Chapter 1018
An Unbreakable Knot: A Deliberate Retreat Westward!
The Nationalist army in North China was terrified of the "dog-skin hat".
What they feared was not the dog-skin hats, but the Northeast Field Army wearing them. Ever since the dust settled in the Northeast war, the Nationalist army in North China knew that the Northeast Field Army would eventually enter the pass, and the boundless, dog-skin hat-wearing, and mighty Northeast Field Army was the image they feared most.
The current fighting in North China began with the offensive against Zhangjiakou at the end of last month—but so far, the Northeast Field Army has only seen an advance corps.
An advance force of 100,000 men.
But the psychological impact of this 100,000-strong advance force, in conjunction with the People's Liberation Army in North China, on the Nationalist army in North China was beyond imagination!
Not only were they constantly on the defensive, but in a short period of time, more than 100,000 people, including those from the 11th Army Corps and the 35th Army, were either killed or rendered useless.
And this is only the 100,000-strong vanguard force of the Dongye Army!
But now, the Northeast Field Army has arrived.
Not only did they arrive, but they also appeared right under our noses—the three core garrisons of Beiping, Tanggu, and Tianjin, which are connected as one, are about to be cut off and surrounded!
The phrases "cut off" and "encircle" are so familiar; they're used in Northeast China and Xuzhou-Bengbu!
That's how the main force in Northeast China was wiped out, that's how Huang Yi Corps in Xuzhou was wiped out, and Huang Er Corps and Xuzhou Corps probably won't be far behind.
In the past, they thought that their allies were too stupid to be cut off and surrounded.
And now, this "beating" has finally fallen on him...
Considering the combined strength of the Northeast Field Army after entering the pass and the North China People's Liberation Army, and then calculating our own losses—when it was 1.5 against 1, we lost and suffered over 100,000 casualties; now, it's 1 against 2, and we're about to be cut off and surrounded...
It's cold!
Panic was spreading rapidly.
The Sui army generals were terrified, considering the possibility of retreating westward, while the Central Army generals were terrified, considering a retreat southward.
"Retreat south immediately—no! We must first ensure the integration of Beijing, Tianjin, and Tangshan; we absolutely cannot allow the Communist army to encircle us!"
Commander Li, suppressing the turmoil within him, put forward his ideas:
"Abandon all strongholds in North China, retain only the Pingjintang stronghold! Integrate Pingjintang and build a defense circle centered on Tanggu Port. As long as we control the sea outlet, we still have hope of retreating south!"
"Commander Fu, time is of the essence! Please make a decision immediately!"
The greater the defensive depth, the less difficult and stressful the defense will be. If one position is lost, there are other positions behind it to continue the resistance and defense.
A typical example of this is the Soviet army's roller defense.
The previous plan was to build a defensive position with Beiping as the core. Beiping was some distance from Tanggu, so even if the defensive position in Beiping changed hands, it could be gradually retreated and blocked, thus buying enough time for the southward sea evacuation.
But that won't work now. With the Northeast Field Army at the gates, the plan to cut off the Pingjintang area—the Beiping blocking line—has failed. So the only option is to build an integrated blocking line in Pingjintang.
However, this leaves almost no strategic depth, because if you lose a position, the enemy may pour in through that gap, directly cutting off the integrated defensive line, which is tantamount to a de facto severance.
And what accompanies the cutting is the encirclement!
With the Northeast Field Army at the gates, Commander Li believed that the only thing the North China Suppression Headquarters could do now was to first ensure an integrated defense perimeter and guarantee a smooth retreat to the south!
Is there anything wrong with this strategic concept?
Literally speaking, yes, absolutely.
But the crucial knot remains untied:
Between the Central Army and the Suiyuan Army, who will take on the toughest challenge?
Which army, the Central Army or the Suiyuan Army, will retreat south first?
This deadlock remains unresolved even now!
Sure enough, as soon as Commander Li finished speaking, Commander Chen of the Sui Army stood up and said:
"Commander Li is right! Please, Commander Fu, immediately transfer the garrison from Jintang to participate in building an integrated defensive line!"
That's where the problem lies!
The Central Army had always wanted to move south. In previous battles, the main force of the Central Army hid in the Jintang area behind Beiping, leaving very few Miao people in front of Beiping. If there were a large army left to the north and west, would there be any need to send out the mobile 35th Army?
To rescue the 35th Army, it wouldn't have been necessary to only send out two armies. If five, six, seven, or eight armies had been sent out, would there still have been a situation where the 16th Army was completely annihilated along with two divisions, and the commander of the 104th Army was captured?
Now we need to build an integrated defense system, okay!
Your Central Army shouldn't cower and wait to run away; send out your troops first!
The Central Army generals were in an uproar upon hearing this:
"Ridiculous! The troops in the Tianjin-Tangshan area are just waiting for sea transport. Moving them out now would be a waste of time! We should focus on sending troops from Beiping south to make contact!"
The Sui army general slammed his fist on the table and stood up:
"You're being ridiculous! Beiping will inevitably face the main force of the Northeast Army—they'll be sending troops south to coordinate their forces. What if Beiping falls to the Northeast Communists in one battle?!"
What angered the Sui Army generals was that even at this point, the Central Army was still thinking of running away first and making the Sui Army cover their retreat!
The Central Army generals were equally unwilling to back down. If the North China Suppression Headquarters had made a decision earlier, things would not have come to this.
Now you should pay the price for your indecisiveness!
The two sides started arguing again, while several disrespected security force officers were trembling in fear.
The Central Army and the Suiyuan Army banded together, but... banding together was useless!
They all assumed that their ragtag security forces were the only ones who could cover the rear. They weren't loyalists like Zhang Anping, and they had no intention of using their resources to try and stop a chariot.
But... do they even have a say?
No!
Seeing that the two sides were about to engage in a full-blown fight, Fu Huabei, who had finally managed to calm himself down, slammed his fist on the table in anger:
"enough!"
Ultimately, he was the head of the suppression headquarters, and seeing his anger, the others had no choice but to stop arguing.
Fu Huabei stared at Zhang Anping, whose face was equally ashen:
"Do you have any specific information?"
Zhang Anping reported that there were Communist troops here and there, all of them were Communist troops, and all of them were wearing dog-skin hats, but there was no specific number or troop strength information. How could a decision be made?
Zhang Anping shook his head:
"No! After discovering the Communist army's whereabouts, I ordered all regions to increase their reconnaissance efforts, but there has been no reply yet. Commander Fu, whether it's the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, the Party Communications Bureau, or the Second Bureau, all the stations and groups in North China have suffered very serious damage during this period. Almost all the stations and groups in the occupied areas have been wiped out, so intelligence gathering may be very slow."
Fu Huabei wanted to blame Zhang Anping, but the words wouldn't come out.
Zhang Anping finally delivered the intelligence that the Northeast Field Army was at the city gates, but what about the garrisons in various places?
There's still no news!
Especially the Air Force...
"Communicate with the troops stationed in various places. If there aren't enough manpower, transfer reconnaissance soldiers from the local garrisons! In any case, we must find out the PLA's unit designation and troop strength as soon as possible!"
"Yes!"
"Air Force, deploy all aircraft! Bombers, fighters, and transport planes alike! I need to know exactly how many Communist troops there are—also, have the air force in the Qingdao area send reconnaissance aircraft to assist!"
Fu Huabei glared fiercely at the air force generals, "Look what you air force officers have done!!"
To be honest, Fu Huabei was really frustrated. He was extremely famous for his city defense operations and was always highly praised for his defensive tactics during the War of Resistance.
This battle is incredibly frustrating.
He heard that he had nearly 600,000 troops under his command, but the majority of them were central troops who were all scheming and couldn't be mobilized at all.
And the intelligence system...
Fu Huabei glanced at Zhang Anping again, unsure of what to say. He didn't deny Zhang Anping's abilities, but the intelligence system, like the military system, was riddled with factions and self-interest. Zhang Anping's tenure was ultimately too short. In war, supplies are paramount, and "supplies" here refers not only to logistics but also to intelligence.
But now?
All they knew was that the Communist army was everywhere, and that the Communist army wanted to cut off Pingjintang, but they were completely in the dark about which side was the main force, which side was a decoy, and which side was an ambush!
Under these circumstances, even if he changed his stance and retreated south, he wouldn't dare to easily send troops out.
With the examples of the 104th Army and the 16th Army right before our eyes, what if we send out troops from Beiping without knowing the enemy situation, only to end up in a trap?
With the 11th Army Corps trapped, his own 35th Army trapped, the 13th Army rendered useless, the main force of the 16th Army rendered useless, and the 104th Army gone, he really dared not "send" any more lives.
Thinking of this, Fu Huabei said in a deep voice:
"Send a telegram to Nanjing, reporting our strategic predicament and letting Nanjing make a decision! Also, tell Nanjing that North China is currently lacking everything!"
"The hundreds of thousands of troops in North China are in imminent danger. I urge you all to immediately return to your posts and prepare for battle. Once we ascertain the enemy's situation, I urge you all, for the sake of the Party and the country, to set aside your prejudices and join forces to fight against the Communist army!"
Although Fu Huabei had not made a final decision at this time, everyone knew that this final decision would not be easy. Secondly, without a clear understanding of the situation, it would be easy to repeat the mistakes of the 104th and 16th Armies if troops were sent out rashly. Therefore, they agreed with Fu Huabei's decision at this time.
As the meeting adjourned, Li and Shi solemnly gave Zhang Anping some instructions:
"Director Zhang, an army marches on its stomach, and intelligence is of paramount importance—before dawn tomorrow, no matter the cost, we must find out the current situation of the Communist army, without fail!"
"Yes!"
Zhang Anping naturally wouldn't refuse and solemnly agreed.
After the meeting.
Zhang Anping quickly left the General Headquarters building. After getting into the car, Zheng Yi signaled the driver to start the car, but Zhang Anping stopped him.
He silently counted down the time, and only when he felt it was almost time did he let the driver drive away. Just as Zheng Yi and the driver were wondering why Zhang Anping was doing this, a car pulled up alongside, rolled down the window, and revealed Commander Yuan's tired face.
Old Yuan's words were quite tragic; two divisions of his 16th Army were gone...
Seeing this, Zhang Anping signaled the driver to slow down and roll down the window:
"Commander Yuan, is there something you need?"
Commander Yuan nodded: "Follow me!"
His car then sped up, and Zhang Anping signaled to the driver to follow.
They followed them to a military camp—undoubtedly the headquarters of the Central Army.
Meanwhile, convoys of cars began to appear one after another in the military camp.
It was obvious that the generals of the Central Army were going to hold a private meeting—a meeting that had previously been closed to Zhang Anping. Now, through Yuan's command, they had finally "invited" Zhang Anping into this "circle."
Zhang Anping's expression remained solemn, but he was secretly amused. "If you're so capable, then don't call me at all!"
As he got off the bus, Zhang Anping glanced in the direction of the General Headquarters for the Suppression of the Japanese Army for some inexplicable reason.
If the Central Army generals want to hold private meetings, how could the Sui Army possibly lag behind?
……
Yes, the Sui Army will absolutely not "fall behind".
In fact, after leaving the General Headquarters for the Suppression of the Southern Expeditionary Army, the convoy of the Sui Army generals tacitly headed towards Fu Huabei's official residence.
Once inside the official residence, a quick inventory revealed that all the Sui Army generals qualified to convene a military affairs meeting were present at the residence!
They waited a short while before Fu Huabei appeared.
Everyone followed Fu Huabei in unison and appeared in the conference room of the official residence.
"Commander Fu, the Central Army cannot be trusted! They still want us to be cannon fodder!"
"Yes, even now, they still want to use us as cannon fodder—retreating south is not feasible! Absolutely not feasible!"
In fact, the Sui army generals had all wavered before.
Suiyuan is too poor!
Having seen the glamorous world of Beiping, what's the point of being demoted back to Suiyuan?
With troops at your command, you're king wherever you go!
But they eventually came to the realization that the Central Army had always intended to use them as cannon fodder.
At this critical juncture, they still want to use them as cannon fodder.
If they really retreat south, even if they win the fierce battle of resistance, how many soldiers will they have left after the battle is over?
Besides, can this defensive battle really be won?
It's important to know that Zhang Anping has already given them the answer:
Tanggu Port's shipping capacity is limited to transporting less than 20,000 people per day at most!
But the fact is that the previous relief force to Xuzhou, numbering tens of thousands, dragged its feet for four days—and that was with Zhang Anping, the head of the secret service, in charge!
To hold off the Northeast Field Army for at least two months—what a joke!
Even if the blocking operation is successful, how many soldiers would be left if they managed to escape south by car and boat under the pursuit of the People's Liberation Army?
After retreating south, what's the point of the chief aide fulfilling his promise to return the money to them when they have no soldiers or guns?
Moreover, given that they have no soldiers or guns and the chief sergeant doesn't have a good reputation, would he really return the money to them?
In the end, it was all for naught!
Therefore, at this moment, the Sui army generals reached a consensus:
Retreat south—get lost!
There is only one way out: retreat westward!
Facing his core subordinates who had finally come to terms with reality, Fu Huabei secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time couldn't help but inwardly resent Zhang Anping:
If it weren't for Zhang Anping's interference, how could my trusted confidants have been swayed!
That damn spy!
"Since everyone agrees that the only option is to retreat westward, then let's prepare for that retreat!"
Fu Huabei finally spoke:
"Next, our army must strengthen the defense along the line west of Beiping and Mentougou, and must preserve this westward retreat route!"
"In addition, draft another telegram to Nanjing, informing them that the current situation is entirely due to the incompetence of the intelligence system, which led me to misjudge the timing of the Northeast Field Army's entry into the pass—I will not hold them responsible, but Nanjing must make a decision as soon as possible."
"Inquire with Nanjing to see if they can fight the Communist army to the death in North China! If Nanjing is willing to do so, I will lead my troops to defend to the death and wait for Nanjing to organize sea transport to move the main force from the south of the Yangtze River to the north!"
A decisive battle in North China?
The Sui army generals were dumbfounded. What a joke!
The time before last, we wanted to have a decisive battle in the Northeast, but the Tashan Mountains, which have no mountains, became an insurmountable barrier!
Last time, they wanted to fight a decisive battle in Xuzhou, but Nianzhuangwei was just a stone's throw away. However, the Xuzhou Corps could not break through the Communist army's blocking line, which eventually led to the annihilation of the Huang First Corps. Subsequently, the Huang Second Corps was trapped in Shuangduiji, and the Xuzhou Corps withdrew and returned, and finally got trapped in Chenguanzhuang.
Now, do you still want a final battle?
Commander Chen reminded:
"Commander Fu, Nanjing will never agree to a decisive battle in North China!"
Fu Huabei smiled slightly:
"Yes, Nanjing would never agree to a decisive battle in North China."
"But……"
"As a key member of the Party and the State, haven't I done more than enough?"
This statement made the Sui Army generals present realize something.
Yes, in this way, Commander Fu, as the person in charge of the North China Suppression Headquarters, has indeed done his utmost. When the time comes, those who retreat south will retreat south, and those who retreat west will retreat west. Who can say "no" then?
"Should we then prepare Suiyuan?"
Fu Huabei replied without hesitation, "That's the way to do it—send an order to our hometown in Suiyuan to immediately train the troops and prepare for an eastward advance to provide support!"
Retreat westward!
The Sui army is now fully prepared to withdraw westward.
[You've used my Suiyuan Army as cannon fodder!] (End of Chapter)