Rise From Eight Hundred

Under the pressure of insufficient logistical support, Japan's hundreds of thousands of troops quietly began to withdraw from the front-line battlefield of Nakatiao Mountain on the 19th.

China is not ignorant of this, but the commander of the Zhongtiao Mountain Theater is still in the mountain city at the moment. Just like before the war, he is unable to make judgments and command the entire army based on the actual situation.

In fact, China's five major armies were unable to form a joint force at this time. Even as the Japanese army gradually retreated, Shang Yu's 160,000-strong Chinese army gradually gained the advantage. No group army dared to send troops at the infantry division level to break out of the defense line. Go and test the strength of the Japanese army at this time.

Of course, it cannot be said that the commanders of the five major armies are all cowardly and fearful of death. After all, they are all veterans who have been in the army for thirty years. Even if their command skills are poor, they still have some courage.

The main reason why the Japanese army withdrew for several days in a row without an organized army coming out of the Zhongtiao Mountains to wait for an opportunity to regain some lost territory was actually the pressure from the Ministry of Military Affairs.

After finally holding on to Zhongtiao Mountain on the northern battlefield, the Military and Administrative Department, which had just experienced the defeat in the Central China Battle, regarded it as the only successful result in the past six months. So was it willing to take the slightest risk?

What if the Japanese army was trying to "show weakness to the enemy" but actually had hidden murderous intentions to lure the Chinese main force out of the mountain? What if the main force here comes back and kills them?

If you say that from the perspective of the entire northern war situation, it is actually true. Most of North China has been lost, and most of Shanxi Province has also been lost. If the Taihang Mountains and Zhongtiao Mountains, the two last strongholds north of the Yellow River, are lost, Japan's North China Front only had hundreds of thousands of troops stationed along the Yellow River.

The hundreds of thousands of people in Shaanxi Province today are unable to resist the 300,000-strong force of Japan's North China Front. If Shaanxi Province is lost again, Sichuan Province, a key area in the southwest, will be in danger.

Don’t seek victory, but seek stability! The big shots stand at a high enough position, so their vision is naturally larger.

But what about the little people?

What about those little people who are willing to sacrifice their lives and blood for the country and the nation but still fight alone? For example, thousands of Chinese soldiers on the two highlands of Jiulong Mountain were heavily surrounded by Japanese troops!

During the Battle of Jiulong Mountain, secret telegrams were transmitted frequently between China and Japan. Whether it was in the Zhongtiao Mountain Theater, the Chinese Military and Political Department, or the Japanese North China Front Command, it was no longer a secret.

It can be said that since the Japanese offensive on the Hundred-mile Defense Line at Zhongtiao Mountain had to be slowed down, the Battle of Jiulong Mountain has become the area of ​​greatest concern to the theater-level headquarters of the two countries.

The first thing the stingy old man said when he opened his eyes every morning was: "Bring over the battle report and all the messages from Jiulong Mountain."

Starting from the 20th, tracking the fierce battle between thousands of officers and soldiers in Jiulong Mountain and the Japanese army has become a daily routine for the stingy old man.

Fortunately, the 46th Independent Brigade is under the command of the white-haired general and belongs to the northwest military faction. For the stingy old man, it is not his own faction. Even if it becomes cannon fodder and is consumed, he doesn't necessarily feel bad about it.

But there is still one part of the Four Elements Group that is not dead. Based on the stingy old man's understanding of Tang Dao, if this part is destroyed, then Mr. Tang will definitely go crazy.

Especially when the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs issued the message, 'All ministries in Zhongtiao Mountain will continue to guard the defense line strictly and do not give the enemy any opportunity to take advantage of it! Anyone who disobeys the order will be killed! 'In the context of the telegraph order.

Thousands of people on Jiulong Mountain were abandoned!

Abandoned by the ‘far-sighted’ big shots with big plans!

But he, the commander of the Second War Zone, could not say this, otherwise Mr. Tang would definitely blame him for this.

"Our unit wants to support Jiulong Mountain! We still need approval from the theater headquarters!" Telegrams from the 4th Group Army have been coming every day since the 21st.

The stingy old man was also in a dilemma. He could only keep in touch with the mountain city and explain the interests and risks. He hoped that the Ministry of Military Affairs would allow even the 4th Group Army to send some troops to support Jiulong Mountain. Otherwise, he would have to watch the Japanese attack several people on Jiulong Mountain. Thousands of Chinese soldiers were swallowed up.

It's just that the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs' call back still stood on the commanding heights of the national war situation and refused to let go. This stingy old man was like a rat trying to get into the bellows--taking offense from both sides.

To put it bluntly, during the week when Jiulong Mountain was fighting alone, the Chinese military never stopped playing the game from the Zhongtiao Mountain Theater to the Second Theater to the High Command, whether to support or not to support.

Needless to say, Tang Dao and the white-haired general were the staunchest supporters. They were surrounded by their brothers and subordinates. How could they just watch the Japanese attack one after another while they could only fight alone?

The intensity and determination of the Japanese army's attack on Jiulong Mountain exceeded Tang Dao's estimate. He never expected that the Japanese army would cripple a mixed brigade in just two days, and then mobilize a division to besiege. Even a tough guy like Leng Feng, They couldn't help but ask Tang Dao in the telegram to take good care of the three little babies.

This shows that Leng Feng has also lost confidence in continuing to fight the Japanese army. This can be regarded as an early explanation of his funeral.

Tang Dao can accept the sacrifice of his comrades, but just like the Battle of Sihang Warehouse, he cannot accept these strong Chinese troops becoming pawns in the hands of the big shots, just because they think that being able to hold the defense line is already the greatest achievement. , and would rather give up those pieces that may pose a threat to the defense line.

Of course Tang Dao knew that Itagaki Shiro might also resort to the strategy of siege and rescue. The more urgent the siege became, the more fierce it would be. There might be a main force ambushing around waiting for the fish to take the bait.

Therefore, he has been waiting for a suitable time. At the same time, he has sent all the reconnaissance forces on hand to the direction of Yuncheng.

Sure enough, Itagaki Shiro, this cunning guy, deployed two divisions in the direction of Yuncheng and one division in the area from Jiulong Mountain to Zhongtiao Mountain. If any Chinese army dared to go to Jiulong Mountain, whether it took the main road or bypassed the mountainous area, it would be very likely to be dragged and surrounded and strangled by a part of the main force of the Japanese army.

If the main force of the Chinese army in the direction of Zhongtiao Mountain sent more troops to rescue this army, Itagaki Shiro had an 80% chance that the main force would immediately return to the division and fight again!

And according to the current strength of both sides, once they leave the defense line of the Zhongtiao Mountain area, the Japanese army's winning rate will exceed 80%.

This move is indeed insidious.

But Itagaki Shiro did not expect two things. One is that the battle of Jiulong Mountain would be so tragic that a mixed brigade and a division were crippled within a week; the other is that the composition of the Chinese army he surrounded was wrong. The Chinese side was very wary of both the Northwest Army and the Four-Line Regiment, and was thinking of taking the opportunity to weaken their strength. The Japanese army's approach just became a knife in his hand, and he directly issued a strict order not to support.

Of course, Itagaki Shiro underestimated Tang Dao's wisdom and patience.

Tang Dao could disobey the military order of that person in Sihang Warehouse, so how could he take the military order of that person seriously at this time?

Therefore, the 4th Army sent a telegram to the theater headquarters every day, and he did not participate at all.

It was not until the evening of the sixth day of the Battle of Jiulong Mountain that Itagaki Shiro finally realized that the Chinese would not come again. If he waited any longer, the food supplies of the three divisions would be almost used up. If the Chinese really rushed out of Zhongtiao Mountain, he might lose more than he gained. He ordered the division stationed more than 20 miles away from Jiulong Mountain to withdraw to Yuncheng.

"My soldiers, I will go to rescue them. If the military order does not allow it, then Tang Dao will lead the Shanxi Provincial Peasant National Salvation Army to go there. This is the last time I will send a telegram to you, the commander. Take care, commander!" The telegram sent by Tang Dao to the stingy old man was simple and clear.

"Brother, is Tang Dao crazy? Is he trying to rebel?" The fifth sister held Tang Dao's encrypted telegram with an incredible look on her face.

The stingy old man shook his head and sighed, "I had expected Tang Dao to go crazy, but I finally waited for it.

But Fifth Sister, you are right about Tang Dao's rebellion. Believe it or not, he has already blacklisted that person because he blatantly weakened the Northwest Army and the Four-Line Group.

That person has been able to do whatever he wants in the political arena for the past ten years, defeating many powerful people, including me, who was forced to look up to him. But this time, he made a big mistake. He thought that everyone had to obey him because of his power, but there are still people in this world who are more passionate than rational. He finally pushed that rising star away from his camp.

No, to be more precise, he put Tang Dao on the opposite side of him. I have a hunch that sooner or later they will confront each other on the battlefield. At that time, I want to see how ugly that person's face will be. Really, Fifth Sister, do you know how much I look forward to that day?"

"Big Brother" Fifth Sister looked at the stingy old man who laughed instead of getting angry, and was speechless.

She knew how sinister her elder brother was, but she didn't expect him to be so sinister. When she thought that the big man who defeated him would be unlucky, she was so happy that she was not even angry at Tang Dao's telegram that was so disrespectful and even threatening.

"Haha! Well, since this kid has earned a lot of money for my Second War Zone this year, I will help him this time." The stingy old man laughed out loud, his mood suddenly became happy.

"Reply to Tang Dao, in the name of the commander-in-chief of the Second War Zone, I ordered him to lead his troops to support Jiulong Mountain. As for the number of troops, it depends on his own ability. Anyway, the 4th Army stationed in Zhongtiao Mountain cannot be moved.

By the way, at the end of the telegram, please give him a private message. If he really doesn't want to be in the Sichuan Army, the door of my Jinsui Army is open to him. Don't give me any peasant national salvation army. That's not majestic at all!"

"Brother, you are obviously trying to steal that person's wall. If that person knows, he will hate you again." The fifth sister smiled.

"That guy has long wanted to drive me out of office so that he can replace me with his direct subordinates. I have violated his wishes, so what's the harm in adding one more rule?" The stingy old man stroked his sparse hair on his head, looking indifferent.

"Haha, the Sichuan Army Regiment is not in the order of the various armies in Zhongtiao Mountain. Brother, you ordered Tang Dao to lead the Sichuan Army Regiment to support in the name of the commander of the Second War Zone. It is not against that person's military order. That person can't blame you for looking through the regulations. It's just that how many troops you bring, depending on your ability, may make that person dissatisfied." The fifth sister chuckled.

"Haha, the one who knows me is the fifth sister!" The stingy old man laughed out loud.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"This old fox! It's so slippery. How can you support a half-crippled Sichuan Army Regiment? Isn't that a meat bun hitting a dog?" The white-haired general held the telegram he had just received, frowning.

The white-haired general was the second-in-command of the Northwest Army, representing the interests of tens of thousands of soldiers. No matter how much he wanted to rescue the 46th Independent Brigade, he couldn't be as reckless as Tang Dao and send a telegram to the theater headquarters without receiving a military order, saying "I'm really quitting this job, I'm going to fight guerrillas in the mountains." He could only wait here at Tang Dao to see what the stingy old man would say.

Unexpectedly, the stingy old man agreed, but he only agreed to let part of Tang Dao go, which was no different from not agreeing.

"Hey! The 4th Army is the 4th Army when they put on military uniforms. If they put on the uniforms of my Sichuan Army Recruit Corps, then they are not soldiers of my Recruit Corps?" Tang Dao saw through the old fox's mind at a glance.

"Huh, that's right!" The white-haired general slapped his forehead fiercely. "Hurry up, prepare uniforms for two regiments for me!"

Tang Dao

If he didn't know that the white-haired general had already drawn two infantry regiments waiting for this time, he would definitely suspect that this person wanted to raise some new clothes for his 38th Army.

Fortunately, when leaving Sichuan, Tang Jili sent 4,500 sets of winter and summer uniforms to boost morale, and they were all brought when the Zhuang Division dispersed to Hanzhong.

So, that night, the last 1,800 people of the Sichuan Army Recruit Corps and Li Jiujin's three infantry companies and the two infantry regiments that the 17th Division had prepared in advance, a total of more than 7,000 people, abandoned all heavy equipment, and only carried two days of dry food. Under the guidance of a guide, they rushed from the mountainous area to Jiulong Mountain.

Because they were marching lightly, they marched 60 miles in just one night, less than 15 miles away from Jiulong Mountain.

In the morning, Japanese reconnaissance planes routinely flew over the Jiulong Mountain area, and saw the deep blue all over the mountains. From three directions, they rushed quickly towards the war zone. Even when the reconnaissance planes overhead were flying at an altitude of less than 800 meters, the Chinese did not stop and continued to rush forward.

When Suematsu Shigeru received the reconnaissance intelligence from the Army Aviation Headquarters, almost an hour had passed.

That means that the large-scale Chinese reinforcements were less than 6 miles away from the two highland main peaks close to him.

If it was a few days ago, this Japanese Army Lieutenant General still commanded nearly 20,000 troops, and he was not afraid of the Chinese army of only 10,000 people, but now he has only remnants in his hands. Not to mention fighting against the Chinese on the battlefield, he is afraid that they will swallow him up!

"The entire army retreats, send an order to the headquarters, and request land and air support!" Suematsu Shigeru issued the military order without hesitation.

Facts have proved that this Japanese Army Lieutenant General was very wise.

The 7,000 troops that arrived at the rear of the two heights of Jiulong Mountain did not enter the heights at all, but made a detour on both sides of the heights and directly attacked the 114th Division that was retreating in a hurry.

If it were not for Suematsu Shigeru sending his own divisional guard squadron and 600 baggage soldiers to form a temporary defense line, the 7,000 Chinese troops who rushed in with anger could easily divide and surround this Type B division that had lost most of its infantry.

Suematsu Shigeru, who arrived at the forefront of the battlefield, could not avoid sticking his head on the 981 heights where the Chinese suffered the most casualties as a sacrifice.

Even so, the 800 Japanese soldiers who were responsible for the rear were attacked by angry Chinese soldiers from three directions, and the defense line was completely broken after 2 hours.

At least a thousand Chinese rushed into the Japanese position to launch the bloodiest and final hand-to-hand combat!

Four fighter planes of the Japanese North China Army Aviation saw this extremely tragic scene in the air!

However, they had no chance to drop the bombs at all. The Chinese anti-aircraft firepower was fully opened, forcing them to circle around the battlefield as spectators, and they could only helplessly drop the bombs and leave quickly.

After this battle, the 114th Division was completely crippled. Together with the two mixed brigades, they waited for a full half year in Pingbei City before waiting for reinforcements, which was considered to have restored some combat effectiveness.

However, the combat effectiveness of the three Japanese armies in the battle of Jiulongshan could no longer be compared with the previous ones. The main reason was that the reinforcements were no longer soldiers who had been trained in China for one year, but high school students who were pulled to China after three months of training, with an average age of no more than 19 years old.

It was also considered to be younger. This was the last psychological comfort of the three Japanese troops who eventually became garrisons to maintain public security in North China.

But these three Japanese troops did not expect that they would not be able to avoid dealing with the devil of the Four-Line Group after becoming garrisons.

In the future, the Four-Line Group will not only be active in southeastern Shanxi. With the appointment of Tang Dao as the deputy director of the Ji'nan Office, the Four-Line Group has extended its tentacles to Handan and Xingtai.

However, it is good to be beaten early. Since the Japanese troops stationed in that area knew where the people of the Four-Line Regiment were active, they simply killed them and did not leave the city. The Four-Line Regiment can just hang around in the countryside. We will not interfere with each other.

Don't say that the losses of the Japanese troops stationed in the area were much smaller than those in the area where the 80th Army was active.

Smart people must learn lessons from failure!

The battle of Jiulong Mountain was actually over after the arrival of Chinese reinforcements on the 24th, but this did not mean that the battle of Zhongtiao Mountain was over.

The two armies that met did not say that they would stay in the mountains, but marched towards Yuncheng in the afternoon of the 24th, as if they were going to fight Yuncheng again.

This scared Okuma Konosuke, who was still responsible for the defense of Yuncheng. At the beginning, those thousands of people scared him like a dog. What would happen if there were more than 10,000 people?

Itagaki Shiro had to mobilize the troops around Yuncheng that had not yet had time to retreat to Yuancheng by train. He assembled nearly 30,000 people before he could calm down Major General Okuma.

The Japanese army was on high alert, but the Chinese army, which was less than 10 miles away from Yuncheng, turned around and rushed into the mountains again.

If the Chinese did not come during the day, what would they do at night? The Japanese army did not dare to take it lightly.

There was no fighting overnight.

When the reconnaissance plane was sent to scout during the day, the Chinese in the mountains had long disappeared.

Itagaki Shiro cried out that he had been fooled.

The Chinese side must have suffered countless casualties in the battle at Jiulong Mountain. The Chinese side used the action of entering Yuncheng to delay the Japanese army so that they could transport the wounded.

Otherwise, if a part of the Japanese army went into the mountains to hold them back, without fighting, they could have worn out the wounded soldiers who lacked medical care and medicine.

Itagaki Shiro was really smart, but he realized it a little too late.

The Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain ended here!

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