Chapter 13: Changing Guards (46)

In the following month, Tongcheng's Mo Enemy began to do his business again, hanging high, Li Benyi's 138th Division was ordered to attack Wangjiang Huayang, and Tan Heyi's 176th Division was ordered to attack Zongyang and harass Anqing. Zhang Guangwei's 84th Army had an arduous task and was ordered to attack the Pinghan Line, trying to take advantage of the air defense in the rear to gain some advantage when the Japanese army was attacking Changsha with all its might. Only Mo Enemy sits firmly in Tongcheng, smiling and watching the sunrise and sunset, and watching the clouds roll up. In Mo Di's view, Xue Yue, the commander of the Ninth Theater of Operations, is indeed a general, and when the Japanese 11th Army was pressed by the army, he calmly negotiated and gave full play to the instinct of the tiger boy. Within a month, Xue Yue, who was born with a smiling face, was constantly smiling, and he was more than Yu Hanmou in Guangdong who was nicknamed the smiling tiger. He gave a vivid military offensive and defensive lesson to the commander of the Japanese 11th Army, Avinanji, with practical actions, telling the Japanese that impulse alone is not enough, and fighting a war requires strength and wisdom. The total strength of the Japanese army in the south was 120,000, the total strength of the Ninth Theater was 270,000, and the assistance of the Third, Fifth, and Sixth Theaters of Operations made the available troops more than 300,000. With three to one, with Chen Cheng's plan in front and Bai Chongxi's decision in the back, Xue Yue will fight this battle.

The four rivers of Xinqiang River, Miluo River, Laodao River and Liuyang River are very evenly distributed in the land of Sanxiang, with roughly equal separation distances and roughly the same flow velocity. Xue Yue distributed part of his troops on the south bank of the four rivers, relying on the geographical advantages to block the Japanese attack, and more troops were placed in the upper and lower reaches of the four rivers. As soon as the White Army broke through one river, they moved the line to the next river, and the troops flanking from the upper and lower levels carried out an intrusive counterattack on the logistical supply lines north of the river. Every time the Japanese army breaks through a river, the logistical pressure doubles, and if the logistical pressure of the Japanese army that breaks through the Xinqiang River doubles, then the logistical pressure increases more than twice when it breaks through the Miluo River. Therefore, when the offensive and defensive battle of Laodao River was carried out, due to severe logistical pressure, the Japanese army's individual superiority had basically been exhausted. Therefore, the battle of the Laodao River was evenly matched.

The Xinqiang River was fought for five days as planned, and although the Chinese army suffered considerable losses, it completed the set task. After letting go of the Japanese army over the Xinqiang River, Ou Zhen's Fourth Army turned into a rear force and began an all-round harassment operation.

In the face of Japanese artillery fire, Li Yutang's 10th Army, which was defending on the south bank, fought calmly and orderly, completed the task, withdrew from the front, and handed over the Japanese army to Guo Changming's 56th Army of the Sichuan Army.

The 4th, 3rd, 6th, and 40th Divisions, the Hayabuchi Detachment, and the Araki Detachment continued to advance south after breaking through the Miluo River. Around September 25, they successively arrived at the north bank of the Laodao River, approaching Changsha.

Laodao River, a pincer pocket has been prepared, waiting for the arrival of the Japanese army, and the 79th Army of Xia Chuzhong on the left flank is garrisoned south of Laodao River to defend the periphery of Changsha. The 8th Division on the right flank was temporarily formed and arrived at Langli City on the 26th. On the front is the main force Wang Yaowu's 74th Army occupies positions on the lines of Xiajiatang, Chunhua Mountain, Chishi River, and Lime Tsui to meet the southward advancing Japanese army.

At the same time, the harassment of the Xinqiang River section and the Miluo River section did not stop, especially in the Miluo River section, Gao Kuiyuan's 99th Army attacked the Japanese army from the south from the west to the east, the 72nd Army of the Sichuan Army Han Quanpu attacked the Japanese army from the east to the west, and Xiao Zhichu's 26th Army cooperated with the 72nd Army to flank the Japanese army at Jinjing, trying to cut off the follow-up strength of the Japanese army.

As Xue Yue expected, the 74th Army was like a magnet, immediately attracting the Japanese army. In the eyes of the command of the Japanese 11th Army, finding the main force of the Chinese army and destroying it was their greatest task. Tang Enbo's troops north of the Yangtze River and Wang Yaowu's troops south of Changsha belonged to the first-class main force of the Chinese army, the most elite troops in the Chinese army. The 11th Army and the 74th Army of Wang Yaowu's Department are no strangers, they are old opponents, since the first Battle of Changsha, many battles, and the Battle of Shanggao touched its nails again, this time it was caught, and it must be destroyed. The commander of the 11th Army, Awei Nanji, adjusted his deployment, ordering the 3rd and 4th Divisions to break through to the south of the Laodao River, the 6th Division to advance to the Laodao River Valley to block the 74th Army, and the 40th Division to move south after sweeping the area near Jinjing. Several divisions and regiments have one goal, pressing towards the 74th Division, with the aim of defeating the 74th Division, leading the way from point to point, and deterring the Chinese battlefield.

On the evening of September 25, Yu Chengwan, the vanguard of the 74th Army, occupied the 57th Division of Swan Mountain on the south bank. The Japanese army launched an attack on Swan Mountain, and the two sides fought fiercely all night, and by the morning of the 26th, the Japanese army was repulsed. The 57th Division took the opportunity to counterattack, recaptured the depth, and covered the assembly of the main forces of the 74th Army. On the morning of the 27th, the main force of the Japanese 3rd Division, with the support of the Air Force, continued to attack the 57th Division head-on, but was stubbornly resisted by the 57th Division; The Japanese also threw a part of the 4th Division to attack the left flank of the 57th Division. The 57th Division suffered nearly 3,000 casualties, but it still held out. At the same time, Zhang Lingfu's 58th Division was on the line of Chunhuashan, Xiajiatang and Wujiadu, Li Tianxia's 51st Division was on the line of Wujiadu and Yangjiatan, and the 95th Division of Chen Pei's 37th Army was also engaged in fierce battles with the Japanese 6th, 3rd, and 4th Divisions on the line of Wangjiachong and Yanggongqiao.

By the night of September 27, the 99th Army was moving from west to east, and the 72nd Army and the 26th Army were slaughtered from east to west. Seeing that the goal had been achieved, Xue Yue ordered the troops to withdraw from the battle, move east to Dongyang City, Hengjiang River to the south bank of the Liuyang River, let the Japanese army go through the Laodao River, and prepare to play another game in the Liuyang River.

The Japanese army crossed the Laodao River, which was already the end of the crossbow, although it once occupied Changsha, and also crossed the Liuyang River. However, those who crossed the Liuyang River did not survive, and Ah Wei Nan knew that as long as there was enough time, his troops would be all killed by the Chinese army in Liuyang Henan, and he also understood that his southern attack had already penetrated into the desperate formation laid by the Chinese army.

When Ah Weinan learned that Liu Guangji's 100th Army in the Third Theater frequently launched attacks on the strongholds of the Japanese 34th Division around Nanchang, Tang Shizun's 23rd Group Army repeatedly attacked Hukou, Pengze, Madang, Guichi, Fanchang and other key points along the river held by the reinforcements of the Japanese 116th Division. Li Pinxian's 21st Group Army in the Fifth Theater attacked the strongholds on the north bank of the Yangtze River and the strongholds on the southern section of the Pinghan Railway. Chen Cheng, commander of the Sixth Theater of Operations, took advantage of his illness to evacuate the troops in the Jianghan area, and even recovered Yichang on September 20 and began to launch an offensive on the 23rd. Avenan finally convinced himself completely and ordered a retreat on all fronts.

Xue Yue is not a good person, the tiger boy is worthy of his name, and he is overjoyed to detect the retreat of the Japanese army. It was decided to let the Liuyang River, the Laodao River, the Miluo River and the Xinqiang River play a role again, becoming a natural barrier for the Japanese army to retreat, making every time the Japanese army crossed the river and retreated was a nightmare, and tried to make it impossible for the Japanese army to cross the Xinqiang River. Ordered Zou Hong of the Guangdong Army to temporarily organize the 2nd Army and Xia Chuzhong's 79th Army to follow and pursue the Japanese army in front, and ordered the 74th Army located in the area north and south of the Laodao River and the Miluo River, and the armies under Yang Sen's 27th Group Army (Ou Zhen's 4th Army, Yang Hanyu's 20th Army, and Sun Du's 58th Army of the Dian Army) and commanded Han Quanpu's 72nd Army, Xiao Zhichu's 26th Army, and Gao Kuiyuan's 99th Army to intercept and flank the Japanese army according to their current positions. Xue Yue's purpose was very simple, four half-crossing attacks, four tail attacks on the remnants, and taking advantage of the geographical advantages of the river to eliminate the living forces of the Japanese army.

Lao Chiang in Chongqing also found that there was an advantage to be taken advantage of, and sent a telegram demanding: "The Ninth Theater of Operations should take advantage of the enemy's exhaustion, boldly pursue, and take the opportunity to occupy Yueyang, and should actively sabotage the Wuyue Railway, and retreat in various directions, and the enemy should attack and ambush along the way, and strike hard so that it cannot retreat to the original defense; and contain the defense and delay its transfer to Wuhan, so as to facilitate the operations in the third, fifth, and sixth theaters."

On October 9, the remnants of the Japanese army retreated to the north of the Xinqiang River and resumed the pre-battle situation, and the Second Battle of Changsha came to an end.

In this campaign, 120,000 Japanese troops participated in the attack and 48,000 were killed, while 300,000 Chinese troops participated in the battle, with more than 50,000 killed, slightly more than the Japanese army. However, it was an unprecedented victory, not only a victory of strength, but also a victory of wisdom, and the British Times ridiculed: "Japan copied the pincer tactics of the Chinese army, and the result was broken by the pincer tactics of the Chinese army." ”

Chairman Chiang of Chongqing was extremely excited, and the committee rarely drank a glass of red wine and sent a telegram to Xue Yue to congratulate the beauty of rhetoric, which was extremely exaggerated, and praised this array as the Heavenly Furnace and called Xue Yue the Heavenly Furnace general.

Xue Yue was a very rational person, and he called back to believe that the reason for the victory in this battle was mainly due to the decision of Chief Bai and the proposal of Minister Chen, and as for Boling, the implementation was error-free.

After Chairman Jiang called back and praised Xue Yue for not taking credit for his pride and commendable character, he also remembered the exploits of the General Staff Headquarters, changed into a military uniform with the rank of five-star general, and came to the General Staff Headquarters from Guiyuan. I haven't come to the staff headquarters for a few days, and the staff officers on duty have been scared, but fortunately, Lao Jiang is in a good mood, waving his hand, and everything is simple. After Bai Chongxi expressed his allegiance to Chiang Kai-shek on the matter of Wei Yongping, he no longer had any dissenting intentions, and did everything diligently and in a down-to-earth manner, which was deeply satisfactory to the old Chiang. The reason why the Changsha Battle was able to win this time was due to the indelible contribution of the General Staff Department, and the contribution of General Bai was indelible.

"Jiansheng deserves to be called Little Zhuge , this Changsha strategy can be described as interlocking, can advance or retreat, can be called a masterpiece." Lao Jiang has a lovely smile, a thin face, like a remnant chrysanthemum.

Bai Chongxi was very respectful, smiled carefully, walked aside, and said, "Doing things in his position is what his subordinates should do." ”

Coming to the General Staff and sitting down, Chiang Kai-shek asked Chen Cixiu of the Political Department whether he was in the Sixth War Zone or in Chongqing, and Bai Chongxi told the old Jiang Chen Cheng that he was in Chongqing for a month, after all, the Battle of Changsha was concerned about everyone's hearts. Chiang Kai-shek asked Bai Chongxi to send someone to invite Chen Cheng over and chat together.

After a while, Chen Cheng arrived and greeted the chairman in Zhejiang, standing aside with the face of a little fellow. Lao Jiang asked Bai Chongxi and Chen Cheng how they could have such an unbridled idea and this overwhelming decision. Chen Cheng told Lao Jiang about Zheng Dongguo, saying that all this was because there was an excellent student in the commission.

Lao Jiang happily photographed the telegram directly to the Eighth Army and asked Zheng Dongguo the reason, and the old-fashioned classmate Zheng Dongguo did not mention himself in half a sentence in his reply to the principal, and talked about his intelligence director Liu Jingzhi without concealment. After a while, Liu Jingzhi's telegram also arrived at the General Staff, Liu Jingzhi did not dare to be greedy, and honestly said that the origin of this idea was to give Liang Cailin of Dayun Mountain a way to live. A suggestion from Mo Di not only gave Liang Cailin a way to live, but also gave the land of Sanxiang a way to live, not only destroying more than half of the enemy, but also repelling the attacking enemy. landed at the point, and finally fell on Tongcheng's invincible.

"Mo Tianzong, I remember him, he has a meritorious service and a meritorious man." The chairman said: "Didn't you say that he should go back to Guilin to study?" Why are you still in Tongcheng? ”

Bai Chongxi said with a smile: "Tianzong had more than a year of training in the sixth branch of Huangpu before, but because of the severe situation in Shanghai, he joined the war before graduating. Therefore, he does not need to attend a two-year advanced course, but only needs to participate in a one-year remedial training. The Department of Political Affairs has plans to enroll him in a remedial course next June. As for this year, let him play a role in the Chaohu area first, this person's ability is omnipotent, he has unpredictable wisdom, and he has the talent of heaven and earth, but because he is still young, he still needs to be honed. In the Battle of Lujiang that took place not long ago, Mo Enemy can be said to have made great contributions, blocking the east and killing the north in the south, and taking two puppet army brigades and three Japanese infantry brigades in one fell swoop. Victory wouldn't have come so easily without defeat. ”

Jiang Gong was overjoyed and said: "Make arrangements, after the supplementary training in the following year, I will come directly to Chongqing and go to the Central Military Academy to strengthen and strengthen." ”

Bai Chongxi stood up from the sofa and saluted with a "snap", which startled Lao Jiang. Seeing Lao Jiang's eyes, Bai Chongxi said: "The subordinate representative Mo Di thank you for the love and cultivation of the commission. ”

At this time, Mo Di didn't know that he had fallen into the eyes of the boss, and he was very depressed in Tongcheng, adding up, this was the third time he was slapped in the face!