On May 5, 1940, Zhong Yi led the various units of the 173rd Division to the vicinity of Motou Town, immediately occupied the position, built fortifications, and made preparations for the retreat of the main force of the army. The Japanese attacking forces bypassed the town of Lutou and directly attacked Zaoyang City, and the 173rd Division waited all day long, ready to attack the invading enemy. However, the Japanese did not pass through the cover positions they had set up, and there was no fighting until dusk. In fact, the Japanese army had already broken through, and the 173rd Division was already behind enemy lines.
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In view of this change in the situation on the battlefield, division commander Zhong Yi believed that it was impossible to wait for the rabbit and decided to transfer the whole division. Zhong Yi quickly drew up a transfer plan and made a transfer deployment: the left column moved in the order of the 519th Regiment, the division headquarters and the division's direct subordinate units, and the 518th Regiment, starting from the vicinity of Lutou Town, assembling and waiting for orders through Qingliang Temple and Taiping Town to the area north of Lüyan Yi, with the 517th Regiment as the right column, from Lutou Town through the north side of Qingliang Temple, along the southern foothills of Tongbai Mountain. Pass through the northern end of Taiping Town and Xiaohe Street, and assemble in the area near the north side of Lüyan Yi.
At dusk on May 5, all regiments of the 173rd Division set out from Lutou Town and moved towards Lüyan Yi according to the designated route. The night was breezy and rainy, it was still dark, the roads were muddy, and the march was extremely slow. The 518th Regiment of the left column lost contact with the division headquarters, and when it reached the vicinity of Qingliang Temple, it was found that there were more than 40 Japanese chariots moving on the road leading to Taiping Town 20 kilometers west of Qingliang Temple, and it was detected that 15 kilometers northwest of Zaoyang, There were Already Japanese cavalry infestation, and the 518th Regiment's forward route was blocked, and instead of marching on the north side, it was squeezed onto a road with the 517th Regiment in the right column, causing crowding and difficulty. When crossing Xiaohe Street, the 518th Regiment began to move southwest, taking the original route, but still could not get in touch with the division headquarters. Regiment commander Li Junxiong led his troops on the way, suddenly encountered a japanese army, after a fierce battle, the 518th Regiment was scattered, Li Junxiong regimental commander led a unit to lose contact with the main force of the regiment, in Taiping Town about 15 kilometers west of the East Bank of the Tang River encountered a large group of Japanese troops, surrounded by the regiment, after fierce fighting, except for a prominent siege to find the main force of the regiment to return to the team, most of the heroic sacrifice, Li Junxiong regimental commander below more than 60 people were captured by the Japanese army.
The 517th Regiment led by Ling Yunshang, after passing through Xiaohe Street, because the 518th Regiment returned to the original route, the road was no longer congested, the speed of the march was accelerated, and it was dawn, and the 517th Regiment found that the villages it passed had Japanese troops camped, and found the local compatriots who had not fled to inquire, only to learn that there were already four or five thousand Japanese cavalry attacking in the afternoon of the first day, stationed in the villages in front. Ling Yun sent a reconnaissance team to reconnoiter around, confirming that there were Japanese troops in nearby villages, that the 517th Regiment had penetrated into the Japanese camp area, and that the Japanese army had formed a natural circle for the 517th Regiment. After dawn, the Japanese army discovered this Chinese army and unceremoniously launched a siege on this "uninvited guest".
After all, Ling Yunshang had been in the battlefield for a long time and had rich combat experience, he was calm and calm, and he was not in danger, and he quickly commanded a part of his troops to occupy the position and cover the main force to retreat to the mountains. At the foot of the mountain, there were wheat fields everywhere, the wheat was in the period of pumping and filling, and the wheat at that time was mostly high pole varieties, so the wheat fields became a natural cover that the troops could use, and the 517th Regiment, under the command of Ling Yunshang, quickly withdrew to the mountains south of the town of Qiyi. Ling Yunshang immediately sent troops to guard and guard the entrances to the mountain passes and sort out the withdrawing troops.
Ling Yunshang was sorting out the team, and Peng Tinghua, deputy commander of the 5I8 Regiment, led the main force of the 518 Regiment to the mountains to meet the 517 Regiment. Ling Yunshang immediately sent troops to cover the 518th Regiment to organize the team in the mountains, and immediately contacted the military headquarters and the division headquarters, but repeatedly called for help and could not get in touch. Finally, he finally got in touch with the headquarters of the commander of the Fifth Theater, and Ling Yunshang telegraphed li Zongren of the situation of the 517th and 518th regiments, and Li Zongren instructed that the 518th regiment be placed under the command of Ling Yunshang, and the troops of the 517th and 518th regiments led by Ling Yunshang turned around and attacked behind the enemy lines. Fight to kill and wound the enemy and disrupt the enemy's deployment.
Li Zongren also designated a radio station in the theater commander's headquarters to contact Ling Yunshang, and the white theater commander took over the command of Ling Yunshang's operations. After Ling Yunshang was ordered, he immediately agreed with the deputy commander of the 518 regiment to carry out the case, and quickly led his troops to advance behind the enemy lines.