Quartermasters can also fight the devils

Chapter 164 The War Begins (1)

After hearing Chief of Staff Xu's introduction to the mission, Zhang Wenwu felt relieved. His previous guess was correct. It seemed that Commander Li of the theater had been planning this all along. From the arrival of the 102nd Division to the deliberate mention of the 102nd Division at the press conference, all were for this moment. He now understood why the 102nd Division was sent to guard this village, because it was all because of the th Corps.

After hearing this plan and order, Division Commander Huang and Chief of Staff Zhao Dong were constantly weighing their options. Commander Li saw that Division Commander Huang did not say anything, so he smiled and said, "Division Commander Huang, the theater also took into consideration your unit's successful experience in defending the flank of Luodian during the previous battle in Shanghai. Your unit's defensive combat capability is currently among the best in the entire Fifth Theater, so we assigned such a difficult task to your division."

When Commander Li explained this, Division Commander Huang also reacted immediately. Even the theater commander had explained the reason to him. If he did not accept the order, it would be unreasonable. So he stood up and stood at attention and said, "Please rest assured, Commander Li. All officers and soldiers of the 102nd Division will defend Taierzhuang."

"Good, good, good. Commander Huang is worthy of being a good soldier of China, and the 102nd Division is worthy of being the cornerstone of China. With you defending Taierzhuang, we will definitely be able to complete the strategic concept of annihilating the Japanese army this time." Commander Li stood up happily and gave high praise.

At this time, Chief of Staff Zhao Dong also asked Chief of Staff Xu: "Chief of Staff Xu, I wonder how long the theater of war plans to require our troops to hold on in Taierzhuang?" As the chief of staff of the army, it is very reasonable for him to raise this issue of the combat plan. If the time stipulated by the theater of war does not conform to the actual situation, Commander Huang can have a buffer zone to discuss with the commander of the theater of war.

"According to the war zone's estimates, your unit needs to hold out in Taierzhuang for at least seven days. This way, the 20th Corps should have time to suddenly turn around and launch an attack from the side and rear, completely encircling the Japanese offensive forces." Chief of Staff Xu also gave a specific time for the defense plan.

Commander Huang quickly calculated in his mind that if facing the attack of the 102th Division's attack force, his nd Division would have no problem holding out for seven days. This also made Commander Huang and Chief of Staff Zhao feel a little relieved. You know, this defense mission is not easy for them. After all, this is in the Fifth War Zone, and the surrounding troops are from various local factions. Unlike the battle in Shanghai, he was surrounded by the Central Army's troops, and everyone's coordination was still guaranteed to a certain extent.

When Zhang Wenwu heard that Chief of Staff Xu wanted the 102nd Division to defend for seven days, he wanted to ask, what if the th Corps did not complete the turn of the entire army at that time, or other problems caused the th Corps to be unable to launch the attack as planned? But he didn't say anything in the end, because no matter who was involved in this matter, he, a small lieutenant colonel, could comment and question it, and no one would listen to his advice now. Maybe Division Commander Huang and Chief of Staff Zhao would listen to his advice, but in front of these big guys, they were only qualified to execute orders.

Before the fall of Jinling City, when he returned to Jinling City from the British warship, he called his eldest brother and wanted to tell him that Tang Mengxiao was unreliable and would run away with his men. He also wanted his eldest brother to mobilize the authorities to persuade the people to evacuate in an all-round way to avoid the tragedy that followed. However, the call did not go through at that time. Later, he thought about it. Tang Mengxiao was a general of the army and the highest commander of Jinling City at that time. If you say he wants to run away, you must produce evidence. Otherwise, the crime of slander alone will be enough for you to suffer. If Tang Mengxiao does not nod, nothing in Jinling City can be evacuated. From that day on, Zhang Wenwu became extremely dissatisfied with the power in his hands and had the idea of ​​climbing up quickly. Without power, your words are worthless. If you have power, people will think your farts are fragrant.

Chief of Staff Xu handed the weapons and ammunition approval slip that Commander Li had already signed to Chief of Staff Zhao Dong. After leaving the meeting room, Chief of Staff Zhao Dong asked Zhang Wenwu to go to the theater's quartermaster department to take back all the weapons and ammunition. He and Commander Huang had to hurry back to the troops to make arrangements.

"Commander Huang, I feel that it is not very reliable for the war zone to ask us to defend Taierzhuang for seven days." When they were at the gate of Xuzhou Railway Station, Zhang Wenwu took the opportunity when the two bosses were waiting on the platform to express his concerns.

After hearing Zhang Wenwu's concerns, Division Commander Huang and Chief of Staff Zhao Dong also looked at him with relief. Chief of Staff Zhao Dong said to Zhang Wenwu, "Wenwu, you can think of this, which shows that you have grown a lot. The theater said that the defense mission is seven days, but we must be prepared to defend for ten days. The theater put our division in Taierzhuang to defend it, firstly to attract the Tenth Division to attack with all its strength, and secondly for the 102th Corps. In the entire theater, only our nd Division can make the th Corps really work hard to complete the attack mission. No matter which other unit is replaced, the th Corps will not really use all its strength to complete the mission."

Zhang Wenwu also sighed that the older you are, the wiser you are. What he could see had already been seen by others. As long as the army commanders had thought about these problems, he had nothing to worry about.

"Wenwu, you don't have to worry too much. We are soldiers, and obeying orders is our duty. Moreover, this head-on confrontation with the Japanese is also an opportunity for us to prove ourselves as Chinese soldiers. As long as we can destroy the Japanese, any sacrifice will be worth it." Commander Huang comforted Zhang Wenwu in a very imposing manner.

When Zhang Wenwu heard what Commander Huang said, he smiled knowingly. Yes, why worry so much? Just fight the Japanese directly. Worrying alone will not drive the Japanese away. It is better to do more practical things. So, after Zhang Wenwu saluted the two big guys, he walked towards the quartermaster's office next to the station.

The 102nd Division assembled very quickly. On the morning of the next day, the 210th Brigade, as the vanguard, took the trains allocated by the war zone and rushed to Taierzhuang to deploy defenses.

Taierzhuang is at the gateway to Xuzhou. If the Japanese army occupied Taierzhuang, it would only take one hour to reach the city of Xuzhou. The whole Taierzhuang is backed by the canal and has more than a thousand households. At first glance, Taierzhuang sounds like a town, but in fact it is a small city. This small city is surrounded by brick and stone walls. The streets in the city are mostly paved with bluestone and are very narrow. The houses are also very dense, and they are all built with bricks and stones, which are very solid.

Zhang Wenwu also took the time to enter Taierzhuang from the south bank of the canal through the pontoon bridge to take a look at the scene. The residents in the city had all been relocated, and the soldiers of the 102nd Division were busy throughout the city. Originally, the troops wanted to open up every household and then use street fighting to deal with the Japanese army, but later they found that it was difficult to dig holes in these walls without using explosives, so the troops had to set up positions in each courtyard and street for separate defense.

Two days later, the Second Army successfully arrived in Teng County and launched an attack on the Japanese army as ordered. The 10th Regiment attacking Teng County had to concentrate its forces to resist. The Second Army seized the opportunity of the enemy's contraction of its forces and rushed into Teng County to join forces with the officers and soldiers of the 22nd Army of the Sichuan Army in the city.

After learning that the Chinese defenders in Tengxian had received reinforcements, the 10th Division of the Japanese Army immediately organized troops to reinforce the 10th Regiment, determined to capture this important place, Tengxian.

The Second Army and the 22nd Army faced the Japanese attack in Teng County. After struggling for three days, they began to retreat to the flank of the Japanese army under the order of the theater headquarters. The Second Army sent a small number of troops to fight and retreat, leading the Japanese army towards Taierzhuang.

At this time, the 102nd Division had completed its defense in Taierzhuang. After the previous expansion, the 102nd Division now has the combat strength of six regiments including the 210th Brigade, the 211th Brigade and a Supplementary Brigade. Division Commander Huang ordered the 210th Brigade to guard the city, the 211th Brigade to be responsible for the defense of the two wings of Taierzhuang, and the Supplementary Brigade to serve as a reserve.

With the fall of Teng County, all officers and soldiers of the 102nd Division knew that the time for a big battle was approaching.

The Second Army's troops responsible for attracting the Japanese troops broke off contact with the Japanese troops outside the city of Taierzhuang and turned to leave the battlefield from the left wing of Taierzhuang. In the afternoon of the same day, the Japanese army's pursuing vanguard troops were easily repelled under the city wall of Taierzhuang by the 210th Regiment of the 655th Brigade responsible for guarding the city wall. But everyone knows that this is just an appetizer before the big battle.

"Your Excellency the Division Commander, our pursuit troops that set out from Fuji County just sent us a message that they were attacked by the Chinese army when they pursued to Taierzhuang. According to intelligence, China's Fifth War Zone has dispatched their Central Army 102nd Division to guard Taierzhuang." Major General Fukaki Tsutsumi, Chief of Staff of the th Division, held a telegram and reported the latest news to Lieutenant General Rensuke Isogai, the division commander who was looking at the battle map.

"102nd Division? The direct force of the Central Army? Yes, that's great, Tsutsumi Bushi, this is a good opportunity for our th Division, let's meet the Central Army of the Chinese government." Isogai Liansuke excitedly took the telegram and took a look at it, then said happily to his chief of staff.

Chief of Staff Di Bujiagui also responded excitedly: "Yes, sir, this unit has participated in the battle in Shanghai before. It has fought with the 102rd Division and the st Division in Luodian. Neither of these two divisions was able to break through the defensive position of the nd Division."

"Great! It seems that the 102nd Division has unique skills in defensive operations. This kind of opponent is worthy of my 102th Division's full attention. Tsutsumi Fukun, order the commander of the rd Infantry Brigade, Major General Seya Kei, to lead his troops to attack Taierzhuang. Also, tell him that I will send troops to reinforce his brigade and provide him with all possible help. Let him go forward bravely, occupy Taierzhuang, and destroy the nd Division."