[Anti-Japanese Iron Blood King] Chapter 453: All or Nothing (Ask for a subscription, ask for a monthly pass, ask for everything!) ）

The news that Ma Zheng's division had captured Datong and severely damaged the Japanese 27th Division soon spread throughout most of China, and for a while, everyone's attention shifted from Wuhan to northern Shanxi.

The same was true of the Supreme Command, after receiving the telegram from Yan'an, Lao Chiang was overjoyed and immediately ordered the Military Command Bureau to pay close attention to the war in North China, and to send a telegram to Wuhan as soon as there was a change in the war situation. At the same time, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief also ordered the Ministry of Military Affairs and the Propaganda Department to immediately and vigorously publicize the results of the Datong Campaign.

In fact, Lao Chiang also had no way at all, the situation on the battlefield in Wuhan was very bad, the Japanese army was in a state of great strength, and although the officers and men of the Ninth and Fifth Theaters fought very bravely, they still could not stop the pace of the Japanese army's advance, and the crisis in Wuhan became more and more serious. Now the soldiers and civilians on the battlefield in Wuhan urgently need a hearty victory to boost morale.

For Lao Jiang, if this victory was won by the Central Army, it would really be perfect. But it doesn't matter if it's not the Central Army, as long as it can inspire the military and people on the front line in Wuhan, even if it is suspected of gaining prestige for Ma Zheng's subordinates, after all, the lesser of two evils is the lesser of two evils.

It's just that now these bigwigs of the Nationalist Government are worried that although Ma Zheng's division captured Datong and severely damaged the 27th Division, and even killed Honma Masaharu, the Japanese counterattack was also quite fierce, not only two divisions were deployed in Tianzhen and Zhangjiakou, but the 26th Division and the 114th Division had received orders to go north and cooperate with the 10th Division and the 110th Division to attack Ma Zheng's defense area.

At the same time, the 20th Division and the 109th Division of the First Army stationed in Shanxi were also assembling and were attacking northward, apparently preparing for a counterattack on Datong.

In other words, although Ma Zheng's department has taken the lead, it is really unknown whether it can keep the results. In the next period of time, Ma Zheng's headquarters is likely to face the siege of more than six divisions of the Japanese army, and the situation is quite bad.

At the subsequent operational meeting of the General Headquarters, a large number of high-ranking Kuomintang generals, including Chen Cheng, He Yingqin, Bai Chongxi, and Li Zongren, were not optimistic about Ma Zheng's department. Although they also admit that Ma Zheng, who was born with mud legs, is a guy who is good at creating miracles, and is one of the best military officers in China today. But in the face of absolute strength, personal command ability is actually not enough to turn the tables.

Ma Zheng's unit had just experienced the ravages of the plague, and according to information received by the intelligence services, the unit suffered heavy casualties, including a large number of troops. Under such circumstances, how could they face the heavy siege of almost half of the North China Front, especially the most elite units such as the 10th Division and the Aviation Regiment directly under the Front.

Although Lao Jiang had no good impression of the Eighth Route Army, he had a good impression of Ma Zheng. Although Lao Jiang also felt that Ma Zheng was too arrogant and bold, through previous exchanges, Lao Jiang felt that Ma Zheng was a real patriotic soldier. Especially this time to open up a battlefield in the north at such a critical time, this is undoubtedly sharing the pressure of the Wuhan battlefield.

What's more, according to the top-secret information they obtained, Ma Zheng did not seem to have asked the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army and Yan'an for instructions before the battle began, which means that the battle was fought without authorization from above. It can be said that Ma Zheng gambled his personal political future in order to support the Wuhan battlefield from the side.

Seeing that Ma Zheng's department was about to fall into a crisis, Lao Jiang felt a little unbearable. In addition, the Wuhan battlefield really needed the anti-Japanese forces in North China to share the pressure, and the Supreme Command of the Nationalist Government immediately issued an order to the Second Theater and the Sulu Theater, ordering them to immediately organize troops to cooperate with Ma Zheng's headquarters to fight, and take advantage of the emptiness of the Japanese defense area to regain the lost territory.

With the issuance of the order of the Supreme Command of the Nationalist Government, the troops of the Second War Zone and the Kuomintang Sulu Theater began to assemble rapidly, and took the initiative to launch an attack on the stronghold of the Japanese army.

Speaking of the North China Front, the battle reports from all over the country quickly converged in Beiping, although General Sugiyama Mototo was already aware of the seriousness of the matter at this time. But now he has hated Ma Zheng's department to the extreme, so he would rather take a huge risk to kill Ma Zheng's department first.

Therefore, instead of ordering all units to return to their respective defense areas, the Japanese army received a death order from the front army, requiring each division to rush to the Zhangda line according to the predetermined plan, participate in the siege of Ma Zheng's headquarters, and no matter how heavy the price is, to destroy this hateful Tubalu, which is completely desperate.

In Sugiyama Moto's original words, whether it was the Central Army of China, the Jin Sui Army, or the other units of the Eighth Route Army, they were all abscesses on the skin for the Imperial Japanese Army, but Ma Zheng's department was a malignant tumor in the heart. An abscess attack may be painful, but a malignant tumor can be fatal.

The Japanese army's disregard for the northward movement also made the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army aware of the danger, although Ma Zheng's headquarters had a lot of troops, but the headquarters had just been reorganized, and the run-in had not yet been completed to form combat effectiveness. In addition, the two most combat-effective divisions had just experienced the heavy damage of the plague, how could they stop the siege of the six divisions of the Japanese army plus several independent mixed brigades.

As a result, the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army immediately held an emergency meeting and ordered the 120th Division, the 129th Division, the Shanxi New Army, the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region and other troops to immediately enter the battle and prevent the enemy from reinforcing at all costs.

To tell the truth, such a reaction of the Japanese army was also expected by Ma Zheng, and he immediately called back to the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army, indicating that the headquarters was ready to respond, and all units of the Eighth Route Army could cooperate with them to block the enemy's reinforcements, and if the Japanese offensive was too fierce, the Japanese army could be allowed to pass through the defense area. At the same time, Ma Zheng suggested that the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army could take advantage of the favorable opportunity for the Japanese army to move north, and take the initiative to counterattack the Japanese defense area with empty troops, and perhaps it would gain something.

After Ma Zheng's headquarters captured Datong, they almost did not care about resting, and under the opening of the assault brigade, the army went all the way south, and in less than a day, the two counties of Kehun and Huairen were connected, and the front of the troops was directly directed at Shuo County, where the Japanese army was independently mixed into the second brigade.

On the same day, the main two regiments of the Third Army Subdivision of the Eighth Route Army suddenly attacked Guangling, and the four main regiments of the Fourth Army Subdivision besieged Lingqiu, and after a day and night of attack, at four o'clock in the morning of June 15, finally conquered these two county seats, so far only Tianzhen and Yanggao counties in northern Shanxi were still under the control of the Japanese army.

After Huairen rested for half a day, the strike group composed of the 1st Division, the Assault Brigade directly under the Military Region, and the Artillery Brigade continued to move south, arriving in Shanyin County at 6 p.m. on the 15th, and engaged in a fierce battle with the 1st Infantry Brigade of the 2nd Brigade of the Japanese Army stationed in Sanyin.

The Japanese army relied on the strong fortifications of the city to defend San'in and block Ma Zheng's troops from moving south, and at the same time, it also had the meaning of holding on and waiting for reinforcements. After all, if Sanyin is lost, the next target is Shuoxian, and at this time, the vanguard of the Japanese 20th Division has already gone to Dai County, as long as they can hold out for two days, the 20th Division will definitely be able to arrive.

But Ma Zheng's department did not give Kuroda Shigetoku this opportunity, and while the army was besieging Shanyin, Huang Sicheng sent a partial division to attack Yingxian, Kezhi! Subsequently, the army went straight from Ying County to Shuo County and smashed Huanglong.

On June 16, the reorganized 1st Division and 2nd Brigade besieged the county seat of Shuoxian County, and the Japanese army was defeated with the cooperation of a large number of artillery. The commander of the 2nd Independent Mixed Brigade knew that the general situation was gone, and immediately ordered the remaining more than 2,000 defenders in the city to immediately withdraw from the south gate and withdraw to Shenchi, even the infantry brigade in Shanyin County could not even take care of it.

After capturing Shuo County, the main force of the first division returned to the aid of Shanyin County, and the Japanese puppet army, which had been in the general trend, surrendered to Ma Zheng's headquarters after holding out for eight hours. At this time, the vanguard of the 20th Division had already passed the Guandi Temple in the northwest of Dai County, less than 30 kilometers away from the county seat of Shuo County. (To be continued.) )