Chapter 222: The Eastern Front was frustrated

The headquarters of the 23rd Division of the Japanese Army is located in a mountain on the right side of Pingshan. Yoshio Tanaka, the commander of the Japanese division, had a solemn face and a frown. The chief of staff said: "Your Excellency, the enemy army on the right flank has successfully broken through, and a brigade of the enemy's front army in Hepingli has been successfully encircled. It has been confirmed that the frontal enemy is a vanguard brigade of the Korean Restoration Army. The 20th Division stubbornly intercepted and rescued the enemy troops, and the enemy's attack was successfully contained. "Order all units to attack quickly, and be sure to end the battle before dawn."

Artillery fire and bullets formed dazzling flames in the sky, and the flames of the explosion lit up half the sky. The Korean Restoration Army (KPA) was encircled in a narrow space less than 3 kilometers long in Hepingli. Japanese shells continued to pour into the canyon, ending dozens of lives with each explosion. The North Korean soldiers stubbornly broke through the encirclement, but the Japanese firepower was strong, and every time the soldiers who charged fell to the ground, the scene was very terrifying. In order to eat the two lone enemy forces that were deep in, the Japanese army used 2 divisions.

The 20th Division of the Japanese Army was aimed at the 35th Brigade, and the 23rd Division was directed against the 1st Vanguard Brigade of the Korean Restoration Army. Due to the relative delay and quick reaction of the 35th Brigade, it successfully broke through before the Japanese army could close the siege.

The 1st Pioneer Brigade of the Korean Restoration Army, which was in front of the front, broke out in an instant after being surrounded by Japanese troops. At this time, in the military headquarters of the Korean Restoration Army in Hyesan, the army commander Yi Chenglong's face was pale, and the fate of the pioneer brigade made him very anxious. "Commander, the rescue force was stubbornly blocked by the Japanese army, the friendly Chinese army was also stubbornly intercepted, and our vanguard brigade was surrounded by heavy Japanese troops, and I am afraid that it will be difficult to escape."

"Report, Pioneer Brigade Radio has lost contact!" An operations staff officer panicked and reported. "Immediately request Commander Wen to rescue with all your might! All-out rescue," Li Chenglong said hoarsely. Less than 3 days after the start of the war, a reorganized brigade was eaten by the Japanese army, and the blow was fatal for Li Chenglong, and his mind was completely confused at this time. In the headquarters of the 3rd Corps in Changbai County, Commander Wen Biao's face turned blue when he learned of the situation. Originally, the offensive situation was very good, but suddenly the situation on the battlefield changed dramatically. The 35th Brigade of the headquarters was almost surrounded, and the Pioneer Brigade of the Korean Restoration Army was surrounded by regiments, which Wen Biao did not expect.

"Report, Li Chenglong called, the radio station of the pioneer brigade of the department lost contact, and asked us to go all out to rescue!" "Nonsense, a division of the Japanese army launched a full-line attack, and the vanguard brigade is no longer saved. The troops were ordered to stop the attack and retreat 10 kilometers and immediately report to the headquarters. "Commander, Li Chenglong's Pioneer Brigade is a lone army, and he didn't report it when he knew about it, did he deal with him severely?" ", I just called him up, and now I'm dealing with it, isn't this a slap in the mouth."

"Send a telegram in my name to appease him, and order him to strengthen the defense frontally to prevent a large-scale counterattack by the Japanese army!" Wen Biao was calm and calm on the phone, and when he put the phone, he slammed his fist on the table, as if he hated iron but not steel. "Commander, the terrain of the Gaima Plateau is complex, there are many valleys, and the conditions for ambushes are excellent, no wonder the commander-in-chief asked us to focus on feints. The Korean Restoration Army is exhibiting for the first time and is eager to make meritorious contributions, and perhaps it will be good for them to suffer a little. "The commander-in-chief has repeatedly admonished me, but he is still insufficiency, which is my command error. Has the battle damage of the 35th Brigade been reported? ”

"The details were reported that the loss was about one regiment, and it was obvious that the Japanese army had been prepared for a long time. The Japanese army actually adopted our tactics decently, it seems that this person named Okamura Ningji is indeed not simple, and the commander-in-chief is not targeted. Wen Biao's words were a little jealous, and he was ready to accept a severe reprimand. Report, call from headquarters! Wen Biao hurriedly took the telegram to check, only to see that the telegram wrote: Victory and defeat are a common thing in soldiers, and the loss of a brigade by the Korean Restoration Army is also a lesson for it, don't disturb your mind for the defeat in front of you. After reading the telegram, the chief of staff was surprised and said: "Commander, the chief of staff has not said a word of reproach, and the net is open. ”

"The chief didn't say a word of dissatisfaction, which was worse than scolding me. Tomorrow, the 15th Division of the 5th Army will be ordered to go forward to cooperate with the Korean Restoration Army. It is a great shame that they can no longer be allowed to believe in the reins, and that an integrated brigade is eaten. "Commander, is there any suspicion that the 15th Division is being dispatched to monitor Li Chenglong?" "Whoever keeps himself from fighting must restrain him." "What if he complains to the Chief?" "Li Chenglong's vanguard brigade marched alone, causing heavy losses to the 35th Brigade of the defense team, he knew that he did not report the difficulties and correct his responsibility, if it were not for the commander-in-chief's words in advance, I would not be so polite."

"Commander, Li Chenglong is a puppet at best, why does the chief minister treat him with courtesy?" "This guy is not only the commander of the Korean Restoration Army, but also the leader of the Provisional Government of North Korea, and we will fight in North Korea in the future, and we will not be able to do without this person. If the Korean Peninsula is recovered, Ri Seung-ryong may become the president of North Korea. The chief is far-sighted and insightful. It's not for you and me to see through. When I was in Mukden, the commander-in-chief repeatedly warned me to respect Li Chenglong and not to exacerbate the contradictions."

In the early hours of the morning, the atmosphere at the Japanese headquarters in Seoul was bright, and Okamura did not sleep all night, and his eyes were bloodshot. Commander Yoshimasa Oshima came out of the separation, looking a little tired, obviously not drunk. "Commander, you've only slept for 3 hours, watch out." "Okamura-kun, you stayed up all night again, has the battle situation changed?" "An hour ago, Kazuo Tanaka reported that the encirclement and annihilation battle was nearing the end, and the enemy army wisely gave up the rescue, and the enemy army has now retreated 10 kilometers on the front line of Hirayama." "Tell Kazuo Tanaka that I want detailed results and that the good news will be transmitted back to China quickly. This is a great encouragement to our confidence in holding fast to the Korean Peninsula. ”

"Your Excellency, it is a pity that what we have eaten is a brigade of the Korean Restoration Army, which is not combat-ready. Our division mobilized two divisions and regiments, but did not achieve greater results. The soldiers of the Korean Restoration Army fought bravely, but there was a big gap in military quality compared with that of the Chinese army. The enemy has suffered a loss and will not be easily fooled again. According to our defensive deployment, the line of Hirayama is the center of the Japanese defense, with the Xianjing Mountains on the east and the Gaima Plateau and mountains and ravines on the west, and the enemy's attack will not be effective. The enemy forces are holding their ground in the direction of Sinuiju, and I am a little worried. ”

"What are you worried about?" Yoshimasa Oshima asked. "According to the intelligence, Ge Yunfei sat in Mukden and used 4 armies to launch an attack on the Eastern Front, and there was no movement on the front line of Sinuiju for 3 days, which is very abnormal." "Maybe Ge Yunfei is a tentative attack!" "It is certain that the enemy's attack on the Eastern Front is a feint, and Ge Yunfei's failure to fire on the Western Front is exactly what I am worried about." "Ge Yunfei is very cunning and often surprises. We have been fighting against the Chinese army for 4 years, and their defensive ability is very strong, but their offensive ability is not to be feared. ”

Yoshimasa Oshima smiled and continued: "Okamura-kun, you're thinking too much, let's use static braking to see what tricks the enemy plays." Don't take a break by yourself! "The Japanese army won a great victory, and the news quickly spread back to China, and the scene of excitement of the Japanese people does not need to be described. A few days later, at the military headquarters of the Korean Restoration Army in Hyesan, the commander of the army, Lee Seung-ryong's eyes were visibly collapsed, but his mental head seemed to have recovered. The vanguard brigade of the department advanced alone, and then was surrounded and annihilated. The 35th Brigade of the Chinese Army, which assisted in the flank defense, also suffered heavy losses. If you don't report it, it's hard to correct your responsibility.

However, the Chinese side did not blame itself, on the contrary, General Ge personally called to comfort him. Li Chenglong was determined to save face and asked Ying to fight again several times. Soon his request was granted, and Wen Biao ordered him to take Heights 152 on the northeast side of Pingshan. Li Chenglong was eager for revenge and immediately threw a brigade of troops into an attack on Heights 152. The 3rd Corps requisitioned an artillery regiment to support the operation, and the air team dispatched 20 bombers to cooperate. In order to encourage Li Chenglong, Wen Biao ordered the 15th Division, which was fighting in concert, to launch an attack on the No. 138 high ground on the left side of Pingshan.

It was getting late, and the 15th Division took the No. 138 Heights after a hard battle, but Li Chenglong's subordinates attacked wildly for a day without success, and actually suffered more than 300 casualties. At dusk, the offensive stopped. In the military headquarters, Li Chenglong listened to the report of his subordinates, and his expression was wooden. "Commander, the Chinese side successfully took the No. 138 heights, and I have to admit that the Chinese army has strong combat effectiveness. The situation has been reported to the headquarters, but the headquarters has not called back. As soon as the chief of staff finished speaking, a subordinate ran over with a telegram.

"Army commander, Commander Wen called us not to be anxious and try to avoid battle damage, and it seems that there is no meaning to blame." "It's better not to know, I'm more frightened, and I ordered the 2nd Brigade to draw up a new attack plan."

Three days later, Heights 152 was taken by the Korean Restoration Army, and to be precise, the Japanese army took the initiative to abandon Heights 152. Due to the stubborn defense of the Japanese army and the occupation of the terrain of the ground cap, the progress of the various units of the 3rd Corps was very slow, and it seemed that the battle was in a state of scorching. One positive and one negative, Wen Biao's mood was very anxious, but Ge Yunfei seemed very relaxed.

A slow offensive is a strategic goal in itself, and defensive operations consume a great deal of strategic material. The Japanese army has nearly 2 million soldiers on the Korean Peninsula, just imagine how much the soldiers consume food and drink, and how much the hundreds of thousands of officers and soldiers on the front line consume weapons and ammunition, and this is what Ge Yunfei wants, and the core of the strategy of attacking the Korean Peninsula is to drag down the Japanese army. The Eastern Front fought for the Japanese army hill by hill and consumed a large amount of the Japanese army's strategic materials, while the offensive on the Western Front was to kill and injure a large number of Japanese troops, and its killer weapon was tank fighting vehicles.

The Eastern Front launched an attack for 10 days and suffered repeated setbacks, and the generals and officials in the headquarters were all in a bad mood, but Ge Yunfei looked calm and seemed to be indifferent to the battle situation. On this day, his subordinates reported the battle situation on the Eastern Front with a solemn expression, and Ge Yunfei actually praised Wen Biao for playing well after listening to it.

"Chief, the Eastern Front is in a state of scorching, and everyone is in a bad mood. Even if the Eastern Front was a feint, the delay in the Western Front would inevitably demoralize. Ge Yunfei said with a smile: "The arrow is the most torturous when it is triggered on the string but not launched." The setback of the attack on the Eastern Front can be seen Okamura Ninji's command ability, and the commander of the Japanese army, Oshima Yoshimasa, knew very well that if Okamura Ninji did not fight, he would torture the Japanese army. The Japanese army did not care about losing ground, and it can be seen that Okamura Ninji did a lot of work. ”

Ge Yunfei continued: "Telegraph Wen Biao, Okamura Ningji devoted himself to research, copied our tactics, how to deal with it, and let him come up with his own plan." As a commander, we must not stick to the rules, we must judge the situation and who is strong must be reflected on the battlefield. ”

"Chief, you already have a plan in your heart, why don't you tell me clearly?" "The battle situation on the Eastern Front has been scorched, and this is the best command level to test the front-line commander, and there is no need for us to put pressure on him." Obedient and listening, Ge Yunfei's intentions are very obvious, the eastern front continues to attack, and the western front does not move for the time being!

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