In the evening of this day, Takashi Sakai's brigade and the team directly under the division headquarters of the 14th Division had completed crossing the river.
A large organized Japanese army appeared on the south bank of the Yellow River and headed straight for Heze.
At this time, it also heralds the Battle of Lanfeng. The main star of the show has already appeared, and they are just waiting for the drama to begin.
Compared to the rush when we arrived, we were more fully prepared when we left, so we left at a much faster speed...
In just over a day, the leading troops of the Zhiyi Regiment arrived at Lanfeng City.
At this time, the main force of the Japanese army was approaching Heze, and the battle with the 23rd Division of the Eighth Army had begun on the external battlefield, and the artillery fire was not generally fierce.
With their powerful firepower, the Japanese invaders are gradually compressing the living space of the national army, and strongholds in external villages have been eliminated one by one.
Oh, I forgot to mention the situation in the past two days.
On May 14, the enemy troops from Western Shandong divided into three groups and violently invaded Heze. Jinxiang and Heze fell one after another.
The Lizhuang Railway Bridge in the west of Xuzhou City was blown up by the outflanking Japanese troops. The Japanese invaders lurked under the bridge with tanks and vehicles, leaving the National Army with no time to repair it. Traffic on the Longhai Railway was paralyzed...
In addition, due to the interruption of Longhai Railway traffic, 72 locomotives and hundreds of wagons near Xuzhou were unable to be transported out.
On this day, the enemy's vanguard troops, equipped with tanks and mechanized troops, attacked south of Dangshan Mountain where the national army was guarding, in an attempt to capture the southeast gate in the direction of Kaifeng!
A section of the Eighth Army of the garrison responded calmly. When the enemy troops approached the trenches, they threw grenades at the enemy tanks and vehicles. At the same time, they jumped out of the trenches and launched a fierce attack on the enemy infantry, destroying the enemy tanks and vehicles. Twelve vehicles killed hundreds of enemy soldiers.
In the direction of Nanyang Lake, a group of about 300 Japanese troops forced their way to the west bank. Some of them fled to Pei County to get a glimpse of Feng County.
In addition, the enemy air force once again attacked Xuzhou, dropping more than 280 incendiary bombs and killing more than 800 Chinese troops.
Compared with the heavy rain in the northern section of Jinpu Road, the southern section of Jinpu Road is not so difficult. It can be said that the clouds are clearing and the sun is shining——
The national army captured Quanjiao and Chaoxian and besieged Hefei.
The news was reported by the Commander-in-Chief of the Fifth War Zone. Once it reached Wuhan, the Military Commission of the National Military Government immediately responded to the call, saying that Chaoxian County was defeated and the Huainan Army was greatly strengthened. A special call was made to the Commander-in-Chief of the Fifth War Zone, Li Zongren, saying that he would find out all the contributions. Troops, one unit delivers orders and rewards.
…
At ten o'clock in the evening on the same day, the location is Kaifeng.
At this point, it should have been time for sleep, but the office building of the First Corps headquarters under the First War Zone was brightly lit.
Xue Yue and others are still working inside.
"Yin Guo, the fighting on the frontline has become increasingly fierce at this time, and will soon reach Lanfeng. What do you think of this?" Xue Yue looked at Song Xilian, the commander of the 71st Army.
Also present with Song Xilian were Gui Yongqing, commander of the 27th Army, and Yu Jishi, commander of the 74th Army.
By the way, there is also a new commander of the 35th Division, Wang Jinzai.
As for the Eighth Army Commander Huang Jie, he was still leading his troops in a fierce battle with the Japanese invaders in Dangshan, hundreds of miles away.
Obviously, this is a meeting of the military commanders of the units directly under the First Corps.
"The Japanese invaders have already attacked the southeast gate of Kaifeng and surrounded the important town of Heze in the northwest of Kaifeng. Although the Eighth Army is still fighting in the foothills, there should be no problem in Dangshan, the important town in the southeast for the time being, but our army's northwest gate of Heze will It's hard to say." Song Xilian said bluntly, directly speaking out her thoughts.
"Oh? Yin Guo, why do you think so? Please tell me directly." Xue Yue asked. Obviously, he still valued Song Xilian, the commander of the army.
After all, no matter what, Song Xilian relied on his own military exploits to rise to the rank of army commander step by step.
It's not like Gui Yongqing and Yu Jishi, one relied on flattery and the other relied on relatives. Yes, Yu Jishi is a relative of Chairman Chiang Kai-shek.
As for Wang Jinzai, it is because he is a veteran of the Northwest Army, and the national army continues to use troops at this time, otherwise he would not be allowed to become a division commander so easily.
Well, don’t think that the division commander of the new division is not a cadre...
"Heze is already a dead place. According to the report of Zhang Tianhai, head of the first regiment directly under the Third War Zone, the troops crossing the Yellow River south this time are Kenji Doihara's 14th Division, which is equipped with a large number of troops. The heavy artillery unit has at least two regiments of heavy artillery, and the enemy of Luxi is determined to win Heze. I am afraid that Heze is in danger." Song Xilian's thinking logic was very clear, and he said everything he could think of at once.
Before Xue Yue and the others could speak, Song Xilian continued: "Unlike Heze, which the Japanese invaders are determined to capture, Dangshan can still fight with our corps as a strong backing. This is one of the reasons; the other is that the Japanese want to capture Dangshan." The reason is simply to cut off the route behind my army in the fifth theater. Now they have captured Huangkou and Lijiazhuang west of Xuzhou. In a certain sense, they have completed their combat objectives. They may not necessarily go all out just to get the victory. Take Dangshan."
After thinking for a while, Xue Yue said: "What Yin Guo said is very reasonable. Everyone, what do you think of the crisis we are facing this time?"
With that said, Xue Yue looked at everyone, his eyes still containing a lot of earnestness.
It seems that they want them to come up with some good ideas to see if they can save the current crisis.
After all, many times, a person's head is limited.
"Sir Xue, I have no suggestions due to my humble position. I will go all out to cooperate with the commander's battle and fight the enemy on the battlefield to enhance the military power of our army!" Gui Yongqing said in a deep voice, and he was very impassioned when he said it.
Regarding Gui Yongqing's words, Xue Yue seemed to appreciate his fighting spirit, but in his heart he had a lot of disdain: they were nice to say, but unfortunately they were all empty words, and when it came to specific measures, he said nothing. .
In fact, the reason why Xue Yue looked down on Gui Yongqing in his heart was not only because he only knew how to flatter horses, but also because the news about Gui Yongqing abandoning his troops and running away in Nanjing reached his ears.
Let me ask you, a commander abandoned countless officers and soldiers who died for him and ran away alone on a small ferry. What kind of hero is this?
Of course, this also involves the famous "Gui family's escape" in history.
Song Xilian and Yu Jishi were different. Song Xilian received an order from the commander-in-chief and was ordered to retreat; while Yu Jishi was ordered to evacuate after receiving an order from Tang Shengzhi, commander of the Seventh War Zone, and stayed for a period of time before being ordered to evacuate.
This is naturally different from Gui Yongqing's nature as a deserter.
"Commander Gui's words are very reasonable, and his fighting spirit is commendable. Liangzhen (Yu Jishi's nickname), what do you think of this battle?" Xue Yue looked at Yu Jishi, but he called the latter's name and treated him The job titles used by Gui Yongqing were quite different.
Gui Yongqing could naturally see this, but he felt a little unhappy in his heart, but he couldn't say it - it seemed that after coming to the First Corps, Commander Xue looked down on him, and he didn't know why. Why?
…
PS: To make up for the second update last night, I originally thought I was going to take a day off today, so I worked overtime until ten o'clock.
But thinking about it, I might as well change it even though the pace is a bit slower.
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