Because the Japanese army's occupation of Hengling Pass was too secretive, the officers and soldiers of the 141st Regiment on the periphery did not notice this anomaly.
Originally, the Japanese army was worried that the Chinese army would organize a counterattack, but at noon, officers and soldiers returned to the pass one after another. As a result, they were easily captured by the Japanese army, but many regiment commanders did not show up.
This time, a small group of Japanese troops mainly used the roundabout method of fighting. They followed the routes that had been scouted in advance, avoided important places where the National Army was stationed, and exclusively took the valley trails to attack the National Army headquarters at all levels, while the main force of the Japanese army was responsible for
Defeat the national army's defense line from the front, not aiming to kill, but intent on attacking southward.
In the afternoon, the main force of the Japanese army led by Moritake Tanabe suddenly launched a surprise attack on the frontline soldiers of the 9th Army after crossing the mountains.
At the same time, plainclothes teams lurking everywhere cooperated with the main offensive of the Japanese army, cutting telephone lines, attacking headquarters at all levels, and destroying national army arsenals.
Various actions of the plainclothes teams caused great panic to the national army, especially when the war suddenly broke out and communications between headquarters at all levels were interrupted.
In the Ninth Army Headquarters, since the commander of the army, Pei Changhui, was not at the front line to command, the chief of staff had to direct the operations.
"Sir, our phone line was cut off by the enemy and we can't contact the troops below!" the correspondent reported anxiously.
"Contact again, call again. If you can't contact me, use the radio. Make sure you contact Deputy Commander Wang's 54th Division as soon as possible!" The chief of staff was breathless.
Before the 9th Army could resume communications, a team of more than a hundred people gathered from several plainclothes teams came towards the headquarters of the 9th Army. This force was mainly composed of carefully selected puppet troops, supplemented by Japanese troops to supervise operations, and the outbreak broke out
Its combat effectiveness is extremely powerful.
Unable to contact troops at all levels, the Ninth Army Headquarters had to send out most of the troops directly under the General Headquarters, which also gave the Japanese plainclothes teams an opportunity to take advantage.
Upon learning that a small group of Japanese troops were attacking, the chief of staff and other military personnel had no choice but to retreat southward in a hurry with the radio, and fled all the way to Hengling Pass, where they were mostly killed by the Japanese troops inside the pass.
By nightfall, the leading troops of the main Japanese army had suddenly reached Hengling Pass, leaving the 47th and 54th Divisions of the 9th Army behind.
The 54th Division was adapted from the Northeast Army and was placed at the forefront of the defense line. Deputy Army Commander Wang Jin also served as the division commander. However, it was suppressed on weekdays and the combat morale of the officers and soldiers was generally low. Facing the Japanese offensive, it collapsed at the first touch.
The commander of the 47th Division, which was slightly further back, was concurrently served by Pei Changhui. During the war, the military chief was not in the command position, and he was also unable to form effective resistance.
After the two national armies were broken through by the Japanese army, they scrambled to retreat towards Hengling Pass. After discovering that the paths ahead were different, they spontaneously fled towards the mountainous areas in the east and west directions.
It was at this time that the 140th Regiment of the 47th Division contacted the Army Group Headquarters through the radio, and the First Theater District Commander's Department was informed of the battle situation ahead.
"Sir, there was a call from Hengling Pass. Seeing that the national army was unable to break through Hengling Pass, they fled towards the nearby mountains. The defenders asked if they should pursue them?"
Hearing this, Tanabe Moritake shook his head: "The Chinese armies at all levels have lost their command and can no longer pose an effective threat to the imperial army. Order the leading troops such as Zhongshan, Kono, and Murakami to quickly pass through the Hengling Pass and along the Hengyuan
The avenue continues to attack southward!"
"Hi!" After hearing this, the adjutant immediately sent out communications troops to contact various troops.
It didn't take long for the subsequent mixed brigades of the Japanese and puppet troops to gather at the traffic arteries and march towards Hengling Pass.
Tanabe Moritake felt that he was sure of victory, so he ordered his adjutant to call Ishihara Wanji: "Our troops launched an offensive against the Chinese army at about 4 o'clock in the afternoon on August 4, and by about 8 o'clock in the evening, the first three brigades had passed Hengling.
Guan continues to march, and is expected to arrive at Yuanqu County tonight, and clear out the Chinese troops around the county tomorrow morning!"
The story is divided into two parts. Although the Japanese and puppet troops led by Hana Guzheng launched their offensive late, the initial stage was extremely smooth. Here the Japanese army marched to the junction of Vang Vieng and Wenxi, and prioritized the attack on Vang Vieng, which had a more empty defense.
The national army in the west of Zhongtiao Mountain is stationed in the Yuncheng area. It governs Wanrong to the northwest of Yuncheng, Wenxi to the northeast, Linyi to the west, Xia County to the east, Yongji and Ruicheng to the southwest, and Pinglu to the southeast.
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With the largest territory and the most powerful troops, the Chief of Guard deployed his direct 14th Group Army in the Yuncheng area. In addition to resisting the pressure of the Japanese troops in Hejin, Jishan and other places, the other point was that it could support ten people by relying solely on the self-sufficiency of the Yuncheng Basin.
Ten thousand troops.
Unfortunately, the deception tactics spread by the Japanese army before the war were too realistic, forcing the originally strong Western National Army to be split and mobilized.
On this occasion, only a few troops of the 93rd Army were deployed in Wanreng. The main force, the 10th Division, the new 8th Division were in Hejin, and the other main force, the 166th Division, was in Wenxi.
The 14th Army, which came to support from the central part of the country, took over the task of guarding the flanks of Yuncheng from the 98th Army and was stationed in Xia County. The 15th Army was stationed in Linyi, west of Yuncheng. The two armies were specifically responsible for guarding the important town of Yuncheng.
In the rear areas of Yongji, Ruicheng, and Pinglu, the defenses in Yongji, Ruicheng, and Pinglu were extremely empty because the 80th Army was transferred to the south of the Yellow River.
Originally there was not much of a problem with this arrangement, but the First War Zone thought that all the heavy Japanese troops were in Shaanxi Province, and did not expect that the Japs would take advantage of the loophole.
The appearance of the Japanese troops led by Hanagu Masa in Vang Vieng made the 14th Army panic. Fortunately, because they were worried about the Japanese attack on Yuncheng area, the senior generals of the 14th Army were in command positions and stabilized the troops immediately.
Since the gateway in the direction of Wanrong was open, the Japanese army could directly go south to attack Yuncheng, so Liu Maoen urgently called the 166th Division in Wenxi to intercept.
Unexpectedly, Huagu Zheng, an old Japanese soldier, had already made arrangements. The troops were divided into three groups. A regiment of Japanese and puppet troops aggressively attacked the city and occupied territory in Wanrong, blocking the two divisions of the 93rd Army returning for reinforcements, and at the same time luring the 166th Division to advance westward.
There was also an ambush by a regiment of Japanese and puppet troops on Wenxi's main traffic road through Wanrong. After gathering the main force of the 166th Division, it quickly moved westward but was ambushed by the Japanese army. The remnant troops retreated back to Wenxi territory.
The remaining three infantry regiments and two artillery regiments of the Japanese and puppet troops, led by Masaru Hanatani, quickly advanced towards Yuncheng.
"Reporting to the commander, the Tamura Regiment and the Nogami Regiment have arrived at Niushe Town in the southeast of Linyi. A small reconnaissance force of the 15th National Army has been discovered. The Tsukamoto Regiment has arrived at the airport in the northeast of Yuncheng!"
After hearing the adjutant's report, Hanagiya Masaru said immediately: "Tamura, the two Nogami regiments don't have to worry about the 15th Chinese Army and march to Fenglingdu as soon as possible. The Tsukamoto regiment needs to take advantage of the darkness to capture Yuncheng Airport!"
Huagu Zheng was like a lunatic. He was bold in his command and even tried to rely on two regiments to attack southward and block the passage south of the Yellow River for the national army to go north.
"Commander Ishihara is indeed far-sighted. Although the imperial army is short of troops, it has added well-trained Imperial Association troops. The troops have been greatly supplemented. This battle can capture Yuncheng in one fell swoop. The national army will again be in the north of the Yellow River.