On August 27, 1938, when Okamura was fighting Xue Yue south of the Yangtze River in the dark, and the offensive was difficult to progress, Higashikuri quietly ordered Yoshio Shinozuka 10th Division and Ogishu Rinza 13th Division to set off from the village. From then on, the 10th and 13th Divisions were like iron tongs with a wide mouth, attacking all the way west.
At this time, Bai Chongxi woke up from a big dream. It turned out that the enemy army placed the main direction of attack at the northern foot of Dabie Mountain, trying to detour to Xinyang and Wushengguan, and then go south to Wuhan. At present, among the 300,000 defensive forces in the 5th Theater, there are 150,000 at the southern foot of Dabie Mountain, more than 60,000 in the Central Corps, but less than 100,000 in the key Left Corps. Sun Lianzhong fought against the elite 100,000 Japanese army with less than 100,000 men. The ambassador of disparity, who has always been calm and calm, "Xiao Zhuge " was also a little flustered.
Bai Chongxi immediately connected to the headquarters of the 3rd Corps: "Commander-in-Chief Sun, I know the situation." Time is tight, you hurry up to adjust the deployment, and the main force should be placed on the right flank pass. Tian Zhennan and Song Xilian's armies can be transferred to the front-line positions. ”
Sun Lianzhong sighed: "Sir Bai, my 2nd Army suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Taierzhuang, and there were only some seeds left at that time, and now these seeds have not yet germinated." ”
Bai Chongxi comforted: "Brother Lu, I know this, I also intended to put you in a secondary defensive position, and let your subordinates rest and replenish." But ······"
Sun Lianzhong said gratefully: "Chief Bai, all the officers and men of my 2nd Group Army have received the favor of Chief Bai. But, Chief Bai, where are the reserves? ”
Bai Chongxi said without hesitation: "Brother Lu, don't worry about the reserve team first, I will immediately draw troops from the Central Liao Lei Corps to support you, and order Chen Dingxun's army to move closer to you." ”
After a pause, Bai Chongxi sighed and said: "Brother Lu, the success or failure of the defense of the Left Corps this time is related to the overall situation in the theater, and the two divisions of the Japanese army must be blocked from the Dabie Pass at the moment." If they are allowed to rush in and the rear defense cannot be adjusted, the defense of the theater will be shaken on all fronts, and the consequences will be unimaginable. Now that the safety of the war zone is at stake, you are in vain. ”
Having said that, although Sun Lianzhong, as a subordinate, was in a heavy mood, he could only accept his fate.
He finally said cheerfully: "It seems that I am destined to fight another desperate defensive battle with the Japanese devils." However, please rest assured, Sir Bai, I will never let the Japanese devil's conspiracy succeed! ”
Bai Chongxi was also refreshed: "Brother Lu, as long as you can withstand it, you can report everything after you decide for yourself." I wish you to show the prestige of Taierzhuang again. ”
At that time, Sun Lianzhong was known throughout the army for his ability to defend himself, and his nickname of "Steel Head" was almost universally known. In the Battle of Taierzhuang, he led his troops to fight hard in the Isogu Division, and held the Taierzhuang position from beginning to end with stubborn defense and a counterattack that terrified the Japanese army. The 2nd Group Army was the main force of the Taierzhuang victory.
Thinking of Sun Lianzhong's reputation as a "steel head", Bai Chongxi finally let out a long breath, and the sunshine began to appear on his cloudy face for days.
Standing on Mount Fujin
The 5th Theater started passively, in order to gain time to readjust the deployment, on September 1, Sun Lianzhong held an operational meeting at the headquarters of the 3rd Corps in Shangcheng, and the meeting announced that the 30th Army in Tianzhennan would defend the Shangcheng area, and Song Xilian's 71st Army would be equipped with Zhong Song's 61st Division to block the Japanese army in the Shihe and Gushi areas.
This deployment reflects Sun Lianzhong's expertise in defense. But he knew that on the front-line positions, troops who could fight tough battles must be equipped. In this way, Song Xilian's 4 elite divisions were put on the front line.
Song Xilian
Song Xilian's 71st Army is Chiang Kai-shek's descendant, and it is also the hardest trump card in Sun Lianzhong's hand. The army had four divisions, three of which were prestigious German armoured units. The 87th and 88th Divisions participated in the "January 28" Shanghai Anti-Japanese War. After the outbreak of the all-out War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the 36th, 87th, and 88th Divisions launched an attack on the Japanese marines stationed in Shanghai at the beginning of the Battle of Songhu, and later switched to defensive operations. In the Battle of Nanjing, the three German armourers suffered heavy losses. More than 5,000 people remained in the 36th Division, which was the most intact preserved; The 87th Division suffered more than half of the 6,500 casualties, with only 3,000 remaining; The 88th Division was the worst, with only 2,000 of the 7,000 officers and soldiers left, and the elite backbone was lost. Not long ago, the 71st Army participated in the Battle of Eastern Henan, and after a short rest, it was engaged in the defense of Wuhan. The fourth division was the 61st Division, which was temporarily attached to the Central Army, which was born in the Hunan Army, and suffered more than half of the casualties in the Battle of Songhu.
The 36th Division was reviewed
Song Xilian was born in the first phase of Huangpu, and Xu Xiangqian was a classmate in the same team. In 1926, he was sent by Chiang Kai-shek to study at the Japanese Army Infantry School, and was selected as the leader of more than 40 students studying in Japan at the Whampoa Military Academy. In August 1933, he was promoted to the commander of the 36th Division, and in January of the following year, he defeated the main force of the 19th Route Army at Jiufeng Mountain in one fell swoop, resulting in the failure of Li Jishen and Cai Tingkai's anti-Chiang Fujian Incident. After the Songhu Anti-Japanese War, he was promoted to the commander of the 78th Army. After participating in the Battle of Nanjing, he was dismissed from his post and later appointed as the commander of the Honorary 1st Division, which was mainly composed of officers and soldiers who had returned from wounded injuries. At the time of the Battle of Wuhan, he was transferred to the commander of the 71st Army. He was angry about being dismissed from office after the fall of Nanjing. This time, he was determined to "seek justice" on the battlefield in order to prove his innocence.
After receiving the task, Song Xilian temporarily clung to his feet and personally led several division commanders to the Yejiaji area on the east bank of the Shi River to reconnoiter the terrain and came to Fujin Mountain on the west bank of the Shi River.
The Japanese army preparing to attack at Fujin Mountain
Fujin Mountain is shaped like a fan, close to the south side of the six (An) Xin (Yang) highway. This allows you to control the road, kill and injure the enemy from a high position, and retreat straight to the rear of the mall when the situation is unfavorable.
Song Xilian immediately led people to climb Fujin Mountain. Fujin Mountain starts from the halfway up the mountain, and the ridges go down to the ground and up to the top of the mountain. From the top of the mountain, you can see Yejiaji, Shihe and the surrounding area. If the troops were deployed here for defense, the movement and supply of the Japanese army could be clearly seen, but the Japanese could not see the situation of the defenders on the mountain.
Song Xilian immediately made a decision and deployed the 36th and 88th divisions on Fujin Mountain. The 36th Division is on the left and the 88th Division is on the right. Then send Zhong Song's 61st Division to defend Gushi in the north. In this way, the 71st Army built a defensive line at the Dabie Pass. As long as they can hold the ridge for more than a week, the corps and theater will be able to gain time to adjust their deployment, and the days to come will be better.
In order to prevent accidents, Song Xilian left the troops to step up the construction of fortifications, and he took his adjutant and chief of staff and went straight to the headquarters of the Mall Corps to report to Commander-in-Chief Sun.
Sun Lianzhong repeatedly checked the terrain on the map, and turned around with a happy face: "Commander Song, the terrain of Fujin Mountain is excellent, and it is not convenient for the enemy to deploy on a large scale. You go back and hurry up and deploy. As long as you can hold your position, all actions of your troops can be determined by themselves. I just remind you - to leave a certain reserve force and maintain the stability of the defense. If your unit can hold the Dizhou Division on the top of Fujin Mountain for ten days, I will give you a reward and ask for merit. ”
Being able to get the praise of Sun "Steel Head", Song Xilian returned to Fujin Mountain with confidence, and was confident that he would fight the Japanese invaders in Fujin Mountain.
After Song Xilian left, Sun Lianzhong thought about it and still felt that the disparity between Song Xilian's army and the enemy's two divisions was too great. If Fujin Mountain and Gushi can't withstand it, the defense of the mall area will also fail. Therefore, if you want to defend the mall, you must invest more troops on the front line of Fujin Mountain.
Sun Lianzhong
Therefore, he ordered the 30th Army of Tian Zhennan to move quickly eastward, deploy defenses behind the flank of the Song army, and be ready to support the defenders of Fujin Mountain at any time. Chen Dingxun's Sichuan army was urgently transferred into the mall area and urgently built fortifications. At the same time, he also issued orders to the two armies of Yu Xuezhong and Feng Zhi'an, who were trapped behind enemy lines near Lu'an and Huoshan, to do everything possible to turn westward and strive to return to the corps system at Mall. If a return is really impossible, we will do our utmost to attack the enemy's rear reserves and logistical supplies to attract Japanese reinforcements to reduce the pressure on the frontal battlefield.
Sun Lianzhong's reputation as a "steel head" and Song Xilian's hundredfold confidence obviously also infected the officers and men of the 71st and 30th armies on the front line, and these two units played a combat effectiveness that had never been seen in the past.
On September 4, the battle of Fujin Mountain began.
Ogisu Tatsu ordered Numata Shigetoku's 26th Brigade to attack the position on the left flank of Mt. Fujin. Song Xilian stood on the top of the high Fujin Mountain, holding the front with the 108th Brigade of the 36th Division, and launching a counterattack against the Japanese from the left and right with the 106th Brigade and the 262nd Brigade of the 88th Division. Yu Xuezhong also ordered the 114th Division to attack the rear of the 13th Division. After two days of fierce fighting, the Japanese could not make the slightest progress, so on the 6th, a large amount of poison gas was applied to the Chinese defensive positions. However, the defenders still held their ground. That night, the defenders adjusted their deployment, replacing part of the positions of the 88th Division with the 114th Division, and jointly defended with the 36th Division.
Four days have passed, and Higashikure, who is far away in Hefei, was quite surprised: "Machijiri-kun, is the Ogisu Division in trouble?" ”
Machijiri Liangyoshi was about to call the 13th Division Headquarters: "Ogisu-kun, how is the division progressing?" ”
Ogisu Libing, who was always smiling, replied to the question: "Machijiri-kun, our division is planning to change the direction of attack and resolutely defeat the enemy in front of you. ”
Machijiri Liangkichi pointed out very dissatisfied: "Ogisu-kun, His Royal Highness the Prince is very concerned about the progress on your side! ”
Dong Jiuer took the phone: "Ogizhou-kun, you immediately launch a new attack, I will draw troops from the 10th Division to attack Wumiaoji, and directly take the back road of that person, what do you think?" ”
Ogizhou Libing was full of gratitude: "Your Highness, I will arrange it immediately!" ”
On 7 September, the Numata Brigade attacked the position of the 114th Division on the left flank. But after two days of attack, poison gas, mortars, and planes were all used, but the defenders were still helpless. At the same time, Higashikure ordered the commander of the 33rd Brigade of the 10th Division, Kei Seya, to lead more than 2,000 people of the 10th Wing to the area west of Mt. Fujin in a detour. Seya Kai marched in the night and succeeded in his sneak attack. But as soon as he arrived at the Confucian Temple, he was discovered by the 523rd Regiment of the 88th Division, which was responsible for flank guarding, and the division commander Zhong Bin did not have time to ask for instructions, so he decisively sent the 528th Regiment to occupy Aokoutang and prepare to ambush the enemy who was sneaking in. At dawn, the Seya detachment entered the pass, and the ambush soldiers of the two mountains opened fire at the same time, and Seya Qi, who attacked Taierzhuang half a year ago and almost died, had palpitations, left three or four hundred soldiers, and withdrew in a hurry.
The Japanese attack was frustrated
Higashikure sent reinforcements, which made the Ogishu soldiers feel extremely ashamed. For seven days in a row, the 20,000 heavy soldiers of the Ogishu Division were dragged to death at the foot of Fujin Mountain, without taking a single step. The casualties of the 13th Division now exceed 1,000. Combined with illness, heat stroke and falling behind, many squadrons of the division had only 40 men left.
However, after seven days, the 71st Army also suffered heavy casualties.
On the position of the 2nd Group Army, Sun Lianzhong held a telescope and observed the pervasive Fujin Mountain position. He wanted to call the military headquarters of the 71st Army and said to Song Xilian: "Commander Song, can you hold it?" ”
Song Xilian thought for a while and said, "Commander-in-chief, the battle was very hard. What about the marketplace? How many more days do we have to keep watching? ”
"At least three days. It takes at least three days for the mall's defense to stabilize. Brother Song, you are a tough guy, and it is not easy to keep it for five or six days. Just now, Chief Bai called, and the war zone commended Chen Shizhi for his stubborn and miraculous achievements. I hope you can hold out for a few more days until your allies are firmly established behind you before retreating. ”
"Commander-in-chief, rest assured, Xilian should do his best."
Putting down the phone, Sun Lianzhong said with emotion to his old subordinates, Chi Fengcheng, who was sticking to the main position in the Battle of Taierzhuang: "Song Xilian is a man, better than me. He's a lot better than Towne's bastards. ”
The Ogishu Division was unable to attack for a long time, and was seized on the topic by the war correspondents of the 2nd Army, and the Japanese Tokyo newspaper reported on Fujin Mountain: "Due to the stubborn resistance of the enemy's main force, Song Xilian's army, the battle suffered heavy casualties, and the battle situation made no progress. "Our army is helpless when it encounters a strong opponent."
News from Tokyo reaches Wuhan every day. With the reporter's report and interpretation, Song Xilian and the 71st Army were greatly famous.
From the 9th, the main force of the Japanese 16th Division gradually advanced to Yejiaji, and the 13th Division was able to transfer the rear garrison task to achieve the concentration of troops. At the same time, a brigade of light armored vehicles, artillery and separate heavy machine guns of the 2nd Army Command, which was used to reinforce the 13th Division, as well as supply teams, also arrived at the front.
Sun Lianzhong also noticed the movements of the Japanese army, and felt that the simple defense of Fujinshan was no longer sustainable, so he ordered to transfer the offensive from the 10th to break the enemy in front of Fujinshan: (1) The 51st Army attacked behind the enemy with two regiments, and the two regiments flanked the Japanese troops wedged into Fujinshan; The 138th Division counterattacked the rear of the Japanese army on the front line of Dushan Town; The troops on the 800th Heights on the right flank of the 71st Army attacked the enemy in front of them and expanded in depth. (2) The main force of the 2nd Army on the northeast line of Shangcheng was divided into three routes: the 31st Division attached to the 44th Independent Brigade attacked Yejiaji east of Fujin Mountain; The 30th Division first cleared the enemy in front of it, and then attacked southwest of Gushi; The 27th Division attacked southwest of Gushi. (3) The 27th Army drew the strength of three regiments and attacked south of Gushi. The attack was launched at dawn on the 11th.
However, before the Chinese army could launch a full-scale offensive, the Japanese front-line units took the lead and began to storm the positions of the Chinese troops on the 10th. The direction of the main attack was to Fujin Mountain and the 800 Heights, and to break through from the junction of the defenders. In the afternoon, except for the main peak of Fujin Mountain, all the mountainside positions fell. Chen Ruihe, commander of the 36th Division, led the remnants of the counterattack and failed to expel the Japanese army. In the end, there were only more than 800 fighters left in the division, and it was only a matter of time before the position fell. The 800th Division on the 88th Heights also suffered nearly 1,000 casualties, and could only temporarily hold its position without losing.
At this time, the attacking troops on the periphery also made little progress. In view of the fact that the Japanese army has strengthened and has advanced to Huangchuan and Mall, the flank of the first line of Fujin Mountain has become a lonely army, so Bai Chongxi ordered the 3rd Corps to shrink the front line and surrender the front line of Mall. On the 11th, on the order of Sun Lianzhong, Song Xilian led the remnants of the 71st Army to withdraw from Fujin Mountain.
At this point, the battle of Fujin Mountain came to an end, and the high Fujin Mountain won ten precious days for the 3rd Corps that hastily responded to the battle.
The Japanese were killed 4,506 in the attack, including 172 officers and officers; 17,380 people were wounded, including 526 officers and officers. This figure from the Japanese military history should be extremely accurate. For Japan, the land of projectiles, this is a large number. Compared with the casualties of the Japanese invaders, the 36th Division's 2nd Brigade and 4th Regiment, about 11,000 people, lost three-quarters of the total, only 7,800 people, and the 88th Division's casualties were only about 10,000, at most half of the enemy's casualties. This is a great victory compared with the three to one casualties of the enemy and us since the Songhu Anti-Japanese War!
On the 14th, Chiang Kai-shek telegraphed the whole army and praised him;
"In the Battle of Fujin Mountain, since the 3rd, the enemy with the 13th Division, all of Dizhou and the 10th Division, has made a fierce attack on the position of our Song Xilian Army with all its might, and has wreaked havoc with the coordination of the Air Force and Chemical Troops, and the fierce battle has lasted for nine to ten days. By the afternoon of the 13th, the enemy attacked again, bombing back and forth with several groups of aircraft, and our reserves were exhausted, and more than 80 battalion commanders and defenders were martyred at the same time, and Fujin Mountain fell into the hands of the enemy.
But the 800 heights are still in our hands, and they have not been captured by the enemy. The division suffered heavy casualties and had very few remaining. According to the diary of the enemy officer obtained, for the first time since his troops entered China, they encountered the strongest resistance, and they were called the best enemy Yunyun. The enemy's losses were reported in various aspects: the commander of the fourth wing was wounded two and two were killed, and the brigade commander Numata Tokushi was seriously wounded, and his life and death were uncertain. The heroic achievements of the defenders have already earned a price exceeded, especially mentally enough to make the enemy recognize that they are becoming more and more courageous, and the spirit of resistance has increased over time, making him short of breath·····
洋洋千言,淋漓尽致。
The results achieved by the 36th Division can be called brilliant. Song Xilian won the Huazhou Honor Award, which is also a matter of course.
In the face of achievements and honors, Song Xilian was not proud, on the contrary, he said: "The fierce battle in Songhu has hit the thief hard. Fusha annihilated the enemy, hating that he could not make the horses not look back. When the heirs should boost morale, fight again during the work period, expel the Japanese invaders, return my rivers and mountains, and the rest of my wishes. ”
On the contrary, Chiang Kai-shek personally issued an order to commend him, and he painted a vivid picture of his combat process, as if he was on the front line and witnessed his combat process, which greatly surprised people of the times.