Chu Yunfei had in-depth exchanges with these two division commanders, and overall the situation was satisfactory.
Chenzhou, Hunan is located in the southeast of the Ninth War Zone, directly facing the Japanese army. Geographically speaking, it is the southeastern barrier of the Ninth War Zone, which is actually the barrier of the Ninth Corps. This arrangement of the Ninth Corps pushed Chu Yunfei's troops into the most dangerous situation, because the Chenzhou area was located in the plains between two mountainous areas, which was the only way for the Japanese army to attack Chongqing. There is no danger to defend here and it is convenient for large Japanese troops to move. Fierce battles occur here many times every year. So this is one of the dangerous areas in the ninth theater.
All the troops in the ninth theater were unwilling to be in this area. After all, Chu Yunfei's troops were outsiders, so it was expected that they would be excluded. This was the idea of the guys in the Ninth Corps, hoping that Chu Yunfei could resist the Japanese attack for them.
This is the consistent style of the Guo army. During the Anti-Japanese War, many of the elite Guo troops were not used on the frontal anti-Japanese battlefields. In remote areas where they fought with the Japanese army, a large number of non-direct troops from the miscellaneous army were used to fight against the Japanese army. Consumption, to cover the main force to rest and recuperate there.
For example, the Hu Group stationed in Shaanxi and the Tang Group stationed in Henan and Hubei each had hundreds of thousands of troops, but they rarely exchanged fire with the Japanese during the Anti-Japanese War. In fact, this seems to have saved a large number of main troops, but there is a major hidden danger, that is, the commanders of these troops, especially the senior officers, lack real war practice, and have formed a mentality of fearing the enemy and avoiding war, and being greedy and selfish. In this model, the troops look strong, but in fact they are just showing off. When they finally faced a large-scale war, they were quickly defeated by the underground party's troops.
The same is true for the Ninth Corps today. Qi Guangyang and several other army commanders also thought about how to preserve their own strength, so they pushed Chu Yunfei's troops to the front to block bullets for them.
If Chu Yunfei's troops won the battle against the Japanese army, they would send reinforcements to take advantage. If Chu Yunfei's battle did not go well, they would sit on the mountain and watch the fight between tigers and tigers, allowing Chu Yunfei to fight with the Japanese army and both sides would suffer. Chu Yunfei's troops could no longer withstand it, and the other troops of the Guo Army would retreat directly, and then put the responsibility for the defeat on Chu Yunfei.
This phenomenon is also very common among the Jinsui Army. It was not unexpected by Chu Yunfei. He had been mentally prepared for it.
Chu Yunfei doesn't know much about the other two divisions of the 25th Army yet, but he is very confident. Even though the 358th Division he brought with him is from the Jinsui Army, in terms of combat effectiveness, Chu Yunfei is confident that he is a division of his own. , you can kill the two divisions of the other armies of the Ninth Corps. He was not afraid of the Japanese army at all, because the position of the 358th Division in Shanxi was always like this.
After the two division commanders introduced the situation, they became indignant and complained that the Ninth Corps gave them small shoes to wear. Even Fang Ligong felt excluded and couldn't help but complain.
It is impossible to say that Chu Yunfei has no complaints about the Ninth Corps' approach that cannot be treated equally. It's just that Chu Yunfei is a person with a strong personality, so naturally he can't let others laugh. Moreover, he is the backbone of the 25th Army, and he knows very well that complaining has no meaning and can only make his subordinates more negative.
The correct approach is to have an optimistic attitude, adopt a positive mentality to unite your subordinates, twist the 25th Army into a rope, and achieve self-reliance through self-reliance.
Chu Yunfei said with a smile: "There is nothing to complain about. As anti-Japanese soldiers, it is our honor to face the Japanese army directly. It is our shame to hide behind others and passively avoid the war. The Ninth Corps arranged us in Chenzhou, They think highly of us, and we must show our appearance so that those despicable guys who want to see our jokes will be slapped in the face."
Chu Yunfei's positive and optimistic attitude influenced everyone. Although everyone was still a little unhappy, they all knew that Chu Yunfei was right.
They are now facing the Japanese army, and it is useless to complain. If they are defeated, their end will be miserable. The only thing that can change fate is to defeat the Japanese army.
So everyone cheered up and wanted to see what Chu Yunfei had planned next.
The 25th Army faced the Japanese 14th Division. This division was also an established field division established earlier among the Japanese army. This division had entered China since the early days of the Anti-Japanese War and had participated in the Battle of Songhu, the Battle of Wuhan, In important battles such as the Battle of Changsha, the officers and soldiers had rich combat experience, strong will to fight, and great combat effectiveness.
The troops of other armies of the Ninth Corps had fought with it, but in the end they did not take advantage and even suffered heavy losses. This is also their main intention to hope that Chu Yunfei's 25th Army will stop the Japanese 14th Division.
In order to boost the morale of the officers and soldiers of the 25th Army, Chu Yunfei and Fang Ligong planned to seize the time to understand the enemy's situation, then formulate a reasonable combat plan, and planned to hold a meeting of officers of the 25th Army to cheer up the officers.
However, the Japanese army did not leave Chu Yunfei time to deploy calmly. In the early morning of the third day after he returned from the Ninth Corps meeting, the Japanese 28th Brigade suddenly launched a fierce attack on the 358th Division.
The Ninth Corps Sling Headquarters.
A group of senior officers gathered in the war room to hear a briefing from the regimental chief of staff.
The chief of staff said: "According to reliable intelligence, the 28th Brigade of the Japanese 14th Division, with tank troops as the forerunner and under the cover of a large amount of artillery fire, launched an attack on Chu Yunfei's 358th Division. The Japanese 14th Division Other units of the regiment are also being mobilized and may follow up at any time.
The 358th Division had just entered the Chenzhou area and had not had time to build complete defenses. The situation of the 358th Division was worrying. Faced with this situation, I wonder how Chu Yunfei will deal with it? "
Someone said: "Isn't Chu Yunfei known as a famous anti-Japanese general? I believe he will be able to defeat the Japanese army. I suggest that we hold a celebration banquet in advance to celebrate for them after they win this battle."
The person who spoke had a sour tone and a look of gloating on his face. Others also agreed. The reason why they have this mentality is, on the one hand, to exclude Chu Yunfei, an outsider; on the other hand, it is also out of jealousy.
Chu Yunfei has made many military exploits in the battles against Japan in Shanxi over the years. His deeds have been published many times in newspapers, and his promotion speed has also been very fast.
All this made the so-called loyal generals feel uncomfortable. They now wished that Chu Yunfei would be unlucky so that they could watch the joke.
At this time, they had all made up their minds. No matter how difficult the situation of Chu Yunfei's troops was, they would not send reinforcements. What they want to see most now is that Chu Yunfei can't defeat the Japanese army, and then asks them for help in a humble manner, while they stand by and let Chu Yunfei scream for help from the sky and the earth. This can greatly satisfy their distorted psychology.
Qi Guangyang actually has the same mentality. Chu Yunfei's promotion speed was too fast. In just a few years, he went from regiment commander to brigade commander, division commander, and now to army commander, and he was highly regarded by his superiors. He was very worried that Chu Yunfei would threaten his position, and wished that Chu Yunfei would be defeated by the Japanese army.
But he still has to make a superficial appearance. Hearing the people there making weird remarks about Chu Yunfei's dissatisfaction, he scolded: "The 25th Army is also a unit of our Ninth Corps. You should hope that they can independently repel the Japanese attack, instead of saying this here Feng said sarcastically. Chu Yunfei is someone that Shangfeng values and I believe he will be able to complete the task of resisting the Japanese attack on his own."
The people present couldn't help but laugh when they heard the commander repeatedly mentioning "complete the task independently" in his words. This clearly meant that the 358th Division was allowed to be attacked by the enemy and did nothing to save it.
They all suppressed their laughter and complimented their commander on his mastery.
The chief of staff of the corps has worked with the commander for many years and knows his virtues very well. He ordered: "The Operations Department should pay attention to the battle situation of the 358th Division at all times and report any situation in a timely manner." After that, he suggested that everyone go have a drink together.
Everyone left the war room laughing and joking. They were in a good mood at the moment and planned to be a good crowd and watch Chu Yunfei's jokes.
Qi Guangyang came to the lounge next to the war room, and the chief of staff followed him.
Qi Guangyang asked: "Do you think Chu Yunfei can repel the Japanese attack?"
The chief of staff thought for a moment and said: "The Japanese army only has one infantry brigade, which does not have an advantage in terms of strength. Chu Yunfei's 358th Division is still very capable of fighting. In addition, the 25th Army has two other divisions, and the Japanese army is very capable. It may not be an advantage.”
Qi Guangyang was obviously not satisfied with this result. He hesitated and did not speak.
The Chief of Staff has followed Qi Guangyang for many years and knows his temper very well. He said: "In addition to attacking Baziling, the Japanese army may also make other moves. It is estimated that there are other troops attacking the 25th Army's defense area. We cannot let the Japanese army Taking advantage of the loophole, I suggested ordering Chu Yunfei's 358th Division to independently block the Japanese attack, while the other two divisions were stationed in place and were not allowed to move without authorization from the Corps."
Qi Guangyang realized that this move was too cruel. It was equivalent to allowing Chu Yunfei to face the Japanese attack independently with the strength of a division.
He nodded and said: "That's it. But you and I don't want to come forward in this matter. Let the combat department inform them."
After receiving the report of the Japanese attack, Chu Yunfei immediately issued an order to the 73rd Division and 74th Division of the 25th Army to send troops to the Waibaziling area for reinforcements.
Unexpectedly, the division commanders of these two divisions had received direct orders from the Corps Command Headquarters to garrison them in place to block possible Japanese attacks.
After hearing this, Fang Ligong was so angry that he cursed, and Chu Yunfei sneered. Although this result was somewhat beyond his expectation, he did not expect Qi Guangyang and the others to be so despicable and shameless.
But he didn't care. He believed that with his 358th Division, he could still repel the Japanese attack.
Chu Yunfei had rich combat experience. Facing the Japanese attack, he did not panic at all and immediately organized his troops to defend.
The first to fight the Japanese army was the third regiment of the 358th Brigade of the 358th Division. The regiment leader was Chu Yunfei's original guard commander Sun Ming. As soon as his troops arrived at the station, they learned about the enemy's situation from the local people. When he learned that a large number of Japanese troops were stationed in front, he immediately organized his troops to dig trenches.
He not only mobilized a large number of soldiers, but also mobilized many local people to dig trenches with them. He also invited the division's engineering battalion to bring over the trench excavator designed and invented by Xu Dalong. They soon dug a large number of trenches around the garrison.
When the Japanese launched their attack, they had already formed a relatively complete trench system. As soon as the battle started, all officers and soldiers entered the trenches to block the Japanese attack.
The Japanese army opened the way with tank troops and launched a fierce attack on the troops of the third regiment. They originally thought they could easily break through the enemy's position, but they did not expect that Chu Yunfei's troops were equipped with many rocket launchers. The Japanese tanks and armored vehicles were destroyed one after another, and the Japanese soldiers who rushed up were also killed by the third party hiding in the trenches. The officers and soldiers of the regiment suffered heavy casualties and had to retreat.
The Japanese army came fiercely and quickly organized another attack. Unexpectedly, they were still repelled by the officers and soldiers of the third regiment, causing a lot of casualties.
The Japanese commander was very angry. The information they received was that the 358th Division had just arrived here and was not yet stable. They thought that the 358th Division could be defeated with a single charge, but they did not expect such a result.
The Japanese brigade commander directed the troops to attack other troops of the 358th Division, but the result was the same, without any advantage.
The Japanese brigade commander had to stop the attack and asked the division commander for tactical guidance.
Chu Yunfei was good at seizing opportunities. When he saw that the frontline troops blocked the Japanese attack, he was not satisfied. He secretly mobilized a guard regiment and an artillery battalion to penetrate behind Sun Ming's third regiment, and used night to complete the offensive deployment. At five o'clock in the morning the next day, they suddenly launched a counterattack against the Japanese army.
The Japanese army never dreamed that the 358th Division, whose foothold was not stable, would be able to launch a counterattack. As a result, it was caught off guard and retreated hastily. As a result, the Japanese 56th Regiment's wing headquarters, direct-affiliated team, and two infantry squadrons were surrounded and annihilated by Sun Ming's third regiment and guard regiment, and the Japanese commander was also captured.
Chu Yunfei was very satisfied with the performance of his troops. After he verified the results of the battle, he sent a telegram reporting the victory to the command headquarters of the Ninth Corps.
Ninth War Zone Sling Headquarters War Room.
Qi Guangyang and the chief of staff have been waiting for news from the front all morning. Other generals also believed that Chu Yunfei's 358th Division could not withstand the Japanese attack, so they had been waiting for a telegram from Chu Yunfei so that they could pass the buck and watch Chu Yunfei's jokes.
Unexpectedly, there was no news from the front line until it was almost time for lunch. The chief of staff asked in confusion: "What's going on? Why hasn't there been any news from over there?"
The director of the operations department said: "I don't know. We sent a telegram to ask about the situation, but there was no reply."
(End of chapter)
