Rise From Eight Hundred

Chapter 1481: Preliminary kneading and shaping!

May 24, 1944!

Fang Xianjue arrived at Hengyang Airport on the outskirts of HY City on a military transport plane!

Fang Xianjue, who walked down the ramp of the plane, looked at Zhao Zili, Zhao Junmai, Sun Minyu and others who came to pick him up. His face was not too heavy, but more confident.

Because he did not return to Hengyang alone. The special plane that arrived with him was a huge fleet of 20 transport planes and 16 fighter jets.

Moreover, such a huge fleet of aircraft and the massive amount of materials transported will last for 7 days.

At this time, Tanzhou had fallen, but the air battle was finally decided. The Chinese and American sides suffered huge losses of 143 fighters and bombers, and shot down and damaged more than 220 Japanese aircraft.

The Fifth Air Corps deployed by the Japanese army on the front line suffered heavy losses and was no longer able to carry out air strikes on the urban area of ​​​​HY in the short term.

The mountain city government did not hesitate to spend a lot of fuel to replenish supplies to the Hengyang area through air channels. This was the only request Fang Xianjue made after asking his teacher for the help of Tang Dao and Si Xing Tuan.

Tang Dao finally took action again. The US military stationed in the Chinese theater promised to provide China with 15 transport aircraft free of charge to help transport supplies.

In the next week, 20 transport aircraft formations will arrive at Hengyang Airport every day. The field rations imported from the United States alone amount to 160 tons, enough to feed the 20,000 troops in Hengyang City for 20 days.

If medicines, ammunition and other supplies are added, this crazy round of air transportation will reach an unprecedented 560 tons!

This is probably the largest amount of transportation force China has invested in a city defense battle since the war began.

Because Fang Xianjue promised that he would defend Hengyang City with 20,000 troops for 15 days to delay the troops south of the Yangtze River from arriving on the battlefield.

This request was actually made specifically by Tang Dao when he sent him away a month ago.

"20,000 rounds of various artillery shells, 1.5 million rounds of machine rifle bullets, 10,000 landmines, 50,000 grenades, 160 tons of military rations, and many drugs such as hemostasis, anesthesia, and antibiotics! How can he provide so many supplies? Even if he can "Here, how can we transport it to the Hengyang battlefield in a short time?" Fang Xianjue was shocked by Tang Dao's lion's opening.

"Don't worry, as long as you promise him to stick to Hengyang for the 15th, let alone this small amount of supplies, he can even pick the moon from the sky for you. As for transportation, there will be a way." Tang Dao's face was calm but full of confidence.

Perhaps, only Tang Dao knew that from the moment Fang Xianjue agreed to lead the 10th Army to defend Hengyang, they were destined to become abandoned sons.

"Reinforcements will arrive tomorrow!" These six words are destined to become the comforting answer this lone army receives every day.

Of course, it's not that this person doesn't want to save Hengyang, in fact, he is the one who wants to save Hengyang the most.

Because Hengyang is so important, once Hengyang is lost, the Japanese army will face the southwest, open up Yunnan and Burma, and spy on the mountain cities, and the southwest rear will be doomed.

In the later period of the Battle of Hengyang in the past time and space, the man who tossed and turned and couldn't sleep at night, got up and made a great wish: May the Lord grant me victory in the Hengyang War, and I will build a large iron cross on the top of Nanyue to repay the Lord's kindness. "

Throughout the entire 14-year Anti-Japanese War, the only thing that could make that man so anxious that he could not sleep all night long and make such ambitious plans in the middle of the night was the Battle of Hengyang.

However, how could the serious diseases in the Chinese army at that time be changed because of the importance of the Battle of Hengyang?

"Everyone sweeps away the snow in front of their door, but doesn't care about the frost on other people's tiles." This is a stubborn problem that has plagued the Chinese military for many years.

During the Battle of Yu Province, the Japanese army attacked too quickly, resulting in a lack of troops in the rear. On a battlefield, the Chinese army had several infantry divisions to deal with a small number of Japanese troops, but none of the troops were willing to take the initiative to attack or volunteer to undertake reinforcement tasks for friendly forces. Most of them stood aside and hoped. Others stepped forward to resist, but as soon as the Japanese army attacked, the surrounding troops began to withdraw. When the infantry divisions who were still fighting saw it, they had to run, but this would create a large number of unbearable scenes of collapse without a fight.

After the Hengyang Defense War broke out, the reinforcement officers from all walks of life saw that the Japanese army used 2 divisions to siege the city and 5 divisions to block the reinforcements. It was an obvious strategy of "siege the city and fight for reinforcements", so they all found a few troops to station troops and refused to enter. To preserve their strength and consolidate their position, no one has any reason to fight to the death with the Japanese army.

As Stilwell, who is familiar with China's national conditions, pointedly pointed out: For a senior Chinese general, if he risks his army, he is risking his own property. A division reduced to a regiment due to an attack cannot be expected to be immediately The original number of soldiers will be replenished, and the division commander will actually become the regiment commander. This kind of attrition must be avoided at all costs.

Otherwise, let alone the 100,000 Japanese troops, the hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops surrounding them could crush them all and eat them alive as long as they worked together and marched forward bravely.

Another main reason why the siege of Hengyang could not be relieved was "multiple commands and inconsistent military orders." The chaotic command system has always been another major problem that plagued the Chinese army. It can be said that it lasted throughout the entire Anti-Japanese War, and in this Hengyang siege relief battle The center is fully exposed.

In this Hengyang siege relief battle, there were several people with direct military command: The first was Li Yutang, as the former commander of the 10th Army and the current deputy commander-in-chief of the 27th Group Army. He was the commander of the Hengyang siege relief battle. Direct commander, unified command of the 10th Army in Hengyang, the 62nd Army, and the 46th Army outside Hengyang City.

The second is General Xue. As the commander of the 9th theater, he has the power to dispatch troops and generals in this theater.

The third is Minister He, who gives orders on behalf of the Ministry of Military Affairs; the fourth is General Bai, who, as the deputy chief of staff, represents that one. Finally, there is the one in the highest position, who has the highest command.

These people, except Li Yutang, all like to command at higher levels, but they all have different ideas and perspectives, and military orders are often inconsistent. As a result, the previously well-planned Hengyang defense and siege relief battles fell into chaos under their joint "efforts". The troops below were often at a loss what to do, exhausted, but still unable to make any progress.

From the perspective of Tang Dao in the future, these few are really very smart Crouching Dragon Phoenix chicks, and they just happened to get together.

Of course, the Battle of Hengyang ended up with this strange phenomenon in which the 10th Army faced 100,000 enemies in an isolated city, while the 500,000 troops on the periphery could not advance even an inch and were defeated one by one by the Japanese army. Apart from various other reasons, it was ultimately due to the current Chinese military and political system determined.

This system is just as Stilwell said: This is a structure based on fear and favor, in the hands of an arbitrary and stubborn person. As for that evaluation, the American general who was promoted to a four-star general in 1944 hit the nail on the head: "Not a soldier, but a warlord!"

There is only one word difference between a soldier and a warlord, but there is a world of difference.

Soldiers pursue normal military rules; warlords pursue "controlling the army with power."

Only Tang Dao knew the final fate and direction of the 10th Army. He knew that the so-called waiting for reinforcements to arrive would eventually become empty talk. Instead of doing so, it would be more practical to ask for some supplies.

Because Tang Dao didn't know what the final outcome of Hengyang City would be due to the addition of himself and the Four Elements Group in this time and space, he could only do his best.

Of course, it’s not possible to just pay back the money on the spot if you ask for a huge price. If the lion can’t give you the supplies he asks for, then you can get half of it! No matter how bad it is, one third is not unacceptable.

Perhaps everything Tang Dao predicted was coming true, but Fang Xianjue was so obsessed at that moment that he had the courage to express his needs.

Unexpectedly, the Ningbo accent on the other end of the phone only paused for three seconds before fully agreeing, which was much faster than his reaction when he mentioned Tang Dao.

Even Laura, the deputy general manager of Rockefeller's Far East Branch, made a request to the Ministry of Military Affairs that 600 members of the International Red Cross would arrive in Hengyang to provide humanitarian relief, and that person also acquiesced. It was a huge medical team composed of 80 doctors and nurses. The surgical instruments and various medical supplies alone filled two large transport planes.

Except for 15 doctors among the members, the rest of the doctors and nurses are actually from Taihangshan Hospital in North China.

In early April, under the **** of the Rockefeller Company's armed transport team and an elite security company sent by the Dakouzidong Town Security Battalion, this horse team carrying 600 medical staff and supplies set off from Taihang Mountain and passed through the entire Zhongtiao Mountain. The defense line crossed the Yellow River and arrived at Chang'an, where they transferred to an American transport plane and flew directly to the mountain city.

The 20,000 elite troops were already on the alert, with ample food, ammunition, medicine and medical personnel. In addition, the fortification construction in Hengyang City started a month in advance. After holding on for half a month, Fang showed great confidence.

After arriving in Hengyang City, Fang Xianjue didn't even bother to eat, and immediately summoned the generals at all levels in Hengyang to hold a military meeting.

The meeting had only one theme: determining the supreme commander and command structure!

Even though Hengyang currently only has the 10th Army as a regular army, there are actually many troops from other factions, such as the Four Lines Regiment that has started marching from the foot of Hengshan Mountain to Hengyang City, and the Hengyang Guard Regiment in Hengyang City under the jurisdiction of Mayor HY. Another example is a security battalion under the jurisdiction of the theater security brigade led by Lieutenant General Zhao Zili, chief of staff of the theater.

Without unified command, the armies can only scurry around like headless flies, unable to form a joint force, and may even expose flaws.

What makes the generals in the city very embarrassed is that Fang Xianjue, who has been entrusted by the Military Commission, is not the highest-ranking person in Hengyang City, but Zhao Zili, the chief of staff of the theater.

In terms of position, Zhao Zili, the chief of staff of the theater, is naturally the highest commander. But obviously, the first main force in the city is the 10th Army. Whenever there is a situation where the highest commander in Tanzhou City cannot command the infantry corps at all levels, then Hengyang There is almost no need to fight the battle, and the city will be broken after holding on for two or three days at most.

Fortunately, Fang Xian is by no means Zhang Deneng, who is the leader of the army, and Zhao Zili is not the prudent Xu Benchang. At this military meeting, Zhao Zili clearly stated his attitude, saying that he started as a senior staff officer and worked his way up from the chief of staff to the chief of staff. , providing staff advice to the commander is his specialty, but actual combat command is his shortcoming. He cannot be the top commander in Hengyang City.

As long as Zhao Zili does not fight for power, then naturally no one in Hengyang City can compete with Fang Xianjue.

Fang Xianjue, who returned to the position of commander of the 10th Army, thus became the highest commander in Hengyang City, responsible for commanding all troops inside and outside the city, including the Sixings Regiment and Hengyang Guard Regiment.

The Hengyang Theater Command was established, with Fang Xianjue, commander of the 10th Army, as the first commander. Zhao Zili, Hengyang garrison commander Zhao Junmai, 3rd Division Commander Zhou Qingxiang, and reserve 10th Division Commander Ge Youcai were members of the command headquarters.

There is no indiscriminate ranking. This is the ranking of the commanders within the headquarters. If the top commander dies on the battlefield, the remaining five can take over in order, which will never cause the troops to fall into a situation of losing command.

In addition, the headquarters has a staff department, with Sun Minyu, chief of staff of the 10th Army, serving as chief of staff, and Tang Dao, leader of the Fourth Army Regiment, serving as chief of operations.

This is an extremely important position. It has such authority that it can directly mobilize regiment-level troops to combat positions. It is also one of the most important think tanks under Fang Xianjue. He can advise on the positions of two infantry divisions. .

When the time comes for merit-based rewards after the war, the chief of operations ranks even before the brigade commanders.

Obviously, according to Tang Dao's position and military rank, he was originally not qualified to hold this position.

According to the memories of the generals present after the war, although it was the supreme commander Fang Xianjue who recommended Tang Dao to be the director of the operations department, Zhao Zili's speech played an extremely critical role before the generals voted by a show of hands.

"To be honest, I have been very pessimistic about the Battle of Hengyang these days. I do not deny the bravery of the 'Taishan Army' and their determination to defend Hengyang. However, the Japanese army has been planning this for a long time, and China has been passive everywhere. Although we are alone , we can try our best to hold on for half a month, but what if the reinforcements don't arrive for a long time? Everyone, who dares to say that we can hold on for another half month or longer?" Zhao Zili put his hands on the table and looked at the division commanders present with burning eyes. Brigadiers.

All the generals looked at each other in confusion. Even during the Third Battle of Tanzhou, the brave general Ge Youcai, who personally held a machine gun and led the remnants of his 30th regiment towards the Japanese army and repelled the last wave of Japanese charges, opened his mouth but did not say anything. Opposition.

Information about the Japanese troop dispatch has already spread to Hengyang like snowflakes. The 11th Army this time is not a scale of 89,000, or even 100,000 people. They have assembled more than 200,000 troops. The standing division alone has a third The 3rd Division and the 13th Division deployed up to 7 divisions on the frontal battlefield during the battle against Xiangbei, which was more than twice the number of troops deployed in the previous three Tanzhou battles.

No matter how brave Ge Youcai is, he dare not say that just the 20,000 people in the city can hold off the Japanese army, which will definitely exceed 100,000, for dozens of days. 15 days is already the limit!

"But today I received a telegram from Commander Fang that he is about to return to the 10th Army, and after receiving a message from Commander Fang personally, I suddenly gained confidence.

First of all, the return of Commander Fang gave our "Taishan Army" a backbone. The 10th Army was still the iron army that could not be defeated or defeated in the three Tanzhou Battles and Changde Battles.

Secondly, it is also extremely important. The Si Xing Regiment was ordered by the theater headquarters to become another main force in the defense of Hengyang.

Most of the combat power of the Four Elements Regiment is based on battle reports. I haven't seen it with my own eyes, but they are famous for their virtuous warriors, and their combat power will definitely not be weak.

But what makes me really happy is that I can fight side by side with Tang Dao, the leader of the Four Elements Regiment! With him here, I may still dare not say victory easily, but I can definitely assert that if the Japanese army wants to break through Hengyang, they will pay an unimaginable price! "Zhao Zili's words silenced the entire venue for a full minute.

No one would have thought that the dignified Chief of Staff of the First War Zone would have such high regard for Tang Dao, a small regiment leader who had been silent for almost two years.

Although Zhao Zilim clearly prioritized Fang Xianjue's return to the 10th Army to greatly improve the morale of the 10th Army, everyone present could tell that in the heart of the lieutenant general and chief of staff, the Four Lines Group was not , to be more precise, Tang Dao's participation in this battle is more important for him to have the confidence to defend Hengyang City.

"Everyone, maybe you think I've gone too far and praised a group leader a little too highly, but this is the fact.

Captain Tang Dao is the purest and wisest soldier I have ever seen. More than half a year ago, he and I deduced the process of the Fourth Battle of Tanzhou and the inevitable defeat. I agree with most of his conjectures and Hypothetical, but I didn’t think the situation would be that bad.

Even before the Japanese army launched the attack, Commander Tang Dao sent me a telegram, asking me to persuade Commander Xue to pay more attention to it.

As the Japanese army entered Tanzhou, I regretted not fighting with Commander Xue again. Maybe if I work harder, Tanzhou will not fall into today's ending. "Zhao Zili said with sadness in his eyes the reason why he admired Tang Dao so much.

The whole place was in an uproar!

Even Fang Xianjue, who had a calm face, shrank his pupils severely. He thought that when Tang Dao was arguing with him, it was just because the Battle of Henan made him wary of the defense of the Hunan-Guangxi region. This was also his guess. , Unexpectedly, Tang Dao had already conducted a simulation of this battle last year.

This is simply too unbelievable. His strategic acumen is as good as Mr. Baili's!

Of course, Zhao Zili's words also indirectly told everyone here that the reason why he, the dignified chief of staff of the theater, was sent to Hengyang was because of a dispute between Tanzhou's tactical deployment and General Xue.

Everyone in the 10th Army did not have a good impression of their theater commander, but Zhao Zili's move brought the generals of the 10th Army, including Fang Xianjue, closer together.

Zhao Junmai, who rarely spoke to express his opinions during the meeting, was the first to raise his hand to express his approval for Tang Dao to serve as the director of the Hengyang Command's Operations Division.

This is also a very smart man. He also uses this move to tell everyone here that it is no longer important who the theater commander is. What is important is that I, the Hengyang garrison commander, have decided to advance and retreat with everyone here. We are now in the same trench. People.

What we are doing now is to unify our thoughts and deal with the Japanese together.

Not to mention whether it was sincere or forced, at least at the beginning of the Battle of Hengyang, the generals of the Hengyang Command had initially reached a consensus, and when they were kneaded together, even if they were not an iron plate, they would be worse than Tanzhou City. I don’t know how strong the command system is.

With the arrival of Tang Dao in the afternoon, the war machine in Hengyang, which has assembled 20,000 elite Chinese troops, has gradually started to operate!