The 5th Division lost its recapture detachment and its strength was damaged. Its strength was 25,000 less than that of Isoya Rensuke's 10th Division. The reason why Onteng Rikichi took the lead in launching the offensive was completely because he was Forced to have no choice, the Japanese detachment suffered heavy losses in Linyi and was almost wiped out. This was not a problem for him. You know, neither the Japanese nor Seijiro Aoki sent him a request for help. Moreover, The capture detachment was too inexperienced. It had more than 6,000 people and occupied the city, but it only lasted four or five hours. This left other troops to reinforce. The senior officials of the base camp did not care about this. Led by Army Minister Gen. Sugiyama, An Tengliji was criticized again and again, and he was criticized for his poor rescue and lack of attack plans. Antenliji became so angry that he simply decided to fight for his life.
He divided one and a half brigade under his command into two parts, and used three brigades to pretend to attack the northwest gate. The remaining troops attacked the north gate wildly, hoping to enter the city in the shortest possible time and regain some of the plundered military supplies in Linyi.
During the Battle of Linyi, Guo Da and Huang Haifu did not act according to Li Zongren's plan and plundered a large amount of supplies from Linyi. At least half of these supplies were hoarded in Taierzhuang by Li Zongren with ulterior motives. This also caused the Taierzhuang War to break out in advance.
In the fifth theater, Li Pinxian's 31st Army is responsible for the defense of the northwest and north gates of Taierzhuang. There are now three armies around Taierzhuang, namely Li Pinxian's 31st Army, Yu Xuezhong's 51st Army, and Zhang Zizhong's 57th Army, but the latter two The army has just experienced a bloody battle, in which the 51st Army suffered serious losses. Yu Xuezhong is requesting to return to Xuzhou to reorganize in order to accumulate strength for another fight. The 57th Army and the 5th Division fought for nearly a week, with relatively light losses in personnel, but ammunition The losses were severe and needed to be replenished, so Zhang Zizhong left the 132nd Division to defend the west gate, and led the other three divisions out of the south gate, across the canal, and stationed on the edge of the canal. While resting and replenishing, Zhang Zizhong was ready to respond to the Taierzhuang battlefield at any time.
On the afternoon of the same day, after the Japanese 10th Division captured Hanzhuang, the division commander Isoya Rensuke immediately sent out the Setani detachment to launch a cross-river attack. The National Army's 122nd Division was ordered to block the attack. The two sides fought fiercely for two hours, and the Setani detachment suffered more than 500 casualties. Later, they gave up the attack and instead drove towards Taierzhuang along the Grand Canal, hoping to find a breakthrough along the way. That night, the Japanese independent third infantry brigade took a train and marched towards Taierzhuang, but was attacked by guerrillas in Nigou because the railway track was blocked. The digging caused the train to derail, and more than 30 people were killed and injured. After that, they had to march towards Taierzhuang on foot. The Japanese army's intention to surround Taierzhuang was discovered by Li Zongren.
At around nine o'clock in the evening, the Isoya Division launched a fierce battle with the 132nd Division at the west gate.
At the same time, in Hanjia Temple, Zhang Zizhong and others were having a heated discussion around the map.
Guo Muyi put forward a bold and controversial plan. He suggested that the tank troops of the 1st Xuexi Division and the Mountain Division be centralized, coupled with two brigades of infantry, and take a train on the Longhai Railway to the direction of Pi County. Then outflanking the 5th Division's retreat, he said: "Li Pinxian's 31st Army has suffered severe losses in personnel after repeated hard battles. It is now called an Army, but actually only has the strength of one and a half divisions. They also defend the North Gate, Northwest How long can we hold on? Once Li Pinxian's troops are defeated, we will definitely fight back. Once the war situation develops to this point, it will be a complete war of attrition. This is what Commander Li is happy to see, but it is what we want to do our best. So I think that while the 31st Division and the 132nd Division can still hold on for two days, we should take the initiative to catch the 5th Division by surprise and gain the initiative on the local battlefield. There are two difficulties in the implementation of this plan. , one is the cabinet Shengyu who may enter the Taierzhuang battlefield at any time, and the other is the Japanese aviation force, so two infantry brigades are needed. One brigade is responsible for monitoring the Third Infantry Brigade of the Cabinet Shengyu and making sniper preparations; one brigade protects the tanks. The troops followed behind and beat up the Japanese army, and correctly completely disrupted the 5th Division. At that time, Li Pinxian took the opportunity to launch a counterattack, and could drive the Japanese army out of the northwest battlefield of Taierzhuang. In order to prevent the Isogani Division from rescuing the 5th Division, the 51st Army It must appear in the direction of Ximen or in the section of the Grand Canal from Taierzhuang to Hanzhuang, so that the Jigu Division dare not divide its troops..."
Guo Muyi's plan was well thought out. The reason why Li Zongren decided to use Taierzhuang as the decisive battleground was because he wanted to use the barrier of the Grand Canal to prevent the Japanese army from deploying its superior forces and could only invest in steps, thus turning Taierzhuang into a meat grinder.
Once it becomes a meat grinder,
As a member of the fifth theater, the 57th Army will have to be filled in sooner or later. Guo Muyi proposed this plan precisely to get rid of this fate and pull out the main force of the two student divisions and turn them into floating troops around the Taierzhuang battlefield.
Mobility power, able to take the initiative to control the fate of the unit,
Guo Muyi's plan took into account both the overall situation and the individual. Although there were many loopholes, he had his own solution and it was still very feasible. Therefore, he obtained two military training divisions, including Guo Da and Huang Haifu.
The generals unanimously agreed,
Although the direction of the Taierzhuang battle is still unclear, Zhang Zizhong can naturally predict it with his rich combat experience. He does not want his troops to invest in this meat grinder prematurely. He bites his pencil and looks at the map and thinks for a while.
, drew a circle in the small place of Nigou, raised his head and said: "This plan of Chief of Staff Guo
The plan is feasible to a certain extent, but there is a premise, that is, An Tengliji's 5th Division and the Cabinet Shengyu's 3rd Infantry Brigade will not join forces. Can you be sure about this? Nigou is about 100 meters away from Taierzhuang.
It’s too close. Even on foot, the Third Infantry Brigade can reach the battlefield in three or four hours. Now it’s just a short distance away from the guerrillas.
Two hours have passed since the message was received. Even launching a surprise attack at this moment cannot prevent the two Japanese armies from joining forces. The 5th Division currently has more than 15,000 men and the 3rd Infantry Brigade has more than 10,000 men. If these two Japanese armies
The combined forces, a total of 25,000 Japanese troops, I am very worried that our raid will turn into a trap, a follow-up type.
The tanks are sharp, but the number of infantry in the two brigades is too small. Once we cannot form a breakthrough and are held back by the Japanese army, when the Japanese aviation forces are dispatched at dawn, we will be encircled and annihilated. With the current situation, we
It is impossible to send more infantry, Chief of Staff Guo, have you considered this?"
In addition to the above factors, there is another very important reason why Zhang Zizhong disagrees with this plan. He is reluctant to easily consume the remaining tanks of the two cadet divisions, because in his plan, these tanks will eventually be retained.
In the 57th Army, as a reward for the three divisions he gave to Ouyang Yun,
From the moment he decided to send the troops of the three divisions to Guangdong, he made up his mind. He didn't want these soldiers and gave them to Ouyang Yun. He had no choice but to call him a member of the former Northwest Army, not Chiang Kai-shek.
As for his direct descendants, outside of North China, he would not be able to support five divisions.
He thought that instead of begging the central government for military pay in a low voice, it would be better to let the brothers go to Guangdong. Anyway, the military training army was rich and wealthy and could afford to support these people. There was another advantage to this, that is, once he was at the end of his rope,
, at least nominally
The troops of three divisions have really come this far. As long as he is willing to go to Guangdong, he will probably be able to get a place in the cadet army. Then he can continue to fight against Japan. Of course, if the situation improves, he will not
Ask Ouyang Yun back, after all, everyone knows how to learn
Bingjun's treatment was good, and he was worried about how many of his former subordinates who had been fed up by Ouyang Yunjiang were willing to come back and live a poor life with him, so he might as well exchange them for these tanks. Anyway, he and he
Between Ouyang Yun, everything is easy to discuss...
Zhang Zizhong objected, and other members of the 57th Army shook their heads. They felt that the plan had too many loopholes. After all, the Japanese army was not a parallel-imported force like Xue Yue's security division, which could be defeated in one strike. Now every day during the day, the Japanese army would dispatch a large number of troops. Fighter planes searched for traces of Jiguang tanks. Fortunately, the Xuebing Army's camouflage skills were superb. Otherwise, the remaining tanks would have become scrap metal by now.
Li Kexia added: "Chief of Staff Guo, don't forget that the Japanese 27th Division is moving towards Taierzhuang. The Japanese army has trucks to transport them, and the road is smooth. If we fail to attack and lose this part of the force, then what happens next? How can we fight a defensive battle? We don't even have extra troops to support Pi County. Once Pi County is lost, the canal section south of Taierzhuang will become a smooth road. Once the Japanese army crosses the river and outflanks our retreat, the troops in Taierzhuang will be the entire army. Your life will be ruined, this plan is not appropriate."
Everyone looked at Guo Muyi,
Guo Muyi suddenly stood up, his eyes widened, he glanced at everyone and then said with a smile: "Military seat, everyone, the biggest flaw in this plan is actually whether the An Teng Li Ji Department and the Cabinet Sheng Yu Department will join forces, everyone. Don't worry, these two Japanese forces will never join forces, because the third infantry brigade's combat target is not Taierzhuang, but Pi County."
Zhang Zizhong looked at him doubtfully and asked, "Do you have any evidence?"
Guo Muyi's eyes became brighter, and he said: "Our scouts from the First Division and the Mountain Division have not returned to the team since they were sent out in Pingyi. They only contacted us through the telegraph machine and secretly attacked the Japanese cabinet Shengyu in Nigou. Cui Yongqiang contacted the local guerrillas to do this. Cui Yongqiang is the deputy battalion commander of the reconnaissance battalion of the 1st Xuexi Division. Since then, he has been behind the 3rd Infantry Brigade. The whereabouts of the Japanese in this unit are under our control. They arrived in Lanzhou. After the city, we went directly to Sihu. The next target must be Pi County. When we were in Pingyi, our opportunities were much better than now. Unfortunately, Commander Li disagreed. This time, we cannot give up this opportunity. , otherwise, all that is waiting for us is to fill in the meat grinder of Taierzhuang step by step, and then until one side takes the initiative to withdraw from the battlefield, but by that time, I think, whether it is our two student divisions or the 57th Army as a whole, it should be It has been dispersed. Everyone, choose to fight the enemy in Taierzhuang. I, Commander Guo, and Commander Huang have no objections. This is indeed a good opportunity to annihilate the effective Japanese army. Cadet soldiers are not afraid of death. We will definitely act as ordered. , But now that we have a better opportunity, why don't we seize it." He looked at Zhang Zizhong with burning eyes: "Military seat, once the 27th Division comes up, our relative strength advantage will be gone. At that time, we can only enter the Taierzhuang battlefield step by step, choose to fight with the enemy, and then wait for other troops to create opportunities on the periphery. However, based on my understanding of the troops participating in this defense battle, I don’t think that any other The troops are more qualified for this task than we are, Commander, I hope you will think twice."
Guo and Huang remained silent, and Yu Zequan, the chief of staff of the First Academy Division, also remained silent. The expressions of everyone in the Xuebing Army were calm from beginning to end, which made Zhang Zizhong realize that this should be the opinion of all of them. He After pondering for a while, he finally made a decision: "Although Chief of Staff Guo's plan is risky, marching and fighting is a job that is carried on with one's head. Well, as long as you two division commanders have no objections, I agree with this plan."
Guo Da, Huang Haifu and others were overjoyed. Guo Da followed up and asked: "Where is the military seat, Commander Li?"
"I'm here to do the work." After saying this, Zhang Zizhong made a joke about Guo Da and said with a smile: "Guo Da, you are getting more and more cunning now. This is your collective idea, why do you only let Guo Da?" The chief of staff is standing alone. Why, do you think that I am arbitrary and arbitrary? Others don't know me well. Don't you kid know who I am? If you do this again next time, I'll spank you carefully."
Everyone laughed,
Zhang Zizhong personally sent a telegram to Li Zongren in Xuzhou, asking him to agree to the 57th Army's raid.
Li Zongren quickly responded, agreeing with their plan, and added: Regardless of whether the raid is successful or not, the raiding force must stay east of the canal. As for whether to go to Pi County to participate in the defense with the first part of the 48th Army, or to continue to harass the Japanese rear , the assault force can make up its own mind,
After sending this telegram, Li Zongren said to Bai Chongxi: "The people in the Xuebing Army are frightened by those guys from the central government. No one believes it now. Guo Da and Huang Haifu want to take the initiative, no matter what they do. Whether this plan can succeed or not will be beneficial to our layout on the front battlefield of Taierzhuang."
Bai Chongxi nodded: "The cadet officers and soldiers regarded Ouyang Yun as their idol, and all the officers who came out were more or less influenced by him. If we want to achieve the desired effect in the Xuzhou defensive battle, we can only prescribe the right medicine and seize the strength of each unit." Characteristics, squeeze out their maximum capabilities, Xueyi Division and Mountain Division are both good at mobile warfare, and letting them go behind the Japanese army may have miraculous effects."
Li Zongren: "The Battle of Taierzhuang has begun, which indicates that the defense battle of Xuzhou has entered a stalemate. It depends on who can hold it back first, us or the Japanese army. This time, I want Tojo Hideki to think of Xuzhou and Taierzhuang in the future. I was shaking all over and couldn't sleep at night."
The raid plan was finalized. After Zhang Zizhong discussed with Guo and Huang, they decided to let Guo Muyi command the operation. As for the infantry, they dispatched the 1st School Brigade and the Overlord Brigade. The departure time was set at 11 o'clock that night.