Chapter 357: Strategic Adventure (Ask for a subscription, ask for a monthly pass, ask for everything!) ）

Ma Zheng had already anticipated that the Japanese army was going to launch an all-out attack on the Suicha Military Region, so after he learned that the Japanese 16th and 27th Divisions had entered the defense area, he immediately went to Xinghe from the north and south to Xinghe to direct the second phase of the operation.

As for the second phase of the battle plan, Ma Zheng had already reported to the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army, and its main plan was to go south and east, with the aim of opening up the passage between the Suicha Military Region and central and eastern Hebei, so even if the Japanese army did not take the initiative to attack, Ma Zheng's headquarters would attack.

Unlike the hastily assembled Japanese army, Ma Zheng's headquarters had long been ready for battle, and the Eastern Route Army was dominated by Yang Chengwu's 93rd Division, supplemented by independent brigades and engineer brigades directly under the military region, totaling more than 42,000 people.

The Southern Route Army, mainly composed of the Seventh Division, supplemented by an artillery brigade and a guard brigade directly under the Military Region, totaling more than 35,000 people, has also completed the assembly in Fengzhen.

Since the main forces of the military region were basically mobilized in the border areas, the security of the internal security in the release areas was handed over to the newly formed county brigades. Fortunately, after several months of training, these county brigades have also formed a certain combat effectiveness, and they dare not say that they will be dragged into the battlefield and fight the Japanese to the death, but it is still no problem to do a good job in law and order in the jurisdiction.

The Japanese moved quickly, and by the time Ma Zheng arrived at the Xinghe front, the main force of the Japanese 16th Division had already passed the ferry fort. This time, the Japanese army learned the previous lesson, not only mobilized a large number of tank troops to open the road in front, but also mobilized a large number of aircraft to cooperate in the operation, which made the 93rd Division's strategy of blocking one after another failed, under the advance of aircraft, artillery and tanks, the blocking became extremely difficult, and the Japanese army advanced 30 kilometers in just one day. At this rate, it was only five or six days for the Japanese army to break through into Xinghe.

On the south road, the Japanese 27th Division divided into two routes, one along the mountain road to the north to attack Fengzhen County, while the other mechanized infantry quickly bypassed Zuoyun and Youyu and went straight to Liangcheng to attack Jining's flank. The Japanese army was fierce, and it seemed that they were preparing to take Jining in one fell swoop.

March 1 at eight p.m. Ma Zheng convened a meeting of former enemies in Xinghe and formulated a detailed response strategy. Ma Zheng of the East Route Army chose the strategy of repairing the plank road in the Ming Dynasty and darkening the Chen Cang, and the main force of the 93rd Division blocked the Japanese 16th Division along the mountain road, and if necessary, it could entangle with the Japanese army on the periphery of Xinghe County, or even abandon Xinghe County. However, no matter what method is used, and no matter what price is paid, the main force of the Japanese 16th Division must be contained along the Xinghe line.

At the same time, the joint cluster composed of the independent brigade, the engineer brigade and the 274th brigade of the 93rd division directly under the military region was directly penetrated by Shangyi into Zhangbei and Guyuan, and joined up with the Eighth Route Army fighting in eastern Hebei. Open up the passage between the Suicha Military Region and eastern Hebei.

On the south road, Ma Zheng decided to unite the 120th Division, the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region and other troops of the Japanese 27th Division in Datong to carry out a large-scale siege, and finally seek an opportunity to occupy the surrounding counties and districts, and ensure a safe passage.

Ma Zheng is now playing a big game of chess, and as long as this game of chess is played well, the Suicha Military Region will be able to get rid of the unfavorable geographical location of the two provinces, advance and retreat freely, and make great achievements in the future.

In order to confuse the Japanese army. The 93rd Division's arrangement of blocking positions along the Xinghe line was carried out in open and did not mean to cover it up at all. However, the actions of the joint attack group under the personal command of Ma Zheng were much more secretive. The troops are day and night, moving quickly and stealthily.

Extremely important importance is attached to the eastward advance of Chen Xudong's troops into eastern Hebei and Ma Zheng, and the eastward march of this unit is not just to make a call and leave, but to establish a solid base along the road.

As for why Ma Zheng advanced into eastern Hebei at this time, Yun Jian and the others actually didn't understand it, after all, eastern Hebei was 108,000 miles away from the defense area of the Suicha Military Region. There is really no need to move in this direction. But their rebuttal was vetoed by Ma Zheng, Yun Jian and others could not see the importance of Jidong, but Ma Zheng could see it.

East Hebei refers to 22 counties such as Lulong, Qian'an, Funing, Changli, Luanxian, Leting, Linyu, Fengrun, etc., which is located in the eastern part of Hebei and is connected with Rehe. It is an extremely important strategic position here, with Beijing and Tianjin in the east and west and Liaoshen in the east. At the same time, it is also an important passage for the Japanese army to connect inside and outside the customs. As long as it gained a firm foothold in eastern Hebei, it would be equivalent to cutting off the connection between the Japanese Kwantung Army and the North China Front, which would be very beneficial to China's war of resistance.

You must know that to a large extent, the materials of the North China Front were not transported from the Japanese mainland, but from the northeast, including guns and ammunition produced by the Shenyang Arsenal. As long as there is a problem with the passage connecting the inside and outside of the pass, the life of the Japanese army inside the pass will not be easy.

Moreover, most of the counties and districts in eastern Hebei are flat plains, and even if there are mountainous areas, they are all low hills, and there are no large mountains like the Taihang Mountains. Therefore, the eastern Hebei region is a famous land of fish and rice, as long as it occupies here, the Suicha Military Region will not lack food, and it will be able to recruit more soldiers, so the capture of eastern Hebei is a very important part of Ma Zheng's entire army expansion plan.

Another reason is that after the blow of the Great Uprising in Eastern Hebei, the strength of the Japanese army in Eastern Hebei was extremely weak at this time, and it was a good time for Ma Zheng's troops to take advantage of the weakness. If the operation is good, it is completely possible to turn eastern Hebei into a second Suicha base area.

In addition, the Eighth Route Army now has a very good mass base in eastern Hebei, and even has a fairly good regular army, after obtaining the consent of the Eighth Route Army Headquarters, a very important goal of Ma Zheng's eastward advance is to join forces with this anti-Japanese team.

Ma Zheng of the Eighth Route Army in eastern Hebei has also seen it, which is the fourth column of the former Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region. This team was established in May 1938 and was formed with the 3rd Regiment of the 1st Independent Division of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region as the backbone.

In May 1938, in order to carry out the strategic task of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on carrying out guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines in eastern Hebei and creating an anti-Japanese base area centered on Wuling Mountain, the Yanbei Detachment of the 120th Division and one detachment of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region were combined into the 4th Column in the Pingxi Zhaitang and Dujiazhuang areas, with Song Shi as the commander, Deng Hua as the political commissar, and Li Zhongqi as the chief of staff. It has jurisdiction over the 11th and 12th detachments, independent battalions and cavalry brigades, with a total of more than 5,000 people.

Subsequently, the 4th Column set out from Pingxi, passed through Pingbei, and advanced to eastern Hebei, connecting towns such as Changping, Yanqing, Yongning, and Sihai along the way. Subsequently, the 4th Column left the 12th Detachment, the 36th Brigade and the Cavalry Brigade to persist in guerrilla warfare in Pingbei, and the main force continued to advance eastward, and occupied Xinglong, and entered the Jiangjunguan, Gushanji, and Xiaying areas north of Jixian County.

In July 1938, the main force of the 4th Column cooperated with the Special Committee of Hebei to launch and lead an armed rebellion of more than 200,000 people in more than 20 counties in eastern Hebei and Kailuan coal mines, established an anti-Japanese armed force of about 100,000 people, successively conquered Pinggu, Jixian, Qian'an, Yutian, Leting, Lulong and other county seats, controlled the vast area of eastern Hebei, and established an anti-Japanese democratic regime.

Although the Jidong Uprising suffered heavy losses in the later period due to the counterattack of the Japanese army, the strength of the Jicha Rening Military Region established subsequently was still considerable, and if the Suicha Military Region and the Jicha Rening Military Region could smoothly meet their divisions, this would be a major turning point in the anti-Japanese situation in North China.

However, Ma Zheng also knew that this eastward march into eastern Hebei could also be regarded as a military adventure, not to mention that after tens of thousands of elite troops were assembled, the internal defense of the Suicha Military Region would inevitably be extremely empty. As a matter of fact, although the total strength of the Suicha Military Region has now been expanded to 120,000 troops, more than 80,000 people have now been assembled on the Fengzhen and Xinghe fronts, plus more than 20,000 people in northern Chabei, and now only the newly formed 10 or so county brigades exist in the vast areas including Suixi, Guisui, and Jining.

In addition, it is not easy to enter eastern Hebei this time, because eastern Hebei is connected to Rehe, and Rehe is the territory of the Japanese Kwantung Army. If the more than 20,000 elites in eastern Hebei have three long and two short, the Suicha Military Region will not have time to rescue, and the consequences will be equally unimaginable.

Not to mention that Ma Zheng himself is also in this army, and in the event of an accident, Ma Zheng himself will bear the brunt. As the soul of the Suicha Military Region, Ma Zheng's importance is self-evident, once he has a problem, it will be equivalent to the sky falling compared to the Suicha Military Region.

But in order to be able to take the initiative strategically, Ma Zheng felt that this risk was worth taking. (To be continued.) )