readx; Li Zongren strictly ordered the two armies to move quickly day and night, flanking the enemy who was advancing westward towards Xiangfan. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 infoThe two armies crossed the Han River and arrived at the Tangbai River area through Xiangfan, reconnoitering the terrain and building positions, and were very busy for a while, but the troops on the northern flank of the army did not go deep into the Tangbai River area, and the two armies of Jiangfang did not even see the shadow of a ghost, let alone fight.

Due to Li Zongren's misjudgment of the enemy's situation, he hastily transferred the main army of the Yangtze River defense garrison from Yichang, which eventually led to many problems. On June 1, the army took Xiangyang lightly. Thinking that the enemy was about to advance westward, the Yucheng Headquarters and the Fifth Theater Commander's Headquarters hurriedly contained and reorganized the front-line units, "actively organized" a new resistance front, and prepared for another battle. Unexpectedly, after the army occupied Xiangfan, the front line was silent, and no further offensive was launched, but secretly adjusted the deployment, and the main army was transferred to the west bank of the Han River. After the army occupied Nanzhang, Yuan'an and other places, it immediately gave up and began to attack Yichang with all its might.

At this time, Li Zongren and the Yucheng Command suddenly realized that the strategic goal of Yamada Otozo's launch of this major offensive was not the small Xiangyang and Fancheng, but to seize Yichang, which is located at the mouth of the Daba Valley, chokes the throat of the Yangtze River, and is the thoroughfare of the four provinces of Hunan, Hubei, Henan, and Hunan Province.

One side seems to be smart but is actually ignorant, and the other side seems to be honest but shrewd. As soon as this battle opened, the overall situation was already decided. Chen Cheng went to Yichang, Hubei Province to command the Jiangfang operation, and was he able to turn the tide?

The focus of the war quickly shifted to the Yangtze River Defense Army, but the situation of the Jiang Defense Commander Guo Xin was very bad. On the one hand, the counties of Dangyang on the left flank and Yuan'an and Nanzhang north of Jingmen were undefended rear towns without any combat readiness, and the army was like no one's land; On the other hand, Jiang's air defense was weak, and the 75th and 94th armies, the main forces defending Yichang, had been transferred, and there were no other troops to remedy. Guo Xin had no choice but to send a telegram to the Military Commission to ask for help. The Military Commission is far away in Yucheng, what can be done? The Fifth Theater Commander's Department could only be ordered by telegram to order the 75th Army and the 94th Army to march back to the Jiangfang Army.

Saving soldiers is like fighting fire. The two armies acted immediately. The 75th Army marched in the vanguard, followed by the 94th Army. The 75th Army was still able to skillfully "bypass" the devils, but the 94th Army couldn't, so the problem came. In the line of the 94th Army, the 185th Division was in the lead, and the 121st Division was behind the palace, when it passed near Jiaji in the southeast of Xiangyang, the 185th Division had just passed, and the 121st Division was intercepted by the Japanese army, and the two sides engaged in a fierce battle. When the 185th Division heard the heavy gunfire from behind, it immediately stopped to contact the brother division, inquired about the situation, and turned back to respond.

Commander Li Jilan reacted very quickly and said: "Our main task is to quickly replenish the river defense, participate in the defense of Yichang, and not be dragged by the devils, and move forward immediately!" In order not to delay the time and lose the fighter, the commanders of the two divisions, Mu Tingfang and Fang Tian, decided to continue to advance, and the 121st Division used one division to deal with the devils and cover the two divisions to advance at the same time. Although the army attacked fiercely, the covering troops took advantage of the convenience of the terrain and fought and walked, and after resisting for a while, they suddenly threw off the devils and strode to catch up with the large army.

At this time, the 75th Army had marched to the vicinity of Xiaobu and Yuntou Bay, about 40 kilometers south of Nanzhang, and caught up with the rear guard and baggage troops of the Yue Army. Fu Zhengmo, commander of the 4th Reserve Division of the army, said: "Beat them up!" "Alertly commanded the troops to rush to the flank of the devil's column, occupied favorable terrain, and suddenly launched a fierce attack on the devils who were advancing quickly, and the devils suffered many casualties in an instant, and some officers and soldiers became prisoners. Hearing the gunfire in front, Zhang Qi, commander of the 6th Division, and Zhu Dingqing, commander of the 13th Division, also rushed to participate in the battle, and the army increased its troops to counterattack. Seeing that the situation was not good, our army immediately broke away from the battle and rushed to Yichang in a hurry.

When the 94th Army caught up behind, the devils were already gone, and there were many corpses of devils lying in the ditch of the battlefield, emitting a putrid smell, and the officers and soldiers covered their noses.

After more than ten days of marching, on June 9, the 75th and 94th armies finally arrived in the area north of Yichang and Dangyang, and the troops were assembled one after another. Who knew that at this time, the battle situation in Yichang had changed dramatically, and they were unable to enter the Jiangfang position.

It turned out that when they were preparing for battle at Tangbai River, the main force of the Yue army advanced along the Xiangsha Highway and approached Jingmen, and the Yue army from Nanzhang to the south had reached the line of Guanyin Pavilion in the northeast of Dangyang. Li Yannian's 2nd Army immediately met the battle on the front line of Jingmen and Guanyin Pavilion. Xiao Zhichu's 26th Army garrisoned Hanshui and also had a fierce battle with the devils. As a result, the 2nd Army withstood the devils, but the 26th Army could not resist, and as soon as they saw that their flanks were threatened by a group of devils, they immediately abandoned the first line positions of Hanshui and entered the existing positions on the second line of Shashi, Hougang, Shuhuiqiao, and Jianyangyi, and connected with the 55th Division of Yang Bo of the 94th Army originally fortified here. They hurriedly entered the new position, but the fortifications were built by the original 94th Army, and this influx was very unsuitable, and the troop allocation and fire network organization were chaotic, where could they still hold it? After several days of fierce fighting, with heavy casualties, they barely held on. However, at this time, the 2nd Army was unable to do so, and was pressed to the vicinity of Yuan'an, and on June 6, Guanyin Temple was lost. The army then attacked Dangyang.

Guarding Dangyang was another unit, the 18th Division of the 11th Army. The division had just been transferred from Hunan and was under the command of Li Yannian of the 2nd Army, with the left flank fighting in coordination with the 2nd Army and the right flank connected with the 26th Army. On June 8, the battle at Jingmen was in full swing, and the 76th Division of the 2nd Army was forced to retreat west again near Guanyin Temple, and the 11th Division lost its left flank protection.

In the early morning of 9 June, Dangyang's troops launched a fierce attack on the positions of the 11th Division, which was guarding the central position, and the officers and men resisted. When the artillery fire was continuous, the 94th Army and the 75th Army hurried to the area north of Yichang and Dangyang, but the original position had been occupied by the 26th Army and was engaged in fierce fighting, so it could not be stationed, so it had to stop, listen to the gunfire in front from a distance and did not participate in the battle.

The officers and men of the 11th Division fought fiercely until 2 p.m., and division commander Fang Jing received a phone call from Xiao Zhichu, commander of the 26th Army. The other party hurriedly said: "The position east of Herong of the 55th Division has been broken by devils, and my phone call with Division Commander Yang Bo has been interrupted."

"Where's the devil?" Fang Jing asked urgently.

"The devil is rushing from the west of the river in the direction of Yaqueling. The fierce frontal fighting of our army is fierce, and it is difficult to support it, and I hope that you (referring to the 11th Division) will master it yourself. ”

After that, Commander Xiao Zhichu put the phone away.

At this time, the army attacked Dangyang very fiercely, and the two sides had entered the battle for position, especially the Jiuzi Mountain Heights in the northwest of Dangyang, where the competition was the most fierce. Fang Jing was a fierce general of the 18th Army, and after putting down the phone, he insisted on "mastering it himself" but insisted on not retreating, and fought with the army until dusk. However, the 2nd and 26th armies on the left and right flanks had already withdrawn, and Dangyang became an isolated city. The "boss in charge" Li Yannian was afraid.

Because the 11th Division was Chen Cheng's leading troops, where did he dare to destroy it, so he forced Fang Jing to abandon Dangyang and move to the mountains around the mouth of the Great Gorge and the Fengdong River. Fang Jing saw that he did not have Zhao Zilong's peerless ability to retreat from the enemy in Dangyang Changbanpo angrily, and if he continued to fight, it would only increase the casualties of officers and soldiers, so he also retreated according to the order. After occupying the position, contact the 2nd Army and continue to deny the enemy deep.

Now that it has retreated, at this time, Xiao Zhichu's 26th Army should retreat to Yichang along the way, like the 2nd Army and the 11th Division, using the existing positions to resist one by one and gain time. Who knew that as soon as the commander of the Xiao army retreated, he was completely chaotic, and one thought was to flee for his life, where did he remember to resist and retreat, and ordered all the troops of the army to cross the river at the Dongshi, Baiyang, Honghuatao, Gubei and other ferries along the bank of the Yangtze River, and all ran to the south bank, and got out of the battlefield filled with gunpowder. In this way, the area between Shashi and Yichang has become a vacuum, and the periphery of Yichang City is all exposed, and the avenue is open for the army commander to drive straight into.

Xiao Zhichu's move made the main forces of the 18th Division and the 199th Division of the 18th Army, which had just arrived in Yichang City and the periphery, have no time to prepare, so they will be connected with the Yue Army.

The two divisions of the 18th Army were Chen Cheng's ace troops who were urgently transferred from Yucheng.

After the center of gravity of the war was shifted to Yichang, the headquarters of the commander of the Fifth Theater was far away at Laohekou, and he could not reach the commander of the war bureau, and he could not even figure out the battle situation, and the command was completely out of order, and Li Zongren was so anxious that he was at a loss. The Yucheng Military Commission inquired about the battle situation at the front, and the Fifth Theater did not answer the question. The Military Commission estimated, "Commander Li Delin has lost his command!" ”

Very anxious, immediately reported to Chiang Kai-shek. In order to save the critical situation, Chiang Kai-shek took decisive measures and decided to set up another command post, with Chen Cheng as the operational commander.

After Chen Cheng was ordered to be in danger, he immediately set up a temporary command organization and stationed in Sanyoudong near Yichang on June 7. His first measure was to transfer the two divisions of the 18th Army of the Ace Army, which were stationed in Yucheng for training, to the Yichang front.

Late at night on June 8, the 18th Division, which was going down the river on a large steamer, arrived at the Yichang wharf, disembarked and entered the city. The 199th Division, following the 18th Division, also arrived in Yichang in a hurry. Army Commander Peng Shan ordered the 18th Division to serve as the garrison of Yichang City; The 199th Division was placed in the area of Nanjin Pass and Xiaoxita in the northwest of Yichang, covering the left and mobile use of the 18th Division; The military headquarters is stationed near the Nanjin Pass of the Sichuan River Pass.

Luo Guangwen, commander of the 18th Division, and Zhao Xiukun, chief of staff, decided to use the 54th Regiment to defend the city and prepare for street fighting, and the 52nd and 53rd Regiments served as the garrison of the Yichang forward position, from the bank of the Yangtze River on the right to the front line of Zhenjing Mountain on the left. Among them, Zhenjing Mountain is a reading power highland, overlooking all sides, its southwest is the airfield, the key point of the Yichang position, there are semi-permanent fortifications built on the mountain, the division command post and the 53rd Regiment are arranged here.

However, because the 26th Army fled across the river, the officers and men of the 18th Army did not have time to strengthen the fortifications, and on June 10, the Yue Army marched from the three roads of Gubei, Yaqueling, and Shuanglian Temple, and approached the 18th Division. A small group of devils were very active in front of the position, firing guns and cannons, conducting reconnaissance.

At dawn on the 11th, the trumpets replaced the rooster crow, and the army launched an all-out attack on the positions of the 18th Army on the outskirts of Yichang. The tactics of the army are still the same as the old three steps, first bombarding with artillery fire, then bombing by planes, and then on the infantry. Although he has long been familiar with the devil's routine, in the face of the old third road, the [***] team has no new way. The enemy's artillery bombardment and aircraft bombardment, where there is a place to hide, they can only hide, and if there is nowhere to hide, they can only be bombed alive; Wait until the enemy's infantry comes up, and go up with guns and fight hard.

Therefore, the battle was fierce from the beginning. Although the 18th Army is an ace army, it fights hard with the devils, and the other side has good guns and artillery, as well as tanks, so it naturally takes advantage. The 18th Regiment of the 52nd Regiment on the right flank of the right flank of the 18th Division was first broken through by a group of devils, who could not be stopped, and the cunning devils rushed into it from the breakthrough and fought all the way to the airfield northwest of the city. It didn't matter if the army was beaten, it inadvertently broke through a separation road, cutting off the communication between the garrison troops and the Zhenjingshan troops, and the 52nd and 53rd regiments and the 54th regiment in the city became two parts, fighting separately. Luo Guangwen, the division commander at the command post in Zhenjingshan, lost control of the 54th Regiment defending the city.

Pi Xuanyou, the commander of the 54th Regiment, is usually a master who runs the train with a mouth, but when it came time to move the real thing, he couldn't bear it anymore and immediately absconded and disappeared. As a result, there was no master in the army, and the officers and men sought their own way out, seizing ships and planks to cross the river one after another, and some of them had no means to cross the river, took off their clothes and pants, swam bare-bottomed, and fled to the south bank of Yichang, resulting in many drowning.

As soon as the Kuomintang officers and soldiers fled, Yichang City became an empty city without soldiers, and finally fell into the hands of the Yue army.

The army continued to attack the 52nd Regiment, which was close to the airfield on the outskirts of the city, but this regiment could not resist and was forced to retreat to the west bank of the Huangbai River. Both regiments of the 18th Division were gone, and only the 53rd Regiment led by the command post of the Zhenjingshan Division was still entrenched. Army Commander Peng Shan learned that the two regiments were defeated, and ordered Luo Guangwen to transfer to the west bank of the Huangbai River to contain the troops, and the division chief of staff Zhao Xiukun commanded the 53rd Regiment to hold Zhenjing Mountain, and ordered the 199th Division to counterattack the enemy from the area south of Xiaoxi Tower and recapture Yichang.

However, the 199th Division failed to recapture the city of Yichang.

Before dusk, the army concentrated its firepower and stormed Zhenjing Mountain, preparing to clear the threat outside the city. Zhao Xiukun, the commander of the 199th Division, was timid and said, "The devil uses poison gas bombs!" ”

Immediately pretended to be poisoned, and the "fainting death" passed, and immediately, the 53rd Regiment also withdrew to the west bank of the Huangbai River because there was no one to command. This evacuation made Chen Cheng also have to move his command post to Taipingxi overnight.

At this point, Yichang only had one day of fighting, and the city was defeated.

The fall of Yichang posed a serious threat to the rear capital of Chongqing. When the city fell, the national political axe was greatly shaken, and the people were panicked, and many Kuomintang veterans hiding in Chongqing slapped the table and said: "If the generals do not resist, they will simply change the generals!" ”

The 18th Army, the ace of the lineage, lost Yichang City, the gateway to Chongqing, in one day, which also surprised Chen Cheng. The stakes were very high, and in order to save the situation, he immediately discussed with Li Zongren of the Fifth Theater and Xue Yue of the Ninth Theater to bring all the troops in the area under his own command and prepare for a counterattack on Yichang. Subsequently, a new deployment was carried out, and the 18th Army was stationed in the Nanjinguan and Xiaoxita areas northwest of Yichang on the north bank of the Yangtze River, and the 11th Division was returned to its formation. The 75th Army was stationed in the area north of Tumenya. The 94th Army was near Shuanglian Temple north of Yaque Ridge, and the 55th Division was returned to its formation. The 2nd Army was stationed in the northwest area of Dangyang. The 31st Army was in the northwest area of Jingmen. The 33rd Army was west of Yuan'an. The 29th Army was northwest of Yuan'an. On the south bank of the Yangtze River, the 26th Army was stationed along the river line of Beidou Mountain, An'an Temple, and Wulongkou on the opposite bank of Yichang. The 73rd Army was along the river line at Yidu and Songzi Taipingkou. The 87th Army was on the line of Gong'an, Shishou, and Jinli. The whole army was ready to launch a counteroffensive from the garrison.

After the army captured Yichang, a new combat situation was also formed, and the southern line was from Yichang to Shashi along the river, which was the 13th Division and the 39th Division of the Army; The northern line of the position is the line from the southwest Tianshan, Zhenjing Mountain, Shuanglian Temple, Longquanpu, Dangyang, Jingmen to Zhongxiang in the northwest of Yichang, which is the 3rd Division, the 114th Division, cavalry units and tank units of the army; The main force of the army was arranged on the road from Yichang to Shayang Hanyi, keeping the road open and ready to fight on all sides at any time.

On June 11, in accordance with the order of Chen Cheng's command post, all subordinate units entered the position of preparation for the attack. But the army attacked first. After occupying Yichang City, the army in the city sent part of its troops to cross the river and seize Moji Mountain, the commanding heights on the west bank of Yichang. This mountain confronts the East Mountain in the east of Yichang, and on the top of the hill you can overlook the urban area of Yichang, and the occupation of Moji Mountain and Zhaojialing can ensure the safety of activities in Yichang City. As a result, the 2nd Army, the 94th Army and the 75th Army, the main force of the 13th Division and the 6th Division of the Japanese Army fought desperately in this area, especially in the area of Yaqueling.

At this time, the 5th Division of the 8th Army and the 1st Division of Honor also crossed the Yangtze River from Zhijiang Bailizhou and attacked and advanced towards Qian'an Temple and Banyue Mountain. However, the scattered counter-offensives or defenses of the various units did not have much effect.

The 18th Army lost Yichang City, and the main force of the counterattack was naturally the 18th Army, and the 18th Division was no longer good, so the heavy responsibility fell on the 199th Division, another division.

On the afternoon of June 14, division commander Song Ruike received a telephone order from army commander Peng Shan: "The enemy stationed in Yichang has the appearance of withdrawing eastward to Tumenya, and orders your 199th Division to quickly occupy Yichang to prevent the enemy from retreating." ”

Why did the army retreat again? Could it be a re-enactment of the old drama in Xiangyang and Nanzhang, and you want to go up the river to attack Yucheng, or is there another hidden story? Although the enemy's situation is unknown, the devil is finally going to withdraw. Division Commander Song immediately ordered his three regiments to quickly cross the Huangbai River and assemble near Xiaoxi Tower, preparing to occupy Yichang City.

Don't miss the opportunity. Division Commander Song only left a chief of staff to watch over his family in Huangjiagou, and ordered the 597th Regiment to occupy positions at Jiangjunyan and Nanmingshan to cover the advance of the whole division. Then, he led his three regiment commanders, Zhang Ziyun, Tang Lishi, Luo Guoliang, and Lieutenant Colonel Operations Staff Officer Huang Jiming to rush forward. On the way, Song Ruike said: "Let's go to Nanming Mountain first to see the enemy situation in Yichang City." ”

When he arrived at Nanming Mountain, Song Ruike looked at it with a telescope and blurted out: "The enemies of Zhenjing Mountain and Dongshan have not withdrawn, and they are strengthening the fortifications. What's going on? ”

"The devils are alone in the depths, afraid of being surrounded by us, maybe this is their covering force. We should lose no time in intercepting them so that they do not escape. Tang Lishi, the new commander of the 597th Regiment who was born as a staff officer, immediately expressed his judgment and suggestions.

Song Ruike then issued an order: "This division takes Dongshan Temple and Merchants Wharf as the attack target, and the 596th Regiment is the left column, starting from Xiaoxi Tower, along the Sichuan Han Roadbase to attack Daniangzigang and Dongshan Temple, and after occupying Dongshan Temple, the division will defend Dongshan, and the main force will attack Merchants Wharf to cut off the enemy's eastward return route; The 597th Regiment was the right column, with a feint attack on Zhenjing Mountain, pinning down the enemy on the mountain, the main force passed through the recess at the southern end of the mountain, smashed the airfield, and then captured the north gate and the east gate, so that the enemy in the city could not escape; The 595th Regiment was the reserve of the division, and as the battle progressed, it advanced to Dongshan Temple through Jinjiadi and Daniangzigang. ”

This arrangement is completely a deployment to enter the city. Several regiment commanders were ordered to leave.

Division Commander Song Ruike advanced with the vanguard of the 595th Regiment. At 4 p.m., when the troops were attacking and advancing, Chen Guangfu, commander of the communications company, ran over and said: "We have set up a telephone conversation with the military headquarters. Commander Peng is looking for the division seat to speak! ”

(To be continued)