What is history: it is the echo of the past to the future, the reflection of the future on the past. - Hugo
Foreword: In the later stages of the Pacific War, the Japanese army was gradually defeated in the Pacific theater, in order to save its fate of defeat, the Japanese army launched the "No. 1 Operation" aimed at opening up the Chinese mainland communication line, and tried to quickly end the war in China. This was the "Yuxianggui Campaign" in the later period of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. The operation lasted more than eight months, and many battles were carried out in the history of the Japanese army, which are called the "Battle of Henan", "The Battle of Hunan", and the "Battle of Guangxi".
At that time, the all-out War of Resistance had entered its seventh year, and China, which was poor and weak, had almost shed the last drop of blood. Only two months later, most of the vast provinces of Henan and Hunan fell. In late June of that year, more than 100,000 Japanese heavy troops came to Hengyang City. The Chinese army guarding Hengyang, on the other hand, was only more than 17,000 men, nominally an army, but in fact only a few regiments, and in a state of correction after the war, with poor equipment.
The Japanese march
In view of the strength of the enemy and the weakness of the enemy, the military commander Fang Xianjue evacuated the people in the city before the war, and built a unique fortification according to the special geographical environment of Hengyang City--he ordered the engineer battalion to dig a trench 15 meters deep and 15 meters wide, and the side of our army's position was about 4 to 5 meters higher than the side facing the enemy.
At the same time, he cut the hills on the outskirts of the city into a ninety-degree cliff, and dug a communication trench for the activities of our bombardiers. At the same time, our army also placed heavy machine guns and mortars on the commanding heights, so that the Japanese army had to pay a heavy price for each step forward.
On June 22, the Japanese relied on the strong firepower and absolute superiority of bombers and heavy artillery to attack hengyang city. During the battle, the Japanese used a large number of 105, 120 and 150 mm field guns to shoot at our positions to cover the construction of ladders and infantry climbs by the engineers, and repeatedly released poison gas at the defenders.
By mid-July, the Japanese had captured the outer positions of Hengyang, and many of the defenders and soldiers on the positions, including their husbands, had all died heroically.
Nichiko wearing a gas mask
Beginning in late July, the Japanese army, reinforced by artillery, launched a general offensive against Hengyang City with heavy troops from four divisions. In view of the strong firepower of the Japanese army, General Fang Xianjue ordered the defenders to fight and retreat, and gradually retreated into the city to engage in street battles with the Japanese army.
It is worth mentioning that the grenades that have always been despised by the Japanese army and called "China's only heavy weapon that can be made by themselves" have become the "artillerymen in the pockets" of our army in the street battles -- the death squad members of our army equipped with grenades and submachine guns have been killed and wounded in small groups, and with the support of mortars and bazookas, the Japanese soldiers armed with "three or eight big covers" have been killed and wounded. The enemy chieftains and Major General Akirō Daisaku and Major General Shima Genji were also killed by our army.
In a dead city, chinese soldiers fell down in the face of one brother after another, and there was only one belief, that is, to never die.
General Ge Xiancai, a witness to this battle, recalled that only five houses survived under the bombardment and shelling of the Japanese army, the wounded soldiers had no nutrition, medicine, blood bank and surgical conditions, the wounds were inflamed and red, and the pus and blood flowed out like a spring.
Chinese general after surrender
On August 7, Hengyang finally fell, and the officers and soldiers fought for themselves, and the city was full of gunfire, still blocking the enemy everywhere. At this time, there were still more than 7,000 wounded officers and men, groaning in pain in the decadent wall, or raising a gun to commit suicide, or jumping into a well and throwing himself into the river, or hanging on a beam and forgetting; those who were seriously injured and unable to act, and they struggled to make up for his shot, and their tragic situation was beyond the ability of pen and ink to describe.
The Japanese army recorded in its war history that the Japanese army buried the remains of Chinese soldiers who died in battle with soil, and the smell was unstoppable at night, and even maggots crawled out. The fierceness of the war is evident.
At this time, Fang Xianjue also felt that the general situation had gone, and he had to make the most difficult choice in his life, agreeing to negotiate surrender on the request that the Japanese army provide conditions such as the treatment of the Chinese wounded.
At this point, the Defense of Hengyang was over, and the Chinese army achieved a total of more than 20,000 casualties in killing more than 20,000 enemy troops, and also paid heavy sacrifices - the Tenth Army alone had more than 7,600 casualties and more than 6,700 wounded. The history of the Japanese army refers to Hengyang as "Showa's 203 Highlands".
Hengyang Defense Battle Monument
Some people say that Fang Xianjue failed to repay the country with his death and was ashamed of his late festival. But "generosity is easy, and it is difficult to sacrifice oneself for righteousness." "It is very easy to die suddenly, throughout the ages, countless benevolent people who have thrown their heads and spilled their blood are not only thousands, but they are not as famous as Zhang Qian and Su Wu, who are not dead."
Moreover, Fang Xianjue had already fulfilled his duty as a soldier in the battle of one and a half months, and when the ammunition ran out of food, he endured humiliation and burden in order to save all his lives, and did not hesitate to bear the name of "traitor". As a general, he gave up the glory of dying on the battlefield and wrapping the body of Ma Ge and chose to leave a way for Brother Paoze to live. From this point of view alone, he is the greatest of the heroes.