Chapter 39: The Third Battle of East Henan (VIII)
"Brother Qiyu, long time no see."
Dai Jiliang greeted Shang Zhen, who had a serious face because he was unsure why he was summoned to Luoyang.
"Come on, let's go inside and talk slowly."
In response to Dai Jiliang's enthusiasm, Shang Zhen, who was still confused, had to smile temporarily: "Your Majesty has given an order, Shang Zhen dare not disobey, but please go first, Shang Zhen will follow."
"We are old friends too, don't be so polite."
As he spoke, Dai Jiliang took Shang Zhen's hand.
"Let's go in together."
The more Dai Jiliang acted like this, the more uneasy Shang Zhen felt. But he couldn't persuade Dai Jiliang, so they had to walk arm in arm together through the hall and into the room. Finally, Dai Jiliang let go of Shang Zhen's hand before the host and the guest sat down.
"Brother Qi Yu, I know you have a lot of thoughts right now, which is normal, but I still have something to say."
Dai Jiliang's gaze made Shang Zhen feel a little uncomfortable, but he couldn't help but listen attentively to every word Dai Jiliang said.
"The situation on the Pinghan Railway is tense now. If there is any change, our troops stationed in Henan will be divided into the east and west of the railway, which will definitely be inconvenient for command.
For this purpose, Deputy Chief of Staff Zhou of the headquarters personally flew to Xinyang to coordinate with Commander-in-Chief Yang of the Hubei-Henan-Anhui War Zone.
Brother Hucheng is very understanding and proposed to stay in Luxi, but this means that the troops in southwestern Henan are missing a chief officer. Chairman Hubei of the Military Commission suggested that Brother Qiyu be the deputy commander-in-chief of the Hubei-Henan-Anhui War Zone. I don’t know if Brother Qiyu is willing to give in. ”
Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Theater? Shang Zhen was stunned. He didn't expect a pie to fall from the sky.
But there is no free lunch in the world. If I want to sit in this position, I may need to pay the price.
But what price would satisfy Dai Jiliang? Shang Zhen's mind raced, and he figured out Northwest's true intentions in a short time.
Shang Zhen then asked tentatively: "Your Excellency, if I take the post of deputy commander-in-chief of the Hubei-Henan-Anhui War Zone, who will be given the post of commander of the 20th Army Group and the 32nd Army?"
"The various units that participated in the first phase of the Lanfeng Campaign suffered heavy losses, and the 32nd Army is probably no exception."
Shang Zhen's heart sank at the irrelevant answer, and sure enough, he listened to Dai Jiliang continue.
"If Brother Qiyu has no objection, Lanzhou is ready to cancel the designations of the 20th Group Army and the 32nd Army." Shang Zhen's brain buzzed, and his body was a little shaky. Seeing this, Dai Jiliang stopped and looked at Shang Zhen with concern: "Brother Qiyu, do you want to call a doctor to take a look?"
"nothing."
Shang Zhen tried to wave his hands.
"It's just that I've been sitting in the car for a long time and my body is a little numb."
Shang Zhen thanked Dai Jiliang for his concern, and repeatedly declined Dai Jiliang's attempt to call a doctor, and just asked.
"The 20th Group Army and the 32nd Army have been disbanded. How should the relevant personnel be resettled? Which unit will Huang Guanghua and other troops be under the command of?"
"I plan to assign the commander of the 215th Division, Jiang Huang, to you as the chief of staff. The vacant commander of the 215th Division will be replaced by Major General Tang Yongliang, the chief of staff of the 20th Army Group."
This arrangement is good. Jiang Huang is now a lieutenant general. His appointment as deputy chief of staff of the theater also paves the way for his promotion to a military-level commander. As for Tang Yongliang, it is a pleasant surprise that he can become a division commander in the Northwest's direct troops.
"However, your deputy commander and deputy army chief Li Jingrong has a very high position and rank, so it is difficult to arrange for him. He can only serve as a member of the Military Commission as a transition. As for the 32nd Army Chief of Staff Zhou Sicheng, he will be transferred to the position of Major General Chief of Staff of the Nanjinguan Fortress District."
Apart from Li Jingrong, Tang and Zhou both have good positions, which shows that Northwest has put out some real money. However, Shang Zhen is not concerned about the fate of one or two people, but the future of his own small group: "If the Lord has made up his mind, I will do the work of Deputy Commander Li, but the 139th Division."
"Brother Qiyu, don't be impatient. Just listen to me."
Dai Jiliang waved his hand, signaling Shang Zhen not to worry, then took a sip of water and spoke slowly.
"The 139th Division will be reorganized into the 251st Division, and the 141st Division will be reorganized into the 252nd Division. Huang Guanghua and Gao Hongwen will both remain as division commanders. Afterwards, the two divisions will be transferred to Tianshan and Longshang for reorganization and replenishment respectively. However, Brother Hanfu and Brother Hanjie will go to the National Defense College for further studies for a year later."
When Dai Jiliang said this, Shang Zhen had completely understood. It seemed that he was doomed this time. Northwest had already torn off the last mask, and his little strength was already in jeopardy.
Although Huang and Gao remained as division commanders, the next move was bound to be personnel exchange, a common tactic. Perhaps it wouldn't take long for the 32nd Army to be completely northwesternized.
"The deputy division commanders and chiefs of staff of the two divisions should recuperate if they need to, and those who don't should go to the Staff College for further study for a year, and then serve as chiefs of staff in the divisions under the Mongolian Border and Reserve Army Groups."
Although Shang Zhen understood everything, Dai Jiliang did not finish his words.
"As for Li Jicun's 142nd Division, except for one regiment that will be changed to the Guard Regiment of the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Hubei-Henan-Anhui War Zone, the other two regiments will be disbanded on the spot. The soldiers and cadres will be used to fill the 251st and 252nd Divisions. The deputy division commander and division chief of staff will be arranged in the same way as the 139th and 141st Divisions. As for Li Jicun, he still needs to recuperate for a year according to the report of the field hospital. I will keep the position of the commander of the 250th Division for him. He will take over directly after he recovers."
The 250th Division mentioned by Dai Jiliang is a new division formed on the basis of local security corps in eastern Sichuan and western Hubei. Its main function is to assist in the defense of the Nanjin Pass Fortress. Although it is a new division, it has incorporated a large number of students from the Northwest Army School and is equipped with a full set of equipment of the Northwest standard division. In time, it will surely become a strong army. From this point of view, those who have shed blood for the country are treated differently.
Since Dai Jiliang's arrangements were comprehensive, what else could Shang Zhen say? Moreover, actively integrating into the Northwest Army could also provide a good future for his subordinates. If they were passively annexed, the result would be self-evident. Therefore, after a moment of silence, Shang Zhen raised his head with a wry smile and said, "Please rest assured, Your Majesty. Shang Zhen will definitely appease his subordinates."
Dai Jiliang nodded with satisfaction: "Brother Qi Yu, please rest assured, I am a nostalgic person. What's more, the Northwest is a large group. It has the courage to embrace all rivers and seas. You will never regret your decision." On October 4, 1939, the Northwest National Defense Military Commission formally appointed Shang Zhen as deputy commander-in-chief of the Hubei-Henan-Anhui War Zone, and Jiang Huang as deputy chief of staff and chief of staff of the deputy commander's headquarters, commanding the Seventh Army and the Twelfth Army Group west of the (Pinghan) Road.
On the same day, the Northwest National Defense Army Headquarters also ordered the transfer of Yang Sen's 11th Corps, which was originally under the Hebei-Shandong-Henan War Zone, to the command of the deputy commander-in-chief of the Hubei-Henan-Anhui War Zone, thus completing the troop adjustment in southern Henan.
On October 5, the Northwest National Defense Army Headquarters issued another order, ordering the 238th Division Command, which was surrounded in Kaifeng, to switch services with the 223rd Division Command in order to streamline the command order.
On the same day, the Northwest National Defense Military Commission awarded the Sixteenth Corps' Fifth Reserve Army the official title of the Ninety-sixth Army, and awarded the title of the Fifth Reserve Army to the Seventh Corps.
Sun Weiru then reported that he would give the post of commander of the 38th Army to Zhao Shoushan, commander of the 177th Division, and at the same time reported a series of personnel changes including the promotion of Duan Xiangshan, deputy commander of the 38th Army and commander of the 146th Division, to commander of the Reserve Fifth Army, and the promotion of Wang Genseng, former deputy commander of the 146th Division, to commander of the 146th Division.
The Northwest Military Commission approved the above request at a very fast speed, and agreed to expand the 27th and 28th Reserve Divisions based on the cavalry regiment, teaching regiment and baggage regiment directly under the former Seventh Corps, and appointed Zhang Junjing, the former deputy commander of the 177th Division, as the commander of the 27th Reserve Division, Zhang Shaoting, the former chief of staff of the Seventh Corps, as the commander of the 28th Reserve Division, and Chen Shiyu, the former chief of staff of the 38th Army, as the chief of staff of the corps. Yang Hucheng, who received compensation in this way, was content to command Men Bingyue's reserve cavalry corps and Feng Qinzhai's 16th Corps on the east side of the (Pinghan) Road to counterattack in the direction of Suxian, Bengbu and Boyong.
In addition to Yang Hucheng's troops starting operations on the southern front, He Lizhong's 49th Army, the main force of the Jiangsu-Xuzhou-Shandong-Henan-Anhui War Zone, which had been renovated for more than two months, launched a counterattack north of Suqian, cutting off traffic between Haizhou and Xuzhou on the Longhai Road in one fell swoop.
At the same time, Guo Xipeng's 6th Cavalry Division broke into the area between Fengyang and Chuxian, intercepted the Jinpu Railway train, and caused great shock to the Japanese army.
In addition, Sun Dianying's New Fifth Army, Gao Guizi's Seventeenth Army, Shi Yousan's New First Army, Cao Fulin's Fifty-fifth Army and other units also launched frequent counterattacks outside the base areas and in the guerrilla zones. In a short period of time, they reported the elimination of more than 1,700 Japanese and puppet garrisons, and actually eliminated more than 600 Japanese and puppet troops. This not only threatened Zaozhuang's coal production, but also caused a traffic interruption crisis along the entire Jiaoji Railway and Jinpu Railway.
What made the Japanese troops in North China even more uneasy was that guerrillas from the Hebei-West Ji Guerrilla Army once appeared in the west of Peiping, and part of the Hebei militia even attacked the Jingxing Coal Mine. Even the Hebei-Central region, which was regarded as a safe zone by the Japanese army, saw the emergence of anti-Japanese armed forces such as the Hebei Hui Muslim Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army. The Japanese army, which was short of manpower, was forced to defend the county towns along the railway and some key points in the region, thus handing over the people in the Japanese war zone to be fully mobilized.
In view of the worsening situation in Hebei, General Sugiyama Motoyuki had to detain the 1st Cavalry Brigade transferred from the Mongolian Army for public security and crackdown.
However, even though the situation had deteriorated to this extent, Sugiyama Gen and Odaka Kamezo still gritted their teeth and insisted on the third battle in eastern Henan, and only withdrew 15 infantry squads from the independent 5th, 6th, and 10th mixed brigades that were transferred to the front line.
But even though the Japanese high-ranking officers were determined, the Japanese troops on the front line still faced various difficulties, the most prominent of which were the long supply lines, low efficiency of replenishment and the threat of segmentation by the Chinese side.
With the intermittent supply of ammunition and food, the Japanese army could only stop advancing at Weishi and Yanling and dig into the ground to defend themselves in order to give priority to the supply of materials and the Kaifeng siege troops, thus forming an armed standoff with the Chinese Xuchang group in the above-mentioned area.
As for the 21st Division on the southern front, it was forced to withdraw to Dancheng and Bozhou, and part of the 62nd, 82nd, and 83rd Infantry Regiments, the 51st Mountain Artillery Regiment, and the 21st Engineer Regiment were deployed to clear out the Chinese troops on both sides of the Jinpu Road from Suxian to Bengbu. As a result, it completely lost the ability to attack again, and the threat to southern and southeastern Henan was lifted.
Since the 5th Division and the 35th Division could not advance, the only way for the Japanese army to boast of their unprecedented victory was to capture the city of Kaifeng. Thus, the already extremely brutal Battle of Kaifeng reached its climax.
