Chapter 56 3. Chiang Kai-shek formulates a plan for attacking from east to west

For the first time, the main force of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Field Army cut the Longhai Road in half, liberated the vast area in eastern Henan, and disrupted the enemy's deployment.Chiang Kai-shek panicked and hastily mobilized three reorganized divisions from western Henan and Shaanxi, and two reorganized divisions from Huaibei to join the Hebei-Shandong-Henan battlefield. Together with the original seven reorganized divisions in Zhengzhou, Xinxiang, Kaifeng, and Shangqiu, the total 14 reorganization divisions, 32 brigades, more than 300,000 people.By the end of August, the enemy troops had assembled in Zhengzhou, Xinxiang, Kaifeng, Shangqiu and other places, and were preparing to launch an attack on the hinterland of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region.Bai Chongxi and Chen Cheng personally went to Kaifeng for deployment, and Liu Zhi, director of the Zhengzhou "Appeasement" Office, also went to Kaocheng and the civil rights front to supervise the battle.

Beginning on August 28, Jiang's army launched an attack on the southwestern part of Shandong in two routes from east to west. The East Road is the 5th Army of the Xuzhou Sui Department, the Reorganized 11th Division, and the 88th Division. There are 5 brigades in total. , Attack Yutai, Fengxian, Shanxian, and Chengwu. On the west road, about 10 brigades under the Zhengzhou Sui Department were divided into three columns and attacked Dongming, Dingtao, and Caoxian areas from the line of Fengqiu, Kaifeng, Kaocheng, and Shangqiu. Among them, the reorganized 3rd and 47th Divisions under Sun Zhen's 5th Sui District consisted of 4 brigades, about 17,000 people, and formed the central column.The 41st Division was reorganized as the left wing and attacked Dongming.The 55th and 68th divisions under Liu Ruming's 4th Sui District and the 2nd detachment of the Zhang Lanfeng Division of the 4th Column of Henan Security, a total of 4 regiments, about 15,000 people, are right-wing, from Lanfeng, Hongmiao to Cao County attacked.

In addition, the reorganized 40th Division, the reorganized Hebei Security 3rd Column, the 31st Group Wang Zhonglian's reorganized 85th and 32nd Divisions, and the reorganized 38th, 15th, and 27th Divisions, a total of 13 brigades, On the Ping-Han line, Anyang, Huaxian, Xinxiang and the areas east of it actively feinted and cooperated with the main battlefield attack. With Liu Ruming's reorganized 68th and 55th divisions plus other remnants of the troops and the 2 detachments of the reorganized Henan Security 4th Column Zhang Lanfeng, they are located on the Kaifeng and Shangqiu lines of Longhai Road and the areas on both sides to maintain rear traffic.

Chiang Kai-shek's general attempt was to force the main force of the Shanxi-Hebei-Luyu Field Army to fight continuously at the exhausted opportunity just after the Battle of Longhai with superior forces, and to use two forces to join forces to annihilate the Shanxi-Hebei-Luyu Field Army. Dingtao and Caoxian areas in the north, and diverted the water of the Yellow River into the old road, divided the liberated areas, and indeed controlled the southwest of Shandong, and then the main force attacked the Zhanghe River to open up the Pinghan Road.