Chapter 22: Battle of Lanfeng (VII)
"The 27th Division is currently on the front line of Lankao, and the 32nd Division is attacking Qi County. Although these two places are not impregnable, the second-line positions such as Quxing and Chenliu have a large number of reserve troops that can be reinforced at any time. Therefore, the problem in Landong is not serious."
Zhou Guangyou, the chief of staff of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan War Zone, which led the war in eastern Henan, stood in front of the map and introduced it to Dai Jiliang and others.
"The problem now is the Dancheng line. The Seventh Army is fighting very hard with two divisions to encircle and annihilate the Nonomura Detachment with more than 10,000 Japanese troops. On the outer line, four divisions are blocking the two Japanese divisions and 21 infantry, engineering, logistics, artillery, and cavalry battalions, which is even more tight on manpower."
What Zhou Guangyou said seemed a bit exaggerated. Although the military strategy said "attack when your force is twice as strong as yours, surround when your force is ten times as strong," with a force ratio of 3:1 in the Dancheng encirclement, it did seem that they were not strong enough to attack the stubborn defense of the Japanese army. However, it should be more than enough to use 36,000 combat troops from 4 divisions, more than 150 mountain and field artillery with a caliber of 7.5 or above, and the attached anti-aircraft guns and anti-tank gun units to stop 21 mixed battalions of more than 20,000 Japanese troops whose combat effectiveness was greatly reduced.
However, Zhou Guangyou's worries were not groundless. If the battle on the inside could not be ended in time and Japanese reinforcements arrived one after another, the balance of victory and defeat might be reversed.
"The Hebei-Shandong-Henan War Zone therefore hopes to transfer all three armies of Wang Yizhe's Second Army in Fuyang and Funan to the Dancheng line in order to strengthen the attack on the Nonomura Detachment and take the opportunity to counterattack the Luyi and Bozhou lines, threaten Guide and Tongshan, shake the Japanese army's retreat, and if possible, cut off the traffic on the Jinpu Road."
Before Dai Jiliang, Zhang Zili and others could respond to Ma Kang and Zhou Guangyou's request, Zhang Xueliang could not help asking, "Where are the six divisions of the Second Army now? How long does Commander Ma plan to keep this unit in the dark? Why not use this unit to reinforce Dancheng instead of transferring the Second Army from Hubei, Henan and Anhui?"
"In view of the signs that the Japanese troops north of the Yellow River have crossed the river, the Second Army is currently carrying out river defense tasks in Zhengxian and Xingyang with two divisions. Another four divisions and the first and fourth motorized infantry brigades have entered the attack position south of Qixian. Once the Japanese troops in Landong show signs of fatigue or the Japanese troops in Ningling are mobilized, they will attack."
Zhou Guangyou’s explanation was very clear. This unit was the final trump card. Once it was revealed, it would be the moment to decide victory or defeat.
"The problem is that Yang Hucheng also has his own plans for the Second Army."
Zhang Zilii glanced at the adjutant behind him, and the adjutant understood and took out a stack of combat plans from his briefcase.
"The Hubei-Henan-Anhui War Zone judged that the Japanese troops were weak on the Huaihe River line and prepared to mobilize the Second Army to attack the Huainan, Datong, Bengbu, and Guzhen lines to completely cut off the Jinpu Road and Huainan Railway. Then, depending on the situation reported by the Japanese army, they could either join forces with the 16th Corps to attack the 16th Division on the Hefei line, or go north to recapture Suxian and Tongshan."
In fact, these two plans have the same purpose. In the end, they both aim to cut off the Jinpu Road, shake the connection between the Japanese troops in North China and Central China, and form a momentum for a local counterattack. However, the key issue is which war zone will lead this major counterattack.
Since Yang Hucheng had already assigned the Seventh Army to the command of Hebei, Shandong and Henan for the sake of the country, if he were to give the initiative of the counterattack to Ma Kang, it would give people the impression that Dai Jiliang was favoring his own people, which would be detrimental to the image of the Northwest.
"Chief of Staff, can I read Commander Yang's proposal ?"
Zhou Guangyou was not a person who gave up easily. He made such a request, but Dai Jiliang just signaled with his eyes. Then Zhang Zilii handed the document to him. Zhou Guangyou scanned it ten lines at a glance and really found several omissions.
"Your Excellency, Chief of Staff, Deputy Commander-in-Chief Zhang, this plan has a flaw."
Zhou Guangyou tapped on the document.
"If we follow the Hubei-Henan-Anhui plan, we will certainly hit the weakest point of the Japanese army and achieve the greatest effect with the least sacrifice. However, in this way, tens of thousands of Japanese troops in eastern Henan may escape unscathed. Then there is a question: is it better to destroy the Japanese army's manpower? Or is it better to just recapture some cities and create a little momentum?"
"Uncle, it's not easy to talk to Yang Hucheng."
Zhou Guangyou left, but Zhang Xueliang stayed. Although he was using Yang Hucheng's name at the moment, everyone knew that he was worried that the Second Army would be exhausted in the most difficult defensive battle.
"Although destroying the Japanese army's manpower is important, the political impact cannot be ignored."
Zhang Xueliang had long been aware of Dai Jiliang's ambition, so naturally the topic was led in this direction.
"During the low tide of the national war of resistance, when capitulationists and traitors are emerging one after another, being able to recover a large area of lost territory will be of great benefit to establishing the status of the Northwest."
"But destroying four Japanese divisions would also earn you the same reputation."
Zhang Zilii seemed to have agreed with Zhou Guangyou's plan.
"Hanqing, you have to think clearly. Without these four divisions, the Japanese army will be wide open. It's not just Xuhai that will be liberated. Maybe Shandong can also be liberated. But if the devils of these four divisions escape back, Shandong will be lost. It's still a question whether the liberated Xuhai can be preserved."
Having said that, Zhang Zilii concluded decisively.
“If you save the land but lose the people, you lose both the people and the land. If you save the people but lose the land, both the people and the land will be saved. It’s that simple.”
"The Chief of Staff thinks too simply."
Zhang Xueliang shook his head fiercely.
"Today's annihilation of four divisions will certainly shock people both at home and abroad, but Japan's manpower has not been completely exhausted. Once the Japanese army attacks with all its might, Shandong and Xuhai will also be abandoned. By then, the Japanese army will gather its main force and attack all the way. It is possible that the entire west of the (Pinghan) Road will be abandoned. Whether Heluo can be defended is also a question. At that time, who will be in favor of the war? At least it won't be us."
This sentence touched Dai Jiliang at once. Yes, once the Japanese army pressed all its forces into Henan, not to mention the extent of losses that the Northwest Army and its peripheral forces would suffer after a series of battles, at least the pressure on Guiyang would be greatly reduced. This would certainly help it to continue to contain the Japanese troops in central China and southern Guangdong. However, the Northwest's pursuit of supreme power would have to slow down.
But Dai Jiliang was unwilling to spit out the meat so easily. After thinking it over, before he made a final decision, the tightly closed door suddenly opened, and Song Cheng rushed in: "Your Excellency, Chief of Staff, Deputy Commander-in-Chief, we just intercepted a Japanese telegram saying that the Japanese troops in northwestern Hubei have broken through the Zaoyang line."
"what happened?"
Several people in the room couldn't help but stand up. Liu Wenhui's deployment in Zaoyang was very tight. The strict defense of 4 divisions and 1 artillery regiment could not even last for 2 days. Now the situation in northwestern Hubei suddenly reversed.
"What happened in Zaoyang?"
"While the Japanese leader Guan Guici was carrying out the frontal attack, he formed a flanking detachment with three integrated battalions. The flanking detachment sneaked southward to the Youjia River line and broke through the positions of Zhang Zhankui's 20th Reserve Division in the Xigang, Xiaodonggou and Sanwangzhuang areas and crossed the Shahe and Chenhe Rivers."
Zhang Zhankui's troops were called a division, but in fact they only had two regiments with more than 2,500 people. Their strongest firepower was no more than six Type 82 mortars . Therefore, they were completely unable to resist the three Japanese battalions that had both superior numbers and firepower.
"Because the Japanese army suddenly appeared from behind, the front-line units were caught off guard and were quickly defeated in the pincer attack. According to the content of the Japanese army's telegram, the main force of the Japanese army has now crossed the Shahe River and entered Zaoyang County, and seized a lot of our artillery and firearms." Zhang Xueliang slapped his forehead. There were two divisions of his Northeast Army on the Zaoyang front line, and now it was destroyed so easily. It is impossible to say that he is not heartbroken. However, he couldn't get angry in front of Dai Jiliang at this moment, so he just asked: "Is this information confirmed? Does Liu Wenhui know the situation on the front line now?"
"I've called Deputy Commander Liu to confirm."
Song Cheng responded calmly. Although he also had doubts about the low level of secrecy of the Japanese telegram, he could not conceal or omit the information just because he doubted the content of the intelligence. After all, the situation on the battlefield was changing rapidly. If unpredictable consequences were caused by his own reasons, he would not be able to bear the responsibility.
"Deputy Commander Liu still didn't know the situation at the front line, and he sent telegrams again and again to inquire whether the situation was true."
"Hanqing, go and call Dong Yanping and Li Lanchi directly to confirm the contents of the Japanese telegram."
Seeing that Zhang Xueliang looked restless, Dai Jiliang immediately asked him to go and confirm it himself. Zhang Xueliang thought about it, gritted his teeth and followed Song Cheng out. It seemed that at this time he could not care about revealing the password for contacting the troops.
As soon as Zhang Xueliang left, Dai Jiliang quickly walked to the large map, found the location of Zaoyang and looked at it carefully for a while: "Brother Pu Chu, if the intercepted telegram is true, then the situation in northwestern Hubei is irreversible. Should we start to transfer the troops around Cangtai? The Japanese don't have much time left for them to travel more than 20 kilometers."
“I don’t know whether the Japanese army will continue to attack next.”
Zhang Zili also walked to the map, folded his arms and looked worried.
"Sun Lianzhong's troops should be ordered to gather their forces immediately, and Shang Zhen's troops should also stop reorganizing and move south immediately. Should we also order Zhang Zizhong's troops to move westward and hand over the Pingjingguan position to the Ninth Army?"
"Uncle Laoba, Chief of Staff."
Before Dai Jiliang could answer, Zhang Xueliang came back. His face looked slightly better than a few minutes ago.
"The 111th Division deployed its defense along the line between Zongzi Mountain and Dashanbao. The Japanese army only carried out a diversionary attack in this direction, and the losses were not great. They also received some remnants of the 112th and 151st Divisions, but the Shahe defense line could not be maintained , and Li Jinqing was also there."
Zhang Xueliang shook his head bitterly.
"We were trapped in the Japanese encirclement."
Dai Jiliang also sighed. The general was bound to die soon. He didn't know whether Li Lanchi would get what he wanted or whether he would lose his integrity and become a traitor. Therefore, he could only appease Zhang Xueliang and said, "If Dong Yanping's troops can still hold on, let him try to gather his troops. If the Japanese army is ready to attack, let him retreat. Save as many as possible."
"Your Excellency, Deputy Commander Liu has an urgent message."
Song Cheng appeared again, and this time he brought Liu Wenhui's confirmation call.
"The communication on the Zaoyang front has been cut off, and the situation may be unpredictable. I have ordered all units on the Cangtai line to retreat immediately. However, the Japanese army's Saeda unit suddenly launched a counterattack, and the situation is tense. I am afraid that we cannot save all of them. I have no choice but to make a decisive move. I have ordered all units to leave a death squad to block the enemy, and the rest to retreat in different directions. I hope that the Lanzhou headquarters will transfer to the Hebei-Shandong-Henan and Hubei-Henan-Anhui war zones to quickly mobilize reinforcements to flank the Japanese army and save the current situation."
“Too hasty!”
Zhang Zili cried out in surprise.
"Maybe the whole battle line will be crossed."
"He was reckless and impulsive at first, and became as fearful as a tiger after his defeat. This brat Liu Wenhui is not worth having a say with!"
Dai Jiliang commented bitterly that the Cangtai line was in danger of collapse, and he didn't know how many people could be evacuated and how many heavy weapons could be rescued.
After a long sigh, Dai Jiliang calmed down. Even if everything in northwestern Hubei was lost, the sky would not fall.
So he looked at Zhang Zili and said, "Brother Park Chu, let's do as we just said."
Zhang Zili nodded and went out to make arrangements. Dai Jiliang slowly returned to his seat and sat down: "Hanqing, I have considered your suggestion just now. We can adopt the strategy of Hubei, Henan and Anhui, but the plan needs to be modified. Moreover, since the enemies in Xuzhou and Suxian are not strong, the Second Army does not need to march east in full force. We can withdraw the 63rd Army and the 17th Independent Heavy Artillery Regiment to the Dancheng line. We must not repeat the scene of Zaoyang there."
