Chapter 172 4. Southern Expedition

On August 12, all the ministries of the Chen Geng Corps were dispatched from their garrisons to start the great Southern Expedition. This is the day that the whole army has been looking forward to for a long time.When the order to march was issued, everyone was encouraged by the joy of the upcoming victory. The people of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Liberated Area fully supported the army's southern expedition. On the red flag given to the 9th column by the 6 million people of Taihang, there was written a Zhuang language that the Taihang people were proud of: "The children of Taihang tied long tassels and crossed Henan to conquer the Canglong." When bidding farewell to the elders in the liberated areas, all the commanders and fighters have infinite nostalgia for the land where they grew up and grew up, and for the people who fought together and are connected by flesh and blood.

During the army's march, it was a rainy season. The mountains and valleys were filled with clouds and mists, and all the rivers were flooded. The troops often marched on the muddy mountain roads in the storm, and they were drenched like soaked chickens.At night, piles of bonfires for drying clothes are burned everywhere on the top of the mountain, by the side of the village, and by the road.These beacons gather into a huge brilliance, like dawn appearing on the edge of the dark night.When it is left far behind, it looks even more beautiful in the distance, as if in a legendary mythical world.

No matter the overwhelming downpour or the winding and rugged trails, nothing can stop the great march of thousands of troops. Around August 20th, troops from the East Route arrived near the Changquan Ferry in Jiyuan as scheduled, and our troops from the West Front also arrived at the area near the Maojin Ferry in Pinglu on time to gather, controlled the area along the 330-mile north bank of the Yellow River between Zhengzhou and Tongguan, and actively carried out forced crossings of the Yellow River. final preparations. On the eve of the launch of the crossing operation, after the battle of Yulin, the Northwest Field Army wiped out the 36th Division of Hu Zongnan's main force in Shajiadian, northern Shaanxi on August 20, leaving Hu Zongnan's group trapped in the area north of Mizhi, hungry and exhausted.Liu Deng's main force leaped into the Dabie Mountains, mobilizing more than 20 brigades of the enemy Gu Zhutong's main force to block and chase south.This left the main forces of the enemy, Gu and Hu cliques with no time to take care of western Henan and southern Shaanxi.Between Tongguan and Luoyang in our assault area, the enemy only used 5 security regiments to serve as the first line of defense along the Mengjin to Tongguan section on the south bank of the Yellow River for more than 500 miles. The New 1st Brigade (formerly the 75th Brigade) was deployed between Luoyang, Shanxian County, Lingbao, and Tongguan, relying on railways for mobile defense; the vast area south of Longhai Road was guarded only by security teams.The north bank of the Yellow River in this area is mountainous, which is convenient for concealed operations and various preparations, and the conditions of the masses are also good. These conditions provide our army with good opportunities and conditions for crossing the river.At the same time, it is also beneficial for our army to take advantage of the gap after crossing the river, develop freely, look for opportunities to wipe out the enemy, and establish a base area.

Based on this, Chen Geng instructed the headquarters to formulate a combat plan for this operation: take the 4 brigades of the 4th column as the left column, in the two sections from Guandu to Qinghekou between Yuanqu and Jiyuan, and from Dajiao to Mawan Shangduhe (take the 10th and 11th brigades as the left side: the 10th brigade is responsible for crossing the river assault, the 12th brigade is the reserve team, and implements the south crossing at Guandu Qinghekou; take the 13th and 12th brigades as the right side: the 13th brigade is responsible for crossing the river Assault crossing the river, the 12th Brigade was the reserve team, and carried out a forced crossing from Dajiao to Mawan), and then quickly attacked Longhai Road with the main force, captured Xin'an and Mianchi, and captured Luoyang by camera.With the 38th Army and the 22nd Brigade as the right column, cross the river east of Maojindu, and then use a part to attack Zhangmao Town and Guanyintang Station to the east to support the left column. The main force develops southwest and threatens Shan County. And detour to Daying Station to the west, cut off the enemy's connection between Lingbao and Shanxian County, and resist and contain the enemy who is aided by Shaanxi from the east.With the 9th column as the 2nd echelon of the Corps, the 4th column crossed the river at the end, and then the main force developed to the southeast to contain the western aid of the enemy in Zhengzhou.In order to ensure the successful crossing of the Chen Geng Corps, the Taiyue Military Region, with the 23rd Brigade and the backbone armed forces of each division, actively launched an offensive against the enemy along the north and south of Linfen and along the Tongpu line to confuse and contain the enemy and cooperate with the main action.