Chapter 266 3. Yan Xishan's military strength and deployment

Taiyuan's fortification is indeed top-notch.But after the Battle of Jinzhong, it has become an isolated city after all.Now who is going to defend this isolated city?At this time, Yan Xishan's troops were only left with six divisions, including the 66th, 68th, and 69th Divisions, the Temporary 45th Division, the 49th Division, and the Temporary 8th Corps. The remnants are obviously not enough. However, Yan Xishan still had another trick. He sent Yang Aiyuan, the deputy director of the Suiyuan Office in Taiyuan, to personally find Leighton Stuart, the American ambassador to China in Nanjing. Qingdao urges the commander of the U.S. 7th Fleet, Bai Jier, to send troops to help; he also sent his senior officer, the former puppet governor of Shanxi, Su Tirendong, to Japan to plan the establishment of the "East Asian Alliance Volunteer Army" and airlift Taiyuan to fight.

What is the result?Except that the U.S. military cobbled together a military organization under the pseudonym of economic investigation in Qingdao, Yantai and other places to come to Taiyuan, the rest came to naught. Yan Xishan was not discouraged when this trick failed.While calling for help from Chiang Kai-shek, he replenished the remaining troops. After patchwork, he restored the 61st Army headquarters that were severely damaged in the Jinzhong Campaign; rebuilt the 19th, 33rd, 34th, and 43rd military headquarters that were wiped out in the Jinzhong Campaign, and the 70th, The 71st, 72nd, and 73rd divisions are temporarily organized into the 39th, 40th, 44th, and 46th divisions, and the 9th and 10th corps are temporarily organized into 10 divisions.At the same time, the Taiyuan People's Guards were organized into the iron-blooded division; the "iron army core" drawn from each unit for training was organized into the iron cadre division; the Taiyuan Sui Department officer team and the remaining officers of each department were organized into the brave division and the mortar division; The returned personnel will be compiled as loyal teachers.In this way, Yan Xishan defended Taiyuan with more than 100,000 troops.

Yan Xishan gathered 11 divisions and 21 security regiments, and formed four defense zones in the east, west, south, and north outside Taiyuan City: the east defense zone, with Wen Huaiguang, the commander of the 19th Army, and the commander-in-chief; Zhao Gong, the commander of the 61st Army, was also the commander-in-chief; Gao Zhuo, the commander of the 43rd Army, was also the commander-in-chief in the South Defense Area; Han Buzhou, the commander of the 33rd Army, was the commander-in-chief of the North Defense Area.The Shuangta Temple in the southeast of the city set up a special fortress commander, and Liu Xiaozeng, the commander of the 43rd Army, served as the commander.In the city, the special service regiment, gendarmerie regiment, and armored regiment set up a central defense area; another 7 divisions were reserved as reserve forces, and Wang Jingguo, commander of the 10th Corps, was appointed as Taiyuan's garrison commander to command the overall situation.

Specific defense plan: First, the policy: To secure the stronghold in North China, control the industrial areas, cultivate independent military and political forces to fight against the Communist bandits, and completely annihilate the invading bandits; and cooperate with the national army in other areas to fully counterattack and restore power. Second, guiding principles: In order to implement strategic defense and tactical offensive, use a small number of troops to stick to the main points, and the majority of troops to maintain maneuvers, in the hope of relying on solid fortifications and blazing firepower to inflict heavy damage to the bandits.Then use our mobile troops in a timely manner to wipe out part of the bandit army one by one, so as to achieve the goal of protracted offensive.

Third, the deployment of troops: the 10th Corps is responsible for the east and south of the city.Ensure the lines of Yangjiabao, Chunshuyuan, Mazhuang, Naoma, Niutuo Village, and Feng (Feng) Geliang.Mobile troops are controlled in the vicinity of Shuangta Temple and Crouching Tiger Mountain respectively.The 15th Corps is in charge of the west and north areas of the city.Guarantee Yangqu Town, Langang, Huyan Village, Huatutou, Baijiazhuang (north of Ninth Courtyard), and Nanyan Town.The mobile troops were controlled in the vicinity of Xincheng and Dongshe towns.Sun Chu directly commanded all the ministries as the general reserve team to maintain mobility near the city wall.

Fourth, other matters. ⑴ Promote the unity of the party, government, and military, and carry out overall warfare; and strengthen intelligence and espionage work. ⑵Implement civilian economy: save consumption, promote production, increase food sources, and prevent bandits from besieging; and make every effort to prepare and maintain the air force supply facilities. (3) Fortification construction: It must have both backbone and surface equipment, and three-dimensional equipment in the underground, on the ground, and in the air (referring to the bunkers, walls, middle, and lower perforations).On the east front, we should pay attention to the enemy's fortifications, and on the west front, we should guard against surprise attacks by bandits. (4) Attention in combat: It is necessary to use ambush guns, ambush cannons, and implement short-term and dangerous tactics to maximize the damage of the bandits and reduce the damage to the minimum, so as to achieve the goal of controlling the sea of ​​fire. (Volume 4 of "The History of the Kuomintang Army's Battles - Fighting the Rebellion", Volume 4, pages 254-256)

In order to stick to Taiyuan, Yan Xishan vigorously strengthened the fascist rule. On August 23, Yan Xishan issued a "Message to All Comrades", ordering his subordinates to strictly guard their positions and be determined to fight to the end.For this reason, the special gendarmerie command office headed by Liang Huazhi used secret agents to strengthen control; implemented the "joint sitting method" in the army to prevent soldiers from escaping and surrendering; ".Yan Xishan also made a coffin for himself and placed it at the door, and prepared poison for himself, saying "If you don't succeed, you will succeed", deceiving his subordinates to work for him.