readx; Due to the scattering of the headquarters of the 9th Division, Chief of Staff Zhang Rongyu was wounded, and Chief of Staff Deng Chaoyan and Deputy Division Commander Xia Degui did not know where to go. The 27th Regiment www.biquge.info directly suffered from the onslaught of enemy infantry and cavalry and the heavy bombardment and fire of enemy aircraft and artillery.

The regiment commander Huang Zhengang only led more than 30 people to flee in the chaos. The worst thing was that the wounded officers and men had no one to take care of them, and the lightly wounded could still support each other and escape with the army in pain, while the seriously wounded officers and men had to lie on the ground and be brutally killed by the army. Du Jinqiu, the commander of the division's artillery battalion, only led the remaining more than 100 people, and there was not a complete mountain artillery.

After the two regiments of the 26th Regiment escaped from the "pocket", although the troops were generally intact, they also became frightened birds, the officers and men lost their fighting spirit, and everyone followed behind the commander. The rout army passed through Shanglin and Weicheng to Datang. The local people are strong and sparsely populated, and most of the residents live in large villages and organize themselves by armed forces. The stragglers came here and did not dare to break into the village, so they had to eat and sleep in the fields, even Commander Li was no exception, and used straw as bedding like the soldiers. In this way, they walked for two or three days before approaching the pond

At this time, the units began to contain their respective units, and the division headquarters contained Xia Degui, the deputy commander of the division, but found that Zheng Zuomin, the deputy commander and commander of the 2nd Division, was missing.

After army commander Li Yannian learned the news of Zheng Zuomin's disappearance, he was furious and ordered deputy division commander Xia Degui to send someone to find the division commander, and to see people in life and corpses in death, otherwise he would be dealt with in accordance with the army's joint sitting law. Xia Degui traced it, and only then did someone say that Deputy Army Commander Zheng was killed by the enemy's plane during the rout, and no one knew when and where he was killed.

This frightened Xia Degui, that is, he sent people out to look for him, but he didn't know his whereabouts.

Subsequently, the search was carried out again, and a soldier who witnessed the situation was finally found. The soldier said: "The division commander was very sad when he saw the dispersal of the troops, but he could not stop it, and he led a small number of soldiers and guards from the special service company of the division headquarters to walk at the rear of the troops, comforting the wounded officers and men, and urging the officers and men who had dispersed to return to the unit quickly." Unexpectedly, his actions attracted the attention of the Han annihilators, who were frenzied and believed that the thief was their father, and when the enemy planes were reconnoitring in the air and following the fleeing troops to bomb indiscriminately, the Han annihilators mixed with the rout fired signal flares from time to time to indicate the targets to the enemy planes. When the division commander arrived at a broken kiln, there were many Han annihilators with black cloth umbrellas nearby, some of them fired signal flares, and some of them shone reflectors into the sky, and the enemy planes then concentrated on diving, bombing, and strafing at the broken kiln. ”

Xia De immediately followed the clues he provided and ordered the soldier to be a guide, and the cavalry company of the division headquarters sent a platoon of people to the place to search.

By this time, the army had already left. Without the concern of the enemy, the cavalry platoon finally found a short and fat corpse in the broken kiln, whose face was no longer recognizable, but fortunately found the inlaid gold tooth as evidence, and it was confirmed that it was the body of Deputy Army Commander Zheng and division commander. The platoon commander hired a local cart to transport Division Commander Zheng's body back to Liuzhou and store it in Liuzhou Park.

Chiang Kai-shek was holding a military conference in Guilin, and when he heard that his descendants had done such a "despicable thing" of abandoning their commanders, he was furious and severely reprimanded Xia Degui, the deputy division commander. Huang Zhengang, commander of the 27th Regiment, Du Jinqiu, commander of the artillery battalion of the division, and other dereliction of duty were respectively dismissed from their posts or transferred to a demerit, and the Military Commission ordered that the number of the 9th Division be cancelled and changed to an unknown division.

This kind of punishment was unprecedented in the Kuomintang army.

The 9th Division was the ace division of the 2nd Ace Army, and it was a great shame to change to an unknown division.

In order to encourage officers and men to "teach war in shame," the higher authorities printed the warning slogan "If you advance, you will not retreat, and if you defend, you will not leave."

When the 9th Division was in a hasty retreat, the 43rd Division, which was in reserve for the 37th Army near Takata, was so frightened that it also hurriedly retreated. As a result, the army, which had eaten the 9th Division, did not encounter any resistance, and rushed to Binyang, where the headquarters of the 37th Army was located. Ye Zhao, commander-in-chief of the group army, immediately led the headquarters to retreat to Qianjiang.

The 66th Army learned that the army had copied to the rear, and the 9th and 43rd Divisions had retreated, and they also hurriedly retreated to the Daming Mountains.

In this way, Bai Chongxi's plan to attack Nanning was smashed by several generals who were afraid of death.

Under Chiang Kai-shek's strict orders, on the third day after the army entered Binyang City, the 175th Division and the 64th Army of the 46th Army rushed to the city. The lone army penetrated into Binyang, and the enemy had to retreat quickly. Subsequently, the 5th Division of the Yue Army in Guinan began to shorten the defensive line in order to entrench Nanning for a long time, with Nanning as the core, and built strongholds and fortifications in Fengshan near the outer edge of Nanning, Sitang on Yongbin Road, Gaofeng Pass on Yongwu Road, and Mr. Ling between Nanning and Xixiangtang for defense, and formed a confrontation with the Central [***] team.

Beginning on February 22, Chiang Kai-shek convened a four-day Liuzhou military conference attended by more than 100 generals in Liuzhou to review the Guinan campaign. At the military review meeting, the commander-in-chief Bai Chongxi was the first to take the blame, so he said: "The commander of the battlefield on Yongbin Road is Ye Zhao, commander-in-chief of the 37th Group Army, and he should be asked about the things ahead." ”

Chiang Kai-shek ordered Ye Zhao to be detained and investigated, and he was to be shot. Ye Zhao said: "The 9th Division and the 43rd Division retreated without listening to the command, what can I do?" ”

Chiang Kai-shek also held the deputy commander of the 9th Division and the commander of the 43rd Division responsible. The two prevaricated and said: "When the situation has changed significantly, Ye Zhao has no determination and disposal. If we don't leave, we'll die, but what's the point! ”

It is said that the reason why the 9th and 43rd Divisions dared to retreat at the most critical moment was because their direct superiors Chen Cheng and Xu Tingyao had instructed them in advance to "retreat when the situation was unfavorable", where to retreat in the first step, where to retreat in the second step, and so on, all of which had been planned earlier.

The 66th Army was Ye Zhao's basic unit. They found that a column of troops was moving towards Gaotian near Qitang and immediately reported to Ye Zhao, but Commander-in-Chief Ye thought that the two divisions of the Kuomintang army in the area of Gaotian and Kunlun Pass did not matter, and "sat firmly on Diaoyutai" and did not command the troops to fight in time. The 43rd Division was condescending on the mountain, watching a marching column of the Yue Army pass through the vicinity of Gaotian and advance north. This is supposed to be the best fighter for flanking the enemy on the move. Not only did they not take the initiative to capture the rare fighters and strike at the enemy, but they hurried back under the pretext that their superiors "did not have orders". This dispute is unclear, and Chiang Kai-shek has one point: to deal with derelict generals.

In the end, Bai Chongxi tried his best to protect Ye Zhao because Ye Zhao was Gui's own person. But Commander-in-Chief Ye Zhao said that people did not listen to the command, but he could not produce conclusive evidence. Bai Chongxi had no choice but to ask for a demotion, from a first-class general to a second-class general.

At this meeting, He Xuan, commander of the 46th Army, who fought bravely, and the 175th Division were commended by the Military Commission.

However, the army did not stay long in Guangxi. In late September, the main force of the Yue army landed in Haiphong, Vietnam, and cooperated with the westward advance of the enemy in Long Chau and Binh Binh, occupying Hanoi, Lang Son, Haiphong and other important towns and transportation points in northern Vietnam. After occupying Vietnam, he automatically abandoned Guinan and retreated out of the sea. In November, Guinan was fully recovered

On the frontal battlefield, another unit, the 74th Army, reached the forefront.

The 74th Army is an army directly under the theater and the main force that made great contributions in the Shanggao Campaign not long ago.

After the Battle of Shanggao in Jiangxi, they handed over the first-line defense to friendly forces and transferred them to the rear to rest and replenish in the areas of Fenyi, Xinyu and Shanggao. On September 18, he suddenly received an order from his superiors, saying that the Wuhan army had set out from Yueyang Tongcheng to attack Changsha, had crossed the Xinqiang River and the Miluo River, and was approaching Changsha, and the battle was very fierce. The 74th Army was ordered to move westward to give first aid to Changsha. In the order of the 57th Division, the 58th Division, the Army Headquarters, and the 51st Division, the whole army rushed to Changsha through Yichun and Liuyang.

When they set off for Hunan, the Ninth Theater Commander's Department disagreed about the battle situation and the army's arrangements.

Xue Yue and Wu Yizhi believed that after the army broke through the position on the Miluo River, it must take Changsha directly. Changsha is important and must be protected, and preparations are made for the 79th Army to defend Changsha, and the 74th Army to defend the Huanghua and Yongan areas east of Changsha. However, this decision was opposed by Zhao Zili and others. Zhao Zili believed that in this battle, the army would first destroy the Chinese troops before occupying Changsha. These two understandings determine the arrangement of the battle situation and the arrangement of troops.

Zhao Zili hurried to the Tang Mansion.

After seeing Xue Yue and Wu Yizhi, Zhao Zili suggested breaking: "The main force of the devil is to find the right side of our army to surround it. The key issue in the current battle is the issue of the devils and our army fighting for the outside line, and those who win will win, and those who lose will lose. If the 74th Army is pulled east of Changsha, it will be the right side of the enemy's back, and it will be its own entry into the inner line, and it will be self-defeating. ”

Xue Yue asked, "What basis do you have?" ”

"Judging by the tactics and terrain used by the army, the ongoing battle on the south bank of the Miluo River also proves this." Zhao Zili said.

"Go on." Xue Yue said.

"The 26th Army and the 37th Army have already used the wrong one, and now it seems that there is no hope for these two armies, and one mistake cannot be made again." Zhao Zili said eloquently: "If the 74th Army is temporarily stopped in the northeast of Liuyang, that is, in the east bank of the upper reaches of the Liuyang River, after the troops of the 19th and 30th Group Armies arrive, the 20th Army, the 58th Army, the 30th Group Army, a division of the 19th Group Army, the 74th Army, the 4th Army, the 10th Army and a total of about 17 divisions will ensure the simultaneous attack on the outer line. In this way, it is our main force that hits the left back of the army, and it is the army that teaches me on the side. Although the 26th, 37th, and 10th armies were defeated, we could still turn defeat into victory. ”

Wu Yizhi frowned and said, "Changsha is very lost. ”

Zhao Zili thought that his opinion had taken effect, and his face showed a slight smugness. Who knew that Xue Yue still said: "We must resolutely pull the 74th Army to the east of Changsha." ”

The battle of Miluo River has proved Zhao Zili's judgment, but Xue Yue still insists on his opinion for some reason, is this Xue Yue's stupidity? No, but the domineering of power. Zhao Zili's second suggestion failed again, and he left the Tang Mansion in a gloomy manner and returned to the headquarters of the Literature and Art Middle School.

As soon as Zhao Zili entered the door, the phone rang, and he picked up that it was Wang Yaowu, the commander of the 74th Army, who was calling on the way to Hunan and Jiangxi, and contacted Zhao Zili.

Zhao Zili immediately told him about the situation in Miluojiang, and finally deliberately reminded: "I absolutely do not agree to pull your troops east of Changsha. My opinion is to place your troops in the northeast of Liuyang, and in the future cooperate with friendly forces to attack the left side of the enemy to the west, so that there will be no defeat. Now it has been decided to pull your troops east of Changsha, and I estimate that you will advance from east to west, and the enemy will advance from north to south, which happens to appear on your right side, and you will have a serious encounter with an absolutely superior enemy. ”

Wang Yaowu, who is well aware of the officialdom technique of "running at both ends and eating at both ends", was reluctant to get involved in the dispute of the chief minister's department, but only let out a gentle "oh" and did not "intervene" in it. Zhao Zili's frustration after hitting the wall still couldn't be eliminated, and he continued to say there: "The foresight is gone, the wisdom and wisdom are gone, they insist on doing this, it's really terrible!" ”

Wang Yaowu's troops were advancing, and they didn't have much time to listen to Zhao Zili's stubbornness, so Zhao Zili had no choice but to put the phone away. But Wang Yaowu didn't care about his reminder at all.

On 24 September, when the 57th and 58th Divisions and their military headquarters were passing through the Jiaoxiling Pass in the west of Liuyang City, they were suddenly bombed and strafed by enemy planes in turn, and the two divisions were crammed together on a small road 15 miles in front and behind and surrounded by rocky mountains on both sides, causing heavy casualties among officers and men.

When the follow-up 51st Division passed through the area, enemy planes came to drop bombs again, and some officers and men hurriedly jumped into the pit that had just been blown up during the strafing fire, and most of the corpses in it were accumulated together, so they had to lie down among the corpses. Although it was repeatedly bombed by enemy planes, the 74th Army did not know how to deal with enemy planes, and Wang Yaowu and his division commanders did not know how to organize infantry and machine guns to concentrate on air shooting, and could only use leaves to camouflage and conceal, and also ordered: "No noise!" "I'm afraid to hear it on the plane.

Zhao Zili's reminder couldn't make Wang Yaowu alert, and being bombed on the road should be another warning to him, but he still didn't care, and the catastrophe was gradually brewing.

Late at night on the 25th, the Commander's Department of the Ninth Theater issued an order to the 74th Army: The enemy's Kanda Division and Aoki Division had trapped the Wengjiang River and were advancing towards Jinjing and Gaoqiao, and the Xiao Zhichu Division of the 26th Army had been ordered to meet the line of Jinjing and Tuanshan to cover the arrival of your army; Your army should rush to the areas of Chunhua Mountain, Yong'an City, and Huanghua City at night, occupy positions along the south bank of the Laodao River, build fortifications, serve as the outer positions of Changsha, and cooperate with the 79th Army in the central part of Xia Chu to hold the Changsha urban area.

When Wang Yaowu received the order, the 74th Army was only a mile away from the defense area, and it was only a hundred miles away from the enemy at Jinjing and Gaoqiao. Everyone knows that the closer you get to the battlefield, the more likely you are to encounter the devil. However, the 74th Army was paralyzed and careless, neither liaising with friendly forces on the front line nor sending search units.

In order to first aid Changsha, after dinner, the whole army continued to advance in a long snake formation. When it was about to get dark, Wang Yaowu and the others saw from a distance that the fire in Yongan City in front of them was soaring into the sky, and the fire shone twenty or thirty miles away. As everyone knows, the army has crossed the Laodao River and entered the hills on the north side of the 74th Army. But the 74th Army was still unaware, only hearing that the 26th Army in front was still holding the Laodao River, and the henchmen were all suspicious: why was there such a big fire?

It turned out that the army had completely crushed the defenders on the south bank of the Miluo River, and as Zhao Zili expected, they did not take advantage of the victory to take Changsha directly and attack the existing positions in Changsha, but took the elimination of the main force of the [***] team as the first goal, and quickly advanced in the direction of Liuyang in the southeast without stopping. At this time, the 74th Army was marching west through Liuyang to Changsha, and as a result, its right side was sent to the devil.

The main force of the army was from north to south, and the 74th Army was from east to west, and its right back was completely exposed to the attack of the army. Because Wang Yaowu believed in the orders of the commander's department, relied on the cover of the 26th Army, and wanted to rush to the designated area as soon as possible to gain time to occupy the position and build fortifications, he did not make other combat arrangements, but only ordered the 57th Division to send an advance regiment to advance lightly and rush forward to occupy Chunhua Mountain first to cover the main force to occupy the position. However, how did he know that the 26th Army had not stopped the enemy troops on the front line of Tuanshan and Gaoqiao, and that the main force had already moved into the mountains, leaving only a few officers and men who were letting go of their cold guns and "feint to attack the enemy."

At noon on the 26th, when Liu Antai's regiment of the 57th Division rushed to Chunhua Mountain, it encountered the enemy's vanguard troops, and the two sides launched a white-knuckle battle in Chunhua Mountain Town, fighting repeatedly. In the end, due to the increase of the enemy's follow-up troops, the high ground north of Chunhua Mountain was occupied by the enemy, and the advance regiment could not complete the cover task, so it was forced to retreat to the south.

At the same time, the main force of the Yue Army suddenly attacked the advancing 58th Division from Yongan City. The division was bombed and strafed at Jiaoxi Ridge, suffering heavy casualties among officers and men, and due to fatigue from the march of hundreds of miles, the division was attacked by the enemy from the flank and was cut into several sections, and the commanders at all levels lost their grasp. Within a few hours of the scuffle, the whole division collapsed.

Wang Yaowu was also exhausted in adaptation, but only ordered the 51st Division to quickly occupy positions to stop the enemy's advance, and contained the rout of the 58th Division, and ordered the 57th Division to block the enemy from the south in the area of Shitangpu. After the melee lasted until dusk, Li Tianxia, commander of the 51st Division, did not obey the orders of the military headquarters and retreated his troops to the east without authorization, forming a large gap in the position. The 57th Division was again broken through by the enemy in the front, and the troops directly under the army were attacked in Huanghua City. Under the successive victories, the army actually reversed the conventional tactics of not going deep at night, and a large army attacked Huanghua City at night, disrupting the troops directly under the 74th Army.

Wang Yaowu led the guard platoon to escape in a hurry, and the guard platoon commander was captured by the enemy and was hacked to death by the enemy with a saber.

The officers and men of the 58th Division and the troops directly under the corps blindly fled, and most of them fled near Puji, and some of them were slaughtered by the enemy. Such an attacking army, with a complete number of soldiers and weapons and equipment, and strong combat effectiveness, fought for only one day, even if it was defeated.

It is worth mentioning that after Liao Lingqi, commander of the 58th Division, escaped from the encirclement, relying on his own being Chiang Kai-shek's descendant and Huangpu Sheng, he crossed the Liuyang River from Xiangyin Port and assembled at Xujiaqiao, Tuqiao and Nanmenba in the southwest of Zhentou City to contain the troops who broke through the encirclement with regiments, battalions, and even companies.

After the containment was completed, Liao Lingqi forcibly stopped a train to pull the remnants to Zhuzhou to sort out, and ran back to his hometown in Qiyang!

(To be continued)