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Volume 1: On the Songhua River Chapter 521: The Battle Situation Sudden Changes

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    Chapter 521: The battle situation suddenly changed

    Tang Qiuli was awakened by a rapid knock on the door. There was a faint dawn outside the window. When he opened the door, a cold air hit him. Several people walked in. When he saw that there were quite a few people coming, Chief of Staff Yu Guanghan  , Communications Director Chen Feng, Intelligence Director Yu Deshui, Investigation Director Shen Jun, and heads of several functional departments of the division are all here. What's the big deal?  Several generals were alerted, and Tang Qiuli looked at them in surprise.  {}

    These people had nervous looks on their faces. Yu Guanghan said to him in a deep voice: "Commander, something happened on the central line." The central line mentioned here refers to the entire northern border of Henan, from Sanmenxia to Nanle, stretching as long as  Tang Qiuli was stunned as he faced the hundred-kilometer long defense line. There were 230,000 troops of Tang Enbo's Eighth Army guarding the middle line. What big thing could happen?

    Yu Deshui handed over a telegram. Tang Qiuli opened it and saw, as if struck by lightning, that it read: "Henan Anyang No. 34 Intelligence Station urgently reported that at about three o'clock this morning, the Japanese army launched an attack on the Central Army's Anyang defense line.  The sudden attack took just over two hours to break through the Central Army's defense line. The 130th Division and the 83rd Division of the Eighth Army defending Anyang were routed and almost destroyed. The Japanese forwards had already passed through Anyang. The specific strength of the troops was unknown.  Now, the whole city of Anyang is in chaos. I will go underground and report any new information at any time."

    Tang Qiuli quickly came to the headquarters and rushed to the map. Anyang is the northern gateway to Henan. If Anyang is lost, the Japanese army can march straight into the hinterland of Henan. The next target must be to attack Zhengzhou. I hope that Tang Enbo can deploy it properly and defeat the Japanese army.  The blockade is on the front line in Xinxiang.

    He quickly ordered the radio station to call Tang Enbo of the Eighth Army Corps. He finally got through. The other party replied that Commander Tang Enbo was directing operations on the front line. Before he could ask again about the specific location of Army Commander Tang Enbo, the radio station of the Eighth Army Corps was turned off.  It didn't make sense. Tang Qiuli instinctively felt that something was not good. If Tang Enbo really commanded the troops to block the Japanese army, he should maintain close radio contact with the various departments under his jurisdiction. There was no reason to suddenly shut down the phone.

    He was at a loss. Ever since Tang Enbo took charge of guarding Henan, the reconnaissance troops of the ** Division had rarely set foot in the Japanese-occupied area. After all, it was not a Japanese-occupied area. His own troops had many activities, involving two systems, which caused unnecessary trouble.  It's good to maintain a single line of contact with Tang Enbo's legion headquarters. As soon as the other party turns off his phone, his eyesight goes dark and he doesn't know what's going on.

    He didn't notice that Yu Deshui, the director of the intelligence department, hurried out and came back after a while. Seeing the anxious look of the division commander, he comforted him: "Commander, I have activated all the intelligence systems from Anyang to Luoyang.  Pay close attention to the battle situation, I believe there will be new information soon.¡±

    Tang Qiuli was surprised to see Yu Deshui, who was usually calm and taciturn, quietly building an intelligence network to Henan without any supervision or reminder. This was a rare talent.

    With Yu Deshui's words, Tang Qiuli felt a little comforted. If Tang Enbo couldn't point it out, it would depend on his own intelligence system. However, he was not very worried about the war situation in Henan. The Japanese troops in North China were in Datong, Niangziguan, and Wuhan.  The four battlefields in Xiangzhou and Cangzhou were restrained respectively. The Japanese army that raided Henan would not have too many troops. With Tang Enbo's strength, it should not be a problem to block the Japanese army on the north bank of the Yellow River.

    Furthermore, when the war started in North China, he specially reminded Tang Enbo to pay attention to preventing Japanese troops from raiding the Henan defense line, and asked him to make strict arrangements. He must deploy heavy troop groups in Anyang and other places at the junction of Hebei and Henan. He hoped that Tang Enbo would have made arrangements long ago, so that he would not be  Make the situation in Henan worse.

    In Gu County, Shanxi Province, in the headquarters of the Army Division, more than 30 radio stations were shouting one after another. Tang Qiuli ordered the communications office to immediately contact troops from various places, including the Jin Army troops, to ask the Japanese troops on the opposite side if they had taken any action. He  I just hope that the Anyang War is an isolated incident and not an overall conspiracy by the Japanese North China Expeditionary Force Headquarters.

    The Japanese army was pinned down on four battlefields, and this was not the case for the troops of the *** Division. If the battle situation in Henan was really critical, I would be too busy and the journey would be too long to bring reinforcements. I could only watch the Japanese army poking at the Yellow River defense line that I had carefully laid out.  There was a big hole, and he was anxious in his heart, but his face remained calm, and he was making various assumptions in his mind.

    Near noon, the ** Division Intelligence Office and the Henan Xinxiang Intelligence Station sent the latest information, "Headquarters, urgent information, the Japanese army's offensive is fierce and overwhelming. After the fall of Anyang, in less than seven hours, the Japanese army broke through the defense lines of the Central Army in Hebi and Xinxiang one after another.  , the five divisions of the Eighth Army's defense force were defeated one after another. The Japanese forwards have reached the city and Zhandian area on the north bank of the Yellow River in Zhengzhou. The situation in Zhengzhou is critical. "

    "It has been preliminarily identified that the Japanese troops attacking Henan are the 18th Division, the 23rd Division, the 7th Mixed Brigade, the Yamazaki Tank Regiment, the Shadow Cavalry Regiment of the North China Expeditionary Army, etc.  , with a total strength of about 90,000 people. Another thing is that the Sixty-seventh Division and the Sixty-first Division of the Eighth Army defending the Xinxiang defense line were attacked in Japan.After the attack started, for unknown reasons, the defensive position was suddenly evacuated, leaving only the 103rd Division fighting alone. When the intelligence was sent out, sporadic fighting was still taking place in the Xinxiang area.  "

    After reading the latest information, Tang Qiuli sat down on the kang. It was probably more than 200 kilometers from Anyang to Zhengzhou. It only took the Japanese army more than seven hours to break through three of the seven divisions of the Eighth Army.  On the defensive line, the troops were pointing directly at Zhengzhou. They were flying at the speed of flying. There were seven central military divisions, which was an elite force of more than 80,000 people. No matter how bad it was, it shouldn't be a problem for three to five days. Tang Enbo still had ten more in his hands.  With 50,000 troops, why not reinforce the Xinxiang defense line?

    What happened here?  What is Tang Enbo doing?  The seven divisions of the Central Army were on the verge of collapse. What did the Eighth Army do?  A series of questions swirled in Tang Qiuli's mind like a revolving lantern. However, one thing was certain, the war situation in Henan was not optimistic.

    Telegrams to various ** division troops and Yan Xishan's Jin army inquiring about the situation soon received responses. Zhao Chengshou from the Datong direction reported that the Japanese troops on the Datong front line did not launch a new offensive, but instead retreated to the Huai'an front line, and  There is an intention to mobilize troops eastward towards Shijiazhuang.

    Feng Jiwu from the direction of Niangziguan reported that the Japanese army, which had been dormant for many days, launched a large-scale attack on the Niangziguan defensive position at about 5 o'clock in the morning today. Fierce fighting broke out across the entire front. However, the Japanese army's offensive was not active. After a slight setback, they retreated.  Similar attacks were carried out repeatedly. According to my judgment, the Japanese army seemed to have another intention. The attack on Niangziguan was intended to attract the attention of our army and draw the division commander's attention to this situation.

    Liu Tiehan on the Cangzhou front line reported that at about 4 o'clock in the morning today, the Japanese army suddenly came out of Cangzhou and launched violent attacks on our positions in Fengjiakou, Damazhuang, Dongguan and other places from multiple routes, but they were all repelled by our army. At 6 o'clock  Xu, the Japanese army launched another attack, and the offensive was more fierce. There was an attempt to open up the passage south to Dezhou. Our army was engaged in fierce fighting across the board, and the fighting situation was good.

    This move by the Japanese army was extremely unusual. They had been in confrontation with our army for many days without any action. No additional troops had been seen yet, but they made such an unusual move. They seemed to be trying to achieve some strategic purpose. As of the time of sending the telegram, the battle was still fiercely going on.  , to draw the division commander's attention to the abnormal behavior of the Japanese army.

    In addition, the Dezhou Campaign Command, based on the battle situation, with the current strength and firepower of our army, it is impossible for the Japanese army to advance a step forward. Therefore, our department plans to use part of its troops, led by Chief of Staff Li Honggang, to advance through Tengzhuang in the east of Cangzhou.  Tianjin, in order to disrupt the Japanese offensive plan. If it is appropriate, please ask the division commander for instructions.

    Yan Xishan¡¯s telegram was the last to arrive, and it began with a complaint, ¡°Brother Qiu Li, the Japanese have gone crazy. From about 6 o¡¯clock this morning, the Japanese army launched uninterrupted attacks on our Wuxiang defense line. Our frontline troops suffered casualties.  It¡¯s terrible. If we continue to fight like this, I will lose all my old strength. I implore my brother Qiu Li to attack immediately and stab the Japanese from behind, so as to reduce the pressure on the Wuxiang front line. Please.¡±

    In fact, although there was fighting on all fronts in Wuxiang, it was not as difficult as Yan Xishan said. After several days of fierce fighting and the supply channels being cut off by Liu Chun and Tong Batu's cavalry, the Japanese army had long lost their energy and became exhausted.  The offensive was not as fierce as the first three days, and they could only barely maintain the offensive.

    On the other hand, the Jin army was well prepared, relying on complete fortifications, with Taiyuan at its back, easy supply, and more troops than the Japanese army. The reason why Yan Xishan exaggerated the war was because he had his own plan. Tang Qiuli still had more than 30,000 troops in his hands.  The military strength cannot be left idle. It is better to help him than to fight with the Japanese. Besides, the Japanese came from your Taihang Mountains. You cannot just let him go and hide away.

    Yan Xishan had his own calculations and deliberately exaggerated the intensity of the battle, which greatly interfered with Tang Qiuli's judgment of the Japanese army's true intentions, resulting in an extremely passive situation and undue heavy losses.  .

    Combining all the intelligence together, Tang Qiuli at least concluded that the Japanese army's raid on Anyang, Henan, and their arrival in Zhengzhou was by no means an isolated accident. The Japanese army's active actions in various battlefields were intended to contain and suppress our army on the opposite side.  , unable to divide troops to reinforce the Henan battlefield.

    The key is how much preparation the Henan garrison Tang Enbo's Eighth Army made on the Zhengzhou Yellow River defense line after losing Anyang, Hebi, and Xinxiang. Can they stop the Japanese offensive momentum in the Zhengzhou area? What is hateful is that, and  Tang Enbo's contact has not yet been communicated. The radio operator at the division headquarters was hoarse from shouting, but the other party just did not turn on the phone.

    On December 15th, the battle situation in Henan direction was unknown all day long. The Zhengzhou Intelligence Station of the Intelligence Department sent information that the fighting on the Zhengzhou Yellow River Defense Line was fierce. Zhengzhou city was in chaos, and residents fled in large numbers. There was an unexpected situation. The eighth team defending the Yellow River Defense Line  The legion's troops seemed to be very weak, and the specific situation was unknown. As of the time the intelligence was sent, the defensive positions on the south bank of the Yellow River had been breached in many places, and many troops were defeated in Zhengzhou City.

      The division headquarters became quiet, with only the sound of ticking keys. In the silent atmosphere, it was particularly irritating and harsh.

    (To be continued)
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