As we enter late May in Hunan Province, it is already hot.
It was early in the morning, the sun was scorching the earth, and the sweltering and windless valley was as hot as a big steamer.
Leng Feng, the chief of staff of the Fourth Army Regiment, rode a pitch-black Ocean horse, followed by a cavalry squad, carrying a whip, running on the mountain trails. At the invitation of Ge Youcai, the commander of the 10th Preliminary Division, he rushed to Huangchaling to inspect the new troops.
Well done work.
Among the three division commanders under the 10th Army, Ge Youcai was the only one promoted from the 10th Preliminary Division. When Fang Xianjue was still the commander of the 10th Preliminary Division, Ge Youcai was the commander of the 30th Regiment.
When Xianjue was promoted to army commander, Ge Youcai became the deputy commander of the 10th Preliminary Division. By the end of 1943, Fang Xianjue's close friend Sun Mingjin, the commander of the 10th Preliminary Division, died in battle, and Ge Youcai was promoted to division commander.
This time, because General Xue had resorted to tricks and resigned, the resistance of the Pre-10th Division was particularly fierce. Division Commander Ge Youcai took the lead in signing a petition, and all officers above the school officer level of the Pre-10th Division signed a petition to boycott the appointment of the new commander.
Whether in the 10th Army or the 9th Theater, Commander Ge Youcai of the 10th Preliminary Division is the number one confidant of Army Commander Fang Xianjue.
Otherwise, all the positions south of the city that Fang Xianjue identified as the main Japanese attack would not have been handed over to the 10th Preliminary Division. That was an absolute trust, and even elites like the Si Xing Regiment had not won this task.
But Ge Youcai became the commander of the 10th Pre-10th Division not just because of his loyalty to his superiors or his bravery during the war. This bearded general looked like a fierce general, but he had an extraordinary and delicate mind.
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When Fang Xianjue returned, he told him that the Four Elements Regiment had built a simulated defense drill field at the foot of Hengshan Mountain. There were many fortifications built in it that amazed him. Drawings would be provided in the future for the reference of various ministries to build fortifications according to local conditions.
Ordinary people, when there are so many things going on before a war, would at most pay more attention to the fortification drawings and instruct their subordinates not to ignore the help of friendly forces. But this master didn't. As soon as he came out of the headquarters, he immediately took care of it himself.
He took a dozen of his officers in a truck and went on a field trip.
Fortunately, one of the engineers left behind by the Fourth Army Regiment was planning to blast and destroy this huge training ground to avoid being seen by the Japanese army. They had already buried the explosives but had not yet started the blasting, leaving this person two hours for on-the-spot inspection.
Opportunity.
Ge Youcai was so amazed by those wide trenches that were like killing machines that he even felt that they were tailor-made for the hilly and mountainous areas in southern Hengyang. When he came back that night, he ran to the extremely busy Director Tang and asked him to find an opportunity to prepare 10
Inspection and guidance work on the divisional position.
How could Tang Dao refuse such a condescension from a master, but he was so busy these two days that he had no time to pass by, so he could only recommend Leng Feng to help him, and specifically asked Leng Feng on the phone: "Everything
We must seek truth from facts, good is good, bad is bad, and problems must be pointed out. Friendly forces can be embarrassed, but they cannot be sad because of heavy casualties!"
Although Tang Dao knew Leng Feng's personality very well, after all, Ge Youcai was a lieutenant general and division commander, so he would be a little concerned about the face of an army lieutenant general.
Huangcha Ridge is one of the famous ancient battlefields in Hengyang. It was originally called "Huang Chaoling". In the late Tang Dynasty, Huang Chao once led 100,000 troops on rafts down the Xiangjiang River and once again set up camp to station troops for fighting. I don't know when it was renamed this place by the people.
'Huangcha Ridge'.
The clouds of war have long shrouded this land, and the villages along the way have long been deserted, but the hillsides along the way are full of groups of soldiers with bare heads, bare feet, dark faces, and mud covered in mud.
The matter of being bald was the first military order issued by the newly appointed Chief of Operations Tang Dao, requiring soldiers and civilians in Hengyang to cut women's hair to the temples and all men to shave their heads.
This is not to better identify ourselves and the enemy, but to consider after injury. If the head injury requires surgery or bandaging, the nurse will also spend time shaving the injured person. Saving people on the battlefield is like putting out a fire, so there is so much time to go.
It's a waste, it's better to prepare it before the war.
All the men in Hengyang's army and civilians, including Fang Xianjue, the supreme commander, have bald heads, while the female soldiers in the Four Lines Regiment, including Tantai Mingyue, have long had short hair that exposes their ears. If it wasn't short enough,
, just take the dagger and cut it short, it's very quick.
Leng Feng's first impression of the 10th Preliminary Division came from these working officers and soldiers, and the impression was very good.
Everywhere we went, from the battalion commander down to the officers and soldiers of the company and battalion headquarters, everyone was shirtless and wearing only military trousers, sweating profusely in the heat. In the distance, we could only see a group of yellow clay figures in the yellow soil.
People were waving hoes and shovels one after another, and it was completely unclear who was the commander and who was the soldier.
It had only been three days since the fall of Tanzhou and Hengyang declared wartime. The officers and soldiers of the 10th Preliminary Division and more than 20,000 civilians had built a deep trench of more than 8 miles in the south of the city. Only the 30th Regiment of the 10th Preliminary Division, which Leng Feng wanted to focus on, was under observation.
For the defense of Huangcha Ridge, a deep trench of more than 2 miles was dug.
The commander of the 30th Regiment was the commander of the Third Battalion when Ge Youcai was the commander. He was a calm middle-aged man. Since he was calm, he inevitably lacked flexibility.
Perhaps he was able to become the leader of the 30th Regiment not because he was better than his other two colleagues, but because during the third Tanzhou Defense War, less than 300 people from the 30th Regiment survived, and he was the only battalion that was seriously injured and survived.
long.
The colonel leader paid great attention to Leng Feng's arrival and personally rode a horse to accompany Leng Feng, whose military rank was one level lower than his own, to inspect the positions where thousands of people were actively digging.
Leng Feng rode his horse along the deep trench, watching as he walked. At first, he thought it was okay. The officers, soldiers and civilians of the 30th Regiment were working very hard. There were also professional engineers who were guiding them to dig according to the diagram. Follow this progress and use it again.
The position standard of the Four Lines Regiment will be reached in five or six days.
At this time, the Japanese forwards were still more than 200 miles away from Hengyang, and there were troops constantly blocking them along the way. There were about seven or eight days left for Hengyang, which was enough time.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Just as he walked forward, Leng Feng's brows wrinkled slightly. He felt something was wrong. It was not that he was lazy and did not dig the trench deep enough, but
, the position of the 30th Regiment seems a bit too big.
According to common sense, a 2,000-man infantry regiment like the 30th Regiment has a defensive surface width of about 1,300 meters. Only in this way can depth defense be guaranteed. No one would be stupid enough to put all 2,000 people on the front line.
, there must also be defenses on the left and right wings, defenses must be deployed in depth, and reserves must be kept.
However, the width of the frontal defense surface of the 30th Regiment has only been completed as high as 1,000 meters. According to the current construction progress, it will be more than 2,500 meters or even wider.
If this is the case for one regiment, what about the entire 10th Preliminary Division?
After a brief exchange with the colonel leader who looked a little stiff, Leng Feng immediately informed Tang Dao.
As soon as Tang Dao heard this, he immediately dropped what he was doing, took Yuanxiao and three guardsmen and got into a jeep and rushed to the headquarters of the 10th Preliminary Division.
When Ge Youcai heard that he had predicted that the 10th Division's position would have such a major flaw, why wasn't he furious? He immediately got on Tang Dao's jeep and rushed to Huangcha Ridge.
Leng Feng and the colonel leader of the 30th Regiment stood at the highest point of the mountain and stared at each other. Not even 40 minutes had passed before Ge Youcai and Tang Dao arrived, which showed that they were in a hurry.
Speaking of which, it was difficult for these two people. Leng Feng didn't talk much, and the man from the 30th regiment didn't talk much either. At this moment, he felt that there was something wrong with the position arrangement, and he didn't have the mood to talk. The two big men could only squat on the top of the mountain.
Smoking one cigarette after another.
From a distance, they saw two jeeps and several horses running towards them. The two of them quickly ran down from the top of a low mountain to greet them.
The group of people walked towards the top of the mountain. Leng Feng handed the telescope to Ge Youcai, pointed to the south of the Hunan-Guangxi Railway and said: "Two miles ahead from here is the main position of my 10th Preliminary Division. I can see a military capital in such a large-scale position."
It’s quite embarrassing, not to mention the strength of one division of the 10th Division, which is difficult to support!”
Ge Youcai glanced at Leng Feng in surprise, but he felt a surge of admiration for the young lieutenant colonel whom Tang Dao recommended to come to see his 10th Division position.
A regiment-level chief of staff, in front of a lieutenant general and division commander, actually made an evaluation that the enemy's division-level positions were insufficient to support him. This was not something ordinary people could do.
The key is that he has already responded to this issue with Zhao Zili, chief of staff of the Hengyang Theater Zone. However, Zhao Zili believes that Hengyang previously had defense fortifications. If they are not used, it will be a waste, and the time left for them is only seven or eight days. It is practical to dig out the positions again.
It is too risky. It is better to rely on the original fortifications and add some field fortifications provided by Tang Dao to supplement it.
Zhao Zili has a good command level, but his position is different from Ge Youcai. As Fang Xianjue's deputy, he must and can only consider the issue from the perspective of the entire Hengyang defense battle. Naturally, he hopes
More effective materials can be provided to places that need them more, and other places will naturally save as much as they can.
Ge Youcai looked like a fierce Zhang Fei indeed. When he was the commander of the regiment, he held a machine gun and led the soldiers to charge. However, this Zhang Fei was also a rough and medium type. He knew that he could not convince Zhao Zili on his own, so he went directly to the army commander.
I was afraid that Zhao Zili would be unhappy, so he decided to target Tang Dao, the director of the operations department. As long as Tang Dao spoke, Zhao Zili, the chief of staff, would also have to reconsider the position deployment.
He originally thought that he would wait until Tang Dao saw it in person and discovered the problem, but who knew that one of Tang Dao's subordinates already had such a keen eye and even had the courage to speak out in front of him, a lieutenant general.
Could this be the legendary saying of ‘a strong general has no weak soldiers’?
"Look, Chief Ge, there is an open rice field to the south of the Hunan-Guangxi Railway, and a mile further ahead is a hillside. Here are Huangcha Ridge, Oujia Town, and Tuolikeng, which are the original designated main positions.
.
Our urban area in HY is not very big. It is no more than 3 miles wide from east to west and 4 miles long from north to south. Except for the Xiangjiang River in the east, which does not require many troops, the other three defense areas add up to a total of 11 miles. Considering the reserve team, at least 8 regiments of troops are needed.
, and now our Hengyang army only has 8 regiments in total, and the garrison regiment does not have any field experience yet. It is impossible to send all the troops outside the city to fight the Japanese invaders in the field and then take back the city for defense.
Although the idea is good, the battlefield situation is changing rapidly, and no commander can guarantee that the city will be withdrawn intact. Moreover, the fortifications and defense areas in the city also require the defenders to spend a certain amount of time getting familiar with them, otherwise the two armies will be blind when fighting in the streets.
Blind man, didn’t we voluntarily give up the advantage of this geographical location?
In addition, the main position now extends far beyond the urban area, extending as far as nearly 2 miles south of the Hunan-Guangxi Railway. This is equivalent to tripling the city defense area, and the required troops must be doubled accordingly. This defense
The surface is really too wide and too big.
The relationship between troops and positions is like wearing clothes. The most important thing is the fit. Neither too big nor too small is suitable. Napoleon said this back then." Leng Feng's words made the generals and colonels of the 10th Preliminary Division present express their concern for him.
Watch with admiration.
Chief of Staff Leng not only has the guts, but also has vision and skill. With these words, he has made a clear analysis of the current problems of the 10th Preliminary Division.
"What do you think we should do, Chief of Staff Leng?" Ge Youcai grinned, glanced at Tang Dao, and asked with a smile.
"I personally suggest that the position in the south of the city should be appropriately reduced. Don't be greedy for more, but be strong and reliable. Just like two people fighting, you must first clench your fists and punch out to be effective." Leng Feng also glanced at him and signaled that he would not use it.
Tang Dao, who had some reservations, said confidently.
When Tang Dao arrived at the headquarters of the 10th Preliminary Division, he saw that the thick man had been waiting for you, and he knew that he was probably being 'used' by this rough-looking Army Lieutenant General. He didn't want to mess with him.
Zhao Zili, the chief of staff responsible for the position planning of the entire Hengyang theater, wanted to have his say.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! However, Tang Dao is not averse to such 'use'. If it is found that the problem is hidden, it will have no effect on the upcoming war, and may even be used by the Japanese army.
That's called terrible.
Before Tang Dao came, he also took the previous city defense planning map of Hengyang and discovered several hidden problems in the previous city defense planning map of Hengyang.
In the past, Hengyang was built as a military fortress, and a lot of manpower and material resources were invested. In 1943 alone, more than 20,000 civilians were invested, which took a month to excavate and repair the fortifications inside and outside the city.
But the biggest problem is that all defensive position plans are based on the design of three infantry corps. A bunch of high fortresses and deep ditches were built in the mountains south of the city. It looks very scary, but now all the defenders are
Together they are only the strength of an infantry corps, and they can indeed support such a huge position.
If the front of the position is too wide and the distribution of troops is too scattered, it will easily cause the position to become loose. Once a gap is made, the entire frontal position will easily be overwhelmed.
After all, not all infantry regiments have the powerful continuous firepower of the Four Lines Regiment. Even if a battalion holds a 1,500-meter frontal position, it can ensure that there is no gap in firepower on the position.
But that requires a large number of submachine guns or semi-automatic rifles to deploy firepower.
Secondly, the original positions were fought alone, lacking contact with each other, unable to form strong crossfire, and unable to support each other.
Some bunkers pay too much attention to the wide field of view and wide shooting range, but ignore the concealment. Many of the perforations directly face the enemy. However, the Japanese army is equipped with such a large number of direct-aimed guns. If they blindly attack the enemy, they will only cause casualties in vain.
Moreover, standing on the top of the mountain and looking at some of the prepared positions, you will find that the main position has gentle slopes and few trees. Many fortifications are bare and exposed, with only a few sparse shrubs for concealment. If the troops are mobilized or ammunition is deployed in front of the enemy,
In addition, the retreat of wounded soldiers, and even the cooking soldiers' three meals and trips, would be exposed to Japanese artillery fire, which is indeed not an ideal position.
"I agree to shrink our position, and I will report the situation to Chief Fang and Chief Zhao when I get back later!" Tang Dao made the final decision.
"I suggest that all the positions before the Hunan-Guangxi Railway be abandoned, and the positions be fully retracted to the north of the Hunan-Guangxi Railway, and the main positions be rebuilt along the Hunan-Guangxi Railway. This area includes Wugui Ridge, Maple Mountain, Zhangjiashan, Tianma Mountain, etc.
Mountainous areas are suitable for taking the main position." Ge Youcai suddenly spoke again.
The Hunan-Guangxi Railway passes from east to west along the south side of Hengyang City. The West Railway Station is located in the middle. To the south of the railway are open rice fields, and to the north are rolling mountains. The mountains in this area are densely packed, and the slopes of the mountains are steep and densely wooded.
There are many water ponds in the mountains, which are well concealed and not easily threatened by enemy artillery fire. It is indeed a good place that is easy to defend but difficult to attack.
Leng Feng's stern face showed surprise. This was also the suggestion he wanted to make. Unexpectedly, the Army Lieutenant General had almost exactly what he thought.
"Mr. Ge has really worked hard. I think Mr. Ge has visited this area at least ten times!" Tang Dao looked at this man with a half-smile but not a smile on his face, but he was covered with eight hundred hair growths all over his body.
A thoughtful man.
"Hehe! Director Tang knows me well. Without on-site inspection, how can I say this casually? Isn't that just nonsense!" Ge Youcai couldn't help but blush at Tang Dao's appearance, but he quickly calmed down.
calm.
Who makes you, the leader of Tang Dao, capable and well-connected? It’s up to you to talk about this matter. Lao Ge, who has met Tang Dao a few times and has some friendship, is now playing the role of ‘you force me to take the blame’
mentality.
"Okay! I can rearrange the position according to your suggestion, Commander Ge, but that's it! I personally have some immature opinions. I wonder if Commander Ge is willing to listen to it." Tang Dao said with a raised brow.
"Director Tang, tell me." Ge Youcai was slightly startled.
"I think! Your army has been working hard for three days here in Huangchaling, and there are still original defense fortifications. It would be a pity if they were abandoned here. It is better to use this place as a nail in the front line of the main position of the 10th Preparatory Division. The Japanese army wants to attack
In the main position of the 10th Division, whether they pull out this nail or not, it will cause them physical pain." Tang Dao said with a smile.
"This..." Ge Youcai and the generals of the 10th Preliminary Division were stunned.
Leng Feng had just made it very clear about the shortcomings of the Huangchaling position, so why did Tang Dao, who had already agreed to fully shrink the main position, compete with this place again?
If a regiment cannot be defended without troops, it will require at least 4 infantry battalions or more, not to mention the strength. The key is that this position is 900 meters in front of the main position. It is really as Tang Dao said, then
It was just a nail. How could the Japanese army not remove this nail that could pierce into the flesh at any time before launching an attack on the main position?
The two to three thousand people staying here must be dead! Who is willing to defend in a position that is purely for consumption?
"Huangcha Ridge, let me leave it to the 1st Battalion of the Four-Hong Regiment to defend it! The 900 brothers from the 1st Battalion of the Four-Hong Regiment will fight under your command, Commander Ge. Please take care of me, Commander Ge," Tang Dao said next.
The words made everyone in the school stay on the spot.
Director Tang’s brain is flooded, right? Let his sharp knife battalion come to this place of death?
