Chapter 36 Chapter Seven "Operation Tarzan" (4)

5 The news of the failure of the counterattack caused a shock in the base camp, and Chiang Kai-shek flew to Zhengzhou overnight to supervise the battle. When the angry chairman appeared at Zhengzhou Airport, Chief Cheng and his staff stood silently with serious expressions on their faces, but this time the chairman did not blame anyone, but told them to hold a joint combat meeting immediately.In the underground war room, the generals of the first war zone who attended the meeting were surprised to see that not only He Yingqin, Bai Chongxi, Chen Cheng, Qian Dajun, Lin Wei and other central officials came with the chairman, but also a large group of military uniforms came one after another. Famous Whampoa generals such as Liu Zhi, Xue Yue, Hu Zongnan, Tang Enbo, Yu Jishi, Li Hanhun, Guan Linzheng, Huang Jie, Gui Yongqing, Song Xilian, Zheng Dongguo and so on.People immediately felt the seriousness of the situation. If it was just to recover a small train station, why would they need to summon so many generals of the central army? This shows that a strategic decisive battle is imminent.

At the beginning of the meeting, Commander-in-Chief He Yingqin pointed to the blue arrows representing the enemy on the map and explained that it has been found out that the Dohihara Division, which has penetrated into the rear of our army, has attacked from Kaocheng and Dongbatou in the east of Henan and has attacked in many places. There were battles with our army in various places, and the farthest enemy group unexpectedly attacked the railway station near Kaifeng, our strategic location, causing the Longhai Railway to be interrupted, and the situation in the Central Plains has undergone a decisive change.The strategic ambition of the Japanese is to eat up the 300,000 troops of our Xue Yue Corps, and then capture Zhengzhou in the Central Plains in one fell swoop, and then go south to Wuhan.Chief He pointed out that since the Anti-Japanese War, our army's combat power has been greatly improved. The enemy's army has come from afar and the rear is empty, and the actual combat effectiveness has been greatly reduced. warplane.

As soon as Mr. He finished speaking, a small general with a white bandage on his head stood up Huo Di. He stood up with a straight posture and a firm expression. Railway station mission, deeply ashamed.I beg you to give the lowly official another chance to sacrifice your meritorious deeds. If you lose, you are willing to be punished by military law. He was Jiang Zaizhen, the commander of the New Eighth Division who had just suffered a defeat. Chiang Kai-shek could no longer remember the Guizhou division commander who used to be stationed at the Yellow River Iron Bridge. He Yingqin quickly introduced in a low voice, and Chiang Kai-shek nodded with a satisfied smile on his face.He gestured to Jiang Zaizhen to sit down, and then began to lecture.

The chairman's voice was calm and not high-pitched, but it sounded like thunder to the generals.He first praised Mr. Jiang and said that when the country is in crisis, everyone should take the lead like Mr. Jiang. The world is big but the individual is small, and he will fight the enemy bravely for the country's war of resistance.In the past, Rao Guohua and Wang Mingzhang of the Sichuan Army had set an example for all theaters. Now there is Commander Jiang who is not afraid of sacrifice and takes the initiative to fight and is determined to regain lost ground. The chairman changed the subject and returned to the task of the Battle of Eastern Henan.He pointed out that the enemy chief Dohihara has made three fatal mistakes; first, the long-distance raids went deep into the lone army and completely separated from the logistics supply base.Second, according to common sense, if an army cannot get supplies in time, the ammunition, food, and gasoline it carries can only last a week of combat at most.If the fighting is fierce, these materials will be exhausted in advance, which means that if the Doihara Division is not rescued by the North China Dispatch Army, it will be difficult for him to persist for more than a week.Third, the enemy's North China Dispatch Army far away in the direction of Xuzhou will definitely encounter our army's resolute resistance.Our army has set up three solid lines of defense on the front line in eastern Henan, and there are two major railway lines, the Longhai and the Beijing-Han, to support the continuous supply of strategic reserves, food, weapons, ammunition, etc. to the front line. Why is Shouyi in Terauchi so confident? Will he be able to save Dohihara from the siege?Could it be that the hundreds of thousands of troops surrounded by me can't eat this enemy who is out of ammunition and food within a week?

The hall was quiet and silent. The chairman paused, looked around the crowd with piercing eyes, and suddenly raised his voice: Since the Anti-Japanese War, the Chinese army has been defeated repeatedly, the country has been lost, and the people are full of grievances.Now the chairman finally has a rare turning point, which is a ray of light in the dark historical sky. He must firmly grasp the opportunity and never allow the victory to slip away from his hands.Chiang Kai-shek warned the generals attending the meeting sternly, saying: The base camp has made up its mind to completely wipe out the invading Doihara Division!This battle is of great importance. Only victory is allowed and no defeat is allowed. All troops participating in the battle must fight bravely.

Finally, Bai Chongxi, the deputy chief of the general staff, issued a combat order. The base camp decided to form a powerful Eastern Henan Corps, with 15 Class A Divisions of the Central Army under its jurisdiction, about 150,000 troops, including the main force known as China's "two aces", namely the 20th Army Corps adapted from the Nanjing Central Teaching Corps. The Seventh Army and the Seventy-first Army, formerly known as the Nanjing Guard Division, officially launched the Battle of Eastern Henan for the purpose of opening up the Longhai Railway and encircling the Tufeiyuan Division.Xue Yue was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the former enemy, and the headquarters of the former enemy was located in Kaifeng.The troops in the first theater are responsible for blocking the enemy reinforcements in the direction of Xuzhou and ensuring the smooth progress of the battle of the Eastern Henan Corps.

The base camp named the battle "Operation Tarzan".