The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 530 The Fifth Army Sets Out

The troop mobilization order that had been drawn up long ago was quickly issued and communicated after the little Zhuge Bai Chongxi surrendered. According to the order of the Military Commission, the three direct armies of the Central Army were urgently organized into the 38th Army Group, which was composed of the 5th Army, the 99th Army, and the 36th Army.

Among them, thanks to He Wei's advance layout, the 5th Army had already prepared to enter the hinterland of Guangxi. All its troops had assembled near Quanzhou and were ready to enter the hinterland of Guangxi at any time.

Although the 99th Army and the 36th Army were also well prepared, their subordinate units were relatively scattered. Among the three divisions of the 99th Army, the 92nd Division was in Xiangtan, Hunan, the 99th Division was stationed in Guiyang, and the 118th Division was stationed in Sansui, Guizhou. The 36th Army assumed the responsibility of Chongqing's garrison after the assault corps was transferred from Chongqing. Its two subordinate divisions, the 5th Division and the 96th Division, were all in the temporary capital, which was quite far away.

The enemy situation is urgent now, and the large-scale direct troops of the Central Army can now openly advance into the hinterland of Guangxi. Therefore, although these three armies form the 38th Army Group, the Standing Committee Chairman will not let these three armies complete the assembly before advancing. Instead, he flexibly ordered the 5th Army to set off first, and the 99th Army and the 36th Army to accelerate their advance towards Guangxi.

In the arrangement of the overall command system, the Military Commission gave Bai Chongxi enough face and ordered him to unify the command of all units in Guangxi as the director of the Guilin Camp, including the 16th Army Group of the Gui Army system and the 38th Army Group of the Central Army system. After obtaining the command, Bai Chongxi, who had been staying in Chongqing to argue with the Chairman of the Standing Committee, had no intention of staying there any longer, and immediately returned to Guilin in a hurry to prepare to command the battle.

The Central Army troops of three armies and seven divisions began to maneuver towards the hinterland of Guangxi. The political significance of the arrival of such a large-scale Central Army field force is self-evident.

The advance of this large army was destined to collide with the Japanese troops that had landed in Guangxi, and to engage in a direct attack, thus triggering an even more brutal and grand large-scale field battle involving the main corps.

November 11, Jeonju, Fifth Army Headquarters, Conference Room
Army commander Du Yuming looked tired, but he could not hide his excitement as he looked at the officers present.

The deployment of the Fifth Army into Guangxi was no secret at all to Du Yuming. He Wei had revealed this matter to him as early as when the assault corps arrived in Quanzhou. At that time, the Japanese army had not yet launched a landing operation in Guangxi. Although he attached great importance to this matter, he definitely could not say that he was looking forward to it.

After all, at that time, Du Yuming's motive for moving the Fifth Army into Guangxi was still to deal with the Guangxi clique, and it felt like an infighting no matter how you looked at it.

But with the landing of the Japanese army, his thoughts and mentality changed instantly. After the Japanese army landed in Guangxi, he was looking forward to receiving reinforcements from Guangxi as soon as possible so that he could have a head-on battle with the Japanese army. His Fifth Army used almost the best weapons and equipment in the entire country's army, and the most sufficient salary and supplies. Any soldier with a little ambition would not want to be a show-off who eats for free. Du Yuming naturally wanted the Fifth Army to have a fierce battle with the Japanese army.

During the period after the Assault Corps and the 200th Division set out, the Military Commission was also constantly replenishing and strengthening the Fifth Army. Large amounts of ammunition and supplies were transported to the Fifth Army.

In order to make up for the insufficient firepower of the Fifth Army's artillery, the Military Commission also specially transferred a battalion from the 18th Independent Field Artillery Regiment of the Army and assigned it to the Fifth Army. The 150th Artillery Regiment was equipped with the SFH30 8mm 150-caliber field howitzers manufactured by Rheinmetall in Germany. This time, a battalion of mm field howitzers was assigned to the Fifth Army. In this way, the Fifth Army became stronger and had powerful artillery firepower.

With a strong army and full-fledged strength, Du Yuming naturally had the ambition to do something big.

The same was true for all the officers present, and the meeting room was filled with a warm atmosphere.

"Everyone, I just received an order from the Military Commission. The Japanese landing force in Guangxi has reached four divisions. Our army in southern Guangxi only has two armies and six infantry divisions of the 16th Army of the Guangxi Army, as well as our 200th Division and the friendly assault corps. The force is insufficient and the situation is critical. Now, according to the order of the Military Commission, our army, the 99th Army, and the 36th Army form the 38th Army and enter southern Guangxi immediately. The friendly forces are still gathering. The Military Commission orders our army to take the lead and march to Nanning."

Du Yuming finished reading the battle order and continued, "Everyone, our Fifth Army is the most elite of the National Army, with the best equipment and the most abundant soldiers. The country has invested so many resources in our Fifth Army. If we have been pampered in the rear, we will be sorry for the principal and the common people. The friendly assault corps has also set an example for us, winning the first victory in southern Guangxi. The assault corps has defeated the Japanese army twice in a row. How can our Fifth Army fall behind?"

As soon as Du Yuming finished speaking, a major general with a square face said anxiously: "General, please give the order. My newly formed 22nd Division is willing to be the vanguard of our army!"

This officer was none other than Qiu Qingquan, the commander of the newly formed 22nd Division of the Fifth Army. He was formerly the chief of staff of the Central Military Academy Teaching Corps. After the Battle of Nanjing, he was transferred to serve under Du Yuming. After the expansion of the Fifth Army, he was promoted to the commander of the newly formed 22nd Division.

1938年11月15日，新编第22师在湖南湘潭成立，辖步兵第64团、步兵第65团、步兵第66团、野战补充团。该师军官、军士从第5军军部和第200师抽调，另补湖南、江西军管区新兵，是一支实打实的新成立部队。

However, it was this newly formed unit that ranked first in the inspection organized by the Military Commission. Qiu Qingquan's ability to lead this newly formed unit to achieve such results also shows his organizational and training capabilities.

"Commander, what arrangements have the higher-ups made for our army's future deployment? In terms of tactics, will we defend or attack?"

An officer with a long face and a slightly elegant look asked.

This person is Zheng Dongguo, the commander of the 1st Honor Division under the th Army. The st Honor Division was established after the Battle of Shanghai, during the military reorganization plan conducted by the Ministry of Military Affairs. Its predecessor was the Army Honor Corps, which was expanded into a three-corps Honor Division. All officers and soldiers were honorary soldiers. The so-called honorary commanders were officers and soldiers who had been injured on the battlefield and recovered. Therefore, the division was also a first-class elite force. The division commander Zheng Dongguo was no ordinary person. He graduated from the first class of the Whampoa Military Academy and fought in the Great Wall War, the Battle of Zhuobao, and the Taierzhuang Victory.

Du Yuming thought for a moment before saying, "The Military Commission has ordered us to go to Nanning for the time being. Our 200th Division is currently consolidating defenses and building fortifications in Nanning. As for the future use of our army, we will have to follow the orders of the group army and Director Bai of the Guilin Camp."

At this point, Du Yuming frowned slightly, and a hint of sadness appeared in his originally excited and heroic spirit. Indeed, although the Military Commission quickly organized the Central Army reinforcements, established the 38th Army, and clarified the command system, the commander of the 38th Army, Xu Tingyao, had not yet arrived, and several other armies were still on the march. The Fifth Army's aid to Guangxi this time was not only the vanguard, but it would probably be the only one for quite some time.

"Based on the current situation, the Japanese army's main offensive direction is obviously Nanning. They landed in Qisha, and their ultimate goal must be to advance along the highway between Qinzhou and Nanning to capture the strategic point of Nanning. The Japanese army's landing operation was launched very suddenly, but the friendly assault corps was obviously better and hit the landing Japanese army twice in a row. I read the general battle report. The friendly assault corps fought really beautifully. Two consecutive attacks have made the landing Japanese army lose their fighting spirit. The Japanese army that has already landed may not dare to launch a large-scale attack in a short time. Nanning is still safe for the time being. We still have time to deploy troops and reinforce and deploy defenses."

"He Wei, the commander of the assault corps, is indeed remarkable in his command. I have heard of him a long time ago. He made contributions during the Battle of Xinkou and also won a great victory in the Battle of Wuhan. I remember that he was a member of the 11th class of Huangpu Military Academy. He is not yet years old this year. He is indeed a talent."

A colonel officer wearing gold-rimmed glasses spoke with a slight Hunan accent, his words full of praise for the assault corps.

Du Yuming glanced over and saw that it was Liao Yaoxiang, the colonel chief of staff of the newly formed 22nd Division. He was a graduate of the sixth term of Whampoa Military Academy and the Saint-Cyr Military Academy in France. Like Qiu Qingquan, he was also from the Teaching Corps. During the Battle of Nanjing, he served as a brigade lieutenant colonel chief of staff in the Teaching Corps. Later, he also joined Du Yuming's team. He could almost be called the fastest promoted graduate of the sixth term of Whampoa Military Academy.

Du Yuming also values ​​this person very much. Liao Yaoxiang is also good at tactics and training. He has now been promoted to colonel chief of staff of the newly formed 22nd Division. He also contributed to the training achievements of the newly formed 22nd Division.

When He Wei led his troops to Quanzhou, the newly formed 22nd Division and the Honorary 1st Division had not yet arrived in Quanzhou, so he had no way of meeting people like Qiu Qingquan, Liao Yaoxiang, and Zheng Dongguo. If He Wei was in this conference room, he would probably exclaim loudly in the tone of a time traveler: This is an all-star lineup of the National Army!

"However, judging from the current situation, the Japanese troops that have already landed will not make any major moves for the time being. We are afraid that the Japanese army will open up a second battlefield, launch a landing in other directions, and send reinforcements. If the Japanese army adopts such a tactical deployment, the situation will be unpredictable."

Liao Yaoxiang's tone suddenly sank and he spoke with worry.

Soon, the conference room became lively, and the officers of the Fifth Army began to discuss tactics enthusiastically. Since its formation, the Fifth Army had never really fought against the Japanese army. Now everyone had a lot of anger in his chest and was full of fighting spirit.

People were talking about it. Some advocated holding on after arriving in Nanning, some proposed using Nanning as a rear base and advancing steadily, and the more radical ones clamored to launch a large-scale attack directly on the landing Japanese troops and drive them into the sea.

Du Yuming looked at his subordinates with high morale and was very satisfied. After a while, Du Yuming knocked on the table and said solemnly: "Okay, now is not the time to mention specific deployment. The current situation in Guangxi is very bad. Our army must advance to Nanning as quickly as possible. All divisions and army-affiliated units must act as soon as possible according to the departure plan formulated by the Army General Staff Office. All units in the army and attached units must all arrive in Nanning before December 12."

"The war is urgent. The friendly forces of the assault corps have won a demonstrative victory for us. In addition to the assault corps, the first battalion of the tank regiment of our Fifth Army also participated in the battle. This is a good sign. It takes a thousand days to train soldiers and only a moment to use them. The country has spent so much material and effort on our Fifth Army. This time when we enter Guangxi, our army must fight bravely and strike hard at the Japanese invaders!"

After receiving the order to march, the Fifth Army quickly took action and began to advance towards Nanning. The scale of its troop organization was also quite large. In addition to the 200th Division and the 22st Battalion of the Tank Regiment that had already entered Nanning in advance, its various units and attached troops included: the newly formed 1nd Division, the Honor 14st Division, the Tank Regiment, the Motor Corps, the Tank Defense Artillery Battalion, the Supply Battalion, the Engineer Battalion, the Communications Battalion, the Special Service Battalion, the Anti-aircraft Machine Gun Company, the Repair Factory, the Fire Company, and the 1st Battalion of the th Independent Artillery Regiment.

Such a large force, with a total strength of more than 40,000, and in order to transport the Fifth Army as soon as possible, the Military Commission mobilized a large number of transport forces, a large number of wagons, trains, and the Fifth Army's own cars for transportation day and night. With the combined transportation of railway transportation and highway motorization, the Fifth Army, the most elite and strongest army of the Chinese Army, was transported into Guangxi with extremely high efficiency and transportation speed.
At the same time, the Japanese army also quickly made adjustments and deployments, and began to continue to increase its troops to southern Guangxi and send more strategic forces.

After receiving Ando Toshiyoshi's request for help, the Japanese army's second landing force was quickly organized. The scale and strength of this landing force were also quite strong, including the 21th Division of the 18st Army, the 6th Independent Heavy Machine Gun Battalion, the 10th Independent Mountain Artillery Regiment, the 11th Independent Siege Heavy Artillery Battalion, and a mixed tank battalion.

The Japanese army was extremely efficient. It took them less than three days to complete their assembly. At the same time, the Japanese army in Guangdong also mobilized 1,500 Japanese reinforcements and a group of reinforcement officers, which was equivalent to exceeding the task by 1,000 reinforcements requested by Ando Rikichi.

After assembling, these troops set out from Guangzhou and transported to southern Guangxi by sea at the fastest speed, advancing to the Beihai in southern Guangxi according to Ando Toshiyoshi's predetermined combat plan.

The task of this strategic corps was to carry out a large-scale flanking operation after landing in Beihai, in order to encircle and annihilate the 46th Army of the Gui Army and the Assault Corps in the Qisha and Longmen areas.

At this moment, He Wei had never imagined that the Japanese army, which he had beaten like a grandson, had actually been reinforced by a large-scale strategic corps, and this strategic corps was sharpening its knives and aiming at his flanks.

(End of this chapter)