"The 53rd Army suffered the greatest casualties this time, with 1,750 killed, 302 missing, and 2,782 wounded, of which 1,850 were seriously wounded. In particular, the third battalion of the 347th Regiment of the 116th Division suffered more than 500 casualties, and almost all the surviving officers and men were colored. Chief of Staff Zhou took a document and read it softly, not knowing whether Lu Dao was angry or sad, his hands trembled slightly.

Zheng Weiguo was silent for a moment, and asked in a hoarse voice: "Why is the proportion of killed and seriously injured so large?" ”

In general, the ratio between battle dead and total casualties is about 1:3. Of course, this ratio is not absolute, and there are often extremely high war fatality rates, and there are many examples of the exact opposite. In general, the greater the proportion of casualties, the more intense the battle. For example, at the end of July 38, the Japanese army suffered 1,440 casualties, including 526 deaths, which was in line with the conventional ratio of 1:3. However, in the Second Battle of the Japanese and Soviet Unions, the Japanese army mobilized about 25,000 troops, 7,696 killed, 8,647 wounded, 1,021 missing, and 2,350 sick. The ratio of war dead to war wounded is staggeringly high. The 53rd Army's casualty and casualty ratio fully illustrated the tragedy of the battle at that time.

Chief of Staff Zhou explained: "The Japanese army used a lot of heavy firepower in this sweep, and we obviously did not respond enough, like the 130th Division of the 53rd Army did not suffer much loss in the previous battle, but from the early morning of the 14th, the Japanese army used 240mm heavy howitzers to bombard our positions, causing great casualties to the 130th Division!" There is also the 347th Regiment ambushed by the Japanese near Fengliu Village, and the two sides engaged in hand-to-hand combat and white-knuckle combat. The proportion of serious injuries and casualties is also very large. ”

Zheng Weiguo nodded silently, and asked again, "What about the other troops?" ”

Chief of Staff Zhou hurriedly replied: "The 33rd Division and the Armored Cavalry Division entered the battle late, and they withdrew from the battlefield relatively early, so there were almost no casualties. It's just that the vehicles and combat vehicles are badly damaged, and the fuel reserves are also depleted by three-fifths. ”

Zheng Weiguo sighed with emotion: "Alas, three-fifths of a battle is consumed, what a gold-swallowing beast!" ”

Chief of Staff Zhou echoed: "Who says it's not! However, the power of the armored regiment is really amazing, it is even better than a division! In my opinion, we will have to continue to strengthen this force in the future. ”

Zheng Weiguo said a little helplessly: "Look at the situation over there in Suiyuan, see if you can get some fuel from Maozi, the armored regiment is too expensive!" Then he asked, "What about the troops of the three divisions?" ”

Chief of Staff Zhou's expression darkened. Said solemnly: "The total seat." Bad news, you have to be prepared! ”

Zheng Weiguo felt his heart contract violently, and said calmly: "If you have any bad news, you can tell it directly, I can hold it." ”

Chief of Staff Zhou said bitterly: "Last night we lost contact with the headquarters of the Third Division. ”

"What did you say!" Zheng Weiguo stood up in shock. Rebuked: "When did this happen? What did I not report last night! ”

Early in the morning of the 14th. The 8th Infantry Brigade of the Japanese Army, together with its affiliated troops, attacked Baxian. At that time, the 53rd Army was blocking the frontal attack. The main force of the 3rd Division (missing the 9th Regiment) and Wei Daguang's detachment attacked and harassed on the flank. Due to the ferocity of Japanese artillery fire, the 53rd Army had to retreat south. The Japanese army chased all the way to the edge of the Daqing River, and after swooping down, they turned north and went north to encircle and suppress the main force of the Third Division.

The enemy forces are outnumbered. Duan Shuanghu, commander of the 3rd Division, immediately organized troops to break through. After a fierce battle, the logistics personnel, Wei Daguang's detachment, and the two main regiments all jumped out of the encirclement of the Japanese army one after another. The guard battalion of the 3rd Division personally led by Duan Shuanghu was surrounded by the Japanese army on the way to break through and was surrounded in Wawu Xinzhuang Village, Longhuzhuang Township, south of Yongqing County. After hours of fierce fighting, the Japanese brought in heavy artillery to bombard the village, and the troops lost contact.

Chief of Staff Zhou explained: "General seat, it was too late yesterday, and you finally fell asleep, so I ordered everyone not to disturb you." He comforted: "It's just that we lost contact, maybe the situation is not as bad as we imagined." The Special Brigade, the Blue Eagle Unit, and the Women's Brigade are all reconnoitring near the site of the incident, and the results should be available soon. ”

The loss of contact on the battlefield is most likely due to an accident, not to mention being surrounded by the Japanese army. Thinking of this, Zheng Weiguo's heart suddenly twisted. Duan Shuanghu is the first general recruited by Zheng Weiguo after starting in Ping'an County, and this friendship far exceeds the feelings of ordinary robes. I have to admit that people are selfish, since the beginning of the war, I don't know how many people have died under the command of the 41st Group Army, like the 53rd Army, the casualties are greater, but Zheng Huzi has not suffered so much.

"Headquarters!" Chief of Staff Zhou screamed worriedly.

"I'm fine!" Zheng Weiguo got up and walked to the window, stood for a long time, and finally calmed down, and asked, "What is the situation of the other troops of the Third Division?" ”

Chief of Staff Zhou hurriedly said: "Basically, there is not much loss. Wang Liejun's detachment retreated into Baiyangdian under the support of Liu Kezhong's detachment, the 9th Regiment withdrew to the area south of Gu'an County and east of the Pinghan Line, and the 7th Regiment, the 8th Regiment and Wei Daguang's detachment are currently all guerrilla attacks east of Yongqing. ”

After a pause, he said with some joy: "It's not all bad news. Liu Kezhong's detachment ambushed a transport convoy of the 110th Division in Baiyangdian and grabbed four wooden boats and two motorboats. The 1st Coats Detachment and the 2nd Division's Northbound Detachment successfully ambushed the Japanese fireboat units at the Daqing River and captured two. The 27th Division only made a tentative attack, and immediately retreated to Tianjin after the main force of our army withdrew to the south bank on the 14th. ”

The successful ambush of the Japanese fireboat unit was not entirely due to the Coats Detachment or the 2nd Division, but mainly because of the skillful hands and feet done in the river before. In later generations, the rivers in Jizhong basically became stinky ditches, but in those years it was a traffic artery. When the Japanese army first entered Jizhong, it used the canal to transport supplies, and the larger ships could even put a few cars, and they could also carry artillery to the ships and bombard both sides.

After Zheng Huzi took charge of Jizhong, he was deeply worried about this, so he set up a special river defense department, which was subordinate to the General Staff. In order to prevent the Japanese army from using the waterway to invade Jizhong, the department thought of many ways. One of the clumsiest and most difficult to crack is the silting of rivers. Of course, this work is going on in secret. The Japanese fireboat units did not think of it at all. As a result, during the battle, the speedboat ran aground one after another and became a live target for various units.

One might wonder, wouldn't the water level of the silted river rise? Can't the Japanese see it? In fact, the river is divided into two parts, the upper part is the flowing water layer, and the lower part is the still water layer. With proper control, it can create dark sand in the river, which does not expose the water but prevents boats from passing through. If it is in a relatively stable environment, the Japanese army can also slowly explore the river, but must maneuver at high speed during the battle to avoid artillery fire on the shore. So it's not surprising that you are on the road. Of course. The troops of the Coats detachment and the 2nd Division dared to fight fiercely with the enemy, and they also contributed to it.

Knowing that the troops had won another battle and forced the 27th Division to retreat, Zheng Weiguo was also a little happy. Satisfied, he said, "Yes." This shows that the Japanese army is almost unable to hold on. I think we can gather some troops. Always ready to launch a counterattack north of the Daqing River. ”

"Uh, Boss!" Chief of Staff Zhou looked embarrassed and said, "I'm afraid your judgment of the situation is too optimistic. This is a new message from 007, please take a look. ”

007 is Kun Feng. His role is now becoming more and more important, such as the Japanese army's "encirclement and suppression" of the three divisions, as well as the "fishing net plan" the night before yesterday, if it were not for Feng Kun's timely transmission of intelligence, I am afraid that the loss will be even greater. After all, Jizhong's overall dispatch and intelligence analysis capabilities are far inferior to those of the Japanese army. Because of this, the secrecy measures against Feng Kun have become stricter. Not only are the names not allowed to be mentioned, but even the location of Tianjin is not allowed to be mentioned.

Zheng Weiguo hurriedly took a look, only to see that it was written on it the plan for the second "entering and suppressing Jizhong". In order to get rid of the 41st Group Army once and for all and to flatten the base areas in central Hebei, the commander of the North China Front decided to launch an attack on the area west of the Zhulong River in central Hebei with the 21st Division, the 27th Division, and the 110th Division as the main force, supplemented by the rest of the troops around central Hebei.

The Zhulong River is the most important water source of Baiyangdian, and the Cihe River and the Shahe River, which were fought between the central Hebei and the Japanese army in the counterattack operation of the Pinghan Line, are its tributaries, which shows that this river is also very large. To the west of the Zhulong River, there are Anguo, Boye, and Lixian, as well as Gaoyang and Anxin in the north, which means that the Japanese army slashed directly at the capital of the Jizhong base area!

Chief of Staff Zhou said: "General, judging from the battle in the three-division area, if the enemy still adopts the method of group advancement, it will be difficult for us to hold it. ”

Zheng Weiguo nodded silently, the Japanese army's non-stop fighting style was indeed somewhat unexpected. Although he guessed that the Japanese army would definitely retaliate before the counterattack on the Pinghan Line, he did not expect that the base camp would be willing to invest so many troops and materials to deal with Jizhong. Moreover, the enemy army hardly takes into account casualties, it is simply a general battle!

Chief of Staff Zhou continued: "We could afford to lose another five county towns, but the Japanese army is likely to continue the attack after achieving its goal. Please see the total seat. ”

As he spoke, he walked quickly to the map, gestured with a small wooden stick, and said: "At that time, the Japanese army will be able to squeeze the core area of our base area from the east, north, and west. Xinzhen, Renqiu, Wen'an, Dacheng, Suning, Hejian, and Xianxian are all within the range of the Japanese army! As in the previous two attacks, it will be difficult to repel the enemy with the strength of our army, and the vast area north of the Hutuo River and east of the Ziya River will be occupied by the Japanese army! ”

Zheng Weiguo said in a deep voice: "Well, your analysis is right! "The situation is indeed much more serious than he imagined!

If the Japanese army is allowed to complete these three moves, and the 14th Division stationed in Shijiazhuang invades Gaocheng, Jinxian, Shulu (now Xinji), Wuji, and Shenze, then the next situation will be the siege of the iron wall in May 1942! At that time, the main force of Jizhong will be squeezed by the enemy in a narrow area centered on Shenxian, and the best outcome for the main force will be forced to break through.

Zheng Weiguo thought about it for a while, but couldn't think of anything for a while. There is nothing fancy about the Japanese army's style of play, which is to use their strong strength to fight hard and force them to roll. If you want to keep the base area, you can only deal with it passively, and at the end of the day, you will be led by the enemy.

How did Jizhong survive for 42 years in history? It's very simple, to fight guerrillas, if you can't do it, break through to the surrounding area, and wait for the main force of the Japanese army to go and then kill back. Because the Japanese army as a whole has limited troops, it is impossible for field troops to hold on to a certain place for a long time. So at that time, the common people in the base area were not afraid at all when they heard that the devils were coming to sweep up, and they were even used to it.

At that time, there were still some bad jokes and black humor. For example, once the Japanese army postponed the "encirclement and suppression plan" for some reason, and the villagers were anxious and complained: "Oh, why hasn't this little devil come yet?" We still have spring ploughing! ”

However, Zheng Weiguo didn't want to do this, he had 100,000 regular troops in his hands. Hundreds of cannons, dozens of combat vehicles. If it's like dirt and road, isn't it too incompetent? Even if it is face-saving, the regular army, with the Northeast Army as the main body, may not be able to do the work of the guerrillas. And how did the 100,000 army feed, didn't it rely on this treasure land in Jizhong? If guerrilla tactics are adopted, it will be tantamount to the joint possession of this place by both the enemy and us. Not to mention the suffering of the common people, at least half of the materials will have to be lost, and industry and commerce will not be able to develop.

"Chief of Staff, how do you think we can crack the tactics of the Japanese army?" Zheng Weiguo thought to himself that since he had seen the problem, he must have a way of dealing with it.

Unexpectedly, Chief of Staff Zhou shook it with a wry smile and said, "General seat." The Japanese are immoo. Even if we know the Tao, there is no good way to do it. After all, the strength is not as good as people! ”

Zheng Weiguo nodded again and said in a deep voice: "Well, that's good!" It seems that our strategy has to change, and we can't fight like this anymore! ”

Chief of Staff Zhou was puzzled: "Then what do you mean?" ”

Zheng Weiguo explained: "Judging from the situation in Jizhong alone. We really have no chance of winning. But this is not just our battle against the Japanese army. It was a decisive battle between the whole of China and the Japanese invading army. So we have to jump out of the circle of Jizhong. At least use the whole of North China to deal with the enemy! ”

Chief of Staff Zhou understood a little, and said tentatively: "You mean to let the troops maneuver to fight on the outside line?" ”

Zheng Weiguo waved his hand and said: "Fighting on the outside is only one part, and what is more important is to let the anti-Japanese armed forces in North China cooperate with our army to fight." Suiyuan, Shanxi, Henan, Shanxi, and our Hebei, the armed forces everywhere must echo each other. The main force of the Japanese army is in the east, we will attack in the west, the Japanese army is in the north, we will attack its south, and the armament on all sides is like kicking a ball, I kick, you kick, he kicks, and kicks it in all directions, so that the enemy is exhausted, fat and thin, thin and collapsed, and then annihilated in one fell swoop after the strength of the enemy and us is reversed! ”

This "kicking tactic" was first proposed by Wang Jun, chief of staff of the Guangdong Army, in the Battle of Guangzhou, and called it "Spherical Tactics", but unfortunately it was not realized in the end. Later, however, the People's Liberation Army successfully used it in the northeast battlefield. At that time, the Northeast Field Army was divided into two base areas, North Manchuria and South Manchuria, by the Nationalist Army, and was in a disadvantageous position. However, they skillfully used the "south-to-north diversion" and "pulling the east and pulling the west" to force the main forces of the national army to move back and forth between the north and the south, and finally suffered a serious loss of vitality in a series of battles, such as "going south of the Yangtze River three times" and "protecting Linjiang four times," thus losing the initiative in the campaign.

Zheng Huzi also had an idea about this, but it was difficult to implement it in North China, so it has been shelved. But it now seems that it must be done, or the inertia of history will push everything back to the old ways.

Chief of Staff Zhou was stunned for a moment and said: "Theoretically speaking, this plan is very good, but in actual combat, other troops may not be willing to make sacrifices for us!" Even the Eighth Route Army, which had the closest relationship with our department, was afraid and unwilling to bear such losses. ”

Zheng Weiguo replied: "Well, if the troops are getting smaller and weaker, then there will definitely not be many people willing to fight with us!" But on the other hand, if the troops get stronger and stronger, I think more and more troops will definitely participate! ”

Chief of Staff Zhou looked around and whispered: "The right to distribute materials!" ”

Zheng Weiguo nodded and said, "Yes, so the key now is in Suiyuan." In order to protect the passage of supplies, we must move a few more troops. ”

Chief of Staff Zhou frowned slightly, and said in embarrassment: "But our existing troops are not enough, how can we increase troops to Suiyuan!" ”

Zheng Weiguo said: "Well, this is indeed a difficult problem. "I thought about it for a while, and I couldn't help but feel a little bored, why is it so difficult to fight for it!

Chief of Staff Zhou comforted: "General seat, it doesn't matter if you can't think of it for a while, let's let everyone discuss it together in the evening, we can always come up with a way." If it really doesn't work, we can also recruit some more troops. ”

Zheng Weiguo nodded and said, "Well, it's okay!" He asked with some curiosity: "Hey, why didn't you see Lao Cheng and Deputy Chief of Staff Li today?" Where did you go? ”

Chief of Staff Zhou explained: "Deputy Commander Cheng heard that the officers and men of the 53rd Army were in some mood swings, so he rushed to appease Deputy Chief of Staff Li early in the morning. ”

Zheng Weiguo raised his eyebrows and said, "Oh, did you go to Renqiu?" ”

Chief of Staff Zhou nodded and said, "Yes! Calculate the time, it should have come by now. ”

The 53rd Army did not withdraw to Lixian, because the Japanese army still deployed troops on the north bank of the Daqing River, and troops had to defend the south bank. In addition, there are many wounded in the troops, and withdrawing too far is not conducive to timely rescue.

Zheng Weiguo suddenly said with some guilt: "Alas, I am also responsible for the loss of the 53rd Army. Chief of Staff Zhou was waiting to be persuaded, Zheng Weiguo waved his hand again and said, "Forget it, let's not talk about this first." Ask the fighters if they have any opinions and requests, and if they have, don't hesitate to bring them up! Soldiers are subject to military law when they fight unfavorably, and we should also be held accountable for our own command mistakes. ”

That night, Political Commissar Cheng and Deputy Chief of Staff Li both rushed back overnight, and Zhou Fucheng, commander of the 53rd Army, also rushed to report to Zheng Weiguo on the combat situation some time ago. In fact, on the whole, the 53rd Army's operation in the three-zone was successful, not only annihilating the Japanese 63rd Wing, but also capturing 8 heavy artillery pieces and 12 combat vehicles.

After that, although several county towns were lost, the reinforcements defeated a large number of Japanese troops with the 10th Wing as the core, and Jizhong did not suffer a loss from the perspective of eliminating the vitality of the force.

However, Commander Zhou stubbornly believed that the Third Division was lost, and this was a defeat of the tiger and snake, and he had to ask Zheng Weiguo for his guilt. For many years after that, Commander Zhou had a pimple in his heart, so he never admitted any victory. Coupled with the fact that the Special Service Brigade and the Blue Eagle Force have always been high-density troops, Shengfang's victory is gradually hidden in a cloud of fog.

Zheng Weiguo comforted the general, and then asked: "What difficulties does the army have now, and what are the requirements?" ”

Commander Zhou said ashamedly: "The heavy equipment pulled out by the general assembly has suffered a great loss, and I hope to allocate another batch!" "In the artillery battle, the field artillery regiment of the 53rd Army was destroyed by three guns, and one more was lost during the retreat. Losses from other weapons were also relatively large.

Zheng Weiguo said briskly: "Well, this is no problem, make up as much as you want!" Those eight 150mm guns are also assigned to your army! (To be continued......)