On January 24, 1944, the Japanese headquarters issued the "Operation No. 1" order to open up the mainland communication line, and the commander of the Chinese Dispatch Army, Hata Shunroku, served as the commander-in-chief of "Operation No. 1".
In the Yuxianggui strategy formulated by the senior staff officer of the Japanese army, Shima Guanwuji, the Japanese army mobilized more than 500,000 troops from 18 divisions and regiments, 100,000 war horses, 1,500 artillery, 800 tanks, and more than 15,000 vehicles.
After everything was ready, the "Operation No. 1" operation to save the Japanese army from defeat began to be carried out in full swing, which is known as the "Battle of Yuxianggui".
In May 1944, isamu Yokoyama, commander of the Japanese 11th Army, who was in charge of operations on the southern front, was ordered to launch the Xianggui Offensive, focusing on the Hunan region.
In response to this action of the Japanese army, Xue Yue, commander of the Chinese Ninth Theater, judged: "The Japanese army is only a local operation and there is no threat to Changsha. ”
However, when the intelligence organization of the Ninth Theater reported that "there are signs of large-scale mobilization of the Japanese army," Xue Yue still did not pay attention to it, and even ignored the reminder sent by the Military Commission of the National Government that "there is a large number of Japanese troops gathering."
In the Ninth Theater, almost no one dared to question Xue Yue's command ability, but at this time, there was a person who was very dissatisfied with Xue Yue's platoon deployment, and he was Zhao Zili, chief of staff of the Ninth Theater.
After the fall of the Central Plains, Zhao Zili judged that the Japanese army would definitely launch an attack on Hunan in the next step, and with the current strength of the Ninth Theater, it was impossible to resist the Japanese offensive. He asked Xue Yue to immediately request support from the Military Commission of the Nationalist Government, but his advice was not only not adopted, but also ridiculed.
Zhao Zili believed that if the Japanese army strengthened the strength of the internal and external fronts at the same time, if the Ninth Theater still adhered to the old method of warfare, it would be possible to collapse completely. It is necessary to ask the Military Commissars of the National Government for more troops, and then change the place of decisive battle to Hengyang, so as to stabilize the war situation.
Xue Yue
Xue Yue did not listen to Zhao Zili's suggestion at all, and he insisted on "responding to changes with no change", believing that the Ninth Theater could easily defeat the Japanese army.
On May 15, the Kuomintang Military Commission sent an urgent telegram to Xue Yue, who was in Changsha: "There are a large number of Japanese troops gathered on the front line in southern Hunan, and there are signs of moving south, and they will attack Changsha at any time." ”
At this time, Xue Yue finally realized that the Japanese army really wanted to take Changsha to open a knife.
On May 27, the five divisions of the first echelon of the Japanese army advanced towards northern Hunan in three ways, of which the Japanese army in the middle of the road forcibly crossed the Xinqiang River, and on June 15, they captured Zhuzhou and encircled Changsha from the southern flank.
Under the sharp deterioration of the situation, Xue Yue did not have the courage to stick to Changsha in peacetime, but immediately withdrew to Leiyang and ordered Zhao Zili to take charge of the defense of the city.
However, when Zhao Zili saw the loophole in the deployment, he could not command Xue Yue's 4th Army at all. He had originally planned for Zhang Deneng, commander of the 4th Army, to dispatch all the main forces to guard Yuelu Mountain, but Zhang Deneng only dispatched the strength of one division, and the other two divisions still held the city of Changsha.
Battle of Changsha
On June 16, the Japanese 34th Division and the 68th Division successfully captured Yuelu Mountain with absolute superiority, causing the defensive forces of one of Zhang Deneng's divisions to be completely shaken, and Changsha fell two days later.
On the day of the fall of Changsha, Chiang Kai-shek urgently held a military conference in Chongqing, mainly to discuss the next operational intentions of the Japanese army and to re-select a decisive battle site.
The military and political chiefs attending the meeting unanimously agreed that the Japanese army would definitely attack Hengyang, the intersection of the Guangdong-Han and Xianggui railways, and once Hengyang fell, the nationalist army would not only destroy its reputation in the allies, but even affect the military assistance of the United States.
At this time, Bai Chongxi, deputy chief of the general staff, called and said: "In order to have enough time to organize the Battle of Guiliu, I hope that the relevant troops can drag the Japanese army in Hengyang." ”
In the end, Chiang Kai-shek decided on the plan of "defending in the center and attacking with both wings", and this center was Hengyang.
Sure enough, after the capture of Changsha, the next target of the Japanese 11th Army Commander Yokoyama Isamu was Hengyang.
Located at the intersection of the Guangdong-Hankou Railway and the Xianggui Railway, Hengyang was a very important transportation hub, where many Kuomintang military and government institutions and enterprise chambers of commerce were concentrated. In particular, Hengyang Airport also has a bomber group of US troops stationed, and its strategic value has far exceeded Changsha.
In the face of the Japanese army's step by step, Chiang Kai-shek personally ordered the 10th Army under fang Xianjue to guard Hengyang.
The 10th Army belonged to the Kuomintang Central Army, known as the "Taishan Army", and had extremely fierce combat effectiveness. In the third defense of Changsha, they fought bloodily with the main force of the Japanese army in the city for four days and nights, making the first contribution to the great victory of Changsha, and even Hengshan Yong had a lingering feeling for the 10th Army.
However, before the great war had begun, many problems arose within the 10th Army.
In the Battle of Changde, due to Xue Yue's overstepping command, the soldiers of the 10th Army suffered heavy casualties, so Fang Xianjue had a conflict with Xue Yue, and Xue Yue also removed Fang Xianjue from his post and sent Chen Sunong to take over as the commander of the 10th Army.
On chen Sunong's way to the 10th Army, the Japanese army launched the Xianggui Offensive, and the Kuomintang Military Committee unanimously held that if the enemy was in the present, if he changed generals on the spot, it would be unfavorable to our army.
Chiang Kai-shek
Therefore, Xue Yue had no choice but to let Fang Xianjue continue to act as the commander of the 10th Army.
However, Fang Xianjue did not buy it at all, and resolutely refused to serve as the commander of the 10th Army. When the news reached Chiang Kai-shek's ears, he personally called Fang Xianjue, in which he rebuked him: "Because of my personal grudge with the chief, I disregarded the great national righteousness." ”
At this time, Fang Xianjue woke up like a dream, and immediately replied: "I will definitely obey the order, actively deploy the garrison of Hengyang, carry forward the tradition of revolutionary soldiers, and resolutely resist the Japanese invasion." ”
Hanging up the phone, the 10th Army stationed at Hengshan immediately rushed to Hengyang to deploy, and Chiang Kai-shek gave Fang Xianjue the task: "Guard Hengyang for ten days to two weeks." ”
When the 10th Army entered the city of Hengyang, it was warmly welcomed by the local citizens, and Fang Xianjue immediately led the chief of staff Sun Mingyu, the commander of the pre-10th Division Ge Xiancai, the commander of the 190th Division Rong Youluo, and the commander of the engineering battalion Lu Bogao and other senior generals to conduct a comprehensive survey of hengyang's terrain and actively plan defensive deployments.
The Nationalist government originally built a number of reinforced concrete fortifications in Hengyang, but Fang Xianjue found that these fortifications were originally set up by three armies to defend, and at this time, only one army of the 10th Army was guarding Hengyang, and the number of soldiers was seriously insufficient.
Commander of the Tenth Army, Fang Xianjue
Fang Xianjue knew that the 10th Army could not hold Hengyang at all, so he urgently dispatched the 3rd Division to rush back for reinforcements. It was not until the battle began that Zhou Qingxiang, commander of the 3rd Division, led his troops to arrive in a hurry.
Because the artillery battalion of the 10th Army was forcibly detained by the 1st Artillery Brigade when it was re-dressed in Kunming, Fang Xianjue had no choice but to complain to the Central Military Commission, and He Yingqin, chief of the general staff, personally ordered the 10th Army Artillery Battalion to be released, but half of the battalion's equipment was still detained.
In the end, the half of the artillery battalion broke through the Japanese blockade without any danger, and at the last moment completed the reconstruction.
Even so, the troops guarding Hengyang were still facing a great shortage, and Fang Xianjue, who was in a hurry to attack the heart, had no choice but to rob people.
Fang Xianjue was a very meticulous person, and due to the lack of medical personnel in the 10th Army, he ordered the troops to detain all medical teams passing through Hengyang, and even the two military stations and hospitals of the Military Political Department and the Military Medical Bureau were forcibly intercepted.
Not only that, Fang Xianjue also detained the Temporary 54th Division of the 4th Army that had retreated from Changsha and passed through Hengyang.
Of course, the Kuomintang Military Committee also knew that the 10th Army was too small, especially the lack of artillery, so it deliberately drew a battle battalion, a mountain artillery company and two field artillery companies from the 5th Army, the 46th Army and the 74th Army to assign to the 10th Army.
Battle of Hengyang
At this point, the battle sequence of the Hengyang Defense Battle was relatively complete, mainly composed of 3 divisions of the 10th Army and the direct subordinate units of the army. Among them, the 3rd Division, the Pre-10th Division and the 190th Division had a total of 9 regiments, in addition to the temporary 54th Division, which was detained to assist in defense, with a total strength of 18,000 troops.
The next thing Fang Xianjue had to do was to build a fortification, and after a thorough investigation, he made a great degree of improvement to the original fortifications.
Fang Xianjue first abandoned some of the outer fortifications to reduce the frontal defenses, and the eastern and northern parts of the city were fortified by the Xiang River; the swamp paddy fields in the northwest of the city were all filled with water and blockhouses were built between the waters; several defensive lines were built in the hilly area southwest of the city, and the various strongholds were connected by communication trenches.
In addition, Fang Xianjue also ordered that all the hills be cut into cliffs and grenade throwing trenches be built at the top. Outer trenches were built on the outskirts of the hills, with a three-story fence of thick logs at the front of the outer trenches, and barbed wire was laid between the cliffs and the outer trenches.
Although the basic framework of hengyang's defense system had been completed, Fang Xianjue did not ignore every detail in the defense fortifications.
Chinese defenders
As a battle-hardened veteran, Fang Xianjue knew the importance of improving fortifications and increasing defensive firepower, and he ordered the engineer battalion to dig all trenches and build bunkers at the bottom of the trenches in front of the hills that could not be built into cliffs. Not only that, but all the traffic trenches were built with bunkers and scattered soldier pits, and each bunker was equipped with a side firing hole. When the Japanese attacked, these direct and flank firing points could form a crossed network of firepower.
Although Hengyang's defense system had been arranged quite tightly, Fang Xianjue was still not satisfied, because the terrain west of Hengyang City was flat and there was no high ground. He decided to build four trenches, all of which were covered with barbed wire and covered with mines.
On this side of the Xiang River, Fang Xianjue ordered his troops to be equipped with oil barrels and ready to dump into the river at any time, preventing the Japanese army from crossing the river from the water by means of fire attack.
At the same time, the artillery units of the 10th Army also set up shooting targets such as hills, mountains, and intersections around Hengyang.
Zhao Junmai, the mayor of Hengyang City, actively mobilized tens of thousands of young laborers to participate in the construction of fortifications and requisitioned building materials from all over the city free of charge. At this time, Hengyang City could no longer see the hypocrisy of the officials and the treachery of the merchants in the past, and all that flowed here was the unanimous blood of the Chinese people.
In order to defend their hometown, the gentry and people of Hengyang contributed all their strength, making the entire city of Hengyang a military fortress.
On June 18, in order not to let the war spread to the people in the city, the soldiers of the 10th Army advised the citizens to evacuate and implement the empty city plan.
Until June 22, hundreds of thousands of citizens in Hengyang City were evacuated, leaving only more than a thousand elite laborers to assist the defending army in combat.
Finally, there are two most important issues that need to be solved urgently, which is also the key to the successful defense of Hengyang, one is whether the weapons and ammunition are sufficient, and the other is to determine the key areas of defense.
In response to this problem, Yu Feipeng, director of the logistics department of the Kuomintang Military Commission, immediately arrived in Hengyang, personally supervised and coordinated the logistics supply of the 10th Army, and allocated to them enough grain and grass and a large amount of weapons and ammunition to last for two weeks.
Among them was 28,000 grenades, which played an extremely important role in the subsequent Battle of Hengyang.
Fight to the end
The logistical supply problem of the 10th Army had been solved, but the generals were uncertain in the choice of analysis of the Japanese offensive route.
Brigadier General He Ke, an adviser to the US Army, believes that the main direction of the Japanese army's attack should be in the northwest region with flat terrain.
Fang Xianjue, on the other hand, believes that the Japanese army must attack the southwest, and if the Japanese army mainly attacks the northwest, it will be extremely vulnerable to a joint attack by the Chinese and American air forces. On the contrary, there are more hills in the southern suburbs of Hengyang, and according to the usual tactics of the Japanese army, they must first occupy the highlands and then besiege the city.
Therefore, Fang Xianjue finally decided to gather heavy troops to defend the position south of the city.
The Japanese army that won a great victory in Changsha did not stop the pace of the advance, opening the Xianggui Line and receiving friendly troops trapped in Burma and Vietnam, which was their ultimate goal in this battle, and the commander of the Japanese 11th Army at this time, Yokoyama, had already pushed the combat headquarters to Changsha.
Long before the Battle of Changsha began, Yokoyama Yong had already issued the order to "march south into Hengyang" and secretly sent the Japanese 68th Division and the 116th Division to cross the Liuyang River all the way south and directly attack Hengyang.
The Japanese air raided Hengyang City
On June 19, the Japanese 116th Division crossed the Xiang River from Zhuzhou and then advanced along the Xiang River toward Hengyang. The 68th Division advanced from Shiting to Hengyang, and the smoke of the war gradually spread.
On June 22, in order to give the 10th Army in Hengyang a chance to get off the horse, the Japanese 5th Air Force flew to Hengyang for the first time and carried out a wild bombardment of the city.
Although the strength of the Chinese and American air forces prevailed, the Japanese army subsequently strengthened its aviation forces in Hunan, and the Chinese and American air forces did not fully control the air superiority.
Under the cover of the air force, the Japanese army reached the town of Quanxi, about 10 kilometers east of Hengyang, that night.
The next afternoon, the Japanese swaggered across the river, completely ignoring the small number of Nationalist defenders on the opposite bank. But they did not expect that the defenders would actually block the attack with fierce firepower, and a tragic and tragic defense of Hengyang was officially unveiled.
The troops on the other side of the river were the first battalion of the 568th Regiment of the 190th Division of the Kuomintang 10th Army, and according to the original plan, the first battalion was used as an outpost guard unit and could not resist. However, the battalion commander Yang Ji still could not bear the anger in his heart and ordered to open fire, and the Japanese suffered nearly 300 casualties and were forced to abandon the crossing of the river and withdraw to the shore.
Hengyang Anti-Japanese War Memorial City
Subsequently, the Japanese army left a part of the troops to tie down a battalion of troops, and the main force went around to the south of Quanxi Town to cross the river.
Fang Xianjue saw that the main force of the Japanese army was attacking in a big way, and it was time to concentrate his forces on defensive operations, so he immediately shrunk the defensive line and withdrew the large troops of the 10th Army to the fortifications for deployment.
That night, the Japanese army's radio declared: "The imperial army has been killed to the outskirts of Hengyang, and it will soon be a success in the future." ”
The Military Commission in Chongqing believed that the strength of the Nationalist 10th Army was far below that of the 4th Army, and according to the precedent of the fall of Changsha, Hengyang City could only hold for three days at most.
At this time, almost no one was optimistic about the 10th Army, but the senior officials in Chongqing did not expect that Fang Xianjue and his subordinates had created a miracle in the world military history in Hengyang.