Chapter 18: Battle of Lanfeng (Part 3)
It is not difficult to guess who Honma Masaharu's helper in the North China Front Army was. Lieutenant General Yamashita Tomoyuki, who had transformed from a capable general of the Imperial Way faction to the Chief of the General Staff of the Front Army, was the commander of the China Garrison Mixed Honma. With this relationship, and the fact that the new official had his own ambitions and aspirations after taking office, Yamashita Tomoyuki certainly did not want to repeat the defeat of the First Battle of East Henan in his own hands.
However, it was not an easy task to convince the old stubborn General Sugiyama Motobuki to put down his unnecessary dignity. Even if Yamashita Tomoyuki was the person actually responsible for the war in eastern Henan, it would still take some time. So the Battle of Lanfeng, which had just started, came to a sudden halt, and only sporadic gunfire was heard on the southern front in eastern Henan?
The Hebei-Shandong-Henan War Zone was also quite troubled by the Japanese army's actions of neither advancing nor retreating but constantly accumulating troops to the front line.
Nearly three divisions of Japanese troops are concentrated in Minquan. Even if the Northwest wants to attack, it is afraid that it will be overwhelmed. But if it ignores these three divisions and directly attacks the enemy's 110th Division in Bozhou, it is afraid that the enemy in Minquan will turn around and pounce, creating an even more difficult situation.
Of course, the stagnation of the Japanese army was not entirely a bad thing for the Hebei-Shandong-Henan War Zone. At least the six divisions of the Seventh Army had already reached Yanling and Fugu, and Wang Yizhe's troops had also advanced to the Huaibin, Funan, and Fuyang lines and could be deployed to Lankao and Bozhou at any time depending on the situation. Moreover, the Japanese army in North China was generally short of manpower. The more troops were gathered on the front line, the more empty the rear would be, which would be conducive to the development of anti-Japanese armed forces behind enemy lines?
"According to the latest instructions of the Party Central Committee conveyed by the Domestic Bureau, Comrade Wang Ming hopes that we will organize mass uprisings in the eastern and northern Hebei regions and southern Liaoning, then raise the banner of anti-Japanese armed forces, and finally establish a base area behind enemy lines led by the Party at the junction of Hebei, Chahar and Liaoning provinces, so as to enhance the status of our Party and the Party's army in the minds of the people behind enemy lines in North China, and compete with the Hebei Provincial Government currently controlled by the Northwest warlords for the leading position in the anti-Japanese war behind enemy lines."
"Special Commissioner, we have the mass base to launch a riot in Jidong, but we don't have enough weapons. Moreover, Jiliaore is the core area ruled by the Japanese army. If things go wrong, tens of thousands of Japanese troops will swarm in. If the riot fails, it won't be a big deal, but the party organization will be destroyed and it won't be easy to restore it."
Li Yunchang, secretary of the Hebei Provincial Party Committee and secretary of the Pingdong Special Committee, had studied military affairs in the fourth term of the Whampoa Military Academy in his early years and had served as a party representative in the Second Regiment of the Guangdong Huichaomei Farmers and Workers Party Salvation Army. He had certain experience in military armed uprisings. In his eyes, the prerequisites for a riot were not very mature, and even if he succeeded at this time, the losses would be considerable.
"Comrades in Hebei probably don't know that the Japanese army is currently mobilizing troops to Henan. Once the war breaks out in Henan, the Japanese army will not have enough troops to interfere with the riot. As for the problem of insufficient weapons, the party has also specially approved a part of the funds this time, hoping to purchase a batch of weapons locally."
The special envoy said this and smiled at the excited faces of the crowd.
"In addition, there are also some undercover members of the Kuomintang who will join this riot. Of course, we cannot count on the cooperation of the Kuomintang. The initiative of the riot must be in the hands of our party."
"Special Commissioner."
After the mobilization meeting was over, Li Yunchang and Hu Xikui, secretary of the Ji-Re Border Special Committee, went to visit the emperor from the south again.
"Lao Hu and I have a few more questions."
The special envoy looked at the two men in surprise, then made a gesture for them to speak, so Li Yunchang continued.
"This area was a demilitarized zone before the war, so there are very few scattered guns. Even if the party gave us some military funds, we might not be able to buy enough guns and ammunition. This is the first reason. Secondly, the Japanese and puppet troops still have an extremely tight blockade. It is also a big problem whether the guns and ammunition can be transported here even if we buy them."
The special commissioner frowned, and after a while he asked, "The riot is inevitable, and the weapons problem must be solved. You two comrades have worked here for many years. Do you have any solution to this problem?"
"I think the first thing to do is to mobilize the people to make their own guns."
Hu Xikui explained to the surprised special envoy.
"The history of civilian gun manufacturing here is long. Although the Japanese army has banned it several times, there are still many people making weapons in secret. Of course, they can't make good guns. They can think of ways to make single-shot and imitation large mirrors, but even if they have guns, they still have to solve the problem of bullets."
"Bullets are easier to deal with than guns."
The commissioner laughed.
"Let me think of a way. Maybe we can get some supplies from the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Military Bureau of Investigation."
Since Guiyang is now fully committed to making trouble in the Northwest, the Military Control Commission has also received an order to unconditionally assist the Communist Party. It is based on this point that the special envoy has the confidence.
"correct."
The special envoy added.
"Since we can make guns, we can also make broadswords and red tasseled spears. Remember to make more. Didn't everyone in the Soviet area have guns back then?"
"Back then, the Japanese were slaughtered in this area by the 29th Army's large blades."
Li Yunchang made a comment half-complimentary.
"Besides that, I do have another way, but the other party seems to have a background in the Northwest warlords."
"Comrade Yunchang."
The special envoy's brows suddenly raised, but then he relaxed. Yes, many revolutionary comrades were killed in the Northwest, but so were the Kuomintang. In order to open up the situation in North China, it might not be a bad idea to temporarily take advantage of the situation.
"Comrade Yunchang, in order to ensure the success of the Jidong uprising, you can try to contact the other party, but please remember that the purity of the party organization must not be tarnished."
Not to mention the small calculations of a certain party or faction, taking advantage of the favorable opportunity of the frequent mobilization of the Japanese army in North China and the main force moving south, the forces behind enemy lines in the northwest also vigorously expanded their sphere of influence.
On April 17, Zhao Dong's troops of the 1st Guerrilla Column of the Ji-Cha Border Region of the Ji-Xi Guerrilla Army under the Hebei Provincial Government recaptured the county seat of Weixian, killed and captured more than 40 Japanese garrisons and a squadron of puppet troops, and forced a part of the 2nd Independent Mixed Brigade of the Mongolian Army that was preparing to be transferred south to return to the defense zone to carry out a mopping-up operation.
On April 18, Liu Guiwu's unit of the 2nd Cavalry Division, active in the area south of Laiyuan, led by deputy division commander Wang Zhaokun, appeared between Yixian and Laishui with the strength of a cavalry regiment, causing shock to Pingjin. The 21st Division, which had just been transferred to Pingjin for rest and recuperation, had to be dispatched urgently, forcing Wang's unit to retreat to the Taihang Mountains.
On April 19, Gao Guizi's 17th Army advanced northward from Shuyang and crossed the Longhai Road in one fell swoop, shocking Donghai, Ganyu, Linshu and other places. The 9th Independent Mixed Brigade of the Japanese Army in Linyi had to join forces with the 110th Division's front-line troops stationed in Donghai and Xinyi to launch a joint suppression operation. However, they were unable to succeed due to the swift action of Gao's troops. Instead, they were mobilized by them, resulting in a lack of troops near Xia Pi. Finally, Gao's troops were able to wipe out more than a hundred Japanese garrisons, baggage trains, and escort teams on the outskirts of Cangshan, Taierzhuang, and Zaozhuang, and then safely crossed the Longhai Line again and returned to Suining and Suyu via the west of Luomahu Lake, launching a successful armed parade.
On April 22, Sun Dianying's New Fifth Army attacked Si County from Sihong. 300 Japanese troops were trapped in the encirclement of the New Fifth Army and were forced to call for reinforcements from Suxian and Lingbi. But when the Japanese reinforcements arrived, the New Fifth Army had disappeared without a trace?
Although the small actions of the armed forces behind enemy lines were one after another, making it difficult for the Japanese army to cope, they were still small-scale fights and were not enough to shake the foundation of the Japanese occupation forces for the time being. However, on the northwestern Hubei line, China's attempt to use two war zones to jointly encircle and annihilate a Japanese 10,000-man detachment attracted the attention of the Japanese army.
Lieutenant General Masayoshi Ito, commander of the 101st Division, urgently dispatched the division's two remaining regiments (each lacking three squadrons) on the Anlu front to rescue the Zaoyang front. As a result, the 101st Division and the 34th Division on the Pingjing Pass and Wusheng Pass lines could only be maintained by a number of light and heavy squadrons transferred between front and rear military stations.
Zhang Zizhong, who had been ready for battle, immediately seized this godsend opportunity and led his troops to charge out from behind Pingjing Pass. He immediately trapped more than 3,000 Japanese Shuikou Detachment on the Caihe Town line north of Guangshui and separated it from the Yuanshan Detachment of the 34th Division on the Wusheng Pass line.
The two encirclements formed in northwestern Hubei finally attracted the attention of General Okamura Yasuji, but at this time, the Battle of Nanchang led by him had already begun. The 6th, 9th and 106th Divisions had moved south one after another. In addition, the 16th Division, which was facing the threat of Feng Qinzai's 98th Army, the Ueno Detachment of the 3rd Division, which had just occupied Yichang, and the Numata Detachment of the 13th Division, which was sweeping the Fifth War Zone, could not easily leave the battlefield. Therefore, the actual force that the Japanese army could invest in northwestern Hubei was quite limited.
As a last resort, Okamura Yasuji ordered Lieutenant General Seki Kameji, commander of the 34th Division, to lead the remaining troops of the 34th Division and one and a half regiments of the 19th Infantry Brigade of the 16th Division, as well as parts of the Suzuki (31st Infantry) Regiment and the Hoshizen (3rd Cavalry) Regiment of the 3rd Division to form a Northward Advance Detachment to launch the Sui-Zao Battle.
However, as the war on the southern front became more urgent, the main goal of the Japanese army in this battle was not to annihilate the enemy and establish victory in the northwestern Hubei region as envisioned by Major General Saeda, but to rescue the two besieged troops and quickly withdraw to the south of Anlu after success?
"Commander-in-Chief, the war zone forwarded this urgent report to Lanzhou."
The Japanese army did not conceal its actions at all, so Lanzhou soon learned the intelligence that Japanese reinforcements were dispatched. After judgment, Lanzhou believed that the Japanese army's primary target was Zhang Zizhong's troops.
"map."
Zhang Zizhong gave the order, and then two staff officers placed a large-scale map of northern Hubei on the square table in front of him.
"Send a message to the war zone."
Zhang Zizhong frowned.
"Our army has decided to annihilate the current Japanese troops in Shuikou. We will never retreat until the last moment. We are confident that we will not be broken through by the Japanese Yuanshan Regiment at Wushengguan. However, the main force of the Japanese army has already gone north to relieve the siege. Our isolated army cannot hold out for long. If we retreat in front of the battle, we may be attacked by the Japanese army from both inside and outside. Therefore, we hope that the war zone will urge the Ninth Army to actively attack the Japanese army from the side and rear to shake the determination of the Yuanshan Regiment to act."
"Commander-in-Chief, I'm afraid the Ninth Army is not strong enough to support it."
Dong Shengtang , who was also the chief of staff was full of worry. For one thing, the Sichuan Army might not dare to leave its solid position. But Zhang Zizhong had just disobeyed Yang Hucheng's order. Adding the two together, the war zone might have to stand by and watch. In this way, the future of the 12th Army's attack force was worrying.
"Why don't we move our troops behind the mountain before the main force of the Japanese army arrives?"
"What are you afraid of? The Japanese army is not a flying scout. They can come at any time."
Zhang Zizhong waved his hand. He naturally knew what Dong Shengtang was thinking, but he wanted to take a gamble.
"If you are worried about the Japanese's follow-up troops, then tell the brothers below that we don't have much time. We can either eliminate the Japanese in the encirclement and go back to eat meat and drink to celebrate, or be chased by the surging Japanese and eat dirt all the way. It's up to them to choose."
As a result, a large number of officers and soldiers of the 12th Army Group, shouting "We would rather eat meat than soil", rushed forward one after another without fear of sacrifice and attacked the hastily built fortifications of the Japanese army, risking their lives. As a result, the battle became more and more intense.