After the 108th Division captured Macheng, it once assumed a posture of marching westward. To this end, Li Zongren mobilized his troops and spent a lot of time on pre-war preparations. However, just when the Hankou garrison assumed a decisive battle posture , the 108th Division suddenly disappeared from Macheng. Due to various reasons, Li Zongren's means of obtaining intelligence were limited. Unless Chongqing was willing, he could not obtain first-hand information immediately like Chen Cheng, so there were enough For twelve hours, he actually didn't know where the 108th Division had gone. It wasn't until he received a secret message from Ouyang Yun that he knew that the 108th Division had actually arrived in Yingshan County.
Among the towns in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the one that had the greatest impact on the Battle of Hankou was undoubtedly Madang. As long as Madang was not lost, the Japanese fleet would not be able to participate in the Battle of Hankou. Without the assistance of the navy, the Japanese army would have to take over Hankou. Paying a higher price, Madang is so important, and the Military Commission should pay special attention to it. However, from the current point of view, Chongqing’s attitude is very doubtful.
It took the Japanese army nearly two years to capture most of China. It seemed to have achieved considerable results, but insiders knew that this was just superficial. Yes, most of China had fallen and it seemed that it was on the verge of extinction. Marginal, but if we compare the military strength before and after the Anti-Japanese War, the number of Chinese troops has not decreased but increased, and the achievements of the Japanese army are just superficial.
At the beginning of preparations for the Battle of Hankou, Chongqing obviously really wanted to fight the Japanese army here. Not only did the army mobilized a total of 700,000 troops, but the navy and air force were also dispatched. Even the Soviet Volunteer Aviation Corps was deployed in Hankou. , However, since the Xuexue Bingjun took over the defense of Madang Fortress, the situation in Hankou has become strange. Not to mention the navy, a dozen gunboats are all anchored in the harbor and have not yet participated in the defensive battle of Madang. Meaning: The Air Force, plus the Soviet Volunteer Aviation Corps, has a total of nearly 500 fighter planes. Although some fly into the sky from time to time, they are only for reconnaissance of the enemy or to greet Japanese air attacks. They have no intention of supporting Madang.
Most people would not notice such anomalies, but in the eyes of Li Zongren and others, their meaning could not be more obvious. At this delicate moment, Li Zongren still decided to take the initiative to fight, which requires a certain amount of courage. As for the Sichuan Army and the Yunnan Army, Yang Sen's Sichuan Army had just received a batch of equipment provided by the Xuebing Army. In addition, there were two Sichuan Army divisions in the Xuebing Army system, so emotionally he naturally sided with the Xuebing Army. He felt that it was practical for Chongqing to do this now. It was too much. The tolerance of the highest authorities was really too small, so he fully supported Li Zongren's decision. The Yunnan Army was a little more complicated. However, Lu Han had decided to negotiate with Commander Li because of Long Yun's special note. The commander kept the same front, so even if he had different thoughts in his heart, he didn't show it on his face.
Seeing that neither Yang Sen nor Lu Han expressed any objection, Li Zongren began to describe his specific arrangements: "In this battle, our intended goal is to recapture Macheng, and then march to Guangshui. If we can recapture Guangshui, then Hankou's outer depth will be That's enough. By then we can advance, attack, retreat or defend, and we will have more options to choose from."
"I have no objection to recapturing Macheng, but if we attack Guangshui again, there is a risk of being blocked by the Japanese army." Lu Han said while looking at the map. After finishing speaking, he tapped Huanggang with his right index finger and added: "I We are worried about the Japanese army in Huanggang. After all, the Japanese army still has a division here, and the Japanese army is marching with military cards. If we cannot capture Guangshui quickly and Macheng is occupied by the Japanese army again, then..."
Yang Sen glanced at Li and Bai and said: "If the Central Army does not support the student army, it will not sit back and watch us be surrounded by the Japanese army. As long as any one of the First and Second Fleets points its troops at Huanggang, the Japanese here will not dare to Aren't they afraid of being surrounded by counterattacks? After the 108th Division went to Taihu Lake, the Japanese Second Army only had two and a half divisions in our area. Among them, one division was still in Zhumadian, far away from the main battlefield. It’s a bit far, and I think the Japanese army would not dare to abandon Huanggang if they want to maintain the current situation.”
Li Zongren looked at Lu Han and said seriously: "Commander Lu, I know what you are worried about, but if we do nothing, wouldn't it be too chilling? The country is not anyone's country, the country is ours." A country for all, Commander Lu, I don’t know if you have ever thought about it. In fact, the Xuebing Army does not need to go north this time. After all, their garrison is on the front line against the Japanese army. However, Commander Ouyang still led the army resolutely. With five main divisions coming over, what does this mean? It shows that he still cares about the country. Not to mention far away, just saying that now, he can actually give up Madang, but he didn't. Not only that, he even took the initiative to attack Anqing, Commander Yang, Commander Lu, to be honest, before the Battle of Taierzhuang, I looked down on Xuebingjun and Ouyang Yun, thinking that their rise was entirely due to luck, but now, I have to say , Well done to the Xuebingjun. Ouyang Yun is a man. Don't worry, you two. If there is an accident this time and the losses are too great, I will solve the problem of supplementing the soldiers. Although our Guangxi is poor, we still have people. Yes, as for the equipment, the most indispensable thing for the Xue Bing Army is this. Commander Yang, how about the batch of equipment sent by the Xue Bing Army? Ouyang Yun didn't make up for it, right?"
Yang Sen quickly waved his hand: "No, no, they are all ready-made by the students. When they are used, I owe Ouyang Yun this favor."
The Xue Bing Army marched north, carrying a large amount of supply equipment. Ouyang Yun originally reserved this for the front-line troops to replace and recruit other troops. Now he gave half of it to Yang Sen. That was nearly a brigade of the Xue Bing Army. The standard equipment is ready. The standard equipment for a brigade is still far from what the two parties agreed on, but Yang Sen is already very satisfied, because in this way, plus the ones he purchased himself, at least one division under his command can be equipped with all the trainees. In his opinion, the combat effectiveness of standard weapons is soaring upwards.
The private transactions between the Sichuan Army and Xuebing Army did not hide Lu Han's secrets, so he knew the inside story. After he learned about this incident, he was first surprised by Ouyang Yun's generosity, and secondly, he envied Yang Sen. He did not expect that the beggar army would one day You can actually put on the emperor's new clothes,
One of the reasons why Ouyang Yun fulfilled his agreement with Yang Sen so efficiently was that he had the goods on hand. Another reason was that he was too frightened by the reaction of the Central Army. He was now eager to get help from his allies, although he had expected it before sending troops. It was possible that this time, just like when he sent troops to Nanjing, he would end up becoming cannon fodder of the Central Army. However, when this turned out to be the case, he was still afraid. He left the main force of a brigade in Duchang because of this mentality. ,
Yang Sen wanted to repay Ouyang Yun's favor, so in order to reduce the pressure on the student army, he resolutely responded to Li Zongren's call and decided to take the initiative to attack the Japanese army in Jiangbei. Yang Sen's Sichuan Army had six divisions, although the overall combat effectiveness was not as good as the five divisions of the Central Army. They also belong to the vast majority of forces in their small circle. Lu Han remembered that Chairman Long had repeatedly asked him to maintain his relationship with Guizhou and Xuebingjun, so he said nothing more.
After the main strategy was decided, Li Zongren sent a secret message back to Ouyang Yun, informing him of his decision. After receiving this secret message, Ouyang Yun became more confident in learning from the 12th Division to regain Jiujiang, so he launched a sneak attack that night. Xingzi County’s creativity,
Turning his attention back to Madang Fortress, Ouyang Yun finally received Ye Zhao's telegram at about four o'clock in the morning the next day. The battle situation in Xingzi County finally became clear. At about 11:40 that night, three The First Division of the 16th Brigade captured Xingzi County, and then drove the Japanese troops towards Bailu Town. At around two o'clock in the morning the next day, Gao Yongxiang, who had captured Bailu Town, ambushed the Japanese troops there. After the rendezvous, the 36th Division immediately Relying on superior troops to encircle and annihilate them,
This is the good news in the telegram, and along with this good news there is also bad news, the Japanese army captured Yanlie Mountain,
This bad news did not affect Ouyang Yun's good mood. In his opinion, Zhongdao Qingcun's response was a bit slow. If he had been willing to abandon Jiujiang and attack Hukou with all his strength, he would really be worried about this. , But now, even if he can move all the remaining troops to Hukou, it will not affect the overall situation. He smiled and handed the telegram to Chen Shichang who was awakened, and said: "This 'Long Island Fox' has enlightened himself, but it is a pity. Afterwards, Zhuge Liang called back and told Ye Zhao to leave Hukou alone. As long as Jiujiang can be recovered, even if the 106th Division retreats to Hukou, it will be a turtle in the urn. By then, we will not care about encircling and annihilating them. In addition, leave it to Commander Li. Seal the telegram, saying that the 106th Division is at the end of its rope, the situation in Jiangnan has stabilized, and asks him to use troops with confidence and boldness."
Huang Hua, who was in charge of communications, was busy until three o'clock before going to bed. Chen Shichang did not disturb him and went to personally deliver the two telegrams.
After learning the detailed news about the 36th School Brigade, Ouyang Yun finally let go of his worries. He stretched and said to Liu Kui on the side: "Take a nap and wake me up at eight o'clock."
"yes."
For some unknown reason, Haneda did not mention the devastating shelling that Asai's troops encountered in the telegram he sent back to Jiujiang to report the battle. However, the transmitter carried by Asai was damaged in the bombardment, so although Nakajima learned about it through the scouts, The Japanese army in Hukou suffered an artillery attack, but did not know the extent of its battle damage. He learned that Haneda had captured Yanlie Mountain. He was about to send additional troops to Hukou when he received a telegram from the defenders of Xingzi County. Xingzi County actually showed up. The main force of the Xuebing Army,
The telegram was personally delivered by Chief of Staff Yoshitaka Akiyama. After reading the telegram, Nakajima's expression immediately changed.
Akiyama Yoshitaka saw something was wrong on the side and asked carefully: "Your Excellency."
Nakajima handed him the telegram and said: "Look, the main force of the Xuebing Army has appeared in Xingzi County. It is the 35th Xuebing Brigade of the 12th Xuejun Division. Yilong, what do you think we should do now? "
After Nakajima came to the 106th Division, all major decisions were always made personally. This was the first time that he asked Akiyama Yoshitaka for his opinion. Akiyama Yoshitaka was flattered. He thought about it carefully and said cautiously: "Your Excellency, if we really follow the example of the 35th Brigade, then we should all go to Hukou with the whole army. We have learned from the 35th Brigade and recuperated until now, and we should be waiting for this moment. Your Excellency, instead of spreading our troops and accomplishing nothing, why not The entire army will march to Hukou and attack from the north and south with the 112th Division, and we may be able to capture Penglangji."
Nakajima actually had this idea in his mind, but he just considered that if this happened, all the previous efforts in Jiujiang would be a waste. Moreover, if the attack at Hukou did not go smoothly, the entire army would be in danger of being surrounded, so he delayed He didn't dare to make up his mind, which may be why he needed Qiu Shan's advice. After listening to Qiu Shan's words, he closed his eyes and thought for a while, then waved his hand and said in a deep voice: "Just follow Qiu Shan's advice, no. Success leads to success. I don’t believe it. The Xuebing Army is really invincible. Akiyama-kun, please inform Captain Iijima and ask him to destroy the heavy artillery."
The Japanese army only collected some small fishing boats and sailing boats in Jiujiang. With limited time, they could not easily dismantle the heavy artillery and transport it by ship like they did in the surprise attack on Jiujiang. In this case, they could only endure the pain and destroy it.
Even for the Japanese army, heavy artillery is precious, let alone the heavy artillery of a regiment. Akiyama saw the intolerance in Nakajima's heart, and he advised: "Your Excellency, as long as Penglangji is captured, no matter how big the sacrifice is, it will be It’s worth it, I believe Commander Gangcun will understand our difficulties.”