Chapter 19: Water-rafting stone (three)

The combat plan to control the areas south of the Yellow River in Shandong and east of the canal has been formulated long ago. The government staff of 60 counties also completed training in more than two years. Now, with four dispatched combat groups, they have been launched in Jiaodong, southern Shandong and other counties. The Japanese reinforcements have not yet arrived, which is the best time for the escort army to gather and annihilate the 10th Division.

"Now the conditions for annihilation of the 10th Division are met, and the achievement of these conditions is entirely due to the deep foundation laid by Mr. and Mingyuan for Yimeng in the past two years. We have a great chance of victory and will never fail." Gu Haichuan said firmly at the combat meeting held at the headquarters of the Guards on the afternoon of the 5th.

Thinking about the various arrangements in Yimeng over the past two years, Du Yishan, Liu Chengshan, Sun Guantao and others who participated in the combat conference also lamented the foresight of Zhao Zhenzhong and Zhou Mingyuan. In particular, Zhou Mingyuan and others took the Guards to take a big step forward in all aspects of construction in more than two years in Yimeng. In the past two years, Zhou Mingyuan, Lin Chenglou, Liu Jifeng, Xu Chaoyuan, Chen Hailan and others not only formed a strong combat-effective army of more than 400,000 on the original basis, but also improved the military level of Yimeng a lot, making the heavy weapons and technical equipment equipped in the troops exceed the Japanese army, and completely laid the foundation for the Guards' victory today.

Everyone in the meeting was moved by their hearts, and they also strengthened their determination to fight this battle well and live up to the expectations of Zhao Zhenzhong, Zhou Mingyuan and others. With the expressions in their eyes, Gu Haichuan nodded secretly and said, "Guan Tao, please introduce the specific combat plan to everyone."

When the Guards fought against Zhang Zongfu's troops under Zhang Zongchang's army in 27 years, Sun Guantao was the chief of staff of the First Regiment of the Guards led by Gu Haichuan, and the two had always gotten along well. Later, Sun Guantao was transferred to the northwest and served as chief of staff, deputy column captain, column captain and other positions. After the establishment of Northwest Military and Political University in 35 years, Gu Haichuan and Sun entered the school to study one after another. With the experience of working together and about two years of classmate, Gu and Sun had a very tacit understanding in combat command of the Guards.

"Okay, I'll talk about it." Seeing Gu Haichuan pointing the commander, Sun Guantao got up and came to the sand table to point out and introduce it.

This battle is different from annihilation of the 118th Brigade. The guards not only need to complete the task of annihilation of the 10th Division, but also to fully realize the first phase of the development and growth of the People's Party in Shandong in the early stage of the War of Resistance against Japan set by Zhao Zhenzhong.

To this end, the escort army not only dispatched all five combat groups, but also sent 4 heavy artillery brigades, 4 air defense brigades, and the direct troops of the headquarters such as the teaching brigade, with a total force of up to 390,000.

Specifically, under the command of Jiang Bin, Qiu Ziping and others, the First Operations Group will attack Tai'an west along the Dawen River. After success, the unit will go north along the Jinpu Road to Jinan. In view of the main force of the 33rd Brigade, commanded by Jiro Takiki, in order to conquer Tai'an as soon as possible, the escort headquarters will adjust the 3rd Brigade of Heiya to be assigned to the First Operations Group to strengthen the attacking firepower of the unit.

The second combat group with the Second Division as the backbone was responsible for occupying Qingdao, Yantai, Weihai and other places under the command of Gao Fengxue, Yu Jingyang and others. Because Qingdao Mayor Shen Honglie had been captured by the escort army, most of the Kuomintang government officials in Yantai, Weihai and other places also fled, and the second combat group basically did not encounter too much resistance. However, in order to prevent the subsequent Japanese landings and the Japanese naval and air forces, the escort headquarters will transfer the 1st and 2nd air defense brigades to the Ministry to operate to strengthen its air defense firepower.

The third combat group with the Third Division as the backbone, except for the 13th Division who left behind the 13th Division to continue to control the areas south of Zou County, east of Dushan Lake, Weishan Lake, and west of Zaozhuang, the other third and eighth two divisions, under the command of Wu Deqing, Lin Yuxiang and others, quickly penetrate northward along the east bank of the canal. After capturing Jining, they continued to advance north along the river, and finally attacked Jinan from west to east from the south bank of the Yellow River. In order to strengthen the firepower of the department and increase the speed of the department's marching, the headquarters of the Guards will adjust the 4th Heavy Artillery Brigade and two car regiments to the department's operations.

The fourth combat group with the Fourth Division as the backbone was fully launched along the Gaoxu Highway between Taierzhuang and Gaomi, Yi County, under the command of Yu Dehai, Xu Haitang and others. In order to strengthen the air defense firepower of the headquarters on the southeast coast, the headquarters of the Guards will transfer the third air defense route to the department to operate.

The Fifth Operations Group, with the Fifth Division as its backbone, approached from east to west from Jiaoji Line and the south bank of the Yellow River, from east to west from Jinan while attacking Jinan, the headquarters of the Guards will dispatch the Guidance Brigade, the 4th Air Defense Brigade, the 1st Heavy Artillery Brigade, and the 2nd Brigade will strengthen the Ministry.

The special operations brigade, the 5th Air Defense Brigade, the 5th Heavy Artillery Brigade and other escort headquarters will serve as a battle reserve to defend Yimeng to deal with emergencies at any time. The three air forces that have just arrived in Yimeng will also be responsible for annihilation of enemy aircraft in the area south of the Yellow River and east of the canal with the cooperation of the ground air defense forces.

After introducing the relevant situation, Sun Guantao pointed at the sand table and continued: "In order to avoid Yoshikari Yoshikari's brigade withdrawing the Tianjiu Brigade back to Jinan and increasing the difficulty of our army to conquer Jinan, the entire battle will be the first to start in Zouxian, Tai'an and other places. The first combat group and the third combat group, the 13th Division, will take the lead in launching an attack on the enemy in front of us, forcing Yoshikari Yoshikari to draw the 10th cavalry revolver that defended Jining and other places to Tai'an and Zouxian, to create opportunities for the main force of our third combat group to penetrate deep into the enemy along the east bank of the river. The fifth combat group will launch an attack on Jinan after the attack in Tai'an. After the first and third combat groups succeed, Jinan will be surrounded by our army on the east, south and west sides, and the north is the Yellow River. Yoshikari's old Japanese devil will become a turtle in the jar."

Sun Guantao's introduction made everyone excited. Although the first, third and fifth combat groups were not all pressing towards Jinan, the Guards could use three combat groups, plus six direct brigades at the headquarters, and a total of more than 200,000 troops to deal with the 10th Division with more than 200,000 troops, which had an absolute advantage in terms of military strength and equipment.

The method of using troops is to surround them ten times. In the eyes of most of the people attending the meeting, Yoshikaya's 10th Division was already doomed. But Yoshikaya had a different view: "We have deployed such a huge force and have advantages in air and firepower, so there should be no suspense in the victory. But Yoshikaya may not be able to capture it."

With such arrangements, the Japanese can escape? Liu Chengshan and others were surprised and looked at Gu Haichuan together, wanting to hear what he said.

"Although our army is preparing to siege three routes, the key is to look at the advancement speed of the three combat groups one, three, and five. The vanguard of the fifth combat group is less than 40 kilometers away from Jinan, so there is basically no need to worry. But the first and the third combat groups are a bit far from Jinan. Especially the third combat group, not only needs to solve the enemy defending Jining, but also have to penetrate along the canal and the Yellow River to western Jinan. Along the way, there are more than 210 kilometers between Jining and Jinan. Although Huamei Company built a river road while renovating the canal and the Yellow River embankment, it is very easy to go along the way.

There will be a small group of enemies to intercept. Once our first and third combat groups are not in place in time, and the fifth combat group is attacking too fiercely, Isotani Risuke may still flee from the direction of Qihe in the west of Jinan." Gu Haichuan pointed out the differences in the distance between the attack directions on the sand table, and added, "In addition, the 15th Mixed Brigade of the Japanese army once fired poison gas to my brothers in the northwest. Isotani's 10th Division is also very likely to be equipped with poison gas bombs. The interspersed troops of several combat groups who attacked the vanguard must be prepared to prevent poison gas attacks."

After the battle begins, the Fifth Combat Group will also prevent the Japanese attack on the north bank of the Yellow River while attacking Jinan. At that time, the 6th Field Heavy Artillery Brigade deployed by the 2nd Army of the North China Front Army on the north bank of the Yellow River will definitely be fully fired. In order to suppress the enemy's artillery fire, the two heavy artillery brigades that are part of the Fifth Combat Group will also show their power. In this way, the heavy firepower of the escort army will definitely make Aosuke Isotani alert. If the first and third combat groups do not intersperse in time and block the road of the 10th Division's escape from western Jinan to Hebei, then Isotani may cross the river and flee north.

"The first combat group wants to solve the 33rd Brigade deployed by Tian Jiurongji along Tai'an and Jinpu Roads, and may not be able to advance quickly to Jinan. The third combat group wants to solve the enemy defending Jining, and the distance is the longest, and it may not be too late to block the way across the river and retreat." Du Yishan suggested on the side, "Don't we have an air force now? I think, I will hand over the task of blocking Aiguri Yoshiguri's escape from Hebei to the Air Force, so that they can bomb both sides of the Yellow River, even if they cannot leave the old Japanese devil, I will at least annihilate the main force of the 10th Division."

"Let's hand this mission to us." Su Lei, who represented the Air Force in the combat meeting, asked for a battle. "The North China Aviation Corps has been severely damaged by our army. At most, there can be 80 enemy planes that can go south to participate in the war. We can completely use fighter planes to solve enemy planes and use bombers to attack the ground. In addition to attacking Shijiazhuang Airport when we came, we have not performed other ground attack missions. This time, let the Japanese taste the air strike."

The plane is fast and has no other obstacles. As long as the planes that are driven south by the North China Aviation Corps can be suppressed, they can launch air strikes on the enemies on both sides of the Yellow River. After many battles with the North China Aviation Corps, Su Lei estimated that the enemy's remaining fighter jets were only a hundred and scattered at several airports, so it was impossible to go south in full swing.

"Then the air defenses in the coastal areas will be handed over to the air defense brigade and the air defense regiments of the divisions. Will it be weak?" Liu Chengshan reminded him, but sighed, "It's a pity that the Yellow River is frozen and the speedboats cannot be dispatched. Otherwise, if the speedboats are used to deal with the Japanese army crossing the river, the air force will be able to strengthen its coastal defense."

"Our ground air defense force is absolutely not weak, but the traffic in Jiaodong and the coastal areas cannot be compared with our northwest and Yimeng." Lei Mingyuan, the air defense commander of the Guards, also sighed, "If Qingdao, Jiaodong and Gaoxu Highways can be unobstructed, we can fully deploy the air defense brigades manually, but now they can only be distributed in a dispersed manner, so the effect is hard to say."

Lei Mingyuan had previously participated in the battle in Shannan and received regular ground air defense training in the northwest. He knew that the radar and anti-aircraft guns mastered by the northwest and Yimeng were powerful air defense weapons. However, these equipment that had shown extraordinary power in the northwest are now subject to the traffic conditions of the counties along Jiaodong and southeast Shandong, and cannot fully demonstrate their strength.

"If the artillery and the air force exploded the Yellow River and Xiaoqing River surface, the speedboats would not be able to be dispatched. It was just that the effect could not be achieved at the best." Gu Haichuan pondered for a moment and decided to say, "Let's do this, the air force left a regiment to cooperate with the ground forces to deal with the Japanese naval and air forces, and another fighter regiment and bomber regiment to deal with the battle situation in the Jinan area. Kuang Haicheng and his team dispatched a speedboat brigade, and since Xiaoqing River rose to Jinan, blocking the enemy's escape north."

Although the People's Army and Guards now do not have large surface ships, it is not difficult to use Huamei's power in the United States and Australia to produce some speedboats without weapons. Before the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, Kuang Haicheng and others used containers to transport a total of 48 speedboats with a load of less than 200 tons to the Mobil special terminal in Qingdao and Yantai. The 24 speedboats transported to Qingdao were sent to the Guzhenwan area near Dazhushan to be hidden, while those transported to Yantai were transferred to Yangjiaogou Port at the mouth of the Xiaoqing River in the name of "siltation equipment".

In the hidden position, Kuang Haicheng and others reserved positions for storing and launching torpedoes on the speedboat, and then installed a dual-equipped 37mm high-level dual-purpose machine gun at the head of the boat, as well as a high-level dual-purpose heavy machine gun with three diameters on both sides of the boat and the tail of the boat. This made 48 speedboats a powerful weapon for coastal offense and defense.

The location of Guzhenwan is the location of Xiaokouzi Port, a famous port in later generations. However, Yangjiaogou Port was not well-known in later generations due to river silt and other reasons. In fact, Yangjiaogou Port and Xiaoqing River are of great significance to Jinan, and they also have a very important position in the modern and modern history of Shandong shipping.

From the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, Xiaoqing River was dredged several times, and in 1904, the Shandong government introduced the Yufu River and other injected it into the sea, making the Xiaoqing River a direct channel for Jinan to enter and exit. In original history, Yangjiaogou Port 37 years ago could enter and exit thousands of tons with Shanghai ships, and even when the water flow was abundant, small sea ships could go directly along the Xiaoqing River to Jinan. Until the 1950s, small-tonnage ships could still go up the river to Ximen Bridge in Jinan urban area and become Fengqiao passenger and cargo wharf. Xiaoqing River and Yangjiaogou Port also became an important channel for the combined transport of rivers and seas in Shandong.

In this era, Zhou Mingyuan built canals and Yellow River embankments in the name of Huamei Company, and dredged the Xiaoqing River again in the name of convenient transportation of embankments, which allowed the sections of the Xiaoqing River below Jinan to navigate ships of less than 500 tons even in the dry season. If the river surface was not frozen in winter, it would be an extremely convenient attack route to penetrate from Xiaoqing River directly to Jinan.

"After the ice surface is blown up, the speedboat can indeed be dispatched. But I should remind Kuang Haicheng that the navy's mission is to block the mines and block the coastline, and use torpedoes to block enemy surface ships near the shore." Sun Guantao added, "Before the river surface freezes again, you must return to Yangjiaogou Port. In addition, if it is not necessary, it is better not to open the Muli Gate. Although it is winter, once the Yellow River water enters the Xiaoqing River, not only will the water level on the Yellow River surface be lowered, it will facilitate the Japanese army to escape through Hebei, but the mud and sand in the Yellow River water will also cause the Xiaoqing River channel to be silted again."

"The air force cannot fight at night, and the speedboats are limited by the weather. These are all auxiliary forces for delaying the Japanese operations. To truly solve the problem, three combat groups must be pressed quickly." Du Yishan thought carefully, "From 5 a.m. tomorrow to before nightfall, even if the first and third and second combat groups are blocked, the fifth combat group will be suppressed. No problem."

"The telegram commands Jiang Bin and Wu Deqing to each use one force to solve the enemy in front, and concentrate the armored assault and mobile firepower of the first and third combat groups, ignore the enemy in front, and directly intersect the enemy behind the enemy. It is necessary to attack Jinan before 6 pm tomorrow." After Gu Haichuan weighed the pros and consolidation, he immediately made a decision, "After the battle starts, the fifth combat group must use infantry mortars to blow up the ice surface of the Xiaoqing River. The Navy must send 12 speedboats to penetrate the front river to the Jinan River to block the enemy, and after nightfall, the original combat missions of each combat group and the air force remain unchanged. This is the first time that the land, sea and air coordinated combat has been carried out since the founding of the army. It is of great significance and requires all departments to complete combat missions."

The escort army has determined the attack time and specific combat plan, and Ryosuke Isotani is also stepping up preparations for defense operations. Although the North China Aviation Corps and the 4th Fleet's naval and air force will be dispatched tomorrow, and even the four special Marines commanded by Toyota and the two joint Marines have a total of more than 15,000 troops to force land in Qingdao tomorrow, these are far and cannot quench near thirst. Faced with the tens of thousands of guards less than 40 kilometers away from Jinan, the reinforcements of the 5th Division and the 109th Division, which Isotani is most looking forward to, have not yet arrived on the north bank of the Yellow River.

Itagaki's troops were on the way from Shijiazhuang to Dezhou, and they were no longer reliable in one or two days. The 31st Infantry Brigade of the 109th Division was originally assigned to the 1st Army to fight in the Pinghan Line. Although Yamaoka Hoku received the order to reinforce Jinan, he had to wait for the 31st Brigade to return to build. The unit was also unable to arrive in Jinan within one or two days. In this case, Isoga could only pray that he could withstand this or two days, and it would be best to wait until the reinforcements arrived before launching an attack.

But the war always started when one or both sides least wanted to happen. At 5 a.m. on the 6th, the first combat group of the Guards, under the command of Jiang Bin, Qiu Ziping and others, rushed to the defense line in the Tai'an area of ​​Tianjiu Brigade with heavy artillery to kick off the entire battle.

The 48 155 heavy artillery of the 3rd Heavy Artillery Brigade and 84 105 artillery pieces of the three division artillery regiments were exerted together, and artillery fire poured on the Japanese positions.

"This is a large caliber heavy artillery, how could the Chinese Guards have so many heavy artillery?" After being awakened by the shaking shelling of the earth, Tian Hirojiro looked at the fireballs roaring towards the front positions he set up in Tai'an Castle, stunned.

Judging from the howling sound of shells and the momentum caused by landing, the guards used not only heavy artillery, but many of them were powerful than all the Japanese heavy artillery brigades with a caliber of over 150. Under the continuous bombardment of such large guns, the defense line set up by Jiro Takiki on the periphery of Tai'an was not much stronger than the paper-blocked ones.

A group of bandits could use hundreds of heavy artillery pieces, which was a luxury that even the Japanese division could not reach. Looking at the whistling fireballs, Eijiro Taki was filled with shock and bitterness. He knew that his peripheral position was over.

Eijiro Taki hurried to the command center, grabbed the phone and wanted to report the situation to Akisuke Isotani and request tactical guidance. But the phone could not be connected. In desperation, Taki had to contact Isotani through a telegram. After sending the telegram to Isotani, Taki ordered Sang Wenzen Shin-ji Zhongsao, who was in Jining, to lead the 10th cavalry revolt and an infantry brigade to move closer to Tai'an so that he could retreat at any time.

However, shortly after Tai'an took the lead, the directions of Jinan and Jining also started one after another. Isotani Ryosuke had just received a telegram from Tianjiu that he had not yet come back to his senses from the shocking news that the Guards had a large number of heavy artillery, and the periphery of Jinan was bombarded by heavy artillery from the fifth combat group of the Guards.

"Tai'an is being bombarded by more than 100 heavy artillery guns from the enemy. How many heavy artillery guns are there in Jinan?" Compared to Jiro Takie Eijiro, Risuke Isotani was even more shocked. This is not just the shock caused by the number of heavy artillery guns from the escort army, but Isotani felt an unknown sign.

Seeing the fireball that landed on the periphery of Jinan and caused waves of earth to shake like a mountain, Jigu was in a state of despair and his heart was shaken: "There are only more than 10,000 troops in Jinan, and it is difficult for reinforcements to arrive within two days. How long can I hold on to the enemy's fierce artillery fire?" As soon as this thought arose, it began to soak Jigu's mind like poison, and even made him have a slight idea of ​​crossing Hebei.

However, Isotani quickly shook his head and threw this thought out. There was never a precedent for Japanese generals to escape when the war started. Once he sets this precedent, it will inevitably become a shame for the Japanese army. Even if he escapes back to the north bank by chance, he will be forced to have a caesarean section. Instead of suffering from shame, it is better to fight to the death.

Isoga was having a mess of thoughts here, but the 10th Cavalry Regiment and Infantry Brigade led by Sang Wenzhenji were facing the fate of destruction.

After receiving the telegram from Tianji Eijiro, Sang Wen-ji hurriedly assembled nearly 2,000 Japanese troops from the entire cavalry regiment and infantry brigade, preparing to retreat to Tai'an through Ziyang. Unexpectedly, shortly after the Japanese left Jining, they encountered three armored car regiments and three air defense regiments, which were opened with the headlights and penetrated north along the east bank of the canal. Behind this, there were two car regiments with nearly 300 cars transporting more than 10,000 guard infantry infantry and towed 48 105 artillery pieces.

Leading the third combat group to the mobile forces to the north, Lin Yuxiang heard that the Japanese cavalry and infantry were found in front, and he learned that the number was not too large, so he immediately ordered: "All armored car regiments and air defense regiments attacked the enemy's firepower, continue to go north, and the remaining enemies are left to the infantry to solve the problem. The infantry battalion will continue to clear out the remaining enemies under the transportation of automobiles, and the remaining infantry will continue to go north."

The Japanese cavalry corps is 950 people, and the infantry brigade is 1,100 people. These nearly 2,000 Japanese troops are indeed worthy of attention if they are placed elsewhere. But for the third combat group of the Guards, the 378 light and heavy machine guns on 126 cars of the three armored car regiments alone are enough to tear them to pieces.

Before Sang Wenzhen Er could adjust the cavalry formation, the armored car regiment and air defense regiment opened their headlights, and roared at the nearly 1,000 Japanese cavalry riding on horseback, some raised their sabers, while some held guns to fight the oncoming enemies. However, the large-scale lights of the guards made the Japanese unable to open their eyes.

The Japanese army could not open their eyes, but the escort's machine gun began to show their faces. The flames spewed out of the Mercedes-Benz cars, under the light of the headlights, crossed the space and began to have close contact with the Japanese on the horse's back and on the ground, and sent them completely into permanent darkness.

After the infantry transported by the armored car regiment, air defense regiment and two car regiments passed, the remaining 20 cars and more than 600 infantrymen were embarrassed.

"Battery Commander, except for a few of these Japanese who fled northeast, all others were told here." A company commander who was left behind said reluctantly, "I just saw that many of those Japanese were almost crushed into meat sauce by cars. Is it necessary for us to clear them?"

"Where does it come from so much nonsense? Don't worry about the meat sauce. Just look at the whole thing. Just refill the gun first and then check it." The battalion commander glared, "After finishing, let's burn these pickled things and we will hurry up and chase the large army."

Because of this encounter, the Japanese army stationed in Jining was annihilated in the wild. This also allowed the third combat group of the escort army to easily capture Jining, a major town along the river.

Chapter 19: Water-rafting stone (three)

Chapter 19: Water-rafting stone (three, go to the website


Chapter completed!