Chapter 51: Defeat Them One by One
"Old Mao, this kid is really daring to boast, does he think we're all fools?!", Peng shouted angrily after reading Hu Weidong's honest report. Although he had conquered Changsha back then, anyone with a bit of common sense would know that Hangzhou was much harder to take than Changsha. Not only were the enemy forces not in the same league, but Hangzhou's transportation was also more convenient, making it easier for the National Army to reinforce and increasing the difficulty of taking the city. Moreover, this wasn't a time of warlord infighting anymore, and Old Chiang could mobilize much stronger forces than He Ying back then.
"Old Peng, you mustn't commit the error of subjectivism. If the previous telegrams from the Red 15th Army didn't contain any exaggeration, they really had a chance to capture Hangzhou. With an army of over 100,000 men, thousands of machine guns, and more than 200 artillery pieces (including mortars), and most of the soldiers being old veterans who had been liberated, their strength was much greater than ours (at that time, the Red First and Fourth Armies had already joined forces, with a total strength of over 100,000). And since even you, Old Peng, thought they couldn't capture Hangzhou, Old Chiang would certainly think so too. This presents an opportunity for us to exploit..." Taizu said with a smile.
"Now that I think about it, it's not impossible, damn it! If the battle report is true, then this kid's luck is too good!" Peng Zong couldn't help but curse with a smile.
"It's not just luck, the bravery of the 15th Army's soldiers cannot be ignored. According to the telegram from the 15th Army, since the uprising began until now, the cumulative number of deaths and injuries has exceeded 30,000, all within a mere half year! And this is without having lost a single battle..."
However, the mood of the central leaders has greatly improved, not only because of the good news itself but also due to the rapid development of the 15th Red Army, which can somewhat suppress Zhang Guotao's ambition that arose from his confidence in his strong military strength. Although the First Front Red Army had nearly 30,000 troops at this time (note 1) after adopting the "immediate capture and replenishment" and "three investigations of grievances" mentioned in He Wei's telegram, which was much stronger than in history, it still lagged far behind the Fourth Front Red Army with more than 80,000 troops and better equipment. But now there is a stronger 15th Red Army outside, so Zhang Guotao may not have been so bold. As a result, Zhang Guotao did not dare to take action later, and the Central Red Army did not have to rush north like in history with only part of its forces to avoid his harm, leaving behind a much better foundation for the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia base area than in history.
The only regret is that Zhang Guotao, due to his fear of being held accountable for his past brutal suppression of counter-revolutionaries, refused to follow the Central Red Army northward, causing tens of thousands of Fourth Front Army soldiers to sacrifice themselves in vain on his mistaken "southward" route. Perhaps it was the force of history at play, but Zhang Guotao eventually established another central government, only to ultimately meet a hasty end due to opposition from the Third International, the Party Central Committee's struggle, and the reflection of the Fourth Front Army soldiers after repeated setbacks.
Even as the great man was deeply concerned about the future of the Red Army and determined to fight against Zhang Guotao, he still cared about the Red Fifteenth Army thousands of miles away. His suggestion was for Hu Weidong to withdraw from Hangzhou as soon as possible. After all, the transportation in the Shanghai-Nanjing-Hangzhou area was very convenient, and even if they launched a crazy surprise attack, it would only slightly delay the enemy's reinforcements. The Red Fifteenth Army was strong and powerful, but once surrounded by the superior forces of the National Army, there would be no good outcome. However, Hu Weidong was greedy for the equipment and supplies that had not yet been seized in the city and could not help but stay in Hangzhou for a few more days. Fortunately, although he was greedy, his preparations were sufficient, and he evacuated the supplies from the coastal area first, avoiding major losses under the enemy's naval bombardment. The greatest contribution came from Su Yu, an outstanding military strategist who would later be famous for large-scale warfare, annihilation battles, and especially continuous battles...
On June 25, 1935, Su Yu commanded the Tenth Army to ambush and annihilate the first batch of Nationalist troops advancing southward north of Hangzhou. Although it was only a division with three or four thousand men, it opened up a good start for the subsequent battles. The next day, the Tenth Army defeated another miscellaneous division, killing and capturing most of the enemy soldiers. The continuous defeats on the front line made Chiang Kai-shek dare not urge the front-line troops to advance again, but instead ordered them to build fortifications in place and wait for follow-up reinforcements, until the strength exceeded 30,000 before advancing southward. As a result, Su Yu was somewhat at a loss for words, but he keenly sensed another opportunity. Chiang Kai-shek's actions made the Nationalist army's gathering north of Hangzhou safe, but their speed slowed down suddenly, and they couldn't reach Hangzhou in just a few days. Therefore, Su Yu boldly left behind a small number of soldiers as decoys, while he himself immediately led the Tenth Army southward to merge with the main force of the Fifteenth Red Army, and took command of the entire army under the support of Hu Weidong, aiming directly at Liu Xiang...
Liu Zhen, despite having a fatal weakness, understood the logic that he would be vulnerable to attack while crossing the river. Therefore, he specifically requested air cover from the Military Commission. However, he did not expect Su Yu to ignore the threat of the air force and launch a fierce attack on his troops with an army of 100,000 men, just as they had crossed halfway. Due to the loss of the Hangzhou Aviation School and Hangzhou Airport, the Nationalist Air Force suffered a huge blow. Chiang Kai-shek could now only dispatch two squadrons of planes immediately, which was already the limit. The Red Fifteenth Army, due to its dispersed formation in the wild, could only kill less than 1,000 people with the Nationalist bombers' scattered bombing. The fighter jets, because they had to dive to low altitude to effectively harm the enemy, suffered some losses under the Red Fifteenth Army's anti-aircraft fire and suddenly became timid, unable to provide much support to Liu Zhen's troops...
It is worth mentioning that after the 15th Army captured the Hangqiao Aviation School, they seized some 20mm caliber anti-aircraft guns, which greatly enhanced the army's air defense capabilities. Hu Weidong, this godly gunner, finally had a chance to show off his skills when enemy planes came under attack. With just a few rounds of continuous fire, he could shoot down an airplane. The rest of the artillerymen, although still far behind in terms of technique, also performed well under Hu Weidong's advanced air defense tactics. In just ten minutes, they shot down seven enemy planes, scaring off the Nationalist pilots who fled in their aircraft.
Without air cover, Liu's troops instantly became meat on the chopping block. At this point, he still couldn't think of a way to deal with the Red Army's fierce artillery fire and had no choice but to watch as his besieged troops north of the river were slaughtered. When he saw that the troops he had hastily ordered to cross the river were easily defeated by the Red Army, he quickly lost all will to fight, and led the remaining troops in a disorganized retreat south of the river. This move completely destroyed the morale of the Nationalist army north of the river. In less than an hour, the Nationalist army north of the river had completely stopped resisting. The 15th Red Army, at the cost of fewer than 8,000 casualties, killed or captured nearly 70,000 Nationalist troops...
Note 1: As for the number of troops in the First Front Army when it merged with the Fourth Front Army, there is no accurate data. It can only be confirmed that it was not less than 10,000 and not more than 30,000. This book takes the most commonly used figure of 15,000 people, plus the effect of "immediate capture and replenishment" and thought reform education (which not only increased the conversion rate of prisoners of war but also reduced their own desertion). It is normal to reach over 20,000 people at this time. After all, since the beginning of the Four Crossings of the Chishui River, the First Front Army had never suffered any major defeats, and under continuous victories, the effect of these methods was quite terrifying.
