Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 474 Field Artillery Returns to Base
Chen Chengxing's plan was excellent, and the Second General Hospital's forward positions were also very well prepared.

However, the actions of the Guo army rendered the team responsible for cutting off the enemy ineffective.

On the south bank of the Wanfu River, Wang Shixiao breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the small boats that had been used in the crossing successfully reach the other side.

"The G army blocking the way on the other side of the river should be local troops. Judging from the gunfire, they don't have any heavy firepower."

"It seems the heavy rain has hindered the G army's reconnaissance; they probably haven't discovered our movements yet."

"Pass on my order: cross the river immediately, in company-sized units!" Wang Shixiao commanded.

"yes!".
After the operations staff left, Wang Shixiao turned around and asked, "Chief of Staff, where is the 58th Division?"

"We've already passed Zhangma Village and are now heading this way."

“Alright, tell the brothers to speed things up.” Wang Shixiao nodded: “We’ll try to reach Baihu Mountain before the main force of the G Army can react.”

"As long as we work with the main force to open a gap, we can help the division commander retreat safely back to Fangyu."

"Ah."

The reorganized 199th Brigade crossed the river very smoothly. Although there were sporadic counterattacks, they did not have much impact on them.

However, the 199th Brigade had just crossed the Wanfu River and hadn't even gone a mile when they realized something was wrong.

"Commander, the 58th Division has lost contact! Even the supervisory team that has been following us has disappeared!"

"what?"

Wang Shixiao, who was sitting swaying in the car, suddenly stood up, then sat back down with a thud.

Wang Shixiao covered his head with one hand and said anxiously, "How could we lose contact? Didn't you say you were right behind us?!"

“They were indeed behind us before,” the chief of staff said with a mournful face, “but after we crossed the river, we couldn’t see them anymore.”

"Have you made contact by telegram?"

"We made contact, and they said they were preparing to cross the river, but the reconnaissance team did not find any trace of them on the other side."

"Damn it! These bastards!" Wang Shixiao gritted his teeth.

"Order the troops to proceed cautiously, step by step, and to send out more reconnaissance units."

Regardless of what the 58th Division was thinking, the 199th Brigade had already crossed the river and there was no turning back; they could only grit their teeth and move forward.

In the torrential rain, the 199th Brigade had just walked three kilometers with trepidation when they suddenly heard the bugle call of the G Army.

"Beep beep beep beep."

"Kill!"
"G Army! The G Army is attacking!"

"Fight back! Fight back quickly!"

The 119th Brigade was immediately thrown into chaos.

Some soldiers ran backward, some ran forward, and some even tried to squeeze into the crowd, but none of them established a defense on the spot to prepare for a counterattack.

"Quickly! Send a telegram to the 58th Division and ask them to send us reinforcements!" Wang Shixiao urged.

The chief of staff said with a mournful face, "Brigadier General, I've contacted them. They told us to hold on. They haven't crossed the river yet."

"Bullshit! Can we hold out? In less than ten minutes, the 119th Brigade has already been divided into three sections!"

"Is the 58th Division planning to sit back and watch the tigers fight?" Wang Shixiao realized.

They had already advanced three kilometers, but the 58th Division still hadn't crossed the river.

Even a turtle would have swum over by now.

"This traveler's seat is not impossible."

"Damn it, we can't wait any longer, we have to break through immediately!"

After Wang Shixiao finished speaking, he risked climbing onto the roof of the car and looked around with binoculars.

Although it was daytime, it was pouring rain and visibility was extremely low. Wang Shixiao looked around for a long time but couldn't find a suitable way to break through.

"Chief of Staff, assemble the guard company, we're breaking out to the east!" Wang Shixiao said, forcing himself to speak.

Since the G army planned to ambush, there must be blockade troops to the south, and if they went north at this time, they would be facing the main force of the G army attacking Baihu Mountain.

All we could give him to choose from were east or west.

When you're completely in the dark, you can only gamble with your life.

The others around him were also at a loss. Seeing that Wang Shixiao had made a decision, they had no ideas and started rushing eastward.

However, a brigade of four thousand people entering an encirclement of forty thousand people cannot even make a ripple.

In less than half an hour, the entire 199th Brigade had been wiped out, and Wang Shixiao quickly chose to kneel down and surrender.

The 58th Division, which was observing from the opposite bank of the river, knew exactly what had happened when the gunfire stopped so quickly.

Without uttering a single unnecessary word, Lu Ziquan led the 58th Division back to Fangyu.

News of the failed rescue immediately reached Jinling. Although Baihu Mountain had not yet fallen, the current battle situation made Chang Ruiyuan very anxious.

Chang Ruiyuan saw the shadow of the 74th Division from before.

Except for the 66th Division, which held out for longer, the rest followed almost the same trajectory.

In the heavy rain, Chang Ruiyuan's private plane landed at Shangdu Airport.

"Mo San, I've come to ask you, what's the situation at White Tiger Mountain?"

"Song Rongguang, with two brigades, had been holding out at Baihu Mountain for a week. At this time, Song Rongguang's camp was full of wounded soldiers, and food and ammunition were about to run out."

After listening to Gu Mosan's report, Chang Ruiyuan muttered, "Has the battle become this dire?"

"Send a telegram to Song Rongguang immediately, telling him that if the defenses cannot be held, he can try to break through!"

"Yes! I'll go right away."
When Song Rongguang received the telegram, his expression was not particularly joyful.

At this point, it's not something you can just break through on a whim.

A few minutes later, Song Rongguang's reply reached Gu Mosan.

"Chairman, we have received a telegram from Commander Song."

"read."

"Principal, after days of fierce fighting, many officers and soldiers have been wounded. If we break out as ordered, we cannot take them with us. They have followed us in battle for many years, and we cannot bear to abandon them. Therefore, officers at all levels are determined to hold the line and wait for reinforcements. Commander of the 66th Division, Song Ruike."

Upon hearing Song Rongguang's dictated telegram, Chang Ruiyuan almost cried. What a wonderful student he was!

Then he remembered the reinforcements.

"Where is Wang Jieren?! Where is he now?" Chang Ruiyuan asked angrily.

Gu Mosan immediately said, "I have sent three telegrams to Wang Jieren, giving him the deadline of the 23rd to arrive at Baihu Mountain."

"Stop the power! Stop the power!" Chang Ruiyuan slammed the water glass he was holding onto the table.

"Tell him that if he fails to arrive at White Tiger Mountain on time, he will bear all the consequences!"

"We have an absolute advantage in equipment and manpower, yet we are repeatedly defeated by the G bandits' disadvantages!"

"It's all because of these incompetent fools! They're so demoralized and only care about protecting themselves!"

"My elite troops! Must we allow the tragedy of Zhang Zhonglin to repeat itself in the 66th Division?!"

"We must not let the G army get away easily this time. I will fight the G army to the death in the Wan'an and Fangyu areas."

Seeing that Chang Ruiyuan was determined to fight G-kun to the death, Gu Mosan immediately said:

"Don't worry, Principal. With 200,000 men in 30 brigades, I will definitely drive the G army across the Yellow River."

"Not just drive them across the Yellow River, but annihilate them!" Chang Ruiyuan declared firmly. "Yes! Annihilate the G Army!"
Chang Ruiyuan and Gu Mosan spoke with absolute certainty, but the course of events did not follow their wishes.

Two days later, after regrouping, Nakano concentrated his firepower and launched another strong attack on the high ground of Baihu Mountain.

Inside the command post, Song Rongguang convened officers from various units to discuss countermeasures.

"The high ground of Baihu Mountain has already been captured by the G army. What other options do you have?"

"Commander, we still have a few villages under our control. If we defend each house, we can hold out for another two or three days without any problem."

“Impossible.” Song Rongguang shook his head.

"The high ground has been captured by the G army, and they know the situation of all the surrounding villages like the back of their hand."

"If the G army carries mountain guns up the mountain, they can easily target any house."

Hearing Song Rongguang's words, everyone now vaguely understood what he meant.

"Commander, what do you mean?"

“We’re trapped now, there’s no point in persisting.” A hint of despair flashed in Song Rongguang’s eyes.

“That bastard Wang Jieren is a coward. They only walk five or six kilometers a day after they left Lanyi.”

"They were moving slowly, but once they reached Ran Town, they stopped to build fortifications."

"In addition, the continuous heavy rain has made the roads muddy, making it impossible to get out of the predicament."

Wang Jieren's Fourth Army Corps is still in Ranzhen, a full 50 kilometers away from Baihu Mountain. Even if they travel day and night, they will not be able to reach Baihu Mountain.

“Continuing to fight will only lead to more casualties, so I have decided to stop resisting.”

Although everyone had already guessed Song Rongguang's intentions, they still breathed a sigh of relief when they actually heard that the resistance had stopped.

As professional military officers, how could they not understand the current situation? It's just that Song Rongguang hadn't shown any intention to surrender before, so even if they had thoughts, they had to keep them to themselves.

"The division commander loves his soldiers like his own children. This battle is by no means the fault of my division. It is entirely due to the delayed arrival of reinforcements."

"I think even the Chairman wouldn't blame you."

"Yes, Chief of Staff, I'm leaving the liaison with the G Army to you." Song Rongguang said weakly.
"I have no other requests, just one thing: the G Army must treat the wounded soldiers of my 66th Division."

"Please rest assured, Commander." The Chief of Staff nodded.

The 66th Division has not completely lost its ability to resist, and it still has a large number of heavy weapons.

Even if the G army were to consider the six 105mm howitzers and the twenty-odd mountain guns, they would still agree to this request.

With the 66th Division laying down its arms and surrendering, the Battle of Baihu Mountain came to a complete end.

Since crossing the Yellow River, including the 32nd Division, 70th Division and 119th Brigade ambushed by Chen Chengxing, the Central Plains Field Army has annihilated nearly 60,000 enemy troops, of whom 45,000 were captured.

They captured six howitzers, twelve field guns, fifty-two mountain guns of various types, more than seven hundred small cannons such as mortars, and a large quantity of firearms and ammunition.

The equipment level of the four columns that accompanied the field headquarters has been greatly improved.

Upon learning of the defeat in the southwestern Shandong campaign, Chang Ruiyuan flew into a rage.

In order to shirk responsibility and quell dissatisfaction among the government and the public regarding the defeat in the southwestern Shandong campaign, they planned to hold a commendation meeting and a military conference to make an example of someone.

Bai Jiansheng, whose advice was rejected twice by Chang Ruiyuan and Gu Mosan, called Gu Mosan himself.

"Brother Mo, congratulations!"

Upon hearing Bai Jiansheng's voice, Gu Mosan immediately understood what he meant.

"Brother Jiansheng, why do you have to make things worse for me?"

"Brother Mo, I'm not joking," Bai Jiansheng said with a smile. "The great victory in Shandong was entirely due to your strategic planning."

"The Chairman has decided to hold a conference in Nanjing on the 30th to celebrate and commend your Pengcheng Army Corps for your achievements. After the conference, a military conference on the suppression of bandits in southwestern Shandong will also be held."

"You and the chief of staff must arrive on time."

In Chang Ruiyuan's eyes, although the repeated losses on the Shandong battlefield angered him, the captured cities were not fake.

The Shandong army lost even the capital city; isn't that a great victory?

"Please rest assured, Chairman, I will arrive on time."

"Alright, then I'll be waiting for your triumphant return in Jinling." Bai Jiansheng smiled and hung up the phone.

This tone left Gu Mo San unsure whether he was mocking him or not.

At the subsequent meeting of senior military officers, Chang Ruiyuan directly dismissed and investigated Wang Jieren, the commander of the Fourth Army Corps, for failing to provide adequate reinforcements.

In addition, Tang Guliang, the commander of the 32nd Division who had barely escaped death and broken through the encirclement, was sent to a military court on charges of "desertion in the face of battle".

However, the direct commander, Wang Youping, was completely unharmed.

Even Lu Ziquan, the commander of the 58th Division, was not punished, after all, the 58th Division still had more than 10,000 men.

After the meeting, Bai Jiansheng walked out of the Ministry of National Defense and said to Xu Zuyi, a senior staff officer standing next to him:

“Bring Wang Jieren to justice, reward Gu Mosan, and welcome U.S. Special Envoy Weidman.”

"A victory is worth ten points, and it will be satisfactory both internationally and domestically."

"Hehe, that's a profound subject."

After Chang Ruiyuan finished convening the military conference on the suppression of bandits in southwestern Shandong, Guo's army surrounded Wan'an from all sides.

Chang Ruiyuan decided to fight Nakano to the death here.

Meanwhile, the western expeditionary force of the East China Field Army had also arrived near Wan'an, and the two sides successfully joined forces.

This gave Commander Nakano a certain amount of confidence. He planned to move north and south along the Longhai Railway for two months with the Guo Army, and then head south to the Dabie Mountains.

However, the extremely difficult situation in northern Shaanxi, and Chang Ruiyuan's plan to breach the dike, changed Ye Si's mind.

In order to ease the situation in northern Shaanxi, the two leaders decided to advance directly into the Dabie Mountains.

Entering the Dabie Mountains required traversing thousands of miles, with the Yellow River floodplains in between, making it impossible to transport heavy weapons. As a result, a large number of heavy artillery pieces under the field headquarters began to be distributed.

"report!"

Chen Chengxing turned around, somewhat surprised: "Zhu Zi?"

"Commander, the commander has ordered the field artillery regiment to return to its original position!"

Upon hearing that the artillery regiment was returning to its original unit, Chen Chengxing immediately realized: "The troops are about to set off?"

"Yes." Wang Chengzhu nodded: "In addition to bringing back the artillery regiment, the field headquarters also allocated 6 howitzers."

"Did the commander not bring heavy equipment with him when he marched into the Dabie Mountains this time?" Chen Chengxing frowned.

"We brought them, but they were all mountain guns and infantry guns that were easy to carry. All the heavy weapons, such as field artillery, were distributed."

"We were assigned six howitzers, with the F and M columns each receiving six Type 38 field guns," Wang Chengzhu explained.

The Type 38 field gun's shells were interchangeable with those of the Type 94 mountain gun, making ammunition replenishment convenient. Moreover, it could be towed by horses, making it more suitable for troops with insufficient mechanical power.

"I understand." Chen Chengxing nodded. "Zhu Zi, welcome back to the unit."

"You organize things now. After the main force leaves, we also need to go and meet up with the East China Field Army."

"yes!".
After returning to the headquarters, Chen Chengxing immediately ordered the logistics department to retrieve some infantry gun shells and mortar shells from various units.

At the same time, to facilitate transportation, more than two hundred mules and horses were also sent to the county.

This is almost all the horses that the Second General could provide without affecting its own transportation.

(End of this chapter)