Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 477 Infantry Battalion Commander and Rifle Commander (Additional Chapter, Please Vote)

The headquarters of the 20th Division.

"Commander, we have received a telegram. The 3rd Division has been completely annihilated."

"Damn it, trash!" Yang Chendong, commander of the 20th Division, said disdainfully.

"Pass on my order: the troops shall halt their advance and await further instructions."

After receiving the telegram requesting assistance, the 20th Division immediately began its rapid march and has now reached Langling, 45 kilometers away from Xinghe Town.

However, since the 3rd Division is gone, there is no need for them to go.

However, the 20th Division had no intention of getting involved in this mess, but Commander Chen, who was waiting for him, had no intention of letting him go.

The purpose of this large-scale raid was to lure enemy troops from the Dabie Mountains out to provide support.

But the other party hasn't moved an inch yet, so we definitely can't just let it go like this.

The 20th Division was one of the main forces of Li Peiyuan's Fifth Army Corps and was a fully equipped division with American weapons.

Langling is a strategic location that military strategists have fought over, and it has been known since ancient times as "the heartland of the Central Plains and the throat of Henan and Hubei".

If the Nationalist army does not provide support when attacking Langling, then we can take Langling and threaten the rear of the Nationalist army attacking the Dabie Mountains.

If the enemy reinforcements arrive, they can effectively mobilize and disperse the enemy forces.

Upon receiving orders from the Corps Headquarters, Chen Chengxing and Li Yunlong immediately headed south.

In addition to the Second General Staff and the D Column, the Central Plains Field Army's outer-line troops, which had already crossed the Huai River, also advanced to the southeast of Langling to undertake blocking missions.

On the afternoon of the 28th, the army completed the encirclement of Langling, and on the 29th, the general offensive began.

At this moment, Yang Chendong, who was inside Langling City, had already panicked and repeatedly asked his superiors for help.

Upon learning that the main force was surrounded, the painful memories of Zhang Zhonglin and Song Rongguang flooded back into Chang Ruiyuan's mind.

To prevent a repeat of the tragedy, Chang Ruiyuan immediately ordered Bai Jiansheng to draw reinforcements from the Dabie Mountains.

However, Bai Jiansheng scoffed at the order.

"Haven't you suffered enough losses yet? Trying to heal your wounds by cutting off your own flesh!"

Bai Jiansheng knew very well that the G army's goal was to force them to withdraw troops from the Dabie Mountains to provide reinforcements.

"How will the Chairman explain this to him?" the chief of staff asked.

"Say what you will, but not a single soldier will be given!"

Chang Ruiyuan was furious when he received Bai Jiansheng's reply.

Faced with this situation, Chang Ruiyuan immediately convened a military conference.

"Some people, in order to establish their own factions, completely disregard the interests of the Party and the country!"

"The three teams of the G army, right under our noses, supported each other and fought with great skill, eventually meeting up in victory!"

"But what about us? Where has the revolutionary spirit of the Northern Expedition and the War of Resistance gone?"

"I am still the Chairman of the Military Commission. As long as I am in power, I must keep my word and be responsible to the Party and the country!"

Hearing Chang Ruiyuan making veiled accusations on stage, Bai Jiansheng was so angry he almost fainted.

However, Chang Ruiyuan presented a righteous argument at the meeting, and Bai Jiansheng had no choice but to obey his orders and transfer the reorganized 9th, 10th and 11th Divisions from the troops besieging Dabie Mountain back to Langling.

At the same time, the 5th Army and the 75th Reorganized Division in the Guide area, as well as the 47th Army in Shangdu, were also dispatched to provide support.

The 11th Reorganized Division advanced rapidly, reaching the area south of Langling by the 31st and engaging in combat with the A Column of the Central Field Army.

Seeing that Chang Ruiyuan's strategic plan to besiege the Dabie Mountains had been disrupted, the various units did not linger in battle and immediately withdrew from the fighting.

The reorganized 11th Division and the mechanized 5th Army successfully joined forces at Langling.

At eight o'clock on New Year's Day morning, Chang Ruiyuan received news of the victorious rendezvous.

Chang Ruiyuan, who had been sullen, immediately cheered up.

A New Year's address was also given on the radio at 9 o'clock.

Inside Langling City, Qiu Feng specially invited Hu Ziqi to dinner to celebrate New Year's Day.

Listening to the speech on the radio, Qiu Feng laughed and said, "Commander Hu, our meeting at Langling this time is like Guan Yu and Zhang Fei performing a scene from the ancient city meeting. It has made this old man very happy."

"I don't think so, do I?" Compared to the arrogant Qiu Feng, Hu Ziqi was much more clear-headed.

"The principal knew very well that what he wanted were prisoners of war. He would be truly happy if he could capture a few Communist Party cadres in military uniforms and carrying pistols and bring them to Nanjing."

"Hahaha, leave this to me," Qiu Feng said, patting his chest. "This time, I'll give him a good chase, take advantage of our mechanized forces, and catch a few of his division and regimental commanders."

Upon hearing Qiu Feng's words, Hu Ziqi immediately advised, "Brother, you must be careful. You must not follow in Zhang Zhonglin's footsteps."

"According to the reconnaissance of my reconnaissance unit, the main force of the G Army's East China Field Army seems to be turning north, but we still don't know what trap the G Army is planning to play."

"Hehe." Qiu Feng shook his head: "This G army, it really is just like the old man said, all they do is spin around and blindly harass others."

“Hey buddy, the principal can say that, but can we think that way?” Hu Ziqi advised, “We’re the ones who are deeply involved in the battlefield.”

"Damn it, I'd love to have a chance to directly confront the G Army!" Qiu Feng said.

"The Central Plains has been a battleground since ancient times, and now is the time for you, my brother, to launch your grand campaign."

"Dry!"

"Come on, do it!"

Unlike Qiu Feng, Hu Ziqi, and even Chang Ruiyuan, who were in good spirits, Bai Jiansheng immediately launched into a tirade of curses when the news reached him.

"What good is Langling anyway!"

"Is it worth sacrificing the situation in the Dabie Mountains to preserve the small Langling Mausoleum?"

"This is practically helping the G Party!"

"Commander, the decision to transfer troops from the Dabie Mountains was made by the Chairman at the meeting. It has nothing to do with us." The chief of staff still didn't understand who Bai Jiansheng was cursing.

"That's him I'm talking about!"

"I've said it before, he's not worthy of being called a commander at all!"

"Commanding beyond his rank and without any discipline, he's at best an infantry battalion commander or a rifle commander!"

"Damn it, I'm not staying any longer, I'm going back to Jinling!" Bai Jiansheng said, getting angrier and angrier. "Let that guy surnamed Chang give the orders! I, Bai, am not putting up with this anymore!"

Bai Jian returned to Jinling in a huff, blaming all his anger on Chang Ruiyuan's misguided command.

Moreover, he made up his mind from then on that he would no longer cooperate, but instead focus on undermining others.

The central government was also very pleased that the predicament in the Dabie Mountains had been temporarily resolved.

On New Year's Day, the Xinhua News Agency used the word 'attack' for the first time in its address.

Furthermore, the timeframe for completely crushing the Kuomintang ruling group within five years before the three armies launched an offensive on the outer lines was brought forward to about two years.

On the same day, Chang Ruiyuan also said at the New Year's Eve party that Guo Jun had achieved his biggest strategic goal.

Both sides were in high spirits and stepped into the new year hand in hand.

Because Bai Jiansheng resigned, Chang Ruiyuan resolutely took charge and assembled an army of 660,000 to contend for control of the Central Plains.

In order to change the previous passive situation, after careful consideration, Chang Ruiyuan formulated a regional defense strategy: to hold the Northeast, strive for North China, and concentrate forces to attack the Central Plains.

Chang Ruiyuan knew that whoever controlled the Central Plains would control the world, so he made major adjustments to the military deployment and organization in the Central Plains.

Following in-depth discussions with Okamura Yasuji, the Central Plains Theater was divided into eight pacification zones.

These pacification zones each have a certain number of regular troops attached to them. Some have two full divisions, while others have one division and local security forces, each responsible for the defense of their respective areas.

The 67 reorganized divisions in the Central Plains battlefield, totaling approximately 660,000 men, consisted of a portion assigned to the pacification zone for defense, while the remaining main forces formed six mobile corps and four rapid columns.

Chang Ruiyuan planned to rely on the Longhai and Pinghan railways to concentrate his forces to deal with the G army in the Central Plains, and strengthen the Yangtze River defense line to ensure the safety of Nanjing and the Jiangnan region.

This system is an expanded version of Okamura Yasuji's original strategy of sweeping away and gradually encroaching on the anti-Japanese base areas behind enemy lines.

After completing the relevant deployments, Chiang Kai-shek instructed Hu Zi's elite troops to launch another attack on the Dabie Mountains, attempting to find the main force of the Central Plains Field Army for a decisive battle.

At this time, Nakano had been advancing into the Dabie Mountains for more than four months. Due to the Kuomintang's long-term massacres in the Dabie Mountains, the people dared not help the Kuomintang army.

Meanwhile, the Central Plains Field Army had been operating without a rear base for a long time, and the troops were facing increasing difficulties in obtaining ammunition, clothing, and food.

Left with no other choice, on January 25th and 26th, they sent telegrams to the central government requesting assistance.

In view of this, on the 27th, the Central Committee decided to send three columns of the East China Field Army across the Yangtze River to the south and to fight deep into the Kuomintang-controlled areas.

This forced the enemy to change their strategic deployment, drawing twenty to thirty of their reorganized brigades back to defend Jiangnan, and further extending the flames of war to the Guotong area.

However, after forty days of careful consideration, the field commander wrote to the central government, hoping to postpone the crossing of the river and instead concentrate the forces of the East China Field Army to cooperate with the Central Plains Field Army in fighting several major battles in the Central Plains.

After several rounds of communication and exchange, the Central Committee reluctantly agreed to the East China Field Army's opinion, but also made the field army's leaders sign a pledge.

Within the next six months, the goal is to annihilate 6-12 reorganized brigades, with the most elite reorganized 5th Army as its core, in the Central Plains region.

(End of this chapter)