Yang Zhen believes that the direction of the 120th Division, which is currently responsible for protecting the entire Japanese offensive in northern Lubei and the entire right flank, seems to be irrelevant-~Sui~Dream~Small~Say~щww~suimеng~lā But in fact, if the Japanese army carries out a landing operation, because the position of the division is exactly the combination of the Japanese landing force and the frontal attack force.

Its importance in the overall deployment of the Japanese army is even more important than in other directions. If a guy can be stabbed in the direction of Leling, then the Japanese army will definitely have follow-up actions. Unless they really don't have any attempt to land in Bohai Bay and outflank themselves.

If a local counterattack can be launched in front of the division and the 120th division can be defeated, it will still be extremely beneficial to the mobilization of Japanese troops. At the very least, when the Japanese army invests follow-up forces in the battlefield west of Texas, it will not be so unscrupulous, and it can play the role of containing and dispersing the second-line corps troops that the Japanese army is scheduled to invest.

But at the moment, the power of the East Cluster has been used to the extreme. How to do such an action, you have to think about it carefully. Therefore, he did not directly give an order to Chen Hanzhang, but asked Chen Hanzhang's opinion. After all, Chen Hanzhang is the front-line commander, and he knows the entire battle situation in northern Shandong best.

After receiving Yang Zhen's telegram, Chen Hanzhang did not reply immediately, but thought about it for a long time before calling Yang Zhen. He believes that the current situation in northern Shandong is still in a tug-of-war. The units of the Eastern Cluster are in a fierce battle with the four divisions of the Japanese army attacking in the frontal direction of northern Lubei on the line from Dezhou to Leling.

The Japanese offensive was quite fierce, and the various units fighting on the front line were basically unable to draw troops. If it is forcibly withdrawn, then all the divisions on the front line will not have any reserves. This is tantamount to a draw from the bottom of the kettle for the current battle situation, which will affect the stability of the entire battle situation.

Moreover, the mobile forces of the East Cluster, as well as almost all the reserves, are in the west of Texas. If the 120th Division on the Leling Line is fought first, unless the Du Kaishan Division east of Jinpu Road is mobilized, at least one division of troops will go south to participate in the battle. Otherwise, it will be difficult for the current strength of the Eastern Cluster to meet the needs of two fists hitting people at the same time.

Chen Hanzhang Jianyi should still concentrate his limited forces and annihilate the 72nd Division first. If the headquarters is ready to carry out a full-front counterattack against the 120th Division on the Leling battlefield, it is better to wait until the end of the Zaonan battlefield. Moreover, Chen Hanzhang believes that the follow-up operations should not be placed on the 120th Division, but more importantly, on the 100th Division or the 118th Division, which may be invested in the future.

However, Chen Hanzhang believes that although the overall counterattack is insufficient at present. However, he could find a way to concentrate part of his forces and fight a local counterattack on the front line of Shangjiazhai on the flank of the 120th Division. Even if you can't completely eat the division in one bite, you can still solve a part of the division and weaken its strength.

In Chen Hanzhang's view, the position of the three divisions of the Japanese army in the battlefield east of Texas is quite critical. No matter which one is fought, it will make the Japanese army take care of it when they are engaged in the follow-up. The large-scale interspersing of the first stage of the Anti-Japanese Federation is likely to create a mentality of a snake shadow for the Japanese army.

In particular, when the Anti-Japanese Union used tanks to attack in the first stage, it always used the tactic of opening gaps with infantry and then rapidly interspersing tank units in depth. If we want to carry out a tactical counterattack on the Eastern Front, we can completely take advantage of the psychological shadow caused by the first phase of the battle to the Japanese army to create a false reality and disrupt the entire strategic deployment of the Japanese army.

It's just that although Chen Hanzhang agreed to fight a local counterattack in Leling, Chen Hanzhang still built a local counterattack, and this local counterattack should slow down slightly. It is better to wait until the encirclement and annihilation of the 72nd Division is completed, and then it is more appropriate to carry it out, so as to give the Japanese army the impression that the anti-United Nations will be drawn from the bottom of the kettle.

And after the settlement of the 72nd Division, no matter what changes have taken place in the battlefield on the Jilu border. However, the troops that were freed up, no matter how many reinforcements the Japanese army faced, would be in a situation of ease. In this way, in terms of overall strategy, it will also appear more stable.

After receiving Chen Hanzhang's reply, Yang Zhen pondered it carefully and thought that Chen Hanzhang's idea was still safe. As for Chen Hanzhang's partial counterattack against the 120th Division, which was postponed until after the 72nd Division was resolved, Yang Zhen gave it a little consideration and approved it.

In the reply, Yang Zhen told Chen Hanzhang that the time for launching a partial counterattack on the 120th Division was completely autonomous and there was no need to ask for instructions on everything. However, when making up our minds, we must communicate with Du Kaishan in advance, and strategically pay more attention to cooperating with Du Kaishan.

However, in the reply to Chen Hanzhang, Yang Zhen also repeatedly told him that his speed on the battlefield in Zaonan should be fast. It is necessary to complete the encirclement and annihilation of the 72nd Division before the arrival of the Japanese second-line reinforcements. As long as the 72nd Division can be defeated, the game of chess on the frontal battlefield in northwest Shandong will be completely lively.

After completing the encirclement and annihilation of the 72nd Division, except for a division on the left flank to cooperate with the troops of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region to clamp down on the 118th Division. The rest of the troops were immediately ready for follow-up operations, but they had to be mentally prepared to deal with the siege of the two divisions of the Japanese army.

Moreover, when fighting against Japanese reinforcements, we must beware of the impact of the follow-up armored forces currently deployed by the Japanese army on the front line of Yucheng and Qihe. The interspersed troops on both flanks, especially those on the right flank, must be prepared for anti-tank. In the next offensive, the Japanese army will definitely dispatch tank troops.

After it was transferred to the Shandong battlefield, the two tank brigades that had not been dispatched would definitely not stay there so honestly. This time, when the Japanese army carried out a full-front counterattack on the Zaonan battlefield, the two independent tank brigades that had been dormant were very likely to be dispatched.

When resisting the reinforcements of the Japanese army, it is necessary to pay attention to giving full play to the firepower of the open and ground. If the Japanese army put into combat vehicle units in the battlefield west of Texas, it should pay attention to the power of the Il-2 attack aircraft when it was anti-tank. The tank units deployed on the right flank must pay attention to their centralized use and absolutely must not be dispersed.

At the same time, close attention was paid to the entire northern Lubei area, including the subsequent echelon movements of the Japanese troops along the Jinpu Road. The hostile situation is changing at any time, so we must keep a close eye on it. It is necessary to firmly grasp the initiative in the campaign in our own hands. In the direction of Dezhou, it is necessary to adopt more local counterattack tactics and bite the 22nd Division to the death. Depending on the development of the war situation, the headquarters will give it as much reinforcement as possible.

After receiving Yang Zhen's exhortation telegram, Chen Hanzhang also made certain adjustments in response to Yang Zhen's requirements. In view of the fact that the Japanese army is likely to dispatch a large number of tank clusters, in cooperation with its 100th division deployed in depth, to intersperse attacks on the right flank of the Youzaonan battlefield. Chen Hanzhang concentrated all the attack aircraft groups assigned to him on the line of Gucheng, Dezhou, Pingyuan, and Gaotang.

At the same time, Chen Hanzhang also transferred the only self-propelled anti-tank gun battalion equipped with Soviet-style 76-mm cannons to the roundabout penetration troops on the right flank of the Zaonan battlefield. Four two-pounder anti-tank gun batteries and one battalion of 76-mm cannons were transferred, which were also assigned to the right flank. As well as urgently equipping the artillery clusters of the divisional artillery of the interspersed troops, the number of armor-piercing shells has been increased.

However, Chen Hanzhang strengthened not only the firepower of the right flank, he transferred a 122 rocket artillery battalion, two 107 rocket companies, plus two 150 mm howitzer battalions from the frontal battlefield, and also strengthened the troops on the right flank. For the frontal battlefield in Zaonan, five additional 37-mm anti-aircraft artillery batteries were deployed.

He also asked Hou Guozhong not to use all anti-aircraft firepower to support ground operations when fighting. On the battlefield of Zaonan, it is necessary to make good preparations for air defense. In order to increase the resistance of the 72nd Division and to match its overall strategic situation, the Japanese army is bound to mobilize a large number of aviation troops to cooperate with the 72nd Division in the situation that it will take time for ground reinforcements to fight.

However, in the telegram to Hou Guozhong, Chen Hanzhang did not make any urging for the progress of the encirclement and annihilation of the 72nd Division. The truth that drums don't need to be hammered, Chen Hanzhang is still very clear. And Chen Hanzhang also believes that speeding up the progress is not the same as fighting hard. The truth has long been explained to Hou Guozhong, and any more talk will be nonsense.

And with Chen Hanzhang's counterattack on the 72nd Division, the entire battlefield on the Jilu border was turned upside down in an instant. It is not only Yang Zhen and Chen Hanzhang who are constantly adjusting their strategies and tactics, but also the Japanese army in front of them is constantly adjusting according to the changes in the battle situation.

Chen Hanzhang launched a counterattack on all fronts on the Zaonan battlefield, and Lieutenant General Uchiyama Eitaro, who believed that the Eastern Front cluster of the Anti-Japanese Union had been fooled, immediately adjusted his deployment according to the original plan. He immediately ordered the 118th Division to launch a full-line attack from the front line of Weixian and Qinghe to the direction of Nangong and Daying, regardless of the containment of the surrounding Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region.

The 4th Brigade of the Independent Tank Regiment, which was attached to the 72nd Division, had already tried to disperse its operations long before the 72nd Division broke forward, and even formed a squadron to avoid the reconnaissance planes of the Anti-United Nations and intelligence agencies, and disperse the 100th Division that had secretly crossed the Yellow River. Jing'en County advanced to the front line of the ancient city, and did not hesitate to surround the interspersed troops on the right flank of the Zaonan battlefield in one qiē generation. and cut off the connection between the roundabout interspersed troops on the right flank of the Anti-Union and the frontal battlefield.

However, his idea of mobilizing the 48th Division to participate in the battle at the same time was frustrated by the large-scale sabotage campaign carried out by the Anti-Union Cavalry Brigade and the troops of the Shandong Military Region to the northwest of the Jiaodong Peninsula along the Yantai-Shouguang Highway. In particular, the Shandong Military Region dispatched the main force to launch an offensive around Yantai Port, so that Uchiyama Eitaro could only give up the idea of transferring the 48th Division to the west.

Zhifu Port in Yantai is the closest port close to the entire Lubei battlefield. Although the throughput cannot be compared with Weihai and Qingdao, it can basically meet the needs. At present, Qingdao Port is no longer usable, and although Weihai Port is not far from the direct line distance of the war zone, it is still separated by Muping, which is not very stable, and it is not very safe along the highway.

Therefore, at present, the 12th Army of the Japanese Army is temporarily powerless, and carries out a large-scale sweep of the Shandong Military Region of the 18th Group Army, which is active on the line from Weihai to Yantai, and the Qinghe Military Region to which it belongs, and restores the contact between Qingdao Port and the outside world. Whether the port of Zhifu in Yantai is safe or not has become the top priority for the smooth supply lines of the Japanese army.

For Uchiyama Eitaro, the enemy forces in Shandong are once again moving more and more frequently. It is better not to transfer most of the 48th Division, or even all of them, for the time being. Especially in the current battlefield in northern Lubei, the materials needed by several participating divisions and regiments have to be transported through this route.

Even if it is transferred, at least one wing must be left to cooperate with the field supplementary team on the front line of Yantai to make every effort to ensure the safety along the Yantai-Shouguang highway. Ensure the safety and smoothness of the first-line highway from Yantai Port to Dezhou, so as to ensure the transportation of materials needed by several divisions and regiments on the front line.

Although the 48th Division could not be mobilized, Uchiyama Eitaro felt that the troops were slightly insufficient. However, under the situation that Chiba Kumaharu sent a distress telegram almost every hour, Uchiyama Eitaro still decided to follow the original plan, and did not wait for the arrival of the follow-up additional troops, so he concentrated two divisions to implement a two-wing encirclement on the Zaonan battlefield.