Spy Wars: I am the Captain of the Military Police

"Organize a counterattack immediately!" Fu Zuoyi's unwilling voice sounded.

But a voice in his heart reminded him that defeat was inevitable from the moment he received the fatal order from Yan Xishan.

Think back to that 18th.

The ink on the telegram from the Second War Zone Command was barely dry: "Order the main force of Fu's army to move south immediately to relieve the danger at Nankou!"

Fu Zuoyi was staring at the Japanese army mark in the direction of Zhangbei on the sand table, his fists clenched so hard that they made a clattering sound. In the end, he could only leave two regiments for symbolic defense and take the exhausted division to rescue Tang Enbo.

. . . . . . .

The price Yan Xishan paid for his original order to divide the troops must now be paid with the blood of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army. . .

At this moment, outside the city of Zhangjiakou, the counterattack artillery fire had just stopped, and the Japanese machine gun fire network had already engulfed the charging troops.

Fu Zuoyi's hand holding the telescope trembled slightly. The fortifications he built with his own hands have now become the strongest barrier for the Japanese army.

For five days, the soldiers used their flesh and blood to repeatedly attack Wanquan and Shenweitai, but they were never able to take even a single step into the lost territory.

On August 8, the smoke of the Chaigongbao counterattack had not yet cleared when the tragic news of the fall of Zhangjiakou arrived.

"Retreat, go around to Tianzhen to set up defenses! Nankou... Nankou can't be defended..."

The key node Zhangjiakou quickly fell under the Japanese pincer attack. This strategic failure directly led to the collapse of the Nankou defense line.

A closer look at the causes of the defeat revealed that it was superficially due to the poor defense of Liu Ruming's 68th Army, but in reality it exposed the structural flaws of the Nanjing government's army in terms of command system and factional coordination.

As the defenders of Zhangjiakou, Liu Ruming's troops made serious mistakes in their combat performance.

Missed the opportunity to cooperate with Fu Zuoyi's troops to recapture Zhangbei Town.

When the Chahar Corps of the Japanese Kwantung Army launched a surprise attack from the direction of Duolun, Liu Ruming failed to build an effective defense line and hold on.

Even Liu Ruming refused to allow Tang Enbo's central army to enter the defense zone to assist based on factional views, which fully demonstrated Liu Ruming's factionalism and his obsession with personal interests.

In addition, the Battle of Nankou also exposed the fatal flaw of multiple command.

The three major groups of Tang Enbo (Central Army), Liu Ruming (Northwest Army), and Fu Zuoyi (Shanxisui Army) each acted independently.

Yan Xishan, commander-in-chief of the Second War Zone, failed to unify and coordinate the actions of various units and made a strategic misjudgment of the main attack direction of the Japanese army.

The combat effectiveness of Fu Zuoyi's mobile forces was greatly reduced as a result. Every time they deployed their forces, they had to weigh the dual orders of Yan Xishan and the Nanjing Command at the same time. This duplication of commands seriously delayed the reaction speed on the battlefield.

In addition, the "east-west" pincer attack adopted by the Japanese army was highly targeted. On the eastern front, Itagaki's 5th Division launched a fierce attack on Nankou, and on the western front, the Kwantung Army launched a surprise attack on Zhangjiakou.

This two-wing encirclement tactic could have been broken, but the KMT's factional divisions led to poor intelligence sharing and slow troop mobilization.

Although Fu Zuoyi's troops were brave and good at fighting, they were exhausted from traveling back and forth between Zhangjiakou and Nankou to provide support, and were eventually defeated one by one by the Japanese army.

The soldiers on the front line fought bloody battles, but failed due to the disordered command system. . . . .

On the afternoon of August 1937, 8, the Nankou battlefield was filled with smoke.

Standing in front of the temporary command post, Tang Enbo looked at the approaching Japanese artillery fire in the distance and finally issued the difficult order: "The entire army breaks out!"

This order came too late.

The Japanese 5th Division had already completed the encirclement and immediately launched a frantic pursuit after discovering that the Chinese army had broken through.

Seishirō Itagaki personally took command and ordered the mechanized troops to advance at full speed.

As the sun set, the vanguard of the Japanese army had captured Huailai County. The blue sky and white sun flag on the city wall was brutally torn down and replaced with the glaring sun flag.

At the same time, Wei Lihuang's 83rd Division of the th Army, which had been on the road, finally arrived at the outskirts of Zhenbian City after several days of forced marches, crossing mountains and rivers, and going through untold hardships.

The officers and soldiers of the 83rd Division were dressed in rags, and many of them even had their straw sandals worn out, but they still maintained their battle formation.

Division Commander Liu Kan raised his telescope and observed repeatedly, only to see that the city wall was empty, with neither defenders nor Japanese troops in sight.

"Reporting to the division commander, we have conducted reconnaissance and have not seen any friendly troops. There are Japanese positions everywhere, and Huailai is also full of Japanese troops..." The reconnaissance company commander reported breathlessly.

Liu Kan punched a tree trunk beside him, his eyes bloodshot under his helmet: "Damn it! We're too late!"

The setting sun cast the long shadow of the 83rd Division on the loess road. This exhausted division had to turn around and retreat sadly along the mountain road they came from.

Thirty miles to the north, the remnants of Tang Enbo's troops were being bombed repeatedly by the Japanese Air Force.

Abandoned baggage and wounded soldiers were everywhere on the retreat route. It was not until they reached Weixian, Guangling and Laiyuan that they managed to gain a foothold.

1937 8 Month 27 Day.

The 2nd Mixed Brigade of the Chahar Dispatch Corps launched a swift attack eastward from Zhangjiakou and successfully joined forces with the Japanese th Division in the direction of Huailai.

At this point, the vast area east of Zhangjiakou and north of the Pingsui Railway had all fallen, and the Japanese army completely controlled the passage to the west.

With the end of the Battle of Nankou, the Japanese troops in North China no longer had any worries.

After the threat to the Pingjin area was lifted, the Japanese army could smoothly follow the original plan, split into two groups, and march south along the Pinghan Railway and Jinpu Railway, directly approaching the heart of North China.

After the fall of Nankou, the top leaders of the National Government held an emergency military meeting to assess the situation.

If the Japanese army is allowed to advance along the railway line, the North China Plain will be undefensible and the war situation in North China will completely collapse.

The Japanese army's strategic rhythm must be broken!

After intense discussions, the headquarters finally made a bold decision to attract as much Japanese troops and attention as possible to the south!

Target, Shanghai! Songhu!

This largest city in the Far East is not only the economic lifeline of China, but also the focus of international attention.

If we could launch a decisive battle with the Japanese army here, we would not only disrupt their offensive deployment, but also force the Japanese army to disperse its forces and reduce the pressure on North China.

A decisive battle that will determine China's destiny is about to begin on the banks of the Huangpu River!

. . . . . . . .

Four telegrams from Nanjing in one day made Zhang Zhizhong anxious and the pressure was unprecedentedly heavy.

But the situation will not change because of the wishes of some people. There is a saying that goes like this: when bad things happen, you never know that worse things are waiting for you.

On August 1937, 8, the Nankou defense line completely collapsed.

Tianjin, Military Police Headquarters.

"What did you say? There is such a thing!" Zhou Zhengqing looked at Nanzō Yunko standing in front of him in surprise.

"General, this is from Nanjing. Lai Yuan is absolutely reliable. He is someone I developed personally, and I am confident in him." Nanzō Yunko said with her head down, but her eyes were secretly watching Zhou Zhengqing's reaction.

At this time, Zhou Zhengqing ignored Nan Zao Yunzi's little tricks.

He picked up the document on the table and began to read it.

This document is a piece of intelligence, the most confidential intelligence leaked from the Nanjing government.

The general content is: In order to prevent the Japanese navy from advancing westward along the Yangtze River to threaten Nanjing, the Nanjing government decided to sink ships at the Jiangyin Fortress, the narrowest part of the Yangtze River, which is only 1.5 kilometers wide, to block the waterway.

The plan was to build an "underwater blockade" by sinking ships. The Central Navy cooperated with the Electric Mine School to lay mines in the Yangtze River waterway and, combined with coastal artillery, encircled and annihilated more than 70 Japanese ships of the Yangtze River Fleet in the Yangtze River.

The first batch of ships planned to be sunk were 28, including 8 old warships such as "Tongji" and "Datong".

20 requisitioned merchant ships such as China Merchants Steam Navigation Company's "Xinming" and "Yushun".

Civilian salt ships were also requisitioned to load stones to fill the gaps.

"Yun Zi, how did Huang Jun and his son Huang Sheng get such confidential information! Could it be fake?" Zhou Zhengqing was shocked and looked up at Nan Zao Yun Zi and asked.

"This plan was discussed and formulated at a meeting of the Nanjing government's headquarters. Only seven people participated, and Huang Jun was the meeting recorder." Nanzō Yunko explained in a low voice.