Age of Rebirth

The first battle in Nanning ended with the [-]th Regiment of the Guangxi Army annihilating a regiment of the Japanese Army. This battle undoubtedly played a huge role in boosting the morale of the Guijun Army and firming their confidence in defending Nanning. It also achieved what Bai Chongxi valued most. Bai Chongxi, the commander-in-chief of Nanning City Defense, admired the commander-in-chief Wu Xiaoxian's superb command art during the battle.

Such generals cannot be fixed in passive defensive trenches, and should be given greater command power and military aircraft's arbitrary power. Therefore, Wu Xiaoxian, as the colonel commander, commanded a force close to a division and moved freely around Nanning. , Bai Chongxi gave him the greatest freedom and authority, expecting this young team leader who created miracles to give him more surprises.

The flames of battle in Nanning, which had been burning for several hours, were extinguished. All the troops of the Gui Army were talking about this complete victory, and many mid-level commanders like him, Wu Xiaoxian, looked forward to creating such a miracle in future battles. , became famous in the Gui army, but the pressure in Bai Chongxi's heart did not ease at all. At the beginning, he just picked up a cheap one, and the more cruel ones are yet to come.

Tang Qiuli, who had already arrived in Guangzhou, was even more aware of this. The Japanese army of the six divisions pressed forward across the board, clearly posing for a decisive battle. The gate, such a situation, made Tang Qiuli even more worried about the situation of the Gui army.

As for the No.15 Army of the Japanese Army Yamashita Bongbum who invaded Guangzhou in the north, they were tempered by Chutian’s special operations detachment. They had no temper at all. They changed from the original high-spirited advance to the current one who is careful at every step and fights steadily. Yamashita Bongbun is quite annoying , Tang Qiuli thought.The only ones who could face the Japanese army head-to-head were their own troops, neither the Guangxi Army nor the Central Army, regardless of the configuration of firepower, the level of training of the soldiers, and the art of command.However, in terms of experience in fighting the Japanese army, the troops of the Independent Division are far superior. [

Tang Qiuli is going to be in Guangzhou.Prepare a big bag for Yamashita Fengwen, put it into the No.15 Army, and beat to death the craziest dog of the Japanese Southern Expeditionary Army, Ma Chaoyang's Southeast Mobile Corps and Feng Jiwu Corps' six brigades.It constitutes the main force of this Guangzhou campaign. At present, the troops are basically in place, just waiting for the Japanese army to come.

Everything went according to his plan, only Yu Hanmou really annoyed Tang Qiuli.After retreating nearly a thousand miles, half of the troops were scattered. The Cantonese troops assembled in Guangzhou were only about 7.Many even lost their heavy weapons, and those who can drag back a rifle are considered good soldiers.

Yu Hanmou cried many times and came to Tang Qiuli to complain about his grievances. He repeatedly said that he wanted guns, money, and equipment. The reason was very good. The Guangdong Army is now the subordinate of Vice Chairman Tang.You can't fight the Japanese with your bare hands, right?Tang Qiuli saw through Yu Hanmou's narrow-mindedness and instructed Zhang Quan, the head of logistics.Put those Japanese weapons in stock according to the standards of the three divisions.Immediately transported to Guangzhou, these weapons, the independent division troops are not going to use anyway, idle is also idle, and given to Yu Hanmou's troops, it can be regarded as useful.

Zhang Quan's efficiency was good. Within a few days, all the Japanese-style equipment of the three divisions were transported to Guangzhou. Yu Hanmou was so grateful that he almost burst into tears, and regarded Tang Qiuli as a living Bodhisattva. The Cantonese army was reorganized into four armies, and moved to the front lines of Zhaoqing and Yunfu in the northwest of Guangzhou, as the left wing of Guangzhou, to cooperate with the Guangzhou campaign.

Tang Qiuli only asked Yu Hanmou to stick to the above-mentioned areas and not to retreat under any circumstances. After receiving his order, he decisively attacked and encircled the Japanese army attacking Guangzhou near Guangzhou. Yu Hanmou said that he would resolutely implement the order of the vice chairman. Even if the Cantonese army fought to the last man, they would never give up their positions.

Satisfied, Yu Hanmou led his troops to deploy defenses in the northwest of Guangzhou. This guy's resolute attitude made Tang Qiuli not at ease. If the Japanese army arrived and the Cantonese army was fleeing, Guangzhou's left wing would completely collapse, and the Japanese army would encircle Guangzhou. Although the rear of the front-line independent division troops will not be encircled, the plan to wipe out the enemy in the Guangzhou campaign will come to naught, and it will be difficult to contain the main force of the Japanese army and press down on Nanning regardless of division. Therefore, Tang Qiuli issued an order that the independent division The rest of the troops directly under the Corps immediately went out to Wuzhou, Guangxi to stand by.

This is a precautionary measure. Tang Qiuli instinctively felt that Yu Hanmou's Cantonese Army was unreliable. The staff office once suggested that the Cantonese Army should not be used in the battle of Guangzhou, and that the independent division should be borne by the independent division commander. However, Tang Qiuli himself couldn't explain why he sent the Cantonese Army to the left. Later, this decision almost put the troops of the Independent Division on the front line of Guangzhou in an extremely dangerous situation.

The troops of the Independent Division deployed on the front line of Guangzhou. Naturally, they couldn't hide it from the Japanese. The Japanese base camp urgently discussed countermeasures. If Tang Qiu left the army and did not join the southern war, the Japanese would not be nervous. In the end, the Japanese base camp decided to focus on the Japanese troops stationed in Taiwan, and transferred two divisions and regiments from China to form the Guangxi Front Army.

The front army has five divisions with a strength of 12 troops. The combat area is Guangdong, and it is not affiliated with the southern dispatched army. This deployment of troops is obviously moving towards Tang Qiuli, and Shouichi Temple also regards it as a strategic preparation. The Seventh Army of the Japanese Army was deployed in the direction of Guangdong. In this way, the Japanese army concentrated in the direction of Guangdong, amounting to three armies, plus a front army, with a strength of 46.

There was an unexpected change in the battle situation in Guangdong. Behind Fengwen Yamashita's No.15 Army, there were more than 30 Japanese troops, while in Guangxi, there were only the Japanese Third and Fourth Armies, with more than [-] troops. The scale of the Nanning defense battle was comparable. Much smaller than the Battle of Guangzhou, Tang Qiuli once again changed the direction of the southern battle.

So far, Tang Qiuli has completed the task of containment of the Japanese army. The Japanese army could not and would not dare to divide its troops in the direction of Nanning, Guangxi. Bai Chongxi can safely carry out the defense of Nanning. Tang Qiuli informed Bai Chongxi of this situation, and Bai Chongxi was greatly relieved. What he was most worried about was that the Japanese army attacking Guangdong and dividing their forces to press down on the right wing in Nanning no longer existed. Bai Chongxi was relieved, but Tang Qiuli's pressure suddenly increased. For this reason, he ordered the Tang Qiusheng Corps in Wuhan to go south immediately On the front line in Changsha, Hunan, as a strategic reserve team of an independent division, join the Guangzhou battlefield at any time.

The southern battlefield has gradually formed two main battlefields. One is Nanning, Guangxi, and the second is Guangzhou, Guangdong. The Central Army deployed in Guizhou is still in a detached position for the time being. .

On May [-]th, the Nakagawa Division of the Japanese Third Army first arrived at the outskirts of Nanning. Outside Nanning, the Takashima Regiment, which was killed by Take Xiaoxian’s regiment, was the order of the division. The division commander, Lieutenant General Takeo Nakagawa, He couldn't understand why Takashima was wiped out by the local army in China, and the whole army was wiped out. No one escaped, and Nakagawa's wish to know the battle was all in vain.

However, although Takeo Nakagawa is more arrogant than Takashima, he is not as stupid as Takashima. With an incomplete division, attacking Nanning, which is heavily defended, is asking for trouble. It depends on the defensive positions around Nanning However, the strength of his two regiments is not enough to fill in. The only thing he can do is to wait for the main force to arrive.

From May 18th to [-]th, the main forces of the Japanese Third Army and Fourth Army successively arrived at the outskirts of Nanning. As more than [-] Japanese troops gathered under the city of Nanning, the [-] soldiers of the Guangxi Army guarding the city felt unprecedented pressure. , the war is imminent.

At [-]:[-] a.m. on May [-], the Japanese army launched a fierce attack from the two directions of Shajing in the western suburb of Nanning and Wuxu in the southern suburb. In an attempt to encircle the city of Nanning, Bai Chongxi had been on guard for a long time. The guests of the Gui army guarding Luancheng were mixed into the first brigade, and the first division of the Chongzuo garrison fought fiercely with the Japanese army. On May [-]th, the first line of battle in Nanning started .

On this day, the Guangxi troops on the outskirts of Nanning really saw the ferocious firepower of the Japanese army. Lieutenant General Masaharu Honma, commander of the Japanese Third Army and commander of the Nanning campaign, did not have any psychological burden for fighting the Guangxi army of China. In order to achieve the effect of the battle, he concentrated more than a thousand artillery pieces of various calibers from two heavy artillery brigades and five artillery regiments, and divided them into two artillery groups to carry out overwhelming battles against the outer defensive positions of the Guangxi Army in Nanning. shelling.

Countless cannons, with a shrieking sound of tearing the air, fell on the Gui army's position, and clouds of gunpowder smoke rose. First, we saw soil flowers blooming, and then, rows of soil waves continued to surge, and the ground As if being lifted up, the huge bang, carrying shock waves, made people panic. The sandbags, mud, and log bunkers and bunkers could not withstand such intensive artillery fire, and gravel and mud flew into the air, among them , mixed with the broken limbs and arms of soldiers of the Guangxi army, the smoke filled the air, covering the rising sun.

Nanning was trembling in the smoke and fire, and with the violent explosions, steel fragments, with metal trembling, whirled and cut into the bodies of the soldiers of the Gui army. When a cannon fell, the bodies of several soldiers of the Gui army were crushed high. Throwing up, the fortifications and trenches collapsed and filled in the dense artillery fire, the barbed wire was torn into pieces of wire, the earth was trembling, and the artificial buildings were destroyed amidst the raging steel. [

The bombardment lasted for a full hour and a half, and tens of thousands of tons of steel were poured onto the Gui army's position. Masaharu Honma and a large number of senior generals were on a high ground outside Nanning City to observe the effect of the bombardment. Your Excellency, Commander Today's attire, extra cool, army green general's cloak, snow-white gloves, standing as still as a mountain, and an expression that seems to be holding everything in his hands, all of which do not explain his mood at the moment. Yaqing's expression became more and more complacent.

(To be continued)