On July 2, 1944, the first Japanese offensive was aborted.

After losing thousands of infantry, losing a cannon position, losing a division chief of staff, and a brigade commander, and still not making a breakthrough, Yokoyama ordered the 68th and 116th divisions under Hengyang City to stop the attack.

The reason why Isamu Yokoyama ordered the offensive to be stopped was, first, because the two divisions in front did not achieve breakthrough results in the attack for several days, but instead became tired divisions, and second, the artillery ammunition on the front line was already insufficient, and in his opinion, the number of artillery was still too small to deal a fatal blow to the defenders of Hengyang, and the third point was also the most important, the air force, which had always controlled air power, was below for the first time under the joint operation of the Chinese and American air forces, and Hengyang City had not suffered a single air attack since the start of the war. In his opinion, this is also the ultimate factor why the defenders of Hengyang were able to resist stubbornly and fight to the death.

Based on the above considerations, Yokoyama Yucai decided to temporarily stop the attack, although the troops on the front line were temporarily suspended, it did not mean that he would give up attacking Hengyang City. On the one hand, he remobilized his artillery to join the siege fire, and on the other hand, he asked the commander of the Chinese Army, Shunroku Hatata, to exert pressure on the air force and let the air force planes provide strong support for the siege.

Since the start of the Battle of Hengyang on 27 July, the Sino-US Air Force Joint Flying Regiment, which directly assisted in operations in the Ninth Theater, has basically mastered air supremacy over the battlefield, forcing the Japanese air force and ground forces to carry out large-scale operations after dusk and before dawn.

According to post-war statistics, from 27 May to 6 September 1944, the Sino-US Air Force Joint Flying Regiment dispatched nearly 700 sorties, including more than 3,500 sorties by fighters and more than 250 sorties by bombers, shooting down nearly 70 Japanese planes, damaging more than 70 planes on the ground, and destroying more than 500 vehicles and countless ships.

If the air supremacy of the Sino-US joint air force cannot be completely curbed, even if Hengyang City can be captured, it will definitely have to bear a high price, which is what Yokoyama Yong does not want to see, and this is also what Shunroku Hata does not want to see.

Under the coordination and organization of Shunroku Hatata, the 5th Flying Regiment of the Japanese Army was stationed at the Bailuoji military airfield in the north of Yueyang, and together with the 1st and 3rd Flying Regiments, which had been assisting in the war, the Japanese Air Force, which had greatly increased its strength, continued to dispatch fighter planes to carry out air raids and suppress the airfields of the Chinese and US Air Forces in Guilin, Guangxi, Danzhu, Hunan, Ganzhou, Jiangxi, Suichuan, Jiangxi, and Liangping, Sichuan, so as to prevent them from flying to Hengyang to help the defenders in the war.

Although these air battles did not take place over Hengyang, the Sino-US joint air force, which was at a disadvantage but was brave and tenacious, still gave the defenders of Hengyang the greatest support, so that the Japanese air force only suffered from very few enemy planes bombing in the 47 days from the start of the war to the destruction of Hengyang City, especially in the early stage, there were no military planes that could fly over Hengyang City, which is also one of the very important reasons why Hengyang City can hold on for so many days.

On the third day of the truce, 76 tons of ammunition were transported to Hengyang, and every day after that, more than 30 tons of ammunition were delivered, and even the previously destroyed cannons were re-supplied, along with 8 105MM cannons, there were 3 150MM howitzers, 15 75MM mountain guns, and 10 mortars, that is to say, although the 68th and 116th divisions suffered heavy losses, but Yokoyama Yong added to them, Far more than what they lost. And that's not all, on July 9, the 4th Wing of Independent Howitzers deployed by Shunroku Hata arrived at the designated position outside Hengyang, and the next day, the 2nd Wing of Independent Field Artillery also arrived in Hengyang.

Although Sun Yumin knew that the Japanese army would replenish the supply of troops and ammunition during the cessation of the attack, and also knew that there would be new artillery wings and infantry divisions to join this bloody battle, he did not know how much of a threat these new devil troops would pose to the defenders of Hengyang.

Although Zhang Xiaohu did not inform his command of the heavy losses of the 115th and 116th regiments of the 58th Brigade in the positions along the Stop Mountain, Sun Yumin still sensed this, the 20th Division has more than 20,000 people, and a 60th Brigade can be divided to serve as the general reserve of the entire Hengyang defenders, and it has to take into account the position of Zhangjiashan, and the strength must be stretched. In order to strengthen the defensive strength and give the defenders of Hengyang a shot in the arm, Sun Yumin decided to send a force into the city to join the defenders, and after obtaining Xue Yue's consent, taking advantage of the Japanese army's suspension of attack, he ordered Wang Heng of the 139th Division to lead the whole division into the city. At 8 o'clock in the morning of July 5, Wang Heng led four regiments under his command to break through the Japanese encirclement from Hejiatang and Wangjiaao and rushed into the city.

This is the first time that the national army troops have entered the city since the Japanese army began to attack the city on the 27th, although it is also a unit of the 12th Army, but for the defenders in the city, it is undoubtedly a very good news.

"Master Wang, you came at the right time, the devil's attack is too fierce, and if there are no reinforcements coming, the hearts of the brothers defending the city will be shaken!"

"Commander Fang, our military seat is deeply impressed by your army's perseverance these days, and he wants me to tell you that no matter what others do, no matter whether other troops do not contribute or not, our Twelfth Army will definitely fight side by side with you to the end!" Wang Heng is not the veteran of the Twelfth Army, but he also has the iron bones of the Twelfth Army.

"How's Commander Sun's health? I heard that he hadn't recovered since his last serious illness, and I was really worried that the war would drag down his body. Fang Xianjue admired Sun Yumin very much, he was not hypocritical, but really worried, after all, the news of Sun Yumin's serious illness last time was spread in the army.

"Junza's body is fine, but his mood has not been very high recently, and his mood seems to be very bad." Even Wang Heng felt this, and it can be seen that Sun Yumin's state is really not very good.

"Is General Sun worried about the war in Hengyang?" Fang Xianjue asked.

"This is one of the reasons, the most important thing I think is ......" Wang Heng stopped when he said this, and did not finish all his words. He didn't have much friendship with Fang Xianjue, although he knew that Sun Yumin respected the person in front of him very much, but compared to him, it was impossible to say those things that shouldn't be said in the face of a stranger.

"Is there any pressure exerted by Chongqing?"

Fang Xianjue was a person who came over, and what he said made Wang Heng impressed, but he still didn't say anything, just said: "When our army commander enters the city, you can ask him when you arrive!" ”

"Then when will General Sun enter the city?" This is the issue that Fang Xianjue is most concerned about, and it is also the thing he is most looking forward to.

"It may take a while!" Wang Heng's answer was very simple.

"Why wait any longer?" Fang Xianjue was a little puzzled.

"Because of the devil!" Wang Heng replied.

During the attack on Hengyang by the 68th and 116th divisions of the Japanese army, the 3rd Division of Yamamoto Sano and the 13th Division of Chiluli of the Japanese Army on the East Road successively captured Youxian, Anren, and arrived in Leiyang; After resting and recuperating, the 40th Division of the Japanese army Aoki Seiichi on the West Road moved south from Xiangxiang and captured the Zhajiang River, which was only 35 kilometers northwest of Hengyang. Together with the two Japanese divisions that are now on the periphery of Hengyang, the Japanese army actually has five Japanese divisions around Hengyang.

During this period, the 30th Army of the Nationalist Army, under the organization of the commander-in-chief Wang Lingji, carried out a counterattack against the Japanese army on the eastern route. On the second day of the 68th Division's attack on Hengyang, the Lu Daoyuan Division of the 58th Army of the 30th Group Army recovered the captured Pingxiang, and on the same day that the 139th Division attacked Hengyang City, the 58th Army began to attack Liling under the jurisdiction of Zhuzhou, and almost completely annihilated the 3rd Wing of the Japanese Cavalry.

But just as the 58th Army was gradually moving closer to Hengyang, the 27th Division of the Japanese Army drawn from the Kwantung Army was suddenly reinforced, and it took only three days to recapture Liling, and Lu Daoyuan's troops suffered heavy losses and were forced to return to Jiangxi.

"Our military seat is suspicious, Yokoyama Yong, an old devil, is playing a big game of chess, wanting to use Hengyang as bait to attract all departments of the national army to rescue, and then break through separately to achieve a conspiracy to eliminate the living forces of the national army."

"Reinforcements?" Fang Xianjue exclaimed, and then asked suspiciously, "Does the devil dare to do this?" With the strength of their mere army, do they dare to provoke us like this? Fang Xianjue really felt a little incredible.

"Commander Fang, your thinking can't stay in the last Battle of Changsha, the combat effectiveness of the Japanese Eleventh Army in Wuhan is not comparable to that of two years ago, according to the news obtained by our military seat, Yokoyama Isa's Eleventh Army not only received large-scale supplies and replenishment, but also got the elite 27th Division drawn from the Kwantung Army, otherwise, with the strength of the Fourth Army, how could Changsha not even defend the city for three days!" Wang Heng poured cold water on Fang Xianjue, which was also what Sun Yumin meant, explaining the situation more and more cruelly, far better than blindly optimistic.

Fang Xianjue was silent, he originally thought that as long as he held Hengyang City, this battle in Hengyang would be like the Battle of Changsha two years ago, Commander-in-Chief Xue would mobilize heavy troops to defeat the main force of the Japanese army besieging the city, but from Shi Zhonghua's words, he understood that this battle had exceeded everyone's expectations. Fortunately, Sun Yumin, who has "everyone is drunk and I am sober", saw the situation clearly, and his 12th Army has become the biggest variable in the Battle of Hengyang at this moment. But if it is really as Wang Heng said just now, the Japanese army has so many troops, then what big role can it play with just one Twelfth Army that has already sent two divisions into the city!

Fang Xianjue's brows furrowed, his head began to hurt a little, and he suddenly had a bad feeling, that is, guarding Hengyang this time might be his own Luofengpo.

Since the 139th Division has entered the city, it has to arrange the defense area for them, Sun Yumin did not enter the city, as the highest commander of the city defense, he naturally has to make these arrangements.

Since the start of the war, the main direction of the Japanese army has always been in the southwest suburbs of the city, and now the position on this side has become a place that must be strengthened and supplemented, that is, so far, this direction is the key area to defend Hengyang City, he intends to hand over this side to the 139th Division, after obtaining Wang Heng's consent, Fang Xianjue issued an order to readjust the deployment: the 3rd Division, which originally guarded the southwest suburbs of the city, moved south to Tianma Mountain, Yueping Mountain, Jielong Mountain, and Wuguiling Heights to establish a second line position; The northwest defense of the city left by the 3rd Division, including the front street and Qingshan Street of Yilai Temple, and the main position of Yanglin Temple, were all defended by the 139th Division; The guard on the west bank of the Xiangjiang River is bounded by the Iron Furnace Gate, the south is in charge of Rao Shaohui's temporary 54th Division, and the north is in charge of the 139th Division.

On July 11, 1944, the 120th Infantry Wing of the 116th Division of the Japanese Army took the lead in launching the second general attack, and the target was the unnamed heights defended by the 417th Regiment of the 139th Division.

The 2nd Independent Field Artillery Wing and the Chinese Dispatch Army Chemical Unit, which were transferred by Isamu Yokoyama, were responsible for supporting the 120th Wing in this operation.

Tsutsumi Mitsukio had rushed to the 68th Division to take up his post during the armistice, and now Iwanaga Wang can no longer command others, that is, no one can play the vanguard for his 116th Division anymore. Fortunately, the two independent artillery wings transferred by Yokoyama Isamu were attached to his command, and the 2nd Field Artillery Wing was fighting with the 120th Wing, so the 122nd Field Artillery Wing, which originally belonged to the 116th Division, could wholeheartedly assist the 133rd Infantry Wing in combat.

In the early morning of July 11, the second attack of the Japanese army on Hengyang officially kicked off with the rumbling of artillery. As soon as the dawn dawned, the 122nd Field Artillery Wing and the 2nd Independent Field Artillery Wing, which were under the command of Iwanaga Wang, jointly began to bombard the nameless heights with intensive firepower.

At the beginning of the war, Zhou Qingxiang, the commander of the 3rd Division, followed Zhang Xiaohu's example and built this highland into a completely closed fortress.

All sides were shoveled into cliffs, and the interior of the highlands was made of large timber deep into the ground, making a strong fortress for habitation; And behind the 33rd Heights, named 34 Heights is a very low grass hill, itself is a cliff on both sides, the 3rd Division in a long time ago, in the grass and shrubs to build a very hidden 4 large reinforced concrete fortresses, these 4 large reinforced concrete fortresses and the front of the nameless heights have become horns, during the previous battle, the front of the big fortress alone has made the devils suffer, so to this day, these four like the tomb of the Grim Reaper The reinforced concrete fortress has not been discovered by the Japanese army.

The 417th Regiment was originally the most offensive unit of the 139th Division, and it was they who broke through the encirclement of the devils and led the whole division to enter Hengyang City from the line of Hejiatang and Wangjiaao.

Although it is said that the 417th Regiment is good at attacking, it does not mean that they will not defend, and they are still in such a tight fortress, not to mention that the 120th Wing of the devils deserves their bad luck when they meet them.

Although the Japanese artillery fire was very intensive, the artillery bombardment of the devils played a really little role in the case of all hiding in the big fortress and doing very good anti-earthquake measures.

Therefore, when the commander of the 120th Wing of the Japanese Army and Erjilong Dazuo ordered a surprise attack, it was already destined that the brigade he sent would go and never return.

The weapons and equipment of the Twelfth Army were originally superior to those of the Tenth Army, and when the 3rd Division withdrew, a large number of grenades were left inside the fortress, and the most jaw-dropping thing was that some of the grenades were tied into three bundles of cluster grenades, which was not equivalent to having many artillery launchers for the condescending defenders?

With such a grenade preparation, when the devil soldiers were charging, Wu Linsheng, the commander of the new 34th Division, who was originally the backbone of the new 34th Division, was asked by Wang Heng from Sun Yumin, and immediately ordered to counterattack with grenades.

The rain of grenades made the attacking Japanese troops suffer, and the positions of the Chinese defenders, who were already close at hand, were once again farther and farther away from the commander of the 120th Wing and Erjilong Dazuo.