After the start of the Zhengtai Line Raid, the Japanese army was in chaos from the base camp to the independent mixed fourth brigade that specifically guarded the Zhengtai Railway.

Beiping, the headquarters of the enemy's North China Front. The commander, General Tada, looked gloomily at a telegram on the table, which had just been sent from the base camp, ordering him to immediately increase his troops in the direction of the Zhengtai line, otherwise he would be relieved of his duties.

The Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Yamashita Fumi, stood aside and suggested in a low voice: "Your Excellency Commander, are we ......?"

Tada Jun looked at him coldly and said in a deep voice, "Yamashita-kun, what do you want to say?" ”

Yamashita Fengwen hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Excellency, I think it's time to send the 33rd Division and the 34th Division out. ”

While Zheng Weiguo was trying to calculate the Japanese army by sabotaging the railway, he didn't know that the Japanese were also secretly calculating him. In the words of the Minister of War Itagaki Seishiro, "North China has made too much trouble during this time, and it must be punished!" "For this reason, the Japanese army has been raising supplies and preparing troops. It's just that some time ago, the military stations in Shijiazhuang and Tianjin were destroyed by special forces, so that the Japanese army had to suspend its operation, but the preparations have not been interrupted.

Taking into account the weak combat effectiveness of the independent mixed brigades, as early as January 39, the Japanese army base camp began to secretly form new divisions, which were:

32nd Division, division commander Lieutenant General Hyotaro Kimura. The division was formed on January 7, 1939 in Tokyo, Japan, and is a three-unit division for special garrison, under the jurisdiction of: the 32nd Infantry Regiment: the 210th, 211th, and 212th Infantry Wings.

The 33rd Division, the commander of the division, Lieutenant General Shigetaro Kazuta. The division was formed on January 7, 1939 in Sendai, Japan. It belongs to the three-unit division regiment dedicated to the garrison. Subordinate: 33rd Infantry Regiment: 213th, 214th, 215th Infantry Wing.

The 34th Division, the commander of the division, Lieutenant General Seki Kameji, was formed on January 7, 1939 in Osaka, Japan, and belonged to the three-unit division for the special garrison. Subordinate: 34th Infantry Regiment: 216th, 217th, 218th Infantry Wing.

35th Division, division commander Lieutenant General Osamu Maeda. The division was formed on January 7, 1939 in Asahikawa, Japan, and is a three-unit division dedicated to the garrison, under the jurisdiction of: Major General Iida Taijiro, commander of the 35th Infantry Regiment: the 219th, 220th, and 221st Infantry Wings.

The 36th Division, the division commander is Lieutenant General Wu Chuannan. The division was formed on January 7, 1939 in Hirosaki, Japan, and is a three-unit division dedicated to the garrison, under the jurisdiction of: 36th Infantry Regiment: 222nd, 223rd, and 224th Infantry Wings.

37th Division. Division commander Lieutenant General Kenyoshi Hirata. The division was formed on January 7, 1939 in Kurume, Japan. It is a three-unit division regiment dedicated to the garrison. Subordinate: 37th Infantry Regiment: 225th, 226th, 227th Infantry Wing.

In addition to the infantry units, each division and regiment also has a search wing, a field artillery or mountain artillery wing, an engineer wing, a baggage wing, a communications unit, an ordnance service unit, a health unit, two field hospitals, and a sick horse factory.

In parallel space, these divisions will not be formally organized until February 7, 39, and will not be incorporated into the Chinese dispatch army sequence on April 1. Enter the Chinese battlefield. And officially enter the war will not be until late April. But in this plane. The organization and dispatch of various troops. Significantly much faster. In particular, the 32nd Division, which has now arrived in Suiyuan and participated in the siege of Baotou.

The same is true for other divisions. Originally, the 33rd and 34th divisions were to be sent to Central China, but now they are also secretly sent to North China. In order to prevent leakage of information, the Japanese army deliberately let these two units act under the banner of the 32nd Division. At present, he is hiding in the barracks in Tianjin and Tanggu, and it is strictly forbidden to go out in normal times, and even the supplies are transported by steamship, so Feng Kun did not notice it.

According to the intention of the base camp, the two divisions were required to immediately move south to resolve the crisis on the Zhengtai line. However, the commander of the North China Front, Tada Jun, resolutely disagreed. He believed that the Jizhong side still had a heavy accumulation of troops and had not yet moved, and there must be a big plan, so it was necessary to have a strong reserve force in hand. Moreover, he believes that the material preparation is not sufficient now, and requires the base camp to provide more supplies, otherwise the troops cannot be dispatched.

Seeing that Yamashita Fumimi also echoed the views of the military department, Tada Jun rebuked angrily: "Yamashita-kun, that incompetent guy in Itagaki doesn't understand, don't you understand it either?" ”

Within the Japanese army, Tada Jun and Ishihara were a faction, the so-called "non-expansionists" or "gradual factions", which advocated eating China one bite at a time by cannibalization or "boiling frogs in warm water". Although Seishiro Itagaki was an old friend of Ishihara Waner (at that time, he claimed to be the courage of Itagaki and the wisdom of Ishihara), he was the same as Sugiyama Moto, and both advocated "the destruction of China within three months".

Due to differences in concepts, Tada Jun and Seishiro Itagaki couldn't pee in the same pot. In fact, Tada Jun was driven to North China by Itagaki from the position of deputy chief of staff, so he was naturally dissatisfied with him. Drinking, fighting, and scolding Itagaki have almost become Tadajun's three hobbies, and he scolds two sentences when he has nothing to do.

However, Tada Jun can rely on his qualifications to scold a few words in private, but Yamashita Fengwen doesn't dare, the limelight of the "226 Incident" has not completely passed! Yamashita has now also learned to be a man with his tail between his legs.

Seeing that Tada Jun was scolding Itagaki again, Yamashita had no choice but to pretend not to hear it, and said with an embarrassed face: "Your Excellency Commander, maybe your insistence is right. But now that the order has been clearly issued from the base camp, if you refuse to obey, you risk being dismissed! No matter how talented you are, you can only show it when you have a lot of power, otherwise your persistence is meaningless! ”

After hearing this, Tadajun's face softened slightly, and he said with appreciation: "Sodosne, Yamashita-kun, is this the philosophy you realized after the 226 incident?" Eat a trench, grow a wisdom, this is really the truth! ”

Yamashita Fengwen's face turned red, and he hurriedly said, "Your Excellency the commander has won the award." ”

Tada Jun waved his hand and continued: "Well, what you said makes sense, but the most important thing at the moment is to win this battle. Otherwise, if no one else dismisses me, I will fall myself. And Minister Itagaki has no intention of removing me from his post now, I think he had better care about his position first! ”

Yamashita listened to it. I couldn't help but be stunned.

Itagaki is indeed a bit precarious in his position as Minister of War. The Zhang Gufeng incident made the emperor seriously dissatisfied with him, because Emperor Hirohito wanted to annex China and did not want to fight the Soviets in the ice and snow. However, Itagaki was ambitious and strongly advocated the "Triple Alliance", hoping to "advance with the east and the west" with Germany and destroy the Soviet Union.

In particular, on January 5, 1939, after Seishiro Itagaki concurrently assumed the post of "President of the Manchurian Affairs Bureau", he secretly instigated the Kwantung Army to carry out armed provocations against the Soviet Union. How can Hirohito tolerate this kind of thing? However, the Kwantung Army faction was powerful, and Hirohito did not dare to attack directly. I had to wait for Seishiro Itagaki to make an accident himself. And then rightfully take it down.

Itagaki also knew this, but he was gambling, first, that the Kwantung Army would take advantage of the conflict, and second, that the war in China would end as soon as possible. As long as one of these two satisfies one. The emperor did not dare to touch him easily. If only both things were done. Maybe you can even reach Yamaguchi Aritomo (the father of Japan's modern army. The wife of the current emperor Hirohito was chosen by him, hehe) such a position, even the emperor has to look at his face.

Hesitated. Yamashita asked again, "Your Excellency, what are you going to do next?" You can't just watch the people of China destroy the railway, right? ”

Tada Jun also felt very troubled and asked rhetorically, "What about your opinion?" ”

Yamashita replied, "I suggest that the 10th Division be ordered to go north immediately!" ”

Tatian Jun's eyes widened, and he said in a deep voice: "Nonsense, there is only one 10th Division stationed in northern Henan, don't you want the Xinxiang area?" ”

Yamashita Fengwen insisted: "Your Excellency, Xinxiang has no resources, and the geographical location is not important, so it doesn't matter if you give up for the time being. However, the Shotai Line was the main artery of the empire, and there were hundreds of thousands of yen in losses for one day of suspension. If we don't step up reinforcements, not to mention the base camp, even the country will not be able to explain. ”

According to the situation at that time, Xinxiang was really of little value. And after the embankment broke at the mouth of the garden, Yuzhong basically became a chicken rib, unless you want to open the Pinghan line in one go, or go west into Guanzhong, otherwise it is not much fun to occupy it. In the parallel space, the Japanese army did not occupy central Henan until 44 in order to open up the "mainland communication line".

On the other hand, there are the domestic factors, mainly the chaebol who have a major interest in the Jingcheng Coal Mine and Zhengtailu. Around the time of World War II, Japan's domestic zaibatsu had grown. For example, the four major consortia that became famous in the future - Mitsui, Mitsubishi, Sumitomo, and Yasuda (Fuji) already had a considerable scale at this time, and their political status was also very high. At the end of 38, after Fu Zuoyi's ministry took Baotou, the wool business of the Japanese consortium was greatly affected, and the military was blamed. This time, Tada Jun insisted on taking Baotou first, and in addition to military factors, the pressure exerted by the consortium was also crucial.

"Hmm!" Thinking of the harsh criticism of the chaebols, Tada Jun reached out and touched the head that began to bow his head, and he couldn't help but have a headache, so he nodded and said, "Suoga, Yamashita-kun, just do what you want!" ”

Yamashita Fengwen was shocked when he heard this, and said with a little excitement: "Your Excellency, Commander, I have another suggestion!" ”

Tada Jun said angrily: "If you have any suggestions, you might as well finish it at once, you don't need to say it at a time." ”

"Hello!" Yamashita Fengwen hurriedly said: "The Chinese Army mainly has two armed forces in northern Henan, one is Zhu Huaibing's 94th Division of Chang Kaishen's system, and the other is the 344th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army system. ”

Tada Jun immediately understood and asked, "Do you think they will have a conflict?" ”

Yamashita Fengwen smiled: "Definitely, Your Excellency!" He also explained: "They have been fighting for several years before, and the two sides have a deep hatred. Moreover, during this time, the 94th Division has been hiding in the Taihang Mountains, and it is mainly the 344th Brigade that is fighting with our army. If, when retreating, we deliberately leak the news to the 94th Division, do you say that something unpleasant will happen? ”

Tada Jun couldn't help but laugh, patted Yamashita Fengfumi's shoulder, and said approvingly, "Yo Xi! Yamashita-kun, your idea is very good. I think the pen troops should also take action and find something to do for the people! ”

The pen unit was the propaganda department of the Japanese army, composed of unscrupulous literati who believed in fascism and militarism. They have two tasks: one is to publicize the "justice" of the war of aggression against China to the Japanese people and encourage Japanese young people to "devote themselves to serving the country"; The second is to preach slavery education to the Chinese people, advocate the "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere," sow discord among various strata in China, and even stir up disputes among the anti-Japanese military and people.

A day later, a flood of gossip began to appear across northern China. Some said that the Nationalist Government was going to negotiate peace with Japan and was ready to contact to eradicate the GC Party; Others say that the Eighth Route Army secretly met with the Japanese army. Anyway, it's a mess, and there's everything to say. These news are true or false, and they are said with noses and eyes, and people are panicked for a while.

Three days later, the Japanese 10th Division suddenly shrank its forces from northern Henan, and then began to set off for the north, and a power vacuum suddenly appeared in northern Henan. In the past, when the 10th Division was there, whether it was the 344th Brigade, the 94th Division, or the guerrillas and militias on both sides. behaved with restraint. But the enemy retreated. Internal contradictions quickly intensified. Even before the Japanese army had completely withdrawn from northern Henan, some small units fought first.

"Headquarters!" Chief of Staff Zhou hurried over and said anxiously: "Zhu Huaibing's department and the 344th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army are fighting!" ”

"What?" Zheng Weiguo was taken aback and hurriedly asked, "What the hell is going on?" ”

Chief of Staff Zhou replied: "The 10th Division stationed in Xinxiang has been shrinking its strength recently. It is likely that the two sides are at odds because of the vacated territory. ”

Zheng Weiguo understood as soon as he heard it. It is also common for people to fight behind enemy lines for turf. Nodding his head and saying, "I see!" Zhuzi, hurry up and ask Senior Commander Liu and Political Commissar Cheng to come over. ”

The pillar answered, and was about to go out. Unexpectedly, Division Commander Liu and Political Commissar Cheng had already come over. Political Commissar Cheng looked very angry, and as soon as he entered the door, he shouted: "Commander, that Zhu Huaibing is too reactionary. The anti-Japanese effort is not made, and the land grabbing is rewinding! ”

Zheng Weiguo snorted and asked again, "What is Senior Commander Liu's opinion?" ”

Master Liu replied: "It's really a trouble, if it is not handled well, it will be difficult to fight on the Pinghan line." ”

Zheng Weiguo nodded and said, "No matter what, the Chinese army cannot fight among themselves at the moment of the great enemy. I immediately contacted Commander Wei Lihuang and asked him to restrain the 94th Division. Please also ask the Eighth Route Army to exercise some restraint. ”

Division Commander Liu asked, "What does Commander-in-Chief Zheng plan to do?" ”

Zheng Weiguo said: "Both sides take a step back, and it is important to take off the railway first!" ”

Senior Commander Liu hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded.

Fortunately, Wei Lihuang supported the cooperation of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party and the joint war of resistance. As soon as Zheng Weiguo's telegram arrived, the two sides quickly reached a consensus. Under Wei Lihuang's order, Zhu Huaibing finally didn't stir up trouble anymore, and sent a regiment to attack the Japanese army. The Eighth Route Army was busy sabotaging the railroad and had no time to pay attention to him.

The 10th Division of the Japanese Army contracted from February 26, and then successively abandoned Xinxiang and more than a dozen surrounding counties, and even Hebi was abandoned on the 29th, and only a bridgehead in Anyang was retained. From Anyang to the south, all the way to the edge of the Yellow River, there is a 150-kilometer railway. Zheng Weiguo asked the Eighth Route to mobilize manpower and material resources, and they must all be removed.

When Wei Lihuang learned about it, he also sent an engineer unit from the First War Zone to cross the river to help, and completely destroyed the Zhengzhou Yellow River Bridge (in parallel space, this bridge was later repaired by the Japanese army). The steel frames on the bridge were dismantled and sold as scrap metal, and several piers were blasted one by one. The Japanese reconnaissance plane almost died of anger when it saw it in the sky. However, the North China Front was only a flying group, and it was impossible for it to guard the railway 24 hours a day.

Chief of Staff Zhou said with a smile: "If we continue to fight like this, when the 10th Division arrives in Shijiazhuang, the railway in the south will be destroyed by us!" ”

Zheng Weiguo smiled, tapped the Japanese army's course of action with a small wooden stick, and said: "You can't let it go completely north, otherwise the enemy's troops in the direction of Shijiazhuang will be too thick." ”

Chief of Staff Zhou's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly asked, "Is the chief seat going to do it?" ”

Zheng Weiguo snorted and said, "It can't be delayed any longer!" The Japanese reinforcements are getting bigger and bigger, and the Eighth Route Army and the 49th Army on the Zhengtai Line are almost unable to hold on. You immediately draw up a set of battle plans, and this time we will mobilize all the Japanese troops on the Pinghan Line and the Jinpu Line! ”

Chief of Staff Zhou hurriedly said: "Yes, General Seat!" ”

In the evening of the same day, Zheng Weiguo again convened a meeting of representatives of various armies. The next day, the first troops were the first to move. Among those dispatched were the newly formed Third Cavalry Division (Yu Zhankui's Division), the Jicha Theater Teaching Brigade (Ma Benzhai Division), the First Army Subdivision of the Jizhong Military Region (Lu Zhencao Division), the Third Army Subdivision (Duan Shuanghu Division), the First Temporary First Brigade of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region (Yang Chengwu Division), and the Temporary Third Brigade of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region (Huang Yongsheng's Division).

They launched a full-scale attack on the northern section of the Pinghan Line (from Beiping to Shijiazhuang), completely separating the 21st Division stationed in Beiping, the 110th Division stationed in Shijiazhuang, and the 14th Division stationed in Shijiazhuang. Due to the fact that the Zhengtai Railway had been cut off at this time, Shijiazhuang and the 10th Division, the 14th Division, the 1st Independent Mixed Brigade, and the 8th Independent Mixed Brigade to the south were completely isolated, and the logistics supply line was interrupted.

At the same time, the 386th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army, as well as local troops in western and southern Hebei, also quickly dispatched to cut off the railways from Shijiazhuang to Xingtai, Xingtai to Handan, and Handan to Anyang, thus severing the links between the 10th Division, the 14th Division, the 1st Brigade and the 8th Brigade of the Independent Mixed Brigade.

The next day, the 57th Army, which had just arrived in Jizhong, joined forces with the Second Army Subdivision and the Fourth Army Subdivision of the Jizhong Military Region to launch an attack on the Jinpu Line.

Before the Japanese could react, the third batch of troops also began to move. Pang Bingxun, commander-in-chief of the 24th Group Army, commanded the 40th Army and the New 5th Army and suddenly launched an attack on the southern section of the Pinghan Line (Shijiazhuang to Anyang).

Shi Yousan, commander-in-chief of the 39th Army, also launched an attack on the Jinpu line later.

Subsequently, Yu Xuezhong, commander-in-chief of the Lusu Theater, also ordered the 51st Army, the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army, and various security forces in Shandong to launch an attack on the Jinpu and Jiaoji railways occupied by the Japanese army.

At the same time, the various units of the Zhongtiao Mountain National Army also launched a counterattack under the command of Commander Wei Lihuang. Among them, the Fourth Army (Sun Weiru's Division) and the 98th Army (Wu Shimin's Division) also organized two assault teams to break through the Japanese defense line from the small road, appeared behind the flank of the 20th Division, and joined forces with the Yan Xishan Division of the Second Theater and the Taiyue Military Region of the Eighth Route Army respectively. In this way, the 20th and 108th divisions of the Japanese army were cut off from the First Army stationed in Shanxi.

Before the commander of the First Army, Lieutenant General Yoshio Shinozuka, had time to mobilize his troops, the 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army also suddenly took action, attacked and occupied Yanmen Pass and many other key passes, and cut off the connection between Datong and Taiyuan.

For a time, North China was in full swing, fighting every day and everywhere! History says that "the first all-out counteroffensive operation in North China" has finally begun. (To be continued......)

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