Chapter 9: The Great Victory of Lanfeng

  Xu Liang led a group of soldiers to the countryside in nearby counties of Kaifeng to recruit troops. The underground party organization in Kaifeng sent the Kaifeng Youth Drama Troupe to support Xu Liang. As the war approached Kaifeng, things became urgent, and two motorcycles and borrowed trucks followed Xu Liang's actions. They performed in every village they arrived at, attracting the attention of the villagers, and then Xu Liang personally gave speeches, spreading the truth about resisting Japan and saving the country, and exposing the heinous crimes committed by the Japanese devils in invading our country. At that time, China's war mobilization was indeed not thorough enough. The war had been going on for so long, with hundreds of thousands of troops from both China and Japan fighting to the death in the Xuzhou area, but in the rural areas of the plain near the provincial capital city, many people only heard rumors of war, who was fighting whom, and were unclear about it. They only felt the urgency and coercion of the government's grain collection. Xu Liang's propaganda had a significant impact in some places, with some young people enlisting, especially in areas with party organizations that received instructions to cooperate with Xu Liang. After days of anti-Japanese propaganda, Xu Liang's recruitment team gradually gained the trust of some villagers in nearby counties. Some people who had previously escaped from being conscripted even came forward voluntarily to join the army. In Lijiachuan, the head of the Li family, a prominent local clan, specially convened a meeting for Xu Liang and his team, and after the meeting, more than a dozen young men signed up to enlist. Some young people in other places were inspired by Xu Liang's propaganda to join the army and fight against the enemy, but they looked down on the local security teams and ran away to join the main force of the national army elsewhere. Fortunately, Xu Liang's team had motorcycles and military trucks, which made them look quite impressive.

  There were some minor frictions with the Red Gun Society, Miao Xiang Society and others, but fortunately there was no bloody conflict. Once, Xiaowangzi wanted to order his brothers to confiscate the arms of a group of Red Gun Society members, but was stopped by Xu Liang.

  Half a month of rushing around and recruiting over 600 new soldiers.

  Equipment and other supplies became a problem again, and it was impossible to attack the local tyrants. The Fourth Regiment stopped recruiting heavily and shifted its main efforts to training new soldiers.

  The new recruits were all issued uniforms, but the weapons were insufficient. Commander Wang later allocated 300 infantry equipment, mainly some old rifles and a small number of pistols, no machine guns, let alone big cannons. Later, through bribery to Deputy Meng, they managed to get some funding, forged a batch of large knives and red-tasseled spears and other cold weapons. This time the 4th battalion's weapons were truly diverse, worthy of being called the infantry weapon series encyclopedia at that time.

  The troops were divided into two battalions, with Liang You Tian as the battalion commander of the first battalion and Chen Hao's former subordinate Dong Da Hai as the battalion commander of the second battalion. The mortars and heavy machine guns were unified under the machine gun company, and Xiao Wang Zi Wang was promoted to captain and became the company commander. All submachine guns were concentrated together to form a team directly under the command of the regimental headquarters. Soldiers with martial arts skills were selected to form a guard squad, all equipped with mirror-finish pistols, and Zhang Lin became the squad leader. Ten comrades sent by Zhugou performed exceptionally well in training and took on roles as company and platoon officers.

  The arduous and rigorous military training was carried out in a tense atmosphere, interspersed with patriotic political education. They talked about the situation of the War of Resistance, the atrocities committed by the devils, the inevitability of victory in the War of Resistance, and taught them to sing anti-Japanese songs, including "The March of the Volunteers", which later became the national anthem. The officers and soldiers, with the conviction of defending their homes and fighting bravely against the enemy, threw themselves into military training with great enthusiasm.

  This army has no bad habits of the old army, all soldiers are voluntary recruits, received strict military training and political education with patriotism as the main theme, and have a deep hatred for the Japanese invaders. Its officers have received regular military education and have actual combat experience, and the backbone is made up of veteran soldiers with combat experience. Although in the eyes of the First War Zone, this army is no different from other security regiments, and even has a lower status than the three regiments originally under Wang's command, the combat effectiveness of the Fourth Security Regiment is actually far higher than the average level of all troops in the First War Zone, including the main force units of the Central Army.

  During the tense recruitment and training of Chen Hao, the battlefield in Xuzhou underwent a drastic change. After the enemy's defeat at Taierzhuang, the enemy command realized that Xuzhou could not be taken lightly. In April, the enemy mobilized more than 30 divisions with over 300,000 soldiers from Pingjin, Shanxi, Suiyuan, and Jiangsu provinces to launch a large-scale encirclement campaign against Xuzhou in six routes, aiming to annihilate the Fifth War Zone's troops. The enemy forces deployed this time were all elite troops from their China expeditionary army, equipped with various heavy weapons. According to plan, the enemy formed multiple encirclement circles and gradually narrowed them down towards Xuzhou, attempting to wipe out all our troops in the Xuzhou area at once.

  Facing tens of thousands of well-equipped enemy troops, with hundreds of planes assisting in the battle, Chiang Kai-shek also assembled a large number of reinforcements to the Fifth War Zone, intending to engage in a decisive battle with the enemy near Xuzhou. By April, the Chinese army concentrated in the Xuzhou area had more than 50 divisions. At that time, given our military's equipment and training level, we could only take advantage of favorable terrain to wage mobile warfare against the enemy. Now, gathering tens of thousands of people in the flat plain area around Xuzhou to engage in a large-scale positional war of attrition with the enemy was exactly what the enemy's mechanized forces and air force were eager for.

  By early May, the enemy on the northern front had occupied key points east and north of Xuzhou, and the 10th Division crossed the Grand Canal from Jining westward, capturing Juye, Yutai, and heading towards Xuzhou's western suburbs, including Suixian and Xiao counties. The southern enemy forces also launched a full-scale attack after occupying Suzhou, capturing Hefei, Shou County, Fengtai, and Mengcheng, forcing the Anhui provincial army to retreat westward to the Dabie Mountains. Later, the southern enemy turned northward, capturing Yongcheng in Henan Province, with their forces pointing directly at Suixian. Our Fifth War Zone troops fought desperately on both sides of the Longhai Railway from Shangqiu to Xuzhou, resisting the enemy's attempt to cut off the railway west of Xuzhou and encircle our main force. If our army in the Xuzhou area were to be annihilated, the elite forces would suffer heavy losses, and the temporary capital Wuhan would have no troops to defend it. If the enemy could easily capture Central China without suffering significant losses, the overall situation would be critical.

  The original 14th Division of the enemy, which was under the command of Tu Fei, crossed the Yellow River from Puyang and entered western Shandong, capturing our Yuancheng and Heze. Instead of moving east to join forces with the 10th Division to attack the troops of the Fifth War Zone in southwestern Shandong, they quickly moved south to capture Caoxian, then turned southwest to enter the First War Zone's defense area, occupying the Neihuangji Railway Station on the Longhai Railway and advancing on Lankao. The enemy chose to cross the river and maneuver at the junction of our two war zones, disregarding the fact that the Fifth War Zone troops could cut off their rear route, and instead used all their strength to move south, bypassing the defensive forces of the Fifth War Zone, penetrating deep into our territory, fully demonstrating the ferocity and cunning of this enemy. If the enemy occupies Lankao, cutting off the Longhai Railway, they will completely encircle our army in the Xuzhou area.

  At this time, the 5th War Zone had already abandoned Xuzhou and troops had begun to retreat south along the Longhai Railway towards the Henan-Anhui border. In order to annihilate the Chinese army, Japanese General Headquarters ordered the 14th Division to capture Lanfeng at all costs.

  The 14th Division of the Japanese army suddenly appeared in the east and west, rushing wildly, and actually appeared in a place 40 kilometers east of Henan Province. The war zone and the Chinese command were shocked, and quickly withdrew troops from the 74th Army, 71st Army, and New 35th Division to intercept them. The two sides fought fiercely in the northeastern part of Lanfeng. Under the cover of aircraft and artillery, the enemy repeatedly attacked our positions, causing heavy casualties among our blocking forces.

  Seeing Tōyama's ferocity, Commander-in-Chief Xue Yue of the First War Zone was enraged and ordered the 74th Army and New 35th Division to attack Cao County from the north, aiming to cut off Tōyama's rear route and annihilate the enemy. The defenders of Cao County were arrogant and complacent, never thinking that our army would dare to launch a counterattack against them.

  The Chinese troops tasked with the encircling attack launched a fierce assault on Cao County, quickly recovering it. From then on, the 14th Division of the Japanese army, which had implemented strategic encirclement and annihilation against the Fifth War Zone, was surrounded by our army in the Lanfeng and Cao County areas of eastern Henan and western Shandong.

  Since the Meiji Restoration, in all the wars, the Japanese army had never had a precedent of an entire division being annihilated. As a competitive and nationalistically proud military man, Xue Yue certainly yearned to break this record and greatly crush the enemy's morale. However, at that time, the timing, location, and conditions were not ripe.

  Firstly, at this time, the Xuzhou area had already received orders to break through the siege and Xuzhou had been abandoned. The overall situation was in a strategic retreat. Secondly, this place is a plain area, where the terrain is advantageous to the enemy but not to us. If we want to annihilate an entire enemy division at this time, we need to concentrate absolute superior forces for a quick battle and quick decision. However, with the First War Zone having to defend the Yellow River thousands of miles away, there are really not many mobile forces that can be withdrawn. Moreover, the Fifth War Zone troops located between the enemy's 16th Division and 14th Division have been fighting hard to cover the main force's withdrawal from Xuzhou for many days, with personnel and ammunition almost exhausted. Facing the attack of the 10th Division, they were barely holding on, if the fierce enemy 14th Division were to launch a pincer movement, these troops would be powerless to stop them. Moreover, these troops had already received orders to retreat before the recovery of Cao County in the First War Zone.

  At this time, Xue Yue's offensive defense meant to the greatest extent possible to pin down the enemy's attack on Lanfeng, cut off the Longhai Railway action, and gain time to cover the withdrawal of all troops in the five war zones from the encirclement that the enemy had not been able to close, retreat to the Wuhan area for rest and replenishment.

  The ferocious Tadaichi Nishio, however, did not care about his rear being cut off and continued to launch fierce attacks towards Lanfeng. The 71st Army was somewhat unable to withstand it, and Song Xilian repeatedly sent out distress signals. As the First War Zone had no troops to send as reinforcements, Xue Yue ordered the troops occupying Cao County to launch a surprise attack on the enemy's flank, linking up with the Fifth War Zone's forces. The brothers of the Fifth War Zone, who had been fighting between two enemy divisions for many days and had made up their minds to die for their country, were overjoyed when they saw the reinforcements arrive, and their morale was greatly boosted. Nishio was forced to withdraw troops to defend himself, and his offensive slowed down.

  Chiang Kai-shek could no longer sit still in Wuhan, personally leading the 28th Army and two regiments of the 200th Armored Division to reinforce the First War Zone by train. The 28th Army and 200th Division had long been prepared to be deployed to the Xuzhou battlefield, but later heard suggestions that it was not suitable for a protracted war to engage in decisive battles with the enemy in the Xuzhou area, so they were left in Wuhan. At this time, at the critical moment of breaking through the encirclement of the Fifth War Zone, he still brought out these two elite troops.

  Chiang Kai-shek sits in the Zhengzhou War Zone Command. Gui Yongqing and Qiu Qingquan lead their troops along the Longhai Railway to the battlefield.

  In Lanfeng City, Major General Song Xiqian of the 71st Army briefed Gui Yongqing and others on the situation: "The enemy's 14th Division has been attacking our positions fiercely for days, and our army is fighting while retreating. The day before yesterday, our army launched an attack on the enemy's flank and rear in the northern line, and the front line stabilized about 10 kilometers northeast of Lanfeng."

  Guo Yongqing looked at the enemy situation map: "The enemy in front is still surrounded by our army on three sides, and the 16th Division of the enemy in the east is still a distance away. Our army's triple attack has not yet failed to create a record of annihilating an entire division of the enemy!"

  "General Gui's army must not underestimate the enemy, this batch of enemies has strong firepower and air support. The individual soldier's tactical skills are also very high, and they are extremely fierce and brave, daring to engage in close combat with bayonets. Their combat effectiveness should not be underestimated."

  Qiu Qingquan sneered: "He Tadaichi is fierce, but he has only 20,000 to 30,000 troops. Their offensive tactics are still the same as those used in World War I. Let me give him a warning shot first, and when the main force of our armored division arrives, I will take the lead and launch an armored deep penetration attack, disrupt his formation, and then General Gui's troops will follow up and wipe out this group of Japanese bandits, avenging the humiliation of Nanjing!"

  "Good, Vice-Commander Qiu's words are exactly what I wanted to hear."

  "Alright, brother is also looking forward to the two German generals winning a big victory and boosting our military prestige and national prestige! Also help brother vent out the frustration of these days!"

  Qiu Qingquan did not know that the follow-up troops of the 200th Division would not arrive, and even his two regiments were about to be transferred back to the rear.

  The deployment of the 200th Division to the Xuzhou battlefield was already controversial. At that time, preparations were being made to establish China's first mechanized armored army, the 5th Army, based on the 200th Division. Many people whispered in Chiang Kai-shek's ear: "With so few armored troops, they will be used up quickly, what will we do in the future?" This was not a strategic dispute over time and battlefield choices, but rather a fundamental small-farmer mentality at play. This mentality has been present everywhere, from Li Hongzhang's Beiyang Fleet "avoiding battle to preserve ships" to some people nowadays who buy new shoes but are reluctant to wear them, or buy new electrical appliances but are reluctant to use them. Later, when Du Yuming, the commander of the 5th Army, received an order to transfer troops, he was furious: "The country spent a lot of money building armored forces, but they are not allowed to fight here, and they dare not be used there. Are they supposed to hide in the rear as decorations? Is the specialty of mechanized troops just to retreat first?"

  At this time, when Qiu Qingquan ridiculed the outdated military ideology of the Japanese, he may not have realized that his own side's command had even more backward thinking, and not just in terms of military affairs.

  The 28th Army took over the defense of the 71st Army.

  One night, there were only sporadic gunshots on the battlefield.

  At dawn, Qiu Qingquan reported to Gui Yongqing that he would lead a tank battalion out of the city to launch a counterattack. Gui Yongqing immediately dispatched a platoon from the direct-affiliated army to accompany Qiu Qingquan's tanks out of the city.

  On a clear May morning, dew drops hung on the grass by the roadside. A platoon of infantrymen in German uniforms, loaded onto eight tanks, marched out of Lanfeng City towards the northeast.

  Suddenly, the first vehicle stopped and reported: "Enemy found ahead!" Qiu Qingquan was puzzled: "We're still 4 or 5 kilometers away from the front line, where did these devils come from? Don't make a mistake." He ordered his own vehicle to move to a small hill on the left side, stuck his head out of the tank, and observed with binoculars: about 1 kilometer away, a group of devils emerged from behind a small sand dune forest, bayonets shining, and the sun flag fluttering in the morning breeze. Suddenly, "Bang!" A gunshot rang out, and Qiu Qingquan's military cap fell off. He hastily retreated into the tank: "Damn it, 1 kilometer distance, rifles can shoot so accurately! Almost took my life. These turtles really have some skills, but today you're in for a bad luck!" He ordered the tank to move down from the hill and hide, climbed out of the tank, beckoned the platoon leader of the 28th Army to come over, and asked: "How long does it take for you to run 1 kilometer?" The platoon leader was puzzled. Qiu Qingquan asked again: "Is four minutes enough?"

  "Reporting officer, it won't take long, three minutes will be enough."

  "Alright, send these devils back to their Japanese homes within four minutes! Order: Tanks line up in a row, infantry divided into eight groups follow behind the tanks and charge forward, responsible for clearing out the remaining enemies that the tanks didn't finish off, annihilate those desperate ones who try to rush up and blow up the tanks. Got it?"

  "I understand!"

  Qiu Qingquan made a forward waving motion with his hand in mid-air, a common gesture of German officers: "Begin!"

  Eight tanks lined up in a row, rumbling towards the enemy army. Soldiers wearing steel helmets followed behind the tanks in groups of 4 or 5, crouching low to the ground, not firing a single shot, but rushing forward.

  The devils' mortar fired, and the 92 heavy machine gun also roared. Before the mortar could fire a second shell, a row of tank guns blasted them and the heavy machine gun's firepower into the air. The machine guns on eight tanks spewed out flames, and in an instant, the light machine guns on the devils' position fell silent. At first, rifle bullets made the tanks clang loudly, but two minutes later, they became sparse. Seeing that things were not going well, the devil commander ordered a small number of infantry to stay behind and block, leading the remaining cavalry and residual infantry to retreat hastily in the northeast direction.

  A dozen or so devils who were blocking the way were very brave and desperately threw hand grenades. Under the cover of the explosion smoke, several devils rushed to the side of the tank. One of them hugged a box of ignited fuse explosives and pounced on a tank. The submachine gunner behind the tank finally had the opportunity to open fire, and the bullets flew like wind, hitting that guy 7 or 8 meters away from the tank. The infantrymen quickly lay down, and the blast wave from the explosion blew over their backs like a strong gust of wind. When they looked up, they saw a devil holding a hand grenade climbing onto another tank. Wang Zhenglong didn't say a word and raised his submachine gun to fire a burst, hitting that devil who fell off the tank like a leaf. The infantrymen quickly got up and ran to catch up with the advancing tanks. 3 minutes and 40 seconds after launching the attack, the tanks had already reached the position where the enemy first appeared, knocking open two large cars placed across the road, and stopped at the edge of the woods behind the sand dunes. The battlefield was littered with the bodies of devils, broken weapons scattered everywhere. Qiu Qingquan stuck his head out of the tank again, this time wearing a steel helmet: "Wang Zhenglong, take the infantry brothers to sweep the battlefield and rescue the wounded. Tank regiment, full speed ahead, chase after them!"

  "Yes!"

  Wang Paichang took a quick count of the numbers, his own brothers had three killed and three wounded. Wang Paichang was furious, ordering a search of the battlefield, any remaining devils with breath would be killed with one knife or one bullet!

  On the spot, 138 bodies of devils were counted, and more than 20 mules were killed. Nearly a hundred Type 38 rifles were captured intact. It's strange that in the two damaged carts, there were not only a number of National Army uniforms but also a batch of "Central Standard" rifles.

  Wang Pai-chang hastily used the wireless telegraph machine to report the situation to the army's direct subordinates.

  Qiu Qingquan led 8 tanks around the small woods, speeding northeast in hot pursuit. In front of them was a vast open plain, and the machine guns on the tanks roared all the way, with the remaining enemy infantry falling one after another. More than 50 cavalrymen, braving the blocking artillery fire, desperately galloped forward, with people and horses constantly falling.

  The pursuit lasted for about 10 minutes, and the remaining enemy cavalry approached the rear of the 28th Army's front-line position. Although the 28th Army headquarters had received reports, after a series of time-consuming procedures, the situation was only reported to the front-line regimental command at this moment. The soldiers on the front line suddenly saw a group of Japanese cavalry rushing from behind, and heard the rumbling sound of tanks, causing a burst of panic and chaos. Although some lower-level officers organized soldiers to conduct disorganized blocking fire, these devils charged forward like wolves that had been shot, using their lances to knock down some blocking soldiers, with over a dozen horses breaking through the line of fire. One cavalry lieutenant even slashed down the head of a National Army heavy machine gunner as he crossed the trench. After seeing that the tanks behind were their own, the front line recovered from its panic. A battalion commander rushed forward and pushed aside the machine gunner's corpse, grasping the heavy machine gun "Rat-a-tat-tat...", with flames licking at the lieutenant's horse legs, causing him to fall off his horse less than 20 meters away. The battalion commander picked up a Type 79 rifle with bayonet, leapt out of the trench, and strode towards the lieutenant who was getting back on his feet.

  The lieutenant colonel gripped his combat sword, looking back over his shoulder: the cavalrymen who had crossed the line of fire were still falling one after another under the Chinese army's pursuit by firepower. Turning his head to glare at the Chinese company commander, his heart was filled with malicious hatred: originally full of confidence in a surprise attack on Lanfeng City, hoping to establish new military achievements for the Great Japanese Empire, who would have thought that they would suddenly encounter a Chinese armored unit and be chased like a flock of sheep, powerless to fight back. He really doubted whether he was having a nightmare, was this really the Chinese army? After fighting in China for so long, today's battle situation was vastly different from the familiar "Chinese army", and as his own troops were being wiped out, his beloved warhorse had also been injured by the Chinese captain in front of him. The lieutenant colonel could not suppress his inner anger: fine, Chinese people, let you taste the ferocity of a Japanese warrior's combat sword!

  The lieutenant colonel gripped his sword, staring at the enemy with both eyes, waiting for the momentary gap that would appear after the opponent's bayonet thrust. The company commander approached to within about 3 meters of the devil, slightly raised the bayonet, and pointed the knife tip at the devil's chin. Then - a shot was fired! A bullet hit the lieutenant colonel's bridge of the nose and exploded. The captain immediately turned sideways and crawled forward towards his own position - he had recovered from his madness and impulsiveness.

  The enemy opposite seemed to have woken up, and the big guns started pounding me fiercely in the front line, and the light and heavy machine guns also sounded at the same time.

  Qiu Qingquan retreated and hid. Before long, enemy planes also began to bomb from the air.

  The orderly found Qiu Qingquan: "Report to Officer Qiu, urgent telegram."

  Qiu Qingquan took the telegram and looked at it, only to find that it was a forwarded order from the Military Affairs Department of the War Zone, ordering him to immediately lead his troops to leave the battlefield and withdraw back to Wuhan. Qiu Qingquan was so angry that he slapped his hand: "What does this mean? Orders are changed every day!"

  At noon, Commander Gui Yongqing's headquarters. Gui Yongqing: "Congratulations to Deputy Commander Qiu on his great victory, I have already reported the materials of this great victory to the First War Zone and the Chairman, and it is expected that the newspapers in the next few days will also publicize."

  Qiu Qingquan: "A great victory? Eliminating less than 200 enemies is what kind of great victory?"

  "Otherwise, in the past when our army clashed with the Japanese army, regardless of whether we won or lost, our casualties would always be greater than those of the enemy. This time, Deputy Commander Qiu led only over 50 brothers and annihilated nearly 200 devils, while suffering only 3 injuries and 3 deaths on our side. The outcome is brilliant, why isn't it considered a great victory?"

  Qiu Qingquan: "Our army has a German-style tank battalion paired with a German fully automatic infantry platoon, against enemy infantry and cavalry without heavy weapons. Such results are not worth boasting about, and we also have some casualties on the front line..."

  Gu Yongqing: "The soldiers on the front line are not yours to bring, Qiu brother. The significance of this battle lies in that it shows if our army's equipment is better than or equal to that of the enemy, we can also beat the Japanese army to a pulp. This has a good effect on boosting morale."

  Qiu Qingquan: "Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Commander Gui, I've been thinking: how did these devils manage to get behind our lines? What is their purpose in coming here?"

  Guī Yǒng Qīng: "I received a report, they were wearing our military uniforms, probably sneaking in during the night when our troops and the 71st army were switching shifts. I guess they wanted to launch a surprise attack on an important target? But they never dreamed of running into you. Hehe."

  Qiu Qingquan: "I'm afraid it's not that simple. Why didn't they flee to the sides, but instead charged northeast straight into our defensive lines? Isn't this a suicidal move?"

  "Probably got punched silly by you and panicked."

  Qiu Qingquan: "Commander Gui, we are about to withdraw. I think it's still necessary to strengthen our defenses and be cautious, don't lose Jingzhou carelessly."

  "Alright, this Lanfeng city is the defense zone of the 88th division. I will remind Commander Long to strengthen search and vigilance to prevent enemy sneak attacks."