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Chapter 213: Counterattack (2) (Asking for subscriptions, monthly passes, and various !! ）

Not only that, but in Rehe, with Chengde as the center, nearly 100,000 Chinese and Japanese troops fought against each other. The instructors of the 40th Group and the Air Defense Brigade had been fighting bloody battles for nearly a week with the 8th Brigade of the 8th Division of the Kwantung Army and part of the Rehe defenders who had gone south to reinforce them, although the instructors were slightly superior in weapons and equipment, and their strength was nearly twice that of the Japanese army.

However, due to the large number of recruits on the instructor's side, although there were 60,000 troops, the combat effectiveness of the three new units that had just been expanded from battalions to brigades was far from being the opponent of the Japanese army. In addition, the Japanese puppet army still had to surround the city, so after a week of hard fighting, the joint command still failed to defeat the Eighth Division, let alone defeat the city of Chengde.

However, the joint command was not without results for more than a week, and at this time, the eyes of the Kwantung Army Command and the North China Front Army Command were all focused on Chengde, and the Japanese puppet troops in Rehe and Jidong were being transferred to Chengde in a steady stream. In addition, the rest of the troops of the Eighth Division of the Kwantung Army stationed in Chifeng and more than 10,000 people of the First Division of the Japanese Army stationed in Tongliao also received an order from the Kwantung Army Headquarters to urgently transfer to Chengde to ensure that the city of Chengde must be secured.

The main force of the Japanese army was transferred, and a troop vacuum suddenly appeared in the central and eastern parts of Rehe and the entire eastern Hebei region, and the guerrillas of the Eighth Route Army reported that at this time, there were only less than one wing of defenders in more than a dozen counties in eastern Hebei, and there were only one or two small groups of defenders in the vast majority of county towns, and some even had only puppet troops and no Japanese troops.

After getting the news. The joint command immediately decided to hold the Great Uprising in Eastern Hebei with the Fourth Column of the Eighth Route Army and the First, Second, and Third Brigades of Liu Guodong's headquarters as the main force.

Prior to this, the 40th Group and the Eighth Route Army had done a lot of work to lay a solid foundation for the uprising. On July 4, the joint command telegraphed Deng Hua's troops to quickly advance to Qian'an, Zunhua, Lulong and other counties, break through the enemy's encirclement, join up with the anti-Japanese coalition forces and Liu Guodong's headquarters of the 40th Group Army, and then launch a full-scale attack on the enemy in eastern Hebei, and at the same time guide the masses in eastern Hebei to stage uprisings.

After three days and nights of rapid marching, on the 7th, Deng Hua led two brigades. Eliminate all difficulties. Enter the territory of Qian'an County and conquer Qian'an County in one fell swoop. In addition, Liu Guodong led a brigade of troops to advance to the borders of Fengrun, Zunhua and Yutian, and conquered Zunhua County on July 8, and the great uprising in eastern Hebei broke out in an all-round way.

Due to a strategic blunder. This made the Japanese contempt the 40th Army. For this reason, the situation has taken a sharp turn for the worse. In just one and a half months, the North China Front Army lost ground and was in turmoil.

At this time, the battle situation north of the Yangtze River was divided into the Xuzhou battlefield with Xuzhou as the center. The Taiyuan battlefield with Taiyuan as the center, the Suizhong battlefield with Chasuqi as the center, the Chengde battlefield with Chengde as the center and the Taierzhuang battlefield with Taierzhuang as the center, strictly speaking, the Taierzhuang battlefield should belong to the Xuzhou battlefield. However, because the Taierzhuang battlefield is independent of the entire battlefield at this time, there is almost another game, and the total number of troops mobilized by the two sides has reached almost 1/2 of the entire Xuzhou battle, so it can be regarded as an independent battlefield.

On July 4, the 20th Army Corps and the troops of the 2nd Army in front of Taierzhuang had already discovered signs that the Japanese were preparing to retreat and launched a pursuit. The 52nd, 85th, and 75th armies of the 20th Army pursued to the Ganlu Temple and Hongwawutun area. The 110th Division of the 13th Army on the left flank began to attack the line of Zhangshan in the south of Yixian. The 31st Division in Taierzhuang also pursued after discovering the retreat of the Japanese army, and after annihilating the remnants of the Japanese army in the city, it occupied the various city gates and the village of Yuanshang outside the city. The 30th and 27th Divisions on the left and right flanks of Taierzhuang pursued to the vicinity of the mud ditch and captured many chariots and supplies. At this time, Cao Fulin's 55th Army, which was originally in Luxi, had reached the area north of Lincheng and Zaozhuang after crossing Weishan Lake and the Grand Canal. When the rear road was cut off, the Japanese army hurriedly rushed into the strong strongholds of Zhangshan, Jiushan and Shuiguo near Yixian County to wait for reinforcements. By the early morning of July 7, the Battle of Taierzhuang had achieved a decisive victory.

The Battle of Taierzhuang was fought for nearly a month and a half, and in less than 50 days, Taierzhuang was almost turned into a scorched earth. In this campaign, the Chinese army invested more than 120,000 troops in more than 20 divisions, including 60,000 in Taierzhuang; The Japanese army invested about 60,000 people in four divisions, including more than 20,000 in Taierzhuang. The Chinese army destroyed the strength of the 5th and 12th elite divisions of the Japanese army, annihilated nearly 20,000 Japanese troops, captured more than 1.3 rifles, 931 light and heavy machine guns, 77 infantry guns, 40 combat vehicles, and 50 artillery pieces.

The victory in the Battle of Taierzhuang seriously frustrated the rampant arrogance of the Japanese army, curbed the ferocious momentum of the Japanese invasion of China, and invigorated the high anti-Japanese spirit of the Chinese people. When the news came, the whole country was shaken, and for a time the citizens of major cities across the country took to the streets to hold demonstrations, holding high the portrait of Premier Sun and chanting slogans such as "Down with Japanese imperialism" and "Victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan." The anti-Japanese enthusiasm was extremely high.

After receiving the good news from the Fifth War Zone, the old man was overjoyed and immediately sent a telegram to the Fifth War Zone: "Although the battle of Taierzhuang has played the prestige of our Chinese army and the country, it is only a victory in the early stage of the second phase of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. The main focus of the long-term war of resistance was to consume the enemy's combat strength and achieve the most victorious victory. You must be well aware of the gains and losses of not being in one city or one city; Avoid adverse effects on the psychology of the protracted war of resistance. All publicity activities should be devoted to reporting facts and avoiding exaggeration. Written rebuke of the enemy should be limited to attacks on Japanese warlords, and slander against the Japanese Imperial Family and the Japanese nation should never be reported. ”

Immediately, the old man signed an order to award Tang Enbo, Sun Lianzhong, Tian Zhennan, Feng Anbang, Huang Qiaosong, Zhang Jinzhao, Chi Fengcheng, Wu Pengju and others the Order of the Blue Sky and White Sun.

Encouraged by the victory of Taierzhuang, the Second War Zone also recovered all the peripheral positions of Taiyuan City after more than half a month of hard fighting, although the Japanese army occupied Taiyuan City, but it was not stable, and was surrounded by elite troops of the Second War Zone on all sides, and it was impossible to move.

On July 10, the county town of Chasuqi, which had been surrounded for 12 days, was finally broken by the 40th Army, and the commander of the Japanese North China Front Army stationed in Mongolia. Lieutenant General Miyajun was captured, Major General Kuroda committed suicide, and the defenders of the castle were killed except for more than a hundred wounded. An incident that occurred during this period made Chen Feng and others feel helpless, and also caused the North China Front to lose face.

And it came to pass that just after the city was broken. Lieutenant General Gong Chun once again sent a farewell message to the North China Front Headquarters, and said that this time there was really nothing to be done, the Chinese army had already entered the city, and as a warrior of the Great Japanese Empire, he and all the officers of the Mongolian Army Command would be loyal to the Great Japanese Empire and His Majesty the Emperor in a military manner. The implication is that he and all the senior officers of the Mongolian army headquarters will definitely not be taken prisoner.

In fact, after . Gong Chun did the same, but it's a pity that he has been a senior officer for a long time, and this old guy has lost the blood of a soldier, and after giving the order never to be a prisoner, after ... Miyajun killed Captain Ogasawara, the telegraph operator of the headquarters, in case the password was obtained by the Shina people. When it was his turn to commit suicide, after. Lieutenant General Gong Chun couldn't do it anyway, and after a few strokes of the short knife on the big belly, he finally decided to solve it with a pistol.

It's a pity that it's just after. When Gong Chun made up his mind to be loyal to his emperor, after pulling the trigger, the southern pistol actually jammed, and at this moment, Ma Cao rushed into the temporary headquarters of the Mongolian army with people. Gong Chun, the lieutenant general commander, was very sad to become a prisoner of the 40th Army.

It's not over here, after. The news of Gong Chun's capture was not known to the North China Front, and after the county seat of Chasuqi was destroyed, General Terauchi Shouichi reported it to the base camp in the country. After the news of Gong Chun's death in battle, he asked the base camp to affirm at the same time. Gong Chun's merits were posthumously awarded to him as a general of the Imperial Japanese Army, in order to boost the prestige of the army and boost the sluggish morale of the front.

The base camp of the Japanese army also gave Terauchi Shou face, and soon made a decision to posthumously award it. Miyajun was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army. Soon after the Japanese army made a notification, the 40th Group Command also issued a telegram to the whole country, announcing the capture of the Japanese army general. Gong Chun, while briefly said that after a while, of course, after. It is impossible for Chen Feng to tell anyone else about Gong Chun's suicide attempt.

The consequences of the capture of an army general were unbearable for the North China Front, and although the battle was not over yet, the telegram of reprimand from the base camp had already been placed on the desk of General Shouichi Terauchi. In addition to a lot of reprimands, it was decided at the base camp that Terauchi Shouichi was demoted to lieutenant general due to poor combat performance, and immediately after the battle, he was transferred to the reserve, and then returned to Japan to report on his work.

Despite the extremely severe punishment, Terauchi Shouichi was greatly relieved, and the successive defeats made Terauchi Shouichi already desperate, if it were not for his high prestige in the army, he would definitely have been sent to a military court, and it was even likely that he would be sentenced. Now it's just a downgrade, and he hasn't been ordered to retire compulsorily, Terauchi Shouichi is already very satisfied, as long as he doesn't retire immediately, he still has a chance.

After suffering two major blows in succession, the North China Front Army Headquarters knew that the battle situation in Daosuizhong had been completely eroded, and the most important thing now was how to protect the Fourth Division and other troops, and that there was no longer any value or necessity to hold on to Baotou and other areas. In accordance with the order of the North China Front, the Fourth Division immediately withdrew from the battle and joined up with the 15th Brigade as soon as possible, and then the whole army immediately broke through to the south and withdrew to Xinkou through Qingshuihe, Zuoyun, Youyu and other places. (To be continued......)