Chapter 25 Chapter 25 Armored Torrent (1)

After capturing Wuhan and Guangzhou, the Japanese government thought it was time for China to surrender, but things backfired.After launching a political inducement to surrender and prompting Wang Jingwei to rebel, he thought that the Chongqing government could be split and the army completely disintegrated. Who knew it was still a dream. What surprised the Japanese political circles the most was the non-aggression pact signed between Germany and the Soviet Union on August 21, 1939. I always thought that the German devils were on my side, and everyone was a devil. However, Hitler and Stalin's unexpected behind-the-scenes deal was tantamount to selling out Japan, and everyone in Japan changed their colors in an uproar.

The Hiranuma Cabinet, which was born after the Konoe Cabinet, was criticized for not being able to deal with the war in China, nor could it prevent Germany's "treachery." It was forced to announce the resignation of the general on August 27, and Nobuyoshi Abe reorganized the cabinet. When Abe came to power, the international situation was undergoing drastic changes. On September 1, Germany attacked Poland, and on September 3, Britain and France declared war on Germany.The long-awaited European War finally broke out. Unfortunately, it did not bring overall benefits to the Chinese as expected. Because Britain and France had no time to take care of the interests of Southeast Asia, it gave Japan more opportunities to take advantage of.

Prime Minister Abe publicly declared that he would continue to move towards resolving the "China Incident" while the European War broke out. When the Japanese army captured Guangzhou, it was to cut off the foreign aid route along the coast of China, but like a water pipe, if you block the mouth here, the water will inevitably find another outlet.Nanning, which replaced Guangzhou, saw a surge in foreign trade and became the backbone of international traffic in the Southwest. In fact, China had two external routes at that time, in addition to the southwest and the northwest, but the Japanese had nothing to do with the northwest route, mainly because of the Soviet Union.

The two sides have not contested.First came the Jang Gubong Incident, in which the 19th Division of the Ronan Army of the Korean Army was beaten to nothing but an empty shell, and then came the Nomonhan Incident, in which the newly formed 23rd Division was almost wiped out by the reorganization system. As Ishihara once predicted, the Japanese army was getting deeper and deeper in China, resulting in weak combat readiness against the Soviet Union. During the battle, the opponent had more troops, more artillery, more aircraft and tanks. How can you compare with others? I tried to put my hand into the pot twice to catch the pancakes, but I was scalded twice, and I didn't dare to do it again on the third time. In addition, the Japanese Air Force's air raids on Lanzhou suffered successive defeats. Northwest Route simply adopted an attitude of turning a blind eye when it did not.

It's better to pinch soft persimmons, this is relatively easy. Zhuge's other side Just like how it treated Nanjing, Xuzhou, Wuhan, and Guangzhou in the past, the Japanese High Command pinned all their hopes on Nanning this time, and they even identified the upcoming battle as "the last battle of the China Incident." It was the Hiroshima Fifth Division that was responsible for landing and capturing Nanning.Although this division was defeated in the Taierzhuang victory, its combat effectiveness is still at the forefront of the Japanese army.Before participating in the battle in South China, the Hiroshima Division returned to China for replenishment, filling up all the vacancies in the troops, and the infantry alone reached 15,000, plus the special forces, the number of soldiers exceeded 20,000.

A landing war is a sneak attack.In order to seal the secrets, when the ships carrying the Hiroshima Division were moored in the port, officers and soldiers were strictly prohibited from boarding the deck, and they could only look at the scenery outside from the window of the cabin. Even so, the secret was still not kept. Chiang Kai-shek had received the information of the Japanese invasion in advance and asked the front line to make preparations to defend against the enemy. But no one prepared. The highest command organization on the front line in Guangxi is the Guilin camp, but Bai Chongxi, the director of the camp, went to Chongqing to attend the Sixth Plenary Session of the Fifth Central Committee of the Kuomintang.

The chief of staff is not there, of course, the chief of staff of the camp can take charge, but the chief of staff is also absent, so the so-called camp that is in charge of the camp becomes an empty camp at a critical moment. Below the camp is the war zone. Zhang Fakui, the commander of the fourth war zone, actually got the relevant information himself, but he has been waiting for the camp order.It’s not entirely out of conformity, but because others are still in Shaoguan, Guangdong, and those who can command are mainly the Cantonese Army, while those stationed in Guangxi are mostly the Guangxi Army. .

Below the theater is the group army. Xia Wei, commander-in-chief of the 16th Army Group Guarding Guangxi Coastal Defense, had already been ordered to leave, and was replaced by Cai Tingkai, a famous general during the "January 28" Songhu Battle. , ran back to my hometown in a fit of anger. As a result, the Sixteenth Group Army with the Gui Army as the main body launched a collective boycott against Cai Tingkai, which made Cai Shuaikong have the ability to fight against the Japanese, but he was unable to focus on it, and he dared not take office for a long time. Guilin’s battalion has a complex hierarchy. From the battalion to the headquarters of each division, there are five levels. If you count from the regiment, battalion, and company, there are as many as eight levels. As a result, information communication is extremely slow. The grassroots troops do not even know that the Japanese army is about to According to the information about the landing, the enemy is at hand, and they still think that the Japanese invasion is just a routine harassment, and it will be fine after a few shots.

Bai Chongxi, who is the director of the operation, is of course responsible for this. In the eyes of ordinary people, the two leaders of Guangxi's Xingui family are almost an impeccable match of monarchs and ministers: Li Zongren is magnanimous and has the style of Liu Bei, while Bai Chongxi is shrewd and capable. "Little Zhuge" deserves his name. Little Zhuge (left) and Li Zongren, the old couple Japanese monarchs and ministers also have a delicate side But we should know that the brilliance on stage can never replace the complexity and subtlety of human nature in real life, and the relationship between "Uncle Emperor" and "Kong Ming" is also the same.

In public, whether it is a speech or a lecture, Bai Chongxi always speaks "our commander-in-chief" (referring to Li Zongren). "Old loyal minister". But "Little Zhuge" is actually not content to just shake the goose feather fan behind the lord's back. After the "July 7th Incident", Li Zongren was extremely dissatisfied with Bai Chongxi's trip to Nanjing, not because he disagreed with him, but because the latter was too "selfish". At that time, Li Zongren planned to ask Chiang Kai-shek for a sum of military expenses for the Guangxi Anti-Japanese War, but after Bai Chongxi was promised the high position of deputy chief of staff, he completely threw this matter out of the sky.What made Li Zongren even more embarrassing was that his "commander-in-chief" seemed to have been forgotten all of a sudden, and even the commander-in-chief of the fifth theater was won by himself later.

She talked sweetly, but at the critical moment, she abandoned the "lord" and pursued glory and wealth by herself.This incident made Li Zongren very angry, and said in private in front of others: Don't I, Li, know Chiang Kai-shek?You, Bai Chongxi, and Chiang Kai-shek seem to be on good terms now, but the relationship between me, Mr. Li, and Chiang Kai-shek may not be so bad... You should never expect to hear the straight talk of Lao Mengzi from the mouth of "Little Zhuge", but he can't say it, but he can do it. In fact, when Bai Chongxi was in Guangxi, he always wanted to monopolize the military and political power, and he especially liked to cultivate personal cronies, but he mostly rejected or distrusted Li Zongren's old subordinates. Before and after the "July 7th Incident", it was a relatively sensitive period within the Xingui Clan. Some military officers loyal to Li Zongren conspired to "support Li and overthrow Bai". , Then he chose the same path as Huang Shaohong back then, simply stayed away from Guangxi, and went to become a senior central official next to Chiang Kai-shek. When the Guilin camp was established, the situation was different.Bai Chongxi returned to Guangxi as deputy chief of staff and director of Guilin camp, while Li Zongren was far away on the front line in Hubei, and his heart grew bigger again. In the Gui army, almost all the army, division commanders, company and platoon leaders were students of Bai Chongxi when he was the principal of Nanning Military Academy. They have no historical relationship with "Little Zhuge", so you don't want to be an official at all.Xia Wei dared to make a big fuss, in the final analysis, it was nothing more than relying on him as Bai Chongxi's most reliable confidant. Holding the Guangxi bowl, Bai Chongxi was still thinking about other people's pots. After the fall of Guangzhou, the Japanese 21st Army did not continue to expand to some areas on Guangdong South Road due to its limited strength, and there was no Central Army or Cantonese Army stationed there for a while, so Bai Chongxi came to take control first. The territory is big, but your responsibility is also big.As a result, the defense line of the fourth theater was extended to thousands of kilometers, the defense became very weak, and it lacked defense in depth. In the first-line deployment, the direction of Nanning is weak.This is because Bai Chongxi made a mistake in his judgment. He believed that if the Japanese army wanted to invade Guangxi, they would inevitably land from Guangzhou Bay nearby. On November 15, the Hiroshima division landed suddenly, but it was not Guangzhou Bay, but Qinzhou Bay. On the front line of Qinzhou, the fourth war zone is used for defense, only a newly formed division, both weapons and training are poor, and it will soon collapse. The successful landing of the Japanese army shocked Chiang Kai-shek. On November 16, he summoned Bai Chongxi in Chongqing, so that the latter would not have to continue to participate in the Sixth Plenary Session of the Fifth Central Committee, but to immediately return to Guilin to command operations. Bai Chongxi asked: Do you trust me in war? Of course, you can trust it. Employers are not suspicious, but doubters don't need it. Well, my request is also very simple.I must take full command with the qualifications of the director of the Guilin battalion. Zhang Fakui, the commander of the fourth theater, cannot intervene. All armies must directly obey the battalion orders. Chiang Kai-shek immediately agreed. The previous intelligence was not dealt with. After all, the battalion level is too complicated and the response is too slow. The commander of the fourth war zone is even more ineffective. go. On November 19, Bai Chongxi flew from Chongqing to Guilin, and began to dispatch troops and generals to organize and command the battle in southern Guilin. In addition to the Sixteenth Army, six other armies were assembled from other provinces to Guangxi.But at this time "Little Zhuge" made another serious mistake. He judged at first that after the Japanese army landed, it was Liuzhou that they wanted to capture when they went north, so all the troops gathered in the direction of Liuzhou.It was too late when it was discovered that the Hiroshima Division was attacking Nanning and then headed towards Nanning. On November 24, Nanning fell. On December 3, the Hiroshima Division had arrived at Kunlun Pass. nothing is impossible The fall of Nanning caught both Chiang Kai-shek and Bai Chongxi by surprise. The loss of Nanning not only means that the southwest international traffic line is cut off, but also poses a serious threat to Chongqing. It is necessary to counterattack Nanning, and it is necessary to accumulate troops at all costs.Towards mid-December, a total of 200,000 Chinese troops gathered north of the Kunlun Pass.What is different from the past is that a considerable number of special forces participated in the battle this time, and the Sino-Soviet Air Force alone dispatched 115 aircraft. On December 15, Bai Chongxi issued the No. 1 counter-offensive order in the name of Guilin Camp, with the goal of "attacking Kunlun Pass and then recovering Nanning", and transferred Du Yuming's fifth army to attack Kunlun Pass. Before the "July 7th Incident", the most combative troops in China were Zhang Zhizhong's German weapon division and teaching corps, and there was also a tax police corps, but after the Battle of Songhu, they are now a thing of the past. Five armies. The Fifth Army has all kinds of special equipment imported from the Soviet Union, ranging from field artillery and heavy artillery to automobiles, motorcycles, and tanks. It is the first and only new mechanized army established in the early days of the Anti-Japanese War.This army has gone through different stages such as the Handover School, the Armored Corps, the 200th Division, and the New Eleventh Army. It is supported by a pair of masters and apprentices who have experienced the pain of the Great Wall War. The master is Xu Tingyao.During the Great War in the Central Plains, Xu Tingyao had just served as the division commander. Since he had not yet established prestige in the army, many of his subordinates disapproved of him, and they didn't take his words seriously. Xu Tingyao saw that most of the following regiments were loose, and their discipline and training were not good, except for one regiment.This regiment completely followed Xu Tingyao's instructions. If you said you want the resident to be clean, I'll sweep the floor clean; Show you the indicators one by one. When Xu Tingyao asked, the name of the group leader was Du Yuming. Xu Tingyao and Du Yuming are neither close nor close, and the latter has no factional background, but Xu Tingyao has looked at Du Yuming differently since then, and he values ​​Du Yuming very much, and tries his best to promote him whenever he has the opportunity. Du Yuming, courtesy name Guangting, was born in Mizhi, Shaanxi, and graduated from the first phase of Whampoa. From the first period of Whampoa, Whampoa students were divided into left and right factions, and the relationship between the two factions was once very tense, even to the point that "Chinese and thieves are not at odds with each other".Du Yuming tends to be rightist in his heart, but he does not participate in either faction, nor does he offend any of them. Du Yuming embodies a traditional Chinese character, that is, he is as smooth as possible in interpersonal relationships, but he is strict and meticulous in his personal requirements. It was Du Yuming's honest and down-to-earth attitude towards life that won him the appreciation of Bole, and it also became an important starting point for his life leap: under Xu Tingyao, he was promoted from regiment commander to brigade commander, and then served as the division commander's second in Guan Linzheng. In the fifteenth division, he served as the deputy division commander. Du Yuming and Guan Linzheng were classmates in the first class. They were both top students in the class, but their personalities were just the opposite. During the Anti-Japanese War on the Great Wall, the Northeast Army originally stationed at Gubeikou wanted to retreat and let the 25th Division reach the front line, but Guan Linzheng only wanted to guard the second line, and the two sides could not settle down. Seeing that the Northeast Army was in a hurry to retreat, Du Yuming suggested that Guan Linzheng agree to the opponent's request and simply defend the front line, because the terrain here is high and it is actually easier to defend than the second line. Guan Linzheng refused straight away, but refused to give in.The final result was that the Northeast Army really had no intention of defending, and quickly lost the first line. Once the first line was lost, the 25th Division was at a disadvantage in the second line of defense. Although it paid a heavy price, Gubeikou still could not make sure. As the deputy division commander, Du Yuming was really depressed.In the 25th Division, basically Guan Meng alone had the final say, Du Yuming didn't take any real responsibility, and the other party didn't listen to what he said, almost tantamount to fooling around. I can't go on like this! In the trough of life, no one can help him, and the person who comes to help him is that Bole. After Xu Tingyao experienced the pain of the Great Wall Anti-Japanese War, he led a delegation to visit European and American countries, focusing on investigating and learning the use of mechanized special forces.After returning to China, with the approval of Chiang Kai-shek, he founded the Army Jiaoyi School in Nanjing and served as the head of education. Knowing that his favorite disciple and Guan Linzheng did not get along well, he called Du Yuming to the school, and then appointed Du Yuming as the commander of China's first armored corps. A new path of life finally appeared in front of me. For Du Yuming, he has a very real problem, that is, he was completely a layman in terms of mechanized arms. The Whampoa Military Academy only taught infantry drills. Although tanks were seen rampaging on the battlefield, their understanding of the "Iron Bull" was not necessarily much higher than that of ordinary officers and soldiers. The new topic of mechanized combat was enough to trouble almost all Chinese soldiers at that time. Du Yuming is not the kind of person who will startle the world and cry ghosts and gods as soon as he appears on the stage. The magic weapon he can uphold is nothing more than four words: honesty and steadfastness. Loyalty means not playing tricks; being down-to-earth means never giving up.With this four-character motto, there is nothing that cannot be done. Du Yuming studied hard by himself, and he couldn't put down the books in his spare time when he was in charge of the army.He not only learned to drive various vehicles in the armored corps, but also repaired them.People often see him wearing work clothes, drilling under the car to repair the chassis, or remove and install various parts. In addition to practice, there is theory. Du Yuming can explain how to cooperate with infantry, how to cooperate with infantry, how to cooperate with bicycles and group vehicles, how to shoot and camouflage, so that all the subordinates admire their leaders: Chief Du is omnipotent and understands everything. To command special warfare, you must be an expert in special warfare, otherwise you are not worthy of being in the command position. This is a matter of course in Du Yuming's view. In a short time, a layman becomes an expert.The reporter who interviewed the armored corps was very surprised. He asserted at that time: (Du Yuming) the future knowledge attainment and the success of the affairs are limitless. On December 16, Du Yuming held a military meeting and made deployments for the Battle of Kunlun Pass. China's most elite troops were approaching the pass, but Imamura, the head of the Hiroshima division, did not realize the danger was coming. He was still thinking about how to completely cut off the Xining international traffic line from Vietnam to Nanning. On December 17, the Ninth Brigade of Chuanyuan Seventh set off from Nanning and was ordered to attack Longzhou and Zhennanguan. The latter two places are on the Sino-Vietnamese border and run counter to Kunlun Pass. From Kunlun Pass to Nanning, only the 21st Brigade of Masao Nakamura was left, and only one cavalry regiment and one infantry brigade were assigned to guard Kunlun Pass. If you underestimate the enemy too much, you must pay the price. another honest man On December 18, Du Yuming gathered all the heavy artillery and mountain artillery special forces directly under the Fifth Army to continuously shell Kunlun Pass and surrounding positions. The Fifth Army was the only mechanized force in China in the early days of the Anti-Japanese War The Hiroshima division was also a mechanized unit in the Itagaki era, but this time in order to adapt to the new combat environment, it specially conducted two months of mountain combat training before the war. Along with tank troops, this made them suffer when they encountered the Fifth Army. Unable to withstand the long-range heavy artillery strikes of the Fifth Army, the Japanese army's mountain artillery at Kunlun Pass soon died down. In this artillery battle, the Chinese army rarely achieved an overwhelming advantage. Du Yuming himself has a very clear understanding of special operations.He knew that the mechanized special forces of the Fifth Army looked mighty, but in fact they were limited in strength and could not cover everything, they could only play an early role in suppressing firepower.In the final analysis, the gains and losses of positions and the outcome of battles are still in the hands of infantry. In order to train first-class infantry, Du Yuming recruited his old friend Zheng Dongguo. Zheng Dongguo, born in Shimen, Hunan, graduated from the first phase of Whampoa. Like Du Yuming, Zheng Dongguo also worked under Guan Linzheng at the beginning, and he also couldn't accept Guan Meng's "tyrannical" style. During the Battle of Taierzhuang, Zheng Dongguo served as the commander of the second division. At that time, in order to attack a small village with little relationship, the second division lost troops and lost generals.He suggested to Guan Linzheng to give up the attack. Unexpectedly, the other party not only refused to listen, but also said a lot of ugly words. Zheng Dongguo couldn't accept Guan Linzheng's way of handling things without regard for others' face. From then on, he had to ask the chief of staff to answer the phone on his behalf. After the Battle of Taierzhuang, the Second Division had less than half of its original number of combat-capable officers and soldiers, and was transferred back to the rear to rest. Just like Du Yuming and Guan Linzheng, due to their different personalities, it is certain that Zheng Dongguo and Guan Linzheng will not get along well. Zheng Dongguo feels this way, and so does Guan Linzheng. When Guan Linzheng became the commander of the 32nd Army Corps, all the original generals were promoted, and Zheng Dongguo was also promoted because of his meritorious service, but the letter of appointment he got made this honest man feel like he was going up and down. Feeling-removing the division commander and serving as the deputy commander. The deputy army commander is no different from the deputy division commander. They are both nominal positions, and if you are a deputy under Guan Linzheng, there are not many of you, and there are not many without you. The embarrassing situation can be compared to that of Du Yuming back then. Zheng Dongguo couldn't bear it no matter how good he was, he asked for leave angrily and left, and went to the 31st Army at the invitation of Tang Enbo. Tang Enbo admired Zheng Dongguo very much, but all the important positions under him were full, and he couldn't vacate a seat for a while, so he had to let Zheng Dongguo serve as a councilor at the headquarters first. At this time, it was the battle of Wuhan, and Tang Enbo sent Zheng Dongguo to the 37th Army to supervise the battle.The commander of the 37th Army was Zheng Dongguo's old superior during the Northern Expedition. The two hadn't seen each other for many years, and they were very affectionate. Sometimes they talked late at night, and even fell asleep together. To Zheng Dongguo's surprise, after a few days, Tang Enbo suddenly called, saying that the 37th Army's record was poor, which was due to the ineffective command of the army commander, and asked Zheng Dongguo to take over the position of the opponent on the spot. It wasn't until this time that Zheng Dongguo understood Tang Enbo's intention of asking him to supervise the battle.His first thought was, this is plotting against a friend, and I must never do that. He immediately tactfully rejected Tang Enbo's appointment. Because he was worried that the latter would issue a formal letter of appointment, he didn't even dare to stay in the front, so he found an excuse to come back.The old superior didn't know what was going on, and kept trying to persuade Zheng Dongguo to stay. People who knew the cause and effect of this incident privately said that Zheng Dongguo was "roundabout": it was too late for someone to grab this position, and you still had to run away. Jung Dong-kook laughed it off and had no regrets.Maybe he regretted accepting the appointment at that time, this is the true nature and creed of an honest man. After the Battle of Wuhan, Tang Enbo finally found a vacancy and appointed Zheng Dongguo as the commander of the 98th Army. However, within a month, Zheng Dongguo received a telegram from Du Yuming, asking him if he would go to the Fifth Army to "submit" the division commander. After thinking about it all night, Zheng Dongguo decided to ask Tang Enbo to resign. Tang Enbo called Zheng Dongguo to have a conversation, and repeatedly asked "Are you really going?" His expression was full of doubts. I am just the commander of the group army, you are only one level lower than me, who else values ​​talents more than me?What's more, one is the commander of the army and the other is the commander of the division. How can you give up the high and take the low? To make this choice, Zheng Dongguo had his own considerations. The Thirty-first Army was not originally a pure Central Army, but was actually gathered from all corners of the country. It was all picked up from other bowls or pots, and then digested little by little. Eat other people's meals. The Ninety-eighth Army originally belonged to the Hunan Army. Not only was its combat effectiveness weak, but its internal composition was complicated. A group of Hunanese did not accept Zheng Dongguo as a fellow. It is very big, and it is also very repulsive to Zheng Dongguo. As before, Zheng Dongguo couldn't do the kind of thing that secretly poachs others' walls, or double-faced things, so he was very distressed. On the one hand, he could not agree with Tang Enbo's "star-attracting method". On the other hand, since the Battle of Taierzhuang, Zheng Dongguo could not adapt to Tang Enbo's mobile warfare tactics. Speaking of rules and regulations, once the battle breaks out, I am afraid I will not know what to do. It's true that Tang Enbo values ​​himself very much, and he can be called a corporal, but Tang Enbo is as arbitrary in combat as Guan Linzheng. He and Li Zongren can quarrel. Who else would he look down on? It's different when it comes to the Fifth Army, which is a den of honest people.Xu Tingyao is an old officer for many years, and Du Yuming is a good friend. We all know each other and work together with sincerity. You don’t have to force yourself to do what you don’t want to do. Moreover, you will lead troops to fight in a mechanized army with great development potential. It's not hard to do something. Seeing that Zheng Dongguo was determined to leave, Tang Enbo couldn't keep him, so he sighed and said nothing more. In order to build a new army, Xu Tingyao and Du Yuming's apprentices are almost engaged in a talent competition with Guan Linzheng and Tang Enbo.After Zheng Dongguo came to the Fifth Army, he served as the deputy commander and honorary commander of the First Division. Under his influence, colleagues from the former Second Division came over one after another.Among them, Comfort Cunsu, the chief of staff of the division, was valued by Guan Linzheng, and he was determined to be promoted to the chief of staff of the army. However, because he had an appointment with Zheng Dongguo, he also came as scheduled, which made Guan Linzheng anxious and sent out "love" It's hard to let go" emotion. With Zheng Dongguo and a group of infantry generals who were familiar with the drills and experienced in actual combat as the backbone, Du Yuming trained the Fifth Army into a capable division in a short period of time.In the review organized by the Chongqing Military Commission, the actual combat drill of the Fifth Army was rated as the first in the country. On December 18th, when the special warfare was effective, Du Yuming ordered Zheng Dongguo's Honorary First Division to coordinate with the tank unit directly under the army to attack the front of Kunlun Pass. The Fifth Army launched an attack on Kunlun Pass The Honor First Division is composed of veterans who were injured and recovered from the War of Resistance, all of whom are capable of recruiting and fighting well.Under the cover of tanks and chariots, the division regained the main position of Kunlun Pass that day. If Zheng Dongguo's command was determined, the division headquarter was once dived and strafed by Japanese planes in the process of moving forward. They came down in a hurry and had no time to dodge, so they had to spread out and lie down beside the paddy field, but there were no casualties. The chief of staff stood up comfortably, and suddenly said: No wonder people say that the teacher is a good general, and he is invulnerable, so we are also exposed. Everyone laughed when they heard the words, and Zheng Dongguo couldn't help laughing too. Haven't had such fun in a long time.When a soldier gets rid of personnel entanglements and stands frankly on the battlefield, all dangers are just a joke.