The Fourth Outstanding Person of Huangpu Military Academy

As for Lin Biao, he performed very well in the battle to encircle and annihilate the Soviet 4th Division. He led the entire platoon to the high ground and encouraged four heavy machine gun teams to follow, dealing a fatal blow to the fleeing Xie Hongxun's troops. After that battle, he was promoted to company commander.

Chen Tianheng: "Cooking crew, is dinner ready? Let's eat first!"

……

Yangtze River, gunboat "Juechuan".

Henderson, the British consul of the Jiujiang British Concession, boarded the "Juechuan" at 12 o'clock midnight.

Sun Chuanfang urgently hoped that Britain could help him at this time. After all, the biggest overseas backer of Sun Chuanfang's warlord group was Britain. The British Far East Fleet had a special squadron called the Yangtze River Fleet, and there was a British concession in Jiujiang.

But the British envoy immediately poured a bucket of cold water on him:

"General Sun, considering the current war situation, I might suggest that you declare Jiujiang an undefended city."

Sun Chuanfang: "Consul Henderson, you can't do this! The Five Provinces Coalition Army and the Five Provinces Military Government are bound together by interests with Britain!"

HENDERSON: "But Britain had no desire to get involved in the Chinese Civil War."

Sun Chuanfang: "Mr. Consul, this is not just a civil war in China. The Soviet Union is supporting the Guangzhou government and gradually turning China into a communist country! Are you and the British willing to watch China become communist?"

"We are of course aware that the victory of the Guangzhou government will put all British concessions, including the Jiujiang Concession, in danger, but this is a matter for Downing Street to consider and decide, and I can't do anything about it." Henderson shrugged.

Sun Chuanfang: "Britain only needs to make a small gesture to change the situation, for example, sending a part of the marines to land in Jiujiang..."

"You think too much, General Sun. This is impossible."

Sun Chuanfang: "Then what about dispatching the Yangtze River Fleet's gunboats to intercept the Guangzhou Red Army at Jiujiang?"

"The Yangtze River Fleet is already converging on Jiujiang, but its mission is solely to protect British expatriates in the Jiujiang Concession. The decision to open fire is up to the squadron commander. Furthermore, I suspect the commander is unlikely to use his warships to provide you with artillery support."

……

After seeing off the British consul, Sun Chuanfang ordered the Juechuan to turn 180 degrees, with its bow facing downstream. This way, if the situation got dire, the warship could just step on the accelerator and run away.

The night passed, and the next day, on the morning of October 21, the Independent 4th Division commanded by Zhang Zhen arrived at the battlefield. Lu Diping ordered the Independent 4th Division to be at the forefront.

Sun Chuanfang's army on the opposite side confronted the Independent 4th Division for a while, and then began to retreat slowly.

The reason for the retreat was that the Gui army's Seventh Army, after its great victory at Ruoxi, had already been approaching Jiujiang from the west, with Zhang Fakui's Fourth Army following closely behind. Now the five-province coalition forces in Jiujiang were threatened from both the south and the west.

Jiujiang is located to the north of the Yangtze River and to the east of Poyang Lake. The Northern Expedition Army surrounded it from two directions, and the coalition forces of the five provinces had little room to maneuver on land.

The Battle of Nanxun Road, which began on September 19, has now reached its final stage.

At the beginning of the battle, the five-province coalition forces had 80,000 troops in Jiujiang-Nanchang. Later, they reinforced their troops twice, with the total number of troops exceeding 100,000.

By October 21, the Five Provinces Allied Forces had lost over 30,000 men in the south, including the two main units of the Soviet Fourth Division and the Central Second Division; in the west, over 20,000 men had been killed by the Seventh Army. Sun Chuanfang now had only 40,000 men left.

In addition to annihilating more than 4 enemies on the Nanxun Line, the 3rd and 6th Armies deployed in southern and southwestern Jiangxi successively captured the counties and cities guarded by the Gan Army of the Five Provinces Coalition Forces, and successively annihilated four mixed brigades of the Gan Army. Deng Ruzhuo, the commander-in-chief of the Gan Army who was squatting in Jiujiang City, had become a commander without troops.

At the beginning of the battle, the Northern Expedition Army only deployed less than 5 troops. Later, the troops were gradually increased. Now there are 10 Northern Expedition Army on the Nanxun Road. They can no longer stay in the Jiangxi battlefield, and Sun Chuanfang must consider retreating.

Wu Peifu was already out, having been defeated in Hunan and Hubei by the Northern Expedition Army. But Sun Chuanfang was not out yet, and he did not want to be out so soon.

On the afternoon of October 21, Sun Chuanfang began mobilizing boats to evacuate his troops from Jiujiang down the Yangtze River. The first unit to depart was the sole remaining main force division, Zheng Junyan's Soviet 10th Division. Sun Chuanfang still had Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, and Fujian provinces. By withdrawing his main force to Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and then negotiating a more moderate situation with the Northern Expedition, Sun Chuanfang should have time to recover.

"Commander-in-Chief, Fujian is in danger!"

A telegram of urgent military information was sent to the "Juechuan", and Sun Chuanfang was shocked when he saw the news.

The Fujian Army, part of the Five Provinces Allied Forces, did not participate in the decisive battle in Jiangxi, leaving the Fujianese to fend for themselves. The Fujian-Guangdong border is characterized by numerous mountains and rugged terrain. While the Fujian Army boasted a strong force of four divisions, five mixed brigades, and a Marine brigade, the only forces attacking Fujian were the Guangdong garrison forces of He Yingqin's First Army, comprised of the 3rd and 14th Divisions.

However, when He Yingqin led his troops across the Fujian-Guangdong border, the commanders of two Fujian divisions, bribed by Chiang Kai-shek, suddenly announced that they had changed their flags and pledged allegiance to the Guangzhou Nationalist Government. This opened a gaping hole in the Fujian Army's provincial border defenses, and Xiamen quickly became a prey for the Northern Expedition.

……

"Division Commander, so, this is the turning point in the Northern Expedition?"

"Yes. The Battle of Nanxun was a turning point in the entire war. Before the Battle of Nanxun, if the three major northern warlords had put aside their prejudices and worked together, they could have defeated the Northern Expedition. After the Battle of Nanxun, even if the warlords united and the Fengtian Army moved south to the Yangtze River to support Sun Chuanfang, it would have been difficult for them to defeat the Northern Expedition."

In the dark night, Yuan Zhongxian and Chen Tianheng had a conversation.

"It seems that the National Revolution is on the eve of victory."

Chen Tianheng: "But as victory became apparent, contradictions within the Kuomintang also surfaced... people came."

In the dark night, a caravan came along the mountain road. It was not very large, with a total of seven carriages.

Chen Tianheng: "Hello, Shopkeeper Luo."

"Ah, I'm the second in-charge... Just call me Luo Tiansheng."

The visitor was indeed the second manager, Luo Tiansheng, the younger brother of Luo Tianmao, the manager of Nanmao Caravan.

Chen Tianheng: "Manager Luo helped us transport a batch of goods, but the journey is long, and he probably hasn't started his return journey yet, so I'm sorry to bother you to come. Come, start loading the goods."

Behind Chen Tianheng and Yuan Zhongxian were several large piles of items wrapped tightly in canvas.

"Xia Mingzhen."

Chen Tianheng called out a person's name.

"It's me! It's me!"

Chen Tianheng then looked at another comrade who had come from the base area: "Is this... Peng Gongda?"

Peng Gongda: "It's me, Commander Chen. You can even make mountain artillery?!"

Chen Tianheng: "Normally, artillery is difficult to account for. But a few days ago, our troops intercepted the fleeing Beiyang troops who had been defeated by another Northern Expedition Army. A dozen of the fleeing soldiers were dragging their mountain cannons on the road. We discovered them late at night and confiscated them, so the matter became known to heaven and earth... Two Shanghai-made Krupp 75mm mountain cannons. After your farmers' association obtains the cannons, please keep them properly and use them with caution. Don't damage the small parts on the cannons, especially key parts like the sights."

"Yes, I see."

Yuan Zhongxian: "Here are the manuals. These original manuals contain a lot of handwritten information from our artillery battalion comrades. They all explain the principles of the artillery in the most straightforward terms. You must take good care of these two manuals as you would the artillery itself."

Chapter 119

At the end of October in Lushan, the autumn colors deepen and the waterfalls are covered with smoke.

At the foot of Mount Lushan, outside Jiujiang City, golden rapeseed flowers set off the tiled houses in the mountain villages; in the plains and hills, the layers of rice fields change from dark to light, everything is a perfect combination of lines and blocks of color.

The 1st and 2nd Regiments of the 1st Division passed through rice fields undergoing the autumn harvest. The farmers harvesting the rice watched with curiosity as the teams of Northern Expedition soldiers marched in unison along the ridges of the fields. Surprisingly, not a single soldier in the thousands of soldiers stepped directly into the rice fields.

However, as they approached the Beiyang Army's defensive positions, the 1st Regiment of the 1st Division had to trample through rapeseed fields to disperse their formation. Not only did they have to trample through the rapeseed fields, but after lying down, the soldiers also took out their engineering shovels and dug simple personal shelters.

Following the combat troops was a work team dispatched by the 1st Division's Logistics Department, who went door to door distributing compensation to farmers whose rice and rapeseed fields were trampled.

"The enemy in front of us is Jiang Zhenchen's Third Division of the Gan Army. Their pre-battle strength was 5,000 men, and they currently have about 3,000 remaining." Chen Tianheng compared the intelligence with the map, looking at the defensive positions deployed by Sun Chuanfang's army between Tianpo Village and Nijiahe. "How much resolve does the Third Division still have in the fight?"

Chen Mingren: "Sun Chuanfang has rented a large number of ships from the China Merchants Steam Navigation Company. The Soviet 10th Division has been completely transported. The troops remaining in Jiujiang probably already know that they will be cannon fodder for Sun Chuanfang. But whether they will fight to the death or surrender on the spot is still uncertain. We will know for sure once the battle begins."

Chen Tianheng: "But I hope they can resist for a while, so that the Second Regiment can gain some practice."

As if to meet Chen Tianheng's expectations, the Gan Army's Third Division, defending the Tianpo Village-Nijiahe defensive line, refused to raise the white flag in surrender. The 1st Division's mountain artillery advanced, firing over 200 rounds at key points along the defensive line. However, the Gan Army's Third Division, considered third-rate even among the Five Provinces' allied forces, remained in their trenches.

After all, it was the Gan Army of the Five Provinces Allied Forces. The Anhui Army and the Soviet Army could run away when the battle situation was unfavorable, but the Gan Army was unwilling to give up its territory.

"beep--"

The Second Regiment's Chief of Staff, Xu Jishen, blew the whistle: "Follow up! The mortars must keep up with the battalion! You are the battalion's offensive firepower group!"

Under Xu Jishen's supervision, the 2nd Regiment's mortar crew dismantled their mortars, each carried by three men, and advanced with the infantry. They advanced about four or five hundred meters before re-mounting the guns. Behind the mortar carriers, a dozen or so human ammunition transporters also arrived breathlessly. The first man removed his ammunition backpack, pulled out an 81mm mortar shell, and handed it to the gunner, who placed the shell through the muzzle.

"Boom-"

Calibrate the gun according to the landing point and fire another shot.

The parameters were accurate, and the two mortars began to output frantic damage. The First Battalion of the Second Regiment, which had just approached 200-300 meters in front of the position during the mountain artillery bombardment, leaped up again and sprinted forward.

The Gan troops in the defensive positions did not open fire to intercept.

Two hundred meters. One hundred and fifty meters. One hundred meters. Fifty meters. The faces of the Gan army soldiers in the trenches could almost be seen before a few of them moved, firing back with their heavy machine guns.

The first company of the second battalion, also known as the tactical benchmark company, was the first to lie down, followed by more than a dozen combat teams of the second company.

The Madsen light machine gun opened fire, exchanging short bursts of fire with the Gan army's heavy machine guns. The other combat teams crawled forward, because the Gan army was stunned by the mortars, and only at this point did the heavy machine guns "come alive", so the combat teams only needed to crawl about 20 meters before they could throw grenades.

Xu Jishen, the chief of staff of the Second Regiment, had been watching the First Battalion's attack through a telescope from the back. He saw grenades thrown into the trenches, the assault company charging forward, and the collapse of the Gan Army's first trench. He breathed a sigh of relief: "Very good."

Wei Lihuang: "The combat effectiveness of the Second Regiment has improved significantly in recent times."

Xu Jishen: "But then again, the Second Regiment also had a certain tactical foundation before, otherwise we wouldn't have improved so quickly."

...The First Regiment, coordinating with the Second Regiment, also advanced. Once it reached the flank of the defenses, it launched a flanking attack with one battalion, while the remaining troops continued forward, outflanking the Gan troops in Tianpo Village. In just one morning, the Third Gan Division between Tianpo Village and Nijiahe collapsed. Its commander, Jiang Zhenchen, fled alone back to Jiujiang, and the remaining 2,000 or so Gan troops who fled were captured.

"Old Wei, the Gan Army's Third Division is collapsing too quickly. 1st and 2nd Regiments, take Tiger Bay this afternoon."

Chen Tianheng called the Second Regiment Command.

Wei Lihuang: “Yes!”

When fighting at Tiger Bay, the 1st and 2nd Regiments rotated, with the 1st Regiment taking the main attack and the 2nd Regiment making a flanking move.

In the morning, we fought against the Beggar Division of the Gan Army, which had a total of 3,000 men. In the afternoon, we fought against the Gan Army, which could be called the "beggar of beggars", the Provisional 6th Division of the Gan Army, which had a total of 2,400 men.

Unsurprisingly, the Provisional 6th Division shattered at the first touch, with the defeated soldiers fleeing in all directions across the mountains and plains.

Sun Chuanfang's army was so weak and powerless during the final stages of the Battle of Nanxun. Not only did the defenders directly facing the 1st Division collapse at the first contact, but the 2nd Division and the Independent 4th Division, attacking in parallel with the 1st Division, also won every battle. However, these two divisions advanced at a slower pace than the 1st Division.

At 4:30 p.m., Chen Tianheng arrived at the forefront of the First Division's attack. Through the telescope, the small south gate of Jiujiang City and the remaining southern section of the city wall appeared in his field of vision.

Jiujiang once had a city wall.

During the Taiping Rebellion, Qing troops blew up a section of Jiujiang's city wall, which was never repaired. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, Jiujiang's shipping and trade flourished, and the commercial port grew increasingly prosperous, with streets and buildings stretching out both inside and outside the city walls. Finally, in 1924, the Beiyang government legislated and authorized the widespread demolition of city walls. By 1926, seven or eight gaps had been opened in Jiujiang's eastern wall, and three in the southwest wall, creating access to streets inside and outside the city.

In other words, the city walls of Jiujiang can no longer serve as defensive fortifications for the defenders.

"Commander, the telegraph line has been connected! It can go directly to De'an and Nanchang!"

Chen Tianheng: "Send a telegram to Nanchang, copying Commander De'anlu half an hour later. 'On October 23rd, the 1st and 2nd Regiments of our 1st Division successively defeated Sun Chuanfang's Gan Army's 3rd Division and the Gan Army's Provisional 10th Division, arriving south of Jiujiang City. The 10rd Regiment, after making a detour via the southern foothills of Lushan Mountain, also defeated the enemy in front of them, and reached the east of Jiujiang City on the afternoon of the 23rd. The Jiujiang defenders have sent representatives out of the city to negotiate surrender. It is expected that the Northern Expedition Army will be able to enter the city on October 24th.'"

Chen Tianheng's telegram was first sent to the headquarters in Nanchang, and then copied to Lu Diping. After receiving the telegram, Chiang Kai-shek immediately ordered Lu Diping to stay here and not move. Then, in the early morning of the 24th, Chiang Kai-shek took a train all the way to the outskirts of Jiujiang City.

……

April 10st morning.

"Welcome the Northern Expedition!"

"Welcome the Northern Expedition!" "Long live Commander-in-Chief Chiang!"

"Down with the imperialist powers, down with the imperialist powers, get rid of the warlords, get rid of the warlords, work hard for the national revolution, work hard for the national revolution, fight together, fight together"

……

At the Northern Expedition Army's entry ceremony, the people of Jiujiang lined the streets to welcome them.

Chiang Kai-shek walked at the forefront of the Northern Expedition Army entering the city, smiling brightly and waving to the people constantly.

Victory, a great victory! The Battle of Nanxun concluded perfectly!

The First Division advanced at a speed as fast as cutting melons and vegetables, not only surpassing the Independent Fourth Division and the Second Division, but also surpassing the Seventh Army that attacked from another direction, and was the first to arrive at the city of Jiujiang. This was the reason why Chiang Kai-shek was able to enter the city.

If the Seventh Army had arrived at Jiujiang City first, it would be the time for Li Zongren to enter the city.

Behind Chiang Kai-shek, two division commanders, Chen Tianheng and Liu Zhi, followed on horseback.

Behind them was the marching column of the 1st Regiment of the 1st Division.

Yesterday's battle ended early, giving the 1st Division ample time to camp and shower, shave, and change into clean clothes. The 1st Regiment, now before the eyes of the citizens of Jiujiang, appeared neatly uniformed, marching in unison, and with high morale. Each soldier, besides wearing the Northern Expedition armband, also wore a unique insignia of the 1st Regiment of the 1st Division.

Yuan Zhongxian, the division's party representative, said: "Raise the uprising in Guangzhou. Ready—sing!"

"The uprising in Guangzhou, the flames of war in Dongjiang"

"Mianhu Lake bathes in blood, tempered into steel"

"The Sword of Revolution"

“Born in Huangpu”

"The victory flag is flying in Wuchang City"

Liu Zhi: "Brother Chen, what is this?"

Chen Tianheng: "The National Revolutionary Army's First Division Song, I wrote it casually when I had nothing to do in Nanchang."

Liu Zhi: “…”

Can you, the First Division, not be so playful? You have your own way of fighting, your own set of badges, your own military songs, and your own regimental and divisional songs!

The troops entering the city sang the First Division's song. This unprecedented military song, with its vigorous melody and energetic rhythm, stirred the emotions of the people along the way. Gradually, the slogans of the citizens along the way changed from "Welcome the Northern Expedition Army!" and "Long live Commander-in-Chief Chiang!" to a new slogan:

"Long live the Northern Expedition!"

"Long live the Northern Expedition!"

Chen Tianheng then laughed and immediately bowed to the citizens on both sides of the road to express his gratitude.