Rise from eight hundred.

Chapter 1518: All is suffering! (At the end of the month, please give me monthly votes!)

As the supreme commander of more than 6 soldiers and civilians in Hengyang, Fang Xianjue with a resolute face knew that he should not be weak. But after the battle today, the iron-blooded general who was in charge of the command center and received battle reports from all over Hengyang City knew too well how fierce the battle Hengyang City would encounter.

Before July 7.9, the total casualties of the Hengyang defenders did not exceed 4500, which was close to a quarter of the 2.4 defenders in Hengyang.

Although this loss is not small, considering the length of the battle and the huge force of tens of thousands of Japanese troops who attacked in turns, such a loss is completely acceptable and even worthy of pride.

In particular, these losses were based on the killing and wounding of more than 2 Japanese troops.

But just on July 7.9, before he and all the generals gathered together, the battle report handed to him by the General Staff showed that the 10th Division suffered more than 1300 casualties, the 3rd Division suffered more than 1400 casualties, the 190th Division suffered more than 300 casualties, the Four-Line Regiment suffered more than 160 casualties, the Hengyang Guard Regiment suffered more than 200 casualties, the reserve suffered more than 800 casualties, and the total casualties of the remaining units were more than 400.

At the end of the day, the losses exceeded the total of the previous month.

The field hospital has long been overcrowded, and there is a serious shortage of hundreds of medical staff. They have to select smart and capable people from the reserves to serve as temporary nurses in the field hospital, but this still cannot alleviate the dilemma of insufficient medical treatment.

Many wounded soldiers had to be temporarily bandaged and placed in deep trenches outside the field hospital to wait until the next day or even the day after to receive treatment.

Although they knew that this would cause wound infection and a surge in mortality, the doctors and nurses in the field hospital would be too busy to handle it even if they had three heads and six arms. They could only prioritize and give priority to treating soldiers with fatal injuries.

An extremely bad incident occurred in the evening. The company commander of the 10th Company of the 28th Regiment of the 9th Division stationed in Wuguiling was hit in the abdomen by shrapnel and seriously injured during combat. After repelling the Japanese army, the unit quickly sent an infantry squad to send the captain company commander to the field hospital in the city.

However, because all the military doctors were performing emergency operations, the captain did not receive timely treatment. The sergeant squad leader who was responsible for carrying the army captain back to the city saw that his captain's breath was getting weaker and weaker, and his eyes turned red on the spot. He even pulled out his gun and pointed it at the field hospital director Tan Tai Mingyue, who was leading the team to check the level of injuries of the wounded and arrange the treatment batches, and demanded that his captain be treated immediately.

The army sergeant, who was greatly stimulated, might not have considered anything else. He just wanted to use his most trusted gun to force the highest commander of the field hospital, Tan Tai Mingyue, to save his superior.

But he never thought that Tan Tai Mingyue had another very important identity. She was Tang Dao's wife, and even Fang Xianjue was usually polite to her.

After all, among the defenders in Hengyang City, the Four-Line Regiment is the most important support of the 10th Army, without a doubt.

This gun would be a big deal once it was taken out. For the personal safety of Tan Tai Mingyue, Tang Dao not only sent his guard squad leader Shi Dakuan and 14 guards to the field hospital, but also dispatched four ace snipers like Yang Shoucheng to form two shifts to guard within 4 meters around Tan Tai Mingyue.

There were indeed too many wounded soldiers in the field hospital at that moment, and the sniper on duty could not take care of them all. However, due to a few seconds of negligence, a soldier actually pointed his gun at Tan Tai Mingyue.

Shi Dakuan, who was not far away, went berserk on the spot and immediately led the guard squad to surround the infantry squad in an anti-enemy battle formation. He even used a walkie-talkie to call for a guard platoon from the Fourth Regiment.

The 10th Reserve Division naturally would not show weakness. Upon seeing this situation, at least 30 wounded soldiers and the 40 soldiers who sent the wounded chose to stand with their comrades, and the two sides almost exchanged fire in the field hospital.

It was still Tan Tai Ming Yue who coldly ordered everyone not to use force, and gently comforted the sergeant squad leader who was already somewhat panic-stricken after seeing the disaster he had caused, and promised that as long as an operating table was vacated in the field hospital, surgery would be performed immediately on the unconscious army captain.

After getting Tan Tai Ming Yue's assurance, the Army Sergeant dropped his gun and allowed the guards of the Fourth Regiment to rush up and pin him down.

At that time, Chief of Staff Sun Mingyu and Director of the Political Department of the Four-Line Regiment Ye Chenghuan, who had received the news, arrived just in time. They issued military orders to the two groups of personnel who were still in a state of confrontation, which completely resolved the crisis caused by the anxiety and recklessness of a sergeant squad leader of the 10th Reserve Division.

Originally, Sun Mingyu planned to execute on the spot the sergeant squad leader of the 10th Reserve Division who had almost made a serious mistake in a moment of impulse in order to enforce military law, but the person involved, Tan Tai Mingyue, stopped the military order and chose to forgive him.

"I'm the director of the field hospital. I know best the psychological state of the soldiers coming off the battlefield. The flesh and blood of their fallen comrades are still on their bodies, and their living comrades are about to die in front of them in the blink of an eye. He didn't go crazy. That shows that I, a Chinese soldier, am tough enough. He has violated military law and should be executed on the spot according to military law. But as his comrade, I would rather he die on the battlefield than here. I am willing to guarantee it with my military position." Tan Tai Mingyue's words moved all the officers and soldiers present.

The army sergeant who made the big mistake burst into tears on the spot. After watching his company commander being carried onto the operating table, he saluted Tan Tai Mingyue, then turned around and rushed back to the Wuguiling position with his infantry squad.

Ge Youcai hurried to the city from the headquarters of the 10th Reserve Division. Visiting the Storm rocket launcher was not his first priority. Apologizing to Tan Tai Mingyue and Tang Dao was his primary task.

Although this accident was not enough to shake the unity of the various factions in the city, what it ultimately reflected was the huge dilemma faced by the Hengyang defenders.

  As the highest commander in Hengyang City, how could Fang Xianjue not be anxious?

However, this iron-blooded general, who was only in his early forties, did not even realize that a layer of white frost had quietly appeared on his temples.

No one, including his closest subordinate Ge Youcai, knew that this supreme commander of Hengyang, who was standing on a high place overlooking the entire city of Hengyang in silence for a long time, was looking at the bright moon on the Xiangjiang River. At this moment, his mind was filled with the face of his wife.

  Fang Xianjue recalled that more than ten years ago, when he had just served as the battalion commander, he was stationed in Yueyang. His newly-married wife came to visit him. The two of them went boating on Dongting Lake under the moonlight and toured Yueyang Tower at night with candlelight. It was a beautiful day, and it seemed like yesterday after all these years!

Speaking of his wife, Fang Xianjue once had a wife. When he was preparing to apply for Jinling No. 1 Industrial School, his parents arranged a marriage for him. How could he accept a feudal arranged marriage after reading new books and accepting new ideas?

Fang Xianjue asked for leave and went home and said to his father: "I want to study first and then get married. What's more, the country is in danger and how can I take care of my family when the Huns are not yet destroyed?" His father locked him up at home and insisted that he get married before returning to school.

Fang Xianjue ran away from home and walked more than 90 miles back to school. Later, he was admitted to Central University and then to Whampoa Military Academy to become an officer. During this period, he rarely went home. He hoped to use facts to tell his father how he had fulfilled his ideals.

It was not until 15 years ago in 1929 that he met Zhou Yunhua. The iron-blooded soldier finally understood what love at first sight was. The tough and restrained him even said affectionately while rafting: "If you don't marry me, I will never marry again!"

However, after so many years of marriage, the two are still rarely together.

When he was a company commander, battalion commander, and regiment commander, the army did not allow him to bring his family with him. Finally, a few years ago, he became a division commander and was allowed to bring his family with him, but the war was urgent and he had to lead his subordinates to travel around to fight the Japanese army.

It was not until he was promoted to army commander that his wife moved the whole family to Tanzhou, and then to Hengyang the year before last, so that they had more time to reunite.

After so many years in the army, Fang Xianjue devoted himself to the army and relied on his wife for everything at home and outside. His wife was really a good wife. Not only did she manage the household in order, but she also never complained that he did not save much money as an official.

In the old army, a division commander had independent management rights. How many division commanders did not "eat the empty salary and suck the blood of the soldiers"?

An infantry division has a strength of more than 10,000 people, but after a few battles, only a few thousand people are left. However, they still report the strength of the division to their superiors and receive salaries based on that number. The extra salaries can easily be over 100,000 silver dollars. This is a well-known secret in the military and an unspoken rule that is not surprising.

But Fang Xianjue never did such a thing. He was admitted to Whampoa Military Academy at the age of 19. There was a quartermaster in the military academy who embezzled the food expenses. He and several classmates beat the quartermaster severely. From then on, the young soldier set himself an iron rule to abide by throughout his life: do not be greedy for military pay and do not drink the blood of soldiers!

Over the years, the 10th Army has fought in various places and fought many big and fierce battles. The number of soldiers has been greatly reduced, and a large amount of military pay is available. However, Fang Xianjue used the money to either subsidize the officers and soldiers who died bravely in battle or to make new uniforms for everyone. As a result, the 10th Army is extremely united and well-organized.

From soldiers to divisional commanders in the 10th Army, everyone calls him "chief" or "sir" in front of others, but calls him "boss" behind their backs. He is the undisputed patriarch of the 10-strong 3th Army.

However, at this moment, the highest commander of Hengyang, who was unable to balance his country and family, looked at the bright moon in the sky and in the river, and his eyes were finally filled with sparkle.

This might be the last time in his life that he thought of her so clearly.

He was worthy of his soldiers and his country and nation, but not her!

That night!

Several officers in Hengyang City drank a jar of "Huzi Wine" with a dried chicken and some side dishes, and laughed about the strategy for tomorrow's battle against the enemy. No one mentioned the telegram sent by the Military Commission during the day that "reinforcements will arrive in a few days." It is better to rely on yourself than to ask for help from others. Since entering Hengyang City, several Chinese soldiers who had thrown life and death behind their minds finally gave up their unrealistic hopes.

After unifying its thoughts, Hengyang City has completely entered a desperate mode. Facing the 11 Chinese soldiers and civilians who are about to fight hard, the Japanese 6th Army will truly enter a hell-level battlefield.

. . . . . . . . . . .

Guilin!

Since the fall of Tanzhou, many Guilin people heard the news and fled westwards. However, more people fled from Hunan Province in the east. Guilin suddenly became a crowded military camp, and there was chaos every day.

People were crowding on the streets filled with military music, planes from the Chinese and American air forces kept flying in the sky, and Guilin was like a balloon that was suddenly blown up, and its population instantly surged from 10 to more than 50.

Most of the poor people set up camp around the train station, while the rich crowded the small city of Guilin, making it impossible to get through.

Over the past month, Guilin's newspapers have been repeatedly promoting the news of the Hengyang victory, promoting Fang Xianjue and the 10th Army's three division commanders and chief of staff Sun Mingyu as the "Five Tiger Generals". Telegrams congratulating the victory and letters of condolences were circulated everywhere, and people were setting off firecrackers and playing military songs in the streets. Photos of Fang Xianjue and others were posted everywhere on the streets.

Taishan Jun and Fang Xianjue's personal reputations have reached their peak. In the future, they will be the top of the top.

But the woman standing in an apartment looking at her husband's photo on the street never had a smile on her face.

They all said that her husband was a famous anti-Japanese general and a national hero, but she just wanted her husband to have dinner with her, even if it was only porridge and steamed buns.

That night, the woman dreamed of her husband.

He had an unshaven beard and very long hair, like a savage. His face was pale and his moon-like features had become thin. His voice was hoarse and low, and his military uniform was covered with dust and blood. It was obvious that he had suffered a lot.

She dreamed that he was looking at her, his eyes were red and bloodshot, his lips were tightly closed, as if he had a lot to say but couldn't.

The woman held her husband's hand tightly and couldn't say a word. After a long, long time, she inexplicably said: "You have worked hard!" After saying this, the woman wanted to laugh, but wanted to cry more.

The husband, who used to look very military but looked a little slovenly in his dream, grinned, hugged the woman tightly, kissed the ends of her hair, touched her face, and whispered, "You have lost weight!"

The woman burst into tears instantly!

I woke up suddenly, only to find that it was just a dream. However, the pillowcase was already soaked with tears, and the bright moon was outside the window.

The moonlight shone on the face of the two-year-old girl. The sleeping little girl had a smile on her face, and I wonder if she was dreaming about her father whom she hadn't seen for a long time.

The woman had tears in her eyes, but she put her head close to her daughter. The little girl, feeling her mother's gentle breath, put her little hand on her mother's face and fell into a deeper sleep.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

The battle on July 7 was tormenting for both China and Japan, both inside and outside the battlefield.

The Chinese side lost nearly 5000 people in one day, with more than 2800 wounded soldiers alone. Most of them suffered from shell shock and shrapnel injuries that were difficult to heal.

As for the Japanese 11th Army, the losses were even more terrible, reaching nearly 3000 people. Just from four rounds of salvos from the Storm rocket launcher, there were more than terrible casualties. The dead were a small matter, but the surviving wounded were the real problem.

Seventy percent of the wounded suffered burns. The phosphorus-aluminum incendiary bombs fired by the Storm rocket launcher were so powerful that even if they survived, their bodies would be covered in burns, with their skin and flesh burned apart. The pain was simply unbearable for ordinary people.

Throughout the night, the countryside was filled with the cries of the wounded Japanese soldiers. Even the veterans who had experienced many wars could not help but feel their scalps tingling at the sound, not to mention the new recruits who had just been recruited from the replenishment division.

The 116th Division was already on the verge of collapse. After 20 days of rest and recuperation, it was crushed by another wave of Chinese attacks, and even the newly arrived 27th Division was stunned.

So this is Hengyang. If we had known this would happen, we would have stayed on the periphery and fought a decisive battle with the main force of the Chinese side. At least that's what Lieutenant General Jinkuro Ochiai thought.

After seeing the power of the Storm Rocket Launcher, this old rival of the Four Element Regiment was completely convinced. After not seeing them for a few years, the Four Element Regiment was more powerful than before. He even wondered if the Four Element Regiment had any new equipment that they hadn't brought out yet.

After hearing that the four major divisions on the front line had paid the price of tens of thousands of people but had not made any progress, Yokoyama Isamu's angry roar continued to echo in Yuelu Mountain.

But this was only a setback for the Japanese army on July 7, and even greater setbacks were waiting for them.

Kyoto, Japan!

Tojo Inji, who held multiple positions including Prime Minister, Army Minister and Chief of the General Staff, sat in his office with a haggard face and dull eyes.

At this moment, Tojo, like the man in the Chinese mountain city, urgently needed a great victory to ease the crisis in his political and military career.

In the past few months, the Japanese army has been defeated in the vast Pacific Ocean, the Japanese navy has been in a slump, and the US B-29 long-range bombers have frequently taken off from southern China, leaving gaps in the Japanese mainland, and the entire Japanese people are in a panic.

On the battlefield in Southeast Asia, the Japanese Army was completely defeated by the British Empire in the Battle of Imphal.

On the Chinese battlefield where Japan was most confident, a Chinese army that would never exceed 3 people actually inflicted heavy casualties on the 11th Army, the most powerful field army of the Japanese army in China. After 40 days, they did not even see the wall of the small town.

The continuous heavy blows made the man who had been instigating the whole of Japan to start a war realize that the building was about to collapse.

Three days ago, the Japanese Army finally decided to stop the Battle of Imphal, admit defeat, and retreat to Burma, but they still had to face hundreds of thousands of Allied troops.

Two days ago, Saipan, a strategic location of the Japanese Navy in the Pacific, was occupied by the Americans.

Today, outside the Chinese city of Hengyang, the 11th Army's second round of general offensive failed again, which became the last straw that broke the camel's back.

On the morning of July 7, Tojo, who held both military and political power in Japan, felt powerless in the face of enemies from all sides and had to announce his resignation and dissolve the cabinet.

Tojo's resignation was a huge blow to the Japanese navy and army, but on that day, the Japanese headquarters issued an order to the China Expeditionary Army Headquarters to launch the "Hengyang Decisive Battle."

On the morning of the 10th, General Tian Junliu, commander of the Chinese Expeditionary Army, personally flew to Tanzhou to supervise the battle of Hengyang!