Chapter 31 Tang Enbo's Calculation

Tang Enbo, commander of the 31st Army of the National Revolutionary Army, urged his men to rush towards the Tang River at full speed.

His command included three divisions from the 85th Army, three divisions from the 13th Army, and over 200,000 troops gathered from various regions during the past year of the war.

A few days prior, when the Japanese forces attacked, he retreated without authorization, disregarding the orders of Li Zongren, commander of the Fifth War Area, fearing being entangled by the enemy.

This led to the Japanese occupation of Nanyang City.

However, the 31st Army was now at the forefront of the Fifth War Area's operations.

This was exactly what Chiang Kai-shek wanted: the 31st Army was his direct lineage, and although the Japanese forces trapped in the Tang River consisted of a single division,

that division had lost its initial vigor. Most importantly, this division was isolated in the Tang River, with no Japanese reinforcements nearby.

This presented the best opportunity to annihilate the Japanese 13th Infantry Division.

Chiang Kai-shek wanted to entrust this opportunity to his own trusted forces at all costs.

The reason was simple: having his own direct lineage accomplish the groundbreaking feat of annihilating a Japanese division would greatly enhance his personal prestige.

Tang Enbo was also aware of this, which was why he was diligently urging the 85th Army to speed up and reach the Tang River first.

Outside the Tang River, Zhang Yingjiu, commander of the 38th Division, was venting his anger at Zhang Zizhong: "Commander! We could have attacked long ago, so why must we surround the city without attacking?"

Zhang Zizhong understood the situation but couldn't explain it to his subordinates, so he simply said, "This is an order issued after comprehensive consideration by the Military Commission.

Our focus is only on the Tang River, but the higher-ups are considering the overall situation of the war!

We will fight as we are told!

We will fight when we are told!"

"But! Opportunities are fleeting!" Commander Zhang Yingjiu still wanted to argue his case.

"This time is different. With Lin Fan's Special Operations Brigade guarding the perimeter and their planes watching from the sky,

the Japanese forces trapped in the Tang River have no way to escape," Zhang Zizhong said with confidence.

"Sigh!" Zhang Yingjiu didn't believe that his commander couldn't see the President's (Chiang Kai-shek's) little game. Since the commander wouldn't say it,

he couldn't persuade him any further. He could only order his soldiers to continue digging trenches to trap the Japanese inside.

Thus, two identical scenes unfolded around the Tang River: the Japanese forces trapped in the city were digging trenches to prevent the Nationalist army from attacking,

while the Nationalist army outside the city was also digging trenches to prevent the Japanese from breaking out.

Although the 59th Army was not allowed to launch a direct attack, its artillery bombardment of the Japanese forces never stopped.

The Special Operations Brigade's daytime strafing runs against the Japanese planes in the Tang River also continued without pause.

Lin Fan's goal was to keep the Japanese forces in a state of constant unrest, day and night.

He already knew about the order prohibiting the 59th Army from attacking without permission and understood Chiang Kai-shek's intentions.

Lin Fan was not dissatisfied with this arrangement.

On the contrary, aside from Chiang Kai-shek's desire for personal gain, allowing the 31st Army to engage in a beautiful annihilation battle with the Japanese would be very beneficial to the 31st Army.

After all, this was the true elite of the Nationalist army. During the Battle of Taierzhuang, this was the unit that delivered the final blow to the Japanese.

Tang Enbo was a capable commander, but his deep-rooted desire to preserve his strength was well-known.

He was truly one who would not release an eagle until he saw a rabbit, and even then, he would only strike with full force when there was absolutely no danger.

"This time! I'll give you a hand!" Lin Fan thought.

He searched the map and finally found a location.

He specially invited Zhang Zizhong to Huyang Town and explained his battle plan.

Zhang Zizhong was stunned: "Brother Lin! Are you planning a major counterattack against the Japanese?"

Lin Fan smiled and said, "That depends on the strength of the Nationalist army! It's unrealistic to launch a counterattack against the Japanese with just one Special Operations Brigade.

If we can completely annihilate the Japanese 13th Division in the Tang River this time, we can seize the momentum and drive out all the Japanese forces between the Han River, the Huai River, and the Pinghan Railway.

Then, the Nationalist army will attack eastward, and the Jiangbei Detachment of the Special Operations Brigade will attack westward, driving away the Japanese forces in the middle.

This way, the Japanese North China Front Army and the Central China Expeditionary Army will only be able to fight separately.

The Nationalist army north of the Yangtze River can then join forces with the Jiangbei Detachment to block the Yangtze River around Anqing and Wuhu.

Then, we can concentrate our forces to annihilate the Japanese 11th Army.

Next, we will recover Nanjing and Shanghai, and finally, we will gather the strength of the entire army and move north to drive the Japanese out directly.

We will enter Goguryeo, go to sea from there, and land on the Japanese mainland."

"You even want to land on the Japanese mainland?" Zhang Zizhong was shocked.

"Of course! Are the Japanese allowed to invade our land, but we are not allowed to set foot on Japanese soil?

There is no such logic in the world!" Lin Fan said with a smile.

Zhang Zizhong thought for a while and said, "This plan is too big. It's not something I can decide alone.

I need to present this battle plan to the Chairman (Chiang Kai-shek) in person."

Lin Fan smiled and said, "No matter what the Chairman says, the Special Operations Brigade is determined to capture Xinyang."

"Brother Lin has great ambition!" Zhang Zizhong said with envy.

He truly envied Lin Fan's strength, which allowed him to attack wherever he wanted.

The 59th Army did not yet have such strength and could only play a supporting role.

Lin Fan said, "I will withdraw the two regiments surrounding the Tang River. Will it be a problem for your troops to replace them?"

"No problem! The Japanese forces in Tang River County have been bombarded by us continuously for three days and nights, and they are already exhausted.

The Japanese 13th Infantry Division can no longer cause any trouble.

The Special Operations Brigade has also cut off the Japanese reinforcements from the south in Huyang, and you will be attacking all the way from the Tongbai Mountains on the east side.

You have blocked the two possible routes for Japanese reinforcements.

We definitely have no problem."

Lin Fan nodded. "The Special Operations Brigade's air force is still at Qian Tian Huang Village. The liaison team I placed in the military headquarters will continue to maintain contact with the air force.

Call the aviation brigade directly when needed.

They will also fly over the Tang River on their way to bomb Xinyang every day.

You can rest assured about this, Commander Zhang."

Zhang Zizhong was a little embarrassed. "If there were no orders from the Chairman, we could have finished this battle in the past two days."

Lin Fan smiled and said, "Everyone knows what the Chairman is thinking!

However, the fact that the 31st Army can participate in the Tang River encirclement battle will greatly boost the morale of 200,000 soldiers, so these extra days of waiting will not be in vain."

Zhang Zizhong smiled and said, "That's true. The War of Resistance is a matter for the entire nation and the entire army. No matter how strong one or two units are, they cannot win the final victory."

The two then began to discuss the specific issues of the two armies' handover of the defense line.

Cao Junde, commander of the 7th Regiment, and Su Ruifeng, commander of the 8th Regiment, were told that their defense line would be handed over to the 59th Army.

Their two regiments' mission was to capture Xinyang and prepare to hold it.

Both regimental commanders were excited. They knew that Xinyang was a junction of railways and highways.

It was a transportation hub, difficult to attack and even more difficult to defend.

If they could really capture this place, completely cutting off the Pinghan Railway, the connection between the Japanese North China Front Army and the Central China Expeditionary Army would be severed.

The supplies for the Japanese forces north of the Yangtze River would then have to rely entirely on shipping. Following the Brigade Commander's plan:

The Nationalist army would be able to annihilate all the Japanese forces in this area by advancing south from Xinyang.

Zhang Zizhong returned to Qian Tian Huang Village and immediately took a plane to Chongqing to meet with Chiang Kai-shek and report Lin Fan's point-to-surface operational plan in person.

In addition to the ideas provided by Lin Fan, the actual operability of this plan was very high.

The plan proposed by Lin Fan was actually a counter-offensive plan.

A counter-offensive was something Chiang Kai-shek dreamed of launching as soon as possible. He had always believed that the war had already entered a stage of strategic stalemate.

He had not expected that he could counter-attack the Japanese so soon.

However, in the Jianghan Plain, two Japanese infantry divisions and one cavalry brigade had been completely annihilated in half a month.

The annihilation of another Japanese infantry division was also imminent.

The strength of the Japanese forces in this triangular area between the Han River, the Huai River, and the Pinghan Railway had already been reduced by 70 to 80 percent.

After completely annihilating the Japanese 13th Division entrenched in the Tang River, a counter-offensive could indeed be launched in this area.

Thinking about how the Nationalist army had been forced to almost abandon this area by the Japanese forces a few days ago and had already prepared to fight guerrilla warfare,

and how the Nationalist army had recovered Nanyang in these days and continuously sent Japanese brigade commander-level and regimental commander-level officers to Chongqing,

greatly increasing his prestige and, at the same time, increasing his say in the international community,

thinking of this, he immediately summoned his deputy chief of staff, Bai Chongxi.

Pointing to the map, he explained the plan that Zhang Zizhong had just outlined.

After listening, Bai Chongxi immediately said, "Chairman, this plan is feasible! Taking it step by step, as long as we take things one step at a time and are not too eager to achieve success,

this plan has a high probability of success."