Rise from eight hundred.

Morning of June 6th!

South of Hengyang City, Oujia Town!

Hunan Province is located in the transition zone from the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau to the Jiangnan Hills and from the Nanling Mountains to the Jianghan Plain. In addition, there are many water systems in the province, resulting in frequent fog in summer and autumn.

It was foggy again today. The thick white fog covered Oujia Town. The sparse woods were shrouded in the white fog all over the mountains, as if floating in the air.

At daybreak, Lieutenant General Sakuma Hitoshi, commander of the 68th Division of the Japanese Army, got up. He had not slept well the night before. He thought that no matter how powerful the "Taishan Army" stationed in Hengyang was, the 11th Army had deployed more than 3 people from three divisions and one brigade to besiege the enemy. It was not a dream to defeat the enemy in three days. However, it had been almost three days and nights since the army commander Yokoyama Isamu announced the start of a full-scale offensive. As a result, let alone breaking the city of Hengyang, they have not even seen the shadow of the city wall of Hengyang.

The only thing that made him feel relieved was that the main force of the 68th Division, which was responsible for the main attack on the west of the city, was still wallowing in the mud and ponds. An infantry regiment of the 116th Division was crippled and could not even climb up a shallow hillside. The unlucky guys in the north of the city had not yet crossed the Zhengshui River. Yokoyama Isamu could not blame him.

However, the proposal made by the commander of the 116th Division, Iwanaga, yesterday really tempted Lieutenant General Sakuma Hitoshi. Since the plan of the Central Army Command to attack the south, west and north was not feasible in practice, it would be better to concentrate all the efforts and focus the heavy firepower of the two divisions on the mountains south of Hengyang City to open a breakthrough first.

The two old sixth division commanders of the Japanese 11th Army never imagined that the meat grinder-like defense system deployed in the south of the city by the Hengyang command system headed by Fang Xianjue and Tang Dao was precisely intended to consume a large number of Japanese troops. Originally, the 116th Division with 2 people could not meet the needs of this defensive position designed for killing that had cost more than 4 soldiers and civilians nearly ten days to build. Adding the 68th Division to it, it would be more than they wanted.

Sakuma was an extremely responsible general. He was so upset that he decided to go to the front line himself.

The commander of the 58th Brigade, Ota Sadamasa, who had been commanding the operations in the west of the city from the division headquarters, was naturally shocked and urged his superior not to take any risks. In the past seven years of fighting with the Chinese, there were many cases where generals at the level of division commanders went to the front line but were killed by Chinese artillery, and there were more than one or two such cases.

However, Sakuma is the reserve head of the Sakuma family, a famous samurai family in Japan. He possesses the pride and courage of a samurai family. Moreover, as a general of the Imperial Army, he also has the responsibility and obligation to find a way for the entire division to reduce casualties and complete the combat mission.

What's more, the Japanese Army Lieutenant General's reasons were very sufficient. The fog was so thick now that visibility would never exceed 200 meters. How could artillery see and hit them from two kilometers away?

The Japanese Army Major General was stunned by his superior's sufficient reasons, and could only complain in his heart, "It's true that the Chinese can't see you in such a thick fog, but the key is that you can't see the Chinese either, right? Then why are you still observing the dicks on the front line?"

  10 am!

As the fog dissipated a little, the officers and soldiers on the Maple Mountain artillery position suddenly became agitated.

It turned out that it was Lieutenant Colonel Cai Rulin, who was appointed by Fang Xianjue to coordinate and command the artillery positions of the entire army in Hengyang.

There are two mountain cannons and six 82 mortars on the Maple Mountain artillery position. It is the most forward artillery position deployed in the south of the city, mainly providing artillery support for the flanks of the 6th Reserve Division's position.

Over the past two days, this artillery position has been providing strong support to friendly forces at great risk of being retaliated by Japanese artillery fire. The commander of the 10th Reserve Division, Ge Youcai, even made a special phone call to the command center to request credit for this artillery position.

Cai Rulin came to the position this time with the commission of the Chief of Operations Tang Dao. He not only brought a verbal commendation from the General Staff, but also brought candies and cigarettes, which could be regarded as an encouragement to the artillery position.

The artillerymen on the artillery positions were all smiling. If there had not been a silence order, they would have cheered.

Cai Rulin was a professional artilleryman. After finishing the work assigned by his superiors, it was his turn to perform his professional duties.

He walked to the artillery observation position and took out his most precious 8x telescope to observe the distance carefully.

It was already 10:30 at this time. The thick fog on Maple Mountain gradually dissipated and the sunlight gradually came in, but the valley south of the city was still filled with light fog, and the mountains and hills were soaked in translucent mist, with hazy shadows.

The landscape of Hengyang is beautiful, and it would be even more beautiful if there were no war! Cai Rulin just sighed in his heart, and suddenly found through the telescope that there seemed to be a group of black shadows on the ridge north of Oujia Town, about 1000 meters south.

  Cai Rulin immediately adjusted the magnification and finally saw clearly that the group of black shadows were wearing khaki military uniforms. They were actually a group of Japanese soldiers!

It was normal for Japanese troops to scout and spy on their own positions, but it was abnormal for more than 20 Japanese troops to suddenly appear on a small hill and conduct reconnaissance at the same time.

Moreover, judging from the position where this group of Japanese were standing, they were surrounding the people in the middle, which meant that the Japanese in the middle were most likely not ordinary devils. Cai Rulin immediately realized that he might have encountered a big fish.

  Cai Rulin suppressed his excitement and immediately ordered the officers and soldiers of the artillery position to rush into the position. He personally operated the gun scope to calculate the range. The distance was not much different from his estimate, 1020 meters!

In order not to alert the enemy, Cai Rulin decided not to take the usual single-gun test firing to test the impact point, but to concentrate all the artillery of the entire artillery position, 2 mountain guns and 6 82 mortars, and fire at the group of Japanese at the same time at the gun range he calculated, with each gun firing five rounds!

1000 meters away, Sakuma Hitoshi apparently had not yet realized that he had been targeted by the Chinese in the opposite woods. He was standing in a circle with Colonel Sadazaburo Harada, Chief of Staff of the 68th Division, and others, giving instructions to the flank of the 10th Reserve Division.

Based on his judgment after observing the position for half an hour, he believed that the Chinese would never accumulate too many troops on the two small hills. As long as they used enough artillery fire or even poison gas bombs and attacked with a large number of troops, they could capture the two almost independent hills before the Chinese reinforcements arrived.

As long as we have these two bridgeheads, placing mountain artillery or infantry guns on these two high points will pose a huge threat to China's large circular position, instead of hesitating in front of the Huangchaling position like the 116th Division is currently doing.

The key is to see whether the main attacking party has the determination to pay the price of thousands of people in exchange for a breakthrough in the Chinese position.

"With your personal guidance, our 116th Division can definitely accomplish what the 68th Division cannot do." Colonel Sadazaburo Harada, the chief of staff of the 68th Division, flattered his division commander with all his might.

Little did he know that this would be the last time in his life that he would have such an intimate relationship with his immediate superior.

"Swish~~" The sound of sharp shells streaking through the sky just rang in the ears of a group of Japanese, followed by a continuous "boom boom boom!" explosion.

There was a flash of fire and a loud bang. Suddenly, the sky became dark and smoke rose up. More than 20 Japanese fell in a pool of blood, writhing and struggling in agony.

"The fight is over, let's call it a day!" After the smoke cleared, Cai Rulin saw that most of the Japanese were lying on the ground in a mess. If nothing unexpected happened, they were basically finished. He clapped his hands with satisfaction and ordered that the merit of killing more than 20 Japanese soldiers be recorded and all belonged to the artillery position.

The commanders and artillery officers and men at the Chinese artillery position only regarded the bombardment as an artillery attack, killing more than 20 Japanese devils. Even the captain of the artillery position felt very sad about the loss of 40 shells, especially the precious mountain artillery shells. There were only 120 shells in total at his position. The arrival of Lieutenant Colonel Cai consumed 10 shells, which was really a luxury.

No one expected that this shelling would stun the Japanese army, especially the 68th Division. After only two days of fighting, the division commander and chief of staff were both gone.

To be more precise, it was Chief of Staff Harada Sadazaburo who was completely dead, but Division Commander Sakuma was not completely dead. It turned out that when the guards of the 68th Division rushed up, only 23 of the 6 Japanese generals and lieutenants on the ridge were still seriously injured. Chief of Staff Harada Sadazaburo's neck was cut off by a piece of shrapnel, and he was almost completely beheaded. He was already dead.

The division commander Sakuma was a man of great luck. His lower abdomen was pierced by shrapnel and his intestines were exposed, but he was still alive. He was truly lucky.

But for this descendant of a famous samurai family on the Japanese island, it would have been better for him to die on the spot.

Because he could no longer feed Michiko, who was waiting for him in his hometown.

A damn piece of shrapnel passed through it like a skilled doctor's scalpel, cutting it off at the root.

What's even more damning is that when he woke up from his coma several days later, he learned that because the scene was too chaotic, no one paid attention to the piece of meat cut off by the shrapnel, leaving him no chance of leaving it for Nianxiang.

The Japanese Army Lieutenant General who was urgently transported to Nanjing for treatment by a military plane did not care about the fact that he would never be able to have sex again or grow a beard. His life could not be guaranteed yet. The wound in his abdomen was infected and he needed a large amount of penicillin. But the Americans had long imposed an embargo on the export of penicillin to Japan, so it was difficult to get it through official channels and he could only buy it on the black market.

It seems that some generals of the 4th Division that has been transferred away from mainland China have the goods, so the expeditionary force headquarters needs to coordinate with them.

In order to save the life of the seriously injured Japanese Army Lieutenant General, Tian Junliu had to swallow his pride and send a telegram to his former subordinates, and paid no less than 100 taels of gold in exchange for 10 vials of penicillin.

This also requires the use of military aircraft and large amounts of fuel, and the cost is not small.

Because of the front-line shelling incident, the commander of the China Expeditionary Army, Tian Shunroku, was overwhelmed, but the commander of the 11th Army, Yokoyama Isamu, was dumbfounded.

The slogan 'We will capture Hengyang in three days' was still ringing in his ears when the command system of the main division under his command was completely destroyed. The lieutenant general division commander was blasted into a eunuch and the division chief of staff died upright. What kind of a fight was this?

"Regimental Commander Iwanaga Osamu will temporarily take over the command of the 68th Division!" After much deliberation, Yokoyama Isamu could only issue this telegram order.

  The commander of the 116th Division, Iwanagao, was also dumbfounded. He had just discussed with the unlucky kid Sakuma Hitoshi yesterday that the two divisions would move closer together for joint operations and share the resources of the artillery regiment. What a guy, he hasn't even figured out his own affairs yet! He has to command two divisions alone and be responsible for operations in the south and west of the city. Isn't this a man on top of a man!

It's like my life is in danger! With no other options, Iwanagao had to send a telegram to Major General Shima Genkichi, the commander of the Shima Detachment stationed in the west of the city, asking him to temporarily take command of the 68th Division and be responsible for commanding the operations of all units of the 68th Division.

The so-called "Shima Detachment" was an independent mixed combat force formed by the 68th Brigade of the 57th Division led by Major General Shima Genkichi, and strengthened by artillery, engineering, and logistics units.

The advantage of doing this is that it is under the command of the 68th Division, and can also be directly commanded by the 11th Army Headquarters, making the command system flatter and reducing the intermediate links. This can be regarded as some new attempts made by the Japanese Army.

Among the Japanese generals who participated in the siege, Shima Genkichi was a veteran. He was 55 years old, the same age as Yokoyama Isamu, and had served as the first commander of the 116th Infantry Regiment of the 120th Division. Because of his fierce fighting style and resourcefulness, he was valued by Yokoyama Isamu and was often organized into an independent detachment to take on independent tasks. He was also considered the second most important person in the 68th Division after Sakuma, the division commander.

  Iwanaga chose to transfer the command to him as a favor to the major general detachment commander. Even a fool knows that even if Sakuma Hitoshi survived the serious injury, he would not return to the 68th Division. Then who is qualified to be promoted to the commander of the 68th Division?

The original number two position was a must, and if you add the military achievement of capturing Hengyang City, wouldn’t that be a foregone conclusion?

Yan Yongwang is a smart man, and his thoughts are far-reaching. However, this Japanese lieutenant general and division commander really underestimated his own old six attributes. It would be unfortunate to be too close to him.

Shima Genkichi became the leader of the 68th Division. He could hardly hide his excitement. But after the excitement, he felt a headache when he saw the swamp and the soldiers who were like mud monkeys in front of him.

Compared with the south of the city, the west of the city is a plain area, which was originally more conducive to attack. However, the Chinese were simply too cruel. After they opened the Zhengshui dike to release the water, the fertile fields and ponds all turned into mud. Not to mention moving the chariots, even walking in it was extremely difficult.

Even veterans who have experienced many wars would become as slow as old men in their seventies or eighties when walking in such mud in heavy leather boots. This is extremely deadly on a battlefield full of bullets and gunfire.

For example, there is a position called Yisesimiao Street in the northwest corner outside Hengyang City. The position is 1200 meters wide. All the paddy fields and ponds have been opened up and filled with water to become muddy fields, leaving only this street as a passage.

The Chinese demolished every three or five terraced houses to prevent Japanese infantry from sneaking through the continuous houses. They also laid multi-layer obstacles and set up machine gun bunkers at street corners, using light and heavy firepower to cross-blockade and form an insurmountable fire line.

The Japanese troops of the Shima Detachment were at a loss as to what to do but to cover the area with artillery fire and then attack the position by using infantry to crawl in the mud.

But the Chinese had a large number of trenches and bunkers. Although they suffered casualties under the artillery attack, their combat effectiveness was not lost. The Japanese troops in the mud moved slowly and were constantly used as living targets or attacked by grenades. In the past two days alone, more than 400 people of his detachment were killed in front of this position.

  Perhaps because he became the supreme commander of the 68th Division on the battlefield, the resourceful Shima Genkichi suddenly came up with a plan!

On the night of June 6, the Chinese defenders, who had been fighting for a whole day, were mostly drowsy and asleep except for a few soldiers who were left on guard. Suddenly, there was a loud noise, and without anyone shouting that the enemy was attacking, the officers and soldiers were startled and woke up.

When flares were fired, groups of cattle and horses were seen in the darkness, with flames on their tails, sharp knives stuck on their heads, and no one knew what they were carrying on their bodies. They ran out from the Japanese side and rushed towards the position with their hooves spread out. The fireballs and torches behind them were as bright as day.

This was the tactic that the resourceful Shima Genkichi came up with, the "Fire Bull Formation" that had been used in ancient Chinese war history, but there were too few bulls at the moment, so he used the Japanese army's pack horses.

This required at least a dozen oxen and more than forty horses, and Major General Shima Genkichi also invested a lot of money.

However, how much effect the "Fire Bull Formation", which has been proven effective in the era of cold weapons, can have in modern warfare remains to be seen.

The Chinese officers and soldiers were calmer than the Japanese thought. When the fire bulls and horses rushed to more than 100 meters, they used machine guns and submachine guns to hit the bulls and horses, making blood splatter everywhere, and also knocked down some Japanese soldiers behind them.

The vitality of cattle and horses is much stronger than that of humans. Some fire bulls were hit by at least ten bullets but still stood firm. But this does not mean that these creatures are stupid. If they move forward they will be killed. The only way to survive is to run backwards. The herd of cattle and horses turned around and ran away, even faster than when they came.

These were great. They trampled down a large number of the Japanese soldiers following behind them, and they trampled them into the mud. The mud was really full.

  If you want to hide from these mad horses and cattle, you will have to face the Chinese rain of bullets. The Japanese infantrymen were feeling so miserable!

When the battle was over, the new commander of the 68th Division almost vomited blood. He had worked so hard to set up the "Fire Bull Formation", but he didn't even reach the edge of the Chinese position. Not only did he lose 50 pack horses, but more than 190 Japanese soldiers also did not return.

  If you don't come back at this time, how can you still stay in those stinky muddy places and look at the stars and the moon?

Being a commander is really hard! (End of this chapter)