Sword: Heart of Iron

Chapter 150 Like Autumn Wind Sweeping Fallen Leaves
3 month 25 day.

The two sides have reached the final stage of the endurance competition.

That afternoon.

Chiang Kai-shek took a military plane and went to the southern suburbs of Taierzhuang to supervise the battle in person.

Li Zongren lowered his head and walked out of the chairman's office.

Bai Chongxi followed and asked, "Duke De, what did the Chairman say?"

Li Zongren sighed: "The Chairman has repeatedly proposed to send more troops to the Fifth War Zone in order to expand the results of the battles in Huaibei and Linyi."

Bai Chongxi frowned: "Duke De, increasing the number of troops is a good thing, isn't it?"

Li Zongren shook his head. As they walked, he said, "I have declined many times. We cannot fight for a long time in Xuzhou. If we are not careful, we will be surrounded in a blink of an eye, causing hundreds of thousands of our elite troops to die here!"

Bai Chongxi thought about it and felt that what he said made sense: "What Duke De said is indeed the current situation. According to reliable information, the Central China Expeditionary Force is expected to split into three groups and attack northward to support the war in North China!"

Li Zongren frowned and asked, "Which three routes are these?"

Bai Chongxi worked in the United Front Work Department, a central agency, and he heard a lot of gossip, both true and false.

In terms of information circulation, it is much better than local war zones.

Bai Chongxi lowered his voice and said, "According to the spies of the Intelligence Department, the Japanese Sixth Division is gathering in the Wuhu area and is likely to attack Hefei!"

Li Zongren's heart sank: "Sixth Division?"

Bai Chongxi responded, "Yes, the Sixth Division, after the incident, fought successively in Yongding River, Baoding and Shimen, and later landed in Hangzhou Bay during the Battle of Songhu."

"Along with the Second Division, they are the two most elite units of the Japanese Army."

Hearing the last sentence, Li Zongren grinned and said, "The Second Division has been defeated by our theater troops, so there is no need to worry about it!"

Although the story of General Okamura had not been published in the newspapers, Bai Chongxi had known about it for a long time: "In this case, the Sixth Division is nothing to worry about, but apart from this, the Japanese army still has two routes."

"In the northern Jiangsu region, the 101st Division has assembled and may attack northward at any time!"

"Mr. De, if I remember correctly, in the Jiangsu area, only the 57th Army is stationed here."

Li Zongren's eyes were solemn.

Bai Chongxi continued, "Between the two routes, on the Bengbu line, the Central China Expeditionary Army urgently dispatched the 9th Division to the north, and it has now crossed the Huai River."

Li Zongren nodded: "I know this. The southern line defenders are our Guangxi soldiers. There are two group armies in total. Liao Lei and Li Pinxian are both located in Bengbu."

Bai Chongxi shook his head: "But according to the latest news, the invading Japanese army is not just the 9th Division!"

"Before I came to Taierzhuang with the chairman, I heard some rumors."

"The Third Division has already departed from Nanjing. Judging from the route it took, it is most likely heading to Bengbu."

Li Zongren frowned even more tightly: "Four divisions."

How long has it been quiet?
If the news is correct, the total number of Japanese troops invading from the southern front will exceed 100,000.

Among the four divisions, three are Type A units. It is difficult for the current defenders on the southern front to effectively resist.

Li Zongren: "Let's deal with it after Taierzhuang is over."

Bai Chongxi put his hands behind his back and said, "Duke De, have you ever heard of the Fifth Division?"

Li Zongren thought for a moment and asked, "During the Battle of Xinkou, the Japanese division that was crippled and withdrew from the battlefield?"

Bai Chongxi: "That's right. Speaking of it, the division commander Itagaki Seishirō was defeated by Wang Feng. It is a great shame for the brigade commander, Lieutenant General, to be captured alive!"

Li Zongren: "What happened to the Fifth Division?"

Bai Chongxi: "Last October, the remnants of the Fifth Division returned to Hiroshima for supplies. Now it is almost April, and almost half a year has passed. They landed in Tianjin not long ago. It is very likely that they will be deployed to the Fifth War Zone or the Shanxi battlefield."

Li Zongren smiled bitterly: "If the enemy comes, we will fight back; if the water comes, we will block it with earth. If the Japanese army shows signs of encirclement, please ask Jiansheng to persuade the chairman to transfer the main force as soon as possible."

Bai Chongxi: "Don't worry, Duke De."

While the two were talking, Xu Zuyi came running over.

"Sir, news from the 20th Legion!"

Li Zongren: "Read it!"

Xu Zuyi spread out the telegram paper: "Reply to the Fifth War Zone Headquarters, our vanguard, the 13th Army, arrived in Zaozhuang half an hour ago and started a fierce battle with the Japanese army!"

Bai Chongxi smiled and said, "This Tang Enbo is quite skillful."

Li Zongren's eyes flashed with helplessness: "The Central Plains War has poisoned people for thousands of years, and the hidden dangers have not yet dissipated."

"It's really our fault!"

Then he looked at Xu Zuyi and said, "Telegram to Tang Enbo's troops to eliminate the enemy in Zaozhuang as soon as possible, and quickly move south. We must arrive north of Taierzhuang at dawn tomorrow!"

Xu Zuyi took out another telegram and continued, "Sir, this is news from the village."

"Wang Feng's troops, who came to support us, joined forces with the 31st Division and recaptured three-quarters of the streets in the village overnight, driving the Japanese army to the northwest corner!"

Li Zongren was overjoyed: "Reply to the troops inside the city, the 20th Corps will arrive at dawn, make sure to stabilize the front line and wait for the final decisive battle!"

Xu Zuyi saluted and said, "Yes!"

Then he turned around and left in a hurry.

Bai Chongxi stood aside and asked curiously, "How many troops did Wang Feng send to help? They managed to stabilize the situation so quickly."

I remember that when we were preparing to leave Wuhan, the United Front Work Department received news that the Taierzhuang defense line was in danger and the battle situation was critical and no time could be lost.

Who would have thought that the plane landed after a night.

The battle situation suddenly became as stable as a rock, and victory was certain.

Li Zongren gestured: "Two columns, a total of 24 battalions"

Bai Chongxi frowned: "So many troops?"

"No wonder. No wonder."

Li Zongren added: "They are all self-produced light weapons, and there are a large number of self-produced artillery. Their strength should not be underestimated!"

"It is said that he organized six columns in Xuzhou and two more in Changzhi."

Bai Chongxi laughed awkwardly and looked back at the Chairman's headquarters.

Li Zongren waved his hand, smiled and said nothing more.

------

3 month 26 day.

Dawn.

The sound of artillery fire in the north of Taierzhuang became increasingly frequent.

Sergei: "The friendly Tang Enbo unit has arrived at the combat zone. The theater commander sent a telegram ordering the 4th column to launch a full-scale counterattack against the Japanese troops outside the city."

Zhang Hu kept his eyes on the battle map and responded casually, "Got it. Pass the order to Chu Yunfei."

"How is the situation of the first column?"

"Were there many casualties last night?"

Sergei glanced down and said, "More than 1,500 people were killed, more than 1,000 were seriously injured, and about 3,000 to 4,000 were slightly injured."

"Nearly half of the soldiers who died were killed by gunfire."

Zhang Hu clenched his fists: "Damn little Japs!"

Overnight, the entire column suffered more than one-fifth casualties.

Fortunately, it only lasted one night. If the fighting had lasted for a few more months, with both sides constantly increasing their troops, even hundreds of thousands of people would not have been enough.

Sergei: "According to statistics before dawn, the 1st Column killed at least 2,500 Japanese soldiers within ten hours after entering the city. It was a fruitful result."

Zhang Hu took a deep breath and said, "Damn it, the arsenal in the rear should work harder. Can they make a super bomb? Just one bomb is enough to blow up the whole city, so we don't have to fight street battles anymore."

Sergei smiled and shrugged, "How could there be a bomb of this power? Besides, this is a homeland operation. If we bomb an entire city, post-war recovery will also be a problem."

Zhang Hu slammed his fist on the table: "Then fire it at Japan! Blast the devil's homeland flat with one shot!"

Sergei grinned: "If it really exists, it only takes two bombs to end the entire war." Zhang Hu was indignant.

Sergei: "By the way, the headquarters issued an order five minutes ago. The commander asked our troops to return to Xuzhou as soon as possible after the Battle of Taierzhuang."

Zhang Hu frowned: "What happened in the rear?"

The sudden telegram made him a little nervous.

Sergei shook his head: "We don't know yet."

Zhang Hu nodded and said, "Reply to the headquarters. We have received the relevant orders."

------

Tang Enbo's troops suddenly appeared on the north side, and the 10th Division was attacked from both sides and was in chaos.

Lianjie Isogai hastily mobilized reserve troops to form a temporary detachment of more than 3,000 people, and deployed them to the north of Taierzhuang for resistance.

But this is not a long-term solution.

After briefly stabilizing the situation, the 10th Division immediately withdrew from its original position and contracted the front line.

The Second Army suffered heavy losses, with more than seven-tenths of its men killed or wounded, and was unable to participate in the battle after dawn.

The burden of counterattack naturally fell on the shoulders of the 1st and 4th columns.

As time went on, the balance of victory gradually tilted.

Outside the city, high and low, inside the command post.

Sun Ming: "Sir, the ones fighting the Japanese 10th Regiment in front should be the 25th Division!"

Chu Yunfei put down the telescope: "25th Division? Tang Enbo's troops?"

Sun Ming nodded: "Yes!"

Chu Yunfei put his hands behind his back and stared at the battlefield ahead: "The 20th Corps is really the elite of the national army. The 15-year-old heavy artillery is really rare!"

Below the high ground, several mushroom clouds rose over the endless plain.

The violent explosion even reached Chu Yunfei's ears.

The so-called 18-meter heavy artillery is the sFH150 mm howitzer introduced from Germany.

Most of them were destroyed in Nanjing, leaving only a few heavy artillery pieces, which were still equipped in the field troops.

At present, the 75mm artillery of the National Army can serve as the main artillery force.

Any unit equipped with 105mm artillery will be the ace elite held in the hands of the theater commander in large-scale battles.

Not to mention the 150mm heavy artillery.

Sun Ming was not envious, as he already had several heavy artillery of this caliber at home.

There are even more 105mm ones, more than twenty in total.

As for the 75mm artillery, there were too many to count, so many that they could only be assigned to columns to provide front-line fire support.

"Sir, shall our unit lend a helping hand to our friendly forces?"

Chu Yunfei pondered: "They are all troops fighting against the Japanese. Since we have encountered them, we must help them!"

"Let the Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Battalions rush over to support and attack the Japanese army's flank!"

"And the First and Second Artillery Battalions, provide fire support!"

Sun Ming: “Yes!”

Chu Yunfei looked at the battlefield ahead, squinted his eyes, and thought secretly.

He is happy to help friendly forces, but he cannot help blindly.

The appearance of Tang Enbo’s army before our eyes can only mean one thing.

The Japanese defense line is about to be broken!
As long as we can eliminate the enemy in front of us, we can connect the front and rear battlefields into a whole. Once we are divided and surrounded, even if every Japanese soldier has three heads and six arms, I am afraid they will be powerless to turn the situation around!

Sun Ming was a little worried: "Sir, the headquarters is over there..."

Chu Yunfei waved his hand and said, "It's okay. On the battlefield, we must kill first and ask for permission later. Pass the order down quickly. I will go to the command post and plead for mercy!"

The 10th Division retreated too quickly, and the entire area around Taierzhuang became a complete mess.

A large amount of intelligence flew to the headquarters like pieces of paper, and the staff officers were busy and exhausted. Before they had finished processing the intelligence on hand, a new batch of intelligence came one after another.

In desperation, all previously formulated combat plans had to be scrapped and new plans had to be made from scratch.

But before they could finish their work, they received a new batch of battle reports.

The efficiency is very low and there is a large delay in issuing commands.

However, the Japanese army continued to move, and the front-line troops could not sit idly by and do nothing.

The battlefield changes rapidly and opportunities for battle are fleeting.

Therefore, they could only take action to pursue the enemy based on the judgment of the front-line commanders and then report to their superiors afterwards.

After all, not everyone is like Wang Feng, who not only has full knowledge of battlefield information but also has no delay at all.

If he wanted, he could even find out exactly how many times Rensuke Isogai went to the toilet in a day.

Sun Ming saluted: "Yes!"

Chu Yunfei looked ahead, assessing the battle situation in his mind.

The 10th Division of the Japanese Army fought all the way from Teng County to Taierzhuang, and fought bloody battles for weeks. It seemed that they were still fighting bravely, but in fact they were already at the end of their strength. Their ammunition and gasoline were all consumed. Any slight setback would make them completely discouraged and the entire army lose courage.

Just like now, fleeing in a panic and in disarray.

Victory is very close!

After receiving the order, the three infantry battalions quickly attacked and, together with the friendly 25th Division, attacked the enemy in the encirclement.

The quality of the soldiers in the elite column is comparable to that of the Japanese soldiers.

In some aspects, they are even slightly stronger than the Japanese army.

One side was in low morale and had no artillery support, while the other side remained at its peak with artillery behind them.

There is no suspense about who will win or lose.

------

The Tenth Division.

Isogai Lianjie sat on his horse, looking panicked: "Where are the 40th and 63rd Regiments?"

Muto Masaru: "The 40th Regiment was surrounded by two enemy divisions and tried to break out repeatedly but to no avail. The 63rd Regiment went to support them but was blocked and stalled!"

"The 10th Regiment was attacked from both sides and was divided and surrounded. The current situation is unclear."

Isogai Lianjie asked hurriedly: "Where is the cavalry brigade? Tell them to come to support us quickly!"

Muto Masaru sighed: "On the way to the rescue, we encountered heavy fire from the garrison and were forced to withdraw from the battlefield."

Lianjie Isogai clenched the reins and wanted to mobilize his troops, but he was unable to do so.

Muto was persuading him: "Sir, the Chinese army is everywhere. Our troops are divided and surrounded. If we don't evacuate, I'm afraid..."

Isogai Lianjie turned around and looked at the thousands of defeated soldiers behind him. He knew that he was powerless to save the situation. After hesitating for a long time, he finally mustered up the courage and said, "Order each unit to break out on their own!"

Muto bowed: "Hai!"

Lianjie Isogai looked up at the sky, feeling unwilling.

"In this battle, our army was completely defeated by the garrison!"

If the Chinese reinforcements had not arrived that night, the troops entering the city in the second half of the night would have been able to capture the entire Taierzhuang.

Even if we are attacked from behind at dawn today, we will have enough troops and time to turn our guns around.

They can handle it with ease and even launch a counterattack in an orderly manner.

Why did they suffer such a terrible defeat?
(End of this chapter)