Author: New Coffee Says History
In the autumn of 1938, the Japanese army occupying Yueyang looked at Changsha and began to plan to occupy Changsha. Zhang Deneng was ordered to defend Changsha and negotiate with the Japanese army. The defense of Changsha was on the verge of breaking out.
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In September 1939, the Japanese commander Okamura Ningji led 50,000 Japanese troops with the intention of forcibly crossing the Xinqiang River, the Wanluo River, Zhang Deneng led the army, and the Japanese army engaged in a fierce confrontation with the Japanese army in the Xinqiang River, Zhang Deneng relied on his excellent judgment and understanding of the surrounding areas of Changsha, formulated the "retreat to advance" tactics, ambushed on both sides of the road from the Weiluo River to Changsha, continuously lengthened the supply line of the Japanese army, lured the enemy deeper, and attacked the Flank of the Japanese army and the Rear Japanese Army.
Zhang Deneng
The Japanese army's battle can be said to have been completely defeated by the Nationalist army and had to be withdrawn. Zhang Deneng led his army to eliminate the remnants of the Japanese army that had entered the vicinity of the Liuyang River. The First Battle of Changsha was a great victory. Zhang Deneng became famous in the First World War, and the whole country was encouraged by the victory at the Battle of Changsha, and the morale of the Japanese army was also sharply reduced. Chiang Kai-shek took a fancy to Zhang Deneng's talents and made him the commander of the Changsha garrison, responsible for the long-term defense of Changsha.
However, the defense of Changsha seems to be over, but in fact it has just begun.
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Sure enough, the Japanese did not give up their wolf ambitions, and in September 1941, the Japanese gathered 120,000 Japanese troops with the intention of occupying Changsha. At this time, the Japanese commander was named Anan Weiji, and on September 7, the Japanese army attacked the guerrilla base areas of Dayun Mountain and Fangshan Mountain, and they absorbed the defeat of the first battle, concentrated their forces on the main battlefield and planned to cross the river by force. However, not long after, the Japanese army was like a bamboo, and had broken through the two defensive lines of the Xinqiang River and the Weiluo River, and rushed all the way into Changsha City.
Zhang Deneng saw the Japanese army enter the city, led the army to carry out stubborn resistance, and launched a fierce battle with the Japanese army, Zhang Deneng ordered the whole army, and must not let the Japanese army occupy Changsha. The entire Fourth Army and other Changsha defenders fought bloodily and desperately defended Changsha. Zhang Deneng saw at a glance the problem of the Japanese army's excessively long front, so he immediately made a decision, dispatched some troops, cut off the supply line of the Japanese army outside the city, and cooperated with the army outside the city to jointly surround and annihilate the Japanese army inside the city.
Still
The Japanese army saw that the situation was not good, and most of the main forces of the Japanese army were gathered in the battlefield of Changsha, resulting in the loss of other cities and pools and the recovery of the Nationalist army, which forced Anan to order the withdrawal from Changsha. As a result, the Second Battle of Changsha was won again, this time Zhang Deneng led the army to severely defeat the japanese army, the Japanese army suffered heavy casualties, and the Japanese army completely remembered Zhang Deneng and remembered the Fourth Army after this battle. Zhang Deneng once again made outstanding military achievements and was promoted to deputy commander of the Fourth Army and commander of the Fifty-ninth Division.
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After the two battles of Changsha, Zhang Deneng had mastered the method of resisting the Japanese invasion, that is, the "Heavenly Furnace Method", constantly luring the enemy to go deeper, dealing fatal blows to the flanks and the enemy's rear line, and finally closing the encirclement and using the natural terrain of Changsha to annihilate the enemy army.
At the beginning of 1942, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was still in a stalemate stage, and the Japanese commander Anan Weiji led the Japanese army to march into Changsha again in an attempt to take Changsha, an important strategic city. At this time, Zhang Deneng had seen the Japanese vanguard outside the city, and he immediately led the Fourth Army to launch a fierce attack on the Japanese army around the Miluo River and on the flanks, and constantly lured the Japanese army to go deeper and fall into the trap designed by Zhang Deneng.
At this moment, the sky was beautiful, the rain was pouring down, and the Miluo River was surging due to heavy rain, and the surrounding area was muddy, almost completely blocking the further deepening of the Japanese army. Zhang Deneng seized the opportunity to join forces with Ou Zhenli, commander of the Fourth Army, and annihilated the Japanese army that had fallen into the pocket trap in one fell swoop. The Japanese army under the city saw that Changsha City could not be attacked for a long time, and the Japanese army's sharp edge was gradually exhausted.
In the end, under the command of Zhang Deneng, the Japanese army completely collapsed and was annihilated by more than 50,000 people. This is the famous Third Battle of Changsha, which also allowed Zhang Deneng to be promoted again, not only to become the commander of the Fourth Army, but also to be promoted to lieutenant general.
The people of Changsha spoke highly of Zhang Deneng, and Chiang Kai-shek also sent a congratulatory message to the Fourth Army, hoping that the Fourth Army would continue to maintain the heroic and fearless spirit of resistance against Japan and swear to defend every inch of land to the death. But as the saying goes, "The higher you stand, the worse you fall." As a hero of Changsha City, Zhang Deneng could not have imagined that he would be executed because of Changsha.
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In the days when Zhang Deneng subsequently defended Changsha, Changsha City finally gained a short period of tranquility, and the Japanese army was busy with rectification and confrontation with the American army in the Pacific War, and the Japanese army's front was continuously lengthened. In 1944, Japan's own internal torment was already tormented by war, the people were not happy, and the War of Resistance Against Japan was almost about to win, but the militaristic and insane Japan still did not give up resistance and still threatened to occupy China.
So the Japanese army secretly planned an unprecedented large-scale offensive against China, and Changsha alone deployed 200,000 troops. The intention of the Japanese army is already very obvious, that is, to storm Changsha and vow to seize this important geographical location, so as to open up the north-south route of China. In this way, the Fourth Battle of Changsha began.
In the previous battles, even if the Nationalist army was insufficient and weaker than the Japanese army, fortunately, the steep terrain outside Changsha City blocked the Japanese offensive and the application of the "Heavenly Furnace Tactics", which made Changsha City an "iron city" that was easy to defend and difficult to attack.
However, this time the Japanese army was fierce, and Zhang Deneng was well aware of the disparity in strength between the two warring sides. Moreover, Zhang Deneng also learned that the Japanese commander Yokoyama Wasamu was not as radical as Okamura Ninji and Anan, but was very good at using the art of war. Zhang Deneng knew that if he continued to rely on the "Heavenly Furnace Tactics", it would be impossible to resist the onslaught of the Japanese army.
So he immediately called Chiang Kai-shek and asked him to send reinforcements to Changsha. Chiang Kai-shek also knew that Changsha was now in danger, so he immediately turned to the United States for help, and the United States provided the Nationalist army with an American artillery unit, and chiang also sent his own concubine, the Thirty-sixth Army, and the commander was Huang Tao, who had little combat experience.
The U.S. Artillery Regiment and the Thirty-sixth Army were stationed in the area of Yuelu Mountain, responsible for the outer defense line of Changsha. Zhang Deneng was also relieved by the arrival of reinforcements. But no one expected that Zhang Deneng's nightmare had just begun.
The Japanese commander, Isamu Yokoyama, saw through the defensive tactics of the Nationalist army and learned the lessons of the previous battles. Yokoyama believed that the Nationalist army would definitely use the "Heavenly Furnace Tactics" again, so he decided to make a plan, pretend to attack Changsha, and continue to go deeper, so that the Nationalist army would think that the Japanese army had once again won the plan, so as to relax its vigilance.
In fact, the main force was gathered to attack the Nationalist reinforcements around Yuelu Mountain. The Japanese strategy worked, the reinforcements around Yuelu Mountain were almost vulnerable, and the troops of the Thirty-sixth Army and the commander Huang Tao saw that the Japanese offensive was too fierce and fled like rats. The Japanese took the Yuelu Mountains and captured more than 50 American artillery pieces.
At this time, the outskirts of Changsha City were almost completely taken by the Japanese army, and Changsha City seemed to have become an isolated city. However, Zhang Deneng still led the Fourth Army to hold the city gate and fought with the Japanese army for several days, but the size of the Japanese army was too large, zhang Deneng had to lead the army to retreat, at this time the Japanese army had entered Changsha City, and some areas in Changsha City had to turn into fierce street battles.
Zhang Deneng felt that Changsha must be lost at this time, and if he held on, the Fourth Army would only be completely destroyed. So he immediately called Zhao Zili, chief of the general staff of the Ninth Theater Command, asking for a retreat order. This made Zhao Zili hesitate, because the loss of Changsha would be a disgrace to the Nationalist government, and he did not want to take responsibility for it, but still approved Zhang Deneng's request to retreat.
After Zhang De was given the order to retreat, he immediately ordered the whole army to retreat to the xiang river, the only exit. At this moment, the whole army rushed to cross the Xiang River, and many soldiers were pursued by the Japanese Kou, some drowned in the water, and some were shot and sunk into the river, and the Xiang River almost buried the heroic souls of most of the soldiers of the Fourth Army. After retreating to Hengyang, the number of the Fourth Army was only one-third of the original, but fortunately, the Fourth Army was saved, and Zhang Deneng thought that he was worthy of this unit.
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The fall of Changsha cast a shadow over the world's anti-fascist struggle and boosted the morale of the Japanese army. This caused Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist government to lose face internationally. At this moment, the United States found Chiang Kai-shek and informed the Nationalist army that the lost gun gate was the latest advanced weapon developed by the United States, and ordered Chiang Kai-shek to find the direct person responsible for the loss of Changsha and severely punish him.
It is reasonable to say that the main reason for the failure of this battle should be that the Thirty-ninth Army led by Huang Tao did not defend the outer defense line, and lost the gun gate and fled. However, Huang Tao was a concubine of Chiang Kai-shek, and as soon as the old Chiang Kai-shek came up, he chose Huang Tao and the Thirty-ninth Army out of the accountability of this battle. At this time, Zhao Zili told Chiang Kai-shek that Zhang Deneng withdrew his troops without consulting himself and became a deserter. Sure enough, Zhao Zili rebelled, which made Zhang Deneng have to become a scapegoat.
In order to appease the mood of the Americans and to give an explanation for the loss of Changsha, Chiang Kai-shek immediately contacted Zhang Deneng and asked Zhang Deneng to rush to Chongqing at once to discuss a solution to the defeat in the Battle of Changsha.
Since Receiving Chiang Kai-shek's urgent summons, Zhang Deneng did not hesitate in the slightest, hurriedly packed up his luggage and rushed to Chongqing, at which time his surrounding soldiers immediately pulled Zhang Deneng aside and advised him not to go, and if he went, he would be in danger. Zhang Deneng could not listen to a word of persuasion, he was loyal to the National Government, believed that the government would not blame himself, and he also believed that he did not sin to death, and it was the collapse of the outer defense line that caused the loss of Changsha. And leading his own army to hold Changsha also effectively delayed the Japanese army's strategic plan to open up the great southwest.
He believed that if he did not go at this time, it would be a violation of the order, and the Fourth Army would be severely punished by the government. Zhang Deneng was a man who cherished the reputation of the Fourth Army extremely, and he could not bear the insults of the Fourth Army forever because of the defeat in this battle, and he hoped to regain the reputation of the Fourth Army with his three inches of tongue.
In order to protect the glorious name of the Fourth Army, Zhang Deneng rushed to Chongqing without hesitation, but what he did not expect was that he had just arrived in Chongqing, and he received almost no reception, and even he did not see Chiang Kai-shek, so he was taken to prison by the government army. After entering the prison, Zhang Deneng, facing the four cold prison walls, he sat down slowly, and the weeds on his legs and the gloomy atmosphere of the prison made it difficult for him to calm down.
He was eager to have a direct dialogue with Chiang Kai-shek, telling Him in detail from beginning to end about the process of Changsha's fall. But he never waited for such an opportunity. During his imprisonment, only one prison guard came to interrogate him, and after being interrogated, Zhang Deneng expressed his appeal to the prison guards: "I want to see Chairman Jiang!" I want to appeal! The prison guard, as if he had not heard, left the prison indifferently.
Zhang Deneng seemed to realize something at this moment, he was disheartened but he could not bear to give up, his mind only thought that the people of Changsha City were still in the depths of the water, the soldiers of the Fourth Army were still waiting for his news, but he could not do anything.
At the same time, in the government office, the US phone rang over and over again, and the content of Chiang Kai-shek's answer was nothing more than a meaning, that is, to immediately find out the person in charge of changsha and make the necessary response to the LOSSes of the US side in the war; otherwise, the US side would take the necessary tough measures against the Nationalist Government and cut off part of the supply of arms to the Nationalist army.
At this moment, the pressure exerted by the United States on the Nationalist government stimulated Chiang Kai-shek over and over again. He knew that Zhang Deneng was a brave and good warrior, and he also knew that the defeat in the Fourth Battle of Changsha could not be completely blamed on him. But in the end, a person needed to be responsible for the losses of the United States, and after much hesitation, Chiang Kai-shek picked up the phone on his desk and gave the order to execute Zhang Deneng.
On August 25, 1944, more than two months had passed since the fall of Changsha, and this was the day Zhang Deneng was executed. After Zhang Deneng got up and washed up, he dressed in a clean military uniform and walked straight to the execution ground, and some of the people around him spit on him, saying that he was a soft egg and a deserter; some ordinary people who knew the truth begged the nationalist army to revoke the decision to sentence Zhang Deneng to death.
Zhang Deneng looked at the ordinary people of China, and then looked down at his military uniform, and could not help but shed tears, he was not afraid of death, but he had not yet seen the comprehensive victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Zhang Deneng, as a native of Changsha, Changsha was lost at his hands, he was more sad than anyone, and at this time Chiang Kai-shek, who was sitting in his office, seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and he only thought in his heart at this moment that the Americans would not be embarrassed by the National Government.
The cowardly Chiang Kai-shek is in stark contrast to Zhang Deneng, who heroically defended the country. According to the recall of the officer who executed the execution at that time, Zhang Deneng was shot twice before he fell, and a generation of anti-Japanese heroes came to an end. In 1945, after the surrender of Japan and the complete victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Zhang Wenlong, the eldest son of Zhang Deneng, transported his skeleton back to his hometown and buried it in the southern foothills of Liangjin Mountain.
Looking back at the entire process of the Changsha defense war, Zhang Deneng's execution was actually a hasty decision, but at the same time it was also a decision that Old Jiang had already made in his heart. In Chiang Kai-shek's view, the scapegoat is none other than Zhang Deneng, and there are two reasons for this, the first is that Chiang Kai-shek loves and attaches great importance to the characteristics of his family, Chiang Kai-shek has always attached importance to his cronies, which is obvious to all, and for his own army, Chiang Kai-shek will give priority to equipping personnel and weapons and equipment.
Therefore, in terms of materials and equipment, the national army's concubine troops are much stronger than the non-concubine troops. However, on the battlefield in Henan, the commander and deputy commander of the Henan Theater, as Chiang Kai-shek's concubine, were defeated in a mess, and the number of lost cities and pools was innumerable, and it is reasonable to say that their guilt was far greater than Zhang Deneng's, but Chiang Kai-shek did not blame them in the slightest.
The second is Chiang Kai-shek's cowardly character traits, since the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Chiang Kai-shek has actually often asked the United States for assistance, and in the past two years, the United States has discovered the characteristics of Chiang Kai-shek's easy control. Subsequently, the United States and Britain held a secret staff meeting and determined the military strategy of "first Europe and then Asia", and the military loan materials to China accounted for only 0.56% of the total planned amount, which made Chiang Kai-shek very angry, but he dared not speak out, and could only accept it silently.
On the other hand, in the U.S. presidential campaign between Dewey and Truman, Chiang Kai-shek supported dewey with a higher voice like a wall, but Truman won the final election. Subsequently, Truman refused to provide new assistance to the Nationalist government, which made Chiang Kai-shek very remorseful, and cowardly and incompetent, he could only send his wife, Soong Mei Ling, to the United States to intercede, but to no avail.
Therefore, the main reason why the sinners who lost Changsha fell on Zhang Deneng's head came from Chiang Kai-shek's own personality characteristics, and if Chiang Kai-shek was a person who did things impartially and had no selfish feelings, perhaps the anti-Japanese hero Zhang Deneng would not suffer this disaster.