I am Jiang Weiguo in World War II

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The residents of Chengde at the scene were excited and shouted slogans: "The army and the people are united! Defend Chengde!"

Chen Mingren's speech played a very good role in stabilizing people's hearts. He immediately ordered the troops to post "Anmin notices" everywhere in the city. On the one hand, he sincerely apologized to the residents of Chengde, and on the other hand, he expressed the determination of all officers and soldiers of the 17th Division to defend Chengde to the death. , and at the same time asked the residents of Chengde to help the army.

In just one day, more than 17 Chengde citizens signed up for the "migrant labor force" to assist the army in building fortifications and transporting supplies. The [-]th Division immediately recruited "militiamen" while the iron was hot.

During the battle of defending the city, the civilians in the city can be transformed into "migrant workers" and "militiamen". The two have different responsibilities. The former is mainly engaged in logistics, while the latter is to go to the battlefield to participate in the battle with the regular army.

The 17th Division once attacked Jinan, and at this time Chengde was attacked. It mobilized the people in Jinan City, and now it mobilized the people in Chengde City.

For this kind of thing, the civilian officers of the 17th Division are naturally experienced and familiar with it. They first exposed the Japanese ambition to destroy China and the Japanese's various heinous and brutal crimes to the residents:

"Look! This is Unit 731 set up by the Japanese in the suburbs of Harbin! We Chinese people are used to perform vivisection! It's devoid of conscience! It's not as good as a beast!"

"This is the Pingdingshan massacre created by the Japanese in Pingdingshan, a suburb of Fushun! More than 1 Chinese were killed by the Japanese! These Japanese beasts killed people like hemp! They don't treat us Chinese as human beings at all!"

"Look again! This is the mass grave in Fuxin! This is the mass grave in Beipiao! Have you seen these piles of dead people?"

"Chengde compatriots! Do you still believe that the Japanese came to China and Chengde to build the 'Emperor's Paradise'? The Japanese are like vicious wolves! Poisonous snakes! They say 'China-Japan goodwill' on the surface, but secretly He has done countless insane bestial deeds!"

The civilian officers of the 17th Division distributed materials, mostly photos, of the Japanese massacres in the Northeast throughout the city. The shocking and tragic scenes on them made every Chengde resident frightened, angry and hated.

The Japanese did a lot of "good things" in the past, which indeed made some Chinese in the Japanese-occupied areas feel good about the Japanese. This approach of the Nanjing Army is to completely tear off the Japanese mask of hypocrisy and expose the Japanese The brutal, cruel, vicious, and insidious true colors of the Japanese have completely awakened the Chinese who have a good impression of the Japanese.

In fact, most of these photos frequently used by the 17th Division and the entire Nanjing Army were forged by the Maritime Statistics Bureau, which was secretly forged under the order of Jiang Weiguo.

Jiang Weiguo had a reason to do this. The Japanese also know that the evil deeds they have committed are shady. For example, Unit 731, the Maritime Bureau has no way to infiltrate Unit 731 to investigate and collect evidence, so it directly forged it, anyway. There is no "wronged" Japanese.

Sure enough, after the propaganda of the 17th Division, the whole Chengde was burning with anger, and the feeling of hatred against Japan permeated the whole city.

Next, the civilian officers of the 17th Division launched the second part, using the aggressive method to inspire people's hearts:

"There are heroes everywhere in China! Rehe belonged to Yan State during the Warring States Period, and there are many generous and tragic people in the land of Yanzhao! There are so many heroes in Rehe in ancient times. Is there no man in Rehe now? Where are the passionate people in Rehe? Does no one in Chengde dare to fight the Japanese with us?"

"During the Nanjing War, 10,000 ordinary people in Nanjing fought side by side with the Nanjing army. What about Chengde? And Jinan, we also attacked Jinan in the same way, and [-]+ ordinary people in Jinan joined us to resist the Japanese army that came again. The people in Jinan suffered countless casualties, but But they successfully defended Jinan, what about Chengde? People in Jinan are not afraid of death, but are people in Chengde afraid of death?"

"Not a coward, not a coward, who has eggs in his crotch, and kills the Japanese with us! The Japanese also have a life! They both carry a head on their shoulders, who is afraid of whom?"

Encouraged and stimulated by the civilian officers of the 17th Division, a large number of young and middle-aged men in Chengde joined the ranks of the militia, full of enthusiasm and determination, and prepared to defend Chengde with the army.

While forming the militia and migrant workers, the officers and soldiers of the 17th Division have been sweating profusely to build fortifications in the city.

Constructing the fortifications required digging pits and a large amount of bricks, stones, cement, and steel bars, and there was no way to find enough building materials for a while. Chen Mingren adopted the method that Zhang Yun had used on the Dashengguan battlefield.

Although Chengde is a northern city, the local water resources are very rich. The Luan River, Chao River, Liao River, and Daling River pass through the territory. The officers and soldiers borrowed tens of thousands of iron pots and buckets from the residents to boil the river water, Hot water is poured on the snow and permafrost to melt the snow and ice, so that trenches, trenches, and traffic trenches can be dug, and then the excavated soil is packed into sacks "while it is hot", piled up into fortifications, and river water is continuously poured upwards .

It was the beginning of January, and it was the coldest time of the year in Chengde. It could reach minus ten degrees during the day and more than minus 20 degrees at night. These soil sacks of the Nanjing Army were frozen hard, like steel and iron, completely blocking bullets and shells, and their strength was not inferior to permanent defense fortifications made of reinforced concrete.

On the morning of January 1th, 7 puppet soldiers approached the city of Chengde.

In Chengde City, more than [-] Nanjing troops, more than [-] militiamen, and more than [-] migrant workers are already in full battle.

Chapter 399 Fighting Again (6)

The defense of Chengde is almost a replica of the defense of Jinan, and the Nanjing Army that attacked and defended Chengde was the 17th Division that attacked and defended Jinan. The two defenses are very similar, and they also played the same finishing touch in their respective battles , The important role of central flowering.

The defense of Jinan played a pivotal role in the entire Xuzhou battle. On the one hand, it had a great positive effect on politics and propaganda; One division of the Japanese army led to insufficient Japanese troops on the front line of Xuzhou, and the defense of Chengde had the same effect.

However, the Japanese army that counterattacked Jinan at the beginning was only one division, but now the Japanese army that counterattacks Chengde has 2 divisions (one is 1% full and the other is less than 1% full), 17 brigade (basically full), [-] The three heavy artillery brigades and the [-] Puppet Manchukuo troops were much stronger than the Japanese troops who counterattacked Jinan, making the [-]th Division's current test in Chengde far greater than that in Jinan.

Because the significance of the 17th Division's attack, capture, and recovery of Chengde is too great, the Wuhan Military Commission will definitely give a commendation, and the 17th Division will soon usher in a fierce battle, and the morale of the division must be encouraged.

The 17th Division played two beautiful long-distance raids, so the Military Commission ordered the division to be awarded the honorary title of "Lightning", and at the same time, the division commander Chen Mingren was awarded the Blue Sky and White Sun Medal.

Before the war, both sides tried their best to prepare for the war.

The Japanese army tried their best to mobilize troops. The Nanjing Army’s combat preparations included many aspects. The 17th Division vigorously mobilized the people in Chengde City to build fortifications. The 88th and 99th Divisions of the friendly army urgently built a temporary field airport in Zhangyuan. The two provinces of Shandong, Jin, and Chengde were far away, and it was difficult for the Air Force planes to reinforce Chengde in time. At the same time, Song Xilian, commander of the 88th Division, and Li Yutang, commander of the 99th Division, sensed that the Japanese army had transferred troops from Pingjin and judged that the Japanese army in Pingjin would not counterattack Zhang Yuan for the time being. Therefore, we acted decisively and deployed another lean force from each division, equipped with a large number of mules, horses and bicycles, forming a lean force with 5000 people, well-equipped, sufficient ammunition, and high mobility, and handed it over to the original National Army Jimo Under the command of Han Bingchen, the commander-in-chief of the County Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Team and with rich experience in guerrilla warfare, Han Bingchen followed the original route of the 17th Division, crossed the Bashang Plateau, and went to Chengde to participate in the war, but did not enter the city, but maneuvered in the suburbs outside the city Combat, harassing the rear of the Japanese and puppet troops, destroying lines of communication, and destroying important facilities of the Japanese army, so as to contain part of the Japanese and puppet troops and relieve the pressure on the 17th Division; , transport planes and bombers can arrive, but fighter jets are more difficult. If transport planes or bombers are dispatched, it is difficult for fighter jets to escort them, which is very dangerous. In addition, Chengde belongs to the Northeast, where the Japanese aviation has a great advantage. The quality surpassed the Japanese military aircraft, but the Japanese military aircraft surpassed the National Army aircraft in quantity. Therefore, about one-third of the power of the national military aircraft was used for transport aircraft to drop weapons, equipment and supplies to Chengde, and most of the power was used for "guerrilla bombing". That is: several small formations, consisting of several fighter jets and one bomber, were dispatched to bomb the Japanese South Manchuria Railway (mainly from Changchun to Tianjin, from Changchun to Dalian, and from Changchun to Dandong), destroying the Japanese army's The transportation line weakens the Japanese army's logistics transportation capacity, delays the speed of the Japanese army's transport of troops and supplies, does not bomb important areas where the Japanese army has air defense forces, and specifically bombs the Japanese army's railways and roads, and does not fight with the Japanese army fleet. Withdraw after dropping the bomb.

Before the start of the war, the Nanjing Army Headquarters had a plan, which was actually based on experience. During the Jinan Defense War, a large number of guerrillas in Shandong assisted the regular army in fighting, and played an important role objectively. The fifth team blew up the Haoshanyu Railway on the Jinan-Qingdao Railway, killed four to five hundred Japanese soldiers, and also blew up thousands of tons of ammunition materials that the Japanese army urgently needed on the Jinan battlefield, which completely paralyzed this section of the railway line For a week, the Japanese army's logistics on the Jinan battlefield were interrupted, which seriously affected the Japanese army's combat effectiveness. At this time, in the defense of Chengde, the Nanjing Army Headquarters planned to contact the northeast guerrillas in Rehe Province and Liaoning Province (Northeast Volunteer Army, Northeast Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army) , harassing the Japanese army behind the Japanese army, supporting and rushing to help the Chengde defenders, but this plan could not be realized at all, because the territory of the four northeastern provinces was "very clean", and the anti-Japanese armed organizations were basically wiped out by the Japanese. The anti-Japanese armed forces (even if there are, they are in Heilongjiang Province, close to the Soviet Union).

There is another thing that bothers Chen Mingren, and that is the puppet Manchukuo army.

According to intelligence, the puppet Manchurian troops in the two provinces of Rehe and Liaoning are gathering in Chengde, with a total number of no less than [-].

The Japanese and puppet troops who counterattacked Chengde totaled "[-] troops", and the puppet Manchukuo army accounted for more than half.

Objectively speaking, the Puppet Manchukuo Army's combat effectiveness is not strong, but it is not like the Puppet Mongolian Army, which can be called a chicken and a dog, and still has a certain combat effectiveness.

Among the puppet troops in all parts of China, the Taiwanese Japanese army has the strongest combat effectiveness, no less than the purebred Japanese army. The puppet Mongolian army is completely mob, not only the quality of the members is low, the weapons and equipment are backward, and the fighting is chaotic, and they don’t know how to fight at all (this is also true An important reason why Fu Zuoyi was able to win the Suiyuan Anti-Japanese War), as for the puppet Manchukuo army, its combat effectiveness is not as good as the Taiwanese Japanese army, but it is much higher than the puppet Mongolian army.

Firstly, after all, the Japanese have occupied the Northeast for seven and a half years, and the enslavement education has achieved certain results. Secondly, the Japanese are indeed more diligent in building the Puppet Manchukuo Army (although they are very worried about the Puppet Manchukuo Army.

In the original history, before Japan’s national power declined, the Puppet Manchukuo Army reached 1932 in 14, and was later reduced to 8 by the Japanese. At the end of World War II, the Japanese had to expand the size of the Puppet Manchukuo Army due to the shortage of military strength. , let the puppet Manchukuo army reach about 20), although the puppet Manchukuo army's weapons and equipment are only second-rate, but they are much better than the puppet Mongolian army; thirdly, there are a large number of Japanese military advisers in the puppet Manchukuo army, and the families of the puppet Manchukuo army officers and soldiers The relatives are all under the control of the Japanese, so the officers and soldiers of the puppet Manchukuo had to work hard.

The puppet Mongolian army is indeed a group of mobs that will collapse at a touch, but the puppet Manchurian army is not counted.

Even if five Puppet Manchukuo troops can replace one Nanjing Army, 17 Puppet Manchukuo troops can wipe out half of the strength of the [-]th Division.

How to solve the puppet Manchukuo?This gave Chen Mingren a headache.

Cheng Kang, Zhang Yun’s contemporaneous friend in Whampoa who was the regiment leader of the 17th Division, came up with a rather bold and novel method: “Master, we can ask the Second Young Master to send a person over to start psychological warfare against the Puppet Manchukuo Army.” !"

Chen Mingren asked in surprise, "Who?"

Cheng Kang smiled slightly: "Zhang Xueliang!"

On the morning of January 1, the Chengde defense war broke out.

The fierceness of the defense battle of Chengde is by no means inferior to that of the defense battle of Jinan. The explosion made the city tremble, the sky was dark, and in the sandstorm-like smoke and dust, the urban area was razed to the ground in pieces, and fires broke out everywhere. The lethality of the artillery ranked first among all land warfare weapons at this time. 5 Field heavy artillery hit the defenders even more than the infantry of a division of the Japanese army.

Because the defenders basically gave up the mountain defense line outside the city, the Japanese and puppet troops rushed into the city soon after the war started, "making the enemy and us intertwined and mixed together, so as to reduce the threat and attack of the Japanese heavy artillery group on our side." , This is Chen Mingren's strategy.

Just over two hours after the start of the battle, the Nanjing Army and the Japanese and puppet troops launched a brutal and bloody street battle.

"Fight!" The officers and soldiers roared in the Nanjing Army's permafrost fortifications, and the rifles, submachine guns, and machine guns in their hands shot out bullets like a rain of locust arrows like a thousand arrows.

Chen Mingren is a brilliant tactician. When the 17th Division built street warfare fortifications, he ordered the soldiers and civilians to demolish the residential buildings around the edge of the city after repeated research, so that a circle of open land with a width of more than 500 meters appeared on the edge of the city, causing the influx of people into the city After the Japanese and puppet troops entered, they had no shelter and were completely exposed to the firepower net of the Nanjing Army. Chen Mingren was unique in that he ordered the soldiers and civilians to "continuously water, splash, After a few days and nights, ice layers more than half a foot thick had accumulated on these open areas and all the main streets in the city. Sliding all over the place, completely beaten and slaughtered.

The rain of bullets from the Nanjing Army kept whistling at the Japanese and puppet troops like a storm, shooting ghosts and wolves on the open ground and on the frozen streets, and blood spattered three feet.

In the fighting area, Nanjing Army officers and soldiers hid in civilian houses, trenches, and behind fortifications, and angrily shot at the Japanese and puppet troops. The Japanese and puppet troops who rushed in could neither avoid nor move quickly, and kept slipping and falling. The puppet soldiers turned and fled frightenedly, and they also stumbled one after another. The Japanese and puppet troops were everywhere on the ice, struggling like tortoises but struggling to run. The Nanjing Army's position was deafening. Amidst the roar of guns, grenade grenades, mortars, and infantry cannons, tongues of flames like arcs of electric welding were constantly raging, and amidst the screams of Japanese and Chinese mixed together, the Japanese and puppet soldiers were shot dead everywhere, and the ice A large pool of steaming blood was splashed on the face, and when the cold wind blew, the corpses of the Japanese and puppet soldiers were frozen into statues, and the blood was frozen into blood ice.

The two sides were completely red-eyed at the beginning of the war.

Because the time was too tight, the Nanjing Army did not build a complete fortification. During the bloody battle, the officers and soldiers of the Nanjing Army used the corpses of the Japanese and puppet soldiers frozen into stones directly for the construction of the fortifications. The dead and the dead danced together.

The whole city was turned into a flesh and blood mill with bombardments like lightning and the sound of killings shaking the sky.

Thunder-like shells, hail-like grenades, rain-like bullets, lightning-like firepower nets, soldiers from both sides fighting frantically with red eyes, deafening explosions, thrilling gunshots, dark gunpowder smoke, The strong and pungent smell of blood, the blood flowing like a stream, the disgusting rotten internal organs, the shocking stumps and broken arms, the big fireball rising from the ground, the howling and howling of wounded beasts... The Battle of Jinan The scenes of this scene were staged again in Chengde, and the fighting was as cruel as before, as if going crazy.

Behind the officers and soldiers of the Nanjing Army in the front, the Chengde migrant workers desperately dig trenches and build fortifications, and the Chengde militiamen risk their lives to carry ammunition and carry the wounded. The veterans or officers who command the militia shouted hoarsely: One person with a gun! The first person takes the gun! The second person takes the grenade! The third person takes the bullet! The first person falls, the second picks up the gun and continues to fight! The second person falls, the third takes Take up the gun and continue fighting! Don't be afraid! The people in Jinan are not afraid, and we believe that you people in Chengde can be just as brave!..."

Some brave residents of Chengde rushed to the front line and shouted to the officers and soldiers of the Puppet Manchukuo Army on the Japanese side with a loudspeaker: "You are from the Northeast, we are also from the Northeast, you are Chinese, and we are also Chinese! We are all Chinese. Ah! The Chinese don’t beat the Chinese! How can you beat the Chinese together with the Japanese? This is traitorous behavior! Do you still have the face to meet your ancestors after you die?”

These shouts shocked many officers and soldiers of the puppet Manchukuo army at the middle and lower levels, and deliberately slowed down their work during the battle.

The wounded soldiers of the Nanjing Army were all sent to the famous Chengde Mountain Resort. This mountain resort, which was originally enjoyed by the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, has become a hospital for wounded soldiers of the 17th Division. This place is worth living!" Originally, many officers proposed to put the division headquarters in the summer resort, but Chen Mingren refused: "Such a good place should let the wounded soldiers live!" After the fierce battle broke out, Chen Mingren was almost always on the front line, Constantly patrolling various frontier positions back and forth, even within the range of Japanese guns.

The officers and soldiers were deeply moved when they saw that the division commander was with them on the front line without fear, and their morale rose further.

Zhang Yun and other officers tried to persuade Chen Mingren not to take such a risk. Chen Mingren said with a smile: "Our whole division is taking risks, and we know very well that the No. 17 Division will basically be wiped out in Chengde. Since it will die sooner or later, what's the matter?" Difference?" He specially bought a coffin, and personally wrote the spirit card "Chen Mingren, Commander-in-Chief of the Chengde Defense Army" to himself, and the people of Chengde who learned about this were all excited by it.

On the first day of the fierce battle, Chen Mingren almost died. He was shot in the chest by a bullet from the Japanese army while he was inspecting a position. The bullet pierced through the medal and got stuck in it, so it did not penetrate his body or his heart.

Chen Mingren took the medal calmly, and said with a smile: "At first, I didn't take it seriously when the chairman gave me this medal, but now, I really want to thank the chairman!"

On the Chengde battlefield, the fierce battle was endless and endless. The number of people on both sides who fell in the ice and snow was increasing every minute. The corpses covered the ground, and the blood stained the snow. Like wars, there is no difference in the degree of tragedy, and the intensity has intensified.

During the bloody battle, the Japanese and puppet troops barely occupied one-tenth of Chengde’s urban area. The Japanese army suffered more than 5000 casualties, the puppet Manchukuo army also suffered more than 5000 casualties, the Nanjing Army (17th Division and paratroopers) suffered more than 4000 casualties, and the Chengde militia and civilian workers suffered more than 6000 casualties. , More than 7000 civilians were killed or injured in Chengde, more than half of whom were killed or injured by the shelling of the Japanese heavy artillery group.

That night, the Nanjing Army used the "full-scale night attack" tactics on the Chengde battlefield that it had used on the Jinan battlefield.

"Jinan people are not afraid of death, what about you Chengde people?" Nanjing army officers and soldiers asked Chengde militiamen while shouting.

"Don't be afraid!" The Chengde militiamen were all furious and their eyes were cracked.

Amidst the earth-shattering screams that tore through the night, more than [-] elite soldiers of the Nanjing Army and more than [-] Chengde militiamen armed with cold weapons poured out of the urban area like a tide, overwhelming the Japanese and puppet troops outside the city.

In this bloody all-night melee, seven or eight thousand Japanese and puppet troops were killed or injured, and more than [-] people were killed or injured by the Nanjing Army and Chengde militia.

On this bloody night, a unit of the Nanjing Army arrived at the edge of the Chengde battlefield, and several national army planes flew into the night sky of Chengde.

The Nanjing Army that arrived at the edge of the Chengde battlefield was a mobile unit commanded by Han Bingchen, jointly formed by the 88th Division and the 99th Division.

Han Bingchen was very clear about his mission: mobile operations, attacking the weak or important points of the Japanese army.

In order to achieve this goal, Li Yutang specifically asked the Nanjing Army Headquarters to transfer the 417th Special Operations Battalion, a Special Forces Brigade, and a Scout Brigade to Han Bingchen.

The Taiwan soldiers of the Special War Battalion and the special forces and scouts of the Nanjing Army are naturally comfortable doing this kind of thing. They have already reached the edge of the Japanese and puppet troops who besieged Chengde City during the fierce battle during the day. Hands and feet figured out the location of the Japanese heavy artillery group.

The threat of the Japanese heavy artillery group was too great, so Han Bingchen ordered the 417th Special Operations Battalion to find out where the Japanese heavy artillery group was located.

Lu Xinrong, the commander of the 417th Special Operations Battalion, reported to Han Bingchen: "There are three places, the first is in Zhangbaiwan Town, which is just west of Chengde City, the second is in Zhuanshan Lake in the southwest of Chengde City, and the third is in Chengde City. Fengyingzi Town in the south.

It's just..." He grimaced.

"Just what?" Han Bingchen asked.

Lu Xinrong sighed: "The three heavy artillery positions of the Japanese army are protected by a large number of infantry, and they are all at the brigade level!" The protection of key areas has been strengthened. In addition, Chengde City is located in the continuous mountainous area, and it is difficult for the Japanese army to spread out and move. There is a brigade and more than [-] Japanese infantry for protection.

Han Bingchen was very anxious. Since the positions of the Japanese heavy artillery group were tightly protected, surprise attacks were impossible. There was only one way to destroy the Japanese heavy artillery group.

"There is no other way!" Han Bingchen gritted his teeth, "We can only attack by force! Prepare to fight!"

"Force attack?" Lu Xinrong was surprised, "However, we only have more than 5000 troops, and the three Japanese infantry brigades have about [-] soldiers. If the artillery is added, the number of Japanese troops is no less than ours, and there is also the main force of the Japanese army nearby. , it is very likely that there will be no return!"

"If there is no return, then there is no return!" Han Bingchen looked resolute and decisive, "As long as we can destroy the heavy artillery group of the Japanese army, it is worthwhile for us to join in! Destroy the heavy artillery group of the Japanese army, and the 17th Division can be greatly improved. The pressure has been relieved! The country is so degraded, if we don’t sacrifice for victory, who will sacrifice?”

"Sir..." Lu Xinrong burst into tears, "You are right, the country has fallen so badly, if we don't sacrifice for victory, who will sacrifice?"

In order to achieve the effect of killing with one blow, the attack on the three heavy artillery positions of the Japanese army must be launched at the same time. Han Bingchen divided his mobile unit into three and decisively started this doomed to be fatal. Powerful Assault.

Since the Japanese army paid great attention to protecting the heavy artillery group, the mobile units of the Nanjing Army were discovered when they were not far away from the Japanese heavy artillery positions.