Chapter 388 The Yangtze River Cutoff
Gao Zefu's unit of the 40th Division of the Shenwu Army did not have the opportunity to become the vanguard of crossing the river. However, this seemingly great achievement in the Shenwu Army actually fell on the 40th Division. The reason is very simple. Gao Zefu's unit was in the Shenwu Army. When the various military departments were stationed, they changed from the tail to the head.
While the commanders of other divisions were jealous, the atmosphere in Gao Zefu's command tent was also a bit solemn at this moment.
"Our division is basically all from Liaodong. After the winter, there are many foot problems in South Zhili. Our division's equipment is not as good as other divisions."
As he spoke, Deputy Division Commander Tang Wei looked at Gao Zefu, who had been looking at the map silently: "Old Gao, we are under great pressure in this battle."
Gao Zefu turned his head with a solemn look on his face: "There are 18,000 people in the division. Even if we fight to the last moment, the last man will plant the flag of our division in Jiangbei."
Everyone's faces immediately became serious. They all received military orders from the military headquarters to kill continuously.
And now the words of the division commander Gao Zefu have made his attitude clear.
Tang Wei said: "When we start crossing the river, I will lead the team and set off first. Lao Gao, you are responsible for holding back."
Chief of Staff Huang Hua answered: "The master is responsible for pressing the rear. After you set off, Old Tang, I will be in charge of the middle road."
Gao Zefu stopped the political commissar Tan Dang who wanted to interface: "Old Tan, your political commissar is a civilian, and his responsibilities are different from that of Lao Huang. He is the chief of staff and has the power to command on the spot, unless all three of us die. , the command of the 40th Division fell into your hands, and you have to hold the battle by the river."
Tan Dang expressed his thoughts: "It's okay to press the formation, but I still consider whether it is necessary to change the plan of ferry crossing the river. According to reports from spies on the other side, there are dense artillery positions along the Jiannu River, and the casualties caused by this crossing will not be small." "
Gao Zefu looked at the sign on the sand table: "The connecting ferry is prone to burning Red Cliff. After all, our Northern Army does not have much access to water. In order to disperse the artillery strikes of the slaves, we can only separate the ferries one by one." It's just that there is not much difference between this and Lao Tan's statement, so the casualties must be huge."
Several commanders looked at the sand table in silence. After a while, Tang Wei took a deep breath and said, "That's it. I'll take the 120th Brigade up first. The time set by the headquarters to cross the river is coming..."
Tang Wei turned around and left, and Gao Zefu also took a deep breath: "I will lead the 118th Brigade to cross the river in the second wave. Lao Huang, you lead the 119th Brigade to the rear. Remember, even if there is only one person left, he will die on the way across the river. .”
Naturally, the people on the other side of the river did not know the news about Bao Chengxian. There was only a river bridge crossing directly opposite Gaozi Town, and the guerrilla general Li Shihan was responsible for guarding it. The three miles of east and west sides of the river bridge were full of artillery positions. Facing the direction of Gaozi Town.
Li Shihan only received news about the battle between Dantu and his disciples, but Li Yongfang's order was that his troops should not act rashly.
"Sir..." The confidant Xiao Xiao stumbled into the tent: "River side, river side... The Ming army has crossed the river..."
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"fire..."
"Light the smoke and fire..."
'Dong-dong-dong...dong-dong-dong...dong-dong-dong...dong-dong-dong...dong-dong-dong...'
'Dong-dong-dong...dong-dong-dong...dong-dong-dong...dong-dong-dong...dong-dong-dong...'
'Dong-dong-dong...dong-dong-dong...dong-dong-dong...dong-dong-dong...dong-dong-dong...'
As the smoke rose, the artillery positions around Jiangqiao Ferry suddenly erupted into bursts of fierce fire. The smoke in the sky and the vibration of the earth pushed the shells towards the other side of the river.
More than a dozen ferries were hit by artillery fire, but due to the low equipment of shells, the ferries hit by artillery fire could still rush towards the other side of the river according to their inertia.
However, the punctured bottom of the boat could not allow the ferry to cross the river smoothly. For a while, there were many soldiers who fell into the water on the river.
Tang Wei was in the middle. When he saw this situation, he immediately ordered the officers and soldiers of the entire brigade not to slack off. He even ordered the flat sand boats under his feet to rush towards the opposite bank.
The river is not wide, only two and a half miles. Under normal circumstances, you can cross the river without a cup of tea. However, now blocked by artillery, this short distance of two and a half miles seems to be blocked in front of the officers and soldiers of the 120th Brigade. , not making any progress.
However, the artillery could only hit the middle. After paying more than a thousand casualties, the first ferry finally approached the Jiangqiao ferry. Just as the officers and soldiers on the ship were preparing to rush forward in one fell swoop, the clear soldiers who had been waiting at the ferry were waiting for them. The army raised the flintlock gun in their hands, and under the cover of a bowl-mouth blunderbuss and a squatting tiger cannon, all the fierce firepower was poured on the ferry.
In one moment, the ferry was turned into rotten wood, and all the bodies sank into the Yangtze River.
Tang Wei put down the telescope and shouted: "Come forward, prepare the tiger crouching cannon, put the Shenya Tian rocket on the bow, hurry up..."
Gao Zefu, who was on the ferry on the riverside in the distance, saw the fierce fighting and immediately ordered the 118th Brigade to start crossing the river. He quickly went around from the east to avoid Tang Wei's troops who were fighting fiercely in front.
The battle to cross the river was unprecedentedly fierce.
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"How's it going?"
Wang Xiaojie stood at the gate of the camp.
"Back to the military seat, the 40th Division has begun to cross the river, but the Tatar defenders have deployed numerous artillery pieces around the river bridge ferry. The 40th Division has sunk too many ferries, and the casualties are expected to be no less than 2,000."
Wang Xiaojie looked at Yuan Shizhong: "Old Yuan, what do you think?"
Yuan Shizhong was from Liaodong and was not used to water warfare: "It can only be filled with human lives. The ferries have been given to the 40th Division. If we can't take them, otherwise... even if the 40th Division is completely wiped out, we still have to cross the river."
Wang Xiaojie remained silent, as if this was the only way for the Shenwu Army: "Go and order the field artillery battalion to support the 40th Division and bombard Jiangbei."
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"Deputy Division Commander..."
Tang Wei was spit out a mouthful of blood, and he was hit in the chest by a flintlock lead bullet flying from the ferry. Although the new military uniform was convenient, it did not provide any protection.
"Go away," Tang Wei shouted sternly: "Rush over..."
Tang Wei's flat-bottomed sand boat was large in area. With the support of Tiger Crouching Cannon and rockets, it successfully rushed onto the beach at Jiangqiao Ferry. More than a hundred officers and soldiers jumped off the sand boat holding shields and built defensive positions directly on the beach.
With the success of the first ferry, a steady stream of people rushed to the ferry to support them.
Li Shihan was not far away. Seeing this situation, he immediately ordered the prepared fire oil to be carried out. While the officers and soldiers of the 120th Brigade were not yet stable, he threw the lit fire oil tanks one by one on the beach ruthlessly.
The violent explosion, accompanied by the soaring flames, immediately swallowed up the beach position where Tang Wei's sand boat was located.
Gao Zefu put down his telescope, clenched his right fist and trembled violently: "Set up the signal flare, the entire division will attack, cross the river..."
When Li Shihan received a large number of ferries on the east river and were heading towards the beach east of Jiangqiao, he immediately ordered all reserve teams to go to the east to support him. In addition, he also sent a messenger to Li Shihan in Yangzhou before the war started. Yongfang asks for help.
Han Shun of the 34th Division is closest to the 40th Division, but Han Shun has not received an order from the headquarters to support them until now.
"Gao Zefu, as the dog said, is lucky. It's a great achievement for Ma De to cross the river. Go, send someone to the headquarters and ask the military commander when we will dispatch."
Just as Han Shun finished speaking, the messenger came on horseback, running out of breath: "Commander Han, the command has ordered your troops to support the 40th Division immediately. No mistakes."
"Okay, whatever you want comes to you. The messengers blow the trumpets and the whole army sets off. I have already prepared it."
From the beach in front of Jiangqiao Ferry to two miles to the east, there are battlefields. At this moment, the two sides are fighting in full swing. Gao Zefu saw Tang Wei, whose face had been burned completely. After a while of scolding, he was selected from the direct guard company. Thirty death squads were sent out and asked to rush up the high slope of Jiangqiao Ferry with explosive bags and blow up the gentle slope position built by the Qing army.
After the order was given, each guard company scrambled to take the lead, and finally the entire company selected thirty suicide squad members. After Gao Zefu personally promised to deal with the aftermath for them, the thirty people were divided into ten teams, with three people in each team gradually moving forward.
With several loud noises, the blocking position in front of Gao Zefu collapsed under the charge of the death squads, and then he gave the order to fix the bayonets.
"Brothers, follow me..."
Division commander Gao Zefu personally charged up with a gun, and the soldiers behind him naturally refused to lag behind.
Three hours after the cross-river battle began, Wang Xiaojie, who was in Gaozi Town, finally received a military message from the front line.
"Military seat, the 40th Division successfully crossed the river, and the 34th Division also crossed the river later. Now the Tatars have abandoned their river beach positions and have all retreated to Yangzhou."
Wang Xiaojie stood up for a moment: "Okay, here's the order, the whole army will cross the river in order, and strive to complete the crossing tomorrow. If anyone comes, please send a message to the Governor's Office immediately. I will ask for your credit from His Majesty."
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Although the battle across the river was fought quickly, both sides suffered heavy casualties.
"A guerrilla battalion of 3,200 people from the puppet army Li Shihan relied on the beachhead to stop us. The 120th brigade was basically wiped out, leaving only two unorganized battalions. The 118th brigade lost more than 2,400 people, and the 119th brigade lost more than 2,400 people. There were nearly two thousand casualties, and the 40th Division had been disabled. In addition, Deputy Division Commander Tang Wei died on the beach when crossing the river. Chief of Staff Huang Hua was hit and killed by a meteor thrown by the puppet troops in the subsequent battle. , Division Commander Gao Zefu was injured while fighting the puppet troops during the charge."
After listening to the staff report, Wang Xiaojie asked with a cold face: "Where is Li Shihan?"
"After the river beach position was blown up by the death squads of the 40th Division, the traitor ran away. He had better run away, otherwise the casualties of the 40th Division would increase."
"A division of nearly 20,000 people was crippled in the battle across the Yangtze River, and a deputy division commander and chief of staff were killed. You think it's because our Shenwu Army is not powerful, or because we are slaves to the Tatars. We are no longer the cowards we imagined. ?”
Facing Wang Xiaojie's inquiry, the staff officers standing beside him remained silent.
"Come here, collect the bodies of Tang Wei and Huang Hua and send them back to Nanjing. Also, write down the details of the battle and send it to the Governor's Mansion. His Majesty will definitely know about it;
After the order was sent, the 40th Division was ordered to rest where it was after all the divisions had assembled. The 34th Division was ordered to go to Dantu Qida Ferry for reinforcements. The remaining divisions were ordered to march towards Yangzhou in turn. "
"yes..."
