Sword: Heart of Iron

Chapter 173 Xuzhou Breakout

Wang Feng suddenly realized.

That's it!

It seemed that Li Zongren could no longer hold on and was waiting for news on the recapture of Dangshan.

Zhao Fangyuan was a little worried: "Based on the current situation, we can hold out for a week without any problem, but as for Puyang, our army's offensive plan may have to be postponed!"

Wang Feng also realized this problem and lowered his head to think about countermeasures.

"What's going on with Lanfeng recently?"

Zhao Fangyuan: "The two sides are still in a standoff. The 14th Division seems to have some concerns and has not used its full strength to attack the Henan East Corps."

"Just surrounded Lanfeng!"

Wang Feng: "Besides the Fifth Column, what other troops are stationed in Lanfeng?"

Zhao Fangyuan thought for a moment and said, "It is Gui Yongqing's army in the west. It has more than four divisions under its command, all of which are elite troops of the Central Army. In addition, there are two tank battalions with Qiu Qingquan."

“They are all very powerful!”

Wang Feng frowned, thinking to himself that something was wrong.

"Gui Yongqing?"

Zhao Fangyuan nodded: "He was the one who proposed to establish the Central Military Academy Training Corps, a first-term student of Huangpu."

"I met him once during the Guide Military Conference. He looked very impressive and must be a talented general!"

Wang Feng smiled and said meaningfully: "General talent?"

"A true military talent cannot be determined by appearance."

"Send a telegram to the Fifth Column, asking them to prepare for battle. If the East Henan Corps fails in the battle, immediately take over the defense of Lanfeng. We must not let the Japanese army capture this city!"

Zhao Fangyuan saluted: "Yes!"

"Sir, should the 1st and 4th columns head toward Heze immediately?"

Wang Feng thought about it and waved his hand: "Wait a minute, and rest for two more days."

"The current situation is very delicate. The East and the West are fighting, and we are caught in the middle. If we attack rashly, I'm afraid it will affect the entire body, giving the Japanese invaders an opportunity to take advantage of us!"

Zhao Fangyuan seemed to be thinking about something, and after a moment he said, "That's a good idea, sir!"

"At present, our troops are located between two battlefields. If we advance westward quickly, the enemy north of Xuzhou will most likely attack Dangshan and cut off the Longhai Railway again."

"If they move east or south to Yongcheng, the 14th Division on the west side may also change the direction of attack."

"When the eastern and western battlefields become one, the situation will be terrible!"

Wang Feng sighed: "Now that things have come to this, we can only remain unchanged in the face of ever-changing circumstances."

------

5 month 1 day.

The 57th Army under the Longhai Corps of the Fifth War Zone advanced westward along the railway line and officially arrived at Dangshan.

Army commander Miao Chengliu brought a piece of breaking news - the Japanese Fifth Division blocked the road to Dangshan west of Xuzhou.

After hearing the news, Wang Feng immediately convened a meeting of senior military officers.

Inside the command post.

Zhao Fangyuan recounted the current situation, and then said solemnly: "Everyone, the battle situation in Xuzhou is related to the national war of resistance, and it must not be ignored. Now that the friendly forces are blocked, our troops should set an example."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Hu stood up suddenly and said, "Sir, let's go!"

"I am willing to issue a military order. If the traffic cannot be restored within three days, I will be punished by military law!"

Chu Yunfei also stood up: "Sir!"

"We, the Fourth Column, still have the strength to fight!"

Seeing the two of them asking for battle, Wang Mingzhang was not to be outdone: "Although our Sixth Column is engaged in a war, we can still allocate two battalions of troops to support the brother troops in the battle!"

Wang Feng pressed down with one hand: "Alright, alright! Sit down first, don't be so excited!"

"It would be better to listen to what Commander Miao has to say."

Miao Chengliu was sitting at the corner of the table. When he heard his name was called, he immediately stood up and said, "Commanders, my troops fought against the Japanese invaders in Taierzhuang. In less than three days, more than half of them were killed. We then withdrew to the rear and have been implementing the policy of fortifying the city and clearing the countryside in various parts of the war zone. When we heard that the transportation line was opened, we quickly moved under the order of Commander Li."

"At that time, the Fifth Division's blocking line had not yet been formed. I led my brothers to make a concerted effort and broke through after paying a small price."

"I still don't understand the current situation in Xuzhou."

Wang Feng held his forehead.

Listening to your words is better than a speech
He had heard about what the 57th Army was like when he was in Xuzhou.

The equipment is acceptable, but the combat capability is average, and there are too many warlord habits within the army.

When I saw it today, it turned out to be true.

Zhao Fangyuan had been observing Wang Feng's expressions. Seeing Wang Feng's unhappy expression, he immediately stepped out to smooth things over: "It is not easy for General Miao to lead his troops to break through the encirclement. In addition, the action was too early. The current situation in Xuzhou may have changed dramatically. It is normal for them not to understand it clearly."

"Sir, I sent a telegram to the theater staff before the meeting to inquire about the details."

Wang Feng nodded and said: "Two days later, the first column will turn to Xuzhou and help the friendly forces break out as soon as possible!"

"The Fourth Column should intensify its rest and regroup!"

With outsiders present, Wang Feng did not directly state the next battle plan.

But retaking Heze and Puyang had become a consensus within the garrison. Chu Yunfei was a smart man and knew the meaning behind it.

All the officers stood up and saluted in unison: "Yes!"

------

Xuzhou.

Li Zongren was so worried that he couldn't sleep for several nights. After receiving the news that the garrison army had recaptured Dangshan, half of the heavy burden on his shoulders was suddenly lifted.

Not long after we were happy, bad news came from the front line again.

The Fifth Division invaded the west side of Xuzhou!

Bai Chongxi was also worried: "Mr. De, in my opinion, we should urgently call back the Lunan Corps and do our utmost to ensure the smooth flow of the railway line!"

Li Zongren stared at the strategic map, undecided.

The Lunan Corps had been in a passive situation after fighting the Japanese invaders for months in Taierzhuang, and could not just withdraw by talking. Once the Japanese army seized the opportunity and marched straight in, approaching Xuzhou with its main force, the entire battle situation would collapse in an instant.

But the Longhai Corps alone could not defeat the Fifth Division.

Bai Chongxi: "After the 57th Army withdrew, Tang Enbo only had the 69th and 89th Armies left. With such a small number of people, they could not break through the Japanese defense line."

After repeated persuasion, Li Zongren was somewhat moved.

The combat effectiveness of these two armies is very weak.

The 69th Army is composed of two divisions. The 181st Division was reorganized from three local security regiments, and the newly formed 6th Division was formerly the Hebei People's Army.

Shi Yousan was appointed as the army commander. He was very good at opportunism and could defect to the enemy at any time once the war situation deteriorated.

Not to mention the 89th Army, which was also composed of security teams.

In the early days of the Battle of Xuzhou and during the Huaibei Campaign, Li Zongren wanted to use this unit many times, but due to its limited combat capability, he would rather call upon the severely reduced Third Corps.

Xu Zuyi walked in: "Duke De! The garrison called back!"

Bai Chongxi rushed forward, took the telegram immediately and glanced it up and down.

Li Zongren also came over and asked: "Jiansheng, what did the higher-ups say?"

The Fifth War Zone has been fighting the Japanese army for so long that the real elite troops have long been exhausted. Now Chiang Kai-shek is stationed in Zhengzhou, focusing all his attention on the Battle of Lanfeng and has no time to take care of Xuzhou.

The only one who can save him now is Wang Feng.

Of the thirteen Japanese divisions that besieged Xuzhou, the garrison troops held back three of them on the periphery.

We also won another beautiful victory.

Such a brilliant record made him admire from the bottom of his heart.

Looking at the words on the telegram, Bai Chongxi was overjoyed: "Duke De, we are saved!"

"The garrison has promised to send some troops to attack the Japanese from the west to help our war zone army break out!"

Li Zongren hurriedly said: "Good! Good! Good!"

"Which unit?"

Xu Zuyi took over the conversation: "According to the 57th telegram, it is the First Column of the Garrison Army."

"The First Column?" Li Zongren tried to recall, "Is it the one with the red flag?"

Xu Zuyi nodded.

Li Zongren suddenly realized: "It's this unit!"

Bai Chongxi was curious: "Duke De seemed to know about this in advance?"

Li Zongren looked at the sand table, picked up his baton, and pointed: "When the Battle of Taierzhuang reached a critical moment, Sun Lianzhong's troops in the city struggled to hold on for several days, and the 31st Division was about to be wiped out. At this critical moment, it was this unit that broke into the city and saved the situation."

"At that time, Jiansheng was at the chairman's headquarters, so you might not have known much about the war situation."

Bai Chongxi smiled and said, "I do know a little bit, but not as detailed as you, Duke De."

Li Zongren: "Since the friendly forces are coming, we should also prepare as soon as possible. Send a telegram to Tang Enbo's troops to use their forces to quickly attack the Fifth Division!"

"Also send a telegram to the Lunan Corps to withdraw some troops back to Xuzhou and gradually withdraw from the Taierzhuang battlefield. Do not give the Japanese army an opportunity to take advantage of it."

Xu Zuyi saluted and said, "Yes!"

Li Zongren looked at Bai Chongxi and said, "Jiansheng, the evacuation of the headquarters is now entirely in your hands."

Bai Chongxi responded: "Don't worry, Duke De!"

------

5 month 3 day.

After a short rest, Zhang Hu led his troops from Dangshan and launched an offensive towards Xuzhou.

At the same time, Tang Enbo commanded the 69th and 89th Armies to encounter the th Division head-on. After a fierce battle, they lost more than they won. One regiment was wiped out in half a day, and one brigade was wiped out in a day.

In less than two days, an entire reorganized division was completely wiped out.

Although the loss was huge, Tang Enbo did not feel heartbroken at all.

The elite troops of his 20th Corps were transferred out of the Fifth War Zone for rest and recuperation as early as after the Battle of Taierzhuang.

At present, these two armies are ragtag troops, and it is indeed not easy to use them, but there is no need to worry too much about casualties.

Say something ugly.

In Tang Enbo's eyes, these troops were no different from consumables. As long as they could break through the encirclement, they would not hesitate even if they all died.

The battle continued for two more days.

The situation did not improve until May 5, when the 5st Column arrived at the battlefield.

After the reorganization, the Fifth Division's combat effectiveness was much weaker than before, and the quality of the soldiers was far less elite than during Itagaki's time.

Even in Zhang Hu's opinion, the Japanese soldiers were somewhat cowardly when fighting.

5 month 9 day.

The two sides fought fiercely for three days. Zhang Hu adopted the tactic of breaking through the center. E Yi led two infantry battalions and attacked forward under the cover of brother units, tearing open the defense line of the Fifth Division.

Then the battalions poured in along the gap.

The Fifth Division's formation was disrupted, and Tang Enbo saw this opportunity and led his troops to break out by force, further widening the gap in the defense line.

5 month 11 day.

The Lunan Corps moved south in batches and the horn of attack was sounded. As various troops filled in the gaps one after another, the Fifth Division gradually declined. The North China Front Army anticipated the risk of being surrounded and immediately ordered the division to withdraw.

5 month 15 day.

The military and political organs of the Fifth War Zone arrived in Dangshan.

The troops advanced at an outrageously fast speed, and by today they have all withdrawn to Henan Province.

During this period, the Japanese troops were chasing behind, but could not keep up with the speed of transfer.

Inside the garrison command post.

A jeep slowly stopped, Li Zongren jumped out, Bai Chongxi and Xu Zuyi followed closely behind, and under the guidance of the guards, they slowly walked into the house.

(End of this chapter)