Rise From Eight Hundred

Chapter 1490 The meat grinding begins! (Please give me a monthly pass at the end of the month!)

Hunting toward Hengyang at starry night was Rong Youlue, commander of the 190th Division under the 10th Army, and a main infantry regiment under his command.

If the 10th Army was built on the basis of the 3rd Division, and the 10th Division was the main division that suddenly emerged from the 10th Army, then the 190th Division is another important cornerstone of this "Taishan Army".

The combat effectiveness of the 190th Division is actually not inferior to that of the other two infantry divisions of the 10th Army. However, because the previous commander of the division lost the battle with Fang Xianjue, the commander of the 10th Army, he simply devoted himself directly to General Xue. embrace.

As a result, the 190th Division and the military headquarters were actually inseparable from each other a year ago. In many cases, they only listened to the military orders from the theater headquarters and did not know the orders from the military headquarters. This was especially true during the Changde Battle at the end of 1943. Fang Xianjue’s close friend predicted that the 10th Division Whether division commander Sun Mingjin's death in battle had anything to do with these, I'm afraid the person involved knew it well.

However, during the personnel adjustment of the 10th Army in April, although General Xue found a way to get Fang Xianjue to be benched by the Military and Political Department, the commander of the 190th Division was not promoted to the commander of the 10th Army as he wished. Instead, he was transferred from the 190th Division to serve as deputy commander of another infantry corps.

This time when Hengyang was gathering troops, the 190th Division was stationed a full 300 miles away from Hengyang. Fang Xianjue originally requested the theater headquarters to return the 190th Division to Hengyang in view of the lack of troops. However, the theater headquarters argued that the distance was too far and marched long distances. It was no longer enough to refuse, but ordered the 190th Division to deploy defenses on the spot to block the Japanese army in order to slow down the Japanese army's advance towards Nanyue and buy more time for Hengyang's defense.

There is nothing wrong with this military order. The 72nd Army, the 37th Army, the 58th Army, the 20th Army, the 44th Army, and the 26th Army belonging to the 9th Theater Area are fighting with the Japanese 3rd and 13th Army in the Liuyang area. The division led a total of about 80,000 Japanese troops in the battle.

The tactics of layer upon layer fortification, layer upon layer interception, and step by step consumption also reduced the offensive offensive of Japan's 11th Army.

However, General Xue once again underestimated the determination of the Japan-China Expeditionary Force Command and the power of Takeshi Shimanuki.

The Japanese troops from all walks of life penetrated into gaps, avoided the real situation and exploited the weak, and dared to outflank the enemy on a large scale. Even if the communication with the rear was cut off by the Chinese army, they did not care. They pursued and attacked the enemy in front of them. In just three days, they defeated 10 people around Liuyang. Tens of thousands of Chinese troops were defeated.

On May 29, the Japanese 13th Division advanced towards Leiyang on the southeast side of Hengyang, intending to cut off the Guangdong-Hankou Railway in one fell swoop. The Japanese 3rd Division assembled towards Liling. The two Japanese armies were approaching Hengyang like two giant pliers. .

It was under such circumstances that Fang Xianjue bypassed the theater headquarters and directly sent a message in the name of the military headquarters to the headquarters of the 190th Division, which had not been able to command before, asking them to return to the military headquarters and the entire army to fight the enemy together.

The commander of the 190th Division is named Rong Youlue. He is an army major general promoted by the deputy commander of the 190th Division. He regards General Xue as his benefactor and rarely interacts with Fang Xianjue. However, he has a personal relationship with Ge Youcai, the commander of the 10th Division. good.

Fang Xianjue can be regarded as a dead horse. The 190th Division has military orders from the theater headquarters. There are enough reasons not to follow the orders from the military headquarters. What's more, in Hengyang at this time, in the eyes of 90% of the people , are all places of death and despair, and it is even more normal not to come.

But what everyone expected was that the commander of the 190th Division named Rong Youlue actually came and left two of his only three infantry regiments on their original positions to set up defenses, while he himself took one of his subordinates. A main infantry regiment with less than 2,000 troops rushed to Hengyang.

And arrived on the night of May 30th!

Fang Xianjue took four other members of the command team out of the city to greet him in person. When he met his former subordinate again after half a year, Fang Xianjue didn't say anything. He just held Rong Youlue's hand and shook it vigorously.

At this critical moment of life and death, retrograde has explained everything. What are the other petty gains and fame?

Zhao Zili, Tang Dao and others all saluted, not only to the major general, but also to the 1,900 Chinese soldiers who had traveled a long distance behind him and were covered with dust.

The last division of the 10th Army returns to construction!

Of course, the rebels were not only the 190th Division, but also the artillery battalion that was rushing back at starry night.

As Japanese planes began to appear in the sky, and worried that the precious artillery would be wiped out by Japanese planes, the entire artillery battalion got off the train and took a small road to Hengyang a few days ago.

This was safer, but the speed was much slower. When they arrived at Santang, more than 30 miles away from Hengyang on the evening of June 1, they met the veterans of the 10th Army stationed here. Li Yutang, commander and current deputy commander-in-chief of the 27th Group Army.

At this time, the leading troops of the Japanese army had arrived and had a scouting battle with the defenders east of the Xiangjiang River. A small number of the Japanese leading troops even crossed the Xiangjiang River and arrived in the south of Hengyang City. Li Yutang suggested that the artillery battalion should not return to Hengyang for the time being to avoid Encountered Japanese attack.

It is obvious that an artillery unit with only a dozen pistols, less than 30 rifles, and two machine gun guard platoons for protection will end up being massacred even if it only encounters a Japanese infantry squad.

Major Zhang Zuoxiang, who had complained to the Imperial Army, once again let out a deafening roar in the face of the old army commander's kindness: "If we had not entered the city today for safety reasons, we wouldn't have had to come all the way back from Guilin. The artillery battalion belongs to the 10th Army. Even if there is a mountain of swords and a sea of ​​fire ahead, we must rush into the city today. "

Li Yutang was so moved that he even mobilized his personal guard company to guard the returning artillery unit and escorted them back to Hengyang City.

After the Hengyang headquarters received the telegram from Li Yutang, Tang Dao also immediately dispatched the mountain infantry company of the Four Lines Regiment to meet the enemy on the way, and the reconnaissance company dispatched a reconnaissance platoon to detect the enemy's situation.

Before the two units could meet up, the artillery battalion was intercepted by a Japanese infantry squadron on the way.

The goal of this artillery unit is too obvious. The 12 new American field artillery components require a total of more than 70 pack horses to transport. The artillery battalion is reluctant to lose 4,000 precious artillery shells. The artillery battalion of more than 600 people carries an average of 3 The box in which the shells were fired weighed more than 30 kilograms per soldier, and the remaining shells had to be carried by 200 pack horses.

For this reason, the artillery battalion that got off the train purchased carts and wheelbarrows that could be pushed by individual soldiers locally, and the team naturally became more bloated.

Although the officers and soldiers were strictly ordered not to make any sound during the march, and the pack horses had their mouths tied, there was always light when marching in the dark, and with the **** of an infantry company, a queue of nearly a thousand people walked slowly through the fields where the road had been dug. It was so bulky that it was difficult to avoid being noticed by the small Japanese army.

The infantry squadron that first launched an attack on the 10th Army Artillery Battalion belonged to the 116th Division.

This division comes from Kyoto, codenamed 'Arashi'. It is a special division formed by the personnel of the 16th Division who stayed in Kyoto. At the beginning, there were only 4 infantry brigades. After entering China in 1938, it participated in the Battle of Jiangxia and was recognized for its military exploits. Upgraded from Type B Division to Type A Division.

However, there are still some differences between the 116th Division and the old standing divisions. Instead of 4 infantry regiments, there are 3 infantry regiments. The entire division has a strength of 20,000 people.

The 116th Division cannot be compared with permanent divisions such as the 3rd and 13th Divisions with 28,000 personnel, but in the 11th Army, it is already considered the main force.

For example, the vanguard of the 68th Division, which has crossed the Lei River and is encircling the north of Hengyang City, was upgraded from the D Division to the C Division. The entire division has only 15,000 personnel, and there are only 8 independent infantry brigades in total. , the strength is only half of the permanent divisions that entered China at the beginning of the war.

This is actually the current situation of the Japanese Army's infantry divisions in China. A considerable number of elite divisions have been transferred to the Pacific battlefield and the Southeast Asian battlefield. The Chinese battlefield can currently only rely on a group of A divisions to lead a group of B divisions and even C and D divisions. The cultivation team supports the facade.

Moreover, as veterans continue to die off, these small divisions are filled with a large number of recruits, and their combat effectiveness is no longer the same as it was seven years ago.

But that's it. Today, the 200,000-strong army in the 9th Theater is still beaten by 200,000 Japanese troops. How can we not make people feel inexplicable?

The infantry squadron that crossed the Xiangjiang River and arrived in the mountains south of Hengyang City was the 120th Infantry Regiment of the 116th Division, and the squadron leader was Major Kurokawa Glory. In the Japanese Army hierarchy, most infantry squadron leaders have the rank of captain. One infantry squadron leader actually holds the rank of major, just like the infantry company commander in the Chinese army holds the rank of major. This shows the qualifications of this Major Kurokawa, or this The status of this infantry squadron in the 120th Infantry Regiment.

All commanders who are highly matched are always highly valued by their superiors, and this is no exception among the Japanese.

The Kurokawa Squadron is the No. 1 among the 120 Infantry Regiment, with 213 combat personnel. It has 4 infantry squads, each with a personnel strength of 52. Each infantry squad has 3 light machine guns and 3 grenade launchers. Said that a heavy machine gun was also added. This means that the Kurokawa Squadron has a total of 12 light machine guns, 12 grenade launchers, and 4 heavy machine guns. Ordinary Chinese infantry battalions cannot achieve such firepower.

As the first vanguard unit of the division to enter the battlefield, the Kurokawa Squadron mainly focuses on reconnaissance of the terrain and cameras to harass and attack all Chinese troops in the activity area.

Isn't a 'transportation team' like the 10th Army Artillery Battalion just fat in the eyes of Kurokawa Squadron? Even Kurokawa Squadron from Kurokawa Glory on down didn’t know what this ‘transportation team’ was transporting.

In the Battle of Hengyang in the past time and space, Major Kurokawa Glory was a "celebrity" who has been mentioned in historical books.

Whenever the name of a minor character appears in a book, it's basically not a good thing. If Kurokawa Glory could see the future, he might change his mind.

An excerpt about the Battle of Hengyang in the Hunan Operation published by the War History Research Office of the Japanese Defense Agency reads as follows: "The battle report record of the 120th Infantry Regiment, July 1st, sunny! It was a short summer night, Captain Kurokawa Rushing in front, carrying a sword, suddenly two grenades exploded, and Captain Kurokawa died heroically on the spot. "

In the past, Major Kurokawa Glory was killed by two grenades in the mud on the western outskirts of Hengyang City. However, in this era, due to changes in the tactical plan, it was replaced by the 116th Division to attack the south of Hengyang City.

One month in advance, Major Kurokawa Glory and his 200 imperial officers and soldiers came to this hilly and mountainous area.

The time and scene are different, but the ending of Kurokawa Glory has not changed much.

Kurokawa Glory commanded his four infantry squads to launch an attack on the 10th Army Artillery Battalion. The Japanese Army Major was very confident. Although the queue of this transport team was four to five hundred meters long and the number of people was several times that of his infantry squadron, But based on his combat experience with the Chinese army, once Chinese soldiers encounter a head-on attack, they will quickly fall into panic. After continuous attacks, some people will choose to escape, and eventually the entire army will collapse!

Maintaining strong firepower is the only magic weapon for the victory of the imperial army!

Therefore, the Kurokawa Squadron came out and opened fire, and used its special skills. 4 heavy machine guns and 12 light machine guns roared desperately to draw flaming red bullet marks in the night sky. The 10th Army Artillery Battalion was too late. There was a shower of blood among the fleeing officers and soldiers.

In the first encounter, the 10th Army Artillery Battalion suffered nearly 50 casualties, which can be regarded as heavy casualties. If it were an ordinary army, they would either be lying on the ground without even daring to raise their heads, or they would be like Kurokawa Squadron thought. The whole army collapsed and fled.

But the officers and soldiers of the artillery battalion had long gone upstream from afar with the hope of death. How could they abandon their artillery and run away at such a time?

"Guard platoon, protect me from the sun! Communications class, send power to the military headquarters for help!" Zhang Zuoxiang, who was lying in the grass, roared and ordered.

If this is the case, it can only be said that the 10th Army Artillery Battalion is still strong-willed and will not collapse easily. But in terms of strength, once the Kurokawa Squadron plays their most familiar frontal strike and flanking routine, more than 600 The Chinese artillery is basically a lamb waiting to be slaughtered. If it can't hold on for 30 minutes, it will be broken through by the elite Kurokawa Squadron.

Fortunately, there is also a guard company of the 27th Group Army accompanying the team. This guard company is one of the four companies of the guard battalion directly under the 27th Group Army Headquarters. It is specially equipped by the 27th Group Army for the Group Army Headquarters. All the personnel are veterans of the Sichuan Army. The equipment used is also the most sophisticated of the 27th Army.

The company is equipped with nearly 30 M3 submachine guns imported from the United States alone, and as many as 9 light machine guns. It is also equipped with 3 60mm guns. In addition to not being equipped with heavy machine guns, the other light firepower is even stronger. From the Kurokawa Squadron.

The Sichuan Army was once the representative figure of the "Beggar Army", but as the war continued, countless Sichuan Army troops used their blood to prove to the world that they could become the number one army in China. Even if they lacked military exploits, in terms of Brother Pao, Never lose their temper and show off their spirit, they deserve the first place.

The guard company defended on the spot and started shooting with Kurokawa Squadron!

The Japanese elite who attacked the Chinese "convoy" head-on ran into a defense line composed of 28 M3 submachine guns, and were also beaten.

Kurokawa Glory had to change the raid into an offensive and defensive battle in frustration. Looking at his watch, the Japanese Army Major limited the attack time to one hour. After one hour, if the transport team's stubborn defense line had not been broken, he would lead the attack. The troops retreated to avoid being dumped by the supporting Chinese, although he did not quite believe that the Chinese army would be so bold as to leave the established positions.

Major Kurokawa was already very cautious, but he underestimated the speed of the Chinese army, especially a mountain infantry company that had used mountain combat as its tactical purpose since its establishment.

The mountain infantry company led by Gu Xishui arrived 20 minutes after the two armies opened fire. However, after observation, they found that the artillery battalion of the 10th Army under attack was not weak in firepower, making it impossible for the Japanese army to approach the mountainous area.

Gu Xishui was not busy participating in the battle. Instead, he directed the four mountain infantry platoons under his command to detour from a distance and go around the back of the Japanese army. Just as the crow mind of Major Kurokawa thought, he started the dumpling-making mode.

Half an hour later, Major Kurokawa was still looking into the distance anxiously, thinking about whether to withdraw his troops immediately, 'Dong dong dong! ’ The muffled sound of the sound echoed one after another in the dark night.

That was not the sound of lighting up flares, but the sound of real mortars being ejected from the chamber. The continuous fires in the dark were like the bright fireworks set off during the New Year!

Kurokawa Glory's expression suddenly changed, and he turned around to look at the dark night behind him!

What frightened him was not that the Chinese small-caliber mortars hit the heavy and light machine gun fire points of his squadron like eyes, but that in this round of shelling, at least 10 guns were shelling.

The Chinese army that can possess so many mortars must have at least one infantry regiment!

Are the Chinese crazy? Major Kurokawa's head was about to explode at that time. No matter how confident he was, he knew that his more than 200 men alone could not compete with a Chinese infantry regiment of almost 2,000 men.

"Whole Squadron"

The word 'evacuate' was still lingering in his throat. At least five or six flares were fired into the sky, clearly revealing the figure of the Kurokawa Squadron in the mountains.

Fiery red whips jumped out of the darkness and struck hard at the Japanese army!

The mountain infantry company is equipped with a total of 16 MG42s. The ferocious crossfire they formed was able to defeat an infantry brigade during the Battle of Shipai, let alone a small Japanese infantry squadron.

The so-called strong has its own strong hand. The Kurokawa Squadron is a strengthened infantry squadron in the 116th Division. It has 4 Type 92 heavy machine guns and can walk sideways at the infantry squadron level, but it has 16 60 guns and 16 MG42 The machine gun in front of the mountain infantry company is not enough to see!

The strength itself is not as good, not to mention that now it is being attacked from two sides, the fate of the Kurokawa Squadron can be imagined.

Major Kurokawa Glory was not killed by two grenades this time, but was hit by a 60-meter shell!

The cause of death was different, but the way of death was obviously more miserable. Half of the Japanese Army Major's face was cut off by shrapnel, and the huge air wave broke the unlucky child's waist, and the entire upper and lower bodies were overlapped together.

My legs were already short, but now I feel better. The whole body can probably fit into a suitcase.

No one cleaned the battlefield. It was not until the afternoon of the next day that the Japanese troops who arrived later discovered the battlefield. The battlefield was littered with dead Japanese soldiers. The strange POSS that Major Kurokawa wanted to show before he died was left in the possession of a Japanese military reporter. In the lens.

At 5 o'clock in the morning on June 2, all personnel and equipment of the 10th Army Artillery Battalion successfully arrived in Hengyang City. Sun Mingyu, Chief of Staff of the 10th Army, and Tang Dao went to the city gate to greet them.

At this point, all returnable personnel of the 10th Army have arrived in Hengyang.

The huge meat grinder in Hengyang, which has slowly started to operate, is filled with more than 70,000 Chinese soldiers and civilians, waiting for 100,000 or more Japanese to enter it.