Chapter 74: Support
If we look at the Zhengxian Campaign from a global perspective, we will find that although the Japanese army mobilized a large number of troops to act jointly from North China and Central China, their occupied area was too vast and they needed to divide their troops to garrison there. The 11th Army in Central China was unwilling to put all its efforts, so that the troops that have arrived at the front line are no more than 5 divisions of uneven strength, 3 temporary mixed brigades, some special forces and part of the puppet army, and the total force does not exceed 200,000.
Judging from the specific experiences on the front line: the two temporary mixed brigades of the Japanese army in central China that attacked Luzhou, Fengyang and other places were obviously unable to pose a fatal threat to the troops on the east side of the Hubei-Henan-Anhui war zone.
The Xinmi and Yuxian directions were also small-scale fights involving a single regiment-level detachment.
The ones under the heaviest pressure were the three divisions of the Northwest Second Army, which were facing siege from six Japanese infantry regiments on the outskirts of Zheng County.
The western direction of the Hubei-Henan-Anhui war zone is the most likely to break the deadlock.
As for the northwestern Hubei area of the Hunan-Hubei-Bashu war zone, it seemed at a loss in the face of the Japanese army's sudden turn. The Gaolan Northwest National Defense Army Supreme Command had already given the harshest criticism to Liu Wenhui for watching the Japanese 4th Division turn to attack Nanyang. Zhang Xueliang was even ordered to fly to Baokang in person to supervise the battle.
However, Liu Wenhui's direct Tenth Corps had already retreated all the way to Fang County and Baokang.
Liu Duoquan's First Corps retreated to Gucheng and Nanzhang.
Fu Zuoyi's Fourth Corps and the two divisions of Zhang Lingyun and Feng Zhanhai were still preparing to defend Xiangfan to the death.
Although Sun Lianzhong's 19th Army, the only army capable of mobile operations, was located outside Xiangfan, it had no ideological or material preparation to counterattack Sui-Zao and cut off the 4th Division's retreat route.
Under such circumstances, on March 15, 1941, in Beishugu Village, Baokang County, Zhang Xueliang, on behalf of the Northwest National Defense Army Command, presided over a combat meeting of the Hunan-Hubei-Bashu War Zone to launch a counterattack against the Sui-Zao area.
"I now announce the disciplinary order of the Northwest Military and Political Committee."
At the beginning of the meeting, Zhang Xueliang took out a document and read it.
"It is confirmed that the Tenth Corps was afraid of the enemy and fled first, passively avoiding fighting. Leng Xunnan is now relieved of his post as the commander of the Tenth Corps and the concurrent post of commander of the 24th Army, and transferred to Zigui as the chief of staff of the Yidong deputy commander-in-chief of the Xiang-E-Ba-Shu war zone."
Leng Yindong slammed the table and stood up: "I don't accept it. I fought so many battles with the Japanese and lost so many brothers. Why do you say that I am afraid of the enemy and retreat without fighting? This is a purge. Commander Liu, the Northwest is going to attack our Sichuan Army."
Liu Wenhui also looked at Zhang Xueliang with an unhappy expression, thinking that you and I are people who share the same suffering , so why are we so anxious to hurt each other?
However, Liu Wenhui also knew that Zhang Xueliang in front of him was just a mouthpiece, so it was useless to reason with him.
At this time, Zhang Xueliang asked indifferently: "Chief of Staff Leng, I want to ask you a question. If the Japanese army continues to attack Xiangfan, what role will the Tenth Corps play in defending Xiangfan if it withdraws to Fangxian and Baokang?"
Leng Yindong was speechless. He couldn't say that he was acting according to Liu Wenhui's orders. If that happened, the responsibility would be transferred to Liu Wenhui. If Liu Wenhui was implicated, Leng Yindong would be accused of selling out his master. He was in a dilemma for a moment, not knowing whether to stand or sit.
Leng Yindong's speechless look was extremely pitiful, but Liu Wenhui had to ignore it temporarily in order to sacrifice the car to save the driver. This confirmed that Northwest's punishment of Leng Yindong was well-founded. For a moment, Leng Yindong felt mixed emotions and was a little shaky.
Liu Wenhui saw that something was wrong and ordered the adjutant behind him: "Hurry up and take Chief of Staff Leng to see a doctor." Leng Xunnan was helped down by the adjutant, and Zhang Xueliang continued to read: "The commander of the 24th Army will be succeeded by Liu Yuanzhang, the former deputy commander of the 10th Army, and Xiong Cihou, the former chief of staff of the 10th Army, will be transferred to the major general chief of staff of the Kunlun Provincial Reserve Command."
Liu Wenhui's eyes narrowed. "Deputy Commander-in-Chief Zhang, what is the number of the Tenth Corps?"
“It will not be cancelled for now.”
Zhang Xueliang gave Liu Wenhui a comforting dumpling.
"But if the Tenth Legion performs poorly in Sui Zao's counterattack, then it will be necessary to retain it."
Regardless of what Liu Wenhui thought, Zhang Xueliang immediately gave orders to Liu Duoquan.
"The military situation is urgent. I won't say much. The First Corps must rush to Fancheng within 72 hours. If you can't do it, don't blame me for executing Ma Su with tears."
With Leng Yindong as his sidekick, Liu Duoquan knew that he could not bargain at all, so he immediately stood up, saluted, and walked out.
"Commander-in-Chief Sun."
Zhang Xueliang's gaze fell on Sun Lianzhong's face again.
"The same requirements as those of the Lanzhou Command. Within 72 hours, the 19th Army Group must be ready to attack Sui-Zao."
Sun Lianzhong joined the Northwest the latest, so there was nothing to bargain with. However, Liu Wenhui was too harsh on the 19th Army, so he could not help but ask: "The emperor does not need hungry soldiers. I have no objection to fighting back against the Japanese devils, but my troops are poorly equipped, so can the theater allocate some weapons and ammunition to the 19th Army?"
Zhang Xueliang was stunned: "I remember the Joint Logistics Command reported that a large amount of weapons was allocated to the 19th Army?"
"Deputy Commander-in-Chief Zhang, a large amount of military equipment was allocated to the army in the beginning, but the 19th Army has also fought many battles. How can I maintain the army if it only takes out money but not in it?"
Sun Lianzhong said something with a hidden meaning.
"I don't count on the 75mm cannon and 82mm mortars, but you have to give us enough machine gun bullets and grenades. Otherwise, how are we going to fight the Japs with just firewood sticks?"
Zhang Xueliang looked back at Liu Wenhui. Liu Wenhui was so angry that his face turned blue. He thought, Sun Lianzhong, you are a coward. Even if you use rotten medicine, it is not so obvious. Have you seen that I, Liu, am now a phoenix without feathers and worse than a chicken, so you take this opportunity to kick me when I am down?
Although he was indignant in his heart, Liu Wenhui managed a smile on his face: "Brother Hanqing, don't look for me about this. You also know that the replenishment of troops is under the jurisdiction of the Hubei Reserve Command, and the replenishment of ammunition is decided by the theater joint logistics command. Although I am the commander of the theater, it is not easy for me to interfere in specific matters."
Zhang Xueliang thought about it and felt that what both of them said was not entirely true.
However, since it involved two powers directly controlled by the Northwest, he did not intend to investigate in detail who was deliberately lying between Liu Wenhui and Sun Lianzhong. He just said: "I came to say hello to the theater joint logistics headquarters. As the deputy commander-in-chief, I still have some face."
While Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan and Bashu were still deploying troops, Liu Ruming's 12th Army, which was under the command of the deputy commander of Luxi in the Hubei-Henan-Anhui War Zone, was fighting a lukewarm battle with the Japanese 4th Division in Tanghe and Xinye.
Liu Ruming's 12th Army was composed of the 59th Army, the former subordinate of Zhang Zizhong, the current second deputy principal of the Northwest Army School, the newly formed 2nd Army, and Liu Ruming's direct 68th Army. The first commander-in-chief of the army was Zhang Zizhong himself.
Because Zhang Zizhong took a risky attack in the Xinnan blocking battle and almost fell into the hands of the enemy, Dai Jiliang took the opportunity to take away his military power. The unit has been led by Liu Ruming ever since.
At this time, the 12th Army had a total of more than 70,000 people, including 3 armies, 7 divisions, 3 supplementary regiments, 1 cavalry regiment, and 1 baggage regiment, and their opponent was the Japanese Army's veteran regular division - the 4th Division.
When it was still affiliated with the Kwantung Army, the 4th Division was reorganized into a three-combination system, and the total strength was reduced from 24,000 to 19,000. In addition, after the division moved to central China, it had to guard the vast area between Anlu, Jingmen, Jingshan and Yingcheng, so the actual number of troops participating in the war was less than 11,000.
After occupying Sui-Zao, the strength of the 4th Division further declined. In the end, the only troops that the division commander, Lieutenant General Kenzo Kitano, could actually use on the Nanyang front were two battalions of the 8th Infantry Regiment led by Major General Gu Xianyi, commander of the 4th Infantry Regiment, one battalion and one company of the 37th Infantry Regiment, one and a half battalions of the 61st Infantry Regiment, one cavalry company and one armored vehicle company of the 4th Search Regiment, plus one battalion each of the 4th Light and Heavy Regiment and the 4th Engineer Regiment, totaling more than 7,000 people.
70,000 versus 7,000, logically speaking Liu Ruming should win.
However, after comparing the technical weapons of both sides, it can be found that the Chinese side, with a larger number of troops, suffers a great disadvantage in terms of firepower.
The 4th Division not only had the support of the Naval Aviation Combined Force that took off from Suixian Airport, but also had a strong artillery force. Division Commander Kitano, who had served as Chief of Staff of the Korean Army and participated in the Zhanggufeng Incident during his tenure, understood the role of artillery in war better than ordinary Japanese generals.
Therefore, without hesitation, all 12 150mm heavy cannons and another 12 75mm field guns of the 4th Field Artillery Regiment were reinforced to the Guxian Detachment.
On the other hand, although Liu Ruming's troops claimed to have three armies, they only had four 75mm mountain artillery battalions and four 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine gun companies.
Fortunately, the Osaka Division, known as "the most useless division in the Imperial Army", had little interest in facing a strong enemy. Therefore, although the two sides fought back and forth, the battle line was always maintained in the Tang River Basin.
However, the Japanese Third Division, which invaded Nanyang, was not as lucky as the Fourth Division.
The Kido Detachment advancing westward toward Biyang encountered repeated attacks from Yang Sen's troops, and the terrain of the Tongbai Mountains restricted the Japanese army from further leveraging their firepower advantage. Therefore, after ten days of fierce fighting, although the Japanese army captured Biyang County, it was also a spent force.
As for the other Jichuan Detachment of the Third Division, although they once made rapid progress, successively captured Ye County and Wuyang and broke through Fangcheng Pass and approached Fangcheng and Sheqi lines, this was the farthest point they had advanced.
"Order He Kui that the 67th Army must take control of Xiangcheng tonight and launch a counterattack on Ye County no later than tomorrow afternoon."
Standing in front of the large map, Chen Youliang, deputy commander-in-chief of the Hubei-Henan-Anhui War Zone, gave orders word by word.
"Also tell Li Songnian that the 238th Division must recapture Wuyang tonight and completely cut off the retreat route of the Chuanbao Detachment."
"Commander Chen, once the Chuanbao Detachment learns that their retreat has been cut off, they will definitely understand our army's intention to encircle and annihilate them. At that time, their first reaction will definitely be to flee. If the 67th Army and the 238th Division are not attacking fast enough, our pockets may be loosened."
Jiang Tao, the chief of staff of the deputy chief headquarters, reminded.
"In addition, the Japanese troops in Xinyang will definitely respond, and the devils in Biyang may also change their route to come to our aid. We must have enough reserves. In addition, the 12th Army Group."
"Telegram Liu Ruming and tell him not to let the Fourth Division in, or else he will be subject to military law!"
Chen Youliang ordered viciously.
"In addition, we must tell He Guozhu that the 69th Army must advance to the west of Luohe as soon as possible and be prepared to attack and block the reinforcements."
