In the eight-year War of Resistance Against Japan, countless heroes sacrificed their lives to fight against the Japanese Kou, there was a general, he had already left the army, but he took the initiative to return to the front line, and finally died on the battlefield, he was Hao Mengling, and he was also the first lieutenant general who died in the Chinese army during the War of Resistance Against Japan.
Hao Mengling
Hao Mengling, a native of Hebei Province, grew up poor, barely attending private school for three years before having to drop out of school to apprentice to others. At that time, the apprentices not only had a difficult life, but also had to be exploited and oppressed by their bosses, and Hao Mengling was willing to endure such a day, and chose to leave his hometown and go to his hometown Wei Yisan. Wei Yisan studied at the Baoding Military Academy, and after graduation, he was assigned to the Northwest Frontier Defense Army formed by Duan Qirui at that time. The Northwest Frontier Army was a new unit and an important military force in the Anhui Dynasty, and Wei Yisan soon served as the commander of the 4th Cavalry Regiment in the 3rd Mixed Brigade.
The Anhui clan was defeated in the Zhiwan War, and the Northwest Frontier Defense Army was also incorporated by the Feng clan and the direct clan, and Wei Yisan joined the Feng army at this time as the commander of the 39th Regiment. Hao Mengling was Wei Yisan's subordinate at the time, and also joined the Feng Army, successively serving as battalion commander and regiment commander. In 1926, Feng Yuxiang expelled Duan Qirui and reorganized his troops into the Nationalist Army, and Hao Mengling once again followed Wei Yisan into the Nationalist Army, serving as the commander of the 26th Brigade in Wei Yisan's 4th Army. During the Northern Expedition, Hao Mengling showed outstanding military talent and was soon promoted to commander of the 2nd Division of the 4th Army.
After the end of the Northern Expedition, Hao Mengling was transferred to the commander of the 54th Division of the 9th Army, and successively participated in the Jianggui War and the Central Plains War, and because of his outstanding performance, he was once again promoted to the commander of the 9th Army. Hao Mengling liked to read, and always admired Yue Fei, Wen Tianxiang, Shi Kefa and other loyal generals, and he was very hopeful that he would end the war and make the country strong. However, the reality is that in the face of increasing external troubles, domestic warlords are still busy with civil wars.
After the End of the Central Plains War, warlord melee was temporarily stopped in the country, but the Nationalist government in Nanjing soon began to attack the Red Army again, and the 9th Army once again embarked on the battlefield of the civil war. In 1934, after the fifth "encirclement and suppression", Hao Mengling felt that the future was confused and did not know when the civil war would be stopped, and he gradually had the idea of withdrawing from the army in discouragement, so he asked the Nationalist government to disarm him and return to the field.
Wei Lihuang
Although Hao Mengling's request was not approved, he was also abandoned, and the 9th Army was transferred to Guizhou, where it was responsible for building the Sichuanqian and Chuandian roads. Although he temporarily left the battlefield, Hao Mengling was no longer willing to fight any civil war in his heart, so he repeatedly asked for disarmament and returned to the field. In May 1937, Hao Mengling finally got the opportunity to temporarily leave the army and prepare to go to sichuan army university for further study.
Hao Mengling had not yet arrived at the Sichuan Army University, and the July 7 Incident broke out. Hao Mengling, who had always been eager to serve the country, finally ushered in the opportunity to fight against the Japanese army, and he did not hesitate to give up continuing to study, and took the initiative to ask the Nationalist government to let him go to the front line again. Soon, Hao Mengling's request was granted, and he returned to the 9th Army again and drove to the Hebei front.
It has to be said that the timing of the 9th Army's arrival at the front line was really bad, when the Chinese army had already suffered a disastrous defeat after the Battle of Baoding and had to retreat to the First And Second Theaters respectively, and the Japanese army immediately launched a fierce attack on the Second Theater. Because of the improper deployment of Yan Xishan, commander of the Second Theater, the Chinese army had already lost the important Pass of Niangziguan in Shanxi after repeated defeats, and had to organize a new defensive line at Xinkou, and the Battle of Xinkou broke out.
Xinkou is the last barrier north of Taiyuan, it has high mountains on both sides, and only the open area of about 50 miles in the middle is the most difficult to defend. After repeated defeats, Yan Xishan had lost the confidence of defense, and the command of the Battle of Xinkou was handed over to Wei Lihuang, who soon chose Hao Mengling as the commander-in-chief of the central defense of Xinkou, responsible for leading the 9th Army, the 19th Army, the 61st Army and other units, and holding the positions of Longwangtang and Nanhuaihua north of Xinkou.
On October 11, 1937, the Hiroshima Fifth Division led by Japanese commander Itagaki Seishiro concentrated aircraft, tanks, artillery and other weapons and launched a fierce attack on Xinkou, kicking off the prelude to the great war. To the north of Xinkou is the Yunzhong River, and on the south bank of the Yunzhong River is the southern Huaihua position. Whether the Japanese army wants to attack Xinkou or the Chinese army wants to block the Japanese army, it must occupy the position of southern Huaihua, which has become a key area of contention between China and Japan.
Under the fierce fire of the Japanese army, all the fortifications on the South Huaihua position were destroyed, and the Japanese army occupied the South Huaihua position on October 12. Subsequently, the Chinese army, under the leadership of Hao Mengling, launched a counterattack, and the position of Nanhuaihua changed hands several times. At 2:00 a.m. on October 16, Hao Mengling once again led his army to launch a major counter-offensive against the southern Huaihua position, preparing to retake the position in one fell swoop. However, what worried Hao Mengling was that the counter-offensive was about to begin, and there was still no movement on the front line.
At that time, the person in charge of the counter-attack on the southern Huaihua position was Zheng Tingzhen's independent 5th Brigade, which was also a very brave and good fighting unit. The reason why they have not moved is that the brigade commander Zheng Tingzhen was unfortunately shot and killed while observing the enemy's situation. Without the brigade commander, the two acting brigade commanders could not control the situation for a while. After Hao Mengling heard the news, he felt that it would be difficult to deal with this counteroffensive just by giving orders to the two acting brigade commanders. In order to ensure the smooth progress of the counter-offensive, Hao Mengling decided to personally go to the independent 5th Brigade and direct them to carry out the counter-offensive.
The Independent 5th Brigade was only 200 meters away from the Japanese positions, which can be said to be very dangerous. Although his staff did not approve of Hao Mengling's risk, he still resolutely went on the road, and with him was Liu Jiaqi, the commander of the 54th Division. Unfortunately, Hao Mengling was ultimately unable to reach the position of the Independent 5th Brigade, and when he passed through a narrow path, he was unfortunately hit by enemy bullets and martyred.
After Hao Mengling's death, the 9th Army and other units finally completed the counterattack on the southern Huaihua position according to his prior deployment, and successfully recaptured the position. On November 16, 1937, Hao Mengling held a state funeral in Wuhan, and the Hankou North Trail was also changed to Hao Mengling Road.