readsfreenovel Chapter 144
Chapter 144
Seeing that the telegram came from the 389th Brigade, the deputy chief of general staff took the telegram, seemed to read it, then his brows gradually frowned, then relaxed, and he handed the telegram to the deputy commander.
The deputy commander took the telegram, read it, nodded, and put it down.
Then he said, "Their losses are also heavy. Once the other units below stabilize, we can go to the 389th Brigade. Overall, their brigade is developing very quickly, somewhat beyond our expectations."
"Yes, according to the report from the 389th Brigade, the Japanese army's losses in this counter-mopping-up operation are equivalent to a major battle. North China is short of troops, so this is a good opportunity to march into North China." The Deputy Chief of General Staff agreed.
"Well, that's it. Forward the telegram to your family and ask for instructions on the next development plan for the 389th Brigade," said the deputy commander.
Afterwards, he forwarded the telegram to his family.
A few days later, as the news of the victory in the anti-mopping-up campaign in southeastern Shanxi spread, all parties also received the news.
The Japanese army in North China, with a strength of nearly three divisions, besieged the 389th Brigade in southeastern Shanxi, but suffered heavy casualties and losses.
According to information revealed by the Eighth Route Army, during this mopping-up operation, two regiments under the 16th Division of the Japanese Army were the focus of attention by the 389th Brigade and were all surrounded and annihilated.
At the same time, the 14th Division was ambushed repeatedly by the 389th Brigade taking advantage of the terrain. The entire division suffered heavy casualties and had lost its combat effectiveness.
Now, the 14th Division has been prepared to withdraw to the northeast for rest and recuperation.
During the entire mopping-up operation, more than 15,000 Japanese soldiers were killed, and the southeastern part of Shanxi was recovered.
As soon as this news came out, it immediately ignited the enthusiasm for anti-Japanese resistance across the country.
The Battle of Xuzhou dealt a heavy blow to the arrogance of the Japanese army, and then there were frequent reports of victory on the battlefield in Shanxi.
It can be said that since the first half of the year, the anti-Japanese war enthusiasm of the whole of China has reached its peak.
In this counter-mopping-up operation, Zeng Jiwen led the 389th Brigade to severely dampen the morale of the Japanese army.
However, what happened next poured cold water on many people in the country.
According to the original time and space, after the Battle of Xuzhou, in order to retaliate for the huge losses in Taierzhuang, a Japanese division directly broke through the Yellow River defense line of the Chinese army from Pu County in western Shandong, and cooperated with other troops on the battlefield to try to "encircle and annihilate" the main force of the Chinese army in eastern Henan, and then occupied Kaifeng and Zhengzhou, and joined forces with the Japanese army moving south along the Pinghan Line, and went straight to Wuhan.
It was the 14th Division that broke through the Yellow River defense line, thus temporarily triggering the Battle of Lanfeng. It was also recorded in the diary of a diary-keeper as "a laughing stock for all ages." As a result, the Huayuankou dike was directly blown up, causing the Yellow River to burst its banks and resulting in a serious disaster.
Zeng Jiwen believed that the North China Front Army left the 14th Division in North China to replace the previous 108th Division to garrison Handan. After occupying southern Shanxi, it was preparing to participate in the mopping-up of the 389th Brigade.
Then, the possibility of the Battle of Lanfeng happening is very small.
However, they did not expect that this time it was not the 14th Division, but the 11th Division that took the initiative to break through the defense line and headed straight for the rear of the Chinese army on the front line.
It is not known whether it was due to historical inertia or because the 389th Brigade and the 47th Army were stimulated by the encirclement and annihilation of the 108th Division, but Chang Kaisheng decided to encircle and annihilate the deep-reaching 11th Division according to the original time and space.
He personally went to Zhengzhou to deploy and command, and transferred the Lanfeng area from the Fifth War Zone to the First War Zone.
At the same time, Xue Lao Hu from the Third War Zone was transferred to Kaifeng to serve as the commander-in-chief of the First War Zone and to form the 1st Corps of the First War Zone (also known as the Henan East Corps).
After learning the news, Zeng Jiwen immediately wrote a telegram and passed it to that person through the dormitory center. At the same time, he pointed out the importance of Lanfeng and Shangqiu to the front line. The defenders must not be passive and lazy, otherwise the entire battle situation will get out of control and the consequences will be irreversible.
After receiving Zeng Jiwen's telegram, Chang Kaisheng attached great importance to it and immediately convened a military meeting to express Zeng Jiwen's guess.