For two or three days, Zhang Tianhai and others were busy rushing to Changle Town to set up defenses.
After all, for the current Ninth War Zone security force, guarding Changle Town is their duty. If Changle Town is lost, even if one of the 33rd Division is killed, it will not be enough to make up for the loss of Changle Town. the losses caused.
So, in this case, the military chief will inevitably face the tragic ending of being shot.
…
While Zhang Tianhai and others were busy on their way, the situation on the Xinqianghe battlefield was still very grim.
Although the Japanese army stormed the New Qianghe defense line for nearly three days and was unable to make any progress, they did not make any progress. For example, what followed was a large number of casualties among the national troops, and the defense line became increasingly precarious.
On September 22, 1939, Shi Enhua, commander of the third battalion of the 1131st Regiment of the 195th Division under Tan Yizhi, who was responsible for guarding Bijia Mountain under the fierce Japanese attack, killed Cheng Ren and fought fiercely with the Japanese invaders for three days. After repelling multiple Japanese attacks for three nights, the entire battalion finally died for the country, which was extremely tragic.
While Beacon Hill was falling, the Japanese army was not idle. Okamura Neji personally ordered the transfer of the Uemura brigade of the 3rd Division late at night on September 22, and then strengthened it to form the Uemura detachment and immediately set off to the camp. .
If you look carefully at Yingtian, you will see that it is located about 20 kilometers south of the Miluo River. In other words, after landing here, you can cut off the retreat of the Xinqiang River defenders and the Miluo River defenders!
The Xinqiang River garrison plus the Miluo River garrison amounted to a total of 80,000 troops. The composition of these armies was basically Guan Linzheng's 15th Group Army.
If the Fifteenth Army, a total of 80,000 Central Army troops, were completely annihilated by the Japanese in the Xinqiang River and Miluo River areas, then all the defense lines in northern Hunan would have collapsed, all the gates to Changsha would have been opened, and the entire Hunan Province would have been plunged into direct attack by the Japanese. Under your finger!
In the early morning of September 23, the Shangcun detachment of the Japanese Third Division landed on the west bank of Yingtian. The weakly defended National Army troops were caught off guard, Yingtian fell, and the entire Xiangbei battlefield was shaken.
Under such circumstances, Xue Yue, the director of the Ninth War Zone of the National Army, ordered the government to mobilize the people, dig out farmland, divert water into lakes, and destroy traffic roads to delay the advance of the Japanese army. At the same time, six divisions of troops were mobilized to enter the south bank of the Laodao River. Stay tuned.
At three o'clock in the morning on September 23, Zhang Tianhai and others finally arrived at Changle Town.
Zhang Tianhai did not dare to relax about the fact that all the troops at the front had been reunited. After all, Changle Town was no better than Huangsha Town. There were 70,000 to 80,000 Japanese troops to the north of Changle Town.
Dragging his tired body, Zhang Tianhai found Zhou Fangjie, briefly explained the situation to the latter, and then found a place to fall asleep.
Looking at Zhang Tianhai who was extremely tired, Zhou Fangjie also felt helpless, but there was no other way - as of now, he had no choice but to bite the bullet.
In fact, Zhou Fangjie had received news of the fall of Yingtian ten minutes ago. He had ordered the troops of the First Guard Regiment to prepare for battle. However, the Second Guard Regiment and the Third Guard Regiment arrived at Changle in such an exhausted state. It made him feel a little unexpected.
"Adjutant, what should I do?" Li Yinglun asked.
Zhou Fangjie gritted his teeth and said: "Chief of the General Staff, all we can do now is to follow the commander-in-chief's orders. We will wait for the commander-in-chief to wake up."
Li Yinglun nodded, what he was waiting for was Zhou Fangjie's words.
"Okay, let's do it!" Li Yinglun frowned deeply. As the chief of staff, it was impossible for him not to know the impact of the fall of Yingtian on the national army, so he showed deep concern.
"Don't worry! Brother Yinglun, the camp has been lost, but nothing can be done. For example, now, at least our theater security forces still have the strength to fight, right?" Zhou Fangjie said seriously, his face full of calm.
"Okay, I understand." Li Yinglun nodded.
About six hours later, Zhang Tianhai finally woke up. After waking up, he asked the officers and soldiers around him and asked to see the deputy commander Zhou Fangjie as soon as possible.
As the second-ranking figure in the Ninth War Zone security force, Zhang Tianhai's words were obviously very useful. It didn't take long before he met Zhou Fangjie.
"How is the situation ahead now?" This was Zhang Tianhai's first sentence after seeing Zhou Fangjie.
"The situation is not good now. The camp has been lost. According to the battle reports returned, the Japanese army is very likely to dispatch more than one brigade. In other words, perhaps the Japanese army dispatched a division." Zhou Fangjie replied calmly. road.
After hearing this answer, Zhang Tianhai also frowned tightly. It was obvious that this news was very bad.
"Is there any order from the superior department?" Zhang Tianhai asked.
"No combat order has been issued yet. It seems that the commander-in-chief wants our troops to guard Changle Town to prevent the Japanese 33rd Division Headquarters from joining forces with the Japanese army in Yingtian." Zhou Fangjie expressed his guess.
Zhang Tianhai nodded and said, "If that's the case, let's just wait! It just so happens that our troops also need a good rest."
"Okay." Zhou Fangjie nodded. He had to admit that this was the only thing they could do at this time.
…
When Yingtian fell, the people who were most anxious were not Zhang Tianhai, but Commander Xue Yue, the supreme commander of the ninth theater, and Lieutenant General Wu Yizhi, his chief of staff and commander-in-chief of the security forces.
"Sir, if the situation in the camp is urgent, I suggest dispatching the theater security forces to block it. As far as I know, the combat effectiveness of the theater guard forces is still very strong, and they can at least block the Shangcun detachment from marching for a few days." Wu Yizhi looked at Manchu Xue Yue with a tangled face.
After hearing this, Xue Yue said: "The combat effectiveness of the security forces in the theater is indeed very strong, but I remember they just fought a tough battle with the Japanese 33rd Division heading south from Tongcheng a few days ago, right? They will have another big battle. , can they withstand it? Also, if they are mobilized, will our previous arrangements be in danger? "
Faced with Xue Yue's doubts, Wu Yizhi analyzed: "As far as I know, Zhang Tianhai still has a way of fighting. Even if there are heavy casualties, the guard troops are still capable of fighting. As for whether it will lead to changes in the layout, I Personally, I believe that the purpose of deploying the security forces here is to prevent the 33rd Division from joining forces with the main Japanese army coming down from Shobei. As long as we repel the Japanese Army's Uemura detachment, won't we also be able to prevent the Japanese Army from joining forces?"
…
PS: Updates are coming! There’s another update tonight!
(End of chapter)
