Quartermasters can also fight the devils

Commander Huang also sent a telegram to report the analytical hypothesis proposed by Zhang Wenwu to Commander Chen in the war zone. Commander Chen had recently been tortured by the Japanese offensive on the north bank of the Yangtze River. After reading the telegram sent by Commander Huang, he fell into deep thought.

He felt that it was very likely that the Japanese army would attack Guangzhou from the sea as Zhang Wenwu had analyzed, and cut off the Guangdong-Hankou Railway at its source. However, Guangdong Province was now under the combat management of the Fourth War Zone, and he had no right to interfere there. However, in view of this very likely situation, Commander Chen still took the time to forward this telegram to Commander He, the commander of the Fourth War Zone.

Commander He was also shocked after receiving Commander Chen's telegram. If the three divisions of the Japanese army really landed from the sea to attack Yangcheng as stated in the telegram, then the current troops in the Fourth War Zone would be just like a decoration and would not be able to stop the Japanese army's advance.

The Fourth War Zone now has only one army group and troops directly under the war zone, with a total of nine infantry divisions and two infantry brigades. Commander He is now beginning to get anxious. He feels that he should prepare for a rainy day. He must first find alternative troops, and then he can take control of the troops that can be transferred over or move them to the Fourth War Zone first, so that he can make effective resistance when facing possible attacks by the Japanese army.

Commander He now also serves as the Chief of Staff of the Military Commission, which makes it very convenient for him to select and find powerful troops. As a result, after searching the map, Commander He only found that the New 22nd Army resting in Changsha City was currently intact and had no combat missions.

Therefore, Commander He went directly to the highest level of the government and proposed to assign the new 22nd Army to the Fourth War Zone to strengthen the war zone's military strength. At the same time, he also told the highest level of the government about his speculation that the Japanese army might let the three concentrating divisions land from the sea to attack Guangzhou.

The top government leaders still attach great importance to the possibility that the Japanese army will send troops to attack Guangzhou. With the successive fall of major cities along the eastern coast, Guangzhou has become the most important port city for China to obtain external supplies. Now a large part of the external supplies obtained by China are unloaded at the dock in Guangzhou, and then transported to the hinterland of China via the Guangdong-Hankou Railway.

If Guangzhou is occupied by the Japanese army, China can only rely on the coastal city ports in Guangxi Province and the railways between China and Vietnam to obtain material transfusions. The Japanese army's goal is very clear, that is, to completely block the Chinese government's channels for obtaining materials, cut off all of China's external transfusion arteries, and force the Chinese government to surrender completely.

In response to Commander He's request, the highest level of the government immediately agreed to allocate the new 22nd Army to the Fourth War Zone, as a direct unit of the Fourth War Zone to participate in the defense of Yangcheng.

After obtaining approval from the highest level of the government, Commander He sent a telegram to Commander Chen of the Ninth War Zone. In the telegram, he thanked Commander Chen for his previous reminder. At the same time, he politely stated that the new 22nd Army had been assigned to the Fourth War Zone, and that he would take good care of Commander Chen's direct troops, which made Commander Chen feel relieved.

Commander Chen felt terrible after receiving Commander He's telegram. His New 22nd Army was actually taken away by Commander He. He was not worried about what Commander He would do to the New 22nd Army. He was worried about the situation in the Fourth War Zone. There were only so many troops in a war zone. If the New 22nd Army went there, it would definitely be an extremely dangerous situation.

But this matter was approved by the highest level of the government, and Commander Chen also knew that almost all the troops in the south were now concentrated in the Ninth War Zone and the Fifth War Zone to fight the Three Towns Battle. Faced with the possible attack of the Japanese army on Yangcheng, the government really had no troops to dispatch.

Commander Huang also received the order that the new 22nd Army was assigned to the Fourth War Zone at the first time. While adjusting the combat sequence, Commander He's telegram also arrived at the headquarters of the new 22nd Army. Commander He also incorporated the new 22nd Army into the direct forces of the Fourth War Zone, and ordered Commander Huang to immediately lead his troops south along the Guangdong-Hankou Railway to Yangcheng to deploy defenses to prevent the Japanese attack from the sea.

Commander Huang was a little depressed. The troops in the Fourth War Zone were too few, and there had not been a specific combat plan given yet. It seemed that his new 22nd Army would be sent to defend a place again.

Although he was depressed, he still had to strictly follow the orders. Commander Huang immediately convened a meeting of the chief officers of the troops and read out the order to dispatch the new 22nd Army to the Fourth War Zone and the order of Commander He. At the same time, he required the troops to prepare for departure within two days and take the train to Yangcheng in turn.

In this march, the new 100th Division was the last unit to set off as the rear-end of the entire army. Zhang Wenwu also used all his time to study the map near Yangcheng with Ouyang Heng.

Five days later, all officers and soldiers of the new 22nd Army arrived in Yangcheng and garrisoned in Yangcheng according to the order of Commander He of the Fourth War Zone.

In early October, the 104th Division, th Division and th Division of the st Army of the Japanese Army, under the cover of the Japanese Navy, had all arrived near the Taiwan Strait and the Penghu Islands and assembled, preparing to launch a landing operation on Yangcheng according to the combat plan.

In the Fourth War Zone, only 80,000 officers and soldiers of the 12th Army were deployed in Daya Bay and the east bank of the Pearl River for alert and defense. No troops were sent to defend the west bank of the Pearl River due to limited manpower. The garrison of Yangcheng was handled by the newly arrived 22nd Army alone.

"Commander, what is the battle plan? How should we fight in Yangcheng?"

"Yes, Chief of Staff, the troops have been in Yangcheng for three days now. It's time to tell us the battle plan so we can prepare in advance."

In the headquarters of the new 22nd Army, several commanders including Zhang Wenwu gathered together. Everyone came to receive their mission. The troops had arrived in Yangcheng for several days, but no one had received any specific combat mission, which made everyone feel a little uneasy.

"Be quiet, why are you making so much noise? You are all senior officers now, but you are still so impatient. You need to be more steady and behave like senior officers." Chief of Staff Zhao Dong asked everyone to be quiet in a bad mood. The military headquarters was almost turning into a teahouse.

Everyone quieted down after hearing what Chief of Staff Zhao Dong said, but everyone was looking at him eagerly, as if to say: I won't say anything, but you have to give us a mission, otherwise if the Japanese army attacks, how can we survive without any preparation?

Chief of Staff Zhao Dong saw everyone looking at him, and said helplessly: "The theater has not issued a specific combat plan yet, but our army is currently stationed in Yangcheng, so let's take the defense of Yangcheng as an imaginary goal. You should all familiarize yourself with the surrounding environment and terrain first. I estimate that the theater will have a specific combat plan issued in the next two days. In addition, the army has added a lot of new recruits, so everyone should take advantage of this time to train the new recruits well."

When everyone heard what Chief of Staff Zhao Dong said, they all knew that there would be no news today, and they all left the military headquarters dejectedly.

"Division Commander, what do you think the Fourth War Zone is doing? How come it doesn't even have a defensive combat plan? How can we fight?" After Ouyang Heng walked out of the military headquarters, he also complained quietly to Zhang Wenwu.

Zhang Wenwu looked at the commanders of the other two divisions who had already left, and then whispered, "Brother Ouyang, I guess the higher-ups are also arguing. The Fourth War Zone only has such a small number of miscellaneous troops, and our new 22nd Army has only more than 110,000 people. Facing the attack of the three Japanese divisions plus the navy and air force, it is difficult to defend Yangcheng. I guess the final result is that we will delay the speed of the Japanese occupation of Yangcheng so that we can transport all the supplies that landed in Yangcheng to the inland."

Ouyang Heng fell silent after hearing what Zhang Wenwu said. He asked uncertainly, "If we give up Yangcheng, we will have few outlets to the sea. We should mobilize more troops here."

"Where can we transfer troops from? The fighting in the Three Towns has been going on for such a long time. All the troops in the south have been concentrated in the Three Towns to fight. Our army was temporarily transferred here. There are no troops that can be transferred here." Zhang Wenwu sighed helplessly.

Now Commander He of the Fourth War Zone is indeed quarreling with a group of bigwigs as Zhang Wenwu guessed. His Fourth War Zone is about to face the attack of the Japanese army, but it does not have the corresponding troops to defend it.

The 12th Army in the war zone was originally a local force of Guangdong Province, and its combat effectiveness was just average. The only one with combat effectiveness was the New 22nd Army that had just been transferred there. But it was impossible for the New 22nd Army to withstand the attack of three Japanese divisions. Wouldn't that be sending more than 30,000 people of the New 22nd Army to their deaths?

But the actual problem facing Commander He now is that there are no troops to be deployed. The Battle of Three Towns has been going on for more than three months now. The million-strong army that had been assembled here has suffered a lot of losses, and the troops are all incomplete and the officers and soldiers are exhausted. It is impossible to withdraw any troops to fight in the Fourth War Zone.

The only place where troops can be transferred is Guangxi Province, which is also within the combat range of the Fourth War Zone. However, Deputy Chief of General Staff Bai of Guangxi Province is firmly opposed to transferring troops from Guangxi Province to Yangcheng. He advocates abandoning Yangcheng and concentrating all efforts on protecting Guangxi's coastal ports and the railways between China and Vietnam. The troops currently in Yangcheng should focus on delaying the Japanese offensive and buying time for the transportation of materials to Yangcheng.

Commander He also wanted to win a battle in Yangcheng to gain merit for himself, so he had a heated discussion with Deputy Chief of General Staff Bai. Finally, the top government leaders convened a combat meeting of the Fourth War Zone to discuss the possibility of Yangcheng being attacked by the Japanese army.

At the meeting, after a debate between Chief He and Chief Bai, the top government finally agreed to Deputy Chief of General Staff Bai's plan. The goal of Yangcheng was to slow down the speed of the Japanese attack and buy more time to transfer the supplies that had already arrived in Yangcheng. But there was no other way. The troops of Guangxi Province all obeyed the orders of Deputy Chief of General Staff Bai. If he did not agree to transfer troops over, Chief He would not have enough troops to guard Yangcheng, and the top government would have no other choice.