Age of Conquest Reborn

Chapter 528 Contact

Hebi fell, and the 53rd Division fought alone, blocking the Japanese army for more than two hours at the cost of more than 10,000 lives. This was more than two precious hours. If Tang Enbo of the Eighth Army could use these more than two hours to adjust,

The strategic deployment was to push all the main forces to the Xinxiang defense line. The Japanese army's march south would stop at Xinxiang. At the very least, it could block the Japanese army for a few days and buy the theater commander Tang Qiuli time to reinforce the Henan battlefield.

But, no, since the Henan battlefield suddenly started, Tang Qiuli has never contacted Tang Enbo, the commander of the Eighth Army. The specific battle situation in Henan is unknown. The intelligence sent back by intelligence stations in various places is all about the outcome of the battle, and every one of them is bad.

The news came that Hebi had been lost again. He pinned his last hope on Xinxiang. If the Xinxiang defense line could block the Japanese army for three to five days, he could mobilize the Zhang Zizhong Division of the Sulu Garrison Corps in Xuzhou (adapted from the original 29th Army)

, rushing to Zhengzhou’s aid.

However, this Tang Enbo has never been contacted. Where is he commanding the troops, what are the specific deployments, and what is Xinxiang's defense? Tang Qiuli has no idea at all, so he had to order Yu Deshui, the director of the Intelligence Division, to order the Xinxiang Intelligence Station to take charge.

As the liaison officer of the theater command, he directly contacted the top commander of the Central Army in charge of Xinxiang's defense and immediately opened radio communication with the theater command. He needed to know the specific situation in Xinxiang urgently.

He had a premonition that he had to attack two cities in a row and defeat or completely annihilate the Japanese army of the four Central Military Divisions. Their morale was strong and their offensive was like a rainbow. He did not have much time left. There was one question that he was very confused about: why did the Japanese army in North China have such a strong power?

With such combat effectiveness and attack power, within a few hours, with more than 90,000 troops, they defeated more than 50,000 Central Army troops in four divisions. Like Cao Guangtu in Xinxiang, he did not know the true reason for the fall of Anyang and Hebi.

reason.

The person in charge of the Xinxiang Intelligence Station of the **Division's Intelligence Department walked through the windy and rainy streets of Xinxiang, which were filled with an atmosphere of imminent disaster. People fleeing the city could be seen everywhere. Anyang and Hebi had fallen, and the ominous news that more than 50,000 Central Army troops had been annihilated seemed to grow.

Like black wings, it spread throughout the city, aggravating the citizens' panic. Big families fled with their families in large cars and small cars, while ordinary people, supporting the elderly and the young, followed suit.

Fortunately, he was the first to find the liaison office of the 130th Division Cao Guangtu's headquarters in Xinxiang City. However, the division commander Cao Guangtu was not there, and the officer in the detention office was heard to be the liaison officer of the theater commander Tang Qiuli.

If he dared to neglect, he immediately sent him to the forward command post of the 130th Division. The division commander Cao Guangtu was slightly startled after hearing what he said. The top commander of the theater wanted to contact him directly, which was not in line with the procedures.

The matter was urgent. The person in charge of the Xinxiang Intelligence Station had already activated the portable radio and sent the news of contact with the commander of the 130th Division Cao Guangtu as quickly as possible back to the division commander. Tang Qiuli's first telegram,

Ask Cao Guangtu directly: "Mr. Cao, regarding Anyang and He

Do you know the real reason for the fall of Hebi?" Cao Guangtu answered truthfully: "Commander-in-Chief Xunjian and his staff have been paying attention to the war in Anyang and Hebi. So far, we have not seen a single soldier who was defeated from the two places. The specific situation is unknown.

, the staff also thinks this is very strange?"

Tang Qiuli was stunned when he received the telegram. The Japanese army, with more than 90,000 men, killed more than 50,000 Central Army troops within a few hours. This was a bit strange and unbelievable. He did not think more about it.

A second telegram was sent: "Commander Cao, where is the current command position of Commander Tang? How can we get in touch?"

Cao Guangtu read the telegram, smiled bitterly, and then called back: "Commander-in-Chief Xunjian, since the outbreak of the war in Anyang, in addition to receiving a strict order from the commander of the corps to defend Xinxiang, he has lost contact with the corps headquarters. Commander Tang's situation

Unknown." This time it was Tang Qiuli's turn to be stunned. How is it possible that his troops are still on the front line, but the whereabouts of the Central Army's highest command in Henan are unknown. It's so bizarre that it's unbelievable. Damn it, what is Tang Enbo doing?

What the hell?

Before he could send another telegram, Cao Guangtu's telegram came first, "Commander-in-Chief Xunjian, the Japanese army has arrived at the forward position of our 130th Division. The staff department will direct the battle. The specific situation will be reported later. Commander-in-Chief, please rest assured."

, all the more than 12,000 officers and soldiers of our 130th Division will definitely defend the Xinxiang defense line together with the neighboring 61st and 67th Divisions. Even if the battlefield is stained with blood, we will fight to the last man."

Tang Qiuli breathed a sigh of relief. Xinxiang was defended by three divisions of the Eighth Army. It would not be a problem to support them for three to five days. Especially the division commander Cao Guangtu, from the exchange of messages, he felt the iron-bloodedness of a real soldier. Xinxiang has this

He immediately ordered Zhang Zizhong's troops stationed in Xuzhou, Jiangsu, to march westward at night and rush to Zhengzhou for reinforcements.

He immediately sent back a telegram: "Commander Cao, please take care of yourself. The Japanese army is fierce and your own safety is really important. The headquarters should not be too close to the forward position. The Xinxiang defense line depends on you. I have another reminder. After many years with the Japanese army, I

combative

Experience shows that the Japanese army often uses ferocious artillery bombardment as a pre-attack method, aiming to consume our physical strength, and then uses a large number of infantry to launch ferocious and uninterrupted assaults. Your troops should rely on favorable fortifications to hold on. There is a huge disparity in the strength of the enemy and ours, so do not launch a rash counterattack."

"However, we can use darkness as a cover to organize small groups of troops to carry out sneak attacks and harassment in order to tire out the Japanese army. The specific tactics are left to Division Commander Cao to decide on his own. Please convey my opinions to the other two division commanders and I will urgently mobilize reinforcements.

Starry Night Rushes to Zheng's Aid

In the direction of the prefecture, is there any news from the commander of the Tang Army and whether follow-up reinforcements have arrived?" The reason why Tang Qiuli sent this telegram was because he was afraid that Cao Guangtu would not know the details of the Japanese army and suffer losses from the Japanese artillery.

If everything is gone, what can we use to defend our position?

Neither Tang Qiuli, who was in the Taihang Mountains, nor Cao Guangtu, who was in Xinxiang, expected that the left and right wings of the 130th Division, the 61st Division and the 67th Division would receive the troops from the four sides of the Hebi Defense Line.

The 19th Division, under the same order as Wang Guangpu's troops, retreated immediately, with preservation of strength as the top priority. Cao Guangtu thought that he would join hands with the brother troops on the left and right wings to turn Xinxiang into an iron gate that was insurmountable for the Japanese devils.

Tang Qiuli still had a force in his hands, which was the Su Jingfeng Department of the Yellow River and Henan Defense Line Garrison deployed on the front line of Kaifeng. There were more than 29,000 people. They were the troops he used to stop the Japanese army from advancing eastward into Shandong. He did not dare to move.

Once the Japanese army breaks through Zhengzhou,

The three directions of Zhou, west, east and south are all possible targets. In addition, he is also deeply worried. With less than 30,000 people, he will face more than 90,000 Japanese troops. The difference in strength is too great. Su Jingfeng's troops

If you go up hastily, you will be in danger.

At around ten o'clock in the morning on December 13th, Cao Guangtu, who was at the forward headquarters, could clearly see Japanese troops swarming over the mountains and plains. He immediately ordered his troops to prepare for battle. The first wave of Japanese attacks came fiercely.

Crash into the forward position of the 130th Division.

The 130th Division, located in the middle of the Xinxiang defense line, directly withstood the fierce Japanese attack. The silent land of the Central Plains was filled with guns and artillery fire. The 130th Division, which was well prepared, gave the Japanese a head-on blow, just like

The ferocious waves hit the standing rocks, causing flesh and blood to fly everywhere.

The Japanese army retreated like a tide, leaving behind the corpses of Japanese soldiers and more than a dozen Japanese tanks emitting black smoke on the forward positions. The Katayama Brigade, which had been the vanguard of the Japanese army attacking Henan, used 28 tanks to

As the main assault force, the first attack launched by two regiments was simply repelled by the 130th Division.

However, just resisting the first Japanese attack, the 130th Division suffered more than 800 casualties. At the cost, it killed more than 2,000 Japanese troops and 17 tanks. The 130th Division served as the eighth

The kingly demeanor of the legion's fist troops was fully demonstrated. Cao Guangtu's troops had an additional mountain artillery battalion. Most of the Japanese casualties were caused by this mountain artillery battalion.

Looking at the retreating Japanese troops, Cao Guangtu breathed a sigh of relief. The Japanese soldiers rushing up from all over the mountains and plains just now made his scalp numb. To be honest, he was worried about whether he could withstand the fierce Japanese attack.

, especially since the Japanese army is equipped with a large number of tanks. Now, he has confidence in his heart. As long as he persists, the commander-in-chief will definitely find a way to deal with this Japanese army.

Cao Guangtu had always admired Tang Qiuli, the highest military commander in the war zone whom he had known for a long time but had never met. Cao Guangtu, who was in Xinxiang and was in Xinxiang, was watching every battle. With his many years in the army, he had great admiration.

Judging from experience, every battle is remarkable and full of admiration. I am fortunate to have such a wise commander in the northern theater.

Especially today, the commander-in-chief exchanged telegrams with him in person. When he picked up the last telegram he received, he had a feeling of being known. This was also his greatest psychological comfort. As for his direct superior, Army Commander Tang Enbo, Cao Guangtu despised him from the bottom of his heart.

He didn't know the reason for his personality and talents. The follow-up troops didn't come up. I guess the legion commander was wandering around in the headquarters.

There are hundreds of thousands of troops in hand, and I don't know how to arrange them well. However, this is a scandal within the Eighth Army. Cao Guangtu, who attaches great importance to collective honor, let out a long sigh and did not intend to report this matter to the commander-in-chief.

Tang Qiuli and Tang Enbo lost their face, which meant that the Eighth Army was collectively embarrassed. As his direct subordinates, they themselves also lost face.

Sure enough, as the commander-in-chief said, after the Japanese army retreated, they covered the forward positions of the 130th Division with ferocious artillery fire. The soldiers of the Central Army who were well prepared hid in the artillery holes. Although the Japanese artillery fire turned the position upside down,

The smoke was thick, but it could not do any substantial damage to them. Cao Guangtu did not waste his time in Xinxiang and made solid preparations for war.

The artillery fire extended, and the Japanese army began to launch a new round of attacks, but did not attack the position of the 130th Division. After leaving a pile of corpses, they retreated. This time, after a long interval, no new attacks were launched. Cao Guangtu

Just when I was feeling puzzled, fierce gunfire sounds came from the left and right wings of the 130th Division almost at the same time.

(To be continued)