Chapter 10: Anqing (55)

Gaocheng, the Japanese army attacked like a storm for three days, and the 84th Army held out for three days in the wind and rain. On 5 May, Sun Lianzhong's division on the northern front was defeated by the 3rd Division and withdrew from Qinyang, and the 84th Army on the central front also completed the task of holding the enemy back, withdrew from Gaocheng, and retreated to the second line of defense in Suiyang.

After the occupation of Gaocheng, the commander of the 39th Division, Murakami Keisaku, ordered to continue the attack, but the commander of the 3rd Division in Qinyang, Yamawaki Masataka, was in a dilemma, because he found that the primary target of this operation, Tang Enbo's 31st Group Army, was not only not surrounded by the huge encirclement drawn by the Japanese army in the area of Zaoyang, but appeared in the north of Qinyang, and was moving south from Yexian to flank the 3rd Division. Immediately reported to the headquarters of the 11th Army, and Kazuichiro Sonobe learned that it was not the Tang Enbo Group Army that had fought a bloody battle with the 39th Division for three days in the middle road, but the 84th Army of the Gui Army. Kazuichiro Sonobe felt rather lost, and for the first time, he had a bad feeling.

The commander of the 3rd Division, Yamawaki Masataka, heard of Tang Enbo's name for a long time, and knew that the 31st Group Army was moving south at full speed and wanted to carry out a surprise attack on his way to Tang County, and he was so frightened that he did not dare to move. The Tang Army is the most powerful presence in the Chinese army, and the concept of four years of bloody battles and no defeat has been ingrained in Yamawaki Masataka's mind. He sent four telegrams in an hour to the commander of the 11th Army, Kazuichiro Sonobe, repeatedly proposing that the Third Division must not leave Qinyang and must defend the city, otherwise, in the process of marching, he will encounter Tang Enbo, who is known as the contemporary Xiahou Yuan, and fight a sports battle with the Tang Army.

The commander-in-chief, Kazuichiro Sonobe, looked at the overall situation and ordered the 3rd Division Yamawaki Masataka to ignore the Tang Enbo Group Army and should continue to advance westward, occupy the Tang River, and complete the encirclement. Kazuichiro Sonobe believed that although this operation could not encircle Tang Enbo, it was also a great achievement to take down the Chinese army's Second Army and the Eleventh Army in one fell swoop. Although Sun Lianzhong's Second Army and Huang Qixiang's Eleventh Army were miscellaneous and not one of the "elite Chinese nuclear corps", they were also thorns in the side of the Japanese army.

However, Yamawaki Masataka believed that if he led the main force to continue westward at this time, the supply line behind the flank would inevitably be cut off by Tang Enbo. Without supplies, you still have to go back to the decisive battle, since you have to fight anyway, why wait for the passive to attack? It's better to take the initiative to face it. As a result, Yamawaki Masataka no longer obeyed Sonobe Kazuichiro's orders, and ordered the entire 3rd Division to stop advancing, build fortifications at Miyo, and fight a decisive battle with Tang Enbo.

"Masataka Yamawaki, a real fool! Don't you know how fast the soldiers are? Mo Di scolded with a smile.

"That's right! It's a real stunt. Spreading out the map, Jin Tongxuan pointed to the operational map that he had added a lot of content and said: "The forward cavalry unit of the 13th Division is already close to Tang County, as long as the 3rd Division converges at the gate, it can keep Sun Lianzhong's Second Army and Huang Qixiang's 11th Army in the encirclement." As long as the Third Division was less than a day late, leaving a huge opening, Sun Lianzhong's troops could break out of the encirclement and escape to Nanyang. ”

Tang Ruru didn't speak, looked at Jin Tongxuan's map, and swallowed vigorously, this map was drawn too well, clear and distinct, and it was clear at a glance. It's so easy to use, this Jin Tongxuan in front of him is not only a simple talent, but also an absolute scarce genius.

Li Baicheng followed Jin Tongxuan's train of thought and added: "If the Second Army can break out of the encirclement, the Eleventh Army can also throw away the slow-moving Middle Route Army and follow the Second Army out of the encirclement. ”

"No, the task of the Eleventh Army has not been completed, and it cannot be left yet." Mo Di said: "If the Tang Army is a flash of inspiration in Qinyang, then Suiyang is the flowering on the ground." This place will be fought for at least two days, and it will only be possible to withdraw when the opponent can form a joint encirclement and attack back. Otherwise, the Japanese army will change its original plan, and the three Japanese troops will attack in the direction of Xiangyang together, who can stop them. ”

"Yes, the purpose of the 31st Group Army is to force the 3rd Division to fight, if the 3rd Division does not fight, he will carry out a tail attack in the shadows, if the 3rd Division responds to the battle, the 31st Group Army will definitely leave as soon as it is touched, and will not let the 3rd Division be entangled." Jin Tongxuan analyzed: "However, I personally believe that this move should not be the handiwork of General Tang Enbo, and his skill does not seem to be able to reach this step, and it should be the usual idea of General Li Zongren, commander of the Fifth Theater of Operations." General Li is a real wise man, he uses the Tang Army, and he has become superb, and his name and shadow are far better than using soldiers. ”

Tang Ruru nodded and agreed, Li Zongren once again took advantage of Tang Enbo's false name. Mo Di even flashed a thought, Tang Enbo and the 31st Group Army led by him had a great reputation, but they did not fight any decent tough battles, and the title of "Elite Central Nuclear Corps" was not a banner or a pretense deliberately set up by Commander Li Zongren.

Li Baicheng leaned over and looked at the map for a while, raised his head and said: "I understand, after the Japanese army's north and south roads converge in Tang County, the logistics supply lines of the two roads can no longer be used, and all the grain and grass rely on the middle road. The general plan of the Japanese offensive this time was that no matter whether the encirclement of the north and south roads was effective or not, as long as the encirclement was formed, it would definitely fight back and squeeze out the troops of our army in the encirclement with the Japanese army in the center. The purpose of the Japanese army is not to occupy Yangyang, but to destroy our living forces. ”

"That's right!" Jin Tongxuan said with a smile: "Bai Cheng has made great progress!" It's a little stronger than Wuxia Amon. ”

"Cut!" Li Baicheng slapped Jin Tongxuan on the shoulder, and said with a smile: "I have been by your side these days and learned." If you praise me, you praise yourself, are you embarrassed! ”

The invincibles laughed, and they all thought from the bottom of their hearts that Li Baicheng had indeed made progress.

Sure enough, Tang Enbo just made a false shot, and immediately flashed after Sun Lianzhong's Second Army successfully withdrew from the battle circle. Tang Enbo knew very well in his heart that the primary purpose of the Japanese army in this battle was to annihilate his group army, so when the Japanese army was in the limelight, it was extremely stupid to fight a decisive battle with the Japanese army without authorization. Yamawaki Masataka waited for two days, and seeing that Yube had no intention of fighting a decisive battle, he continued his westward advance on May 7, occupied the Tang River, and joined the cavalry vanguard of the 13th Division on the South Road.

At this time, in the middle of the road, a fierce battle is in full swing.

In Suiyang, the same story is played out every day, that is, the interweaving of blood and fire, the contest between meat and iron. At dawn, the Japanese bombarded the positions of the 84th Army with intensive artillery fire, while the cavalry and infantry launched a tentative charge under the cover of tanks. The 174th Division's well-organized infantry fire quickly pushed back the first Japanese charge. As soon as the Japanese infantry retreated, the planes arrived again and bombed indiscriminately, destroying most of the fire points exposed by the enemy's first charge in the forward positions. As soon as the plane left, the infantry arrived, and the vast number of officers and men had to once again use their rudimentary infantry firearms and tired bodies to stop the enemy's repeated charges. In the afternoon, the position of the 189th Division on the left flank was torn open by the enemy. The division commander Ling pressed the west and quickly organized firepower on both sides of the breakthrough to attack the enemy who broke through. It was only after the sun went down that the Japanese army was driven back and the gap was repaired.

Before dawn the next day, the enemy began to attack again, and it was another day of desperate fighting. Some soldiers even jumped out of the trenches, climbed onto enemy tanks and threw them into the car*. Some of the defenders ran out of ammunition and engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy who rushed to the position. At the end of the day, although the 189th and 174th Divisions suffered heavy casualties, their positions remained immovable.

Knowing that the two detours of the Japanese army were about to meet at Tang County, Li Zongren knew that the first phase of the campaign was basically over, and ordered Huang Qixiang, commander of the 11th Group Army, to retreat immediately. Huang Qixiang ordered Zhong Yi's 173rd Division to take charge of the rear of the palace in Zaoyang, hold it for 24 hours, and cover the retreat of the rest of the army.

"Your mother! How could it be the 173rd Division! Seeing the telegram, Li Baicheng scolded!

"It's the same for everyone to stay." Mo Di replied. is not the case, whether it is Zhong Yi, Zhang Guangwei, or Ling Qianxi, which one of them is a person with a close relationship.

Li Baicheng didn't answer, he just kept rubbing his hands, and chattered: "What should I do?" What to do? After a while, he had a flash of inspiration and said, "Go and ask Tongxuan." "Run to the confidential room.

Li Baicheng's nervousness, everyone can understand, as Zhong Yi's cousin, he should be concerned. Everyone knows that at this juncture, the task of being in charge of the palace is extremely dangerous. The reason why Huang Qixiang handed over the task to the 173rd Division was because the 173rd Division was a trustworthy elite unit worthy of trusting with his life.

In the Battle of Songhu, the 173rd Division fought extremely fiercely, and the casualties of only the two main regiments were as high as more than 1,500 people. In the Battle of Xuzhou, Zhou Yuan, deputy commander of the 173rd Division, held Mengcheng. Under the siege of the superior forces of the Japanese army on all sides, the city of Mongolia was fought hard for 3 days and 3 nights, causing 1,000 casualties of the Japanese army. But the regiment was almost completely annihilated, and the deputy division commander Zhou Yuan was wounded in the fierce battle, unwilling to be captured, and shot himself. During the Battle of Suizao last year, the Sichuan army was broken and scattered under the heavy attack of the Japanese army, and Zhong Yi led the 173rd Division to seize the Sichuan army's position a few hours earlier than the Japanese army, and then held it for several days. The 173rd Division was brave and tenacious and could fight tough battles, so this task was given to them. More importantly, the commander of the 173rd Division is Zhong Yi, the division commander with the rank of lieutenant general, one of the famous generals of the Gui Army and one of Li Zongren's henchmen.

As early as when Li Zongren joined the army in 1924, Zhong Yi was his company commander. During the Northern Expedition, Zhong Yi participated in many battles such as De'an, Mahuiling, and Longtan, and was promoted to colonel for good fighting. After that, Zhong Yi, who graduated from Guangxi Normal School, went to Japan to study military affairs, and then went to the Central Military Academy for further study. Zhong Yi is polite, like a scholar, he is determined to fight, and he is not afraid of death.

The breakout of the 11th Army was mostly smooth, and only the 522nd Regiment of the 174th Division, which encountered the Japanese army during the retreat and was forced to make a detour for several days, barely broke through. Due to too many new recruits, the 189th Division Supplementary Regiment was scattered when it encountered a Japanese onslaught. The officers were all veterans, and they were divided into battalions and companies to break through, and most of them also broke out.

The 173rd Division behind His Royal Highness is facing an extraordinary situation!

The Japanese army fought in advance, paying attention to planning in advance, and after the plan was approved, it was implemented to the letter, and at times, it seemed dull and stupid. The Japanese troops from the north and south who converged in Tang County, knowing that they had cast a big net this time, did not catch any big fish, mobilized the troops, and made a big circle, and did not catch the "elite Chinese nuclear corps" in the encirclement. However, they still stubbornly believed that the Second Army and the Eleventh Army had been trapped in the Zaoyang area, and their plans remained unchanged and they were going all out to attack Zaoyang.

The General Command of the Japanese Army did not expect that in this huge encirclement, there was only a force of less than 4,000 people, and a 173rd Division that looked at death as home!

Location: Zaoyang.

Under the siege of more than 20,000 Japanese troops on all sides, the 173rd Division only relied on a strong will to fight, held out for a full 24 hours, and many positions often fought to the last man, until May 8, the main force had successfully broken through, and late at night, Zhong Yi received an order from Huang Qixiang: The 173rd Division behind the palace can break through.

"My mother, I'm finally able to retreat!" Li Baicheng breathed a sigh of relief and almost sat on the ground. He also stayed up with the 173rd Division for a full twenty-four hours, without closing his eyes, he was the first to read all the telegrams, and asked from time to time neurologically: "Have you retreated?" Did you retreat? ”

Mo Di is not as relaxed as Li Baicheng, he knows that it will be more difficult to retreat at this time. The Japanese army has already converged in Tang County, and the army is squeezing southward, while the army in the middle has set up a position to meet the side that is flanking. At this time, in the Zaoyang area, the density of the Japanese army can be said to have reached its peak, and it is not easy to get out of such a density of Japanese troops.