The Fourth Outstanding Person of Huangpu Military Academy

The Zhongshan warship that rebelled was anchored here. "Captain Chen."

The current captain of the Zhongshan ship, Chen Di, salutes Chen Tianheng.

Chen Tianheng responded, "Captain Chen, the Zhongshan ship has arrived in Guangzhou for four days. Are there any areas that need improvement in Guangzhou's arrangements for the ship and personnel?"

Chen Di: "The personnel placement plan is already very good. The ships have berths, coal and water supplies, and the sailors have accommodations and rest areas on shore. The Zhongshan ship should be docked for maintenance every three months or so. If Guangzhou can arrange a dock, then there will be no problem at all."

Chen Tianheng: "Based on the Zhongshan ship's maintenance cycle, it should have been docked for maintenance in mid-1928."

"Yes," Chen Di said, "but during the Nanjing government's time, the Navy Department hadn't arranged for the Zhongshan ship to undergo dry dock maintenance. It's been delayed for a year. It was said that funds were limited and they couldn't afford to rent a dry dock or pay for repairs. Our sailors did some maintenance work themselves while we were docked in the harbor to prevent rust from penetrating the hull, but this can't replace dry dock repairs."

Chen Tianheng: "Our General Staff has also investigated the Zhongshan's condition and has preliminary data. We will arrange for maintenance and repairs as soon as possible to ensure the ship's condition and prevent minor malfunctions from affecting its full lifespan. Today, we will discuss the ship's future ownership and organization. Captain Chen, you should know by now that the General Staff, the navy, army, and air force of the revolutionary army, all receive military orders from the General Staff, which is actually also called the Joint Staff. This is the biggest difference between us and Nanjing."

Chen Di: "Yes, I understand now. The Nanjing government has the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Navy, each of which is independently responsible to the government, or rather, to the highest headquarters of the Nanjing army. The Guangzhou Revolutionary Army's Army, Navy, and Air Force are all under the command of the General Staff, which in turn is under the command of the Military Commission."

"Our branch of the military has also established a general staff, including naval, air, and land forces. However, in essence, the branch staff is a branch of the general staff. The Zhongshan ship revolted and joined the Guangzhou Revolutionary Government. So, in terms of organizational affiliation, your ship is now—"

Chen Tianheng paused for a moment and continued, "It belongs to the special forces directly under the Military Commission."

"Oh?" Chen Di was a little confused about the reason for this arrangement.

Chen Tianheng: "Your ship will need some time to be reorganized and restructured. Once the restructuring is complete, it will be incorporated into the Revolutionary Navy. Before that, you will be a special military force of the Democratic Coalition Government, but not part of the Revolutionary Navy."

Chen Di: "Our ship received an order from Nanjing headquarters to sail up the river and bombard the county seat. All officers and men refused to carry out this mission and decided to break away from the Nanjing government and defect to Guangzhou."

Chen Tianheng: "The uprising demonstrates that your ship stands on the side of the country and the people, which we understand. But as members of the revolutionary army, simply understanding 'not firing at civilians' is not enough. The revolutionary army's mission at the current historical stage is to overthrow the Kuomintang reactionaries headed by Chiang Kai-shek, eliminate their reactionary army, and establish a democratic, unified, socialist new China."

"Of course, we will not issue an order to indiscriminately bombard the county town. However, in a revolutionary war, the army must fight any reactionary army. As long as they stand on the side of the Kuomintang reactionaries, the revolutionary army must be mentally prepared to fight and defeat them, and we must have the courage to do so. Naval warfare will not be the main battlefield in the future domestic revolutionary war, but we will do everything possible to utilize every unit at our disposal and adopt all feasible tactics to achieve victory, including sea transport and amphibious assaults."

"You can imagine a naval battlefield like this. If we encounter a Nanjing government naval vessel at sea, then no matter whether the captain is from Fujian or how many sailors are from Fujian, we must fight when the time comes."

Chen Di: "I understand."

The Zhongshan ship is now in a state of "naturalization but not enrollment".

The Guangzhou government was pleased with the arrival of this warship. After all, it was a large ship. Previously, the Revolutionary Navy had only one 160-ton "Seagull" and last year, it had added a 1100-ton cargo ship, the "Sea Tiger," which was converted into a new ship. Both ships were primarily used for anti-piracy operations.

Moreover, the name of the ship Zhongshan has a special meaning.

However, the discipline, regulations, and political work of the Revolutionary Navy were identical to those of the Revolutionary Army Army. Without a sound political system and soldiers' committees, there would be no loyalty among the entire army. Therefore, the Zhongshan warships, which had revolted, also needed to be reorganized and rehabilitated, and their officers and soldiers educated; otherwise, they could not be directly incorporated into the Navy.

"Chen Tianheng, Li Zongren and Huang Shaozi of the Guangxi clique have agreed to our exchange terms. Starting next month, the joint government and the Guangxi Construction and Development Bank project team will visit Liuzhou, Wuzhou, and Guilin. I'm also going to Guangxi."

Chen Tianheng: "That's right, this is another big rear area." Chen Yun: "Big rear area?"

Chen Tianheng: "This is a very extreme scenario hypothesized by the General Staff. If our country were to be fully invaded, in the worst-case scenario, large swathes of northern China would fall, and in the south, Guangzhou, due to its coastal proximity, could be captured by a powerful enemy nation. In that event, we would have to rely on the remaining industries in central and northern Hunan and Guangxi to train our troops, accumulate strength, and continue fighting the enemy."

"Such a dire situation," Chen Yun said. "If this happens, then... why not consider Sichuan? Sichuan's terrain is more isolated, and as for industry, I think Sichuan can also develop it. The key is that Sichuan has a large population and abundant grain."

Chen Tianheng: "The Military Commission has also thought of your idea." Chen Yun: "The focus of the next stage of military work is Sichuan?"

General Staff.

"Call from Hubei, Henan, and Anhui! The Liuhuo battle has concluded successfully. The Sixth Army has defeated the 31st Army near Huo'an!"

The long-awaited second phase of operations in the Hubei-Henan-Anhui region finally produced results.

Chen Tianheng read the telegram sent back by Zhou Shidi.

六霍方向入侵根据地的是敌31军，从六安出发进入根据地,先是攻占霍山县城,盘踞了几天又探出头向大别山深处进发。31军走得很谨慎,行军也很慢,周士第率16、18师、霍山农民武装团、皖西独立团和31军进行了七八天的袭扰、反袭扰战，至三天前，31军出击的两个师终于出现空档。

周士第令16师穿插切断敌军联系，18师猛攻31军81师。经过激烈的山地攻坚战和阻击战之后,31军81师大部被歼灭，80师转身逃往25公里外的霍山县,16、18师猛追不舍。敌80师在撤退途中遭受多次致命打击,逃回霍山县时已基本丧失作战能力。

The 31st Army in Huoshan County, seeing that it had only one combat-capable division left, abandoned Huoshan County without hesitation, descended the mountain into the plains, and retreated to Lu'an. Huoshan County was recaptured by the Wanxi Independent Regiment.

The second phase of the operation ended, and Zhou Shidi's draft for the third phase of the operation was also sent back to Guangzhou.

By May 5th, Chiang Kai-shek's forces were struggling to hold out. Our Hubei-Henan-Anhui forces were also exhausted, and the Sixth Army had been traversing the Dabie Mountains. Zhou Shidi planned to have the 16th and 18th Divisions return to Yingshan, and then advance from Yingshan towards Qichun County, completely driving the Northwest Army's 46th Corps, which had entered Qichun, out of the county.

In this way, in the anti-encirclement and suppression campaign, we lost two plain counties, Huangan and Macheng, but gained another plain county, Qichun.

"If this plan is implemented, the Hubei-Henan-Anhui region will suffer a minor loss," Chen Tianheng said. Chen Mingren said, "This is much better than the worst-case scenario we anticipated. We expected Hubei-Henan-Anhui to lose all of its plain counties and retreat into the Dabie Mountains. Now, after the counter-encirclement campaign is over, we can hold Qichun County, which is located along the river."

Chen Tianheng: "We don't want Huang An anymore. How about we recapture Macheng?" "Chief Chen, this..." Chen Mingren was in a dilemma.

Su Yu: "Macheng and the area north of Macheng is Fang Zhenwu's 41st Army. This 41st Army has good combat effectiveness, and Fang Zhenwu is quite disciplined in his subordinates. This unit has good military discipline, which will be beneficial for them in defending Macheng. However, although the risk is great, it is not impossible to try."

Chen Mingren: "Even if you try, you need a plan."

Su Yu: "If you airdrop me to Hubei, Henan and Anhui, I'll be able to come up with a plan." Chen Mingren: "....."

Chen Tianheng tried hard to look through the current armed forces sequence of Hubei, Henan and Anhui to find out which armed forces could still be used.

The 41st Army was in the direction of Macheng, and the 46th Army was in the direction of Qichun County. The Sixth Army of Hubei, Henan, and Anhui and the various independent regiments could easily deal with one of the armies, at least they could defeat the enemy. But how about splitting up into two directions and giving both armies a good beating?

"air force."

Chen Tianheng pointed to Yingshan County and said, "We have a field airfield in Yingshan. The reconnaissance/bomber group from Hengyang will be transferred to Yingshan to continue their frontline bombing role, supporting the Sixth Army so that it can launch a simultaneous counterattack against Macheng and Qichun."

Chapter 42: Injury Time

Chen Tianheng started to kick the butt of the General Staff Operations Department.

The anti-encirclement and suppression operation in Hubei, Henan and Anhui was called "Operation Gao Yao", and the new combat plan for the third phase was code-named "Ming Jin".

The third phase plan formulated by Zhou Shidi was slightly conservative. Chen Tianheng required that the "Ming Jin Operation" should not only capture Qichun, but also recapture Macheng.

Because the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Revolutionary Base Area was relatively isolated, the only support that could be provided was the Air Force in order to achieve the new operational goal of expanding the results of the war.

Following this idea, the General Staff Operations Department and the Air Force Staff Department began working around the clock.

"First, we have to solve a problem. Yingshan Airport has fuel but no ammunition."

Said Kuang Fu, Chief of Staff of the Operations Department.

Su Yu: "Is it feasible for the AEG reconnaissance plane to land at Yingshan Airport with the bomb?" Kuang Fu: "Landing with the bomb is dangerous."

Su Yu: "During the flight to Yingshan Airport, the bombs on the racks were defused and then re-fused after landing at Yingshan."

Chen Mingren: "Then we need to find a place to transport the bomb fuse separately. If that's the case, I suggest using a transport plane to transport it."

Su Yu picked up the phone and said, "I want to connect to the Air Force General Staff." Feng Dafei asked, "Hello?"

Su Yu: "Are both of the Air Force's transport planes available for use?"

Feng Dafei: "One transport plane is in Guangzhou, and the other has just completed a mission to transport personnel from Guangzhou to Ganzhou. It stayed overnight in Ganzhou and is expected to return tomorrow morning."

"What's the range and capacity of the transport plane? I need a transport plane to carry out an airlift mission from Hengyang to Yingshan County, Hubei Province, a straight-line distance of 520 kilometers."

Feng Dafei: "The transport aircraft has a maximum range of 1200 kilometers and a payload of 400 kilograms at maximum range. However, if it is performing a one-way transport mission of 520 kilometers, the payload is 850 kilograms."

"Okay, let's calculate it as 400 kilograms," Su Yu said. "I need two transport planes to be dispatched to Hengyang Airport tomorrow so we can start the airlift as soon as possible."

Although the field airfield in Yingshan County had some aviation fuel in stock, it was limited. Su Yu hoped that the transport planes would carry enough fuel for the round trip so that the Yunshui aircraft could fly back directly after unloading in Yingshan County without refueling.

Kuang Fu: "The second problem is unfamiliarity with the air situation. Pilots from Jiangxi and Hunan rarely fly to Hubei airports. The pilots of the two transport planes, on the other hand, are slightly more familiar with the situation. Of the six AEGs from Hunan, only two crews and four pilots have ever been stationed in Yingshan. Even these two crews aren't particularly familiar with Hubei's terrain."

While Fang Fu was still speaking, Su Yu had already picked up the phone: "Hello, I want to connect with the Air Force Staff. ... Staff Officer Feng, I want to know how many days and how many flights does it take for a pilot to have a basic familiarity with the terrain? He just needs to familiarize himself with a place, fly there, and then return. Yes, yes, that's bombing."

Feng Dafei's voice chirped through the receiver, and Su Yu put down the phone. "Staff Officer Feng said it would take four days. Every day, the pilots, led by the experienced pilots, would take off and fly one round trip. After four days, everyone would be able to use the terrain to identify targets and navigate."

Kuang Fu: "So this is difficult." Su Yu: "No. Not very difficult."

At one o'clock in the morning, the operator on duty at the high-power radio station in the Hubei-Henan-Anhui base area heard the beeping of the telegraph call sign.

"Guangzhou is asking about the Air Force's reconnaissance bombers, which will need four days to familiarize themselves with Hubei's terrain after relocating to Yingshan. Once they're familiar with the terrain, especially the obvious landmarks, pilots can use them to locate and navigate. Is it feasible to postpone the operation for three days?"

Zhou Shidi: "Reply, there is no problem with the Huainan, Henan, and Anhui regions. We can extend the rest period for the 16th and 18th Divisions from 2 days to 5 days, which will be more conducive to the recovery of combat effectiveness. However, we do not know the overall extent of Chiang Kai-shek's encirclement and suppression."

Zhou Shidi said that there was no problem in waiting, but he was afraid that while waiting, the two sides would call a truce.

Guangzhou.

Chen Tianheng received the telegram and said: "What Zhou Shidi said is indeed something we need to consider. Kuang Fu, you contact the Military Commission Secretariat. I will contact Premier Chen and Vice Premier Deng."

Kuang Fu made a phone call, which lasted half a minute: "Director, I'm going to pick up Secretary Zhou."

Chen Tianheng: "Go ahead."

Kuang Fu ran out, grabbed the three-wheeled motorcycle at the door and sped away.

Chen Tianheng called Chen Duxiu and Deng Yanda. As for them coming to the General Staff Headquarters in person, there was no need.

The current peaceful situation in the country is that some celebrities have called on Chiang Kai-shek to cease fire, but there are not many military and political leaders who have strongly voiced their opposition to the encirclement and suppression. So far, there are only two: Yu Youren and Cai Tingcuo.

If heavyweight military and political figures (at the level of Feng Yuxiang, Zhang Zuolin, and Li Zongren) also called on Chiang Kai-shek to stop fighting, then there would be a great possibility that Chiang Kai-shek would go along with it and not fight.

Zhou Enlai was taken to the General Staff Headquarters by motorcycle, and he predicted as accurately as possible when the Nanjing government would no longer be able to move forward: the earliest possible date could be May 15, and the latest could be May 20, when Chiang Kai-shek would take advantage of the situation and back down.

That's good, it will allow Operation Mingjin more time to rest before the battle.

Chen Tianheng examined the half-finished plan and frowned, saying, "It's too idealistic."

Chen Mingren: “Ah?”

Chen Tianheng: "Air Force aircraft need four days to familiarize themselves with the battlefield terrain. This means there are a total of four flight days, but not every day is a flight day."

Su Yu: "That's right. If it's rainy and the plane can't take off, that day won't count."

Chen Tianheng: "Leave six days." Su Yu: "I will contact Hubei, Henan and Anhui again."

Chen Mingren: "General, what if it rains for more than ten consecutive days? Not only will the pilots be unable to familiarize themselves with the terrain, but they will also be unable to take off on the day of the battle. What should we do?"

Chen Tianheng: "Then Operation Mingjin will be reduced to the old plan, and only Qichun and Macheng will be taken."

Su Yu: "Yeah? Does the entire plan need to have two branches, A and B, at all times when it is being implemented?"

Chen Tianheng: "Yes."

Chen Mingren: "Then we have to make some revisions."

Four o'clock in the morning.

The second version of the plan was placed on Chen Tianheng's desk.

"The air force problem has been solved," Chen Tianheng said, "but this plan still lacks one factor. You haven't considered the Nanjing air force. If Nanjing follows suit and bombs the Yingshan County airport, how will we respond?"

Su Yu and Kuang Fu: "."

(Go back and continue to change the plan) Chen Tianheng: "Su Yu is back." Su Yu floated back.

Chen Tianheng: "I need military cooperation from Hunan. Wake up Minister Chen."

Chen Mingren, who was taking a nap on the bench, arrived.

Chen Tianheng: "In the Hunan region, the First Army will cross the Miluo River and attack Yueyang, aiming to contain the enemy forces in the Wuhan theater."

Chen Mingren: "Does this mean that it would be best to withdraw some of the troops that invaded the Hubei-Henan-Anhui base area?"

Chen Tianheng: “Yes.”

Chen Mingren: "The First and Fifth Armies will cross the Miluo Line of Defense. The First Army will serve as the spearhead of the attack, and the Fifth Army will follow to protect the flanks. In one day, they can advance to the south of Yueyang County."

Chen Tianheng: "This battle plan has been discussed by the First Army. Issue the military order to Zhu De."

Five in the morning. Yingshan County.

"Telegram from Canton!"

This night was really busy, the command centers in Guangzhou, Hubei, Henan and Anhui, and Changsha did not rest.

Zhou Shidi: "Reply. The General Staff has considered air defense for the Yingshan County Field Airport. The airport's air defense terrain is quite favorable. There are high ground and small hills on both sides. Setting up heavy machine guns in anti-aircraft mode here can effectively prevent low-altitude bombing by enemy aircraft. In addition, after landing, the aircraft should be pushed away from the main runway area and properly camouflaged to minimize losses in the event of a bombing."

6 am.

"Report, telegram from Canton!"

Zhou Shidi could no longer hold on. Chief of Staff Cai Shenxi took the telegram and took a look at it: "Commander, Commander Zhou!"

Zhou Shidi: "Ah? What?"

Cai Shenxi: "First, the air defense plan for the field airport has been approved by the General Staff and will be implemented immediately. Second, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, transport aircraft will deliver two 13mm anti-aircraft machine guns to the airport. We will gather experienced heavy machine gun teams to take over these anti-aircraft machine guns. Third, the reconnaissance bombers being concentrated in Yingshan County are not six, but ten. The General Staff has ordered us to be prepared to receive all ten aircraft."

8 am.

Hengyang Airport.

AEG C.4 reconnaissance bombers lined up beside the runway, their pilots also lined up for takeoff.

These six reconnaissance bombers had been engaged in intense frontline bombing missions for the previous two weeks, with each crew carrying out more than a dozen missions. The backseat bombardiers were now much more experienced, and their accuracy with the aid of simple sights was far superior to theoretical values. However, the continuous high-intensity aerial missions had left the crews quite exhausted.

Chang Qiankun: "Today we are marshaling and transferring to Yingshan County Airport. Among the crew members, Xiao Yirong's and Wang Kaiwen's teams have flown through Yingshan County. During the marshaling, your two aircraft must lead the other four aircraft."

"Yes!"

Chang Qiankun: "Four more AEG aircraft from Ganzhou are also transferring to Yingshan today, and their takeoff time is two hours later than ours. The timing is not very precise, though. Theoretically, a one-way trip takes four hours, but they may be faster or slower, so we might encounter them mid-air. If we encounter them over Yingshan, we should coordinate well and avoid landing together."