The Japanese army's westward march this time deliberately chose the key areas they raided last year. A considerable part of the area was even a no-man's land created by them. On the march route, they deliberately avoided the only remaining activities in the two divisions. area, without notifying the Japanese and puppet garrison along the way, and not entering any villages or towns to rest. Any Chinese encountered along the way would be massacred and silenced.
Several reasons combined led to the Japanese raid, which passed through most of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region and was not noticed. If the target of the Japanese army this time was not the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region, I am afraid that the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei The losses of the military region are huge. You must know that the deputy commander-in-chief who is now the acting commander of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region and the headquarters of the 18th Army are located in Mount Wutai.
But no matter what, Su Yingqi did not pay a big price in this encounter. At the same time, he found out the movements of the Japanese 21st Division. At the same time, the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Second Division who came to respond also reported these matters to him immediately. At this moment, the deputy commander in chief in Mount Wutai made a briefing.
The situation is urgent. The deputy commander-in-chief is currently in Wutai Mountain. At this time, there are so many Japanese troops in Wutai Mountain. No one will be relieved. After urgent discussions with Su Yingqi, the commander of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Second Division left a message for him. company, and left behind his best enemy engineering section chief and reconnaissance section chief to escort Su Yingqi south.
At the same time, the commander of the second division sent a report to the fourth division in front, asking the fourth division to send troops to respond in advance. He took the rest of the troops and turned back to Wutai Mountain to protect the ten people who were operating here and had only one special agent battalion around them. At the Eighth Army Headquarters, care leads to chaos, not just on the battlefield in northern Shanxi.
Just kidding, if he could still be calm after learning that there was such a large Japanese military activity in Mount Wutai, and that the Japanese military area was only separated by a few ridges from the headquarters of the 18th Group Army, then this It is impossible for the army to persist for so many years in such a cruel environment.
Faced with Su Yingqi's request to concentrate on concentrating the existing troops and firepower of the escort troops and disrupt the Japanese plan, Chen Hanzhang refused without any hesitation. Although Su Yingqi reported in the telegram that he believed that concentrating his escort troops and With dozens of mountain cannons and a large number of shells in his hands, he would definitely have no problem stabbing him.
Even if this Japanese army cannot be completely defeated, disrupting the Japanese army's plan is not a big problem. This Japanese army is sneaky and wants to avoid leaking the news. As long as it takes action, no matter where its real target is , the Japanese army over there will definitely change their original goals.
But Chen Hanzhang believes that Su Yingqi's combat mission this time is to escort the artillery firepower to reinforce the Taihang District. The situation in the Taihang District is critical now. He can solve part of the difficulties by arriving a minute earlier. As for the 21st Division, it will be used for the time being. Can't reach them.
Moreover, since the Japanese army has already formulated a plan, it will not change just because of the troubles of a small unit. There are few combatants there, many non-front-line operations, and the equipment they carry is bulky. The strength of the Japanese army will definitely not be like this. One point, don’t steal the chicken by then, but it’s a small thing to torment yourself, but it’s a big deal if it affects the overall situation of the entire campaign.
Compared with Su Yingqi's report, the report given by the acting commander of the Jinsui Military Region to the boss was much simpler. The acting commander reported in the report that after careful investigation according to the suggestions provided by the boss, he indeed found a weapon northwest of Jingle. There are traces of Japanese troop activities, but it is still not possible to find out how many troops there are and whether they are the main force of the Zuojian detachment.
As Yang Jicai judged, during the continuous sweeps of the Japanese army last year, most of the surrounding people were forcibly relocated by the Japanese army, and some were massacred by the Japanese army. Within a radius of dozens of square kilometers, it has basically become a no-man's land. , acting commander of the Jinsui Military Region, has deployed the most capable reconnaissance personnel from the headquarters to continue the reconnaissance.
Facing the two telegrams, Chen Hanzhang hesitated for a moment and did not interfere too much in the battle situation in northwestern Shanxi. He just sent a message to Mu Changqiu, urging him to speed up action and transfer the Jinsui Sixth Column to the south of Shuoxian County. , as for other decisions, he did not have too much involvement.
Since that direction has been decided to be handed over to the Jinsui Military Region, I should not interfere myself. I have done my best as much as I can. As for how to fight, I should follow the instructions of No. 1 and be prepared for contingency. , but not to interfere in the command, Chen Hanzhang still focused his main energy on the sudden appearance of the Japanese army in northeastern Shanxi.
No matter whether this Japanese army is the 21st Division or not, he must start preparing for the final decisive battle. After thinking hard for a long time, Chen Hanzhang still came up with a strategic decision to lure the enemy deeper and maintain the current offensive in northeastern Shanxi. , and at the same time strengthen all tank units with one force as a mobile reserve.
At present, the situation in Northeastern Shanxi has been fully spread. If you take the initiative to attack, you will open your hands too wide. A fishing net with too large mesh will not catch anything in the end. The Japanese army is extremely aware of this kind of active attack. For an army that is strong and has high tactical literacy, it is very easy for it to succeed in a sneak attack.
Before Du Kaishan arrived, the troops in his hands were now very limited, and he could not put them all outside. The Japanese army had created such a formation in order to spread their troops to the maximum extent and create gaps for them to take advantage of, and then Take the trouble and give yourself a black tiger to take out your heart.
The 21st Division has already appeared on the battlefield, and there is also the 32nd Division in Taiyuan that can be dispatched at any time. If he is a little careless on the entire battlefield, he leaks a loophole that can be exploited by the Japanese army. The entire battle in northern Shanxi There is the possibility of an instant reversal, and not only will northern Shanxi gain and lose again, it will even endanger the safety of the entire Chanan and Suiyuan.
Although the three Japanese troops in northeastern Shanxi are somewhat scattered in deployment and not united, the actual strength of their two brigades and one division has formed an inverted triangle that can support each other and coordinate, regardless of the attack. That one and the other two can provide full rescue, and judging from the deployment of their troops, they almost control the commanding heights at the junction of the three provinces of Shanxi, Chahar and Hebei, and are connected to each other.
These three Japanese armies appear to be deployed dispersedly, but in fact they are integrated. They can cut off the connection between the northern Shanxi and Chanan battlefields and threaten the entire northern Shanxi battlefield from the right wing. For the three Japanese armies in northeastern Shanxi, Even if you don't have a strategic vision, you still have to find a way to solve it.
With the addition of the 21st Division, which has quietly come over, its entire deployment will be completely disrupted and full of loopholes. When the Japanese army urgently mobilizes the 32nd Division, then they will be passive across the board. , instead of spreading your troops too thinly, it is better to attract the 21st Division to your depth and concentrate the mechanized troops to deal with him first.
As for the 32nd Division, if it does not go to northwestern Shanxi and tries to penetrate into northern Shanxi along the Tongpu Railway Line, then Mu Changqiu's two regiments will not be a vegetarian. They will at least block it on the Tongpu Railway Line. The encirclement and annihilation operations in the north are quite sure to buy time.
Of course, the key issue now is not where the 21st Division is going, but to disrupt the iron triangle of the Japanese army in northeastern Shanxi. Not to eat them first, but also to disperse them and make them fall into Only by fighting on their own can you have a chance to fish in troubled waters.
When you concentrate your troops and firepower to deal with the main force of the 21st Division, don't cause any unexpected troubles for yourself, especially since the troops and equipment are almost more than a regular division, and Takeuchi has a certain strength in his hands. Detachment, the Japanese army does not have the habit of ignoring death. If they want to deal with the 21st Division, they must trap the Takeuchi Detachment.
Completely disrupting the battle situation in northeastern Shanxi and putting the Takeuchi detachment into a situation where it is difficult to protect itself, or being trapped in northeastern Shanxi and unable to advance westward, is the fundamental solution to the problem of the 21st Division. Therefore, Chen Hanzhang even took out his hands in deployment Despite all their wealth, they did not draw too many troops from the battlefield in northeastern Shanxi.
Chen Hanzhang actually knew very well that with the emergence of the 21st Division, the moment of decisive battle on the entire Shanxi battlefield had arrived. With insufficient troops, the only way to solve the problem was to adjust the deployment. The time is quick, and the mobility of one's troops can be used to offset the shortage of troops.
As long as he can take action in other Japanese battlefields in northeastern Shanxi in the shortest possible time, and defeat the 21st Division during the movement before the situation in northwest Shanxi changes, then he will be able to In this decisive battle, it can be said that the chance of victory is already certain.
After thinking for a long time, Chen Hanzhang secretly deployed the only reinforced regiment reserve in his hands, a tank regiment of the 1st Armored Division, a company of the 2nd Tank Regiment, plus four battalions drawn from the battlefield in Northeast Shanxi in Hongtao Mountain. As far as the front line of Sanggan River, the entire deployment situation adopts an infantry-based front line, and all tank units are concentrated in the rear as a counterattack force.
With all the current strength of the 1st Armored Brigade, plus the 1st Cavalry Brigade with the most complete structure at present, as well as the 1st Battalion and 1st Battalion of the 2nd Battalion of the 1st Armored Infantry Regiment, they are secretly deployed in the mountainous area east of Shentou and Shanyin respectively. The mountainous area in the southwest of the county was hidden and waiting. At the same time, Chen Hanzhang deployed the last two battalions of heavy artillery troops and the two battalions of rocket launchers here.
Order all the troops participating in the battlefield in Northeast Shanxi to cut off the Guangling to Hunyuan and Guangling to Lingqiu roads at all costs. At the same time, the troops of the four regiments arriving in Beiyue District in northern Shanxi will immediately move along the Ruyuekou and Loulou along the line of the Inner Great Wall. The North Entrance and Yanmen Pass lines were fully deployed, taking advantage of their familiarity with the terrain to take charge of security.
Chen Hanzhang repeatedly warned the commanders of the Beiyue District that their mission was to be on guard, not to block the advance of the Japanese army. Except for the guard troops on the front line of Yanmen Pass, once traces of the Japanese army were found in other directions, they must not fight with the Japanese army.
In the event of a firefight, just report the situation immediately.
If the security forces on the front line of Yanmenguan discover that the 21st Division is attacking, they will adopt the tactics of resisting one by one and lead them to the north of Zhangzhuang and the south bank of the Sangqian River. However, considering the possibility of an accident, Chen Hanzhang gave these few
The regiment allocated 2,000 mines and some grenades.
From the location where Su Yingqi discovered the 21st Division and its marching posture, Chen Hanzhang concluded that the 21st Division would not join the battlefield in northeastern Shanxi. Its real target should still be in northwest Shanxi or the central line.
Therefore, after careful consideration, Chen Hanzhang decided to follow the trend in terms of the entire deployment.
He focused his deployment on the southwest direction from Shentou to Shanyin, setting up an ambush circle for the 21st Division in this area. However, Chen Hanzhang based on contingency considerations, except for some infantry, almost all of the ambush troops were
With all cavalry and mechanized troops, no matter where the real target of the Japanese army is, I can adapt to the situation and adjust the combat deployment as quickly as possible, so that the real target of the Japanese army will not deviate from my own judgment and fall into a certain passivity.