The Fourth Outstanding Person of Huangpu Military Academy

On the Chinese battlefield today, artillery pieces with barrels of 100mm or larger are as rare as dinosaurs. 75mm mountain and field artillery are the mainstream artillery firepower, and not all warlords can obtain 75mm mountain artillery. If a division can have a 75mm mountain artillery battalion, it is already considered well-equipped.

Chen Tianheng: "The landing point deviation is about 100 meters, ... 150 meters."

Yuan Yelie: "The mountain artillery has rifling, so the trajectory is much more stable. The first shot is corrected, and the second shot will be even more accurate after correction. The distance to the target here is 2300 meters. Theoretically, the range deviation will not exceed 23 meters, and the direction deviation will not exceed 11.5 meters."

Chen Tianheng: "The average range error is 1% of the range, and the direction error is 0.5% of the range. Is this in the artillery manual?"

"Yes."

Chen Tianheng: "How many rounds has this gun barrel fired?"

Yuan Yelie: "I don't know how many rounds were fired on the Soviet side. During the Northern Expedition, each gun fired probably 40 to 60 times. The artillery team kept records."

Chen Tianheng went to the muzzle of a gun and carefully observed the rifling. There were no obvious signs of wear and corrosion.

Chen Tianheng: "Then let's try to dismantle it and use pack horses to carry it on the march."

Twenty minutes later, the gun crew and the five pack horses were all panting. The mountain gun had been disassembled and loaded onto the backs of five horses: one horse for the gun itself, one for the gun base/recoil mechanism, one for the front of the gun carriage, one for the rear of the carriage, and one for the two wheels and axle.

Yuan Yelie: "That's a bit of a stretch. ... Too much of a stretch. China's draft horses are still somewhat inferior. A Russian horse, broken down into its five main parts, can carry mountain artillery everywhere. With a Chinese draft horse, you'd probably have to stop and rest after only two or three kilometers."

Chen Tianheng: "However, in some extreme cases, the road may only be passable by horses and people, and neither artillery carts nor horse-drawn carriages can pass. ... The artillery battalion must be prepared for this."

……

Nanchang, headquarters of the Northern Expedition.

"Chen Tianheng is here!"

After receiving the notice of the emergency meeting, Chen Tianheng rode his horse across the Ganjiang pontoon bridge and arrived at the meeting hall of the General Headquarters.

"Tianheng, please sit down first. The other participants haven't arrived yet." Chiang Kai-shek was in the conference room.

After a while, Liu Zhi, commander of the Second Division, arrived.

Then, the Second Army's deputy commander Lu Diping, party representative Li Fuchun, the Second Army's Sixth Division commander Dai Yue, and party representative Xiao Jinguang also arrived.

These two party representatives are... two acquaintances.

Chiang Kai-shek: "Ladies and Gentlemen. Today, the Seventh Army of the Northern Expedition has arrived at Ruoxi, near De'an and Jiujiang. However, at Ruoxi, the Seventh Army encountered a large number of Sun Chuanfang's troops. Military intelligence reports indicate that the Seventh Army is facing Sun's Zhou Fengqi Division, Chen Tiaoyuan Division, Wang Pu's Brigade, and the 15th Regiment of the Fourth Division, totaling over 15,000 men."

"Original military intelligence suggested that Sun Chuanfang would use all his forces to defend Jiujiang and De'an, but now it seems that Sun Chuanfang has pulled his defensive forces out to fight the Seventh Army at Ruoxi. This leaves the Jiujiang and De'an lines relatively empty, providing a great opportunity for our army to capture Jiujiang."

"The 1st and 2nd Divisions of the 1st Army, and the 6th Division of the 2nd Army, are ordered to prepare to march from Nanchang two days from now, on October 18th, and attack Jiujiang."

Liu Zhi: “Yes!”

Lu Diping: “Yes!”

Chen Tianheng: "Yes! Report to the Commander-in-Chief, the First Division will be able to set out on October 17th."

Chapter 113

10 month 17 day.

Nanchang Niuxing Station.

After a five-day holiday in Nanchang, the First Division of the First Army assembled again.

"In the second phase of the Nanxun Line operation, our division must arrive outside De'an City on the 17th. The following is the maneuver and march deployment."

From the regimental logistics staff officer to the director of the logistics department of the division staff department, Huang Wei's workload has increased a lot compared to before.

"The first to depart is the Second Regiment. The entire regiment departs from Niuxing Station and arrives 2 kilometers north of Xiaolushan at 8:00 AM. This is the boundary of our controlled area. Here, the Second Regiment will disembark in the field and advance along the railway line, reaching Ganluhui Station before 12:00 PM. The Second Regiment must ensure the safety of Ganluhui Station and the railway along the way. The Second Regiment will not take any baggage with them when disembarking in the field."

"The 3rd Regiment and the Artillery Battalion will depart in the second batch and arrive at Ganluhui Station at 12 noon to rendezvous with the 3rd Regiment. After the 2nd and 3rd Regiments reunite, they will advance towards De'an and complete the encirclement of De'an City."

"The first regiment set out in the third batch and arrived at Ganluhui Station at 2 p.m. The first regiment will bypass De'an City and operate along the railway line between De'an and Jiujiang."

"The logistics department should complete the dispatch of all logistics transport vehicles before 6 p.m., because after 6 p.m., it is the troop transport period of the Second Division of the First Army, not ours."

Huang Weixian made logistical arrangements.

The Nanxun Railway did greatly facilitate the mobilization of troops. The First Division departing from Nanchang could all reach the outskirts of De'an City within one day, and they could start fighting as soon as they got off the train without any physical effort.

Chen Tianheng: "In the second phase of the Nanxun Front campaign, the Northern Expedition's ultimate goal is to capture Jiujiang, and De'an is Jiujiang's outpost. Currently, it is known that there are approximately 5,000 Sun Chuanfang troops in De'an, the 8th Regiment of the 2nd Central Division under Lu Xiangting, and the remnants of Yang Ruxuan's 6th Division."

"According to the headquarters' plan, the annihilation of the enemy in De'an was accomplished through the cooperation of the First and Second Divisions. Our division was dispatched first, and its first mission was to cut off the connection between De'an and Jiujiang. This mission was primarily accomplished by the First Regiment."

"In addition to cutting off the De'an-Jiujiang railway line, the First Regiment has an additional mission: to eliminate the remnants of Sun Chuanfang's army that have fled from Ruoxi. Prevent them from returning to Jiujiang City and seize as much spoils as possible."

"Headquarters estimates that Sun Chuanfang's army can hold off the Seventh Army for three days along the Ruoxi-Tongshan defensive line, but I disagree. Sun Chuanfang's army definitely can't hold out for three days. They could very well collapse today, or even have already collapsed. After your First Regiment circles north of De'an, you can wait for the remaining troops to flee across the mountains and plains."

Xu Xiangqian: "Understood!"

Chen Mingren: "Taking into account the specific location of the Ruoxi battlefield and the General Staff's Operations Department's speculation about the Ruoxi battle, the best position for the First Regiment to capture Sun Chuanfang's remaining troops is between Zhongling and Jigongling."

Chen Tianheng: "Second Regiment, your mission today includes a 15-kilometer light-equipped rapid march and the encirclement of De'an. Compared to the Third Regiment, you will have to march 15 kilometers more. Division Headquarters will pay attention to the Second Regiment's performance today."

Wei Lihuang: “Yes!”

……

From regimental commander to division commander, from a force of nearly 2,000 to more than 7,000, Chen Tianheng felt similar to Huang Wei: a large amount of affairs and information came flooding in, and one thing after another was waiting for him to deal with.

If there is no efficient staff, then we can only hope that the commander himself is a physical enthusiast and an all-round superman.

Fortunately, although the staff of the First Division was basically promoted from the staff of the First Regiment, these core members of the War Research Association were smart enough and they quickly got started from the regiment to the division.

Under the coordination of the logistics department, the First Division set out in batches.

They had to set out in batches because the number of locomotives and railway cars that could be collected at Niuxing Station was limited, and it was impossible to transport the entire division, including personnel and artillery, at one time.

At 9 a.m., Chen Tianheng and the entire division headquarters boarded the train.

According to Huang Weiding's plan, Wei Lihuang's Second Regiment had gotten off the train near Xiaolushan and should be on their way to Ganlu on foot.

"The Second Central Division in De'an City this time is also one of Sun Chuanfang's ace troops, right?"

Chen Mingren asked.

Chen Tianheng: "One of the three trump cards, the Second Division of the Zhejiang Army Central Committee, was formerly the Second Division of the Army, and its predecessor was the Second Regiment of the Beiyang Army in the late Qing Dynasty."

Chen Mingren: "The Soviet Fourth Division we defeated some time ago was the former Fourth Beiyang Regiment, and today we ran into the Second Beiyang Regiment. It seems we have a chance to defeat all six of the old Beiyang Regiments."

Chen Tianheng: "The Beiyang Army's First Division existed in name only long ago. The Third Division was under Wu Peifu's command, but it was annihilated by Feng Yuxiang in December 1924 during the Second Zhili-Fengtian War, and its designation was revoked. Later, Wu Peifu was revived and established a new Third Division in Luoyang, but it was a makeshift ragtag force. The Fifth Division was incorporated by Zhang Zongchang in 1925 when the Fengtian Army marched south to occupy Shandong, and was reorganized into the 4th Army of the Zhili-Shandong Allied Forces, which was still far from us. The Sixth Division disintegrated after the 1925 Jiangsu-Zhejiang War. So..."

"There aren't many remnants of the old Beiyang Six Towns worth our attention."

……

West of De'an, between Ruoxi and Tongshan.

On the morning of October 17, a fierce battle was essentially over. The hillsides and valleys were littered with corpses and wounded soldiers, and discarded guns, ammunition, and military supplies were everywhere.

Here, the Seventh Army destroyed Sun Chuanfang's First Army of the Five Provinces Allied Forces, which was responsible for the western defense.

此时的第七军下辖1、2、7、8四个旅，两万多人。五省联军参战的部队实际上也有两万多人，包括完整参战的的皖军陈调元第六师、苏军周凤岐第三师，以及皖军混成3旅、苏四师15团两支残损幸存的部队。

While the numbers were balanced, their combat effectiveness was not. Sun Chuanfang's troops initially managed to hold out, holding out for the entire day on October 16th. On the afternoon of October 16th, lightly armed troops from the 10th Brigade of the 10th Army crossed the mountains and appeared behind the battle lines, launching a direct attack on the headquarters of the First Army of the Five Provinces Allied Forces. Chen Tiaoyuan, who also served as the army commander, saw the situation unfavorable and fled. Without his headquarters, the Five Provinces Allied Forces' front collapsed.

Chen Tiaoyuan escaped, but his Anhui 6th Division was defeated and most of its personnel were captured. Zhou Fengqi's Su 3rd Division was completely wiped out, and Zhou Fengqi himself was captured.

Among the more than 20,000 troops of the five-province coalition, what made the Seventh Army feel uncomfortable was not the two divisions mentioned above, but the 15th Regiment, the remnants of the Soviet Fourth Division.

The 15th Regiment was placed in a relatively forward position by Chen Tiaoyuan as cannon fodder, and it engaged the 7th Army very early on. However, until Chen Tiaoyuan was defeated and fled, and Zhou Fengqi surrendered, the 15th Regiment was still relying on the high ground to fight the 7th Army.

At noon on the 17th, the exhausted Seventh Army finally saw a white flag flying on the top of the hill - the enemy had surrendered.

"Is this the infantry regiment left after the annihilation of the Su Fourth Division?" Li Zongren was slightly surprised. "So the Su Fourth Division wasn't a dud."

Li Mingrui: "Commander, the 4th Su Division was originally one of Sun Chuanfang's three main forces."

Li Zongren: "Then how did the 1st Regiment of the 1st Division wipe out the 10th Soviet Division in one go in early October?!"

……

Ganluhui Station is 8 kilometers south of De'an City.

The current Nanxun Railway is a single-track line. However, a single-track line must have both up and down trains running simultaneously. The solution to the intersection problem is a station with at least one branch track, allowing one train to avoid the other, allowing the oncoming train to pass by.

If the volume of passenger and freight transport in some places is not worth setting up a station, but from the perspective of train scheduling, this point should have a section with a branch track to facilitate the intersection of up and down trains on the single-track railway, this is called a stop.

The division headquarters required the Second Regiment to arrive at the meeting station at 12:00, but Wei Lihuang arrived 25 minutes early. At 11:35, he led the entire regiment there.

Wei Lihuang: "Since we arrived early, should we also deploy troops to surround De'an?"

Xu Jishen, Chief of Staff of the Second Regiment, said: "Our main unit can take a short 15-minute rest. The reconnaissance company will immediately deploy four reconnaissance teams to the front to investigate the situation. No, six reconnaissance teams should be deployed. After the reconnaissance team has ascertained the situation in an area, they will report to the rear with red and green flares. The infantry battalion will decide whether to join the battle based on the reconnaissance team's flares."

Wei Lihuang: "Okay. Is this the procedure your First Regiment used to conduct operations?"

Xu Jishen: "That's basically it, but the battalion and company-level units of the First Regiment will be more proactive in their implementation. ... The Second Regiment will also do the same in the future."

De'an City is a templated county-level city defense of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The urban area surrounded by the city wall is not large. In order to strengthen the defense, the Beiyang Army also stationed a small number of troops in several places outside the city that are conducive to defense. These are called "outer support points."

Completing the encirclement of De'an City did not mean that the Second and Third Regiments would just dismount and circle De'an City halfway. While circling the city, the two regiments were also responsible for eliminating the Beiyang Army's support points outside De'an City.

The Second Regiment's reconnaissance team quickly located the first stronghold southwest of De'an City. Two heavy machine guns, each focused in a different direction, were deployed, along with over thirty defenders. The defenses consisted of circular trenches and anti-artillery shelters constructed of sandbags and wooden beams.

The 1st Battalion of the 2nd Regiment immediately arrived at the support point and launched an attack.

The Second and Third Regiments did indeed have a "slight understanding" of the new infantry tactics. The First Battalion followed suit, sending two companies to attack from either end. Each infantry squad consisted of a squad leader and a deputy squad leader. The combat teams were spread out widely, and immediately lay down when they saw the heavy machine guns at the strongholds open fire.

In this way, they charged and ambushed each other, and the combat team of the first battalion quickly approached to a place more than 100 meters away from the support point.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Holy shit! Holy shit!" Wei Lihuang put down his telescope and yelled, "There's a mountain cannon in De'an City?!"

De'an City was not only equipped with mountain artillery, but judging by the frequency of the falling shells, there were as many as 4 to 6 of them. Of the two companies attacking the support point, one was caught in a concentrated artillery fire and was in a terrible state.

The situation was extremely urgent, and the First Battalion sounded the charge. The Third Company, acting as reserve, was deployed, joining another company that had not been bombarded. The Second Regiment's newly moved mortars also opened fire to cover the infantry, effectively capturing the stronghold.

Wei Lihuang rushed to the first captured support point.

Having won a minor battle, the morale of the First Battalion remained high, but the casualty ratio was a bit unsatisfactory. The company under concentrated shelling suffered more than a dozen casualties, and combined with the losses of the two companies that had been forced to charge and defeat, the Second Regiment suffered 27 casualties in order to capture the 32-man garrison.

It is not surprising that there are mountain artillery in the city. De'an has a regiment of Lu Xiangting's Central Second Division. The Central Second Division has a lot of artillery. It is not surprising that a 75mm mountain artillery company was sent to De'an City to support this regiment.

"Comrades, especially those in the reconnaissance company, you must take a look at this. What is this?"

At the captured support point, Xu Jishen pointed his finger into the air. Everyone looked in the direction of his finger, and then fell silent.

There is a wire in the air, a telephone wire.

Simple wooden poles with telephone lines stretched from the support point all the way to De'an City.

"The defenders at the support points used telephones to communicate with the city, reporting the attackers' relative positions. The artillery inside the city then received the coordinates and opened fire in support. Without the guidance of the forward support points, the artillery couldn't fire effectively because they were all inside the city and couldn't see."

Xu Jishen asked the engineer for a dog-leg knife and cut the telephone line at the support point with one stroke: "The accidental casualties in this battle were mainly due to the reconnaissance team's mistake. They did not cut the telephone line."

Chapter 114

Du Yuming's Third Regiment was responsible for constructing the eastern semicircle of De'an City. Like the western semicircle, the eastern semicircle also contained three strongholds held by Sun Chuanfang's army. The Third Regiment's elimination process was generally smooth, with no mistakes that would have infuriated Du Yuming. However, the common trait was slowness.

Each support point resolved the battle a little slower than expected.

"Each battalion of the Second and Third Regiments has established a benchmark company, half of which are officers, NCOs, and veterans from the First Regiment, and the other half are personnel from the Second and Third Regiments. It takes time for the benchmark company to integrate, and it also takes time for the technical and tactical qualities of the other two companies in the battalion to reach the level of the benchmark company. We made personnel adjustments and transfers in Nanchang, and it has only been a few days since then. The unit's combat effectiveness will not improve so quickly."

"The uneven quality of the reconnaissance companies across the regiments is a problem. The reconnaissance error by the Second Regiment today was actually due to the peasant soldiers' fear of modern machinery, especially electrical items. We specifically addressed this issue during the formation of the First Regiment."

"In short, an elite reconnaissance company can't be rushed. Building one can even take longer than three infantry battalions. The 1st Regiment's reconnaissance company has been honed for over a year, and Guan Linzheng has put in a lot of effort. After this battle, the entire division will standardize reconnaissance combat regulations and organize a large-scale reconnaissance competition, with competitions in various disciplines. Competing for rankings isn't the primary goal; the main goal is to improve together."

"The battle for De'an City has just concluded with the elimination of the outer support points. Tomorrow, the Second Division and the 6th Division of the 2nd Army will arrive outside the city to plan the siege. The First Division will definitely participate in the siege. I hope the 23rd Regiment can improve in De'an City and fight better than they did in Wuchang City, but I don't expect them to reach the level of the First Regiment all at once."

After the battle outside De'an City ended, Chen Tianheng convened a meeting of the division staff and the commanders and chiefs of staff of each regiment in the evening to discuss and review the situation.

Du Yuming: "The Third Regiment's pace in removing each support point today was a bit slow. In fact, the officers of the Third Regiment were somewhat familiar with the First Regiment's tactical principles, and they had the troops practice them a bit. The main problem is that the officers have a misunderstanding of whether the 'three fierce' principle or the 'four fast and one slow' principle is applicable in specific situations."

Wei Lihuang: “Oh?”

Xu Jishen: "The three fierces are fierce attack, fierce charge, and fierce pursuit. The four fasts and one slow are fast in advancing toward the enemy, fast in engaging the enemy in battle after capturing them, fast in expanding our gains after a breakthrough, fast in pursuing the enemy as they collapse and retreat, and slow in planning and preparing before launching a general offensive."

Wei Lihuang: "I think it's about dialectically analyzing the battlefield situation and choosing tactics based on different specific circumstances. If the attack is sudden and can catch the enemy off guard, then we should move quickly. If the enemy is already prepared, then we should move slowly."

Chen Tianheng: "Old Wei, your analytical logic is excellent. It seems that the Second Regiment's overall combat effectiveness will be guaranteed to improve in the future."

Hey, this Captain Wei can also use dialectical materialism.

Xu Xiangqian arrived the latest. His first regiment was not near De'an City, and its headquarters was 8 kilometers away from the second and third regiments.

"Commander, today's results are great!"

After Xu Xiangqian finished speaking, Chen Tianheng continued, "Oh? Did they capture a large number of enemy troops fleeing from Ruoxi?"

The General Staff and the chiefs of staff of the three regiments all put down their bowls and went outside to hold a small meeting.