The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 320 Beiyang Veteran
"Captain, we are just ahead. This is not far from Banbi Mountain. I have communicated with the 385th Brigade of the 193rd Division, which is stationed nearby. They should be nearby to respond." Wang Yuanling said to He Wei .

He Wei looked at the gradually clear outline of the river bank and asked: "How to contact? Is the contact signal confirmed?"

"According to the agreement, our unit will communicate with the 385th Brigade of the 193rd Division using signal flares. Our unit will send out a red flare. If the other party observes our signal, it will respond with a green flare."

He Wei nodded: "That's almost it. Let's start contacting."

Immediately, Wang Yuanling said to a combat staff officer behind him: "Set a signal flare!"

Whizzing--
A red flare flew out from the ferry where He Wei and others were sitting, drawing an arc in the air and then falling slowly.

Half a minute later, a gunshot was heard from the distant river bank, and a striking green flare was also fired from the distant bank.

Seeing friendly forces on the land, He Wei breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Brother Yuan Ling, let's get started. Order the troops to start landing."

"Yes!"

Wang Yuanling immediately issued the "all landing" signal with the cooperation of the fleet commander. The twenty-five large and small ferries began to change their formations and moved closer to the river bank in a straight formation. After reaching a position close to the ferry's draft, Stopped one after another.

Immediately afterwards, each ferry began to unload the cables, sampans and small motorboats. The officers and soldiers of the assault force and the newly rescued Chinese navy sailors who crowded the deck climbed down the ferry in an orderly manner under the organization of the officers, along the cables, and boarded. Get on the sampan and motorboat, and then move towards the river bank under the transportation of the sampan and motorboat.

He Wei and Wang Yuanling took several messengers and guards to land first in a gasoline-powered boat. There were already a large number of troops who came to support the assault team waiting on the shore. Therefore, He Wei and Wang Yuanling were attacked by a group of people as soon as they jumped off the boat. Heavily armed friendly officers and soldiers took over.

With a snap, He Wei jumped out of the boat, stepped into the cold muddy water on the riverside, and then stepped forward to wade through the water.

In the distance, dozens of friendly soldiers carrying rifles, surrounded by several officers, ran towards He Wei, and the two sides quickly merged together.

The leader of the group of friendly troops who came to greet He Wei was a major officer in his thirties. After the two sides met, the major was stunned for a moment when he saw He Wei's young face. When he saw the tattoo on He Wei's collar, After receiving the rank of lieutenant colonel, he saluted He Wei with some shock and said: "Sir, I am the adjutant major of the 385th Brigade of the 193rd Division. I have been ordered by the brigade commander to come to meet your assault team."

"Okay, I am He Wei, the commander of the assault corps. This is the chief of staff of my corps. This time the headquarters was ordered to deploy to Banbi Mountain. You guys came here to garrison earlier than us. I need your help to understand the situation better."

He Wei said with a smile.

After learning He Wei's position, the major adjutant replied with even more awe: "Yes! Sir, our brigade commander asked me to meet up with your brigade and take you to the brigade headquarters for a short rest. I have been waiting for a long time.”

Wang Yuanling looked at the dozens of soldiers beside the major's adjutant, and then at the officers and soldiers of the ferry and assault corps on the river bank who were speeding up loading and unloading for landing, and asked with some dissatisfaction: "You won't just send these people to respond, right? "

The major said urgently: "Sir, our brigade has dispatched two battalions of troops to respond. To prevent any unexpected events, they are all on standby in hidden positions in the distance. I will immediately notify them to come and help! Please forgive me, sir."

He Wei patted the major's shoulder and said with a smile: "It doesn't matter, you can just send someone to notify the brothers in your department to come and respond. I have more people and more equipment in this corps. I just rescued a lot of sailors from the river." Brother, we are in need of manpower to help. Thank you for your hard work. It is not too early now. Brother, please take me to see your brigade commander after you have finished explaining the affairs of your unit."

He Wei said to Wang Yuanling again: "Brother Yuanling, you organize the troops to land here. I will go to the friendly forces to attack the front station first and see what the situation is."

Wang Yuanling hurriedly said: "Captain, don't worry, leave this to me."

After He Wei handed over some precautions during the landing to Wang Yuanling, he handed over the landing command of the assault force to Wang Yuanling.

The adjutant also mobilized the two battalions hidden nearby and handed over the temporary command of the two battalions to Wang Yuanling.

Then everyone acted separately. Wang Yuanling unified the command of the assault team and the 193rd Division troops on the river bank to organize the landing. He Wei followed the major adjutant of the 385th Brigade and left, sitting in the car that the major adjutant had prepared. The headquarters of the 385th Brigade rushed over.

The assault force had just arrived, and a big battle was about to begin. On the way, He Wei inevitably asked the major's adjutant about the nearby defense arrangements.

Unfortunately, this major adjutant greatly disappointed He Wei. He knew very little about the defense deployment of the national army near Banbi Mountain, and he knew nothing about the detailed deployment. He Wei could only get a rough understanding of it from him. General condition.

Combined with the position of this gentleman's adjutant, he is obviously not a combat officer and naturally knows very little about combat-related matters.

According to the adjutant, there are currently two divisions and one brigade of the national army troops on the south bank of the Yangtze River in Banbi Mountain, including the 18th Division of the 54th Army and the 80th Division of the 98th Army. The Second Division and the 385th Brigade of the 193rd Division of the 98th Army.

In addition, there are some scattered artillery and anti-aircraft units. Overall, the strength is almost two divisions and one brigade.

As for the specific combat deployment and defense posture of these troops, the adjutant only knew about the 385th Brigade of the 193rd Division where he was located, and knew very little about other troops.

Seeing that nothing could be found, He Wei had no choice but to ask about the status of the 385th Brigade of the 193rd Division.

According to the adjutant, the 193rd Division is a newly established infantry division after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War. It belongs to the battle sequence of the 98th Army and has been concentrated in Xiushui, Jiangxi for training.

In the summer of 1938, the Japanese army attacked Wuhan along the west bank of the Yangtze River. The Wuhan Garrison General Headquarters ordered the 98th Army to send troops to Banbi Mountain in Yangxin, Hubei Province to serve as a garrison. The 98th Army immediately pulled out the 193rd The 385th Brigade of the division is responsible for the garrison of Banbi Mountain.

A regiment was taken from another brigade of the 193rd Division to strengthen the 385th Brigade, bringing the actual strength of the brigade to three regiments.

When the brigade arrived at Banbi Mountain and was assigned to the Eleventh Army's battle order, Li Yannian, commander of the Eleventh Army, once again strengthened the firepower of the 385th Brigade and transferred the mechanized heavy artillery within the Eleventh Army's battle order. The brigade was reinforced with a battalion of the 10th Regiment and a portion of the anti-aircraft units.

However, just as the brigade was preparing to enter the Banbishan garrison, the Military Commission suddenly issued an order to change the generals on the spot and change the Banbishan garrison from the 385th Brigade of the 193rd Division to the Assault Corps.

As a result, the 385th Brigade relieved Banbishan's garrison duty and temporarily assumed the role of guarding the river bank near Banbishan. Of course, among the situations described by the adjutant, the one that interested He Wei the most was the commander of the 385th Brigade.

The brigade commander of the 385th Brigade is named Ma Ji. This name doesn't sound like much, but when He Wei listened to the adjutant and Yourongyan finished talking about Ma Ji's experience, He Wei suddenly felt that this person was really not a simple person. .

It turned out that although this Ma Ji was a brigade commander, he was neither a student from Huangpu, nor an instructor from Huangpu, nor a local officer from a martial arts school. This man was actually from Beiyang.

What surprised He Wei even more was that this man actually participated in two of the four major city defense battles in the Beiyang period, and played an important role in both of them!

The so-called four major city defense battles in the Beiyang period refer to the four relatively successful and brutal city defense battles in the Beiyang period, namely Jiang Shijie's defense of Xinyang, Li Huchen's defense of Xi'an, Fu Yisheng's defense of Zhuozhou, and Liu Yuchun's defense of Wuchang.

The commander of the 385th Brigade, Ma Ji, participated in the Battle of Xinyang and the Battle of Wuchang. In the Battle of Xinyang in 1925, Wu Peifu besieged and defended Xinyang with the strength of eight brigades and absolutely superior artillery firepower. The Nationalist Army under Jiang Shijie had less than 10,000 men. Under the overwhelming advantage, they fought for more than 40 days but failed to capture it. In the end, the Xinyang defenders surrendered and the battle ended.

Ma Ji was the chief of staff of the Xinyang garrison Jiang Shijie.

After the Battle of Xinyang, Ma Ji defected to Wu Peifu and was appointed chief of staff of the Eighth Division of the Beiyang Army. He then participated in the Battle of Wuchang in the Northern Expedition and assisted the Eighth Division of the Beiyang Army in 1926. Division commander Liu Yuchun resisted the Northern Expeditionary Army in Wuchang City for more than forty days.

Although Wuchang was finally captured by the Northern Expedition, the length of time Wuchang held on and the brutality were extremely rare in the Northern Expedition.

The famous Ye Ting Independent Regiment and Iron Army troops are famous all over the world for their heroic performance in the tragic siege of Wuchang.

And this Ma Ji played the role of chief of staff in two of the four major city defense battles in the Beiyang period. He was obviously no ordinary person.

According to the major adjutant, after the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, Ma Ji returned to the army and was appointed as the commander of the 385th Brigade of the 193rd Division.

The reason why Banbishan's garrison initially chose the 385th Brigade of the 193rd Division was because Shangfeng valued Ma Ji's experience in the warlord melee and the Northern Expedition and believed that he was extremely talented in defensive operations. Hand over extremely important pass positions such as Banbi Mountain to this former Beiyang Army surrendered general.

Unexpectedly, in the end, the Military Commission made a temporary change and used He Wei's assault force to defeat Ma Ji's 385th Brigade.

So, with great interest in Ma Ji, He Wei finally met Ma Ji at the 385th Brigade command post located in a small village.

Major General Ma Ji, the commander of the 385th Brigade, is in his late fifties. His appearance is not as fierce as He Wei imagined, but he has a somewhat scholarly air.

After He Wei saw Ma Ji, he was ready to salute Ma Ji and say hello according to his military rank. But before He Wei could salute, Ma Ji hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed He Wei, with a kind face, and even some words that he shouldn't have. Some humbly said: "Captain He, I have been waiting for a long time. It is war time now, so there is no need to be so polite."

He Wei shook his head with a smile, insisted on saluting Ma Ji, and stood at attention solemnly and said: "It is precisely because of war that military discipline must be enforced. Besides, you are an old man and have been in battle for a long time, so I should salute you."

Ma Ji sighed: "Don't mention the past too much. I did fight many battles in the past, but they were all warlords who preyed on the common people and harmed the people. I also resisted the Northern Expedition. I really committed an unforgivable crime. I have always felt deeply I feel guilty and dare not think too much about the past. I am not as good as Captain He and you Huangpu students. I have also heard about your achievements. In the Battle of Xinkou, you captured the Japanese regiment flag and the Japanese tank. I Ma is really ashamed of himself.”

He Wei looked at Ma Ji, who was a little humble and even a little respectful, and understood why he was so low-profile to him.

A former surrendered officer of the Beiyang Army like him has a dark history of inflicting heavy losses on the Northern Expeditionary War. It would be much more difficult for a Huangpu-sheng officer like He Wei, who is a direct descendant of the Central Army and the chief officer of the field force directly under the Central Military Commission. Very respectful.

But He Wei did not feel arrogant or show off, but said seriously: "A hero does not mention his bravery in the past. No matter what, you are a commander and an old-timer. In the face of a formidable enemy, we can only unite sincerely."

Ma Ji did not speak, but nodded calmly, his eyes full of admiration. Obviously, he admired the humble attitude of He Wei, a young and strong officer in his direct line.

Then, He Wei turned to the topic and said: "We are new to our department, so please ask Chief Ma to introduce the current situation to me."

When the battle was mentioned, Ma Ji's expression immediately became serious, and he immediately took He Wei to a table with a large-scale battle map, and introduced: "Captain He, before your department arrived, I had already communicated with the people stationed on the other side. Li Yan, the commander of the Eleventh Army Corps, has contacted. According to the order of Commander Li, your assault team must immediately enter the Banbishan fortress position to defend after landing. Our brigade was originally responsible for the defense of Banbishan, and now Banbishan has been replaced. The heavy firepower assigned to our department for your defense will also be assigned to the command of Captain He as ordered and will be assigned to the Army Assault Corps."

"Oh? I wonder what this batch of heavy firepower is?"

Ma Ji replied: "A battalion of the 10th Regiment of the Army's Mechanized Heavy Artillery is equipped with eight mechanized towed German-made 150mm howitzers, and a company of the anti-aircraft artillery unit has four 75mm anti-aircraft guns."

Hearing the German howitzers and anti-aircraft guns, He Wei's eyes suddenly lit up, and he was overjoyed. He now had the command of a mechanized field heavy howitzer battalion.

If He Wei guessed correctly, the 18th Mechanized Heavy Artillery Regiment is equipped with the sfh mm large-caliber heavy howitzer imported from Germany. With the help of this kind of artillery, the battle will be much easier to fight. In addition, There is also a company of large-caliber anti-aircraft guns as an addition, which is really the icing on the cake!
He Wei rubbed his hands excitedly and said with joy: "Sir Ma, it would be great to have such heavy firepower to support you. I wonder what the specific defense situation of our troops nearby is?"

Ma Ji pointed to the map and said: "Captain He, Banbi Mountain is adjacent to the Yangtze River in the north, about six or seven miles away from Fuchi River and Fuchikou in the east, and there is a dike in the south that is connected to Wanghu Lake, which is more than 20 miles long in the north and south. From Fuchikou to Banbishan, the embankment is less than seven miles long and less than 100 meters wide. The river bank to the west of Banbishan is also a long and narrow riverbank. There are two mountains behind Banbishan. , named Big Bear Mountain, our army’s current defense points are mainly Banbi Mountain and Fuchikou, followed by the areas along the river bank and the lake network.”

"Currently, in addition to the three infantry regiments of our 385th Brigade and your assault corps, our army's garrison strength on the south bank still has two infantry divisions, the 82nd Division and the 18th Division. Among them, the 10th Infantry Division The Eighth Division is responsible for the defense of Fuchikou. The main point of the division's defense is to defend the Fuchikou Fortress and prevent Japanese troops from landing at Fuchikou. The 82nd Division is responsible for the defense of the river bank west of Banbi Mountain. The division's task is to closely monitor the enemy on the north bank of the Yangtze River. "

"As for our brigade, we are currently setting up defenses in the Lake Network area behind Banbi Mountain. As a barrier to Banbi Mountain, this is the current situation."

Listening to Ma Ji's very methodical analysis, He Wei nodded with approval and admiration.

This Ma Ji is indeed worthy of being a veteran on the battlefield. He does have two skills. He can get to the key points in just a few sentences and clearly explain the nearby defense points and the deployment of the troops.

He Wei said: "So that's it. It seems that our army's preparations are quite complete. Except that our troops have not yet entered Banbi Mountain, the remaining key points are defended by troops. Without further ado, my troops are still landing. I want to take a look at the Banbishan position first, and get acquainted with the commanders of the strengthened heavy artillery troops and anti-aircraft artillery troops, and coordinate the command relationship. I wonder if Commander Ma can contact them? "

After finishing speaking, Ma Ji smiled and said: "Captain He, this is how it should be!"

(End of this chapter)