Chapter 207: Return to the Battlefield (1)

The headquarters of the 11th Army of the Japanese army in Wuhan, Lieutenant General Gangmura Ningji was a little serious, and the victory of the Wuhan offensive did not bring any encouragement to the Japanese army, compared to the carnival of celebration in the city of Tokyo, the generals in front were much calmer.

Although Wang Jingwei has publicly expressed his surrender and is preparing in accordance with Japan's arrangement, as a military general, he would prefer complete military conquest rather than China as a negotiating opponent and sit down with the Imperial Japanese Army to negotiate, and they would prefer to let China unconditionally accept Japan's arrangement, just like Manchukuo.

However, the Chongqing government was not demoted to a local government, and the fighting in Wuhan made the prestige of Chiang Kai-shek of the Nationalist government even higher, and the Japanese valued Wang Jingwei, and the whole country set off a wave of criticism. In response to his traitorous behavior, even his own sons, sons and daughters, and brothers published articles denouncing his traitorous behavior.

On the one hand, Chiang Kai-shek in Chongqing openly persuaded Wang Jingwei to return to Chongqing to discuss the plan of the War of Resistance, and on the other hand, he sent spies to attack and assassinate. In this regard, the Central China Dispatch Army and the North China Front Army unanimously agreed that China should still be attacked militarily, that this is an unyielding nation, and as long as they are still capable, they will not completely give in. It is necessary to completely destroy their central government, just like the Mongol Yuan and the Manchu Qing at the beginning, so that the Chinese can be honest.

After thinking about it, the base camp also agreed with this plan, believing that what the army said was reasonable, and that while increasing political inducements to surrender, it must also be supplemented by military offensive means, and agreed to Gangcun Ningci's Jiangxi offensive plan.

Because this was the battle plan he proposed, and it was an operation completed by the 11th Army independently, the Central China Dispatch Army did not participate, and it was under the command of Gangcun Ningci. This made him a little proud and wanted to fight this battle well and prove his strength in order to go further in the future.

At the same time, he also realized the tactical ideas he had studied, and the most important point was that the two major opponents were in Jiangxi. One is Xue Yue, the other is Xue Ru, the one in the Chinese army that can make the Japanese army pay attention to and worry, that is, these two people, who are collectively called Erxue by the Japanese army.

The left wing army of the Songhu battlefield fought the most resolutely, Luodian to Wusongkou and then to Suzhou Creek, and the imperial army had to increase its troops again and again to take Shanghai, but it was because of the landing in Hangzhou Bay, which forced China to withdraw from Shanghai.

The left flank was commanded by Xue Yue, and at that time the snow fox Xue Ru had just shown his head, but the subsequent battle of Nanjing made Xue Ru like a god. The offensive operations of the imperial army to attack southern and Jiangxi were also unsuccessful because of the blockade of the 19th Group Army.

In the final Wuhan offensive battle, Jiangnan and Jiangbei Erxue created results and inflicted heavy casualties on the imperial army. Wanjialing, Yejiaji, and Anqing were defeated three times, and the Japanese army lost three divisions, and the loss of troops was equivalent to the losses of several major battles.

This attack on Jiangxi was the ninth theater commanded by Xue Yue. According to Japanese intelligence, the Snow Fox Corps also entered the Ji'an area, so that Gangcun Ningci could not be careless. Although Snow Fox is only equivalent to the strength of an army, their combat effectiveness, coupled with Xue Ru's cunning tactics, poses too much threat to the imperial army.

As for Xue Yue's deployment in northern Jiangxi, how could Gangcun Ningci not know that the Japanese reconnaissance plane risked being shot down and took a large number of photos, so that the Japanese army had a detailed understanding of the deployment of Nanchang.

As for the only narrow road that could be broken through, the chief of staff, Major General Yoshimoto Sadachi, believed that it was very unfavorable to the Japanese offensive and could lead to defeat. After all, attacking Nanchang is different from attacking Wuhan, which is the strength of Japan, but Nanchang obviously can't, and can only transfer three divisions and one independent mixed brigade. The Chinese army was not contained by Wuhan, and most of its troops were concentrated in Jiangxi and Hunan, and the number of troops was more superior.

Okamura Ninji also knew this in his heart, but he had his own plans, and when he issued the battle order and the army adjustment plan, Major General Yoshimoto Sadachi was sincerely admired. No wonder he can become a military commander, such a tactic, the Chinese side is really unable to compete.

The reason for Yoshimoto's admiration was that Okamura Ninji made a major adjustment in the distribution of the arms of the army. For a long time, Japanese armored fighting vehicles were assigned to various wings and divisions to support infantry operations.

This time, Gangmura Ninji organized all the chariot wings together. It consisted of seventy-six Type 89 medium tanks and fifty-nine light Type 94 tanks, forming an armored assault team. At the same time, it is equipped with automobiles and armored vehicles to transport a brigade of support infantry and protect the combat vehicles. Commandos, together with engineers, infantry, and other special arms, form a full-fledged armored division.

The second plan was for the Japanese army to concentrate the heavy artillery wings that had always been assigned to divisions and regiments, and use four 150 field heavy artillery wings, one 75 mountain artillery wing, and one 150 cannon artillery wing to form the 6th Artillery Brigade, a super-large heavy artillery brigade composed of six wings, as a ground fire support unit. At the same time, 150 light and heavy bombers were concentrated from the airfields along Nanjing, Wuhan, and the Yangtze River to form an air formation.

In the Nanchang operation, the Japanese army used ground-air coordination and armored cluster offensive operations for the first time. Among the auxiliary troops on both sides, he also prepared the boat bridge troops and the motor boat troops, as well as a large number of engineering troops, to break through the Xiushui River and the Ganjiang River, and at the same time prepared motor boats and small steamers on the edge of Poyang Lake to contain the Chinese army.

It can be said that Xue Yue is facing a Japanese mechanized combat cluster. This time, Gangcun Ningji planned to rely on advanced weapons and powerful firepower to break Xue Yue's defense in one fell swoop and occupy Nanchang, which made Japan feel like a thorn in the throat.

Since January, preparations have been made on the part of the Japanese army, and preparations have also begun on the Chinese side for the 9th theater of operations. A few months after the end of the Battle of Wuhan, the two sides began preparations for the Battle of Nanchang again.

For Xue Ru, she is a little self-righteous, and the arrogance in her heart makes her rarely take the initiative to contact the high-level generals of the national army, and she rarely gets battlefield information. On this point, it cannot be said that Xue Ru lacked a sense of the overall situation and did not think about the problem from the entire anti-Japanese battlefield.

Her vision and ideological realm have kept her outside the national army system. The Snow Fox Corps is like an independent branch and army, and it can't really enter the national army combat group.

The Snow Fox Corps itself is a unit in the Ninth War Zone, and it is quite a few in number, and it is the strength of an army. But when Xue Yue was arranging his troops, he could also forget the existence of the snow fox, which could not but be said to be a big failure and mistake. At this time, Xue Ru still left the army and went to the south, preparing to go to Myanmar, and she couldn't help but say that she was willful.

The most important reason for such a situation is that Xue Ru has never believed in the command of the generals of the national army, and she has not even paid attention to Xue Yue, otherwise she would not be like this. Although he admitted that Wang Yaowu, Song Xilian, and Xue Yue were indeed capable and sincere anti-Japanese generals, they were very disdainful of their backward thinking of rigid thinking and obedience, and did not want them to command their own troops.

Wu Yuzhao's thinking is different from Xue Ru's, and he is also very ambitious, which is why Xue Ru doesn't like him. It can be said that Xue Ru squeezed out Wu Yuzhao. And now Snow Fox is all the people who listen to Xue Ru, which reassures her that it doesn't matter if she is a commander or not, Snow Fox just listens to herself.

But Xue Ru ignored one of the most important issues, obedience and obedience do not mean ability, and the greater the ability, the more disobedient it is. Because they have their own ideas and ideas. She helped Chiang Ching-kuo govern the local area from Ganxian County, and as a military general, she can't help but say that she put the cart before the horse and did not do her job. What can be done to govern a county well, and the role played in the war against Japan is not great.

Just as she left Ganxian for Kunming, the Japanese army finally attacked. The battle was extremely fierce at the beginning, because Okamura Ninji also struck with all his strength. Xue Yue even wanted to destroy the attacking Japanese army, and no one on either side would leave their hands, and they both used all their strength.

This time to launch an attack, Gangmura Ningji made another decision that everyone opposed, that is, the main direction of attack turned out to be the 106th Division, and the flank assisted the 101st Division.

These two divisions did not have outstanding results, and they were defeated again and again, with heavy losses. Most of them are replenished recruits, and their combat effectiveness is not strong. In the opinion of Chief of Staff Yoshimoto Sadachi, it should be the 6th Division of Inaba Shiro, which performed best in the Battle of Wuhan, to attack, but Kookamura Ninji insisted on using the 106th Division.

Others didn't understand this, but the commander of the 106th Division, Junrokuro Matsuura, and the commander of the 101st Division, Masaki Ito, understood that Okamura Ninji was giving them a chance to wash away their shame this time. Grateful and swore that he would definitely wipe out the Chinese army, and he was ashamed of his blood, and this time the general arrangement gave the Japanese army a strong combat effectiveness.

On March 17, 39, the 106th Division of the Japanese Army, with a brigade as the vanguard, launched an attack on the defensive position in the center of Xiushui, and the main position was the 721st Regiment of the 79th Army in Xia Zhongchu.

The Japanese army was preparing to force the crossing of the Xiushui River, but was strongly blocked, and the 101st and 6th Divisions attacking on both sides were also blocked by the 141st and 142nd Divisions commanded by Luo Zhuoying. Song Kentang's 32nd Army and 98th Division also continued to organize counteroffensives, which hindered the Japanese attack.

For four or five days, although the Japanese artillery and planes covered the defenders' positions and organized brigades to charge as units, it was difficult for them to cross the river and land ashore.

Gangcun Ningci was also a little angry, but the main Chinese forces that were guarding the front were the withdrawal of Shanghai and Nanjing, although they had been heavily damaged and suffered serious losses, but their combat effectiveness and will to fight were the strongest. Against the Japanese planes and artillery, they just did not retreat, and the corpses of the Japanese soldiers in the river water on the positions on the bank of the river, and the corpses of the national army dyed the Xiushui River red. The river could not be crossed, and the armored fighting vehicles of the Japanese army could not play a role.

The Chinese army defending the middle distance used the hillside to arrange the position in the upper half of the waist, and such a type of ground was basically useless except for the artillery that could be used. Due to the type of land, aircraft bombing could not carry out low-altitude precision bombing, and the effect was not great.

The blocking operation for several days in a row has greatly boosted the morale of the soldiers of the national army, and the little devils are nothing more than that, it is impossible for them to cross the Xiushui River.

But the Chinese troops on the front did not know about the new tactics of Okamura Ninji, that is, a group attack by artillery. On the 20th, the Japanese front commander received an order, and the 6th Artillery Brigade finally entered the attack position, the Junshan position.

The commander was Major General Guangguangyuan, whose order was the simplest, to destroy the positions of the Chinese troops on the opposite side with artillery fire, and at four o'clock in the afternoon, more than a dozen observation balloons were raised from the Japanese positions, and they floated in the sky as targets for the command of ground artillery.

The 150-caliber heavy artillery and the 75-caliber mountain artillery and cannon roared together, and almost instantly, the Chinese positions on the opposite side were engulfed in explosions and gunsmoke. More than forty kilograms of shells rained down, all trench fortifications were destroyed, corpses flew into the sky in explosions, and at the same time, the Japanese infantry brigade began to cross the river in motorboats.

Xia Zhongchu was a little dumbfounded, and after receiving the previous report, he could barely react. But what could he do? Ordered the troops in front to resist, and at the same time reported to Xue Yue and asked for reinforcements, as his army was lost in the shelling.

Wu Yizhi was a little dizzy, this kind of artillery fire and rapid attack, the Chinese army has no choice. The number and caliber of artillery could not confront the Japanese army, and at the same time, the only aircraft in Nanchang could not confront the Japanese aircraft, Xue Yue's face was gloomy, and he could only continue to send reinforcements.

More than two hours, as night fell, the 79th Army in front reported that the defense line of the Xiushui River was broken through by the Japanese army, the 106th Division established a position on the south bank, and the defenders were forced to retreat with huge losses. The 76th Division lost more than 80 percent, and the remaining forces were still holding back, but the defeat was certain.

Wu Yizhi said: "Commander, do you transfer the 74th Army, otherwise we will have no troops to defend." ”

Xue Yue shook his head: "The Japanese artillery fire is too fierce, if you can't stop their artillery, no matter how many troops you put in, there is no way." ”

Wu Yizhi said: "It would be good if Xue Ru was here, she must have a way." ”

Wu Yizhi reminded Xue Yue in one sentence, and he said, "Isn't the Snow Fox Corps in Ji'an? Damn me, how did I ignore her troops. ”

Wu Yizhi said: "Xue Ru is no longer the commander of the corps in the Anqing incident, she went to Ruijin to study, so I didn't say anything. ”

Xue Yue glared: "Confused, Xue Ru is not here, but that is her subordinate, the tactics should still be there, besides, you can notify her to come back, and immediately send someone to inform Wang Yuying, and ask him to inform Xue Ru to come to Nanchang immediately." ”

"Yes, I'll let you know right away." Wu Yizhi said.

Xue Yue said: "Order the Snow Fox Corps to immediately go to Nanchang to fight. ”

Wu Yizhi thought that it was better to find Xue Ru, otherwise the snow fox might not listen to others, so he said: "Will they listen?" ”

Xue Yue was also anxious: "Give orders to Liu Yuanshan and Chen Ruihe, if they don't carry it out, they will be dismissed on the spot, Snow Fox is not a private army, they are a national army, and they do not obey military law if they disobey orders." ”

Wu Yizhi knew that Xue Yue was already in a hurry at this time, and the snow fox really disobeyed the order, and I was afraid that the end would be all disarmed. But he didn't want to, but he couldn't help it. If the 74th Army and the Luhan First Army are used, once the Japanese army breaks through the defensive line, Hunan will have no troops to defend.

But the next morning, I received a telegram from Wang Yuying, Xue Ru did not attend classes in the third branch, and she didn't take a day of classes at all after she came here, so she directly asked for leave, saying that she would go home and see, and no one knew where she went. This time Xue Yue had no choice, Xue Ru said that her hometown was from Shaoguan, Guangdong, could it be that she recovered her memory and went back to her hometown?

There is no way, if you can't find Xue Ru, you can only hope that the Snow Fox Corps is still at their tactical level and can block the Japanese attack. Just when Xue Yue was angry, Ji'an's Snow Fox Corps was gathering, and when Liu Yuanshan and the others received the order from the war zone, they hurriedly held a meeting.

This is in the absence of Xue Ru, Snow Fox is engaged in battle, and as soon as several brigade commanders and division commanders sit together, they also don't know what to do. Miss didn't want Snow Fox to accept someone else's command, but they didn't know where Miss was now.