Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 550 Next

At this time, the Guo army troops in Guanzhong were still unaware of the danger.

Therefore, there was little response to the order to hold the position.

However, just a few hours later, they realized something was wrong.

Battle reports from all sides kept pouring into Li Zhengxi's Siling Department.

The 90th Army on the south bank of the Wei River could not withstand the attack of the G Army, and the army commander led his men to flee.

The 68th and 65th Armies on the north bank of the Wei River can hold out for a while, but Li Zhengxi estimates they won't be able to hold out for much longer.

As for the 119th Army in the far north, one of its three divisions has disappeared without a trace, and the other two divisions have been defeated and are unable to retreat.

As if things weren't going to go wrong, just as Li Zhengxi was about to report to Hu Shoushan that the entire army was retreating westward, he heard the news that the 36th Army stationed in Meixian was fleeing south.

At this moment, Li Zhengxi was completely dumbfounded.

The two armies that were originally on the south bank of the Wei River have now all fled, which means that his flank has been completely exposed.

Li Zhengxi finally realized: "Oh no! Oh no! The G army is going to wipe us out!"

"Pass on my order! The 90th Army shall dispatch a portion to recapture Meixian and provide cover there; the main force shall immediately move to Wuzhangyuan."

"A part of the 160th Division of the 65th Army advanced westward along the railway to seize the high ground northwest of Lijiazhuang, while the main force attacked Juluo Town from the north side of Lijiazhuang; the 187th Division attacked Caijiapo along the railway."

"The 38th Army will leave a portion of its forces to block the G Army, while the main force will immediately retreat to the area north of Juluo Town in an offensive posture!"

As for the 119th Army, which had already been captured, Li Zhengxi didn't even mention it.

He needs troops to draw the attention of the G army.

The 119th Army, reorganized from the local security regiment, was perfectly suited for this mission.

At this time, the various units of the Guo army had also received news that Juluo Town had been seized by the G army.

Therefore, upon receiving the order, the 65th Army, which was closer in distance, immediately dispatched two regiments to serve as suicide squads, while the remaining troops marched rapidly toward their respective objectives.

For the three armies north of the Wei River, Juluo Town was their gateway to life and death.

If they can get Juluo Town back, they will live; if they can't, they will die.

After the vanguard of the Guo army arrived in Juluo Town, they were immediately met with fierce attacks from the 21st Detachment.

Faced with overwhelming firepower, the vanguard of the Guo army was no match for them and turned to retreat.

"No retreat! No one is allowed to retreat!"

"Go back! All of you, go back!"

The front-line officers of the Guo army kept shouting.

Upon seeing this, Li Zhengxi, who had already retreated to this area, immediately summoned the commanders of each division.

How many regiments are there at the front now?

"Reporting to the sergeant, there are a total of 4 full regiments, as well as some smaller units."

"These small units, regardless of their original organizational structure, will be immediately incorporated into the nearest regiments."

"We must break through Juluo Town at all costs and open up the passage to Chencang!"

"No matter which unit it is, anyone who retreats or refuses to advance will be shot on the spot."

"Yes!" Several division commanders stood at attention.

"That includes you too!" Li Zhengxi emphasized. "If your regimental commander retreats, then you few are to fill in at the front line and charge!"

"Yes!"

Seeing Li Zhengxi's murderous intent, the group dared not be negligent and all went to the front command post to personally oversee the operation.

Although both are on the front lines, sitting in the command post is always better than charging ahead.

While Li Zhengxi dispatched troops to launch a strong attack on Juluo Town, he was also constantly setting up blocking positions.

Because of Li Zhengxi's strict orders, and because Juluo Town was the only way out for the Guo army, none of the units participating in the attack held back.

Whether it was light or heavy machine guns or various types of artillery, all the weapons and equipment that could be brought up were brought up in one go.

Li Zhengxi also gathered all the artillery pieces from various armies and corps headquarters together, forming an artillery group.

Shells were continuously fired at the positions of the 21st and 23rd detachments.

Under the cover of artillery fire, the KMT troops surged toward the positions of the 21st and 23rd detachments like madmen.

The 38th Army, in particular, as Li Zhengxi's elite force, launched nine group assaults in succession.

Corpses lay strewn across the battlefield, and blood flowed everywhere.

Looking at the Guo army retreating again, leaving behind corpses on the ground, Xu Wu affirmed, "The more frantic the enemy is, the more important the position is!"

"Tell the comrades that we have cut off the enemy's retreat route. Now the enemy is fighting desperately in an attempt to find a way out."

“If we lose Juluo Town, several enemy corps might escape from here, and then all our previous efforts will be in vain.”

"We must resolutely block and annihilate the enemy!"

Neither the 21st nor the 23rd detachment carried an artillery regiment because they were on a forced march.

Their only means of support were the infantry guns of each regimental artillery battalion, or the few 12.7mm heavy machine guns of the detachment's directly subordinate anti-aircraft machine gun company for suppression.

As time passed, the various units of the First Field Army pressed closer and closer, and the Kuomintang army's attack from the direction of Juluo Town became increasingly frantic.

Faced with the continuous bombardment from dozens of mountain guns and howitzers, the field fortifications of the 21st and 23rd detachments were almost completely destroyed.

The soldiers could only crouch in small ditches to launch a counterattack.

Moreover, without logistical support, the artillery dares not fire openly and can only provide support at critical moments.

However, with the end of the battle to clear the perimeter, the various units of the First Field Army began a general offensive against the main force of the Kuomintang army gathered in Juluo Town, and the pressure on the 21st and 23rd Detachments dropped sharply.

"Comrades! The time for the counterattack has come!"

"Kill!" "Kill!"

Units on the front lines rushed out and launched a counterattack against the Guo army.

The various units of the First Field Army launched a full-scale attack on the Guo army from the east, west, and north. The Guo army's positions became smaller and smaller, and it was gradually squeezed towards the north bank of the Wei River.

At dawn the next day, facing another fierce attack, the Guo army completely lost its fighting spirit.

At this point, Hu Shoushan also understood the situation and realized that the G army was going to devour him in one fell swoop. He immediately issued the final order: the entire army should retreat at all costs!

Upon receiving the order, Li Zhengxi was preparing to command the various armies to fight back step by step and cover each other as they retreated across the Wei River.

When he looked up, he suddenly saw Wang Zhiqi, the commander of the 119th Army, standing in front of him.

Startled, Li Zhengxi hurriedly asked, "Commander Wang, what are you doing here?!"

Wang Zhiqi said with a mournful face, "Officer, I have lost control of the troops."

"Only one regiment from the 244th Division broke through and fled to the south bank of the Wei River."

"The specific situation of the 247th Division is unclear; all that is known is that they have abandoned their positions and are attempting to break out."

"As for the 191st Division, it's long gone, and we can't get in touch with it no matter what we do."

"Even the military headquarters that retreated with me was scattered by the G army. My chief of staff was a bit slow and has been captured by the G army."

After hearing Wang Zhiqi's words, Li Zhengxi kept muttering, "It's over, the 18th Army Corps is finished."

The 119th Army being scattered meant that an enormous gap had appeared in the 18th Group Army's positions.

The G army can use this gap to advance deep into enemy territory or to outflank and encircle them.

"Lord Siren, now we are afraid there is no other way but to break out separately."

It sounds nice to say they were breaking out in different directions, but Li Zhengxi knew that Wang Zhiqi meant they were just running away.

This was also a major reason why Wang Zhiqi came to the Corps headquarters; it would be too dangerous for him to escape on his own.

Li Zhengxi pondered for a moment, but could not come up with any way to break the deadlock.

At this point, it seems there's no other option but to run away.

"Retreat!" Li Zhengxi gritted his teeth and stamped his foot, deciding to run first.

Li Zhengxi, along with Wang Zhiqi and a few other division-level officers that the 38th Army could still find, chose to retreat under the cover of the guard squad.

As for the troops below, if they are still holding out after he arrives at Chencang, he can command them remotely.

Along the way, the group hid and fled, and their guards were constantly killed.

Ultimately, having found no way to survive, the group chose to jump into the Wei River and then travel westward along the river.

They lay in the mud for several more hours until midnight before finally reaching the shore and escaping to Chencang.

However, in the end, only a handful of people, including Li Zhengxi and Wang Zhiqi, successfully returned to Chencang.

Compared to the good fortune of these few individuals, the vast majority of KMT soldiers were not so lucky.

Under the attack of the First Field Army, tens of thousands of Kuomintang soldiers jumped into the Wei River and desperately fled to the south bank.

After braving a hail of bullets to finally reach the shore, they discovered that the south bank had already been sealed off by the G army.

With nowhere else to turn, the Guo soldiers knelt down and surrendered.

After annihilating Hu Shoushan's main force, the First Field Army did not stop.

At daybreak, the troops, having rested overnight, continued their westward attack.

The Second General successively captured Fengxiang Town, Yimen Town and other places, and took Chencang the next day.

In just four days, more than 13,000 Nationalist troops were killed and more than 55,000 were captured on both sides of the Wei River.

More than 300 artillery pieces of various types, more than 1,000 light and heavy machine guns, and countless rifles, pistols, and ammunition were captured.

Even before the Second General entered Chencang, Pei Dingchang had already led the remaining 20,000-plus defeated soldiers of the 5th and 18th Corps back to northern Sichuan.

As for the Qingning and Ma families, they didn't dare to move at all when Hu Shoushan frantically begged for help from them.

In the end, only a small group of cavalry was sent out to harass the enemy, while the main force chose to retreat across the board.

"In the Battle of Fumei, Hu Shoushan was decimated and retreated to the Qinling Mountains, while the Ma brothers' troops had already retreated in large numbers."

"Now Hu Shoushan only has 100,000 men under his command, and he is no longer able to launch a counterattack."

"However, in order to avoid being too provocative and causing Hu Shoushan's troops to continue to retreat, the higher command decided not to pursue and annihilate Hu Shoushan, but to leave him only in the northern part of the Qinling Mountains."

"The First Field Army's attention will next be mainly focused on the two Mas of Qinghai and Ningxia."

The central government has already formulated a strategy to advance across the country. If Hu Shoushan completely retreats into Sichuan, it will bring some unnecessary trouble to the next step of the strategy.

As he spoke, Chen Chengxing got up and went to the map.

"According to intelligence, Ma Zixiang's 129th Army in Qinghai retreated to the Guguan-Zhangjiachuan line, the 82nd Army was stationed in the Chengji area, and the 91st Army was stationed in the Tianshui area."

"Ma Sanyuan's troops in Ningxia, the 81st Army is located along the Gaoping-Anhua line, while the 11th Army and the 128th Army are stationed in the Jingchuan-Anding area."

"According to the Field Army Command's orders, our Second Army Corps will serve as the vanguard, marching north along the Shaanxi-Gansu Highway together with the 2nd Army Corps. The 19th Army Corps will march north from the Jing River to join forces in attacking Anding."

"Based on the intelligence we have gathered so far, the two Mas are likely to concentrate their forces in the Anding area to fight a decisive battle with our army."

Anding is located in the eastern "waist" of GS Province and at the foot of Liupan Mountain. It is the upper reaches of the Jing River and belongs to the loess plateau residual plateau gully area.

This area is full of cliffs and precipices, sparsely populated, and is a strategic point that overlooks Guanzhong to the east, connects to XJ to the west, and controls the western border.

The reason this place is called Anding is because it serves the purpose of "blocking the Yellow River externally, guarding the Longkou Pass internally, connecting Qin and Liang provinces, and protecting the capital region".
The stability of Guanzhong depends entirely on this.

To take over the Gansu-Qinghai-Ningxia region where Ma and Ma were located, the First Field Army first had to capture Anding.

This is something that not only the G army knows, but also Ma and Ma know very well.

Therefore, Noji concluded that the two Ma parties would concentrate their main forces for a decisive battle in the Anding area.

(End of this chapter)