Even if I'm a useless bum at Whampoa Military Academy, I'll be invincible in the War of Re

At the headquarters of the 107th Division, an important military conference was underway. It was a high-level meeting, attended only by officers of regimental rank and above, and chaired by Major General Xie Polu, the Chief of Staff.

"Gentlemen, the main force of my Fifth War Zone has withdrawn to a safe area, and the pursuing forces of the Itagaki Division have also been severely damaged by me. They will not launch a counterattack in the short term."

Upon receiving the latest battle report, Kenji Doihara's Division crossed the Yellow River at Dongkou, Puyang in the early morning of May 12 and took control of the entire ferry crossing on the south bank of the Yellow River that day.

The following day, they captured Heze and divided their forces into two columns to advance south. The 27th Infantry Brigade of the right column attacked westward and captured Heze, defeating the river defense troops of Shang Zhen and Sun Tongxuan. The 28th Infantry Brigade of the left column advanced towards Kaocheng.

The right column departed from Heze, passed through Renheji, and arrived at Neihuangji;

The left column advanced from Kaocheng, north of Quanminquan, and bypassed the western section of the Longhai Railway. Heavy artillery and armored units moved by motorized vehicles along the highway, suppressing our blocking forces along the way.

The Doihara Division intended to control key points along the Longhai Railway in preparation for the next phase of the attack on Zhengzhou.

In order to deal with this crisis and defend the Pinghan Railway, the principal personally took charge in Zhengzhou and planned to organize the Lanfeng Campaign to thwart the Japanese strategic intentions and annihilate the isolated and reckless 14th Infantry Division. According to the needs of the campaign, our 107th Division has been assigned to Commander Xue's First Army Group and ordered to advance westward.

The principal plans to assemble six armies directly under the Central Army, plus an independent division (the 107th Division), along with the Northwest and Jin-Sui cover forces, totaling 160,000 to 170,000 men, comprising 13 main infantry divisions. The specific troop deployment is as follows...

The silence of the meeting was broken by Major General Xie Polu's introduction, and everyone below was eager to try, their faces full of anticipation.

The 107th Division had just dealt a heavy blow to the Kunisaki Brigade on the southern front and had previously crippled the 10th Division on the northern front. Their morale was high, and the 14th Infantry Division was not enough to scare them. Moreover, they had hundreds of thousands of Central Army comrades fighting alongside them. The front-line commander, Xue Boling, was also a well-established veteran general. With 13 divisions against one Japanese division, the advantage was on our side!

Qiu Fengzi, who had been promoted to Major General in the Army, was very ambitious and was the first to step forward and volunteer for battle:

"Commander, my 323rd Brigade is willing to be the vanguard and meet that old devil Doihara!"

Brigade Commanders Zhang Yi and Wang Guohua also volunteered for the mission; it was a matter of attitude, and they couldn't afford to fall behind.

Zhao Yunwen looked around and saw that everyone's heads were a bit hot, so he decided to cool them down:

"Brothers, don't underestimate Kenjiro Doi's division. This is not a normal division. The Japanese are just playing tricks!"

The 14th Division was a heavily reinforced Class A draft horse division with a standard strength of approximately 26,000 men. To carry out the mission of cutting off the Longhai Railway via the Yellow River, the First Army of North China was equipped with a large number of independent heavy artillery, armored, engineer, motor transport, and air defense units. This included the 2nd Field Artillery Brigade, commanded by Major General Hirata Ken, which comprised the 5th and 6th Field Heavy Artillery Regiments, each equipped with 24 Type 96 150mm howitzers; and the 3rd Independent Mountain Artillery Regiment, consisting of 36 75mm mountain guns plus 12 field guns.

独立野战重炮兵第8联队，装备16门105毫米重型加农炮，加上师团直属的野炮兵第20联队48门75毫米以上火炮，共6个炮兵联队，48门150毫米重榴弹炮、28门105炮，84门75炮，这还不包括联队、大队装备的火炮。

After hearing this, everyone took a deep breath, their expressions becoming solemn. This configuration was simply insane, exceeding the artillery equipment of the entire nation's more than 200 million troops. This was the strength of an industrialized nation; the 107th Division's artillery was simply no match for it.

Zhao Yunwen continued to administer strong medicine:

"In addition, it is equipped with assault, suppression, air defense, engineering, transportation and bridging units, including the 2nd and 6th Independent Engineer Regiments for bridging and road construction, 5 companies of the 4th Supply Depot Motor Transport Corps with hundreds of trucks, the 1st Independent Armored Company, the 5th Machine Gun Battalion, the 5th Mortar Battalion, 2 Anti-aircraft Artillery Companies, and the 1st Independent Balloon Company for artillery calibration and long-range targeting of our deep positions, with a total strength of nearly 4 men."

Everyone fell silent. This was no ordinary division; it was a field army. 4 men against 17. The difference in troop strength wasn't as great as they had imagined. The most important thing was the difference in firepower, which was like a chasm. Let alone annihilation, even winning would be difficult.

Not to mention everyone else, even Zhao Yunwen himself felt a little scared. The main force of the Lanfeng Campaign consisted of elite Central Army troops, and the principal was also in charge. That was what he was afraid of.

Xue Boling's First Army Corps comprised Li Hanhun's 64th Army, Yu Liangzhen's 74th Army, Gui Yongqing's 27th Army, Song Yingguo's 71st Army, Huang Jie's 8th Army, and Hu Shoushan's 17th Army Corps. These were all big names from the first generation of military leaders. The 27th Army was formerly the Training Corps. Song Yingguo's 71st Army included the 87th and 88th Divisions. In addition, there was the 74th Army. Huang Jie's 8th Army was formerly the Tax Police Corps. Most of the famous generals from the first generation of military leaders gathered together.

Hidden within this are two major "runaways," Gui Yongqing and Huang Jie. The 27th Army, a fully equipped force on the front line in Lanfeng, was the key to the defeat in the battle. Even Xue Laohu couldn't suppress it and complained to the principal. He felt that killing him would not appease the anger, but the principal only dismissed him from his post. After going abroad for a while, he was reinstated and later became the commander of the navy.

At the critical moment of encircling and annihilating the 14th Division, Huang Jie abandoned Shangqiu, causing the army's rear to collapse and the 14th Division to leave easily.

The principal's punishment for him was the same: a high slap followed by a lenient one. Later, Jie's career took off, and he rose to the rank of general. It should be noted that Du Yuming, who fought so hard for the principal that he vomited blood, was only a lieutenant general when he entered Gongdelin Prison.

During the entire campaign, only one division commander, Long Muhan, was dealt with. He was also the only graduate of the first class of the Nationalist Army whom the principal killed.

Zhao Yunwen didn't want to get involved in this mess, but when he thought of the raging river that had drowned tens of millions of people, and of the devastated land of 1942, he knew he had to give it his all, no matter how difficult it was.

He said in a deep voice:

"Brothers, the 14th Division is very powerful, far surpassing the 5th Division at Taierzhuang, so we must be on high alert and not underestimate them."

All units worked together in unity to fight the Japanese invaders to the death!

Everyone stood up in unison to express their stance, their expressions solemn, as if facing a formidable enemy.

Next, Chief of Staff Xie read out the marching route:

"The troops in Zaozhuang secretly withdrew after dark, escorted by the cavalry regiment, abandoned all strongholds in southern Shandong, and the entire division assembled in Hanwang Town and Sanbao, southwest of Pengcheng. The marching route was Hanwang Town - Dapeng - Xiaoxian. The 347th Regiment was deployed as the rearguard along the abandoned Yellow River course, and part of the cavalry regiment cooperated to eliminate the Japanese reconnaissance cavalry."

The supply regiment, division headquarters, and field hospital were in the center, with an infantry regiment on each side for protection. The main force of the cavalry regiment was on guard on the perimeter. They did not march along the main railway line and rested for half a day in Xiaoxian on May 17.

On the 18th, they entered eastern Henan from Xiao County, crossed northern Anhui and entered Central China Province. The marching route was Xiao County - north of Yongcheng - Mamu - the outskirts of Zhecheng, and finally arrived at the southeastern suburbs of Sui County to camp and rest.

Zhao Yunwen continued, emphasizing:

"When large-scale troop movements are carried out, discipline must be strict. Every individual and unit must obey orders and follow commands. Take good care of the mules and livestock accompanying the march, and take good care of the seriously wounded. There are only a small number of Japanese and puppet reconnaissance teams along the Zhecheng-Suixian line, with no main force. The reconnaissance battalion must wipe them out completely so that large-scale troop movements can pass through quickly and complete the 200-kilometer maneuver in 3 days."

In the rural areas of northern Anhui, dirt roads run parallel to the south side of the Longhai Railway. Temporary shelters are built along a tributary of the Huiji River, allowing supply wagons to travel along the river, providing better conditions for water access and air defense concealment.

Upon arrival in Suixian, we will immediately report to the Corps Headquarters. The subsequent combat plan will be determined later. Does anyone have any difficulties?

Everyone said no, the massive amount of supplies received by Pengcheng was just enough to replenish several state-equipped regiments. Each soldier could carry enough food for half a month to support them until they reached eastern Henan. Any excess could be carried by mule carts. There were anti-aircraft guns for air defense, and if there was a large quantity, they could rent aircraft from the system.

Zhao Yunwen had arranged the long-distance maneuver perfectly, and the group could hardly find any difficulties to mention; they could overcome whatever they needed to overcome themselves.

"Meeting adjourned. Go back and prepare quickly; we'll move out after dark!"