Chapter 6: Fighting (16)

The 3rd Division was indeed a mechanized division with advanced equipment, and the armored troops, automobile units, and baggage units all took the road, while the infantry all walked to Zhangbaling, and after crossing the railway break, they were sent to Bengbu by the train stranded in Zhangbaling. In a short period of three days, the entire division was assembled in Bengbu, and the commander of the division, Lieutenant General Fujita Jin, stood on the blown up Bengbu iron bridge, stopped to look north, full of ambition, and had a panoramic view of the land of Huaibei. This time I went north, I will definitely be able to take Xuzhou in one fell swoop and take Jinpu Road in my hands. From the perspective of the Japanese base camp, one of China's two major north-south passages is the Jinpu Road, which starts from Tianjin on the Bohai Sea in the north to Pukou on the Yangtze River in the south, and Nanjing on the other side of the Yangtze River. The other is the Pinghan line, which runs from Beiping in the north to Wuhan in the south. As long as these two railways are taken, the whole of China can be occupied from point to line, from line to line. When he left Nanjing, General Hata Shunliu sent him to the Xiaguan Wharf and told him that he had a great responsibility to go to Huaibei, and that the Third Division was the last door latch to close, and that only the appearance of the Third Division could all the Chinese troops in Xuzhou be locked up in the Xubu area, and as long as the Chinese army could be annihilated in one fell swoop, the Chinese military would no longer have a strong army. Fujita Jin smiled, Tang Enbo, a junior who graduated from the 18th Infantry Section of the Japanese Army Non-commissioned Officer School, this time look where you are fleeing!

However, on May 11, when the 3rd Division arrived in Bengbu, it uncharacteristically stopped its northward march and stopped in Bengbu, and the soldiers took to the streets and began to clean up the garbage on the streets of Bengbu, clean up the sanitary corners, shelter the homeless, set up a care office, and appoint new management personnel to form a new management organization.

The 3rd Division did not move, which did not mean that other divisions and regiments also stopped attacking, just in the past few days, the Japanese army in Luxi and Lunan in northern Anhui strengthened the offensive, and the 13th Division that occupied Yongcheng sent a rapid advance detachment (1 brigade of tanks, 1 squadron of light armored vehicles, 2 squadrons of vehicle infantry, and 1 squadron of engineers), and entered the area east of Wangge at 15 o'clock on the 14th, blowing up the Longhai Railway. After fierce fighting, Lu Xi's 16th Division repelled the 74th Division of Sun Tongxuan's 3rd Group Army and captured Yutai and Jinxiang on the 14th. On the morning of the 14th, its rapid assault team (1 tank brigade, 1 vehicle infantry brigade, 1 field artillery squadron, and 1 engineer squadron) penetrated deep into the vicinity of Huangkou, blew up a section of the Longhai Road, and joined up with the advance detachment of the 13th Division of the "Central China Dispatch Army." The rendezvous of the 13th Division and the 16th Division seemed to have formed a large encirclement of Xuzhou, and the Nationalist troops assembled in the Lanfeng area could not aid Xuzhou in the east, and the Fifth Theater of Operations in Xuzhou had been isolated.

At the same time, the 9th Division of the Japanese Army in Baishan put on a posture of carrying out a key attack on Suzhou, and went around to Liutai in the southwest of Suzhou to confront the Jixing Ministry of Culture, which firmly attracted the attention of the Chinese army.

In addition, Chaoxian's Sakamoto detachment (the 11th Brigade of the 6th Division) also advanced north on May 11, repelled Xu Yuanquan's troops, and occupied Hefei on the 14th.

In the headquarters of the 174th Division in the big camp, Zhang Guangwei, Qin Jing, Liu Qingfan and Mo Di sat together, and when Zhang Guangwei threw the question out, Qin Jing smiled and said: "What explanation does Chief of Staff Mo Tianzong make for this?" ”

Mo Di smiled and didn't speak, he knew that Qin Jing wanted to see his jokes, no matter what he said, the other party had already prepared a lot of rhetoric to deny, so it was better not to say it.

He didn't say that others couldn't spare him, and Liu Qingfan also said with a smile on his face: "Chief of Staff Mo, this is the scope of your duties!" ”

Qin Xing, the deputy division commander, was a kind person, and said in a round: "I also think this matter is a bit abnormal, and it is better for everyone to discuss it together." The Third Division came to Bengbu in a big way, was it just to occupy Bengbu? ”

"I think it's entirely possible." Qin Jing said: "The Sakamoto detachment of Chaoxian County occupies Hefei, the third division occupies Bengbu, and then Gu Shoufu's sixth division occupies Anqing, and the thirteenth division occupies Zhoukou Bozhou. As long as the national army in Xuzhou was driven away, the vast area from North China to East China would all fall into the hands of the Japanese army. With the Jinpu Road, the Shanghai-Nanjing Line, North China and East China are connected, and the troops of Manchukuo can be transported to all parts of China by rail, and we can be regarded as losing this war. ”

Mo Di nodded secretly, this Qin Jing is not a straw bag, what he said has a certain truth, but he saw the strategy of the Japanese army, but he was not able to see the tactics of the Japanese army, this pull is the tactical cooperation of the Japanese army, and what is to be cracked at present is the tactics of the Japanese army rather than the strategy of the light Japanese army.

"Yes, our top priority is to fight the 3rd Division back, and we can't let them occupy Bengbu as they wish, as long as a gap is opened, the enemy army will definitely collapse on all fronts." Liu Qingfan followed Qin Jing's words and said.

Mo Di still doesn't speak, at this time, it's not the time to speak by himself. Liu Qingfan's words are obviously a set-up, and as far as he is concerned, a person who once served as the chief of staff of the 48th Army, his eyes are not so bad.

Mo Di didn't speak, and Qin Xing, the deputy division commander of the good man, had no choice but to start playing a round again, and said with a smile: "Our current position is very good, in Dayingji, the north is not close to Suzhou, and the south is far from Bengbu. ”

Zhang Guangwei knew that if he didn't speak, Mo Di would definitely not speak, coughed, and said to Mo Di: "Tianzong, what do you think?" ”

"What I'm most worried about now is that the upper part will suddenly go crazy and let us outflank the Ninth Division of Baishan." Mo Di said.

This statement was completely unexpected by Qin Jing and Liu Qingfan, there was no rhetoric to be prepared to deal with, Qin Jing was a straight person, he asked if he didn't understand, and asked with a puzzled face: "Why do you want to outflank the Ninth Division?" ”

"I don't understand it yet!" Liu Qingfan, who was born as a chief of staff and was strong in strategy, explained to Qin Jing: "Since the Third Division is not moving, and the Ninth Division is acting rashly, at this time, instead of letting us stay here and wait for a third division that can come or not, it is better to concentrate on taking down the Ninth Division." Therefore, it is possible to withdraw our 174th Division, leaving the 135th Division on the north bank of the Huai River to monitor the movements of the 3rd Division. ”

Qin Jing nodded frequently, so it was, thinking to himself, it turned out that this Mo Tianzong was not exactly a straw bag.

But he didn't want Liu Qingfan's tone to change, Qi Feng started anew: "But I think Chief of Staff Mo's concern is superfluous." It is 50 kilometers from Huaiyuan and Dayingji, and even if there is no 135th Division to defend by the Huai River, it will take a day to walk, and if the factor of the 135th Division is added, the 3rd Division will set off from Bengbu and arrive at Dayingji within three days. Even if we were to deal with the 9th Division, it would still be too late to return to the camp and wait for the Japanese army after learning that the 3rd Division had crossed the river. ”

Mo Di didn't argue with them, the division commander and deputy division commander of the other side were there, there was no need to explain more to the brigade commander below, and said to Zhang Guangwei: "Fifty kilometers is not three days, nor is it a day, in the eyes of the Third Division, which has a high degree of mechanization, it is one or two hours. As for the 135th Division, it is our blessing to be able to hold it for three hours. ”

"Chief of Staff Mo, this is too much to increase the courage of the Japanese army and destroy his own prestige." Zhang Qingfan said: "The Su Division is in Mingguang, and it has been fighting with the 13th Division for 40 days, how can it not withstand the 3rd Division for three hours? This joke is a bit big! ”

Qin Jing and Zhang Qingfan laughed, in their opinion, this Mo Tianzong's courage and knowledge were as small as his figure.

This time, even the deputy division commander Qin Xing agreed with Zhang Qingfan's opinion, thinking that Su Zuxin's 135th Division could not be so bad, but he said to Mo Di very politely: "Tianzong, tell me why Su Shi can't withstand the third division for three hours, I am very puzzled. ”

"At the beginning, the 13th Division was stranded in Mingguang for forty days, not because of the 135th Division's resistance, but because the Japanese army had not yet reached the time to march. When it came time to advance, the 135th Division was completely unable to stop it. When he broke through the interception of the 135th Division and arrived at Bengbu, the 7th, 48th, 31st, 51st, and 57th armies joined forces and blew up the iron bridge before driving it back to Chuzhou. Mo Di said.

"Then may I ask Chief of Staff Mo, after the defeat of the Ninth Division, there will be nothing to do with the 31st Army, the 51st Army, and the 57th Army, it is completely the credit of the 7th and 48th Armies, and it is completely defeated." Qin Jing retorted: "Chief of Staff Mo personally participated in the battle with the Ninth Division, and should know better than us. ”

Mo Di lowered his head and thought for a long time, and said: "That's different, the Ninth Division was scared away." ”

"Scared away?" Qin Jing and Liu Qingfan glanced at each other, and laughed in unison, how is this possible, the current war is no longer the time of cold weapons in the Middle Ages, and it can still be scared away, could it be that Sun Sheng, the dragon of the dragon, can not be invited to jump out of the clouds A group of big tigers have never been.

Zhang Guangwei formed this brand-new 174 Division, except for himself to go back with a guard squad, all the people were configured by the Guangxi Military Government, deputy division commander Qin Xing, who was the commander of the 528 Brigade before, and there were several connections, as for the two brigade commanders, they were working together for the first time and were not very familiar. Zhang Guangwei was a little annoyed by their attitude, but he didn't dare to be angry, so he had to change the topic with a dry smile and said: "That's all in the past, let's still discuss the current problem." ”

"In front of you?" Liu Qingfan took over the topic: "At present, we should be ready to be deployed, always obey the dispatch of the upper peak, and not delay the task of encircling and annihilating the Ninth Division." ”

"Yes, I firmly believe that the 135th Division is guarding the north bank of the Huai River, and it will be able to entangle with the Third Division for at least 358 days, and the enemy will not want to cross the Huai River without paying a third of the troops." Qin Jing completely stood in a trench with Liu Qingfan.

Qin Xing was about to do something, and the chief of staff, He Weihao, walked in, holding a telegram in his hand, and handed it to Zhang Guangwei. Zhang Guangwei took it and glanced at it and handed it to Qin Xing. After reading the two lines of words on the telegram, Qin Xing's already open mouth was closed, and the expression on his face immediately became solemn. The contents of the telegram were very simple: The 1st Division of the 9th Division attacked Suxian yesterday and had contacted the Jixing Cultural Department of the 179th Division of the 77th Army, and asked the 174th Division to quickly move north and cooperate with the 179th Division to wipe out the Japanese troops in the area of Liutai.

"It's okay to go to a brigade, right?" Qin Xing looked at Zhang Guangwei.

"I'll go, I'll go." The two brigade commanders fought like children.

"Let's go together." Zhang Guangwei said: "The request from above is the 174th Division, and it is not good for us not to follow it. ”

The two brigade commanders agreed, believing that only with a thunderous blow could the battle be quickly ended and returned as soon as possible.

"Go ahead, I'm not going to leave here." Mo Di said. He knew that the responsibility of this place was too heavy and he must not abandon it, not to mention that the telegram only asked the 174th Division to attack together, not including the 526th Brigade, which was just a prevarication.

"Okay! I led the 520th and 522nd brigades to rush to the aid with light equipment, and the division headquarters, baggage and artillery battalions were not accompanied by them, but were guarded by Deputy Division Commander Qin. Zhang Guangwei also saw the importance of the southern front.

"Yes." As he spoke, Wei Yunsong walked in from outside.

Everyone stood up and said hello, Wei Yunsong pressed his hands down, and said: "I and the departments directly under the 31st Army also stay in Dayingji, even if the Japanese army passes through the Huai River, we will keep them here." ”

In this way, the soldiers are very fast, and there is no delay, and it is nearly a hundred miles from the camp to Liutai, and it takes most of the day to march rapidly. Zhang Guangwei looked back all the way, his heart was very bottomless, if the third division really quickly passed the defense of the 135th division, this group of people directly under the group could not stop the enemy's attack.