Mid-July 1944. Due to the setback of the third general attack of the Eighth Expeditionary Army on Songshan, Wei Lihuang, commander of the Expeditionary Force, Song Xilian, commander of the Eleventh Army, and Brigadier General Dou Eren, the head of the US advisory regiment, came to the Songshan front to inspect.
Songshan is majestic on the west bank of the Nu River, 5,000 meters above sea level, 950 meters higher than the surface of the Nu River, facing a deep valley in front of it, with a large slope behind it, towering clouds, overlooking the peaks. The Burma Highway runs west from Huitong Bridge, crosses Lameng Street, and passes through the narrow and undulating Gangling Rolling Dragon Slope to Longling. Songshan is the throat of the Baoshan to Longling section of the Yunnan Burma Highway, and is a place where soldiers must fight.
Headquarters of the Eighth Army of the Expeditionary Force. He Shaozhou, commander of the Eighth Army, held the marker pole in his hand, pointed to the model of the Songshan sand table on the ground, and reported to Wei Lihuang, Song Xilian, and Dou Eren on the garrison of the Japanese army in Songshan.
He Shaozhou: "This is the main peak." To the southwest of the main peak is Yin Mountain, to the north is the Loess Slope, and behind it is Komatsu Mountain. Here is the Big Pass, this is the Rolling Dragon Slope. Wei Lihuang, Song Xilian, and Dou Er'en thought about something with their hands behind their backs.
He Shaozhou continued to report: "The enemy guarding Songshan is the 113th Wing of the Fifty-sixth Division. After nearly two years of painstaking management, the enemy built a strong fortress group stronghold on the main peak of Matsuyama and the surrounding highlands. Each stronghold is made of thick tree trunks and gasoline barrels, covered with several layers of steel plates, and covered with more than three meters, even if hit by a bombshell, it is not easy to penetrate. "
The translator translated He Shaozhou's words to Dou Er'en. Dou Ern looked at the sand table for a moment in surprise and asked, "Didn't our aircraft bombing work?" After listening to the interpreter's translation, He Shaozhou pondered a little and smiled back: "If there is no bombardment by the powerful air force of the Allied forces, the losses of the expeditionary force will be even more severe." Dou Er'en listened to He Shaozhou's words and smiled with satisfaction.
Wei Lihuang and Song Xilian were also quite satisfied with He Shaozhou's answer. Wei Lihuang left the sand table model, sat down in a chair, and thoughtfully asked He Shaozhou, "Where do you think the most difficult place to attack Songshan is?" He Shaozhou immediately replied, "The enemy's tunnel battle." Wei Lihuang let out an "Oh" sound.
He Shaozhou further reported: "The Japanese army has built strong fortress groups at the big and small Pine Mountains, loess slopes, Yin Mountaineers, Dayakou, Rolling Dragon Slopes, etc., and there are trenches or tunnels between the fortresses, which can fight each other and support each other, and form a dense network of firepower between each other. Moreover, the enemy had sufficient stocks of grain and ammunition and had power generation, pumping and sanitation equipment. Every meter our army advances, it has to pay a heavy price. "
Song Xilian heard this interjection and asked, "What is the proportion of casualties between the enemy and us?" He Shaozhou exuded a suppressed excitement: "The ratio of one to eight." The enemy is one, we are..." Song Xilian shook his hand, not letting He Shaozhou say anything more. He coughed softly, frowned tightly, and said in a somewhat trembling voice, "The Battle of Matsuyama cannot be postponed any longer." Delay it any longer, and it will affect the war situation of Tengchong and Longling! "
He Shaozhou solemnly said, "Yes! Then he lowered his voice and commented: "It has been more than a month since the attack on Matsuyama on June 4, and it is a disgrace to our Eighth Army that it has not been attacked!" He Shaozhou lowered his head, stared at his toes, and then said: "The commander-in-chief had high hopes for my Eighth Army, but I did not expect that we were blocked one after another, and I failed the cultivation of the commander-in-chief, I..." At this point, He Shaozhou's voice choked.
Wei Lihuang sighed, "Alas," stood up from his chair, paced to He Shao's body, and said with relief: "Songshan cannot be attacked, it is not that the Eighth Army is incompetent, but that the enemy occupies favorable terrain." The officers and men of the Eighth Army have achieved 'dedication to wisdom and loyalty'! "
According to mr. Huang Xianqi, an eighty-two-year-old lieutenant colonel of the first battalion of the 246th Regiment of the Eighty-second Division of the Eighth Army, who recalled: "On August 7, 1944, the Thirty-third Year of the Republic of China (1944), the Eighth Army launched the sixth attack and captured the strongholds of Komatsuyama. The third regiment captured the Tatsu Highlands and the Highlands of Mi, and could not stand the enemy. The third battalion of the regiment (246th Regiment) attacked the noon heights, suffering heavy casualties, and the battalion commander Xie Mengxiong was killed. The remnants of the base camp were organized into a platoon, and I led the breakthrough into the unhighed heights. At about 16:00, the enemy army surrounded the base camp from the left side of the noon and unhighed heights, and only about ten casualties remained. I spoke to the regimental commander at the command post, and the regimental commander said, "Xianqi, I can see your situation very clearly with my binoculars. The commander has ordered the 308th Regiment to send a company to reinforce you, and you must hold on..." Before the words were finished, the Japanese army was approaching with a white blade. I rolled over and rolled down the slope. There were more than 500 officers and men in the battalion, and only seventeen remained. The fierceness of the battle is evident from this. "
He Shaozhou gradually raised his head, relieved by Wei Lihuang, and did not know how to express his gratitude. At this time, I saw Wei Lihuang tugging on his military uniform, smoothing the National Army badge on his chest, and said: "Go, look at the position!" "
Wei Lihuang, Song Xilian, and Dou Er'en, accompanied by He Shaozhou, came to the front-line position shelter. Wei Lihuang held up a telescope and stared—but he saw the flashes of fire on the Japanese positions such as Big and Small Pine Mountain, Loess Slope, Rolling Dragon Slope, and Yin Mountaineer, reflecting half the sky; the smoke of gunfire was filled with smoke, covering the peaks near and far. Wei Lihuang moved the telescope towards the Rolling Dragon Slope, and he saw that the expeditionary force of about a battalion was attacking the enemy's position, and countless tongues of fire erupted from the enemy's fortress group, and the soldiers of the expeditionary force in the front fell, and the soldiers of the expeditionary force in the back immediately used the terrain to hide. After a series of confrontations, the expeditionary force attacked again, and countless tongues of fire erupted from the enemy fortress group, and the soldiers of the expeditionary force in front fell, and the soldiers of the expeditionary force in the back immediately used the terrain to hide, and then another burst of fire... This image was repeated many times, and the expeditionary force made little progress.
Wei Lihuang's face was unhappy, he did not appreciate this kind of fighting style of stopping and stopping, and advancing step by step, he felt that this style of play would only encourage the enemy's arrogance and dampen his own morale. He put down the telescope, pondered for a moment, and called, "Commander He! He Shaozhou: "In! Wei Lihuang: "The commander-in-chief has repeatedly instructed: Fu Zhan, courage also, one drum, then decline, three exhaustion." Rolling Dragon Slope's playing style has the discipline of the commander-in-chief! He Shao stood up straight: "Yes! Wei Lihuang: "I have a proposal, what do you think?" "He Shaozhou is another Lizheng, asking commander Wei for advice. "
Wei Lihuang: "I propose that all divisions of your Eighth Army should draw elite officers and men to form a sharp knife regiment, with the division commander as the regimental commander, the regimental commander as the battalion commander, the battalion commander as the company commander, the company commander as the platoon leader, and the platoon commander as the squad leader, gradually enriching the first line, boosting morale, and concentrating all efforts on attacking the stronghold!" He Shao Zhou Lizheng replied, "Commander Commander's advice is really out of reach for ordinary people like me." I immediately organized the Sharp Knife Regiment under the instructions of the Commander-in-Chief! "
Song Xilian added, "Thirty flamethrowers are added to each sharp knife regiment. After listening to the interpreter's translation, Dou Ern generously stated: "What weapons do you expeditionary forces need, we promise to provide them!" "
Wei Lihuang was thanking Dou Er'en when he saw the commander of the Songshan front of the expeditionary army enter the shelter and whisper something to He Shaozhou.
After He Shaozhou listened, he leaned over to Wei Lihuang and whispered, "Commander Zhong Bin of the Seventy-first Army heard that the commander-in-chief personally inspected the Songshan front, and specially came to see him from the Longling front." Wei Lihuang: "He came just in time, and I was just trying to understand the battle situation in Longling." "
Headquarters of the Eighth Army of the Expeditionary Force. Zhong Bin pointed to the battle map of the Battle of Longling and reported to Wei Lihuang, Song Xilian, and Dou Eren on the longling side. Longling ancient name Black Water Cage, in the Eastern Han Dynasty called Ailao County, belongs to Yongchang County. During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, the hall was built and was originally called Longling. About seventy-seven kilometers west of Huitong Bridge and about seventy kilometers east of Songshan, Longling was the choke point of Yongchang (present-day Baoshan) to Travel to Bamo and Lashio in Burma.
Zhong Bin: "The fortifications built by the Japanese army on the hills around Longling are generally similar to those of Matsuyama. The defenders of Longling were the 2nd Artillery Brigade of the 56th Division and the main force of the Engineering Company, the 113th Regiment and the 2nd Brigade of the 2nd Division, plus the additional troops from Tengchong and Mangshi last month, totaling more than 14,000 people. "
Song Xilian added to Wei Lihuang: "The enemy predicted that the Dragon Tomb could be held for more than a year. Wei Lihuang: "It seems that this bone of Longling is even more difficult to gnaw on than Songshan." "
Headquarters of the Eighth Army of the Expeditionary Force. Zhong Bin pointed to the battle map of the Battle of Longling and reported to Wei Lihuang, Song Xilian, and Dou Eren on the longling side.
Zhong Bin continued: "Since June 5, our army has launched the first general offensive against the enemy defending Longling, and has invaded the longling city in more than 20 days. At that time, our army could have occupied it with a single blow. However, due to the heavy rain for several days, the supply in the air and the transport of the common people were very difficult, the guns and ammunition could not be replenished in time, and even the shells were only a few dozen, the rations were almost cut off, and the soldiers could not even drink porridge, so they could only fill their hunger with plantain roots and grass roots. The Japanese army took the opportunity to counterattack, and our army had to retreat twelve kilometers, so that Longling City was regained and lost. Wei Lihuang did not speak, but his heart was restless. He closed his eyes and calmed down for a while before asking Song Xilian, "What do you think?" "
Song Xilian pondered for a moment and said slowly: "The terrain of Longling is dangerous, the enemy fortifications are very strong, and the troops invested are more than Tengchong and Songshan. Therefore, it is not something that can be occupied by one or two attacks. "
Wei Lihuang and Dou Eren listened carefully to Song Xilian's analysis. Song Xilian continued: "I think that for the Battle of Longling, we should put on a strong offensive posture, but in fact, we should attack and defend. Stick the enemy to death, wait for Tengchong and Matsuyama to conquer, and then concentrate on solving the enemy of Longling! "
After some consultation, Wei Lihuang and Dou Er'en agreed to Song Xilian's plan. After Wei Lihuang, Song Xilian, and Dou Eren inspected the front line of Songshan, He Shaozhou quickly formed six sharp knife regiments, which were heading for the Rolling Dragon Slope, the Great and Small Song Mountain, and the Yin Mountain... The enemy stronghold launched a third general offensive, which worked.
Ōmatsuyama, Japanese garrison. It was a strong, spacious fortress in which stood more than twenty stout, fierce japanese soldiers.
Matsuyama Japanese garrison captain Kime Keijiro Shōsa, with his hands on his abdomen, was imposingly assigning the task: "If Matsuyama wants to hold on, he must first get rid of the artillery positions of the front Chi Na Army." Tonight, you will be loyal to the Emperor and die for the holy war!" "
The Japanese soldiers said in unison, "Hay! "The night is silent, and the insects are chirping. In the night, a team dressed in the uniform of the Expeditionary Force, carrying grenades, arm-held explosive packs, and loaded guns set out from the Japanese positions at OmatsuYama and headed for the mountain artillery positions of the Expeditionary Force under the corner of the mountain. Twenty minutes later, the mysterious party came to the forward position of the infantry of the Expeditionary Force.
The sentry at the forward position of the expeditionary force heard a crackling sound not far away, and immediately became alert. When the team approached, they saw that it was their own person, so they asked, "Which part?" "
The other side replied, "Seven Squadrons!" "
The sentry was stunned, thinking: It is only right to call the company battalion, how to call the squadron?! Suddenly aware of the situation, he was about to shoot the alarm, when an enemy soldier had jumped in front of him, only to see a flash of knife light, and the sentry was split into two pieces from shoulder to crotch.
The Japanese sneak attack team walked through the forest and the valley, and it did not take long to touch the mountain artillery position of the expeditionary army, and quickly dispersed, running to a mountain cannon in the haze.
The expeditionary sentry hidden in the trees suddenly saw one black shadow after another rushing towards the mountain cannon, and immediately realized that there was an enemy situation! One side shouted, "The devil has come in!" One side raised his gun and shot at it. Almost at the same moment, Japanese grenades and explosive packs exploded. The light of the fire reflected half of the sky.
Guarding the mountain artillery position were three battalions and one company of the sharp knife regiment. They had been sleeping for many days without leaving their guns and unbuttoning their clothes, and when they heard shouts and gunshots, they rushed out. After a round of confrontation and hand-to-hand combat, the Japanese troops who sneaked into the artillery positions were completely wiped out.
The next morning, the sharp knives were clustered. A combat staff officer was reporting the situation at night to Commander Yuan Guozhong: "Twenty-eight sneaking Japanese troops were all killed by me. I lost one mountain cannon, one howitzer, and four mortars, but they were not fatally damaged. "
Yuan Guozhong's gloomy face had already condensed into thunder, and he stood up from the stool and said angrily, "Mother! Come and go without incivility also! Next, he whispered something with the deputy regimental commander and chief of staff next to him. The deputy regimental commander and chief of staff nodded incessantly. It was the core position of the Japanese army in Matsuyama day and night.
In the hazy moonlight appeared the shadows of four expeditionary force soldiers. They were Corporal Squad Leader Zhang Xuecheng, and soldiers Wu Tianyou, Zheng Yijin and Li Kai. According to Yuan Guozhong's deployment, the four voluntarily signed up to form a death squad to attack the core position of the Japanese army in Songshan.
Daystar shines silver in the east. The Japanese soldiers in the stronghold saw that there had been no trouble all night, and it was about to dawn and began to doze off.
Zhang Xuecheng, Wu Tianyou, Zheng Yijin, and Li Kai crawled forward in the grass, as astutely as a tanuki cat, sneaking across the enemy sentry line and entering the enemy's core stronghold. Suddenly, there were several rumbling noises, the mountains trembled, and thick smoke and dust filled the sky; in the moment when the grenade exploded, Zhang Xuecheng, Wu Tianyou, Zheng Yijin, and Li Kai raised their light machine guns and swept into the stronghold.
"The Chi Na Army has attacked!" The Chi Na Army has attacked! The Japanese army, which was lucky to survive, could not figure out how many expeditionary forces had been attacked, and fled in a hurry. Zhang Xuecheng, Wu Tianyou, Zheng Yijin, and Li Kaijie rushed into the stronghold, where more than twenty corpses of Japanese soldiers were lying horizontally and vertically, and a badge and armband were left on a wooden table.
Wu Tianyou called out in surprise: "Squad leader, look quickly!" This official seal belonged to Tian Wantaro (the leader of the Second Brigade)! "
Li Kai also reported in surprise: "This armband belongs to matsui headquarters (113 United team headquarters)!" "
Zhang Xuecheng gleefully tucked the official seal and armband into his pocket and said, "Withdraw! "
It was light. The enemy began to organize a counterattack, but Zhang Xuecheng, Wu Tianyou, Zheng Yijin, and Li Kai had returned safely to their positions. Due to the heroic fighting of the expeditionary force soldiers, He Shaozhou used trench and tunnel warfare tactics appropriately, and finally conquered Songshan on September 7, 1944.
Longling. According to the deployment of Song Xilian, commander of the Eleventh Army, Zhong Bin besieged the enemy for nearly four months by attacking and defending. In mid-September, Songshan and Tengchong were conquered one after another, and the main force moved to Longling. At this time, the Huitong Bridge has been repaired and opened to traffic, so that the supply of the longling front-line troops has been fully guaranteed. On 2 November, after a month's rest, the expeditionary force launched a general attack on the defenders of Longling. On November 3, the expeditionary force finally captured Longling.
The Battle of Songshan and Longling was a bloody and fierce battle. The Battle of Matsuyama took more than three months, with 850 Japanese casualties and 6,763 expeditionary casualties, about one to eight. Longling was the longest-consuming battle in the counter-offensive against Western Yunnan, and the two sides invested the most troops, which lasted more than five months, with 10,620 Japanese casualties and 28,384 casualties of the expeditionary force, about 1.7 ratio of 1.7.
After the restoration of Longling, the expeditionary force continued to march to Mangshi, Chafang, and Hatamachi. The troops stationed in India have moved south to Bamo and Nankan, and the two armies have formed a situation in which they are caught between the east and the west of the Japanese army. The opening of the China-India Highway is just around the corner.