Chapter 305 Unknown Enemy

Haizhou, this place can also be regarded as a thousand-year-old ancient city. Although it cannot be compared with ancient famous cities such as Xianyang, Bianjing and Luoyang, it can barely match the edge of the word 'ancient'.

It's just that there are countless prefectures and counties in contemporary China. There are no ancient cities with a thousand years of history. If there are no special events, it is not easy for people to remember these small towns.

The name of Haizhou has frequently appeared in the mouths and articles of Soviet military and political dignitaries.

In the report submitted to the Secretariat by the Ministry of Transport of the Cabinet, he said: "A few days ago, when I learned that the military plans to build a port and Haizhou, I sent personnel to inquire about the coastal areas of Haizhou and learned that the mountains and rivers 60 kilometers east of Haizhou Prefecture are deep and there are no waves. There was originally a small port in this place, which can be urgently used for a little repair, but it is a long-term plan and should be imitated. The regulations of Ludao and Yingkou are essential for the expansion of the ports.

Originally, it should have nothing to do with the military taking over Haizhou to build a port, but no matter what the port was planned for, it is now for military use, but in the future, it will not be returned to civilian use, so it is reasonable for the Ministry of Communications to rush to send people to coordinate. .

In order to prepare for the establishment of Haizhou, a maritime supply and transshipment center, in addition to sending the 19th Brigade to prepare for the land, in fact, more actions are carried out in the rear.

In early September, as soon as the maritime supply plan was adopted, many departments of the command department were jointly dispatched, including the Transportation Department of the General Staff Department, the Ship Department of the Ordnance Department, the Shipping Department of the Quartermaster Department, and the Naval Department jointly dispatched a technical team of more than 50 people for the work of the Haizhou Supply and Transfer Center.

It is not so easy to carry out large-scale maritime transportation. In addition to preparing maritime ships, it is also necessary to carry out urgent temporary expansion of small ports in Haizhou and add port equipment. Otherwise, the small fish ports in Haizhou can not swallow much material.

However, the emergency expansion of Haizhou port is not a big problem, because the Feng army did not intend to turn this Haizhou into a real military port, or even intend to turn it into a large-scale civil port. It only requires Haizhou to be able to normally supply the supplies for the Feng army to fight in northern Jiangsu in the next few months.

Although the military combat consumption in this era is very large, it is still not compared with that during World War II. Otherwise, the Japanese army would not have launched many landing operations at the same time during the Russo-Japanese War. When the Japanese army landed on the Liaodong Peninsula, the troops that besieged Lushun and the troops going north to Fengtian in the early stage The supply needed can be transported by those small ports that depend on the landing site.

The same is true for Fengjun. As long as the port of Haizhou can berth small and medium-sized ships sailing along the coast, but I have never thought of mooring tens of thousands of large ships in Haizhou.

It's just that these things are the matter of those people in the command, which has nothing to do with Wu Peifu. His current task is to take Haizhou. As for how to deal with those people who took over Haizhou, it is their business.

Outside Haizhou, Wu Peifu withdrew his eyes from the map: "How is the situation?"

Although the Intelligence Office of the Command Department has sent Haizhou-related information to Wu Peifu, saying that there are not many enemy troops in the state and Ganyu County and Muyang County, which should be only about one regiment. At present, the strength of the Anhui army in northern Jiangsu can be said to be strong, but the strength does not mean that the Anhui army can station thousands of people anywhere.

According to the investigation of the Intelligence Department of the Military Command, the main force of the Anhui Army is currently stationed in Xuzhou, including the fourth division personally led by Duan Qirui. In addition, secondary troops are stationed in Suqian and Qingjiangpu. The whole line of defense is generally arranged along the direction of the Beijing-Han Grand Canal. Among them, Xuzhou is the bridgehead, and Suqian and Qingjiangpu are the side defense line. In the northern part of Anhui in the southwest of Xuzhou, Zhang Huaizhi's nearly 10,000 Lu troops stationed in Suzhou.

The width of the joint defense line of the Anhui and Lu armies in Huaibei and northern Jiangsu is more than 200 kilometers. It is naturally impossible to deploy troops everywhere in such a long battlefield. It is basically a major defense, that is, to deploy defense in important cities, and several major strongholds have formed a whole line of defense.

From this, we can see the important role of Xuzhou in this defense line. Xuzhou is not only a bridgehead, but also the backbone of this defense line. Once Xuzhou is lost, it means that this defense line is divided into two. Later, the Lu army can only defend Huaibei alone, and the Anhui army can only retreat to the Qingjiangpu area.

The Anhui army went north to Xuzhou and regarded Xuzhou as a bridgehead, but did not invest much energy in Yizhou in the northeast of Xuzhou and Haizhou in the east. It is not that the Anhui army could not capture it in advance, but that after Duan Qirui was ready in Xuzhou, the Feng army had gone south in Shandong. In just a few days, it was Lianke Yanzhou and other large areas in southern Shandong. In the face of the fierce Feng army, Duan Qirui did not dare to easily divide his troops to the north.

As for Haizhou, that area was purely abandoned by Duan Qirui!

The reason is very simple, that is, the supply line is too far!

These days, not only the Feng army is troubled by supply problems, but also by other warlord forces, especially the Anhui army. In the operations in northern Jiangsu, its logistics supply relies heavily on water networks such as the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. You can see from Duan Qirui's deployment of the northern Jiangsu defense line that they are basically along the canal. Deploy the defense line.

From Yangzhou to Qingjiangpu, and then to Suqian and Xuzhou, the roads are all areas with smooth canals, and the Anhui troops in the above-mentioned places can use the canal to get a large number of supplies in a timely manner.

If the Anhui army leaves the above places and throws its brain into Haizhou, it is equivalent to taking the initiative to give up the advantage of logistical supplies. At that time, like the Feng army south of Shandong, it is estimated that it will fight with bullets.

Moreover, Haizhou is not an important industrial base. With great financial resources, Duan Qirui casually sent a group to Haizhou to respond to the scene.

The real main force of the Anhui army gathered on the front line of Xuzhou, preparing to fight against the second army of the Feng army from the south of Shandong and the first army from Shangqiu.

If it hadn't been for the establishment of a maritime supply center, it would not have sent an entire 19th brigade to Haizhou. After arriving in Haizhou, Wu Peifu found that the Anhui army opposite was not stupid and knew that he would concentrate his troops to stay in one place and would not give himself a chance to break down.

"The number has been found out. It is a regiment of the 5th Division of the Liangjiang Army!"

After hearing the fifth division of Liangjiang Army, Wu Peifu frowned: "What's going on? Isn't their fifth division in Jiangxi?

Compared with the number of the Southern Federal Forces, the number is unclear and the system is messy. The number and establishment of several major warlords in the North Ocean are generally relatively regular. Although the combat effectiveness is strong and weak, the number of the troops is generally relatively regular. Not to mention that the Feng army occupies the central army number, paragraph Except for the fourth division and the second mixed brigade used by the central army, most of the other troops are prefixed with the 'Two River Army'. Through recruitment, new formation and other means, there are a total of the first division of the Liangjiang Army to the sixth. In addition, there are several mixed brigades with local provincial prefixes, such as Jiangbei. Mixed brigade, the first mixed brigade in Zhejiang, the first mixed brigade in Jiangxi, etc.

And the movements of these troops are also the focus of the Fengjun Intelligence Office. According to the intelligence office, the two fifth divisions of the Jiang Army were still fighting in Jiangxi and the Southern Federation half a month ago. Even if Duan Qirui immediately transferred the troops north at that time, even if it was transported by inland river without railway, except The fifth division flew over with wings, otherwise it would not have arrived in Haizhou in northern Jiangsu so soon.

"Can you confirm that it is the fifth division of Liangjiang?" Wu Peifu asked.

"It's indeed their fifth division!"

Wu Peifu muttered that the officials of the intelligence office were all rice buckets. He also said that there were no enemy troops in Haizhou, only thousands of miscellaneous cards, but now a fifth division of the two rivers emerged. Although there was only one regiment in front of them, who knew if there were many fifth divisions in the back.

However, although we were surprised by the identity of the enemy, we still had to continue to fight. Wu Peifu said, "Report the news of the enemy's fifth division, and then prepare the artillery battalion, and we will launch an attack in the afternoon!"

Humph, if it is the whole fifth division of Liangjiang, Wu Peifu may be more cautious. After all, even if the combat effectiveness of the Liangjiang Army is poor, it is also troublesome for more than 10,000 people. After all, although his 19th Brigade is assigned to the division's artillery battalion, its strength is only more than 5,000.

But there is only one regiment on the opposite side, and there is no heavy fire support, so Wu Peifu is not going to be cautious in front of such an enemy.

In the afternoon, under the bombardment of 16 field guns of the 2nd Artillery Battalion of the 10th Artillery Regiment and six 120mm mortars of the 19th Brigade, Wu Peifu commanded the infantry of the 19th Brigade to launch an attack, and the attack was quite smooth. That night, the 19th Brigade had announced its complete capture of the city. Wu Peifu At night, I lived directly in Haizhou City.

After the first infantry regiment of the 5th division of the engarrising enemy army could not resist, except for a small number of casualties and surrender, most of them fled south. Although Wu Peifu wanted to pursue, the night came, and his task was not to kill and injure many enemies, but to control Haizhou and then continue east to control coastal ports, so Let the Anhui infantry regiment escape thousands of people smoothly.

It's just that Wu Peifu's side went smoothly, but several generals in the command of the Beijing Division frowned a little.

"The fifth division of Liangjiang appeared in Subei. Why didn't there be any news before!" Fang Biyong was a little angry: "Mr. An, your intelligence office spends tens of thousands of funds there every month. Can't you notice such a big thing?"

An Yu was silent and did not speak, and he also cursed Duan Qirui in his heart. Duan Qirui must have made a confusing means and secretly pulled off the troops from the Jiangxi front line to the north to go north.

"Now there is another fifth division, so that the Anhui army will exceed 70,000 in northern Jiangsu!" Shi Yanglin also frowned: "Although the combat office also expected that the enemy will be reinforced, the current variables may exceed expectations!"

"A fifth division is nothing. I'm afraid that the relevant information of the Anhui army has been fooled by Duan Qirui before. How many enemy troops are there in Xuzhou now? Where is Duan Qirui's fourth division? What direction are the other divisions of Liangjiang? Fang Biyong looked at An Yutong again.

An Yutong was also asked a little stunned. To be honest, now he really dares not guarantee how many enemy troops there are in Xuzhou. Even whether Duan Qirui's fourth division is still in Xuzhou, there is a question mark in his heart.

But on today's occasion, he can't say anything, otherwise his head of the intelligence department won't want to go now.

So he bravely said, "According to our spy reports, there are currently the first and second divisions of the Liangjiang Army and the fourth division led by Duan Qirui in Xuzhou!"

He said so, but Fang Biyong and Shi Yanglin already have doubts and dare not believe the intelligence of the Intelligence Department!

When this matter was reported to Zhao Dongyun, Zhao Dongyun also frowned. Although he didn't believe what Duan Qirui would play, in accordance with the principle of caution, he said, "The enemy ahead is unclear. I think Xuzhou should still be stable."