The Japanese Second Army, which had gone to meet the First Army, had to return to Jinan after receiving the order, because Obaogong received news that the Chinese Xuzhou Front had suddenly launched an attack and threatened Jinan from the south. So far, the Chinese army has launched an offensive from three directions, but the most dangerous places are still in the direction of Shandong and the direction of the western Liaoning corridor, and the direction of Xuzhou and Zhengzhou in the south The Allied forces are the thickest and most prepared, and the Allied high-level estimates that the southern front can last for more than half a year, so they did not send reinforcements to the south, but transferred the Russian troops stationed in the Hebei direction back to the vicinity of Beijing and Tianjin, and together with the Second Army of the Beiyang Army, encircled and annihilated the Chinese army that landed from Qinhuangdao, so as to open up the road connecting the Central Plains to the northeast. The Japanese army and the First Army of the Beiyang Army were responsible for the Southern Front and the Shandong Front.

Kodama Gentaro's "Dam" battle plan collapsed after the Chinese army landed on Qinhuangdao and attacked from the direction of Qingdao, and had to fall into a hard-fought war of attrition, the Allies could not withstand the attrition of such a large-scale battle, Kodama Gentaro said pessimistically to Akashi Genjiro: "The Allies will resist the first wave of the Chinese army's attack at most, and will completely collapse within a month." "Gentaro Kodama proved to be a master tactician, and his predictions basically came true.

The Third Group Army, which was established less than a year ago, had under the jurisdiction of the Seventh, Eighth and Ninth Armies, with a total strength of about 150,000 troops, and faced the defense of the Beiyang Army with 100,000 troops from the north of Xuzhou to Zaozhuang and Linyi. What the Beiyang Army could rely on was the relatively complete fortifications in this area, the relatively sufficient ammunition and supplies, and the support of 100,000 Japanese troops in the rear.

After the study of the General Staff of the Third Army and the synthesis of intelligence from all quarters, the tactics of breaking through the center and blossoming on both sides were formulated. On the morning of 18 July, the Third Army concentrated 1,300 artillery pieces of various calibers and five base ammunition in the area south of Taierzhuang, where the Beiyang Army's defense was relatively weak, after an hour and a half of artillery preparation. The Seventh Army, as the main attack, used the cover of thirty tanks to launch an assault on the positions of the Beiyang Army.

The Beiyang Army was responsible for defending the position here by units of a division of the Third Army of the First Group Army of the Beiyang Army, and on a front five kilometers wide, the Beiyang Army had built more than 150 pillboxes and more than 1,000 firepower points, and the trenches dug under the guidance of British officers were scattered all over the position like spider webs. General Duan Qirui, commander of the First Army of the Beiyang Army, once boasted to his subordinates that with these fortifications. It is necessary to let the Chinese army taste defeat.

The 1st Division of the 3rd Army also believed Boss Duan's reasoning, but after an hour and a half of artillery bombardment by the Chinese army, the soldiers and officers of the 1st Division wanted to let Boss Duan come to the trench to experience it, and then see if he could say anything to make the Chinese army defeat.

More than 1,000 artillery pieces shelled for more than an hour and the logistics department of the Chinese army was tired and broke its legs, but the results achieved were satisfactory, and the firing of so many artillery pieces in clusters was also rare in the history of world warfare, and this could never be done without a strong industrial production capacity.

The 1st Division of the Beiyang Army had the honor of participating in this historical event. However, as a sad side, the firing points made of stone pillboxes and sand logs were razed to the ground, the trenches without anti-artillery holes became the graves of the soldiers, and everywhere there were soldiers crying and collapsing under the sound of artillery, and the officers lost their ability to command, and only knew to lie down with their heads in their hands, hoping not to be hit by shrapnel. Compared with the real fortresses, the fortifications built by the Beiyang Army were vulnerable in the face of the superior firepower of the Chinese army.

When the attacking forces of the Chinese army rushed to the defense line of the Beiyang Army. The sporadic resistance allowed the Chinese soldiers to shoot at the target, but most of them were soldiers who surrendered with their hands raised. Or the soldiers who kept crying and collapsing, it was difficult to find a valuable attack point in the Beiyang Army position on the surface of the moon, and the Chinese soldiers had only one thought, that is, fortunately, they belonged to the attacking side.

This was the biggest mistake of the command of the Beiyang Army, who put all their hopes on the first layer of defense and had no defensive depth. Once a certain point of defense is breached, the entire line of defense is in danger of collapsing.

After the Taierzhuang defense line was broken through, the Third Army immediately invested troops of the Seventh Army and a division of the Eighth Army from here, and attacked the rear of the Beiyang Army's defense line from the east and west.

The chrysanthemum was not guaranteed, and the Beiyang Army immediately dispatched troops to help. As a result, the defense line was full of loopholes, and the carefully modulated defense line collapsed in an instant. The Third Army took the opportunity to launch an offensive from the two directions of Xuzhou and Lianyungang to attract the forces of the Beiyang Army and buy time for the Seventh Army to break through in the center.

By 6 p.m. the next day, the Seventh Army had already reached more than 30 kilometers to the left and right flanks, and the Third Army had eliminated more than 11,000 Beiyang Army and captured more than 25,000 prisoners in the nearly two days of fighting.

West of Taierzhuang, on the shore of Weishan Lake, the Third Division of the Seventh Army surrounded the troops of an infantry regiment and a cavalry regiment of the Beiyang Army, and as long as they captured this place, they could cut off the connection between Xuzhou and Zaozhuang of the Beiyang Army and completely surround more than 50,000 Beiyang troops.

To the south, the 3rd Army of the Beiyang Army was marching towards the Zhou camp, and the 3rd Division of the Chinese Army was to end the battle and put into defense before the Beiyang Army arrived, pulling up a strong defensive line from Weishan Lake to Taierzhuang.

At the headquarters of the Beiyang Army in the Zhou camp, in front of the commander, Colonel and Deputy Division Commander Ma Ling, stood a lieutenant officer in the uniform of the Chinese Army. Sun Yu ignored the gun-wielding guards on both sides, saluted Ma Ling, and then handed over a letter in silence.

Colonel Ma Ling simply read the letter, looked up at the iron-blooded soldier in front of him, and asked, "Lobbyist?" ”

"Well, surrender or die, colonel, you can choose one of the two, after surrendering, all brothers, including officers, can pay travel expenses if they want to leave, and if they want to stay, they can become a member of the Chinese National Defense Force."

With a motionless body, indifferent eyes, and an unchanged expression, Ma Ling looked at the lieutenant officer in front of him, and the corners of his mouth twitched, and it could be seen from his expression that what he said was true, if he refused to surrender, there was no doubt that the shells would fall on his head in the next moment. The artillery fire of the Chinese army is as ruthless as this officer, and the weapons and artillery in his hands are as ridiculous as toys, and such a big gap cannot be made up with tactics and the courage of soldiers.

"Are all the officers of your Chinese army the same virtue as you?" Ma Ling asked a digression.

"Only by treating yourself as a killing machine is the best soldier, this is the original words of our president, we are proud to be a killing machine." Lieutenant Sun Yu's words once again made the scalps of the high-level commanders in the room tingle, it is better not to be an enemy of such a soldier, and then they all looked at Colonel Ma Ling, hoping to surrender The meaning is obvious.

Perhaps it was because of Lieutenant Sun Yu's words that aroused his fighting spirit, Ma Ling laughed, gritted his teeth and said: "Our Beiyang Army is also a qualified soldier, I can't do it in Ma Ling without a fight, I won't stop any of you who want to surrender, even if I am the only one left here, I will have a battle with the Chinese army, and I will have a clear conscience whether to die or surrender at that time!" ”

Sun Yu just conveyed the news, Ma Ling and those officers did not surrender, nor did they embarrass Sun Yu, fifteen minutes after crossing the battlefield and returning to the position of the Chinese army, the shells of the Chinese army fell on the position of the Beiyang Army. The Chinese army wielding a big stick did not act like a man, but the Beiyang Army resisted resolutely under the leadership of Ma Ling, and did not surrender to the Chinese army until the loss exceeded three-quarters.

Colonel officer Ma Ling was seriously injured, and after being treated in the field hospital of the Chinese army, he left a life, and after fully recovering, he entered the Chinese Army Academy for further study, and eventually became a member of the Chinese army.

The test of the 3rd Division of the Chinese Army had just begun, and to the north was the strength of the Japanese army's 1st brigade to the south, and to the south was the troops of the 1st Army of the Beiyang Army trying to break through. After using the original fortifications of the Beiyang Army for reinforcement, the 3rd Division received 50 trucks of logistics supplies from the direction of Taierzhuang, and they were not alone, and they were confident enough to repel the enemy's attack without breaking the contact with the Seventh Army.

The strength of the Beiyang Army on the line from Lianyungang to Linyi was relatively weak, and the Chinese Army only invested one division of the Eighth Army, and the progress in this direction was faster, and the Beiyang Army saw the collapse of the defensive line and immediately fled to Linyi. The Chinese army captured more than 3,000 backward and scattered Beiyang Army soldiers during the pursuit, and arrived on the outskirts of Linyi on the morning of the 19th.

In the city of Linyi, Lieutenant General Wang Shizhen set up his headquarters in the compound of the former official mansion, and before the battle began, General Duan Qirui of the First Group Army divided the troops into two theaters, and Lieutenant General Wang Shizhen led the Third Army and the First Division of the Second Army with a total of more than 100,000 people to defend the Xuzhou front. At the beginning of the battle, he happened to inspect the fortifications near Lianyungang, and then immediately fled to Linyi City when the situation was not good, and followed him back to the city with less than 5,000 troops. Due to the haste of escaping, the loss of radio stations and other communication equipment, and the inability to contact the lower levels, Wang Shizhen was at a loss about the situation on the battle line.

However, now their situation is even more tense, and before they have time to settle down for defense, the 3rd Division of the Eighth Army of the Chinese Army has chased after them, and from the top of the city, you can see that the Chinese army is arranging artillery positions, unloading ammunition from trucks, and the infantry is also entering the offensive position, maybe in an hour they will become a corpse.

Wang Shizhen, who has been in a high position for many years, does not want to die so soon, the higher the status and the greater the power, the more he cherishes his life, there is a contradiction between being called the emperor and not being called the emperor within Beiyang, Duan Qirui and Wang Shizhen and other senior generals oppose the emperor, that is, they are afraid that after the defeat, the Chinese army will hang all the people of themselves. (To be continued.) )