Li Zongren and Bai Chongqi stayed up all night, and they were anxiously waiting for the news ahead.
Li Zongren said worriedly: "Jiansheng, is it too risky to order the 22nd Army to counterattack Tengxian and Pang Bingxun to counterattack Linyi? If the attack does not go smoothly and the Japanese army takes advantage of the situation to counterattack, these two armies will be at risk."
"I'm just afraid that the Japanese army won't fight back." Bai Chongqi said, "If the Japanese army does fight back, it will be easy."
Li Zongren's expression changed slightly and he said: "Jiansheng, what are you..."
Bai Chongqi said with a gloomy face: "Mr. Virtue, if you are willing to give up, you will gain something."
Li Zongren remained silent. Bai Chongqi's words undoubtedly made sense. If the Battle of Xuzhou could wipe out the 5th and 10th elite divisions of the Japanese army in one fell swoop, then what would it matter if the 22nd Army and Pang Bingxun's Army were all wiped out? In the final analysis, the Sichuan Army
and the Northwest Army are just random names in the battle sequence of the national army. Li Zongren would not care, and Chairman Chiang would not care either.
"Report!" Suddenly a communications staff officer came in and reported, "General, the 22nd Army has sent an urgent message from Teng County!"
Li Zongren said without turning his head: "Nian."
The communications staff immediately started a telegram and read: "The War Zone Commander's Department: Our 122nd Division entered Teng County at 12 o'clock last night and began to attack the city. The fierce battle lasted until 2 o'clock in the morning today. The enemy retreated without support. Now the 122 Division has taken control of the entire city.
, and built fortifications to prepare for the enemy's counterattack, Deng Xihou, Ministry of Staff, January 14, 27th year of the Republic of China."
"What?" Li Zongren said in astonishment, "Tengxian County was retaken with just one division?"
Before he finished speaking, another communications staff officer came in and reported: "General, the 3rd Army Corps has an urgent call!"
Li Zongren said: "Read it."
The communications staff officer said: "The war zone commander's department: The main force and supplementary regiment of our 39th Division counterattacked Linyi at 10 o'clock last night. After two hours of fierce fighting, Linyi was recaptured and more than 300 people from two infantry squadrons of the Japanese invaders were annihilated. Today, the remnants of the Japanese invaders
Having been defeated in Ju County, our troops are continuing to pursue in the direction of Ju County, Pang Bingxun, January 14, 27th year of the Republic of China."
"Ah? Pang Bingxun's army also recaptured Linyi? What's going on, little devil?"
Listening to these two telegrams, Li Zongren was filled with suspicion, but Bai Chongqi broke into a cold sweat. He said to Li Zongren with lingering fear: "Gong De, it's so dangerous! Let me just say, with the arrogance of this old devil Sakayuan,
How could they take the initiative to withdraw? It turns out that it was only their small force that attacked Tengxian and Linyi!"
"A small force?" Li Zongren said suspiciously, "But Deng Xihou and Pang Bingxun sent a telegram yesterday saying that the Japanese army's artillery fire was very fierce and the offensive was extremely powerful!"
"Their words are not credible." Bai Chongqi waved his hand and said, "Who is Deng Xihou? Who is Pang Bingxun? They are just two small warlords who have never seen much of the world. In their eyes, more than a dozen sects are forced to
The artillery fire was already a very powerful artillery fire, and the charge of two or three Japanese infantry squadrons was already overwhelming."
…
Tai'an, headquarters of the Japanese 10th Division.
The chief of staff, Colonel Ti Bujiagui, strode into the headquarters, suddenly put his feet back and stood at attention and said: "Your Excellency General, the 33rd Brigade sent an urgent message from Zoucheng. Teng County was raided by the Chinese army last night. The two garrison squadrons in the city were all destroyed.
, In addition, Mr. Sakagaki of the 5th Division also just sent a notification that Linyi has also been taken back by the Chinese."
"Oh?" Isotani Rensuke looked slightly moved and said, "The Chinese actually counterattacked?"
Tibujiagui nodded and said: "Yes, and the Chinese people's counterattack is extremely sharp."
Isotani Rensuke pondered: "Why did the Chinese suddenly abandon the two important military towns of Tengxian and Linyi? Why did they fight back after abandoning the defense? It is very puzzling."
Tibuchiagui shook his head and said, "Yes, the Chinese people's actions are indeed very suspicious."
Suddenly a smile appeared on Isotani Rensuke's face and he said: "However, I seem to have guessed the whole story."
Tibujiagui said respectfully: "Your Excellency, General, has traveled in China for many years. He is familiar with the thinking habits of the Chinese people and has contacts with many high-ranking officials in China. It is only natural that he can guess the whole story."
Isotani Rensuke waved his hand and said: "If I guess correctly, this should be the result of the factional struggle within the China Army."
"Faction struggle?" Tibujiagui asked very cooperatively, "Are there many factions within the China Army?"
"Of course." Isotani Ren said, "There are many factions within the China Army. First there were the Feng Clan, the Zhili Clique, and the Anhui Clique, and later there were the Northeast Army, the Northwest Army, the Gui Army, the Yunnan Army, the Sichuan Army, and the Guangdong Army.
As well as the Central Army under the leadership of the national leader Chiang Kai-shek, these armies are not subordinate to each other and often attack each other, with deep grudges."
"I understand." Colonel Tibujiagui said, "The reason why the Chinese Army in Teng County and Linyi retreated without a fight during the day yesterday was because the warlords of their respective factions wanted to preserve their strength, and the reason why the Chinese Army suddenly counterattacked last night was because
But it is because the battle between the various factions in China has come to an end or a compromise has been temporarily reached."
"Yo Xi." Isotani Rensuke said happily, "You are very smart."
Colonel Tibujiagui said: "Your Majesty General, what should we do now?"
Isotani Rensuke smiled and said: "The Imperial Japanese Army is ready to go, but the Chinese army on the opposite side is still pushing each other and scheming for their own interests. Don't you think this is a good opportunity?" After that, Isotani Rensuke's
His expression and tone suddenly became serious, and he said, "Order the Setani Brigade and the Field Artillery Regiment to immediately attack Teng County. The Sewu Brigade and the Cavalry Regiment immediately leave Zoucheng from Qufu to protect the Setani Brigade.
Sideways and behind.”
"Hai." Colonel Tibujiagui suddenly lowered his head and immediately took the order and left.
…
Xuzhou, War Room of the Fifth War Zone Commander's Headquarters.
Li Zongren said: "Jiansheng, do you think the Japanese army will launch a large-scale attack this time?"
"Definitely!" Bai Chongqi said resolutely, "If the two old devils Sakagaki and Isoya can still keep their composure this time, then we will not be unjust if we lose the battle of Xuzhou."
Li Zongren said: "Does that mean Deng Xihou and Pang Bingxun should be withdrawn again?"
"No." Bai Chongqi shook his head and said coldly, "If nothing unexpected happens, the main force of the Japanese 10th and 5th Divisions may have already launched a counterattack against Teng County and Linyi. At this time, Deng Xi was ordered to wait.
If Pang Bingxun retreats, the 22nd Army and the 3rd Army will immediately herd sheep, so it would be better to let them defend Tengxian and Linyi, which would also waste the Japanese army's energy."
Li Zongren remained silent and defended Tengxian and Linyi, basically leaving the 22nd Army and the 3rd Army to die. Although the 22nd Army had a lot of troops, it had poor equipment and a shortage of ammunition. The 3rd Army was an army in name, but in fact it only had
With the strength of four regiments, how could they possibly defeat the two most elite field divisions of the Japanese army?
However, from the perspective of the entire Xuzhou Battle, Bai Chongqi's suggestion is undoubtedly correct.
If the 22nd Army and the 3rd Army can defend Tengxian and Linyi, it will not only greatly consume the spirit of the two elite divisions of the Japanese army, but also consume the Japanese ammunition reserves in advance. In this way, when the entire Xuzhou battle begins, the main force of the national army will be able to encircle and annihilate them.
The difficulties faced by the two main divisions of the Japanese army will be much smaller.
After hesitating for a long time, Li Zongren still did not give the order to retreat.
…
Teng County.
As Bai Chongqi estimated, the Japanese 33rd Brigade, also known as the Segu Detachment (the so-called detachment, is actually an independent combat unit composed of an infantry brigade and an artillery regiment), has arrived at the foot of Tengxian County, from Zoucheng to
Tengxian County is only more than 70 miles away, and the Setani Kai Brigade is a mechanized brigade and arrived in less than two hours.
The Japanese Air Force directly under the North China Front also sent six bombers to assist in the battle. They repeatedly dive-bombed the Nationalist positions in Tengxian City, and even dropped dozens of white phosphorus bombs. Fires suddenly burst into flames in Tengxian City.
The puffing flames rolled up dozens of meters high, and the thick black smoke soared upwards, clearly visible hundreds of miles away.
Just as the bombing by planes ended, the bombardment by the 10th Field Artillery Regiment began again.
Before two brigades of 24 75mm field guns and 12 105mm field guns could set up artillery positions, they lined up along the highway and fired several rounds of indiscriminate fire at Tengxian County and the national army positions outside the city.
The two regiments of the 122nd Division outside Tengxian County were blown to pieces before they even engaged in battle.
How could hastily constructed field fortifications withstand the bombing of 105-caliber grenades?
When the Japanese bombardment ended, General Wang Mingzhang, the commander of the 122nd Division, urgently ordered the two regiments outside the city to return to the city. Those two regiments had less than 2,000 men left, and the casualty rate was as high as 60%. The same was true for the regiment that remained in the city.
The casualties were heavy. Before the Japanese attack officially started, the 122nd Division stationed in Teng County had already suffered more than half its casualties.
Before the officers and soldiers of the 122nd Division could take a breath, the Japanese army dispatched two infantry squadrons. Under the guidance of four tanks, they rushed towards the gap in the city wall that was blown open on both sides of the north gate of Tengxian County. The officers and soldiers of the 122nd Division relied on the lagging Hanyang
Using homemade rifles and a small number of domestically produced hand grenades, they launched a desperate fight against the Japanese invaders.
Although the equipment of the Sichuan soldiers was inferior, they were never afraid of the enemy.
The fierce fighting continued until the afternoon, with the two city wall gaps changing hands repeatedly, and corpses lying on top of each other. The arrogant Japanese 10th Division was unable to take any advantage from the Sichuan Army's 122nd Division. Even the Type 95 tanks that participated in the attack were stunned by the Sichuan Army soldiers.
Two vehicles were blown up. Although the 122nd Division of the Sichuan Army did not have anti-aircraft artillery, they had human bombs that they could charge forward with grenades!
Major General Kei Setani, commander of the Japanese 33rd Brigade, became angry and immediately requested tactical support from the air force directly under the front army.
Lieutenant General Tokugawa Yoshitoshi of the Aviation Corps of the North China Front of the Japanese Army immediately dispatched twelve bombers, carrying a large number of white phosphorus bombs and erosive mustard gas bombs, and flew over Tengxian County for the second round of air strikes. Tengxian County suddenly became a burning hell on earth.
, after the Japanese bombers flew away, no complete piece of rubble could be found in Teng County.
The Setani detachment immediately dispatched two infantry squadrons, fully armed and wearing gas masks, to break into the city.
Soon, fierce gunshots and occasional explosions of grenades rang out in the city walls. The remnants of the 122nd Division of the Sichuan Army still did not give up resistance. With the help of broken walls and a small amount of rifle bullets, they were still resisting desperately. The fierce battle continued until dusk.
Seeing that it was hopeless to clear out the remaining enemies in the city, Major General Qi had to order his troops to temporarily withdraw from the city wall.