Chapter 105: Battle of Shanghai (25)

The Marine Corps in Shanghai, the Third Navy Fleet was wiped out, and the former commander Colonel Maeda Toshio was killed. The First Navy Marine Corps responsible for reinforcements was surrounded and suffered heavy losses. Faced with the emergency of the Third Fleet Commander Hasegawa Kiyoshi, Japan held an emergency meeting overnight and decided to formally form the Shanghai Expeditionary Force, appointing General Matsui Ishione, who had been converted into a reserve service, as the commander of the Shanghai Expeditionary Force, and led the Third Army, and the 11th Division immediately reinforced Shanghai.

Matsui Ishione is recognized by the Japanese military as an expert in the battle against China and a provocative battle. He is also an active promoter of Japan's "Greater Asianism" and has always advocated the conquest of China by force.

The task assigned by the military headquarters to the Shanghai Expeditionary Army was: "Sweep away the enemy troops near Shanghai, occupy their important places, and protect the lives of Shanghai expatriates." This order limited the combat scope of the Shanghai Expeditionary Army to the surrounding areas of Shanghai. However, after receiving the appointment, Matsui Ishione found Navy Minister Mine and Army Minister Moto Sugiyama, as soon as he was given five divisions, he would be sure to attack Nanjing.

In one day, the 20th Independent Brigade conquered the Neon Army Marine Corps Command of Hongkou Park and Huishan Wharf, killing nearly 3,000 enemies, and clearing the enemy in the city. However, the victory of the 20th Independent Brigade did not reverse the decline of the national offensive. The 87th Division could not capture the Neon Army in Jiangwan Town and the 88th Division could not capture the Neon Army in Yangshupu for a long time, but instead caused great casualties. The 61st Division, which was responsible for defending the flanks of Wusongkou, collapsed across the entire line under the fierce attack of the 101st Division of the Neon Army. A part of the 101st Division bypassed the 36th Division, which was blocking the front, crossed Yunzaogang in Gongjiazhai, occupied Hulin, and surrounded the 36th Division and the 259th Brigade of the 87th Division.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Zhang Zhizhong hurriedly ordered the 36th Division and the 259th Brigade of the 87th Division to retreat to the front line of Miaoxing. The 101th Division commander rushed in and defeated the 261st Brigade of the 87th Division surrounding Jiangwan Town in one fell swoop, the 262nd Brigade of the 88th Division surrounding Yangshupu, and met with the First Special Marine Corps of the Navy, which was fighting to the death. The Ninth Army implemented the plan of dividing and surrounding each defeat, except for the 20th Independent Brigade completing the tasks in the city, others were declared bankrupt.

The next day, the newly formed 15th Army arrived in Shanghai. The 98th Division and the 11th Division of the 18th Army of the 15th Army replaced the 87th Division and the 88th Division respectively to launch an attack on Jiangwan Town and Yangshupu. However, as the 101st Division of the Neon Army and the 1st Special Marine Corps of the Neon Army had already joined forces, their strength had increased greatly, and the Neon Army naval warships re-entered the Huangpu River under the cover of naval aviation, the 15th Army's offense had not made any progress.

"Xipi." After hearing Qian Dajun, the director of the attendant's first room, read the front-line battle report sent back by Zhang Zhizhong, Chiang Kai-shek angrily smashed the glass in his hand.

"The Sixty-first Division is incompetent, and the Guangdong Army is incompetent." Chiang Kai-shek cursed.

The battle situation was in a deadlock, and the Ninth Army naturally put all the blame on the 61st Division, which was not the Central Military System. The 61st Division was originally from the 19th Route Army, but was transferred to Anhui after the Fujian Incident. During this Battle of Songhu, the 61st Division and the 36th Division were transferred to Shanghai to command Zhang Zhizhong of the Ninth Army. It should be said that the 61st Division was quite active, and arrived in Shanghai earlier than the 36th Division. And as soon as it arrived, it was put into the task of guarding Wusong. Unfortunately, the equipment was too poor. In the 101st Division of the Neon Army, there were heavy casualties and were first to be broken through, causing the entire battle situation to be passive.

"The 61st Division was abolished, and the division commander Yang Bufei was dismissed. All officers involved were sent to the Military Law Department for legal action." Chiang Kai-shek raised his voice and ordered the Minister of Military Affairs He Yingqin.

He Yingqin could only smile bitterly. He knew Chiang Kai-shek very well. Although the National Government started in Guangzhou, Chairman Chiang had never had any good feelings for the Guangdong army. From pacifying Chen Jiongming's rebellion to fighting Xu Chongzhi, Chairman Chiang started his career in the struggle with the Guangdong army warlords. Moreover, after moving the capital to Nanjing, Deng Yanda established the Third Party, the Fujian Incident of the 19th Route Army, and the Guangdong-Guangdong Incident between Chen Jitang and Li Zongren made Chiang Kai-shek hate the Guangdong army. Zhang Zhizhong handed over the Sixty-first Division at this time, which was undoubtedly the best scapegoat.

Of course, He Yingqin, who is in line with Chiang Kai-shek's interests, would never plead for the 61st Division at this time. After pondering for a moment, he asked, "Chairman, how should the remaining troops of the 61st Division be handled? Will it be merged into the 87th Division nearby?"

Although the number is cancelled, the soldiers are all valuable resources. Wang Jingjiu, the commander of the 87th Division, is a He Sect leader. Of course, He Yingqin will be cheaper for such a good thing.

Chiang Kai-shek frowned slightly and shook his head. In addition to reporting that the 61st Division had collapsed across the board, causing the three neon troops to meet and the battle situation was stalemate, he also reported that the 20th Independent Brigade captured the Neon Marine Corps Command and Huishan Wharf in one fell swoop, annihilated more than 3,000 enemies, and cleared the Neon troops in the city.

This news still made Chiang Kai-shek deeply pleased. More importantly, Shen Xiuwen was not only from Huangpu, but also from his fellow villager, and also the younger brother of his direct descendant Shen Xiude. If Shen Xiuwen had not been in a low-level qualifications and young age, and had been promoted to brigade commander in just a few days, Chiang Kai-shek would have been likely to have awarded him the rank of major general in an extraordinary way. However, the 20th Independent Brigade won the only big victory on the battlefield of Songhu, and the reward was necessary. Since it was not suitable to be promoted to Shen Xiuwen, then expand his strength.

Based on this mentality, Chiang Kai-shek rejected He Yingqin's proposal and reduced the remaining troops of the former 61st Division into a regiment and incorporated them into the 20th Independent Brigade. The 20th Independent Brigade was upgraded to the A-Terminal Brigade, with three regiments under its jurisdiction. The candidate for the regiment command was appointed by Shen Xiuwen and submitted to the Ministry of Military Affairs for filing.

He Yingqin immediately understood when he heard this order. Lao Jiang was trying to deliberately cultivate his fellow villager. The two brothers of the Shen family seemed to be incredible. Although Shen Xiude had a teacher-student relationship with him, he only Lao Jiang followed him and never intervened in any faction. It seemed that this brother should win over as soon as possible, at least he could not turn to Chen Cheng's camp. After coming out of Qilu, He Yingqin made a secret decision in his heart.

"The heroic brigade commander Shen is young and has a limitless future. In addition to reducing the remaining headquarters of the 61st Division to the 42nd Regiment and merged into the 20th Independent Brigade, Minister He personally ordered the allocation of 500 newly produced official rifles and 100,000 bullets to the Gongxian Arsenal. In addition, there is a new Jiangxi regiment heading to Shanghai. It turned out to be a supplement to the 87th and 88th Divisions. Now a battalion is being allocated to supplement your 20th Independent Brigade." Deputy Director Ma of the Military Affairs Department of the Ministry of Military Affairs said to Shen Xiuwen with a smile. Then he deliberately lowered his voice and said, "Brig Commander Shen, these two were specially explained by Minister He himself."

The 20th Independent Brigade was upgraded to the A-level Brigade, and Chen Xiuwen had already received a telegram from the General Command of the Group Army two days ago. Unexpectedly, the Ministry of Military Affairs would send a major general and deputy director to his brigade headquarters today to read out the orders of the Ministry of Military Affairs. He also supplemented the recruits and weapons and equipment.

After hearing Deputy Director Ma's words, Chen Xiuwen finally understood in his heart that it was the boss of the Ministry of Military Affairs who wanted to win over him. The eldest brother Chen Xiude had already introduced him to the country and even the factions in the Central Army. Mr. He from the Ministry of Military Affairs is undoubtedly the greatest power in the Central Army. Even Chiang Kai-shek had to guard against him, so he promoted Chen Cheng to compete with him. Originally, Chen Xiuwen wanted to follow Zhang Zhizhong in the future. First, it was because he could not be separated from Zhang Zhizhong's promotion today; secondly, it was because Zhang Zhizhong, who was learned in later generations, always appeared as a positive person. At the beginning, Chen Xiuwen had a good impression of him. Now Minister He extended an olive branch to him, should he accept it or not? Chen Xiuwen would not consider this question for the time being, so how could he not eat the fat meat sent to his mouth?

Chen Xiuwen immediately showed a look of gratitude and said to Deputy Director Ma: "Thanks to Minister He for his compassion for Huye. Huye is very worried and afraid. He will definitely kill a few more Japanese in the future, and make new contributions to Minister He's kindness and gratitude, and repay the cultivation of the Party and the country."

Chen Xiuwen was a little cautious and put Minister He in front of the Party and the country. The official novels Chen Xiuwen on the Internet were in vain. This kind of plaintive trick that was not revealed suddenly made Deputy Director Ma smile, holding Chen Xiuwen's hand, and smiled: "Okay, okay, okay. Brigade Commander Chen is not only young and promising, but also exquisite. We two brothers should be closer in the future."

Obviously, in the eyes of Deputy Director Ma, Chen Xiuwen was a very smart person. Not only did he fulfill Minister He's instructions before leaving, but he was also young and handsome, and he also posted a name from Chairman Jiang. He quickly called Chen Xiuwen brothers and made a move.

The Ministry of Military Affairs held the staffing and logistics supply of the entire army. Even though Chen Xiuwen had no intention of surrendering to He Yingqin, he could never offend him. He immediately went down the ramp: "I will ask Minister He in the future, and Brother Ma will take more care of him." After that, he took out two small yellow croakers that had been prepared from his pocket and stuffed them into the hands of Deputy Director Ma.

When Deputy Director Ma saw that Chen Xiuwen was not only smart but also so good at being a human being. His fat face suddenly looked like a blooming chrysanthemum and said repeatedly: "It must be, certain. Don't worry, Brother Chen will have any difficulties in the future. Even if you speak to your brother, you will never say anything."

After seeing off Deputy Director Ma, Chen Xiuwen's haze that had been accumulated in his heart over the past two days due to the heavy casualties of his troops was swept away. He quickly summoned the Chief of Staff Qiao Zhen and the Deputy Chief of Staff to have a meeting intoxicated.

This time, when Huishan Wharf was captured, the 2nd Battalion of the 38th Regiment, the 1st Battalion of the 40th Regiment and two machine gun companies were killed in total and were seriously injured. In particular, the 1st Battalion of the 40th Regiment not only reduced the number of personnel by more than 500, but also none of the survivors from battalion commander Dong Tie to ordinary soldiers were injured. In just one day, the 20th Independent Brigade lost more than 2,000 people.

"A new recruit in a battalion? It's great. Add to the 87th. The new recruits of the 88th Division are not ordinary new recruits. They have been undergoing military training in the local area for a period of time, and the quality of the soldiers is no worse than that of the security regiment. This solves our urgent need. There are five hundred new guns and 100,000 bullets. Brigade Commander, it seems that the gift from Minister He gives you is not light." Qiao Zhen's face has been rigid these days, and finally showed a smile. At the same time, he also saw He Yingqin's intentions so generous, and said with a smile at Chen Xiuwen.

Chen Xiuwen knew that Qiao Zhen had been suppressed by the boss of He and had no good feelings for the He team when he was in the General Staff Headquarters. He smiled and said, "You don't have to look at me. There is no reason not to eat the fat meat sent to your mouth. Our troops suffered so much casualties this time, and all four battalions were destroyed, and the General Command of the Group Army did not supplement us. You should think about how to allocate them to the troops below. In addition, you can see who is more suitable for the leader of the Forty-Second Regiment."

"It's easy to distribute. As for the commander of the 42nd Regiment, I think Zhang Zhengjie, the deputy commander of the 38th Regiment, is more suitable. He originally came from the 19th Route Army."

Chen Xiuwen nodded and said, "I think so too. Zhang Zhengjie is indeed the most suitable candidate. However, the 42nd Regiment just lost the battle and the number was cancelled, and his morale must be very low. I want to disrupt and reorganize them, along with the new recruit battalion and the 38th who were added in two days. In addition, Deputy Brigade Commander Teng has taken down the Songjiang Security Regiment, and the 1st Battalion of the 40th Regiment is transferred back to Songjiang for rest. How to replenish the specific replenishment, let Deputy Brigade Commander Teng take care of it. What do you think?"

"Okay. However, since Deputy Brigade Commander Teng has taken down the Songjiang Security Regiment, should he draw a battalion from it to supplement the 38th Regiment? This time, the 38th Regiment suffered such a great casualties, and even if they were to break up and reorganize the 42nd Regiment, both regiments would still have a vacancy." Qiao Zhen said with a frown.

"Old Teng, the Songjiang Security Force, just took over the training, but he should not be transferred. As for the current shortage of our troops, let Shu Yi think of a solution." Chen Xiuwen waved his hand with a smile.

He was immersed in the side and was stunned and hurriedly said, "Host, do you ask me to go there and find a way?"

"You have been at the Shanghai Security Command before. You are not unfamiliar with the Security Guards 1st and Security Guards 2nd. I'm trying to find a way to dig some people from them." Chen Xiuwen said with a smile.

"Brigate, please let me go to the Security Command to poach? Commander Yang is no better than the commissioner of the Third Special Zone of Jiangsu Province. He is the chairman's brother." Chen Zui was shocked.

"Yes, it's not appropriate to go to the security guard group 1, the second group to recruit people." Qiao Zhen also shook his head and said.
Chapter completed!