At this time, the Nanjing Command had already become a mess.

"Impossible, this impossible?" Looking at the two eye-catching blue arrows drawn on the map by the operational staff officer, Gu Zhutong, deputy commander-in-chief of the Third Theater of Operations, was a little dumbfounded, "How could little Japan move so fast?" I just went ashore from Chuanshakou in the early hours of this morning, and I arrived at Luodian at noon? That's not enough time to build a bridge over the riverfront! ”

Bai Chongxi said coldly: "I said a long time ago that I can't wishfully think that the Japanese will definitely be ill-prepared for the terrain of Shanghai's water network, and now I am unfortunate to be right?" The Japanese sappers were obviously prepared, and the riverside in the Songhu area could not play a role in delaying the Japanese army at all, otherwise Luodian and Baoshan could have fallen so quickly? ”

After speaking, Bai Chongxi also turned his head and glanced at Falkenhausen, who had just returned from Nanxiang, and the old German man was obviously a little weak-hearted, so he quickly avoided his sight.

"Don't talk about this now, the top priority is countermeasures, and I want countermeasures." Chairman Chiang paused with the cane in his hand, but his face could not help but have a fever, and at first he listened to Falkenhausen's hasty judgment and wishfully believed that the Japanese would be unprepared for the terrain of the water network in the Songhu area, and it was none other than him, Chiang.

Chen Cheng, who had not spoken, said: "Commission, it seems that the strategy of the Battle of Songhu must be adjusted. ”

Chairman Jiang looked eagerly at his confidant and favorite general, and said, "What do you think about it, but it doesn't hurt to say it. ”

Chen Cheng bowed his head lightly and said in a deep voice: "First, the 9th Army still needs to maintain pressure on the Japanese troops in the Japanese concession, but at the same time, it also needs to make defensive preparations, especially in the direction of the new urban area; second, the 11th Division and the 98th Division were urgently transferred to defend Luodian and Liuhang to protect the flank and rear of the 9th Army; Third, a separate group army was formed to block the enemy who landed from Chuanshakou and Zhanghuabin; fourth, the 14th Division, the 67th Division, and the 74th Army were urgently transferred to Shanghai; and fifth, more troops were mobilized to go to Shanghai one after another to participate in the war. ”

Chairman Jiang bowed his head happily, but Bai Chongxi couldn't help but pour cold water and said: "Brother Cixiu, the Japanese army has already captured Luodian and Baoshan County, is it a little late to transfer the 11th Division and the 98th Division to defend Luodian and Liu Xing at this time?" In my opinion, it is better to organize the retreat as soon as possible, so as not to act hastily and lead to a big defeat when we get it. ”

"Retreat?" Chairman Jiang immediately frowned and said, "We can't withdraw it, Shanghai is an international perspective, and it is also a major place for the party-state to pay taxes. After a brief pause, Chairman Jiang said, "Everything will be handled according to what Cixiu just said, and the 15th Group Army will be formed immediately, and this commander-in-chief will be Cixiu." ”

"Yes!" Chen Cheng stood up and said, "The humble position will never live up to the trust of the commission. ”

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Bai Chongxi's worries are not unreasonable, after the Japanese Anda Wing captured Luodian, from the overall situation, the situation faced by the national army is already so bad that it can no longer be worse, at this time the most sensible choice for the national army is to withdraw, although it is a pity to give up Shanghai, but as long as the precious life can be saved, there is no chance to turn the tables.

Therefore, from a purely military point of view, Chen Cheng's strategy is absolutely wrong.

But wars are always full of accidents and dramas.

No matter which country or which army, the thieves are always mostly mediocre, and Little Japan is no exception, this mediocrity is Matsui Shigen, this old devil stubbornly believes that the key to victory in the Battle of Songhu is not Luodian, nor Jiading, but Jiangwan, because Jiangwan has a racetrack, which can be quickly converted into a large military airport.

Therefore, after the 12th Infantry Wing divided his troops to capture Luodian and Baoshan County, Matsui Shigen transferred most of the barges and small steamers to Zhang Huabin, giving priority to ensuring the landing of the 3rd Division from Zhang Huabin, so that the 3rd Division could attack Jiangwan nearby.

Matsui's stinky move finally gave Zhang Zhizhong a chance to breathe, and the situation changed dramatically.

After leaving the Xu Gongqiao Headquarters, Zhang Zhizhong took a car to Jiangwan to hurry, but he only walked less than two kilometers and could not continue to advance, because the Japanese bombers in the sky swooped down wave after wave, and Zhang Zhizhong's car target was too obvious to be avoided at all, and in desperation, Zhang Zhizhong had to stop a bicycle and ride away.

When Zhang Zhizhong risked his life and rushed to the Yejia Garden in Jiangwan, Song Xilian, Xia Chuzhong, Peng Shan, Wang Jingjiu and other division commanders were there, and they also knew the news that the Japanese army had landed from Chuanshakou and Zhang Huabin at the same time, and they were all discussing the follow-up development of the Songhu war.

Zhang Zhizhong's arrival eased the atmosphere in the front-line headquarters and, in his own words, stabilized the morale of the troops.

There was no superfluous nonsense, Zhang Zhizhong immediately ordered Peng Shan's 11th Division and Xia Chuzhong's 98th Division to rush to Luodian and Baoshan.

Peng Shan, the commander of the 11th Division, muttered in his heart, frowned and said: "The sky is full of small Japanese planes, and the troops have been bombed so much that they can't raise their heads, how to go?" ”

Zhang Zhizhong became angry when he heard this, and said: "I, the commander-in-chief of the group army, can brave the Japanese bombardment from Nanxiang to Jiangwan, but your 11th Division can't brave the Japanese bombardment from Jiangwan to Luodian?" ”

Peng Shan had nothing to say at this time, and hurriedly rushed to Luodian with the 11th Division.

From the point of view of time, Zhang Zhizhong learned that the Japanese army's large-scale landing was at dawn, that is, at more than five o'clock in the morning of the 23rd, at this time, the Japanese Anda Wing had landed and deployed from Chuanshakou, except for leaving an infantry brigade to hold the beachhead and guard the direction of the Liuhe River, the other two infantry brigades had been divided into two routes, directly into Luodian and Baoshan County.

When Zhang Zhizhong arrived at Yejia Garden in Jiangwan, it was around eight o'clock in the morning, and at this time, the two infantry brigades of the Anda Wing had already captured Luodian and Baoshan County without blood.

Pengshan's 11th Division completed its assembly at about 2 p.m., and the rapid march arrived at Luodian in the evening.

From 9 a.m. to the evening when the 11th Division marched to Luodian, the Anda Wing stayed along the line of Luodian and Baoshan without advancing half a step, and because of Matsui Shigen's improper command, the thinking of the front-line commanders was confused, and the two infantry brigades that occupied Luodian and Baoshan counties rarely did not build fortifications.

The result can be imagined, the 11th Division took advantage of the night to drive the Japanese out of Luodian with only one assault.

However, due to the lag in intelligence, the 11th Division did not know the details of the Japanese army on the opposite side, not only did not know the specific number of Japanese troops, but even did not know the number of the Japanese army, so the commander of the 11th Division, Peng Shan, did not dare to advance, but ordered the troops to build fortifications on the spot, and fell into a confrontation with the Japanese army with Luodian as the boundary.

From the landing of the Japanese army in the early morning of the 23rd to the late night of the 23rd, the 11th Division and the Anda Wing fell into a standoff at Luodian, an unprecedented crisis of the national army was thus dissipated by the mediocrity of Matsui Ishine and Zhang Zhizhong's quick and decisive response.

However, Chairman Chiang, who was far away in Nanjing, did not know this, and in the face of the Shanghai war situation that could collapse at any time, Zhang Zhizhong could not be found after several phone calls, and Chairman Chiang's dissatisfaction with Zhang Zhizhong finally reached the limit, and Luo Zhuoying's 18th Army was transferred from the 9th Group Army to the newly formed 15th Group Army without informing Zhang Zhizhong.

Therefore, when Zhang Zhizhong rushed to the headquarters of the 18th Army in Jiading to meet Luo Zhuoying, Luo Zhuoying was quite surprised and asked Commander-in-Chief Zhang, why are you here with me? When Zhang Zhizhong asked, he learned that the General Headquarters had been newly organized into the 15th Group Army, which was specially designed to meet the enemy who landed on the left flank in Shanghai, and the 18th Army was also included in the 15th Group Army.

Zhang Zhizhong's inner depression can be imagined, at the beginning of the Battle of Songhu, Nanjing made several brutal interventions, cutting the entire combat operation of the 9th Army to pieces, because Zhang Zhizhong knew that this was Chairman Chiang's consistent style, and he didn't want to say anything about it, but now it was a bit too much to sweep the 18th Army away without greeting him.

It happened that Gu Zhutong, the deputy commander-in-chief of the Third Theater of Operations, arrived in Suzhou, and Zhang Zhixin thought that during this time, he only cared about directing the front-line war and neglected communication with his superiors, so he had the current situation, so he wanted to report to Gu Zhutong, but he made a mistake again, and as soon as he arrived in Suzhou, he asked Chairman Jiang to arrest him.

On the phone, Chairman Jiang asked very unceremoniously: "What are you doing in Suzhou?" ”

Without waiting for Zhang Zhizhong to speak, Chairman Jiang immediately asked, "At the critical juncture of the war, you don't stay on the front line to command, Weishenme to Suzhou?" Weishenme to Suzhou? Weishenme to Suzhou? ”

Zhang Zhizhong finally broke out, and asked loudly: "Does the chairman think I went to Suzhou?" ”

After speaking, Zhang Zhizhong hung up the phone directly, and after this quarrel, Zhang Zhizhong's anger was vented at once, and until he recalled it decades later, Zhang Zhizhong was still haunted.

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After talking about these big people, let's go back to the little people.

In the battle of Fortress Hill two days ago, was Xu Shijiu really dead? Of course not.

Again, Xu Shijiu has never been afraid of death, and he is always ready to die, but until the mountains and rivers are exhausted, he will never choose death easily, when the rows of Bufusi shells flew over the Huangpu River and flew towards Fort Mountain with a short scream, Xu Shijiu had already jumped into a large crater selected in advance.

This crater was obviously blown out by the Japanese Navy's large-caliber naval guns, it was very large and deep, and the key was that there was a large rock standing on the east side, which was simply a natural shield, so the Japanese soldiers who rushed to the top of the mountain were blown up to the flesh and blood, but Xu Shijiu was almost unharmed, he was just injured by the shock wave generated by the explosion and passed out.