While giving Yang Zhen some advice, this veteran commander also made certain adjustments in the Shanxi battlefield taking into account the overall battle situation and the needs of the Hebei battlefield. In the case that the long-term defense of the enemy is already surviving, there is no need to invest too many troops. The gradual transfer of troops from the Changzhi battlefield has begun, and two of the columns have begun to return to the southeast of Jin.

At present, the procrastination of the Changzhi battlefield makes this old man actually very dissatisfied. After the Japanese army relied on its occupation of Changzhi, a large number of permanent fortifications built inside and outside the city, as well as a large number of materials and ammunition in reserves, especially a large number of chemical weapons, stubbornly resisted, but it was a headache for the old commander.

The reason why the 36th Division of the Japanese Army, which was garrisoning Changzhi, was able to hold out for such a long time. In addition to the first attack on such a fortified city, the troops were inexperienced. It is a large number of chemical weapons stockpiled in the hands of the Japanese army, and once the situation in that direction is critical, it will fire poison gas shells in that direction at any cost.

And along the offensive lines of the troops, a large number of chemical agents were scattered. Even all the wells in the city, with the exception of a few in its core positions, were sprinkled with poison. Or throw the corpses of Chinese people directly into the slaughter, and completely pollute the well water.

Although the troops were now equipped with a large number of gas masks, they were no longer helpless against the Japanese army's gas shells and smoke pipes. However, with only gas masks, there was nothing to do against the Japanese army's chemical warfare troops, which were too simple in their means of chemical warfare, and against the chemical agents spread by the Japanese army in large quantities.

The most important thing is that when the Japanese army shrank its forces and withdrew to the city of Changzhi, it also plundered all the residents of the surrounding villages into the city as hostages, making the attacking troops very jealous. Not to mention mountain artillery and infantry artillery, even rapid-fire guns, mortars and recoilless guns did not dare to use them. Even in many battles, even light and heavy machine guns were unusable.

Attacking Changzhi many times, either the Japanese army used poison gas and poison to re-block the breakthrough, and the troops who attacked the city were eaten by the Japanese counter-assault because they had no chance to succeed, or because of the rat trap, the Japanese army used the Chinese as a shield and forced them out.

Although after a hard battle and a heavy price, he has already taken half of Changzhi City. But under the Japanese army's repeated losses and tactics, obscene and shameless defensive tactics. The Japanese army finally held on half of Changzhi City, and repeatedly attacked many times, but it always fell short and could not completely end the battle.

In addition, the equipment of the troops has gone up, but it is the first time to attack such a well-defended city. There is a serious lack of experience in actual combat attacks, so there are also certain mistakes in the use of tactics. Only then did it appear that it had been more than half a month since the direct siege of the city, but it still failed to completely capture Changzhi.

But for the delay in completely resolving the battle, dissatisfaction is dissatisfaction. The remnants of the 36th Division, which was cowering in half of Changzhi City, could not use too many troops at the moment. The Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region concentrated the troops around Changzhi, and even if it was too much to kill chickens with knives.

And at present, with the recovery of Linfen, a strategic town on the Nantongpu Railway, the remnants of Japanese troops along the Nantongpu Railway have been completely resolved. The main force of the troops of the Taiyue Military Region, which was fighting along the front line of Tongpu Road, and the first part of the Taihang Military Region, had also freed up their hands, so that the old commander had a lot of troops available in his hands.

From the Changzhi battlefield and the Nantongpu railway battlefield, there are quite a few troops that can be drawn. In this way, together with the troops left behind in the Taihang Military Region, the troops of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region can put in two columns and two brigades, plus nine independent regiments, on the line from southeast Shanxi to southern Hebei.

Coupled with the terrain in the southeast of Shanxi Province that is conducive to defense, there is no need to worry too much about the flank security of the southeast of Shanxi Province at present. After the Linfen operation ended, the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region reorganized a column with the Taihang Independent Brigade, a brigade from the Taiyue Military Region's Decisive Death Column, and three independent regiments from the Taiyue Military Region.

That is to say, the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region can be used for the troops on the battlefield in the southeast of Shanxi, with three main columns plus six independent regiments of four divisions in Taihang. Under the circumstance that the southeastern Shanxi region has been tightly armed, the troops of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region can fully share a considerable part of the pressure on the battlefields in northern and southern Henan and undertake some major combat tasks.

And after the old marshal made a statement, Yang Zhen could not consider adjusting the combat plan as a whole. After returning to Hejian from the headquarters of Chen Hanzhang on the Eastern Front, Yang Zhen summoned the head of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region to Hejian after several studies, and finally agreed to part of the operational plan proposed by the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region.

After the Japanese counterattack began, the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region delayed the Japanese army on both sides of the Pinghan Road from Yongzhi to Nanhe and Wu'an to Huangsi on both sides of the Pinghan Road. The main force was transferred to the Taihang Mountains in the Shahe River valley to hide and wait, and when the main force of the Japanese army crossed the line of Linhao Pass, the main force of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region hidden in the Taihang Mountains of the Shahe River valley launched a full-line attack from the flank.

At the same time, the two military subdivisions of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region in northern Henan launched a sabotage campaign against the Pinghan Railway behind the Japanese army. The two brigades deployed in the northwest of Shandong Province blocked the highway from Linqing to Guantao and Weixian to ensure the flank of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region, which was fighting in Yongnian.

Of course, this premise is that the Japanese army has invested no more than two divisions in southern Hebei. If there are more than two divisions, then the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region will still be carried out according to Yang Zhen's plan. Do not aim at how many enemies you can destroy at one time, but look for fighters in the middle of the movement.

In fact, for Yang Zhen, this battle plan is quite awkward. In the southern Hebei operation, it was impossible to completely open up the gaps in the various divisions of the Japanese army, especially in the two directions of southern Hebei and northwest Shandong, and there was simply no enough gap between the forces that the Japanese army might invest. This brings considerable inconvenience to their own interspersed and roundabout outflanking.

The water network north of Handan has become an obstacle to restricting one's mobility. And the biggest headache for him is that once the Japanese army is in a group, it is bound to delay the time for the troops to solve the problem. Moreover, the straight-line distance between southern Hebei and northern Henan is too close, once this war of annihilation is fought in southern Hebei, if the Japanese army in eastern Henan is desperate for reinforcements, it is easy to fight a stalemate battle.

If this situation occurs, it is the last thing Yang Zhen wants to see. The entire battle plan is one ring after another, and once the main force on the Western Front is contained, it will inevitably affect the input of troops in other battlefields. But there are some problems in all aspects, and Yang Zhen can't ignore them.

The biggest feeling given to Yang Zhen in this North China operation was not how many enemy troops came on the battlefield, but the awkwardness and restraint in command and deployment. In straightening out the command relationship, it is necessary to consider all aspects of the problem. Let Yang Zhen not be so free in command, not so freely in the Northeast Battlefield.

Such repeated revisions of the battle plan are the first time that the cadres of the Anti-Japanese Federation, who have become accustomed to the vigorous and resolute actions of No. 1, have encountered it. And the current battle situation is just going to the scene that Yang Zhen least wants to see. The Japanese army deployed two divisions in northern Henan, which means that the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region will be implemented in accordance with the first set of plans.

This caused Chen Hanzhang to be on the battlefield in northwest Shandong, if he wanted to complete his plan step by step, the troops that could be invested would be too tight. In the frontal battlefield of northern Lu, it is no longer possible to draw troops, Chen Hanzhang can only choose one of the two.

But in fact, his ambitions on the battlefield are not much smaller than those of Du Kaishan. It's just that relatively speaking, the style is not as rough as Du Kaishan, and in some respects the relaxation is still very moderate, and he still wants to completely solve Chen Hanzhang, who was invested by the Japanese army in northwest Lu.

Therefore, in the case of insufficient troops, he still adjusted his tactics as much as possible. Not only did they find a way to mobilize a large amount of firepower, but they also strengthened all the artillery newly transferred by Yang Zhen to the battlefield in northwest Shandong. Tactical adjustments were also made to the Texas West Theater.

We should strive to solve the problem of the 72 nd Division in the shortest possible time, so that we can free up our hands as soon as possible in the northwestern part of Shandong and make preparations for follow-up operations. As for whether the next step is to cooperate with the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region first, solve the 118th Division, or attack the enemy behind in Dezhou, Chen Hanzhang still has to decide according to the situation.

It's just that Chen Hanzhang, who can only do what he can at the moment, doesn't know that Yang Zhen has already taken into account the possible shortage of troops on the Eastern Front after this adjustment. Although he did not continue to mobilize reinforcements for Chen Hanzhang, he also made certain considerations in the follow-up deployment.

Since the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region insisted on participating in this battle as the main force, although it was impossible for the main force of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region to be transferred eastward. However, the invisible movement of the battlefield to the south also allowed the Western Front to deploy the Western Front cluster of the Anti-United Nations in the upper reaches of the Fuyang River, which could free up some troops.

He had already drawn two divisions from the overall deployment of the Western Front to secretly deploy along the line of the Fuyang River. At the same time, Tao Jingfei, who was in Tianjin, also received an order that there should be two divisions in his unit, and he should also assume the responsibility of a reserve. Once the Japanese counterattack starts, be ready to go south at any time.

However, Yang Zhen's adjustment of local deployment, in a short period of time, can actually be counted on only the two divisions he adjusted from the Western Front. As for the two divisions under Tao Jingfei's headquarters, as long as the Japanese landing operation did not start for a day, they could only be on the Tianjin battlefield for the time being.

At present, the importance of Tianjin to the current Hebei battlefield is not as critical as Qikou, but for the entire North China and Northeast China war situation, the location is at an extremely critical point, and it is a strategic hub connecting Northeast China and North China. Before the Japanese landing battle began, Yang Zhen was easily unable to mobilize the troops participating in the Tianjin battlefield to go south.

The sea is not land, and the Japanese Navy still controls the entire Bohai Sea. At least for now, at sea, they can go wherever they want. With such a big Bohai Bay, I can't put all my bets on Qikou. Therefore, before the Japanese landing operation was launched, the troops in Tianjin could not draw a single soldier for the time being.

However, although certain preparations have been made, considering that the battle situation is changing at any time, Yang Zhen has not yet spoken to Chen Hanzhang. The issues that Chen Hanzhang needs to consider are only part of the Eastern Front. And what he has to consider is the entire North China battlefield, some things are said too early, and if there are major changes, it is easy to be passive in the follow-up adjustment of troops.

And I don't know that No. 1 has already prepared two divisions for himself, and it is possible to transfer two more divisions south from the Tianjin battlefield to Chen Hanzhang, who is under his command. Faced with the constant shortage of troops that could be put into the hands, the use of each infantry regiment and each artillery battalion was carefully calculated.

After the Japanese army was in full swing, he focused his attention on the battlefield in northwest Shandong. At present, whether the troops in the northwest of Shandong can attract the Japanese army to the preset position in Zaonan is what he is most concerned about. At the same time, whether the Hebei, Shandong, and Henan troops on the battlefield in northwest Shandong can attract the 118th Division to the front of Guantao is also what he is most worried about.

However, after the Japanese offensive was in full swing, his fears soon became a reality. The development of the battle situation did not develop according to Chen Hanzhang's original vision. The intensity of the Japanese army's offensive was three in three directions. The plan that Chen Hanzhang predetermined turned into a utopian dream, at least in a short period of time.