Lixian County, Jizhong, Jicha Theater Headquarters. Zheng Weiguo and others were also nervously paying attention to the battle situation in Baotou, and some staff officers even gathered around the map to engage in war games, and from time to time they blushed. Every news coming from the front made the command jump for a while.

At about eight o'clock in the evening, Director Cai Wenzhi suddenly walked in from the telecommunications room next door and said loudly: "Everyone, don't be busy discussing yet, I have good news to announce!" ”

When everyone heard this, they hurriedly looked over, and someone asked, "Is it that the little devil has withdrawn?" ”

Cai Wenzhi nodded, and said to Zheng Weiguo: "Boss, I just got the news that because it was too late, both our and enemy armies began to withdraw from their positions. At present, the two sides have disengaged, and only the artillery is still firing tentatively. ”

Zheng Weiguo slapped on the table, smiled, stood up and said, "Okay, General Dong is worthy of being the number one general in Suiyuan, and the time for this night has finally been won." ”

Chief of Staff Zhou also said happily: "If we can win this night, then there is hope for those who hold Baotou." Now it's up to us to see if the reinforcements can arrive in time. With the fortification of Baotou City, I think that as long as there are three divisions, it will be enough for the Japanese army to return in vain. ”

Cai Wenzhi nodded, agreed, and said, "Counselor, I don't think it's difficult to achieve this goal." At present, the Ma Zhanshan Department of the Northeast Advance Army, the He Zhuguo Department of the Second Cavalry Army, and the Wang Zixiu Department of the New 5th Brigade are all stepping up their assistance, and some troops have already arrived in Baotou. It should not be difficult to hold on until Chief Fu's main force arrives. ”

Zheng Weiguo waved his hand and said, "We can't be too optimistic, the current situation is still that the enemy army has the upper hand." ”

The 2nd Cavalry Army and the Northeast Advance Army. It looks like it's big, but in fact there aren't many troops. Originally, the cavalry unit of the Northeast Army had five divisions, and it was unified into a cavalry army, with He Zhuguo as the commander. However, after the start of the Anti-Japanese War, the Ministry of Military Affairs ordered the revocation of the number of the cavalry corps and the expansion of each cavalry division into a cavalry corps. Among them, He Zhuguo's Second Cavalry Army was upgraded from the Third Cavalry Division (not the same thing as the newly formed Third Cavalry Division in Jizhong, which is the remnant of the Northwest Army), and it was actually a cavalry division.

The same was true of the Northeast Advance Army, due to the "illegal anti-Japanese", Ma Zhanshan led the volunteers to travel thousands of miles (detouring to the Soviet Union and returning to China via Xinjiang. Its difficulties can be imagined) after returning to China and not being treated as a hero. Instead, he was idle for a few years. It was not until after the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War that the Nationalist Government remembered the general who fired the first shot of the Anti-Japanese War and appointed him as the commander of the Northeast Advance Army, and was also in charge of the pacification of the four northeastern provinces.

At this time. The volunteers who fought bloodily against the Japanese army outside the customs have long been scattered. Ma Zhanshan almost became a bare-bones commander. The Ministry of Military Affairs had no choice but to give him Liu Guiwu's 6th Cavalry Division as a starting unit. Ma Zhanshan's organizational ability seems to be stronger than He Zhuguo's. Of course, it may also be because of the name of the four northeastern provinces to appease the matter, and it is more convenient to expand the troops.

After the expedition to the outside of the Saiwai. Ma Zhanshan also took over the Jingdequan Division of the puppet Mongolian army and organized it into the new Third Cavalry Division, Lu Cunyi's department as the First Temporary Cavalry Brigade, and the puppet Mongolian Army and Liu Jinshan as the advance detachment. It's a pity that the 6th Cavalry Division, which was the starting force, was wiped out. Speaking of which, we have to mention Liu Guiwu, the commander of the Sixth Cavalry Division.

The personal experience of Liu Gui's fifth division commander is also very legendary. He was a native of Chaoyang in the Northeast, but he was a soldier in the Song Zheyuan Department of the Northwest Army, and later went to the Bai Fengxiang Department of the Northeast Army, and was quickly promoted and became a regiment commander under Bai. Some sources say that it is because he and Bai Fengxiang have both had the experience of being bandits.

Bai Fengxiang did work as a bandit in his early years, and was active in the area of Chifeng and the paddock, and was nicknamed Bai Sanyan King. Later, he led his troops to take refuge in Zhang Zuolin, who saw that he was good at riding and archery and had superb marksmanship, so he organized a cavalry brigade for him and made him the brigade commander, and later promoted to the commander of the Fifth Cavalry Division. Liu Guiwu was born on July 4, 1902 in a poor peasant family in Bajiazi Village, Liujiazi Township, Chaoyang County. In 1924, he went to Song Zheyuan's department as a student soldier. It is unlikely from the perspective of time, and it is estimated that the banter element is very large.

During the Xi'an Incident, Bai Fengxiang was ordered to "capture Jiang", and the specific execution was Liu Gui's Fifth Regiment, which was responsible for attacking the two gates and five halls guarded by Chang Kaishen. At that time, some people jokingly said that the young marshal had taken a fancy to Bai and Liu's ability to "dig out the old kiln". After the Xi'an Incident was resolved, Bai Fengxiang was dismissed, but Jiang Fang said that he was not to blame for the past to the regimental officers, so in October 1937, Liu was promoted to the commander of the Sixth Cavalry Division of the Kuomintang, with two cavalry regiments and one infantry regiment under his command. Led the troops to defend the camp of Suiyuan (now Hohhot, Inner Mongolia).

In the early days of the Anti-Japanese War, the Sixth Cavalry Division fought very well. Under the command of Ma Zhanshan, the unit penetrated thousands of kilometers behind enemy lines, and even approached Zhangbei for a time. Especially in March 1938, in order to cooperate with Fu Zuoyi's counteroffensive Suiyuan's operation, Ma Zhanshan once again crossed Daqingshan, launched an offensive behind the Japanese army, took advantage of the weakness to capture Liangcheng, Hekou, Tuoketuo and other places, captured the head of the fourth regiment of the puppet Mongolian army, Men Shuhuai, Liu Guiwu and led the sixth cavalry division to capture the Salazi railway station, and captured the puppet Mengkang King alive (later sent back to Chongqing as a prisoner) to cut off the Pingsui railway. The Japanese garrison in Mongolia was greatly shocked.

But it was precisely because of the great exploits of Ma Zhanshan and Liu Guiwu that they attracted the crazy revenge of the Japanese army. In order to deal with this highly mobile force, the Japanese army transferred a large number of aircraft and motorized troops to encircle and suppress. On April 20, 38, the Northeast Advance Army failed to attack Wuchuan and was intercepted by the Japanese army in the retreat. After Liu Guiwu led his troops to break off, he struggled to block the attack, and finally got rid of the enemy army temporarily after two days and two nights of fierce fighting. However, on the 22nd, when the troops were crossing the river at Butter Ganzi (near present-day Baotou), the Ma Zhanshan headquarters was suddenly attacked by more than 1,000 Japanese troops and more than 70 armored vehicles of the mixed brigade of the enemy, and Liu Gui, commander of the 5th Division, led his troops to resist on the spot in order to cover the withdrawal of the military headquarters, and unfortunately was shot and martyred at the age of 36.

After the death of Liu Gui's fifth division commander, the brutal Japanese army actually cut off his head, transported it back to Tokyo, and soaked it in a glass bottle of formalin solution as a trophy to display in Japan.

In order to seize the headless body, Liu Guiwu's wife personally led his troops back and engaged in a fierce white-knuckle battle with the Japanese army. In the melee, Mrs. Liu single-handedly rushed into the position by surprise, hid in the stirrup and ran to the body, suddenly leaned over and grabbed Liu Guiwu onto the horse, and recaptured her husband's body in the fire and blood.

Liu Guiwu's headless body was transported to Xi'an. With a fake head and the body were buried together, all walks of life in Xi'an set up a funeral preparation office for General Liu Guiwu. The Kuomintang and the Communist Party jointly paid tribute to this martyr who died for the country. It is worth mentioning that Chairman Chang Kaishen, who was caught by him that year, also sent a pair of elegiac couplets: Absolute Fortress Sweep Criminals, Millions of Heroes Fight Over the Stone; The strong wind thinks of the warriors, and the nine-sided resolute soul is like Suiyang.

After the battle of Butter Ganzi, the 6th Cavalry Division was almost completely wiped out. However, Commander Ma Zhanshan did not lose because of this, but quickly regained his strength. Subsequently, he recruited the puppet army Liu Sheng's fifth brigade and organized it as the second brigade of the provisional cavalry, and Han Yuchun's department as the third brigade of the provisional cavalry. Mu Xinya's division was reorganized as the new Ninth Cavalry Division. Bai Yukun's division was organized into the first independent cavalry regiment, and Liu Jinshan's advance detachment was organized into the second cavalry regiment.

Originally, He Zhuguo also gave him the 10th Cavalry Regiment Wang Zhaokun to rebuild the 6th Cavalry Division, but in this time and space, He Zhuguo wanted to have a good relationship with Zheng Weiguo. The 10th Cavalry Regiment was returned to the 4th Cavalry Division. So. The Northeast Advance Army turned out to be an all-army composed of "puppet armies anyway". Although these "prodigal sons" cannot be discriminated against. But it always feels a little weird.

In the Battle of Baotou in the winter of 38, the Northeast Advance Army also participated in the battle. Commander Ma Zhanshan also gave full play to his ability to "counter the puppet army" and incorporated the Xia Junchuan Division of the Fourth Division of the Puppet Northwest Autonomous Army. It was initially organized as the second guerrilla detachment, and later reorganized into one regiment. The Yang Xinghua Division of the puppet Mongolian army was also organized into a regiment anyway. Seeing that the Northeast Advance Army was well coordinated, the Ministry of Military Affairs reassigned it to the Eighth Theater.

However, in this battle, the casualties of the advance army were also relatively large. Fortunately, the material resources provided by Germany continued to arrive, and Zheng Weiguo supported a large number of guns and ammunition for the advance army. Commander Ma took the opportunity to pull the troops to Hala Village, Fugu, Shaanxi Province for training, and unified the troops into the 5th and 6th Divisions of the newly formed cavalry.

This was the status quo of the 2nd Cavalry Army and the Advance Army, with a total of three cavalry divisions and two cavalry artillery battalions. The cavalry artillery battalion is all artillery provided by Zheng Weiguo, and is composed of two mountain artillery companies and one battle defense artillery company. In addition, each division also has a small artillery battery, each equipped with four Surothong 20-mm anti-aircraft guns.

On the other hand, the Japanese army not only dispatched two tank wings, but also the main force of the 26th Division, and the 32nd Division, which was on its way to reinforcements. Coupled with air superiority, the situation is indeed not optimistic.

Director Cai Wenzhi was a little skeptical of the intelligence, and said in surprise: "The general seat, the staff seat, has the news of the 32nd Division reinforcing Baotou confirmed?" ”

Chief of Staff Zhou nodded and said, "Well, it has been verified, and it is confirmed." Moreover, the Japanese army also transferred a large number of artillery, and the specific number is to be checked. However, it is certain that there is at least a 105-mm cannon battery, a 150-mm howitzer brigade, and a 240-mm siege artillery brigade. In addition, the 26th Division was also strengthened, and the North China Front temporarily assigned it to the 5th Independent Mortar Brigade. ”

When Cai Wenzhi heard this, he couldn't help but gasp, and said with a shocked face: "So, the little devil has at least transferred more than half of the heavy artillery of the entire front army to the direction of Baotou?" ”

According to the habits of the Japanese army, field heavy artillery is divided into two types, namely, field heavy artillery brigades (under the jurisdiction of two field heavy artillery wings) and independent field heavy artillery wings. Field heavy artillery brigades are generally tasked with suppressing firepower, and each wing is equipped with 16 105 mm guns to suppress enemy artillery. The Independent Field Heavy Artillery Wing undertook the task of fire support, that is, mainly to bombard enemy infantry positions, and was equipped with 24 150mm heavy howitzers. As the siege artillery brigade talked about before, it is four 240 mm heavy howitzers, and the overall performance is backward, but the power is extremely great.

The North China Front now has only one field heavy artillery brigade, the 2nd Field Heavy Artillery Brigade, and the brigade commander is Major General Toshitoshi Kitani. It has two wings, namely the 5th Field Heavy Artillery Wing, which is led by Ryoyoshi Ikeda; The 6th Wing of the Field Heavy Artillery, Wing Commander Matsushita Kinao Daisa. In addition, there was an independent field heavy artillery 8th wing, which was led by Osa Kanaoka.

These wings fought in Lanfeng, and were replaced by Chang Kaishen with water, and they were flooded badly, and most of the heavy equipment was lost. However, Japan was about to form the 6th Field Heavy Artillery Brigade at that time, and there happened to be a lot of heavy artillery, so it was quickly rebuilt. Originally, he had been guarding against the counterattack of the national army in eastern Henan and northern Jiangsu, and it was not until the central Hebei side attacked the Pinghan line that they arrived in North China one after another. Especially in Shijiazhuang and other places, like a knife on the neck, it has always been a thorn in Zheng Huzi's heart. Unexpectedly, this time the Japanese army was willing to take out half of it and throw it into the Baotou battlefield, which seemed to be indeed inevitable.

Zheng Weiguo nodded and said, "Not bad!" Now it is the Japanese reinforcements who arrived first. Or did our reinforcements arrive first? Chief of Staff, check again, where is Chief Fu's main force? ”

Chief of Staff Zhou hurriedly went to contact the 35th Army, and soon came back to report: "General, I contacted Commander Fu, and Commander Fu said that the new 32nd Division marched 50 kilometers during the day, rested for two hours in the front banner of Urad and then rushed overnight, and is currently in the vicinity of Ula Mountain. The new 31st Division went to Urad Zhongqi (near Outer Mongolia) to carry supplies, and it may be difficult to return within a day or two, so Commander Fu hopes that we can find a way to support. Otherwise, Baotou is not guaranteed! ”

Zheng Weiguo frowned slightly. said: "It seems that the defenders of Baotou will survive at least one day alone. ”

During the Red Army's Long March, the Red Fourth Regiment traveled 120 kilometers day and night to capture the Luding Bridge. But this is something that only a few elite troops can do. A two-legged mobile unit would be fine if it was forced to march fifty kilometers a day. Although Fu Zuoyi's 35th Army is also elite. But at most on par with the Red Army. A forced march of 100 kilometers is almost the limit. If only it were faster. The attrition of the troops is too great, and it will not be able to play a role on the battlefield.

Zheng Weiguo asked again: "What about Ma Hongbin's 81st Army and the Jin Xianzhang Division in northern Jin?" ”

Chief of Staff Zhou hurriedly said: "The 81st Army is also south of the Yellow River, and I am afraid that it will not be able to reach it in a short time." The Kim Chyun Division fought a battle with the Japanese army during the day today. But it failed to break through the Japanese blockade. ”

After the 26th Division moved north, the Japanese First Army stationed in Shanxi immediately dispatched an independent mixed brigade to Datong to fill the gap after the departure of the 26th Division. Moreover, the terrain in the north of Jin is dangerous, and it is very difficult for the troops to sneak through, and they will be ambushed by the Japanese army.

Director Cai Wenzhi said regretfully: "Alas, the reinforcements are too far apart. Chief Fu too, why did Baotou release a division's troops? ”

Chief of Staff Zhou explained: "You don't understand, that place in Suiyuan is too poor. If all the troops were concentrated in Baotou, the logistical pressure would be enough to drag down the Eighth Theater. However, Chief Fu really miscalculated this time, he didn't expect the Japanese army's blow to come so quickly! ”

Zheng Weiguo smiled bitterly and said, "Not only is it Chief Fu, aren't we also beaten up?" In this round of competition, we can be regarded as losing to Tada Jun! ”

Originally, the defense of Baotou was still very stable, there were Salazi, Shamujia, and Shaerqin as barriers in the east, and most of the counties and strongholds in the north were recovered, and the south was the Yellow River, which was not afraid of outflanking by the Japanese army, and the west was a stable rear. The closest outposts of the Japanese army to Baotou, such as Chasuqi and Tuoketuo, were more than 120 kilometers away from Baotou. If under normal circumstances, the Japanese army would have been killed all the way, and Baotou would have been prepared.

But no one thought that the Japanese army would play such a trick to hide from the world. It seems that Tada Jun does have two brushes, which are not comparable to the likes of "fool yuan". Historically, most people believe that Okamura Ninji was the most powerful commander of the North China Front. In fact, Tada Jun is not bad, especially in terms of strategy, even stronger than Okamura. At least Okamura doesn't have much to praise in terms of strategy.

On the other hand, at the beginning of his tenure, Tada Jun engaged in a "cage policy", that is, "using railways as pillars, highways as chains, and pillboxes as locks" to enforce public order and rectification. This strategy may seem time-consuming, laborious, and a bit stupid, but it is a great threat to the Eighth Route Army. Because the most powerful thing about the Eighth Route Army is not how capable it is to fight, but how capable it is to run, and there has always been no way to deal with this kind of guerrilla tactics with great mobility. For example, in history, the Qing government suppressed the Twist Army, using the tactics of long encirclement, restricting its mobility, and then attacking with heavy troops. This is undoubtedly very clever from a tactical point of view, and what Okamura Ninji later engaged in the "429 Sweep" and "May 1 Sweep" was actually a continuation of Tada Jun's strategy.

The second step is to deal with Suiyuan. After the fall of North China, there were only two gates left, one was Zhongtiao Mountain, and the second was Suiyuan. In history, Fu Zuoyi counterattacked Baotou and almost succeeded. But Tada Jun immediately counterattacked, although he failed to eliminate Fu Zuoyi, but blocked him in Suixi, and from then on until 45 years he could not take a step east of Baotou.

The third step, presumably everyone knows the road, is the famous Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain. In one fell swoop, he defeated 100,000 national troops and closed the last gate in North China.

Although the battle situation at that time was chaotic, looking back, it is obvious that Tada Jun was fighting with a purpose, and his strategic thinking was very clear. Like this time, although the threat from Jizhong was greater, Tada Jun did not attack Jizhong, but unexpectedly attacked Baotou.

For more than a month, Tada Jun ostensibly dispatched troops to the periphery of Jizhong, creating the illusion that he was going to attack Jizhong. At the same time, the news was strictly sealed internally, so that Feng Kun and so many internal lines of the Eighth Route Army did not get relevant information. Although it is an enemy, I have to admit that this hand is played beautifully, and the essence of the art of war is brought into full play.

Chief of Staff Zhou nodded and said, "The general seat is right!" It seems that in the future, I will have to have more eyes with this Tada Jun! However, as long as Baotou is still under the control of our army, we still have a chance to turn the tables. The top priority is how to solve the crisis of the head of the package. ”

Zheng Weiguo nodded approvingly, and then asked: "Now that Baotou is in danger, and Chief Fu is asking us for help, tell me, how should we deal with it?" ”

Cai Wenzhi hurriedly said: "Boss, I have an idea!" (To be continued......)

PS: It's so late, I don't have the face to explain anything, crying!