Anti-Japanese War: From Becoming Chu Yunfei to Rising

Chapter 228: The st Army is coming; Chu Yunfei: Be prepared to sacrifice! (Subscribe)
Lanfeng is located in the east of the city.

The Japanese army's left-wing attack force turned around and launched an assault in the direction of Hongmiao.

The 88th Division led by Long Muhan stationed here has less than a brigade of combat forces left.

The main force of the 20th Army under Shang Zhen and the 88th Division provided mutual assistance.

After the Japanese attack failed, they turned to attack the direction of Lanfeng City.

Without logistical supply lines, Japanese troops could not fight for long.

The main force of the Japanese 14th Division was surrounded, but at least they still had a water supply line.

The supplies for this left-wing attack team can only be relied on airdrops.

Even if the Nationalist troops did not take the initiative to launch an encirclement and annihilation, they could only die a slow death in the encirclement.

But they have strong military strength and powerful firepower.

The assault force led by Kenji Doi had no more than 10,000 soldiers.

By the time of the breakout, this unit still had 8,000 combat troops and a total strength of over 10,000.

It is a very powerful force.

The main force responsible for defending Lanfeng City is the 198B under Wu Ziqiang.

He divided the main force of a regiment into three parts, guarding the east, north and south respectively.

At the same time, an infantry battalion was placed in the city, and two battalions of the newly formed 8th Infantry Regiment were selected as reserves.

The rest of the troops were still in the rear gathering the defeated soldiers who had fled because of the Japanese attack.

This group of soldiers from the 7th and 8th Infantry Regiments, who were mainly equipped with domestic weapons, received firepower reinforcement from Chu Yunfei.

He assigned Song Ming's heavy mortar battalion to Wu Ziqiang for combat.

Wu Ziqiang then assigned it to Chen Ze’s military camp to accompany him in combat.

The former second lieutenant has now been promoted by Wu Ziqiang to become a deputy battalion commander and acting battalion commander.

When he officially becomes a battalion commander, he will become a major officer of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army.

In just four months, he was promoted three levels due to his merits.

He relied on the command skills he learned in military school and his money-spending skills.

Although he comes from a wealthy family, he is a kind person who is willing to spend money and contribute.

The soldiers still highly recognized such a commander.

This battle.

Their Fourth Battalion was mainly responsible for defensive operations in the north direction, according to the scout's report.

The Japanese Eastern Route Army has now been pursued and annihilated by the main force of Shang Zhen's 20th Army and the main force of Sun Tongxuan's 3rd Army.

According to the current situation, they are stepping up their attack on the separated Japanese Eastern Army.

But the battle was quite difficult, and the Japanese air support caused them heavy casualties.

Moreover, the Japanese army's firepower was quite strong and their shooting was accurate, and it often took more than half a battalion of casualties to kill half a squad of Japanese troops.

The loss ratio reached a terrible 7:1.

In fact, at this point in time.

At this time, the 20th Army and the 3rd Army were blaming each other and were unwilling to attack.

It was just that the Japanese army's westward advance made this situation less obvious.

Kenji Doiyama's risky move not only failed to achieve the previously set strategic goals.

Instead, the already bad battlefield situation evolved into an even worse one.

Terauchi Juichi was unable to describe this action in words.

Because in his opinion, the failure of this adventurous assault was not Kenji Doi's fault.

It was because the National Army was too well prepared and not only mobilized elite troops such as the First Army.

They also forcibly used the Flying Tiger Honor Division, an ace unit that had not yet completed its rest.

Just from the urgent telegrams from Kenji Doiman.

Terauchi Hisaichi could already feel the intensity of firepower that the 14th Division was facing.

just.

Gui Yongqing's death made Huang Jie determined to defend Guide to the death.

Even if he had to kill all his troops, he didn't want to follow in Gui Yongqing's footsteps.

The attacking force of the 16th Division was blocked by the 8th Army at the Guide line.

After two days of fierce fighting, the 16th Division, which had launched a very fierce offensive, had reached the city of Guide.

The predecessor of the Eighth Army was the Central Army.

However, during the subsequent reorganization, the main reinforcement was the Guizhou Army.

On February 1938, 2, the Tax Police Corps was reorganized into the 3th Division, with Huang Jie as the division commander.

In March, the Eighth Army went to Shaanxi for training.

5月，第17军团的第102师、以及第46军第140师改归第八军建制。

The 102nd Division, formerly the 25nd Division of the 2th Army of the Guizhou Army, was commanded by Bai Huizhang.

37 years later, it was incorporated into Hu Zongnan's 17th Corps.

After the war, it was transferred to Shaanxi for reorganization. In February 1938, it was reorganized according to the adjustment division (2 regiments system).

The 140th Division, formerly the 25th Army Training Division of the Guizhou Army, was commanded by Wang Wenyan.

In February 1938, it was reorganized according to the division structure (2 regiments), and in April it was transferred eastward to participate in the war near Xuzhou.

The division later came under the command of the Lunan Corps of the Fifth War Zone (Commander Sun Lianzhong) and participated in the battles of Wangmu Mountain and Yuwang Mountain southeast of Taierzhuang.

In other words, these two forces were the first to centralize the ragtag army.

However, there are also some problems with the two divisions under Huang Jie.

First, the training time was short. Although the troops had been replenished, there was still a lot of room for improvement in equipment.

Taking the 40th Division, Huang Jie's direct troops, as an example, the 40th Division currently has 5000 rifles, 500 light machine guns, and 72 heavy machine guns.

The 102nd Division, which retreated without authorization and led to the fall of Dangshan, was equipped with 4200 rifles, 108 light machine guns, 32 heavy machine guns, and 12 mortars.

According to the report submitted by the division on February 2, the 5nd Division currently has 102 rifles, 3325 light machine guns, 78 heavy machine guns, and 26 mortars (the division reported on February 7 that 2/5 of the rifles were to be repaired, 1/5 of the light machine guns were out of service, 1/3 were unusable, and half of the heavy machine guns were beyond repair).

Later it was assigned to the 17th Corps under Hu Zongnan.

The first thing to deal with is the replenishment of troops, and the second is the replenishment of equipment.

Even after completing the corresponding centralization, their equipment has not undergone qualitative changes in a short period of time.

Only part of the repairs and transfers have been completed.

As for the 140th Division, needless to say.

The 140th Division currently has 1890 rifles, 240 light machine guns, 50 heavy machine guns, and 11 mortars.

This is the number of weapons after a wave of replenishment after the breakout from Xuzhou.

After the Xuzhou breakout, the 140th Division reported that it had less than 130 rifles, 32 light machine guns, and heavy machine guns.

Therefore, this time Huang Jie only brought his own 102th Division and the nd Division to participate in the Battle of East Henan.

其中第102师在砀山被日军第16师团（配属一个独立野战重炮兵旅团）和独立混成第3、第13旅团（分别由关东军第2师团和第7师团抽组）分割包围。

After a week of fighting (from taking over the defense of the 5th Army on May 18 to breaking out on the 74rd), the casualties were heavy.

Unfortunately, the commander of the 607th Regiment, Chen Yunyu, died heroically.

The commander of the 102nd Division, Bai Huizhang, issued the order to break out and retreat westward, but he was not punished by the Military Affairs Department or even the Supreme Command.

That is why they have tried their best!

The root cause of this incident actually lies with Huang Jie.

In order to ensure the stability of the Guide line.

The First War Zone ordered the 187th Division to be assigned to the Eighth Army under Huang Jie for combat.

Originally, before Gui Yongqing's death, Huang Jie was still planning to preserve his strength.

The Japanese support forces attacked swiftly, and planes from the sky took turns bombing.

Even his 40th Division found it quite difficult to fight.

However, Gui Yongqing died like this.

This forced Huang Jie to change his original plan and he had no choice but to empty his own pockets to fight the Japanese army.

In Huang Jie's opinion, Xue Yue, who now holds the imperial sword, has lost his sense of self.

He dares to kill anyone.

However, Chiang Kai-shek did not express his opinion, but instead clamored to go to Kaifeng to supervise the war.

This illustrates a problem, no matter how Gui Yongqing died.

Chiang Kai-shek will not pursue the matter now.

The most critical thing at the moment is to completely annihilate the 14th Division.

To give an explanation to the people of the whole country, and also to serve as an explanation after the fall of Xuzhou.

Even if their Eighth Army was wiped out, they had to stop the Japanese reinforcements advancing westward and ensure victory in this encirclement and annihilation battle.

"Report to the commander, Commander Bai needs fire support..."

"The 609th Regiment will be assigned to the 102nd Division Commander Tang Shouzhi (the regiment was originally formed from the 5th Infantry Regiment of the Tax Police Corps), and the anti-tank artillery company will be dispatched for support."

"Yes!"

People like Huang Jie and Gui Yongqing conserve their strength and are afraid of fighting.

But if you say that they have no command ability and no military qualities.

That's mindless black.

Nowadays, no matter whether it is sincere or forced by the situation.

The Eighth Army is now ready to fight a bloody battle with the Japanese in Guide!
After receiving a call back from the theater commander's headquarters.

Chu Yunfei's heart finally settled down.

As a man well-versed in military history, he naturally knew where the failed Battle of Lanfeng came from.

First, the attacking Central Army troops suffered too many casualties, almost all of which were losses in an organized manner. The commanders of various armies were unwilling to continue the attack even with Chiang Kai-shek's order.

Second, the fall of Lanfeng, Dangshan, and later Guide enabled the westward-moving group of the Japanese army, led by the 16th Division, to successfully merge with the 14th Division, giving this group of Japanese troops, which were already at the end of their strength, a chance to breathe.

Later, Lanfeng fell, and then Kaifeng fell. What happened after the fall of Kaifeng was a pain that Chu Yunfei was unwilling to mention.

"Commander Chu, Commander Ling Zhaoyao is here."

"Ling Zhaoyao?" Chu Yunfei frowned slightly and quickly searched through the memories in his mind.

There seems to be a little bit of a vague impression.

If I remember correctly, he should be a general under Song Xilian.

"Is he the commander of the 8th Reserve Division of the 71st Army?" "Yes." Sun Ming nodded.

"Please ask him to come in."

Chu Yunfei was impressed by him the first time he met him.

They look exactly alike. He has seen Ling Zhaoyao's photo.

I know that the person in front of me is also a god.

Because at this point in time, his senior staff (chief of staff) was a member of the Red Party.

Moreover, his way of building the army was directly imitated from the Red Army, and he had a very good relationship with General Huang Shixuan, and he helped him escape from danger several times.

When Chiang Kai-shek learned about this, he was furious and removed him from his position.

The two exchanged pleasantries for a few minutes.

It's nothing more than some mutual flattery.

After chatting for a while, the two got down to business.

"I came here this time because of the commander's request. I have an unwelcome request."

"Please speak." Chu Yunfei nodded with a smile.

"The Japanese army has strong firepower and their defensive fortifications are extremely solid. Our army feels disadvantaged when attacking. The commander hopes that your army can fire a few more rounds of artillery in the direction of the 71st Army's attack."

"It is our Flying Tiger Honor Division's duty to annihilate the Japanese invaders. Please rest assured, Commander Ling."

Ling Zhaoyao himself had not thought that things would go so smoothly. After exchanging a few words of greeting, he turned and left.

Fang Ligong said with a smile: "It seems that your senior also wants to take advantage of this combat opportunity to show his abilities."

"The 71st Army is unlikely to be selected as a combat attack force."

Chu Yunfei had a blank expression on his face.

This unit was formed by the 87th Division, and its original commander was Wang Jingjiu.

He has now been promoted to commander of the 37th Corps and concurrently serves as commander of the th Army.

Song had just taken over the troops, and the 88th Division was also temporarily transferred.

Chu Yunfei's three-dimensional combat map shows the status of the 88th Division three days after the bloody battle.

There is less than one-third of the green bar left, and half of the yellow bar.

This is even worse than the main force of the Japanese 14th Division which was surrounded.

Kenji Doizo's main force was surrounded and besieged by troops from ten divisions.

There is one-half of the green bar left, and one-half of the yellow bar left.

The elite troops of the Central Army after the replenishment have the same number as before.

The equipment and fighting spirit are not bad either.

But their combat effectiveness is still far behind that of the previous veteran troops.

The situation of the 87th Division and the 8th Reserve Division was slightly better, but not much better.

As the battle continued, Chu Yunfei's troops began to shrink.

Because he could clearly see that the eastern troops of the Japanese 14th Division were attacking towards Lanfeng.

But leaving the battlefield is also a troublesome thing for the huge troop base.

It would take at least twenty hours for 196B to turn to support the eastern suburbs of Lanfeng.

This means that Wu Ziqiang's troops will have to hold out for at least eighteen hours under the fierce attack of the Japanese army.

At this time on the frontline battlefield.

Chen Zejun was chewing candy when a messenger beside him attentively handed him a water bottle.

"Captain, what does it taste like?"

Chen Zejun grinned and said, "Not bad. I'll buy you some after I get my salary."

"Captain, I hope you enjoy your meal." The messenger chuckled and said, "Captain, if you are promoted to regimental commander after this battle, you will definitely need a guard by your side. What do you think of me?"

"Not bad, and smart. Do you want to be my bodyguard?"

"Being a guard is better than being a messenger," the messenger chuckled and continued to express his opinion: "You see that messengers have to brave the enemy's artillery fire to pass orders, but being a guard is different. You only need to protect the commander."

"This guard is not as simple as you think. The deputy of the third platoon of the seventh company in our battalion was previously the guard of our commander Chu. He was added to our regiment when he was the deputy on duty in the supplementary regiment."

"He was promoted to platoon leader after two battles. He has made steady progress and has achieved real military success. This kid is not only a good shooter, but also smart and knowledgeable about tactics and strategy. I think Captain Guo is planning to focus on training him."

"Captain Guo is also a veteran, but he was injured in the previous battle and missed the battle. Now that he is the deputy commander, he naturally has to promote his own people. In my opinion, you may consider getting closer to Captain Guo and taking over his position. It would be the same if you were the deputy commander first."

Chen Zejun shook his head: "You only know one side of the story, not the other."

"Guo Yanzheng used to be the company commander of the second company of the third battalion of Commander Luo."

"Now both Commander Qian and Commander Wu have been promoted to brigade commanders, why hasn't Commander Luo been promoted yet?"

"Not enough space?" the messenger asked curiously.

"That's not the case. It's just that Commander Luo is most likely not Commander Chu's trusted confidant. Judging from his background, he is very likely Commander Yan's man."

The messenger suddenly realized: "You mean..."

"That's right, don't forget, we have people above us...otherwise, even though I have combat capabilities, how could I upgrade so quickly?"

"Commander Zhuo is far away in Shanxi, and I don't know how much I can help you."

"With this little bit of favor here, as long as you perform well enough, no one else will compete for it. Although Chief Zhuo is in the southeast of Jin and not beside Chief Chu, his influence is no less."

Chen Zejun comes from a wealthy family, so naturally many people have different views of him.

The perspective of looking at things is also different.

Compared to the popular Qian Bojun, he would rather work under Wu Ziqiang.

On the one hand, the fact that Wu Ziqiang was able to serve as the commander of 198B was enough to show that Chu Yunfei valued him.

Zhuo Tianyu is Wu Ziqiang's partner again.

As far as he knows.

Zhuo Tianyu not only served as the commander of the Fourth Battalion, but also served as the commander of the Supplementary Battalion.

Southeastern Shanxi is such a critical place.

Chu Yunfei only kept Zhuo Tianyu to develop the team.

Used to supplement combat troops, it is obviously a recognition of his ability and trust in him.

Turning to Deputy Headmaster Guo at this time is like throwing away the watermelon to pick up sesame seeds.

So what if he took the position of deputy head?

In Chen Zejun's opinion, Guo Yanzheng's career as a regiment leader has basically come to an end.

And he can't always be a small deputy head of the group.

"Boom, boom!"

The explosion sounded suddenly without any warning.

Chen Zejun quickly turned over and stuck to the trench, raised the telescope in his hand and looked around.

To the northeast, a large number of Japanese soldiers wearing khaki uniforms appeared.

This surprised Chen Zejun: "That's not right. With the 88th Division intercepting, why were there still so many Japanese soldiers able to rush out?"

Could it be that the 88th Division was defeated?
That's unlikely. After all, this unit is an elite unit of the Central Army.

Even if the attack incurred heavy losses, it would be impossible for the Japanese army to break through in such a short time.

Although Chen Zejun was confused, he still ordered his troops to prepare for battle.

In no time.

The messenger from the heavy mortar battalion came to inform if artillery support was needed.

Just make a phone call to let them know. Song Ming said that there is plenty of ammunition for the 82mm mortar shells!
Chen Zejun grinned and said, "Please report this to Commander Song for me. Thank you for his kindness."

For a moment, he really didn't take the attacking Japanese seriously.

At a rough glance, there are only about three or four hundred people, the size of two squadrons.

Such Japanese troops would naturally be unlikely to break through the defense line of their battalion.

However, what Chen Zejun himself did not expect was.

An unexpected phone call came into his forward command post.

"Hello, Chen Zejun, I'm Chu Yunfei."

"Commander Chu, Chen Zejun, the acting battalion commander of the 198th Battalion of the 7th Infantry Regiment of the B Infantry, please give instructions."

"Receive notification from the Corps Headquarters.

The first batch of Japanese troops attacking Lanfeng City numbered about two infantry battalions.

The main force of the Japanese army has broken through the encirclement of the 88th Division.

The purpose was to join forces with the main force of the 14th Division.

There were a large number of infantry troops behind this group of Japanese troops.

With a size of about 10,000 people, it was part of the main force of the 14th Division of the Japanese Army.

At present, the Japanese 14th Division has been divided into two parts.

A part of them is being surrounded and annihilated by our ten main divisions.

The other part's goal was to capture Lanfeng City and join forces with the Japanese troops on the banks of the Yellow River.

At that time, our army's encirclement and annihilation plan will fail.

Captain Chen, our reinforcements are expected to arrive tomorrow.

The heavy mortar battalion and your battalion must buy one day for the main force to assemble and advance.

In other words, you have to hold your ground for at least eighteen hours."

Chu Yunfei paused, then said loudly: "I know this is a difficult task to accomplish. For the victory of the Battle of Lanfeng, you, the Fourth Battalion, must be prepared to sacrifice all of yourselves."

Chen Zejun was silent for a moment, then said loudly: "Please rest assured, sir. From the moment I, Chen Zejun, stepped onto the battlefield, I was ready to sacrifice myself. For eighteen hours, as long as I, Chen Zejun, am still alive, the Japanese will never occupy our position!"

"Okay, I believe you!"

After hanging up the phone, Chu Yunfei took a deep breath.

Then he continued to issue new combat orders: "Order the Second Battalion of the Mountain Artillery Regiment and the 30th Artillery Regiment to move immediately to the north of Lanfeng City and prepare to support the outer defense forces."

"The third and fourth platoons of the anti-aircraft artillery company and the second, third and fourth battalions of the 4th Infantry Regiment were deployed to guard the northern suburbs and guard against the Japanese cavalry and air force.

The 1st Battalion, 5th Battalion, 6th Battalion, and the regiment's mortar company will move forward lightly and quickly support the northern suburbs of Lanfeng City. I can't let this unit be wiped out."

"Also order Wu Ziqiang to withdraw the defensive position to the east."

"Commander, according to the report from Wu Ziqiang's unit, traces of the Japanese search team have been found in the east. Some of the Japanese support troops have broken through the 74th Army's defense line and are currently attacking in the direction of Lanfeng."

Fang Ligong raised his concerns.

However, this sentence gave Chu Yunfei an even bolder plan in his mind.
(End of this chapter)