Chapter 521: The battle situation has changed abruptly

Tang Qiuli was awakened by a quick knock on the door, there was already a faint light outside the window, opened the door, a cold air hit, walked in a few people, he looked, there were still a lot of people coming, Chief of Staff Yu Guanghan, Chief of Communications Chen Feng, Director of Intelligence Yu Deshui, Director of Investigation Shen Jun, heads of several functional departments of the division headquarters have all arrived, what is the big deal? Alarming several generals, Tang Qiuli looked at them in surprise.

These people, with a nervous look on their faces, Yu Guanghan said to him in a deep voice: "Division commander, something is wrong with the middle line" The middle line mentioned here refers to the long defense line that runs through the entire northern border of Henan, from Sanmenxia to Nanle, which is eight or nine hundred kilometers long, Tang Qiuli was stunned, the middle line, with 230,000 troops of Tang Enbo's Eighth Army guarding there, what big thing can happen?

Yu Deshui handed over a telegram, Tang Qiuli opened it and looked at it, as if struck by lightning, it read: "Henan Anyang No. 34 intelligence station urgent report, at about 3 o'clock this morning, the Japanese army launched a sudden attack on the Anyang defense line of the Central Army, it only took more than two hours, that is, to break through the defense line of the Central Army, defend the 130th Division and 83rd Division of the Eighth Army Corps in Anyang, the whole line was routed and almost destroyed, the Japanese advance has rushed through Anyang, the specific strength is unknown, now, the whole city of Anyang is in chaos, I stand to go underground, there is new information, report at any time. ”

Tang Qiuli hurriedly came to the headquarters and pounced in front of the map, Anyang, is the northern gateway of Henan, Anyang is lost, the Japanese army can drive straight into the hinterland of Henan, the next target must be to go straight to Zhengzhou, I hope that Tang Enbo is properly deployed, and the Japanese army can be blocked on the front line of Xinxiang.

He hurriedly ordered the radio station and immediately called Tang Enbo of the Eighth Army Corps, and finally called through, the other party replied that the commander of the Tang Army was directing the operation on the front line, and he did not wait to ask the specific location of the commander of the regiment Tang Enbo again, the radio station of the Eighth Army Corps was turned off, and he could no longer call through, Tang Qiuli instinctively felt that something was not good, if Tang Enbo really commanded the troops to block the Japanese army, he should maintain close radio contact with the departments under his jurisdiction, and there was no reason to suddenly shut down.

He is at a loss, since Tang Enbo was responsible for garrisoning Henan, the reconnaissance troops of the independent division rarely set foot in anywhere, after all, it is not a Japanese-occupied area, and his troops have more activities, involving two systems, which causes unnecessary trouble, and only maintains a single line of contact with Tang Enbo's corps headquarters, but now it is good, as soon as the other party shuts down, his eyes are black, and he doesn't know what the situation is.

He didn't notice that Yu Deshui, the director of the intelligence department, walked out in a hurry, and came back after a while, seeing the anxious appearance of the division commander, he comforted: "Division commander, I have activated all the intelligence systems from Anyang to Luoyang, pay close attention to the battle situation, and believe that there will be new information soon." ”

Tang Qiuli looked at Yu Deshui, who was usually calm and didn't speak much, in surprise, without urging and reminding, quietly built the intelligence network to Henan, which was a rare talent.

With Yu Deshui's words, Tang Qiuli's heart was a little more comforted, Tang Enbo couldn't point it, it depended on his intelligence system, however, he was not very worried about the war situation in Henan, the Japanese army in North China, in Datong, Niangziguan, Wuxiang, Cangzhou four battlefields, were contained, raiding the Japanese army in Henan, the strength will not be too much, with Tang Enbo's strength, blocking the Japanese army on the north bank of the Yellow River, it should not be a problem.

In addition, during the war in North China, he specially reminded Tang Enbo to pay attention to preventing the Japanese army from raiding the Henan defense line, and asked him to make strict arrangements and deploy heavy army groups in Anyang and other places at the junction of Hebei and Henan, hoping that Tang Enbo would make arrangements early enough to prevent the situation in Henan from being messed up.

Tang Qiuli ordered the communications office to immediately contact the troops in various places, including the Jin army, to ask the Japanese troops on the other side whether they had made any moves, and he only hoped that the Anyang battle would be an isolated incident, not an overall conspiracy of the Japanese North China Dispatch Army Headquarters.

If the battle situation in Henan is really critical, he lacks skills, the road is far away, and he can't even have time for reinforcements, so he can only watch the Japanese army poke a big hole in the Yellow River defense line that he has carefully arranged, he is anxious, but his face is silent, and he is making various assumptions in his mind.

Near noon, the intelligence office of the independent division, the Xinxiang intelligence station in Henan sent the latest information, "headquarters, urgent information, the Japanese offensive is fierce, like a bamboo, following the loss of Anyang, in less than seven hours, the Japanese army has broken through the defense line of the central army of Hebi and Xinxiang one after another, and the five divisions of the defense force of the Eighth Army have been defeated one after another, and the Japanese advance has arrived near the north bank of the Yellow River in Zhengzhou, the area of Zhandian, and Zhengzhou is in crisis. ”

"It has been preliminarily ascertained that the Japanese troops attacking Henan are the 18th Division, the 23rd Division, the 7th Mixed Brigade, the Yamazaki Chariot Wing, and the Shadow Cavalry Wing of the North China Dispatch Army, with a total strength of about 90,000 people.

After reading the latest information, Tang Qiuli sat on the kang at once, Anyang to Zhengzhou, I'm afraid there are more than 200 kilometers, the Japanese army only took more than seven hours, and broke through the three defense lines of the seven divisions of the Eighth Army in a row, and the front pointed directly at Zhengzhou, which is just the same speed as flying, seven central army divisions, that is an elite army of more than 80,000 people, no matter how bad it is, it shouldn't be a problem for three or five days, Tang Enbo still has 150,000 troops in his hands, why not reinforce the Xinxiang defense line?

What's going on here? What is Towneberg doing? Seven divisions of the Central Army were about to collapse at the touch of a button, how did the Eighth Army Corps do it? A series of questions swirled in Tang Qiuli's mind, but one thing is certain, the war situation in Henan is not optimistic.

Zhao Chengshou in the direction of Datong reported that the Japanese troops on the Datong front did not launch a new offensive, but instead retreated to the Huai'an line, and had the intention of mobilizing troops eastward in the direction of Shijiazhuang.

Feng Jiwu in the direction of Niangzi Pass reported that the Japanese army, which had been silent for many days, launched a large-scale attack on the defensive position of Niangzi Pass at about 5 o'clock this morning, and fierce battles broke out on the whole front, but the Japanese offensive was not active, and after a slight setback, that is, retreated, and repeatedly carried out similar attacks.

Liu Tiehan of the Cangzhou front reported that at about 4 o'clock this morning, the Japanese army suddenly left Cangzhou and launched a fierce attack on our positions in Fengjiakou, Damanzhuang, and Dongguan by multiple routes, all of which were repulsed by our army.

The Japanese army's move was extremely abnormal, and it confronted our army for many days, but did not make any moves, and now there is no increase in troops, but there is such an abnormal move, as if it wants to achieve some strategic goal, until the time of the telegram, the battle is still raging, and the division commander is drawn to the abnormal behavior of the Japanese army.

In addition, according to the battle situation, with the existing strength and firepower of our army, it is absolutely impossible for the Japanese army to advance a single step, so our unit plans to use a part of the troops, led by Chief of Staff Li Honggang, to advance to Tianjin through Tengzhuang in eastern Cangzhou, in order to disrupt the Japanese army's offensive plan.

Yan Xishan's telegram was the last to arrive, and it began with a complaint, "Brother Qiuli, the Japanese are crazy, from about 6 o'clock this morning, the Japanese army launched an uninterrupted attack on our Wuxiang defense line, and our front-line troops suffered heavy casualties, and if we continue to fight like this, my old book will be tossed out, I implore Brother Qiuli to attack immediately, and stab the Japanese from behind, so as to reduce the pressure on the Wuxiang front, please."

In fact, although there was a battle on the whole front in Wuxiang, it was not as hard as Yan Xishan said, and the Japanese army, which had fought fiercely for several days and was cut off from the supply channel by Liu Chun and Tong Batu's cavalry, had long lost its sharpness and became a tired division, and the offensive was not as fierce as the first three days, so it could only barely maintain the offensive.

On the other hand, the Jin army has long been prepared, relying on complete fortifications, backed by Taiyuan, convenient supply, and more troops than the Japanese army, the reason why Yan Xishan exaggerated the war is that he has his own plans, Tang Qiuli still has more than 30,000 troops in his hands, and he can't let him be idle, so he can help out, it's better than his own family and the Japanese, besides, the Japanese are from your Taihang Mountain, you can't leave it alone and hide on the side.

Yan Xishan had his own calculations and deliberately exaggerated the intensity of the battle, but it brought great interference to Tang Qiuli's judgment of the true intentions of the Japanese army.

Combining all aspects of intelligence, Tang Qiuli at least judged that the Japanese army's surprise attack on Anyang, Henan, and its direct arrival at Zhengzhou was by no means an isolated accident, and the Japanese troops in various battlefields were actively moving, with the intention of containing and oppressing our army on the opposite side, and unable to divide troops to reinforce the Henan battlefield.

The key is that after the Henan defender Tang Enbo's Eighth Army Corps lost Anyang, Hebi, and Xinxiang, how much preparation was made in the Yellow River defense line in Zhengzhou, and whether it could block the offensive momentum of the Japanese army in the Zhengzhou area.

On 15 December, the battle situation in the south direction of Henan was unknown all day, and the Zhengzhou Intelligence Station of the Intelligence Department sent information that the battle on the Yellow River defense line in Zhengzhou was fierce, and there was chaos in Zhengzhou City, and a large number of residents fled abroad.

In the division headquarters, it became quiet, only the sound of ticking electric keys, in the silent atmosphere, it was particularly irritating and harsh.

(To be continued)