With the Battle of Henan in full swing, the War of Resistance Against Japan, which was supposed to stop in the eyes of many people, has a tendency to intensify, and the war has extended from Henan to the entire Central China. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Many Japanese divisions and regiments that originally participated in the Battle of Wuhan did not get much time to recuperate, and were sent to the Henan battlefield by the Central China Front. Such a large-scale mobilization undoubtedly aggravated the logistical burden of the Japanese army.

Compared with the Eighth Route Army, it only needs to ensure the safety of the rear of Shaanxi and deliver supplies to the front-line troops. If the Japanese army wanted to reinforce the Henan War, it needed to draw garrisons from all over the country. Such a long journey and horses will undoubtedly increase the burden of the troops' march.

While the Japanese army and many people were paying attention to the situation on the battlefield in Henan, Yan'an and the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army were paying attention to the seemingly calm battlefield in Shanxi. Even though Shanxi is now in a constant war, many people feel that there is no major war in Shanxi for the time being.

Even if Itagaki Seishiro suggested to the North China Front, he hoped that they would transfer troops to support the Shanxi battlefield and beware of an offensive that the Eighth Route Army might launch at any time. However, many Japanese troops felt that the Eighth Route Army should not dare to open up a new battlefield.

Even in the eyes of many Japanese generals, the goal of the Shanxi Dispatch Army to contain the main force of the Eighth Route Army has been achieved. All that remains to be done is for Shanxi to send troops to block the Eighth Route Army attacking them, so that the Eighth Route Army will continue to invest in vital forces.

In this way, it can also distract the energy of the Eighth Route Army on the battlefield in Henan. When the reinforcements drawn by the Japanese army arrived on the battlefield in Henan one after another, I believe that the final victory will still belong to the Japanese army, rather than the Eighth Route Army, which is currently advancing wildly.

Itagaki who couldn't apply for reinforcements, although he felt a little disappointed. But he also understood that if the North China Front could send reinforcements, it was estimated that it would have been sent to the Henan battlefield long ago. Therefore, all he could do was hold on to these cities where he was stationed.

The 116th Division, which served as the main attacker, achieved certain results. However, as the Eighth Route Army joined forces with Fu Zuoyi's department again, the offensive of the 116th Division seemed to have been suppressed, allowing the 116th Division to continue to stalemate with Fu Zuoyi's division on the front line.

The Tufeiyuan Division, which originally wanted to join the 116th Division, now retreated in the direction of Zhoukou with a fight. In view of such changes, the 116th Division, which was tasked with the attack mission, also felt a little frustrated and helpless.

In the eyes of the 116th Division, if the Fifth Division guarding Shanxi could also cooperate with them to attack Jincheng. I believe that if they want to capture Jincheng, it shouldn't be a problem. Unfortunately, this seems unlikely.

After all, capturing one Jincheng and losing other territory was undoubtedly a loss-making deal in the eyes of the Japanese army. Throwing watermelons and picking up sesame seeds, Itagaki asked himself if he could do it. Therefore, for the time being, he can only make an arrangement of one attack and one defense.

Just when Itagaki felt that the 3rd Infantry Division, which had marched from Yulin to the Shanxi battlefield, would launch an attack in Yangquan. He Zhengdao and the First Division of the Northeast Anti-Japanese Allied Army, which was formed by the former Third Independent Division, were deploying combat missions around a place.

Looking at the battlefield sand table piled up by the General Staff, He Zhengdao called the division commander of the 1st Division and several main regiment commanders, including Li Xiangdong, commander of the artillery brigade and reconnaissance brigade, to the sand table and explained to them the next offensive plan.

'Comrades, the first battle we will enter Shanxi will revolve around the town of Lou Fu. The Fifth Division stationed in Shanxi stationed a wing of troops in this town, and also attached many puppet army units to assist in the defense.

We have only one mission, and that is to completely annihilate the Japanese troops in the town. And at the fastest speed, we will advance the pace of our offensive to the territory of Jiaocheng. There, we still need to gnaw down a hard bone.

As long as we succeed in the first battle and successfully eliminate the Japanese puppet army in Loufu, I believe that the defenders of Taiyuan will also be in chaos. The second battle is to attack Yangqu, and the battle here will be in charge of the second division.

After taking these two places, I realized that Taiyuan had opened its doors to us. At that time, in order to defend Taiyuan City, it is believed that the Japanese army will also send troops from other places to defend Taiyuan one after another.

Once they draw troops from other places, then the rest of the main forces that cooperate with us in the battle will also take advantage of the situation to attack and recover the large and small county towns occupied by the Japanese army. I have only one requirement for this fight, and it has to be fast.

We want to make the little devils feel that our troops may appear under Taiyuan City at any time. At the same time, it is also necessary to make the little devils in Shanxi feel that there is not much time left for them to perish. In this battle, we must fight our ruthlessness! ’

Listening to He Zhengdao's words, everyone gathered around the sand table felt very excited. With a main division plus an artillery brigade, it is undoubtedly a simple matter to deal with a small town defended by only one infantry wing.

Even the Japanese troops who defended the town built permanent fortifications in some dangerous areas. But as far as the Eighth Route Army in this attack is concerned, their artillery brigade is not vegetarian. I'm afraid that those fortifications won't be able to withstand too much.

Once the defending Japanese troops in the territory of Lou Fu are annihilated, the main force of the first division will take advantage of the situation and rush to the territory of Jiaocheng as quickly as possible. At that time, if you want to keep the Japanese army that you have friendships with, you can only draw troops from the nearest Taiyuan city to support.

Just when they felt that the Eighth Route Army would use the battle as a breakthrough, He Zhengdao shook another shot and attacked Yangqu, another military stronghold that entered Taiyuan. I believe that this kind of play will also catch the little devil off guard!

When the 3rd Infantry Division arrived in the territory of Wutai and launched an attack on the Japanese troops stationed in Yangquan in the form of four main regiments advancing at multiple points. Itagaki also gradually felt the attack power of the Eighth Route Army from Yulin.

But what really shocked Itagaki was the equipment of this Yulin Kailai army, which was no worse than the blocking force under his command. At least in Itagaki's view, such equipment was something that the Eighth Route Army in Shanxi did not have before.

Each of the main regiments responsible for the attack was equipped with an infantry artillery and field artillery unit. Such a configuration undoubtedly aggravated the casualties of many Japanese troops who were responsible for blocking them.

Even such casualties of the Japanese army increased the panic of the troops. As for the many puppet soldiers who originally gave them their lives, a large number of deserters began to appear. The Shanxi dispatch army, which seemed to have sufficient copies, also fell into a situation of shortage of troops.

When the 3rd Infantry Division advanced to the territory of Yuxian in Yangquan, the 21st Infantry Brigade of the 5th Division, which arrived in Yangquan, did not have time to rest before entering the battle, so that it could withstand the offensive edge of the 3rd Infantry Division.

Hearing that the 21st Infantry Brigade had stopped the offensive of the Eighth Route Army, Itagaki was also a little worried: "The casualties of our troops are too great, if we continue to fight like this, I'm afraid we won't be able to afford it at all!" ”

Compared with the Eighth Route Army in Xinzhou, there is also a 120th Division waiting for an opportunity, and the only reinforcement they can think of is the 116th Division fighting in Jincheng. At this time, the battle in Yangquan was tight, and Itagaki felt that the 116th Division should be withdrawn.

Send a telegram to the 116th Division, ordering it to stop the attack on Jincheng and send at least one infantry brigade to Yangquan for reinforcements. The rest of the division's troops were also withdrawn to the Jinzhong area for rest and recuperation. ’

Faced with the battle order issued by Itagaki, the chief of staff of the division and regiment said with some surprise: "General, what about Changzhi?" ”

At this point, we have to make some sacrifices. With its scattered forces, it is better to garrison the already chaotic Changzhi, it is better to compress the troops and hold the strategic place of Jinzhong. There's no room for error! ’

In Itagaki's view, once the 120th Division and the 118th Division also attacked, even the Jin Sui Army stationed in Linfen also intervened. Even if the two main divisions in his hands are strong, they can't stand the group fighting of the Eighth Route Army!

After receiving the retreat order from Taiyuan, the commander of the 116th Division, who was unwilling, could only give the order to withdraw the troops in the end. It's just that at this time, wouldn't it be easy for them to withdraw?

As Itagaki said, today's Choji has become an extremely chaotic area of warfare. The Jin Sui Army, the Eighth Route Army, and the Japanese Army overturned the sky here. If you want to withdraw from the Jincheng front, it is not an easy thing!

Earlier, when He Zhengdao returned to Yan'an from Henan, he gave a combat order to the Third Reconnaissance Regiment deployed here. Of course, now this old 3rd Reconnaissance Regiment has become a new independent infantry brigade under the command of the Reconnaissance Brigade.

After the end of the Shanxi Campaign, this infantry brigade formed with the old Third Reconnaissance Regiment as the backbone will also become a brigade-level combat unit of the Northeast Anti-Japanese Allied Army. During this time, they have been holding back the battle!

After receiving the news of the withdrawal of the 116th Division from the front line, the new brigade commander Zhou Bicheng quickly summoned the former reconnaissance battalion commanders who had just been promoted to regiment commanders, and said with an excited and serious expression: "Comrades, the commander's order has arrived!" ”

A few short words, but the expressions of these old reconnaissance battalion commanders became excited. Someone immediately said: "Commander, can we fire at full power?" ”

'Nice! The commander's orders were short, but the task he asked us to accomplish was not simple. That is, to block the 116th Division that was withdrawn from Jincheng. At the same time, cooperate with the 118th Division and the 129th Division to recover the entire territory of Changzhi and annihilate the stubborn enemy in Changzhi. ’

'What about the Jin Sui army?' ’

The commander of the main battalion immediately inquired about the Jin Sui army, which also wanted to pick up cheap troops from Linfen. For this kind of thing, Zhou Bicheng also said simply: "If Jin Suijun wants to help the field, we won't stop it, it depends on how capable they are!" ”

In Zhou Bicheng's opinion, the 116th Division, which had already decided to retreat from Jincheng, would naturally consider the fact that their retreat was blocked. This means that it is not easy to prevent the 116th Division from retreating to the rear.

The most important thing is that once these little devils know that the back road may be cut off, going crazy is not something that these Jin Sui troops who came from Linfen to participate in the war can deal with. After all, the Jin Sui army now has a lot of troops, but its combat effectiveness is not high.

The only troops that can fight a little are mostly under Fu Zuoyi's command. It's a pity that at the moment, Fu Zuoyi doesn't seem to deal with Yan Xishan very much, but he is closer to the Eighth Route Army. After all, Fu Zuoyi was able to hold Jincheng thanks to the help of the Eighth Route Army.

This also means that if you want to come over and pick up the cheap Yan Xishan, you will be afraid that you will have to make a loss-making transaction again! (To be continued.) )