Cai Jigang finally called the phone call of Xu Yongchang, the minister of military orders, at the military headquarters of the 10th Army, he didn't care about greetings, and said straight to the point: "Minister Xu, I am Cai Jigang, the war supervisor, and I am talking to you at the headquarters of the 10th Army in Hengyang. ”

Xu Yongchang then remembered that the Military Commission also had a war supervisor in Hengyang, and he had a lot of things in his mind every day, how could he still remember these little things? But thankfully, he still remembered Cai Jigang, and he said with some surprise: "Oh, it's Xiao Cai, are you in Hengyang?" I thought you were in the Ninth War Zone Commander's Department, what's the matter? ”

Cai Jigang said eagerly: "Chief Xu, according to the regulations, you should not talk to you at a lower level, but now the situation is very critical, and the lowly position is a last resort." Sir Xu, Hengyang is currently in danger! The defenders have suffered more than half of the casualties, and the ammunition is in urgent need of replenishment, and at present, our soldiers can only rely on their hands to fight hard with the enemy, even if they are hands, there is not much inventory. Sir Xu, let me say it again, Hengyang is currently in danger! ”

Xu Yongchang said gently: "Xiao Cai, don't worry, speak slowly, I know that the 10th Army is in difficulty now, and the Military Commission has been paying close attention to the battle situation in Hengyang, please tell me, what are the most urgent requirements of the 10th Army?" ”

Cai Jigang wiped his sweat and said, "Please Minister Xu vigorously urge Chief Xue to order all troops in the Ninth Theater to quickly reinforce Hengyang." In addition, please also urge the Sino-US Joint Air Force Command to increase air supply to Hengyang. Both of these points are urgent! ”

Xu Yongchang was also very anxious: "Xiao Cai, let me tell you the truth, at present, it is difficult for the troops in the Ninth Theater to be concentrated, Xue Yue only has a limited number of remnants left, most of the troops have retreated to the Hunan and Jiangxi borders, each of them is in a bitter battle, and he is too busy to take care of himself, Xue Yue is also very anxious, these troops are fighting in motion, far away from the base, they cannot be supplemented with troops and equipment, and they are simply unable to reinforce Hengyang." However, Xue Yue had already telegraphed them to launch a flank attack on the rear of the Japanese army, posing a threat to the Japanese supply line. ”

Cai Jigang heard that it was like thunder, he didn't know that the situation was so serious, the Hengyang defenders were looking forward to reinforcements every day like a cloud of hope in a great drought, who knew that the reinforcements from all walks of life not only could not come to the rescue, but were driven farther away, and they also fell into a hard battle and it was difficult to protect themselves, Xue Yue's always conceited "Heavenly Furnace Battle Method" was completely finished.

The "Heavenly Furnace Tactics" played a certain role in the first two Changsha battles, but letting the propaganda department blow at full speed brought disastrous consequences, because even Xue Yue himself believed that the "Heavenly Furnace Tactics" was a classic tactic that could not be defeated in a hundred battles, and with this classic tactics, he could rely on his old books to cope with all changes and always maintain the title of "victorious general". In fact, in this Battle of Changheng, the national army was defeated, and it was bad for this unfortunate "Heavenly Furnace Tactics", otherwise it would not be as out of control as it is now.

Chief Xue, you are a professional soldier who has been on the battlefield for a long time, don't you know the truth that "soldiers are impermanent, and water is impermanent"?

Cai Jigang complained bitterly in his heart, and he asked helplessly: "Minister Xu, the top priority is to hold Hengyang, if the main forces of the Ninth Theater are allowed to flank the enemy's supply line, and their attack positions are far away from Hengyang, how much help can it be for the defenders of Hengyang?" Please ask Minister Xu to instruct, if reinforcements can't come, what should the defenders of Hengyang do? We can't give up Hengyang and retreat on our own, right? ”

Xu Yongchang's tone became stern: "Hengyang must not give up, you tell Fang Xianjue that before the reinforcements arrive, the 10th Army must defend to the death, otherwise the military law will be ruthless!" Of course, this matter can only be personally intervened by the commission, yesterday I have reported the battle situation, the commissioner is also very anxious, he has personally ordered the 62nd Army, the 79th Army and the 99th Army to rush to Hengyang to participate in the siege, the 10th Army must hold on no matter what! ”

At this time, Fang Xianjue, who was beside Cai Jigang, finally couldn't help it, he grabbed the microphone and said loudly: "Minister Xu, I am Fang Xianjue, please tell the commission, my requirements are not high, as long as there is a regiment of reinforcements to break through to Hengyang, there will be a regiment!" Our foresight can guarantee with our heads, and an enemy will not want to rush into Hengyang......"

Xu Yongchang looked a little impatient: "Commander Fang, I have already said that now it is the commission that is personally commanding the reinforcements to Hengyang, you don't care about the situation on the periphery, your task is to defend Hengyang, you must absolutely guarantee this, as for the rest, the commission has its own arrangements." Well, I'm busy, so be it. ”

Xu Yongchang hung up the phone.

Cai Jigang and Fang Xianjue looked at each other, and neither of them spoke. They all understand that far water can't quench their thirst from near, and the 10th Army has no other way than to defend to the death, but what is the outcome of the death? Neither of them wanted to say anything.

Fang Xianjue looked at Cai Jigang and said, "Brother Yunhe, you, the war overseer, have nothing to do, I will send someone to send you away, there is no need to take you in." ”

Cai Jigang said awe-inspiringly: "Brother Zishan, why should I go?" I am also a member of the Hengyang garrison, and at the last moment, I still have a *** and a pistol, so being a soldier is always competent, right? All the officers and soldiers of the 10th Army have been exhausted, I Cai Jigang filled it in, I died in battle, you fill it in again......"

Fang Xianjue smiled slightly: "It's no problem, but...... We are all killed in battle, what should Hengyang do? ”

Cai Jigang shrugged: "That's only God knows." ”

The 10th Army in Hengyang has been trapped in the isolated city for more than 20 days, and Chiang Kai-shek is also very anxious, and the top priority now is to urge all troops in the Ninth Theater to reinforce Hengyang at all costs.

Originally, before the Battle of Hengyang began, there were three armies that served as the peripheral operations of Hengyang: on the Hunan and Guizhou Railway, there was the Huang Tao Division of the 62nd Army, which was under the command of Lieutenant General Li Yutang, deputy commander-in-chief of the 27th Group Army; On the Hengyang-Baoqing road, there were Li Tianxia of the 100th Army and Shi Zhongcheng of the 74th Army, which were under the command of Wang Yaowu, commander-in-chief of the 24th Group Army. According to the battle plan, after the battle of Hengyang began, the three armies should be ready to rush to the aid of Hengyang at any time.

The battle plan was well formulated, but once it was implemented, it was full of difficulties, and even Chairman Chiang personally commanded it to no avail.

At this time, the 62nd Army, which was closest to Hengyang, was not a unit of the Ninth Theater, but it was originally under the control of Yu Hanmou, the commander of the Seventh Theater, and served as the general reserve of the Seventh Theater, and was stationed in the mountainous areas of northern Guangdong in the areas of Wengyuan, Yingde, and Qingtang for training and standby. Since September 1943, this army was ordered to prepare to receive American-style equipment, so a large number of officers were sent for training, until May 1944 but still did not wait for the arrival of American-style equipment, at this time the Battle of Changheng began, the front line was urgent, Chiang Kai-shek telegraphed Yu Hanmou to transfer the 62nd Army to quickly go to Hengyang Santang to assemble and standby.

Huang Tao, the commander of the 62nd Army, has also been feeling a headache recently, and he doesn't know who to command. Because the 62nd Army was still a unit of the Seventh Theater at this time, the Military Commission did not order the 62nd Army to officially enter the battle sequence of the Ninth Theater, so in terms of subordination, Yu Hanmou, commander of the Seventh Theater, still had command over the 62nd Army.

The problem now is that the 62nd Army was temporarily sent to the Ninth Theater, and Xue Yue, the commander of the Ninth Theater, of course, had the right to command the 62nd Army. Xue Yue undoubtedly became Commander Huang Tao's second boss. In addition to the two theater commanders, Commander Huang Tao also has a top boss, that is, Lieutenant General Li Yutang, deputy commander-in-chief of the 27th Group Army, because the 62nd Army was also temporarily assigned to the 27th Group Army for control, Li Yutang also has the right to command. In this way, Commander Huang Tao already has three superiors, and he does not dare to disobey the orders of these three commanders. That's not all, and there is another commander who can't help but listen to it, that is, Chairman Chiang, who has always liked to skip the command. In addition to making direct phone calls to the military headquarters of the 62nd Army to give orders, Chairman Chiang also gave direct command to Lin Wei, director of the chamberlain office of the Chongqing Military Commission, on the orders of Chairman Chiang. Calculated in this way, Huang Tao has a total of five bosses, none of whom can be provoked, how can such a multi-headed commander fight?

At the beginning, Li Yutang's order was very clear, the 62nd Army was responsible for the combat mission on the periphery of Hengyang, and quickly rushed to the aid of Hengyang when the defenders of Hengyang were difficult to support. Therefore, the 62nd Army quickly went to Santang, a suburb of Hengyang City, to assemble and stand by. As a result, as soon as he arrived in Santang, Huang Tao received a call from Xue Yue, asking to transfer the 151st Division of the 62nd Army to the east bank of the Xiangjiang River and under the direct command of the Ninth Theater Commander's Department.

Huang Tao understood in his heart that Xue Yue's high-sounding reasons were all pretexts, and the real reason was that he couldn't get it on the table, Xue Yue's brother Xue Shuda was the head of the 452nd Regiment in the 151st Division, Xue Yue was worried about his brother's safety, and he was unwilling to send Xue Shuda to the flesh mill in Hengyang. Huang Taoxin said, this Chief Xue is selfish enough, for the safety of one of your brothers, he made such a big situation, and took away one of my divisions at once, and when the war starts, Chairman Jiang doesn't care whether you have one division less, and still treats you as a military officer, who should I talk to at that time? Huang Tao had no choice but to move out of the great god of Chairman Jiang, and replied to Xue Yue that the 62nd Army was ordered to go to Hengyang to participate in the war, and the task was heavy. If the troops are to be divided and mobilized, they must be approved by the Military Commission. When Xue Yue saw that Huang Tao had moved out of the god of Chairman Jiang, he naturally had no choice but to give up, so that Huang Tao's 62nd Army would be saved from the crisis of being divided.

On June 30, Huang Tao received a call from Chiang Kai-shek at the forward command post in Hongqiao Town, Qiyang:

"According to the reconnaissance of the air force, about 20,000 or 30,000 enemies trapped in Changsha are moving south along the west bank of the Xiangjiang River in two routes, and your army should immediately garrison Hongqiao with a regiment, and the main force should be assembled in Qiyang to resist the enemy advancing west along the Xianggui Road......

As soon as the 62nd Army was deployed according to the telegram order, Huang Tao received a call from Lin Wei, director of the Attendant Office of the Military Commission: "Commander Huang, the commission orders your army to quickly build fortifications in Qiyang and hold the city!" ”

"Yes! Deploy now and stick to Qiyang! Huang Tao replied.

Major General Zhang Chen, chief of staff, said worriedly: "Commander, whose command should we obey?" Deputy General Li of the 27th Group Army asked us to serve as the peripheral operation of Hengyang; Commander Xue of the Ninth War Zone asked us to divide our troops on both sides of the Xiangjiang River; The commission called again to stick to Qiyang, what should I do? ”

"Of course, it is subject to the command of the commission." Huang Tao ordered Hou Mei, deputy commander of the 157th Division, to be the commander of the Qiyang garrison, and led the 469th Regiment of the division to hold Qiyang, and the rest of the troops chose favorable terrain on the outskirts of the city to build stronghold fortifications.

By July 3, Huang Tao connected to a telegram from the defenders of Hengyang who were besieged by the Japanese army, and the situation was critical, and he asked for reinforcements. Huang Tao felt in a dilemma, and it was difficult to concentrate the forces at hand. Due to the multi-headed command, the three divisions of the 62nd Army were divided into three places: Yunfu, Qiyang, and Hongqiao, and were carrying out the orders of Chairman Chiang to block the enemy's westward advance. On the one hand, it was the task of Chairman Chiang to block the enemy's westward advance, and on the other hand, Li Yutang's order to reinforce Hengyang, as if no order could be neglected.

Huang Tao had no choice but to compromise and send part of his troops to carry out a night attack on the enemy in front of Hongqiao, and then used a small force to set up an ambush behind the enemy in Baihepu to sneak attack the enemy's mule and horse transport team and cavalry patrol from Hengyang to Baihepu.

A few days have been delayed in the past, and the Japanese army is not idle, at this time there are more than 1,000 people in a brigade of the Japanese army, and they are stepping up their defense, they are moving wood, digging trenches, building fortifications, burying **, erecting barbed wire, and have used these days to establish a solid defensive position, cutting off the road to Hengyang in the east.

This kind of action of the 62nd Army to relieve the siege is tantamount to scratching the itch in the boots, and it will not help the defenders of Hengyang who are in danger.

In addition to the stubborn resistance of Fang Xianjue's 10th Army, the greatest contribution and help to the defenders of Hengyang was General Chennault, who commanded the Chinese and American air forces.

Although Stilwell reduced the number of combat planes supporting the Hunan campaign to only 90, and reduced the supply of fuel and ammunition as much as possible, and at the same time, the weather in Hunan continued to rain heavily, which greatly affected the sortie of combat planes, Chennault still tried every means to deploy and dispatch fighters to attack the Japanese army's supply lines and positions from Wuhan, Changsha to Hengyang, and did everything possible to win more hand, ****, machine gun bullets, and even cigarettes and biscuits, which were airdropped to the defenders of Hengyang.

Pilots in the U.S.-China Joint Air Force take off an average of four times a day, with only enough time to eat, refuel, and listen to orders from their targets. In order to evade the Japanese anti-aircraft artillery fire, the fighters flew low along the channel of the Xiangjiang River to attack the Japanese position, and even the propellers splashed in the water. For example, the four squadron leaders and half of the pilots of the 23rd Fighter Group of the US Army were shot down, and most of the pilots were killed.

From the beginning of the Changsha War on 27 May to early July, the Sino-US joint air force shot down 120 Japanese planes and destroyed 90 Japanese planes at ground airfields during more than five weeks of sleepless operations, causing many interruptions in the supply lines of the Japanese army.

Viewed from the night sky, on the highway from Changsha to Wuhan, Japanese transport vehicles were bombed into flames, and some Japanese supply soldiers stood in the air raid and burned for more than a week. At night, the planes of the Chinese and American air forces could even catch fire and fly directly to Hankou without navigation, bombing Japanese military stations, ships, and warehouses.

According to the statistics of the Japanese army after the war, in the Battle of Hunan, one-tenth of the Japanese army was lost under the attack of Chinese and American combat aircraft.

Chennault's air strategy was to carry out a fierce air attack and inflict heavy damage on the enemy in a short period of time with less financial resources and human life. This is the most cost-effective way to fight than to use a large number of ground troops and equipment.

Chennault was devastated by the loss of Hengyang Airport, but he had nothing to do but scold, and he did not know who was responsible. Of course, Chennault could not blame Chairman Chiang Kai-shek, because Chiang Kai-shek and his wife had always had a very good personal relationship with Chennault, and they should not only have a relationship between superiors and subordinates, but should also be close friends. Chennault understood that friends need to be tolerant, Chiang Kai-shek also had his own difficulties, and besides, Hengyang Airport has been lost, so what's the use of complaining?

Fortunately, although the Hengyang Airport was occupied by the Japanese army, because the national army had seriously damaged it, it was difficult for the Japanese army to repair it for a while, so the air supremacy over Hengyang was still in the hands of the Chinese army. The Sino-US joint air force can also take off from Zhijiang Airport in Xiangxi Province and Guilin Airport in Guangxi Province to come to Hengyang to assist in the war.

In the eyes of Cai Jigang, the superintendent of war, the air battle over Hengyang was really very strange, and the planes of the Sino-US joint air force and the Japanese planes rarely fought, and often you bombed yours and I bombed mine, and each side bombed its own target, and after the bombing, each returned to its own home, without interfering with each other. Even the bombing time was staggered, and when the bomber formation of one side was in the air, the other side's plane did not even have a shadow, so the fighters escorting the bombers were also out of work, so the fighter pilots threw themselves to the ground with joy and strafed the opponent's positions and all moving targets. This has simply become a great spectacle of war since the beginning of the war, and only a few times the bomber formations of both sides happen to meet, and then the escort fighters of both sides can no longer turn a blind eye, so that the air battle is triggered.

Later, Cai Jigang finally figured out that the strategic and tactical goals of the two sides were different, and Chennault's strategic focus was first and foremost on securing China's wartime lifeline, the "Hump Route"; The second is to ensure the convergence of the Chinese Army in India and the Chinese Expeditionary Force in order to open up China's land lifeline -- the Yunnan-Burma Highway and the China-India Highway. As for supporting the defense of Hengyang, it was a more minor tactical operation, and the main target of the Sino-US joint air force bombing was the heavy equipment and logistics facilities of the Japanese army on the outskirts of Hengyang, and generally did not directly participate in ground battles, because the number of aircraft was limited, and the quota of fuel and ammunition allocated was also limited. In addition, the loss of the Hengyang airfield made General Chennault very angry, which is also a reason, if the Chinese army cannot even hold the airfield, then it is not qualified to ask for the support of the air force.

From the Japanese side, the main reason was that the Pacific theater was tight, and the Japanese combat planes and pilots suffered heavy losses, and it was difficult to replenish them for a while. On the battlefield in Chinese mainland, the Japanese air force does not have absolute superiority, and there is no certainty of victory, so there is no need to risk with limited fighters. Therefore, in the battle of Hengyang, the goal of the Japanese aircraft was to destroy the buildings of Hengyang and the will of the defenders to resist, and all the buildings and fortifications in the city were bombing targets for the Japanese aircraft, and a large number of *** was used to destroy the ammunition depots and grain warehouses and other material reserves of the defenders as much as possible. After more than 20 days of fighting, the Japanese army realized that it was difficult to achieve a quick victory in the battle of Hengyang, and that in order to occupy Hengyang, it was necessary to cut off the supply of food and ammunition to the defenders, which was the top priority of the Hengyang operation.

Judging from the combat results, during the Battle of Hengyang, the Sino-US joint air force failed to provide strong coordination with the ground forces, and failed to carry out large-scale air strikes on the assembly areas and logistical transportation of the Japanese ground forces. The supply and transportation ships of grain, ammunition, and other supplies supplied by the Japanese army went up the Xiangjiang River every day, and there was an endless stream. The ammunition used by the large-caliber heavy artillery used by the Japanese army in the siege of the city also relied on water transportation, and the 340-kilometer highway and 720-kilometer waterway between Yueyang and Hengyang have been unimpeded, and the transportation of the Japanese army has never been interrupted. Although it has been bombed many times by the Chinese and US air forces, the intensity of its air strikes is far from the air raids of the US military blockading the Japanese islands in the South Pacific theater.

After Cai Jigang and Fang Xianjue analyzed the battle situation, they unanimously came to the conclusion: Don't have too high expectations for air support, just count a little, the only thing that can be counted on is the will to fight of all the officers and men of the 10th Army.

For Man Tang and the others guarding the forward position of Zhangjiashan, the most difficult thing to endure was not the enemy's attack, not the hot weather of up to 40 degrees Celsius, nor the salted water for three meals a day, but the strong smell of corpses that permeated the position. This unpleasant smell caused all people to have nausea, vomit, and even not be able to eat.

After the fierce battle, the corpses that had time to be buried quickly decomposed and maggots, and under the scorching sun, the corpses turned black and swollen in less than a day, and then the abdominal cavity of the corpse began to burst, making a loud noise, and the crackling sound came and went, which made people's hearts beat in horror. The rotting corpse attracted a large swarm of green-headed flies, and the dense swarm of flies flew up like a dark cloud, and once it fell, it almost drowned the entire corpse.

After daybreak, the brothers came out of their bunkers and busied themselves with their positions, for the fortifications and communication trenches had been destroyed by artillery fire, and the positions were so densely packed with dead bodies that there was almost no place to stay. The sweltering air was filled with the smell of blood and rotting corpses.

As on previous occasions, whenever the battle ended, the Japanese would drive a large number of civilians to the bottom of the artificial cliff to collect the corpses, and the defenders on the position would follow some unwritten rule and not shoot to stop them. Of course, the brothers also wished that they should clean up all the corpses, otherwise the corpses would rot in front of the battlefield, and the brothers' lives would be even more difficult.

In the past few days of fighting, the Japanese army repeatedly rushed into the position from the slope that was blown up, sometimes as many as hundreds of people, these Japanese soldiers also learned well, the defenders threw bombs, they also returned with their hands, and for a time the position was flying sideways, often a pair of Chinese and Japanese soldiers who were fighting hand-to-hand were blown apart by the hands thrown by the unknown side. Every time the defenders destroy the enemy who has broken through, they will also pay a heavy price.

Last night, the Japanese army attacked continuously, and the battle lasted all night, and the corpses on the Zhangjiashan position were three layers inside and three layers outside, and the blood in the communication trenches was like a river, almost filled with the corpses of soldiers on both sides, and it was difficult for the defending officers and soldiers to find clean soil to bury the corpses.

After several days and nights of fierce fighting, more than half of Zhang Baowang's 8th squad suffered casualties, and only Zhang Baowang, Tong Mantang, Ma Laowu, Tie Zhu and Sun Xincang were able to move, and the rest of the brothers were either killed or wounded. Since the death of the commander of the 1st Battalion and the 3rd Company of Cheng Yuanzhi, there have been four consecutive company commanders, and the current company commander is the original 2nd platoon commander Kong Dachuan. After the start of the war, almost all the officers of the 3rd Company were killed, and only Kong Dachuan was left, and it was logical that he was promoted to company commander. The full company of more than 130 people before the war now has only more than 30 people left, and many of them are slightly wounded. Company Commander Kong reorganized the establishment, organized the more than 30 people into a platoon, and appointed Zhang Baowang as the platoon leader, Mantang as the 1st squad leader, Ma Lao Wu as the 2nd squad leader, and Sun Xincang as the 3rd squad leader.

After the battle, it was very troublesome to clean up the position, first of all, it was necessary to transport the corpses of one's own people down the position, and a special department would go to the burial and burial. This was done very carefully, and some of the bodies that had died under fire had been disfigured beyond recognition, but even so, the brothers carefully gathered the stumps of the corpses together and were taken down by stretchers. The most difficult thing to do is the corpses of the Japanese soldiers, and the only way to deal with these corpses is to bury them on the spot, which is easy to say, but not easy to do. First of all, the corpses must be buried deeply, otherwise a shell will be lifted out again, and so many decomposed corpses will be exposed to the position again, what will be the scene? The smell of corpses will also smoke people to death. But it is not realistic to bury so many corpses deeply, first, the amount of earthwork is too large, and there is a lack of manpower on the position; Second, there is no such a large place to dig such a huge pit on the position, especially under the enemy's air artillery firepower at any time, it is really impossible to carry out such a large project.

Mantang suggested going to the logistics department to get some gasoline, burning the corpses of these devils, and then collecting the ashes and throwing them under the cliff, which was more convenient. Company Commander Kong immediately rejected his suggestion: "Mantang, you don't have a good idea, now gasoline is more expensive than fried vegetable oil, who will give you gasoline to burn your corpse?" This idea doesn't work, let's think about it again, what is the best way? ”

In the end, the 2nd squad leader Ma Lao Wu came up with a bad idea, he suggested that these devil corpses be used to build a bullet shelter wall, and it would be enough to cover it with more dirt, and the effect of this thing to block bullets must be good.

Sun Xincang expressed his skepticism: "Ma Lao Wu, you pull it down, what is the idea?" A few shells of the devil came down, you see, broken bones and rotten flesh are flying all over the sky, and it doesn't look like rain? I'd rather get a piece of shrapnel than let this rain get wet. ”

Ma Lao Wu said: "Make do with it, brother, we don't know how long we will live, what are you doing with this?" If I die, brothers save some trouble, don't send me down, just put me into this wall, where the hell is the loess doesn't bury people? ”

Company Commander Kong thought for a while and said, "I don't have time to think about it, maybe the devils will attack again in a while, so I will do what Ma Lao Wu wants, just cover it with more soil." ”

Zhang Baowang squatted on the edge of the traffic trench and silently watched as the soldiers dragged the Japanese corpses one by one, and then stacked them in a long pile in a horizontal and vertical manner, and some soldiers covered the pile of corpses with sapper shovels.

Mantang found a strange phenomenon, many Japanese soldiers' corpses were naked, almost naked, he kicked a corpse, and asked Zhang Baowang: "Brother Baowang, why are these devils bare-assed, where are the clothes?" ”

Tiezhu said: "Eighty percent is to let Ma Lao Wu pick it up, this goods is a rag collector, everything is wanted." ”

Ma Lao Wu didn't like to listen to it, and immediately scolded: "Zhuzi, you turtle grandson, what are you talking about?" When did Lao Tzu pick up his clothes? ”

Zhang Baowang replied: "There is nothing strange about this, the shock wave generated by the close-range explosion is very powerful, and it can smash people's clothes into pieces at once." You see, whenever there is a bare-bottomed devil corpse, it is caused by our cluster hands. ”

Zhang Baowang let out a long sigh after speaking.

The hall was puzzled and asked, "Brother Baowang, what's wrong with you?" ”

Zhang Baowang pointed to the corpses and whispered: "Look at these Japanese, they are all eighteen or nineteen-year-old young people, they are just dying here, they don't count if they die, they have to use their bodies to make fortifications, alas, what should their parents think when they see it?" In my opinion, eighty percent of them are going crazy, and they finally raise their children, just to be beaten to death and stacked into stacks and make fortifications? ”

"Brother Baowang, do you pity these devils? Don't forget, we've also had a lot of brothers die, maybe one day we'll have to die, who will pity us? ”

"Mantang, you don't understand what I mean, what I'm saying is that these Japanese are also human beings, and they are also raised by their parents, right? What about us? They are all human beings, and they were raised by their parents with a handful of and urine. I was squatting here just now, looking at these dead bodies, and I couldn't understand why, since they were all human beings and raised by their parents, why did they greet each other with knives and chopping melons and vegetables face to face? Look at these corpses, the blood is hula, there are few whole pieces, and the sheep are not slaughtered like this. Alas, I really don't understand, why do people have to fight? Isn't that fun? It's not fun to watch at all. Zhang Baowang said thoughtfully.

Mantang thought for a while and said, "I don't like to kill people either, who wants to kill people for no reason?" But these devils killed my father and my sister, and I want revenge! If I don't avenge this revenge, I won't be able to close my eyes when I die. ”

Zhang Baowang stood up and patted Mantang's shoulder and said, "Of course what you said is right, as for me, I may have thought a little deeper, and when I figure it out, let's talk again." ”

As he spoke, the roar of an airplane engine could be heard in the air. Zhang Baowang and Mantang looked up and saw a four-plane formation of P-40 fighters appear in the sky. Zhang Baowang's eyes were excellent, and he recognized the shark mouth pattern located at the head of the plane at a glance.

"Hey! It's our plane, brethren, come and see, our plane! Zhang Baowang shouted excitedly.

At this time, bursts of cheers erupted from the positions of the tiger's nest, maple mountain, and Zhangjiashan, and countless soldiers of the national army drilled out of their bunkers and trenches, dancing and shouting at the aircraft formation in the air......

At noon, the P-40E four-plane formation of the mixed regiment of the Chinese and US air forces, which took off from Guilin Airport, entered the sky over Hengyang. The leader of this mission was Cai Jiheng, the captain of the 26th Squadron of the Fifth Brigade, who flew on the far left of the formation, and next to him was Zhao Yuting, who served as the wingman, and then Wang Haiwen, the deputy squadron leader "Finnish Knife", and the wingman pilot "Du Hei" Chu Zhengguang. The main task of this trip was to bomb the offensive positions of the Japanese army outside Hengyang, but the B-25 bombers who played the leading role in the bombing were not dispatched, and they were temporarily transferred to the direction of Wuhan to carry out air raid missions, so the task of attacking the periphery of Hengyang could only be undertaken by P-40E fighter-bombers.

When the group passed through the thick gray-white clouds, Cai Jiheng glanced at the altimeter, the height displayed on the instrument was 2,000 meters, and the scenery on the ground gradually became clear, and there were narrow river valleys distributed among the mountains and mountains in southwest Hunan Province, and the group was close to the edge of the Hengyang Basin. Overlooking the Hengyang Basin from the air, I saw that between the vertical and horizontal hills are dotted with green rice fields of irregular shape, the confluence of the three rivers of Xiangjiang River, Steaming River and Leishui River, bypassing Hengyang City and flowing calmly to the north, and the fish ponds reflect a dazzling light under the illumination of the sun.

The plane formation flew over the theater, and Cai Jiheng saw that fierce battles were raging on the ground, especially in the south and southwest of Hengyang. From the air, the defenders' positions were filled with fire and smoke. Chen Zemin, who led the team, issued an order to prepare for an attack, and the group gradually lowered its altitude, Cai Jiheng had clearly seen the anti-air identification board played by the defenders of Hengyang, and there was also a call from the ground defenders asking for air support on the radio.

Three days ago, Cai Jiheng unexpectedly met his sister-in-law, Zhao Xiangzhu, who was going to Guilin Airport with several colleagues from the Chongqing press to interview the American commander of the 14th Air Force. Cai Jiheng learned from Zhao Xiangzhu that his brother Cai Jigang was in Hengyang's 10th Army to supervise the battle. Coincidentally, three days later, Cai Jiheng received an order to attack Hengyang, which was the first time he was sent to Hengyang to fight after the Battle of Hengyang began.

Cai Jiheng joked with the pilots through the microphone while searching the ground: "I said brothers, I didn't come to Hengyang today to fight, but to visit relatives, because my brother is in Hengyang, if anyone is unlucky and jumps parachute in a while, just mention me below, ensure that I have food and drink, and enjoy VIP treatment." ”

The Finnish knife said dissatisfiedly: "Crocodile, shut your crow's mouth, why should we parachute?" We've got to make the devil skydive! Isn't it? Brethren. ”

Du Hei said: "That's it, just rush the crocodile, you have to punish him today, everyone talk, how to punish him?" ”

Jellyfish skin also coaxed: "I revealed that the crocodile still has a bottle of Red Label whiskey, so I will punish him for inviting everyone to drink tonight." ”

Cai Jiheng smiled: "Jellyfish skin, why do you kid turn your elbow outward?" I'm your long machine, so you're not afraid of me putting on your little shoes......"

The Finnish knife stopped: "Don't say anything, the devil is still listening." ”

The pilots never called each other by their names, even when they were joking, but only by their nicknames, because both sides of the war were engaged in radio listening and generally used pre-agreed cipher words when important information was to be transmitted.

The Finnish knife suddenly shouted in a hurry on the radio: "Crocodile, crocodile, enemy artillery positions were found in the direction of two o'clock ahead......"

Cai Jiheng happily shouted: "Hey, 150mm ** gun!" It's time for us to get rich today! All of them, ready to dive and drop bombs! ”

He pulled the nose of the plane and dived down to the ground first, and the other three planes also entered the dive in turn...... The Japanese anti-aircraft guns opened fire, and the sky was instantly covered with white smoke, and Cai Jiheng's eyes flashed the trajectory of countless tracer shells, and the anti-aircraft shells with proximity fuses exploded in the air near the plane, and dense shrapnel flew in the air...... Cai Jiheng felt a slight crackling vibration on his wings, he knew that it was the sound of shrapnel hitting the wings, he was unmoved, staring closely at the Japanese artillery positions on the ground that were getting closer and closer, and his fingers lightly put his fingers on the bomb throwing button......

The group of planes swept over the Japanese artillery position, and eight 500-pound aviation ** flew down one after another with a roar, and the artillery position was covered by the smoke of fire and gunpowder in the violent explosion.

Cai Jiheng shouted while pulling the joystick to climb: "Good job!" Brethren, today is finally open! ”

The group quickly climbed up to an altitude of 2,000 meters, and just entered the level flight state, Cai Jiheng suddenly found that a few black spots appeared in front of the left, he was in good spirits, and blurted out: "Attention!" Enemy aircraft spotted at 10 o'clock ahead! Shake off the drop fuel tank and get ready for battle! ”

The black dot in front of him quickly became larger, and in a few seconds, four formations of Japanese fighters appeared in front of him. Cai Jiheng immediately recognized the other party's model, this is the Japanese Army Air Force's latest equipment of the Type 4 Hurricane fighter, this kind of fighter was only the first batch of delivery in March this year, as soon as it left the factory, all of them were put into the Chinese battlefield, the Japanese Army Air Force used the first batch of Type 4 Hurricane fighters to form the 22nd experimental team, all stationed at Hankou Airport. Cai Jiheng secretly complained in his heart, damn, today is a hard stubble!

Although Cai Jiheng saw the Type 4 Wind for the first time, he had already learned about this new model from the intelligence data, the Type 4 Wind fighter has excellent combat performance, its endurance time is 5 hours and 57 minutes, the maximum level flight speed is 680 kilometers per hour, and the most important thing is that this fighter has very strong firepower. It has two 20mm guns and two 12.7mm machine guns, compared to the P-40E's firepower, it only has six 12.7mm machine guns, and if you do it hard, you can't compete with the opponent's 20mm guns.

The Finnish knife also recognized the model of the Japanese plane, and he quietly called Cai Jiheng: "Crocodile, crocodile, do you see it clearly?" Type 4 Wind, I've heard of the name for a long time, I finally saw it today, I dare to say that we are the first people to fight with Type 4 Wind, whether you win or lose, it must go down in history! ”

Cai Jiheng replied: "Finnish knife, Finnish knife, 4-type wind is not a big deal, if you encounter it, you will do it, who will die first is not certain!" Jellyfish, jellyfish, follow me, ready to attack! ”

Cai Jiheng led the wingman to take the lead in seizing a favorable position and launched an attack on the enemy aircraft, and the four P-40E fighters engaged in aerial combat against the four Type 4 Hurricane fighters......

Cai Jiheng bit an enemy plane and was about to open fire, when he heard the rapid shout of wingman pilot Zhao Yuting from the earphones: "Crocodile, crocodile, there is an enemy plane behind you......"

Cai Jiheng didn't think about it, and immediately pushed the joystick to make a large-angle glide action, and at this moment, the enemy plane behind opened fire, and a string of machine shells grazed the tail of Cai Jiheng's plane......

After Cai Jiheng got rid of the opponent's attack, he made a sharp turn to the right, and bit the enemy plane that had just fired the cannon with his backhand, increasing his speed to a distance of 400 meters, and the cockpit canopy of the enemy plane appeared in the halo of the sight, and the Japanese pilot was looking back and watching, and the distance was getting closer and closer. Cai Jiheng suddenly pressed the launch button, and the six machine guns on the wings on both sides suddenly screamed, and the dense rain of bullets smashed the glass of the cockpit of the enemy plane into pieces, and Cai Jiheng even saw the pilot's blood splashed on the glass......

Cai Jiheng changed the plane to level flight, and he saw that the Type 4 wind had stalled into a spiral and fell to the ground. At this time, the air battle around him had entered a white heat, and the tracer bullets fired by machine guns and machine guns in the air were like golden snakes dancing wildly, and the planes of both sides rolled up and down, and the fight was inexorable.

At this time, Zhao Yuting's shout came from the earphones: "Crocodile, crocodile, I was bitten and I can't get rid of ......"

Cai Jiheng pulled the joystick and rose rapidly, trying to seize the advantageous position to rescue the wingman, but it was too late, an enemy plane fired at Zhao Yuting's landline, and the No. 02 plane immediately caught fire and burned, and Zhao Yuting's shouting in the headset was interrupted, Cai Jiheng shouted: "Jellyfish skin, jellyfish skin......" The fire flashed, and he watched the No. 02 aircraft explode and disintegrate in the air.

Cai Jiheng suddenly felt a rush of blood hit his head, he pulled up the nose of the plane, increased his speed to chase after the enemy plane that opened the gun, and Chu Zhengguang's call came from the earphone: "Crocodile, crocodile, there is an enemy plane in front of you at 10 o'clock, don't worry about it, I'll deal with it!" ”

Cai Jiheng swept it with his afterglow, and he saw Chu Zhengguang driving the plane towards the enemy plane, and the distance between the two sides was getting closer and closer......

Cai Jiheng was so anxious that he shouted: "Du Hei, Du Hei, danger, get rid of it immediately!" ”

Chu Zhengguang continued to rush forward at an increased speed as if he hadn't heard it......

Cai Jiheng suddenly understood his plan, the 4-type wind cannon has a long range, great power, and has an advantage in medium and long distances, the best way is to stick it up in close combat, at a distance of three or four hundred meters, the six machine guns of the P-40E can give full play to the greatest firepower advantage, this style of play is called "aerial bayonet".

Taking advantage of his superiority, the enemy plane took the lead in firing with its aerial guns at medium and long distances, and a string of light bullets swept under Chu Zhenguang's belly, and he was unmoved and continued to rush forward.

The enemy plane readjusted the firing angle, and fired a series of shells, with a slightly higher trajectory, flying above Chu Zhengguang's cockpit canopy, Cai Jiheng saw Chu Zhengguang's plane shake, but did not slow down. He judged from experience that Chu Zhengguang's plane was most likely hit, but it was not a vital part.

The enemy plane temporarily stopped firing, and the other side was readjusting the firing angle, but Chu Zhengguang still did not return fire.

In reality, air combat is like a martial arts master fighting in the ring, often within 10 seconds to see life and death. Cai Jiheng saw that the two planes had hedged to a distance of three or four hundred meters, and at this time, both sides opened fire at the same time...... There seemed to be no winner in this medieval duel, with the planes of both sides turning into a fireball almost simultaneously under a rain of bullets, which then exploded and disintegrated.

Cai Jiheng didn't have time to grieve, he had already bitten the enemy plane that shot down Zhao Yuting. He knew very well that without the cover of his wingman at this time, he might be a target for enemy planes behind him, and the situation was extremely dangerous. But he has no time to take care of it, he doesn't even want to look back and observe, today is going to be desperate, no matter what, he has to avenge Zhao Yuting first, otherwise he will return to the base unscathed, and he will also live in a nightmare of remorse.

Cai Jiheng finally caught the opportunity to open fire, he pressed the fire button suddenly, and the machine gun under the wing roared wildly, smashing the vertical tail of the enemy plane to pieces...... I watched the enemy planes plummet with black smoke and planted on the ground. Cai Jiheng took a breath and was about to pull up the nose of the plane to climb high, when he suddenly felt a shock from the plane and the engine stopped. By this time, the air battle had basically ended, two Chinese planes were shot down, three Japanese planes were shot down, and the last remaining Type 4 wind hit Cai Jiheng's plane again, after this round of shooting, the ammunition of the two planes was all exhausted, and the Japanese Type 4 wind shook its wings demonstratively to Cai Jiheng, and then returned.

Cai Jiheng tried hard to change the plane to level flight, but the plane was already out of control and descended sharply by 1,000 meters, and the call of No. 04 Wang Haiwen came from the earphones: "Crocodile, crocodile, the horizontal tail on your left side has been knocked off, and the vertical tail is also seriously damaged, hurry up and parachute!" ”

Cai Jiheng immediately refused: "I don't want to parachute!" ”

"Why?"

"Man, don't you know? Once the parachute hangs in the sky, I don't have any choice, either let the devil be a live target in the air, or I will be captured on the devil's position, I don't want either ending. I'd better make a forced landing, I'd rather fall to my death on my own ground. Cai Jiheng controlled the glide while emptying the gasoline in the fuel tank.

"Crocodile, crocodile, I see what you mean, do you see that rice field? Landing right there, I'll cover you! Wang Haiwen said.

Cai Jiheng took off the oxygen mask and said: "Finnish knife, Finnish knife, I have no problem, don't worry!" Return to the base early and don't fall in love with the fight on the way. Good bye! ”

Wang Haiwen replied: "Crocodile, crocodile, you are close to the ground, 50 meters high, open the speed brake, pull back the throttle lever, be careful ......"

Cai Jiheng opened the cockpit canopy and casually padded the leather flight chart bag on the dashboard in front of him. He aimed the nose of the plane at a rice field in the middle of the two hills, and with his right hand he slammed the control stick back, and the plane lifted the nose with great difficulty, and the tail of the plane hit the ground first, drawing two walls of water several meters high in the paddy field, and the speed of the plane slowed down, and then the nose landed heavily with a loud bang. For the plane that landed in a forced landing, the soft mud in the rice field was a killer, the landing gear of the plane sank into the soft mud, preventing the wheels from taxiing, and the huge momentum made the plane stand up vertically, and smashed the tail to the ground fiercely. Cai Jiheng involuntarily slammed into the dashboard under the violent momentum. Luckily, he had a flight chart pouch in front of him, otherwise his head would have smashed on the dashboard. Even so, Cai Jiheng was knocked into a mouth and nose spurting blood, and was unconscious in the cockpit......

Whenever they saw the Japanese plane shot down, bursts of cheers erupted from the positions on the front line of Zhangjiashan, Fengshu Mountain, and the tiger's nest. Whenever they saw their plane shot down, there were bursts of curses on the battlefield, and the brothers jumped to their feet and their mothers with impunity. When Cai Jiheng's plane landed in the open ground where the Zhangjiashan position confronted the enemy, the brothers did not react for a while, and they all stared at the plane in a daze.

Cai Jigang, who was supervising the battle on the Maple Mountain position, was the first to react, he grabbed the phone and shouted: "Zhangjiashan, Zhangjiashan, I am Cai Jigang, the war supervisor, who is your commander?" ”

Kong Dachuan, the commander of the 3rd company, replied on the phone: "Report! Kong Dachuan, the commander of the 1st Battalion of the 30th Regiment of the 10th Division, listened to the commander's instructions! ”

Cai Jigang was anxious, and his words became rude: "Company Commander Kong, are your eyes angry?" It was a forced landing of our plane, hurry up and send someone to meet the pilot, and we must not let the pilot fall into the hands of the enemy! Notify the mortar company to immediately intercept and shoot at the enemy, cover the infantry detachment to grab people, and if you can't get back the pilot, I will kill you! ”

Kong Dachuan was taken aback, he didn't expect this gentle and elegant warlord to speak so fiercely, okay, he was going to shoot someone if he opened his mouth. Kong Dachuan didn't dare to slack off, and immediately ordered Zhang Baowang to lead the whole platoon to grab the pilot, and his last sentence was slightly different from Cai Jigang: "If you can't get back the pilot, Lao Tzu will kill you!" ”

Zhang Baowang roared: "Tiezhu, bring the machine gun, the whole platoon has it, follow me!" After saying that, he led the whole platoon of soldiers to jump out of the trench and rush to the middle ground of the confrontation between the two armies.

Cai Jigang saw from the artillery team mirror that the Japanese troops on the opposite side were not slow to react, and they sent a squad of soldiers who were also running towards the plane. The mortars on the Maple Hill position began to fire blocking fire, and the Japanese troops on the opposite side did not show weakness, their mortars also fired, and the shells of both sides crossed the open field and exploded in front of the other side's positions, forming a barrage blocking line, but the infantry on both sides were desperately rushing through the barrage to approach the planes that had landed in a forced landing. Cai Jigang was so anxious that he kept pounding the chest wall with his fists, he knew very well in his heart that the Japanese army was aiming at the pilot's route map and secret words, and if these two things fell into the hands of the enemy, it would be really extraordinary.

Cai Jigang called the commander of the artillery company, Bai Lei, and ordered: "Company Commander Bai, let your aiming hand be ready, if the enemy rushes to the plane before our infantry, you will immediately fire at the plane and blow it all up!" Do you understand? ”

Bai Bai Lei was stunned for a moment, and asked cautiously: "Sir, what if our pilot is injured and has not climbed out of the cabin?" ”

Cai Jigang replied coldly: "What to do?" Blow it up together, of course! ”

During the day, Lei shuddered: "Yes! Blow it up together! ”

Cai Jigang stopped talking, he put his head back on the artillery mirror and continued to observe. At this time, he didn't know that the pilot of this plane was his younger brother Cai Jiheng.

Cai Jiheng woke up from a coma, and his first reaction was to leave the plane immediately. He found the "Stern" *** from the side of the seat, and then grabbed the flight bag and climbed out of the cockpit. Before he could stand on the wings, he felt his body go limp, and he plunged headlong into the rice field......

"Horn! Two bullets hit the ridge beside Cai Jiheng, making him sober up all of a sudden. He quickly rolled to the ridge and observed, and found that more than 20 Japanese soldiers approached him in a straggler line, less than 100 meters away. It seems that the Japanese soldiers did not want to kill him, but warned him not to move, and their purpose was obvious, to capture Cai Jiheng alive.

Cai Jiheng sneered and opened the insurance of ***, he thought to himself, this is easy to do, aren't you reluctant to beat me? You're welcome. He raised his gun and fired a long shot, and two Japanese soldiers were shot and fell on their backs, and the rest of them quickly lay down. Cai Jiheng stood up suddenly, he put *** flat on his chest, and shouted and scolded while firing with a short shot: "Rabbit cub, shoot at me if you have one!" ”

At this time, the roar of airplanes sounded in the sky, and Wang Haiwen's P-40 fighter swooped down from the sky, passing over the heads of the group of Japanese soldiers at a height of three meters, and the powerful air currents rolled up the caps of the Japanese soldiers.

Cai Jiheng waved to the air to express his gratitude, this was Wang Haiwen making the last cover for him, if his ammunition hadn't been exhausted, those Japanese soldiers would have been smashed to pieces. Cai Jiheng knew that his fuel was running out, and if he was delayed like this, he might not be able to fly back to the base, so he pointed to the southwest and waved to Wang Haiwen, signaling him to return quickly. But Wang Haiwen still hovered in the air, and he insisted on seeing Cai Jiheng rescued before leaving. Cai Jiheng understood what he meant, in order to live up to the hard work of his comrades, Cai Jiheng couldn't delay any longer, and he retreated to the position of the national army while firing.

After Wang Haiwen's plane dived twice, the Japanese soldiers finally understood that the plane must have run out of ammunition, so they rushed towards Cai Jiheng with confidence and boldness. Cai Jiheng had already emptied a magazine, and only then did he remember that there were still four spare magazines full of bullets in the cockpit of the plane, and he only cared about the gun and the flying bag just now, but forgot about the bullets. Cai Jiheng looked back, the infantry sent by the national army position was desperately running this way, there were still four or five hundred meters away, if he ran in the direction of reinforcements, he would definitely become a live target for the Japanese soldiers. Of course, those Japanese soldiers wanted to capture Cai Jiheng alive, but that was only on the premise that he could be captured alive, and if the possibility of capturing him alive was gone, then the only way was to kill him, there was no doubt about it.

Cai Jiheng casually pulled out the point 38****, fired two shots at the Japanese soldiers who rushed over, and then turned around and jumped on the wings, and turned into the cockpit on one side......

Cai Jigang saw the pilot flip back into the cockpit in the artillery mirror, and couldn't help but be surprised: This person has a brain problem? What are you waiting for if you don't run at this time? He only needs to run one or two hundred meters to meet the infantry who will meet him, but why should he go back to the cabin? It was too late, the Japanese were already close at hand, and they would definitely catch the pilot before our infantry arrived.

Cai Jigang grabbed the phone: "Company Commander Bai, prepare to fire...... Wait......"

He suddenly saw the pilot stand up from the cockpit suddenly, the *** in his hand was beating, spewing tongues of fire, and the five or six Japanese soldiers who had approached the plane were knocked down by the sudden strafing shot......

Oh, see, the pilot turned out to be back in the cockpit to get the bullets. Don't say it, this kid not only has the guts, but also plays *** like that, looking at his agile tactical movements, it's no problem to be an infantry officer, how can there be such a person among the pilots? In Cai Jigang's impression, those pilots who have been trained in the United States and India have some foreign styles, like to drink coffee, whiskey, dance, and like to mix some English words when talking highly, which makes the old people confused. It's hard to say how well they play their planes, but if they were to be as skilled as an infantry officer in using small arms, it would be a duck to get on the shelf.

Cai Jigang's heart suddenly moved, although he couldn't see the pilot's face clearly, but judging from his gun-holding action, this guy seemed to be using a "Si Deng" type ***. It can be inferred from this gun that this pilot is likely to be his younger brother Cai Jiheng, because no pilot will use the "Si Deng" type***.

If this guy is really Cai Jiheng, it would be a coincidence, Cai Jigang could never have imagined that their brothers would meet in this situation.

When Cai Jigang once again crouched in front of the artillery mirror, he found that the situation had changed, the infantry detachment of the national army had arrived, the two sides were exchanging fire with rifles and machine guns, and several national soldiers were surrounding the pilot in front and back, and they were evading back alternately......

The roar of the plane came from the sky again, and Cai Jiheng looked up and saw Wang Haiwen's P-40 swinging its wings in the air, as if saying goodbye to Cai Jiheng, and then rushing into the sky.

"Sir, you're halfway there, I'm waiting for orders." Ray asked on the phone during the day.

Cai Jigang let out a long breath and said: "Let the artillery observers keep an eye on it, and as soon as our people withdraw, they will immediately open fire and blow up the plane." ”

Cai Jigang put down the phone and picked it up casually. The two guards sent by the military headquarters immediately stood up and asked, "Sir, do you want to go back to the military headquarters?" ”

"Who said I was going back to the military? Let's go, follow me to the Zhangjiashan position, I want to meet this pilot. Cai Jigang said and walked out of the command post.

On July 18, when the battle of Hengyang was in a stalemate, there was a sudden change in the Japanese cabinet, and Prime Minister Hideki Tojo announced his resignation.

The reason for Hideki Tojo's resignation was mainly due to a series of military defeats in Japan. On June 16, U.S. forces began attacking the Mariana Islands. In the Battle of the Marianas, the Japanese Combined Fleet under the command of Jizaburo Ozawa suffered another crushing defeat, and the desperate commander of the Japanese Central Pacific Fleet, Tadaichi Nagumo, committed suicide by disembowelment. On July 9, the U.S. military occupied Saipan, and the B-29 bomber group began direct air strikes on the Japanese mainland. The successive defeats on the battlefield have intensified the trend of overthrow by the opposition forces in the country. On July 18, Hideki Tojo, who had lost the trust of the emperor, presented his resignation as prime minister to Koichi Kido after his last cabinet meeting. On the same day, he resigned from the post of chief of staff, and successively resigned from the posts of Minister of War, Minister of the Interior, and Minister of Munitions, and transferred to the reserve. On July 22, Hideki Tojo officially announced his resignation as prime minister to the nation.

Subsequently, the joint cabinet of Koiso and Minai came to power, and the former commander of the 11th Army, General Anami Yuki, succeeded him as Minister of War, and the commander-in-chief of the Kwantung Army, General Umezu Mijiro, was transferred to the post of Chief of Staff. At the same time, the unification of the naval command was also declared bankrupt, and the head was replaced.

The change of the Japanese cabinet also had a great impact on Isamu Yokoyama, who was on the battlefield in China.

Isamu Yokoyama stood in front of the huge combat map in the war room of the Changsha Headquarters, feeling very depressed. Due to the long-term inability of Hengyang to attack, Yokoyama Yong is facing tremendous pressure. First of all, the newly appointed chief of staff, Senior General Umezu Mijiro, personally called to inquire in detail about the situation of the battle in Hengyang, and asked Yokoyama to make a commitment to when Hengyang would be occupied. Isamu Yokoyama felt speechless, he understood that any explanation was superfluous at this time, and in the face of the chief of staff's questioning, where did he dare to pat his chest and make a promise?

Isamu Yokoyama has been thinking about whether the battle of Hengyang is still worth fighting? For now, the combat capability of the 11th Army has reached its limit. The two divisions on the Hengyang front suffered heavy casualties, the structure was already in tatters, the supply of soldiers and ammunition was huge, and the offensive had become the end of a strong crossbow.

Lieutenant General Miyagawa Kiyozo, commander of the 40th Division, complained to Yokoyama: "Commander, I think the problem lies with the two divisions of 68 and 116, they have 40,000 or 50,000 troops, and they are also equipped with powerful artillery units and bomber teams, so they can't capture Hengyang City?" According to intelligence, Fang Xianjue's army has only seven regiments of troops, less than 20,000 people, and is inferior to a division of our army in terms of soldiers and weapons and equipment. It can be seen that the 68th and 116th divisions are not up to the task of siege. I asked the commander to consider our division as the main attacker. ”

Isamu Yokoyama doesn't like this kind of slander behind his back, and as a coach, of course he wants a bowl of water. In all fairness, since the 68th and 116th divisions were incorporated into the 11th Army, they have been used as elites, especially the 116th Division, which is good at attacking fortified positions. Speaking of the battle of Hengyang, Yokoyama Yong believes that these two divisions are already very difficult, and they showed extraordinary ferocity in the battle of Hengyang, otherwise they would not have caused such large casualties. The key problem is that Fang Xianjue's 10th Army showed tenacity beyond Yokoyama's imagination, and from 1937 to the present, the war has been going on for seven years, and no Chinese army has inflicted such heavy casualties on the Japanese army.

The senior staff officer of the 11th Army, Takeharu Shimakan, stared at the sand table in deep thought. He was one of the planners who formulated the No. 1 battle plan, and he rarely thought about the specific battles of one city and one place in peacetime, and his mind was full of grand strategy, and now he had to think about the operational situation in Hengyang, because this inconspicuous small city had seriously affected his grand strategy.

Thinking of this, Shimaguan Takeji said to himself: "What kind of fighting style is Fang Xianjue's 10th Army? Front-line officers and soldiers told me that their main defensive weapon was the hand **, and the 10th Army seemed to have a special grenadier as a unit. Well, it's just a defensive position by hand? This style of play has never been seen before! ”

A big Zuo who came back from the front line said: "I also think it is strange, our army's artillery fire is very well prepared, and the bombers have repeatedly bombed the anticline of their positions, judging from the photos taken in the air, their fortifications and all kinds of bunkers have been completely destroyed, and it stands to reason that there should be no more life, but as soon as our infantry approaches the front line, the devil knows where a large number of grenadiers will come out of nowhere, and the hands will be thrown like a torrential rain, causing a lot of casualties to our infantry, I really can't figure it out!" ”

An operational staff officer whispered: "Even if Hengyang is determined to win, we now have to think about it in the long run, the second general attack has become the end of a strong crossbow, ammunition and food supplies cannot be in place at present, and continuing the attack will only increase casualties, please consider it." ”

Isamu Yokoyama didn't speak, his thoughts flew far away across time and space, and he remembered the Battle of Arthur 40 years ago, which was the first nightmare for the Japanese Army since the Meiji Restoration.

At the age of 15, Yokoyama was still attending the Osaka Army Infant School, and he did not have an intuitive impression of the battle, he only remembered that several elders of his family died in the battle at Lushunkou, and his father Yokoyama Shinji was an army commander who also participated in the Battle of Lushunkou. In Yokoyama's memory, his father never mentioned the battle of Lushunkou, and it seems that there is a great psychological barrier. As an adult, Yokoyama visited the aging army general Nogi Noshinori by chance, and the battle commander of the year told him in detail about the tragic situation of the Battle of Arthur Pass.

In that battle, the Japanese suffered 110,000 casualties, and the last battle was the attack on Heights 203, in which the Japanese lost more than 11,000 casualties in two days, and the ratio of Japanese and Russian casualties reached 3 to 1. Nogi Noshinori believes that there are two reasons for the heavy casualties of the Japanese army. The first is that the Russian army has just been equipped with German-made Makqin heavy machine guns, mortars and searchlights. In 1904, the Japanese Army's understanding of the age of firearms was still in a state of ignorance, and the Japanese generals at that time had not yet learned the killing efficiency of rapid-fire weapons such as heavy machine guns. The second was that the Japanese Army's tactical curriculum was completely copied from the German Army, and when they charged, they still attacked in dense formations according to the traditional European infantry tactics, and they did not know what the skirmish line was at that time. After the war, Nogi himself admitted that he did not think at the time that this dense offensive formation was designed to cope with the composition of the fire of a single platoon of guns, and since the weapons had changed significantly, the infantry tactics should also be adjusted accordingly.

The assessment of the new weapon by the British military observer in the Far East at the time was: "When the Maxim heavy machine gun was erected on the trench, the only thing the cavalry could do was to cook for the infantry. ”

It can be said that the lives of more than 50,000 Japanese soldiers paid tuition for Nogi Noshinori, and Nogi Noshinori did not mix with the title of marshal in the end. From the Meiji Restoration to the end of World War II, the Japanese Army appointed a total of 134 generals, 17 of whom eventually became marshals. Although Nogi Noshinori was enshrined as the "god of war" after the war, it was only an honorary title after all, and Emperor Meiji was not confused enough to give the title of marshal to Nogi Noshinori, who had lost his soldiers.

Due to the stupidity of the "god of war", more than 50,000 Japanese soldiers fell victim to the "market experiment" of heavy machine guns. The tragic Battle of Arthur was the greatest nightmare of the Japanese Empire since the Meiji Restoration. Isamu Yokoyama finally figured out why his father never mentioned Lushunkou, which was an incurable wound in the hearts of that generation of Japanese soldiers.

Yokoyama looked up to the sky and sighed, 40 years, only 40 years, history has gone through a reincarnation, and the Japanese army under his command has encountered the second Lushunkou. In the telescope, the corpses of Japanese soldiers in front of Zhangjiashan, Maple Mountain, and the tiger-shaped nest position, and the overwhelming barrage of hands, these scenes strongly stimulated Yokoyama's nerves.

But...... Hengyang is not Lushunkou, there is no comparison between the two, the defenders of Hengyang do not have a strong naval fleet support, nor do they have permanent reinforced concrete fortifications like Lushunkou, they do not have strong artillery support and logistics supplies, just rely on small arms and hand ** to fight, Hengyang defenders can say nothing. But it is like a nail, firmly nailed to the road of the 11th Army's westward advance, so that you can't swallow it and can't get around.

Isamu Yokoyama had to admit that the current battle in Hengyang was worse than in Lushunkou 40 years ago. There is also a worst-case possibility, if Hengyang cannot be attacked for a long time, a large number of reinforcements from the Ninth Theater of the Chongqing Army break through the blocking line and join forces with the defenders of Hengyang, and Chiang Kai-shek will transfer the Chinese Expeditionary Force fighting in Yunnan and Burma to the Hunan battlefield, then there will be no need to fight Operation No. 1, and it is difficult to say whether Yokoyama Yong's 11th Army can protect itself.

Thinking of this, Yokoyama made up his mind, and he dictated the order to Takeharu Shimakan: "The 68th Division and the 116th Division immediately stop the siege and recuperate; The units stepped up the replenishment of ammunition and personnel, and buried and disposed of the remains of the dead soldiers; Urge the artillery units of the 11th Army to concentrate all large-caliber artillery to the front line in Hengyang and prepare for the final blow to Hengyang! ”