When the Anti-Japanese Alliance is unable to maintain due to excessive road transportation consumption, it can only weaken its military strength in Western Manchuria. And after the Kwantung Army has received domestic supplementary forces to recover, will it be very difficult to regain Western Manchuria? Fighting for strength In terms of sustained combat capability, the Anti-Japanese Alliance was far inferior to the Kwantung Army supported by Japan and South Manchuria industry.
Although Yoshijiro Umezu is considered to be the most capable among all the previous chiefs of staff of the Kwantung Army, Yoshimoto Teiichi's vision still does not break away from the shackles of the Japanese army's traditional concepts. Although his judgment is quite reasonable, it still holds a The Japanese concept is a bit too paranoid when considering the actions of their opponents.
For the Japanese army, whose mechanization capabilities are still quite low and the replenishment of strategic materials mainly relies on railways, the general battlefield cannot be far away from the main railway trunk line 250 kilometers. Once it exceeds 250 kilometers, it can be maintained in a short period of time, but if it falls into In a long-term combat situation, the replenishment of supplies will be in trouble.
This is also the main reason why the Kwantung Army concentrated its main forces in the Eastern Manchuria area where the railways are denser in previous battles, while only one 23rd Division was left on the battlefield in Western Manchuria. There is not even one meter of railway line in the vast area from Nanxing'an to Chifeng in the south and Tongliao in the east.
Without railways and water transportation on both sides of the Yangtze River in the Guanchi battlefield, the Japanese were unable to maintain a large garrison with their tactical supply capabilities. In fact, if you look at the map of China after the July 7th Incident, it is not difficult to find that the Japanese during the entire Anti-Japanese War For most of the time, the occupied areas were maintained along the Jinpu Railway and on both sides of the Yangtze River and coastal areas.
Why did they not continue westward after occupying Yichang? It was because once the Yangtze River shipping and railway lines were separated, their supply capacity dropped by more than one level, and they were simply unable to maintain large-scale combat capabilities. They could grab food, but not ammunition and other Where do you go to grab military supplies?
Don’t think that the Japanese in World War II really didn’t have a big appetite and they could just occupy the most developed areas in southeastern China. Don’t think that the Japanese really cared too much about the interests of the United States and Britain to dare to completely occupy China. The reason why they grew up Time places the furthest distance to the west in Yichang, and we are unable to continue westward because after Yichang we reach the Three Gorges.
The Three Gorges, which are still known as the Gate of Hell, especially the Xiling Gorge, which is full of rapids and dangerous shoals, has restricted the use of the Japanese navy. The Wushan mountains on both sides of the Strait have made it even more difficult for the Japanese army to maintain a supply line. There was not much movement of mechanized and heavy artillery units.
Relying on naval supplies, the Chinese army does not have to deploy painstakingly. As long as a few artillery companies are deployed along the Three Gorges and all the navigation beacons along the river are removed, it is enough to blockade their naval ships in the Three Gorges. The Three Gorges is not their 10,000-ton Nanjing is a place where Japanese-class ships can go back, let alone Wuhan where Japanese light cruisers and ships can pass.
The Three Gorges and the high mountains without even simple roads in many areas of western China are like a barrier, firmly blocking the Japanese army's attempt to continue westward. Just kidding, the road to Sichuan is difficult, and it is difficult to reach the sky. This saying is not just for the Chinese When China withdrew from the west into Sichuan, even if there were people who were familiar with the waterway to lead the way, how many ships and supplies were lost in the Three Gorges.
It is the same not only in Yichang, Shaanxi, and Hunan. The continuous mountains in the west and the lack of favorable transportation lines make supplies highly dependent on railway lines and water transportation. Short-term operations without railway lines are possible, but long-term operations are very difficult. It is difficult for the Japanese army to hold on. No matter how much they want to completely wipe out China, they can only stop their steps.
As for the northwest direction, it is far inferior to the central and south. The Yellow River is not the Yangtze River. Japanese warships on the Yangtze River can be traced back to Yichang and penetrate into the Han River, Xiang River, Gan River and other larger tributaries of the Yangtze River, and even Dongting Lake and Poyang Lake. The water volume of the Yangtze River is enough to support The Japanese army was fighting in the river section below Yichang and within hundreds of kilometers around both sides of the Taiwan Strait. Their small ships took risks and could go deep into the Three Gorges from time to time.
But this is not possible in the northwest. The amount of water in the Yellow River prevents large ships from going too deep. Sanmenxia, which has been known as the Yellow River's gate to hell since ancient times, is enough to keep out even small Japanese ships. Without supplies and lack of effective roads, Tanks and heavy artillery cannot move.
Without the support of tanks and heavy artillery, all Japanese soldiers are really like gods with one enemy against a hundred. Although the Chinese army lacks weapons and its tactics are backward, it does not lack courage. If there is really no condition for heavy weapons support, In the next fight, the Japanese may not necessarily be able to achieve much results.
Therefore, the offensive against the Japanese is not difficult to judge and deploy troops. It is not difficult to judge. As long as you look at both sides of the railway line, you can analyze the general deployment of the Japanese army most of the time, especially the heavy troop groups. The deployment situation was like this on the battlefield inside the pass, and it was still like this in the Northeast.
Before the Anti-Japanese Alliance came out, the Kwantung Army, which was clamoring to march north all day long, deployed far more troops in Eastern Manchuria, where the railway density was much higher than that in Western Manchuria, because their logistics supplies were inseparable from the railways. Without the railway, they would not be able to fight for a long time. Before this battle, the Kwantung Army's troop deployment was also based on this standard.
The furthest distance of the main heavy force group is no more than 300 kilometers along the railway line. The entire Western Manchuria, from Wangye Temple in the north to Chifeng in the south, only has one and a half divisions, even though there was a sudden increase before the war. There is a 51st Division, but the overall strength in depth is quite limited.
In the entire Western Manchuria area, from the south of Wangye Temple to the Linxi territory, there is almost no Japanese soldier in the vast area. If Yang Zhen had not understood this characteristic of Japanese combat, how would Yang Zhen have mobilized Wang Guangyu's troops to fight away from the rear? They detoured hundreds of kilometers through Outer Mongolia and went straight to Linxi, hitting the waist of the entire Japanese army in Western Manchuria with one fist.
If the Japanese army had the battlefield support capabilities of the US military, or even the German army's battlefield support capabilities, as well as rapid maneuverability, Yang Zhen would not dare to take this risk. In the fierce fighting in the north, he would dare to strengthen the infantry division and the cavalry brigade. , a group of armored brigades dared to break away from the supply line for hundreds of kilometers to break in alone.
Yang Zhen dared to do this because the Japanese army lacked the long-term combat capability away from the railway line. In the vast area south of the Taosuo Railway in Western Manchuria, north of Chifeng, and west of Tongliao, it could only support one division to fight. If the troops were further strengthened, A little more, using the Japanese army's tactics to supplement their capabilities, is okay for a short time, but over time his troops will be hungry.
As long as Wang Guangyu can deal with the 23rd Division in a short period of time and Chen Hanzhang can penetrate to the front line of Tongliao as scheduled, leaving the Kwantung Army with no time to worry about the Linxi battlefield, there will be almost no danger to Wang Guangyu. The Kwantung Army lacks trucks. There is no ability to maintain too many troops far away from the railway line.
As long as the 51st Division is solved, even though the supply line is longer, it can still be considered as opening up the supply to Wang Guangyu, and then use the Xinjing battlefield to hold back part of the Kwantung Army's strength, making it hesitate to adjust its deployment. It was impossible to mobilize a large number of reinforcements to Western Manchuria in a short period of time. This would be equivalent to laying two wedges in Western Manchuria, which the Japanese army could neither swallow nor drive away.
The weakness of the Japanese army's tactical supply capability, which relied too much on railways, was used and exploited to the extreme by Yang Zhen in this battle. For the Kwantung Army, it was also a fatal weakness. Even the 14th Division that was later transferred to Tongliao, There is no way to get rid of this factor and not leave the railway line.
In fact, if the 14th Division deploys its main force to Kailu and only deploys one regiment on the Tongliao battlefield, its role in coordinating and supporting the Linxi battlefield will be greater, and the terrain there is more conducive to holding on, but Kailu is not accessible. Railway, the Kwantung Army was unable to maintain supplies to the Fourteenth Division for a long time.
Almost all the remaining troops are deployed near the railway line, because with the Japanese army's road transportation capabilities, it is difficult to maintain the supplies needed for large corps operations at a distance of more than 250 kilometers away from the railway for a long time. Once it exceeds its own If they have to carry supplies for a long time and it is difficult to raise supplies locally in an area, the combat effectiveness of the Japanese army will decline very quickly.
Even if food can be requisitioned on the spot, that is, looted, there is no way to replenish ammunition and other supplies. It is with this point of view that Yoshimoto Teiichi believes that the Anti-Japanese War relies entirely on imported fuel for its sources. If the Anti-Japanese War in the West Maintaining a large number of troops for a long time will make logistical supplies even more difficult to support.
Because in the entire vast area of Western Manchuria, except for the Taosuo Railway in the north, the Zhengtao Railway in Shuangliao, and part of the Tao-Qi Railway that can be used by the Anti-Japanese Alliance, there are no other railway lines in the deep areas of the west that can be used by the Anti-Japanese Alliance. In use, the distance between the deep areas of Western Manchuria and the railway line is far more than 300 kilometers.
Although the war is over, the supplies of the Anti-Japanese Alliance can be transported directly to Tongliao by railway, but a large number of trucks are needed to go west. Even if the number of trucks is sufficient, the road conditions in Western Manchuria and the dependence on imported oil can satisfy the demand. Is it necessary for the Anti-Japanese Alliance? Since the Kwantung Army does not yet have this capability, Yoshimoto Teiichi does not believe that the Anti-Japanese Alliance can meet this standard.
The Kwantung Army is simply unsustainable in this situation. Yoshimoto Teiichi, who is accustomed to judging others by himself and believes that his potential for sustained warfare far exceeds that of the Anti-Japanese Alliance, naturally believes that his sustained combat capabilities are far inferior to theirs. Maintain large corps for long-term operations in Western Manchuria.
Western Manchuria's vast territory coupled with poor traffic conditions means that if a large number of troops are maintained, a large number of trucks will be needed to ensure logistical supply. This consumption is not only detrimental to the Anti-Japanese Alliance, which has a weak industrial base, but also to Kanto, which has the support of modern industry behind it. The entire army would be unbearable, otherwise the Kwantung Army would not have deployed only one 23rd Division in the entire vast area of Western Manchuria.
Even if the Anti-Japanese Alliance now occupies the entire Western Manchuria, the huge consumption of modern warfare means that they are destined to be unable to deploy a large number of troops in Western Manchuria for a long time, unless they transfer all their road transportation forces to Western Manchuria. But if this is the case, they will You will also be overwhelmed by the huge fuel consumption.
What's more, as long as the Kwantung Army replenishes a sufficient number of aircraft, restores the vitality of the aviation force, and defends the Lishu line, then the Zhengtao Railway and the Dazheng Railway, which are very close to Lishu and serve as an important part of the Anti-Union West Manchuria transportation line, will The connecting section with the Zhengtao Railway is also within the fire control range of the Kwantung Army at any time.
As long as the Kwantung Army is willing, it can cut off this railway line at any time. Without this railway line, whether the existing transportation capacity of the Anti-Japanese Alliance can guarantee basic consumption is a question. Yoshimoto Sadichi does not believe that the Anti-Japanese War will The Lianhe has the strength to be able to meet the needs of a large number of garrison troops in Western Manchuria by relying solely on road transportation. In his opinion, it may be possible in the short term, but over time, the threat to the Lianxi will be the most deadly.