During the Republic of China, quite a few senior military officers had complicated experiences, as did Tao Guang, commander of the 62nd Division.
Tao Guang is from Liling, Hunan. When he was 18 years old, he went to a porcelain shop to learn how to paint on porcelain. If it had not been for the turbulent times in the early 20th century, Tao Guang would have become a master craftsman with his understanding. The changes of the times still involved Tao Guang.
In the trend of change, he went to the Beijing Military Police School and the Nanjing Jiangnan Lecture Hall to study. After graduation, he served as a staff officer under the general Cai E of the National Protector. During the Northern Expedition, he was the regimental commander.
He led his troops to fight bravely and made great achievements in battle. He was promoted to brigade commander and division commander successively. He was also a vanguard of the revolutionary army back then. Unfortunately, he later participated in the encirclement and suppression of the Central Red Army with He Jian.
The vanguard of the suppression of the Communists. In particular, Tao Guang has been directing the pursuit of the Sixth Red Army. In the minds of the Red Army soldiers, he is the standard and vicious white dog leader.
Historically, Tao Guang was promoted to Lieutenant General of the 28th Army in 1935 due to his meritorious service in the pursuit of the Red Army. After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, Tao Guang led his troops to participate in the Songhu Battle and fought to the death with the Japanese landing troops at Jinshanwei, and was later promoted to deputy commander of the group army.
, carried out guerrilla warfare in the Hangjiahu area in western Zhejiang, and cooperated well with the New Fourth Army. Because he was unwilling to participate in the Wannan Incident, he was suspected by Chiang Kai-shek, and most of his troops were transferred. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, he retired and lived in seclusion in Hangzhou. On the eve of liberation, he was arrested for participating in anti-Chiang activities organized by Li Jishen
, was rescued from prison by Cheng Qian. After liberation, he went to Shanghai with General Song Shilun to meet Commander Chen Yi. He died in 1951.
However, all this may change with the arrival of Liu Yimin.
At this time, Tao Guang had mixed feelings in his heart.
Early this morning, Tao Guang received an order from Commander Liu Jianxu asking the 62nd Division and the 16th Division to intercept the Red Bandits in the passage area.
Compared with the newly promoted division commander Zhang Liangji of the 16th Division who just wanted to grab credit, Tao Guang's thoughts were a little more complicated. He was a veteran of the Hunan Army, and he was thinking more about how to eliminate the Red Army while safeguarding the interests of the Hunan Army's small groups.
Tao Guang believed that it was enough to block the Red Army and prevent it from joining He Long's troops in the north. As for whether the Red Army went to Guizhou or elsewhere, that was a matter for Chairman Chiang and the Central Army to consider. The Hunan Army's task should be to quickly annihilate it.
Xiangxi He Long, Xiao Ke's Red Bandit. Tao Guang expressed this idea bluntly when Chairman Chiang appointed He Jian as the Commander-in-Chief of the Pursuit and Suppression Army. He Jian also felt the same. However, after the Red Army was completely eliminated, Jian
Driven by the interests of immortal achievements, the top leaders of the Hunan Army formed a consensus to first wipe out the Zhu Mao Red Army, and then return to the division to wipe out the Helong tribe in western Hunan. He Jian held a swearing-in meeting to be appointed as the commander-in-chief of the bandit suppression. The generals of the Hunan Army were beaming with joy.
Gearing up, one hand launched propaganda to fool the people; the other hand waved the main force to rush out and rush towards the Xiangjiang River. As a result, in the battle of Xiangjiang River, the Hunan Army's 100,000 troops rushed to the front line. Although they paid a huge price in casualties, the Red Army still allowed
Breaking out of the siege.
Although the Red Army is now a weak brigade, Tao Guang is not as arrogant as Zhang Liangji and the 16th Hunan Division. Therefore, after receiving the order, he divided the army into two parts, with Wang Yuying's brigade as the vanguard and Zhong Guangren's brigade as the rear guard. Once the vanguard
When Zhong encountered the main force of the Red Army, Brigade Zhong could respond quickly. Similarly, when Brigade Zhong encountered the main force of the Red Army, Brigade Wang could return to rescue him. Unexpectedly, his self-proclaimed plan gave Liu Yimin an opportunity.
When Hu Laohu started to block the cavalry company of the 62nd Division, Tao Guang didn't pay attention. Hearing the gunshots, it was only number 40 or 50 men, and there was only one light machine gun. His many years of experience in fighting with the Red Army told him that this must be the Red Army.
The main rear guard was holding back the enemy troops. These people had been completely reddened and were fearless of death. A mere few dozen people dared to attack the 62nd Division. They were simply seeking death.
Seeing Zhong Guangren going to the front to take command, Tao Guang was completely relieved. Tao Guang didn't want to say about the combat effectiveness of other national army units, but Tao Guang knew the combat effectiveness of his own 62nd Division. He believed in his own troops.
, I believe in the ability of my beloved general Zhong Guangren.
Soon the situation went wrong. Tao Guang, who was at the back of the marching team, first saw his mortar position being destroyed, then heard the fierce sound of machine gunfire on the hill in front, and then the sound of Zhong Guangren's order to retreat. Tao Guang immediately
Realizing that he was in trouble, he might have encountered the main force of the Red Army.
Tao Guang immediately ordered the radio station to turn on, reported to Commander Liu Jianxu of the First Corps that he had encountered the main force of the Red Army, and asked for reinforcements; he ordered Wang Yuying's brigade to return to the division immediately for rescue. After thinking about it, he was still uneasy, and ordered the radio station to contact the 16th Division and asked them to contact him immediately.
Get closer and flank the Red Army.
After the war, many people in the national army criticized Tao Guang's order, believing that it was his order that led to the annihilation of the main force of Wang Yuying's brigade and the 63rd Division. Some reporters from radical newspapers did not think so. Among them was one who went by the pen name Sanwen.
The reporter wrote: As a commander, Tao Guang, when encountering the main enemy force, reports the enemy situation to a higher-level commander and requests reinforcements. It is only natural and logical to order his avant-garde brigade to return reinforcements. The problem is not with Tao Guang.
Whether this order is correct or not, the key is that no one can violate the iron law that the murderer will always be killed. Since the Hunan Army has the courage to drive the Red Army into the Xiangjiang River to feed the fish, it should have the consciousness to stick out its head and get stabbed. The so-called natural law is clear, retribution
accurate!
Just when Tao Guang called for help, the two regiments of Zhong Guangren's brigade that attacked the front hills and the hills east of the road had collapsed. The soldiers who had escaped from the hillside swarmed onto the road in a chaotic manner, completely losing their organization.
The leader of the enemy's vanguard regiment, who was ordered to organize troops to block the attack, jumped to his feet and cursed: "You bastard, why are you panicking? You haven't fought before? Climb down and shoot, climb down and shoot. Climb down and let me shoot you."
As soon as the enemy commander finished speaking, the Red Army's mortar shells fell on the heads of the Hunan Army soldiers on the highway. With such a dense crowd, as soon as a shell fell, four or five broken limbs flew into the air;
Dozens of cannonballs fell together, bringing up a cloud of blood and mist.
The soldiers of the Hunan Army were completely devastated. No one obeyed the command of the commander at all, and it was impossible for them to lie down and shoot. The veterans were mentally cursing the regiment commander who ordered him to climb down and shoot: What a joke, those are artillery shells, you can just lie down.
Is it safe? Lie down and resist and let me see? All the soldiers basically had only one word in their minds: run. So, the rebel soldiers swarmed, yelled and cursed, and fled towards the way they came. There was a blind officer who wanted to stop the soldiers from fleeing.
, just as he was about to kill the leading few defeated soldiers with his pistol, he was pushed to the ground by the crowd and trampled to a bloody pulp.
This time it was quite satisfying for Li Chang and his artillerymen.
Although Li Chang went to the Soviet Union to study artillery, the conditions of the Red Army at that time did not allow him to carry out artillery attacks like this! There was only the 18th Red Regiment, and only Liu Yimin proposed that the problem that could be solved with artillery shells should not be solved with bullets, but bullets could be used
The theory of resolutely solving the problem without using grenades, and resolutely solving without bayonet whatever can be solved with grenades, allowed Li Chang, who was deeply influenced by the artillery doctrine of the Soviet Army, to do a great job.
In this way, Li Chang commanded his mortar group, echoing the four mortars assigned to the fourth and fifth battalions of Li Qing's side, chasing the Hunan army's retreating crowds, and bombarded wherever they were gathered.
The Hunan Army on the road was ravaged until they were howling like ghosts and wolves, and their bodies were completely bruised, completely destroying the fighting will of the Hunan Army soldiers.
Tao Guang and Zhong Guangren stood on the side of the road, staring blankly at the chaotic retreat in front of them, as if they did not recognize that this was their own army.
Originally, Zhong Guangren had ordered the brigade guard company to protect the brigade and division headquarters from retreating, and had also ordered the rear guard battalion to turn around and seize key points to cover the retreat of the troops. However, he did not expect that the main force of his brigade would collapse so quickly. Without waiting for the division headquarters, the brigade
The troops retreated, and before the rear guard battalion could seize the key points, the defeated troops surged forward, directly disrupting the marching formation of the guard company and rear guard battalion. By the time he and Tao Guang met, the defeated troops had already engulfed the rear guard battalion.
, the brigade guard company and the troops directly under the division fled along the highway. As for the division headquarters, brigade headquarters, baggage and so on, no one took care of it at all.
Tao Guangqi's mustache twitched. Are these still the elites he trained? They are just a bunch of fucking bandits! No, not even as good as bandits.
In fact, Tao Guang was right. Later, after the Kuomintang was defeated in Taiwan, they learned from the experience and learned lessons. A military theorist summed up the reasons for the failure of the Kuomintang, one of which was the bandit style. He believed that the Kuomintang could only fight.
To win a battle, you cannot lose a battle. Once a battle is lost, the army will collapse. Often, tens of thousands of troops will be completely disintegrated in one turn. In this regard, the Central Army's performance is more outstanding than that of the motley army. This military theorist said
It's absolutely true. Senior generals of the National Army who have retreated to Taiwan also admit that the National Army fights like bandits. When they have the upper hand, they rush up screaming. Once they lose, they will immediately disperse. The current 62nd Division
This is the virtue.
Angry, ashamed, ashamed, etc. No words are enough to describe Tao Guang's mood at this time.
The charge horn of the Red Army on the hilltop was already blowing loudly. The Red Army troops who rushed down from the front hilltop for a tail attack and those who rushed down from the east hillside for interception were all on the road, but they all fell into the hands of the defeated troops.
Behind them, only artillery shells could catch up with the defeated soldiers, exploding continuously on the heads of the defeated soldiers, and every sound of the artillery shells would take away several lives.
Zhong Guangren was puzzled as to where the Red Bandits got so many mortars and why they fired so accurately. How did he know that these cannons belonged to the 16th Hunan Division, and most of the gunners were trained by the Gui Army and the Hunan Army?
They are skilled gunners, but they are now Red Army soldiers. The new soldiers are eager to make contributions. If they come to attack the Hunan Army again, they will naturally hit them accurately.
Tao Guang was heartbroken, it seemed that his military career was about to end. He reluctantly glanced at the defeated soldiers who left him, raised his pistol and pointed it at his temple.
Zhong Guangren, who was standing nearby, hurriedly snatched Tao Guang's pistol. With tears in his eyes, he shouted to Tao Guang: "Master, please keep the green hills here. Don't worry about running out of firewood!"
Tao Guang sighed: "We are finished!"
Seeing that Tao Guang was in a gloomy mood, Zhong Guangren waved his hand, and the remaining guards swarmed up, picked up Tao Guang and ran away, joining the retreating troops. As for the radio station, he didn't care about it.
Ahead was Beishan Village. After rushing through the village, the Red Bandits probably wouldn't be able to catch up. The defeated soldiers were moving faster and faster.
Under the half-stone wall at the entrance of the village, Lei Ming, the sixth battalion commander of the 18th Red Regiment, and his company looked coldly at the defeated troops of the 62nd Division. Lei Ming could now see the battlefield situation at a glance: the Hunan Army had been completely defeated.
The team dispersed, the mortars were blown up, the light and heavy machine guns were discarded, and the baggage and supplies were discarded. Some soldiers thought that the weapons and ammunition would affect their running speed, and even discarded their rifles and grenades. Lei Ming observed this.
The conclusion is: these are a bunch of lambs waiting to be slaughtered!
Seeing that the defeated soldiers had rushed to the entrance of the village, and under the muzzle of his own gun, Lei Ming came out with the national curse "idiot" used by Liu Yimin when he ambushed the 16th Division in the Battle of Xiaoshui. He raised his hand and fired. The gun was fired at the position.
There was a loud noise, and a fire net composed of five heavy machine guns and a battery of nine light machine guns covered the heads of the defeated soldiers, causing them to flutter and go straight to the ground.
When the defeated soldiers saw that the road ahead was blocked, they became even more confused. Some turned around and ran backwards, some turned around and climbed up Shanbo on the east side of the road, and some started to jump off the road and run towards the flat land on the opposite side.
Soon, the defeated soldiers all realized that no matter where they ran, there was a dead end. Those who ran backwards ran into the guns of the Red Army who were chasing after them. Those who ran towards the hillside were beaten hard by the Second Company of the Sixth Battalion and pushed back.
Highway, running towards the farmland on the west side of the highway, was hit by machine guns from the 3rd Company of the 6th Battalion and staggered around like a drunken man.
Listening to the shouts of "Send your guns and don't kill, the Red Army will treat the prisoners preferentially" echoing all over the mountains and fields, looking at the black and dense Red Army troops coming up all around, the defeated soldiers of the 62nd Division who were used to dealing with the Red Army knew in their hearts that there was only one posture.
The only way to save their lives is to kneel on the ground and raise your hands.
Tao Guang and Zhong Guangren were also caught in the middle of these defeated soldiers. Looking at the postures and movements of his soldiers and the dark muzzles of the Red Army soldiers who were surrounding them, Tao Guang shed two tears from the corners of his eyes and muttered, "Time, luck, luck.