On October 1, 1939, the land of China, which had been soaked in the flames of war for two years, ushered in another day. Looking at the national map of this day, you can see that Taiyuan, Nanjing, Xuzhou, Zhengzhou, Guangzhou, Wuhan and Nanchang have been lost, and North China and Central China have become a scorched earth, and this scorched earth is still spreading westward.
Between the hills and plains in the western part of Jiangxi, there is a county town called Gao'an, located about 46 kilometers west of Nanchang, the terrain of this county town is high in the north and low in the south, and the middle is the saddle shape of the plain, and at dawn on October 1, in the sound of chickens, the west gate of Gao'an County slowly opened, and an army of more than 2,000 people fished out, divided into two columns in the front, middle and rear parts all the way to the west.
The speed of this Chinese army's march and the speed of dawn are almost at the same time, and they step on the hills and fields of western Jiangxi, passing through villages, wading rivers, crossing fields and ridges, and going up roads, constantly attracting the curious eyes of the people along the way.
At that time, the common Chinese army in the eyes of the common people was the Central Army wearing a German-style steel helmet and a yellow-green military uniform, the Northwest Army wearing a British Tony steel helmet and a gray cloth military uniform, the Liangguang Army wearing an English helmet and an earth-yellow military uniform, and the Sichuan Army wearing a gray cloth hat and a gray military uniform, while the army that was rapidly marching west was wearing a blue-green military uniform and wearing an unusual strange steel helmet.
This steel helmet has a small cornice like a duck tongue, and there is a prominent ridge in the middle of the top, just like a miniature version of the crown on the helmet of the ancient Roman Empire soldiers, it seems that such steel helmets seem to be more in line with the head shape of the Orientals than the large German helmets and The British helmets, in the eyes of onlookers, they look very appropriate on the heads of the soldiers of this army, and they must be very comfortable to wear on the head.
This army is indeed extraordinary, it is the only French army in China, and it is the Dian Army, which is known as the "elite crown of the whole country".
During this period, the Dian Army, which came to the anti-Japanese battlefield, had 2 corps, the 60th Army and the 58th Army. The 60th Army left Yunnan on October 5, 1937, and went to the front, and the army in front of it was the second batch of the 58th Army that came to the front on August 1, 1938. The equipment of these two armies was all purchased from France by Wang Longyun of Yunnan, which is the elite that Longyun has built with all his might.
When leaving Yunnan, the Yunnan Army was equipped with Belgian FNM1930 rifles, French Khakikais light and heavy machine guns and anti-aircraft machine guns, each company was equipped with 6 light machine guns; each battalion was equipped with 6 heavy machine guns and 2 mortars; each regiment also had 2 anti-aircraft machine guns. Although the uniform style of the Dian Army is Zhongshan uniform, the color is the blue-green of the French uniform.
In addition to being well-equipped, the officers and men of the 60th Army and the 58th Army also have a high tactical quality, their soldiers are from simple peasant families all over Yunnan, the platoon leaders are veterans with more than 3 years of military experience, and most of the officers above the company commander are from the Yunnan Army Lecture Hall, and they have accumulated rich battlefield experience in many years of civil war.
When the Dian army was passing through Hankou on its way north to resist Japan, it was caught by the discerning German military advisers and praised them as "the most elite and powerful unit in China." ”
This 2,000 Dian army, which was moving rapidly in Jiangxi, was the 29th Regiment of the 10th Division of the 58th Army, and they were the vanguard regiments of the army, and at this time, the divisions and regiments of the army that followed them were moving westward from the garrisons on the fengxin and Gao'an front lines.
The 29th Regiment was the vanguard of the army, and this regiment was divided into 3 parts, and at the front of the regiment was the 2nd Battalion, who was the vanguard of the regiment.
Marching at the front of the 2nd Battalion was a 27- and 8-year-old officer with thick eyebrows, big eyes, a tiger's back and a bear's waist, and dark skin, who had the rank of major hanging on his collar badge, a revolver gun pinned to his waist, a rifle on his shoulder that he did not know which soldier was carrying, two leggs with leggings in a strong and powerful spindle shape, walking effortlessly, this person was deputy battalion commander Ma Dexing, he was from the Yi tribe of Mengzi, he had been shuttling through the high mountains and dense forests since childhood, walking like a flat foot, at this time he was the guide of this team. Leading the team towards its destination, he skillfully controlled the speed of the team, that is, to ensure that it was fast, and that the warriors did not expend too much physical strength and did not leave a single person behind.
A lieutenant colonel riding a red horse in the middle of the line was the highest rank commander of the 2nd Battalion, he was about 30 years old, with the same revolver gun pinned to the deputy battalion commander around his waist, his appearance style was the opposite of that of the deputy battalion commander, he looked clear-eyed, if not a military uniform, his slender figure and white skin made him look more like a student, he was the battalion commander Fei Shixun. Fei Shixun was a Han Chinese from Zhennan (present-day Nanhua), and in the ranks of the Dian army with frequent wars, he was considered to have experienced hundreds of battles, and at this time he was with the secretary of the battalion headquarters, the clerks and others, laughing and moving forward.
Fei Shixun and deputy battalion commander Ma Dexing both graduated from the Yunnan Army Lecture Hall one after another; Fei Shixun had courage and insight, was willing to use his brain in fighting, and won the trust of all the officers and men of the battalion.
The Northeast Army and the Jin Sui Army, which were no more numerous than horses, and the deputy battalion-level officers of the Dian Army were all on foot, and at this time this battalion, under the leadership of deputy battalion commander Ma Dexing, opened their legs and began to march rapidly, they sometimes trotted, sometimes walked tightly, marched very easily, and reached the town of Yangxu, 21 kilometers away, at about 12 noon, which was a bustling town, where they took a short rest, ate some dry food, and then turned north and entered the canyon between the two mountains, although it was a canyon, it was still a flat road.
In the evening, the 2nd Battalion arrived at a small town called Cunqian Town, which was slightly smaller than Yangxu Town, and this was their destination today. The town was located in the middle of the mountains, which was very suitable for stationing, and Fei Shixun ordered the whole battalion to rest on the spot and wait for the arrival of the main force of the regiment.
With the arrival of the main force of the regiment, the regimental commander Yang Xiu issued the order for each camp to camp. Quartermasters took the opportunity to buy some food to distribute to the battalions, which in turn replenished the soldiers' kettles with water. Early the next morning, the 2nd Battalion continued to serve as a forward and headed west.
Further west into the hilly area, the morale of the warriors slowly rose, they grew up in the mountains, the mountains can bring them a sense of security, although the hills of Jiangxi are not as dangerous as the high mountains of Yunnan, but they also feel kind, all the way to enjoy the autumn breeze and the warmth of the sun, the warriors feel relaxed, very comfortable.
The battalion commander, Fei Shixun, could feel that the words of the soldiers along the way had obviously increased.
Xie Jinghe, the head of the conveying team, is an outgoing personality, he enjoys the scenery different from his hometown all the way, while constantly looking for someone to talk to, he said to the clerk Next to Wu Yuruo: "Xiucai, do you feel no, this place in Jiangxi, the sun is very gentle, and there is no feeling at all on the face." ”
Compared with yunnan, which has strong ultraviolet rays, Jiangxi's sunlight ultraviolet rays are much weaker, and the warriors from Yunnan can clearly feel it, Wu Yuruo smiled and said: "Of course, you see the skin of Jiangxi girls, the water spirit is very strong, because the sun is gentle." ”
"Oh, Xiucai, the ink in your stomach is used to look at your sister?" Xie Jinghe said dismissively.
"Gee, you rough people don't understand." Wu Yuruo sneered.
Xie Jing and his mouth skimmed and did not speak. Fei Shixun, who was riding on a horse, became interested, and he smiled and asked, "What do you understand?" Talk about watching. ”
Wu Yuruo said: "One side of the water and soil to support the other side, you see the fields and green hills here, and our Yunnan mountains and mountains are completely different scenery, people who grow up in this kind of place are completely different from us Yunnan people." ”
When Wu Yuruo said this, the cadres and fighters around him were all interested, and Secretary Yang Benchu turned back and asked, "You are messing around, what is the difference?" ”
"Hey, want to hear it?" Wu Yuruo was interested in selling Guanzi.
"Say it."
"Straight up, don't swallow it."
The warrior next to him urged.
"The people in this place are gentle and have a kind of spirituality, they come to Wen, we Yunnan people are straight and fiery, and we come to Wu."
Wu Yuruo's words caused a burst of laughter, everyone said that he was talking nonsense, and Wu Yuruo "hummed" a few times and did not open his mouth.
Fei Shixun was very impressed: "This place in Jiangxi has been a place where the literati of the Yuanyuan dynasty since ancient times, people are spiritual, and Xiucai still has to see accurately." ”
The soldiers of the Dian Army grew up in the mountains and did not understand the outside world, at this time, when they saw the battalion commander saying this, everyone naturally stopped laughing at Wu Yuruo, and they quickly found other jokes. In the midst of laughter, everyone moved forward without tiredness, and suddenly returned to their senses, it was late, and the front was their important destination - Yifeng County.
It was already night when the 2nd Battalion entered Yifeng, and they waited here for the whole regiment to assemble for the second time, and this time the assembly obviously had the flavor of battle.
Yang Xiu, the regimental commander, announced to the whole regiment the purpose of their operation.
The Japanese 106th Division had already entered shangfu town (a small town in Yichun City), and they attacked westward without stopping, but were blocked by the 60th Army of the Dian Army, which had built a position on the first line of Ganfang in the southern foothills of Baizhang Mountain, and in order to prevent the Japanese from detouring deeper, the 10th Division of Yang Xiu's 29th Regiment would build a second-line position 13 kilometers behind the Ganfang position. Since the enemy situation in the front was unknown, Yang Xiu decided to send a regiment of reconnaissance platoons to search for the bridge first, and the main force followed 2 kilometers behind the reconnaissance platoon.
Perhaps not wanting to make the soldiers of the 2nd Battalion too nervous, Yang Xiu replaced the vanguard regiment with 1 battalion, and the 2 battalion followed the 1 battalion, and the 3 battalion still marched at the end.
The soldiers of the 2nd Battalion had already experienced the great battle of the Battle of Wuhan, so they quickly entered the state of battle, they checked their weapons and first aid equipment, the sound of gun bolts, the impact of guns and kettles, the sound of unpacking backpacks and leggings, but soon stopped, they changed their gun back posture to carrying guns, and followed the 1st Battalion to find a bridge in the night.
At this time, just 5 days after the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15 of the lunar calendar, although the sky is not a full moon, it is still very bright, illuminated all around, and the potholes on the ground are clearly seen. The march of the 2nd Battalion, as in the daytime, did not feel any hardship, they traveled about 30 kilometers without stopping, and suddenly a messenger soldier came to Fei Shixun, who conveyed to Fei Shixun the order of the regimental commander to stop advancing and asked Fei Shixun to meet at the regimental headquarters.
Fei Shixun led the guards to the regimental headquarters with the 3rd Battalion, and soon the 1st Battalion Commander also arrived. One staff officer brought an ammunition box and laid out a battle map on it, and another staff officer turned on a flashlight, and the drawings were illuminated. Commander Yang Xiu pointed his finger at the map and said to the 3 battalion commanders: "The reconnaissance platoon reported that all the hills in the direction of the bridge were occupied by the Japanese army, and now I have sent someone to report to the division commander, but no matter what, we must drive this Japanese army away, otherwise the 60th Army on the Ganfang side will be attacked from both sides." To achieve the goal of driving out this Japanese army, we must first occupy Hill 1, and then take No. 2 and No. 3. Commander Yang Xiu looked up at the three battalion commanders, saw that they all understood, and continued, "The specific way of playing is to take 1 battalion as the main attack." He made an insertion gesture with his right hand standing on The No. 1 height on the map, then opened his arms again, opened his two palms and made a stuck neck motion with four fingers together: "The other 2 battalions detoured from the side. ”
Yang Xiu did not say which battalion was the main attack and which two battalions were roundabout, but his eyes fell on Fei Shixun's face.
Every comrade-in-arms on the battlefield is a brother, and there are always sacrifices in war, so who is going to make sacrifices? As a commander, Yang Xiu understood that whoever he pointed out, who was most likely to sacrifice, but he did not want his brothers to die because of him, he had to seek their own opinions first, the reason why he first looked at the 2nd Battalion Commander Fei Shixun, because he knew that the 2nd Battalion Commander Fei Shixun was the best at fighting a hard battle, and although the 2nd Battalion Commander Fei Shixun looked like a scholar, he fought bravely, and every battle must be with the machine gunner, and the machine gunner on the battlefield was the most dangerous.
Yang Xiu first set his eyes on Fei Shixun, naturally thinking that Fei Shixun was the first choice, if Fei Shixun did not accept the recruitment, he would look at the 1 battalion commander and the 3 battalion commander, if they did not accept the recruitment, he would directly point the general, so that his psychology would feel better.
Fei Shixun saw Yang Xiu's gaze sweeping over his face, and immediately understood the meaning, after all, he was also a person who led the troops, whenever he needed his subordinates to charge into the front, he also had the same feeling as the regimental commander, since he joined the army, and came to the front line from the rear of Yunnan, he had already held the determination of Ma Ge's body wrapping, when he was studying in the martial arts hall, the instructor taught him that dying on the battlefield was an unshirkable obligation of soldiers, and it was also the best destination for soldiers, and he had a deep understanding of this, so he greeted the regimental commander's eyes and said: "Regiment commander, our battalion is willing to fight the main attack." ”
Although Fei Shixun had already chosen Fei Shixun with his eyes, Fei Shixun's initiative to ask for battle still touched Yang Xiu, and at this moment he was inconvenient to reveal his feelings, and could only say firmly and simply: "Well, the 2nd Battalion is the main attacker, and the 1st and 3rd Battalions are responsible for interspersing detours." He raised his left wrist to look at his watch, "It's 2 o'clock, we set the attack time at 3 o'clock, we must take The No. 1 height before dawn, if we can't take it before dawn, the devil's aircraft cannon will come to support, then we won't be able to fight, do you have any opinions?" ”
The three battalion commanders said in unison: "Resolutely complete the task." ”
"Well, the time is not waiting for anyone, you hurry up and prepare separately, and attack at 3 o'clock on time."
Fei Shixun immediately set out with the 2 battalions after receiving the task, and they overtook the 1st battalion in the front with pride. The soldiers of Battalion 1 showed a complex expression in front of them, an expression of both shame and admiration. When Fei Shixun passed by the side of Long Peilin, the commander of the 1st Battalion, Long Peilin took his hand and said reluctantly: "Shixun, take care of yourself, don't be strong, there will be many battles in the future, come to Japan for a long time." ”
"What did your brother say, oh, we have been fighting for so many years, I have not seen you such a mother-in-law, don't say it, find a bridge to see." Fei Shixun shook hands with Long Peilin, turned over on his horse and followed the team.
Long Peilin looked at Fei Shixun's back, as if to remember him, he did not close his eyes for a long time, and watched Fei Shixun disappear into the darkness before getting on the horse and leading the team forward.
More than ten minutes later, Fei Shixun quietly moved to find the bridge with 2 battalions.
Qiuqiao is a small basin between a mountain pass in the Jiuling Mountains, there are about 300 families living, a Nanluan River originating from jiuling mountain passes through the south side of the bridge, and there are bridges on the river that communicate with each other, but at this time the hills on both sides of the river have been occupied by the Japanese army.
At this time, at the foot of Fei Shixun's 2nd Battalion, is the exit from the mountain pass to the basin.
Fei Shixun held up a telescope to look at the village of Qiuqiao, and saw that the village of Qiuqiao was illuminated in the moonlight, and the No. 1 highland was just behind the Qiuqiao Village, about 700 meters from their position, but they had to reach the No. 1 highland, first of all, they had to cross the Nanluan River.
Fei Shixun immediately summoned officers above the company commander to the battalion headquarters for an operational meeting, attended by deputy battalion commander Ma Dexing, 3 infantry companies and 4 company commanders of 1 machine gun company, because they were located at the foot of the Japanese position, so they could not emit any light and movement, and could only look at the map by moonlight.
Fei Shixun told everyone about the hostility he had received from the regimental commander, and then pointed to Highland No. 1 on the map and said to everyone: "Only by taking Highland No. 1 can we have a foothold, and our chance of taking Highland No. 1 can only be before dawn, and I plan to fight like this." With that, Fei Shixun raised his head and pointed to Highland No. 1 in the moonlight: "You see, there is a slope behind the bridge that leads directly to Highland No. 1, where we can feint and attract enemy fire, and there is a gentle slope 1 km from the left wing that leads directly to Highland No. 1, and we are encircling here, do you have any comments?" ”
Fei Shixun glanced at several company commanders, and seeing that they all agreed with their opinions, they began to arrange the task: "Well, the commander of Tan Company will lead 5 companies to pretend to attack head-on, the commander of Yang Company will lead 6 companies to carry out left-wing encirclement, I will personally lead the machine gun company and mortar platoon to support on the right wing, and deputy battalion commander Ma will lead 4 companies as reserves, and after taking Highland No. 1, immediately attack Highland No. 2." ”
As soon as Fei Shixun's voice fell, ma Dexing, who was impatient, said: "No, the principle of operation is that the supreme military commander should be with the reserve and keep abreast of the battlefield situation at any time, you are the commander of the 1st Battalion, should you be with the reserve, or should I take the machine gun company to be responsible for support." ”
Fei Shixun did not reason with Ma Dexing: "Old Horse, you know, the things I decided, it is useless for you to argue." ”
Ma Dexing naturally knew Fei Shixun's style, and he had to shut up. After the meeting adjourned, the company commanders went back to make preparations, and Ma Dexing specially called Xu Jingzhong, the commander of the machine gunner, to his side: "You must ensure the safety of the battalion commander and keep him away from your machine gunner." Xu Jingzhong said: "The deputy battalion commander is assured, I specially assigned a soldier to protect the battalion commander." ”
There are still about ten minutes before the attack time of 3 o'clock, some of the soldiers are working intensively to check their equipment, some take this opportunity to replenish food and water, and some squint their eyes to take a nap to recover their strength, Fei Shixun sat under a big tree, he looked at the bridge village quietly in front of him like a white moonlight, his eyes became soft, and he couldn't help but sing the tune of "On the Songhua River", but the lyrics were made up by himself:
My home is on Zhennan Street in Yunnan, where there is my lame son, my little foot mother-in-law, and the aging father-in-law...
Xie Jinghe, the head of the transmission team, sat next to Fei Shixun, listening to Fei Shixun humming, his nose was sour, thinking about his hometown in Yunnan, tears came out of his eyes, he was worried about being seen by Fei Shixun, pretending to tidy up the military hat and secretly wiping away the tears with his hands, and then looking sideways at Fei Shixun, he saw that two lines of shining tears appeared on Fei Shixun's cheeks under the moonlight.
Fei Shixun did not notice Xie Jinghe's movements, he seemed to be immersed in his own singing, and even forgot to erase his tears. Xie Jinghe had never seen the battalion commander so sad. In Xie Jinghe's heart, the battalion commander was brave and good at fighting, always charging forward every time he fought, and was a tough guy who looked like a bookish student, and he had the courage to persuade Fei Shixun: "Battalion commander, this is the exile song in the northeast, our hometown has not yet been occupied by the Japanese, don't be too sad, sing a majestic, big knife to the heads of the devils." ”
Climb Oh (roll), the little squad leader actually dared to take care of my battalion commander, the commander ah (long mighty wind)? Fei Shixun glanced at Xie Jinghe and continued to hum, only this time he did not sing the lyrics again, just hummed the tune of "Songhua River".
At 2:50, Fei Shixun immediately got up: "Let's go." Then he rushed first toward the Luan River, followed by a machine gun company and a mortar platoon, as well as a group of men and horses from his battalion headquarters.
It seems that the Japanese army did not expect that the Chinese army would suddenly appear here, and their guard was so lax that the 2 battalions all crossed the Luan River smoothly, and they began to act separately like three swords. Fei Shixun's army successfully reached the mountain pass on the right flank, and they soon set up 6 Haqikais heavy machine guns and 2 mortars, of which 6 heavy machine guns were mounted on the mountain pass and 2 mortars were mounted under the mountain pass.
Shortly after Fei Shixun was ready for fire, a crisp sound of a Type 38 rifle came from the front, and it was the 5th Company that began to attack, and Fei Shixun then raised his left hand to look at his watch, and the hour hand pointed exactly at 3 o'clock.
1. Okamura Ningji and Xue Yue's dispatch of troops
In September 1939, the Japanese army originally claimed that the war to destroy China in 3 months had been fought for 2 years, and their number of troops in China had reached 800,000, which was very inconsistent with the Japanese authorities' policy of looking at the world's northward and southward expansion, in order to solve the Chinese problem as soon as possible, the Japanese army headquarters set up the "General Headquarters of the Chinese Dispatch Army", appointed Nishio Shouzo as commander, and Itagaki Seishiro as chief of staff.
In order to get rid of the quagmire of war in China as soon as possible, the newly appointed Nishio and Itagaki began to change their tactics, on the one hand, to step up support for Wang Jingwei's Nanjing regime, and on the other hand, to focus on attacking Chiang Kai-shek's central army and to win over miscellaneous armies outside the central army.
In order to achieve military objectives, Okamura Ningji, commander of the Eleventh Army of the Central China Dispatch Army, after attacking the 5th Theater of the Chinese army Li Zongren in May, began to plan an all-out attack on Xue Yue's Ninth Theater in September, with the aim of eliminating the effective forces of the Central Department, and its most important thing was the 15th Army of Guan Linzheng stationed in Changsha.
As a result, the Japanese army gathered about 100,000 troops from 6 divisions and regiments, and with the support of 100 aircraft from 4 squadrons of the 3rd Aviation Regiment, and with the cooperation of the naval gunboat team and the Marine Corps, launched a "rush attack" as the main operation.
Okamura Ningji's goal was to first capture Fengxin and Jing'an in northern Gan, then tongcheng in southern Hunan and Yueyang in northern Hunan, and then directly take Changsha.
In the face of the Japanese army's "rush attack" strategy, Xue Yue, acting commander of the Ninth Theater, concentrated about 200,000 troops in 16 divisions, and he was ready to consume a large number of Japanese troops first with the tactic of "resisting one by one and luring the enemy to go deeper", and then surround and annihilate the Japanese army near Changsha.
2. Which unit is the Japanese army in front of the Dian Army? Where did it come from?
The Japanese army's rush to attack the war was first fought in northern Gan.
On September 15, the Japanese 106th Division broke through the position of the 10th Division of the 58th Army of the Yunnan Army at Fengxin and other places, and turned south to attack Gao'an, which was held by the 32nd Army of the former Jin Sui Army Song Kentang, and then made an attempt to use this place as a breakthrough point to enter northern Hunan and attract reinforcements from the main force of the Chinese army to achieve its plan of moving the tiger away from the mountain.
The Japanese army's strategy worked, Xue Yue strictly ordered the 32nd Army to hold Gao'an, and then mobilized the 58th Army of the Dian Army, the 60th Army of the Dian Army An Enpu and the 49th Army of liu Duoquan of the former Northeast Army to block the Japanese army, and the two sides fought fiercely around Gao'an, resulting in Gao'an being lost and recovered, but the troops of 8 divisions of the Chinese army were also concentrated near Gao'an.
Lieutenant General Ryotaro Nakai, commander of the 106th Division, judging that he had achieved his goal of transferring the Chinese army away from the mountains, began his strategic operation in three parts, the first of which continued to contain the Chinese army in the direction of Gao'an with a detachment and played the role of covering the left wing; the second part was covered by the 136th Brigade led by Major General Takashi Suanjima on the right wing; the third part was that he personally led the main force of the division to move west from Shangfu Town on September 23, preparing to break through the defense line of luhan of the 1st Army Group of the Dian Army near Ganfang. Insert the core of the Chinese army to surround and annihilate the Chinese army.
Third, the weak division formed by Osaka merchants became the main force of the elite division
The Japanese 106th Division was a reserve division of the elite 6th Division, and most of the members of this division were Osaka merchants and intellectuals, so when they first entered China, their combat effectiveness was not strong, and when they entered China, they participated in the Battle of Wuhan. Under the leadership of the eager officers, the 106th Division ventured into the Wanjialing area regardless of casualties, only to be annihilated by Xue Yue by more than 3,000 people in one fell swoop, and suffered a devastating blow.
The Japanese army was not satisfied with the performance of the 106th Division in the Battle of Wuhan, but Okamura Ningji insisted on using this division, believing that the officers and men of the 106th Division and the excellent 6th Division were from the heroic and good fighting NanKyushu, and he believed that this division could be shaped, so he placed the division in the northern section of Nanxun Road for reorganization and rest.
Half a year later, the 106th Division took part in the Nanchang Campaign, and the division did not live up to Okamura Ningji's expectations, and its performance was very different from before, and it attacked Gao'an from De'an all the way to Gao'an.
The 106th Division became the main force of Okamura's 11th Army after this battle, with 2 brigades and 4 infantry companies under its command, cavalry, engineers, and mountain artillery and heavy artillery, which was considered "new", and Lieutenant General Ryotaro Nakai, who was more aggressive in attacking, took the lead in launching an offensive at Bongsin.
On 23 September, Nakai Ryotaro led the main force of the 106th Division to attack the Chinese army from the town of Shangfu, but was completely resisted by the 60th Army of the 1st Army of the 111th Army near Ganfang, and the 147th Wing of his 111th Brigade Regiment, led by Ando Tadao, bypassed Ganfang in a roundabout attack. When the main force of the 147th Wing entered the Dabu Bridge 6 kilometers behind Ganfang, its forwards had already occupied the Bridge 6 kilometers away from the Dabu Bridge.
The purpose of the Japanese army was not to fight with the 60th Army in Ganfang, but to divide and annihilate the Large Chinese troops between Wang Lingji and Fan Songfu's Xiang'e Border Area Advance Team of the 30th Army of the Sichuan Army behind them. To do this, they need to establish a forward base near the bridge.
Fourth, the end of the battalion commander
After the sound of a Type 38 rifle, there was a dense sound of rifle guns and grenadiers, but the return fire of the 5th Company was very sparse. Fei Shixun took out a telescope from the leather box, he lay on the mountain pass and looked in the direction of the 5th Company, and saw that the 5th Company was overwhelmed by japanese fire on the unobstructed slope under the moonlight, they could not see the Japanese troops on the high ground, but the Japanese army could block the entire slope, and then look at the mountain, and did not find new dirt, nor did they see the traces of bunkers and trenches, indicating that the Japanese army had just arrived here, and they had not yet built fortifications.
Fei Shixun raised two slaps behind both ears, judging from the sound, the Japanese machine guns have 3, grenadiers have 2, combined with his previous experience, he preliminarily judged that the current Japanese army is 1 sharp squad, the number is between 50-70, there are 6 light machine guns.
Fei Shixun knew that once the gunshots were fired, he had to fight quickly before the Japanese reinforcements arrived, he did not know the situation of the other 2 battalions, nor did he have time to know their situation, he ordered 6 heavy machine guns and 2 mortars to fire at the Japanese positions together.
The coverage of the heavy machine guns was very large, although the heavy machine gunners were not exact about the location of the Japanese, but they effectively suppressed the Japanese fire, as the 2 mortar shells exploded in the Japanese positions, the Japanese fire weakened, while the light machine guns of the 5 companies sounded, and the soldiers began to rush forward.
The slope from the base of the mountain to the top of the hill was about 300 meters, and when the 5th Company rushed to the halfway point, the 6th Company also detoured up, and under the cover of heavy machine guns commanded by Fei Shixun, they quickly occupied The No. 1 Heights, and the remnants of the Japanese troops fled in the direction of the No. 2 Highlands.
Fei Shixun took the machine gun company and mortar platoon to the No. 1 heights, and soon the deputy battalion commander Ma Dexing also came up with the 4th company, and he also muttered that he had not caught the battle. Fei Shixun said: "You old horse is in a hurry, there are not many Japanese troops in this position, they all went to the back, and you will have to fight in the future battles." He ordered the companies to step up the construction of positions to prevent the Japanese from counterattacking, and at the same time to establish a foothold for their forward attack.
Seeing that the sky was almost bright, Fei Shixun said to Ma Dexing again: "The No. 1 position was taken down without effort, and now that the Japanese army is prepared, it is estimated that it is not easy to take the No. 2 highland, I will first go to the front to reconnoiter, by the way, find a place to set up machine gun and artillery positions, if the Japanese army on the No. 2 heights is not strong, our battalion will take it down, if the Japanese army is very strong, we will wait for the 1st and 3rd battalions to detour and then attack." ”
Ma Dexing heard: "Just now I was in the second line, and now I am still in the second line?" No, this time I took the cannon and went first. ”
"You are not as familiar with the cannon firepower as I am, but there will be opportunities in the future, and now your task is to lead the charge." Fei Shixun firmly vetoed Mader.
Ma Dexing had to give in: "Then you pay attention to safety, you don't expose it before we attack." ”
"I know." After speaking, Fei Shixun took the cannon and moved in the direction of Highland 2.
The straight-line distance from Highland 1 to Highland 2 is about 1 km, and between the two highlands is a canyon, and the mountains on both sides of the canyon are not steep, but the trees are sparse and cannot be hidden. Fei Shixun frowned, he looked up at the sky, and then said to Xu Jingzhong, commander of the machine gun company: "Now that the Japanese army is ready, the sky is already bright, our target of more than 160 people is too obvious, tell everyone to extend the distance, so as not to be covered by artillery fire, I led the battalion headquarters to walk in front, in the middle is your machine gun company, and the artillery platoon is at the end." ”
Fei Shixun took a Belgian FNM1930 rifle from the guard Zhang Shilin, which was a short rifle evolved from the German Mauser M1898, nearly 10 cm shorter than the Type 38 rifle, which was very suitable for trench combat, he pulled open the handle of the gun, saw that there were only 3 bullets inside, he continuously pulled the bolt to withdraw the bullet, and then took a new bridge clip from Zhang Shilin's hand, pressed 5 bullets into the magazine, and then walked down the hill with the gun first. Zhang Shilin carried the 20-ring German Mauser C96 closely behind Fei Shixun, followed by the communication team leader Xie Jinghe, the clerk Wu Yuruo, Li Xueyuan and others.
The downhill slope was about 300 meters long, Fei Shixun and the battalion headquarters quickly descended to the bottom of the valley, they immediately dispersed the vigilance, and then the machine gun company also came down, just when the mortar platoon soldiers led the mule horses with their guns down to the middle of the slope, there was a sudden roar of aircraft in the sky, the mules and horses were moving very slowly on the hillside, and before they reached the bottom of the valley, the Japanese planes had arrived.
The 12 Type 95 bombers flew in groups of 3 and 4 over High Ground No. 1 in a circle, and the bloody sun signs on the wings were quite dazzling.
"Don't move, get hidden." Fei Shixun shouted.
At this time, the first group of Japanese planes flew over to drop bombs, three large mud pillars took off, and then the mud mixed with the branches that were thrown into the sky fell one after another, at the same time, the Japanese machine guns on The No. 2 heights also sounded, and Fei Shixun's small unit was crushed and unable to move.
The 3 Japanese planes in the first group dropped bombs and then lifted their heads and circled in the air, and the 3 Japanese planes in the second group came to drop bombs again, and three large mud columns suddenly rose from the bottom of the valley. After the smoke cleared, Fei Shixun found that it was the tall mule horse that exposed the target, and the Japanese machine was staring at the mule horse to drop the bomb, and he beckoned the mortar fighters to unload their guns while running towards the mule horses to unload their guns himself. At this time, the three Japanese planes of the third group flew over again.
Xie Jinghe, the head of the communication squad who was about 25 meters away from Fei Shixun, shouted when he saw this situation: "Battalion commander, the plane is coming again, don't be with the mule." ”
The three planes fell down toward the mule like evil eagles catching chickens, and in the howling of the planes, Xie Jinghe intermittently heard Fei Shixun shouting: "You don't care, I'm here, you're here..." ”
In the sound of the bomb explosion, Xie Jinghe fainted.
I don't know how long later, when Xie Jinghe was shaken awake by Xu Jingzhong, the commander of the machine gun company, he saw Fei Shixun on the back of the machine gun company commander Geng Platoon. When Geng Platoon Commander put Fei Shixun down, Xie Jinghe found that Fei Shixun was no longer breathing, and his beloved Fei Shixun battalion commander's left abdomen was cut by shrapnel, revealing the severed intestine.
5. Afterword to the incident
After the death of the commander of Fei Shixun's battalion, Xu Jingzhong, commander of the machine gun company, ordered the platoon commander Geng to take Fei Shixun's body and the soldiers of the battalion headquarters out.
Geng Platoon Commander personally carried Fei Shixun's body, led 9 people from the battalion headquarters south along the valley, and then came to Highland No. 1 with the water flowing down the River.
Deputy Battalion Commander Ma Dexing saw Fei Shixun's body, his teeth clenched, he ordered the 5th Company and 6th Company to hold their positions, and he rushed with 4 companies to the direction of No. 2 Heights.
When Ma Dexing led 4 companies to the bottom of the valley, the 1st and 3rd battalions also detoured, and they captured The 2nd Height from three sides. It was noon on October 3, 1939.
The Japanese did not expect that they would encounter such stubborn resistance, they tried several times to retake the high ground but could not succeed, they did not want to fight here, and then played a roundabout trick, the main force detoured back to the flank of the 10th Division of the Dian Army.
Liu Zhengfu, commander of the 10th Division, fearing that it would be encircled, ordered the whole division to retreat, and the 2nd Battalion of the 29th Regiment retreated with the main force.