The headquarters of the Northern Expeditionary Army in Wuhan was busy, and the morning sunlight was scattered through the window lattice, and the bright and dark parts were distinct, and the scene inside the house was in contrast. At this time, Chief of Staff Pei Gejin hurriedly walked in from outside with a telegram in his hand. "Is there good news from the East Route Corps?" Deng Zixuan said calmly. "Exactly, a telegram has just come from Nanjing, and Bai Shengyu reported: The 24th and 25th divisions have broken through the Zhenjiang defense line, and the Japanese army has retreated to the second line of defense, and it is currently in fierce fighting."

The battle situation of the Eastern Route Corps was quickly reported to the headquarters of the Northern Expeditionary Army in Wuhan, because of the cable telegraph network laid from Nanjing to Wuhan. At present, the Jiangnan region has initially formed a cable telegraph network coverage. However, there was no cable telegraph network in the west, so the battle situation of the Western Route Corps could not be transmitted to the headquarters in time. "Commander-in-chief, I don't know what the situation between the capital and Leng Yifei is, it's really worrying, as you often say, how important communication is." Chen Jintang stood next to him and sighed.

"Commander-in-chief, when will the wireless telegraph you said come out, if there is a wireless telegraphy, we can know the situation on the battlefield at any time, so as not to be so anxious." Deng Zixuan said with a smile: "I also hope to make an infinite report immediately, but I can't eat hot tofu in a hurry, and I have to eat the rice one bite at a time." Once we take the lead in mastering wireless communication, Bi will be even more invincible in the world. Don't worry, I think within two years, we will definitely be able to break through the radio jishu. ”

Deng Zixuan continued: "Our communication is not smooth, and the same is true for the communication of the coalition forces, so what do you have to worry about." Therefore, there is no need for us to be impatient. I believe that the West Route Corps and the capital will definitely be able to send good news. Now the key is the capital operation, if the command of the coalition army is defeated, the entire coalition defense system is facing a state of fighting separately, which is extremely beneficial for us to eat the enemy separately, and now I am most concerned about the news of the capital. ”

Chen Jintang said: "In another half an hour, the Central Route Corps will launch an attack on the Funiu Mountain defense line defended by the British army and the Tongbai Mountain defense line defended by the French army. "I still want to emphasize that we must trust our commanders and not interfere with the decisions of the front-line commanders, because too much interference will have a negative effect." Chen Jintang and Pei Gejin nodded and went their separate ways, and Deng Zixuan's eyes were aimed at the capital again.

At 8 o'clock, the attack of the Central Route Corps of the Northern Expeditionary Army on the defense line of Funiu Mountain and the defense line of Tongbai Mountain started at the same time. The three divisions of the Northern Expeditionary Army launched a feint attack on the defense line of Funiu Mountain, and even if it was a feint, it would have to make a big attack, so all three divisions were put into battle, and the momentum far exceeded the attack of Tongbai Mountain. In order to achieve a realistic effect, an artillery division was invested in the Funiu Mountain defense line to increase the intensity of the attack. The Tongbaishan defensive line, as the main breakthrough direction of the left flank column of the Central Route Corps, only one division was invested in the attack at the beginning, but the heavy artillery division was equipped with this direction.

As a key breakthrough direction, on the side of Tongbai Mountain, the Central Route Corps invested 17 divisions to fight, and formed a pattern of large corps operations. The operation of the headquarters of the Northern Expeditionary Army was to bravely break through the defense line of Tongbai Mountain, and the troops went straight to Zhengzhou, striving to eat the main force of the Henan coalition army in a short time. At present, in Henan, there are 60,000 people in five divisions of the French army and nearly 30,000 people in two divisions of the Japanese army on the defense line of Tongbai Mountain. The defense line of Funiu Mountain consisted of nearly 70,000 men in 5 divisions of the British army.

In addition, the Russian army has 5 divisions of nearly 50,000 horses in Tongguan. In Luoyang, the French army had two divisions of 250,000 horses. Zhengzhou has 3 Russian divisions with 30,000 horses, and a Russian cavalry division with 10,000 horses. The Qing army had 100,000 troops in Henan. The total strength of the entire Henan coalition army was 345,000. According to the commander of the coalition forces, McMahon, Henan's defense was impregnable, and the Northern Expeditionary Army did not succeed in launching an attack. The key is that there are great variables in the 100,000 Qing troops, and this is the most advantageous chess piece for the Northern Expeditionary Army.

At present, Western countries generally believe that the defense of the Central Plains is becoming more and more solid, and it is impossible for the Northern Expeditionary Army to launch a large-scale attack. This strategic miscalculation caused a catastrophe for the entire coalition army, and also caused a nightmare for the Western Shijie. The key is that the Northern Expeditionary Army's unprecedented combat mode completely subverted the military thinking of the entire Western Shijie. But after all, the war was fought on the territory of China, and even if the Western countries suffered heavy losses, it did not mean that the Western countries compromised, which laid the groundwork for the more brutal Shijie War later.

The end of the battle is on, and the guns are thundering. The 2nd Division of the Central Route Corps first launched an attack on the 115 heights in front of the Tongbai Mountain defensive line. The strength of the French army defending the 115 heights was about one brigade. Artillery fire covered and then extended fire, and because the French built permanent fortifications of reinforced concrete, heavy artillery fire was a limited threat to the fortifications. As we explained earlier, the French army suffered heavy losses, so they conducted a painstaking study of the offensive and combat mode of the Northern Expeditionary Army, so they carefully arranged the targeted defense. In particular, in the use of artillery, the coalition forces tripled their number according to the previous means of defense.

At the sound of the order, the two regiments launched a strong attack, and the soldiers scattered their lines and rushed up the hill. The French artillery fire began to return fire, and the dense shells formed a cloud of smoke on the charging path, and the soldiers braved the artillery fire to move forward. The soldiers crossed the artillery area, but were blocked by the French heavy machine guns, which formed a crossfire, and the charging Northern Expeditionary soldiers were shot one after another, and the attack was suppressed.

Three successive attacks were launched to no avail, and then two more regiments were replaced, but they were still defeated. Zhao Dashan, the commander of the 2nd Division, was red-eyed when he saw this scene, and ordered another brigade to launch a rotational attack. When it was dark, the offensive continued to abate, and the offensive still did not stop, but until dawn, the offensive did not make any progress. Division Commander Zhao Dashan was anxious to personally go to the front to command, but was promptly persuaded by the chief of staff. For two whole days, the 2nd Division launched several attacks on the 115 heights, but to no avail.

Li Tianxiang, deputy commander of the Central Route Army, was in a hurry when he heard the news, and ordered the 5th and 6th Divisions to enter the battle and launch attacks on the 112 and 131 heights respectively. But after a day of fighting, there was still no progress. The 2nd Division suffered heavy losses and was replaced, and the division commander Zhao Dashan was extremely depressed, but there was no way to attack unfavorably. At the headquarters of the Northern Expeditionary Army in Wuhan, Chen Jintang roared: "What the hell Li Tianxiang did it, he has been attacking for three days in a row, and he hasn't taken a piece of high ground." He must be given a death order! ”

The atmosphere at the headquarters was very depressing, and Deng Zixuan said for a long time: "It seems that the French army has made great preparations, and the losses of such a strong attack are too great. Order the Tongbai Mountain defense line to stop the offensive. "Stop attacking?" Chen Jintang was a little surprised when he heard this. "Yes, stop attacking! Order the Funiu Mountain defense line to continue to increase the intensity of the feint! After Deng Zixuan finished speaking, he walked to the sand table of the Tongbai Mountain defense line and paused, and everyone held their breath. Deng Zixuan carefully observed the defense line arranged by the French army, and couldn't help but marvel in his heart, the deployment of the French defense line was simply leaky, which showed the rigorous attitude of the Westerners. Suddenly, Deng Zixuan's eyes were aimed at the junction of Funiu Mountain and Tongbai Mountain.

The area of the junction of the sand table is high and densely forested, and the terrain is dangerous. According to military common sense, this is the most unsuitable place to use soldiers, and as the saying goes, it is also the safest place. The safest place is also the most dangerous enemy. Deng Zixuan's eyes lit up and said: "Instruct Li Tianxiang to send a force to penetrate the rear of the French defense line at the junction, take the old temple, and threaten the 305 heights on the west side of Taibai Mountain, I want to disrupt the French army's defense system." If the interspersed operations are successful, we will capture Taibai Mountain. ”

At the headquarters of the Xiangfan Middle Road Corps, Deputy Commander Li Tianxiang reprimanded Zhao Dashan with a tiger face, and then changed the conversation and said: "In order to make up for your mistakes, you personally led a reinforced brigade to lightly equip and insert it from the west side of Taibai Mountain to the Ancient Temple, and you must quickly take the Ancient Temple." After occupying the ancient temple, immediately launch an attack on Taibai Mountain in the flank and rear, and cooperate with the main force to take the 305 heights of Taibai Mountain, can you do it? Zhao Dashan was overjoyed when he heard this: "Please rest assured that the deputy commander will guarantee the completion of the task." ”

At the headquarters of the French army in Tanghe County, the commander of the French army, Bergony, and all the generals had solemn expressions. Suddenly, the gunfire on the front line stopped, and everyone's eyes widened. Soon a fast horse arrived, and an officer came in and reported: "Report to the commander, the front has been victorious." The Northern Expeditionary Army launched a series of attacks on our 115 heights, 112 heights, and 131 heights. The Northern Expeditionary Army paid a heavy price and was repulsed, and now the Northern Expeditionary Army has stopped its offensive. ”

Hearing this news, the headquarters immediately burst into laughter and excitement. “haha！ My French warriors are good, and now it can be proved that the defense line of Tongbai Mountain is impregnable, and if the Northern Expeditionary Army wants to break through the defense line, unless it steps over me, will my warriors agree? "The crowd couldn't help but clamour, and the gloomy atmosphere was swept away." Your Excellency General, we in France can finally raise our eyebrows, and the headquarters of the coalition forces will know the victory of Tongbai Mountain, and I am afraid that we will issue a cross badge to Your Excellency the General. ”

Bergany waved his hand and said, "The badge is such a high honor, it is too early for me. I want to make it difficult for the Northern Expeditionary Army to move an inch, the Tongbai Mountain defense line will be the cemetery of the Northern Expeditionary Army, I want to make every mountain a meat grinder, and I want the French military flag to fly high on Tongbai Mountain. "Your Excellency General, the British side has informed that the Northern Expeditionary Army launched a large-scale attack on the Funiu Mountain defense line at the same time, but in the past three days, the Northern Expeditionary Army still has not broken through a single hill on the Funiu Mountain defense line, and it seems that the British army is also fighting very beautifully."

Bergoni pouted and said: "The terrain of Funiu Mountain is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and the British occupy favorable terrain, if they still can't fight well, I'm afraid they will lose face." Everyone, please raise your glasses and toast to our first victory! "Cheers!" The romantic French will set the mood at any time. "Your Excellency General, the British commander has informed you that reinforcements from Zhengzhou will be reinforced, and if we need reinforcements, we can come up."

Bergni conceited: "At the moment I have sufficient defensive forces, the British should think about themselves, I don't need him to worry about it." The chief of staff said: "The Japanese army is the right flank defense, and I am worried that the Northern Expeditionary Army will switch to attacking the right flank defense line." Bergni said confidently: "My chief of staff, you are too worried, anyone with military common sense will not launch an attack on the flank defense line, because behind the defense line is the rolling Dabie Mountain, and the large corps cannot use troops at all." If the Northern Expeditionary Army wanted to break through and advance in depth, it had to break through the frontal defense line of Tongbai Mountain. "Bergoni is about 50 years old and has fought in the Second Franco-Prussian War, so he has a lot of combat experience.

The offensive on the front of Tongbai Mountain was launched again, but this time it was a feint, designed to attract the attention of the French army. Pei Gejinyu, the headquarters of the Northern Expeditionary Army in Wuhan, reported: "Commander-in-chief, Li Tianxiang has organized a brigade of interspersed troops to set out, and in order to attract the French army to attack frontally, it has started again. In addition, the 3rd Division and the 1st Provisional Division have moved to the left, preparing to launch an offensive on the 305 heights of Taibai Mountain. Deng Zixuan nodded and said, "Li Tianxiang's Jihua is very thorough, let's wait for good news." I believe that the officers and men will certainly be able to overcome difficulties and accomplish their tasks with great success. ”

Pei Gejin changed the topic and said: "The right-wing column is progressing smoothly towards Anhui, the Qing army in Lu'an surrendered to the battlefield, and the Qing army's defensive system quickly collapsed. At present, the front of the right wing column has reached Yuexi, and the troops are now advancing towards Hefei in two directions. Deng Zixuan said: "Breaking through the defense line of the Qing army has long been expected. Hefei has 20,000 French troops and 10,000 British troops, and the capture of Hefei is the key. "Relatively speaking, the initial difficulty of the combat mission of the left column is not great, and the focus of Zuihou is to target Xuzhou.

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