Chapter 1055 The prelude to the Battle of Zaoyi

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In late spring and March, the grass grows in the south of the Yangtze River, mixed peanut trees, and a group of warblers fly wildly.

This is the Southern Dynasty Liang Wu Emperor Xiao Yan period of Yangzhou Assassin Shi Linchuan King Xiao Hong when the army of the Northern Expedition, Ling Ji Qiu Chi to Chen Bozhi to write a letter of persuasion "and Chen Bozhi" in the sentence, a few strokes, the beautiful scenery of the twilight spring in the south of the Yangtze River outlined, no wonder the capricious Chen Bozhi had to be impressed after receiving the letter, led 8,000 soldiers to surrender.

Just when Liu Yimin was worried, the prelude to the battle of Zaoyi began!

On April 20, 1940, March 13 of the lunar calendar, Gu Yu, the last solar term of spring. The land south of the Yangtze River, the mountains are green and the water is clear, it is the best season to sow seedlings and transfer seedlings, melons and beans.

Early in the morning, the Japanese planes went crazy, swept over the spring sky, rushed to the key points in Hunan and Jiangxi, and began to bomb indiscriminately.

Immediately afterwards, the Japanese troops in the Jiujiang area were dispatched, and under the cover of aircraft, they launched a sweep of the ** base areas around Jiujiang.

The waves were not settled, and the waves rose again, and the Japanese naval ships were discovered in Dongting Lake and Poyang Lake, and the little devil naval ship formation killed Dongting Lake and Poyang Lake!

As a matter of fact, the squadron had long been aware of the possibility of the Japanese army launching an offensive against the Jianghan Plain in northwest Hubei and had already made preparations to meet it.

Since the Nanyue Military Conference, the main force began large-scale training, and by October 1939, the training work was basically over. Through the simplification of the command structure and the replenishment of training and training, the troops have regained their combat effectiveness. At this time, due to the loss of Chaoshan and Nanning, the Guangdong-Hong Kong international communication line of the Nationalist Government was cut off, and the Yunnan-Burma international communication line was also seriously threatened by the Japanese army. In order to secure the international communication line between Yunnan and Burma, to win more foreign aid, and also to review the combat effectiveness and prevent Wang Jingwei from establishing a puppet regime, Chiang Kai-shek was determined to launch a winter offensive operation.

The plan of the Central Military Commission was to take the second, third, fifth, and ninth theaters as the main areas of attack, and the 1st, fourth, eighth, and 10th, Lusu, and Jicha theaters as the auxiliary areas, to launch an all-out attack on the Japanese army, cover the counteroffensive in the direction of southern Guizhou, and drive the Japanese troops out of southern Guizhou.

Among them, the first theater attacked Kaifeng and fraternity to contain the enemy; The second theater effectively cut off the traffic between the Zhengtai and Tongpu railways, and eliminated the enemy in the southern Jinnan triangle; The Third Theater of Operations, with the main force of about 11 divisions, cut off the Yangtze River communications, divided into Hukou, Madang, Dongliu, Guichi, Datong, Tongling, and Digang, waited for the gap to attack, broke through the river bank in one fell swoop, occupied a strong position, and blocked the Yangtze River with light and heavy firepower and laying mines; The Fourth Theater used a camera to attack Chao and Shan, and the main force swept away the enemy on Guangjiu Road and Nanning; The Fifth Theater swept away the enemy between Xinyang and Wuhan in the southern section of the Pinghan Line, advanced to Hankou, and attacked the enemy on the Hanyi Highway, cutting off the traffic between the Xianghua and Hanyi Highway; The Eighth Theater of Operations coordinated with the Second Theater of Operations, and the main force attacked the enemy near Guisui; The Ninth Theater attacked the enemy in the northern section of Guangdong and Han, focusing on the areas of Puqi and Xianning, and advanced towards Wuchang; At the same time, they attacked the Nanchang and Nanxun railways, and attacked the enemies of Ruichang and Jiujiang; The 10th Theater of Operations was still in charge of the original river defense, and according to the progress of the attack in the southern triangle of Jin, it was ready to expand the results of the war by crossing the river with a section; The Lusu Theater attacked Tai'an, Lincheng, Tongshan, and Chuxian from the east and west from a wide front, in order to cope with the operations along the river; The Jicha Theater used the main force to cut off the enemy's communications between Baoding, Xingtai and Shijiazhuang; The first section cut off the enemy's communications near Cangxian and Dexian in order to respond to the battle on the Shanxi side. net

In this order, the 10th Theater commanded the troops of the Eighth Route Army stationed in Shaanxi, the 2nd Theater commanded the Shanxi troops of the Eighth Route Army, and the Sulu Theater commanded the Shandong troops of the Eighth Route Army. However, at that time, Chiang Kai-shek changed Liu Yimin from a lieutenant general to a second lieutenant trainee platoon commander, the 10th Theater Jiang Dingwen Department and the Eighth Theater Zhu Shaoliang Department were secretly preparing for a sneak attack on Xi'an, and the commander of the 2nd Theater Yan Xishan was preparing to settle the League and the New Army by force. Yu Xuezhong's department and Han Deqin's department in the Sulu theater did not make any moves, and the troops in the Jicha theater did not fight the Japanese army, and their eyes were always secretly aiming at the Taihang base of the Eighth Route Army.

Under these circumstances, the only people who really launched the winter offensive against the Japanese army were Fu Zuoyi's troops in the third, ninth, fifth, fourth, and eighth theaters.

Chiang Kai-shek wants to fight devils and **, so naturally he is powerless. In particular, Chiang Kai-shek took advantage of the fierce battle between the main force of the Eighth Route Army and the Japanese army in the later stage of the winter offensive, and mobilized a large army to attack Xi'an.

In this way, the winter offensive operation also achieved remarkable results.

The most brilliant result was naturally the Eighth Route Army. The 120th Division, 129th Division, and Independent Division of the Shanxi Battlefield fought continuously with the Japanese army, striking a blow to the arrogance of the Japanese First Army. The 115th Division not only advanced into the western Liaodong region and harassed the rear of the Kwantung Army, but also eliminated the Japanese Abe Brigade and killed Lieutenant General Abe Norihide after returning to the division. The Shandong Eighth Route Army eliminated the main force of the Japanese 38th Division and the Japanese Shimen garrison in southwest Lu, captured Shimen, and after returning to central and southern Lu, it eliminated the main force of the Japanese 27th Division, and the number of enemies destroyed was much greater than the sum of all other units in the whole winter!

**Among the main forces, the First War Zone had invaded Kaifeng, Qinyang, Shangqiu and other places, fought the best, and was commended by the Military Commission. However, the First War Zone was later ordered to mobilize the main force to attack Tongguan and Weinan and became the vanguard of the civil war, and the results of the war were greatly reduced.

The Fifth Theater of Operations was the most fierce and tenacious, repeatedly fighting with the Japanese army in the vicinity of Xinyang and Yingshan.

The Third War Zone invaded Nanchang, Hangzhou, Fuyang, Yuhang and other cities, and cut off the Yangtze River water transportation for a short time. It is a pity that Gu Zhutong only fought with the Japanese army for three days and nights, and then withdrew to his original defensive position, was severely reprimanded by the Military Commission, and was removed from his post with Guo Xunqi, a famous general of the Sichuan Army and commander of the 50th Army.

The Fourth War Zone conquered Wengyuan, Yingde, Conghua and other places, and cooperated with the Guilin camp to recapture Kunlun Pass. However, the Japanese army's counteroffensive operations in the Battle of Guinan caused the Fourth Theater to lose its division, and it was severely criticized by the Military Commission.

The Ninth Theater conquered Chongyang, Jing'an, and other places, and dealt a heavy blow to the enemy in front of the Japanese 11th Army.

Fu Zuoyi's division in the Eighth Theater fought well, once attacked Baotou, and recovered Wuyuan, Linhe and other places, annihilated more than 4,600 Japanese troops, killed Lieutenant General Mizukawa Yves of the Japanese army, and was the first to kill a Japanese lieutenant general.

The Winter Offensive was a wake-up call for the Japanese army. The little devil finally understood that the whole year of 1939 was in vain. Not to mention the Imperial Army's nemesis, Liu Yimin's Ministry of the Eighth Route Army, even Chiang Kai-shek's regular army miraculously became stronger and stronger! It's time to re-evaluate the combat effectiveness of the ** team!

As a result, the Japanese army could not wait to push Wang Jingwei out, wanting to rely on Wang Jingwei's popularity to suppress the Nationalist Government and force the Nationalist Government to surrender. This move will not work in the short term, and the Japanese army will not be able to do it in the short term, so they are ready to fight the main force again.

Lieutenant General Okamura Ninji, commander of the 11 th Army, profoundly realized that the war against China could not be solved by diplomacy or a small offensive, and that it was necessary to expand the army on a large scale and completely solve the problem by military means. To this end, Okamura Ninji put forward the operational concept of concentrating forces to destroy the main forces of the Fifth Theater and capture Yichang.

Okamura's reason was that the Chinese Fifth Theater of Operations surrounded Wuhan with about 50 divisions, and its main forces were deployed on both sides of the Han River in northwestern Hubei. An attack on Yichang could deal a heavy blow to the Fifth Theater of Operations. Moreover, Yichang is also the gateway to Sichuan, only 480 kilometers away from Chongqing, the center of China's wartime military and political leadership, and has an extremely important strategic position.

Okamura Ninji's concept of operations was supported by the commander-in-chief of the Chinese Dispatch Army, General Nishio Toshizo.

As a result, Okamura Ninji formulated the "Battle Guidance Policy" on February 25. Its operational purpose was: "It is planned to defeat the main forces of the enemy's Fifth Theater in the area on both sides of the Han River before the rainy season arrives, further weaken Chiang's army through the victory of the operation, and contribute to the progress of politics and strategy toward China." The guidelines for the battle were: "Prepare for the shortest possible period of time, and probably begin the offensive in early May." First capture the enemy on the left bank of the Han River south of the White River, and then completely destroy the enemy's core force on the right bank of the river near Yichang. ”

According to Okamura Ninji's plan, the Japanese 11th Army was determined to mobilize its seven divisions and four brigades as much as possible. These seven divisions are the 3rd Division, the 6th Division, the 10th Division, the 13th Division, the 16th Division, the 101st Division, and the 106th Division, and the Fourth Brother Independent Mixed Brigade is the 13th Independent Mixed Brigade, the 14th Independent Mixed Brigade, the 101st Temporary Mixed Brigade, and the 6th Field Heavy Artillery Brigade.

It turned out that the 10th Division went to the Northeast after returning to Japan for the second rebuilding and joined the Kwantung Army. In the later stages of the winter offensive operation, the little devils quietly transferred the 10th Division to the 11th Army as a garrison. Liu Yimin is still unclear about this situation.

Originally, Okamura Ninji also asked Senior General Nishio Toshizo to transfer the 2nd Guards Division, the 11th Division, and the 12th Division from North China to fight in Wuhan and completely wipe out the troops of the Fifth Theater. However, Nishio Shouzo knew that these three divisions could not move, and as soon as they moved, Liu Yimin, a fierce tiger, would run out of the mountainous areas of central and southern Shandong, and the North China Front would be unlucky again.

In order to ensure the victory of the Battle of Zaoyi, Nishio Toshizo understood Okamura's painstaking efforts, and transferred one detachment from the 15th and 22nd Divisions of the 13th Army to assign a total of seven brigades to the 11th Army, and ordered the 3rd Flying Regiment, the 1st Dispatch China Fleet of the Navy's "Chinese Fleet", and the 2nd Combined Air Force to work together.

Okamura Ninji's old devil is really not greedy enough. You must know that of the seven divisions of the 11th Army at this time in history, only the 3rd, 6th, and 13th permanent divisions and regiments, and the other 33rd, 34th, 39th, and 40th divisions and regiments were all three-unit garrison divisions, plus three independent mixed brigades, there were only 88 infantry brigades in total, and the strength was much weaker. At present, the seven divisions and regiments at his disposal are all permanent divisions and special divisions and regiments under the four-unit system, and there are 99 infantry brigades alone, which is 11 more than that, and the strength and firepower are much stronger.

No, Okamura Ninji was determined to let each division and regiment stay on the spot with a small number of troops to serve as a garrison, and draw out as much of the main force as possible to devote to offensive operations. A total of 56 infantry brigades, plus artillery, engineers, cavalry, and baggage troops from various divisions, regiments, and brigades, are planned to be transferred, and nearly 120,000 people will participate in the battle. That's 10,000 more troops than in history.

It's a pity that at this time, Okamura Ninji was only a lieutenant general commander of the Eleventh Army, and he couldn't control the Japanese cabinet. The Japanese cabinet is beset by the deteriorating economic situation and is already dissatisfied with the repeated expansion of the military department. Prime Minister Mitsumasa Yonechi has repeatedly proposed to reduce the number of troops stationed in China, and even to the outrageous point of reducing the number of troops stationed in China to 400,000.

Okamura Ninji angrily denounced Mitsumasa Yonechi as a stumbling block on the way of the army's advance, and in a fit of rage, he hung up his crown and left, no longer being the commander of the 11th Army, and returned to Tokyo to become a military senator.

As a result, the Army's opposition to Mitsumasa's cabinet was everywhere, forcing Mitsumasa Yonechi to correctly understand the situation on the battlefield in China, re-evaluate the combat effectiveness of the squadron and the results of the Japanese army, and finally Mitsumasa Yonechi sadly found that without expanding the army and increasing the troops, it would not be possible to maintain the existing occupied area, and finally expressed that it was not appropriate to reduce the number of troops stationed in China.

On 10 April, the Japanese base camp finally approved the 11th Army's plan for the Battle of Zaoyi with Order No. 426 of the "Continental Order," ordering that "in order to accomplish the present task, the commander-in-chief of the Chinese Dispatch Army may carry out an operation in Central and South China in May and June that goes beyond the established operational area." ”

He was succeeded by Lieutenant General Kazuichiro Enbe, commander of the 7th Division of the Kwantung Army.

Kazuichiro Sonobe is a native of Kumamoto Prefecture, and since he was a child, he attended the Kumamoto Army Local Infant School, the Central Infant School, and graduated from the 16th class of the Army Non-commissioned Officer School, and was a classmate of Okamura Ninji, Itagaki Seishiro, Kenji Tsuchihara, and Toshiyoshi Ando. This group of guys, all of whom are Japanese generals in history, are all the devils of invasion of China carved out of a mold. When he graduated from the 25th class of the Army University, Kazuichiro Sonobe was in the saber group. Such a guy is naturally as ferocious as Okamura Ninji.

Sonobe and Ichiro divided the operation to attack Yichang in two phases: the first stage was to attack the main force of the Fifth Theater in the Zaoyang area, and the second stage was to cross the Xianghe River to attack Yichang.

The operational policy of the first phase of the offensive plan was to annihilate the main forces of the Fifth Theater in the areas north of Suixian and Xiangyang with a mobile and rapid attack, and then compress and annihilate the squadron west of Hanshui to the Yichang area. Its troop deployment was as follows: order the 3rd Division (5 infantry brigades and 1 mountain artillery brigade attached to the 10th Division, and 2 infantry brigades of the 101st Division) to rotate from Xinyang to the left of the Tang River via Minggang, attack the area of Nanbaihe in Xinye and the vicinity of Fancheng, join up with the 13th Division, and cut off the retreat of the main force of the Fifth Theater to the north; ordered the 13th Division (4 infantry brigades attached to the 15th Division, 3 infantry brigades of the 22nd Division, and 1 mountain artillery brigade) to advance north along the east bank of the Han River west of Dahong Mountain, encircle the main force of the 5th Theater in the Fancheng area in a roundabout way, and coordinate with the 3rd Division; The 16th Division (3 infantry brigades and 1 mountain artillery brigade attached to the 6th Division) was ordered to deploy in front of Suixian, and when the two flank divisions formed an encirclement, they attacked Zaoyang from the middle road, and coordinated with the 3rd and 13th divisions to annihilate the 11th Army in the 5th theater in the encirclement. In order to contain and confuse the squadron, the divisions and regiments in Jiangnan launched an attack on the squadron in front of them before the offensive began; When fighting in the Zaoyang area, it was publicized that it would return to the original defense after the end of the operation, so that the squadron could relax its preparations for the second phase of the operation; And create fake orders, deliberately lost. The offensive is scheduled to begin on 1 May.

The planned second phase of troop deployment is: the 3rd Division crosses the river near the bend of the Han River between Xiangyang and Yicheng, advances to Dangyang, and cuts off the retreat of the squadron; The 16th Division crossed the river near Yicheng and entered Jingmen; The 13th Division crossed the river near Shayang Town, entered and exited through Shilipu to the vicinity of Herong, and then waited for an opportunity to capture Yichang.

The deployment of the Japanese army has been decided, and the squadron has also made deployments.

In March, the Supreme Command, through the intelligence department, learned that the Japanese 11th Army was attempting to launch a large-scale attack from Xinyang and Wuhan to northwestern Hubei Province, and immediately instructed the Fifth Theater to make preparations for the battle.

On 10 April, on the day when the Japanese army base camp approved the battle plan for the Battle of Zaoyi of the 10th Army, Chiang Kai-shek sent a telegram to Li Zongren, instructing the Fifth Theater: "In the event of an enemy attack on Sha and Yi, we should immediately make arrangements in advance and prepare to strike at the enemy first...... The Fifth Theater should take advantage of the enemy's invasion of the desert and should launch a preemptive attack before the attempt becomes apparent. With the two main forces of Tang Enbo and Wang Zhangxu, they attacked the enemy on the Jing (Shan) Zhong (Xiang) and Han (Yang) Yi (Cheng) roads from the areas on both sides of the Dahong Mountain, and assisted by the Xiang (Yang) Hua (Yuan) Road, southern Henan and eastern Hubei to respond to the operation and break the enemy's attempt to attack from the west. The timing of the attack should be to be carried out resolutely by the theater of operations by closely observing the enemy's situation, but preparations for the attack must be completed by the end of mid-April. ”

Chiang Kai-shek believed that the purpose of the Japanese army was not to occupy Yichang or Xiang and Fan, but to find and annihilate the main force of the Fifth Theater in the Zaoyang area east of the Xiang River, and then immediately retreat and restore the pre-war situation, just like the battles of Sui and Zao a year earlier.

This couldn't be more wrong!

Based on this judgment, on April 17, Chiang Kai-shek sent another telegram to Li Zongren and others, further pointing out: "1. Our army should strike before the enemy advances. With a very small number of troops and units, Tang Enbo's division still feinted and reconnoitred the enemy head-on on Xianghua Road, and the other main forces set out from the spot and quickly advanced to the gap area in the area of Pingjing Pass and Wusheng Pass, and then attacked the enemy in Guangshui, Yingshan or Huayuan, and Anlu from this area...... Pressing and threatening Hankou, the enemy's rear base area, the camera cut off the lines of communication in its rear. And with the main force of Yube, that is, to find the direction of the enemy's main force, and tail attack its flank. If our army reaches the vicinity of Wusheng Pass, and the enemy is still fighting with us in the vicinity of Yingshan, Huayuan, or Wusheng Pass, then our army will take active action in a quick and decisive manner. After striking at the enemy (but not having to fight a decisive battle with its true face), it will advance to the northeast and southeast east of Pinghan Road, and then monitor the enemy troops in the southern section of Pinghan Road in the areas of Lishan, Huang'an, Macheng, and Jingfu to prevent them from actively attacking westward. This is the first priority, and I hope to report accordingly. 2. If the enemy army invades the west, its purpose will never be to seize Yichang, Xiang, and Fan, but to enable it to retreat safely after striking at our army. This is inevitable. Even if one of them attacked west of the Xiang River, it would have made a feint. Therefore, our army in the west of the Xianghe River and the Jiangfang troops might as well draw out the powerful first and second armies (Mo Shujie or Zhang Zizhong's troops) to move and lurk near Dahong Mountain as soon as possible, so as to wait for the task of Tang Enbo's troops, as a standby situation, and intercept the enemy when they advance westward or eastward...... 3. If the troops are deployed as usual, waiting for the enemy to attack, or for the enemy to retreat safely, this is the most foolish and helpless of all. If it is carried out in two ways, the troops should move immediately, and swiftness and secrecy are paramount ......"

This telegram clearly demanded that the Fifth Theater should not be passive towards the enemy, but should take positive action to seize the opportunity to attack and harass the rear of the Japanese army and contain and sabotage the westward advance of the Japanese army. The main force was placed in the area east of the Xianghe River to Dahong Mountain, waiting for an opportunity to annihilate the main force of the Japanese army advancing west or retreating eastward. This is also the squadron's campaign guidelines.

In accordance with the instructions of the Military Commission, the Fifth Theater drew up an operational plan and decided to use one part to take the front and advance into the rear of the Japanese army by separate routes, actively carry out harassment attacks, and the main force should be controlled in the rear, and the camera should strike a decisive battle with the Japanese army in the areas east of Zaoyang or south of Jing (Men) and Dang (Yang). The specific arrangements were: Guo Chen, commander of the Jiang Defense Army, commanded the 26th, 75th, and 94th armies, the 128th Division, and the 6th and 7th guerrilla columns, relying on the positions on the right bank of the Xianghe River and the Dongjing River, to vigorously prevent the Japanese army from crossing the river, consume the Japanese army's strength, and cooperate with the right group to fight a decisive battle with the Japanese army in the southeast of Jing and Dang. Zhang Zizhong, commander-in-chief of the right group, commanded the 29th Group Army, the 33rd Group Army, and the 55th Army to hold the positions on both sides of the Xianghe River with one unit, consolidate the passes on the south side of Dahong Mountain, and control the north of Changshoudian with the main force, waiting for an opportunity to break through the invading Japanese army. Huang Qixiang, commander-in-chief of the Central Group, commanded the 11th Army, the 45th Army, the 127th Division and the 1st Guerrilla Column to block the Japanese army west of Gaocheng to Suixian; As a last resort, it was transferred to Tang County and Huantan, and coordinated with the reserve corps to encircle and break the Japanese army from both flanks. Sun Lianzhong, commander-in-chief of the Left Group Army, commanded the 2nd Army and the Eastern Hubei Guerrillas to contain the attack on Xinyangxing and prepare to fight on Xianghua Road with powerful troops. Tang Enbo, commander-in-chief of the Mobile Corps, commanded the 31st Group Army and assembled in the northeast area of Zaoyang to standby. Sun Zhen, commander-in-chief of the reserve corps, commanded the 22nd Group Army, which was temporarily located in Shuanggou. Li Pinxian, commander-in-chief of the 21st Group Army and the Dabie Mountain Guerrilla Army, commanded the headquarters of the Japanese army to attack the Japanese strongholds and communication lines along the river, and attacked the southern section of the Pinghan Road with powerful forces, threatening the rear of the Japanese army.

From this deployment, it can be seen that the Fifth Theater of Operations has arranged a large pocket, ready to put the Japanese troops in, and then cut off their retreat and catch turtles in an urn.

The Fifth War Zone is adjusting its deployment, and Sonobe and Ichiro are moving to the Ninth War Zone first. For a while, even Chiang Kai-shek was confused, which one did the Japanese army sing?

Dear book friends: When the war begins, you must explain it clearly. The poor mountain man had no choice but to be a copyist and irrigate it. I'm sorry everyone. This may also be a rare irrigation chapter in this book, don't scold me for copying, I won't dare to do it again!