As the vanguard of the 22nd Group Army, before the Independent Regiment set off for the expedition, the superior officer of the Independent Regiment, Deng Xihou, had already reported by telex to the commander of the Second Theater Command, Shanxi Laohan.
Naturally, the Shanxi old man warmly welcomed the arrival of Liu Lang and the Independent Regiment. He first sent a telegram to the 22nd Army Group to quickly move north to reinforce Shanxi Province, and then directly sent a telegram through the field radio station that had already vowed to go on the expedition and was still on the Sichuan-Shaanxi Highway.
Liu Lang.
He was ordered to rush to the Niangziguan area in eastern Shanxi before the end of the month to strengthen the defense there.
Although they received military orders to march quickly, Liu Lang and the independent regiment were unable to leave for the time being. However, this time it was not man-made, but a natural disaster.
The continuous drizzle over the past few days caused a mountain landslide on one side of the Sichuan-Shaanxi Highway. The simple road where trucks can pass was completely buried by rocks and mud. All members of the arriving engineering company went to work to clear the rocks. However, because there were no large tools, they could only rely on manpower.
, progress is quite slow.
It would be okay if the independent regiment was just pure infantry. It would just leave the baggage troops and garrison troops behind, and the whole army could climb over the hills and set off. But the current independent regiment can be regarded as a semi-mechanized force. Although there are no tanks or trucks, the entire army is
Yuan Sanbengzi traveled instead, and could reach a speed of 30 yards per hour when moving at full speed, and could move more than 200 kilometers to the destination in one day. This was considered extremely powerful in China at that time.
However, every gain must come with a loss. The price for gaining mobility is too much reliance on machinery. Once there is a problem on the road, the army will be unable to move. In the face of natural disasters, thousands of armies can only wait.
However, Liu Lang is not too anxious. Since he is going to Niangziguan in eastern Shanxi to fight, he still has a month. The distance from Guangyuan to Niangziguan is 1,200 kilometers. If he goes at full speed, he can reach it in only 6 days.
Even if there are any delays on the way, it will only take 8 days at most.
You know, in the time and space of the past, 20,000 people from the 22nd Army and Sun Zhen’s 41st Army just walked the 2,400 miles wearing straw sandals and a pair of iron soles. It took one and a half months to reach Jindong, Shanxi, and even caught up with them.
The battle after the fall of Niangzi Pass.
At this time, he was already 50 kilometers away from the base of the Independent Regiment. Liu Lang looked up at the sky and estimated the progress of the engineering company. There would be no day before the artery connecting Sichuan and Shaanxi could not be repaired.
Because Yu Xiancheng led the special brigade at the front, Liu Lang and Zhang Ruhao discussed it and ordered the entire army to station camps along both sides of the Sichuan-Shaanxi Highway in wartime formation. Each of the four infantry battalions sent out one to occupy the surrounding commanding heights, and the artillery battalion and artillery
After getting off the vehicle, all officers and soldiers dug field trenches and established defensive positions. Everything was carried out in accordance with wartime regulations. Anyone who slacked off would be dealt with according to military law.
Of course there will be no enemies here, but since the regimental commander has issued the military order, all the officers and soldiers of the regiment have no complaints. They are on alert, digging trenches, setting up camps, and are busy performing their duties.
Liu Lang and the independent regiment headquarters found a cave with a platoon of guards. After camouflaging it, they moved the radio station, map, and table board into it and turned it into a field headquarters. The warning area was expanded to 700 meters.
After everything was arranged, he inspected outside the camp and saw that all military departments were arranging field camps in accordance with wartime regulations. When he returned to the regiment headquarters, Liu Lang and regiment deputy Zhang Ruhao studied the second batch they had just received.
Military orders from the theater commander.
Liu Lang was very familiar with the Battle of Niangziguan. It was a very important battle in the Taiyuan Defense War that broke out in Shanxi after the Anti-Japanese War broke out. Its importance was almost as important as the Battle of Xinkou where hundreds of thousands of soldiers from China and Japan were deployed.
.
There is a reason why the Shanxi old man, the commander of the Second War Zone, was so eager for Liu Lang to send troops to reinforce Shanxi Province. Since the July 7th Incident, the Japanese army captured Beiping with heavy troops and quickly swept through Pingjin. They divided their troops along Jinpu Road, Pinghan Road, and Pingjin.
Attack in the direction of Suilu and Zhangjiakou.
In particular, the main force of the Japanese army in North China, the Fifth Division led by Seishiro Itagaki of the Japanese First Army, is leading nearly 100,000 troops towards Xinkou in northern Shanxi. It should not be difficult for the shrewd Shanxi old man to guess their purpose.
The Japanese invaders soon set their sights on Shanxi and Taiyuan.
Yes, in the past, at the end of September, the Japanese military headquarters took into account Shanxi's strategic position and decided to advance the Shanxi operation in order to dismantle the bald principal's political power in China. If they wanted to control Shanxi, Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi, was naturally the place they must fall.
The 100,000-strong army of the Fifth Division headed by Itagaki Seishiro will attack Xinkou and open the road to Taiyuan from there.
The reason why the Shanxi old man who has seen through the Japanese invaders' war intentions is anxious is because most of his 300,000 Shanxi-Sui army are stationed in northern Shanxi, and the main force is stationed at Xinkou and on both wings. His Shanxi Jin-sui army is almost
All heavy artillery and mountain artillery have been deployed in northern Shanxi, intending to fight the Japanese invaders at Xinkou.
But, are the Japanese so easy to deal with? The main force led by Seishiro Itagaki moved south along Chun County and Yuan Ping to Xinkou. However, they still felt it was not enough. There was also the 109th Infantry Division, led by the 20th Division.
A group of three brigades, six infantry regiments, a cavalry regiment, a field artillery regiment, and an engineering regiment, supplemented by the 31st Brigade, with more than 20,000 people, were approaching Shijiazhuang, an important town in Hebei Province.
At this time, the cold hairs on the back of the old man in Shanxi stood up. Although Shijiazhuang belongs to Hebei, between the important northern towns of Shijiazhuang and Taiyuan is the Zhengtai Line, the most important transportation line connecting Shanxi and Hebei. If the Japanese army follows the Zhengtai Line, if the Japanese
If the bandits pass through Shanxi and push straight towards Taiyuan, it will be useless no matter how well they fight at Xinkou. Taiyuan will be lost. If Taiyuan is lost, most of Shanxi will be lost.
The defenders in the Niangziguan area, the most important pass in eastern Shanxi, were only part of the Shanxi-Sui Army. It was a fool's errand to resist the more than 20,000 Japanese troops.
From the always calm old Shanxi man asking for help from the bald man, to the headquarters ordering the 26th Route Army in the First Theater, the 27th Route Army, including the 22nd Group Army that had just sworn off to fight, and the 122nd Division of the Eighth Route Army that had just changed their collar badges.
Rushing to support Jindong with all their strength, you know how much the Shanxi old man attaches importance to the Shanxi defense line behind Taiyuan.
If Xinkou in northern Shanxi is the main battlefield where nearly 400,000 troops and 100,000 Japanese invaders fought to the death, then the Niangziguan area is the secondary battlefield that will soon be named the Taiyuan Battle. Its role is as great as the main battlefield.
"Team leader, this battle is not easy to fight!" Zhang Ruhao stared at the map and shook his head slightly.
"What should I say?" Liu Lang turned his attention to his partner.
Although the two have been partners for more than three years, this political commissar sent by the Red Central Committee through the Ministry of Military Affairs has demonstrated the high quality of Huangpu Military Academy cadets in various military trainings and internal management, but the real challenge to the entire regiment is about to begin.
It was the first time for the two of them to invest in the analysis of future battlefields.
Liu Lang naturally knew the outcome of this battle, if he and the Independent Regiment had not joined. Now he also wanted to hear the analysis of his partner, a top student. Zhang Ruhao's military quality was also very important to the Independent Regiment.
He would often go to the front line in person. The independent regiment headquarters must have someone who can make immediate military orders based on the battlefield situation at any time. Originally, Tang Yongming was still there, but now Tang Yongming has gone to Songhu with Liu Xiang's 23rd Group Army. He
The only one I can rely on is myself, the red political commissar.
"Regiment, the World War II Zone Headquarters ordered us to support the battle in eastern Shanxi. We were afraid that the Japanese invaders who had occupied Pingjin would divide their forces into two groups, attack Xinkou along the way, and attack Niangziguan along Zhengtai Road to advance towards Taiyuan. Xinkou was guarded by the Shanxi-Sui Army.
The main force is also the main force of our Eighth Route Army, and the Central Army also has troops participating in the war. In terms of military strength, it is far more than the Japanese invaders. However, the troops in eastern Shanxi are weak. If the Japanese invaders of more than 20,000 invade Shijiazhuang and capture Shijiazhuang along the Zhengtai Railway
Attack Niangzi Pass. Once Niangzi Pass, the gateway to eastern Jin Dynasty, is lost, Yangquan and Pingyuan will be under the Japanese invaders' front. Once Shouyang, the important town in Shanxi, is lost, Taiyuan will be in danger!" Zhang Ruhao crossed his fingers on the map and said to Liu
Lang nodded frequently.
What he analyzed was the march route of the Japanese army in time and space. If Niangzi Pass had not been captured so quickly in the Battle of Taiyuan, the main force of the Fifth Division led by Seishiro Itagaki, who fought so fiercely in the Battle of Xinkou, would not have been able to capture it so quickly.
Taiyuan.
Whampoa Military Academy is worthy of being the cradle of China's most outstanding military personnel in modern times. Zhang Ruhao can live up to the reputation of his alma mater based on his vision alone. No wonder he is secretly a member of the Red Party and at the same time is valued as a senior counselor by the Ministry of Military Affairs.
"However, the Second Theater Command has already said that in addition to our 22nd Group Army that is gathering in eastern Shanxi, there are also 5 divisions and 10 brigades of Sun Lianzhong of the 26th Route Army, and 3 brigades of Feng Qinzai of the 27th Route Army.
There are 6 brigades in the division, and another brigade in the 1st Division of our Eighth Route Army, with a total strength of nearly 50 regiments, 100,000 versus 20,000, which is five times the enemy's strength. There is no way we will lose!" Liu Lang set his sights on the headquarters.
Looking at the mountains outside, Youyouran took out a cigarette from the cigarette case and handed it to his partner.
"In terms of military strength, we naturally have the advantage, but Ruhao is also worried about this." Zhang Ruhao looked worried when he heard Liu Lang talking about the troops he was about to deploy.
After taking the cigarette handed over by Liu Lang, lighting a match and taking a deep puff, he continued: "The participating troops include the Central Army, the Northwest Army, our Red Army, the Jinsui Army, and our Sichuan Army. They are five major forces.
, the ingredients are extremely complex. Once there is a deviation in the command, the combat effectiveness will not be as good as that of an army!"
Liu Lang's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at the mountains. Political Commissar Zhang Ruhao's concern was also his concern. This was also one of the important reasons why the Battle of Niangziguan failed in time and space.
Without a brain that can coordinate and coordinate intelligently enough, how much strength can the limbs exert, no matter how strong they are?
When I was thinking about how to answer.
"Ouch~~~~" A shrill wolf howl came from far away in the mountains.
There is desolation in the voice, and a bit...
Liu Lang and Zhang Ruhao were both slightly startled. This voice seemed familiar!