The late stage of the Battle of Kunlun Pass (Operation Binyang)

On January 4, 1940, the Rong 1st Division suffered heavy casualties and was ordered to withdraw from the battle and move to Silong for rest. The 5th Army continued the attack. The Japanese troops who retreated from Jiutang also obeyed the orders of Chuanyuan Qi and abandoned Jiutang at dawn on the 4th and retreated to Batang. The newly formed 22nd Division of the National Army was stationed in Jiutang. The 5th Army continued to attack Batang, and the Japanese resisted desperately.

On January 7, 1940, in view of the fact that Imamura was eager to go into battle personally and use the full strength of the 5th Division to avenge the 21st Brigade, and planned to fight with the Chinese The army began a decisive battle. The commander of the 21st Army, Ando Toshiyoshi, ordered it to stay in Nanning and wait for reinforcements: "The Wave Group (21st Army) attempted to transfer powerful troops to Nanning to annihilate the enemy forces gathered in Nanning. The 5th Division should still ensure Nanning and nearby key areas to facilitate the advance of the transferred corps." ("Long Compilation of Materials on Japanese Militarist Invasion of China", page 515.) Starting from the 7th, the 18th Division (Division Nagana Seiichi) was transferred to southern Guangxi. Lieutenant General) and the Guards Mixed Brigade (brigade leader Major General Sakurada Takeshi) ordered 15,000 people to board the ship from Guangzhou. The Japanese military headquarters was shocked by the Chinese army's offensive. It sent the deputy chief of staff of the headquarters, Shigeru Sawada, to Guangzhou from Tokyo. It also sent the deputy chief of staff of the Southern China Front, Kenryo Sato, and the director of operations, Go Fujiwara, to accompany the director of operations of the Japanese military staff headquarters, Hirao Arao. Gong, Deputy Chief of Staff of the China Expeditionary Force Suzuki Sosaku and others arrived in Nanning, but failed to change the fate of the 21st Brigade's failure.

On January 10, 1940, Chiang Kai-shek visited Qianjiang in person and discussed the next battle plan with Bai Chongxi, Chen Cheng, Zhang Fakui, Xu Tingyao, Lin Wei and others. Bai proposed: Taking advantage of the enemy's new defeat and the lack of reinforcements, the Central Army's Li Yannian 2nd Army, Gan Lichu's 6th Army, Yao Chun's 36th Army, Fu Zhongfang's 99th Army, together with the 5th Army and other units gathered in Guangxi, launched an offensive to regain the territory in one fell swoop. Nanning. On the 10th, the Japanese 21st Army formulated the "Guidance Plan for the Binyang Battle" and scheduled a decisive battle in the area south of Binyang in late January.

On January 11, 1940, just as Bai Chongxi issued a deployment order to prepare for war, Jiang Zhibai, who returned to Liuzhou, wrote a letter overturning the decision made at the meeting the previous day and not preparing to invest any more 5th Army. Bai Chongxi was unwilling to use the Gui troops transferred from various places to fight head-on, and other local troops were unwilling to act as cannon fodder, so he issued a new order to change the combat deployment and all entered a defensive state. In this way, Japan will gain time to calmly deploy and launch a counterattack. (After the war, Bai Chongxi, director of the Guilin camp of the Liuzhou Review Committee, blamed himself for his poor leadership in the Binyang battle and was demoted from a first-level general to a second-level general; Chen Cheng, the political minister, blamed himself for his poor guidance during the Binyang battle and was demoted from a first-level general to a second-level general. will be demoted to a second-level general;)

On January 12, 1940, the 5th Army's attack on Batang still made no progress. After a hard battle, the 5th Army suffered heavy casualties and exhausted its personnel. He was not suitable for fighting, so he was ordered to move to Silong, Huangwei, Taishou and other places to rest. The attack mission was handed over to Yao Chun's 36th Army to take over. In this way, the National Army's 5th Army officially withdrew from the order of battle. On January 13, 1940, the first section of the Japanese Taiwan Brigade fought fiercely with the Wei Yunsong Department of the Gui Clan of the West Route Army in the Tangbao area, but Wei Yunsong's Department failed to stop the Japanese army. All Japanese troops have basically assembled around Nanning.

On January 14, 1940, more than 3,000 people from the 4th Regiment of the Guards Mixed Brigade landed in Qinzhou.

On January 16, 1940, after more than 3,000 people from the 4th Regiment of the Guards Mixed Brigade landed in Qinzhou, more than 1,000 people from the 4th Regiment of the Guards Mixed Brigade blocked the attack at Sihe'ao at the junction of Qin County and Lingshan and at Kunlun Pass. During the reinforcements, the 524th Regiment of the 175th Division of the 46th Army, which killed Colonel Watanabe, encountered the 524th Regiment of the 175th Division of the 46th Army. In fierce fighting for three days and nights, more than 200 Japanese troops were killed, and the Japanese 4th Regiment was surrounded by the 46th Army that followed. However, although the Japanese army suffered heavy casualties, the main force still broke through under the cover of aircraft. (On February 21, 1940, at the post-war Liuzhou review meeting, the 46th Army Commander He Xuan was credited once.) On January 23, 1940, Lieutenant General Ando Toshiyoshi came to Nanning in person to command the counterattack. A counterattack order was issued on the 24th.

On January 27, 1940, the Japanese army began to counterattack: the main force of the 5th Division, the main force of the Guards Mixed Brigade, and the main force of the Taiwan Mixed Brigade were commanded by Imamura Jun to attack Kunlun Pass along the Yongbin Highway; The entire 18th Division and the Guards formed part of a brigade, commanded by Seiichi Kuna, marching eastward along the south bank of the Yongjiang River, heading northward at Yongchundu River, and outflanking the back roads of Kunlun Pass. On January 27, Bai Chongxi held a joint military and political meeting at the Qianjiang Command Post to discuss countermeasures to deal with the Japanese counterattack. Li Jishen, Chen Cheng and Zhang Zhizhong also arrived in Qianjiang. But it was also on the day when the Japanese army began their general offensive that Chiang Kai-shek changed his command to Zhang Fakui, the commander-in-chief of the Fourth War Zone. When Zhang Fakui of the Cantonese faction took office, he ordered the 66th Army of the Cantonese faction Ye Zhao to stick to the original position and flank the Japanese army. Zhang Fakui also ordered all reinforcements to gather towards Gantang and planned to launch an attack on the Japanese Gantang troops on February 2! Before this order was conveyed to all ministries, the Japanese army's general attack began! The theater also urgently ordered the 64th Army (Commander Chen Gongxia) of the 35th Army of the Guangdong Deng Longguang Army, which had just been transferred from Guangdong, to rush into Gantang; the 46th Army of the Guangxi Army led its main 175th Division to cross the Yujiang River from Jiangkou to the north to jointly block the attacking Japanese army; In addition, the 49th Division of the 6th Army of the Central Army moved south to Wulingwei in an attempt to prevent the enemy from moving north to Binyang. However, these measures are too late! Japanese commander Ando issued an order to start a general offensive on February 1: "The victory or defeat of this battle will be the decisive battle tomorrow. I hope all officers and soldiers will fight hard and hope that they will win." ("The History of Army Operations in the Chinese Incident" No. Volume 3, Volume 1, Page 73)

On January 28, 1940, Imamura commanded his three brigades to attack the highlands north of Liutang from Sitang and Wutang. Fu Zhongfang's 99th Army launched an attack. At the same time, the Eighteenth Division sneaked across the river between Yongchun and Hequ. The Oikawa brigade guarding Batang cooperated with Imamura to attack north the next day, and attacked Fu Zhongfang's 99th Army from a pincer attack. Although the frontal attack commanded by Imamura Jun was stubbornly resisted by the Chinese army, Bai Chongxi had long discovered that the real main force of the Japanese army was in the direction of Gantang, preparing to outflank our left flank from Yongchun Crossing River. Therefore, before the war, Ye Zhao was ordered to lead the 66th Army to Yongchun to set up defenses to prevent the enemy from doing so. Ye Zhaocai mistakenly judged that the enemy would not move, so he delayed the departure. However, when he discovered that the enemy troops had crossed the Yujiang River and were advancing towards Binyang, Ye Zhaocai hurriedly led two troops of the 66th Army Chen Ji (the 159th Division was missing to temporarily command the 110th Division). A division rushed to intercept. However, the enemy's main force was approaching Binyang, and the battle situation in our rear was greatly threatened. At this time, the 66th Army was panicked and disordered. The troops retreated toward Wuming and Xincheng. They were pursued by enemy troops and air raids by enemy aircraft along the way, causing heavy losses. This led to the complete collapse of the Chinese army's front, and the Japanese Eighteenth Division was able to cross the Yujiang River without any effort. (On February 21, 1940, at the post-war Liuzhou review meeting, Bai Chongxi believed that everyone present at Ye Zhao had "disobeyed orders and avoided the war." The evidence was conclusive. Based on this, Ye Zhao, commander-in-chief of the 37th Cantonese Army, disobeyed orders and made mistakes. Rongji, was dismissed from his post, detained and released; Chen Ji, commander of the 66th Army of the 37th Army, was removed from his post for investigation and investigation, and Song Shitai, commander of the 160th Division of the 66th Army, was removed from his post for investigation and investigation.) p>

On January 30, 1940, after defeating Fu Zhongfang on the 30th, the Sakurada brigade assembled in Qitang and advanced to the southeast. After crossing the Yujiang River, the Japanese 18th Division seemed to be in uninhabited territory. On the 30th, it joined the Sakurada Brigade on the east-west line of Gantang and entered the Binyang Plain to pursue the defeated national army. After Xu Tingyao received information about the Japanese Eighteenth Division crossing the river, he prepared to dispatch the Sixth Army of the Central Army and five divisions of the Guangdong Army to follow Wuling and the bridge southward, preparing to establish a defense line north of Gantang to intercept the Eighteenth Division.

At 9 a.m. on February 1, 1940, seven Japanese light bombers took off from Nanning and discovered military targets near Binyang. They immediately bombed and hit the Xu Tingyao 38th Group Army Headquarters, destroying the communication system. , causing Xu Tingyao to lose contact with the troops. The 99th Army, 36th Army, 2nd Army and 6th Army defending at Jiutang and Kunlun Pass lost the command of the group army and fought independently. On the same day, the Japanese 21st Air Force dispatched its entire force to bomb our frontline troops and destroy bridges along the way. Because Xu Tingyao lost control of the troops, the various departments of the national army decided to start a general retreat the next day.

On the afternoon of February 2, 1940, the leading troops of the Sakurada Brigade of the 18th Japanese Division entered Binyang City. The Japanese Imamura Jun 5th Division, which was attacking Kunlun Pass along the Yongbin Highway, was suddenly attacked from the rear by the 156th Division of the 64th Army of the 35th Cantonese Army, which came from Guangdong to rescue. The two armies immediately started a fierce battle in the Wangling and Litang areas southwest of Binyang. In order to hold back the Japanese army, Wang Dequan, commander of the 156th Division, ordered his troops to advance bravely despite Japanese artillery fire, regardless of the cost. During the fierce battle, the leading troops were suppressed by Japanese artillery fire. Battalion Commander Tang Jinsheng was unfortunately shot and killed while shouting "attack" in front of the formation. Upon seeing this, another battalion commander Chen Liewu rushed out and continued to lead his soldiers to attack the Japanese infantry positions ( Later he was seriously injured). Fearing that their retreat would be cut off by the Chinese army, the Japanese army finally did not dare to continue marching north to pursue the Chinese army. Instead, they concentrated their forces to attack the 156th Division. After three days and nights of fierce fighting, the 156th Division achieved results of killing and wounding more than 500 Japanese troops and destroying 8 tanks. At the same time, the 155th Division of the 64th Army of the 35th Group Army took the opportunity to recapture Yongchun, and then sent troops to conduct a feint attack on the outskirts of Nanning, causing the Japanese army to mistakenly believe that the Chinese army had launched a counterattack after regrouping, so it decided to stop the attack and retreat to Kunlun. In the area south of the Guan Pass, the war situation in Guangxi turned dangerous. . (On February 21, 1940, at the post-war Liuzhou review meeting, Deng Longguang, commander-in-chief of the 35th Group Army of the Cantonese Army, credited him once.)

On the afternoon of February 3, 1940, the Japanese 18th Division and Sakura The Tian Brigade entered Zouxu and occupied the Qingshui River bridge in the north, cutting off the retreat route of the 25 divisions headed by the 38th Group Army of the Central Army in the Kunlun Pass area, and completing the encirclement of the Chinese army in the Kunlun Pass area of ??the National Army. Binyang was lost and the way back was cut off, which caused the morale of all the armies to be shattered. They all fled in panic and went their separate ways along the mountain paths. On the same day, the first section of the Sakurada Brigade took advantage of the panic of the national army's retreat to step up the attack and enter Kunlun Pass. Lieutenant General Zheng Zuomin, deputy commander of the 2nd Army and commander of the 9th Division, was shot and killed while retreating to Shanglin. If the Imamura Jun 5th Division, which launched a frontal attack on the Kunlun Pass area on February 2, had not been restrained by the attack from the rear by the 156th Division of the 64th Army of the Cantonese 35th Group Army, the Chinese army in the Kunlun Pass area would have been surrounded and annihilated. Danger. (On February 21, 1940, at the post-war Liuzhou review meeting, Xu Tingyao, commander-in-chief of the 38th Group Army of the Central Army, was dismissed for investigation, Yao Chun, commander of the 36th Army, was dismissed for investigation, Guo Su, chief of staff of the 36th Army, was dismissed for investigation, and the 66th Army Commander Chen Ji was dismissed from his post for investigation, and the commander of the 99th Army Fu Zhongfang was dismissed from his post for investigation. The designations of the three group armies Ye Zhao, Xu Tingyao, and Cai Tingkai were cancelled. Zheng Zuomin, the commander of the 9th Division of the 2nd Army of the 38th Group Army of the Central Army, was exempted from responsibility. Changed to Wumingshi.)

On February 4, 1940, the Japanese army occupied Shanglin, Wuming on the 6th, and Litang on the 7th. The poor soldiers of the 5th Army fought bloody battles for more than half a month to capture the territory, which was instantly wiped out. Ando Toshiyoshi arrived in Binyang and announced that night that "the Battle of Binyang has ended, and troops should be gathered near Nanning." On the 8th, the Japanese troops stopped pursuing and returned to Nanning. After the bloody battle at Kunlun Pass, the Japanese army inscribed a large slogan as a commemoration: "Our imperial army defeated more than 30 divisions of Chiang's army and has returned the treasures to Binyang and Kunlun Pass. Analysis of campaign data."