Chapter 254 Two Five Three, Longtan Great Victory

After the capture of Shanghai and Nanjing by the Northern Expeditionary Army, the military affairs between the North and the South eased slightly.After Sun Chuanfang lost power, the military burden of the Beiyang warlords to resist the South fell on Zhang Zongchang. In April 2016, Zhang Zongchang served Xuzhou and Bengbu to consolidate the defense of this front.After Bi Shucheng, the commander of the Eighth Army, an important general in the Lu army, withdrew from Shanghai, someone informed Zhang Zongchang because Bi Zeng communicated with the Northern Expedition Army.Part of Bi's army is still in Qingdao. Zhang Zongchang is very worried about Bi's uprising in Lu territory, leading the revolutionary army into the country, and the battle in the south of the Yangtze River. Sun Chuanfang's Zhejiang army, Anhui army, and Soviet army generals led the insurgents in an endless stream. It can also be said that Sun Jun Most surrendered without fighting, so Zhang Zongchang was quite wary of this situation, so he ordered Chu Yupu to rush back to Jinan from Xuzhou to deal with Bi Shucheng. On April 4th, both Chu and Bi were summoned back to Jinan by Zhang Telegram. Bi was detained by the Military Administration as soon as he got out of the car, and was executed in Ji the next day. Defense, and Xu Kun was the commander-in-chief of the former enemy.Qu Tongfeng, Zhu Panzao, Wang Hanming and others were all relieved of their positions as army commanders, and the old Fifth Division was disbanded.This is a severe action by Zhang Zongchang to purge his troops to avoid becoming Sun Chuanfang's second.

As for Sun Chuanfang's army, since the battle with the Northern Expeditionary Army, they have been defeated repeatedly. After retreating to the north of the Yangtze River, Changhuai could not stick to it. Since Sun Chuanfang respected Zhang Zuolin in the north, he also wanted to lose his loyalty to the Northern Expeditionary Army in the south, so he was hesitant and had no will to fight.Legend has it that Chiang Kai-shek's condition for Sun's surrender was that Sun lead his troops to attack Lu in order to make meritorious service.Sun had no intention of fighting, and felt embarrassed about attacking Lu Gongfeng. Sun's wishful thinking was to preserve his strength, withdraw from the battlefield, sit on the mountain to persuade the tigers to fight, and recharge their energy, so that both sides would suffer.Therefore, I don't want to fight with the Lu army in Xuhai, nor do I want to rush across Zhenjiang to compete with the Northern Expeditionary Army.

In late July 2016, Sun Chuanfang and Zhang Zongchang jointly marched southward and marched on Xuzhou on the 25th. At this time, the Northern Expeditionary Army had transferred troops back to the south. Only the Tenth Army of Wang Tianpei's Department was scheduled to stay on the front line as the main force, and Jiang Zhongzheng returned to Nanjing. He negotiated with He Yingqin, Bai Chongxi, and Li Zongren, the three commanders, how to resist the two armies of Sun Chuanfang and Zhang Zongchang. On July 23, Xuzhou was captured by the Northern Army.Due to the Ninghan split within the Northern Expeditionary Army, it was unable to fully cope with the military.

After Sun Chuanfang occupied Xuzhou, he went south in two routes, one attacked Bengbu from Jinpu Road, and the other invaded Huaiyin from Suqian.Sun thought this was a great opportunity for him to make a comeback, so regardless of Zhang Zuolin's resistance, and Zhang Zongchang was restrained by Feng Yuxiang in Jining and the east of Xuzhou, and he had no means to go south to help him. , So the Battle of Longtan broke out. The battle of Longtan is immortal in the history of the Northern Expedition, as well as the battles of Tingsi Bridge, Wuchang, and Nanchang. In mid-August, the troops in front of the Northern Expedition retreated back to the south bank of the Yangtze River one after another. Chiang Kai-shek had already left the field, and the defense along the Yangtze River was not yet stable.

Longtan Town faces the Dajiang River in the north and is the only barrier for Nanjing. Baohua, Tangshan and Qixia Mountains lie in the southeast and west. Controlling traffic between Beijing and Shanghai is also enough to threaten Nanjing's external traffic.Sun Chuanfang chose Longtan as the place to cross the river and go to land. On the one hand, he could approach the capital, and on the other hand, he could take Suzhou and Changshu. 1. People in the south eat more rice, and people in the north eat more noodles. The people in the north can bring noodles anytime and anywhere, and the time of fighting is not affected by what they eat. The people in the south eat three meals a day, which must take more time.It is now planned to take advantage of this point to prolong the combat time so that they have no time to eat, or to attack violently while eating.

2. In view of the fact that Jiangxi province is fighting with all its strength on the front line and is defeated by the revolutionary army's vertical equipment, it is also appropriate to use vertical equipment for confrontation.For subsequent battles, more reserves should be set up, and the front and back should follow each other, overlapping forces, for continuous attacks. 3. Due to the disturbance of plainclothes troops in many battles, every time a large force is placed in a useless place, it should not be formally fought until the main force is discovered by me, and a small number of considerable troops should be used to deal with it. Once the main force is determined to be there , then split the attack.

4. In view of the great effectiveness of plainclothes teams, plainclothes teams should also be established to coordinate operations. 5. The officers and soldiers of the coalition forces fought many times. Some of them did not know how to use the terrain, and some were known as cowards who refused to use the terrain. Now, in view of the large number of casualties, in order to protect the strength of the troops, it is strictly ordered that the troops must make effective use of the terrain and features, so as to Reduce damage. 6. Before the outcome is settled, even if you win a small victory, after a little pursuit, you should still retreat to the original position and use the trenches you have formed and the familiar terrain to meet the battle. After the outcome is determined, if you win a big victory, Should be pursued.

7. At the beginning of the battle, attention should be paid to the terrain on the side, and cover teams should be dispatched on the two wings to avoid large encirclement.Due to the recent battles, they were often threatened and surrounded by flanks and failed. 8. Most of the officers and soldiers in the south are weak and weak, so they should use charges to engage in hand-to-hand combat. 9. The marching speed of the coalition army is not as fast as that of the revolutionary army, and more practice of forced marching should be practiced. 10. To order those skilled in shooting to shoot only the officers of the Revolutionary Army and those holding the party flag.

Sun Chuanfang used about 50,000 troops, and his designation and command system are: Sun Chuanfang, head of the Anguo Army's first front army, has eleven divisions, four mixed brigades, and two supplementary brigades. Li Baozhang, Commander of the Second Division Shangguan Yunxiang, Commander of the Fourth Division Liang Hongen, Commander of the Seventh Division Cui Jingui, Commander of the Eighth Division Duan Chengze, Commander of the Ninth Division Zheng Junyan, Commander of the Tenth Division Ma Baoheng, Commander of the 11th Division 12th Division Commander Su Xun Lu Dianchen, Commander of the Thirteenth Division

Liu Shilin, Commander of the 14th Division Song Litian, Commander of the Fifteenth Division Wang Leshan, Commander of the 13th Mixed Brigade Wang Yazhi, Commander of the 15th Mixed Brigade Liang Chunpu, Commander of the 29th Mixed Brigade Xu Songen, Commander of the 30th Mixed Brigade Shao Zeying, Commander of the First Supplementary Brigade Gao Shouhe, Commander of the Second Supplementary Brigade The Northern Expedition was divided into four chains of command: He Yingqin, Commander-in-Chief of the First Route Army, has seven armies under his jurisdiction: He Yingqin, Commander of the First Army

Tenth Army Commander Wang Yuanpei Lai Shihuang, Commander of the Fourteenth Army Cao Wanshun, Commander of the Seventeenth Army Yang Jie, Commander of the Eighteenth Army Commander of the 31st Army (unknown) Zhou Fengqi, commander of the 26th Army The commander-in-chief of the Second Route Army, Bai Chongxi, administered five armies and two independent divisions: Wang Pu, commander of the 27th Army Bai Wenwei, Commander of the 33rd Army Chen Tiaoyuan, commander of the 37th Army Xia Douyin, Commander of the New Tenth Army Ma Xiangbin, Commander of the New Eleventh Army Independent Division Teacher Wang Jintao Yan Deji, head of the Independent Division Li Zongren, commander-in-chief of the Third Route Army, has four armies under his jurisdiction: Xia Wei, Commander of the Seventh Army Liu Zuolong, commander of the 19th Army (formerly the 15th Army) Fortieth Army Commander He Yao Group Ye Kaixin, commander of the 44th Army Yang Shuzhuang, Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Chen Jiliang, Commander of the First Fleet Chen Shaokuan, Commander of the Second Fleet Chen Xunyong, Commander of the Third Fleet In mid-August 2016, the Northern Expeditionary Army set up defenses on the south bank of the Yangtze River, while Sun Chuanfang's army retreated southward with the revolutionary army, tracked and occupied various towns in the north of the Yangtze River, and collected a large number of ships to prepare to cross the river. On August 20, Sun Jun's main force arrived at Quanjiao, Hanshan, Puzhen, Tongjiangji, etc. At the same time, Sun Jun appeared in Yangzhou, Liuhe, and Taixing, and fired artillery from Pukou Station to the Shizishan Fortress, and shot down with rifles. Turn off shooting. At dawn on the 24th, a group of Sun Jun and a group dragged a civilian boat with a large and small steamer to smuggle in Tuerji, the upper reaches of Dasheng Pass. When sailing down, Chen Tiaoyuan passed the place on the way up the ship, and immediately ordered the guards on the ship to fire separately. Sun Jun was suddenly flanked by three sides, and then hurriedly turned the rudder to return.Sun Jun of Wujiang Township, Shanghu also took dozens of civilian boats from the Zhuma River to the south bank, but was also repelled by the revolutionary army. From the night of August 25th to before dawn on the 26th, Sun Jun crossed the river between Nanjing and Zhenjiang to five places: Badou Mountain, Wulong Mountain, Qixia Mountain, Longtan and Zhenjiang. The mountain is used to cover the crossing of the river, Qixia Mountain is used to assist the crossing, and the main crossing site is Longtan. At 3 o'clock in the morning on the 26th, Sun Jun took more than ten boats from Wangjiangting to Wulong Mountain and landed in dense fog. At 4 o'clock, Sun Jun's third regiment took more than a hundred ships to attack. It was once occupied by Sun Jun. Fortunately, the Seventh Army of the Northern Expedition Army reinforced it in time and defeated Sun Jun in Wulong Mountain. At the same time, Sun Jun crossed from the boat and attacked Qixia Mountain. The defensive troops of the revolutionary army were exhausted after a long battle. station, cutting off the Nanjing-Shanghai railway and wire traffic. At the same time, Sun Jun took advantage of the north wind and thick fog to cross the river from Dahekou to attack Longtan. The defenders in Longtan were only the 64th Regiment of the 22nd Division of the Revolutionary Army. Then it fell. As for Sun Jun who smuggled from Shierwei to Gaozi and Zhenjiang, and Sun Jun who crossed the river in Baguazhou and Badou Mountain, they were all beaten head-on by the defenders, and were either wiped out by the river or sunk on the river. He Yingqin and Li Zongren received the news that Sun Jun had landed from Wulong Mountain and Qixia Mountain in Nanjing, and immediately dispatched the Seventh Army to Wulong Mountain for reinforcements. At 12 noon, they learned that not only Sun Jun who crossed the river in Wulong Mountain was extremely tenacious, but also Qixia On the mountain side, Sun Jun also surged like a tide, and the traffic between Nanjing and Shanghai had been blocked, so he sent the 21st Division of the 1st Army to assist Qixia Mountain, and transferred the 2nd Division of the 1st Army and the Independent 58th Regiment to attack from the downstream. When Longtan fell, Bai Chongxi went to Wuxi on business. According to reports, he ordered Wei Lihuang, the commander of the 14th Division stationed in Zhenjiang, to provide reinforcements nearby, and at the same time telegraphed Liu Zhi, the commander of the Second Division of the First Army, and Xu Tingyao, the deputy commander, to gather in Zhenjiang. The Northern Expeditionary Army was ordered to rush to help Longtan. Wei Lihuang's 14th Division was restrained by Sun Jun's troops crossing the river in the defense area near Zhenjiang, so he did not dare to move. It was dusk when they arrived, so they took advantage of the night to attack Sun Jun at Longtan Station. The highlands southwest of Longtan Station were still in the hands of the 64th Regiment of the 22nd Division of the Northern Expedition Army. Sun Jun was caught off guard, and was shocked for a while, and Longtan was recovered.Xu Tingyao, deputy commander of the Second Division of the First Army of the Northern Expedition, received a telegram from Bai Chongxi at Changzhou Station, and immediately marched towards Zhenjiang. Arrived at Longtan Station on the evening of the 27th, just as Sun Jun was attacking Longtan fiercely, he immediately joined the battle. In the afternoon of the same day, Bai Chongxi went to Zhenjiang to supervise the division and sent reinforcements to Longtan, but Sun Jun also increased his troops. On the evening of the 28th, the military committee in Nanjing suddenly received a telegram sent by Bai Chongxi from Zhenjiang via the Shanghai radio station: "The enemy is coming. The counterattack at Longtan is very urgent, please use the Seventh Army to follow and pursue the enemy on the Longtan side, so as to be flanked by the troops of the First Army to the east." It was then that Sun Jun was still counterattacking on the Longtan side. At midnight on August 28, Longtan was once again captured by Sun Chuanfang's army. The Northern Expeditionary Division Wei Lihuang and the Second Division led by Xu Tingyao, who had withdrawn from Longtan, concentrated on Nanjing City.He Yingqin and Li Zongren, members of the Standing Committee of the Nanjing Military Commission, believed that the main force of Sun's army was capturing Longtan, so Naifei dispatched the main forces of the first and seventh armies to attack Longtan from the east and west, and sent an urgent telegram to Chen Tiaoyuan's army in Wuhu, who was in the quarry. He Yaozu's army in Ji, Ye Kaixin's army in Cihu Town, Wang Pu's army in Qingyang, and Xia Douyin's army in Datong served as defensive deployments for the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.He also ordered Chen Shaokuan, the commander of the navy, to send ships to cruise around Baguazhou, Chuanzikou, Dahekou, Wujiang Town and other places to intercept Sun Jun who was smuggling. Bai Chongxi was in Zhenjiang. On the afternoon of the 28th, Liu Zhi, the commander of the Second Division, rushed back to Zhenjiang from Shanghai. Bai ordered Liu to take the original train to Longtan for reinforcements. All frontline troops were under the unified command of Liu Zhi. Liu arrived at Xiashu and At the east end of Shankou Village between Longtan, the train he was on collided with the train withdrawing from Longtan Station and derailed at the same time. Liu Zhi hit his head and killed and injured more than 200 officers and soldiers.Liu Zhi was wounded and asked Wei Lihuang who was standing guard in Longtan on the phone, but the phone was no longer available. After consulting the officers and soldiers on the colliding train, he learned that Longtan had been captured by Sun Jun, and most of the defenders moved to the southwest of Longtan along Nanjing Avenue. While retreating, Liu Zhi reported to Bai Chongxi, and at the same time set up defenses near Shankou Village. Sun Chuanfang's army crossed the south of the Yangtze River and invaded from August 26, smuggling day and night. Until the night of the 29th, Sun Jun's crossing troops gathered in Longtan, with the second, fourth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, The 13th, 14th and other ten divisions and the 15th, 27th, 29th, and supplementary first mixed brigades amounted to more than 50,000 people, guarding Huanglong Mountain to the west of Longtan, and Qinglong Mountain and Tiger Mountain to the south. Head Mountain, Dashi Mountain and Leigu Mountain to the east are all dangerous.Sun Chuanfang himself also personally supervised the battle at the Longtan Cement Company, and planned to use part of it to develop to the southeast and attack Nanjing with the main force. On the night of August 29, Bai Chongxi told Liu Zhi by phone that he had called the First Army and Seventh Army troops in Nanjing to counterattack Longtan at dawn on August 30.Liu Zhi deployed immediately after receiving the order.Xia Wei, deputy commander of the Seventh Army in Nanjing, led the Seventh Army and the Nineteenth Army to attack from Qixia Mountain.He Yingqin was preparing for a counterattack in Dongliu Town, with Wei Lihuang as the commander-in-chief of the front enemy, the right column was commanded by Xu Tingyao, the left column was commanded by Chen Cheng, and the reserve team was in charge of Lou Jingcheng. In the early morning of August 30, the Second Division of the First Army of the Revolutionary Army was planning to shift its offensive. Sun Chuanfang's army suddenly launched a general offensive across the board, which was so fierce that Liu Zhi went to the front line to command.In the midst of a crisis, it happened that the 58th Independent Regiment, led by regiment leader Gui Yongqing, rushed to support and stabilize the situation.The Northern Expeditionary Army on the Nanjing side launched an offensive at 7 am on the 30th. Although Sun Jun counterattacked fiercely from all sides, the entire line of the Revolutionary Army was able to communicate with each other, and gradually surrounded from the east, south, and west.However, Sun Jun took advantage of the dangers of Huanglong Mountain, Qinglong Mountain, Hutou Mountain, and Qixing Temple to gain an overview of the dangerous mountains.Sun Jun fought for every inch of land. Sun Chuanfang and his senior generals all supervised the battle in Longtan.A part of the revolutionary army broke into the market of Longtan Town, and Sun Jun retreated to the river bank in a hurry, and completely conquered Longtan at 5:00 p.m. that day. At 5 o'clock in the morning on the 31st, the revolutionary army was deploying to pursue, and Sun Jun suddenly launched a fierce counterattack, especially the most violent attack on the cement company and Longtan Station.At this time, He Yingqin and Bai Chongxi had joined in Longtan, facing the enemy, and led the command. The First Army rushed to meet them, and a part of the Seventh Army pressed from Longtan along the railway to the side of Sun Jun who invaded the cement company. Before that time, Sun Jun retreated to Fangjiaba, Yuanjiaxiang, Huajiadang, Changtian Temple, Xiaozhoutian, Xilaoxu, and Zhouziqiao. For the general reserve team. At 2 o'clock in the afternoon on the 31st, Sun Jun who crossed the river was wiped out except for some who fled back to the north bank. This is the glorious battle of Longtan.Sun Chuanfang's army crossed the river to attack no less than 60,000 to 70,000 people, captured more than 30,000 officers and soldiers of Sun's army, dozens of senior officers above division commander and brigade commander, more than 40,000 guns, and countless casualties.The Northern Expedition also suffered more than 8,000 casualties.The revolutionary army escorted the captives with only a few gunmen for every thousand captives. There were no trains to transport them and no supplies. Therefore, many Sun Jun captives escaped by chance. During the Battle of Longtan, the Northern Expeditionary Army planned to cross the north of the river to attack Sun's army and intercept its retreat. However, Sun's army was widely spread along the river bank, and materials for crossing the river were scarce.After the victory in Longtan, Sun Jun fled in embarrassment, and the Military Commission of the National Revolutionary Army sent a telegram on September 2 to order one of the First and Third Route Armies to cross the river for a strategic pursuit.Sun Chuanfang's army retreated northward in a panic after being defeated in Longtan. Except for some retreating to Wuyi and Chuzhou on Jinpu Road, the main force retreated from Liuhe and Tianchang along the canal through Yangzhou.Sun Chuanfang himself disguised himself as a soldier and took a small ship to Yangzhou. On the one hand, he ordered Liu Shilin, the commander of the Fourteenth Division, to take in the defeated troops along the river, and on the other hand, he stationed the mixed brigades of the Fourth Division, the Seventh Division, the Eighth Division, and the Fifteenth Division. In the Yangzhou and Gaoyou area, they hurriedly led Zheng Junyan, the commander of the 10th Division, and a total of five to six thousand people, and retreated to Xuzhou via Huaiyin, Siyang, and Suqian.The army was defeated like a mountain, and Sun Chuanfang's army was no exception. When the Northern Expeditionary Army crossed the river to pursue, Sun Jun of Pukou had already heard the wind and fled. In the first ten days of September, the Northern Expeditionary Army chased northward, and the pursuit force was divided into three parts. The right-wing army was commanded by Yang Jie, the commander of the 18th Army, the commander of the Central Army was He Yaozu, the commander of the 40th Army, and the left-wing army was commanded by the 18th Army. Bo Wenwei, commander of the 33rd Army, was the commander. Under the command of Yang Jie, the right-wing army, with the 92nd Division of the 31st Army as the right column, the 14th Army as the central column, and the 18th Army as the left column, crossed the river near Zhenjiang and pursued along the canal. ; cross the river from near Jiangyin, and pursue in Taixing, Xinghua, Lianshui, Dongtai and Yanfu.Because each army had been informed by Yang Jie that they had to carry 20 days of supplies, and when purchasing military supplies, there were not enough materials for crossing the river, so they could only cross the river after September 6th.The 18th Army of the left column made the fastest progress. After crossing the river, on September 7, Sun Jun, who had occupied Taizhou, Yangzhou, and Xiannv Temple, was the first to defeat and occupy it. City, and on September 11 and 12, following Sun Jun Liang Hongen and Lu Dianchen, they broke through Huai'an and Huaiyin successively, captured more than 3,000 people, and conquered Huaiyin.The right and middle columns also advanced to Funing, Lianshui, etc., and stopped at the line of Funing, Lianshui, Zhongxing, and Siyang. The newly formed Tenth Army of the Central Army first crossed the river from the vicinity of Caishi at dawn on September 6. Sun Jun on the north bank tried his best to resist. The vanguard of the 40th Army also crossed to Pukou, and advanced towards Quanjiao with the newly formed 10th Army. They conquered it on the 10th, and then joined forces with the 40th Army to occupy Chuzhou. Near Zhang Baling confronted Mingguang's enemies. Since the Battle of Hefei, the units of the Left Wing Army had the stubborn resistance of Sun Jun before, and the oppression of the upper reaches of Wuhan later. Among them, the Tenth Army and the Eleventh Army were both commanded by Xinyi. It can progress as scheduled, so the actual combatants in this pursuit are only the central army and the right wing army.