Anti-Japanese War: From Becoming Chu Yunfei to Rising

Chapter 191: Chiang Kai-shek’s big move, the newly formed th Division! (Subscribe)
"Mr. Commissioner, Germany is willing to continue to fulfill the previous contract by transiting through a third country."

Chiang Kai-shek waited for two days.

Finally, the first good news came.

Since 1933.

The relationship between China and Germany is bound together by interests.

Germany's arms exports helped Germany's economy.

For the war, the Germans had an urgent need for tungsten sand mines.

This exactly meets the needs of the Republic of China to fight against Japan and build its army.

In 1933, German advisers were able to command Zhang Xueliang's troops in the rear to fight against the Japanese Kwantung Army.

By 1935, the number of German advisory groups even exceeded seventy.

In 1936, the Germans helped the Republic of China formulate the Three-Year Industrial Development Plan of the Republic of China, thereby laying the industrial foundation and preparing for resisting the Japanese invasion.

In order to raise relevant construction funds, Germany secretly borrowed money from China with a total value of 100 million marks.

The money was planned to be used for the purchase of German arms at a rate of 20 million per year and for repayment of debts at a rate of 10 million per year.

In terms of arms dependence, it has reached almost 80 percent.

Even in the first few months of the War of Resistance, dependence on imported arms exceeded 80 percent.

The Japanese threatened to withdraw from the anti-communist agreement, forcing Hitler to order an end to the supply of arms to China.

But it was strongly opposed by pro-China officials and generals.

The then Director of the Political Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Weizsäcker, said bluntly: "Not only does Japan have no right to control or question the export of German weapons to China, but even the German government has no right to prevent private arms sales to China."

This sweet period was later also counted.

In 37, the value of combat supplies imported to China reached million marks.

That’s three times as long as 36 years.

According to the statistics of the U.S. State Department in July 38 on the amount of arms imported into the Republic of China by various countries since the July 7 Incident, Americans were surprised to find that Germany still ranked first, surpassing the Soviet Union.

This has led not only the Japanese, but also people in other countries around the world to jokingly call it.

"German-Japanese War."

However, with the subsequent changes in the international situation.

This honeymoon period also saw a transformation.

1937 years.

Hitler marched toward the Rhine River, and the situation of conflict with Britain and France became apparent.

The situation in Europe became tense.

In November of the same year, Germany, Italy and Japan signed an anti-communist agreement and formed a political alliance called the Tripartite Axis.

Hitler's attitude had clearly changed.

In order to implement the invasion plan, Germany decided to sacrifice its relationship with the Republic of China and implement a policy of alliance with Japan, hoping that Japan would contain the Soviet Union's power in the Far East, so that Germany could strike the Soviet Union on the European front in the future.

In 1938, the German cabinet was reorganized.

Both the defense minister and foreign minister, who were previously friendly to China, resigned.

The new Foreign Minister, Ribin Tromp, is a staunch pro-Japanese.

Foreign policy began to develop in a direction that was unfavorable to the Republic of China.

In the same month, Hitler announced his recognition of the puppet state of Manchukuo in Northeast China and stopped accepting students from the Republic of China to study in Germany for relevant military training.

Marshal Meyer also instructed a ban on the sale of weapons to the Republic of China.

"Chairman, judging from the current situation, although the German government has announced a sales ban, it has still secretly transported and delivered a lot of weapons, raw materials, and military production equipment to us. Some weapons are exported to the Republic of China in a disassembled form and then reassembled, or they are pretended to be transported to a third country and then transferred to the Republic of China for delivery, continuing the arms export work."

Chiang Kai-shek smiled and nodded: "If Germany's foreign policy does not change, then not only will the Japanese be tied to the chariot against the Soviet Union, but our war of resistance will also receive help from the Germans. This can not only maintain the military relationship between the two sides, but they can also continue to benefit from us. This is undoubtedly the best choice for the national interests of the Germans!"

Kong Yongzhi smiled and nodded: "Yes, Chairman, if the Germans do not continue to replenish our weapons, it will be difficult to sustain the current war consumption with our current self-produced munitions."

"At present, military factories are still moving inland. We need more arms assistance, especially basic gun and ammunition supplies. We must do our best to obtain them."

Chiang Kai-shek said in a powerful tone: "While we are making successive military victories, let these foreigners know that it is better to invest in us than to stand idly by."

"In this war, we the people of the Republic of China will definitely be the victors in the end."

"According to Minister Wang's report, the Europeans are preparing to increase the supply of arms to the Hong Kong border, from the original monthly average of 60,000 tons to 80,000 tons. The United Kingdom, the United States, and Denmark are all preparing to sign new arms sales contracts with China."

Chiang Kai-shek smiled and nodded: "It seems that these Europeans still know how to judge the situation."

The early days of the War of Resistance.

Hong Kong is a key channel for trade with European and American countries, especially arms trade.

The main weapons transported were bombs, aircraft parts, machine guns, detonators, fuses, explosives, gunpowder, anti-aircraft guns, gas masks and other weapons.

Even the training ammunition needed by Chu Yunfei's Southeast Jin Artillery School.

Either it comes from the port in Guangzhou or from Hong Kong.

At this point in time in China.

There is no longer the ability to produce 75mm artillery shells domestically, not to mention that even the raw materials for producing the shells themselves need to be imported.

In terms of how to gain international recognition, Chiang Kai-shek has actually done his best.

Although we have not yet entered a period of confrontation, it is not yet time to hold on and wait for change.

But before the Qin County encirclement and annihilation battle and the Linyi victory.

In the international community, there are actually few countries willing to lend a helping hand to the Republic of China.

There is no need to say much about the Soviet Union and the Germans.

The interests of both parties were basically the same before.

As for countries like Britain and the United States, they are simply making money from the war.

After all, between countries, interests are eternal.

After Germany announced its recognition of the puppet state of Manchukuo.

Many people advocated breaking off diplomatic relations with the Germans, and this call was growing louder and louder.

But Chiang Kai-shek rejected all objections and firmly disagreed, believing that no matter what the Germans did, they should remain neither close nor distant.

The essence of this is that once Germany's aid is cut off, the military strength of the Republic of China will be greatly weakened.

This means that without economic strength and backup assistance in the war against Japan, there would be no so-called national strength and military power.

How can we win this war without national strength and military power?

Headquarters of the Fifth War Zone Commander.

In the combat conference room.

Chu Yunfei, Wang Mingzhang, Sun Zhen, and division commanders Chi Fengcheng and Zhang Jinzhao from Sun Lianzhong's unit almost all sat together.

After reading out the battle plan.

Everyone immediately began to discuss the strategic situation that might occur in Taierzhuang next.

The defense zones of several people are close to each other.

If any problem arises, we agree to help each other.

"Deputy Chief of General Staff Chu's defense zone is the most critical. It can support Lincheng to the north, flank the main force of the Japanese army to the east, and defend Xuzhou from the rear. I just don't know how many troops and guns and ammunition you have now.

Division Commander Chi Fengcheng was a man who spoke his mind. "You must have consumed a lot of troops in the Linyi counterattack this time."

Chu Yunfei nodded: "More than 3,000 people were killed or wounded, nearly half of them were killed, and the reinforcements are on the way. The commander said that a regiment will be sent over, but this amount of troops is totally unable to keep up with the consumption."

"Moreover, the Fifth Theater does not have the corresponding reserves of the 75mm high-explosive bombs that our unit urgently needs, so we need to allocate them from the Second Theater... This trip will take at least two days, and it will take at least four days to deliver them to the front line, which will delay the progress of the operation."

Everyone sighed when they heard this.

Chu Yunfei is the favorite of Chiang Kai-shek and Yan Laoxi.

It's like being seconded to help in the battle.

The salary is naturally extremely high.

But now all Chu Yunfei's troops are in this state.

Not to mention the rest of the troops.

Chu Yunfei was able to supplement a regiment with his brigade, which was already the best treatment.

The entire 22nd Army Group is expected to be supplemented with two regiments.

The Second Army was supplemented by three regiments.

The average strength of a security regiment is around 1,100 people.

The better ones might have around 1,500 people.

The three regiments can actually supplement a total of 3,500 people.

The combat effectiveness is still unknown.

Most of them are new recruits who have never been on the battlefield.

even so.

The Second Army was still the one that received the most replenishment.

This is also the reason why Li Zongren asked them to take charge of the frontal defense of Taierzhuang.

The 22nd Army suffered heavy casualties, and Tang Enbo's troops had to take on the task of patching up the gap.

In this battle, only Sun Lianzhong's troops can take the lead, while the reinforcements will provide supporting operations.

Sun Zhen, acting commander of the 22nd Army, stressed: "No matter what the outcome of the Battle of Xuzhou is, our army must win the Battle of Taierzhuang."

"That's what Commander Sun said."

"Everyone, don't worry about the troops, weapons and equipment."

Chief of Staff Xu walked up to the crowd and said with a smile: "The Chairman has mobilized the strategic reserves in Wuhan to fully support this operation... Equipment, instruments, supplies, and troops are on the way and can arrive within a day at the earliest."

In order to ensure the smooth progress of the decisive battle in Xuzhou area.

Chiang Kai-shek has essentially mobilized all available supplies.

Basically all usable weapons, supplies, and equipment were transported to the Xuzhou area via the Jinpu and Pinghan railways.

It will be handed over to the commander-in-chief of the fifth war zone for distribution and use.

Chu Yunfei knew it, and Li Zongren himself knew it too.

Chiang Kai-shek was betting that he would win the battle of Xuzhou.

He was prepared to do his best for this.

They are even constantly dispatching troops from all over the place.

According to the estimates of senior generals including Chiang Kai-shek.

The final estimate of the number of troops in Xuzhou area was to increase to 500,000 (nominal, that is, the so-called establishment number).

He wanted to take advantage of the moment when the Fifth Division suffered heavy losses.

In the Xuzhou area, we will fight a major battle with the Japanese that will be second only to the Battle of Songhu.

As long as this battle can be won.

Chiang Kai-shek was confident that he could buy a year to regroup and fight again.

It can not only lay the foundation for victory in the war in North China.

We can also obtain more international assistance.

Even international mediation!
Naturally, Li Zongren could not be persuaded.

Needless to say, Bai Jiansheng, Chen Cixiu and others.

Li Zongren himself was clear about the situation in the Fifth War Zone.

The nominal number of troops on the northern front was 150,000.

But in reality, the available troops were less than 100,000.

The casualties and consumption of each unit were heavy.

Especially in terms of ammunition...supply is often not smooth.

This is particularly unfavorable for the development of the subsequent war situation.

Chu Yunfei has already sacrificed himself once, so there is no reason for him to take on the same mission again.

Perhaps others don’t understand how this battle was won.

But as the commander-in-chief of the Fifth War Zone, Li Zongren naturally knew it well.

Every time the defense line was torn, every time the Japanese invaders adjusted their deployment.

In fact, they are all closely related to the attack of Chu Yunfei's troops.

In other words.

Every time, Chu Yunfei's troops tore through the defense line.

Chu Yunfei's troops even completed the raid and cut off the connection between the 196th Division and the th Division. The Honor th Regiment under his command not only took on the important task of protecting Teng County in the northeast.

They even used offensive operations to tie down two infantry battalions of the 10th Division and successfully destroyed the Japanese front-line airport at Dawenkou.

Chu Yunfei deserves the credit for the great victory in Linyi.

When Li Zongren reported to Chang Kaishen.

Naturally, it is also narrated truthfully.

The unit that made the greatest contribution in this offensive operation must be Chu Yunfei's troops, followed by the 52nd Army and the 59th Army.

As for the hard work of defending Linyi, it naturally fell on the shoulders of the Third Corps.

Since everyone performed well, commendations and rewards were naturally indispensable.

It’s just that the rewards cannot be redeemed for the time being.

All Chiang Kai-shek can do now is write them a blank check, which can be redeemed slowly or even after the war.

Anyway.

There is no need to worry about the organization of the Third Corps under Pang Bingxun, at least during this period of time.

Even if Chiang Kai-shek wanted to get rid of him, he should at least wait until the Battle of Xuzhou was over.

The 59th Army also washed away the shame since the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War.

Not to mention the Central Army.

There is already relevant information about Guan Linzheng.

After the Battle of Xuzhou, he will be promoted to corps commander due to his merits.

As for Chu Yunfei, as a key figure in this battle, his military achievements are needless to say.

What specific position will be promoted and how the unit should be reorganized and expanded.

so far.

The Military Committee is still engaged in quite intense discussions.

The 358th Brigade, which has five regiments under its command, is likely to undergo a second reorganization.

It became 358D, under which were 196B and 197B.

To respond, it would be sufficient to simply form two new infantry regiments.

As for Chu Yunfei's own position, he naturally needs to go further.

Many people even speculated that Chu Yunfei would be appointed as the Chief of Staff of the Southern Route Army.

The original Chief of Staff Guo naturally just served as the commander of his Ninth Army.

Once such an appointment is made.

Chu Yunfei's future development direction.

That is to take over General Wei Lihuang's position as commander-in-chief of the Southern Route Army.

There is also speculation.

Chu Yunfei is likely to return to the Second War Zone to take over Yang Aiyu's position.

That is, he served as Chief of Staff of the Sixth Army Group.

Commander-in-Chief of the Sixth Army Group.

But anyway.

These are just speculations at this point.

Commendations and orders have not yet been issued.

At this time, Chiang Kai-shek had no troops or supplies to provide to Chu Yunfei.

As for manpower, troops from the rear can still be drawn.

In terms of weapons, Chiang Kai-shek could only hope that the Taiyuan Arsenal would quickly restore its production capacity after the evacuation.

Or perhaps they were waiting for this group of foreign friends to provide full support to the Republic of China's war of resistance.

Only after a new batch of weapons and equipment arrived did Chu Yunfei's troops complete the relative replacement of equipment.

After a simple lunch together, each unit hurried back to their command positions.

Chu Yunfei himself is still very close to Hanzhuang.

I thought that the reorganization work would be carried out after the Battle of Xuzhou.

But no one expected that Chiang Kai-shek could not wait any longer.

As soon as I returned to the headquarters.

Fang Ligong handed the telegram to Chu Yunfei with a smile on his face: "Sir, you will be the head of the department soon!"

"Oh my god, there are so many people!"

Even Chu Yunfei, who was well-informed, did not expect Chiang Kai-shek to be so generous.

He was directly given an entire reorganization division.

A whole one!

"Newly Formed 14th Division"

Chu Yunfei had no impression of this unit at all: "What is this unit? I have never heard of it before."

"It was formed at the beginning of this year. It is a new army unit with four regiments in the division as the main force and recruited new soldiers from Hubei Province for training."

Chu Yunfei frowned: "Does that mean he has no fighting power?"

"The establishment is 8,000 people, but there are actually only 4,000 people?"

Fang Ligong nodded.

He felt that Chu Yunfei didn't seem as happy and excited as he had imagined.

"What about weapons?"

"Equipped with 2,000 rifles, 30 light machine guns, and 8 heavy machine guns"

Chu Yunfei laughed to himself when he heard this: "When did our chairman become so stingy?"

"Who is the former commander?"

"Chen Haochen."

Chu Yunfei frowned slightly: "I haven't heard of it, someone from CC department?"

Fang Ligong shook his head: "Not sure, probably not, but the four regiment commanders are all Whampoa students."

"When will we arrive at the Xuzhou front line?"

"It's expected to be two days at most..."

After thinking carefully for a moment, Chu Yunfei began to prepare to adjust the combat system of his troops.

For the following positions, Chu Yunfei actually has 100% authority over personnel appointments and dismissals.

Just report to Chiang Kai-shek and everything will be given the green light.

This is also the special treatment given to him by Chiang Kai-shek.

"The Honorable 196th Regiment will be reorganized into the Honorable 196B according to the plan, and the 197th Regiment will be reorganized into the Honorable 197B"

"At the same time, the field artillery regiment will be incorporated into 196B, and the mountain artillery regiment into 197B."

"All other troops will be incorporated into the direct-affiliated troops, especially the cavalry battalion. Brother Ligong, please call Wuhan as soon as possible... request for the replenishment of war horses and corresponding weapons and equipment..."

Fang Ligong hesitated slightly.

Chu Yunfei was quite determined: "If we don't take this opportunity to get more things back, after the Battle of Taierzhuang is over, there will be more troops that need to be reorganized. What if we are assigned some troops that we don't want to see... How can we continue the war of resistance?"

Domineering and even a little unreasonable.

Chu Yunfei's statement is like...

These weapons and equipment can only play their greatest value in his hands.

Although the words may sound a bit harsh, they are true.

In Chu Yunfei's hands, these weapons and equipment can exert a power of 1+1 greater than 2.

Fall to some ragtag troops.

Even the commander was killed by a warlord who should have been shot long ago.

There is even a certain probability that these weapons will flow into the black market and cannot be actually issued.

By the time the battle was over, only 1,800 of the 4,000 rifles were left.

A division has more than 8,000 people, but after a battle, only 2,000 are left.

Those who don’t know would think that it was a bloody battle with the Japanese invaders, where so many soldiers died and sacrificed their lives.

But in reality, a division essentially consists of only 4,000 people and 2,000 weapons.

As for the rest, it had long been completely embezzled.

Battle of Nanjing.

Chiang Kai-shek then punished more than 20 commanders at brigade level and above by military law.

It’s just a pity that Sun Yuanliang is not among them.

Fang Ligong remembered that Chu Yunfei expressed this privately more than once.

Some generals joined the war and fought.

After the fight, besides helping these bastards settle their accounts.

It can only disappoint the people and make everyone lose confidence in the victory of the War of Resistance!
When Chu Yunfei expressed these opinions, he mentioned names without any reservation.

Chu Yunfei hated these damn warlords to the core.

He even hoped that this group of people would be brought to justice, and he even thought more than once about asking Sun Ming to take people to shoot secretly.

And for the troops who are fighting bloody battles on the Xuzhou front.

Chu Yunfei's impression improved a lot.

Although they have poor fighting ability and lack of training.

But they dare to sacrifice and are willing to fight.

Use your life to complete the military orders issued by Li Zongren.

Soldiers have the natural duty to obey orders and also the natural duty to defend the country.

At least for now, the initiative in the Battle of Xuzhou is still firmly in their hands.

If the Battle of Taierzhuang could have achieved a great victory, the entire Seya Detachment would have been in it.

So, before the other main forces of the North China Expeditionary Army moved south.

Xuzhou will never fall into the hands of the Japanese!
Wuhan, Chairman’s residence.

Chiang Kai-shek had just finished a meeting and returned to his office.

No time to rest yet.

Wang Shihe then handed the telegram in his hand to Chang Kaishen.

Chiang Kai-shek did not reach out to take it, but simply asked, "Whose telegram is it?"

"It was sent by Chu Yunfei"

"What's the matter?" Chang Kaishen looked at the official documents on the table and reviewed them quickly.

"A list of those who need to be promoted for their contributions to the Linyi Victory, as well as a list of the corresponding weapons and ammunition that need to be replenished."

"In addition, he hoped in the telegram that the chairman could provide him with a group of students who were Whampoa graduates or at least officers from the officer training class... He believed that these students had firm political ideas and only needed some guidance on strategies and tactics to grow into qualified middle and lower-level officers, which would be the best support for them."

"What else did he say in the telegram?" Chiang Kai-shek nodded with satisfaction and asked.

"He briefly summarized the casualties and losses of his troops, and at the end he said that he would do his best in the Battle of Taierzhuang and win a great victory to relieve you of your worries."

Chiang Kai-shek could no longer suppress his smile: "This Chu Yunfei..."

“Approved!”

"Yes!"

Wang Shihe turned around and was about to return the call.

"Click it."

Wang Shihe stopped walking, turned slowly, and walked back to Chiang Kai-shek.

Chang Kai-shen put the pen back into the cap and said leisurely, "In my name, tell Yunfei that the Japanese army has assigned more aviation units in this direction... In this battle of Taierzhuang, they must reduce their own losses and casualties. Also, tell him to pay attention to safety and not always rush to the front line to do the work of battalion commander or regiment commander."

"Yes!"

The reference material for this chapter is: Diplomatic Situation during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Tuanjie Publishing House, pages 86-107.

Regarding the expansion of Chu Yunfei’s troops, it is a special organization of one division, two brigades, seven regiments and a direct-affiliated team.

Special preparation
There is no need to compare the organization and combat sequence of the National Army. The equipment and firepower of Chu Yunfei's troops with the same structure have surpassed the German-equipped divisions..There is no need to compare.

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(End of this chapter)