Chapter 17: Thunderbolt (Part 2)

  May 5th, around 7 pm. Headquarters of the Commander-in-Chief of the Fifth War Zone in Xuzhou.

  Still in that small living room decorated with a strong military flavor, the commander-in-chief of the war zone sat quietly on the sofa, dressed in full uniform and solemn expression. Except for the urgent telegram from the front line, he did not see anyone, nor had he eaten dinner.

  At that time, one of the few first-class marshals in China was under too much pressure! The battle situation on the Tairizhuang front line was really worrying him!

  According to the original plan of this war zone commander, several days ago, the 20th Corps should have arrived at the outer suburbs of Taierzhuang and joined forces with the Second Army Group to annihilate the isolated Japanese 10th Division that had penetrated deep into the area, under the coordination of the Third Army Group. At that time, the Japanese 5th Division's Sakamoto Detachment had not yet arrived near Taierzhuang. With the strength of the 20th Corps and the Second Army Group, in a situation where they were attacking from both inside and outside, it was almost certain that they could defeat the Japanese 10th Division's Segawa Detachment, which had already been fighting a bloody battle with the Second Army Group for over a week and had become exhausted.

  However, due to the slow action of the 20th Corps, the situation on the battlefield changed suddenly. Several thousand Japanese troops from the Sakamoto detachment of the 5th Division advanced north of Taierzhuang during the delay of the 20th Corps, providing a powerful flank protection for the 10th Division while also blocking the way for the 20th Corps to implement an encirclement attack on the flank of the 10th Division.

  As a result, the Second Army Corps, which was ordered to outflank the Japanese 10th Division under the strict orders of the Military Commission and the War Zone Command, happened to run into the pre-set position of Sakamoto's detachment. It cannot be said that the 20th Army Corps did not work hard this time, after all, the old man had already spoken. The commander of the 20th Army Corps, who was originally saving his strength, was already anxious and red-eyed under the strict orders of the delegate, and personally went to the 4th Division, his basic unit, to command. The 20th Army Corps fought fiercely for two days, with casualties of no less than 3,000 people, but still could not repel Sakamoto's detachment.

  The Japanese army's Tenth Division, mainly composed of the 33rd Brigade and the 41st Regiment of the Eighth Brigade, formed a detachment led by Lieutenant General Shigiyasu to encircle nearly 10,000 Japanese troops. The Chinese army, several times larger than the enemy, was unable to close the net. Reinforcements from all directions rushed to support the Japanese army, causing heavy casualties among the Chinese troops who were fighting to intercept them. At any moment, the Japanese army might break through the Chinese blockade and advance to the Tai'erzhuang line. How could this not make the highest commander of the Fifth War Zone anxious and sleepless?

  The commander locked himself in this room and was thinking about how to break the current stalemate.

  But judging from the commander's current appearance, it is clear that he has not yet come up with a good strategy to break this stalemate!

  "Deputy Commander, Xie Hong has called from Taierzhuang with a battle plan and an attached analysis of the enemy situation."

  At some point, Director Xu walked into this small living room, his arrival interrupting the chaotic thoughts of the war zone commander.

  The commander-in-chief of the war zone immediately took over the telephone records from Xu's hands, and at this time, any movement in Taierzhuang was related to the overall situation, and it was absolutely impossible to be careless.

  Ten minutes later, after reading the counterattack plan reported by the vanguard command of Taierzhuang, the commander-in-chief asked in a low voice to Xu Canzeng: "Yan Mou, what do you think?"

  Although the commander-in-chief's tone was still as calm as ever, Xu Canzeng, who knew the commander-in-chief very well, could still hear from this faint tone that the commander-in-chief was struggling with a mix of excitement and worry in his heart.

  At this time, Commander-in-Chief's mood, Xu Canzuo was very understanding of.

  It's great! If this plan can be realized, not only will the Japanese army in front of Taierzhuang, but also other troops that are currently being deployed to Taierzhuang, will hardly escape the fate of being surrounded and annihilated by the Chinese army. How can this not make the commander-in-chief feel excited and thrilled?

  It's just that the risk and reward are both present, let's not talk about casting such a large net for now. Can we successfully capture all the big fish in the net? Let's just say that the first step of the plan is to defeat or annihilate a Japanese regiment with several thousand troops as the main force on the front line of Tai'erzhuang in one night, which has no precedent since the War of Resistance. Who dares to confirm whether it can be achieved? Even if this initial goal is achieved, the second step of the plan is to actively penetrate deep into the Japanese army, which is an unprecedented feat, and there's even less room for success.

  If the entire counterattack plan fails, everything will be over. Taierzhuang will not be preserved, and the Chinese army will be shaken along the whole line. Although the Japanese army's current strength is unlikely to defeat the main force of the National Army in front of it, the battle of Taierzhuang, which was originally expected to have some gains, would become a war of attrition that kills 800 enemies at the cost of losing 3,000 soldiers. Moreover, if Taierzhuang falls, Xuzhou will be lost soon after, and as long as the Japanese army's reinforcements gather in Xuzhou, Xuzhou will inevitably fall. Once Xuzhou is lost, it will shake the whole country. This responsibility is too great for anyone in the Fifth War Zone to bear alone.

  "De Gong, Jun Chen and others said that the Japanese army in Tai'erzhuang is facing off against the Sakaya detachment and the Second Army Group, which has been fighting for over ten days and is already exhausted and overstretched. As long as we defeat the 40th Regiment, under the cover of our air force's fighter planes, with all the cavalry on the Tai'erzhuang front line taking the lead, our army will have the strength to launch a deep attack on the enemy in front of Tai'erzhuang, and can even divide the Sakaya detachment into several groups and surround and annihilate them. At the very least, we can force the Japanese Sakaya detachment to retreat completely, and I think that with just one or two more regiments, it is still possible to complete this battle plan."

  As the chief of staff in the war zone, Xu Xianzhen deeply understood the severity of the current situation. If the Chinese army couldn't break through this stalemate and let the various Japanese armies gather under Xuzhou City, the consequences would be unthinkable. Although the plan proposed by Xie Hong and Cheng Jiaji was a bit reckless, it wasn't a bad move either. At present, everyone with discerning eyes could see that the current battle situation had become a mess, and as long as the Tai'erzhuang stronghold showed some signs of loosening up, all problems would be solved easily. Therefore, Xu Xianzhen, who was usually cautious and steady, also decided to follow Cheng Jiaji and Xie Hong's crazy plan this time. However, Xu Xianzhen's support for this adventurous plan had a prerequisite: the war zone would have to deploy one or two main force divisions to Tai'erzhuang head-on.

  After Xu Canzhang finished speaking, the commander-in-chief of the war zone fell silent for a long time. Although every minute was precious at this moment, Xu Canzhang did not urge his superior. He knew that the commander-in-chief of the war zone was now facing a difficult choice.

  "Order Commander Cheng Jiaji to launch a night attack on the Japanese troops in Tai'erzhuang at 11:00 as originally planned. Immediately dispatch the majority of the Xu State Security Command's Independent Regiment to replace the original defense zone under the responsibility of the 100th Division, with the order that they must arrive in Tai'erzhuang before 11:00 tonight. This regiment will be under the unified command of the 31st Division. The Independent 100th Brigade is not allowed to launch an attack until the independent regiment arrives. Yan Mou, inform Commander Cheng Jiaji that as long as he can defeat the Japanese 40th Regiment by 5:00 tomorrow morning, the war zone commander will approve his plan for a breakthrough at 9:00 tomorrow morning and assign the War Zone Security Regiment to him for command, and report to the superior authorities to dispatch no less than five aircraft to clear the way for him and simultaneously put all the cavalry of the Second Group under Commander Cheng Jiaji's command."

  About twenty minutes later, the resolute commanding officer issued a series of important combat orders.

  Xu Canzuo was about to go and convey the order, when the commander-in-chief called him back again. Apparently, the commander-in-chief wanted to add something to his previous order. Xu Canzuo hastily turned around to listen for further instructions.

  "Yan Mou, I'm issuing a direct order for you to immediately allocate 150,000 yuan. 100,000 will be given to the Cheng Jiaji's unit as a reward for this night's raid. The remaining 50,000 will be given to General Sun of the Second Army Group, and have him organize all available troops from the Second Army Group to march towards Tai'erzhuang immediately, under the command of Cheng Jiaji. Also, you personally arrange for Cheng Jiaji's unit to drive out the 40th Regiment from the village by dawn tomorrow. Once that is done, we will allocate all new guns and heavy artillery from the arsenal to the counterattacking troops who will be launching from Tai'erzhuang at dawn. Even the few 37mm anti-tank guns that were just stored last week, along with their crew, will be allocated to the counterattacking troops!"

  In a series of orders, the commander-in-chief repeatedly mentioned only Cheng Jiaji and not Xie Hong, the former chief commander of the enemy forces. It was clear that he knew who had formulated this battle plan as clearly as if it were in plain sight.

  When Xu Canzhang went out, he faintly heard the commander-in-chief of the war zone say in a low voice in Guangxi dialect: "Let's abandon him, fight to the end!"