Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 509 Change of Goal
Huang Peiwu's unconventional tactics immediately became a huge problem for the G army.

At this time, the war situation in the Central Plains was in a state of extreme tension and equilibrium.

According to the central government's plan, after annihilating Huang Huanran's army group, the next step was to find an opportunity to annihilate Qiu Feng and Li Bingwen's army groups.

During this period, it was also necessary to ensure that the Pengcheng Guo army could not escape south.

To ensure the annihilation of the three army corps led by Huang Huanran, Qiu Feng, and Li Bingwen, the East China Field Army has deployed all its combat power.

The several columns besieging Huang Huanran are engaged in fierce fighting, and the troops confronting Qiu Feng and Li Bingwen cannot be redeployed.

After all, the two battlefields are less than 30 kilometers apart, and with the speed of mechanized troops, they can reach the battlefield in one advance.

This means that the task of ensuring that the Pengcheng Guo Army could not escape south fell entirely on the shoulders of the Nakanobu Army.

Prior to this, Li Yishou and Liu Ziliang of Zhucheng had each formed a corps, totaling five armies, and were advancing towards Suxian.

Huang Peiwu's unexpected arrival meant that Zhongye had to hold off the combined attack of Huang Peiwu, Li Yishou, and Liu Ziliang's three army groups, totaling nine armies, all on his own.

Inside the Central Field Army Headquarters in Suxian County, several people convened a meeting of the Front Committee to discuss the current grim situation.

"Liu Ziliang and Li Yishou on the southern front were the typical cunning troops of the Kuomintang army, and the troops under them were all ragtag and had low combat effectiveness. However, the 12th Army Corps, which suddenly entered the battlefield, was a tough nut to crack."

"The prevailing opinion across the army right now is that the Central Plains Field Army should fight the 12th Army Corps first, and then make a decision."

"What do you two think?" He hung his coat on the hanger and sat down by the fireplace.

At this time, Huang Huanran had not yet been eliminated, and it was uncertain whether Qiu Li's army could be surrounded. Therefore, the main focus of the entire army was on the eastern front.

Huang Peiwu's army had just arrived, and the danger had not yet materialized, so the southern front had not yet attracted attention.

"We can't fight it out and then make a decision; we have absolutely no room for trial and error this time." ** shook his head.

"At this point, Huaye was already severely weakened. If we continued to follow the original plan and fought Huang Huanran before fighting Qiu Feng and Li Bingwen, there was a high probability that Huaye would be caught in a bitter battle with Qiu and Li."

"In other words, if Nakano's trial and error fails, Huaye has no way to spare troops to support him."

"If Huang Peiwu, who has broken through the Zhongye blockade, can open up the southern line of Pengcheng with Li and Liu's army groups, he will directly threaten the flank and rear of the East China Field Army."

"At that time, the initiative on the entire battlefield will be handed over to the Guo army."

“I agree with **,” *** said.

"At this critical moment, we must face up to the gap."

"There is a huge gap in heavy firepower between the Nakano and Huang Peiwu Corps. We are very likely to be unable to withstand the large number of enemy troops coming from the south."

"If we stick to the established strategy at this point, or even just let Nakano try, it is very likely that Huang Peiwu will break through the southern front before we achieve victory on the eastern front."

“This will lead to the collapse of the entire Central Plains war situation; the plan must be changed.” He stood up and went to the map.

"The Central Plains Field Army suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Dabie Mountain and has not yet recovered. If the six columns of the Central Plains Field Army were spread out to block the three army groups of Huang, Li, and Liu, they might not be able to hold them off."

“If we attack the Li and Liu corps that are closer to us first, even if they are relatively weak, we will need to concentrate the strength of at least 5 columns. The remaining 1 column cannot stop Huang Peiwu.”

"Moreover, according to the East China Field Army's report, Qiu and Li's army groups are now very afraid of being surrounded by our army, and their main forces have been huddled near Pengcheng. The East China Field Army simply cannot find an opportunity to penetrate and cut off the retreat route of Qiu and Li's army groups."

"In other words, the strategy formulated by the central government to first target Huang Huanran, and then Qiu Feng and Li Bingwen, is unlikely to be realized in the short term."

"The situation is actually quite clear at this point."

"The best strategy at present is to use a small number of troops to contain Li and Liu's forces, and concentrate all efforts to eliminate Huang Peiwu first."

"However, the combat power of the 12th Army Corps should not be underestimated. The Central Plains Field Army is not confident of victory and must send troops from the East China Field Army to help."

"Okay, let's vote by raising hands then." *** said, raising his right hand, and * and ** followed suit.

*** immediately drafted a telegram to the Central Committee in the names of the three individuals.

In the telegram, *** explained Nakano's current situation and the difficulties he faced, and objectively and calmly analyzed the overall situation.

The Central Committee was well aware of ***'s iron will, and when he started complaining, the true situation at Nakano Field Army was certainly worse than he described.

Therefore, the Central Committee accepted the suggestion without hesitation, ordering the East China Field Army to immediately change its established strategy, no longer regard Qiu and Li as the main strategic targets for the next stage, and immediately send troops south to support the operation.

Hanano Noji's response to the opinions of the Central Committee and Nakano was also very simple.

"The vanguard, B and K columns, have already departed. Tomorrow night, one or two more columns will be drawn from the troops attacking Nianwei and sent south."

In response to Huang Peiwu's swift arrival, the G army completed the entire strategic shift in just two days.

The strategic focus for the next phase will shift from the eastern front to the southern front.

At the same time, the E, L, and F columns of the East China Field Army also launched a final all-out attack on Nianwei.

At this time, the logistics line of the East China Field Army had been successfully connected thanks to the efforts of the civilian workers supporting the front.

Five and a half million men and women laborers from Shandong, Henan, Jiangsu and Anhui braved bombing and strafing by Kuomintang planes, wearing mourning bands on their heads, and rushed to the Huaihai battlefield.

With 880,000 wheelbarrows and unicycles, 760,000 oxen and donkeys, 290,000 stretchers, and more than 300,000 carrying poles, the laborers delivered countless rice, flour, flatbread, cotton-padded clothes, military shoes, coffins, and shrouds.

With the support of five million laborers, the 7th Army Corps finally witnessed the full firepower of the East China Field Army.

The general offensive began at 10 p.m., but the infantry did not go forward when the battle started. The first to speak up were the two heavy artillery regiments of the T column and the mountain artillery regiments of each column.

The fierce bombardment from hundreds of cannons continued from night until dawn the next day. Only after the Guo army's positions had been thoroughly razed twice did the infantry launch their attack under the morning light.

At this time, Huang Huanran was still commanding the 25th Army and the 64th Army in their final desperate struggle.

Every corner, every room was witnessing brutal and bloody hand-to-hand combat.

However, at this time the overall defense system of the 7th Army Corps was already in a state of disarray.

Despite fierce resistance from heavy artillery fire and the aid of tanks, the 7th Army Corps was unable to mount an effective counterattack.

After two days of fierce fighting, the positions of the 7th Army Corps were breached one after another.

The remaining troops of the 7th Army Corps were either captured or surrendered, leaving only the headquarters of the 25th Army and the corps headquarters with a small number of remnants to resist.

Huang Huanran sat in the dilapidated command post, lost in thought as he listened to the approaching gunfire.

At this point, there was no one left in the command post. The logistics personnel had either gone to the front lines or fled on their own.

"Officer!" Chief of Staff Wei Xiang rushed in from outside: "The G Army has broken through the outer trench, Officer, let's go!"

Everyone in the Kuomintang knows that the KMT army never kills prisoners indiscriminately. As long as you change into a soldier's clothes and pretend to be a wounded soldier, your chances of escaping are very high.

"Forget it." Huang Huanran sighed. "I'm old and sickly. Why should I put on a pathetic show for Qiu Feng and the others?"

"You don't need to worry about me, just go."

"I only hope that after I die, others will know that there are still loyal members of the KMT, and perhaps this will wake up those who are living a life of debauchery."

"If you are able to meet the president, please convey my gratitude for his recognition and support."

Huang Huanran stood up and looked at the firelight of exploding shells outside, reflecting on his life with a sense of emotion.

“I am not a general from the Whampoa Military Academy clique, but I was issued a special pass to meet the president, which was numbered seventeen.”

"This is already quite high enough, it's good enough, more than enough."

"Brother Huanran!"

"Alright, that's enough." Huang Huanran waved his hand.

"We slept in bunk beds when we were in Huangpu, so you should know me. I've made up my mind."

"Sigh!" Wei Xiang sighed helplessly.

Huang Huanran picked up his sidearm from the table and started cleaning it.

"But even now, I still can't figure it out."

"Why was I so stupid back then? Why did I wait for the 44th Army for two days in Xin'an Town?"

"Why didn't I think of building a pontoon bridge across the canal when I was waiting in Xin'an Town?"

"Since Li Bingwen is going to attack eastward to rescue me, why didn't he cover my westward retreat near Bayiji?"

Huang Huanran had been thinking about these three questions since the start of the war, but he hadn't figured out any of them.

After glancing outside again, Huang Huanran raised his pistol without any hesitation.

"boom!"

At this time, Chang Ruiyuan was still in Nanjing waiting for news of Du Guangting and Huang Huanran's victorious reunion.

When the news of Huang Huanran's complete annihilation reached Jinling, Gu Mosan's hands trembled.

However, as the Chief of the General Staff, he had to personally report to Chang Ruiyuan.

"Mr. President, Huang Huanran's army has been completely wiped out."

Upon hearing Gu Mosan's report, Chang Ruiyuan was stunned; he couldn't believe his ears.

Immediately afterwards, Chang Ruiyuan began to curse loudly: "Damn it!"

"Wasn't there a great victory at Xudong before? The G Army has clearly suffered heavy losses, so why didn't the Eastward Advance Corps join up with Huang Huanran's Corps?!"

"Look at these!" Chang Ruiyuan said, grabbing a stack of documents from the table.

"Two weeks! Two weeks! 120,000 shells and tens of millions of bullets were used!"

"With so much ammunition, you could bury the entire G army!"

"But what about the eastward-advancing army? They're advancing less than a mile a day!"

"Such waste and disregard for combat effectiveness is a great disgrace to our revolutionary soldiers!"

"This matter absolutely cannot be left like this!"

"Send a telegram! Send a telegram immediately!"

"In this Battle of Pengcheng, the eastward advancing corps moved slowly and failed to fully carry out orders, leading to the annihilation of friendly forces! Commander-in-Chief Liu, Deputy Commander-in-Chief Du, Commanders Qiu and Li, and all other generals cannot escape blame!"

(End of this chapter)