In the Kuomintang army, there are "Central Army" and "Miscellaneous Army", the former is a concubine of the Huangpu department brought out by Chiang Kai-shek himself, and both weapons and equipment and logistical supplies are superior to the latter, so the combat effectiveness of the "Central Army" is often stronger than that of the "Miscellaneous Army". However, in the War of Resistance Against Japan, the "Miscellaneous Army" proved its value with its blood and held up the banner of defending the family and the country.
The Kuomintang 53rd Army was originally a part of Zhang Xueliang's Northeast Army.
In 1943, the 53rd Army joined the 20th Group Army of the Expeditionary Force Huo Yunzhang and participated in the Counter-Offensive in Western Yunnan. At this time, the commander of the expeditionary force was Wei Lihuang, who upgraded the 53rd Army to a first-class army, equipped with American equipment, and threw it into the battlefield of the Great Counter-Offensive in Western Yunnan.
On May 11, 1944, Wei Lihuang ordered the 20th Group Army to forcibly cross the Nu River and advance towards the entrenched enemy attack of Gaoligong Mountain. The 36th Division of Song Xilian's 11th Army crossed the river and took on the task of attacking on the left wing, but due to the light enemy, it rushed to attack and was defeated and retreated in the Battle of Tang Xishan. The 53rd Army rushed to the rescue.
Before leaving the division, Zhou Fucheng, commander of the 53rd Army, repeatedly inspired the soldiers:
"Brethren, when hundreds of thousands of troops of our Northeast Army retreated to Guannei, it was our shame that our fathers and fellow countrymen in our hometown were ravaged by devils! And we can't go back to our hometown for ten years, which is an even greater shame for us! At present, only when we are not afraid of bloodshed and sacrifice and resolutely destroy the enemy can we repay the kindness of the Wei commander, can we impress the troops of the Concubine Clan, and can we hope to fight back to our hometown! ”
Zhou Fucheng ordered the 347th Regiment and the 348th Regiment of the 116th Division to cross the river nearby to aid the 36th Division. In just a few hours, Toshiba Tsuen's 348th Regiment recaptured the Tangxi Mountain Heights with a sharp momentum, recovered the passive situation caused by the 36th Division, and recaptured the Dafeng Mountain with a single blow, and the Japanese were forced to turn from attack to defense.
Subsequently, the 348th Regiment continued to attack from Aoladi, and the 389th and 390th Regiments also coordinated with the 348th Regiment to attack the enemy of Datangzi. The 1st Battalion of the 348th Regiment detoured to cut off the Japanese Kou retreat on the old street; the 390th Regiment drove the enemy from the east of Datangzi; the 3rd Battalion of the 388th Regiment attacked the southeast highlands of Datangzi, and the battalion commander Zhang Yuncheng was a pioneer, but due to the upward attack, coupled with the fierce firepower of the Japanese Kou, the 3rd Battalion suffered heavy casualties. The regimental commander Fu Guang ordered the reserve to support, and Zhang Yuncheng organized the attack again, and finally occupied the high ground.
After crossing the river from Shuanghongqiao, the 116th Division occupied Baihualin on May 16. On the 17th, the 348th Regiment encountered the enemy at Jixin Mountain, and after a few hours of fierce fighting, occupied the highlands to the west, and the 347th Regiment advanced to the Old Street; the 346th Regiment and the 390th Regiment captured the eastern foothills of horseshoe Mountain and the southern end of the Hundred Flowers Forest, forming an encirclement of Datangzi, and the Japanese 1,500 or 600 people were already turtles in the urn.
On 19 May, the 53rd Army launched a full-scale general offensive against the besieged enemy, and by the 23rd, the Japanese could not support the southwestern escape. The 53rd Army pursued and intercepted, annihilating more than 1,000 enemy troops.
The 53rd Army banner was victorious, and the commander Zhou Fucheng took the opportunity to expand the results of the battle, and the troops were divided into two roads, the 116th Division headed to the Nanzhai Public House, and the 130th Division to Jiang Tho, and the morale of the Japanese Kou was killed.
On the 27th, the 346th Regiment launched an attack on the Nanzhai Public House, where the terrain was steep and difficult to climb, and although the enemy was only 500 or 600 people, the expeditionary force could not be effective in attacking back. After consulting with Zhang Shaoxian, the commander of the division, Liu Runchuan, the chief of staff, adopted the method of frontal feint attack and lateral detour. The two companies of the 346th Regiment who had detoured from the cliff on the flank had worked hard, and several soldiers had fallen from the cliff and died, and after several days of hard work, they finally detoured back to the enemy's rear on June 2. On June 11, the time was ripe for a general offensive, and under several strong attacks from the 346th Regiment, the remnants of the Japanese Kou were defeated in the direction of Jiang Tho.
Jiang Tho stationed more than a thousand Japanese infantry, as well as more than a hundred cavalry, its fortifications are made of reinforced concrete, extremely strong, plus the enemy fleeing everywhere is also concentrated here, to capture Jiang Tho, it is very difficult. Zhang Yuting, the commander of the 130th Division, who was ordered to attack Jiang Tho, was not confident enough, so he retreated his troops to Gaoligong Mountain, waiting for the 116th Division to concentrate before attacking together.
When the military commander Zhou Fucheng heard the news, he dismissed Zhang Yuting from his post and investigated it, replacing him with deputy division commander Wang Lihuan.
Wang Lihuan sent a force to cover from the flank, and the main force concentrated on attacking Jiang Tho. On May 31, the reinforced battalion of the 390th Regiment occupied an important high ground in Jiang Tho and basically controlled the overall situation. On June 2, the 390th Regiment occupied the enemy's forward positions at Dam and Yangjiazhai, the 130th Division and the 348th Regiment advanced to Luxin and destroyed the bridge at the southern end of Yangjiapo, and the 347th Regiment advanced to The Gray Slope, preparing to prepare for the 116th Division's attack on Jiang Tho.
After a desperate and bloody battle by the 53rd Army, on June 22, Jiang Tho was finally conquered.
Wei Lihuang, commander-in-chief of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, personally came to Jiang Tho with Xiao Yisu, chief of staff, Song Xilian, commander-in-chief of the 11th Group Army, and Huo Yuzhang, commander-in-chief of the 21st Group Army. Wei Lihuang said: "In this counterattack on Gaoligong Mountain, the 53rd Army fought bravely and resolutely, and should be commended by order!" ”
(Reference: Chinese Expeditionary Force)