Chapter 1061 Hard Times

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On the evening of the 16th, the Japanese army's Hankou Radio Station interrupted its normal broadcast, inserting the news of Zhang Zizhong's death in battle. Templars,

Liu Yimin couldn't have imagined that his telegram had reminded him enough that Zhang Zizhong was still martyred.

Liu Yimin, who was heartbroken, worked hard overnight to write the article "The Lessons of the Martyrdom of Famous Generals", which was handed over to the "Dazhong Daily" for publication and broadcast to the whole country in the form of a telegram.

In the article, Liu Yimin said bitterly that since the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, many high-ranking generals of our army have been killed, and none of them have the highest rank, the greatest influence, and the greatest losses than Zhang Zizhong, commander-in-chief of the 33rd Group Army, Zeng Zhongsheng, chief of staff of the 18th Group Army, and Huang Su, deputy director of the Political Department. Among them, the one who had the greatest impact on the ongoing battle after the sacrifice was Zhang Zizhong, commander-in-chief of the 33rd Group Army. Because of the heroic martyrdom of General Zhang Zizhong, it is tantamount to announcing that the defense line of our 33rd Group Army on the southern front of the battlefield of the Battle of Zaoyi has been broken by the Japanese army, and the three divisions of the Japanese army are likely to move closer to each other and counterattack the pursuing troops in our fifth theater of operations, and the results of our early operations are very likely to come to naught. Next, after a short rest, the Japanese army carried out a new tactical move, that is, crossing the Han River to the west and attacking our Yichang City. This is not random speculation, but the strategic position of Yichang City is important, and the Japanese army has enough troops to continuously enter the battlefield.

In the article, Liu Yimin analyzed that General Zhang Zizhong crossed the river with the determination to die, and he died not only under the guns of the Japanese army, but also at the hands of domestic public opinion. At that time, in order to cover the transfer of the main force of the 29th Army, General Zhang was appointed mayor of Beiping and dealt with the Japanese invaders. Domestic public opinion did not understand the truth, did not remember Zhang Zizhong's exploits in the Great Wall War of Resistance at all, and denounced General Zhang Zizhong as a traitor in North China. What's more, General Zhang escaped from Pingjin and returned south to chase the troops, passing through Jinan, and was arrested by Han Fuqu on the charge of traitor, and went south to Xuzhou and was searched by patriotic students who did not know the truth. According to common sense, General Zhang Zizhong should have died to clear his grievances. Learn from the pain, the people should introspect!

The situation on the battlefield is ever-changing, not to mention that the 16th Division of the Japanese Army participating in the battle is notorious, and it is much stronger than the combat effectiveness of the 39th Division in the Battle of Zaoyi in history, and the participating troops in the Fifth Theater were stimulated by the news of Zhang Zizhong's martyrdom, and were eager to take revenge, chasing the Japanese Third Division that retreated to Zaoyang. Templar, alas, our artillery firepower is insufficient, even if the 3rd Division is surrounded, what can it be? By the time the Japanese Third Division retreated to Zaoyang, the Japanese 13th and 16th Divisions had already turned around after breaking through the main defensive line of the 33rd Group Army, and the three divisions lined up in a line and viciously pounced on the 5th Theater troops pursuing the 3rd Division southward. Our army could not gain a foothold and had to retreat to avoid the enemy's edge, and the Japanese army pursued to Dengzhou in Xiangyang and Nanyang in one go.

The development of the next battle situation was exactly the same as in history, and after a short rest and replenishment in the Zaoyang area, the Japanese army began to carry out a phased combat mission on May 31, crossing the Han River and capturing Yichang.

At this time, Chiang Kai-shek completely woke up from his dream and found that all the troops that had been on the west bank of the Han River had been transferred to the east bank, and there was no main force to garrison them.

Chiang Kai-shek, who was panicked, immediately took measures, ordered the Fifth Theater troops to be divided into two corps on the left and right, and ordered Li Zongren to command the Second Army, the 22nd Army, the 31st Army and the 68th Army to form the left corps east of Hanshui, which was responsible for attacking Xianghua Road and responding to the right corps; Chen Cheng was ordered to rush to the front line and command the Jiangfang Army, the 29th Group Army, and the 33rd Group Army to form the Right Corps west of Hanshui to carry out the combat mission for the purpose of defending Yichang City. The 18th Army, which was training in Chongqing, also received an urgent order to immediately ship Yichang to guard Yichang.

On June 10, the 18th Army had just arrived in Yichang for two days, and the Japanese army attacked the city of Yichang, concentrating hundreds of planes to bomb indiscriminately in turn, and the 18th Army fought back, and the two sides were bloody. After two days of fierce fighting, the 18th Army had to be ordered to withdraw from the city of Yichang.

The battle of Zaoyi was fought into a pot of porridge, and the Shandong battlefield was also fought into a pot of porridge.

On June 17, the second day of Zhang Zizhong's martyrdom, without waiting for Liu Yimin to order an attack on the Japanese army's Jiaoji Road, Jinpu Road, and Longhai Road, the Japanese North China Front began a large-scale summer sweeping operation.

The first target of the Japanese army was the base area in southern Hebei.

The 11th Division of the Japanese Army, the 5th Independent Mixed Brigade, and the 1st Independent Mixed Brigade stationed in Nangong launched a large-scale sweep of the base areas in southern Hebei. Accompanying the operation was the 37th Division of the Japanese Army on Deshi Road.

Suddenly, the sky over southern Hebei was once again filled with the fierce flames of the Japanese invaders.

Without waiting for Liu Yimin to react from how to deal with the Japanese raid on southern Hebei, Tada Jun's second killing move made another move. On 19 June, the 41st Division of the Japanese Army stationed in Liaocheng and the 40th Division stationed in Decheng commanded two puppet groups of the North China Public Security Army to begin to adopt the tactics of advancing from north to south, launching a large-scale dragnet sweep in the Luxi area in an attempt to find and annihilate the main force of our second column in Luxi, which had not yet completed its training. ，

At this time, Xu Shiyou led the Luxi Garrison Brigade to Jiaodong and was being organized and trained together with the Jiaodong Garrison Brigade. Wang Bingsan's Luxi Second Garrison Brigade jumped to the Southwest Luxi Garrison Brigade and Chen Shiqu's Southwest Luxi Garrison Brigade for reorganized training. In the Luxi area, only Liu Jianjian, which was mainly expanded by the Second Brigade and the New Second Brigade, established the second column.

Liu Yimin knew in his heart that Tada Jun was afraid that he had heard the rumors of our army's expansion and training, and he would make a ruthless move to fight when our army's expansion and training had not yet been completed. However, the idea that Luxi's Japanese army wanted to attack our second column with only these two divisions and two security army groups was naïve. Because our army is fighting guerrilla warfare and is supported by tunnel networks, it is difficult for the little devils to capture the main force of our army. However, once the Japanese puppet army in southern Hebei completed the sweeping task and pounced on Luxi, then Luxi would be dangerous, and the second column would be dangerous.

Liu Yimin immediately ordered Liu Jianli and Zeng Chunjian to command the local armed forces to use the Luxi tunnel network to attack and resist the Japanese puppet army, and the main force quickly jumped out to find and annihilate the Japanese logistics baggage troops, and waited for an opportunity to attack near Jinpu Lude City to force the enemy to return to defense. At the same time, the telegram ordered Zhang Hongtao and Fu Zhuting's sixth column on the Jilu border to quickly launch an offensive against the Japanese puppet army on the Jilu border and force the enemy's 40th Division to come to the rescue.

Tada Jun shot with hatred this time, and made one poisonous move after another.

Liu Yimin had just ordered the sixth column on the Jilu border to launch an offensive against the Japanese puppet army, when he received an emergency alarm from the Jilu border. The 110th Division of the Japanese Army commanded the Japanese puppet army in the Pingjin area to kill the Jilu border, and cooperated with the 19th Brigade of the Japanese Army stationed in the Jilu border and the northwest of Shandong, the 20th Brigade in Qingyun, and the 21st Brigade in Linyi, and launched another dragnet sweep in the Jilu border area, looking for and annihilating the main force of our sixth column.

At the same time, the 28th Division stationed in Jiaodong also played tricks, first shrinking and concentrating the main force, and then with the cooperation of the Marine Corps, it began to sweep piece by piece, followed by the 28th Division in Jiaodong forced to land in the original ** part of the miscellaneous armed puppet army, the Japanese army fought in front, and the puppet army built a stronghold in the back, captured Dingrav, and expanded the puppet army.

The situation became more and more severe day by day, and Liu Yimin immediately ordered Chen Dayong, commander of the Seventh Column, who was expanding and reorganizing the army in Jiaolai, to lead the main force to rush to Jiaodong, concentrate the Seventh Column, the Zhaoshan Eighth Column, and Xu Shiyou's 11th Column, which were in Jiaodong, to launch offensive operations against the Japanese 28th Division, and resolutely destroy the main force of the 28th Division by combining guerrilla warfare and ambush tactics with movement tactics, and at least drive the Japanese 28th Division back to Yantai and Weihai to defend to the death.

As soon as Chen Dayong led the main force to leave the Jiaolai area, the Japanese puppet army in Jinan and the Japanese puppet army in Jiaoji Road dispatched troops to kill in the Qinghe and Jiaolai areas.

Fierce battles were raging everywhere throughout the Shandong battlefield.

On June 21, in order to alleviate the pressure in the Luxi, southern Hebei, Hebei-Lubian, Qinghe, and Jiaolai areas, Liu and Luo issued an order for the Jiaoji Road Campaign, determined to concentrate the first column, artillery brigade, cavalry brigade, fourth column, air defense brigade, engineer brigade, heavy machine gun brigade, heavy machine gun brigade, and heavy machine gun regiment to encircle and annihilate the Japanese army's independent mixed 18th Brigade in Jiaocheng, attracting the 36th Division of the Japanese Army stationed in Weicheng and the main force of the puppet army of Li Wenli's department to come to their aid and annihilate it in the field battle.

What Liu Yimin didn't expect was that Tada Jun was determined to retaliate this time, and the Japanese army base camp and the Chinese dispatch army headquarters were eager to eliminate the main force of the Eighth Route Army in Shandong, so as to clear the obstacles for the operation they were planning to participate in the world war, and the cost was very large!

People learn war in the midst of war.

Due to the defeat in the battle of Nomenhan, the decisive role of the Eighth Route Army's Liu Yimin armored assault group in the battle, and inspired by the blitzkrieg of the German armored forces, the Japanese army secretly organized three tank divisions in the northeast. Originally, these three tank divisions were used to prepare for war against the Soviet Union, and they were historically organized on June 24, 1942, of which the first and second tank divisions were subordinate to the mecha army of the Kwantung Army, and the mecha army was subordinated to the First Front Army of the Kwantung Army after it was withdrawn. Later, the 2nd Tank Division joined the Pacific Theater and was annihilated on the Philippine island of Luzon; The 1st Tank Division was repatriated to Japan at the end of the war for home defense operations; The 3rd Tank Division was subordinate to the Mongolian Army, stationed in Baotou, and later came under the direct jurisdiction of the North China Front Army, participated in the Battle of Central Henan, and when Japan surrendered, it surrendered to the squadron in Beiping.

Liu and Luo Qin led the main force to attack the 18th Brigade of the Japanese army stationed in Jiaocheng, and as soon as it started, the main force did not have time to deploy, and the Japanese puppet army in Jiaocheng abandoned the city and fled, running to the direction of Qingdao.

All this was like a premeditated plan, which aroused Liu Yimin's vigilance, and he immediately ordered to stop further pursuit and continue to investigate the enemy's situation.

As a result, early the next morning, a large Japanese fleet landed in Qingdao, and it seemed that the Japanese army was already floating on the sea, waiting to give the main force of the Eighth Route Army a blow to the waist!

The Japanese troops who landed were the three tank divisions and the second and seventh divisions built by the Japanese army in advance.

There is a Japanese army in the sky, and the armored group of the Japanese army on the ground, and Liu Yimin can't do it if he wants to retreat.

Just when the Japanese armored group was killing in central and southern Lu, the Japanese Guards Second Division, the Ninth Division, the Twelfth Division, the 29th Division, the 32nd Division, the 36th Division, the 114th Division and several independent mixed brigades around central and southern Lu all took action and killed in separate ways to central and southern Lu.

Liu Yimin was no longer in the mood to pay attention to the German occupation of France and the Japanese occupation of Yichang, so he concentrated on directing the troops to counter-sweep.

This time, the Japanese army was extremely vicious and menacing. Three chariot divisions, one mechanized division, and one permanent division set off a bloody storm in central and southern Shandong.

The Japanese army won by a high degree of mechanization and a fast attack. The Eighth Route Army won in the concentration of artillery fire, and there was rocket artillery, a sharp weapon that little devils had never heard of.

Liu Yimin urgently ordered the central and southern areas of Shandong to urgently clear the walls, and ordered Lei Ming and Yuan Guoping to command the fourth column to adopt the tactics of widely distributing mines to delay the offensive speed of the Japanese armored group, and cover the transfer of the main force and the clearing of the base areas. ordered Wang Jian'an and Zhang Haitao to lead the ninth column out of the Taiyi Mountains and kill in the Taixi area; Hong Chaoyuan was ordered to command the Fifth Column and the troops of the Lunan Military Region to take advantage of the geographical advantages of the mountainous area to block the 9th and 12th Divisions of the delayed Japanese army; Wang Nanhu and Tang Liang were ordered to command the 12th Column to block the 29th Division and the 114th Division of the delayed Japanese army. Lead the main force to hide and standby.

After the completion of clearing the strong walls of the base area, Liu Yimin immediately ordered all units to stop blocking and delaying operations, switch to concealment and standby and guerrilla operations, and let the Japanese troops enter the base area in a big stride, preparing for the second phase of counterattack operations.

At this time, the Japanese army's offensive speed was faster, and it quickly opened up the Taiwei Highway from Taierzhuang to Weicheng, divided the south-central and southeastern Shandong into two, and intensively built strongholds along the highway.

After completing the superficial occupation of the south-central Lu region, the three tank divisions of the Japanese army, the second division, and the seventh division withdrew from the south-central part of the country and went to the Qinghe and Jiaolai base areas. The 114th Division of the Japanese Army commanded the 22nd Brigade of the Independent Mixed Brigade, the Lianyungang Garrison and the Puppet Manchurian Advance Army to garrison Xuzhou and Longhai Road, the 29th Division was stationed in Jucheng, the 9th Division was stationed in Linyi, the 2nd Guards Division was stationed in Philadelphia, the newly formed 27th Division was stationed in Yanzhou and Jining Railway Lines, the 16th Brigade of the Independent Mixed Brigade was stationed in Tai'an, the 32nd Division set up its headquarters in Boshan City, and the puppet army Li Wenli Department set up its headquarters in Anqiu. Several divisions of Japanese troops began to carry out further dragnet sweeps in the base areas of central and southern Shandong.

The main force of the Eighth Route Army in central and southern Shandong led by Liu Yimin was divided in the Taiyi Mountains, Baoqinggu Mountains, and Wulian Mountains. The cities and large market towns in central and southern Shandong fell completely.

The Shandong base area has entered the most difficult period.

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