King of Secret Service

Page 388

Liang Xiao said.

"Yes."

Combat staff officer said.

Chapter 132 Battle on the South Shore

The war in Shanghai entered a tense stage. China and Japan invested a lot of troops in the south bank position. The two sides fought bloody battles around the south bank position, and the positions changed hands repeatedly.

The Japanese army seemed to be crazy, attacking the positions on the south bank day and night.

After several bloody battles, the 66th Army standing on the ground withdrew from the position, and the position was handed over to the [-]th Army.

The 66th Army is a newly formed army, and its combat effectiveness cannot be compared with that of the [-]th Army, but their morale is high, and they are still firmly standing on the ground with a lot of blood.

In another position on the outskirts of Shanghai, the 26th Army and a division of the Japanese Army fought fiercely here. The two sides used large-scale artillery coverage, and there was a lot of noise. You came and went, and the fight was exhilarating.

headquarters.

Liang Xiao sat on the command chair, with a look of loneliness and helplessness.

He knew clearly that the attack on Shanghai was futile, but after capturing the south bank position, he still had the idea of ​​attacking Shanghai, but this idea was shattered by the brave Japanese attack.

Now all the troops under his command are fighting the Japanese army, and the reserve troops are about to be drawn into the battlefield.

If the battle continues, the biggest possibility is that both sides will suffer losses from the Japanese army. This is not the result he wants to see.

Liang Xiao sat on the command chair and lit a cigarette, puffing and puffing.

"The Loyalty and Nation Salvation Army called. They were fought to the death by the Japanese army. For a while... they couldn't escape."

"The special operations division called, and they blew up two warehouses of Japanese military supplies."

"The 66th Army received a call. Its troops suffered heavy losses in several battles. The entire army has 6000 people, and more than half of them were killed or injured."

"The 26th Army received a call. They fought fiercely with the No.18 Division of the Japanese Army in Central China for several days, and the outcome was not decided. However, the shells and ammunition were consumed quickly. I hope that the headquarters can deliver enough shells or ammunition to the 26th Army as soon as possible."

Chu Xiangxue took the telegram from the front line and said in a crisp voice.

Liang Xiao pondered for a while, then said: "Send a report to the army and ask them to withdraw, and send a report to the special warfare division to ask them to destroy the roads from the city to the suburbs, water and electricity facilities, and inform the sixty to withdraw to Hangzhou before [-] o'clock tonight to rest."

"General, are we going to withdraw?"

Chen Hua is marking the military strength and strength of the enemy and us in front of the military map.

"It has to be withdrawn."

Liang Xiao felt unwilling, but he also knew that he had to withdraw his troops and leave at this time.

Although the war is in a stalemate, but if it continues like this, sooner or later it will fall into a quagmire and cannot extricate itself.

Moreover, his strategic goal has been achieved, to consume the vital strength of the Japanese army and prevent the Japanese army from central China from going south to support the Wuhan battle.

Right now, the Battle of Wuhan is at a critical juncture. Even if the Japanese Army in Central China wants to support them, they still have insufficient energy. After all, they have just experienced a big battle. Not only the national army suffered heavy losses, but the Japanese Army in Central China also suffered heavy losses.

At this time, the Central China Japanese army did not dare to go south blindly. After all, there are still 10,000+ national army troops in Nanjing. Once the main force of the Central China Japanese army goes south to support the battle, the Nanjing National Army troops will take the opportunity to attack Shanghai. This is the last thing the Central China Japanese army wants As you can see, Shanghai's geographical location and international influence are too great. Once it is taken away by the national army, it will indirectly affect Japan's international status.

"General, if we have a support army, we should have a 67% to [-]% chance of capturing Shanghai, [-]% certainty."

Chen Hua smiled.

"However, there are no reinforcements around us. The main force of the national army is basically concentrated around Wuhan. There are no reinforcements for us to dispatch."

Liang Xiao said.

"Then what should we do? We can't just leave Shanghai like this. Our troops are shedding blood and tears here. How many...soldiers are buried on the other side of the Suzhou River. If we withdraw like this, how can we be worthy...the officers and soldiers who died in battle .”

Chen Huadao.

"If you don't withdraw your troops and continue to fight, the garrison troops will be smashed here, and the Japanese army will suffer heavy losses. Both sides will suffer. It's better not to do such a thing."

Liang Xiao said lightly.

Chen Hua bowed his head and spoke silently.

From Liang Xiao's point of view, considering the overall situation, withdrawing troops at this time is the best choice.

From Chen Hua's point of view, she has reasons for not withdrawing troops.

"Send a message to the committee that all the garrison troops will withdraw from Shanghai tomorrow evening. Please let the Wuhan national army go and fight the Japanese army. The Central China Japanese army will never go south for reinforcements."

Liang Xiao said loudly.

"Yes."

Chu Xiangxue was busy sending a telegram.

"General, the position on the south bank is still there: in the process of repeated looting, I don't know if the Fourteenth Army can hold it."

Chen Hua sighed lightly.

"It doesn't matter if you can keep it or not."

Liang Xiao smiled faintly: "After the 66th Army retreats, the 26th Army will follow suit, and the [-]th Army and the Loyalty and National Salvation Army will be cut off."

"Yes."

Chen Hua nodded slightly.

Chapter 133 Supporting Wuhan

When the order to retreat was issued, the Nationalist troops withdrew from their positions in an orderly manner, and the Japanese troops in the suburbs did not take the opportunity to attack. Both sides were very restrained.

The war has been fought until now, the Japanese army can't bear it, and the national army can't bear it either. Therefore, when the national army retreated, the Japanese army just stood firmly on the ground without any pursuit.

Until the afternoon of the next day, all the troops of the national army took turns to cover and withdraw from the positions in the outskirts of Shanghai.

This battle has attracted the attention of the whole world. When everyone thought that Liang Xiao's attack on Shanghai was determined to capture Shanghai, the number one city in the Far East, what he never expected was that the national army commanded by Liang Xiao and the Japanese army in Central China in Shanghai were in a stalemate. When he couldn't go down, he actually chose to retreat, and he retreated without warning.

This made media reporters from all over the world startled. They thought it would be a great battle, but Liang Xiao, the always strong national army general, chose to withdraw his troops on his own initiative.

And the mighty Japanese army chose not to pursue when the national army was retreating. This is not in line with the fighting style of Japanese soldiers.

After the national army withdrew from the suburbs of Shanghai, Liang Xiao announced to media reporters from all over the world in the name of the garrison commander that the goal of the campaign had been achieved, and the national army would withdraw to Hangzhou to rest and recuperate.

At this point, the media from various countries understood that the so-called attack on Shanghai was just a play, and Liang Xiao's real purpose was to delay the Japanese army in Central China and buy time for the battle in Wuhan.

Judging from the results of this battle, he has indeed achieved his goal. He fought with the Japanese army on the South Bank and suffered a lose-lose situation. With the current strength of the Japanese army in Central China, even if they intend to reinforce the battle in Wuhan, they will not have much... combat effectiveness.

Moreover, once the main force of the Japanese army in Central China leaves Shanghai, Liang Xiao will take the opportunity to attack Shanghai. For the Japanese army in Central China, the loss outweighs the gain.

After the national army withdrew to the front line of Hangzhou.

Liang Xiao received a telegram from the Military and Political Council, ordering him to lead his troops south to participate in the Battle of Wuhan.

He personally called the commissioner and asked for instructions from the commissioner in Chongqing.

The meaning of the appointment was to allow him to keep most of his troops on the front line in Hangzhou to deal with the Japanese army in central China, and lead a small part of the elite main force to quickly go south to Wuhan to open up the situation for the battle in Wuhan.

The committee members have said so, Liang Xiao can only.

He immediately ordered that the 26th Army and the Special Warfare Division be dispatched to Wuhan with him.

The rest of the troops, according to the previous deployment, are on the front line of Hangzhou to prevent the Japanese army from taking the opportunity to attack. However, the Japanese army in Central China should not have the courage to attack now. After all, the national army suffered heavy losses in the previous war, and the Japanese army also suffered heavy losses.

January 23.

Liang Xiao personally led the [-] national army, marched southward along the Ninghan Railway, and marched mightily to Wuhan.

At this time, the battle in Wuhan was extremely fierce, and hundreds of thousands of national troops and Japanese troops fought inextricably in the outskirts of Wuhan.

The strength of the Japanese army can be seen in general. With a three-to-one force disadvantage, they can still advance towards Wuhan, which shows the strong combat effectiveness of the Japanese army.

Although the national army has a large number of troops, its weapons are inferior, and its troops are diverse. From the central army to local miscellaneous troops, the orders are different, the military orders are chaotic, and there are obvious omissions in command and coordination.

This gave the Japanese a lot of room to fight.

In the battle of Wuhan, the main forces were the elite troops of the national army from the fifth theater and the ninth theater.

The ninth war zone, with Chen Cheng as the commander, unified command of 46 divisions of the Central Army, and the fifth war zone, headed by Li Zongren, unified command of 23 reorganized divisions.

Liang Xiao doesn't have any specific duties this time, and everything is under the command of Chen Cheng in the Ninth War Zone.

Before the troops arrived in Wuhan, they received an order from Chen Cheng in the Ninth War Zone to order the Nanjing garrison led by Liang Xiao to march to Wanjialing.

After receiving the telegram, Liang Xiao frowned tightly, Wanjialing is not a good place.

Right now, the national army and the Japanese army have invested a lot of troops in Wanjialing, and the two sides are engaged in a tragic tug-of-war. At this time, the 26th Army and the Special Operations Division under his command are the main force of the field troops. For him, it was tantamount to asking his troops to carry out a suicide attack.

However, this is a telegram from Chen Cheng from the Ninth War Zone.

He is not easy to disobey.

In the military circles of the Republic of China, there is a saying that there are military orders above and orders below.

Chen Cheng asked him to go to Wanjialing, he smiled noncommittally, and gave orders to all the troops under his command to slow down the marching speed, and wait for the second telegram from the ninth theater.

In two days, Liang Xiao's mechanized troops walked more than 80 kilometers. They called it the bumpy mountain road and it was not easy to walk. In fact, it was a deliberate delay.

Moreover, he sent several telegrams to the headquarters of the Ninth Theater, saying that since his troops went south, the soldiers were not acclimatized, the logistics supply was not available, the car lines were broken, etc... Anyway, there were any reasons he could think of. Said it all over again.

Chapter 134 I'm Not Here

two days later.

The Ninth War Zone issued a second combat order, ordering Liang Xiao to lead the 26th Army and the Special Warfare Division to rush to the aid of Wanjialing.

After Liang Xiao received the telegram, he quickly asked the military intelligence department about the battle situation in Wanjialing.

The military intelligence department replied that the national army fought very hard in Wanjialing, and the battle continued to fall into a stalemate.

The national army has two elite central armies in Wanjialing, the 74th Army and the Fourth Army, with a total strength of more than 6 troops. The Japanese army has a reorganized division in Wanjialing, with a strength of more than 3 troops.

Wanjialing was the watershed for the Japanese army to attack Wuhan. Once the Japanese army broke through Wanjialing, the consequences would be disastrous.

Therefore, Chen Cheng hurriedly transferred Liang Xiao's 26th Army and Special Warfare Division to join the Wanjialing battlefield.

With the fighting power of the 26th Army, even if it is to carry the 107th Division of the Japanese Army head-on, it is still in hand.

What's more, he also has a special combat division in his hand, whether it's a frontal battle or a detour from behind, he is one of the best.

"General, are we really going to Wanjialing?"

Chen Hua asked softly, she knew Liang Xiao's character, and asking him to lead troops to Wanjialing to obey other people's orders was definitely not what he wanted.

"Chen Cheng still has to give face."

Liang Xiao smiled faintly.

"The war zone ordered us to rush to help Wanjialing without any mention of the command authority. Does the war zone still let you obey other people's orders?"

Chen Hua was somewhat indignant.

"Listen to others"

A sneer flashed across the corner of Liang Xiao's mouth, the 26th Army and the Special Operations Division under him were the ace troops in the National Army, apart from him, even if he was appointed, it would be very difficult to command his troops.

"What is the general planning?"

Seeing his expression, Chen Hua knew that he had guessed right.

"Send a report to the war zone, saying that Wanjialing's terrain is narrow and cannot accommodate so many troops. Please send the 74th Army and the Fourth Army down from the war zone, and we will take over the position."

Liang Xiao said lightly.

"Yes."

Chen Hua turned around and asked the operator to send the report.

"Send another material list to the war zone, and let them deliver all the ordnance and food needed by our department to the Wanjialing position within two days."

Liang Xiao added.

"The general wants to make a fortune in the theater"

Chen Hua understood Liang Xiao's thoughts best, and said with a light smile.

"The 26th Army is the trump card of the German Armed Forces, and the Special Warfare Division is the only special warfare unit of the national army. If the war zone doesn't give us ammunition supplies, what will the officers and soldiers of our army eat and drink? Besides, the ninth war zone is very rich. Unlike the Nanjing Garrison Headquarters, after a great battle, materials are in short supply and ammunition is insufficient, so if you don’t want to pay Chen Cheng at this time, let alone when.”

Liang Xiao said with a smile.

Chen Hua smiled lightly, she knew that Liang Xiao was... He said that if the Nanjing Garrison Command was poor, the national army would have already been in a state of running out of ammunition and food.