Chapter 1039 The Table of the Dian Army

Li Honggang's determination undoubtedly showed an attitude toward division commander Tang Qiuli, that the 29 th Corps can accomplish any arduous task, and its subtext is also obvious, and it does not have to be inferior to those main force corps. ＊

Tang Qiuli smiled, he appreciated the strength of his subordinates who refused to admit defeat, pulled Li Honggang to the map, and said: "The main purpose of the first phase of the Kunming Campaign is to encircle and annihilate the four divisions of the Japanese army attacking Kunming, with a strength of more than 100,000 people, and the corps directly under the division and Tang Qiusheng's corps to undertake this task. ”

Li Honggang's face could not hide the disappointment, still did not catch the main attack, it seems that in the eyes of the division commander, the 29th Corps is not the real main field corps, Tang Qiuli saw this qiē in his eyes, and continued: "In order to ensure the smooth implementation of the first phase of the Kunming Campaign, it is necessary to have troops to block the main force of the Japanese army moving south from Loushan Pass. ”

"Right here, Songshao Pass," the fist slammed into the position of Songshao Pass, Li Honggang understood, and said sternly: "Please ask the division commander to hand over this blocking task to our 29th Corps to complete," Tang Qiuli said: "I also mean this, the two corps have been deployed near Kunming, and it is impossible to turn around to block the main force of Shouichi Terauchi, which will disrupt the deployment of the campaign." ”

"Your corps, on the way to Kunming, the location is very suitable, and the time is also in time, come to Honggang, let's study it carefully," the task is determined, and the rest is the details.

Tang Qiuli pondered and said: "Hong Gang, your corps should be on the front line of Songshao Pass, blocking the main force of the Japanese army for five to seven days, the burden is not light, the main force of Shouyi in the temple, there are more than 200,000 people, you are only more than 70,000 people, the terrain conditions of Songshao Pass are not very suitable for blocking operations, but this is the only favorable terrain that can be used, behind it is Qujing, where the battle headquarters is located, you have to make sure that the Japanese army cannot break through Songshao Pass." ”

Li Honggang replied almost word by word: "Please rest assured, division commander, even if the last person left in the 29th Corps fights, it is guaranteed to block the little devil for seven days, not to mention, we are a unit that has fought a tough battle." ”

Tang Qiuli nodded approvingly, "Okay, I will strengthen two artillery brigades, one tank brigade, and four rocket artillery battalions for you from the directly subordinate corps, in this way, your firepower will slightly exceed the Japanese army and make up for the disadvantage in strength, in addition, from Tang Qiusheng's corps, transfer three brigades of troops as your reserves, Le Yiqin's aviation will also cooperate with you, according to intelligence, the Japanese army going south has entered the Xuanwei area, and the time left for you is only twenty-four hours." ＊”

Li Honggang's eyes lit up and he said: "Division commander, the reserve team is not needed, we don't need others to do our own work, the more artillery and tanks, the better, especially the Thunder rocket artillery, I heard that this guy is very powerful, and he will blow up a large area, but unfortunately, in the eyes of the division commander, the 29th Corps can't be put on the table, and everyone else is equipped with it, but we don't have it." ”

Tang Qiuli scolded with a smile: "You guy, do you mean that I am eccentric? Okay, as long as you, Li Honggang, have just completed this blocking mission, the two artillery brigades and the four rocket artillery battalions will be yours, and the tank brigade will not give it to you! ”

Li Honggang was overjoyed and shouted, "Division commander, this is what you said, as soon as you say it, I will immediately order the troops to concentrate in the direction of Songshao Pass," Tang Qiuli nodded and said: "Hong Gang, there are only 24 hours, and even the marching troops have entered the blocking area, and they still have to build fortifications, and the time is urgent." ”

After bidding farewell to Li Honggang, more than a dozen cars continued their march toward Yunnan along the bumpy mountain road, and when they arrived at Luoping, they could no longer see the crowded situation on the road, the transport convoy and the combat troops, and the troops of the 29 th Corps all turned to the direction of Songshaoguan, and the speed of the vehicles increased considerably.

At about 10:30 that night, the last group of division commanders arrived at the location of the Yunnan Campaign Headquarters, Qujing, an important town in northeastern Yunnan. ”

Chang Feng replied: "The troops directly under the corps have already arrived at the line from Songyang to Fumin in the northwest of Kunming, and they can reach the designated position before four o'clock tomorrow afternoon, and the Tang Qiusheng Corps has arrived at the line from Yiliang to Zaogong in the southeast of Kunming, and they can arrive at the designated position before 12 o'clock at noon tomorrow. ”

"Hmm!" Tang Qiu was noncommittal, Chang Feng continued: "The situation of Longyun is not optimistic, the Japanese army launched a fierce attack on Kunming from the northeast and north of Kunming, after a day of fierce fighting, most of the positions on the periphery of Kunming were lost, at present, the Japanese army has approached Biji, Beijiaochang, Mayuan, Bainishan, and fierce battles have occurred in the northern suburbs,"

Tang Qiuli raised his eyebrows in surprise, the difference in the combat effectiveness of the Yunnan army, the development of the Kunming war, beyond his expectations, according to what Long Yun said, Kunming concentrated 180,000 elite troops of the Yunnan army, and the Japanese army was more than 110,000 people, how could the war start just one day, it was beaten like this by the Japanese army, Kunming is the nest that Long Yun has been operating for many years, fortifications and defense facilities, it can't be so bad that it can't afford to stop a few shells, right? It stands to reason that it shouldn't be so vulnerable.

Chang Feng glanced at Tang Qiuli and said, "Division Commander, this is an hour ago, I received a telegram from Long Yun, according to his description, the situation in Kunming is probably even stricter than what we have in our grasp," Tang Qiuli took the telegram.

"Vice Chairman Tang Xun Jian, at 4:30 a.m. on 11 September, the Japanese army launched a fierce attack on our Kunming, by noon, the outer positions were broken through in many places, in the afternoon, the Japanese offensive became more ferocious, by the evening, the Japanese army had already broken through the northern suburbs of Kunming, and in a day of fierce fighting, our Yunnan army lost about 20,000 troops."

"After the study and decision of all colleagues of the Yunnan Provincial Garrison Command, at 1:30 a.m. on the 12th, our Yunnan army troops began to withdraw from Kunming and transferred to the northwest of Yunnan.

After reading the telegram, Tang Qiuli was so angry that his face turned pale, Long Yun was too unremarkable, he had been operating in Yunnan for decades, and he was timid in the first battle with the Japanese army, losing more than 20,000 people, so he thought about giving up Kunming and fleeing westward, as long as the Yunnan army was entrenched in the city of Kunming, the independence was the arrival of two corps, and the inside and outside should be combined, and more than 100,000 Japanese troops could not escape.

Of course, even if the Dian army fled Kunming, it would not affect the final result of the battle, and it would be a big deal to have another Nanning campaign, but in this way, it would not only affect the course of the campaign, but also increase the difficulty, and retaking Kunming would be much more difficult than annihilating the Japanese army in the suburbs, and the casualties of the troops would also increase significantly.

The problem of the company, the main force of the Japanese army pressed from northern Qianbei, the time for the 29th Corps to block the attack at Songshao Pass will have to be extended, and it will increase the casualties of the troops, no, we can't let the Dian army abandon Kunming, damn, there are still two and a half hours, Long Yun is about to run.

He ordered: "Send a telegram to Tang Qiusheng's corps, your corps must arrive at the attack position before 10 a.m. on 12 September, and launch an attack on the Japanese army at 11 o'clock on time, and the corps directly under it must arrive at the attack position before 2 o'clock in the afternoon of 12 September, and launch an attack on the Japanese army at 3 o'clock on time." ”

Chang Feng hesitated for a moment, and asked tentatively: "Division commander, the battle plan is that the two corps will attack the Japanese army at the same time, and now, only Tang Qiusheng's corps will attack the Japanese army, and the effect may not meet the requirements of the campaign. ”

Tang Qiuli said: "You are right, but the battle situation in Kunming has changed, Long Yun doesn't want to stay in Kunming for a minute, I have no choice, according to Long Yun, whether I can hold on to the time of the morning tomorrow, it's hard to say, lose Kunming and then recover, the difficulty doubles, tell the two corps, can you regain another hour of time under the premise of the order?" Also, Tang Qiusheng's corps, after the vanguard arrived, immediately launched an attack on the Japanese army, disrupting the rhythm of the Japanese army's attack, first cheering Long Yun up, and stabilizing his mind. ”

Chang Feng hurriedly left, Tang Qiuli called Chen Feng, the director of communications, and ordered, "Send a telegram to Long Yun again," "Chairman Long's Xunjian, in the battle of Kunming, the Japanese army was outnumbered, and Gongxian was invincible, and the Kunming city defense facilities can also keep Kunming and will not be occupied by the Japanese army soon." ”

"If the outlying positions in Kunming are not conducive to holding on, we can withdraw our troops into the urban area and fight for the urban area with the Japanese army inch by inch, which will certainly delay the speed of the Japanese army's attack, and the troops of our independent division will launch an attack on the Japanese army at 11 a.m. on 12 September at the latest, and it will never be feasible to retreat overnight."

"If Chairman Long insists on going his own way, does not change his original intention, and abandons Kunming in order to preserve the strength of the Yunnan army, and the whole army flees westward, I, Tang Qiuli, can still recover Kunming, but this Kunming is not Chairman Long's Kunming, it is my independent division and soldiers, and it was taken back from the Japanese with blood, and it will never be handed over to others.

After receiving Tang Qiuli's telegram, dozens of officers and civilian officials, large and small, in the Yunnan Provincial Government Building, all stared at Long Yun, whose face had changed drastically.

The room was like a boiling pot at that time, gossiping and talking, those literati who had fought in the previous main battle, in one day, were blown up by the Japanese shells, and they didn't mention the matter of defending Kunming again, there were several officers, all of whom had participated in today's battle, and when they fought the Japanese army, their legs and stomachs trembled so much that they couldn't take a step.

But at this moment, his temper became more and more violent, and he slapped the table and shouted, "Don't listen to him, this is a scare, who knows if his Tang Qiuli's troops can arrive tomorrow morning?" Long Yun's heart was a mess, he didn't dare to fight, and he didn't want to fight.