Rise from eight hundred.

Chapter 1505 Battle for Fish!

While the Chinese supreme commander was still hesitating and making up his mind, the commander of the Japanese 11th Army, Isamu Yokoyama, was also having a hard time. He was also in a dilemma.

In the original strategic plan, Hengyang was used as bait to invite the main force of China's 9th War Zone to fight. As a campaign-level commander, his consideration was naturally reasonable. This was also the reason why his operation, which violated the strategic purpose and original intention of the "Operation No. " launched by the Japanese Army Headquarters, was still approved.

As a result, "the enemy's resistance in Hengyang was unexpectedly tenacious", which was beyond the expectations of Yokoyama Isamu and Shimanuki Takeshi. The Battle of Hengyang had been going on for more than half a month, and it had been proved that Hengyang was not a soft persimmon but a hard walnut. If you want to bite them off, you have to break at least half of your teeth. Now two of their big teeth have been broken.

The unprecedented strong fortifications in the south of Hengyang City were simply disgusting. Almost all the positions were preceded by man-made cliffs. The Japanese infantry attacked for more than ten days without coming up with any good solution. Unless 150-caliber heavy artillery was brought in to blow down the cliffs and flatten the mountain tops, it would be possible to open a gap.

At the same time, the advanced fighters and bombers of the Chinese and American air forces posed a deadly threat to the Japanese ground forces, and the Army Aviation seemed to have been scared after losing dozens of fighters in succession, which meant that the ground forces would be in a passive position of being completely suppressed by the Chinese and American air forces for a long time.

Of course, there are solutions to both of these problems. No matter how strong the Hengyang fortifications are and how tenacious the defenders are, they can just continue to deploy troops and mobilize heavy artillery. Anyway, the main force of China that we imagined is nowhere to be seen. As for the air threat, the ground troops can dig deep trenches and holes, hide during the day, and fight at night! There are always more solutions than problems.

On this point, Orientals are more optimistic than Westerners and always give themselves psychological hints that can comfort them.

What worries Yokoyama Isamu the most right now is the 11th Army’s biggest weakness - logistics supply!

In the Tanzhou Operation in the first phase of the Hunan-Guangxi Campaign, Hengshan Yong adopted the tactic of "steady and steady progress, building as you advance". After taking Tanzhou, he changed the strategy to "rapid advance" with swiftness.

When the Japanese soldiers set out, they only carried 10 days' rations, and did not carry any supplies of ammunition or food with them. In principle, they ordered all units to "requisition food on the spot." As a result, after the fall of Tanzhou, the Chinese people along the way either fled to the mountains or fled further south, taking almost all the food they could take with them.

The Japanese troops were about to advance towards the vicinity of Hengyang, so why would they requisition food? They had originally hoped that the logistics troops would keep up with them to supply the army, but they did not expect that the Chinese and American fighter planes were also good at harassment. Whenever they found a convoy or a train, they would basically dive down without paying any attention.

Especially the Flying Tigers headquartered in Kuncheng, they were very cunning. They did not frequently appear over Hengyang, but they hovered over Dongting Lake for a long time, which was the most important logistics transfer point for the Japanese army after the highway was interrupted.

The Japanese army used ships to transport huge amounts of logistical supplies from the Yangtze River to Dongting Lake, and then from Dongting Lake into the Xiangjiang River, and finally arrived at the vicinity of Hengyang. As a result, the cunning Flying Tigers smelled this and specifically attacked the large transport ships on Dongting Lake.

Ships in inland rivers generally lack anti-aircraft weapons, and the water depth of the Xiangjiang River is not enough for light destroyers to enter. Facing the planes flying up and down, they can only rely on the limited 20mm or 25mm anti-aircraft guns. It is simply like Cao Pi's wife entering the vegetable garden - Zhen Ji pulling vegetables!

The casualties of the logistics troops were once even more tragic than those on the front line in Hengyang.

People died and the boat capsized, so naturally the amount of food transported was less.

The 11th Army had more than 7 troops surrounding Hengyang, plus more than 13 main forces deployed within a hundred miles outside Hengyang. The 20-strong army would consume at least 10 kilograms of rice a day, not to mention other supplies such as salt, sugar, and tea.

"Man is made of iron and rice is made of steel. If you don't eat for a meal, you will be hungry!" This saying of our Chinese ancestors was so true. Whenever he received emergency telegrams from the divisions asking for food, Yokoyama Isamu's balding forehead would involuntarily break out in a layer of sweat.

Fortunately, troops like the 116th Division and the 68th Division, which were fighting on the front line, still had at least three days of food supplies, otherwise Yokoyama Isamu would have been too embarrassed to see the supreme commander, Lieutenant General Iwanaga, who was outside the city of Hengyang.

Faced with this situation, the Japanese China Expeditionary Army Command had no choice but to transfer a railway division from the Kwantung Army 10 days ago to speed up the maintenance of the Changheng Railway and set up anti-aircraft artillery along the way.

But this obviously cannot immediately alleviate the logistical crisis currently faced by the 11th Army. On this point, Commander Xue had predicted it before the war: after losing air superiority, the Japanese army's logistics became extremely fragile and difficult. If they encountered stubborn resistance again in Hengyang, they would not be able to hold out for long.

After all, Commander Xue was a well-known general in the entire Chinese theater. Otherwise, even after the defeat in Tanzhou, not only would the official in the Military Commission not dismiss him, but even after the strategic deployment had been made, he would have been indecisive again because of his stubbornness.

Then you still have some skills.

However, this famous general overlooked the difficulties his opponent was currently facing in his military career. The commander of the China Expeditionary Army, Tian Shunroku, was about to resign, and there were only three or four people in the entire China theater who were qualified to replace him. General Okamura Koji, commander of the Japanese North China Front Army, Lieutenant General Matsui Taikuro, chief of staff of the Expeditionary Army, and Lieutenant General Fujita Susumu, commander of the 13th Army, were Yokoyama Isamu's three major competitors.

In Yokoyama Isamu's calculations, Okamura Koji was already an army general, so he was naturally ranked before him, and the possibility of his taking over as commander of the expeditionary army was more than ninety percent. But if Okamura Koji was promoted, wouldn't the position of commander of the North China Front Army be vacant?

The commander of a front is half a level higher than the commander of a direct army like him. Only by becoming the commander of a front can a veteran lieutenant general of the army like him be promoted to general of the army. Otherwise, he will probably be stuck at the position of lieutenant general for the rest of his life.

He wanted to sit on the throne of the commander of the front army, and the Hunan-Guangxi Campaign was his last chance. If he won and achieved the strategic goal of the headquarters, the position of the commander of the front army would be secured. If he failed, he could return to the island to retire.

Therefore, the Battle of Hengyang can be regarded as the most important battle in Yokoyama Isamu's military career. How could Yokoyama Isamu, whose mind was full of dreams of becoming an army general, give up easily?

But not giving up is one thing, and the difficulty of logistical supply at this time is another. Yokoyama Isamu, who was in a dilemma, had to weigh the consequences of continuing the attack. He also had to ask the commander of the China Expeditionary Army, Tian Shunroku, to suspend the full-scale attack on Hengyang, and wait for the Japanese army to repair the logistics line, the heavy artillery units to be mobilized, and the Army Aviation to accumulate strength again before restarting the full-scale attack on Hengyang City.

At this time, the main force of China remained where it was and did not gather in Hengyang on a large scale, which gave the Japanese army, which was under huge logistical pressure, a chance to breathe. While continuing to besiege Hengyang, the Japanese army mobilized troops to repair roads and railways and restore traffic. There were as many as 2 troops in two divisions just to open up roads that could be used by cars.

A rare opportunity that could have allowed China to resolve the predicament in Hengyang slipped away quietly due to the stubbornness and indecision of Commander Xue, making the Battle of Hengyang destined to leave a significant mark in the history of Chinese and foreign wars.

But the ink and paint used are all red, scarlet!

. . . . . . . . . . .

From June 6th, the Battle of Hengyang entered a stalemate phase as the Japanese army took the initiative to suspend the battle, but this did not mean that the Chinese and Japanese armies would stare at each other, you eat your food and I catch my fish.

No one is rich nowadays, and the food-short Japanese army has set their sights on the fish in ponds and rivers. Although there is no shortage of food in Hengyang City for the time being, Fang Xianjue has realized that it is better to rely on himself than to ask others for help. For the long term, he has to start living frugally. Naturally, the Chinese officers and soldiers who have reduced supplies have also set their eyes on the fish.

As a result, small-scale conflicts continued between the two sides in the intervals between major battles, but the tactical purpose was only to compete for the fish in the pond.

Both sides sent out a large number of lookouts. If they found that the other side dared to fish in the pond within sight, the Japanese army would use grenade launchers and long-range cold guns to attack the Chinese soldiers who wanted to eat meat, while the Chinese side used mortars and light machine guns to hunt down the "fish thieves". In the future, those guys who secretly fished during the fishing ban period would be detained and feel very aggrieved. If they knew that their Japanese thief predecessors were basically greeted by firepower in this era, wouldn't they feel lucky that they live in a peaceful era?

Don't underestimate this kind of small-scale conflict. Sometimes it only results in the loss of two or three soldiers, but you can't stop the long defense line of this position!

On the most exaggerated day, the Japanese army deployed 20 infantry squads, and 109 infantrymen were killed, not counting the wounded; the Chinese side mobilized 16 infantry platoons, consumed more than 900 mortar shells and more than 14000 bullets, 68 soldiers were killed and dozens were seriously injured.

Zhou Qingxiang, the commander of the 3rd Division in charge of defending the west of the city, flew into a rage when he saw the ten fresh fish delivered to the division headquarters and a series of ammunition consumption and casualty figures. He scolded the two main regiment commanders under his command.

  In the eyes of this lieutenant general, these were not fish at all, but the corpses of his brothers. Who could eat them?

But he also understood that this was not an impulsive act, this was war. The two warring parties had to use everything they could to prevent the other side from obtaining resources, weakening the opponent while strengthening themselves, even if it was a painful loss, they would drag the opponent along with them.

  Sacrifice is an everyday occurrence!

However, knowing it was one thing, it was still hard to hide the sadness in my heart. The more than 3 kilograms of fish that were rescued at the cost of dozens of lives were all sent to the command center by Zhou Qingxiang, the commander of the rd Division.

He personally rushed to the front line and decided to take advantage of the Japanese army's negligence and launch a night attack on the Japanese.

As the saying goes, "It is impolite not to reciprocate." During this period, the Japanese army frequently launched surprise attacks on the Chinese defenders' defense lines under the cover of night.

The most dangerous one was three days ago, at the Yilaimiaoqian Street position where the Japanese army had launched a fire bull formation. In the early morning, more than 70 Japanese soldiers from the Shima Detachment tiptoed over and broke into the houses on Yilaimiaoqian Street without anyone noticing.

It turned out that the soldiers on guard had not rested for a week. After days of fierce fighting, they were exhausted and fell asleep without realizing it.

The Japanese might not have expected to encounter such a situation. They even thought that the Chinese had suffered heavy casualties and had long since abandoned the position they had attacked for more than 13 days. So they built fortifications in the houses they had sneaked into, first consolidating their defenses and then planning to further expand their positions.

As a result, a defending soldier who got up early in the morning to change guard happened to run into a Japanese infantryman who was tiptoeing forward. Because it was dark, the two sides did not notice each other until they were less than two meters apart.

The two soldiers were almost frightened to death. Judging from the fact that both sides instinctively raised their guns and shot but failed to hit each other, it was a psychological state of excessive fear.

However, the 'bang bang' sounds of gunfire alarmed soldiers on both sides, and a brutal close-range offensive and defensive battle took place on this position.

Because the distance was too close, neither China nor Japan could use mortars and grenade launchers. They basically relied on rifle, submachine gun, and machine gun fire and throwing grenades and hand grenades at each other. The degree of blood and flesh flying was no less than a large-scale battle between the two armies using large-caliber artillery.

第3师第7团第1营营长就在距离这片阵地600米的地方，当即带着一个步兵连增援此地，并率领麾下与日军展开逐屋争夺战，终于在当天上午11时将突入该阵地的70名日军全歼并将后续支援来的130多名日军击杀超过一半。

Unfortunately, this major battalion commander was accompanied by two guards and was discovered by a Japanese sharpshooter hiding in the paddy field. The Japanese sharpshooter shot him in the ribs and the bullet passed through the aorta, killing him on the spot.

Exchanging a capable major battalion commander for more than 130 Japanese soldiers was not a good deal at all. The mature and prudent Lieutenant General Zhou had always kept this account in mind, and he finally exploded at this moment.

On the very night when the fierce battle for fish in the pond broke out, the army lieutenant general was in charge personally. Lieutenant Deng Xingming, the second lieutenant platoon leader of the 7st Platoon, 1st Company, 1st Battalion, 1th Regiment, volunteered. The 25 people in this spearhead platoon who volunteered to form a death squad, each carrying a submachine gun, 6 magazines and 8 grenades, and with the slogan of revenge for the sacrifice of the battalion commander, they also sneaked into the Japanese position at around 2 a.m.

While the Japanese soldiers were sleeping soundly, he pulled out a grenade and threw it at them, then fired a burst of shots with his submachine gun.

It was a dark night with little wind. Although the moon was bright, the visibility was still unclear. The Japanese army was unable to launch flares in a hurry, and the two sides fired at each other without seeing each other.

The Chinese side has fewer personnel and stronger short-range firepower, which of course gives them an advantage in such a chaotic battle.

Moreover, their purpose of this trip was only to reap human lives, and they had no ambition to launch a surprise attack on the Japanese army and occupy their positions. They just turned around and slipped away after "beating, smashing and killing".

As a result, miraculously only 25 out of the 6 people were shot and wounded. With the help of their comrades, they all retreated smoothly and no one was killed.

The Japanese army almost pissed off Major General Shima to death. After fighting for a long time, there was not a single body of a Chinese soldier left on the battlefield, but it was filled with imperial infantry.

26 people died on the spot, and more than 40 people were injured by shrapnel and bullets. It was a complete defeat.

The highest commander on this position, a Japanese Army lieutenant, was ordered by an angry Japanese Army major general to commit disembowelment.

  One more person added to the death list!

During the period when no major war broke out outside Hengyang City, it was naturally not just a fight for fish, but more of a fight for supplies dropped from the air.

However, this time, it was not the Four-Line Regiment that tried every means to seize the supplies airdropped by the Japanese army, but the Japanese were competing for the supplies dropped by the Chinese Air Force.

It turned out that after fighting the Japanese army for half a month, the man who asked Fang Xianjue to lead his troops to hold on for another 10 days naturally could not want the horse to run without eating grass, so he asked Fang Xianjue if he had any requirements.

Fang Xianjue was not stupid this time. After half a month of fierce fighting, 5% of the grenades in the city had been used up, % of the bullets had been used up, and the most scarce thing was food rations. Due to the addition of reserves, % of the rations had been used up, so he requested support of all kinds of food.

At this time, the Japanese army had surrounded Hengyang for 20 miles like an iron barrel. It was difficult to transport food in, let alone sneak a few people in. The only way was to drop food by air.

Now that the words had been spoken, although it was a bit difficult, he could not go back on his word. So, from June 6, the first large-scale airdrop in China's military history began.

This change in status happened only three years after the last time the Four-Line Regiment used various methods to snatch the Japanese airdropped supplies in Shipai. The world can never be faster than this.