August 6, 1940, the third day of the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain.
Although the national army suffered successive defeats at Zhongtiao Mountain, it was not impossible to reverse the defeat. It was just that the front line was defeated too quickly and did not give the national army time to react.
On the same day, Chief of Staff He Yingqin arrived in Luoyang in person and held a military meeting. The most ironic thing was that more than half of the generals in the first theater attended the meeting. Even Liu Maoen, commander-in-chief of the 14th Group Army, was recalled from the front line.
At the meeting, He Yingqin announced the latest appointments of Pei Changhui and Zhong Xinsheng. Pei Changhui, who attended the meeting, said nothing. He had already anticipated his own end. Being able to retire for retirement was already the result of his activities.
In addition, the participants included Sun Tongxuan, commander-in-chief of the 3rd Army Group stationed east of Zhongtiao Mountain, Li Jiayu, commander-in-chief of the 36th Group Army stationed west of Luoyang, Sun Weiru, commander-in-chief of the 4th Group Army stationed east of Luoyang, and
Tang Enbo, deputy commander of the First Theater Command and commander-in-chief of the Shandong-Suzhou-Anhui-Henan Border Region.
"Sir, Zeng Wanzhong of the 5th Army is still commanding operations on the front line and cannot return. Fan Hanjie of the 24th Army is gathering troops and cannot arrive!" Li Mo'an echoed.
Seeing Li Mo'an, a Huangpu student with a lot of troops, being so low-key and petty, Tang Enbo's face flashed with a hint of sarcasm: "A commander like a stupid pig, how can such a person be the commander-in-chief of the first theater!"
When the Chief of Guards took office, he was still unable to convince all the generals in the first theater, let alone Li Mo'an, who rose to the position by holding on to He Yingqin's lap. Tang Enbo was also a favorable candidate to compete for the commander-in-chief, but unfortunately he was inferior in skills after all.
Therefore, Tang Enbo mostly wanted to watch a show at this time.
He Yingqin coughed lightly, looked around at the many generals present, and said: "Everyone, I have been ordered by the commissioner to go to the front line to take command. Before leaving, the commissioner once told me that the failure of the Zhongtiao Mountain battle was not the responsibility of one person.
At this time of national crisis, our soldiers should work together to defend against foreign enemies!"
"I will obey the instructions of the commission!" Many of the national army generals present looked happy and shouted in unison.
He Yingqin's move was to relieve the worries of the frontline generals and boost their morale, but at this time his thoughts were changing all the time.
Hanging on the wall of the conference room was a map of the north and south regions on both sides of the Yellow River, with Luoyang as the core. Dong Yingbin, chief of staff of the First War Zone, stepped forward and said: "Sir, colleagues, based on the battle reports coming from the front, the staff office has drawn up a map of the enemy and us.
Situation map!”
"The Japanese army has two armies, each with a strength of about one and a half divisions, with a large number of puppet troops mixed in. One is in the Yuncheng area, and the other is on Hengyuan Avenue!"
"Currently, there are about ten thousand Japanese troops advancing along Hengyuan Avenue. Commander Tang of the 3rd Army is leading his troops to fight back. However, the Japanese troops are too strong and are less than 60 miles away from Yuanqu County. Once Yuanqu County is lost, we will
The army will lose the ferry, and the troops on the east and west fronts will lose contact!"
Everyone present understood that, if nothing unexpected happened, the national army had lost strategic depth and had no room for maneuver by relying solely on a Yuanqu.
Because of the smoke bombs thrown by the Japanese army previously, the Chinese army mobilized its troops on a large scale, leaving the Chinese army lacking sufficient reserves to resist the Japanese army.
Once the Japanese army breaks through the defense line of the 3rd Army, it will be a massacre. Although there is a natural danger of the Yellow River behind Yuanqu, the national army has not built a sufficient number of bridgeheads on the bank, which means that water transportation during wartime cannot be guaranteed.
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Continue to hold on or retreat in time, everyone is thinking about this question, but no one dares to take the lead.
Before leaving, Jiang told someone that if nothing could be done, he should trade space for time, preserve the strength of the frontline armies, and withdraw all armies to the south of the Yellow River. However, He Yingqin preferred to defend Zhongtiao Mountain and preserve the base areas north of the Yellow River.
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"The opportunity has been lost!" He Yingqin sighed in his heart, but his face remained calm: "Where are the 80th Army and the 98th Army in the Tongguan area now, and when will they arrive at Fenglingdu?"
"The war has been going on for two days. These two armies should have climbed to Fenglingdu. Why haven't they arrived yet? Can anyone give me a reasonable explanation?" He Yingqin roared angrily.
Chief of Staff Dong Yingbin also had a bad look on his face. When the battle just started, he proposed two strategies for Li Mo'an to choose from, but Li Mo'an had no choice. Instead, he chose to wait for orders from his superiors.
Li Mo'an's indecisiveness and indecision made Dong Yingbin feel cold. Zhongtiao Mountain might be lost, and hundreds of thousands of soldiers would also die at Li Mo'an's hands.
Zhongtiao Mountain has been at peace for a long time, which has led to the erosion of military discipline of the frontline soldiers and a rapid decline in combat effectiveness. The top generals are also slow to respond. Chief of Staff Dong Yingbin is one of the few sober people.
The best strategy proposed by Dong Yingbin is to fight with all strength. There are three main points. First, the 80th Army and the 90th Army quickly return reinforcements, occupy Fenglingdu and then go north for reinforcements. At the same time, the 15th Army west of Yuncheng should pursue the Japanese troops going south, combining the strength of the three armies.
It might be possible to severely inflict heavy losses on the Japanese troops heading south in the southwest area of Yuncheng.
Secondly, Dong Yingbin believed that Hu Zhongnan's 34th Group Army was in Weinan and had just ended the war. He could divide the troops into two groups, support them from Fenglingdu, and cross the river from Hancheng to the north to occupy Hejin, Jishan and other places to block the Japanese army's retreat route.
Third, Sun Tongxuan's 3rd Group Army, which is stationed in the east of Zhongtiao Mountain, has six divisions including the 20th Army and the 29th Army. They should dispatch three divisions to quickly reinforce the Fifth Group Army and protect the Hengyuan Avenue. The remaining three divisions should abandon the Jincheng area.
For example, Yangcheng and Qinshui in the northwest of Jincheng, including Qinyang, Wenxian and other places south of the Daoqing Railway, only stick to the core areas of Jiyuan and Mengxian.
However, Li Mo'an did not make a decisive decision in time. He did not want to bear the responsibility for the defeat and lost ground, and was afraid that if all his troops were destroyed, he would still be held accountable after the war, so he ordered the 80th Army and the 98th Army to stand by.
In Li Mo'an's view, the strength of the Japanese troops heading south was unknown. If they rashly fought with three armies, even if they won, it would be a disastrous victory. Asking Hu Zhongnan to send troops would not only lose face, but might also be taken advantage of by the 34th Group Army.
For the 3rd Army to voluntarily give up some places and send troops to the west for reinforcements, not only will some territory in the east be lost, but the wall may not be able to be defended in the end. It is better to let the 3rd Army stick to the spot.
Sun Tongxuan's 3rd Group Army has a heavy responsibility. On weekdays, it not only has to garrison the defense area, but also is responsible for the connection between the Changzhi area and Zhongtiao Mountain. Another role is that once the Japanese army sends troops to Zheng County, the 3rd Group Army needs to provide timely response.
Due to various concerns, Li Mo'an did not adopt the strategy proposed by Dong Yingbin, and Li Mo'an directly rejected Dong Yingbin's suggestion.
The next strategy is to abandon the defense area, preserve the effective strength, and ask the 34th Group Army to coordinate in Hejin. The 14th Group Army in the Yuncheng area concentrates its forces to break through the Japanese troops' deployment north of Yuncheng, and then withdraws to Shaanxi Province.
Dong Yingbin believed that although the strength of the Japanese army that went south to capture Fenglingdu was unknown, it must be the main force. The strength of the 14th Army and the 15th Army in the Yuncheng area was enough to break through the remaining Japanese forces northward.
The 3rd Army, which was holding on to Hengyuan Avenue, could leave a partial division to delay the Japanese attack, and the main force could cross the river and withdraw south.
Sun Tongxuan's 3rd Army and Fan Hanjie's 24th Army should hold on to Jincheng and Changzhi areas. The two national armies will wait for the opportunity to join forces and move south to the important town of Jincheng, completely connecting the two territories and continue to hold on north of the Yellow River.
Faced with the two best strategies proposed by Dong Yingbin, Li Mo'an did not adopt them. He ordered the ministries north of the Yellow River to resist resolutely and try his best to maintain the current situation.
At that time, Li Mo'an said to Dong Yingbin: "Xian Zhang, as the commander-in-chief, I am being roasted on the fire. I know that I should make a decision immediately, but who can guarantee that I can defeat the Japanese army in a single battle with all my strength?"
"At the principal's place, I can't advance or retreat. I can only wait for Chief He to personally take command!"
After hearing this, Dong Yingbin sighed deeply, as if he had returned to the time of the September 18th Incident. He had repeatedly advised the young marshal to make an early decision, but in the end he allowed the situation to rot and lost the three eastern provinces.
Returning to the topic, He Yingqin looked at the expressions of many generals present and knew that they were waiting for him to make a decision. Dong Yingbin had a secret conversation with He Yingqin before the meeting and tried his best to make some efforts.
At this moment, a telegram broke the dullness of the conference room. Dong Yingbin took the telegram and looked at it, and his expression suddenly changed: "The 98th Army called, the Japanese army has occupied Fenglingdu!"
"Okay, okay, now you don't have to hesitate whether to fight or retreat!" He Yingqin laughed angrily.
The conversation was divided into two parts. After Hua Guzheng received the telegram that the Japanese troops marching south successfully occupied Fenglingdu, he was immediately overjoyed. He had even thought of occupying Fenglingdu even if he had to pay heavy casualties.
Hua Guzheng couldn't even figure out why the Chinese army had clearly deployed two armies in the Tongguan area, but why it didn't go north?
"Youxi, I didn't expect that the top brass of the Chinese people would react so slowly. The imperial army will definitely win this battle!" Hua Guzheng said with a smile, and immediately ordered the adjutant to report: "The Tamura Regiment is stationed along Fenglingdu, and the Nogami Regiment is marching towards Xia County.
, join forces with the Tsukamoto Regiment and the Nishii Regiment to encircle and annihilate the 14th National Army, and coordinate the war in the direction of Chief of Staff Tanabe!"
Looking at Huagu Zheng's various command decisions from the previous order for the Japanese army to seize the ferry to the encirclement and annihilation of the 14th Army, all of them were bold and rash, and it seemed that the national army was not taken seriously.
Fortunately, He Yingqin replaced Li Mo'an as the top commander on the front line. Seeing that he could not do anything, and because Jiang had said something about preserving his strength before leaving, he decisively adopted the retreat strategy proposed by Dong Yingbin.
In order to ensure a smooth retreat, the 98th Army quickly launched a feint attack on Fenglingdu, stranding the Japanese troops going south at Fenglingdu. The 14th Army and the 15th Army, which received the order, gave up unnecessary baggage and quickly moved closer to the urban area of Yuncheng.
After reuniting with the troops directly under the group army stationed in the city, the three forces merged into one and broke out from the direction of Vang Vieng all the way north.
In fact, there are still a few left-behind troops in each military defense zone in Yuncheng. The commander of the First War Zone called the headquarters and ordered the remaining troops of each army to be distributed with food, wages, weapons and equipment, and to stay behind to fight guerrillas for follow-up.
On the other side, although the 34th Group Army is also under the First War Zone, Hu Zongnan is located in Shaanxi Province, so naturally he will not obey Li Mo'an's orders.
Therefore, after Zhou Weiguo annihilated the Japanese and puppet troops crossing the river, he immediately ordered the main force of the First Army to move north quickly, gathering the 36th Army along the way. The 57th Army was defeated, and the remaining troops marched towards Tongguan to prevent unexpected events.
After receiving the order from the war zone commander, Zhou Weiguo personally led the main force to the Hancheng area.
"Damn, one general is incompetent and the three armies are exhausted. With a commander like Li Mo'an, how can our army win the battle?" Zhou Weiguo couldn't help but cursed loudly after reading the telegram.
Although there was a conflict between Hu Zhongnan and Li Mo'an, Zhou Weiguo, who was commanding at the front line, was a pure soldier. After realizing that the real target of the Japanese army was Zhongtiao Mountain, he immediately called to warn.
Zhou Weiguo had no intention of watching the excitement. He had the same idea as Dong Yingbin and divided the assembled troops into two groups, one to reinforce Fenglingdu and the other to go north to Hancheng to capture Hejin Ferry.
"How is the collection of boats crossing the river going?" Zhou Weiguo asked.
"Military seat, before the Japanese army went south, they blew up all the boats crossing the river. Our department has only collected more than fifty large and small boats so far. 800 people will be able to cross the river at one time!" said the chief of staff.
Zhou Weiguo frowned when he heard this: "No wait, order the First Regiment as the first batch of troops to cross the river, concentrate all artillery fire, and bombard the Japanese positions on the opposite side. The 36th Army and the 57th Army will stick to the Yellow River defense line!"
"yes!"
Yuanqu County, the headquarters of the 5th Group Army, the commander-in-chief of the group army Zeng Wanzhong, the commander of the 3rd army Tang Huaiyuan, the commander of the 12th division Cun Xingqi, the commander of the 34th division directly under the group army Gong Bingfan gathered together, and the commander of the 7th division Li Shilong was on the front line
He led the troops to resist the Japanese army, so he was absent.
"Although the Japanese army is less than thirty miles away from the county seat, our army can still retreat south and hold on for at least two days, enough to withstand the arrival of reinforcements!" Cun Xingqi, commander of the 12th Division, shouted loudly.
"Where are the reinforcements? I originally planned to fight to the death with the Japanese army, but the commander-in-chief has given the order. There is no point in holding on!" Zeng Wanzhong sighed, turned to Commander Tang Huaiyuan and said: "Fochuan
, your 3rd Army is the foundation of the Yunnan Army, we can’t spend it all!”
"Chief Commander, you can withdraw first with your direct team and the 34th Division, and I will lead the troops behind you!" Tang Huaiyuan said.
After everyone said goodbye, only Commander Tang and Commander Cun were left.
"Brother Nianjie, the 7th Division has blocked the approach of the Japanese troops. I'm afraid there are many wounded on the position..."
Before Commander Tang could finish his words, Commander Cun immediately said: "Commander, I understand that the remaining 4,000 soldiers of our 12th Division are all determined to die and are determined to be the rear of the entire army!"
"Okay, okay, okay! Remember, the Chinese army only has busy corps division commanders and no captured corps division commanders. Don't let our 3rd Army start this!"
Commander Cun straightened his back, raised his head and replied: "Military, please rest assured, our troops swear to live and die with the position, and I have decided to die for the country to protect the integrity of the country!"
After saying that, he turned to leave. Commander Tang gritted his teeth and shouted: "Brother Nianjie, there is only one ten thousandth chance to protect yourself. You can break out to the east or north!"
