Although the Japanese army may not have known the number, organization, and weapons equipment of the army that came out of the pass at the time, the Japanese army's intelligence system was very sensitive, and when the advancing army came out of Jidong, because of the Japanese puppet The army's tight blockade inside and outside the Great Wall made it impossible for them to escape quietly without firing a shot.
After several battles to break through the blockade, it was not difficult for the Japanese army to determine the approximate size of the troops leaving the border. Now that the whereabouts of the troops who had disappeared from their intended targets had been found out, the Japanese army took advantage of this rare opportunity to eliminate Shanxi's cronies in one fell swoop. The time of great trouble has come.
It is not difficult to understand why the Japanese army launched its raids on the Taihang and Taiyue areas after the advancing army had been exposed. This was not an accident, but a carefully planned campaign. I am afraid that the clearing up of Yue District has been prepared and deployed for a long time, and we have been waiting for this opportunity.
Thinking of this, Yang Zhen tapped his fingers on the table. He did not immediately answer the two commanders. Instead, he asked for all the telegrams from the beginning of the May 1st Army's large-scale raids on the Jizhong base area to the current communication between the advancing army and the remaining troops in the pass. , and after carefully reviewing the summary of all counter-mopping operations conducted by the various troops within the Pass since the end of last year, they thoroughly smoothed over all the situations from beginning to end.
After reading the telegram, Yang Zhen couldn't help but smile bitterly. His judgment was still accurate. Although the central government and the central government were ordered to establish two major strategic areas and took all measures to keep it secret, judging from the Japanese army's tactical intelligence collection capabilities, even the two No matter how concealed the deployment of troops in the grand strategic area is, I'm afraid there won't be any valuable intelligence collected.
Especially when the Japanese army is frequently raiding various base areas, based on the current tactical literacy of the Japanese army's grassroots officers, they can still understand the changes in the military literacy and combat effectiveness of the enemy forces they fight in different periods. If you cannot appreciate this change, then you are underestimating the educational capabilities of the Japanese Army Military Academy.
From the end of last year to the present, the Japanese army has frequently carried out large-scale raids on the anti-Japanese base areas in North China. Even during the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain, the Japanese army did not stop. The strength of several major base areas behind enemy lines in North China has changed. As long as they are not trained by the Army Non-commissioned Officer School If you are an idiot, you should be able to figure it out.
But the current situation is precisely that these guys trained by the Army Sergeant School are indeed quite inferior in some aspects. Their vision is too narrow, especially the lack of strategic vision, which makes these guys extremely arrogant, but in terms of their own tactical literacy It is absolutely top-notch, and can be said to be the best in the world. Yang Zhen has been in this era for so many years, and he definitely has a deep understanding of this.
If the German army's staff is the best combat staff in the world, then the current junior officers of the Japanese army are the best junior officers in the world. Under the influence of traditional Asian concepts, these military skills are superb, they have a strong sense of initiative in combat, and they are guided by bushido. The tenacious will of a man with a feverish mind cannot be matched by the average army.
Moreover, the endurance of difficult conditions and environments is not comparable to that of ordinary armies. In this regard, even the Chinese army, which has always been known for its patience, is not comparable. The abbot may be the one who raided the base area. officers, but it is these middle and lower-level officers who are actually fighting. With their tactical taste, they will never turn a blind eye to this change.
When the customs troops were conducting counter-mopping operations, it was impossible for captured personnel not to appear. None of these captured personnel were high-ranking party, government, and military cadres. Although they did not know the formation of the advancing army, they revealed that the former troops and the new troops were There are some clues such as the formed troops and the situation of the brother troops. It is impossible for experienced intelligence personnel not to be able to judge that the opponent has undergone considerable changes.
And although the 18th Army is well-organized and the base areas it has operated for many years are also quite tight, they are not monolithic after all. There are still a few traitors and spies who are willing to work as lackeys for the Japanese and puppet troops, lurking in the base areas. These people may not be large in number. , but the harm cannot be said to be small.
Although these people are basically the lowest level personnel, they can even be said to be ordinary people. Because the customs forces have strict control and confidentiality measures are quite effective. According to the local government, they are also very well organized. They may not necessarily I can get too much information, but I can't get any information that is too important.
But at least the changes in the strength of the base area, the changes in the amount of food collected, and the changes in materials such as clothing and clothing can still be felt. Especially the upgrade of new troops is not a small move. From this point on, as long as you are more careful , you can still detect a hint of unusual smell.
Moreover, these people are mixed among the common people and are difficult to detect as long as they are inactive. Once the troops are transferred to their location, in addition to collecting intelligence, these people will also guide the Japanese army to conduct sneak attacks on our troops. In many cases, Under this situation, the harm caused by these people is no less than that of the Japanese army who may have discovered the changes within the two strategic areas during repeated raids.
Intelligence work is not all about directly spying on the opponent's specific strength, equipment, and actual deployment, nor is it all about hiding in the core of the opponent's camp to obtain the enemy's top secrets. These situations are only part of the intelligence collection work. , although important, but not absolute.
In addition to directly finding out the true situation of the opponent, the intelligence collection work also includes grasping the internal changes of the enemy's army and analyzing all clues to determine the opponent's deployment adjustments and even the mobilization and deployment of troops. This is also intelligence. The most important part of the job.
Through the collection quantity of grain, supplies and other materials, the number and vehicle types of trains passing through a certain area during a certain period, subtle changes in the enemy's troop strength through interrogation of prisoners of war, and even changes in local vegetable prices during a period of time, can be used As a basis for judging changes in the opponent's internal situation.
For example, a captured person was originally a so-called local armed personnel such as a county brigade or a district squad, but before he was captured, he was with his unit and several other armed personnel who were also from the so-called county brigade or district squad. Upgrade together or form a group.
As for the reason for being upgraded, a brother unit was transferred away, there was a gap in local troops, or because their troops needed to be expanded, so they were upgraded to the main force, and other similar situations, even if there are clues, All of them may become the basis for judging the internal changes of the enemy.
The confession of a prisoner of war may not mean much, but the emergence of many similar situations can provide a platform for experienced interrogators to obtain quite valuable intelligence, and Japanese military intelligence personnel are often in this field. veteran.
In addition to obtaining certain intelligence from captured personnel and their insiders lurking in the base area, there is also a more dangerous type of people, that is, traitors. The Japanese army frequently conducts large-scale raids. Those who persist in the struggle in the base area face not only huge challenges casualties, and the situation is getting worse day by day.
At this time, it is easy for some weak-minded people to rebel and surrender to the enemy when the situation worsens, especially those who are speculative in nature. They are more likely to rebel, especially those with certain positions. Such people have the power to control The more situations there are, the more intelligence the rebellion can provide and the more destructive it will be, and in a war situation, this situation is simply unavoidable.
Since the end of last year, the Japanese army has begun frequent raids on several major anti-Japanese base areas in North China. Although they may not have wiped out many of our troops, they can obtain some very important information through these raids, at least to find out the general situation of our army in the base areas. Changes in troop strength are still not a big problem.
What the Japanese army couldn't figure out was that the disappearance of these troops was due to them being transferred to other directions, especially to northern Shaanxi after the battle of Zhongtiao Mountain, in order to strengthen the defense of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region and prevent the reduced pressure of the First Army from crossing the Yellow River westward. , the attack on the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, or the transfer to other places for some purpose, but one thing they should be sure of is that the composition of the troops in the two strategic areas must have changed.
Judging from the troop mobilization and efficiency of this raid by the Japanese army, this unprecedented scale raid was definitely not planned in a short time. The combat plan should have been formulated before the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain. Even Maybe it was the battle with Zhongtiao Mountain that was executed as a whole.
The various Japanese military units that raided the Jizhong base area were all deployed through the railway line in just two days at the end of April, before the Zhongtiao Mountain battle was completely over. Their efficiency and speed were almost as high as It was unprecedented, leaving no time for the Jizhong Military Region to react.
In the direction of Shanxi, the sweep of the Jizhong base area has not yet been completely completed. After the main force originally participating in the war was transferred to the Jizhong area, the Japanese and puppet troops were left behind for the final sweep of the Zhongtiao Mountains. Without any warning, they made a 180-degree turn and moved directly from their respective combat areas via railways and highways to attack Taihang and Taiyue northeast of the Zhongtiao Mountain battlefield. Two major military regions.
Such a tight plan cannot be formulated in a short period of time, and the defenders of Zhongtiao Mountain collapsed so quickly. Even if the Japanese army had considerable predictability and judgment about the entire battle situation, it would probably not be possible. The predictions were so accurate, and the outcome of all this can only show that the Japanese army had already formulated a detailed chain plan before the entire battle of Zhongtiao Mountain.
The Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain was initiated half a month earlier than the history known to future generations. The garrison at Zhongtiao Mountain collapsed so quickly and suffered heavy losses, far beyond what future generations would know. On April 15th, the Japanese army launched a full-scale attack, and on the 17th they completely tore apart the defenders' defense lines. By April 21st, in just six days, the entire internal and external defensive positions of the Zhongtiao Mountain defenders had collapsed.
By April 25th, the entire Zhongtiao Mountain battlefield had basically come to an end. Most of the eight corps and two divisions deployed by the Chinese army in the Zhongtiao Mountain area were defeated. Except for some troops, they struggled to retreat. Outside the south bank of the Yellow River, most of the troops were completely defeated.
Not counting the tens of thousands killed in battle, the number of captured personnel alone reached more than 40,000, including several officers at the rank of major general. Of the hundreds of thousands of troops, less than one-third were able to withdraw to the south bank of the Yellow River and Shaanxi. In addition, the four armies deployed in the southeast of Shanxi and flanking the Zhongtiao Mountain defenders were all defeated. This was probably something that no one had expected at the time.
This is not to say that the responsibility is pushed outward, but the collapse of the Zhongtiao Mountain garrison was far faster than expected, and the lack of psychological preparation for the rapid eastward movement of the Japanese army was a very important prerequisite for the serious losses suffered by various base areas in North China. As part of an overall plan, any error in judgment is fatal.