Anti-Japanese War: From Becoming Chu Yunfei to Rising

Chapter 209 Chu Yunfei proposed to form a battle attack army, and confronted Tang Enbo in person! (Subscribe)
The third night after Major General Seya was killed.

Chu Yunfei, who was in Tongshan, Xuzhou, had no time to rest.

Instead, he discussed the specific details of the proposed formation of a campaign attack army with Fang Ligong, Zhang Dayun, Qian Bojun and others.

According to the predictions of Chu Yunfei, Fang Ligong and others.

After the fierce battle of Xuzhou, the National Army basically lost the ability to launch an offensive offensive.

In this case, ensure that each unit is outside its defense area.

It is also necessary to organize some troops to undertake the task of mobile operations and even local counterattacks.

As for such troops, there should be at least one or two in each war zone.

Its combat effectiveness.

At the very least, it should be able to confront a main brigade of the Japanese army head-on.

This requirement is actually very high.

Often, a Japanese brigade could compete with three armies of miscellaneous troops.

A force of less than 10,000 people was fighting against a local army that was six to seven times its size.

Even the main force of the Central Army in 38, men, could not annihilate more than Japanese soldiers...
That means.

It is necessary to concentrate weapons and equipment, combat troops, and equip them with excellent commanders.

"As for the size of this force, I think it should be formed based on the template of our friendly 52nd Army." Fang Ligong said.

Qian Bojun, Wu Ziqiang and others advocated forming an attacking army based on their own troops.

But Fang Ligong did not agree.

"The 52nd Army has two main infantry divisions under its command. Including the division's direct subordinate units, the size is about 23,000 to 26,000 people."

"The mountain artillery battalion under his command is a temporary assignment, not a regular organization. If the mountain artillery battalion is directly assigned to this unit, it should be reinforced with two mountain artillery battalions."

"They correspond to the Second Division, the Twenty-fifth Division, and the division's subordinate units."

"Everyone, the so-called attacking army needs to take on the role of spearheading the attack in the local counterattack."

"How can we attack without a strong artillery force?"

Qian Bojun nodded and continued, "Based on the summary of previous combat experience, direct-fire artillery is also very useful for destroying the enemy's field fortifications."

"Yes, division-level troops should be equipped with more than twelve direct-fire artillery pieces for scattered support on the front line, and the main regiment should be equipped with two to four pieces... depending on the organization."

Chu Yunfei also highly advocates the use of direct-fire artillery. Anti-tank artillery is indeed useful. It can be used against armor in defensive battles and can be used to build fortifications in offensive battles.

When this equipment was given to Chu Yunfei's troops, the Japanese could only rely on artillery to destroy them.

"But the problem is that as for direct-fire artillery, there are not many reserves even in the entire country. Moreover, according to the reorganization plan of the Military Commission, there is still a shortage of more than 1,600 guns." Fang Ligong sighed, a little worried.

Yes, it is based on the National Government’s Army reorganization plan drafted by the current Military General Staff, the Ministry of Military Affairs and the Military Members’ Association.

It is only the central army included in the reorganization plan.

There was a 100% shortage of heavy artillery, an 80% and 85% shortage of mountain artillery and howitzers, and even a 40% shortage of mm light mortars.

A lot of support equipment such as 82mm mortars were produced on the battlefield, and the production volume was even more than three times the wartime consumption.

But compared with the huge number of the National Army, it is still completely insufficient.

"If that's the case, it would be difficult to form six to eight attack armies for such a campaign, even with the whole country's strength..." Zhang Dayun suggested, "Why not use the Yangtze River as the boundary, with two quotas for the war zone north of the Yangtze River and two quotas for the war zone south of the Yangtze River."

"No matter what, we are going to fight for one of the spots." Qian Bojun said in a firm tone.

If what they proposed was really agreed to, Chu Yunfei's troops would be formed after the war.

That would be a disgrace to Dafa.

Chu Yunfei and others continued to discuss for several hours and finally determined the final compilation proposal.

The so-called combat organization of three divisions, six brigades and twelve regiments was proposed.

并且军部直属：1野山炮混合团、1高炮营、1工兵团、1迫击炮营，1战防炮营、1个搜索（侦察）营、1个通信营、1个特务营、1个汽车大队、卫生队，防化队。

If a combat unit at the division level is formed.

The compilation will be adjusted accordingly.

The organization of the motor vehicle brigade was abolished, but the mortar battalion, engineering regiment and search battalion were retained.

The combat organization of other heavy weapons is reduced by one level, so as to ensure the deployment of heavy firepower to the greatest extent.

This organization is also theoretical. Based on the current reserves and arms production of the National Government, it can be divided into six divisions.

Su Xie is also needed to complete it, otherwise it will never be completed.

A batch of equipment that was urgently ordered from Germany in late 1937 is now on the way, but the delivery quantity is less than %.

The amount of aid (loans) of weapons and equipment provided by Britain, France, the United States, Denmark, the Netherlands and other countries is quite good.

The light weapons equipment was barely enough to equip five Type A infantry divisions.

These Western countries, after the direct confrontation with Germany and the Linyi counterattack, realized that the current national army still has combat effectiveness.

They also began to tilt their chips towards the Republic of China.

Many old white-P guys have already smelled the gunpowder and started preparing in advance.

But it is of great help to the current war situation and the national army as a whole.

When this draft proposal plan was submitted by Zhang Dayun.

The Fifth War Zone was currently holding a post-war summary meeting.

Since the encirclement and annihilation campaign began, Chiang Kai-shek has been in Xuzhou for a full ten days.

He attached great importance to the battle situation in Xuzhou.

The great victory at Taierzhuang and the subsequent expansion of the results made all those who knew military affairs extremely excited.

General Falkenhausen, head of the German advisory group, highly praised Chu Yunfei's troops and the combat forces of the 22nd Army of the Sichuan Army.

They are considered the "best" soldiers in the Republic of China.

Colonel Stilwell, the U.S. military attaché in China, even expressed that the U.S. military officers' observation group wanted to observe and learn from Chu Yunfei's troops up close.

But it was rejected by He Yingqin and others... The current situation of Chu Yunfei's troops has been classified as top secret by Chiang Kai-shek!
Chu Yunfei's troops suffered heavy casualties.

According to his own estimation, it would take at least half a month of respite to barely recover his combat effectiveness.

But the Japanese don’t know.

After the failure of the Battle of Taierzhuang.

Japan's "secret envoys" began to become active again.

However, the offense and defense have changed in the short term.

Even the Japanese "secret envoy" has no chance to see him now.

The war has been won, what's the point of talking to you?

Bullshit peace talks, kill the Japanese!
At the combat meeting, Chiang Kai-shek made an impassioned statement.

The Battle of Xuzhou was a glorious victory for the National Revolutionary Army and the people of the whole country.

Afterwards, Chiang Kai-shek made it clear that he looked forward to the Fifth War Zone winning another battle like the one in Taierzhuang in southwestern Shandong.

Although Chiang Kai-shek himself knew that it was unlikely...
But the words have to be said. If he, the supreme leader, does not express his opinion, how can he lead the team below?
"With the arrival of the reinforcements, our army has formed an absolute military advantage in Xuzhou, but such a military advantage cannot continue to expand the results of the battle."

General Liu Fei, the director of the First Department of the Military Affairs Department who had just returned to Xuzhou, believed that “this dangerous positional warfare should be ended immediately, and mobile defense should be switched as soon as possible to reduce the front of the battlefield as much as possible. The main force should leave the battlefield as soon as possible and be deployed in a position with favorable mobility to strike the Japanese army when the opportunity arises, rather than using the main force to confront the Japanese army now.”①
“Moreover, our army should defend the canal line to the death, and deploy a strong reserve force west of Xuzhou to prevent the Japanese army from encircling our army from western Shandong and even southern Anhui.

Similarly, even if the Japanese army opened up the Jinpu railway line, our army should deploy some troops that are good at guerrilla warfare to prevent them from using the Jinpu railway effectively and safely. "

This proposal was approved by Lin Wei.

He also advocates a similar view.

"From the perspective of our current combat capability, there are not many troops capable of fighting independently and launching counterattacks. There are only Chu Yunfei's troops and Tang Corps. However, after this battle, we all know that more than half of Chu Yunfei's troops were killed or wounded, and Tang Corps suffered heavy losses. If we rashly concentrate the follow-up main forces to fight a decisive battle with the Japanese army, it is very likely that we will repeat the mistakes of Beijing and Shanghai."

"I guess no one here thinks that we can defeat the Japanese in a positional battle, right?"

Lin Wei's words were opposed by Li Zongren.

He said, "Although the current strategic situation is prone to falling into the trap of the Japanese army's multi-pronged encirclement and division, since we have superior forces and can make Tang's troops fight in a mobile manner, it is possible to win from the existing position line."

Just at this moment, Wang Shihe pushed the door open, smiled and nodded in response to everyone's gaze, walked to Chiang Kai-shek's ear, whispered a few words, and handed the document in his hand to Chiang Kai-shek.

Chiang Kai-shek took a quick look and asked, "Has the deputy chief of staff left?"

"It's getting late. We've arranged to rest."

"Let him come over..."

"Now?" Wang Shihe was very surprised.

Chu Yunfei was not even qualified to attend such a high-level combat meeting, so he asked Zhang Dayun to come.

Chiang Kai-shek frowned slightly: "Right now."

"Yes!"

Chiang Kai-shek looked down at the report in his hand, then handed it to Li Zongren, commander-in-chief of the Fifth War Zone, who was standing beside him.

After seeing the report, Li Zongren's pupils suddenly shrank... After reading it carefully, he handed it to Bai Jiansheng and others beside him.

Although Chu Yunfei did not say it explicitly.

But Li Zongren could feel his urgency...not to mention Chang Kai-shen, who was more meticulous and even a little sensitive and suspicious.

But I don’t know if it’s because the filter is too heavy or because I just won a big victory.

There was always a smile on Chiang Kai-shek's lips, without any change in his expression.

This made everyone a little suspicious.

"Okay, we'll discuss the battle guidance plan for the Battle of Xuzhou later. Now let's discuss Chu Yunfei's suggestion to form a so-called battle attack army. What do you think?"

Everyone fell silent after hearing this.
According to Chu Yunfei, one or two attacking armies should be formed for each battle, and the size of this attacking army is at least at the division level.

One or two in each war zone...how to allocate them is also a difficult problem.

Among the people present.

Li Bai naturally prefers not to form such an army.

Bai Jiansheng was the first to raise his objection: "Chairman, everyone, when forming such a luxurious army, a large number of weapons and equipment are used... and when they are used in a concentrated manner, any command errors or even ineffective combat will cause the entire war zone to fall into a passive situation, and the Japanese army will easily launch targeted attacks against them. By then, morale will be low and the military will be unstable, which will be extremely detrimental to the overall situation of the war of resistance."

Li Zongren sang the red face: "Based on the review of the previous Linyi counterattack, if there was no Chu Yunfei's troops, it would be impossible to achieve such a result with only the 52nd Army and the 59th Army.

Take Pang Junming, the commander of the second battalion of the 197th regiment, for example. He led his troops alone to break through the Japanese defense line and hold the city to wait for reinforcements, which helped to tie down most of the main forces of the Japanese army and cause the defense line to waver.

In the process of pursuing the Sakamoto detachment, Chu Yunfei's troops not only held on to the main force of the enemy, but also cut off the connection between the 10th Division and the 5th Division and blew up the railway bridge. As far as I know, it was Chu Yunfei's Wu Ziqiang's troops who completed this combat mission. "

They are all thousand-year-old foxes.

Naturally, I know what Li Zongren emphasized.
It simply means to emphasize the key role played by small elite troops in the battle.

In other words, instead of changing the equipment of the entire army, it is better to change the equipment of part of it.

This approach is somewhat similar to the "old tricks" of today's warlord troops.

A little further back were the "house servants" of the Ming Dynasty's military generals.

Before Li Zongren could continue to say anything, General Liu Fei, who had a great liking for Chu Yunfei, said, "I don't agree with Commander Li's opinion.

The weapons and equipment of Chu Yunfei's troops were supplemented and strengthened by the Second War Zone, the Fifth War Zone, and even the Military Commission.

The combat troops under his command were also formed by the elite of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army and the 38th Army Training Corps of the Shaanxi Army.

The quality of the troops far exceeds that of other friendly forces. In addition, Chu Yunfei's troops have mastered relatively advanced tactical ideas. Most of his officers are Whampoa students, and they have an offensive spirit that other friendly forces do not have. "

"Brother Wei Zhang, what you mean is that the quality of Chu Yunfei's troops is relatively better?"

"Chu Yunfei's command talent is certainly important, but at the same time, the troops are also the essence of Shanxi and Shaanxi." General Liu Fei nodded as a matter of course: "Otherwise, why can't the other armies with the same equipment achieve the same impressive results as Chu Yunfei's troops?"

"Take the Qin County encirclement and annihilation battle for example. We completely annihilated the Japanese Fourth Brigade, but our army also suffered more than three times the casualties. This was under the special terrain, and the Japanese army was unable to fully utilize its firepower advantage."

As Liu Fei spoke, he was actually emphasizing that it was not advisable to engage in a positional war with the Japanese army.

Even Chu Yunfei's troops.

When engaging in positional warfare against the Japanese invaders, they often fell into a disadvantage.

In the Battle of Niangzi Pass, the enemy resisted step by step and fought two encirclement and annihilation battles, performing very well.

But hasn’t the front line been advancing towards Taiyuan?

Chiang Kai-shek never expressed his opinion, but the people below had a very heated discussion.

And it is inclined to believe that if a campaign attack army of this size is formed, it will never be possible to form one.

If it is just for the strategic purpose of launching a local counterattack.

It is sufficient to form 4-5 of them. This can not only ensure the equipment of the troops, but also achieve the corresponding combat objectives.

Chiang Kai-shek still did not express his opinion, but just nodded continuously, trying to find out their true attitudes from what everyone said.

After all, saying something is one thing, but actually doing it is another.

Now everyone is talking about how beautiful it is, even Bai Jiansheng, who is the most opposed, as long as Chiang Kai-shek promises to give the Guangxi clique a place in the attacking army.

How could Bai Jiansheng continue to oppose it?

It's nothing more than an imbalance of interests.

"report!"

"Come in!"

Zhang Dayun took a deep breath and walked into the combat meeting room.

He stood straight, a little unnaturally.

He walked to a position about seven or eight steps away from Chiang Kai-shek, gave a fairly standard military salute, then half turned around and saluted all the superiors present.

"Chairman, officers, 358B Deputy Chief of Staff Zhang Dayun has been ordered to report."

"good."

Zhang Dayun still looked tired and had dark circles under his eyes, but he was in good spirits.

Chiang Kai-shek was quite satisfied listening to this powerful voice.

He likes such spirited soldiers.

In Chiang Kai-shek's eyes, those who are a little shy and introverted are often of no use.

Chiang Kai-shek has the ability to judge people.

It's not that there have been no mistakes, and they have spawned many memes and political jokes.

"Zhang Dayun, not bad, have you studied in a military academy?"

"Report to the Chairman, I once studied at the Jinbei Military Academy."

"Yes." Chang Kai-shen nodded: "I called you here this time because of the report you sent."

"I want to ask you, what does Yun Fei think of the current situation of the Battle of Xuzhou?"

Zhang Dayun hesitated. He glanced at everyone and said, "Chairman, I don't know whether I should say this or not."

"What's there to hide..." Chiang Kai-shek smiled.

"Commander Chu believes that the strategic intention and momentum of the Japanese invaders to encircle Xuzhou are very obvious. If we continue to gather our main forces to fight a decisive battle with the Japanese army, it will be like trying to grab chestnuts from the fire, and it is very likely to burn ourselves."

Zhang Dayun hesitated for a moment, organized his words, and spoke quite tactfully.

Chang Kai-shen nodded solemnly: "Yes, the strategic intention of the Japanese invaders at the moment must be to annihilate our main forces, otherwise they would not have launched such a large-scale offensive in western Shandong."

"Has Commander Chu expressed any other opinions...about our army's strategic deployment..."

"This" Zhang Dayun looked tangled
So many senior military officers were present.

Although he didn't know who was Li Zongren, the commander-in-chief of the Fifth War Zone, he also didn't know who the rest were.

But judging from the military ranks alone...all those present are high-ranking generals, and we can guess most of the facts from their ranks.

"Don't worry, just speak up. I won't blame you if you say something wrong."

With Chiang Kai-shek's words, Zhang Dayun took a deep breath and said loudly: "Report to the Chairman, Commander Chu believes that we should accumulate small victories into a big one and avoid continuing to fight the Japanese invaders in order to preserve our manpower, conduct maneuvers to contain and delay the Japanese offensive, and buy time to defend Wuhan."

“Commander Chu advocated that we should mainly use mobile warfare to destroy the Jinpu railway line while blowing up bridges and related military facilities to prevent them from falling into the hands of the Japanese invaders.

If the command decides to continue to hold on to Xuzhou, it should organize civil affairs support for the front-line operations as soon as possible and evacuate and resettle the elderly, the weak, women and children.
Southern Shandong is mountainous and northern Jiangsu is relatively flat, so there is not much favorable terrain to use.

Commander Chu believes that an elite force of about one battalion should be left in the Jiangnan area to conduct guerrilla warfare and sabotage operations on transportation lines.

"A battalion?"

Zhang Dayun nodded: "Yes, if the scale is large, it will have a lot of negative impacts.

For example, the supply is not smooth, the scale is large, and the Japanese army will inevitably choose to eliminate the threat in the rear.

This unit will most likely be wiped out. If it cannot continue to harass and destroy the Japanese invasion's transportation lines, there will be little point in keeping this unit."

"Moreover, Commander Chu advocates concentrating superior military forces. Once the Japanese army attacks, we will annihilate the first part of western Shandong and ensure the combat advantage in southwestern Shandong.

Moreover, the main force in the east of the lake should make use of the advantageous terrain of Teng, Lin, Zao, Yi and other places, resist and retreat step by step, and avoid a long-term battle with the Japanese invaders.

As for the canal defense line, it is enough to just hold it symbolically. After all, all the participating troops have suffered heavy casualties. Everyone knows that this place is impossible to defend. Continuing to defend it will only result in sacrifices in vain. "

Although Chiang Kai-shek did not express his own opinion.

But he believed in his heart that the canal defense line and Xuzhou national defense fortifications could be held, and the enemy's encirclement plan would naturally be shattered.
Such a battle plan was almost completely consistent with Li Zongren's previous advocacy of "concentrating all forces" to launch a full-scale offensive to lay the "foundation for victory" in the war.

This is also the reason why the later period of the Battle of Xuzhou was so abstract.
And now... Chiang Kai-shek is a little hesitant.

Chu Yunfei has a sharp strategic vision and high tactical qualities. Chiang Kai-shek will still carefully consider Chu Yunfei's suggestions.

However, Chiang Kai-shek couldn't figure it out for a while.

Chu Yunfei was actually afraid before the battle, which was completely different from the Chu Yunfei before. He was like a completely different person.

In other words, the prospects of the Battle of Xuzhou are currently very worrying.

Just as Zhang Dayun said, Chu Yunfei was not optimistic about the so-called main decisive battle at all.

The opinions of frontline generals are naturally crucial, as they are on the front line fighting the Japanese invaders.

Naturally, one can clearly and intuitively feel the status and combat effectiveness of the Japanese army.

Chu Yunfei is also a person who disdains lying.

After all, Director Lian Mao's request for Brigade Commander Chen to give him a pocket watch was reported directly to him as the principal.

Is there anything else he is hiding from his position as principal?

Obviously, the situation in Xuzhou was far less optimistic than these senior generals judged.

The slightest mistake could lead to the complete defeat of the entire battle.

"Is Yun Fei so pessimistic about the prospects of the Battle of Xuzhou?"

Zhang Dayun was silent for a moment, then continued, "Reporting to the Chairman, Commander Chu, he believes that if Commander Tang had started the battle on time according to Commander Li's original encirclement and annihilation plan, and combined the forces of the two divisions, it would have been possible to defeat the Japanese invaders, recapture Tai'an, and build a new defense line. The situation in Xuzhou might not have deteriorated to this point."

The reference for this chapter: Li Zongren's Memoirs, Volume 741, p749-P
The Front Line of the Anti-Japanese War, Phoenix Publishing House, P692
The Battle of Xuzhou - A personal account of the former Kuomintang generals during the Anti-Japanese War, written by Sun Lianzhong, Liu Fei, etc. P28, China Literature and History Publishing House.

The situation in Xuzhou is very different from that in the war history. The subsequent combat deployment will be adjusted on this basis. Please do not substitute it directly.
About the shortage of artillery.

Based on the reorganization plan of the National Government after the Battle of Wuhan.

The shortage of 1763 anti-tank guns does not include the shortage of 3600 mountain guns, which are the largest.

There is a shortage of 2000 anti-aircraft guns, and a shortage of more than light, heavy howitzers and field guns combined.

Even support weapons such as mortars are short of 800 pieces.


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(End of this chapter)