I fought guerrilla warfare in the Yimeng Mountains during the Anti-Japanese War

At the headquarters of the Fifth War Zone in Xuzhou, Li Zongren was anxiously waiting. The battle had already begun! He didn't know whether Lu Han had started to implement the reverse slope tactics, and how effective it was. He had to wait for a call back from the headquarters. He arranged the reverse slope tactics without consulting the headquarters, but he also reported it to the headquarters soon. He didn't know whether the headquarters would blame him for it.

What Li Zongren was most worried about was actually the Japanese army's strategy of breaking through the whole area by focusing their forces. Once they concentrated their forces and opened a gap in the 60th Army's defense line, they would immediately make a detour to cut off the communication between the frontline troops, and then bombard the frontline troops to force them to retreat. This tactic has been used for more than a year with very good results.

Without command, many trench commanders would order a retreat when they saw heavy losses. One man led ten, and ten led a thousand. Once a retreat occurred, even a supervision team could not stop the madness of the fleeing soldiers. There have been many such examples from Shanghai to Nanjing, and from Datong to Taiyuan.

"Report, urgent telegram from the 60th Army."

Li Zongren strode forward, took the envelope and tore it open. It was a telegram from Lu Han, commander of the 60th Army, claiming that the artillery's reverse slope tactics were very effective and that the Japanese army had changed its tactics from group assault troop attacks on important nodes to attacks by countless skirmishers. Lu Han emphasized that the 60th Army's defense line was tight and that an army had no ability to defend against a full-line attack of more than ten kilometers. He requested Li Zongren to immediately mobilize troops to join the front line, otherwise it would be difficult to ensure that it would not be broken through today.

Li Zongren suppressed his excitement and ordered the communications squad to assemble. They had to respond quickly to the Japanese army's tactical changes:

"Send a telegram to Sun Lianzhong's troops to immediately take over the eastern battlefield, communicate and learn from Lu Han, and have the artillery set up reverse slope positions to resist the attack of the Itagaki Division on the eastern front."

"Telegram ordering Lu Han's 60th Army to concentrate all its forces to continue defending the western front and resist the attack of the Doihara Division."

"Telegram order Tang Enbo's troops to withdraw four artillery regiments and put them all under the command of Lu Han. They are to establish reverse slope positions and set up all the firing parameters. Once the Japanese army concentrates its forces, they will immediately launch an artillery attack."

After arranging the tasks, Li Zongren was still worried. Seeing that Li Yunyan was still waiting for orders:

"Send a call to the headquarters. The reverse slope tactic is very effective. The Japanese army has changed from a group charge to a skirmish line attack. Please ask the headquarters to order Tang Enbo's troops to obey the orders of the Fifth War Zone and transfer the artillery regiment to Lu Han's 60th Army. With the reverse slope position, the artillery unit will not suffer too much loss. This tactic is related to the stability of the defense line and how long our army can hold on. Please ask the headquarters to make arrangements as soon as possible."

In the military deduction room of the Chongqing camp, General T was discussing the tactics of the artillery reverse slope with a group of generals. Some agreed, while others scoffed:

"What tactics? I've never heard of them. I studied in Germany for five years. Germany doesn't even have them, but Li Zongren can change his destiny."

"That's right, the reverse slope position? The Japanese have countless times more artillery than us, how can they not hit us? I still think the previous tactics were better. Just fight for three minutes, and then run away after the fight. Protect as many as possible."

He was also a little confused. This was completely beyond his understanding. All the generals couldn't come up with a solution after discussing it all. If it wasn't for Leng Qiang's suggestion, the general wouldn't even discuss it. But he felt that Leng Qiang was not wrong. It must be these rough guys who were pretending to know. Thinking of this, he looked at the people who had opposed him just now with some disgust. They didn't even conduct experiments but completely denied everything. What a bunch of good-for-nothings.

However, the president's expression did not change at all, he was still calmly listening to the heated discussion of the generals. The Battle of Xuzhou would definitely be lost, and what he wanted to get were just two numbers, the time the defenders held out, and the number of Japanese troops eliminated. These two numbers were crucial. All eyes were on this battle, and whether they could raise their heads depended on this battle.

"Report, secret telegram from the Fifth War Zone."

Because of the last secret telegram plan to encircle the Inamura Division, Mao Qingxiang was arranged by the president to be in self-isolation. After the Inamura Division was destroyed, the ban was lifted and his military rank was promoted by one level.

The president had long been annoyed by the noise of these good-for-nothings, so he took the envelope with the word "Top Secret", checked the seal, quickly tore open the envelope, took out the telegram and checked it.

After reading the telegram, he could not hide his excitement. Knowing that the military situation was urgent, he said directly to Qingxiang:

"Telegram order Tang Enbo's troops to obey Li Zongren's command and send four artillery regiments to the 60th Army led by Lu Han. Tell him not to worry and not to make any discounts. If there are any losses, I will replenish them for him."

After saying this, he looked at the generals:

"The reverse slope tactics have achieved great success at the Taierzhuang frontier position. From today on, all war zones must learn it. Don't be afraid of the Japanese finding out. If they want to learn, let them learn. We won't pay attention to their artillery positions, so it's useless for them to learn it. In addition, in order to prevent the Japanese from bombing artillery positions with planes, all artillery units must learn to create fake targets to confuse Japanese bombers' air raids."

The president's vision was different from Li Zongren's. He saw through the essence of the matter almost at a glance. Looking at the generals, he felt that no cold gun would be useful:

"Disperse! Go back and summarize seriously, study hard, and try to convey it to the defense forces in various war zones as quickly as possible."

After everyone dispersed, the guards were arranged to call Lu Qingxiang back.

"The telegrams have been arranged"?

"Yes, everything is arranged."

"Send another telegram to Tang Enbo and tell him that this is my decision. Ask him to fully support Li Zongren. The Battle of Xuzhou is related to the overall situation. Fight well and show the power of the Central Army. I will not treat him unfairly. Also, tell him to seriously study and apply the artillery reverse slope tactics."

Seeing Lu Qingxiang continue to wait, the president sighed:

"Send a secret telegram to Li Zongren, asking the Lone Wolf Commando to stop the action! Even if they destroy a division, they cannot change the overall situation of the War of Resistance. Just a reverse slope tactic can change the direction of a battle and even affect the entire country's defense. It would be a pity if something goes wrong."

Lu Qingxiang had never seen the president pay so much attention to anyone, and his heart was in turmoil. If he came to Chongqing now, he would definitely need a major general as a staff officer, or even a lieutenant general.

Li Zongren's worries were not without reason. Tang Enbo was furious. This Li Zongren mobilized his four artillery regiments for no reason, which was equivalent to pulling out half of the backbone of the 20th Army. Did he really think that he could do whatever he wanted as the commander-in-chief of the theater?

"Send a telegram to Li Zongren? No way. What does Li Zongren want to do? With such heavy losses on the front line, my army will have to fight the Japanese to the death sooner or later. Are you going to withdraw my artillery regiment and let my army go up to be cannon fodder?"

Before he finished complaining, the telegram from the Ministry of National Defense arrived. After reading it, Tang Enbo's face turned red and purple. Li Zongren, you are trying to cut off my retreat! He dared not disobey the telegram from the Ministry of National Defense. Although he was asked not to compromise, Tang Enbo still wanted to make some changes and mix some broken mountain artillery or misfired shells into them.

Before he could make a decision, another secret telegram arrived. Seeing the president's calm tone, Tang Enbo realized that he might have overlooked the role of the reverse slope tactics. He did not dare to hesitate any longer and immediately sent orders to the four artillery regiments, asking them to quickly advance to the 60th Army's front and obey the command of Commander Lu Han. They must not disobey the orders in public or they would be subject to military law.