Facing the increasingly subtle changes in the situation, the Japanese base camp, which had lost patience, simply made a decision for these two strategic groups. Jidong was completely included in the Kwantung Army's defense zone, and the defense lines of both sides were defended by arrows.
The river is the dividing line. The west part belongs to the North China Front Army, and the east part belongs to the Kwantung Army.
The meaning of the base camp is that all the heavy equipment I should give you has been given to you. You should not be entangled here to determine the enemy's main attack direction. Are you not all here to shorten the defense line and save troops?
Are you arguing? Well, I will divide the war zone for you. You are each responsible for a strategic direction, and no one is arguing.
However, in addition to these heavy equipment and armored forces, the base camp clearly told the commander of the Kwantung Army, General Umezu Yoshijiro, and the commander of the North China Front Army, General Okamura Neiji, these two active generals of the Japanese Army. The base camp has done its best for you.
Well, as for ground infantry reinforcements, there is currently none.
After the enemy's main attack direction is determined, the base camp will take comprehensive consideration based on the development of the overall war situation, but now the base camp has no troops to mobilize. New divisions being formed in the mainland cannot be transferred to mainland China for the time being. Including the Kwantung Army
, it is now impossible for the base camp to replenish infantry.
However, the Army Education Director who was sent to coordinate the cooperation between the two strategic groups of the Japanese army was quite dissatisfied with the performance of the Kwantung Army and the North China Front Army. The enemy has not launched any attack yet, it is just a bluff.
Before this happened, everyone was shouting wolf.
Especially for the North China Front, there is currently no information proving that the enemy's main attack direction will be North China. They actually judged that the enemy's main attack direction will be themselves based on some intelligence and clues. Doesn't General Okamura Neiji know?
Are the Empire's military forces now stretched to their maximum?
What makes this education director very dissatisfied is that both parties are thinking about defense, and almost no one is thinking about offense. When did the Imperial Army become so afraid of the enemy when facing the enemy? Offense, only offense.
The Imperial Army has always been adhering to the tradition. Now it is good. They are desperately looking for equipment and reinforcements, but they only think about defense.
In fact, the education director's rant was an injustice to General Okamura Neiji. Compared with being frightened by the beating, the Kwantung Army was now bent on clinging to the southern Manchu territory and had long given up on going north to regain the "lost territory".
For example, Okamura Neji, who was humiliated by Isshin Snow's defeat last year, wanted to attack.
However, the troops in his hands are still a bit weak for attacking as the Northeast Anti-Resistance Alliance may enter North China at any time. Especially this army is equipped with a large number of tanks and heavy artillery, as well as a large number of aviation units, and the equipment and training are very good.
It can be said to be the best among all Chinese armies.
Okamura Neiji believed that if he launched an attack to the north, not only the cooperation of the Kwantung Army would be needed, but the strength of the North China Front would have to be at least doubled. A large number of tanks, heavy artillery and aircraft would also have to be mobilized to coordinate the operations to have any hope of success. Otherwise,
Unless the Kwantung Army can hold back the main force of the Northeastern Communist Army, the existing strength of the North China Front can only protect itself at best.
But unfortunately, neither the Japanese base camp nor the Chinese dispatched troops were able to reinforce him in a short period of time. Therefore, Okamura Neiji had some inflated ambitions, which he could only temporarily suppress in his heart, and took the following measures in the North China battlefield.
The main focus is on defense. According to the current number of troops, he does not want to take this risk for the time being.
However, the Japanese base camp promised Okamura Neiji that as long as the Eleventh Army completed the task of sweeping the Dongting Lake Plain, the base camp would dispatch part of the reinforcements to the North China Front Army from other directions of the dispatched army. Although it could not dispatch the two veteran troops of the Third Army and the Thirteenth Army
divisions, but the base camp can consider allocating the 116th Division and some detachment-level troops to the North China Front.
But this premise is that the base camp will not consider this until the Changde operation planned by the 11th Army is completed and the Dongting Lake Plain grain-producing area is completely captured. And before the 11th Army completes the operation, the base camp will not consider starting from China.
In the south, any troops will be dispatched to reinforce the North China Front.
Stabilize the Dongting Lake Plain in northern Hunan, completely eliminate the strength of the Chinese government forces around the Dongting Lake Plain, control this important land of plenty, and ensure the needs of food and crops. This is the national policy of the empire. At the same time, if Changde can be controlled, it will gain control from the south of the Yangtze River.
Attack an important advance base in Chongqing.
This is required by the national policy of the empire, and it is also a necessary means for the empire to reduce the cost of war and support the war with war. Therefore, if reinforcements are mobilized from southern China, they must wait until after the Battle of Changde. Before the Battle of Changde, they mobilize reinforcements from southern China.
Okamura Neji stopped thinking about it.
At the same time, the base camp also strongly refused Okamura Neiji to shrink the First Army's defense line, and withdrew the 37th Division, which had always been stationed in Yuncheng, and had become a lone force at this time, to the southeast of Shanxi. Together with the 36th Division stationed in Changzhi,
Regiment, jointly serving as the general reserve force for the North China battlefield. The First Army gave up all control areas in southern Shanxi, and the entire army contracted to the surrounding areas of Taiyuan and along the Zhengtai Railway.
From the perspective of the base camp, the stationing of the 37th Division in Yuncheng reflects the Imperial Army's offensive against the China government forces. The reason for not withdrawing the 37th Division is not a military reason, but an attitudinal reason. Base Camp
The refusal gave Okamura Neji a headache.
In the view of Okamura Neiji, the situation in Shanxi has been out of control. Placing a 37th Division alone on the Yuncheng front line will basically have no impact except to show its strength in the Eighth and First China theaters.
Function. Moreover, the Thirty-seventh Division, surrounded by the Chinese government forces and communist forces, was in a situation of being alone and deep.
Once the Northeastern Communist Army moves south, the North China Front Army concentrates its forces to deal with the Northeastern Communist Army and is unable to look westward. Then the situation will be very unfavorable for this lone and outstanding 37th Division. Once the Chinese government is determined to remove this threat to the Longhai Road Railway
To transport a safe stronghold, the Thirty-seventh Division, which is surrounded by Chinese government forces on three sides, is in danger.
But the attitude of the base camp is extremely resolute. Not only must the Thirty-seventh Division stay in Yuncheng, but even the Thirty-sixth Division must maintain control of southeastern Shanxi. Of course, in addition to the Baijin Railway, the Thirty-sixth Division
Now we can no longer take a step out of the gate. But for the base camp, this is an existing problem.
Even Yuncheng, which has become an isolated army, refuses to give up. Okamura Neji can't believe that the base camp will agree to him giving up the entire Shanxi and handing over Shanxi to the Chinese government. Shanxi will be used as a piece of fat to provoke the Chinese to fight among themselves.
The civil war allowed the Japanese army to become the fisherman's plan in the struggle between snipe and clam, and ultimately gain.
The base camp did not increase troops. Although it knew the opponent's offensive situation, it must have entered the final preparation stage. However, Okamura Neji, who had a slightly insufficient strength, could only focus on defensive operations. However, considering that the Anti-Japanese Alliance was in
In the battle of 1942, using tank tactics, Okamura Neiji concentrated all tank troops and deployed them on the second line.
As the first hacker among the Japanese army to organize a tank cluster attack, Okamura Neiji had his own reasons for doing so. He used infantry to gradually consume the Northeastern Communist Army's assault power until its attack power dropped to a certain level.
After that, stick to the two key points of Peiping and Tianjin and get out of the way of the frontal defense line.
After the Northeastern Communist Army penetrated deep into the Jizhong Plain and caused a disconnect between the front and rear, they organized tank groups to launch a full-line counterattack. As long as the tanks invested by the Northeastern Communist Army were destroyed, the remaining infantry that had been weakened to a certain extent would be easy to deal with. Therefore,
Okamura Neiji placed all the armored units allocated to him from the base camp in the deep area south of the Ping-Tianjin railway line.
The Japanese army is desperately preparing to meet the attack of the Anti-Alliance. On the opposite side of them, as time enters the last quarter of 1943, the Anti-Alliance troops are also secretly mobilizing. Both sides are
Do your best to prepare for this battle. As all aspects of mobilization are gradually launched, the clouds of a war over North China have begun to gather.
In addition to the intensive preparations for the Northeastern battlefield, seventeen infantry divisions, two armored divisions, two armored brigades and six independent tank regiments, as well as the 1st, 3rd and 5th cavalry brigades directly under the Central Government, are prepared for use in the North China battlefield.
They were also mobilized secretly into the customs on a large scale, but under extremely strict confidentiality.
At the same time as these troops were mobilized, four rocket launcher regiments, 11 heavy artillery regiments, and combat aircraft scheduled to be used in the North China battlefield all arrived at various secret field airports in Chanan, Renan, and northern Shanxi. Two electronic jammers
Planes also arrived at Zhangjiakou Airport at the end of October.
Considering the range issue, the fighter jets transferred to the direction of Guannan are all P-40 fighters. The ground support aircraft are all British-made Blenheim light bombers, as well as some B-25 bombers.
In the second half of 1943, although the aid provided by the Americans was second-rate, it was much more substantial in quantity.
Therefore, the aviation force of the Anti-Japanese Alliance can now fully meet the needs of two-front operations. In order to ensure the success of this battle, Yang Zhen deployed the aviation force. Except for the forces used for rear air defense, the rest of the aviation force was dispatched. Even for
To ensure the aerial bombs needed for ground support, especially napalm bombs, Yang Zhen suspended the bombing of Japan.
As the troops secretly began to enter the customs, a large number of materials needed for the battle had been transferred in advance. In Zhangjiakou and Chengde alone, more than 50,000 tons of oil and millions of kilograms of grain were stored. Barrel artillery of various calibers
of artillery shells, millions of rounds were transported.
However, the entire Pingbei and Chanan areas, which are basically located in mountainous terrain, and the Yanshan Mountains that lie here, there are not many terrains suitable for armored troops to move. The Yanshan Mountains have been a barrier for the Central Plains region to resist the northern nomads from going south, but
Now it has become a natural barrier for the Japanese army to resist the southward movement of the Anti-Union armored forces.
Under the circumstances that their whereabouts must be concealed as much as possible, and the roads available for passage are extremely limited, such a large number of troop movements has caused great headaches for the commanders of several troops. This is not during the 1942 battle, just An armored division crossed the Yinshan Mountains. The size of the troops attacking from the mountainous area this time was more than ten times that of the last time.
Coupled with a large number of wheeled vehicles and heavy artillery, it is not an easy task for such a huge mechanized group to cross the famously steep Yanshan Mountains. What's more, during the march of the troops, they must try their best to Maintain confidentiality. When marching, try to do so at night. This undoubtedly poses more challenges for the troops to march to the designated location.
The steep Yanshan Mountains and the limited valleys on the long Great Wall, Gubeikou and Badaling, the two gateways in both directions of Peiping, have become the only passages available. Fortunately, there are Shanxi people who have been active here for a long time. The Chaji troops cooperated with the troops in the Pingxi base area, and it took a lot of effort for each unit to move such a large-scale armored unit into place.