Anti-Japanese War: From Becoming Chu Yunfei to Rising

Chapter 214 German and American equipment arrive in Kaifeng; Flying Tiger Honor Division receives orders in times of crisis!
The Japanese offensive was fierce and the adjustment was fast.

It exceeded the expectations of the Fifth War Zone Commander Headquarters.

The 21st Brigade of the 10th Division led by Rensuke Jigu and Takehei Nagase, and the Sakamoto Brigade transferred from the 5th Division.

The merger formed the Nagase Detachment.

And with the reinforcement of the Second Army's direct troops.

A special force was formed with 9,000 combat troops and 48 artillery pieces.

This unit is stronger than the previous Seya Detachment in terms of both combat strength and firepower.

They quickly defeated the Sichuan Army troops in the area near Lin County, and moved eastward to capture Yi and Zao counties.

The blocking troops suffered heavy casualties and retreated.

The Nagase Detachment quickly attacked towards Taierzhuang along the Zaotai Highway.

Its combat mission was merely to contain Sun Lianzhong and the main force of the 20th Corps.

Otherwise, with the combat effectiveness of the Nagase Detachment, it could easily defeat the Kuomintang troops in the front.

Obviously, its fundamental purpose is to annihilate them completely.

The situation on the northern front is critical!
At such a critical time.

The Yunnan Army’s most elite 60th Army arrived at the Xuzhou battlefield!
The commander of the 60th Army is General Lu Han.

This force was formed at the request of Chiang Kai-shek.

Long Yun formed a force by combining his own 1st and 2nd Guards Regiments, as well as a machine gun battalion, an artillery battalion, an engineering regiment and several infantry regiments.

It has three infantry divisions under its command.

They are the 182nd Division, and their commander is An Enpu.

The 183rd Division, with Gao Yinhuai as its commander.

The 184th Division, commanded by Zhang Chong.

In October, the 60th Army left Yunnan via Guizhou and marched on foot for 40 days to arrive in Changde, Hunan to wait for orders.

At the beginning of 1939, he was transferred to Wuhan for training.

After the training in Wuchang.

In March, we received an order to go north for reinforcements.

Due to some objective and subjective reasons, only the vanguard of less than 3,000 people arrived in Xuzhou.

It was not until early April that the large troops began to be gradually transported.

Lu Han arrived at the headquarters of the Fifth War Zone in advance.

He met with Li Zongren, commander-in-chief of the Fifth War Zone, as soon as possible.

Li Zongren's words were very direct: "The 60th Army is under the command of Commander-in-Chief Sun of the Second Army Group. The situation on the northeastern front of Taierzhuang is very tense. You must be prepared."

Bai Jiansheng, who was supervising the battle in the Fifth War Zone, said, "The situation in Taierzhuang was very tense a few days ago, but now it has eased. I hope the 60th Army can be assembled before the 23rd."

"Yes!"

Lu Han didn't think much about it. After all, Xuzhou had just won two great victories.

Even if the situation gets worse, how bad can it get?

Lu Han then went to see Sun Lianzhong.

Sun Lianzhong told him: "Although the enemy's offensive was fierce, our defending troops fought well and the situation has now eased."

Li Zongren spoke more frankly.

Bai Jiansheng and Sun Lianzhong did not tell the truth out of consideration for their own interests.

According to the current combat plan of the Fifth War Zone.

The 60th Army should be in the southeast of Taierzhuang, supporting the operations of the Second Army and the 52nd Army.

but.

When the 60th Army was moving towards the assembly area, the vanguard troops ran into the Japanese army head-on.

The Japanese army had the strength of two infantry regiments and was equipped with more than 70 artillery pieces with a caliber of more than mm.

With the support of more than 20 tanks and armored vehicles, they marched southward in an attempt to encircle Taierzhuang.

The 60th Army advancing northward collided head-on with Yin Guohua's Battalion of the 183rd Division.

A fierce encounter broke out.

The 60th Army was one of the most elite troops of the Yunnan Army.

As the vanguard, Yin Guohua's battalion was the leader of the 183rd Division.

They quickly wiped out the Japanese vanguard.

And they occupied Chen Wafang, east of Taierzhuang.

However, the follow-up troops were blocked by the Japanese army.

Soon they were surrounded by the main force of the Japanese army.

In order to buy time for the follow-up troops, the Chinese officers and soldiers in the encirclement put up a tenacious resistance.

Pan Shuorui, commander of the 1081st Regiment, led his main force to provide reinforcements.

They were fiercely blocked by the Japanese army near Xiaozhuang.

The regiment adjutant Huang Yunlong was killed and the regiment commander Pan Shuorui was seriously injured.

In order to quickly capture Chen Wafang, the Japanese army fired more than 2,000 artillery shells in just three hours.

Under the cover of artillery fire, Japanese invaders rushed into Chen Wafang from all sides, and the surrounded Chinese officers and soldiers engaged in the most intense hand-to-hand combat with the Japanese invaders.

finally.

Except for a soldier named Chen Mingliang who broke out of the encirclement and survived.

The remaining 500-odd officers and soldiers of Yin Guohua’s battalion all died for their country.

The sacrifice of all the soldiers bought enough time for the 60th Army to deploy its subsequent defenses.

This unit is the elite of the Yunnan Army.

The nominal establishment is 45,000 people, but the combat strength is more than 30,000.

But the equipment they were equipped with were all the wealth that Long Yun had accumulated bit by bit.

Almost all of this equipment is imported from Germany, France and the Czech Republic.

The firepower of light weapons is much stronger than that of the Central Army.

60军每个连队有3挺重机枪、6挺轻机枪、3门迫击炮、4个掷弹筒，法式钢盔一人一顶。

More importantly, they also have a large number of pistol configurations.

On average, a company is equipped with at least 18 to 20 rifles.

In terms of light weapons and supporting firepower, they far surpassed the Japanese army.

This unit was inspected by Chiang Kai-shek when Nanjing fell and during the military parade in Wuhan.

His military appearance was highly praised by the German Officers Advisory Group.

Military attachés from various countries believed that this was a very elite force.

In terms of heavy weapons, it was only equipped with twelve German Krupp mountain guns.

In terms of numbers, the Japanese army seemed to be at a disadvantage.

The number of artillery pieces of the Japanese Guoqi Detachment was seven times that of the 60th Army of the Yunnan Army.

As the battle progresses, the Japanese will deploy more artillery in this area.

The gap between the two sides will continue to widen.

As the intelligence department intercepted the Japanese army's deployment adjustments in the Xuzhou area.

Chiang Kai-shek also continued to spend money from his family.

The only heavy artillery battalion that Li Zongren could mobilize was assigned to the 60th Army under Lu Han.

This heavy artillery battalion was equipped with twelve 150mm German howitzers.

The range can reach 19,000 meters, completely suppressing the Japanese artillery.

It is the only heavy artillery unit that can be mobilized in the five war zones.

The only drawback of such heavy artillery is that it is too heavy.

The maneuvering speed is slow.

The number of shells is not large, mainly because they are too expensive.

The price of a shell is about forty US dollars. If converted into ocean (yuan), it is one hundred and twenty yuan.

If converted into the Jin-made Type 65 rifle, you can buy two of them directly.

An ordinary infantry division is equipped with about 3,000 rifles.

The number of ordinary infantry divisions of the Central Army also fluctuated around 4,000.

A thousand rounds of artillery shells, let alone the purchase of domestic rifles.

Even if it is used to import German or French rifles.

It is also enough to arm half an infantry division.

Just as Chu Yunfei's troops were stepping up reorganization to restore their combat effectiveness.

The Japanese army once again reached the Taierzhuang line.

Its attack speed is fast and its firepower is powerful.

It surprised everyone.

The Japanese army's offensive force this time was far greater than before, and even the number of artillery pieces was twice as much as before.

The aviation force took off almost non-stop to transport supplies to the front line.

The position was shattered by Japanese artillery shells and aerial bombs.

In fact.

At this time, whether it was Li Zongren or Chang Kaishen.

I no longer have the confidence I had before the war to be the main force in the decisive battle.

Chiang Kai-shek just after leaving Xuzhou and heading to Wuhan.

After receiving the report from Li Zongren, he was thinking about how to save these hundreds of thousands of troops.

But in the current dire situation, Chiang Kai-shek has no other good solution.

In order to prevent the troops on the northern Jinpu line from being defeated, they were divided and surrounded.

Chiang Kai-shek had to dispatch other troops to rush to the front line to stabilize the battle line.

According to the estimates of Li and Chang Kai-shen.

But we should retreat gradually.

New reinforcements troops arrived in the Xuzhou area.

The Second Army under Li Yannian and the Twenty-Second Army under Tan Daoyuan.

He was also reinforced to Wang Zhonglian's Corps, and the newly appointed commander of the 85th Army served as acting corps commander.

Naturally, it was impossible to convince the public. Chiang Kai-shek had no choice but to send Bai Jiansheng directly to the 20th Corps to command the battle.

Let him command the Second Army and the 22nd Army to ensure the safety of the Taierzhuang front.

As for Tang Enbo, he had originally wanted to take this opportunity to redeem himself for his crime.

But at this critical juncture, Chiang Kai-shek was concerned about the morale of the army and various troops.

He was not given the so-called opportunity to make amends for his crime.

But Chiang Kai-shek overlooked one key point.

It is true that Wang Zhonglian cannot convince the people, but how could Li Yannian and others willingly obey a deputy chief of staff who came from a ragtag army?

By the time Chu Yunfei's troops received the order to advance eastward.

In the entire Xuzhou area, the land north of the canal.

On the defense line of less than 250 miles, there are 200,000 troops.

This was because Chiang Kai-shek and Li Zongren noticed something was wrong and intended to reduce the number of current troops.

The first line of defense is Taierzhuang, followed by Puwang, Xinzhuang, Daizhuang, and Tancheng.

To the north are Yuwang Mountain, Fangtou Mountain, and Ai Mountain, forming the second line of defense between the North and South Laogou.

Chu Yunfei's command center at this time.

A group of generals gathered together and expressed their views on the latest situation in Xuzhou.

"Although Commander-in-Chief Sun has set up a pocket formation, and with the support of fresh troops, he has the opportunity to launch a full-scale counterattack."

Fang Ligong was the first to express his opinion: "But judging from the current comparison of the enemy's and our own military strength and firepower...it is impossible to accomplish such a task."

"Moreover, these troops have just entered the Xuzhou battlefield and are not familiar with the Japanese army's fighting style. In addition, the Japanese artillery firepower has been strengthened compared to before. The situation in Xuzhou is really worrying."

Qian Bojun frowned and then put forward his own suggestion: "Since the chairman ordered us to go to western Shandong to fight, the fundamental purpose is probably to support and resist the southward advance of the Japanese invaders.

Ensure that the main force in Xuzhou can evacuate safely.

As long as we cooperate well with the Third Army Commander Sun and the 51st Army Commander Yu, we can resist the attack of the Japanese Jinxiang Detachment. "

"At present, all our military units have completed the corresponding reorganization work, and the ammunition and shells are sufficient. The only pity is that the new batch of supplies from Wuhan will not arrive until tomorrow."

"This batch of light weapons is the Thompson submachine guns produced in the United States. The materials are qualified and far superior to the imitation Thompsons we are equipped with. If we can replace them, it will greatly improve the combat effectiveness of our army."

After the adjustment of Chu Yunfei's troops, the total combat force was more than 10,000.

In fact, there is not much difference between it and ordinary elite infantry divisions.

The army was originally equipped with 800 Thompson submachine guns, but now there are only 600 left.

The vast majority of them were concentrated in the assault battalion.

A small number of them are concentrated in the spearhead companies under the command of each unit.

Ordinary combat companies basically no longer have the ability to equip themselves with automatic firepower such as the Thompson submachine gun.

According to the notice from the attendant's office.

This batch of weapons and equipment included 1,200 Thompson submachine guns and 1.2 million rounds of ammunition.

For Chu Yunfei's troops today, this is an unprecedented increase in firepower.

However, the war in Xuzhou was tense, and being able to rush to the battlefield one day earlier would allow one to influence the war situation as much as possible.

Just when Chu Yunfei was hesitating about this.

The confidential clerk sent another telegram, and Chiang Kai-shek changed the previous combat order.

They were required to receive weapons and equipment and then march towards Suxian.

Prepare to rush to support the battle on the Jinpu South Road.

Yes.

The Fifth War Zone focused too much on the northern front and neglected support on the southern front.

This actually has a lot to do with the local climate and terrain.

During March and April when the bloody battle of Xuzhou took place, a severe drought occurred in southern China.

Due to bad weather, many rivers in South China that were used to block the invasion of the Japanese invaders were dried up.

The Japanese mechanized troops were no longer restricted by the terrain and ran wildly.

The Japanese 3rd, 9th, and 13th Divisions assembled in Fengyang, Bengbu and Huaiyuan areas.

And its attached mechanized assault forces, under the cover of a large number of aircraft.

Advance towards the west side of the Jinpu Railway Line.

The purpose, obviously, was to encircle the hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops in Xuzhou.

In order to force the Guangxi clique to fight to the death, Chiang Kai-shek withdrew the Northeast Army under Yu Xuezhong.

This also had disastrous consequences.

The defense line that Wei Yunsong's 31st Corps was responsible for was too wide.

The Japanese army only needed to break through one point to defeat it.

You should know that the mechanized assault troops specially assigned by the Central China Expeditionary Force for this operation were not numerous in number and had a small number of vehicles.

But it was not something the Guangxi troops could contend with.

After the 31st Corps, which was defending the Wohe River line, was defeated.

The 3rd and 13th Divisions pursued the enemy immediately, intending to expand the results of the battle.

Zhou Zuhuang's Seventh Army quickly rushed to the rescue.

However, before their defense line could be repaired, it was severely bombarded by Japanese artillery fire.

The Japanese army was under the cover of aircraft and artillery.

The infantry units quickly launched an assault on the Seventh Army.

The Seventh Army's fighting spirit was relatively poor.

They were defeated after fighting for less than two days.

The fight was very bad.

But this is also related to the command of the Fifth War Zone.

Because they not only have to undertake the task of supporting the 31st Corps, but also have to take over the 31st Army's defense on the north bank of the Fei River.

Ends April 26th.

That was the time when Chu Yunfei's troops officially completed the replacement of American-equipped Thompson submachine guns.

The Wohe River defense line has been broken by the Japanese invaders.

The situation in Xuzhou as a whole took a sharp turn for the worse and was in a critical situation.
Just as Chu Yunfei led his troops to Su County to turn the tide.

A telegram from the Second War Zone Commander's Headquarters once again reached Chu Yunfei's troops.

The anti-tank guns purchased from Germany arrived smoothly and are now being transported to Kaifeng as planned.

Yan Laoxi purchased a total of 36 PAK anti-tank guns.

There were thirty-six guns assigned to Chu Yunfei's troops.

According to the original plan, it will become three anti-tank artillery companies.

They are directly under the jurisdiction of each brigade to support front-line operations.

As soon as Chu Yunfei received the telegram, he also sent a telegram to Sun Wemou.

He was asked to transfer all the trainees in the artillery school to the front line.
Chu Yunfei plans to complete the equipment deployment as soon as possible by having the old employees guide the new employees.

Insufficient numbers and experience will naturally affect the combat effectiveness of the troops.

But he has no other choice now.

Chu Yunfei's troops had just set out for one day when they received a new order from Chiang Kai-shek.

Worse intelligence came again. The main force of the 14th Division of the Japanese Army appeared on the battlefield in western Shandong.
The original plan to reinforce the Suxian area was cancelled again.

Chu Yunfei frowned and stood in the temporary command post.

Fang Ligong on the side was also extremely worried.

Judging from the three consecutive orders issued by Chiang Kai-shek in these five days.

The situation on the front line is already extremely bad, and new changes are happening almost every day.

He even thought that Chu Yunfei had issued several orders that were completely contrary to the truth.

This forced Chu Yunfei's troops to stay where they were and wait for new orders.

North Line and South Line.

Chu Yunfei naturally prefers to fight on the northern front.

Compared to the 200,000-strong army of the Guangxi clique.

He would rather believe in this group of Northeastern soldiers who have lost their "home".

I have more faith in the Sichuan Army and the Northwestern Army that fought side by side with me.

What’s more, this is the battlefield in Xuzhou.

The Central Army also has a large number of troops, with the strength exceeding 100,000.

Support the main force's retreat in the battlefields of western and southwestern Shandong.

At least you don't have to worry about anything happening to your butt.

However, at this time, Chu Yunfei's troops were no longer directly under the Fifth War Zone.

What's more, Li Zongren had no right to directly mobilize such an ace force directly under the Military Commission.

After Chu Yunfei's troops were selected as the "battle attack army".

Naturally, more supplies were obtained, as well as corresponding equipment and weapons.

But the same thing.

It also brought new troubles.

For example, a chairman who is keen on giving direct orders to the troops.

The frequent telegrams made Chu Yunfei unbearable.

Moreover, Chu Yunfei was quite disgusted with the way he micro-controlled the troops on the battlefield.

Everyone who likes to micro-manage their troops has a common problem.

That is, he can do micro-management, but others... can't.

Chu Yunfei has always believed that giving orders like this is extremely inappropriate.

Even he himself reduced the overly detailed micro-management as the officers under his command grew up.

The war is imminent.

We must first resolve the chairman's worries.

Otherwise, he himself would feel a little uneasy after the war.

Walking towards the confidential clerk, Chu Yunfei slowly said, "Send a message to Wuhan in my name."

(End of this chapter)