Chapter 1505 Battle for Fish!

While the Chinese supreme commander was still thinking and hesitating, the commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, Isamu Yokoyama, was also having a hard time. He was also in a dilemma.

In the original strategic plan, Hengyang was used as bait to invite the main force of the 9th Theater of War of China. As a commander at the battle level, his consideration was naturally reasonable. This is also the reason why he violated the strategic purpose and original intention of the "Operation No. 1" launched by the Japanese Army Headquarters and was still approved.

As a result, "the enemy resistance in Hengyang was unexpectedly tenacious", which surprised Isamu Yokoyama and Takeshi Shimanuki. The Battle of Hengyang has been launched for more than half a month, which has proved that Hengyang is not a soft persimmon but a hard walnut. If you want to bite them, you have to break at least half of your teeth. Now two big teeth have been broken.

The unprecedented strong fortifications in the south of Hengyang City are simply disgusting. There are artificial cliffs in front of almost all positions. The Japanese infantry has been attacking for more than ten days without any good solution. Unless the 150-caliber heavy artillery is transferred to collapse the cliff and flatten the mountain, it is possible to open a gap.

At the same time, the advanced fighters and bombers of the Chinese and American air forces pose a fatal threat to the Japanese ground forces, and the Army Aviation seems to have been scared after losing dozens of fighters in a row, which means that the ground forces will be in a passive state of being fully suppressed by the Chinese and American air forces for a long time.

Of course, there are solutions to both of these points. No matter how strong the Hengyang fortifications are and how tenacious the defenders are, they can only continue to invest troops and mobilize heavy artillery. Anyway, the imagined Chinese main force is nowhere to be seen now; and for the air threat, the ground forces will dig deep trenches and more holes, hide during the day, and fight at night! There are always more solutions than difficulties.

At this point, Orientals are more optimistic than Westerners, and they always give themselves psychological hints that can comfort themselves.

The biggest headache for Yokoyama Isamu now is the biggest weakness of the 11th Army - logistics supply!

In the first phase of the Hunan-Guangxi Campaign, during the Tanzhou Campaign, Yokoyama Isamu adopted the tactic of "steady and steady, building as you advance". After taking Tanzhou, he changed his strategy from "quick and rapid advance".

When the Japanese soldiers set out, they only carried 10 days of rations, and did not carry any ammunition or food with them. In principle, they ordered all units to "requisition food on the spot". As a result, after the fall of Tanzhou, the Chinese people along the way either fled to the mountains or fled further south, taking almost all the food they could take away.

The Japanese units were going to advance to the surrounding areas of Hengyang again, so why would they requisition food? Originally, they were counting on the logistics troops to keep up with the supply of the army, but they did not expect that the Chinese and American fighter planes were also good at harassment. Whenever they found a convoy or a train, they basically swooped down without caring about it.

Especially the Flying Tigers, whose headquarters was in Kuncheng, were very cunning. They did not appear frequently over Hengyang, but they hovered over Dongting Lake for a long time, which was the most important logistics transfer point for the Japanese army after the highway was interrupted.

The Japanese army transported huge logistical materials from the Yangtze River to Dongting Lake by boat, and then entered the Xiangjiang River from Dongting Lake, and finally arrived around Hengyang. As a result, the cunning Flying Tigers smelled this scent and attacked large transport ships on Dongting Lake.

Ships in inland rivers generally lack anti-aircraft weapons, and the depth of the Xiangjiang River is not enough for light destroyers to enter. Facing the ups and downs of the flying planes, they relied on the limited 20mm or 25mm anti-aircraft guns, which was simply Cao Pi's wife entering the vegetable garden - Zhen Ji pulling vegetables!

The casualties of the logistics troops were once more tragic than those on the front line in Hengyang.

People died, the boat capsized, and naturally less food was transported.

The 11th Army had more than 70,000 troops surrounding Hengyang, plus more than 130,000 main forces deployed within a hundred miles of Hengyang. The 200,000-man army consumed at least 100,000 kilograms of rice a day, not to mention other supplies such as salt, sugar, and tea.

‘Man is made of iron and rice is made of steel. If you don’t eat, you will be hungry!’ The saying of our Chinese ancestors was so true. Whenever he received emergency telegrams from various divisions about rations, a layer of sweat would involuntarily ooze out of his bald forehead.

Fortunately, troops like the 116th Division and the 68th Division, which were fighting on the front line, still had at least 3 days of food reserves, otherwise Yokoyama would have been too embarrassed to see the highest commander, Lieutenant General Iwanaga Wang, who was outside Hengyang City.

Faced with this situation, the Japanese China Expeditionary Army Headquarters had no choice but to transfer a railway division from the Kwantung Army 10 days ago to speed up the maintenance of the Changheng Railway and set up anti-aircraft artillery along the way.

But this obviously cannot immediately alleviate the logistical crisis currently faced by the 11th Army. On this point, Commander Xue had predicted before the war: in the case of losing air superiority, the logistics of the Japanese army became extremely fragile and difficult. If they encountered stubborn resistance in Hengyang again, they would never last too long.

After all, Commander Xue was also a famous general in the entire Chinese theater. Otherwise, even if he encountered the defeat in Tanzhou, the military commission official who did not dismiss him would still hesitate again because of his stubbornness even when the strategic deployment had been made.

That was more or less a two-brush.

However, this famous general ignored the difficulties that his opponent was currently facing in his military career. The commander of the China Expeditionary Army, Tian Shunroku, was about to resign. In the entire Chinese theater, there were only three or four people who were qualified to replace him. General Okamura Koji, commander of the Japanese North China Front Army, Lieutenant General Matsui Taikuro, chief of staff of the Expeditionary Army, and Lieutenant General Fujita Susumu, commander of the 13th Army, were the three major competitors of Yokoyama Yong.

In Yokoyama's calculations, Okamura Koji was already an army general, so he was ranked before him. The possibility of him taking over as the commander of the expeditionary army was more than 90%. But if Okamura Koji was promoted, wouldn't the position of the commander of the North China Front Army be vacant?

The commander of the Front Army was half a level higher than the commander of the direct army like him. Only by becoming the commander of the Front Army, he, a veteran lieutenant general of the Army, could be promoted to the position of Army General. Otherwise, he would probably be stuck at the position of Lieutenant General for the rest of his life.

And he wanted to sit on the throne of the commander of the Front Army, and the Hunan-Guangxi Campaign was his last chance. If he won and achieved the strategic goal of the headquarters, the position of the commander of the Front Army would be secured. If he lost, he would be able to return to the main island to retire.

Therefore, the Battle of Hengyang was the most important battle in Yokoyama's military career. How could Yokoyama, who was full of dreams of becoming an army general, give up easily?

But not giving up is one thing, and the difficulty of logistics supply at this time is another. At this time, Yokoyama Yong, who was in a dilemma, had to weigh the consequences of continuing to attack. He also had to ask the commander of the Chinese Expeditionary Army, Tian Junliu, to suspend the full-scale attack on Hengyang, and wait for the Japanese army to repair the logistics line, the heavy artillery troops to be mobilized, and the army aviation to accumulate strength again, and then restart the full-scale attack on Hengyang City.

At this time, the main force of China still stayed in place and did not gather in Hengyang on a large scale, which also gave the Japanese army, which was under great logistical pressure, a breathing space. While the Japanese army continued to besiege Hengyang, it mobilized troops to repair roads and railways to restore traffic. There were 2 divisions and 40,000 people just to open up roads that cars could pass.

A rare opportunity for China to solve the problem of Hengyang slipped away quietly in the stubbornness of the commander surnamed Xue, who was indecisive, making the defense of Hengyang destined to leave a strong and colorful mark in the history of Chinese and foreign wars.

It's just that the ink and color used are red, scarlet!

. . . . . . . . . . . .

From June 19, the Battle of Hengyang entered a stalemate as the Japanese army took the initiative to suspend the battle, but this did not mean that the Chinese and Japanese armies looked at each other, you eat your food and I catch my fish.

Nowadays, no one is rich, and the food-scarce Japanese army has set its sights on the fish in the pond and river. Although Hengyang City is not short of food for the time being, Fang Xianjue has also realized that it is better to rely on himself than to ask others for help. For the long-term, he has to start to live a frugal life. The Chinese officers and soldiers who have reduced their supplies naturally also have their eyes on the fish.

Therefore, small-scale conflicts between the two sides continued in the intervals of the war, but the tactical purpose was only to compete for the fish in the pond.

Both sides sent out a large number of lookouts. Whenever they found that the other side dared to fish in the pond within their sight, it was easy to say that the Japanese army would use grenade launchers and long-range cold guns to attack the Chinese soldiers who wanted to eat meat, while the Chinese side used mortars and light machine guns to hunt down the "fish thieves".

In the future, those guys who secretly fish during the fishing ban will be detained and feel very aggrieved. If they know that their Japanese thief predecessors were basically greeted by a barrage of firepower in this era, wouldn’t they feel lucky that they live in a peaceful era?

Don’t underestimate this small-scale conflict. Sometimes only two or three soldiers are lost, but you can’t stop the long defense line of this position!

On the most exaggerated day, the Japanese army deployed 20 infantry squads, not counting the wounded, and 109 infantrymen were killed; the Chinese side mobilized 16 infantry platoons, consumed more than 900 mortar shells, more than 14,000 bullets, 68 soldiers were killed, and dozens of people were seriously injured.

Zhou Qingxiang, the commander of the 3rd Division responsible for defending the west of the city, looked at the ten fresh fish transported to the division headquarters and a series of ammunition consumption and casualties. He was furious on the spot and scolded the two main regiment commanders under his command.

In the eyes of this lieutenant general, this is not a fish, but the corpses of his brothers. Who can eat it?

But he also understands that this is not a matter of emotion, this is a war. The warring parties must use everything available to prevent the other side from obtaining resources, weaken the opponent and strengthen themselves, even if it is a heartbreaking consumption, they must drag the opponent to consume together.

Sacrifice is a daily routine!

However, knowing is one thing, but it is still difficult to hide the bitterness in the heart. The more than 100 kilograms of fish that cost dozens of lives were all sent to the headquarters by Zhou Qingxiang, the commander of the 3rd Division.

He himself rushed to the front line in person and decided to take advantage of the Japanese army's negligence and launch a night attack on the Japanese.

As the saying goes, "It is impolite not to return the favor." During this period, the Japanese army frequently launched surprise attacks on the Chinese defenders' defense line under the cover of night.

The most dangerous one was three days ago, when more than 70 Japanese soldiers from the Shima Detachment quietly sneaked over to the Yilai Temple Street position where the Japanese army had launched a fire bull formation in the early morning, and broke into the houses in Yilai Temple Street without anyone noticing.

It turned out that the guards had not rested for a week. After days of fighting, the officers and soldiers were exhausted and fell asleep unconsciously.

The Japanese may not have expected to encounter such a situation. They even thought that the Chinese had suffered heavy casualties and had long abandoned the position they had attacked for more than 13 days. So they built fortifications in the houses they had sneaked into, first stabilized the defense and then planned to further expand the position.

As a result, a garrison soldier who got up in the early morning to change guard happened to run into a Japanese infantryman who was tiptoeing forward. Because it was dark, the two sides discovered each other when they were less than two meters apart.

The two soldiers were almost scared to death. Judging from the fact that both sides instinctively raised their guns and fired but failed to hit each other, it was a psychological state of excessive shock.

However, the sound of "bang bang" alarmed the soldiers on both sides, and a tragic close-range offensive and defensive battle took place on this position.

Due to the close distance, neither China nor Japan could use mortars and grenade launchers. They basically relied on rifles, submachine guns, machine guns to shoot at each other and threw grenades and hand grenades at each other. The degree of blood and flesh flying was no less than the large-scale battle between the two armies using large-caliber artillery.

The battalion commander of the 1st Battalion of the 7th Regiment of the 3rd Division was 600 meters away from this position. He immediately brought an infantry company to reinforce this place and led his men to fight against the Japanese army in a house-to-house battle. Finally, at 11 o'clock in the morning of the same day, he wiped out all 70 Japanese soldiers who broke into the position and killed more than half of the more than 130 Japanese soldiers who came to support.

Unfortunately, the major battalion commander was discovered by a Japanese sharpshooter hiding in the paddy field because he was accompanied by two guards. A bullet was shot into his ribs, and the bullet passed through the aorta, killing him on the spot.

It was not a good deal to exchange a capable major battalion commander for more than 130 devils. The mature and prudent Lieutenant General Zhou had always kept this account in mind, and it finally broke out at this moment today.

On the night when the fierce battle for the fish in the pond broke out, the lieutenant general of the army personally took charge. Lieutenant Deng Xingming, the second lieutenant platoon leader of the 1st company of the 1st battalion of the 7th regiment, took the initiative to ask for the order. The 25 people who took the initiative to sign up in this sharp knife platoon formed a death squad. Each of them carried a submachine gun, 6 magazines and 8 grenades. With the slogan of revenge for the sacrifice of the battalion commander, they also sneaked into the Japanese position at about 2 am.

While the Japanese were sleeping soundly, they pulled out the grenade and threw it over, and then took the submachine gun and fired a burst of shots.

It was a dark night with low winds. Although the moon was bright, the vision was still unclear. The Japanese army was unable to fire flares in a hurry, and the two sides fired at each other without seeing each other.

The Chinese had few personnel and strong short-range firepower, which was of course much more advantageous in such a chaotic battle.

Moreover, their purpose of this trip was just to harvest lives, and they had no ambition to sneak attack the Japanese army to occupy the position. After "smashing, smashing and killing", they turned around and slipped away.

As a result, only 6 of the 25 people were miraculously shot and wounded. With the help of their comrades, they all retreated smoothly without any deaths.

The Japanese army almost pissed off Major General Shima. After fighting for a long time, there was not a single Chinese soldier's body left on the position, but it was full of imperial infantry.

There were 26 people who died on the spot, and more than 40 people were injured by shrapnel and bullets. It was a complete defeat.

The highest commander on this position, a Japanese lieutenant, was ordered by an angry Japanese major general to commit seppuku to apologize.

One more person on the death list!

During the period when there was no major battle outside Hengyang City, it was naturally not just a fight for fish, but more of a fight for supplies dropped from the air.

However, this time, it was not the Four-Line Regiment that tried every means to fight for the Japanese airdrops, but the Japanese fought for the supplies dropped by the Chinese Air Force.

It turned out that after fighting with the Japanese army for half a month, the one who asked Fang Xianjue to lead the army to hold on for another 10 days naturally could not let the horse run without eating grass, so he asked Fang Xianjue what he wanted.

Fang Xianjue was not stupid this time. After half a month of fighting, 40% of the grenades in the city were used up, 30% of the bullets were used up, and the most scarce food was rations. Due to the addition of the 50,000 reserve troops, 60% had been used up, so he asked for support of various types of food.

At this time, the Japanese army had surrounded Hengyang for 20 miles like an iron barrel. It was difficult to transport food in, let alone sneak in a few people. The only way was to drop by air.

Since the words had been spoken, although it was a bit difficult, he could not break his promise. So, from June 23, the first large-scale airdrop in Chinese military history began.

And this change of status was only three years after the last time the Four-Line Regiment used various methods to snatch the Japanese airdropped supplies in Shipai. The world changes so fast.