Chapter 232 Southern War

Since December 1906, when the Beiyang generals stopped the Beiyang infighting and then established the republican government, Wang Yingkai, among the great warlords in Beiyang, continued to sit in Beijing and control Zhili. Zhao Dongyun went out of the customs and returned to Fengtian, and Wu Fengling went down from the hot Henan River to Shanxi.

Duan Qirui and Wang Shizhen led the First Army and the Second Army to fight south and the Southern Federation respectively.

At the end of December, Wang Shizhen, who was marching south along the Beijing-Han Railway, arrived in Henan. Wang Ruxian of Henan also led only three infantry regiments and an eighth division of an artillery battalion to join the second army combat sequence.

At this time, the second army under Wang Shizhen had the sixth division, the eighth division and the eighth mixed brigade. Among them, the sixth division is Wang Shizhen's direct force, and the eighth mixed brigade was formed by Wang Shizhen after recruiting some of the troops in the seventh town in Beijing. Although its combat effectiveness is poor, it is also Wang Shizhen's direct force.

And the Eighth Division is naturally Wang Ruxian's army.

The main enemy of the Second Army is the First Army of the Northern Expedition of the Southern Federation. The ministry has the first town, second town and third town of the army of the pseudo-Chinese Federal Empire. At the end of last year, the First Army of the Northern Expedition has entered Henan.

The three towns of the First Army of the Northern Expedition were actually adapted and expanded from the original Eighth Town of the Former Qing Dynasty, the 21st Mixed Association, and the 25th Mixed Brigade of Hunan. Its first town is Zhang Biao, the second town is Li Yuanhong, and the third town is Shu Qinga. The presidential officer of its army is Zhang Zhidong.

Among the three towns of the First Army of the Northern Expedition, the first town adapted from the eighth town is naturally the strongest combat effectiveness, with full personnel and equipment, while the second town adapted from the 21st Mixed Association is slightly inferior. Although the personnel are also full after several months of expansion, the equipment is relatively lacking, with only two artillery battalions, and The third town adapted by the Hunan New Army is much worse. The personnel are not full, only three infantry marks and a artillery battalion. In fact, there is only one old backbone that can fight.

The above three parts are stationed in Zhengzhou, Xuchang and Xinyang, Henan Province.

The reason why the First Army of the Northern Expedition in the South took control of Henan is not that he defeated it, but because some time ago, the Beiyang military strength was in the north. Wang Ruxian's troops also entered the territory of Zhili, resulting in the emptiness of Henan, and the first town under Zhang Zhidong was the original eighth The town also entered Zhili at the beginning, but later quickly returned to the south and occupied Kaifeng, Henan.

Subsequently, the second town of the Southern Federation, formerly known as the 21st Mixed Association, also led an army to arrive in Xuchang, Henan Province, and the third town of the Southern Federation, which was subsequently reorganized and expanded by the Hunan New Army, marched to Xinyang.

That is to say, in fact, when the North-South War broke out, most of Henan, especially the south of Kaifeng, was under the control of the Southern Federation. Wang Ruxian, the governor of Beiyang, actually only controlled northern Henan.

At the beginning of January, the third mixed brigade under Wang Ruxian's 8th Division and Wang Shizhen attacked Zhengzhou, Henan Province. The city was the first town of the Southern Federation. After a few days of fierce fighting between the two sides, Zhang Biao telegram to Zhang Zhidong to say that the casualties were heavy and ammunition was scarce, and the friendly support was not favorable to Yunyun. At this time, the 6th Division of the main force led by Wang Shizhen himself was also He was about to arrive in Zhengzhou, so Zhang Biao, who saw that the situation was not good, led his troops to retreat south. When he retreated, he didn't even want Xuchang directly. Then he ran to Xinyang with the second town, and then made all kinds of telegrams saying that he would fight to defend Xinyang Yunyun...

After taking Zhengzhou with little effort, Wang Shizhen accepted Xuchang and other places again. After resting for half a month, he led his troops to continue to attack Xinyang in the south.

This time, the Southern Federation was not much better. If they were allowed to deal with the eighth division and the third mixed brigade, they could barely fight. However, when Wang Shizhen also put her direct force, the sixth division, into the third town of the Hunan New Army in the Southern Federation soon couldn't support it and collapsed first, and the flank After the collapse of the third town, Zhang Biao and Li Yuanhong's troops were also in danger, so another big collapse was staged, and this time they fled directly back to Wuhan.

By the end of March, Wang Shizhen had led his troops to officially enter Hubei and prepare to launch a general attack on the three towns of Wuhan, but this time it was different from the previous two. Now Wuhan is the nest of Zhang Zhidong, and it is also the so-called capital of the Southern Federal Empire. It is estimated that it will be very short-off.

In addition, Zhang Zhidong has collected a lot of reinforcements and expanded many troops in recent months. It is said that the southern federal forces deployed around the three towns of Wuhan have reached six towns, claiming that the total strength has exceeded 100,000, and the troops in Hunan, Jiangxi and even Sichuan in the south are still constantly being transferred by Zhang Zhidong. Hubei, but it is not easy to take down Wang Shizhen's current more than 30,000 main forces and 10,000 auxiliary troops trained along the way.

And another major factor is that the Southern Federation also has a navy. When the north and the south were separated, most of the naval ships were thrown to the Southern Federation, especially the Southern Federation's combat ships in the Yangtze River.

Although the three towns in Wuhan have not been taken down, Wang Shizhen has at least taken over the northern part of Hubei. The reputation of the Huguang tour envoy has finally got a little bit, and he also intervened in southern Henan. He not only demanded military expenses but also conscripted on the spot. Although Wang Ruxian, the governor of Henan, is opposed it. But you can only turn a blind eye. If Wang Shizhen doesn't eat the whole Henan directly, it is enough to give you Wang Yingkai's face. As for Wang Ruxian, you are still a little tender if you want to compete for territory. Without Wang Yingkai in the back, it is estimated that you can't keep it in the north of Henan.

Compared with the rapid progress of the second army led by Wang Shizhen, it has made great progress in Hubei. In just three months, half of Henan and half of Hubei territory have been taken down, and Duan Qirui's action is much slower.

The reason is very simple, that is, Duan Qirui went south without railway support. In addition to canal transportation, most of the road relies on walking south. In addition, the situation in Jiangbei and Shandong is still stable. Although the Second and Third Army of the Southern Federation under Duanfang and Tieliang defeated Jiang Guiti in the early stage The Jiang defense army forced Jiang Guiti to retreat to Shandong, but they were unable to go north to Shandong in a short time.

Under the relatively stable situation, Duan Qirui was also busy expanding the army and recruiting troops along the way. Wang Shizhen went south to get an eighth mixed brigade and a civilian regiment of nearly 10,000 troops. Duan Qirui also expanded a mixed brigade, and called him a brother with Jiang Gui, and also got along with Zhang Huaizhi.

Therefore, when Duan Qirui set out from south from Shandong, his first army was relatively strong, and there was no such thing as Wang Shizhen and Wang Ruxian. In February, he officially went south from Shandong to fight in Jiangsu and Anhui. His first army had jurisdiction over its direct fourth division, the second mixed brigade and A so-called fourth division supplementary brigade, although this supplementary brigade calls for the name of the supplementary brigade, it is actually an independently formed mixed brigade.

Then there is the fifth division of Zhang Huaizhi in Shandong and the sixth mixed brigade of Jiang Guiti in Beiyang.

There are a total of two divisions and three mixed brigades, and the strength of the first army is much more than that of the second army commanded by Wang Shizhen.

However, Duan Qirui also faces many troubles. First of all, there is a lack of railways. Logistics materials are very troublesome. They can only rely on canals and people on the road for transportation. Moreover, there are many water networks in the south. Beiyang troops have relatively more heavy equipment. Hundreds of guns of this size are really difficult to transport in the face of the dense water network. Even the other advantage of the North Sea, the 'cavalry', is not easy to use.

At the same time, the war zone that Duan Qirui will face is also relatively large, not only Jiangsu, but also Anhui, which is forced to send troops to Anhui.

However, despite many difficulties, Duan Qirui's desire for territory could not stand. In late February, Duan Qirui led the main force to launch a fierce battle in the second army of Jiangbei and the Southern Federation, that is, the fourth and fifth towns under Tieliang's command.

After nearly half a month of fierce fighting between the two sides, Tieliang's troops suffered great losses and were finally forced to withdraw south. At the same time, Duan Qirui's second mixed brigade sent to Anhui also successfully conquered Bengbu.

With the withdrawal of the Second and Third Armies of the Southern Federation to Nanjing and Zhenjiang, Duan Qirui also actually controlled Jiangbei and northern Anhui.

However, when Duan Qirui was confidently preparing to cross the river to conquer Nanjing and Zhenjiang, he was heavily shelled by the naval ships of the Southern Federation when crossing the river. Duan Qirui also gave up the idea of taking the opportunity to expand the results, and instead digested the existing results and consolidated the territory.

By April 1907, the southern federal army still controlled three towns in Wuhan, Hefei, Chuzhou, Nanjing, Zhenjiang, Nantong and other important stronghold cities in the Yangtze River Basin. The areas north of these cities fell under the control of the Northern Republican Government and were separated by Wang Shizhen, Duan Qirui and others respectively.

In April, after the fierce battle in the past few months, the ammunition and ordnance of the two armies, especially the Northern Republican Army, were almost consumed. For a time, Wang Shizhen and Duan Qirui could not gather enough shells and bullets to launch the next wave of large-scale offensive, so they could only suspend the offensive and turn to a big On a large scale, we purchased ammunition from Fuyuan Machinery Factory, that is, from Zhao Dongyun, and also from major foreign companies to hoard ammunition for the next large-scale fortifications.

It is foreseeable that maybe a month or two later, or maybe three or four months later, after the Beiyang armies have hoarded enough ammunition, they will launch the next wave of large-scale attacks. At that time, it is a question whether the Southern Federation can resist it. Once it resists, it is possible to form a long-term If the north and south are deadlocked, the southern federal empire will be swept into the historical garbage.

Compared with the two major wars in the south, although the wars in Shanxi and Shaanxi are also fighting, they cannot attract the attention of outsiders.