The Fourth Outstanding Person of Huangpu Military Academy

Chapter 136

The 26th Army was ambushed at the foot of Fuyang City, and its commander Chen Chao found out later than Chen Tianheng.

On the morning of January 4, the 1st Division not only figured out the results of the battle last night, but also formulated a combat plan against the 10th Division of the Allied Forces. Only then did the headquarters of the 26th Army learn that one of its own divisions had been attacked by Sun's army last night.

"Where's your division commander? Where's Division Commander Wu Chongren?"

Chen Chao inquired about the defeated soldiers who fled from Tangjiabu to Tonglu.

"Our division commander, our division commander has already..." The defeated soldiers burst into tears.

"Ah?! Chongren, Chongren! You're just...gone like that?!"

Chen Zhuo was very sad.

In reality, the fleeing soldiers had no idea of ​​Wu Chongren's whereabouts. These soldiers were all long-distance runners, and when their base was ambushed by Sun's army the previous night, thrown into chaos, they took off running, recklessly sprinting the 30 kilometers back to Tonglu. To avoid reprimand from their superiors, they fabricated a story claiming the division was wiped out and that Commander Wu had narrowly escaped death.

Half an hour later, another group of defeated soldiers arrived in Tonglu. The battlefield conditions they described were slightly different from those of the first group of long-distance runners, but the difference was not significant—Wu Chongren's division had indeed been defeated.

However, Wu Chongren himself was likely still alive. He had a battalion that was still able to fight, and he had taken in some defeated soldiers. Six or seven hundred of them were struggling to retreat towards Tonglu while fighting.

Si Lie's division in Xiaojing Village also reported back that they had been attacked by Sun Chuanfang's troops the previous night, but their defenses had managed to withstand the attack. However, the enemy was advancing with such force that their division had to abandon Xiaojing Village and gradually retreat.

During the battle, Si Lie's division lost about a regiment, but the entire division remained intact. The message sent back was handwritten by the division chief of staff, signed by Si Lie, and delivered to Tonglu by a communications corps, which indirectly proved that although Si Lie's division had suffered a setback, its integrity had not collapsed.

"Zhang Guowei!"

Chen Chao also had another division under his command, the 3rd Division of Zhang Guowei's 26th Army.

"Send all your troops towards Tangjiabu! Rescue Wu Chongren and his troops!"

Zhang Guowei: "Ah? Me?"

Zhang Guowei's division was once an artillery brigade. When they revolted and joined the Northern Expedition, they fled without taking any of their artillery pieces with them; they were all seized by Sun Chuanfang, and they were subsequently reorganized into infantry.

The reorganization had only been going on for less than two months, so Chen Chao hadn't originally planned to use Zhang Guowei's division. He needed to train it for a while longer to figure out how to deploy the light and heavy machine gun fire points. But now the situation was urgent, and he couldn't worry about that.

……

Tangjiabu Town.

At noon, Zheng Junyan, commander of the 10th Division of the Allied Forces, entered the town.

"Commander, we've captured over 2,000 prisoners, 1,500 of whom have been gathered at Tangjiabu."

Zheng Junyan: "Take them all back to Hangzhou and leave immediately. Otherwise, we'll have to provide a meal here. Where did the enemy flee to? Where have we chased them?"

The Chief of Staff pointed to the map and said, "The defeated soldiers of the 1st Division of the 26th Army are now fleeing all over the mountains and plains. Our 38th and 39th Regiments are working separately to capture them. Among these defeated soldiers, there is a group of 600 to 700 people who are still sticking together. We estimate that they are the troops led by the enemy division commander Wu Chongren. The 37th Regiment is pursuing this enemy force. Their current position is approximately between Xindian Village and Houshan Village."

Zheng Junyan: "The 37th Regiment will pursue this enemy group until they capture the high-ranking officers within. The 38th and 39th Regiments should stop chasing those stragglers and concentrate. The 26th Army still has a division."

"Yes. Also, according to the 11th Division, they also broke into the Northern Expedition Army's main camp last night and are now pursuing them."

Zheng Junyan: "How many prisoners were captured?"

"More than 700 people."

"With only 700 men, they haven't defeated their opponent," Zheng Junyan said. "The 26th Army approaching Hangzhou must be rendered incapable of combat. This is the order from the commander-in-chief. We must fight our way to Tonglu."

Zheng Junyan's 10th Division of the Allied Forces fought against the Northern Expedition Army on the Nanxun Line, and Zheng Junyan had never suffered any loss on the battlefield.

In the first battle on the Nanxun Front, Zheng Junyan led his troops to drive out the Northern Expedition Army, which had rashly captured Nanchang, and recaptured the city. During the battle, he also killed a regimental commander of the Northern Expedition Army's 2nd Division. Two weeks later, the Northern Expedition Army returned, and Zheng Junyan successfully defended Nanchang again.

Of course, later on, too many of Sun Chuanfang's main forces were wiped out on the Nanxun Line, and it was impossible to defend Nanchang. Zheng Junyan's division evacuated Nanchang by boat and returned to the rear to recuperate. But in short, he did not suffer a defeat against the Northern Expedition Army on the battlefield.

To defend Zhejiang, Sun Chuanfang had only one of his veteran main forces left, Zheng Junyan's division, and the situation was not optimistic. To protect the core area of ​​Zhejiang, Sun Chuanfang concentrated the most capable troops of the coalition forces around Hangzhou, taking an active defensive stance.

Sun Chuanfang summarized the battle of the Nanxun Front as follows: While a few Northern Expedition units were exceptionally capable, the majority were on par with his Five Provinces Allied Forces. During the Zhejiang defense, Sun Chuanfang's greatest fear was a potential surge of one or two key Northern Expedition divisions, interspersed with a large number of less effective filler divisions, overwhelming the Allied forces.

The two Northern Expedition armies surrounded them first, which was just right. According to intelligence, the First Division of the First Army, the most powerful of the Northern Expedition, was behind the 26th Army and would take 2-3 days to arrive. The coalition forces in Hangzhou seized this opportunity and took the initiative to attack and destroy the 26th Army, then continued to retreat to Hangzhou.

……

Tonglu.

Zhang Guowei gritted his teeth and sent his troops out. His division consisted of three regiments, and he sent out the 7th and 8th regiments first. Then he and Chen Chao sat at the headquarters, anxiously awaiting news from the front.

"Report! My Seventh Regiment has engaged the enemy! The enemy's firepower is very strong!"

Zhang Guowei: "The Eighth Regiment should move closer to the Seventh Regiment as quickly as possible to open up a rescue channel together!"

"Report! The 7th and 8th Regiments have joined forces! They're engaged in a fierce firefight with the enemy! We can't move forward for now! But we're not retreating either!"

Chen Zhuo couldn't stand it any longer: "Which commander wrote this battle report? How dare you bring it up when you didn't retreat? I want you to rescue Wu Chongren!"

The battlefield was located midway between Tonglu and Tangjiabu, on the west bank of the Fuchun River. The 10th Allied Forces Division advanced along the long strip of flat land on the west bank. Zhang Guowei's troops were unable to withstand the attacks on this flat land, relying entirely on the hills to the west of the narrow strip of flat land. Zhang Guowei's division seized the hills first, forcing the 10th Allied Forces Division to turn back and deal with Zhang Guowei's troops occupying the commanding heights, otherwise it would be impossible to continue its advance southward.

In other words, after the two sides engaged in battle, the 7th and 8th Regiments had been pushed back seven or eight hundred meters in the plains. It was all thanks to the 7th Regiment's holding of the commanding heights that the 10th Division of the Allied Forces was unable to advance in large strides. Only then did the commander of the 7th Regiment dare to use the phrase "We didn't retreat either" in his battle report.

The suffocating battle lasted until three o'clock in the afternoon, when the Seventh Regiment discovered that a group of more than a hundred people were running wildly on the valley path on their left.

These are the withdrawing troops from Wu Chongren’s division!

It’s Wu Chongren himself!

……

When Wu Chongren returned to Tonglu Town, he felt weak all over, as if he had escaped death.

This was truly a narrow escape. Don't say that warlords didn't kill captured high-ranking officials. Things were different now. Wu Chongren was a member of the Zhejiang Army before, and he defected from the Zhejiang Army to the Northern Expedition Army. If he were captured by the Zhejiang Army again on the battlefield, he would probably be executed.

"Commander, Commander Wu has been rescued, but my 7th and 8th Regiments are stuck on the front lines. What should we do?"

Zhang Guowei is in trouble.

Although they had rescued a division commander, two regiments of Zhang Guowei's division were tightly held by the Allied forces and could not escape easily. If they stood up and ran directly from the trenches, they would be hunted down and killed by the enemy.

Chen Zhuo: "It's already past five in the afternoon, and it's going to get dark soon. After dark, the 7th and 8th Regiments should sneak away."

Zhang Guowei: "Okay."

Chen Zhuo: "It's time for us to retreat. If we retreat to Yanzhou or Jiande, we should be able to join up with the First Division..."

"Report to the commander, many troops are coming from Jiande!"

……

The First Regiment of the First Division marched at the head of the column. Xu Xiangqian climbed down from the carriage, grabbed a cold towel, and rubbed his face vigorously. He stepped forward and saluted Chen Chao. "First Army, First Division, First Regiment, Xu Xiangqian. Our division commander will be here in ten minutes."

Chen Zhuo: "I knew you guys would come, hahaha! That's great!"

Xu Xiangqian: "But, Commander Chen, are you planning to dismantle the pontoon bridge leading to the north?"

Chen Zhuo: “…”

The 26th Army had indeed made all preparations to dismantle the pontoon bridge. It was just waiting for the retreating 7th and 8th Regiments to return, and then it would immediately dismantle the pontoon bridge on Fenshui River, a tributary of Fuchun River, and move the entire army backward.

"Commander Chen, please tell us about the current situation on the battlefield so we can take countermeasures."

Chen Tianheng and the staff of the 1st Division directly borrowed the headquarters of the 26th Army, but replaced it with the map used by the 1st Division.

Chen Chao: "From last night to early this morning, our Wu Chongren and Si Lie Divisions were attacked by the enemy at night. Si Lie's Division suffered some losses, while Wu Chongren's Division suffered heavier losses... Particularly heavy losses. Our Zhang Guowei Division set out at noon to support Division Commander Wu Chongren's retreating troops, and just brought Wu Chongren back half an hour ago. The 7th and 8th Regiments of Zhang Guowei's Division, which were out to support them, are now returning to Tonglu. Si Lie's Division is retreating along this road and will cross the Fenshui River here, at Xujiabu. My previous plan was for Si Lie's Division to cross the Fenshui River alone and rendezvous in Jiande. The enemy unit's designation is..."

Chen Tianheng: "We have the enemy's unit numbers. The one attacking Wu Chongren's unit is the 10th Allied Forces Division, and the one attacking Si Lie's unit is the 11th Allied Forces Division. We now want to know the whereabouts and activities of these two divisions, especially the subordinate regiments of the 10th Division."

陈焯：“追击伍崇仁部的是联军第10师的37团。攻击7、8团的也是联军第10师的，第38团。其他的敌军步兵团未能确定位置。”

Chen Mingren: "The 10th Division of the Allied Forces was organized as part of the old Beiyang Army, with two brigades and four regiments. How is it possible that they only deployed two regiments?"

"I think there's more than one regiment here," Lu Deming pointed to the fighting position of the 7th and 8th Regiments. "The terrain here is too narrow. With the 26th Army stuck here, the enemy's offensive front is limited, so they can only deploy one battalion from each regiment. I estimate there's another regiment behind the 38th Regiment. This means Zheng Junyan has deployed three regiments on the battlefield, with another regiment near the division headquarters as a general reserve."

Chen Tianheng: "A rough estimate of the location and possible speculation is sufficient. The specific battlefield information will be handled by the First Regiment's Reconnaissance Battalion. All members of the First Regiment are ready for battle."

Xu Xiangqian: "Yes!"

Chen Zhuo: "Your unit, are you going to... immediately launch an attack on the Allied Forces' 10th Division?"

Chen Tianheng: "Of course, immediately. The 10th Division of the Allied Forces has been here since midnight this morning, 5:40, with almost no rest. Now that they have stopped chasing your 7th and 8th Regiments, it means that the entire 10th Division has reached the limit of their physical strength. ... This is when they are at their weakest. Our troops have covered 40 kilometers today, but with only half an hour to an hour of rest, the soldiers can recover most of their strength."

Chen Mingren: "I would venture to speculate that tonight they will switch the regiment that serves as the general reserve and have it guard the night while the other three regiments rest for the night and attack again tomorrow morning."

Chen Zhuo: "Okay, that's great."

Chen Tianheng: "Commander Chen, does the 26th Army still have combat troops you can mobilize?"

"Yes, there is," Chen Zhuo looked at Zhang Guowei, "your division's 9th Regiment hasn't moved yet, right?"

Zhang Guowei: "Yes. ...That's my original 12th Artillery Regiment. Are they going to join the night attack on the Allied 10th Division?"

Chen Tianheng: "No. After nightfall, please follow this road to the northwest to find the Si Lie Division and help him stabilize the front line. Do not retreat further. The main goal is to hold off the Allied 11th Division."

Zhang Guowei: "Is it to delay the 11th Division so that you can attack the 10th Division?"

Chen Tianheng: "It will help us to continue our efforts after we have eliminated the 10th Division. We can use another day to eliminate the 11th Division."

Chapter 137

During the march from Jiande (Yanzhou) to Tonglu, the First Regiment of the First Division marched with a light load, and the officers and soldiers' clothing, dry food, personal belongings and other luggage were transported by the logistics department.

Therefore, during the 1st Division's march, the 1st Regiment always maintained a state of being able to quickly engage in combat. After the 1st Regiment arrived in Tonglu, Xu Xiangqian and the entire regiment rested for a while, and half an hour later, they crossed the pontoon bridge and entered the battlefield.

The Second and Third Regiments rested in Tonglu Town. The officers and soldiers drank water and massaged their legs. They were all veterans who had been through many battles. When they were told to join the battle in two hours, they all knew what they should do.

The engineering battalion and its equipment arrived at the same time as the 2nd and 3rd Regiments, and are now resting like the 2nd and 3rd Regiments.

The artillery battalion and the first supply convoy have just arrived in Tonglu. Since both sides will likely be engaged in intense physical activity during the first phase of this battle, the artillery battalion is not in a rush to deploy. The second supply convoy, carrying the third and fourth bases of ammunition and food supplies, is arriving in Tonglu tomorrow morning.

"Comrades."

Chen Tianheng summoned the divisional staff and the commanders of the 2nd and 3rd Regiments to the map. "We need to figure out one thing now. What is the key to our battle against the Allied 10th Division? Where is this key point?"

Wei Lihuang: "What determines whether the battle is over should be the headquarters and baggage of the Allied 10th Division."

Xu Jishen: "The two coalition divisions are advancing from Fuyang as their base. This is clearly a raiding operation. They will return to Fuyang after defeating or severely damaging the 26th Army. I'm sure their baggage is in Fuyang and they won't be bringing it out. As for the division headquarters, it's hard to say. It depends on how confident Zheng Junyan is in this battle."

Chen Mingren: "Zheng Junyan and his division participated in the Battle of Nanxun Line. They were lucky enough to escape unscathed and even won two tactical victories in Nanchang. I speculate that after they defeated Wu Chongren's division, Zheng Junyan will move his headquarters here, Tangjiabu."

Chen Tianheng: "That is the original base of Wu Chongren's division."

Wei Lihuang and Du Yuming agreed: "I also feel that Zheng Junyan should move his headquarters forward. Their messengers are still the main force in transmitting combat information. With one kilometer less distance from the front line, combat information can be received a few minutes faster."

Chen Tianheng took another look at the map and drew an arc from Tonglu to Tangjiabu. "Wei Lihuang, then, your Second Regiment should take this route. Through the valley and mountain road on the west side of the valley, attack and advance. You may encounter parts of the Allied 10th Division, but you must resolve the battle quickly and do not stop. Launch an attack on Tangjiabu before Zheng Junyan reacts."

Wei Lihuang understood as soon as he saw this line: "I understand."

Chen Tianheng: "In mobile warfare, each infantry regiment must fully utilize the effectiveness of its reconnaissance units and not allow itself to become blind. Divisional headquarters will only determine the ultimate objective of the battle for you. On the battlefield, it is up to the regimental commanders and staff officers to make impromptu decisions. Everything must be based on achieving the ultimate objective. Xu Xiangqian did this, and the Second Regiment should do the same."

Du Yuming: "The Third Regiment serves as the general reserve?"

Chen Tianheng: "The Third Regiment is mainly preparing to deal with possible situations on the western front with the Si Lie Division. Si Lie sent a message to the 26th Army last time saying that they have stabilized their position. They may continue to stabilize or retreat. If the Si Lie direction is confirmed to be stable, the Third Regiment will also be involved in the battle. Now, we will mobilize the regiment."

……

… A group of people walked out of the division headquarters.

"Snapped--"

In the northeast direction, about 4 to 5 kilometers away, a red flare rose slowly.

Chen Mingren: "Xu Xiangqian has engaged the enemy!"

Chen Tianheng looked at his watch and said, "Wei Lihuang, can the second regiment's departure be advanced? How much earlier?"

Wei Lihuang: "From the time we stopped, the entire regiment rested for a full hour. I think in another 15 minutes, the second regiment will be able to move."

"Comrades!"

Zhu Yunqing, the party representative of the second group, has already made a mobilization speech, and Chen Tianheng made additional remarks.

"Some of you are transferred from the First Regiment, and some are veterans from the Second Regiment. Regardless of whether you are from the First or Second Regiment, you should all understand:"

"In our team, when the enemy's strength is 1:1, the battle is never an evenly matched attack, but a war of annihilation."

"It's a battle of annihilation where we annihilate the enemy."

"That's why we can call ourselves 'The Best of the Hundred Divisions'. This is the tradition of the First Regiment, and it should also be the tradition of the First Division!"

"Today, your Second Regiment must also record an equally glorious victory in your own record. Disband!"

"Snapped--"

Another flare in the night sky.

It was still 4 to 5 kilometers northeast, but it was a green flare.

Wei Lihuang: "Green flare, signaling the victory of the current battle?"

Chen Tianheng checked his watch again. Only 11 minutes had passed since the red flare was launched.