighter planes had auxiliary fuel tanks. All of them carried two 500-pound bombs and fully loaded machine gun bullets, pouring all their firepower on the Japanese troops in Xiangjiang River.

That would be fine, but the Japanese probably didn't expect that this Chinese air force would be so determined. When they ran out of fuel and bullets, they pulled the planes westward and flew to Lingling Airport, which was still in the hands of the Chinese side, in just 10 minutes. There, they filled up the fuel and replenished the ammunition and made a comeback.

For more than an hour, except for the heavy machine gunners who were still firing hard on the 190th Division, the rest of the infantry were clapping their hands and shouting "The Air Force is mighty" and "The Air Force is awesome" to watch the show.

Once upon a time, they were hiding in trenches or anti-artillery holes under the crazy attacks of Japanese fighter planes and didn't even dare to raise their heads. They never dreamed that there would be such a day when they could see their own fighter planes killing the devils with their own eyes.

That kind of comfort cannot be understood by soldiers who have not personally experienced the Patriotic War.

Matsuyama Ryosuke stood blankly in the temporary command post used as a disguise, watching more than 30 ships being reduced from tens to single digits under the attack of 12 crazy Chinese fighter planes, and he was powerless.

Due to the weak Chinese Air Force, the Japanese infantry was rarely equipped with anti-aircraft weapons, and only equipped with 4 25mm machine guns at the infantry regiment level.

These four broken things were okay to deal with one or two fighter planes, but there were 12 of them at once. The 4 25mm machine guns deployed on the river bank would not fire if they did not fire. Once they fired, not to mention that 12 fighter planes carrying heavy bombs would rush over and blow up the area into a white land. Even the Chinese artillery was not just for show.

The Chinese were poor, but not blind!

In this way, only five fast motorboats escaped this catastrophe, and the rest of the wooden boats were destroyed in the Xiangjiang River by bombs or machine guns.

As for how many Japanese soldiers inside can swim ashore alive by relying on their swimming skills, that depends on luck. Anyway, with the current water level of the Xiangjiang River, the water is basically enough to feed fish and shrimps.

"No matter how big the loss is, we must continue to attack!" After receiving the news that the 6th Infantry Regiment's attack was frustrated, Yokoyama Yong issued a military order in an extremely cold manner.

In essence, Yokoyama Yong and Fang Xianjue are actually the same kind of people. In order to achieve strategic goals, thousands or even tens of thousands of people are just numbers in the eyes of commanders like them.

Even if it is just to distract the opponent's energy or to consume enough of the enemy, the disappearance of thousands or even more numbers will not blink their eyes.

They only care about the result, not the process.

Matsuyama Yoshimasa has not reached that level. Even if he is a colonel, in the eyes of Yokoyama Yong, he is just a chess piece that looks a little bit bigger. He will not think about discarding him for ten seconds.

Facing this almost cruel military order, Matsuyama Yoshimasa, with a frown on his face, has a plan in mind. Chinese history and culture are profound and extensive. Reading more Chinese books will open the door to wisdom.