Chang Kaishen and Lin Wei chatted as they climbed towards the top of the mountain. The mountain road was rugged and very difficult to walk, and Chang Kaishen was over fifty years old, and he almost fell down when he slipped under his feet. Of course, this kind of thing can't happen, Lin Wei, who was following behind, was quick and hurriedly stepped forward to support the chairman.

"Oh, be careful! What are you guys doing in a daze, why don't you come over quickly? Lin Wei was worried that Chang Kaishen would be injured, so he hurriedly asked the guards who followed him to come forward to help.

Chang Kaishen broke free, waved his hand and said, "It's okay, it's okay!" I can still walk, and I am not old enough to be seventy or eighty. ”

Lin Wei hurriedly patted his ass and said, "The seat is in good health!" Your health is the well-being of your people! ”

Chang Kaishen shook his head and said self-deprecatingly: "If the battle is like this, it is fortunate that the people of the country do not scold me." He pointed to a certain place at the bottom of the mountain and said, "You see, Weiwen, that is our newly set up antiaircraft artillery position, which was destroyed by the enemy planes half a month ago, and the citizens rushed to the streets to cheer regardless of the danger. Every time an enemy plane is shot down, there is a thunderous roar of joy! ”

This was another great victory over Wuhan after the 8.3 air battle. According to incomplete statistics (some Japanese planes crashed on the way home), a total of 25 Japanese bombers and fighters were shot down, while only seven were lost by the Chinese and Soviet sides, and most of the pilots were rescued. Similar to the process of De'an's victory, Zheng Huzi's weapons exchanged for penicillin played a large role in the battle.

Due to the presence of a large number of Bofors 75-mm anti-aircraft artillery positions, the safety of Japanese aircraft was greatly threatened. Lieutenant General Tokugawa Yoshitoshi of the Air Corps, who had rushed in from North China to reinforce him, decided to raid our air defense positions by breaking through the defense at a low altitude. But Tokugawa oversaw the existence of another kind of anti-aircraft artillery - the Bofors 40-mm anti-aircraft gun. The national army also had equipment before, but not in large quantities. It did not attract the attention of the Japanese army.

Although the caliber of this weapon is not large, it can only hit targets at an altitude of less than 4,000 meters, but it has a very fast response and extremely high accuracy. Historically, the cannon was so powerful that it blew down the plane of the commander of the 11th Army, Lieutenant General Tsukada (later posthumously awarded the rank of general), which was also the largest Japanese officer killed since the outbreak of the All-out War of Resistance Against Japan.

Interestingly, this anti-aircraft gun was also the only type of artillery that was commonly used on both warring sides during World War II, and was heavily equipped by both the Allies and the Axis powers. In a battle on the Tizer River in 1943, a battalion of 40mm Hungarian (then part of the Axis Bloc) 40mm Bofors artillery equipped with fire-control radar shocked the military world by shooting down all 25 Pe-2 bombers dispatched by the Soviet Air Force.

Although the national army did not have a fire control radar, which was an anti-heaven artifact, it was better than a surprise, and there were more than 40 fighters of the Chinese and Soviet air forces. After a bloody battle. The remnants of the Japanese army had to flee. The Chinese and Soviet air forces pursued them until the front line of the Dabie Mountains before triumphantly. After this battle, the Japanese army was terrified for a long time and did not dare to attack, and even the daily reconnaissance was canceled.

Lin Wei nodded. Laughing: "Yes." Commission! I heard about this victory when I was still in Sichuan. What a joy! ”

Chang Kaishen bowed his head in praise and said with emotion: "There is no shortage of heroic and heroic soldiers in our army, but they only hate guns and are not as good as people. Artillery is inferior to man, education and training are inferior to man, machines are inferior to man, factories are inferior to man, so what can be used to fight Japan? Before the arrival of this batch of weapons, the soldiers of the three armies fought bloodily, and the sacrifice was unprecedented! But the result? Or lost half of the country! ”

As he spoke, he pointed to the sky with some anger and said, "How rampant were enemy planes some time ago? Every day, air raids come and go on rampage, as if entering a no-man's land, the army and the people suffer deeply! ”

Lin Wei saw that his face was bruised, and hurriedly comforted: "Don't move, your body is important." We have been oppressed by this evil neighbor for a long time, and when the new weapons arrive, we will return them a hundredfold in the future! ”

Chang Kaishen advised: "Well, Weiwen, in short, the affairs of arms must be done well, even if the price is great, no matter how big it is!" ”

The two walked along the ridge for a while, and Lin Wei saw that Chang Kaishen was a little tired, so he hurriedly suggested going down the mountain. Chang Kaishen said with a smile: "Okay, come here and return with all the excitement." Go back, go back! ”

But at this moment, a guard came to report with a nervous expression, and said, "Report to the commission, a large number of people have come down the mountain, as if they are coming for us." ”

Chang Kaishen was taken aback, thinking to himself that scene of Huaqingchi again? But after thinking about it carefully, I can't help but laugh at myself for being suspicious, after all, this is Wuhan, not Xi'an.

Lin Wei also thought the same way, and reprimanded: "Don't be surprised, someone should be in a hurry to see the chairman." If there were villains, they should have heard the gunshots. Just in case, he said to Chang Kaishen: "Chairman, let's go and have a look first!" ”

Chang Kaishen waved his hand and said, "No need, let's go see each other." There must be something great when so many people come together. ”

Sure enough, not far back, the two saw He Yingqin, chief of staff of the Military Commission, Bai Chongxi, deputy chief of staff, Chen Cheng, minister of military affairs and chairman of Hubei Province, and other senior officials coming together. Chang Kaishen's face changed slightly, thinking that something must have happened, otherwise how could he drive so many people to come together?

"Respectfully, but the frontline battle situation is unfavorable?" Without waiting for someone to speak, Chang Kaishen hurriedly asked.

He Yingqin's face was heavy, nodded and said, "Yes, take a seat." The Japanese army has increased its troops again, and according to our reconnaissance, there are new division numbers on the northern, eastern, and southern fronts. Although some of them were only suspicious, the strength of the enemy army did increase significantly. In addition, the Japanese artillery has been readjusted, and the artillery superiority that our army has so hard won may not be able to maintain. ”

The Japanese artillery in Central China at that time was indeed very strong, with five field heavy artillery wings (numbers 10 to 14), equipped with a total of 80 105 mm cannons, the maximum firing range was 15 kilometers away, and some new artillery even reached 18 kilometers. Thanks to Zheng Huzi, although the national army has 54 cannons of caliber of more than 105 mm and a large number of 75 caliber artillery, its overall strength is still inferior to that of the Japanese army.

Some time ago, the Japanese army was defenseless (the Japanese army thought that the Chinese army lacked artillery that could hit ten kilometers away, and all artillery positions were deployed in the front), and the artillery of the national army took advantage of the chaos to knock out many artillery positions of the Japanese army, but waited until the Japanese army came to their senses. The wind is gradually falling again. After all, the Japanese army was able to build its own artillery, and it was relatively easy to replenish it. What's even more terrifying is that if you knock out his old artillery, he will replenish the new artillery, and his strength will increase.

After Chang Kaishen heard this, his face immediately became as black as the bottom of the pot. It took a while to come back to his senses, and he said dejectedly: "Let's go, let's go over there and sit down." It's rare that everyone is here, just to talk. ”

The group came to several stone tables and sat down in turn, and more than a dozen guards stood around with loaded guns and ammunition, standing straight like green pines. Compared to the majestic war room. It's a little more tranquil and laid-back. It's a pity that the battle situation is unfavorable. There is no time to enjoy the beauty of the surrounding area.

Chang Kaishen asked: "Jiansheng, where is the focus of the Japanese army's current attack?" ”

Bai Chongxi, deputy chief of staff, hurriedly asked his entourage to take out a map of 1/500,000 and spread it on the stone table, this scale is a bit small, but it is more convenient to explain.

"Please take a seat. At present, the focus of the attack is still on the fortress of Tianjiazhen. Most of its outlying positions were lost. The situation is also the most dangerous. Of course, the north and south lines are not optimistic. Bai Chongxi explained, looking a little embarrassed. Because he is more or less responsible for this matter.

At the beginning, Guangji was lost, and the Japanese army approached the Dabie Mountain Pass. Bai Chongxi had no choice but to transfer the troops on the flank of Tianjiazhen to deal with the emergency, but he was broken by the Japanese army, not only did Guangji not take it back, but the flank of Tianjiazhen was also exposed.

On the one hand, the reason for this situation is the error of command, but the more important reason is the lack of reaction capability and mobility capability of the troops. The Japanese army took advantage of this to repeatedly mobilize troops, so that the Chinese army had to fight fires everywhere, exhausted, and finally won by the Japanese army.

Chang Kaishen was silent for a moment, and said to Chen Cheng: "Resignation, Tianjia Town is the barrier to the east of Wuhan, if Tianjia Town is lost, Wuhan will definitely not be protected." Can your Ninth Theater launch a counterattack to recapture the outlying positions of Tianjia Town? ”

It turned out that Chen Cheng was not only the Minister of Military Affairs and the Chairman of Hubei Province at that time, but even the commander-in-chief of the Wuhan Garrison and the commander of the Ninth Theater were also picked up on one shoulder. Of course, the latter two positions were in conflict, and Chen Cheng had no way to go to the Ninth War Zone to take care of the matter, so he could only hand over the whole situation to Deputy Commander Xue Yue to preside.

Chen Cheng hurriedly said: "Commission, the main forces of the Ninth Theater are all south of the Yangtze River, and the troops in the north of the Yangtze River have been heavily damaged, and it is still difficult to hold the position, and I am afraid that it will be difficult to launch a counteroffensive in a hurry." ”

Chang Kaishen never gave up, and said: "Didn't the Japanese army in Jiangnan retreat to Jiujiang? Can Xue Yue send three to five divisions to Jiangbei to help in the battle? ”

Chen Cheng smiled bitterly: "According to Xue Yue's report, the Japanese army in Jiangnan has received a large number of supplies, and even the 106th Division has been reorganized. In addition, the enemy's marines also penetrated deep into Poyang Lake and landed in various places, directly threatening the security of Nanchang. In addition, some time ago, it was also a miserable victory, and with the existing forces to defend there is still a sense of lack of strength, how dare you wave your troops to the north? ”

Although the 106th Division lost its divisional headquarters, three infantry wings, and a mountain artillery wing (this was temporarily reinforced), one infantry wing, one field artillery company, and especially six thousand logistical station troops remained unscathed. With the construction of the Japanese army's reserves, it is not difficult to replenish it. In addition to the 106th Division, the Taiwan Army also re-dispatched a mixed brigade.

Its marines, like the paratroopers, are considered to be the largest cargo units of the Japanese army, and their combat effectiveness is average. However, the victory lies in its mobility and flexibility, which also poses a great threat to the logistical supply and rear stability of the Ninth Theater.

Chang Kaishen sighed and said: "In this way, it is also inconvenient for the Ninth War Zone to command across the river, and the northern part of the Jiangbei, including the Tianjiazhen Fortress, will be included in the Fifth War Zone!" Jiansheng, you tell Delin that you must defend Tianjia Town. ”

Bai Chongxi had the heart to object, but he had no reason to say, so he nodded silently. With such an adjustment, the Ninth Theater has lost a big burden, but the defensive pressure of the Fifth Theater has increased. However, it is also true that the Ninth Theater cannot fight across the river, and if the Fifth Theater does not take over Tianjia Town, it can only watch the Japanese army break through from the East Road. The so-called defense line, a little breakthrough, the whole line is shaken, the eastern front cannot be defended, and no matter how well the north and south sides are fought, there is no point.

Chen Cheng also suggested: "Commission, in addition to this, we must prevent the Japanese army from continuing to reinforce." Didn't the North China Zheng Weiguo Ministry just get a large amount of arms? How can you sit back and watch success or failure! In my opinion, in addition to the Jicha Theater, the First Theater (Henan and Shandong), the Second Theater (Shanxi, Suiyuan), the Third Theater (eastern Jiangxi, Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang), and the Fourth Theater (Guangdong) should all launch an offensive against the enemy in front of them, disperse the forces of the Japanese army, and not allow the enemy to press all his strength into Central China. ”

Chang Kaishen nodded, and asked He Yingqin again: "Respectfully, you presided over the liaison matters of various ministries in North China, what is the current situation?" ”

He Yingqin hurriedly said: "According to the report, all the ministries in North China have indicated that they will launch a diversionary offensive against the enemy army to cooperate with the decisive battle of the central government in Central China. ”

Chang Kaishen frowned and said: "It's not enough to just contain the offensive, we must beat the Japanese army and force the Japanese army in Central China to return to North China, otherwise how can the siege of Wuhan be resolved?!" ”

He Yingqin smiled bitterly: "Commission, I'm afraid that the ministries in North China will not do their best like this." ”

The national army is still very hard in the defensive war, whether it is the central army, or the miscellaneous army, whether it is a descendant or a side line, there is no lack of heroic deeds that fight to the death and do not retreat. But when it comes to offense, there really aren't a few examples of battles that can be used. So when it comes to counterattacks, even the top brass of the Military Commission has little confidence.

Chang Kaishen's face was cloudy, and he said in a sullen voice: "I don't care about others, Zheng Huzi must have some movements, otherwise how can he be worthy of so much equipment?" He also said to Lin Wei: "Inform Dai Li, let him and Kang Ze use more snacks in North China!" (To be continued......)