The combat readiness meeting of the Xuebing Army was led by the Guangzhou General Headquarters, and the jurisdictions of each legion were clearly defined. Therefore, except for a small dispute over the distribution of new weapons, there was no strategic quarrel. As for the Japanese army, because the army and navy In joint operations, and because the navy is personally commanded by Isoroku Yamamoto, the number one man in the navy, conflicts inevitably arise, and they tend to get worse.
Coincidentally, as early as when Koizumi Minichiro's Western Expedition Fleet was unable to open up the situation in the Philippines, Tojo Hideki took advantage of the Pearl Harbor victory and firmly controlled the military ministry, making it impossible for the Army Ministry to intervene in the Philippine war, so he deliberately targeted the Philippines. The Xuebing Army launched a large-scale campaign to prove to His Majesty the Emperor with a brilliant record that if the empire wanted to completely resolve the China Incident and the Xuebing Army, it had to rely on the army. Nishio Hisao was appointed as the commander of the China Expedition Army. Later, Kawabe Shozo took over the position of commander of the Second Army. Kawabe Shozo was able to take the position. On the one hand, it was because of Nishio Hiszo's appreciation, and because of Tojo Hideki's insistence on letting him take the position despite all objections. Kawabe Shozo has since Since taking charge of one's own work, every student must be defeated, which has become a joke among the top brass of the Japanese Army. Of course, in terms of the record against the student army, most of those who had the opportunity to compete with the student army ended in failure, so they It was just a fifty-step smile, a hundred steps, but it was not enough to shake the status of Shozo Kawabe. He reciprocated the favor. Kawabe followed Hideki Tojo's words and actually became the executor of the latter's own policy towards China. Under Tojo's remote control, Kawabe Shozo first built a large number of bunkers and bunkers along both sides of the Qiantang River with Hangzhou as the center, and then organized an instructor group to carry out high-intensity training against the Korean Co-Inspiring Army, which was based on the former South China Corps. training, sharpening the sword, just to win with one blow, blowing the clarion call to counterattack the student army,
Tojo's counterattack plan was also topped by the "New Year's Offensive". Its offensive strategy was to defend in the east and attack in the west, that is, to use the defenses on the north bank of the Qiantang River to defend to the death, and then gather heavy troops to attack Tonglu. After capturing Tonglu, the troops were divided into two groups. , attack Quzhou all the way, and advance all the way south, with the former feigning an attack and the latter taking the main attack, hoping that with the help of the Yangtze River Fleet, they can first encircle and kill the Xuebing Army near Xiaoshan and gain control of the west bank of Hangzhou Bay.
Not to mention the merits of this combat plan, the problem is that after Yamamoto led the combined fleet to join, because Yamamoto's power was too strong, the river side only had a subservient role in front of him, so this joint operation not only failed to achieve The effect of one plus one is greater than two, but it is likely to be counterproductive. Tojo saw that Yamamoto made a suggestion today and an idea tomorrow, changing his own battle plan beyond recognition. In desperation, he had no choice but to ask Nishio Hiszo to rush over from the Yunnan-Guizhou front line. , I hope he can withstand the pressure and ensure that the New Year Offensive can be launched as scheduled according to his vision,
Nishio did not live up to his expectations. After receiving the order, he sent a telegram to Yamamoto Isoroku. He pointed out euphemistically that since the combined fleet was here to assist in the war, it must be aware of the guest army, saying that China is sending troops to This counterattack has been planned for a long time and is inevitable. I hope Mr. Yamamoto can put the overall situation first and follow the established plan.
The reason why Yamamoto put forward various suggestions was actually out of a public spirit. Compared with the army, the navy suffered more losses in the contest with the cadet army, and Yamamoto paid special attention to intelligence collection and proposed so many The opinions are actually based on the supplementary knowledge of the Xuebing Army. Unfortunately, the dispute between the army and the navy has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Whether it is riverside or Tojo, including Nishio, the first reaction is not to study whether Yamamoto’s suggestion is Practical, but to elevate it to the height of the battle between the army and the navy. After experiencing the "sinking", Yamamoto's personality changed drastically. He was no longer as easy to talk to as before. His good intentions were regarded as a donkey's liver and lungs, and he suddenly forgot the reason for his involvement. After finding out the fundamental reason for coming, he became ruthless and decided to follow his own ideas. So after some arguments, the battle plan formulated by Tojo was divided into two, and the attack directions suddenly became three. Among them, Hangzhou Bay The combined fleet is responsible for this direction, while the Army is responsible for Huangshan, Xiaoshan and the Yangtze River Delta area.
At around nine o'clock in the morning on New Year's Eve, the Yamato Flying Team under the Combined Fleet dispatched thirty-six bombers, and under the cover of twelve Zeros, they crossed the Hangzhou Bay and bombed the Cixi forward position of the Cadet Army. The Zhejiang Southern Aviation Corps immediately dispatched the 201 Fighter Division to intercept. The two sides launched a fierce battle over Hangzhou Bay. The Japanese army chose to retreat after losing thirteen fighter planes. At the same time, in the Hangzhou section of the Qiantang River, the heavy artillery brigade under the Japanese Second Army The regiment carried out indiscriminate bombing on the Xiaoshan shore defenses of the Xuebing Army. The heavy artillery unit under the Southern Zhejiang Army immediately fought back. Five minutes after the two sides exchanged fire, the Japanese Third Flying Division took off from Shanghai Hongqiao Airport and rushed to Xiaoshan. After the front line was detected by the Zhoushan radar station, Wang Hai and Xue Changkong immediately dispatched the 301 fighter planes to intercept. At around 10:30, the two sides started a fierce battle over the Xiaoshan front line, kicking off the New Year's Battle.
The position of the Second Independent Heavy Artillery Reinforcement Brigade of Shi Zhengguo was located in the fields to the west of Qianqing Town, Shaoxing, about 30 kilometers away from Hangzhou City. As soon as the sound of artillery was heard from the direction of Hangzhou, Shi Zhengguo immediately walked out of the temporary headquarters, picked up his binoculars and looked at the sound of the cannon. Looking at it, he said to deputy brigade commander Cai Dayong for a moment: "Tell the brothers to prepare for battle. The range is set at 35 kilometers at ten o'clock." After saying this, he got into the headquarters and quietly He waited quietly for the call. He didn't have to wait long before the phone rang. He quickly put it to his ear and heard a hoarse voice saying: "One, two, three, four, five."
He replied knowingly: "The pole is as long as the bench is."
The code was matched, and the hoarse voice was slightly excited: "Fourteen horizontally, twenty-two vertically."
On an enlarged version of the military map in front of the State Administration, dotted lines have long been divided into squares of the same size. The squares cover all areas that can be hit by the Independent Heavy Artillery Reinforcement Second Brigade, and depending on the distance, The squares are marked with numbers horizontally and vertically to facilitate the combat troops to calculate the shooting elements, "Fourteen horizontally, twenty-two vertically." He repeated, and the chief of staff Lin Qing beside him immediately found the square with the correct number and made some calculations. Calculate, write down a group of shooting Zhu Yuan on an order sheet, then sign your name, and pass it to the deputy chief of staff Geng De'ang on the side. Geng De'ang calculates again, signs his name, and hands it to The communications staff officer on the side,
The communications staff officer immediately opened the command channel and shouted: "Attention, all departments, bearing 1422, basic parameters..."
Shi Zhengguo breathed a sigh of relief and said, "There will be a test launch in five minutes."
"Test fire in five minutes."
Soon, the commanders of each regiment held the microphone and conveyed this order to the ears of the gunners of each combat unit. After they reported the preparations one after another, they reported to the brigade headquarters. Shi Zhengguo looked at the gun in his hand.
Tactical table, the launch order was immediately issued as soon as the five minutes were up.
"Empty," the dull sound of artillery fire sounded, and more than a hundred 150mm caliber artillery shells roared out of the muzzle and hit the artillery position of the Japanese heavy artillery brigade.