"Your Excellency, Chief of Staff, Chairman E, Deputy Commander-in-Chief Zhang, and all members of the Military Commission, first I would like to report on the situation on the southern front."
The small room was filled with important figures from the Northwest National Defense Military and Political Committee. Everyone listened quietly to the routine war situation report from Colonel Zhang Boguang, deputy director of the Military Intelligence Bureau, who graduated from the second class of the Northwest Army School.
"After the capture of Wuhan, the Japanese 11th Army under General Okamura Yasuji was mostly in a state of rest and recuperation, except for a part that was sent along the Yangtze River, Han River and Pinghan Road. As of yesterday, the 11th Army had occupied Xiaogan, Xiaochang and Anlu in northern Hubei, and was approaching Dawu.
In northwestern Hubei, they occupied Huangan, Macheng, Luotian and Yingshan.
Chongyang and Tongcheng had already been stationed in southern Hubei, and the troops advanced all the way to Linxiang and Yueyang to confront the Ninth War Zone in the South.
In northwestern Hubei, the Japanese army occupied Zhongxiang and Jingmen, and eyed Yicheng and Xiangfan areas in the upper reaches of the Han River.
In western Hubei, they occupied Jianli, Shishou, Jiangling, Gong'an, Jingzhou, Zhijiang, Songzi, Yidu, and Yichang along the Yangtze River, and stationed their troops outside our Nanjin Pass defense line.
"According to the existing intelligence analysis, the Japanese army is limited in manpower and can only control the towns along the Jianghan Waterway in western and northwestern Hubei. Since they are unable to attack our Nanjinguan Fortress, they can only attack the upper reaches of the Han River. For this reason, the Northern Group of the Hunan-Hubei-Bashu War Zone led by Deputy Commander Liu has deployed 120,000 troops including 11 divisions of the First Corps, the Fifteenth Corps and the Thirty-ninth Army in Suixian, Zaoyang, Yicheng, Nanzhang and Xiangfan."
When Zhang Bogong said this, a military and political committee member immediately raised an objection: "There are many water systems and mountains between Suixian and Yicheng. If Liu Wenhui's troops are deployed like this, once the Japanese army attacks, won't they be unable to take care of both ends?"
"The main force of Deputy Commander Liu's troops is in Xiangfan, Zaoyang, Nanzhang, and Gucheng. There are only a small number of troops in Yicheng and Suixian to monitor the Japanese army's actions. Once the Japanese army attacks, Deputy Commander Liu's troops will retreat as soon as possible, using space to buy time, and then concentrate their forces to launch a counterattack after the Japanese army's front line is extended."
This is what is called "the enemy advances and we retreat". We took advantage of the Japanese army's lack of manpower, sought advantages and avoided disadvantages, and finally achieved the ultimate goal of killing the Japanese army's manpower.
"Since the Japanese troops in the south may still concentrate their forces to attack Pingjingguan and Wushengguan, Commander Yang of the Hubei-Henan-Anhui War Zone has deployed about 150,000 troops of 16 divisions of the 9th and 12th Army Groups and Yang Zihuan's Xinyang Garrison Command on the Xinyang line. These troops can also be transferred to the Hunan-Hubei-Bashu War Zone to reinforce the Xiangfan line if necessary."
Zhang Boguang set an ambush here. In fact, the closest force that could support Liu Wenhui's troops should be the 19th Army of Sun Lianzhong, which was being reorganized in Nanyang, Zhenping, Dengxian, Xinye and other places.

However, the unit has now been dismantled and reorganized according to the Northwest system, and it is still difficult to bring it together, so Zhang Bogong was temporarily excluded.
Of course, if the situation really becomes critical, the Northwest will not let this reserve team sit there and watch the game idly.
"In addition, we just received a telegram from Commander Yang before the meeting. His 42nd Army, Feng Zhian's troops, have already recovered Huoshan, and the 63rd Army's 122nd Division, Bai Fengxiang's troops, also recovered Lu'an County last night."
Zhang Xueliang frowned. He believed that Yang Hucheng's counterattack in central Anhui was a blind move when the main force of the war zone was pinned down by the Japanese troops in the south. So he signaled to Wang Shuchang, who followed Zhang Xueliang's will and asked, "Is there any unusual movement of the 16th Division of the Japanese army in front of us?"
"At present, the 16th Division has two and a half infantry battalions of the 9th Infantry Regiment and two squadrons of the 22nd Field Artillery Regiment, totaling about 3,500 people, in Fengtai, Shouxian, Datong, Xiejiaji and Changfeng.
In the direction of Hefei, Feixi and Shucheng, there were two infantry battalions of the 38th Infantry Regiment, two cavalry squadrons of the 20th Cavalry Regiment and one battalion of the 16th Engineer Regiment, totaling about 4,000 people.
The remaining four squadrons of the 38th Infantry Regiment, one and a half battalions of the 16th Engineer Regiment, and the remaining cavalry of the 20th Cavalry Regiment, totaling more than 3,000 people, were stationed in Feidong, Chaohu, Wuhu, Hexian and other places.
The 16th Division Headquarters and its subordinate 30th Infantry Brigade Headquarters, as well as parts of the 22nd Field Artillery Regiment, the 16th Quartermaster Regiment, the division's communications corps, medical corps, the 1st and 2nd field hospitals, and other units are currently stationed in Anqing and Tongcheng.
As for the 19th Infantry Brigade of the 16th Division and the rest of the troops, they were located around Wuhan. From this, it can be seen that the Japanese troops in central Anhui are temporarily in a state of having more defense than attack, so there is no report that the enemy has the intention to take the initiative to attack. "
Liu Cunhou, who had relinquished his military and political power under pressure from the Northwest but was unwilling to live a life of seclusion, then asked pointedly, "What is the reaction of the Fifth War Zone?"
"The 21st, 23rd, and 30th armies of the Fifth War Zone began to launch flanking attacks on the Japanese troops in Yingshan, Luotian, and Macheng as early as the beginning of the year. So far, they have reported that they have eliminated 11 Japanese squadrons with a total of more than 2,000 people. However, it seems that the Fifth War Zone has no plans to send troops to Yuexi and other places."
Li Zongren's Fifth War Zone was now forced to confine its operations to the Dabie Mountains on the border of Hubei and Anhui due to the compression policy in the Northwest.
However, despite his grudges against the Northwest, Li Zongren was unwilling to really come into conflict with the Northwest. Therefore, under his control, the various units of the Fifth War Zone rarely operated on the Henan-Anhui border at the northern foot of the Dabie Mountains. Instead, they repeatedly attacked northeastern Hubei at the southern foot, causing considerable trouble to the Japanese troops outside Wuhan.
"The Japanese army in central China still has the newly formed 11th Independent Mixed Brigade in Huaiyuan, Bengbu, and Mingguang, and part of the 15th Division in Chuzhou, Quanshu, Lai'an, Liuhe, Tianchang and other areas outside Nanjing. If Yang Hucheng's side is too aggressive, he may be hit by the Japanese army."
Another military and political committee member made such a suggestion.
"We should emphasize to Yang Hucheng that the Japanese army may adopt a north-south strategy in the future, and the main battlefield will inevitably be in eastern and southern Henan. For this reason, the Hubei-Henan-Anhui War Zone's actions in central and western Anhui should still focus on containing the Japanese army, and should not put the cart before the horse."
"On this point, the Military Intelligence Agency has already presented its views to the General Staff Headquarters."
Zhang Bogong responded with a smile.
"Next, I will introduce the current situation in Shanxi to all the committee members."
After leaving the small meeting room, Dai Jiliang immediately called Song Cheng over: "What's going on with Cai Tingkai? Why is he hooking up with the Guangxi clique again?"
Dai Jiliang was asking about Cai Tingkai being appointed as the deputy commander-in-chief of the 16th Army Group by Guiyang. This army group was only established in February this year. The first commander-in-chief of the army group was Xia Wei. It was under the command of the 46th Army, of which Xia Wei was also the commander, and the 64th Army of Deng Longguang. It was under the command of the Fourth War Zone and was mainly stationed in Guangdong and Guangxi to guard against possible attacks by the 21st Army of the Japanese Army.
"The Liaison Office is still trying to verify the specific situation, but based on the current situation, this is the Guangxi clique inviting the door god."
"Please ask the door god?"
Dai Jiliang was stunned. Perhaps the Guangxi clique was relying on Cai Tingkai's position in the Guangdong Army and Guangdong people, but why did Cai Tingkai stand up despite knowing this situation? Not to mention that he was really defending his country, Dai Jiliang knew very well how the warlords who had lost their guns wanted to relive their old dreams.
"Then should we also use this door god?"
"This is a good idea, Master."
Zhang Zilii, who pushed the door open and walked in, happened to overhear the conversation between Dai Jiliang and Song Cheng, and immediately clapped his hands and cheered.

"Cai Gao knows people on both sides. With him as a middleman, we can repair our relationship with the Guangxi clique as soon as possible.
However, we must act quickly. The Japanese army will definitely launch a major operation at the end of March, either targeting Guiyang or us. We must not disperse our limited forces until the battle situation becomes clear."
Zhang Zilii's words were still ringing in their ears, and the Japanese army indeed took action.
On March 31, the 27th Division deployed around Yuncheng and Juye formed the Okazaki Detachment with the 2nd Infantry Regiment of the Chinese Garrison, the 27th Division Search Team, the 1st Battalion of the 27th Mountain Artillery Regiment, the 2nd Battalion of the 27th Engineer Regiment, and the 2nd Battalion of the 27th Quartermaster Regiment, and attacked the Heze front line.
On the same day, the 32nd Division stationed in Jiaxiang and Ziyang also formed the Muto Detachment with parts of the 210th and 211th Infantry Regiments and the 32nd Field Artillery Regiment, the 32nd Engineer Regiment, and the 32nd Quartermaster Regiment, and advanced towards Jinxiang, Chengwu, and Shanxian.
At 7 a.m. on April 1, the 36th Division stationed in Xuzhou, except for the three half-infantry integrated battalions guarding Pixian, Tancheng and Linyi, the division headquarters stationed in Xuzhou, a battalion of the 32nd Logistics Regiment, the division communications team, the division weapons service team, the 1st and 2nd field hospitals, and the division sick horse factory, the rest of the division attacked .
Later that day, the 110th Division stationed on the Suxian and Guzhen line also dispatched 14,000 troops, including the entire 139th and 140th Infantry Regiments of the 108th Infantry Brigade, the entire 110th Cavalry Battalion, 7 squadrons of the 110th Field Artillery Regiment, 6 squadrons of the 110th Engineer Regiment, 2 battalions of the 110th Logistics Regiment and the division's direct medical team, to attack in the direction of Yongcheng and Boxian.
Although the Northwest had predicted the Japanese army's actions long ago, the movements of the 11th Japanese Army on the southern front were still unclear at that time. Except for one part of the Hubei-Henan-Anhui War Zone that was still entangled with the Japanese army in central Anhui, the rest of the troops were forced to stay between Xinyang and Fuyang and dared not be easily transferred. As a result, at the beginning of the second "Eastern Henan Campaign", China could only rely on the Hebei-Shandong-Henan War Zone to take the lead.
At this time, the Hebei-Shandong-Henan War Zone had 20 divisions and 250,000 people, including 6 divisions of the Northwest Second Army, 2 armies and 6 divisions of He Guozhu's Third Corps, 2 armies and 2 divisions of Sun Tongxuan's Eighth Corps, 1 army and 4 divisions of Leng Yindong's Tenth Corps, 1 army and 3 divisions of Yang Sen's 11th Corps, 1 army and 2 divisions of Pang Bingxun's Fourteenth Corps, and 1 army and 3 divisions of Shang Zhen's 20th Army.
However, although China has a large number of troops, only a few can be used on the front line in eastern Henan.
Among them, Pang Bingxun's troops were to stay in Taihang Mountains to support southeastern Shanxi and contain the enemies in Anyang and Xinxiang.
Sun Tongxuan's troops not only had to stay in Luoyang and Yanshi, but also had to send troops north to Jiyuan to guard against enemies in Shanxi.
Shang Zhen's troops in Runan, Shangcai and other places were ordered to reorganize according to the Northwest system. The troop organization was chaotic and could not be immediately gathered and put into battle.
Therefore, the Northwest Second Army, the Northeast Army and the two Sichuan Armies played the leading roles in the end.
However, the Sichuan Army was not strong enough and could only serve as an auxiliary force. For this reason, the Hebei-Shandong-Henan War Zone decided to abandon the Guide and Bozhou line to lure the enemy deeper.
On April 3, the Japanese army captured Heze, and on April 4, Dingtao and Yucheng fell.
On April 6, the Japanese army marched into Guide without a fight. That night, a lantern parade was held in Japan to celebrate the Imperial Army's capture of Guide with its glorious military feat.
On April 8, Bo County was also declared lost.
The established goal was achieved, but the Japanese troops in North China became more troubled.
What is the target for the next phase? Where is the end of the battle? Where are the hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops who retreated without fighting? When will they launch a counterattack?
A series of questions tested the Japanese military staff in the North China Front Army Headquarters.
The Japanese army was confused, but the Jiangsu-Xuzhou-Shandong-Henan-Anhui war zone behind enemy lines took advantage of the dispersion of the Japanese forces and launched a large-scale counterattack.
On April 7, Cao Fulin's 55th Army under the Shandong Provincial Government attacked from Yiyuan, recovered Xintai and Mengyin and surrounded Laiwu, forcing the Japanese troops in Tai'an to dispatch 2,000 troops to rescue them.
On April 8, Shi Yousan's 1st Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Army behind enemy lines on the Hebei-Shandong border divided its troops into two routes and simultaneously recaptured Guantao and Guanxian, eliminating about 150 Japanese garrisons in the two counties.
On April 9, Shen Ke's unit of the 127th Division under the command of the Xu Hai Provincial Government launched an attack on Si County and Lingbi. The Japanese garrison was exhausted and desperately called for help. The Japanese troops in Su County had to dispatch a part of their troops to rescue them.
On April 11, Han Duofeng and Han Xiuyan, former subordinates of Feng Yuxiang, led the Xubei militia to ambush a Japanese transport team between Linyi and Juxian, killing and capturing more than 20 Japanese soldiers.
There was no sign of the enemy ahead, and there was war everywhere behind him. What should he do? General Sugiyama Moto had to make a decision!

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