Since the Fifteenth Army was incorporated into the Japanese Expeditionary Force to the South of China, Lieutenant General Yamashita Tombumi, the commander of the army, has never had a comfortable day. Depression followed him almost every day after he arrived on the battlefield in China. (Baidu search,)
After landing on the Leizhou Peninsula, the 15th Army has been rushing forward and fighting at the forefront, but Yamashita Fengwen is not happy. Are the Chinese troops they encountered still armies? From Hai'an to Maoming, there was a constant pursuit. There was almost no trace of the Chinese soldiers. My brave and capable troops almost became the receiving troops. Town after town fell to the imperial army without any fighting. hand.
According to the prisoner¡¯s confession, the troops he was chasing were Guangdong local troops. Yamashita Fengwen didn¡¯t believe it, and he didn¡¯t even dare to fight. Can the troops still be called troops? Such an opponent could not let himself experience the passion of the battle. On the contrary, it was still an insult to himself and the 15th Army. Feeling depressed, Lieutenant General Yamashita Fengwen personally chopped off the heads of more than a dozen Cantonese soldiers to express his feelings. The unhappiness in his heart, in his opinion, was just a change from the boring pursuit life.
Yamashita Fengwen was worried that his troops would lose their fierce nature in such a pursuit. It was not until he encountered organized resistance in the Yangjiang area that Yamashita Fengwen found a sense of fighting. However, it was not enough, it was just It's just harassment from a small group of Chinese troops.
As the 15th Army continued to attack in the direction of Guangzhou, Yamashita Fengwen learned that in Guangzhou, the so-called China Devil Tang Qiuli, who was rumored to be miraculous, was organizing a China army in Guangzhou to resist his attack. This made Yamashita Fengwen's fighting cells flood to an unlimited extent, and he felt a passion for meeting his opponent.
When he was about to rush to Guangzhou and face Tang Qiuli for a decisive battle, he received the damn order from the commander-in-chief Terauchi Juichi. He stopped attacking Guangzhou and turned to Nanning to gather. After receiving the order, Yamashita Fengfumi was almost angry. Going crazy, from the bottom of his heart, he looked down on the rigid thinking and conservative style of Juichi Terauchi, thinking that this old guy should retire.
Similarly, Yamashita Fengfumi also criticized Honma Masaharu's disastrous defeat on the south bank of the Hongshui River. In his opinion, it was Lieutenant General Honma Masaharu's command that made huge mistakes that led to the defeat of more than 40,000 heroic imperial troops. The fundamental reason why the soldiers were broken into pieces was that if they were commanded by themselves, they would not only attack the guest in one direction, but at least three or four directions should be selected to attack the northeastern part of Guangxi. Even if one road was lost, the campaign objectives would still be achieved in other directions.
The command methods were rigid, and the final defeat was inevitable. As for the final outcome of Masaharu Honma, Yamashita Fengfumi, who had a high self-esteem, had no sympathy. He looked down on General Juichi Terauchi and all the generals of the Southern Expeditionary Force. This time he attacked Guizhou. He resolutely rejected the order of General Touichi Teuchi to increase the strength of two divisions in the attack direction of Dushan. The 15th Army could complete the attack mission independently and would be the first to arrive at Guiyang City. This was Yamashita Tobumi's reply to the Commander-in-Chief.
After capturing Dushan, Yamashita Fengwen did not feel that he had met his opponent. According to the intelligence from the dispatched army headquarters, the Chinese government troops who were defending here were the most elite troops in China. However, within a few hours, Dushan intervened. After getting up to the Sun Flag, all the thousands of defending soldiers, except for some who were killed, surrendered. Even the artillery supporting the attack did not fire a few shells, and the battle was over.
Dushan City was covered with rubble and was almost in ruins. Yamashita Fengwen stood on the mountain road to the north of the city, with an invisible marching column beside him. A staff officer came over to ask for instructions, "Your Excellency, Commander, what about the thousands of Chinese prisoners of war?" What to do? Also, should we keep troops in Dushan to ensure the security of this large area? "
Yamashita Fengfumi looked at this young staff officer as if he were an idiot. He was probably new here, right? Don¡¯t you know the rules of Yamashita Fengfumi and the 15th Army? "Baga, kill all the Chinese prisoners and Chinese people," Yamashita Fengwen gave very clear instructions, his expression as simple as taking a breath.
The staff officer trembled and couldn't believe his ears, and said in a confused tone: "Your Excellency, Commander, there are more than 20,000 Chinese prisoners of war and local people, kill them all?" "Baga, aren't my orders clear?" Yamashita Fengwen not only cursed angrily, but also gave the staff officer a loud slap in the face. He even hesitated to doubt the commander's order because of the inferior Chinese people. I really doubted whether he was a samurai of the Japanese Empire.
The dense gunfire roared crazily for a while before stopping. The corpses of more than 20,000 Chinese soldiers and ordinary people were covered in the streets and alleys. The bright red blood gurgled into a creek in the city, and the creek became A river of blood formed, rolling with tiny blood-red waves, and merged into the Caodu River. Dushan became a dead city. The person who caused the Dushan tragedy was still the one in Haian, Leizhou Peninsula.The Japanese soldiers of the Kono Regiment of the Ninth Division of the 15th Army who committed the Haian massacre in the town of Hoi An seemed to have a special preference for massacring ordinary Chinese people. Commander Yamashita Fengwen also satisfied their wishes. Require.
On the evening of June 24, the 133rd Regiment of the 7th Division, the vanguard of the 15th Army, had approached Duyun, another important town in southeastern Guizhou, and, before dark, defeated Duyun with swift and violent movements. On Xiyun Peak, the commanding heights in the southwest, the guard troops of a regiment of the Central Army captured Xiyun Peak. Duyun was already exposed to Japanese artillery fire.
Liu Zhi, the commander of the Central Army's Qiannan East Road Defense Line, was already like an ant on a hot pot in Duyun City. His headquarters was originally in Dushan. As soon as the Japanese army started to attack, he issued an order to the defenders. After receiving the order to hold on, he led all the personnel of the headquarters and fled from the city, running all the way to Duyun. Just as he took a breath, he received a report that the Japanese advance troops had occupied Xiyun Peak, the barrier in the southwest of Duyun.
Liu Zhi believed that he was the most unlucky person, so he led a group of officers from the Eastern Route Army Headquarters to Dushan to inspect military affairs and combat readiness. As a result, on the night of arrival, the Japanese launched a ferocious attack on Dushan. Fortunately, he saw the opportunity early and ran fast, otherwise, the majestic commander-in-chief of the East Route Army would have become the target of the Japanese soldiers.
When I ran to Duyun and was overtaken by the Japanese, it was all Chen Cheng's bad idea. The supreme commander wanted to go deep into the front line to understand the situation first-hand and prepare for the Japanese attack. He was there One sentence in Chongqing almost made me die.
Liu Zhi had no idea. He was thinking about where was the safest place to evacuate next. The chief of staff reminded him: "Commander-in-Chief, we have a group army with more than 80,000 troops in Duyun, and we still occupy a favorable position." If the command headquarters retreats further, it may not be easy to explain to Chairman Chiang. In compliance with his humble duty, he will immediately convene a military meeting and make arrangements to defend Duyun. The commander-in-chief will then withdraw to a safe area, which will not lead to censure and criticism. It¡¯s been criticized, and I have to give an explanation to the superiors and subordinates.¡±
Liu Zhi just woke up from a dream and said repeatedly: "It makes sense. Hurry up and summon the officers above the brigade commander of the 19th Army to attend the military meeting. Go quickly. Really." Liu Zhi was not in a hurry to deploy the defense of Duyun. The thing is that he felt that Duyun in reality was already under Japanese artillery fire and was extremely unsafe. He told him what to do so that he could evacuate to Fuquan overnight. Duyun did not want to stay for a minute longer.
The troops defending Duyun are the Guo Hua Culture Department of the 19th Group Army of the Central Army, which has two corps and six divisions, plus a ** brigade, with a total of more than 86,000 troops. The 19th Group Army belongs to the Central Army's sequence. Later, it was organized into an army, but its combat effectiveness was not weak, and its weapons and equipment were also excellent. Guo Huawen had the rank of lieutenant general and graduated from the ninth class of Huangpu. Among the generals of the Central Army, he was a relatively capable general. If not for this, Chairman Chiang would not have put him down. The 19th Army was placed in such an important position.
Liu Zhi retreated all the way from Dushan to Duyun. As soon as he entered the city, Guo Huawen received the report. After waiting for a long time at the group army headquarters, Commander-in-Chief Liu did not arrive. When he sent someone to inquire, Guo Huawen became angry. Damn it, this commander-in-chief who commands 150,000 to 60,000 troops did not even enter the city, but stayed in the north of the city temporarily. According to the description of his subordinates who came back, all the personnel of the general headquarters may evacuate north again at any time, and even the radio station It was not removed from the car.
Guo Huawen was speechless for a while. He had lost contact with his garrison brigade in Dushan in the morning. It was probably a disaster. Just in time, the commander-in-chief Liu Zhi withdrew from Dushan and asked him for information. He was about to prepare. When I went to see Liu Zhi, I received an order to convene an emergency military meeting. Moreover, Liu Zhi, the commander-in-chief of the East Route Army, personally presided over the meeting.
When he arrived at Liu Zhi's temporary station, Guo Huawen's heart skipped a beat when he saw the commander-in-chief. Liu Zhi's mental state was very poor, as if he had been greatly frightened. His face was gray and his eyes were dull. His eyes were dull, his chubby body was piled on the chair like a puddle of mud, and he didn't even feel that Guo Huawen came in.
"Commander-in-Chief, Commander Guo Huawen of the 19th Group Army was ordered to come and ask for instructions from the Commander-in-Chief," Guo Huawen said loudly, with a strong and loud voice. Liu Zhi finally reacted and said feebly: "It's Commander Guo. , please take a seat." After saying that, he raised his hand to signal. Guo Huawen did not speak, but sat down straight with a military demeanor.
After a while, officers of all levels participating in the meeting arrived one after another, and the meeting officially began. Liu Zhi, who presided over the meeting, seemed to be in a hurry. He changed his usual habit of speaking smoothly, sloppily, and talking nonsense, and said straight to the point. : "Everyone, Dushan has been lost. The Japanese army has approached Duyun. The war situation is very critical. I have decided to hand over all the military command of Duyun to Commander Guo. Commander Guo will have full authority to plan all matters for the defense of Duyun. Commander-in-Chief The troops evacuated to Fuquan overnight and dismissed the meeting."
Is this the end? The more than twenty generals of the 19th Army who attended the meeting looked at each other in astonishment.