readx; Chiang Kai-shek's 150,000 elite troops failed to annihilate the besieged 20,000 troops, and called it "a laughing stock in the history of war." Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 Huang Jie, commander of the Eighth Army, and Gui Yongqing, commander of the 27th Army, who had lost Lanfeng and Shangqiu, were removed from their posts for investigation, and Long Muhan, commander of the Eighth Division of the 71st Army, who had withdrawn from Lanfeng without authorization, was executed.

In June, the army occupied Kaifeng. The army's next goal was revealed: to capture Zhengzhou first, and then Wuhan. Chiang Kai-shek was deeply disturbed by the war in eastern Henan, and repeatedly telegraphed to the First Theater of Operations to come up with a plan to block the enemy's westward advance.

Cheng Qian, the commander of the First Theater of Operations, decided to replace the army with water, just as the Dutch resisted the invasion of the Netherlands by Louis XIV of France. And asked Chiang Kai-shek for instructions through Lin Wei.

Chiang Kai-shek groaned a little, he knew that doing so would cause a lot of trouble. However, it is said that Kou is fierce and arrogant, and if he does not kill his arrogance, Zhengzhou will be taken by them soon. As a matter of fact, as early as July 1937, his chief German adviser Falkenhausen proposed to "break the embankment of the Yellow River" to stop the army.

On April 13, 1938, Chen Guofu sent a letter to Chiang Kai-shek: "The great victory of Taierzhuang will make the whole country rejoice, and the future of the War of Resistance may be turned into a good situation." However, the south bank of the Yellow River is thousands of miles, it is quite difficult to defend, and during the flood period, I am afraid that the enemy will attack us with a broken embankment, if I can obtain Wuzhi and other counties to defend to the death, then I can counterattack the enemy at any time. Near the mouth of the Gaiqin River, the north bank of the Yellow River is low, if the embankment breaks at any point in the downstream, only the north embankment near the mouth of the Qin River needs to be broken, and all the river water can move north to Zhangzhang and Wei, then our great danger can be solved, and the enemy will live in a dangerous place. In May, Yao Zong, He Chengpu and others all put forward this suggestion.

Subsequently, Xue Yue, commander-in-chief of the First Corps, and Shang Zhen, commander-in-chief of the 20th Group Army, also put forward this proposal, which further strengthened Chiang Kai-shek's determination. Chiang Kai-shek decided to blow up the Yellow River and create a water barrier to stop the westward advance of the Yue army. He directly sent a secret telegram to Liu Heding, commander of the 39th Army stationed in Yangqiao: "In order to prevent the enemy from attacking west and secure Wuhan, according to Vice Chairman Feng's suggestion, it is decided to implement the breach of the Yellow River at Zhaokou and Huayuankou, and the breakthrough of Zhaokou will be completed within two days. It has also been telegraphed that Commander Cheng of the First Theater of Luoyang is responsible for presiding over the planning and implementation of the Huayuankou break, and has ordered the 109th Division to be responsible for Wan Fulin) to be responsible, and it is still under the unified command of the 39th Army. After sending the telegram, he immediately contacted Chief Cheng, accepted instructions, and conscientiously handled the report. ”

Chiang Kai-shek and Liu Heding contacted him directly by telephone and asked about progress at any time. He said to Liu Heding: "The substitution of water for soldiers has been more than 20 times in the history of the Yellow River. We've also studied and re-studied. Heding, this digging is related to the fate of the country and the nation, and the benevolence of the little woman is not stopped. There can be no big success without small sacrifices! Break through your worries and do your best! ”

In order to ensure that the line from Zhengzhou to Xuchang was maintained, Chief of Staff Yan Xunfu and Deputy Chief of Staff Zhang Xuxing suggested to Cheng Qian, commander of the First Theater, that the Yellow River be excavated.

As early as 1935, when he was camping in Wuhan, Yan Xunfu had drawn up two plans: one was to burn Zhengzhou if necessary, so that the enemy would occupy the ruins and have nothing to use. The second is a water attack, digging the embankment of the Yellow River to flood the enemy. Paying Zhengzhou with a torch can only play the role of clearing the wilderness.

Breaking the embankment can not only drown the enemy's vanguard troops, but also isolate the enemy's main force on the westward road, and achieve the strategic goal without a fight. Yan Xunfu said: "A considerable part of the enemy is mechanized troops, and there are more than 1,000 armored vehicles, trucks, and artillery tractors. He turned to Cheng Qian: "This is an immature idea, whether it is or not, please ask the commander-in-chief to decide." Cheng Qian smoked silently, speechless for a long time, looking at his consciousness, obviously thinking carefully. At this time, Lin Wei, director of the chairman's chamberlain, called to inquire about combat countermeasures, and Yan Xunfu replied: "We plan to dig the embankment of the Yellow River and release water to stop the enemy. ”

"Burst the embankment and release water?" Lin Wei's tone was a little surprised, and he paused and asked, "Where do you plan to dig?" ”

"The line from Zhaokou to Huayuankou." According to Cheng Qian's prompt, Yan Xunfu added: "Please Director Lin report to the chairman of the committee for decision." ”

Lin Wei put down the microphone and went to report to Chiang Kai-shek. After hearing this, Chiang Kai-shek said lightly: "I know." ”

Seeing that Chiang Kai-shek was noncommittal for a long time, Lin Wei thought that he would not agree: "After the break, the yellow water will pour for thousands of miles, and there will be many people affected by the disaster" He caught a glimpse of Chiang Kai-shek's face was wrong, and swallowed the following words.

"You have to pay tuition fees for school, and you have to pay for business, so how can you do it without spending a price? It's a small sacrifice in exchange for a big victory. Chiang Kai-shek also had the idea of flooding the enemy with water, and Cheng Qian's plan was exactly what he intended. It's just that as the supreme commander, he can't help but consider the serious consequences of the duel. "As for the victims, the political axe should do its best to provide relief."

Lin Wei hurriedly said yes.

Chiang Kai-shek immediately called the Supreme Military Council. Due to the urgency of the situation and the fact that it cannot be delayed, he took the lead in agreeing with the plan proposed by Cheng Qian after Lin Wei introduced it. Naturally, everyone no longer had any objections, and Xian tended to echo them. In the end, Chiang Kai-shek took care of this as a top military secret, and he had to keep it secret, and he was not allowed to organize the transfer of the people in advance.

"It is easy to keep secrets in advance and during the process, but after the flood, there will be reporters to report and public opinion will also inquire about the reasons. Chen Cheng, director of the Political Department of the Central Military Commission, asked.

He Yingqin, chief of staff of the Military Commission, proposed that an order could be issued to strengthen censorship of the press and that no newspaper should be reported.

"Nope." Chiang Kai-shek immediately denied it: "Let it be reported, and report the disaster truthfully." ”

He Yingqin said with some doubts: "What about the reason for the break?" It is always necessary to justify itself, and the truth must not be exposed, so as not to arouse public opinion. ”

"The truth?" Chiang Kai-shek was already in his chest, and said with a slight smile: "Didn't the machine bomb indiscriminately everywhere?" ”

Everyone immediately understood the meaning of Chiang Kai-shek's words.

Less than an hour later, Yan Xunfu received a call back from Lin Wei: "Your plan to dig the embankment has been studied by the Supreme Military Council, and the chairman of the committee has agreed to it. ”

Cheng Qian sent a telegram and then made a written request. His intentions were: After digging the embankment, hundreds of people will die, and once the truth is leaked, it will be pointed out by thousands of people, and under the pressure of public opinion, it is likely that Chiang Kai-shek will be pushed out as a scapegoat. There was no basis for the telephone statement, so it was necessary to obtain a written reply to reserve a way out.

On 1 June, Chiang Kai-shek sent a telegram approving the dike at a selected location on the south bank of the Yellow River north of Zhongmu, so that the river would flood southeast between Zhengzhou and Zhongmu to prevent the enemy from attacking westward, and demanded that the water be released at midnight on the 4th. Zhaokou is downstream of Huayuankou, about 40 kilometers away from Huayuankou.

Cheng Qian handed over the task of digging the embankment to the 20th Group Army, and Shang Zhen, commander-in-chief of the 20th Group Army, discussed with Wei Rulin, chief of staff, and sent the 1st Regiment of the 53rd Army to carry it out concretely, and the location of the break was set at Zhaokou.

As soon as it was ready, at 6 o'clock in the morning on June 4, Zhaokou dug the embankment and broke the ground. Due to the underestimation, the strong foundation stone and slope protection stone are not enough, and more importantly, the water level is low and cannot be completed as scheduled.

At that time, Chiang Kai-shek was very anxious, and ordered Shang Zhen in the early morning of June 5: "This break, the fate of the country, how can there be great achievements without small sacrifices?" At this critical juncture, we must break all scruples and overcome all scruples. ”

Shang Zhen and Wei Rulin dare to slack off? At 8 o'clock in the afternoon, the sappers carried out blasting and blew up the cornerstone, but the slope was too steep and seriously collapsed, and all the openings were blocked, and all the previous efforts were lost!

Shang Zhen sent another group of fresh troops to dig a second gap 50 meters east of the first breach, while the sappers dug tunnels and went deep into the embankment, intending to strengthen the blasting power. He also offered a reward of 1,000 yuan for the rapid release of the water. After a lot of effort, the mouth was opened, wider than the first gap, but it could not release water. The reason is that the water level continues to fall, at the beginning of the excavation, the main stream is close to the south bank, and when it is completed, there is a dark sand barrier outside the mouth, the main stream has moved north, and only a small amount of river water flows out. And there's no hurry. An hour later, the tunnel was hewn and the explosives were detonated, the mud and rocks flew up, the gap became larger and deeper, and the water gushed out. When he was about to report the victory, there was a roar, a series of collapses, and the breach was blocked, although it was dredged several times, it did not work. Zhaokou dug the embankment for the third time, and failed again! In the early morning of the 6th, the army captured Kaifeng, and the troops pointed directly at Zhengzhou, and Chiang Kai-shek received a report from Shang Zhen that Zhaokou had dug the embankment three times but in vain, and he was anxious and angry, and asked several times about the progress. Wei Rulin, who was urging on the embankment, was as anxious as ants on a hot pot, and Cheng Qian and Shang Zhen were also worried, what could they do except urge harshly?

At dawn on the 6th, Commander Jiang Zaizhen, who lived in the headquarters of the new 8th Division in Jingshui Town, was suddenly awakened by the ringing of the telephone. Jiang grabbed the microphone and listened, it turned out that Shang Zhen, commander-in-chief of the 20th Group Army, spoke directly to him and told him: The enemy in the south of Longhai Road broke through the defense line of our army in the Tongxu area and approached Kaifeng, and the Zhaokou embankment was not yet completed; The New Eighth Division was ordered to send an additional infantry regiment to assist. Jiang Zaizhen didn't dare to slack off, so he quickly got up and drove to Zhaokou to inspect.

A section of Zhaokou, the terrain is low, and the embankment is broken here. However, when planning this event, the water potential of the Yellow River was overestimated and the quality of the embankment was too loose, so it was decided to dig two openings in the embankment 40 meters apart, thinking that after the river water was released at the same time, the huge pressure of the river water could be used to wash away the 40-meter-long embankment between the two outlets. The breach was dug up, the middle embankment could not be broken for a long time, and the breach was too narrow and the flow was limited.

After Xiong Xianyu, the operational staff officer of the division headquarters, talked to Jiang Zaizhen about his views, Jiang immediately went to Zhengzhou and met with Shang Zhen, who meant to increase the number of officers and men and speed up the speed. Xiong Xianyu thinks that the break is too narrow, and no matter how many people go, it is useless. Shang ordered Xiong Xianyu to return to Zhaokou immediately to assist the 1st Regiment of the 53rd Army to improve its technology and release the water as soon as possible.

Xiong Xianyu and Jiang Zaizhen returned to Zhaokou again, and while they were discussing with the commander of the embankment-breaking unit, they suddenly received a telephone call from Shang Zhen and conveyed the instructions of the headquarters, ordering the New Eighth Division to choose another section of the embankment in the defense area of the headquarters.

Jiang Zaizhen immediately boarded the car and drove back to Jingshui Town. On the way, Jiang Zaizhen asked Xiong Xianyu: "You are familiar with the riverside sections in our division's defense area, do you think it is best to break the embankment?" ”

Xiong cautiously replied: "Speaking in terms of terrain, Madu and Huayuankou can be used. However, Madu and Zhaokou are not far away, and the enemy is approaching this area, and the enemy has not yet decided to complete the embankment. In order to gain more time, I think it is better to choose a section of the garden entrance. Jiang Zaizhen immediately made a decision: "Time is tight, the task is important, without further ado, let's set it at the garden entrance." ”

It was about ten o'clock in the evening when I returned to Jingshui Town, and just after dinner, Commander-in-Chief Shang sent Wei Rulin, chief of staff of the group army, to supervise the breaking of the embankment. During the discussions, two principles were set: to complete the task as soon as possible and minimize the affected areas.

Chiang Jae-jin ordered Xiong Xianyu to preside over the embankment breaking project. Xiong Xianyu began to prepare immediately after receiving the order. At 12 o'clock in the evening, Huang Yingqing, commander of the engineer battalion, Ma Yingyuan, and Zhang Guohong, section chief of the Yellow River Water Conservancy Commission, who was in charge of repairing the embankment, hurried to Huayuankou in a Chinese jeep to investigate and determine the location of the breach.

Arrived at the embankment, but saw the murmuring of the river at the foot, the water level was indistinguishable, and a crescent moon floated in the clouds, appearing and disappearing. The breeze was blowing and it was very cool. They immediately got to work, and unexpectedly, the four flashlights they brought with them were not only weak in light, but also of particularly poor quality, and once they were used, all of them burned out. It was two o'clock in the morning on June 7. Considering the importance of the matter, I didn't dare to blindly choose a site in the dark, but decided to get on the bus to rest and wait for dawn to survey the site. Five people were crammed into the car, and they could only sit and wait for dawn.

As soon as dawn came, several of them went up the river to investigate. On the river embankment, there is a deserted Guandi Temple, there is no one in the temple, and the door is wide open. The four of them all went in and kowtowed three times to Guan Yunchang, who was red-faced and long-bearded, and also saluted incense. Xiong Xianyu knelt on the ground and prayed silently: "Master Guan, the Chinese nation is suffering a great calamity right now, and it has been bullied by the devil and the devil is miserable. We couldn't beat them, so we had no choice but to let the Yellow River flood and drown the people, you have to forgive us. ”

About an hour later, Xiong Xianyu chose to execute the embankment about 300 meters west of the Guandi Temple. I like this place because this is the bend of the Yellow River, the river is turbulent, and it is suddenly blocked at the foot, and the pressure is greater than that of the straight line, and it is easy to break the embankment. Moreover, judging from the map, when the river water gushes out from the area of Huayuankou and overflows the borders of Kaifeng, Zhongmu, Weishi, Tongxu, Fugou, Xihua and other counties occupied by the Yuekou, it can be injected into the Jialu River, which runs southeast and flows into the Huai River. The Jialu River can be a natural barrier to prevent the river from overflowing, which should reduce the losses suffered by the people.

After Xiong Xianyu expressed his opinion, he pointed to the map spread on the ground with a tree branch and asked the members of the entourage if they had any opinions, and if there was no disagreement, it was decided.

At this time, everyone's expressions were solemn, and the tears were hazy.

Xiong Xianyu asked Zhang Guohong: "Zhang Duanchang, you are an expert we invited, do you want to express your position, set it here, okay, or not?" ”

Zhang Guohong answered the question, his eyes were glazed, and he shouted again and again: "How many people are going to die, how many people are going to die!" ”

Xiong raised his voice and said: "Dead people are certain, and if the embankment breaks here, the number of dead people will be greatly reduced." Do you have to take a stand, okay, or no? ”

Only then did Zhang Guohong realize his responsibility, looked at the map seriously, and agreed.

Huang Yingqing, the commander of the engineer battalion, didn't wait for Xiong Xianyu to ask him, and knelt on the ground with a "bang", raised his eyes to the sky, and burst into tears.

The others all knelt down with him, and the four of them knelt in a neat row, facing the turbulent Yellow River, and cried loudly. It was not until the officers and men of the Engineer Company and the 9th Company of the 2nd Regiment came to the embankment that they were silent.

Xiong and others immediately started to draw lines, and decided to dig two breaches at a distance of 50 meters, and excavate them parallel to the bottom of the riverbed from the inside of the embankment. It is expected to dig to the bottom of the river, and the breach can be about 10 meters wide. When the water is released, the flood water enters and exits from the large mouth and the small mouth, which increases the pressure and makes it easier to break the embankment. All this is learned from the failure of the Zhaokou embankment.

After the plan was completed, the engineer company and the ninth company immediately excavated according to the line. After a while, the second regiment was all concentrated, and the third regiment also rushed to the embankment, and the construction was started simultaneously from the north and south sides of the embankment to speed up the excavation.

After breakfast, Jiang Zaizhen decided to move to the entrance of the garden and personally supervise the construction. At 3 o'clock in the afternoon, Wei Rulin was ordered by Shang Zhen to rush to the inspector of Huayuankou and told Jiang Zaizhen: "Xinzheng has discovered that the army is in plain clothes, and the headquarters of the group army has been moved to Gong County. Jiang Zaizhen looked at his watch: "Strive to release the water at noon on the 9th in advance." He immediately brought in two battalions for reinforcements, and switched to two shifts of operation. The field service regiment of the division's political department was also summoned to give a condolence performance: the actors and actresses sang one rescue song after another to cheer up the officers and men who dug the embankment. More than 2,000 officers and men dug day and night.

On June 8, Fu Hengzhong's regiment, which was covering the troops, engaged fire with the cavalry at a distance of 15 miles east of Huayuankou, and repelled the enemy cavalry that came to reconnoiter and harass. In Jingshui Town, plainclothes appeared in Kou, and people were panicked for a while. Jiang Zaizhen, who moved to supervise the work on the embankment, ordered the division headquarters to be moved from Jingshui Town to Dongzhaoji.

In order to speed up the excavation of the embankment, Zhang Guohong, the head of the section, recruited the nearby people to assist and instructed the excavation method. The embankment is mixed with military and civilians, and there are many people. The Wuhan Command called every hour to ask about the progress of the embankment, hoping to release the water as soon as possible. The bursting of the Yellow River's banks has had a great impact on the overall situation of the war.

Before noon, Wei Rulin came from Zhengzhou again to comfort the officers and men of the new 8th Division on behalf of Shang Zhen, and witnessed that although the officers and men of the embankment burst worked continuously for a day, a night and half a day, they did not get tired. Many people were drenched in blood from their palms, wrapped their hands in leggings, and still dug with pickaxes, refusing to rest. Director Wei was deeply moved, and announced in public that if the water was successfully released at 12 o'clock that night, the General Headquarters would award 20,000 yuan in legal currency; If the water is released at 6 o'clock in the morning, 10,000 yuan will be awarded.

In the afternoon, two planes flew from the north to reconnoiter over Huayuankou and dropped several bombs, which landed in a village in the southwest near the breach, killing and injuring more than 10 residents, but the breach of the embankment did not stop for a moment.

The embankment of the Huayuankou River is made of small stones and clay, which is very hard and difficult to excavate. Moreover, the embankment was dug entirely by hand, without the use of a single or two explosives.

After two days and nights of hard fighting between the officers and men of the New Eighth Division and the migrant workers who came to help, the water was finally released at 8 a.m. on June 9!

(To be continued)