Chapter 34: The Third Battle of East Henan (Part 3)
When it comes to transferring troops from the front line, it is naturally not something that can be solved by just a phone call or a few telegrams.
Fortunately, Kaifeng is the headquarters and transit station of the front line in eastern Henan. It also has the Second Army Headquarters, the Second Army Headquarters Guard Battalion, the Second Army Rear Hospital, and the military's 40mm Bofors Anti-aircraft Artillery Battalion.
The headquarters of the 2nd Mechanized Brigade and its 1st Armored Vehicle Battalion; the Kaifeng Garrison Command and its five public security garrison battalions.
Kaifeng Air Defense Command and its three 20mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft artillery battalions and seventeen 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine gun companies.
Kaifeng Military Police Headquarters and its subordinate military police battalion and four military police companies.
Kaifeng reserve warehouse and warehouse guard battalion of the Joint Logistics Command.
Longting Airport Guard Company of Kaifeng Independent Aviation Team of the Northwest Air Force.
The seven armed police squadrons of the Henan Police Department and the mounted police squadron and patrol brigade of the Kaifeng Provincial Police Bureau.
The five squadrons of railway police of the Kaifeng branch of the Longhai Railway Administration, the headquarters of the 238th Division which had retreated from the Ningling line for reorganization, the headquarters of its first regiment, and the transportation company of the northern line's divisions, brigades, and general detachments stationed in Kaifeng military station, totaling 7,000 to 8,000 troops, plus several intact companies still under the control of the River Defense Command, prevented the newly appointed Lieutenant General Takatako from falling into a catastrophic disaster immediately.
Taking into account the possibility that the Japanese army might attack the city in a roundabout way, it was naturally impossible for Lieutenant General Takatako to send all the troops at hand to the Japanese landing site to carry out the doomed blocking mission. For this reason, a temporary military meeting made a decision. At 4:45 in the morning of September 27, 40 minutes after the Japanese army launched the landing, the Kaifeng Garrison Command was reorganized into the Kaifeng City Defense Command, with Major General Xue Ming, commander of the 238th Division, as commander, and Major General Ye Chigao, former city defense commander, as deputy commander. Colonel Tu Zhikang, chief of staff of the 238th Division, and Colonel Tong Chixin, former chief of staff of the city defense command, served as chief and deputy chief of staff respectively. At the same time, Major General Long Ziqiang, commander of the 2nd Mechanized Brigade, was appointed as the front-line commander.
At 5:00 a.m. on September 27, the vanguard Hashimoto Mixed Battalion of the 110th Division arrived at Donglangchenggang in the northwest of Kaifeng, and was immediately blocked by the 44th Independent Company under the command of the River Defense Commander.
Although the Japanese army had far more troops than the Chinese defenders and was equipped with firearms such as infantry artillery, the 44th Independent Company fought to the death with their flesh and blood as the Great Wall and eventually died for their country. Thanks to the company's heroic sacrifice, China finally gained the crucial half an hour. Afterwards, the various units of the blocking detachment arrived one after another and roughly built a blocking line in Huihuizhai, Dashinzhuang, Yanggang, Baicheng and Luoti in the northwest of the city.
"Quick, quick."
While Su Kejian was running quickly, he turned back to urge the group of policemen behind him. Unlike the armed policemen staying in the barracks of the police department, most of the patrolmen and mounted policemen of the provincial police station went home to rest, and very few of them stayed in the branches and police stations to work the night shift. These breathless guys behind him were urgently called out from their beds.
"Everyone, run for me."
"Captain, are we going to the battlefield?"
Although they had experienced two battles in east Henan, they had never been in such a close war. Therefore, although these guys who had never seen blood were ordered to follow their superiors, they were not without some weakness in their legs.
"We can't even shoot accurately, so why are we going to fight with Little Nose?"
"Why are you scared?"
Su Kejian did not blame these old hands.
"I'm afraid too, but we are Chinese too. We can't just sit there and watch the Japanese invaders come in."
Having said that, Su Kejian stretched out his hand and pointed to the southeast.
"Hundreds of thousands of people died in Nanjing. Do you want Kaifeng to be like Nanjing? "
After hearing what Su Kejian said, several policemen who had been hesitating in their hearts couldn't help but straighten their chests. Yes, this is the city where they live. No one wants to turn it into a death zone like Nanjing in the past, and they don't want their families and friends to suffer unprecedented killings. For this reason, they petitioned to sacrifice their lives to prevent this from happening.
"That's right. After all, we have weapons. We can't let the devils harm our wives and children."
Looking at the team that was accelerating suddenly, Su Kejian smiled with satisfaction.
"Alright, brothers, keep going, we'll take a break when we get to the end of the road." The patrolmen were still running towards the Provincial Police Department, when suddenly a military vehicle turned on its headlights and turned from an intersection. It immediately scanned the policemen, and a head popped out of the driver's side window: "Are you a policeman from the Provincial Police Department?"
Su Kejian stopped and responded. The car door opened and a man came out and stood in front of the car headlights. Su Kejian looked carefully and saw that it was a captain of the Northwest Army. Su Kejian was a little confused when he heard the captain say, "I am informing you by order of the City Defense Command to rush to Xiguan immediately."
The officer looked at the patrolmen behind Su Kejian and said, "How about this, get in the car and I'll take you over."
The patrolmen subconsciously looked at Su Kejian. Su Kejian thought about it and nodded. Then the policemen cheered and climbed into the car. While the patrolmen were getting into the car, Su Kejian walked to the captain and said, "Sir, our superiors ordered us to fight the Japanese. We have no choice but to do so. But the weapons in our hands are useless."
"The higher-ups have long known that your police's shooting skills are not good, and the weapons in your hands are even worse."
The captain gave Captain Su a comforting look, but everything he described still made Su Kejian blush.
"But don't worry, the reserve warehouse of the Joint Logistics Command has been ordered to be opened. Just follow me to Xiguan, and we will replace all your equipment with machine guns there." At 5:22, a train from Lankao arrived at Kaifeng Railway Station in the south of the city.
As soon as the sealed tank car was opened, hundreds of officers and soldiers of the 223rd Division jumped directly from the carriage to the platform under the supervision of their superiors. Then the fireman did not stop the train at all and filled it with coal again. Amid the puffing sound of steam, the train turned back to Lankao Station without stopping.
"Captain He, I finally got you here."
Major staff officer Gu Ming, who had been guarding the dispatch room at the train station, came over in a hurry. Without even having time to salute the leading soldier, he anxiously pointed at the sergeant next to him.
"The Japanese army is attacking very quickly, and the situation on the front line is tight. The city defense headquarters has called four or five times to inquire about your whereabouts. Okay, don't say anything more. Please follow Sergeant Huang and set off immediately!"
He Yuesheng, the battalion commander of the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Regiment, 223rd Division, did not say much. He then gave an order and hundreds of officers and soldiers lined up on the platform. Then, led by the sergeant named Huang, they strode out.
At this time, two rows of baskets had been placed by the people from the Joint Logistics Command at the exit of the train station. One row contained bullets and grenades, and the other row contained makeshift corn and eggs.
These hurried officers and soldiers stuffed bullets and grenades into their pockets, and put what might be their only food in the next few days into their arms, and under the light of the dim street lights, they walked towards the battlefield without hesitation. At 6:17 in the morning, Longting Airport was attacked by two batches of nine bombers and fourteen fighters from the Japanese Air Force.
Fortunately, as the war approached Lankao, the Kaifeng Independent Air Force had already moved to field airports in Tongxu, Fugu and other places, and the entire Longting Airport was empty. Therefore, except for the runway and some buildings destroyed by the Japanese army, no serious harm was caused. However, the four anti-aircraft machine guns of the anti-aircraft machine gun unit of the airport guard battalion destroyed dozens of anti-aircraft company officers and soldiers in the air counterattack for the Japanese army.
Of course, the Japanese army did not win a complete victory in the air-to-ground confrontation. At least two Japanese bombers were hit and damaged.
At 6:24 a.m., the Kishida (2nd) Battalion of the 110th Infantry Regiment of the Japanese Army moved south along the Yunliang River and cut off the Longqin Yuhai Railway in the area south of Huzhai. Thus, traffic between Kaifeng and Zhengxian was forced to be interrupted.
Then, with the support of the follow-up Japanese troops, the Kishida Battalion encircled Heshangzhuang, Andun Temple, Yuyuan and Xinghuaying in Hedong, intending to completely encircle Kaifeng.
At 6:39, part of the 13th Infantry Regiment of the Japanese Army, with the cooperation of a squadron of the 110th Cavalry Battalion, found a gap and entered from the Nanbei Dike and Shuanghepu line, approaching the Henan Provincial No. 1 Normal School.
The school moved to Luoyang as early as 1938.
At this time, the Second Company of the 27th Armored Vehicle Battalion of the Second Mechanized Brigade was stationed on the campus.
The Japanese troops who were trying hard to tear through the Chinese defense line accidentally hit a wall. Without sufficient anti-tank artillery support, how could the regiment, with only four 37mm rapid-fire guns and dozens of cavalry attached, be a match for the armored forces? After only half an hour of fighting, the Japanese troops who suffered heavy casualties were forced to withdraw from the battle.
This was of course the first tactical victory achieved by China after the Japanese army forced its way across the Yellow River.
However, since the Japanese army was much stronger than the Chinese delaying troops, the tactical victory of the 2nd Mechanized Brigade at the Provincial First Normal School was not enough to suppress the Japanese attack.
At 7:11, the Huihuizhai blocking positions were successively captured by the Japanese army.
At 7:33, Daxinzhuang was also occupied by the Japanese army. In addition, the Japanese army bypassed Yanggang, Baicheng, Luoti and other places that were still resisting stubbornly, and approached the west city of Kaifeng firmly.
Seeing that the front-line blocking troops failed to effectively delay the Japanese army's actions, Long Ziqiang, who did not have many reserve troops, urgently called for air reinforcements.
The Northwest Air Force that came to bomb then fought a fierce battle with the Japanese Air Force over Kaifeng, and both sides suffered losses of more than single digits.
At 8:22, unwilling to accept defeat, the Fukuyama (3rd) Battalion of the 13th Infantry Regiment of the Japanese Army returned with two 120mm field guns of the 110th Field Artillery Regiment. Under the fierce artillery fire of the Japanese Army, in order to persist in a long-term battle, the remaining four Jaguar armored vehicles of the 2nd Company of the 27th Armored Vehicle Battalion were ordered to move to the urban area of Kaifeng. As a result, the Provincial No. 1 Normal School, which was originally a cultural hall and a place for educating people, fell into the hands of the brutal Japanese army.
At 10:11, the 1st Super Heavy Artillery Team, which had arrived from Luoyang overnight, arrived at Cangzhai, east of Zhongmu, and immediately carried out indiscriminate fire on the Japanese-occupied areas to delay the Japanese actions.
At the same time, Xia Jiong's unit of the 153rd Division of the Sichuan Army and Tang Bangzhi's unit of the 172nd Division of the 12th Army of Zhan Shutang arrived in Zhengxian and Xingyang respectively, as they boarded the trains urgently from Mengjin and Yanshi.
The 232nd Division of the Seventh Army, which had set out from Queshan, had also arrived in Changge. However, at this time, a new discovery shocked the entire Hebei-Shandong-Henan War Zone.
