Although the Military Commission's order stated that the main force of the Japanese army had all begun to retreat, the current commanders in Hengyang City did not dare to believe it.
After all, they are all adults who have been deceived for hundreds of days. If they don't learn a lesson, they are just fools.
Tang Dao, the commander of the reconnaissance company Lu Sanjiang, and the commander of the mountain infantry company Gu Xishui each led a reconnaissance team to conduct reconnaissance 10 kilometers outward from the south, west, and north of the city. The three parties verified that the main force of the Japanese army was indeed retreating in large strides.
In order to increase the marching speed, many heavy equipment damaged during the war were directly abandoned, including trucks, heavy machine guns, and even mountain guns and 105 howitzers, which was never possible before.
It can be seen how oppressive the Japanese 11th Army is from the Chinese main force advancing towards Hengyang.
In fact, compared to the 80,000 Chinese troops marching towards Hengyang, Hengshan Yong was most concerned about the remaining troops in Hengyang City.
In the past three days, China has invested nearly 20,000 troops in the counterattack. Whether it is the intensity of firepower, the strength of the troops, or the will to fight, it is still a presence that makes the Japanese army hairy. Once they are stuck by this remnant army, they are still around Hengyang City.
The more than 30,000 Japanese troops were really going to get dumped.
Although Yokoyama Yongya judged that the Hengyang defenders were already making a last-ditch effort, he did not dare to bet that if these crazy Chinese people still had the last remaining strength, even if they only had to pester them for 24 hours, they would be only a short distance away from Hengyang.
With a distance of 40 kilometers, the Chinese army of 80,000 can completely overwhelm them, not even a dog can escape.
In fact, Yokoyama Isamu's judgment was correct. The Hengyang defenders were already exhausted, let alone entangled more than 30,000 Japanese troops for 24 hours. At this time, the Japanese troops only needed two more rounds to defeat most of the Chinese troops in the positions.
It is already in a state of running out of ammunition and food.
And this is not the most important thing. After 58 days of street fighting and these three days of counterattack, the Japanese army has four or five times the strength of the Chinese and can be rotated, while the Chinese defenders can only rely on one breath to hold on.
, both physically and mentally, have reached the limit of their limits.
It's like a tight wire rope that will break at some point.
"The Japanese are really retreating. Their main force is already 10 kilometers away from Hengyang. You can inform the entire Hengyang army that the defense battle of Hengyang is over!" Tang Dao sent a message to the Sixings Regiment Headquarters via walkie-talkie.
Finally, with his back against the scorched mountainous terrain, he rummaged through his pockets.
At this time, he didn't want to do anything else, he just wanted to light a cigarette and be quiet!
However, there was no more stock, and in the early hours of the morning, he had smoked the last cigarette on his body.
"Sir, here it is!"
Cao Yingchong, who came with Tang Dao, took out a crumpled cigarette from nowhere and handed it to Tang Dao. The cigarette was soaked with sweat and dried by body temperature. It was light yellow in color. It must have been treasured by the second lieutenant of the reconnaissance company.
I couldn't bear to smoke for several days.
"Haha! Ying Chong, this is a timely help for you. When we should celebrate victory, if it is missing, I really won't be able to laugh." Tang Dao laughed.
He used his skill to break the cigarette into three pieces and handed one to Cao Yingchong and the other to another scout. Tang Dao himself put the short cigarette under his nose and smelled it for a while before lighting it with the match that Cao Yingchong was rubbing.
After catching it, I took a deep breath.
After a long time, light blue smoke spurted out from his nostrils, and Tang Dao looked up at the sky.
It was already the Mid-Autumn Festival, and there had been a light rain the night before. The heat had gradually subsided from two days ago, and the sky was blue.
If it weren't for the war, which had turned this mountainous area black, then sitting in the green mountainous area, looking at the blue sky, and blowing the refreshing wind, I would have been extremely happy.
"How many are left in your queue?" Tang Dao asked seemingly casually.
"There are still 17 at the moment, and there are 21 lying over there in the hospital! I haven't seen them for a while, and I don't know if 10 of them will be able to return to the team in the end." Cao Yingchong lowered his head and considered it before replying.
The fine lines at the corners of Tang Dao's eyes became finer again.
The reconnaissance company is the most elite infantry company in the regiment. Each platoon has a full strength of 64 people. Including the wounded, there are less than 40, which means that as many as one-third of the personnel have been sacrificed, not to mention the four infantry battalions that have been on the front line.
, the casualties can only be more tragic.
"Ying Chong, do you think the brothers will blame me for bringing them to this deserted land? If I hadn't insisted on coming to Hengyang, no one in the 9th Theater would be able to move my Four Elements Regiment." Tang Dao said in a low voice.
The sound suddenly sounded.
Cao Yingchong was stunned and turned his gaze to his young leader, his heart suddenly twitching.
In his eyes, he, this young officer, is always decisive and firm. No matter what bad situation he encounters, he will always collapse in front of him without changing his color. It seems that everything is under control. This also creates a thinking among the four members of the group.
Inertia, it seems that as long as this young leader is here, the only thing that can greet the Four Elements Group is victory.
But when Cao Ying looked at his young regiment leader so closely for the first time, he suddenly realized that his regiment leader seemed to have gone through many changes, and it wasn't because of the hideous scar on his cheek.
To be honest, from a man's point of view, that scar is more like a soldier's medal. It is more fierce and adds a bit of mature manliness to the already heroic young leader.
It's not that Tang Dao's face is dark and rough. The beard on his lips and chin must have not been shaved for almost a month, and it looks rough.
But, his eyes!
However, the corners of the 30-year-old young Tang Dao's eyes unexpectedly had a few fine wrinkles quietly creeping up at some point, and his eyes looking up to the sky were even more profound.
Perhaps only those who know him well can see that it is full of sadness!
The Four Lines Regiment fought bloody battles in Hengyang for 111 days. From the full strength of 5,499 people before entering Hengyang City, it now has more than 900 people, a reduction of nearly 85%.
I heard that many veterans who had followed the regiment commander since the Four Elements War died in the battle. They did not die on the seven-year battlefield, but died in Hengyang City!
There are also veterans who joined after the Battle of Licheng, veterans who joined after the Battle of Shandong, veterans who joined after the Battle of Zishan, many familiar faces will become eternal in the memory in this battle, and they will never meet again. We no longer raise our hands to salute and shake hands. We can no longer hold our steel guns high together and cheer for victory in the distance.
As the leader of the group, how can Tang Dao not feel sad?
"Sir, I really can't answer your question because I'm still alive." Cao Yingchong thought for a long time and finally answered.
"However, when I was trapped in that small village with my old enemy Lu Daqiu during the Battle of Zishan, Lu Daqiu, who was about to die, asked me if the regimental commander would come to rescue us. I didn't lie. He, I said, it's not that the regimental commanders and others don't want to save him, but that he can't save him.
Sir, at that time I thought I was dead, and Lao Lu thought so too, but you know? I really wasn't afraid at all at that time. I even wanted the Japanese to come faster so that I could be with me. The brothers in the class were reunited. As for whether to complain or not, it didn't even appear in my mind.
I joined the army after the Battle of Licheng. After our regiment captured Licheng, I helped our regiment transport supplies, and then I stayed with our regiment. If not for anything else, it was because a brother invited me to dinner. Call my little brother to eat.
Sir, do you know? Ever since the Japanese entered Licheng, we Chinese have been like pigs, dogs, cattle and sheep. They can slaughter them at any time. My little boy Zhang Xiaosan was killed by a Japanese when he didn't bow immediately when he met a Japanese on the street. People stabbed to death with bayonets. Although we are alive, we live in fear, even worse than pigs, dogs, cattle and sheep.
But I joined the Fourth Army Corps, and my parents used my military salary to build houses in the town. My younger brothers and sisters also had enough to eat. I saluted the company commander, and the company commander returned the gift. I was walking home during the holidays. On the way home, the people I met all greeted me in a friendly way.
I also met a girl I like in the army. Although I haven’t told her yet, I can still see her red face when she looks at me. Whenever that happens, my heart feels like a flower. , opened, I have never lived like this.
I understand in my heart that these are all given to me by the Four Lines Group, and they are all given to me by my status as a Chinese soldier. It is not for anything else, just for this. I am willing to give my life to our group. Death is for me, I've never been so scared.
Of course, if I can still live, I want to continue living.
My brothers, they are dead, but their parents are still there, and someone has to take care of them in their old age. I have made a promise to my brothers. If they die, they will die, but there must be dozens of people who survive. As a son of a father and mother, if anyone fails to do it, his dead brother will sit on his bedside every day and scold him for being such a bitch.
I have also planned that if China wins the war that day, I will not be a soldier. I will take the military salary I saved to find those parents and bring them all to the Taihang Mountains. I will farm the land, cut down trees, build houses, and raise food. They are old."
"Platoon leader, here's me! My family is in southern Hebei. Where can I grow wheat? There are no Japanese left. As long as I work hard, I can definitely feed my parents." Another soldier said quickly. .
"The regiment will consider the sacrifice of our brothers' parents for their old age, and will do our best to help them. We will never let our brothers bleed and shed tears." Tang Dao, who was comforted, patted the shoulders of two subordinates.
"But! You elite soldiers and generals probably won't be able to farm if they want to. The Japanese have been beaten away, but our big piece of meat in China is still there. There are a lot of jackals, tigers and leopards in the world."
"I don't care where the jackals, tigers and leopards come from. If they dare to throw their claws at me, I will chop them into pieces." The young scout's face was filled with murderous intent.
He has been in Hengyang, which is like hell, and this young scout is really not afraid of any opponent.
"That's good! Whoever stretches out his claws will be chopped into pieces." Tang Dao smiled slightly.
He lay down on his back and murmured to himself: "You are such a stupid person, do you know what I want to do most right now?"
The two scouts were stunned.
"I want to sleep the most!" Tang Dao closed his eyes, and when his voice was barely audible, he heard a slight cry.
After sleeping no more than 3 hours a day for several months, even Tetsuo and Tang Dao couldn't hold on any longer, so he fell asleep on the charred land where the smoke had not completely dissipated and the residual heat of the gunfire was still on the land.
Several scouts who were more than thirty meters away looked at their sleeping commander, slightly surprised, but more respectful.
He was a tough guy who could lead his troops to run 100 miles at night to launch a surprise attack on the Japanese army. He entered Jiangxia City alone and killed two senior Japanese generals. He actually fell asleep like a baby like this. You can know how much he spent in the past few months.
of energy and effort.
Perhaps Tang Dao was not alone in falling asleep on the battlefield like this.
"We win, I win!"
"What a good, stupid Japanese guy! He's actually cowardly!"
"Mad, stop shouting and let me take a nap, I'm so tired!"
After receiving the news from the scouts, the Hengyang headquarters finally determined that the Japanese army had really retreated and reported the good news of victory to the entire army.
Many officers and soldiers came out of their bunkers and cheered to celebrate the victory.
But surprisingly, the cheers were not as earth-shattering as expected, but more calm.
It's not that the soldiers and civilians didn't react for a while, but that after receiving the news of the victory, many officers and soldiers finally reacted and fell asleep after staying for a while.
Tremendous shouts rang out from countless positions!
They are so tired!
Too tired to even cheer for victory!
I don’t know how many positions the people patrolling with guns are the top commanders of the department!
This is a battlefield of victory, but also a battlefield of silence and silence!
"Except for leaving necessary sentries, the entire army is resting and reorganizing!" After inspecting some positions, Fang Xianjue issued the first military order after the victory in Hengyang.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! To put it bluntly, everyone is sleeping.
As for the celebration banquet, there is really no such thing. It would be great if Hengyang could feed the wounded soldiers now. The combat troops have been without any supplies for a week in a row.
Originally, Fang Xianjue wanted the second-line troops such as the cooks, communications troops, and baggage troops to go to the ponds and catch some fish in the rivers. When he was about to give the order, he remembered that all these second-line troops had also been sent to the front line.
Feeling sad and helpless, the first commander of Hengyang took the reservists in Hengyang City who had not participated in the war and went to the pond to start fishing for shrimps.
Those soldiers under his command have fallen asleep. When they wake up, they must at least have a mouthful of fish soup to drink!
However, Fang Xianjue ordered that grenades and other explosives be used strictly to explode fish, and fish could only be caught manually to avoid disturbing the sleeping officers and soldiers.
Morning of September 22nd!
On the second day after the Japanese troops withdrew completely, an infantry battalion, the vanguard of the 74th Army, arrived at the outskirts of Hengyang.
After careful observation, we finally found a position with a garrison. After getting closer, we were surprised to find that there was only one lieutenant sentry in front of us, wearing a Chinese Army uniform.
After the two sides contacted and confirmed that they were friendly forces, the army major led his troops into the position.
There are Chinese people everywhere, all sound asleep.
Some were wearing military uniforms, and some were wearing tattered civilian uniforms. They looked like they were not regular soldiers. The only thing that was the same was that although they were all asleep, they still held a rifle tightly.
When the gunfire rang out, the Army Major had every reason to believe that such a group of guys who didn't look like the regular army would definitely pick up their guns and re-enter the fighting state.
Because they withstood the attack of more than 100,000 Japanese troops for more than 110 days, which created a miracle in military history.
Facing the army lieutenant with a withered face but still standing straight in front of him, and the soldiers who were still sleeping in the mud and whose uniforms were in tatters and looked like beggars, the army major battalion commander who is known as the most elite infantry army in China
Take the lead in raising your right arm.
"Salute to the defenders of Hengyang!"
"salute!"
The most elite Chinese Army salutes the Chinese Army that is more elite than them.
