Quartermasters can also fight the devils

Seeing that his own 44th Army was about to collapse, Commander Wang of the 29th Army Group urgently ordered the commander of the 150th Division, Xu Guozhang, to lead his troops to cover the rear and defend the third line of defense, the Taifu Mountain Jin and Taiyang Mountain positions, to provide protection for the retreat of the main force of the 44th Army and at the same time guard the last line of defense outside Changde.

Commander Wang of the 29th Army also asked Commander Xu of the 150th Division to take in the troops of the 44th Army that were dispersed by the pursuit troops of the 116th Division of the Japanese Army, while the remaining troops of the 44th Army retreated southward at high speed. However, the word "retreat" is no longer appropriate for the current 44th Army, and the word "rout" should be more appropriate.

Before the 150th Division's Commander Xu and his troops arrived at the Taifu Mountain line, they discovered that a large number of Japanese troops appeared on the flank and rear of the 150th Division. Commander Xu of the 150th Division reacted on the spot. At this time, the pursuit troops of the Japanese 116th Division had already infiltrated the front of the 150th Division.

Faced with such a situation, Commander Xu of the 150th Division could only grit his teeth and order the Chief of Staff to lead the 449th, 448th and 450th Regiments to attack forward and try their best to seize Taifu Mountain, while Commander Xu of the 150th Division personally led several companies of troops to cover the rear.

Everyone knew that Commander Xu of the 150th Division's move was extremely dangerous, but Commander Xu of the 150th Division knew that at this critical moment, if he, the commander of the division, ran away first, then who would stay to fight?

However, even though Commander Xu of the 150th Division tried his best, when the three regiments of the 150th Division arrived at Taifu Mountain, the commander of the 449th Regiment of the Vanguard Regiment, Xie Bolun, discovered that part of the position on Taifu Mountain had been occupied by troops of the 116th Division of the Japanese Army.

Therefore, the officers and soldiers of the three regiments of the 150th Division had no choice but to launch an attack on the troops of the 116th Division of the Japanese Army, and finally occupied a part of the position of Taifu Mountain. However, before the troops of the 150th Division could stabilize in this part of the position, the 150th Division was attacked from all sides by the pursuing troops of the 116th Division of the Japanese Army.

Under the fierce attack of the 116th Division of the Japanese Army, the three regiments of the 150th Division all suffered heavy casualties. The troops of the three regiments of the 150th Division held out for a day in the Taifu Mountain position, but all their positions were broken by the Japanese Army, and the defensive positions on the Taifu Mountain line were soon lost.

Unable to contact other units of the 44th Army, Commander Xu of the 150th Division had to lead his troops to retreat. At this time, the 44th Army had been completely defeated, and many units retreated again and again. One unit of the 44th Army even retreated to the Yuan River behind Changde.

On November 20, Commander Sun, acting commander of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese government, and Chief of Staff Guo of the War Zone also discovered that the 44th Army was about to retreat across the Yuan River. This meant that the 44th Army was about to retreat to the rear of the 74th Army stationed in Changde, which also meant that the 44th Army was about to leave the front line of the battlefield.

Commander Sun, acting commander of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese government, was really angry this time. He sent a telegram to Commander Wang of the 29th Army, ordering him not to allow any soldier of the 29th Army to cross the Yuan River.

Commander Wang of the 29th Army Group ignored the order of Commander Sun, the acting commander of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese government, because his own 44th Army was still being pursued by the Japanese attacking forces. In order to ensure the safety of his own 44th Army, Commander Wang of the 29th Army Group ordered his troops to immediately retreat across the Yuan River, leaving only the 150th Division to temporarily block the Japanese pursuit forces to the north of the Yuan River.

After the commander of the 133rd Regiment of the 116th Division of the Japanese Army, Colonel Kurose Heiichi, led his troops across the Lishui River, they immediately occupied the undefended Linli on November 18 and opened the gate on the road to Changde. Then the commander of the Japanese Army, Colonel Kurose Heiichi, commanded the 133rd Regiment of the Japanese Army to frantically pursue the defeated soldiers of the 44th Army.

The 150th Division of the 44th Army, which was responsible for guarding the northern bank of the Yuan River, suffered heavy casualties under the fierce attack of the 133rd Regiment of the 116th Division of the Japanese Army. In addition, all other troops of the 44th Army crossed the Yuan River and retreated quickly to the south. The officers and soldiers of the 150th Division had no intention of continuing to fight with the Japanese pursuit troops.

Fortunately, at this time the 13th Division of the Japanese Army in the west was under siege by the 74th Army and the 19th Division of the 100th Army of the Chinese government, and was facing a rather critical situation. The commander of the 116th Division, Lieutenant General Wang Iwanaga, received an order from Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama, commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, to use the 133rd Regiment, which was closer to the battlefield, to go to Qijiahe to reinforce the operations of the 13th Division of the Japanese Army.

This weakened the attack capability of the 116th Division's offensive forces. Only then was Commander Xu of the 150th Division able to gather some officers and soldiers and barely break out of the encirclement of the Japanese 116th Division. He joined the main force of the 150th Division in Zoushi Town on the north bank of the Yuanjiang River, but was soon caught up by the pursuit forces of the Japanese 116th Division.

At this time, facing the 29th Army Group that was out of control and command, Commander Sun, acting commander of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese government, could only bypass Commander Wang of the 29th Army Group and personally issue an order to Commander Xu of the 150th Division, demanding that the 150th Division not retreat across the Yuan River.

At this time, after a series of fierce battles, the 150th Division had less than one regiment of troops left, and it could be said that it was almost wiped out.

After receiving the telegram order from General Sun, the acting commander of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese government, Commander Xu of the 150th Division was fully aware of the importance of holding on to the Yuan River, so he issued an order directly to the remaining officers and soldiers of the 150th Division, requiring that no one should retreat to the south of the Yuan River, and anyone who violated the order would be executed directly.

Zoushi Town, where Commander Xu of the 150th Division led the remnants to garrison, is located 20 kilometers northeast of Taoyuan County and is the western gateway to Changde. If the Japanese army wants to attack Changde City from the west, they must occupy Zoushi Town. The only good news for Commander Xu of the 150th Division is that Zoushi Town had built some field fortifications before the war and still had a certain defensive capability.

The 109th Regiment of the 116th Division of the Japanese Army soon launched an attack on Zoushi Town. Since the 150th Division had only more than two battalions and less than a regiment, it was unable to withstand the fierce attack of more than 3,000 people of the 109th Regiment of the 116th Division of the Japanese Army, and various defense lines collapsed one after another.