After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, the Chinese army fought many classic battles in the course of fighting with the Japanese army. However, the most tragic battle was the defense of Hengyang. It is said that the Nationalist army, in desperation, used grenades as bayonets to resist the fierce attack of the Japanese army. What's going on here? The following Xiaobian explains to you one by one.
The Defense of Hengyang is also known in the West as the "Moscow Defense War of the East". The battle was China's worst battle against Japan since the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. According to statistics, in order to occupy Hengyang City, the number of Japanese troops killed more than 20,000 people and more than 60,000 wounded. This number was also quite heavy for the Japanese army. However, the losses of the Tenth Army of the Chinese army were also quite heavy. At that time, the Tenth Army had 17,000 troops and only 8,000 disabled soldiers remaining. This is also the only time since the war with the Japanese army that the Casualties of the Japanese Army exceeded that of our army. The entire battle lasted 47 days, and it was the longest city battle to attack and defend on the frontal battlefield since the Chinese War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.
At that time, the Tenth Army was stationed in Hengyang, and the commander was Fang Xianjue. Fang Xianjue was a high-caliber student of the 3rd phase of the Whampoa Army, and the 10th Army was also a unit that could fight a good war in the War of Resistance Against Japan. During the Third Battle of Changsha, Fang Xianjue, clinging to the Miao Peak of Changsha, stubbornly held on, and was known as the Taishan Army.
After the fall of Changsha, Chiang Kai-shek, in order to secure Hengyang, placed the Japanese army north of Green Water. Chiang Kai-shek sent a telegram to Fang Xianjue, commander of the Tenth Army, to lead the Tenth Army to defend Hengyang. Stick to Hengyang for 10 to 15 days. After receiving Chiang Kai-shek's order, General Fang Xianjue directly issued an order to the troops to prepare for the battle of defending Hengyang to the death.
According to statistics, the Japanese army had a strength of about 90,000 people at that time, and only more than 17,000 troops defended the city. In the case of such a large disparity in troop strength, Fang Xianjue wanted to keep Hengyang for 10 days. It was tough, but he was confident.
However, after the outbreak of the Hengyang Defense War, what he never expected was that the Japanese army actually launched the fiercest attack on Hengyang. The Tenth Army defending the city, under the leadership of General Fang Xianjue, was also more and more courageous in the Vietnam War, vowing to defend Hengyang to the death. This made it difficult for the 90,000 Japanese troops attacking at Hengyang to move.
After the battle reached the 4th day, the Japanese fire was too fierce, resulting in the loss of positions outside Hengyang. All the soldiers who held their positions were killed, even the cooks. You can imagine how fierce the war was at that time.
Later, the Japanese launched a second general offensive, when the Japanese fired a large number of bombs, incendiary bombs and poison gas bombs at the Hengyang City Wall. The Japanese paid a great price after 9 days of fierce fighting, but they could not get close to the core position of the defenders.
At the stage when they could not fight for a long time, the Japanese army launched a third general offensive. It is said that the Japanese army sent 4 divisions at that time to launch a final onslaught against the defenders in the city. At that time, the Tenth Army in the city was not replenished by troops, and with continuous fighting, the combat effectiveness was almost exhausted. In this exhaustive situation, Fang Xianjue's men surrendered to the Japanese army in his name.
According to later records, the Tenth Army led by Fang Xianjue was able to resist several times the strength of the Japanese army and held Hengyang for 47 days. This had to show that his Tenth Army fought bravely. Moreover, many of the Japanese troops who besieged the city were attacked by grenades from the Tenth Army. According to surviving Japanese records at the time, the Chinese army used grenades as bayonets. It is conceivable that the bravery of this army is still glorious, although it is defeated. If you have any different views on this, please leave a comment below.