Chapter 28 First Battle Under Heaven (1)

"Commander Duan, the People's Party has crossed the Yellow River!" A staff officer jogged into the Beiyang Second Division headquarters in Anyang city.

Duan Zhigui stood up abruptly after hearing this. "The deployment funds have already been issued. Order the brigade commanders of the Second Division to meet here. Our Second Division will move south along the railway to meet the enemy."

The decisive order startled the staff officer. He opened his mouth but couldn't say anything.

Duan Zhigui rolled his eyes. "What are you waiting for? Go transmit the order!"

After the staff officer ran out and no one else was around, Duan Zhigui sighed slightly. He actually didn't want to fight, but Duan Zhigui knew Yuan Shikai's temper extremely well. If Duan Zhigui dared to ask Yuan Shikai for reinforcements, help might come, but Duan Zhigui's time as the commander of the Second Division would be over.

The brigade commanders of each regiment arrived quickly. Duan Zhigui sat in the main seat and said loudly, "Brothers, the People's Party has crossed the Yellow River and their footing is not yet stable. We should advance now and deal them a head-on blow. The chances of victory shouldn't be small. Since last year, our monthly pay has been issued according to wartime rates. We raise soldiers for a thousand days to use them for one hour; this is the time for us to work like horses for the Grand President. Does anyone have anything to say?"

Seeing Duan Zhigui's fierce gaze, none of the brigade commanders dared to say anything more. finally, someone asked, "Does the Grand President know about the troop movement?"

Duan Zhigui said coldly, "I have just ordered someone to send a telegram to the Grand President. He should know before long. The Grand President said last year that since our Second Division has retreated to Anyang, we don't need to retreat anymore. Anyone who dares to withdraw from Henan will be dealt with according to military law immediately. The Grand President stresses discipline the most. You are all brothers who have followed the Grand President for so long, I don't need to say more about this, do I?"

Yuan Shikai had never been soft on violations of military discipline, let alone desertion in the face of battle; he wouldn't even easily let off those who whispered in the ranks. Duan Zhigui's words weren't even a threat; if the Second Division really dared to retreat from Henan to Hebei, the heads of the senior officers, including Duan Zhigui, would roll.

Duan Zhigui's face was gloomy as he said murderously, "Brothers, if we retreat now, there is only a dead end. Even if we don't retreat, given the People's Party's methods, we'll just die sooner or later. Since it's death either way, let's fight it out with those rebels of the People's Party. With the determination to fight to the death—'the fish dies or the net breaks'—it's still uncertain who will die. If you don't want to die a cowardly death, then follow me, Duan Zhigui, and fight the People's Party! I'll say this upfront: this time we advance with no retreat. Whoever dares to be as timid as a mouse before the enemy, I, Duan Zhigui, will personally send him on his way!"

The news of the Beiyang Army moving south was quickly sent from the People's Party intelligence station in Anyang to the Hebei Circuit (Xinxiang). Ever since the Workers and Peasants Revolutionary Army crossed the Yellow River, the Henan Military Region believed that Duan Zhigui would not sit in Anyang waiting for death. However, the comrades of the Henan Military Region thought Duan Zhigui would flee north; they didn't expect Duan Zhigui would actually move south.

"Duan Zhigui has such guts, diving in alone like this?" Due to excitement, the words of some staff officers in the Workers and Peasants Revolutionary Army began to go off the rails.

Kang Wenzheng, the current commander of the 4407th Division, frowned. Kang Wenzheng had graduated from the People's Party Army Academy and was a 28-year-old "veteran" who had participated in many battles. Kang Wenzheng found the Beiyang Army's "menacing" offensive laughable. Of course, the staff officer's words also struck Kang Wenzheng as completely inappropriate.

As the fist unit of the 540th Corps, the proportion of veterans in the current 4407th Division had dropped to 50%. Even among these veterans, less than one-fifth had combat experience. Compared to the Beiyang Army, the Workers and Peasants Revolutionary Army had the advantage in training. In terms of equipment, the Workers and Peasants Revolutionary Army was inferior to the Beiyang Army, especially in artillery units; a Beiyang division had at least 24 guns. If the Workers and Peasants Revolutionary Army included mortars, their artillery numbers might exceed Beiyang's. It was just that the caliber of their field guns was far inferior. In terms of actual combat experience, the two forces were completely six of one and half a dozen of the other.

"If Duan Zhigui wants to catch us while our footing is unstable, it is absolutely impossible for him to succeed," Kang Wenzheng said. "But in which area will the battlefield be set?"

The comrades looked at the map, having no clue in their hearts. Just then, the communications officer delivered the latest telegram.

After reading it, Kang Wenzheng's brows furrowed. Almost at the same time the Beiyang Second Division moved south rapidly, Yuan Shikai, far away in Beijing, ordered the newly formed Beiyang Twentieth and Twenty-First Divisions to depart from Beijing by train to reinforce Duan Zhigui's troops. It looked like the battle was going to be big.

"We definitely have to fight, but where will the battlefield be?" Kang Wenzheng asked the staff officers.

The comrades' eyes fell on the map again. If possible, the comrades all hoped Duan Zhigui would lead the Beiyang Second Division straight into the Xinxiang Railway Station. Then the Workers and Peasants Red Army would heavily surround them and wipe them out completely. But this beautiful imagination was impossible to realize.

"Duan Zhigui is moving along the railway. It's really not easy to catch him." The comrades in the staff department scratched their heads.

"Send a small detachment to blow up the railway?" A comrade suggested.

"Even if the railway is blown up, the Beiyang Army can walk back. It doesn't mean much. We will need to use the railway later too. If it's blown up, the Beiyang Army won't repair it for you; we'd have to repair it ourselves." Someone refuted.

"The two Beiyang divisions are also moving south. Duan Zhigui is currently taking his time to engage us. Once the fighting starts and the two Beiyang divisions reinforce them, this battle will be even harder to fight." Some staff officers also worried about the overall war situation.

Kang Wenzheng looked at the map, also quite vexed. Once a strategic misjudgment occurred, they would fall into passivity. This time, the Henan Military Region's strategy assumed the Beiyang Army would stay put or even retreat. With Duan Zhigui advancing so decisively, the Workers and Peasants Revolutionary Army couldn't come up with a good plan for the moment.

"Let's propose a new strategic adjustment to the Corps headquarters," Staff Officer Mu Husan said.

"What adjustment?" Kang Wenzheng asked with a frown.

"Our 4407th Division's main force will avoid Duan Zhigui's troops and thrust directly into Anyang. We will try to capture Anyang before the Beiyang reinforcements arrive. The Corps should send the 5404th and 5405th Divisions across the Yellow River to attack Duan Zhigui's troops from the left and right with absolute superior force. After destroying Duan Zhigui's troops, continue north to annihilate the Beiyang reinforcements near Anyang," Mu Husan said calmly.

This plan was simple and brisk, responding to the Beiyang Army's movements. But the scale of the entire battle was expanded at least three times. For the 4407th Division, a division-level unit, to propose a corps-level operation plan was a bit too bold. Not only were the other staff officers startled by this plan, but Kang Wenzheng also felt a bit uneasy. He thought for a while and asked, "If we implement this plan ourselves, what does everyone think?"

Although he asked everyone, Kang Wenzheng's eyes fell on Mu Husan's face. "Chairman Chen has always required us to concentrate superior forces to fight battles of annihilation. Our single division can't do that no matter what. Rather than fighting this battle with a slight troop advantage when we are short on forces, it's better to ask the Corps headquarters to go all out."

The Army Academy taught the mobile warfare advocated by Chen Ke: concentrating superior forces to fight battles of annihilation, closing the door to beat the dog, and besieging a point to strike the reinforcements. These were all contents of repeated training. Logically, Mu Husan's suggestion should have easily won Kang Wenzheng's approval. However, Kang Wenzheng found that when facing such an emergency, he couldn't make up his mind immediately. Kang Wenzheng suddenly missed the days when he fought under Chen Ke; back then, he only had to focus on doing his own job well. Strategically, the People's Party was always fully proactive; as for tactics, bringing out what was trained daily was enough.

After finally collecting his thoughts, Kang Wenzheng ordered, "Send a telegram to the Corps according to Comrade Mu Husan's suggestion."

The 540th Corps received the news of the Beiyang Army moving south almost at the same time as the 4407th Division. The Corps headquarters sent a telegram to Wuhan via the provincial military region while beginning to study the situation. Thanks to the smooth railway communications lines, they received the views on the future war situation from Wuhan and the 4407th Division almost simultaneously. The two telegrams had similar views on operations, only the signatures and tones were different. Chen Ke required the Henan Military Region to immediately implement a battle of annihilation against the Beiyang Army. In the 4407th Division's telegram, the tone was one of earnest request.

Chai Qingguo had already gone down to the Corps headquarters by this time. He smiled bitterly, "I didn't expect Kang Wenzheng's combat determination to be so great."

The comrades of the Henan Military Region were also a bit embarrassed. The time difference between these two telegrams was not much. It was just that Kang Wenzheng's telegram came a little earlier. In the hour before receiving Chen Ke's telegram, the Henan Military Region was not satisfied with Kang Wenzheng's suggestion. In a situation where the enemy situation was not yet fully clear, Kang Wenzheng dared to come up with a military plan to completely resolve the enemies in Henan. However, Kang Wenzheng had his merits; at least he suggested that the 4407th Division raid Anyang, placing himself within the Beiyang encirclement. If the 5404th and 5405th Divisions crossed the Yellow River, a total force of over 40,000 would scare Duan Zhigui. If Duan Zhigui fled north, then the 4407th Division would likely face the siege of three Beiyang divisions in Anyang. This courage could not be ignored.

Chai Qingguo did not participate in this criticism. He agreed with Kang Wenzheng's suggestion in his heart, but the Henan Military Region had no experience commanding large-scale operations of a hundred thousand troops. How exactly to fight this battle? Chai Qingguo wasn't sure. During his frowning contemplation, Chai Qingguo remained silent. It wasn't until Chen Ke's telegram was delivered to the Henan Military Region command center that Chai Qingguo had no other thoughts. He ordered, "According to the Central deployment, annihilate the Beiyang Army. Liberate the entire Henan region."

Duan Zhigui did not know that the People's Party had made a comprehensive strategic decision within just one day. In Duan Zhigui's mind, these rebels of the People's Party should be in a mess right now. When he first received the news that the People's Party had crossed the Yellow River, Duan Zhigui was truly frightened. In every previous battle with the People's Party, the People's Party had assumed a strong offensive posture. Since the People's Party dared to cross the Yellow River this time, presumably it would be the same. However, subsequent news showed that the People's Party not only did not move north immediately but instead stationed themselves in the Hebei Circuit, dispersing forces to control various county towns. This approach was familiar to Duan Zhigui. Whenever they didn't seek to continue the attack, they would assume such a posture. As an officer of the Beiyang Army, Duan Zhigui found this extremely easy to understand and imagine.

If he waited for the People's Party to gain a foothold in Hebei and move north slowly, Duan Zhigui reckoned he couldn't hold them off. So he simply mobilized the Beiyang Army to move south immediately. He had been terrified by the People's Party's lightning-fast offensive posture many times; giving them a taste of their own medicine—this shock tactic presumably couldn't be wrong.

As for how far south he would really go, Duan Zhigui didn't really plan to fight to the death with the People's Party. Fight a bit; if he couldn't win, then retreat. There was a world of difference between that and shrinking back without even fighting. Yuan Shikai could accept defeat but could not accept cowardice. Since they had to fight anyway, taking the initiative to attack made it less likely to be defeated.

Since he had this plan, Duan Zhigui mobilized all the locomotives and freight cars he could collect, attempting to implement his plan according to the railway mobility taught by the German instructors. Germany had fully utilized railway transport in the Franco-Prussian War, posing a huge threat to the French army. When German officers talked about this, they were truly spitting as they spoke, full of confidence.

July had already entered the 'dog days' of summer, and the weather was exceptionally hot. The trains mobilized by the Beiyang Army didn't have 21st-century air conditioning or electric fans. There weren't many passenger carriages to begin with, and these carriages were all occupied by the officers. A large number of Beiyang troops sat in freight cars; some even sat on flatbeds. Before the troops departed, some better-organized units set up awnings with bamboo poles and cloth on the flatbeds. This abruptly delayed the departure time. The units without awnings saw this and wouldn't stand for it. They returned to Anyang city and rushed into cloth shops to rob fabric at will. After the fabric in the cloth shops was looted clean, the Beiyang soldiers broke into silk shops that had some backing. The owners of the silk shops were quite alert; hearing that the Beiyang Army had started robbing fabric, they immediately shut their doors tight.

How could these Beiyang soldiers who were about to go to the battlefield accept this? A crowd of soldiers began to smash the doors while cursing. When rifle butts couldn't smash them open, they used wooden stakes to ram them. Shop doors were meant to prevent theft, not open robbery. After a dozen strikes broke the doors, the Beiyang soldiers swarmed in, smashed the shop doors to pieces, rushed in, and snatched everything that could be taken. Not only fabric but also various cloth curtains hanging outside businesses on the street that looked usable—later, any door curtain the Beiyang Army saw did not escape.

This rampage lasted a whole day. Under the driving of the Grand Council, the soldiers ended the looting and began to assemble at the railway station. While the citizens of Anyang were still in shock, small units of the Beiyang Army returned. This time they had a clear goal; they no longer molested women or beat citizens. Instead, they tied up twenty-odd tailors and left swaggering.