Although Yang Zhen's old superior took various measures on the battlefield in southeastern Shanxi to try to widen the distance between the Japanese troops so that they could find fighter opportunities. No matter what feints the old commander took, the Japanese troops on the battlefield in southeastern Shanxi
, but just pretended not to see it, and just attacked desperately in the direction of Changzhi. No matter what targets were along the way, Quan pretended not to have seen them.
For the two divisions that the Japanese army hugged together, the Shanxi-Hebei-Luyu Military Region concentrated a large number of troops on the battlefield in southeastern Shanxi, but it was like a tiger eating the sky and had nowhere to eat. It could only be in Danhe
On the battlefield to the east, fight step by step along the terrain. Slow down the speed of the Japanese attack and buy time for the Changzhi battlefield.
But Gaoping, west of the Dan River and south of Danzhu Ridge, is the territory of the Shanxi-Sui Army. Before the war, a division of the Shanxi-Sui Army was deployed on the Gaoping front line. Not only during the siege of Changzhi, it continued to move north with small forces many times.
Harassed the southern front of the Changzhi battlefield. Before the battle started, they also resolutely refused to allow the Shanxi-Hebei-Luyu Military Region to deploy defenses in Gaoping.
Unless they want to fight against a formidable enemy, the Chinese themselves will fight first. The Shanxi-Hebei-Luyu Military Region can only look at the territory of Gaoping and cannot take advantage of the extremely favorable terrain. The defense line is placed at Sheep Head Mountain to the north of Gaoping.
On the Zhuling line, we used the terrain of Danzhuling and Yangtoushan to build fortifications and deploy defenses.
After the battle started, a division of the Shanxi-Sui Army was deployed on the Gaoping front line. Before the war, troops from the Shanxi-Hebei-Luyu Military Region were strictly prohibited from entering their own defense area. In front of the two Japanese divisions advancing in tandem, they surrendered without firing a shot.
The Gaoping front line evacuated directly to the western mountainous area of Gaoping.
The unit withdrew without fighting to make way for the Gaoping line, allowing a Japanese division attacking along the west bank of the Dan River to easily cross the complex terrain of Gaoping and attack the Changzhi battlefield, which was already very close at hand and the Shangdang Basin where Changzhi is located.
To the south, the last barrier is the Danzhu Ridge and the Yangtou Mountain line.
Once the Japanese army breaks through this line and enters the relatively flat Shangdang Basin, the entire Changzhi battlefield will no longer have a barrier. At that time, the entire Changzhi operation will completely fall short. If two Japanese divisions are allowed to reoccupy Changzhi, then
The current good situation in southeastern Shanxi will be destroyed in one day.
The most critical thing is that the Japanese army not only attacked along the way, but also carried out large-scale burning, killing and looting of all the villages along the way. All the wells they passed along the way were filled up, making it impossible to fill them up quickly.
It was full, and the carcasses of humans and animals were thrown in, completely contaminating it.
All villagers, men, women, old and young, who came and retreated were massacred. In addition to the food being taken away, everything that could be burned was burned. Even in mountainous areas that encountered resistance, the mountains were directly set on fire. The two divisions of the Japanese army
Along the route we passed, there were flames soaring into the sky everywhere.
Although the Taihang Military Region had tried its best to fortify the walls and clear the fields before the Japanese army launched its attack, and the losses suffered were not very great. However, the conscious sabotage of the Japanese army along the way still caused great damage to the Taihang Military Region. Wherever the Japanese army passed, there was a
of ruins.
The deputy commander-in-chief, who was angered by the atrocities of the Japanese army, personally took charge of the Taihang Military Region. He concentrated the ten main brigades of the Shanxi-Hebei-Luyu Military Region, as well as all available artillery units. He was determined to use the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army to withdraw without a fight.
Moving away from the Gaoping front line allowed the Japanese army in Hexi to advance faster than the situation in Hedong. In the Yangtou Mountain and Jinquan Mountain front lines, the entire front line was launched to deal with the enemies in Hedong first.
Regarding this report from the Shanxi-Hebei-Luyu Military Region, Yang Zhen frowned. Yang Zhen did not want to interfere with how to fight in the southeastern Shanxi battlefield. With two veterans, the deputy commander-in-chief and the commander, sitting in charge, the southeastern Shanxi battlefield was not yet their turn.
Worry about it yourself. After thinking about it, he set his sights on what the next move of these two Japanese divisions would be if they reunited with the remnants of the Changzhi garrison.
Gaoping and the Changzhi line are very close to Jincheng controlled by the Japanese army. Although there are mountains in the middle, the terrain is still more favorable for the Japanese army to retreat. Moreover, the Japanese army stationed in Jincheng can also dispatch support and response. Between the Japanese army and the
After three divisions entered the Gaoping line, the Japanese troops stationed in Jincheng had already moved northward with one force.
But judging from the fact that these two Japanese divisions had all been lightly armed, mountainous, and equipped with a large number of horses before the attack. Yang Zhen had a vague feeling that rescuing the 36th Division might not be another Japanese attack
The main reason for entering the battlefield in southeastern Shanxi.
Yang Zhen turned his attention from Changzhi to the Fukou Xingxing line in the east, and then shook his head. Although this is the Xingkou closest to the battlefield in southern Hebei, Shexian County to the east of Dongyang Pass is now surrounded by Japanese troops.
Control in hand. If the Japanese army wanted to join the battlefield in southern Hebei from this direction, there was no need to expend such effort.
Going north along the Ping-Han Line, whether you get off from Cixian or Handan, is not only closer to the southern Hebei battlefield, but the terrain is also more conducive to Japanese military operations. If the Japanese military is really determined this time, they will take considerable risks.
, fighting a heart-to-heart battle across southeastern Shanxi, then Fukouxing is definitely not their target.
But Huangzeguan, Junjiguan and Zhiguoling to the north of Fukouxing are different. The inner Great Wall built along the junction of Hebei and Shanxi provinces in the Ming Dynasty, the passage out of Shanxi is not just Taihang Baxing.
.If these two Japanese divisions force their way north after picking up the remnants of the 36th Division.
Exiting Huangzeguan, Junjiguan, and Zhiguoling lines, then heading east will just outflank the back roads of the Hebei, Shandong, and Yu Military Region, and cut off the connection between the Western Front Anti-Japanese Alliance and the Hebei, Shandong, and Yu Military Region. If the Japanese army in charge of commanding the operations of the Western Front
Yoshimoto Teiichi would be more courageous. After advancing north to Heshun, he would go east out of Maguan and Huangyu Pass, which would hit the waist of his entire deployment on the western front.
In addition to a division that is currently attacking Wu'an to the west of Pinghan Road, the cooperation of the three divisions is enough to turn the Western Front upside down. At least once the Japanese army lands in the Bohai Bay, they will attack the Hebei-Shandong border battlefield from the side and rear, and
When cooperating with the frontal enemies in Northern Shandong to besiege Chen Hanzhang's East Cluster, the West Cluster had no ability to support it.
As for the several divisions on the Tianjin battlefield, as long as the Japanese army puts a fleet on the line from Tanggu to Beitang, it is impossible for them to transfer any troops from the Tianjin battlefield to the south. In this way, the entire East Cluster is located to the south and east of the Japanese army.
Under the pressure of Japanese troops from all directions.
If coupled with the current actions of the 72nd Division on the left north of Wucheng, even if Chen Hanzhang has three heads and six arms, he cannot simultaneously deal with the Japanese army's overwhelming superiority in the three-sided siege. As long as the East Cluster is defeated,
The Western Cluster and Tao Jingfei's troops in Tianjin were divided into two separate divisions. When the Japanese army wanted to attack in that direction, it would have an absolute strength advantage.
The actions of the 118th Division in northwest Shandong were just a feint. They had only one goal to form a salient in the battlefield in northwest Shandong, which was to mobilize their troops deployed deep on the western front to go south. Taking advantage of the distance from the battlefield in northwest Shandong
The battlefield in southern Hebei was so close that it entangled his Xiqun troops.
The Japanese army in the battlefield in southeastern Shanxi will outflank their own retreat, and cooperate with the upcoming landing operation to encircle and annihilate the eastern cluster, reopen the Jinpu Road, and create a favorable fighter opportunity. If the four divisions in the battlefields in southern Hebei and southeastern Shanxi alone rely on
regiment, even if the two divisions in the northwestern battlefield of Shandong were thought so, the Japanese army did have an excessive appetite.
But if one of the two divisions deployed in eastern Henan is added, or all of the two divisions, then maybe it is not a fool's errand. Now the time Yang Zhen spends dealing with Okamura Neji does not count.
Short of that, Yang Zhen still had a pretty good idea of whether this opponent would be so desperate.
If Yoshimoto Teiichi, or even Okamura Neji, really had this intention, then whether it is the 118th Division in the northwest of Shandong Province or the 72nd Division's current weird actions, it would be easy to explain.
In other words, the current battlefields in northwest Shandong, southern Hebei and southeastern Shanxi are strategically a whole for the Japanese army.
As for whether such a deployment situation of the Japanese army will create a gap between the battlefield in northwest Shandong and the battlefield in northern Shandong, I am afraid Okamura Neiji still has a way to deal with it. I am afraid that when the Japanese troops in southeastern Shanxi leave Shanxi,
The Bohai Bay, which has been calm for the moment, may be turned upside down in the blink of an eye.
But what makes Yang Zhen a little puzzled is that whether it is Okamura Neji or Yoshimoto Teiichi, they came up with such a strategic deployment. It is crucial for the two Japanese divisions in the southeastern battlefield of Shanxi to get out of Shanxi. If they are in Shanxi
The two Japanese divisions that broke through alone in the southeast were trapped in the battlefield in southeast Shanxi or were severely damaged, which was quite fatal to this plan.
How could they be so confident that these two divisions could fight their way out of the Taihang Mountains and enter the Hebei battlefield according to their plan? Is this Okamura Neiji really so bold that he regards the entire Taihang Mountains in southeastern Shanxi as his own backyard?
You can go wherever you want?
The last time Yoshimoto Sadatari broke out from the hinterland of the Taihang Military Region in southeastern Shanxi, he took advantage of the main force of the Shanxi-Hebei-Luyu Military Region. It was too concentrated on the Baijin Railway and the South Tongpu Line, leaving the entire southeastern Shanxi hinterland with relatively empty troops.
The Shanxi-Hebei-Luyu Military Region was caught by surprise.
In addition, Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Sadichi made a decisive decision. During the retreat, he even left behind several field guns that could not be taken away. All supplies that could not be carried were thrown away. The whole army was thrown away.
When retreating, they were completely light-armed from top to bottom. After a short delay, they escaped from the Shanxi battlefield almost unscathed.
However, this method can only be done once. If Okamura Neiji still wants to copy Yoshimoto Teiichi's previous experience in southeastern Shanxi, he will try to use two light divisions to fight again in the high mountains of southeastern Shanxi.
A heart-to-heart battle that kills two birds with one stone. That's either a fool or crazy.
The current battlefield in southeastern Shanxi is no longer as empty as it was when Yoshimoto Zadaichi broke through. Now the main force of the Taiyue Military Region has been freed up to move eastward, and most of the Shanxi-Hebei-Luyu Military Region on the Changzhi front line has been deployed in southeastern Shanxi. It has even been deployed in Lingchuan.
On the front line, he fought a pretty good mobile ambush. According to the current situation in southeastern Shanxi, it is not certain whether he can land this left hook.
But with Neji Okamura's ability and personality, he is not a fool, nor has his head suddenly gone crazy. He is not crazy enough to just take two divisions in one go, in the high mountains of the Taihang Mountains in southeastern Shanxi.
Taking risks. The reason why he dared to do this must have his own ideas or methods.
But where did Neji Okamura dare to do this, Yang Zhen couldn't figure it out. His eyes kept glancing back and forth between southeastern Shanxi and southern Hebei, including Shexian County in northern Henan, and he didn't think about it.
Looking at the entire battlefield in southeastern Shanxi, where does Okamura Neji have the confidence to do this? He should find a way to touch his trump card.
After pondering for a long time, Yang Zhen sent a telegram to the Shanxi-Hebei-Luyu Military Region. In the telegram, Yang Zhen made it clear that he supported the deputy commander-in-chief's decision to fight the battle in Danzhu Ridge and Yangtou Mountain, north of Gaoping. Since he couldn't figure it out,
Come out, then stab him and see what kind of medicine Okamura Neji is selling in his gourd.