On September 25, 1942, Wang Haitao led the 211th Division and the military headquarters of the 90th Army to step out of the gate of Zhennan Pass, aiming directly at Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. Tang Yikuan, commander of the 271st Brigade, stood on the north wall of Zhennan Pass, watching the soldiers who went out. After this period of rest and replenishment, the 271st Brigade has fully recovered its combat effectiveness, and Tang Yikuan originally wanted to send two regiments to act with Wang Haitao, but Wang Haitao refused his request.

Wang Haitao told Tang Yikuan that the 271st Brigade stationed at Zhennanguan not only had to shoulder the heavy responsibility of escorting supplies to the front line, but also the last general reserve unit, and if the troops on the expedition encountered difficulties and accidents, the 271st Brigade would need to be dispatched immediately. Tang Yikuan also understood the importance of the 271st Brigade, and agreed to Wang Haitao's request.

This time, more than 25,000 people, including the 6th Regiment of the 211th Division, the 2nd Brigade and the 6th Regiment of the 211th Division, an armored regiment, a self-propelled 105-caliber self-propelled grenade and artillery regiment, and a divisional guard regiment, a divisional reconnaissance regiment, and a division-affiliated baggage regiment, headed straight for Lang Son City. Wang Haitao had ordered the heavy artillery brigade and the armored brigade to assemble in Lang Son City, and as soon as Wang Haitao's troops arrived and joined up with the two brigades, they would advance directly to Hanoi.

Although the 93rd Division conquered Lang Son City, its own losses were not small, with more than one-third of the casualties, especially the heavy artillery regiment and the armored regiment were seriously lost, Wang Haitao planned to let the 93rd Division rest and replenish in Lang Son for a period of time, and then decide how to use the 93rd Division according to the form of the battlefield. At the same time, Wang Haitao also ordered the Longzhou side to supplement the 93rd Division.

Two days later, Wang Haitao arrived at Langshan City, the building of the former Japanese army headquarters in the city has been cleaned and repaired, and now it is the headquarters building of the 93rd Division. Along the way, Wang Haitao saw traces of the fierce battle everywhere, and there were still traces of blood that had not been covered up in many places.

When he arrived at the headquarters of the 93rd Division, Wang Haitao immediately held a pre-war meeting in the large conference room that had just been cleaned up. Officers of the 93rd Division and the 211th Division, including units directly under the army, at and above the regimental level, should attend the meeting at all requests in Lang Son City. Before the meeting, Tang Xiaoshan, commander of the reconnaissance brigade, also rushed to Langshan City, where he had come to report to Wang Haitao on the latest situation of the Japanese army.

At ten o'clock in the morning, all the officers who should have arrived arrived, Wang Haitao sat on the main seat, and looked down to see that more than 30 people were sitting in the conference room. Divisional and brigade officers sat on either side of the conference table, and regimental officers followed behind. Wang Haitao first praised all the officers and men of the 93rd Division, and bluntly said that he had recorded the merits of all the officers and men who participated in the battle, and would reward them for their merits after the end of the war.

Wang Haitao's words made the officers of the 93rd Division happy, and then Wang Haitao encouraged them again, telling Li Yuanhong to hurry up the replenishment of personnel and materials, restore their combat effectiveness as soon as possible, and prepare for the battle below. After praising the 93rd Division, Wang Haitao asked Tang Xiaoshan to tell everyone about the latest situation of the Japanese army in Vietnam. Tang Xiaoshan stood up, saluted everyone, and then opened the record book and spoke.

Tang Xiaoshan said: "Ladies and gentlemen, according to the latest report of the reconnaissance group, the 38th Division of the Japanese Army arrived in Hanoi City yesterday evening. The 38th Division of the Japanese Army is a type B division with a three-wing system, under the jurisdiction of the 228th, 229th, and 230th infantry wings, as well as a mountain artillery wing, a cavalry brigade, an engineer wing, and a baggage wing, with a total strength of more than 21,000 people.

In this way, the total strength of the Japanese army in Hanoi reached 36,000 men, forming a heavy group. In addition, in order to strengthen the defense of Bac Giang City, the Japanese army transferred troops from various places, and now the defenders of Bac Giang City have increased from one infantry brigade to three infantry brigades, one mountain artillery brigade, and one tank squadron.

Bac Giang is the northeastern gateway of Hanoi, only 120 kilometers away from Hanoi, and it is not easy to capture Bac Giang City because it can be reached within a day by a rapid march from Hanoi. There was also a Japanese fleet cruising outside the port of Haiphong. The military has built two airfields at Haiphong Port, and the reconnaissance team reports that a large number of planes take off and land at the airfields every day. ”

Tang Xiaoshan sat down after the report, and Wang Haitao continued: "The Japanese army has formed a heavy army group in Hanoi, and it is not so easy to eat this heavy army group. But now we have to take Bac Giang first, and then we can talk about dealing with the Japanese army in Hanoi. With the strength of the 211th Division, it is not a big problem to capture Bac Giang City, but if the Japanese army goes all out to reinforce Bac Giang City, it will be very troublesome, so you can talk about your views below. ”

The people below began to talk one after another, and the most enthusiastic discussion was still the people of the 211th Division, and it would be the first task of the 211th Division to attack Beijiang City. After a while, Wang Haitao knocked on the table, and the conference room gradually quieted down. Wang Haitao glanced at everyone and asked, "How is it, who will say their opinion first?" After the scene was quiet for a while, one person stood up.

Wang Haitao saw that it was Li Changwu, commander of the 462nd Brigade of the 211th Division. Li Changwu stood up and said, "Military seat, I think that the attack on Beijiang City must be swift. From a humble point of view, when heavy artillery is used to first carry out a covering saturation attack on the outer positions and city walls of Bac Giang City, after basically eliminating the fortifications on the outer positions and destroying the city walls, the tank troops should be the lead, and the heavy troops must be pressed on, and it is necessary to attack the city before the arrival of Japanese reinforcements, and finally destroy the Japanese troops in street fighting. ”

Wang Haitao nodded, motioned for Li Changwu to sit down, and then asked: "Who else has a different opinion?" At this time, Wei Erxi, the commander of the 463rd Brigade of the 211th Division, stood up and said: "Military seat, the view of the humble position is different from that of Brigade Commander Li, and the humble position thinks that if we want to take Bac Giang City in one day, first, it will be more difficult, and it will inevitably require the troops to carry out a strong attack, and second, under the rapid attack, our own casualties will definitely not be small, which will have an adverse impact on the later attack on Hanoi City." Therefore, he thought that the attack on Bac Giang City should not be too hasty.

As for the Japanese reinforcements, they thought that it would be difficult for the 211th Division to fully deploy its forces to attack Bac Giang City, and whether it was possible to divide troops to deal with the Japanese reinforcements could be decided according to the number of Japanese reinforcements whether to resolutely block them or eat them all at once. This would also reduce the number of Japanese troops in Hanoi and reduce the pressure on the city of Hanoi below. ”

As soon as Wei Erxi's words were finished, there was already a voice of discussion below, some agreed with Li Changwu's opinion, some agreed with Wei Erxi's opinion, and Wang Haitao looked at the map of Vietnam on the table and talked with Tang Xiaoshan in a whisper. After a while, Wang Haitao raised his head and said, "Everyone be quiet." After the conference room was quiet, Wang Haitao asked again, "Who else has a different opinion?"

Seeing that no one at the bottom put forward any new opinions, Wang Haitao turned his head and asked Tang Longzai: "Division Commander Tang, what do you think of the opinions of the two brigade commanders, Li and Wei?" Tang Longzai thought for a while, then stood up and replied: "Military seat, I agree with Brigade Commander Wei's opinion. First, because it is impossible for the troops' actions to evade the Japanese reconnaissance, then the Japanese troops will definitely be prepared before our troops reach Bac Giang City. With the Japanese army fully prepared, it would be too difficult to capture Bac Giang City in one day, and even if it could be attacked, it would inevitably have a large number of casualties, and it would not be effective for the next move.

Second, one brigade is more than enough to deal with the strength of this wing of the Japanese army in Bac Giang City, and the other brigade is enough to ambush the Japanese reinforcements or block the Japanese reinforcements, and with one brigade to help, the other brigade can also calmly deal with the Japanese troops in Bac Giang City, so that we can win the victory in attacking Bac Giang City at the lowest cost. ”

Wang Haitao was still very satisfied with Tang Longzai's performance, and after motioning for Tang Longzai to sit down, he said: "I personally agree with Brigadier Wei Erxi's opinion, just now I asked Brigadier Tang Xiaoshan, and Brigadier Tang Xiaoshan told me that there is a county town called Bac Ninh between Hanoi and Bac Giang City, where the Japanese defense is weak and can be easily taken, this county is a good place to block the Japanese army or ambush the Japanese army, so I decided to take the advice of Brigadier Wei Erxi and attack the city for reinforcements!"

After Wang Haitao finished speaking, seeing that no one had any further opinions, he said again: "Now I announce the troops that will march to Hanoi tomorrow. The 211th Division was the main force of the attack, and the whole division was dispatched; the 130-caliber heavy cannon artillery regiment and the 152-caliber heavy howitzer and artillery regiment of the heavy artillery brigade were all dispatched as the main support and suppressive firepower; the armored regiment of the 93rd Division and the armored regiment of the 211th Division were all transferred to the armored brigade for unified command, and the armored brigade was dispatched as a cover and support force for the infantry attack. I took the 1st Regiment of the Guards Brigade and the Military Headquarters with the Heavy Artillery Regiment to act. ”

After Wang Haitao finished speaking, he looked at everyone again, and saw that no one was still silent, and said: "Then it's decided, everyone goes back and prepares separately, and sets off early tomorrow morning." Now Division Commander Tang Longzai, Brigade Commander Tang Xiaoshan, Brigade Commander Li Changwu and Brigade Commander Wei Erxi stayed, and the others dispersed. While talking, everyone walked towards the meeting, and soon there were a few people left in the conference room, such as Wang Haitao and Tang Longzai.

Wang Haitao first said to Tang Xiaoshan: "Xiaoshan, the task of your reconnaissance brigade is very heavy, first of all, we must pay close attention to the movements of the Japanese army in Hanoi, and as soon as the Japanese army in Hanoi reinforces Bac Giang City, we must find out the situation of the reinforcement of the Japanese army and the firepower as soon as possible, and immediately report to me and Division Commander Tang Longzai. It is also necessary to send troops to take Bac Ninh county town as much as possible without alarming the Japanese troops in Hanoi and Bac Giang City, so as to prepare for the battle that follows. How is it? Is there any difficulty?" Tang Xiaoshan replied: "Don't worry, the reconnaissance brigade will guarantee the completion of the task!"

Wang Haitao nodded with satisfaction to Tang Xiaoshan, and then said to Tang Longzai: "Longzai, your division will be divided into two, one brigade will attack Beijiang City, and the other brigade will quickly intersperse Beining County, and prepare for an ambush or blockade according to Tang Xiaoshan's report. How to act, you have to carefully study a plan of action with the two brigade commanders Li and Wei. It is necessary to take into account the response to some unexpected situations and be as flexible as possible. Do you understand?" Tang Longzai replied: "Yes, Junza! We will study the plan of action as soon as we go back, and then let Junzao look at it." ”