Once the Japanese army broke through the Fukou and entered Shanxi, it could go straight to the periphery of the Changzhi battlefield along the Changshu Highway. At present, the reinforcements in the northeast of Jin have not yet arrived, and the deputy commander-in-chief has concentrated his forces to fight between Changzhi and Gaoping. In the entire mountainous area from Dongyang Pass to the western part of Shexian County, there is only one independent regiment of the sub-district and some local armed forces, and it is difficult to intercept these more than 10,000 Japanese puppet troops on the front line of Fukou.

The puppet army that cooperated with the action of this unit was composed of a part of the Northwest Army that was originally stationed in the southeast of Jin, which was captured when the Japanese army swept the Linxian and Lingchuan areas in 42, and an army that surrendered to the enemy. There are many veterans in this department, especially good at garrison operations, and can be called the ace unit in the puppet army of the Wang puppet system.

Before this battle, in order to free up its hands to deal with the anti-Japanese alliance in the north, the Japanese army transferred a puppet army division originally stationed in Kaifeng to the command of the army in addition to the original two divisions, and expanded the army into a three-division army. It also supplemented the 1,500 British-made rifles, more than 100 light and heavy machine guns, and more than 300,000 rounds of ammunition captured by the British troops stationed in Hong Kong during the Hong Kong Campaign.

Although the army bears the name of Wang's puppet army, in fact, except for paying for expenses, Wang puppet cannot command this army at all, and this army is directly under the command of the headquarters of the Japanese army's North China Front. All ammunition and weapons are directly responsible for the North China Front, which shows how much Okamura Ninji attaches importance to this puppet army.

After the army surrendered to the enemy, the commander of the army made it clear that it would not fight against the Chongqing side. The eastern Henan region was close to the First War Zone, so it was transferred by the Japanese army to northern Jiangsu to fight against the New Fourth Army. However, in the fourth or third year of the war, the war situation was tense, and the Japanese army was transferred back to northern Henan to assist in defense, replacing those local puppet armies with extremely poor combat effectiveness and being defeated in one blow, cooperating with the Japanese army to stay in northern Henan and clamp down on the battlefield in the southeast of Shanxi.

The commander of the army was the Tanglin thief who stole treasures in the Qing Dynasty and was famous throughout the country. This time, the Japanese army launched an attack from Shexian to the southeast area of Jinjin, and its attack position and main attack direction were the areas where the army had been stationed before surrendering to the enemy. The Japanese army attacked westward from Shexian with this army as the mainstay, and it can be said that they are familiar with the way.

With the cooperation of this army, the Japanese army in Shexian County made considerable progress. On the second day after the offensive was launched, it broke through the Fukou and Shentian dangers, which caused considerable passivity to the Taihang Military Region. Once the direction of Dongyang Pass is lost, it will not only involve the entire battle situation in the southeast of Shanxi, but also a large number of rear organs are stationed at present, as well as Licheng, where the local government of Shanxi, Hebei, Luyu and Henan and the Northern Bureau are located, will also be exposed to the guns of the Japanese army.

Not to mention the entire flank and rear of the Changzhi battlefield, which may also be all exposed to the guns of the Japanese army. Although the Japanese puppet army that appeared in Fukou was mainly a puppet army, it greatly interfered with the deployment of the 18th Group Army in the southeast of Shanxi Province, and to a certain extent, affected the battle situation in southeast Shanxi.

In the face of the new enemy situation that appeared in Fukou, the five brigades reinforced by the Jin-Cha-Ji side had not yet arrived in the southeast of Jin. Yang Zhen's old superior could only draw a brigade as a reserve from the Changzhi battlefield, as well as two independent regiments of the Taihang Second Division, and quickly reinforce in the direction of Dongyang Pass.

The situation in the southern Hebei battlefield and the northwest Shandong battlefield took a sharp turn for the worse in an instant, but Yang Zhen was not worried. The 118th Division's U-turn to the north confirmed that its offensive in northwestern Shandong was nothing more than a false shot, in order to attract the attention of the western front clusters to the battlefield in southern Hebei and create conditions for them to divide the connection between the two major clusters of the anti-Japanese alliance in the east and west.

He let the opening of the Tao line, let the 118th Division and the Japanese army in southern Hebei converge, and thoroughly figured out the true intentions of the Japanese army on the battlefield in northwest Shandong. The actions of the 118th Division in the northwest of Shandong were a heavy bait for the Japanese army. If you really follow Chen Hanzhang's idea to fight the 118th Division first, I am afraid that you will fall into the trap of the Japanese army.

In this counterattack operation, the Japanese army made one link after another in its entire strategic attempt. Judging from the fact that the Japanese army took out a 118th Division as a bait, Okamura Ningji's appetite this time was quite large. Instead of focusing on attacking cities and grabbing land in the past, he wanted to use the unprecedented support of the base camp to completely defeat all the 18th Group Army and anti-coalition troops participating in the North China battlefield.

That is to say, this time the Japanese army will not only open up the Tianjin-Pudong Railway, but also focus on annihilating the living forces of the 18th Group Army and the anti-coalition forces on the entire battlefield in North China. If the 118th Division is attacked first, the Japanese troops on the southern Hebei and northwestern Shandong provinces and the Jinpu line will probably be surrounded at the first time. Since then, I am afraid that the chain reaction caused by it will not be something I can control.

Thinking of this, Yang Zhen was covered in white sweat. Thanks to the fact that Chen Hanzhang was stable again, he did not make a hasty attack on the front line of the pavilion. Otherwise, his entire battle plan would be disrupted, and he would only be led by the nose by the Japanese army during the battle.

But now that the entire strategic intentions of the Japanese army have been fully figured out, Yang Zhen has nothing to hesitate about. Come and not be rude, since the Japanese army is willing to take out a division and regiment, to lay this bait. So if you don't act, where can you be worthy of such a painstaking calculation by Okamura Ningji?

Although the 72nd Division of the Japanese Army was strategically located in the center, it was precisely from the combination of the two major battlefields of the East and the West. Defeat this 72nd Division first, and the whole game of chess will be alive. As long as the 72nd Division is resolved, there will be no worries about the entire Eastern Front battle situation.

However, although it is said that the entire Jilu border battle situation is quite confident. But the battle situation in the southeast of Jin made him somewhat worried. Judging from the entire deployment of the Japanese army this time, no battlefield is isolated. The battlefields of southeastern Shanxi, southern Hebei, northwestern Shandong, and northern Shandong are almost all under a situation of overall cooperation.

The operation of the Japanese army in Fukou was to cooperate with the two divisions and regiments in the southeast of Shanxi Province and to respond to the rescue operation of the two divisions and regiments in the southeast of Shanxi. It is still impossible to accurately judge at the moment whether it is just a false shot, disturbing the situation in the entire battlefield in the southeast of Jinjin, and creating fighters for the two divisions of the Japanese army on the front line of Gaoping and Changzhi.

However, in Yang Zhen's view, the Japanese puppet army that launched an attack from Shexian to the front line of Fukou was uncharacteristically dominated by the puppet army, and the possibility of the latter was quite large. Shexian County is close to Fukou and is also the eastern starting point of Changshe Highway. As long as the Japanese army breaks through the Fukou Pass, it will directly enter the hinterland of the Taihang Mountains.

If there is a problem in this direction, it will inevitably involve the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region and the deployment of troops in the entire southeastern battlefield of Shanxi. This will undoubtedly create quite favorable fighters for the two divisions of the Japanese army on the Gaoping front, and even buy time. Otherwise, if the Japanese army really attacked the southeast of Jin from Shexian, it would not be dominated by the puppet army.

At least one wing should be added to the two infantry brigades. The battlefield in the southeast of Shanxi Province has been fiercely fought for more than two months, and the Japanese army is now quite clear about the equipment and combat effectiveness of the 18th Group Army. The First Army lost nearly half of its troops on the battlefield in Shanxi, and if he still looked at people with old eyes at this time, I am afraid that he would be beaten in vain.

The actions of the Japanese army in the direction of Shexian were dominated by puppet troops, and this deployment itself was very problematic. If the Shanxi-Hebei-Luyu Military Region can free up its hands now, there will definitely be no big problem in dealing with these Japanese puppet troops. But the biggest headache at the moment is that at this time, the main forces of the Shanxi-Hebei-Lu-Henan Military Region are now concentrated in the southeast of Shanxi, and they cannot take care of the Japanese puppet army in Shexian County for the time being.

The offensive of the Japanese puppet army in Shexian County contained and dispersed a large part of the energy of the Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong, and Henan Military Regions. In addition, the two divisions of the Japanese army that went north from the Gaoping line will undoubtedly aggravate the current chaos in the southeast battlefield of Jinjin. After the Japanese puppet army of the ministry joined the battle, no one can say where the direction of the southeast battlefield of Jin will lead.

Fortunately, after receiving Yang Zhen's telegram, the reinforced troops of the Jinsui and Jinchaji Military Regions have begun to set off for the southeastern battlefield of Jin. After the dangerous situation appeared in the direction of Shexian County, the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region mobilized more than 200 vehicles at hand to go all out to transfer troops to the battlefield in the southeast of Shanxi, and the three brigades in its vanguard had already entered the territory of Heshun.

At the same time, a brigade and a regiment of the Jinsui Military Region from Taiyuan have also arrived in the Yushe area. As long as the reinforcements arrive, the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region has sufficient contingency forces in its hands, and there will be no major danger in the southeastern battlefield of Shanxi Province for at least a short time.

However, the key to the entire battlefield in the southeast of Jin Province depends on how well the deputy commander-in-chief fought the battle in Gaoping. If it can really eat or severely damage a division of the Japanese army, then the entire battlefield in the southeast of Shanxi will no longer have to worry about the future. As long as there are no major changes in the battlefield in the southeast of Jinjin, I don't have to worry about the chain reaction caused by it in a short period of time.

However, this sudden change in the battlefield in the southeast of Jin Province also hindered Yang Zhen's adjustment of troops to a certain extent, and he could not let go of his actions on the Western Front. At least he had to retain a considerable amount of troops to deal with in the depths of the Western Front, especially at several key points at the junction of Hebei and Jinjin.

But in any case, since he had already made up his mind to fight the 72nd Division first, Yang Zhen would not have any hesitation. At least at present, there has been no fundamental deterioration in the battlefield in the southeast of Jinjin, and the fighters are still in their own hands. If it drags on any longer, if there is a new reversal of the situation, then the impact will be too great.

Although launching a local counterattack now is somewhat too risky. But for Yang Zhen, since the Japanese army has come up with a ring on several battlefields, a series of sets have been set up. Then the concentration of forces will completely disrupt one of his links, and through the attack on the 72nd Division, it will disrupt its deployment on the entire battlefield.

As long as the situation in the northwestern battlefield of Shandong is chaotic, no matter what tricks the Japanese army plays in the southeastern battlefield of Shanxi. What are the specific goals of the two divisions, they can only do nothing. With the way of others and the way of others, since the Japanese army has done so many tricks for itself, if they don't do something, they are sorry for the painstaking efforts of the Japanese army.

Since the Japanese army has decided to advance at the junction of southern Hebei, Hebei, Shandong, and Henan, as well as on the battlefield of northern Shandong, it will advance at the same time. Then he took advantage of the mentality of the current Japanese army to hit him by surprise. It's good to be sure, but you have to take the risks you need to take when necessary. In the most critical area of the entire deployment of the Japanese army, give him a black tiger to dig out his heart.

As long as Chen Hanzhang can solve this 72nd Division under the noses of the Japanese troops on the eastern and western routes. Under the situation that the Japanese army in southern Hebei is facing outflanking in the rear road, it is bound to change the current step-by-step offensive. No matter how the Japanese army originally planned to use the two divisions in southern Hebei, its overall deployment would inevitably change. As long as the battlefield in southern Hebei is chaotic, the battlefield in the southeast of Shanxi will also inevitably change.

In this counterattack, no matter what the Japanese army deploys, it will be pulled away on a large scale. The next step of the strategic initiative is completely in our own hands. Therefore, although it is very risky to fight the 72nd Division first, Yang Zhen believes that this risk must be taken and worth taking for the change and development of the entire battle situation.

Moreover, with Chen Hanzhang's ability and the troops that can be mobilized at the moment, Yang Zhen believes that it is unlikely that this counterattack will fail. Yang Zhen is still very confident that Chen Hanzhang can solve the 72nd Division under the noses of the Japanese troops on the eastern and western fronts.