Chapter 75: Southern Front
The Japanese Army implemented a conscription system after the Meiji Restoration. Each standing division had a fixed conscription area. Therefore, the combat effectiveness of the Japanese divisions was often affected by whether the conscription area was militaristic.
The recruiting place for the 3rd Division that attacked from Jiyang was in the Nagoya area of Japan, which historically belonged to Owari Province. The cowardice of the Owari soldiers during the Warring States Period was once well-known in Japan. Therefore, the 4th Division, which inherited the weak folk customs, was actually a "strong army" that could be compared with the Osaka Division.
However, the weaker the combat effectiveness of a unit, the more sensitive it is to crisis. Just as Jiang Tao predicted, when He Guozhu's Third Corps launched a counterattack against Ye County and news came from Wuyang about the activities of the Northwest Army, the Third Division Headquarters immediately judged that there had been a major change in the situation.
Since he discovered that the Chinese side might try to encircle and annihilate the Kawabata Detachment, Lieutenant General Yamawaki Masataka ignored the opportunity to carry out the 11th Army's plan to attack Nanyang, and ordered Colonel Kawabata Taketo to lead his troops to retreat as soon as possible.
But it was too late. The Seventh Army of the Northwest Army mobilized four infantry divisions and one combined artillery brigade nearly 10 times the strength of the Sichuan Bao Detachment, to surround the invading enemy in the narrow section between Zhangzhai and Jiuxian on the Fang (cheng) Ye (xian) Highway.
The Sichuan Bao Detachment was in imminent danger, but the Third Division, which was responsible for guarding 12 counties including Xinyang, Queshan, Luohe, Yancheng, Xiping, Shangcai, Suiping, Runan, Zhengyang, Luoshan, Guangshui and Daigu, was unable to provide any troops to rescue them.
As a last resort, the division chief of staff Colonel Shinichi Endo had to rob Peter to repair Paul. He took out 12 of the only 21 infantry, cavalry, engineering and logistics companies he had to form the Shimamura Detachment to rescue Colonel Taketo Kawabata.
In order to enable the rescue detachment to achieve the final victory, Colonel Endo sold all his remaining resources and reinforced the Shimamura Detachment with the last three field artillery squadrons and two regiment artillery squadrons of the division. As a result, the Third Division began to use the empty city strategy in its controlled area.
However, despite the support of 12 75mm field guns and 8 70mm Type 92 infantry guns, the Japanese Shimamura Detachment was still met with desperate resistance from Huang Xiansheng's troops of the 119th Division of the 69th Army of the Northeast Army in Zoutang, Gaozhuang, Dazhang, Zhouzhuang, Taozhuang and Caodian along the Luo (he) Wu (yang) Highway, and was unable to break through in a short time.
In view of this, Chief of Staff Endo instructed Colonel Eijiro Shimamura to make a feint, first heading south to Songji and then heading straight for Quanzhai in order to bypass the sniper attack of the 119th Division and achieve the goal of reaching the south of Ye County to rescue the Kawabata Detachment.
Unfortunately, although the exhausted 119th Division did not discover the Japanese army's movements in the first time after a long battle, the Chinese side had accumulated a large number of emergency forces in the direction of Ye County in order to deal with possible reinforcements from the Japanese army. Therefore, the Shimamura Detachment, which thought it had shaken off the Northeast Army, was soon blocked by the Chinese 238th Division which had just liberated Ye County.
What was even more unfavorable to Colonel Eijiro Shimamura was that the commander of the 69th Army, Niu Yuanfeng, still had a reserve force at that time. Therefore, before he could break through the Chinese blockade and rescue the Kawabata Detachment, he suddenly found himself surrounded by three Chinese divisions.
Regardless of whether the Chinese army had the ability to defeat them in one go after a series of battles, Captain Shimamura, who knew that the 3rd Division was at the end of its rope, did not dare to take the risk. So he commanded his troops to switch from attack to defense, and at the same time, he urgently requested emergency guidance from the division.
Colonel Shimamura's caution caused a huge wave in the Third Division Headquarters. The Third Division had no soldiers to mobilize. What should be done? Lieutenant General Yamawaki Masataka weighed the pros and cons for a long time in front of the map like a trapped beast, and then ordered Major General Kido Sanji, who had already entered the county town of Biyang, to overcome all difficulties and immediately attack in the direction of Fangcheng.
Of course, Division Commander Yamawaki also knew that the Kido Detachment, which had encountered obstructions along the way and had finally captured Biyang with difficulty, might not be able to accomplish the task of rescuing the Kawaho Detachment. It was more likely that it would be surrounded by the Chinese side like the Kawaho and Shimamura Detachments. However, he could not help but gamble that the Chinese military strength was not enough to support three encirclements.
In addition to gambling, Lieutenant General Yamawaki Masataka also urgently requested guidance from the 11th Army Headquarters in Hankou and the Expeditionary Army Headquarters in Nanjing.
However, the 11th Army, which was out of reach, had to send the First Joint Air Force of the Naval Aviation Group stationed in Hankou to bombard the Chinese side. It would take three full days for the nearest reinforcements to arrive in Xinyang.
This was also the result of Lieutenant General Yuanbu Kazuichiro's own actions. Who made him play his own tricks in this joint battle between North China and Central China? In the end, he lost more than he gained. If it were any other division, he would not have to worry as much as he does now.
The 11th Army had no solution for the time being, but the China Expeditionary Army Headquarters had a high position and a long-term vision. When they saw that the 11th Army had no way to resolve the crisis of the 3rd Division, they intervened.
On March 18, the Nanjing Chinese Expeditionary Army Command issued a mobilization order to the 38th Division, bypassing the 15th Army Command that was commanding the Zhengxian Battle, ordering the 228th Infantry Regiment, the 229th Infantry Regiment, and part of the division's artillery, light and heavy troops, and engineers, which served as the reserve of the 35th Division on the southern front, to move south urgently to reinforce the 3rd Division.
Lieutenant General Fujita Susumu, commander-in-chief of the 15th Army, was of course extremely angry about Nanjing's order. The 15th Army was fighting with the Northwestern Army for every village and fort on the front battlefield in Zheng County, and the battle had entered a fierce stage. More pressure needed to be exerted on the southern front. To transfer the reserve troops on the southern front at this time would, in a sense, be like cutting off the source of the problem.
However, the situation of the 3rd Division had reached the most critical moment, and Lieutenant General Fujita naturally could not sit idly by and watch an entire division of Japanese troops being annihilated by the Chinese side. Therefore, he finally had to agree to the 38th Division to move south.
However, the southern front of the Zhengxian battlefield also required sufficient reserve troops. Therefore, Lieutenant General Fujita could only transfer the 1st Temporary Mixed Brigade composed of the 36th and 37th Divisions to the southern front. As for the vacancy left by the 1st Temporary Mixed Brigade, it was filled by the newly arrived 2nd Temporary Mixed Brigade composed of the 41st and 26th Divisions.
Although the transfer of the 1st Temporary Mixed Brigade did not have an adverse impact on the Zhengxian Campaign, Lieutenant General Fujita was unwilling to give up and still shouted at Beijing and Nanjing that there was a shortage of troops.
Since this battle was led by the Expeditionary Army, and it was indeed somewhat against procedure to directly mobilize the 38th Division without passing through the North China Front Army and the 15th Army, Nanjing finally agreed to the North China Front Army's suggestion to draw one regiment from each of the 21st Division and the 32nd Division of the 12th Army to form the 4th Temporary Mixed Brigade to meet the needs of the Zhengxian front without affecting public security.
As the saying goes, when one problem is solved, another one arises. Just when the Third Division had found a way to deal with its crisis, terrible news came from the Fourth Division.
With Zhang Xueliang personally supervising the army, Sun Lianzhong and Liu Duoquan's troops deployed rapidly, not only forming a momentum to counterattack Sui-Zao, but also threatening to join forces with Liu Ruming's 12th Army to encircle and annihilate the Guxian Detachment of the 4th Division.
The "weak Osaka Corps" knew that things were not going well, and on the one hand, they began to flee desperately, and on the other hand, a series of requests for help were reported to Lieutenant General Marube.
What to do? Again, the Army Aviation Corps should provide support first, and then find a way to provide reinforcements.
Fortunately, troop deployment had already been made to support the Third Division. Now that the Third Division has received reinforcements from the North China Front Army, the mobilized reinforcements can be used in the Sui-Zao direction.
However, no matter how good the plan is, it cannot keep up with changes. Starting from March 19, heavy rains fell throughout the Han River Basin. Not only were Japanese fighter planes in Hankou unable to take off, but even the Japanese reinforcements could not be quickly mobilized. They could only listen to the 4th Division howling over there all the time.
Of course, the heavy rain also had a significant impact on the Chinese side. The 19th Army attacked Zaoyang twice in a row, but was driven out by the garrison of the 4th Division each time.
The encirclement of the First Corps and the Twelfth Army also had loopholes in the heavy rain, and the main force of the Guxian Detachment took advantage of this to sneak away. Only a small number of tail troops were discovered and eliminated by the Chinese side.
"Tell Brother Fangbo that I am very disappointed with his performance."
Zhang Xueliang's face showed no emotion as he held the battle report, but his tone was somewhat solemn as he dictated the telegram to his adjutant.
"The 12th Army has been ordered to march north to join the 10th Corps and the 204th Division to intercept and encircle the Kido Detachment. The rest of the battle depends entirely on him and the 19th Army. I hope he can show the might of the Northeast Army just like Brother Xiaohou did when he defended Guide."
Zhang Xueliang naturally knew that Dai Jiliang's attitude towards the Northeast Army was also aimed at digestion and absorption. For such a bloodless integration, Zhang Xueliang was full of hope but also had a natural resistance.
However, to have a greater say in the Northwest National Defense Government and in the future Chinese political and military arena, it ultimately depends on the performance of the Northeast Army in the Anti-Japanese War battlefield. Therefore, Zhang Xueliang hopes that his subordinates can deeply understand this.
After dictating the telegram to Liu Duoquan, Zhang Xueliang's eyes fell on Liu Wenhui who was silent at the side: "Brother Ziqian, why haven't you figured it out yet? It's not that I, Zhang Hanqing, am willing to be a knife handle for others for nothing. It's really for the sake of public and private. Right now, we have no reason to be afraid of fighting and indulge the enemy."
"Brother Hanqing, I understand your thoughts, but I, Liu Ziqian, only have this little capital. I am not as wealthy as your Northeast Army, so I can afford the loss."
Through exchanging views with Zhang Xueliang, Liu Wenhui also understood Zhang Xueliang's intention, but he confirmed that now he had guns and status, and if all his troops were really wiped out, he would be the same as Liu Cunhou and Tian Songyao. Of course, this is the difference between a rich family and a poor family. One can afford to lose, while the other will feel sad for a long time even if he loses a few cents.
"Of course, I also know that public opinion in the northwest is powerful. Passive avoidance of war will be condemned by thousands of people. How about this? The Tenth Corps can't catch up with the encirclement and annihilation of the Fourth Division. I will let Liu Yuanzhang and Xia Shouxun guard Xiangfan and transfer Fu Zuoyi to participate in the war. What do you think?"
"The 35th Army is unfamiliar with the area."
Zhang Xueliang frowned, thinking that Liu Wenhui was ungrateful, but it was obvious that Liu Wenhui had chosen to commit suicide, so he could not blame others, so he just went with the flow.
"Fu Zuoyi has always been famous for his ability to defend. Let him rush to the southern line of Sui-Zao to block the Japanese reinforcements."
