<h1>Commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the Victory in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression</h1>
22.
As the fierce battle at the Tawan position was in full swing, Yuichiro Nagano, commander of the Japanese 37th Division, received a telephone briefing from hidetaro Uchiyama, commander of the 12th Army:
"Our army has intercepted the chongqing military's secret telegrams. Tang Enbo's main force had the intention of abandoning Xuchang and retreating westward. The 37th Division should resolve the battle in Xuchang as soon as possible and wipe out the Chongqing Army that resisted in Xuchang. Then divide the troops into two routes, one way to xuchang south of the stone bridge, the direction of Chencheng attack, all the way to the coordination of Xu Changxi's 62nd Division regiment, to eliminate the Chongqing army around Yingqiao. After that, head west, attack Xiangcheng and Yu County. ”
At this time, Yuichiro Nagano felt the urgency of time.
It was already 4:00 p.m., and the north, west, and south gates of Xuchang had not yet been breached, and Nagano immediately summoned the operational staff to discuss it.
At this time, the staff officer of the 12th Army who assisted the 37th Division in combat said:
"The war has been fighting for almost a day, and the Chongqing army has suffered serious casualties and has little strength." Breaking through the Xuchang City Gate is only a matter of time and evening. Now that we have besieged Xuchang City, the Xuchang defenders will surely fight a battle and stubbornly resist, causing a large number of casualties among imperial soldiers. Therefore, in order to end the xuchang war as soon as possible and reduce the casualties of soldiers, aircraft and artillery were used to concentrate on bombing the west and south gates. After entering the city, it will attack from the city to the north gate, forming a pinch attack on the north gate, and the Chongqing army will be defeated and flee. ”
The commander of the Nagano Division listened to Theosa Orita's advice and quickly reported it to Hidetaro Uchiyama.
Commander Uchiyama agreed to concentrate his forces and take the west and south gates first, assisted by aircraft and artillery.
The total attack time was set at 5 p.m. on the same day.
23.
April 30, 1944 at 4:30 p.m.
In the Spring and Autumn Building of Xuchang, in the headquarters of the 29th Division, division commander Lü Gongliang, deputy division commander Huang Yonghuai, chief of staff Huang Chongxiang, 87 regiment commander Li Peiqin, 85 regiment commander Yang Shangwu, and 86 regiment reserve battalion commander Hu Guangyao were holding an emergency military meeting.
Suddenly, from the southeast, several shells came and exploded outside the Spring and Autumn Building.
Randomly, some of his subordinates came in and reported: "Report to the division commander, the Tawan position southeast of the city has been lost." The Japanese army occupied Wenfeng Tower, and on top of the tower, fired shells into the city! ”
"Well, got it." Lü Gongliang said, "Tawan is the southeast gateway of Xuchang City. Tawan was lost, and the Xuchang defensive battle reached a critical moment. At this time, outside the west gate and the south gate, a large number of Japanese troops gathered. According to reliable sources, the Japanese army is mobilizing tank divisions and tank divisions to carry out concentrated bombing and attacks on the west and south gates. ”
Chief of Staff Huang Chongxiang said: "Division, now, do we want to organize a breakout?" ”
"Before receiving orders to break through and retreat from Shangfeng, the 29th Division must hold Xuchang City." Lu Gongliang said with a black face, "From now on, no one is allowed to mention the word 'breakout' again." ”
Deputy Division Commander Huang Yonghuai said: "Division, you can rest assured, I am ready to die in Battle Xuchang, the time is urgent, you will give the order!" ”
Li Peiqin, Yang Shangwu, and Hu Guangyao also stood up and said loudly:
"Killed on the battlefield, never retreat, please ask the division commander to give orders!"
"Well, they are all good, and they are worthy of being the elite of our 29th Division." Lü Gongliang said, "From now on, I will take Hu Guangyao and his reserves to sit at the South Gate and participate in the Battle of the South Gate; Deputy Division Commander Huang and the Chief of Staff will sit in the command headquarters together; Commander Yang will command the battle between the South Gate and the Southeast Gate; and Commander Li will go to the West Gate and command the battle between the West Gate and the North Gate." ”
"Okay, let's go our separate ways!" Lü Gongliang finally ordered.
24.
4:30 p.m. In the village of Hezhuang, West of Xuchang, in the headquarters of the Japanese 37th Division, the commander of the Nagano Division ordered on the phone:
"1. Order Kurisu Hideyuki to lead the 13th Chariot Regiment and the 3rd Airborne Infantry Regiment to quickly rush to the west gate of Xuchang to participate in the siege operation at the West Gate;
2. Order the 2nd Squadron of the 13th Tank Wing and the Sakabu Squadron to quickly arrive outside the South Gate and participate in the South Gate Assault Siege Battle;
3. Order the 1st Brigade of the 225th Wing to support the South Gate and launch an attack on the right side of the South Gate.
Fourth, order the first brigade of the mountain artillery division to quickly set up a position at the west gate and shell the west gate, and the second brigade to shell the south gate.
5. The total attack time of the South Gate and the West Gate is 17:00 p.m. ”
At 17:00, the Japanese Air Force's formation of 12 Type 99 twin-engine bombers flew over Xuchang. A large number of bombs were dropped on the city of Xuchang, and the nationalist positions were heavily bombarded.
At the same time, at the South Gate and the West Gate, dozens of Japanese artillery pieces also concentrated on shelling houses and city walls inside and outside the city gate.
The defense of Xuchang reached its climax.
(Illustration: Japanese shelling of The West Gate of Xuchang)
25.
After half an hour of Japanese bombardment and shelling, the Ximen Attack Team and Hidenosuke Kurisu's 13th Tank Regiment and the 3rd Wing of Air infantry rushed towards the West Gate in the evening.
The second company of the three battalions of the 87th Regiment guarding the west gate, under the leadership of the battalion commander Song Fakui, each guarded its position and bravely counterattacked the Japanese army.
For a time, machine guns, spears, small guns, grenades, and weapons that could be used were all used, and the battle was extremely fierce.
Seeing the bravery and tenacity of the Chinese defenders, they did not flinch. Nagatoshi Ogawa, the squad leader of the 225th Wing of the Japanese 37th Division, found the wing commander and said:
"Report co-captain, outside the west gate wall, is the moat of Xuchang City. The river was about sixty meters wide and one and a half meters deep, which was the main obstacle to the imperial army's attack. The only way to get into the West Gate is through the bridge in front of the gate. But now, the Chongqing army was desperately resisting at the bridgehead, and the imperial army could not break through for a while and a half. I have a solution that I can try. ”
The Wing Commander said happily:
"Captain Ogawa, what can you do, though?"
"I want to organize a death squad." Ogawa Nagatoshi said, "Each team member is equipped with a fast gun, a large knife, and a grenade. Swam past the moat, sneaked up to the opposite bank, and took advantage of the gray sky to launch a surprise attack on the enemy defending the city, disrupting the defense of the Chinese army. At this time, the imperial army took advantage of the situation to rush past, and the Xuchang City Gate could be broken. ”
The co-captain listened, laughed and said:
"Well, very good, Ogawa Jun is really resourceful. You're going to pick out the death squad now, and I'll report it to General Nagano. ”
Ten minutes later, one of the devil's death squads was successfully formed.
At 17:45 p.m., the captain of the death squad, Nagatoshi Ogawa, led 27 members of the death squad, all naked, from the southwest corner of Xuchang City, secretly jumped into the moat and slowly swam to the opposite bank.
In order to divert the attention of the Nationalist army and better protect the death squad from crossing the river, the Japanese army launched another attack on the Chinese army.
After the Japanese fired a few smoke bombs, the Devil's Death Squad reached the West Gate.
Ogawa Nagatoshimi was already approaching the west gate and ordered the ghosts to fire together.
The Nationalist troops defending the city were defenseless, and after being suddenly attacked by the Japanese death squad, they were suddenly confused.
The soldiers of the three battalions of the Nationalist army resisted for a while, and suffered heavy casualties and had to retreat. Ogawa Nagatoshi took advantage of the situation and occupied the position of the West Gate.
At this time, the nationalist soldiers on the city wall, hidden in three houses, launched a counterattack against the Devil's Death Squad. After only a few moments, Ogawa Nagatoshi personally led people to rush up the city wall, using grenades to kill the defenders on the city wall, and randomly machine-gun strafing other nationalist troops.
At 18:00, the Devil's Death Squad occupied the Ximen stronghold, and the West Gate of Xuchang City was opened.
As soon as the commander of the Japanese 225th Wing saw that Ogawa had occupied the position at the west gate, he ordered the Japanese tanks and troops to rush along the bridge to the west gate.
Song Fakui, the commander of the nationalist army, saw the devils rushing into the west gate and ordered the troops to fight a counter-charge, but three times in a row, they were all beaten back by the devils, and the casualties were heavy.
(Illustration: Japanese army attacks The West Gate Tower of Xuchang)
Lü Gongliang learned that the west gate had been broken and the situation was in crisis, so he quickly ordered Li Peiqin, the commander of the 87th Regiment, to defend the inner city defense position.
When Li Peiqin, the commander of the regiment, saw that the defenders were more than half dead or wounded, he immediately called the commander of the 2nd Battalion guarding the North Gate and ordered the 2nd Battalion to draw out a company and come to the West Gate to support.
When the commander of the 2nd Battalion at the North Gate heard the order, he loudly said to Commander Li:
"Regimental seat, the Japanese army at the north gate is assembling, and it is expected that the devils will soon attack the north gate." Our two companies were preparing for the sniper attack. Can't draw people! ”
"The north gate fortifications are complete, put a company first." Li Peiqin loudly ordered, "Hurry up and support Ximen, otherwise you will be punished by military law!" ”
The commander of the 2nd Battalion put down the phone and scolded angrily:
"Duha time has come, and the military law will be punished, and the punishment will be punished." Everyone has died here, see what you punish! ”
Ouyang Bu, commander of the 5th Company, saw that the battalion commander was embarrassed, and volunteered to say:
"Battalion commander, you lead people to guard the north gate, and you take 5 companies to support."
"No, you can't go anywhere, just guard at the north gate." The battalion commander said, "Go, call the Changge guerrillas!" ”
When Ge Tielin heard that he was going to the West Gate to support, he said, "I listen to the commander of the battalion, but you have to find two people to show me the way, we don't know the way." ”
"Well, Captain Ge, thank you for your support." The battalion commander said, "Xiguan has been breached by the Japanese army, and the battle is very fierce, so you should be careful." If you really can't resist, retreat from our north gate to the northeast. Stay in the green mountains, not afraid of no firewood. There are still more days for us to fight devils. The enemy is strong and we are weak, and if we fight out, we will never have the opportunity to fight the devils again. Remember, remember! ”
"Thank you battalion commander for reminding me, I will pay attention." Ge Tielin said loudly, "Changge anti-Japanese guerrillas, follow me to the West Gate to support, set off!" ”
Just as the Changge anti-Japanese guerrillas were reinforcing the West Gate, Lü Gongliang, commander of the 29th Division, sent a telegram to Liu Changyi, the commander of the army, for help, which said:
"The Japanese army has broken through the west gate, the south gate is about to be lost, the non-commissioned officers have suffered heavy casualties, and there is not much ammunition, please send reinforcements quickly."
The commander of the army, Liu Changyi, was at this time in the town of Yingqiao, southwest of Xuchang, engaged in a fierce battle with the Japanese 62nd Division. Hearing of the Xuchang crisis, he quickly sent a telegram to Tang Enbo.
After reading Liu Changyi's telegram for help, Tang Enbo pondered for a while and ordered expressionlessly:
"1. Order Xu Changdong Chen youxin to march into the first column of the Pan-Eastern Advance Army, quickly withdraw from the battle, and move to the area around Luocheng and Luohe;
Second, the 20th Division, led by Liu Changyi in xuchangxi, quickly withdrew from the battle and moved to the Xiangcheng area.
Third, lu Gongliang of Xuchang City was ordered to stick to Xuchang. No evacuation is allowed without an order. ”
As soon as the order was sent away, Tang Enbo immediately said: "Tell Lü Gongliang, hold out for three days, reinforcements can arrive!" ”
When Lü Gongliang received the telegram from Commander Tang, he smiled bitterly and said, "Don't say three days, it's three hours, it's difficult!" ”
Then, Lü Gongliang straightened up his clothes and calmly said to the deputy division commander and the chief of staff:
"It's time to live and die with Xuchangcheng." I've been waiting for this day for a long time! ”
After saying that, he took the guard and ran to the south gate.
Li Peiqin, the leader of the 87th regiment, saw Ge Tielin and they came, and said excitedly:
"Here you are. You guys are better than my one. Well, Captain Ge, long story short. You will guard the north road position, and the three battalions will guard the middle road position. ”
Ge Tielin said: "Commander Li is assured that he will not give up his position unless he is forced to do so." ”
After saying this, he quickly entered the position and made preparations to meet the enemy.
At 18:30, more than a dozen Japanese tanks and tanks drove across the moat and shelled the nationalist positions in the city as they walked.
Immediately afterward, the devil's infantry followed the chariots and tanks and also rushed into the west gate.
Japanese tank groups rushed into the city of Xuchang and carried out a so-called "fully enclosed attack" in the city.
Most of the houses, trenches and fortifications in the city that had not yet been destroyed by enemy aircraft and artillery were flattened by Japanese tanks.
Ge Tielin ordered his men to rush out of the trench fortifications and stuff the bundled cluster grenades under the Japanese tanks and vehicles one by one.
After the devil's tanks went crazy in the city for a while, they were blown up by the defenders with grenades and explosive packages. The Changge anti-Japanese guerrillas alone blew up two vehicles.
Song Fakui, the commander of the nationalist camp in the south, saw it and did the same, and blew up a Japanese chariot.
Suddenly, Japanese tanks and vehicles lost their power in the city. The Japanese army jumped out of the chariot one after another, and together with the infantry, they launched a street battle and a thrilling hand-to-hand combat with the Chinese army.
The Japanese troops who entered the city attacked the city in three ways: left, center and right.
Seeing that tanks and tanks had lost their function, the Devil's Wing Commander ordered the infantry to make a quick surprise attack.
Seeing the devils raiding in front of them, the Nationalist troops on the southern positions first strafed with machine guns, clicked with long guns, and then served with grenades. However, the devil's machine guns immediately began to fight back, and a large number of Japanese troops took the opportunity to rush into the position.
"Brothers, put on the bayonet and fight for the devil!"
Song Fakui, the commander of the third battalion, shouted, armed with a knife, led the officers and men out of the position, and launched a fierce white-knife battle with the Japanese army.
Song Fakui swung the sword, and the tiger and tiger became angry, slashing and killing three ghost soldiers in a row.
The leader of the devil's squad, Ogawa Nagatoshi, saw this, threw away the machine gun in his hand, and also swung a large knife to fight with the song camp commander.
Within three rounds, he was slashed off by Commander Song with a knife. Seeing that Ogawa's life was not safe, at this moment of crisis, the Japanese captain fired a shot, and Song Fakui was shot in the back.
Only to see Song Fakui let out a loud sigh, endure the pain, and slash at the Devil Brigade Leader with a sword. Suddenly, a burst of machine gun fire fired, and Song Fakui was shot several times in a row.
Song Fakui squinted his eyes, looked at Ogawa Nagatoshi with a machine gun, and scolded:
"You--you-turtle-grandson, you are not worthy-to-be a samurai."
When he finished, he fell into a pool of blood.
The other nationalists saw the battalion commander die, fought for a while, and were forced to fight and retreat.
On the northern position of the Changge anti-Japanese guerrillas, at this time, it was quiet, and no one could be seen.
When the devil saw that no one was stopping him, he rushed straight ahead and rushed northeast. Suddenly, Ge Tielin shouted, "Grenade! ”
Randomly, dozens of grenades, like the scattered flowers of the goddess of heaven, flew towards the devils, and one by one exploded the flowers. After that, the three machine guns of Song Xianbin, Wang Jinchang and Zheng Youcai, like crazy, shot at the devils.
The attacking Japanese army saw a large number of casualties and had to suspend the attack on the northern front.
Taking advantage of the gap in the battle, Ge Tielin hurriedly said to everyone:
"It will soon be dark, which is not good for the brigade of devils to fight." We also have to act in groups, and we can't all squeeze together to increase casualties. Song Xianbin, Zheng Youcai, Wang Jinchang, Jing Ziyu and I, each with a force of men and horses, each fighting for each other, and cooperating with each other. Xuchang City could no longer be defended, and our purpose now was to kill and injure the devils to the greatest extent possible. Remember, whoever it was, couldn't resist it, so they retreated towards the North Gate as they fought. Devils use grenades when they are more, and guns when devils are few, try not to fight with devils with bayonets. At the critical time, the gun is still fast. Okay, let's all take action. ”
As soon as Ge Tielin finished arranging, he heard the shells of the small steel cannons of the Japanese army, roaring and flying, and one shell after another exploded on the guerrilla positions.
At 10 o'clock in the evening, when the devils launched another charge, it was already dark, and the two sides began a night battle and a street battle.
Wang Jinchang and Zheng Youcai, two detachments, one left and one right, cooperated with each other and launched a street battle with the devils in the middle road.
In an old corner, Wang Jinchang shot several ghosts in a row. Because it was dark, the devil couldn't find where the bullet came from. Seeing more and more ghosts, Wang Jinchang ordered the team members to move to another ambush point. However, at this time, he was suddenly attacked by the devil's grenade, and many of the team members were shot and fell.
Wang Jinchang immediately ordered him to lie down on the spot and seek an opportunity to destroy the enemy.
Zheng Youcai heard the explosion and quickly moved closer to Wang Jinchang, but he did not want to be strafed by the hidden ghost machine gun, several members of the team fell to the ground and died, and Zheng Youcai was also seriously injured.
Wang Jinchang ignored Zheng Youcai, who fell to the ground, looked at the location of the devil's machine gun, and secretly molded it. He drew his knife and stabbed it in the throat of the devil.
When the other devil saw it, he raised his bayonet and stabbed Wang Jinchang in the body. Wang Jinchang turned sideways, left his hand, and snatched the devil's bayonet, and the bayonet in his right hand stabbed into the devil's chest.
Wang Jinchang picked up the machine gun on the ground and strafed at the devils. The devil lay on the ground and threw a grenade at Wang Jinchang.
With the explosion of the grenade, Wang Jinchang was shot in multiple places. The guerrillas saw this and rushed to the rescue, but they were strafed by another machine gun of the devil, and they fell down.
When several devils approached Wang Jinchang with guns, at Wang Jinchang's side, suddenly, there was the explosion of a cluster grenade.
Wang Jinchang knew that his life was not in danger, so he detonated the grenade and died with the Japanese army.
Zheng Youcai was shot once and rescued by the guerrillas. When he learned of Wang Jinchang's sacrifice, he tied three grenades to his body. Taking advantage of the fact that the guerrillas were not paying attention, they were alone, carrying machine guns, desperately fighting back.
Head-on, I was running into a ghost rushing to kill. Zheng Youcai also did not dodge, holding a machine gun, strafing while walking, as if entering no man's land. The bullets were completely hit, and Zheng Youcai was also hit several times and fell. The lead of the grenade he was holding in his hand never had a chance to pull away again.
The Xuchang police force, fighting with the Japanese army while withdrawing, was besieged at the police station by a squad of devils at about 9 p.m.
Jing Ziyu received a call for help, and rushed over with the guerrillas, inside and outside, just repelled these devils, did not want to be surrounded by a large number of Japanese troops later.
The two sides immediately began a fierce battle, but Jing Ziyu did not have much ammunition. At the moment of crisis, Ge Tielin came back from the east and Song Xianbin from the north. After a bitter battle, a gap was torn open in the northeast direction, which brought the guerrillas and police forces out. Randomly, he launched a white-knife battle with the pursuing ghosts.
Ge Tielin learned martial arts in the Shaolin Temple since he was a child, and he has been a soldier for many years, grabbing and fighting, and the swords, guns, swords and sticks are naturally not bad.
I saw him in the group of devils, shooting left and right, the knife was deadly, the gun was not empty, as if performing martial arts. In just ten minutes, no less than seven ghosts died under his knife.
Although Jing Ziyu had also been a soldier for several years, he had no martial arts background, and in the fight with the devils, he was accidentally stabbed in the left arm by a devil. The devil squad leader also took the bayonet and stabbed at JingZiyu's chest.
Ge Tielin was not far from Jingziyu, but when he saw Jingziyu injured, he was attacked by the devil squad leader. Suddenly, he leapt up in the air and kicked off the devil's bayonet. Then, another shot was fired straight into the throat of the devil squad leader.
"Evacuate!" Ge Tielin ordered as he hit, "Towards the North Gate, I am broken." ”
Song Xianbin asked several guerrillas to pull Jing Ziyu to retreat first, and he and Ge Tielin broke off together.
Seeing the devils prop up their machine guns and shoot wildly, Ge Tielin and Song Xianbin led people over a wall and fought and retreated.