In the east, the sky is gradually getting brighter. In the west, Sirius is still bright. Ouyang Yun is leaning on his car, holding a cigarette in his mouth. For a long time, his mind is empty, which has never happened before. A kind of sentiment, it has been more than two years since the student army evolved from the student training class. In these two years, more useless battles than tonight have been fought, but Ouyang Yun has never He had never felt like he did today. For the first time, he tasted the taste of failure. Yes, the taste of failure. In terms of numbers and equipment, he already had a huge advantage. It was the factor of intelligence that had Fang also had the advantage, but why did it end up like this in the end? It must have been a mistake in command. After all, I was only suitable to be a soldier. Being a general, especially a general or even a marshal, was a bit reluctant.
Under the twilight sky, the soldiers were cleaning the battlefield. Most of them looked exhausted. Some of them looked a little dull. They must have been shocked by the battle last night.
"Commander." Ge Yunfei came over, holding in his hand a piece of Japanese military intelligence that had just been deciphered. The telegram was sent by Ushijima Sadao to Amaya Naojiro, informing him of the current position of the 18th Division and asking for Amaya's opinion. , should we get off Jurong first or go directly to Zhenjiang via Danyang?
Ouyang Yun took the telegram and looked at it blankly, and was speechless for a moment.
Ge Yunfei saw the weirdness in his expression and said: "Commander, according to the time in this telegram, the 18th Division will arrive in Danyang in one day, and the Kunozaki Detachment will arrive in another five or six hours, right? Report this situation to Commander Li Hanhun."
"You can figure it out, Zheliang, help me call Mr. He and Mr. Lin over."
Commander Lin's full name is Lin Baiyin, he is the commander of the 60th Division. When he and He Zhengsheng came to Ouyang Yun, it was already bright. Lin Baiyin and Ouyang Yun were not familiar with each other, so they did not notice Ouyang Yun's current expression. What? He Zhengsheng is an old acquaintance. When he saw Ouyang Yun's face, he immediately realized something was wrong. When they met, he asked: "Commander, what's the matter? I feel unwell."
Ouyang Yun did not answer his question and said, "Do you have anything to say about the previous battle?"
Lin Baiyin looked at He Zhengjiang and said nothing. He Zhengjiang thought for a while and said: "Commander, this battle is the most difficult battle I have fought since joining the student army. With all due respect, if all the little devils If it's so difficult, I think our army should just cross the river directly. If we lose all our strength here, it will be difficult to complete the task of guarding Pukou."
Ouyang Yun nodded and looked at Lin Baiyin. The latter also thought about it for a while before he said: "Our 60th Division has little contact with the Japanese army, so the casualties are not too great. However, based on my usual observations, Xue San The combat strength of the division should be higher than ours. Commander, I agree with Commander He. Without air superiority, there is not much chance of winning in a field battle with the Japanese army. Instead of fighting the Japanese army here to death, it is better to cross the river and get there early. Open up the defense line and make the fortifications stronger, so that we may be able to hold on for a while."
Lin Baiyin's words were more to the point. The speaker was unintentional and the listener was intentional. He didn't expect that his words would untie the knot in Ouyang Yun's heart. What Xue Bingjun is best at is fighting defensive battles. It's like the infantry training manual he wrote. Here, this point is also emphasized. In a contact war, without solid fortifications as a foundation, the disadvantage of the Xuebing Army will undoubtedly be exposed. Ouyang Yun thought this way, and finally felt better in his heart. Once he suddenly felt better, he spoke His tone was different, and he said: "I have to take the main responsibility for the reason why the fight was like this yesterday. The command was too rigid. There are also problems with our command system. This is related to our usual training methods. The command space of our mid-level and low-level officers is too restricted, I will pay attention to it in the future."
After Ouyang Yun said this, Lin Baiyin was okay, but He Zhengsheng felt a little incredible, because in his impression, Ouyang Yun had never been so low-key, let alone such a profound self-criticism. Feeling a little uncomfortable, he said: "Commander, this is not your responsibility alone. Our opponents are indeed very strong and decisive in killing. You may not know that we have found ten people in the former headquarters of the Tiangu detachment. Three chests of gold.”
"Oh," Ouyang Yun had indeed just learned this. Hearing this, a smile finally appeared on his face, and he said, "That's good. I can finally increase the pension for the brothers who died in the battle. Keep the gold." , remember not to reveal it to Mr. Jiang, just treat it as funds for our activities."
"yes."
"We lost the battle last night, but we agree to give up crossing the river. Don't forget, the Fifth Learning Division is still in Danyang. They should have exchanged fire with the defeated troops of the Tiangu detachment by now. We are so Withdrawing means leaving them behind. Pass on my order. In addition to armored units and artillery units, the 3rd Xuexi Division will be guarding Zhenjiang. The 60th Division will pursue the Tiangu detachment with me."
"Yes." The two division commanders took the order to integrate the team. At this time, Shan Renxiong came over with a few Langya soldiers, walked closer and made a military salute: "Commander, Xiao Yi and the others have news, Tiangu The detachment has already been at war with the Fifth Division. The Fifth Division was waiting for work and attacked the Japs in an ambush. The Japanese army suffered heavy casualties. Now they are breaking out towards Jurong with the support of the aviation force. The leading troops of the Japanese Kunozaki Detachment have already contacted the Tiangu Detachment. The division is in danger of being attacked from two sides."
The Japanese air supremacy has always been a serious concern for the Xuebing Army.
In a hilly area east of Danyang, Li Hanhun led the fifth division to ambush the Tiangu detachment and wipe out a squadron that opened the way. He originally wanted to take advantage of the situation to pursue and annihilate the Tiangu detachment, but due to the attack of Japanese fighter planes, After arriving, they had to abandon this combat plan and instead entered a defensive battle. Under the cover of fighter planes, the Tiangu detachment marched hard towards Jurong. Now, the two sides are engaged in a tug-of-war at a place called Liling.
In Zhenjiang, the Third Squadron of the Langya Special Forces Brigade's Sword Regiment was the only team to launch the pursuit, and their mission was not only to pursue, but also to be responsible for enemy reconnaissance in the surrounding areas.
Originally, Ouyang Yun was not worried that the Fifth Division would be in danger of being attacked from two sides or even being encircled. After all, the Tiangu detachment now only had more than a thousand people and was still exhausted. However, the emergence of the Japanese aviation force changed this situation. With the protection of enough fighter planes, the more than a thousand men of the Tiangu detachment can give the Fifth Division powerful destructive power.
The troops started to move. In order to get to the battlefield as quickly as possible, Ouyang Yun also requisitioned the trucks of the Third Division. Now, the 69th Division is equivalent to a fully mechanized force. The marching speed of the entire army reached an astonishing forty-five kilometers per hour. At this speed, The 60th Division can arrive on the battlefield in an hour and a half. However, this is only an ideal speed and can only be achieved if no accidents occur. However, the Japanese army is not a fool. How could it be possible for the student army to march so comfortably? , only half an hour after the troops set off, Ouyang Yun received a telegram from the Third Division, saying that about thirty Japanese planes were rushing towards the battlefield from Zhenjiang, and please be prepared for air defense.
The Japanese Shanghai Expeditionary Force Headquarters obviously also understood that the pure infantry force of Tiangu Detachment alone could not stop the cadet army, so it attached great importance to the coercion operations of aviation forces. Therefore, after learning about the coordinated night attack operations at one o'clock in the morning After the news of the failure, a batch of sixteen fighter planes was immediately dispatched overnight. After that, after some of the fighter planes participating in the night attack battle returned, another batch of thirty-one fighter planes was immediately dispatched.
Undoubtedly, this arrangement by the Japanese military headquarters saved the Tiangu detachment. First, the sixteen fighter planes successfully found the crippled Tiangu detachment and rescued it from the annihilation battle of the Fifth Division. Then, later, the 31st After a circle in Zhenjiang, the fighter plane caught up with the marching 60th Division. Although it failed to inflict serious damage to the 60th Division, it slowed down its marching speed.
At this time, the main force of the Guozaki detachment had already approached Li Ling, and under the cover of fighter planes, they rescued the Tiangu detachment from the siege of the fifth division. Then, they launched an attack on the position of the fifth division of Li Ling. Apparently they wanted to hold off the Fifth Division until the 18th Division came up, and then inflict heavy damage on the Xuebing Army.
Different from Ouyang Yun's somewhat impatient and meritorious command style, Li Hanhun is a relatively calm one. Although the front-line battle was fierce, he has not yet brought all the troops forward, and he has not even let the artillery troops participate in the battle. Of course, he was right to do so. With the strength of the Fifth Division, it was entirely possible to completely annihilate the Tiangu detachment. However, considering the Japanese planes in the sky, he felt that doing so was not worth the gain. Facing the commander of his subordinate regiment , the brigade commander's call for battle, he responded calmly: "Just stay in your own position. You can fight, but definitely not now." He added: "I want to eat too. Get rid of these devils, but we won’t do any business that makes you lose money.”
Ye Zhao, commander of the fifth division, also expressed support for the army commander's decision. He enlightened his subordinates: "We are infantry. No matter how fierce the firepower is and how good we are at fighting, can we defeat the little devil's plane in the sky? I know brother None of us are afraid of death, but if we just die needlessly, that would be very shameful. Even if we want to die, we have to drag the Japanese on our backs. Well, go back and recharge your batteries. I will give you combat orders later. I don’t want any of you to be listless when the time comes.”
After blasting away the subordinates who asked for battle, Ye Zhao said to Li Hanhun: "Military seat, our troops in Zhenjiang have two divisions, and the Tiangu detachment only has more than 5,000 people. Why did we release so many? The commander's performance this time is incredible." It’s a bit weak.”
Li Hanhun disagreed with him and said: "You can't say that. Didn't you just say that our army lacks air supremacy. Without air supremacy, no matter how many people there are, it will be in vain. Fighting at night is not beneficial to the smaller party." It has an advantage. With a large number of people, it is easy to make mistakes in dispatching. Commander, I think it is good that they can fight like this. The only regret is that the casualties are too high. In my opinion, the commander must have wanted to hide the strength of the artillery. He didn't do it at the beginning. Bring on the artillery."