Chapter 37: The Battle of Xikou (6)
The gunfire and artillery fire finally stopped.
The highway was a mess. Everywhere were the bodies of Xiang Army soldiers, weapons and baggage carts.
The Red 18th Regiment, which had experienced the baptism of the Xiaoshui battle, naturally cleaned up the battlefield with ease. The soldiers gathered the captives together, first identifying the officers and separating them into a separate team to be guarded, then organizing the captive soldiers into teams to be watched separately. Then came the collection of weapons and ammunition, and the counting of supplies and materials.
The results were quickly counted, and in this battle, the 62nd Division of the Xiang Army was eliminated, with one division headquarters, one brigade headquarters, two regiments, and a total of 4,600 people. Among them, 1,424 enemy soldiers were killed, 560 wounded, and 2,616 enemy soldiers, including the commander Tao Guang, were captured. Two radio stations were seized, as well as $30,000 in cash, over 4,000 light and heavy machine guns, rifles, and pistols. Unfortunately, all the mortars of an enemy mortar company were destroyed, leaving only the ammunition carried by the logistics team to supplement Li Chang's artillery battalion.
Liu Yimin ordered He Xinghua to immediately check the radio records of the 62nd Division's headquarters, and when he learned that Tao Guang had already ordered Wang Yuying's brigade to return and seek reinforcements from Liu Jianxue and the 16th Hunan Division, Liu Yimin's eyes lit up. It seems that even when sleeping, good luck can bring people pillows. He immediately ordered the use of the 62nd Division's radio station to send a message, ordering Wang Yuying's brigade to speed up their return, and to ambush the Red Bandits at Xikou; he ordered the 62nd Division to send a message in its own name to Liu Jianxue, saying that they had encountered an ambush by the Red Bandit Army's 15th and 9th Divisions, suffering losses of nearly a regiment, and were now occupying the high ground on the east side of the highway at Xikou, facing off against the enemy, and urgently awaiting reinforcements; he ordered the 16th Hunan Division to send a message in its own name to Liu Jianxue, saying that they had received a request for help from Tao Guang, commander of the 62nd Division, and were now preparing to set out to reinforce Xikou, estimating that they could arrive within 3-4 hours; he ordered the 7th Company of the 3rd Battalion of Wang Yuying's brigade, which was executing a harassment mission against the enemy, to increase their harassment of the enemy's rear guard, creating the illusion that our army was blocking the enemy's reinforcements, but only harassing and not engaging in fierce combat; he ordered Wu Zheng, who was at Lin Kou, to command the training team and guard platoon under Li Yimeng, disguised as the 16th Hunan Division, to light many fires and advance towards Xikou, creating the illusion that the 16th Division was reinforcing Xikou.
Tsai Chung and the new recruits arrived only after the battle was over. It wasn't that they were late, but rather that the 62nd Division collapsed too quickly, and the battle ended too quickly.
Looking at the results in front of him, Cai Zhong was speechless. His partner was too amazing, saying that he had anticipated every move of the enemy was not an exaggeration at all. Since meeting him in Xinwan, it seemed like victory had always been with the Red 18th Regiment. Advanced tactical thinking, innovative tactics, and bold and decisive battlefield command made almost every battle a classic. It seemed that there were too many things he needed to learn from him.
It is said that in this battle, two mortar companies and four battalions, five battalions with four mortars, made great achievements. The two mountain artillery companies didn't say a word, immediately ordered the soldiers to assemble the mountain guns, and then ran together to Liu Yimin's side to ask who to fight next.
Liu Yimin took a look at the two old Red Army soldiers, whose eyes were full of bloodshot, and knew that the troops were extremely exhausted. He told them to let the soldiers rest in place and wait for orders.
Summoned Cai Zhong, Liu Jianli, and Li Qing, told them the situation obtained from the radio station and the measures they had taken. Then informed them of their decision to ambush Wang Yuying's brigade south of Xikou, then return to ambush the enemy reinforcements that might arrive, expanding the results of the battle.
Cai Zhong, Liu Jianli and Li Qingting all had their eyes shining. Cai Zhong suggested that the previous battle was missed, and the next ambush must bring troops to participate in the war no matter what.
Liu Yimin directly vetoed Cai Zhong's proposal and told him that there were more important tasks. Then, they directly divided the work, with Cai Zhong leading the new recruits to escort the captured soldiers and supplies to Xikou, where they mobilized the masses to boil water and cook food, treated the wounded, buried the 18th Regiment's 24 martyrs, reorganized the original soldiers of the new recruits into a large company, issued machine guns and submachine guns according to the combat battalion standard, and reorganized all captured soldiers in small groups, assigning them to companies 2-9 of the new recruits. Li Qing led two mountain artillery companies, a sniper platoon, and an engineer battalion to transport the enemy corpses on the highway to the farmland on the west side of the highway, trying to move them as far away as possible, covering them with dry grass if possible, occupying the east slope of the highway, building a mountain artillery position, equipping the engineer battalion with machine gun firepower according to the combat battalion standard. If enemy reinforcements arrived, the engineer battalion would cut off their rear and cover the two mountain artillery companies' retreat. The cavalry company still occupied the front hill but had to go to Xikou to collect firecrackers, concentrating on firing them every half hour to create the illusion that the 62nd Division was still blocking the Red Army, luring the enemy into a trap. Liu Jianli arranged for six combat battalions and a heavy machine gun company, two mortar companies to rest in place for an hour, allowing the soldiers to recover their strength. The reconnaissance platoon immediately went out to scout the enemy situation south of Xikou along the highway. An hour later, Liu Yimin and Liu Jianli led the main force out of Xikou to ambush Wang Yuying's brigade.
After task allocation, several people took action immediately and went their separate ways.
Jing County Liu Jianxu's First Army Corps Headquarters was now in a state of complete chaos.
The commander of the 28th Army of the National Revolutionary Army, Lieutenant General Liu Jianxu, is in his prime. He is the deputy of He Jian, and the second-in-command of the Hunan Army. Since He Jian took office as the commander-in-chief of the Extermination Army, Liu Jianxu has risen to prominence, taking over the command of the entire Hunan Army's frontline operations on behalf of He Jian, with eight elite divisions under his command.
Unlike He Jian, who had a habit of stroking his eight-character beard, Liu Jianxu was majestic and stern in military uniform. His round face was fair and clean, with a pair of bright eyes that shone like stars. He walked steadily and powerfully, looking every inch the seasoned general who held great power in the army. It's no wonder - this year he is 42 years old, in his prime, graduated from the third artillery class at Baoding Military Academy, was classmates with He Jian and Bai Chongxi, experienced the Northern Expedition, Central Plains War, Encirclement Campaign against the Red Army, and Hunan-Guangdong War, survived countless battles, and had long since become a seasoned veteran.
After receiving Tao Guang's distress telegram, Liu Jianxu hastily walked into the combat room and pondered deeply in front of the combat map.
From the map, it can be seen that the Red Army in the corridor area has fallen into the encirclement of the National Army. On the south side of the Red Army's marching route, the 7th and 15th Armies of the Guangxi Army were pursuing and intercepting, with the main force of the Guangdong Army providing support from behind; on the north side of the Red Army's marching route, three main force divisions, the 16th, 62nd, and 63rd Divisions, were pursuing and intercepting, with the Central Army's Zhou Hunyuan column providing support from behind. The Red Army's marching route was already surrounded by its own forces.
After receiving the intelligence that the main force of the Red Army occupied Tongdao County yesterday, Liu Jianxu ordered the three divisions of the First Route to take emergency action this morning. Among them, the 63rd Division Chen Guangzhong's division guarded the line from Jing County to Zhaiya, and a part of the troops advanced to block the Yangmenpu and Diaowei borders to prevent the Red Army from fleeing north; The 16th Division Zhang Liangji's division went out of Suining, along Xiao Shui, Jiamazhen, and Lin Kou, intercepting the Red Army; The 62nd Division Tao Guang's division passed through Le'anbu, Xigou, Zhai Tou Bao, and Jinwuzhou to intercept the Red Army. The 63rd Division reported several times throughout the day that no signs of the Red Army fleeing north were found; At noon, the 16th Division reported that it had defeated the Red Army's rear guard regiment in Xiao Shui and continued to attack towards Lin Kou. At 2 pm, the 62nd Division reported that Wang Yuying's brigade had passed through Xigou and was advancing towards Jinwuzhou without finding the main force of the Red Army. Air reconnaissance also did not find any signs of the main force of the Red Army marching in the Tongdao area. Based on these situations, the army group judged that the main force of the Red Army might give up its plan to go north to Xiangxi and merge with He Long's division, and instead turn west into Guizhou. But now Tao Guang's 62nd Division's Zhong Brigade encountered the main force of the Communist Army?
He took over Tao Guang's distress telegram and read it again. It was still that simple sentence: "The department is on the north end of the highway in Xikou, encountering the main force of the Red Bandits, please hurry to reinforce."
This telegram is really concise, no mention of the main force of the Red Bandits, their numbers, unit numbers, battle progress and so on. Is it possible that Tao Guang's troops have encountered unexpected difficulties? Impossible, after the Battle of Xiangjiang, the Red Army didn't even have time to retreat, let alone plot against one of its own main forces! Is it possible that the Red Army's main force is really hiding near Xikou, waiting in ambush for Tao Guang to deliver himself? Impossible, if so, why would the Red Army's main force let the vanguard brigade of the 62nd Division go? Besides, even if they encountered the Red Army's main force, with Tao Guang's cleverness and experience, couldn't he have escaped even if he couldn't win?
Bai Si Bu De Qi Jie. Liu Jianxu ordered the chief of staff and 62nd Division to keep in constant contact, striving to understand the situation, and contacted the 16th and 63rd Divisions, ordering them to prepare for battle and await further orders.
About half an hour later, the chief of staff came in with a telegram from the 62nd Division. Liu Jianxu took a look and Tao Guang reported that the ambush was carried out by the Red Bandit's First Army Corps' 15th Division and Ninth Army Corps, with approximately six to seven thousand men and no artillery. The 62nd Division's Zhong Brigade suffered losses of nearly one regiment, and has now occupied the high ground on the east side of the highway at the northern end of Xikou, forming a standoff with the enemy, holding out for reinforcements.
As the vanguard commander of the Xiang Army, Liu Jianxu was very familiar with the Red Army.
Unlike the KMT's propaganda that portrayed the Red Army as a devilish image of "共产共妻" (communism and wife-sharing), Liu Jianxu saw it as a political party with an ideology, organization, and policies that would continuously rally the masses and expand its political influence. At the same time, Chinese society had few rich people and many poor people, mostly peasants, so the Red Army's policy of "打土豪分田地" (overthrowing local tyrants and distributing land) was very easy to incite the masses, creating hatred between the poor and the rich, and using this to swell its forces. The development of the Soviet area was a prime example. If such a political party organization were not eradicated, once it gained power, it would inevitably overthrow China's traditional social order.
For the Red Army, which had been in contact with him for a long time, Liu Jianxu's evaluation was vastly different from what was said in the National Government newspapers and radio stations. He believed that the main force of the Red Army had high morale, strict discipline, rigorous training, and flexible tactics. The only shortcomings were lack of guns and ammunition, lack of clothing and food. If the equipment of the National Army and the Red Army were swapped, Liu Jianxu couldn't think of any other troops in China that could be a match for the main force of the Red Army.
It is now the best time to completely eliminate the Red Army. As the vanguard commander of the Xiangjiang Campaign, Liu Jianxu knew that the current Red Army was at its weakest, with planes bombing from above and being surrounded and pursued on the ground, the main force of the Red Army had fallen into a desperate situation, wandering aimlessly without a plan. Only by breaking through to flee westward to Guizhou might there still be a glimmer of hope. But that would require great wisdom to decide. According to the prisoners' confessions, the current Communist Party leaders were all students who returned from Moscow, and it was unlikely that these young people could achieve anything.
The Chief of Staff came in again to report that he had received a telegram from the 16th Division Commander Zhang Liangji, and the 16th Division had received a call for help from the 62nd Division and was preparing to rush to its aid.
Liu Jianxu took over the telegram and looked at it for a while, then carefully studied the map. Suddenly an idea popped into his mind: "Abandon the foot soldier to save the chariot!"
"Summon the chief of staff and have the guards bring the map closer to the lamp. Liu Jianxu then presented his thoughts: "Chief of Staff, from the current situation, the southern part of the communication zone has the Guangdong and Guangxi armies, the northern part has our army and General Xue Yue's main force, the eastern part has three divisions of our army and Zhou Hunyuan's column pursuing, and the western part has the Guizhou army blocking. The Red Bandits are already in a desperate situation. From the 62nd Division's request for support telegram, it can be seen that the troops ambushing them are the 15th Division of the First Red Army Corps and the 9th Red Army Corps. The 15th Division is actually the Little Red Devils' International Division, which is a group of children; the 9th Red Army Corps is a newly expanded force before the Red Bandits retreated from the Soviet area, with many new recruits and extremely poor combat effectiveness. These two troops suffered heavy casualties in the Xiangjiang Battle and their already weak combat effectiveness has been greatly discounted. From the 16th Division's battle report for the past day, it can be seen that only one rear guard regiment of the Red Bandits was eliminated, without discovering other main forces of the Red Army. The fact that the 62nd Division's Wang Yuying Brigade could attack and advance so quickly to Xingweizhou shows that they did not encounter any significant resistance. In summary, I judge that the 15th Division and 9th Corps of the First Red Army are the largest rear guard troops of the Red Bandits. The reason why they ambushed Tao Guang at Xikou at this time is that when they were transferring from Long'an Camp to Lin Kou, they crossed paths with the 16th Division, realized that there were large numbers of our troops on the Xiaoshui and Lin Kou lines, and then turned towards Xikou, encountering the 62nd Division's Zhong Brigade. Unfortunately, the Red Bandits discovered the 62nd Division first and opened fire, catching them off guard. This also proves that the main force of the Red Army is not in this area. If the main force of the Red Army were here, I estimate that the headquarters of the 62nd Division and the two regiments of the Zhong Brigade would have been annihilated."
Here is the translation:
"So, where did the main force of the Red Bandits go? Judging from the situation where Wang Yuying's brigade occupied Xiangwu State, the main force of the Red Bandits has already left Tongdao County. If not, Tongdao County is so close to Xiangwu State, and the Red Bandits would not have allowed Wang's brigade to occupy Xiangwu State so easily. Therefore, yesterday's judgment by the army group that the main force of the Red Bandits may flee westward is valid. From this perspective, the Red Bandits who ambushed Tao Guang are isolated troops, which is a desperate measure by the main force of the Red Bandits to abandon their weak and tired soldiers to attract our attention and cover up their own retreat."
The Chief of Staff felt it was indeed so, saying that the commander's analysis was very thorough and should be so.
Liu Jianxu took another look at the map, turned around and said: "Since the Red Bandits left behind such a large abandoned pawn, not eating it would make our appetite too small. Chief of Staff, record the order: First, order Tao Guang's unit to shrink its position and strictly prevent the Red Bandits from launching a night attack; Second, order Wang Yuying's brigade to quickly return along the original route to reinforce; Third, order the 16th Division to advance towards Xikou, and must arrive within three hours, forming a pincer movement with Wang Yuying's brigade; Fourth, order the 63rd Division to set out immediately to reinforce the 62nd Division, and hand over the defensive task to the 19th Division; Fifth, each unit should bring more torches and speed up their march, must form an encirclement, after the encirclement is formed, all participating units will be under the command of Tao Guang, the commander of the 62nd Division. After dawn, the army will send planes to assist in the battle and thoroughly eliminate this group of Red Bandits."
After the Chief of Staff finished recording the order, he carefully asked another question: "What if the main force of the Red Bandits did not flee westward but instead hid near Xiguan to implement a siege and ambush?"
Liu Jianxu said: "It's impossible. Firstly, the Red Bandits have not yet surrounded Tao Guang, and he can retreat at any time. Secondly, my 16th Division is fully equipped with three regiments, six battalions, and over 10,000 troops, and we also have the only mountain artillery battalion in the entire army, with strong firepower. Even if we encounter the main force of the Red Bandits, we won't be afraid. If the main force of the Red Bandits dares to engage in a fierce battle with the 16th Division, we will launch a large-scale attack and fight another Battle of Xiangjiang. In that case, I estimate that the main force of the Red Bandits will be completely annihilated. Don't hesitate, send out the order for execution!"
The chief of staff went out to send a telegram, the deputy officer moved over a chair and let Liu Jianli sit down to rest, then quietly walked out.
The combat room fell silent again, with only the bright horse lamp shining on Liu Jianxu's seemingly very intelligent face. A gentle breeze blew by, and the flame of the horse lamp flickered, casting a few shadows on Liu Jianxu's broad forehead.
