The distance between Xuzhou Station and Liuquan Station is only more than 20 kilometers. The three-car special train Bai Chongxi took arrived at exactly ten o'clock in the morning. After receiving the notice, An Yi led Hu Jialin and Liu Shoujiang, accompanied by more than ten generals of the Tenth Army.
People have already been waiting on the platform.
Bai Chongxi's face was very ugly. After getting off the car and returning the greeting, he walked towards An Yi's headquarters without saying a word. At this time, the large and sturdy warehouse suddenly became crowded due to the presence of Wang Tianpei's Tenth Army headquarters. Along the wall,
Of the four radio stations spread out in a row, only the two stations of the independent division were busy.
Bai Chongxi looked around, and then slowly sat down at the head of the five-meter-long table prepared in advance. He looked up at the slightly restrained generals in the hall, waved his hand for everyone to sit down, and then began to ask about Hanzhuang's defeat.
reason.
Wang Tianpei was so excited that he hurriedly stood up and explained, emphasizing that this battle was due to the friendly troops on the right wing of Zaozhuang withdrawing too quickly, which caused the enemy to take advantage of the situation. In order to prevent being attacked by enemies at the front and back, the Tenth Army had to retreat as a whole.
Later, they were outnumbered, and under repeated attacks by the enemy's superior force, they had to withdraw from Hanzhuang again and relied on the Grand Canal to confront the powerful enemy.
Bai Chongxi knew that these were all excuses and snorted very dissatisfied. He looked at the void ahead and stopped talking. Wang Tianpei, who was on the left, was at a loss. He could neither stand nor sit. He looked very embarrassed. The other generals of the Tenth Army had expressions on their faces.
Ashamed and afraid to speak, An Yi stood up quickly when he saw this scene and loudly reported to Bai Chongxi the division's current preparations for war.
After listening to An Yi's report, Bai Chongxi looked a little better, motioned An Yi and Wang Tianpei to sit down, and then asked An Yi and Wang Tianpei how they would deal with the upcoming war.
An Yi saw that all the people in the audience were silent. He changed his mind and stood up again: "Report to the commander-in-chief that during the early morning command of the retreat of the troops on the front line of Liguo, General Wang, General Jin and other generals of the 10th Army have made preliminary conclusions.
Plan, the subordinates coincided with the meeting, and also proposed the location of the headquarters and response ideas, and finally reached an agreement. The two armies began to jointly carry out active preparations before the war at 6 o'clock in the morning. The subordinates sincerely requested Gao Gao, Chief of Staff of the Tenth Army.
The general stated the specific plan in detail."
"Can!"
Bai Chongxi knew without thinking that An Yi was excusing Wang Tianpei and others. Although he was quite unhappy and secretly wary of An Yi's tact, he still nodded in agreement very generously.
All the generals secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and then they all stood up consciously. They gathered around Bai Chongxi, Zhang Dingfan and others and came to a large map hung by An Yi Division. Gao Guanwu, Chief of Staff of the Tenth Army, cheered up and asked Bai Chongxi in detail.
Report on the battle plan that was just drawn up a few hours ago.
Wang Tianpei and Jin Handing stood next to An Yi, feeling extremely grateful for An Yi's righteousness. They looked at An Yi and wanted to give him a grateful smile. Who knew that An Yi was staring at the map intently, without any reaction at all, with such a focused expression?
He looked like a humble student, which made Wang Tianpei and others secretly sigh.
Bai Chongxi carefully inquired about several key points, and expressed his approval of the entire defense plan of the Tenth Army's two-wing positions. After thinking for a while, he pointed to the middle line of defense stationed by An Yi's division, and asked An Yi softly: "Are you confident that you can fight with your own division?"
Can our troops withstand the successive attacks of the enemy's three armies? That's more than 60,000 people!"
"Yes! I believe that based on the blocking positions constructed by the officers and soldiers of our regiments in eighteen hours, they are fully capable of resisting the simultaneous attack of three enemy divisions. The reason why we did not consider facing more enemies directly is
Because the roads on both sides of the railway are rugged and there are many ponds and lakes, it is difficult for the enemy to deploy more than three divisions in the attack at the same time. Therefore, no matter how strong the enemy's troops are on the opposite side, only three can be put into combat.
division.
The only thing worth worrying about now is the enemy's artillery. However, according to the intelligence analysis obtained by our reconnaissance force, the enemy's artillery is still stranded in the area south of Hanzhuang and north of the canal. Without a twelve-hour transfer, it will not be possible at all.
It cannot be transported to the front line and completed attack preparations." An Yi answered confidently.
Bai Chongxi nodded happily: "Very good. The whole plan is in order and there are no obvious flaws. I am very satisfied. However, the joint positions between the divisions need to be more alert. As long as they cooperate properly, it will be difficult for the three enemy armies to defeat each other in a short time."
Break through the entire defense line.
Of course, everyone must be mentally prepared. Our opponents may not be limited to these three armies. Zhang Zongchang's two reorganized armies have already arrived in Tengzhou. It is easy to get here within twelve hours through Jinpu Road. This
I hope you will pay enough attention to it. Behind you is Xuzhou, where our Second and Third Route Army headquarters are located. It is the focus of attention of the people across the country. There is no way to retreat. If your defense line is breached by the enemy, you will be in danger.
The negative impact it will cause will be extremely huge...Okay, let’s not say anything else for now. Now, please accompany me to the frontline positions to take a look."
"yes!"
All the generals answered in unison and respectfully accompanied Bai Chongxi to the northern position.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, Bai Chongxi and others, together with the commander-in-chief of the Tenth Army, the independent division commander An Yi, and the deputy division commander Hu Jialin completed their inspection and returned to the headquarters in the south of the town. As urgent reports came from the front, the atmosphere before the war became more and more intense.
The more nervous you are.
Zhang Dingfan, Gao Guanwu, and Hu Jialin stood in front of a large map, constantly marking the situation of the enemy and ourselves with pens, analyzing the enemy's primary attack points, and discussing the coordination of the three blocking lines on the left, center, and right. Bai Chongxi sat with Wang Tianpei, Jin Handing, and An Yi
, seeing pieces of intelligence coming from the front line quickly passed to An Yi's hands, An Yi reported it to everyone, quickly gave instructions, then handed it to Zhan Huanqi behind him, and finally passed it to Hu Jialin.
"It's unbelievable... Are all the combat intelligence of your department so detailed?" Bai Chongxi asked in surprise as he enjoyed reading it.
An Yi nodded: "Yes! Each regiment of our division has its own reconnaissance company. They coordinate with the reconnaissance team of the guard battalion directly under the division headquarters to coordinate with each other. They usually observe around the enemy's marching route and provide intelligence in a timely manner.
The feedback will help the division headquarters determine the enemy's next move."
Bai Chongxi smiled slightly while being frightened, and stopped asking. Instead, he turned to Wang Tianpei on the left and started discussing in a low voice.
After inspecting the forward positions, Bai Chongxi felt much better. During the three-hour inspection, he did not board the positions of the regiments of An Yi's independent division. He knew that An Yi, who was an engineer, did not need to look at the position construction of his unit.
, so he specifically inspected the positions of the divisions of the Tenth Army on both wings. From the results, the situation was pretty good and basically met his requirements. After seeing it, he felt a lot more at ease, especially for the thousands of people who spontaneously prepared for the first.
The soldiers of the Tenth Army and the Independent Division were very satisfied with the meal and water delivery.
At 2:25 p.m., the phone ringing nearby suddenly rang, and all three phones kept ringing. After listening to the communications staff report, Zhan Huanqi, the communications section chief of the independent division, immediately came to Bai Chongxi and others:
"The three frontline command posts simultaneously reported the enemy's offensive trends. The enemy's Third Army is attacking our left wing. Three regiments of the enemy's Sixth Army are slowly approaching our center forward position. The enemy's Fifth Army has also appeared in front of our right wing instructor division.
At the front of the 30th Division's position, the battle is about to begin."
"An attack so soon? It seems that the enemy is not slow in his actions!"
As soon as Bai Chongxi finished speaking, intensive gunshots came from the front, and an offensive and defensive battle began with the enemy and ourselves investing more than 130,000 troops.
Below the main position on the middle road, the leader of the independent regiment, Cheng Chengguang, was suddenly thrown to the ground by his adjutant. A dense row of heavy machine gun bullets were fired from the left side of the bunker into the observation port, hitting the sleepers at the rear of the room and making a loud bang.
The wood chips from the shot splashed on the neck of the communications staff officer in the corner, causing him to scream in pain.
Lu Guang got up, not even bothering to pick up his military cap. He rushed to the observation port again, raised his telescope and looked ahead. He saw more than 3,000 enemies divided into two groups to attack the junction between his independent regiment and the first regiment.
Cheng Chengguang strode to the telephone, ordered the correspondent to call Xia Jian in the left position, took the phone and shouted loudly:
"Lao Xia, you let the mortars behind the position hit the junction between us, and I'll send a few more machine guns over here to shoot the damn thing!"
"No problem, just five minutes!" Xia Jian's voice was still so loud.
At the mortar position 1.5 kilometers behind the left position, the commander of a cannon company received Xia Jian's order. He immediately raised the command flag and loudly announced the strike parameters. In less than two minutes, twelve mortars
Roaring in unison, the screaming shells with flames quickly fell among the frantically attacking enemy group. The fourteen light machine gunners who had already moved to the left of the center seized the opportunity of the thick smoke to block the sight of the enemy's heavy machine gun, and fired from the trench.
He emerged from the middle and set up a machine gun, and fired fiercely at the enemy who had just gotten up after the bombardment. The enemy was knocked down and the follow-up troops retreated quickly. They immediately changed their magazines and continued firing.
The same battle situation occurred on the positions of each division. For a time, dense rain of bullets shuttled back and forth between the positions of both sides. The entire seven-kilometer-long front was filled with gunpowder smoke and flying dust.
Yin Jinan's frontline headquarters is hidden on the edge of the high ground behind the position. The ceiling above is supported by ten rails. The rails are crisscrossed with two layers of sleepers. Above the sleepers are two layers of strong sandbags. The top of the sandbags are green.
The camouflage net looks like a slightly raised weed field from a distance.
Yin Jinan heard the urgent report from the third battalion of the Gu Changfeng Regiment on the right position, and immediately ordered the division's mortar company to provide fire support. After dozens of mortar shells were fired, mud and rocks were flying in front of the third battalion's position, and gunpowder smoke filled the air. The enemy gathered a reinforcement
The regiment made an unexpected and rapid charge, and was finally repulsed when it reached dozens of meters in front of the position. Under the shouts of the battalion commander who was taking the lead, the officers and soldiers of the third battalion, who were under great pressure, even picked up their machine guns and rushed out of the trench, chasing two thousand fleeing troops.
The enemy fired fiercely from behind, and they rushed forward for more than a hundred meters before stopping their advance. They quickly picked up their comrades who had been shot and rushed back to their positions.
On the high ground 150 meters behind the Third Battalion, Gu Changfeng put away his telescope, cursed a few words in annoyance, rushed out of the command post, and quickly came to the Third Battalion's position along the wide communication trench, facing the Third Battalion.
Changshao Wugong cursed loudly:
"What a fool! You just started the first round of engagement and you embarrassed me. What's the use of your fucking heavy machine gun? You actually let the enemy rush right under your nose. If it weren't for the timely support of the division's mortar company, I would have
Let’s see how you explain it to me!”
"Regiment leader, I don't want to either! I didn't expect that the two heavy machine guns installed in the front left jammed. As a result, I was delayed for more than a minute and was suppressed by the enemy's firepower. The enemy was a regiment.
We are only one battalion, and most of our brothers are recruits. If you call me... you saw it just now. If the veterans hadn't launched a counterattack without fear of death, how would the recruit brothers have the courage now? Look, not now
Did you have a good fight? The two machine guns also started firing. There will definitely be no trouble next time."
Shao Wugong is a famous mother-in-law, and he talks about it a lot, which makes Gu Changfeng feel relieved a lot.
Gu Changfeng looked at the two trenches in front of him, spat out saliva filled with sand, slapped Shao Wugong on the head, and turned around to leave.
Shao Wugong rubbed his confused head and groaned in grievance. The Ninth Company Commander beside him couldn't help laughing. Shao Wugong glared at the dark-faced Ninth Company Commander angrily, stood up and wanted to kick him twice.
Foot, unexpectedly, he saw the enemy in front of him rushing up in black again, and he shouted loudly:
"You bitch, he's here again, brothers, beat me up! Beat those sons of bitches hard!"
…
Shortly after the first round of exploratory attacks was repelled, Cheng Guorui, the well-prepared enemy commander, launched two rounds of large-scale charges that affected the entire front, dispatching more than 40,000 troops. However, they were all repulsed by the tenacious revolutionary army soldiers, especially Zhizhi.
The officers and soldiers of the Tenth Army, who were ashamed but brave, had their morale greatly boosted by the encouragement from the commanders at all levels who came to the front line. They all tried their best to move forward bravely and defeated the enemy's attacks from the whole to local attacks one after another.
Both sides invested the most troops, and the most intense battle was the third round of charge and blockade. The enemy's commander Cheng Guorui's misjudgment cost Xu Yuanquan of the Sixth Army an extremely heavy price - facing An, who occupied favorable terrain in the middle.
Yi Independent Division, Xu Yuanquan adopted a tactic of taking the opposite direction, and made a desperate attack on the joint position of the Third Regiment of the Independent Division and the teaching division of the Tenth Army in an attempt to break through one point and thus drive the entire front.
Under increased pressure, the former enemy commanders of the Independent Division, Yin Jinan and Yang Bin, finally used the cleverly disguised artillery set up on Qingquan Mountain. Twenty-four artillery pieces from the artillery battalion charged darkly at the division's third regiment and the two friendly forces on the right teaching the second division.
More than 10,000 enemy troops bombarded the enemy indiscriminately. At the same time, the division's heavy machine gun company and mortar company were mobilized at the junction of the two divisions to deal a decisive blow to the enemy with fierce firepower.
In the tug-of-war that lasted for more than 20 minutes, more than 1,800 enemy soldiers were killed and thousands of enemy soldiers were injured. At the same time, more than ten heavy machine gun firepower points at the front of the enemy's position were completely destroyed, allowing the enemy to hold on for more than ten minutes.
Within an hour, they were unable to launch another attack on the center.
However, the officers and soldiers of the independent division who occupied strong fortifications and were equipped with super firepower also paid the price of more than 260 people killed and more than 440 injured. The third regiment and three battalions suffered nearly half casualties and retreated as a whole.
fighting.
Chen Zhibiao's 2nd Regiment, as a reserve team, had long been impatient. The 1st Battalion of the 2nd Regiment rushed into the 3rd Regiment and 3rd Battalion's position to fill the vacancy without asking for permission. Chen Zhibiao, the head of the 3rd Regiment who was eager to fight, cursed and ran to the division headquarters to ask An Yi for a fight. In this way,
In front of many generals, Chen Zhibiao needed to show off his abilities.
Night gradually fell, and the sound of gunfire on the front line was no longer as fierce as during the day. After a day of fright, the residents of Liuquan Town seemed to have become accustomed to it. Simple stoves were set up on both sides of the long street, and pots were steaming or cooking.
The cooked rice was steaming hot, and the aroma of meat was sizzling from all the earthen pots and iron pots that could be collected. Teams of frontline people organized by the workers' picket team carried burdens and carried the freshly prepared dinner to the front positions.
, thousands of young men spread blankets on the door panels and small wooden ladders, and took the injured revolutionary officers and soldiers one by one to the temporary hospital in the south of the town.
Bai Chongxi walked through the street accompanied by generals such as Wang Tianpei and An Yi. When he saw the admiring eyes of the oncoming soldiers and civilians, he couldn't help but be filled with emotion. Bai Chongxi finally saw the good popularity of An Yi in the rumors. He saw that he was carrying a rifle and a shell gun.
The pickets from time to time came to look for An Yi to discuss matters. Seeing the bright smiles of women and children towards An Yi under the guidance of her husband and brothers, Bai Chongxi vaguely remembered the tricks of the Hunan Communist Party, but now
However, the people supported the revolutionary army, which gave Bai Chongxi an indescribable feeling in his heart.
What shocked Bai Chongxi even more was that the center line that was under the strongest attack and under the greatest pressure was the Anyi Independent Division position. The Independent Division only sent two-thirds of its troops and retreated without regiments and battalions being dispatched.
He launched three large-scale attacks against enemies twice his size, and suffered less than 800 casualties in the four-hour fierce battle. However, the five divisions of the Tenth Army on both wings faced the same enemy, but suffered casualties.
At the cost of more than 2,600 men, what kind of combat power was used to achieve this excellent result? What kind of fortifications and what kind of tactics demonstrated the superiority?
Bai Chongxi seemed to understand but was very confused. He wanted to go to the independent division's forward positions and see for himself what was going on.
"Report! This subordinate is here to request a battle from the master."
Chen Zhibiao, who was sweating profusely, finally found An Yi. He stood in front of An Yi like a javelin, exuding a strong fighting spirit. Bai Chongxi, Wang Tianpei and others secretly cheered.
An Yi was a little surprised. He took a step forward and whispered: "Zhibiao, what are you doing? We'll talk about something later. Didn't you see that I'm inspecting logistics with a few officers? Just stay with me."
The real battle will be tomorrow."
"Master, you can't be partial. If you don't let the second regiment under you attack, the enemy will probably retreat soon. The 2,200 brothers in our regiment entrusted my subordinates to ask for a battle. Now I want the first regiment to fight."
If you go back in despair with nothing, your brothers may be in trouble." Chen Zhibiao stubbornly insisted on his opinion.
An Yi was stunned for a moment, and took a closer look at Chen Zhibiao, whose face was full of anticipation. He wondered why this confidant and his beloved general was so abnormal today.
Looking back, he saw Bai Chongxi, Zhang Dingfan, Pan Yizhi and Wang Tianpei and other generals looking at him with smiles on their faces. The enthusiastic people gradually gathered around and praised the brave Chen Zhibiao. An Yi immediately knew that if he refused in this situation, it would obviously be a mistake.
No way, because this is likely to hurt Chen Zhibiao's self-esteem, which will put a heavy psychological burden on this brave love general.
Chen Zhibiao stared at An Yi eagerly, but An Yi was nervously calculating the combat effectiveness of the second regiment in his heart. After a while, An Yi made a decision in front of everyone:
"Let's see. None of the brothers on the front line will give up their position to your second regiment. You know this. However, you can discuss it with Lao Ding and ask him to cooperate with you! Remember, at this moment,
In this case, the strength of the army lies in the strength rather than the masses, so you must be cautious!"
"I understand! Thank you, Master!"
Chen Zhibiao excitedly saluted An Yi, then saluted Bai Chongxi and others, turned around and strode away.
The onlookers gradually dispersed under the dissuasion of the pickets. Wang Tianpei asked An Yi doubtfully: "Xiao Yi, what did you mean by just talking? Do you want to play riddles? From the accent, your regimental leader is from Hunan, right? Why?
A few words can make him so happy?"
An Yi replied in a low voice: "The man just now was Chen Zhibiao, the commander of the Second Regiment of our division. He was born in a martial arts school in Hunan. He is brave and resourceful. He is very good at leading troops. He is not afraid of death when fighting. I have always been
Take good care of him! Today, his second regiment has the turn to be the reserve team. He probably wanted to go to the front line because he was bored, but the brothers in each regiment were playing well and no one wanted to come down. I had no choice but to let him go on his own.
Talk to someone."
Wang Tianpei sighed with admiration: "Fighting side by side with my brother, I realized that the reputation is worthy of the honor! Everyone in our Tenth Army admires my brother's heart and talent. He is really an amazing young hero! Now see
I have so many generals under my command, such strong fighting spirit, and such a spirit of unity, it is really enviable!"
"Senior, thank you. The junior just arrived at Liuquan one step ahead of time and gained time to take the initiative, so the defense seemed easier. Otherwise, the fierce battle this afternoon would have been unstoppable. There were three armies of more than 60,000 people on the opposite side.
Ah!" An Yi explained humbly.
Bai Chongxi looked on with cold eyes, watching everything silently, knowing in his heart that all An Yi said were polite words. Based on the analysis of the few conversations between An Yi and his regiment leader just now, the little regiment leader Chen Zhibiao went from a sad face to a happy heart.
, it is definitely not as simple as what An Yi said, it must have been a very important meaning conveyed in the brief conversation between the superiors and the subordinates.
What seemed like an understatement to others made Bai Chongxi clearly feel the unique tacit understanding and strong cohesion among the independent division's superiors, and he became more and more fearful.
Three hours later, Bai Chongxi and the generals, who had finished their late dinner and then held an emergency meeting, were interrupted by the sudden sound of intensive fighting on the front line.
The generals who thought the enemy had launched a night attack nervously asked for news from the front line, but the news they received was: the enemy's two regiments of pursuing troops were repulsed by the officers and soldiers of the Independent Division's Xia Jian Regiment and the Teaching Brigade, leaving more than 300 corpses behind.
After retreating, Chen Zhibiao, commander of the Second Regiment of the Independent Division, led his troops to attack the frontline command post of the enemy's Wangdong Army. They successfully completed the raid and were escorting an enemy brigade commander and more than ten generals to the command post.
After the communications staff report was completed, Bai Chongxi and more than 20 generals looked at each other, and finally they all looked at An Yi. An Yi shrugged embarrassedly:
"I didn't expect that this guy Chen Zhibiao would really dare to do this, hehe! Sirs, let's continue the topic just now..."