At this time, Pan Xiaoan, the chief of intelligence of the General Staff, also spoke. He is Han Xing's second brother, and he expounds his point of view from his perspective: "There is nothing wrong with this battle commanded by Li Zongren, but he thinks too highly of Zhang Zizhong's 33rd Group Army. Now Zhang Zizhong's group army is not good at personnel, nor is it good at equipment. But Zhang Zizhong still held out his chest and hit the muzzle of the Japanese.

If Tang Enbo's army is changed to support Zhang Zizhong, I am afraid it will not work, and it will not be able to isolate the Japanese army's 40,000 or 50,000 tiger and wolf divisions. But we are the Southern Expeditionary Army, which, in my observation, is more effective than one of Townenbo's troops. We joined hands with Zhang Zizhong, and like a nail, it was stuck in the throat of Waibu and Ichiro, telling him to eat, but he couldn't swallow it, spit it out, and he couldn't spit it out.

Supporting Zhang Zizhong, this is a risky move, but this move will not work. To put it mildly, as soon as Zhang Zizhong is defeated, this battle will be defeated. In the event of a major defeat, the purpose of our Southern Expeditionary Army will be meaningless. ”

Pan Xiaoan's words took a turn again, strengthening Han Xing's determination to support Zhang Zizhong.

Han Xing glanced at everyone and said solemnly: "That's it, it's necessary to support Zhang Zizhong." After this battle, whether I won or lost, I would naturally confess my guilt to the Zhuxian Column, which caused the Southern Expeditionary Army to suffer heavy losses. But if we don't fight this battle, we will miss this opportunity and become sinners through the ages. ”

Since Han Xing said so, Wang Qiankun also said: "Then I reserve my opinion!" ”

Zhang Zuogan also said: "I also reserve my opinion. ”

In different opinions, the Southern Expeditionary Army still carried out Han Xing's order, that is, to support Zhang Zizhong.

At this time, the situation of Zhang Zizhong's 33rd Group Army was indeed not good.

Li Zongren, commander of the Fifth Theater Command, ordered Sun Lianzhong's 2nd Army and Tang Enbo's 31st Army to immediately move south to encircle the main force of the 3rd Division, and also to be responsible for the important work of cutting off the enemy's retreat.

This important task, which was responsible for cutting off the enemy's retreat, was mainly completed by Zhang Zizhong's 33rd Group Army, as well as the Sichuan Army. This 33rd Group Army is known as a group army, but in fact, it is about 20,000 people, but it is only the strength of two whole divisions.

Naturally, nominally, the Sichuan Army also belonged to Zhang Zizhong's command, but in fact, Zhang Zizhong only had one of his own group armies.

In comparison, although all units were fighting behind enemy lines, the situation of the Sichuan army was better. Because they are backed by Dahong Mountain, even if the resistance fails and they encounter a Japanese onslaught, they will not be in danger as long as they retreat to the mountains.

The mountainous area is vast, and if the Japanese army carries out large-scale encirclement and suppression, it will be impossible without heavy troops and a month's time.

In fact, the most dangerous was Zhang Zizhong, whose 33rd Group Army had to cross the Han River, storm the rear of the Japanese army, cut off the Xianghua Highway and the Jingzhong Highway, and complete the encirclement deployment.

Once the Japanese army concentrates its main force to counterattack, Zhang Zizhong's group army will be very dangerous, because they are all on the east side of the Han River, and it is difficult to retreat successfully in a short time, so they can only fight the spot. If you can't hold on, you can only temporarily transfer, hide cats and cats with the Japanese army, and break through in the cracks of the Japanese army.

At that time, when the main force of the 33rd Army began the battle, most of it was east of Hanshui. However, after the onslaught of the Japanese army, some of them were forced to retreat to the west of Hanshui, and the other part pursued the Japanese army north.

At this time, after Li Zongren gave the order to intercept, the first part of the 33rd Group Army had been ordered to cross the Han River and kill in the Dahongshan area and Zaoyang area.

The 132nd Division of the 77th Army under its jurisdiction entered Changshoudian and cut off the road from Changshoudian to Xiangyang. The 179th Division of the 77th Army and the 38th Division of the 59th Army crossed Changshoudian and chased the Japanese army north. The 180th Division and the 9th Cavalry Division of the 59th Army went northeast to Zaoyang, and cooperated with the Sichuan Army to cut off the Xianghua Highway.

From the 4th, the various divisions encountered the Japanese troops behind the palace and began a fierce battle.

The problem with the Battle of Zaoyi was not that Zhang Zizhong crossed the Han River to meet the enemy, but that the key was that he later pulled away the main force of the Jiang Defense Army to fight north, resulting in a lack of Jiang air defense. Both Chiang Kai-shek and Li Zongren ignored the possibility of the Japanese army attacking Yichang, so they mobilized the Jiang Defense Army.

As for Zhang Zizhong personally leading his troops to cross the Han River to fight, it is also necessary and even greater, just because Zhang Zizhong's troops are weak after a long period of battle, and they are outnumbered and outnumbered, which is quite dangerous.

During the previous Battle of Suizao, Zhang Zizhong also crossed the Han River in this way, severely damaged the flank of the Japanese army, resulting in heavy casualties and forced retreat of the Japanese army.

On the 5th, the 59th Division, the 38th Division, which had the most combat effectiveness, attacked the Japanese army in Kitamida Jiaji. The Japanese army was unprepared and caught off guard, suffering nearly a thousand casualties.

The Japanese army suffered a loss, so naturally they refused to give up, and immediately gathered more than 3,000 troops from the surrounding area to attack the 38th Division, and tried to cut off its retreat after a detour.

At this time, the other divisions of the 33rd Army were fighting fiercely with the Japanese army, and there were no troops capable of reinforcing the 38th Division. The purpose of the 38th Division in this battle was to intercept and harass the Japanese army, not to engage in a strategic decisive battle with the Japanese army. Therefore, after a day of hard fighting, the 38th Division was afraid that the rear road would be cut off by the Japanese army, so it took the initiative to abandon its position and retreat south, and the Japanese army followed in pursuit.

In view of the fact that the various units east of the Han River were tight and in urgent need of support, Li Zongren, with the consent of Chiang Kai-shek, ordered the 75th Army and the 94th Army of the three armies of the Jiang Defense Army to be under the command of Zhang Zizhong and prepare to cross the Han River to provide support.

This move was very problematic, because the Jiang Defense Army had only three armies at that time, and after the transfer of these two main forces, the Jiang Defense Force of one army instantly became very small.

How could this little bit of strength resist the heavy attack of the three divisions of the Japanese army later?

The reason for this deployment seemed to be necessary at the time, because Zhang Zizhong's troops were too small to successfully complete the mission.

But if you look at the overall situation, you should take into account the possibility that the Japanese army will capture Yichang, which is a bit of a mistake.

In the battle of Suizao, although Suizao was already very tight, the Jiang Defense Army never moved.

This time, the Jiang Defense Army moved, but did not directly reinforce Zhang Zizhong, and then was pulled by Li Zongren to the north of Xinye to fight a decisive battle with the Japanese army, which laid the groundwork for the fall of Yichang later.

On the 6th, Zhang Zizhong met with the commanders of the two Jiang Defense Army, but the two armies were still west of Hanshui, and it would take a few days to move over, and the distant water could not save the fire.

In view of the urgency of the front-line battle situation, Zhang Zizhong resolutely decided that he would lead the remaining reserves of the 33rd Group Army, that is, the 55th Division of the 74th Army, to cross the river to provide reinforcements.

This is the fourth time that Zhang Zizhong has asked to cross the Han River to attack the enemy, including the Battle of Suizao and the Winter Offensive before, he has personally crossed it several times, naturally, every time it is very dangerous.

This time, his chief of staff Li Wentian and senior staff officer Zhang Jing and others are still resolutely opposed!

Why? Because at this time, the east of the Han River is really very dangerous. The Nationalist Army and the Japanese Army were in a melee battle, and the Japanese Army was superior to the Nationalist Army in terms of strength and combat effectiveness.

At that time, the headquarters of the 179th Division of the 77th Army was broken up in the melee with the Japanese army, and the deputy division commander Wu Zhensheng was almost shot, and temporarily broke through to the mountains under the cover of the guard platoon. During this time, the division headquarters was almost paralyzed, relying on the chief of staff to barely command.

However, at this time, the battle situation was dangerous, and the Hedong troops of the 33rd Group Army were in a bitter battle, and they would definitely not be able to hold on with their current strength, and reinforcements must be given immediately.

Zhang Zizhong resolutely decided to personally lead the 74th Division to cross the Han River because of several considerations. First, at present, the strength of the 33 rd Group Army is weak, and the existing troops are fighting extremely hard, so they must be supported. The 74th Division, as the reserve of the group army, although only 2 regiments are available, is more or less a new force. At this juncture, not to mention two more regiments, even two more battalions are also helping.

Second, the battle situation was treacherous and changing extremely quickly, and although the headquarters of the group army was safe west of Hanshui, it could not grasp the changes in the battle situation in time, so it was more convenient to go to the front line to command.

Third, starting from the Battle of Xuzhou, the 33rd Group Army has gone through several large-scale battles, and each time the casualties are between one-third and two-thirds, and at present there are not many veterans of the group army, and the combat effectiveness has been considerably weakened, and the cohesion of the troops has also been greatly weakened.

In this battle, the situation of the national army was unfavorable, and if the morale of the officers and men of the 33rd Group could not be strongly boosted, it would be very difficult to win. Zhang Zizhong has always believed that if the generals do not take the lead and set an example, it is impossible for the soldiers to do their best. Therefore, he resolutely transferred his command to the dangerous front line, which could greatly boost morale, and maybe he could win the victory.

Zhang Zizhong had experience in hundreds of large-scale battles, so he naturally knew that this trip was extremely dangerous. Before crossing the Han River, he arranged the aftermath, but the aftermath was not about himself, but about the army.

He left a letter to Feng Zhi'an, the commander of the 77th Army, whose prestige was second only to him, and clearly told him that if he was martyred, Feng would take over the command. The letter reads:

Look up to my brother like meeting:

Because of the relationship between the all-out war in the theater and its own responsibility, it is necessary to cross the river and fight the enemy. It has been decided to march to the east bank of the Xiang River tonight. After arriving in Hedong, he was able to get in touch with the 38th D (note: the code name of the division) and the 179th D, that is, he led two divisions to fight to the death with the horse division (note: that is, the 74th division, the acting division commander Ma Guanyi) desperately marched north; If we can't get in touch with the 179D and the 38th D, the three regiments with the horses will march north towards our ultimate goal (death). Whether you do good or bad, you must seek comfort in your conscience. It is unknown whether they will leave for a while or forever. Dedicated to Buda.

There were other factors that went into making this heroic decision.

In April 1940, Song Zheyuan, the leader of the Northwest Army, died of illness in Sichuan, and Zhang Zizhong personally rushed to Mianyang, Sichuan to attend the funeral. At the funeral, Zhang Zizhong felt a lot of emotion.

Song Zheyuan, as the first leader of the Northwest Army and a former patriotic general, had a brilliant life, but he didn't expect that when he died, there was no good result. In the early days of the Anti-Japanese War, Song did a series of wrong things in order to keep the small group of the 29th Army.

For the sake of the interests of his own group, he did not prepare for war, and tried in vain to cooperate with the Japanese army, and the final result was that the army was crushed for thousands of miles, and he left a reputation for eternity.