Anti-Japanese War: From Becoming Chu Yunfei to Rising

Chapter 193 Chu Yunfei's appointment and dismissal; the th Division arrives at Taierzhuang. (Subscription required)
Hanzhuang.

Located in the northwest of Taierzhuang.

Borrow the courtyards of local people.

All the generals under Chu Yunfei gathered here.

They are about to hold a relatively simple summary meeting in the courtyard.

Honorary commanders of the 196th Regiment Qian Bojun, 197th Regiment Li Kuishan, the new infantry regiment commander Wu Ziqiang, and the supplementary regiment commander Luo Weiguo.

Liang Guoping, commander of the Mountain Artillery Regiment, and Ouyang Xianpeng, commander of the 30th Artillery Regiment.

The battalion commander of the cavalry battalion was Ma Keying, the battalion commander of the heavy mortar battalion was Song Ming, and the battalion commander of the baggage transport battalion was Liu Shugao.

Chief of Staff Fang Ligong, Zhang Dayun and others gathered together.

A group of officers, whose lowest rank was lieutenant colonel, sat on benches, leaning against firewood and the courtyard wall, quietly waiting for Chu Yunfei's arrival.

Soon, after learning that everyone had arrived, Chu Yunfei and Wu Ziqiang walked over.

Seeing everyone standing at attention and saluting, Chu Yunfei returned the salute and said with a smile: "The conditions are simple, and we can't find a larger room in Hanzhuang for us to hold a meeting."

"I had originally thought of taking three hours tonight to do a summary and learn from the combat experiences and lessons of each unit, but the reorganization of the troops is more important. I will postpone the summary meeting and talk about the reorganization first."

Liang Guoping took out the notebook from his pocket and looked at it carefully with wide eyes.

Unfortunately, the light was too dim and I couldn't even see the words I wrote.

"Sir, isn't there even a light in this place?"

Chu Yunfei shook his head: "Due to the bombing by Japanese fighter planes, Hanzhuang has lost power this afternoon."

"The Japanese air force is dispatching more frequently. I judge that within two days, the Japanese army will definitely launch another attack."

Everyone became quite serious upon hearing this, and listened attentively to everything Chu Yunfei said next.

"After the battle of Linyi, according to the order of the chairman, we will make further adjustments to the command structure."

"Before that, let's talk about the main personnel promotions."

"Qian Bojun was promoted to Honorary Commander of 196B, Luo Weiguo was promoted to Deputy Brigade Commander of 196B, and Zhang Dayun was promoted to Honorary Deputy Chief of Staff of 196B and will remain at the headquarters."

"Li Kuishan was promoted to commander of 197B, and Qian Zhaoyou was promoted to chief of staff of 197B."

"Honor 196th Regiment was reorganized into Honor 196B"

"It has the First, Second, and Third Infantry Regiments under its command."

"197th Regiment, reorganized into 197B"

"It has the 4th, 5th, and 6th Infantry Regiments under its command."

"The number has not yet been determined. We are waiting for Wuhan's arrangements."

"The Mountain Artillery Regiment and the 30th Artillery Regiment still exist as direct subordinate units."

"The First Battalion where Bian Fucheng is stationed will be reorganized into a direct assault battalion. The personnel will be adjusted and reduced to 800 people. The rest will be added to the First Infantry Regiment."

"The commander of the 1st Infantry Regiment will be Bian Fucheng, and the former commander of the Sharp Knife Company will serve as the commander of the Assault Battalion."

Chu Yunfei paused, then added: "Xue Jie is the acting head of the Second Regiment, and Liu Wang is the deputy head."

"The commander of the Third Infantry Regiment is concurrently served by Deputy Brigade Commander Luo Weiguo, and the deputy commander of the Third Regiment is Ji Yuesong (Chapter 125, commander of the Fifth Battalion, and the second commander of the Thirteenth Company of the old 358th Regiment)."

"The specific deployment of battalions, companies, and combat teams must take into account firepower as well as speed and agility."

"But... we lack effective communication equipment and our radio stations are insufficient."

Qian Bojun raised a very crucial question.

Chu Yunfei said: "Commander Yan has urgently ordered another batch of radios from Germany. It will take at least three months for them to arrive. At this stage, they are mainly used to accompany the brigade in combat. Whether it is the Fifth Theater, the Second Theater, or the Chairman, radios are the most in-demand strategic materials at the moment."

Li Kuishan sighed: "What a pity, we were not able to seize it in previous battles."

"These little devils are equipped with small radio stations at the battalion level, but once the battle fails, they will choose to destroy them." Wu Ziqiang was a little helpless, and he emphasized: "These little devils from the Fifth Division knew that they were defeated, and they even destroyed the heavy machine guns and even the Type 38 rifles they used... They are really different from the little devils we fought before."

"There have been cases of weapons destruction like this before, but none as thorough as the Fifth Division. This seems to be a new situation."

Chu Yunfei touched his chin, then turned to look at Li Kuishan.

"I plan to have three infantry regiments under 197B. The commanders of the fourth, fifth, and sixth regiments will be Pang Junming, Cao Potian, and Wu Sizhong respectively."

"Yan Weiliang, former commander of the 197st Battalion of the th Regiment, was transferred to the Supplementary Regiment as deputy commander."

"As for the mortar companies of each regiment, they were expanded to the battalion-level combat sequence and became brigade-level mortar battalions."

"Follow Commander Chu's arrangements."

Pang Junming, Cao Potian, and even Wu Sizhong were all from his old 38th Army Training Corps.

In addition to Wu Sizhong having previously participated in a period of officer training.

Almost none of them had any contact with Chu Yunfei.

Li Kuishan was naturally satisfied.

"Wuhan is still coordinating with military supplies and artillery, and it is unclear when they will be fully staffed."

This personnel adjustment.

Chu Yunfei not only dismantled the sharp knife company under Qian Bojun.

The first battalion, which had made great contributions in this operation, was reorganized for the second time.

Except for Bian Fucheng and some old members of the 196st Battalion who stayed in B and formed a main infantry regiment.

The remaining troops will be organized into a direct assault battalion.

Continue to play the role of the spearhead.

Yan Weiliang under Li Kuishan is a member of Li Kuishan's direct troop that has always followed Li Kuishan in battle.

His performance in this battle was acceptable, and he should indeed be promoted for his military achievements.

It’s just that his performance wasn’t as dazzling as the others, and Yan Weiliang has seniority.

It is obviously inappropriate to stay in the old unit and serve as a deputy commander for others.

Chu Yunfei transferred him to the supplementary regiment as deputy commander, which not only avoided this embarrassing situation, but also provided him with a position as commander of the supplementary regiment.

After all, Luo Weiguo still has to serve as deputy brigade commander in 196B.

The new infantry regiment is planned to be expanded to 198B, which will include the th Infantry Regiment and the th Infantry Regiment (to be established).

Chu Yunfei served as the commander and Wu Ziqiang served as the deputy brigade commander.

Chu Yunfei did not reorganize according to the Military Commission's suggestions.

Wu Ziqiang's troops are actually still the original direct-affiliated troops.

Directly affiliated units are: 198B, th Artillery Regiment, Mountain Artillery Regiment, Cavalry Battalion, Assault Battalion
Basically, all those who have made contributions will be promoted by half a level or one level.

All those who should be promoted will be promoted.

He also dismantled the main battalion under Qian Bojun and removed a direct battalion commander under Li Kuishan.

"The organizational structure adjustment needs to be completed as soon as possible. I can only give you three days. The personnel transfer and corresponding job arrangement can be guaranteed later, but the organization and combat capability of the troops need to be restored as soon as possible."

"Yes!"

The next day.

Not long after Chu Yunfei got up, he received news that the Seya Detachment of the Jigsaw Division continued its attack southward.

He walked into the command center.

Fang Ligong briefly introduced the situation to Chu Yunfei.

"After the Jigu Division discovered that Tang Enbo's troops had withdrawn, they launched an attack on Teng County. According to the original battle plan, they would only hold out for two days before abandoning the city and heading south to Lincheng with the support of reinforcements.

At present, the 22nd Army has been fully deployed and has entered the preset defensive position."

"What about Linyi?"

"The Japanese army has not launched an attack, but according to news from the Fifth War Zone this morning, the Japanese army is frequently conducting aerial reconnaissance of our defense zones, and it is very likely that they are planning a new offensive."

Chu Yunfei nodded: "The main forces of the North China Expeditionary Army are basically resting. Now they are hastily switching to offensive operations. Naturally, their performance is not as good as expected. Moreover, the combat supplies they need now need to be transported from their homeland, which takes time."

"Their rear troops also need to be integrated into the combat units. This is also our army's last chance to reorganize."

Chu Yunfei picked up the pencil in his hand and pointed in the direction of the 10th Division: "Now, it depends on how our opponents fight. Even if they don't attack and wait for the arrival of subsequent support troops, we have completed the task of buying time."

"No matter what, the initiative is in our hands."

Fang Ligong was quite confident at this time. Given the current war situation, he really didn't know how he would lose.

The Japanese invaders can either advance or stop.

It was a huge profit for both the Five War Zones and the Republic of China.

It can not only preserve the military strength under his command, but also buy more time for Wuhan and the rear area.

It's not just the five war zones that are fighting in the entire country.

It’s just that the battle in Xuzhou is currently the largest battle in the country.

This group of invaders have been at this place since they set foot on Chinese soil.

Every minute and every second, you are actually bleeding continuously, it’s just a matter of how fast you bleed.

North China Expeditionary Army Headquarters.

"Commander, Commander Jigu requests to continue the attack on Teng County."

Commander of the North China Expeditionary Army, Terauchi Hisaichi, nodded slightly: "Order the Jigu Division to quickly capture Tengxian and go straight to Xuzhou."

"Guoqi Detachment (a regiment of the 5th Division + 16th Division, which was originally disbanded and rebuilt again with some reinforcements) launched an attack in the direction of Linyi. After conquering Linyi, it launched an attack in the direction of Taierzhuang along the Weitai Highway."

"Hai!"

The Special High Technology Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs collected a lot of intelligence about troops being dispatched from various places to reinforce the Xuzhou front line.

Terauchi Hisaichi knew clearly that Li Zongren wanted to engage him in an unprecedented large-scale battle in the Taierzhuang area.

Although the Fifth Division suffered a slight loss in the Battle of Linyi, with nearly 10,000 casualties.

But only a few thousand Japanese soldiers were killed directly.

Wait until the troops in Japan are replenished.

The combat effectiveness of the Fifth Division will be restored.

But this round trip will take at least a whole month.

Terauchi Hisaichi wanted to conquer North China in one battle.

It is necessary to continue to draw on the corresponding combat forces for support.

Relying solely on the strength of four divisions of the North China Expeditionary Army.

Naturally, it was impossible to surround the hundreds of thousands of main forces of the National Army.

This plan requires the cooperation of the Central China Expeditionary Force.

A plan was being hatched in which a small number of troops were used to directly contain the main force of the National Army in the Xuzhou area, while the main force of the Japanese army would detour to the west and encircle Xuzhou from the flank.

At noon that day.

The city defending troops of the 122nd Division of the Sichuan Army suffered the most direct artillery fire.

The commander of the Seya detachment, Seya Kei, learned from the experience and lessons of the Sakamoto detachment and his own previous attack on Teng County. He decided not to fight with the Sichuan Army on the periphery, but to take a detour and directly attack the county seat of Teng County.

This time.

Their flanks no longer had the diversionary attack of the 196th Honor Regiment.

The Japanese also don't need to leave more troops behind.

The composition of the Seya Detachment itself is a bit odd.

Specifically, the Seya Detachment was composed of the 10th Regiment, the 63rd Regiment, the 10th Independent Machine Gun Battalion, the 10th and 12th Independent Light Armored Vehicle Squadrons, the 10th Field Artillery Regiment, part of the 2nd Field Heavy Artillery Regiment, the 3rd Chinese Garrison Artillery Battalion, a squadron of the 10th Engineer Regiment, the 15th Station Vehicle Squadron, and one squadron each of temporary mountain artillery and field artillery.

That’s not all. The headquarters of the 1st Field Heavy Artillery Brigade also moved with the detachment.

In other words.

The artillery strength of the Seya Detachment now even exceeds the configuration of a permanent infantry division.

After the main force of the 10th Division moved south.

The Seya Detachment's strength has now expanded from the original 6,000 to more than 9,000 people.

When attacking Teng County, the defending troops originally wanted to fight back with grenades.

No one expected that the Japanese invaders who came to attack this time would use artillery shells to clear the way.

More than 3,000 shells were fired in just one morning.

The entire outer position of Teng County was instantly reduced to scorched earth, and even most of the city walls of Teng County were blown down.

Seya Kei personally went to the front line to supervise the battle and saw the crumbling city walls of Teng County.

Ordered the infantry to launch a general attack.

As soon as he got close.

Grenades were thrown from the defensive positions like raindrops.

Grenades exploded in the air.

Although the Sichuan Army’s equipment was poor, their grenades were not made in the border areas like those used by the Eighth Route Army.

Basically, they are stocks from Gongxian County and the original Taiyuan Arsenal.

The power is still sufficient.

Later, this battle was also regarded by many commanders as a duel between artillery shells and grenades.

The Japanese attacked for two hours, were hit by more than 2,000 grenades, and suffered nearly 1,000 casualties.

They barely managed to capture the outer positions of Teng County, but as for the city defense of Teng County, they were never able to break through.

This made Seya Kei increase the intensity of the bombardment.

The bombardment lasted for half an hour.

The north gate tower and city wall of Teng County were all destroyed.

The infantry launched another round of attacks.

The defending troops suffered heavy casualties.

The Japanese invaders launched their final charge at 4 p.m.

The regiment commander Wang Lin stationed in the city ordered all units to retreat to Lincheng, and notified Chen Guanlin, the major battalion commander of the Fifth War Zone's engineers, according to the plan.

After the Sichuan Army troops completely evacuated, they blew up the last railway bridge between Teng County and Lincheng.

Seya Kei after capturing Teng County.

The situation was reported to Jigu Lianjie immediately.

Although the consumption of artillery shells exceeded expectations.

But they successfully defeated the Sichuan Army and made progress in the war.

For the current situation, it is like a shot in the arm.

That night, Seya Kei learned that the railway bridge had been blown up by the National Army engineers.

And that night he ordered all troops to implement the backup combat plan.

According to the original battle plan.

Use one and a half infantry battalions and a field artillery squadron to contain the 22nd Sichuan Army Group in the direction of Lincheng.

The rest of the main force continued to advance towards Taierzhuang.

The Japanese army had only two railway lines available to them when moving south.

One is Zaozhuang, Taierzhuang, and the canal.

One is Lincheng, Hanzhuang and Tongcheng.

In fact, the two railway lines eventually converge in Xuzhou.

The Japanese offensive was equally swift, not to mention that they were assisted by a large number of armored vehicles and tanks.

The next day they continued their attack towards Lincheng according to the original battle plan.

Commander-in-Chief Sun Lianzhong of the Second Army also followed the original battle plan and used part of the cavalry to carry out harassment and containment.

Lure Jigu Lianjie south to Taierzhuang and force them to divide their forces.

In fact, the reason why Li Zongren's plan to lure the enemy was so successful.

It also has something to do with the fact that Jigu Lianjie's offensive ideas are too consistent.

With the fall of Teng County, the Sichuan Army units originally stationed outside Teng County also quickly retreated towards Zaozhuang.

This performance perfectly matches the performance of the national army troops in previous battles.

Once a strategic location is lost, the entire line will be defeated.

Rensuke Kibotani, who was originally a little worried, is now relieved... according to the commander of the 5th Division, Seishirō Sakagami.

[Although they were "actively retreated" hundreds of kilometers this time, they also inflicted a lot of casualties on the Nationalist troops. Preliminary estimates show that at least 30,000 Chinese troops were killed or wounded. This time, the tactic of retreating to advance was very successful.]

According to Seishirō Sakagami, the main force of the National Army north of the canal had been severely damaged by the Fifth Division.

But Seishirō Sakagami's statement was recognized by the vast majority of Japanese commanders.

For example, the commander of the 10th Division, Lianjie Jigu

He had openly confronted Commander Seishirō Sakagami in the combat meeting before, and he looked down on him from the bottom of his heart.

However, Rensuke Jikotani still highly recognized the combat effectiveness of the 5th Division.

Jigu Lianjie was well aware of the combat effectiveness of the national army.

3: 1.

For the Japanese army, such a casualty ratio was already somewhat insulting.

In Jigu Rensuke's opinion, Sakagami Seishirō was indirectly admitting that there were problems with his command.

It sounds good to retreat voluntarily.

In fact, it is a retreat.

Otherwise, we would have to face this kind of ragtag army.

The main forces of the Japanese army basically suffered a casualty ratio of more than 1:8.

The most elite Central Army could only barely achieve a 3:1 casualty ratio when facing the Japanese regular divisions.

What's more, the 59th Army and the 3rd Corps were also involved in the attack on the 5th Division.

With the support of the 16th Division and the Guoqi Detachment, even the dumbest commander would be able to maintain the situation on the battlefield.

The casualty figures of the 10th Division cannot be falsified.

The casualties of the national army can be directly inferred.

Jigu Lianjie had full confidence in conquering Taierzhuang and even directly capturing Xuzhou.

Two days passed in a blink of an eye, and after conquering Teng County, the Japanese army headed south again.

After the main forces captured Zaozhuang, they moved south again to attack Yixian, Nigou, and Beiluo.

Jigu Lianjie truly experienced what it felt like to be unstoppable.

It took only two days to reach Lancheng, north of Taierzhuang.

Sun Lianzhong's troops now have two armies under their command.

They were the 30th Army, led by Commander Tian Zhennan, and the 42nd Army, led by Commander Feng Anbang (former commander of the 27th Division and Sun Lianzhong's relative), who were deployed along the canal.

The troops under the command of Chi Fengcheng, commander of the 31st Division, were responsible for the frontal defense of Taierzhuang.

On the left wing were the 30th Division led by Zhang Jinzhao, and on the right wing were the 27th Division led by Huang Qiaosong.

Wu Pengju's troops of the 44th Independent Brigade sent a regiment to occupy the bridgehead position upstream of the canal.

The remaining regiment served as the army's general reserve.

The general reserve force of the Fifth War Zone is the 60th Army of the Yunnan Army, which is still on the way.

With the war approaching, Sun Lianzhong's headquarters was set up on the south bank of the canal.

It is very close to Taierzhuang, less than five kilometers away.

Taierzhuang covers a very small area. To be on the safe side, Chi Fengcheng plans to station all the troops of a division in the village.

To strengthen the light and heavy firepower of the troops.

But Sun Lianzhong sternly rejected such a proposal.

Accumulating more troops can give you an advantage in terms of manpower.

However, the main force of the Japanese invaders' attack to the south was the Seya Detachment.

It is a special force with enhanced artillery power.

During the Battle of Niangzi Pass, all the troops under Sun Lianzhong suffered from the Japanese artillery.

All the troops were put in and the army collapsed after a barrage of artillery shells.

There is no need to fight this battle.

Chi Fengcheng was only allowed to send in one regiment of troops at most.

Chi Fengcheng was also quite helpless... Although using troops one regiment at a time could allow them to hold out for a longer time.

But this style of fighting is no different from the Battle of Shanghai.

They used their troops one by one, adopted the tactic of adding fuel to the fire, and finally sacrificed their lives in vain.

Chi Fengcheng's ideas actually have some similarities with Tang Enbo's ideas.

Both of them advocated taking the initiative with superior forces to attack the Seya Detachment, rather than defending and consuming their opponent's resources.

But Tang Enbo wanted to let their Second Army consume the enemy first, and then he would take the initiative to attack with superior forces.
"Boss Sun, speaking of which, Chu Yunfei called me last night."

Sun Lianzhong became interested and asked curiously, "What did you say?"

(End of this chapter)