Chapter 5 The war started, and the military division became an army (31)
Tianjin is important not only to North China, but also to the entire Central Plains region. As its nickname "Tinmen" describes, it is really a battleground for military strategists.
Tianjin is located in the lower reaches of the Haihe River Basin. It is the confluence and estuary of the five major tributaries of the Haihe River: the South Canal, the North Canal, the Ziya River, the Daqing River, and the Yongding River. It is known as the "lower end of the Nine Rivers" and the "hub of the river and the sea".
For large-scale military operations, the dense river network will definitely encounter transportation problems in terms of troop deployment. And because of the various concessions left over from historical problems in Tianjin, the two warring parties do not know whether they are on the same page, and neither of them will fight. The focus was on the city of Tianjin, but on the relatively remote plain near Haijiazhuang. In addition to the remaining troops of the 38th Division and the regiment sent by Dofeihara in a whimsical way, both sides had nearly 80,000 troops entangled in the sea. One can imagine the density of troops near the village.
After the artillery unit of the 38th Division began to bombard fiercely according to the long-awaited firing plan, the 108th Division, which had lost its artillery unit in the first round of confrontation, immediately became a tiger that fell into the plains. It had a good mouth but was stunned. It is impossible to attack the 38th Division, which is so close at hand.
At this point in the war, not to mention how depressed Doihara and the others were, how surprised the old devils of the Kwantung Army were. Surprised, that was because they had a decent psychological quality. Many old devils saw Doihara. The battle status will be reported when it is sent back. The first reaction is **, and then a gasp.
The Kwantung Army Headquarters has always attached great importance to the collection of intelligence. This is also the main reason why Doihara, an old soldier with a background in intelligence work, was able to transfer to the regular army as the division commander. In the past intelligence, the 38th Division was far from being so powerful. According to the intelligence, the Xuebing Army can only be regarded as a relatively tenacious force in combat. It is still far from the strong army in the eyes of the little devil.
But now, the 38th Division, which is weaker than the Xuebing Army, has launched a stronger counterattack than the Xuebing Army. This has to make these old devils fall into deep reflection. This also makes Nanjiro after receiving the telegram from Doihara asking for help. After that, without impulsiveness, he immediately put the two brigades that had been deployed in the east wing into the battlefield. As the commander of the Kwantung Army, Nanjiro obviously looked at the problem differently from others. It was still a matter of butt that decided the head. ,,He is not afraid of causing unrest in the conference and causing an uncontrollable situation, but he is worried that if overloaded troops are invested in North China, it will cause a shortage of troops in Jing'an, the three northeastern provinces. There is another issue that he has to consider, and that is How much power is hidden behind the 38th Division or the Cadet Army Group? There is no doubt that a strategist like him (although Nanjiro is not a good character, but from a considerable perspective, he is a strategist It’s not an exaggeration, haha, I hope all the angry youths will not give in.) Now it is clear that even if the 38th Division is not a vassal of the Xuebing Army, it is at least wearing a pair of trousers. If nothing else, just from In terms of combat style, the 38th Division can now highlight the imprint of the Xuebing Army.
If the two failures in the Battle of Wen'an can be explained by "bad luck", then in this Battle of Tianjin, luck alone is obviously unconvincing.
While Nanjiro was hesitating whether to cancel the action plan to punish Zhang Zizhong and the 38th Division, he was still thinking about deeper issues. He tried to think about whether the Battle of Tianjin was a good choice for Japan, which had always wanted to annex the entire China. An opportunity. If the 108th Division is wiped out this time, what kind of shocking effect will it have on the Japanese political arena? Is it possible that the current pocket cabinet, which aims to maintain the status quo, will be replaced by a military regime? Thinking about it once the military If you take power, you and the Kwantung Army will undoubtedly get a bigger performance stage. At that time, it will be a matter of course to send troops to North China and even the entire China...
Undoubtedly, this idea is tempting. As soon as it appeared in Nanjiro's mind, he was deeply attracted by it. Then, under his calm layout, the 108th Division gradually moved towards the 38th Division. Got into the pocket under the cloth,
After the connection with Takashu Kaichi was cut off, Nakano and Doihara felt weak for the first time as they watched the artillery fire flying a mile away. The once invincible Army of the Empire of Japan was now defeated by a local force. The troops were badly beaten. Not only was Kenji Doihara, who aspired to become a great military strategist and strategist of his generation, unexpected, but even veteran troops like Nakano had completely lost their way.
"Let them evade where they are. We will divide our troops into two steps. Each of us will lead a brigade of troops. I will attack you diagonally from both sides..." Doihara took the lead to calm down and opened the military map to figure it out carefully. After some deliberation, he made this strategic plan:
The artillery unit of the 38th Division was so evil. When they bullied the 108th Division, which had no artillery or planes, they plowed a dividing line with artillery fire. Now, it is divided into two lines and inserted diagonally from the left and right sides of Haijiazhuang. This was the only thing Doihara could do. Of course, he could also order the entire army to retreat at this time and choose another opportunity to fight again. However, Nanjiro rejected his request. Nanjiro's reason was very sufficient, or it was his consistent performance. It showed the pride of the Imperial Japanese Army. In the instructions he sent to Doihara, he believed that the 38th Division was a trapped beast still fighting, and it was a return to the light...
"Master, Dofeiyuan has indeed divided its forces." In the temporary headquarters of the 38th Division, a staff officer shouted excitedly to Zhang Zizhong,
Zhang Zizhong's face had been tense, but he relaxed a little at this time. He smiled and said: "Three basic shells have been spent. If Dofeiyuan still doesn't divide the troops, then it's time for us to find a place to wipe our tears." Turning around and looking up. Looking at the military map on the wall, he asked: "Have the 113th Brigade and the 114th Brigade reached their designated positions?"
"yes."
"Then the next step is to ask Huang Weigang and others to withdraw. Well, that little devil Gao Shujiayi was not scared and fell down."
"That's not true, but there are not many people left in his two regiments. The mines provided by the Xuebing Army are really effective." The young staff officer grinned and looked at Li Tieshu and Zhang Zhen with a special look. friendly,
"Stop the bombardment. We are not a cadet army. We only have this little furniture in total. Don't use it all at once. Then we won't have anything to play with in the future."
"Yes." The young staff officer walked to the phone. Later, he conveyed Zhang Zizhong's order to the artillery unit.