Rise from eight hundred.

Chapter 1480 The Hard Bones Are Coming

General Xue fled to Leiyang, but was worried that the 4th Army would have difficulty supporting itself independently. Originally, Chief of Staff Zhao Ziling was the best candidate and could stay to serve as the supreme commander of the city defense, but he was exiled to Hengyang. After much deliberation, he decided to leave the trusted Chief of Operations Xu Benchang in Tanzhou.

  The military order said that the Tanzhou defense war should be unified and coordinated, but the key point was that Xu Benchang himself was only a major general in the army, and the 4th Army was an army-level unit. From the army commander to the three division commanders, they were all lieutenant generals. It was ridiculous for a major general to command a lieutenant general!

To put it bluntly, even at this time, General Xue was still extremely conceited, thinking that as long as he issued a military order, the generals of the 4th Army would execute it unconditionally.

But following Commander Xue's steps doesn't mean he can just send anyone to command the brave generals of the 4th Army.

Xu Benchang was actually a cautious person. After serving in the army for more than 20 years, he had only served as a brigade commander at most, let alone the experience of commanding large-scale military operations.

But this man was also an extremely smart person. Seeing that he was being left behind as a 'firefighter', he also knew that he lacked the ability to do so, so he could only turn to Lieutenant General Chief of Staff Zhao Ziling, who had already gone to Hengyang, for help.

  Zhao Zili called him back: The main force of the army should be deployed in Yuelu Mountain, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack, instead of in Tanzhou City!

On May 5, the Japanese army officially began to attack Tanzhou.

The Japanese army learned from the lessons of the previous three direct attacks on Tanzhou and did not attack Tanzhou directly. Instead, they adopted a large-scale roundabout tactic, attacking Tanzhou City and Yuelu Mountain from the east and west directions.

That night, the 58th Division attacked Changsha City, while the 34th Division and part of the 68th Division, which had received mountain warfare training, attacked from the flank of Yuelu Mountain. They used coordinated ground, artillery and air tactics in an attempt to destroy the artillery positions on Yuelu Mountain first.

The artillery positions of the 9rd Brigade of the 3th War Zone and the artillery battalion of the 4th Army deployed more than 50 fixed artillery positions in Yuelu Mountain and the defensive positions of the 90th Division, all aimed at supporting the security of the eastern flank of Tanzhou. Unexpectedly, the Japanese army launched an attack from the flank this time, and for a moment they could only hastily turn their guns to meet the enemy.

Upon receiving the news, Xu Benchang immediately called the commander of the 4th Army, Zhang Deneng, and told him that if Yuelu Mountain was lost, Tanzhou would certainly not be able to be defended. If Yuelu Mountain was not lost, the artillery fire from Yuelu Mountain could be used to control the entire Tanzhou city area, and Tanzhou would not be lost. Therefore, the top priority was to secure Yuelu Mountain first, and asked the 4th Army to immediately transfer another division of troops to Yuelu Mountain.

  There is nothing wrong with this tactic, but the key is that when Lieutenant General Zhang Deneng heard it, he thought that the Chief of Operations was giving him orders. Isn't this just using the commander's military order to gain upper hand?

He simply made an excuse that this was the military deployment made by Commander Xue before he left, and as the army commander he could not change it and had to ask Commander Xue for instructions.

Xu Benchang had no choice but to call General Xue, who was far away in Leiyang, but was met with a barrage of criticism from General Xue.

At this point, if anyone admitted that Zhao Zili was right, it would be a complete negation of everything he had said before. How could the conceited General Xue tolerate this?

So, on this chaotic night, the Japanese army was attacking hard, the Chinese officers and soldiers were defending desperately, and the generals in Tanzhou City were still struggling with how to deploy the defense.

  This is already a fatal mistake!

On the morning of the 20th, the Lieutenant General of the 4th Army, who had been thinking hard all night, finally decided to adjust the deployment as Xu Benchang said in view of the current Japanese offensive. He ordered the 59th Division and the 102nd Division to leave one regiment each to guard Tanzhou, and the rest to cross the Xiangjiang River and move closer to Yuelu Mountain.

But at this time, they once again committed a major military taboo. The 4th Army had no plan to cross the river before, and the military headquarters did not have enough ships. Whether to cross the river and how to cross the river were not arranged from beginning to end. During the crossing, General Xue called to inquire about the deployment of his own subordinates, and his words were quite dissatisfied. This caused Zhang Deneng to start hesitating and wavering, causing the crossing operation on the 20th to fall into extreme chaos from the beginning.

The Xiang River is more than 1000 meters wide. To cross the Xiang River from Tanzhou City to Yuelu Mountain, it has to be completed in two sections using the water and land island in the middle of the Xiang River as a transfer station. Each section of the crossing takes about half an hour on a steamer and an hour on a wooden boat.

However, at that time, the 4th Army had only one small steamer from Tanzhou to Shuiluzhou, and only a dozen wooden boats from Shuiluzhou to the west bank, while the number of troops ordered to cross the river was as high as 1.

Due to insufficient preparation and poor coordination, the 4th Army began to cross the river on the evening of the 20th, but had not yet completely crossed the river until the morning of the 21st. More than people lined up in a long queue along the river. After daybreak, the crossing troops were constantly strafed by machine gun fire from the Japanese troops on the opposite bank, and then bombarded by artillery from the Japanese troops in the Yuelu Mountain area. The troops gradually began to waver, and soon the escape of individual soldiers gradually developed into the collapse of the entire army.

But these were not the most fatal things. The most terrible thing was that the officers and soldiers of the 4th Army's crossing-the-river troops suddenly could not find their commander.

It turned out that after the commander of the 4th Army and his guards crossed the river that night, the lieutenant general of the army, who was extremely exhausted both mentally and physically, fell asleep and ordered people not to disturb him before going to sleep. He had no idea that such a serious situation had happened outside that night.

When he woke up, it was already dawn. The situation on the Xiangjiang River was out of control. The army of tens of thousands of people collapsed across the board. Many officers and soldiers did not cross the river but fled south in panic.

As the saying goes, a defeat is like a mountain collapsing. At this time, let alone the lieutenant general, even if General Xue was here, he would not be able to stop this avalanche-like defeat. The lieutenant general could only follow the defeated soldiers and flee towards Xiangtan.

The Japanese army hadn't even started fighting yet, but only one division and two regiments of an elite main infantry army were left defending Tanzhou, and the other six infantry regiments disappeared into thin air.

  Do you think Isamu Yokoyama was shocked by China's extremely stupid actions?

In the end, the artillery positions on Yuelu Mountain were heavily bombarded by Japanese planes and artillery. Although the four 4mm howitzers with the most powerful firepower were not directly exposed, other artillery positions were severely damaged and the artillerymen suffered heavy losses in combat effectiveness. The 150th Division, which had been unable to receive support for a long time, was in low morale and lost its position within two days. Its division commander led the division headquarters and guard battalion to flee the battlefield.

The Yuelu Mountain position was lost on the 23rd. Except for a small number of troops who continued to hold the two infantry regiments in Tanzhou City, the rest began to break out of the city.

  On May 5, the 24th Army's remaining troops suffered heavy casualties and Tanzhou City fell!

The fourth Battle of Tanzhou lasted only half a month from the time the Japanese army started its offensive on May 5 to the fall of the entire city of Tanzhou. Its speed of collapse was comparable to that of the First War Zone in Henan Province.

After receiving the telegram informing him of the complete fall of Tanzhou City, Admiral Xue stood blankly in his temporary headquarters in Leiyang for a full hour.

  The former arrogance and pride were replaced by a face full of bitterness!

What the young chief of staff who was exiled to Hengyang predicted actually came true in every way!

  Tanzhou fell so quickly that the whole country was shocked! That person was also extremely embarrassed!

This pressure did not only come from domestic military and civilian public opinion, but also from the fact that the Allied forces were reporting frequent victories in the European and Pacific battlefields, while the Chinese theater on the East Asian continent was facing unprecedented severe tests since the full-scale war of resistance.

Tanzhou is an important place in Hunan Province. Once Tanzhou is lost, all of northern Hunan will be lost. If Hunan Province is completely occupied by the Japanese army, it will mean that southern China and the central China plain will be cut off, which will be extremely disadvantageous to the national war situation.

On the 23rd, the day when Yuelu Mountain fell, an emergency military meeting was convened in the mountain city to re-select the location for the decisive battle. The senior generals attending the meeting unanimously agreed that with the troops deployed by the Japanese army at this time, they would not just occupy Tanzhou, they would definitely attack Hengyang, the most important city in southern Hunan.

The deputy chief of the general staff, Admiral Bai, who was known as the Little Zhuge, specially called the Military and Political Department: "In order to have enough time to organize the Liugui battle, I hope that a garrison can hold back the Japanese army in Hengyang!"

  The military meeting that day finally determined the tactical plan of "blocking the middle and pinching both sides", and the center of this plan was Hengyang!

Hengyang, the city that Tang Dao and Fang Xianjue had mentioned repeatedly a month ago, now appeared in the eyes of the top leaders of both China and Japan.

What kind of magic does Hengyang have, a city that has been a county since the Western Han Dynasty, that makes the top leaders of both China and Japan regard it as a must-fight place, even more important than the provincial capital of Tanzhou?

  All this is determined by Hengyang’s current geographical location and the current war situation in China!

In the early years of the Republic of China, Hengyang had a population of less than 6. The roads were so narrow that cars could not pass through. There were no lights in the city, and it was pitch black at night. It was just a shabby little county town.

But in the 20s, China's booming railway and road construction boom completely changed the fate of this small city in southern Hunan.

By 1939, the Hengbao Highway from Hengyang to Baoqing was opened, which could directly connect to Guizhou Province! So far, Hengyang has become an important hub of the highway network of Hunan, Jiangxi, Guangdong and Guangxi provinces.

After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, major ports along the Chinese coast fell one after another. Large quantities of supplies could only be imported from Hong Kong, loaded on trucks in Yangcheng, transported to Hengyang, and then transported from Hengyang to other parts of the country by rail and road.

In 1938, when Guangzhou fell, supplies could only be shipped from small docks in Guangdong, Fujian and Zhejiang provinces, and gathered along spider-web-like transportation lines to distribution centers such as Shaoguan in Guangdong Province and Qianshan in Jiangxi Province. Finally, all roads led to Hengyang, and all supplies were transported to the rest of the country through Hengyang.

There is also a well-developed water system in Hunan Province. As long as the supplies go from Hengyang through the Xiangjiang River, through Xiangtan and Tanzhou into Dongting Lake, and then into western Hubei, and finally by road to the mountain city, they can be sent to the southwest rear area.

Because of the war, most people fleeing from Jiangnan, North China, and Central China arrived in Hengyang via Tanzhou and then chose to go to Guizhou Province or Yunnan Province. Many people simply stopped their retreat to the south and stayed in the small city of Hengyang.

In just four years, Hengyang's population surged from 4 to 6. In 30, the government simply made Hengyang a provincial city, with Zhao Junmai, a Hengyang native who had studied in the United States, as the mayor. Zhao Junmai was indeed a good administrator. In two years, he developed Hengyang into a very important financial and manufacturing center in China with 1942 businesses and more than 2 factories. In the first quarter of 6000, Hengyang's industrial and commercial tax revenue ranked second in the country, second only to the capital city of Shancheng.

Yokoyama Isamu and Shimanuki Takeshi regarded the city of Hengyang as an extremely important node on the important channel for the Japanese army to advance into the southwest and finally connect the Chinese battlefield with the Southeast Asian battlefield. They hoped to have a decisive battle with the main force of the Chinese side at this node to bring news of victory to the demoralized Japanese military and civilians, and also lay the foundation for the subsequent attack on southwest China.

In the eyes of Chinese generals, Hengyang is the waist of South China and Central China and the gateway to the southwest. It can control Guangxi Province, clamp down on Yunnan and Burma, and eye the mountain city; it can contain Central China and control South China. Its location is extremely important.

At the same time, China's fourth, sixth, seventh and ninth war zones are surrounding it, and only Hengyang has the advantage of quickly concentrating the troops of various war zones in the south of the Yangtze River in one place.

On the 26th, Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, commander of the 11th Japanese Army, who entered Tanzhou City in a tank, said to the reporters accompanying the army in the courtyard of General Xue's headquarters on Yuelu Mountain: "Although Hengyang is important, it is not difficult to capture Hengyang!"

"Mr. Yokoyama Isamu, I wonder how long it will take to capture Hengyang?" The Japanese war reporters must have guessed that Yokoyama Isamu was happy, so they took the initiative to help him increase his popularity.

"Give my 11th Army's imperial warriors 10 days. If they want to defeat the enemy, 3 days will be enough!" Yokoyama Isamu thought for a moment and stretched out three fingers!

A photo of Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama making an 'OK' gesture at the headquarters of the 9th Theater Commander in China made the front page of Japan's 'Asahi Shimbun' a week later.

  The entire Japanese people are excited about it!

Since the defeat in the Battle of Midway, the Imperial Navy has been losing ground in the Pacific battlefield. American bombers have even threatened the main island, and a sense of sadness about the impending defeat has begun to spread among the Japanese people.

The Imperial Army's victory on the Chinese battlefield was like a shot in the arm, allowing the Japanese people to see that although the navy was not strong, they still had a strong army.

  The Japanese Army Ministry seized the opportunity to request additional funds at a military meeting organized at the headquarters to purchase more equipment for the army. This completely overshadowed the Japanese Navy, which had suffered heavy losses. The army generals were so high-spirited!

However, no matter how much he pretends to be cool, it will ultimately depend on the outcome of the Battle of Hengyang, otherwise he will end up getting beaten up instead of being cool.

Under the strict order of Isamu Yokoyama, the 11th Army did not rest in Tanzhou City for long, but immediately rushed to Hengyang.

On the Chinese side, the final preparations were also being made for the Battle of Hengyang.

At the same time, he telegraphed General Xue: "The goal is to prevent the enemy from advancing deeper and secure Hengyang!" He hoped that the 9th War Zone would gather troops to stop the Japanese army from moving south to Hengyang and buy enough time for the Hengyang defenders.

  At the same time, Fang Xianjue, who was unemployed in the mountain city, also received a call from that person!

5 am on May 24th!

Fang Xianjue was awakened by his military secretary, who said that someone had come to ask for Commander Fang.

Fang Xianjue was still in a dream. These days, he had been watching various telegrams about unfavorable war situations sent from Hunan Province in the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs. For a general who was determined to serve his country, this was simply a torment.

Perhaps since the sleepless night on May 5, Fang Xianjue finally understood what he really wanted in his heart.

He was heartbroken over the sacrifice of his best friend and indignant at General Xue's exclusion of dissidents, which made him disheartened and want to retire. When the transfer order from the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs arrived, he was even more disheartened. It was only after talking with Tang Dao that he regained his fighting spirit.

However, he still did not dare to hope to return to the 10th Army. He knew too well how important General Xue was in that person's heart. Although he was not the most trusted confidant among his trusted confidants, he was much more important than him, a general who did not belong to the Central Army faction.

For half a month, Fang Xianjue could only sleep three hours a day. He was extremely worried about his 1.5 brothers who were still in Hengyang.

He knew very well that if the battle situation was really as Tang Dao and he had deduced using chess, Hengyang would become a battleground for the Chinese and Japanese armies, and his 10th Army would inevitably stay there, either defending the city or turning into ashes along with the entire city.

  The 10th Army will not retreat without a fight, because they are the 'Taishan Army'!

"What Commander Fang? I'm no longer a commander." Fang Xianjue said impatiently.

"It's that one!" The military secretary could only tell him in a low voice.

Fang Xianjue suddenly woke up and quickly went to the living room to answer the phone.

The person on the other end of the line spoke with a thick Zhejiang accent: "Is this Fang Xianjue from the 10th Army?"

Fang Xianjue stood at attention and answered loudly: "Sir, I am Fang Xianjue!"

The voice on the other end of the phone said calmly, "Fang Xianjue, Fang Zishan, because of a personal grudge with your superior, you have disregarded the interests of the nation. Are you still my student?"

To Fang Xianjue, these words did not sound like a reproach, but rather showed that they were closer. He burst into tears on the spot.

After calming down his excited mood, Fang Xianjue answered loudly: "I know I am wrong. As long as the country and the nation need me, I will go through fire and water and never shirk my responsibility! I am determined to lead my old subordinates to fight the Japanese invaders in Hengyang to buy time for the main force to gather."

"Good! It seems that you have not stayed out of the military affairs in the Ministry of Military Affairs these days. Very good! This battle is related to the overall situation of our war of resistance and the survival of the country and nation. I hope that all officers and soldiers of your 10th Army will work hard and encourage themselves in the face of this national crisis. Everyone dares to take on the heavy responsibility and live up to my expectations of the 10th Army.

If you have any requests, you can tell me now!" The voice on the phone spoke earnestly.

"Please rest assured, sir. The 10th Army will fight the Japanese invaders to the death at any cost!" Fang Xianjue answered loudly. After a slight hesitation, he whispered, "It's just that my 10th Army currently has only 1.5 troops. We are short of manpower, so we would like to ask for help from a friendly army!"

"You said, as long as there is, I, as a teacher, will definitely be satisfied!"

"Four-line Group!" Fang Xianjue was a little nervous.

There was silence on the other end of the phone for ten seconds, and the voice became a little deeper.

"allow!"

"Yes!" Fang Xianjue was very happy.

But he couldn't see the person's face that suddenly turned gloomy in the quiet little hall more than ten kilometers away.

The Tang Dao and the Four-Line Regiment were like thorns in his flesh. Whenever he thought of them, he couldn't help but feel some pain.

But now, he could only swallow his anger temporarily, because in Hengyang, there were only Fang Xianjue and the 10th Army, as well as Tang Dao and his Four-Line Regiment.

Yokoyama Isamu, who is about to enter Tanzhou City and start showing off, may not have expected that he is about to face a tough old opponent and an equally tough new opponent. Two tough Chinese commanders are about to lead 2 tough guys and the 11th Army to fight a tragic battle in Hengyang that will shock the world and make ghosts cry!