The Fourth Outstanding Person of Huangpu Military Academy

Wei Lihuang was the only one left by the campfire. He picked up the soup bowl as if nothing had happened, scooped a bowl of soup from the pot, and then picked up a large piece of fish.

A pot of soup made with more than ten pounds of lake fish just caught from Poyang Lake. The taste is so fresh that it goes from your tongue to your heart after one bite.

After a while, Chen Tianheng came back with everyone:

"After the First Regiment cut off the Nanxun Railway between De'an and Jiujiang, the fleeing Five Provinces Allied Forces came over from the west, covering the mountains and plains. The First Regiment captured nearly two thousand prisoners in one go, among whom we identified Zhou Fengqi, the Chief of Staff of the Soviet Third Division. I'm sure there are other big fish among these two thousand people, and we need to continue to identify them. Therefore, I plan to keep these prisoners where they are for the time being and transport them back to Nanchang in a day or two."

Wei Lihuang: "The senior officers of the Soviet Fourth Division who were captured by us should be able to recognize many of the senior officers of the Third Division."

Chen Tianheng: "Yes, that's how the chief of staff of the Soviet Third Division was identified. But among the prisoners captured today, in addition to the Soviet Third Division, there are also many from Chen Tiaoyuan's Anhui Sixth Division. I'm afraid we'll have to wait. Come on, make room for Commander Xu. Xu Xiangqian, have a meal before going back."

……

The next day, Liu Zhi's Second Division arrived outside De'an City, and the vanguard of the Sixth Division of the Second Army of the Hunan Army also arrived.

The commander-in-chief of the attack on De'an City was actually Lu Diping, the acting commander of the Second Army.

The Second Army did not participate in the Northern Expedition in its entirety. Commander Tan Yankai stayed behind with the 5th Division and the Training Division, while Acting Commander Lu Diping led the 4th and 6th Divisions. Lu Diping was indeed the highest-ranking officer present at the De'an battle, serving as the overall commander.

However, Chiang Kai-shek in Nanchang City also had the power to interfere with the command at any time.

"To capture De'an City, our army will attack the city from three directions simultaneously. I plan to have the 1st and 2nd Divisions take charge of the siege, while the 6th Division will block reinforcements from the north of De'an City."

This was how Lu Diping deployed his troops. It seemed he was reluctant to let the Sixth Division climb the city wall under a hail of bullets.

"We can't just do all the hard work. Wouldn't it be more reasonable for each of the three divisions to attack the city with a regiment?"

Liu Zhi raised an objection.

Lu Diping: "The Sixth Division lacks heavy firepower and is not as good as you in attacking the city, but it can still defend the northern line. If Sun Chuanfang reinforces De'an from Jiujiang, the Sixth Division will be responsible for blocking it."

Liu Zhi: "Hmm..."

Chen Tianheng guessed that Liu Zhi might want to send a telegram to Chiang Kai-shek, asking him to arbitrate.

"Commander Lu, if the 1st and 2nd Divisions can attack De'an, that's not impossible. The 1st Division can deploy two regiments to attack from two directions," Chen Tianheng said. "But we need artillery support during the siege. Please leave your mountain artillery battalion behind to provide cover for one of our routes during the siege."

Lu Diping: "Okay, okay, the Sixth Division's mountain artillery battalion will stay and help you attack the city. Anyway, there are only seven old mountain cannons in total, which can't compare to yours."

……

Lu Diping's decision was carried out.

The First Division was responsible for two main attack directions: the Second Regiment from the north, the Third Regiment from the southeast. The Second Division was responsible for the attack from the southwest.

The advantage of this is that the 2nd and 3rd Regiments of the 1st Division can be trained at the same time, which is a good training opportunity.

The Sixth Division's artillery battalion was temporarily placed under the command of the First Division. Lu Diping often said that he lacked heavy firepower, and it was true that an artillery battalion with seven guns was indeed shabby, but in fact, the Second Division's mountain artillery battalion now only had 11 mountain guns.

It was not until Chen Tianheng went to the Sixth Division Artillery Battalion and took a look that he understood why.

7 guns, divided into two artillery batteries. 4 of them are K-75 mountain guns, and the other 3 are recoil guns from an unknown era...

Without a hydraulic recoil mechanism, the gun bore the brunt of the recoil. Upon firing, the recoil force sent the gun and its carriage sliding backward several meters. Once the recoil stopped, the artillerymen frantically pushed the several-hundred-kilogram gun back into position, reloaded, and carefully recalibrated the muzzle to fire the next shot.

Therefore, the anti-artillery mission before the siege still had to be handed over to the First Division Artillery Battalion.

"According to the map, there's only one open area in De'an City where artillery can be deployed, and that's the parade ground in the southeast of the city."

"Through reconnaissance teams entering the city and interviews with citizens fleeing the city, we've confirmed that all six mountain cannons belonging to Sun Chuanfang's army in the city are stationed in this drill ground."

"Three mountain artillery batteries from the artillery battalion will advance here at noon today to provide cover and visual shielding. Two artillery positions must be established by noon, allowing them to relocate in the event of a counterattack from the city's artillery. Then, by noon, the artillery battalion will establish a third artillery position."

"The artillery battalion will begin counter-artillery fire. 2nd and 3rd Regiments, you will begin the attack. In fact, according to Wuchang's experience, the fire support when attacking the city wall mainly comes from mortars."

"Also, the artillery battalion's field artillery company, with four field guns, will advance to the direction of the second regiment's attack and fire at the city wall with flat fire."

The combat orders issued to the 2nd and 3rd Regiments were not complicated, and the other details were arranged by the staff of the two regiments.

Wei Lihuang noticed the map Chen Tianheng used at the division headquarters.

"Where did you get this set of maps? They're more detailed than the ones issued by headquarters."

Chen Tianheng: "This is a map that a publishing house had just completed and hadn't had time to publish yet. But the owner of this publishing house is one of us, so I got it."

Wei Lihuang: "One of our own?"

Chen Tianheng: "He's truly one of our own, the property of the Deputy Director of the General Political Department of our army."

……

Yes, Guo Moruo was currently serving as the Deputy Director of the General Political Department of the National Revolutionary Army (the director was Deng Yanda). Guo Moruo was not responsible for specific military affairs; his main job was to write incisive manifestos to establish the Northern Expedition's righteous cause.

My goodness, Chen Tianheng is still only a major general.

However, if he met with Guo Moruo privately, Major General Chen Tianheng would still be the big boss, while Lieutenant General Guo would be the small boss in charge of China National Geographic's business.

The attack on De'an City began soon. The 14 mountain guns of the 1st Division's artillery battalion suddenly concentrated their fire, sending strings of shells flying into the city.

Due to the lack of aerial observation, it was impossible to confirm in real time whether the enemy artillery had been destroyed, and the artillery battalion could only continue to suppress it with artillery fire.

In the direction of the Second Regiment's attack, four field guns advanced to within a few hundred meters of the city wall, firing directly into it. In the direction of the Third Regiment, the Sixth Division's artillery provided support with its mountain guns. The First Regiment stood by north of De'an City, acting as the general reserve for the siege forces and also preventing Sun Chuanfang's reinforcements from breaking through the Sixth Division's defenses.

The Second Division was responsible for the direction of the attack, and the battle scene was similar to that of the Third Regiment.

As the second and third regiments approached the city wall, Sun Chuanfang's heavy machine guns on the city wall defense line fired desperately to block the attack, but the artillery in the city did not respond. Further calls to the artillery positions revealed no evidence of the city's artillery engaging the artillery battalion.

It seems...Sun Chuanfang's army's artillery was indeed suppressed.

"The 1st Battalion of the 2nd Regiment has climbed onto the city wall! The 2nd Battalion has joined the battlefield!"

"The third regiment ascended the city wall!"

Chen Tianheng: "Are there any enemy reserve forces in the city counterattacking the section of the wall where your troops are located?"

Du Yuming: "There are none from the Third Regiment's direction. The enemy troops we annihilated at the city wall, judging from their corpses, were Sun Chuanfang's main force, the Eighth Regiment of the Second Division. They used their main force to defend the city wall!"

Chen Tianheng: "The entire regiment quickly passes through the breach and expands the attack into the city!"

Battle reports from the front came in one after another, and the First Division Command forwarded the reports to Lu Diping, who was very satisfied with the progress of the siege.

He commanded the De'an battle, which was not bad, as he earned some military merit. Lu Diping knew that the subsequent Jiujiang battle had nothing to do with him, as the commander-in-chief would definitely be Chiang Kai-shek himself. He was already lucky to be able to command the De'an battle.

"Ding ding ding..."

Lu Diping picked up the phone.

"Commander! I'm Dai Yue!"

The voice of Dai Yue, commander of the Sixth Division in charge of the defense line north of De'an, was very nervous.

"A large number of Sun Chuanfang's troops have appeared in front of our defense line! They have just started bombarding our defense line with artillery, dozens of guns!"

Chapter 115

The Second Army's combat effectiveness was not strong among the Northern Expedition Army. The 6th Division of the 2nd Army also participated in the second siege of Nanchang in late September and early October. It failed to capture the city and was driven back several kilometers by Zheng Junyan's troops in the city who counterattacked and suffered heavy casualties.

Now the incomplete Sixth Division had to face the attack of Sun Chuanfang's 10,000 troops, and the troops coming were still Lu Xiangting's Central Second Division.

Yes, three regiments of the Central Second Division came out to rescue his regiment in De'an County.

Lu Xiangting's division had an artillery regiment under its command, and 30 cannons bombarded the 6th Division's position at Qiaomailing. Dai Yue quickly called Lu Diping for help.

To maintain the Hunan Army's reputation in front of the First Army, Lu Diping ordered Dai Yue to defend the Qiaomailing-Mahuiling line to the death and not allow Sun Chuanfang's army to break through. He had to hold out for at least 24 hours, and once De'an City was completely captured, he would make arrangements.

After hanging up the phone, Dai Yue thought, why not just go all out today with the 6th Division? It's all about holding out. One of his regiments is at Qiaomailing, one at Mahuiling, and one in reserve. We'll just have to hold out for as long as it takes.

However, when Dai Yue personally arrived at the front-line blocking battlefield, he saw what he least wanted to see here.

A black iron train came from the Jiujiang direction of the Nanxun Railway.

The locomotive and the train cars were covered in steel plates, and the plates also covered the train cars. Round holes had been punched through the plates, and machine guns were spewing flames from the holes.

"Armored train! Armored train!"

Dai Yue turned around and ran. He wanted to run back to the division headquarters to report the situation.

Dai Yue originally wanted to go to the front line in person to boost morale, but now he has become a negative factor affecting the morale of the front-line blocking positions by running there frantically.

Sun Chuanfang's armored train slowly advanced until it came to a stop at a point where the railway had been dug up. The train was now between Qiaomailing and Mahuiling, and the heavy machine guns had just enough range to cover the 6th Division's positions at the top of both ridges.

The 6th Division's heavy machine guns turned their guns to shoot at the armored train, but it had no effect at all. The bullets bounced off the steel plates with a clang.

In addition to the heavy machine guns on the left and right sides, when the armored train stopped, the two artillery positions of the train also moved. The soldiers on the train operated four mortars, firing "boom" and "boom" to the left and right.

These two mortar emplacements are also protected by an armored bathtub made of steel plates more than 1 meter high. As long as the soldiers squat down, they will completely disappear from the sight of the heavy machine gunners. The mortar has a high-elevation trajectory and can fire shells normally in the armored bathtub.

The 6th Division was indeed in great trouble. Because the armored train had run directly between two ridges, it was in crossfire with the attacking Sun Chuanfang infantry. Heavy machine gun bullets were raking in both directions, and the soldiers in the trenches were at a loss as to what to do. They were either hit in the flank by the charging infantry or hit in the face by the armored train.

Dai Yue called Lu Diping's headquarters again, and Lu Diping was also quite surprised after hearing it.

"Commander Lu, two regiments of the First Division have entered De'an City. Our mountain artillery and field artillery are unable to support close combat. I think we should withdraw from De'an City and go to the north of the city to assist in blocking the enemy."

Chen Tianheng made suggestions to Lu Diping.

"Okay, okay," Lu Diping said, "Let's also move the First Division's mountain artillery over there to provide support, right?"

"Of course, the First Division will provide our full support. In addition to the mountain artillery battalion, our First Regiment is also the reserve force for the blocking battle north of De'an City. However, Commander Lu, I need to know the current pressure on the blocking position and how long it can hold out."

……

The Qiaomailing blocking battlefield.

In just half an hour, the position of Qiaomailing was in a precarious situation. Just now, a wave of infantry from Sun Chuanfang's army attacked 20 to 30 meters in front of the position and almost broke through the first trench set up by the 16th Regiment of the 6th Division. After struggling to beat back this wave of enemies, we looked down at Qiaomailing and saw a new wave of infantry from Sun Chuanfang's army lining up.

"Captain! The brothers on the mountain have suffered heavy casualties! There are only 200 people left in our battalion, and less than 200 in the second battalion!"

The soldier from the 6th Division who came down from the mountain to deliver the message shouted hoarsely: "We can't hold on any longer!"

Cao Yunyin, commander of the 16th Regiment: "Your first and second battalions had over 800 men, and now only 400 are left?"

"Sun Chuanfang's artillery fire was dense and intense, and the armored trains were sweeping us from the side. We couldn't get out of the way!"

"Shall I send the reserve troops up to provide support?"

"Captain, forget it! Pulling the men of the Third Battalion up the hill is like sending them packing! Let's retreat, or the 16th Regiment will be wiped out in the middle of a fight!"

Cao Yunyin hesitated.

His regiment had no weapons capable of posing a threat to the armored train. His regiment was also bombarded by dozens of artillery pieces. It was unclear which unit of Sun Chuanfang's army was attacking, but it was undoubtedly the elite main force.

"You, go back and inform..."

"Wait a minute, Captain Cao."

The Nagant M1895 revolver clicked, the hammer half-cocked, and Xiao Jinguang, the Party representative of the 6th Division, pressed the muzzle of the revolver against the head of Cao Yunyin, the commander of the 16th Regiment. "Commander Cao, your unit cannot retreat without the order of the division and corps headquarters."

Cao Yunyin stood there dumbfounded, not daring to move. He continued to protest, "Comrade Party Representative, the enemy's first charge wiped out half of our troops on the mountain. Even if we don't retreat, how can we defend ourselves?"

Xiao Jinguang: "Haven't you already defended the first wave? Let the reserve team climb up the mountain."

"But isn't this going to kill our entire group?"

"The 16th Regiment perished here, and the 17th will arrive to fill the gap. The 17th Regiment also has no soldiers left to fight, so the First Army's First Division will fill the gap," Xiao Jinguang said. "As a revolutionary soldier, you should swear to never harbor selfish ambitions for promotion or wealth. This regiment is entrusted to you to defeat the warlords, not to preserve it as a base for your own power. Commander Cao, don't let me down."

"...Notify, notify the third battalion, go up the mountain to reinforce the first and second battalions." Cao Yunyin said to the signalman with trembling lips.

Xiao Jinguang looked at the 16th Regiment Party representative and said, "Comrade Lin, I suggest that we go up the mountain with the troops."

……

The railway line between Qiaomailing and Mahuiling.

The eight machine guns on the armored train indiscriminately strafed the left and right sides in order to suppress the positions of the 16th and 18th Regiments of the 6th Division on both sides. The purpose of suppressing the positions was to send out the repair team in the two carriages at the back of the train to repair the damaged railway.

In this way, the armored train can continue to move forward, cutting through mountains and building bridges across rivers, all the way to De'an City.

Lu Xiangting, commander of the Second Central Division, firmly believed that the indestructible armored trains were the decisive force for victory on the Nanxun Line. In the Battle of Nanxun two weeks earlier, if the Soviet Fourth Division had been patiently repairing the railway and letting the armored trains lead the way instead of rushing forward, it would have been impossible for it to be annihilated.

When the armored train reaches De'an City, the Northern Expedition Army will surely flee in all directions, and the Eighth Regiment trapped inside will be rescued and evacuated.

However, as the battle went on, both the armored train and the commander of the Central Second Division, Lu Xiangting, who was in charge of the battle, found that the Northern Expedition Army on the two opposite mountains was a little difficult to kill.

The armored train discovered that no matter how much machine gun fire it received, the heavy machine guns of the Northern Expedition Army halfway up the mountain kept firing at the train. Several times, the repair team tried to open the doors and get out, but as soon as they did, they were met with the clanking sound of heavy machine gun bullets raining down from outside, forcing them to temporarily abandon the idea of ​​repairing the railway.

Lu Xiangting was puzzled. The 30 artillery pieces of the Central Second Division bombarded the enemy, but the enemy had no way to retaliate and just stood there silently.

After the artillery bombardment, the infantry charged. The first wave of several hundred Beiyang troops almost reached the top of the mountain, and the enemy barely managed to drive this wave of attack back. It didn't matter. Lu Xiangting replaced two battalions and charged again, but they were still driven back when they almost reached the top of the mountain.

Hey!

……

2 kilometers south of Qiaomai Ridge.

The 4th Company of the 1st Division Artillery Battalion, equipped with 75mm Krupp 1903 field guns, is marching hard.

Although the caliber is 75 mm, the 75 mountain gun weighs more than 400 kilograms and the 75 field gun weighs 1 ton.