Late at night, in the Liuquan combat headquarters with lights as bright as day, Chief of Staff Zhang Dingfan pointed at Taierzhuang on the large map and announced to the generals the battle plan formulated by Bai Chongxi in his rich voice:
"Everyone, General He Yaozu's Forty Army successfully occupied Taierzhuang an hour and a half ago. According to Commander Bai's latest order, the Forty Army will leave Taierzhuang early tomorrow morning and attack Han from east to west along both sides of the canal.
Zhuang, in one fell swoop, cut off the retreat of the three armies of the Zhilu Allied Forces we are currently facing, strive to attack from the north and south, and kill nearly 70,000 enemies from the three armies in front of us in one fell swoop!" Zhang Dingfan paused briefly, giving the generals time to digest.
Zhang Dingfan saw the extremely shocked eyes of the generals and nodded with satisfaction: "This is not a whim of Chief Bai. Please see, to the west of us is Weishan Lake with vast expanse of blue waves. It is impossible for the enemy to retreat from here. We
As long as two divisions are sent to block the Jiangzhuang line in the east, the enemy whose retreat is cut off will become a turtle in the jar.
Therefore, the first task of the First Division of the Forty Army and An Yi Division is to do everything possible to hold off the enemy for eight hours starting from dawn tomorrow. As long as they can hold off the enemy for eight hours, the friendly forces can basically
Arrive at the predetermined location and close the encirclement smoothly.
In addition, the two reserve divisions of the Tenth Army immediately prepared for a long-distance attack. They must set off before four o'clock in the morning, pass through Qingshanquan and Duzhuang and rush to the Jiangzhuang line to build blocking positions in advance and wait for their work."
The generals discussed it enthusiastically, and soon discovered that this was the best plan to deal with the current bad situation. As long as the three armies on the opposite side were defeated in one fell swoop, the Feng Faction, Zhilu Allied Forces and Sun Chuanfang's Department would inevitably throw the enemy into a trap. The Northern Expeditionary Army was short of major generals.
In this way, we can maintain the front line in Xuzhou and win valuable time for the subsequent strategic layout. Therefore, as soon as the discussion ended, everyone was full of praise for Bai Chongxi's keen vision and exquisite strategy.
Through the fierce fighting during the day, the officers and soldiers of the Tenth Army gradually came out of the shadow of defeat and re-established their confidence. Under the influence of the high morale of the soldiers of the Anyi Independent Division and their eagerness to fight, Wang Tianpei and other generals were all confident and determined to avenge their previous humiliation.
It is generally believed that with the current strength and morale of the troops, it is completely possible to keep out the strong enemy and hold the position without any problem. If the two instructors as the reserve team can block the enemy's escape route, it will undoubtedly be a great achievement to win the battle.
.
General Wang Tianpei stood up and expressed his determination to obey the order and go all out. Bai Chongxi had been watching silently before. Seeing the anger and high morale of the crowd, he couldn't help but nodded with satisfaction, waved his hand for Wang Tianpei to sit down, and in a few words asked, "Attention."
The problem and timing were clearly explained.
The two instructor commanders who were responsible for the task of blocking the attack could no longer sit still and immediately stood up to say goodbye. Deputy Army Commander Jin Handing also said that he would go to supervise the battle in person and immediately followed. General Wang Tianpei also said goodbye when he saw that it was too late. An Yi
Accompanying Bai Chongxi, he sent the general of the Tenth Army out of the door, and respectfully asked Bai Chongxi to go to the temporary bedroom on the side of the command room to rest.
Bai Chongxi shook his head slightly, and whispered to An Yi to return to the headquarters to continue chatting. After sitting down, he asked kindly: "An Yi, I know that unlike others, you only see the advantages and not the disadvantages. Please tell me.
Look, what is the difficulty of our plan? Is it possible to achieve it with complete certainty?"
An Yi answered truthfully: "I can't say with absolute certainty, but there should be five or six points. If you have these five or six points, you should work hard to win.
The subordinates believe that there are two main difficulties. One is whether General He Yaozu's Forty Army can successfully rush to Hanzhuang and build a solid blocking position without being discovered by the enemies in Yixian County to the north; the other is whether the enemy will have any plans. If we realize that we will retreat in advance, or if we feel that we cannot capture our position, and temporarily return to Hanzhuang, the Forty Army will be in danger."
"Very good. The second question is what I am most worried about. After a fierce battle today, the enemy's losses were no less than 7,000. The number of men and horses lost in your independent division alone was more than 3,000, which is equivalent to We have lost one division of troops, and the enemy's command post in front of the Sixth Army was suddenly attacked by your troops. It is very likely that we will retreat in the face of difficulties and return to Hanzhuang, which is well supplied, to take the long term.
If the enemy retreats before two o'clock tomorrow afternoon, our encirclement and annihilation plan will be meaningless. Therefore, I need you to do everything you can to pin the enemy here firmly."
Having said that, Bai Chongxi looked at An Yi with expectant eyes.
An Yi pondered for a long time and still couldn't figure it out. Bai Chongxi said with a smile: "Don't worry, it's still early. I still have time to think about it after I go back. I just need to come up with a solution before dawn tomorrow... That's right. , People were talking too much just now, I haven’t commended your second regiment leader Chen Zhibiao yet, it’s late at night and there is no need for him to come again, you answer his phone and let me have a call with him to commend him.”
"As you command!"
An Yi stood up and walked to the phone. He quickly answered the call of the second group, took the microphone and asked Bai Chongxi to talk.
Bai Chongxi took the microphone and praised Chen Zhibiao enthusiastically. He was full of praise for Chen Zhibiao's extraordinary courage and swift and efficient raid. Finally, he said that he would mark Chen Zhi's great achievements, which almost moved Chen Zhibiao on the other end of the phone. Speechless.
Bai Chongxi put down the phone with satisfaction and looked at An Yi: "This Chen Zhibiao is quite good. He is a rare general. You are really good at educating him!"
An Yi quickly explained: "It is Chen Zhibiao's honor to receive the commendation from the Commander-in-Chief, and it is also the honor of my independent division. In fact, today's successful sneak attack was partly due to luck. The enemy fought with the Tenth Army for three days and three nights, and then fought with The two of us fought all afternoon. We were very tired from running long distances and fighting continuously. In addition, we were in a passive defensive position, and the enemy relaxed their vigilance, which allowed us to succeed in one attack.
But despite this, Commander Chen Zhibiao is still an excellent commander, his style is tough and fast, and he has high prestige in the minds of the officers and soldiers of our division."
"Not bad, but no matter how powerful he is, without you, a division commander who is full of strategies and comprehensive, he will not be able to excel. Not to mention such good soldiers and military backbones at all levels, your unique command style and advanced training methods, but The whole army is famous, don't be too humble." Bai Chongxi said with a smile.
An Yi smiled coquettishly, and suddenly thought of a cunning way to hold back the enemy. Before Bai Chongxi could sit down, he immediately whispered in Bai Chongxi's ear:
"...The captured brigade commander is the younger brother of the enemy commander Cheng Guorui. Although Cheng Guorui has a distinguished military reputation throughout his life, he is a very domineering and violent person. If the commander-in-chief agrees, my subordinates will do it."
Bai Chongxi stared into An Yi's eyes in astonishment. After a while, he suddenly nodded: "Those who achieve great things don't stick to trivial matters. I agree."
An Yi immediately walked to the phone and answered Chen Zhibiao: "Zhibiao, at six o'clock tomorrow morning, take the dozen enemy generals who have returned as prisoners to the front line and let them go back."
"Ah, what happened? After working so hard all night, you really let go like this?" Chen Zhibiao exclaimed, appearing extremely reluctant.
An Yi lowered his voice: "Let it go! Let me let it go! But you need to find a few brothers with bad mouths to strip off all their clothes and pants, and ridicule them. It's best not to even give them shoes."
Chen Zhibiao was stunned for a while, then asked inexplicably: "Strip all naked? Naked?"
"Let's do this. In order to show our humanitarian spirit, give each of them a belt, and that's it, execute the order!" An Yi gave the instruction seriously.
"Yes! Implement it resolutely!"
An Yi returned to Bai Chongxi to say goodbye, then walked out of the headquarters and went to inspect the main frontline positions.
When Zhang Dingfan saw An Yi's disappearing back, he came and sat down next to Bai Chongxi who was full of emotion. A few rays of light shot out of his eyes: "How could this guy come up with such a sinister trick? I wouldn't be able to bear this kind of humiliation."
Bai Chongxi was also deeply touched. He stood up and sighed: "This is the terrible thing about An Yi. He understood it as soon as I made a request, and he also did it very cleverly and ruthlessly. Such a genius is full of wit and no scruples, and he will achieve decisive results in the future."
Not under you and me! Youdao is like a golden lin, but it’s like an object in a pond. It seems that it’s hard for us to achieve what we want..."
Zhang Dingfan looked at the back of Bai Chongxi walking towards the lounge, and his heart trembled for no reason.
The next morning, the long-lost bright sun rose early in the east, illuminating the humid land with steam and heat. The hot summer after the rainy season had arrived.
The divisions and regiments of the Revolutionary Army, which had been notified in advance, hurriedly finished their breakfast and immediately entered the forward positions. More than 40,000 officers and soldiers were waiting attentively. Looking at the densely packed enemy positions in the distance, the soldiers could not help but feel nervous, and the invisible murderous aura spreading in the air.
It seems to be heavier and more distressing than yesterday.
At eight o'clock in the morning, the enraged enemy finally went crazy. More than forty artillery pieces from two artillery regiments hidden behind the enemy's formation simultaneously poured dense artillery shells onto the independent division position in the middle. The 10th officers and soldiers on both wings evaded ten
After a few minutes, there was still no artillery shell flying. The commanders bravely stretched out their heads to observe. They saw that the positions of each regiment of the friendly independent division in the middle were filled with smoke and wood and rocks. They couldn't help but feel sorry for the righteous brothers of the independent division.
Become worried.
After twenty minutes of high-intensity shelling, the furious enemy troops divided into three groups and rushed towards the Revolutionary Army positions. The soldiers in each position of the Revolutionary Army could no longer care about the brothers of the Independent Division in the middle. They all picked up their weapons and swarmed towards them.
The enemy started shooting, the gunshots were loud and the artillery boomed, the roar from the seven-kilometer-long position shook the sky, and the earth shook.
At 8:30 in the morning, Malan Bridge is nine kilometers west of Taierzhuang.
General He Yaozu, with a face as sharp as a knife and a resolute look, a mustache as thick as his eyebrows, stood at the head of the Malan Bridge. Deputy Army Commander Gu Zhenglun, division commanders Mao Bingwen, Yang Yongqing and other generals surrounded him. Everyone looked at the officers and soldiers rushing on both sides of the canal.
Stay still for a long time.
Suddenly, a roar came from the sky from far to near. General He Yaozu remembered something and immediately shouted loudly: "Enemy planes are bombing! Get down!"
The roar was carried to each company and battalion, and the originally fast and orderly teams on both sides of the canal instantly became chaotic. The vast majority of officers and soldiers without any air defense experience did not know what to do at all. Some fled frantically, and some stood stupidly.
The people in the middle of the road stared blankly at the sky, and the officials were so anxious that they shouted and hated them endlessly.
Fortunately, there were only two enemy planes and they were all reconnaissance planes. After circling a few times over the three-kilometer long formation, one plane pounced to the southwest, and the other plane made a 180-degree circle in the air.
in a big circle and flew back to the northwest.
Gu Zhenglun remembered something, quickly got up from the ground, and exclaimed loudly: "Oh no! The enemy has discovered our intention. If the enemy plane returns to notify the three armies fighting in the southwest, we will not be able to retreat before the enemy.
Rush to Hanzhuang."
General He Yaozu panicked when he heard this, and loudly ordered decisively: "Send the order to the entire army to advance at full speed!"
The generals under his command hurriedly started running, and it took more than twenty minutes to reorganize the chaotic team and stride towards Hanzhuang.
At 10:46 in the morning, the officers and soldiers of the Forty Army, three kilometers east of Xiaoxinzhuang, halfway to their target, really faced a arduous test. Four enemy planes came quickly, and three of them dropped heavy bombs.
In one fell swoop, the advancing army on the ground was blown into two pieces, and the other one circled to the northwest and turned around again.
Head, swooped down and fired at the gray revolutionary army on the ground, causing the soldiers to scream and tremble with fear. These revolutionary army soldiers who were brave and tenacious in land battles seemed to be at a loss when faced with an air attack they had never encountered before.
, the entire team was disrupted again and unable to move forward at all.
At 11:40, General He Yaozu finally gathered the soldiers of the three divisions under his command and rushed to Xiaoxinzhuang ahead with all his strength. The scouts suddenly came to report that about three enemy divisions were coming rapidly from the direction of Gushao Town in the north.
At this point, General He Yaozu knew that nothing could be done. On the one hand, he ordered to seize favorable terrain and build a position. On the other hand, he ordered a radio station to be set up and reported to Commander-in-Chief Bai Chongxi.
Liuquan Town South Station, Temporary Headquarters of the Northern Expeditionary Army.
Bai Chongxi listened quietly to the battle reports coming from the front line. Looking at An Yi who was calmly and calmly telling his subordinates on the opposite side, he secretly sighed. During the enemy's three-hour crazy attack, the independent division suffered twenty minutes of enemy artillery fire.
, and then suffered three times as much as himself
The enemy attacked frantically and still has no defeat. An Yi, the soul of the independent division, was extremely anxious about the enemy's large-scale and long-term shelling at the beginning, but after the shelling ended and received reports from the regiments ahead, he immediately grew
After taking a breath, the whole person immediately became relaxed.
An hour later, An Yi finally issued an order for artillery reinforcements based on the suggestions of the three division-level commanders ahead.
After fifteen minutes of bombardment, An Yi, in front of more than ten generals including Bai Chongxi, Zhang Dingfan, Wang Tianpei, and Gao Guanwu, almost roared and issued a fatal order to the artillery battalion commander in front to "abandon the artillery and retreat".
The room was silent
, the cry and plea of the artillery battalion commander in the front clearly reached the ears of the generals. However, An Yi remained unmoved and coldly threatened "military prosecution", forcing the 1,200 artillery officers and soldiers on the artillery position to empty their seats.
Begin to quickly withdraw the division headquarters logistics office.
An Yi put down the phone, his face was full of sadness, and the generals were extremely moved. Gao Guanwu, the chief of staff of the Tenth Army, couldn't help but move forward to persuade An Yi. Before he finished speaking, the forward command post of the independent division called to report: The artillery position suffered damage
Covered by fierce enemy artillery fire, more than thirty brothers who were reluctant to leave were not even a shadow...
After listening to the loud announcement from Chief of Staff Zhan Huanqi, all the generals in the hall stared blankly at An Yi who sat down slowly with his head in his arms. Bai Chongxi and Zhang Dingfan had mixed feelings in their hearts, and finally knew that An Yi had broken through to another level as a general.
Heart barrier: Be willing to give up, dare to give up!
Wang Tianpei was so moved that he came behind An Yi and patted his shoulder gently. An Yi suddenly woke up, raised his head and forced a smile to Wang Tianpei, and whispered in Wang Tianpei's questioning eyes:
"Don't worry, I'll be fine. Once the artillery is gone, it's gone. I believe I will have it again soon. Whether it's seized from the enemy or paid for, the number will eventually increase. I didn't have everything before.
No? It would be really sad if the artillery brothers under my command were gone. I’m afraid my independent division wouldn’t be able to stand up for several months. It’s okay... I’m really okay.”
Bai Chongxi heard what he heard and remembered it in his heart. He looked at An Yi and consoled him harmoniously: "An Yi, don't worry. After this battle is over, I will bring you twelve cannons. Your artillery will never be left idle.
."
"Thank you, sir..." An Yi smiled gratefully.
"Report, urgent call from the Forty Army!"
Pan Yizhi walked in quickly with a telegram: "Brother Guiyan (He Yaozu)'s Forty Army was bombed by enemy planes in turn. Then the enemy dispatched three divisions and one reinforcement regiment after another to quickly attack from Gushao Town in the north.
Block the Forty Army's westward advance, the two armies are now at war!"
Bai Chongxi sighed sadly: "It's just as expected! Ever since I saw the first plane flying over us, I expected this outcome. What a failure!"
An Yi thought for a while and quickly took out his pen and scribbled a line of words on the paper. When no one was paying attention, he quietly motioned for Zhan Huanqi to come over, handed it to his hand and whispered a few words.
Zhan Huanqi walked to the radio station on the other side as if nothing had happened. Seeing that no one was paying attention to her, she immediately turned around and walked behind Bai Chongxi, who was sighing up to the sky, and quietly handed over the note.
Bai Chongxi glanced at Zhan Huanqi with some confusion, but Zhan Huanqi turned around and left like no one else.
Bai Chongxi shook his head, spread out the note, and suddenly stood up and shouted an order: "Brother Guiyan urgently: Brother, there are two divisions of the Tenth Army lurking thirteen kilometers southwest. Please contact them quickly and order the two divisions to move north quickly with the message from Xi.
Launch a pincer attack on the blocking enemy and strive to defeat the opponent in one fell swoop!"
"yes!"
Zhang Dingfan quickly walked to the radio station.
Under the admiring gazes of all the generals, Bai Chongxi quietly looked at An Yi who was immersed in looking at the map. Seeing that An Yi was engrossed and unresponsive, he smiled slightly, neatly folded the note in his hand and put it into his pocket, stood up and scanned it.
The generals gathered around and said loudly:
"Everyone, if my judgment is correct, the three enemy armies we are facing are about to escape. Please return to your respective units as soon as possible and be prepared to pursue and annihilate them with all your strength!"
"yes!"
All the generals stood up suddenly, answered in unison, saluted and left quickly.
Bai Chongxi looked at An Yi's tall back, his face slowly changed, and his eyes were full of complex colors...