Chapter 76: Reinforcements
The Japanese army needed reinforcements, and the Chinese side also needed reinforcements, especially for the commanders of the three divisions of the Northwestern Army in the outer battlefield of Zheng County. Although the tactics of defending key points with half a company or a platoon of troops were very effective in slowing down the Japanese army's offensive speed, it was still cruel to watch their subordinates who refused to retreat and fought back desperately struggle under the Japanese army's superior artillery fire until all of them died for their country.
What made them even more worried was that although the total number of troops lost at one time was not large, the war broke out on the entire front. Some troops were lost here when defending, and some were injured and killed in the counterattack there. As a result, the full strength of 18,000 people in each division before the war was quickly consumed like an iceberg melting in the sun.
"General Gao, Brother Gengfu, I'm not complaining, but the 229th Division can only field 7,000 soldiers, including unarmed soldiers. If reinforcements don't arrive, I'm not sure I can stop the Ishii Detachment at the second blocking line."
"I understand Brother Zaoxing's situation."
Lieutenant General Takatako, commander of the Second Army, looked at the other two division commanders who participated in the palace coup.
"Brother Yechang and Quansun are here to complain, but I still have four divisions. If the Japanese army continues to exert pressure and the war zone requires me to hold out for at least one month, what can I do to support it?"
Lieutenant General Li Shimao, commander of the 249th Division, was originally the commander of the 1st Super Heavy Artillery Team of the Northwest Army. Although he had a long career as a fifth-term Army Corps officer, he had only been in the Northwest Army for a short time. Naturally, he could not be compared with Gao Tianzi, the regiment commander of the Shaanxi Army in its early days. Therefore, when he heard Gao Tianzi's perfunctory words , he had to look at Gao Yigong, commander of the 232nd Division next to him.
Gao Yigong was once the captain of Dai Jiliang's guard. Although he was not as experienced as Gao Tianzi, he was still a person favored by the emperor. So he wanted to fight for what others could not fight for. "Commander, if the situation of our three divisions was not extremely difficult, we would never ask you for help."
Gao Yigong said gently but firmly: "If the army cannot mobilize the 203rd Division to take over the defense, then at least you have to give us reinforcements. Otherwise, after two more days of fighting, our three divisions will really be wiped out. Of course, if we can hold the position, it doesn't matter if we are completely wiped out. Anyway, the reserve headquarters will help us rebuild it. But without soldiers, how can we hold the position? You will still have to let the 203rd Division come up."
Gao Tianzi knew that what Gao Yigong said made sense, but his idea was not as simple as just defending Zheng County, so he gritted his teeth and insisted: "No matter what you say, it's useless. I can't turn into a soldier for you, and you have to defend for another week without soldiers."
A higher-ranking official can crush a person to death. Gao Tianzi is the army commander, and his words are orders. This put Li Zhitian and the other two in a difficult position.
Just as they were at a loss of what to do, the Second Army Chief of Staff Hu Jing came in with a telegram: "Good news, we have soldiers."
Li Zhitian and the other two were cheered up, and Gao Tianzi, who took the telegram and read it carefully, also showed a relieved smile on his face: "Indeed, reinforcements have arrived. The headquarters has transferred two new troops to strengthen the battlefield in Zheng County. They are just right to replace you."
Li Zhitian asked anxiously: "The new unit, is it the 250th? The 251st? Or the 252nd Division?"
Li Zhitian had a reason for what he said. The Northwest Army now had a total of 65 division-level units, including 55 infantry divisions, 5 light divisions and 5 cavalry corps. However, the cavalry corps could not be mobilized from Henan to participate in the war. The so-called 254th Division and the 5th Light Division had just been formed. They were basically just shelf goods and could not be pulled out to participate in the war. Therefore, the newest divisions in the organization were the 250th, 251st and 252nd divisions, which were reorganized from the 32nd Army of Shang Zhen's old subordinate.
"Who cares?"
Before Gao Tianzi and Hu Jing could answer, Gao Yigong smiled.
"As long as they are soldiers, it's fine. Besides, Commander Shang is also a capable fighter. The veterans he brings with him are definitely better than the Sichuan Army."
Li Zhitian and Li Shimao both laughed, but Gao Tianzi frowned: "You are all wrong. It's not the 250th Division."
Li Zhitian asked suspiciously, "What kind of troops would that be?"
"They are two troops you have never heard of before."
Hu Jing solved the mystery.
"The first one has a long number, it's called the First Army of the Chinese Islamic Anti-Japanese and National Salvation Allied Forces."
"Huizi!"
Gao Yigong shouted softly.
"Isn't there already a Henan Hui Muslim Anti-Enemy Corps? The headquarters was found from this unit."
Gao Yigong looked at Hu Jing and Gao Tianzi in confusion.
"Besides, wasn't it because you were worried about the Hui people causing trouble that you eliminated the power of the two Hexi Ma families? What's going on now?"
Li Shimao was the only newcomer among these people, so he was a little nervous when he heard Gao Yigong's statement. However, Hu Jing didn't care what he thought and told him his opinion: "Back then, the influence of the two Ma brothers in Hexi was too great, so the Junzuo wanted to split up. Now the situation has changed, what is there to worry about? Besides, the reserve headquarters in various places are calling for reinforcement of insufficient troops. If we don't use Hui people at this time, does it mean that fighting against the Japanese is our business, and they are not Chinese?"
Hu Jing revealed the secret in one sentence.
That’s right, it was precisely because of the short-term depletion of reinforcements in the rear that Dai Jiliang had to arrange for ethnic minorities to participate in the war in order to meet the needs of the front.
In addition, Hu Jing might have guessed whether there were deeper purposes, but some things could be done but not said, so Hu Jing naturally would not rashly say them out loud.
"Of course, since there are too few senior officers who believe in Islam in our army, and those trained in the Army School in recent years are at most majors and captains, the commander of the First Army of the Chinese Muslim Anti-Japanese National Salvation Allied Forces is still Lieutenant General Ma Hongbin. But don't worry, the grassroots cadres are all your students, and he can't change the situation."
This is certain. The weapons and military pay are controlled by the war zone, and the source of troop replenishment is controlled by the provincial replenishment headquarters. How could Ma Hongbin not see through it? Even if he couldn't see through it, I believe that Ma Hongbin, who has been in the Northwest Army system for these years, would not dare to have any rebellious intentions, unless he was willing to turn against the enemy and become a traitor on the battlefield. But how is this possible?
"This army currently has four regiments, namely the Longshang Regiment, Ningxia Regiment, Kunlun Regiment and Tianshan Regiment. They are all named after provinces with a large number of Hui and Uyghur people. The soldiers should come from these provinces. It is said that they have started training since mid-1939. It is estimated that when they go to the battlefield, they can at least fire a few shots at the Japanese."
"Chief of Staff Hu, please arrange for the Islamic compatriot army to take over the positions of the 229th and 232nd Divisions."
Looking at Li Zhitian and Gao Yigong who finally breathed a sigh of relief, Gao Tianzi shook his head.
"After you withdraw your troops, you must reorganize them quickly and recruit new soldiers as soon as possible. I am worried that the First Army will not be able to fight, and the 203rd Division will have to fill in. If that happens, you must be prepared to return to the battlefield again."
Having said this, Takatako's eyes fell on Li Shimao's face who was looking at her eagerly.
"Brother Quansun, don't worry. Didn't I say there are two new troops? The Islamic Compatriot Army is just one of them. I will arrange for the other one to take over the position of the 249th Division."
Li Shimao blushed a little, so in order to cover it up, he asked, "I wonder what this unit is?"
"This unit is called the Yi-Tibetan Anti-Japanese Independent Brigade."
As the name suggests, this brigade must be composed of Tibetans and Yi people.
"Independent Brigade, we don't seem to have a brigade-level organization. Chief of Staff, do you know the combat sequence of this unit?"
"Wait a moment."
Hu Jing couldn't answer either, so he asked a staff officer to check the receiver to see if there was any detailed information. After a while, the staff officer found the telegram. Hu Jing took a quick look at it before answering.
"It is actually a simplified division with two infantry regiments. There is no field engineer battalion directly under the brigade. The artillery unit is also slightly weaker. There is no mountain artillery battalion at the brigade level, only one 9-gun 75mm infantry artillery company."
"75mm infantry gun ? It seems rare."
Gao Yigong touched his rough chin.
"I remember that a few years ago there was talk of equipping battalion-level infantry guns, but later on it was not implemented for some reason. Could it be that these 75mm infantry guns were made at that time and they were allocated to them because there was no place to dispose of them?"
"That's possible. The Ordnance Department seems to have built several guns modeled after the Type 92 infantry gun."
Hu Jing thought about it and gave an ambiguous answer.
"Of course, we cannot rule out that the headquarters is using this brigade as a mountain force. It's just that the situation at the front is tight, so they had no choice but to transfer them up."
Having said that, Hu Jing changed the subject.
"Anyway, the configuration of the regiment is similar to that of the divisions. As for the combat effectiveness, we will have to fight to know."
"Kangzang and I just started working together."
When one problem is solved, a new one arises.
"Where did you recruit these Tibetan soldiers from?"
"We have only just extended our influence into Kangzang, but we have occupied Qingzang for many years. Is it really that difficult to recruit some soldiers? I don't think so."
"That's true."
Li Zhitian nodded.
"There is no difference in Tibet. There are as many Andova as serfs as you want. It is better to be a soldier than to work like a slave for the headman. Even if you die in battle, at least you can have a few days of full meals."
"What are you talking about? With the reinforcements, you are relieved, right? You have no time to grind your teeth here."
Gao Tianzi glared at Li Zhitian.
"Hurry back to the headquarters. It will take at least a day for reinforcements to arrive. If anyone loses a key position during this period, don't blame me for turning my back on you."
After chasing away the three debt collectors, Takadako looked at the map in front of him thoughtfully.
"Chief of Staff, it's not enough for us to just take the beating. What do you think? Should we fight back somewhere to break the Japanese's arrogance?"
"Commander, the Japanese are in high spirits. If we counterattack now, I'm afraid the effect will not be good."
Hu Jing, however, expressed a different opinion.
"Let the frontline troops be patient for a while. Once the enemy's morale is weakened, we can launch a desperate counterattack and perhaps reap greater rewards."
"That's true, but the Seventh Army on the southern front seems to have caught a big fish."
Hu Jing knew that there was competition among the army commanders, but he didn't want Gao Tianzi to make a big mistake for a short period of time: "It would be better if the Seventh Army fought well. If we can attract the attention of the Japanese, our counterattack will be more successful."
"I'm afraid that Li Zhiyong will say that we took advantage of him. I understand, I understand. Chief of Staff, don't worry, I'm just saying that."
