Northeastern Jiangxi has low mountainous and hilly terrain, and the terrain is relatively complex - the Huaiyu Mountains originate from Yushan in Jiangxi, at the junction of Dexing and Kaihua in Zhejiang, running from northeast to southwest, stretching for more than a hundred kilometers and ending in the Panyang Plain, forming a
The natural barrier firmly protects Shangrao and Yingtan. Fei
Because of the existence of the Huaiyu Mountains, if the Japanese army wanted to capture Shangrao and Yingtan, the best option would have been to attack Shangrao directly from Yushan, occupy Shangrao, and then move down to Yingtan. However, the Xuebing Army's artillery was sharp, and the Japanese army's strength advantage was relatively flat.
Not only did the Tamayama area not become an advantage, but it was suspected of committing suicide in vain. In addition, due to the factors of the 11th Army, Shunroku Hata and Kenro Furushu chose Dexing and Leping as their main breakthrough directions.
After a week of fierce fighting, Ye Zhao asked his men to slowly withdraw from Dexing and Leping cities according to the development of the situation, and changed the town defense battle to field position battle. In the direction of Dexing, according to the trend of the Huaiyu Mountains, he learned from the Tenth Brigade and the Eleventh Brigade.
The 204th Brigade Regiment guards Jietian and Rao'er, which are 12 kilometers and 15 kilometers away from Dexing respectively. The two lines of defense are only about five kilometers apart. The two lines of defense echo each other. They can not only provide support at critical moments, but also outflank the sudden advance at any time.
The Japanese army. The 5th Army was responsible for the Dexing direction. The 18th Division had a confrontation with the Xuebing Army during the Battle of Nanjing, and suffered heavy losses. It is for this reason that the 18th Division
The commander of the regiment, Shima Sadao, had not been promoted in this position for two consecutive years, so he was particularly hostile to the cadet army. The so-called enemies are extremely jealous when they meet, so Shima Sadao did not hesitate to sacrifice when he first came up, and organized several
This was a large-scale offensive, but it was all repelled by Xiang Ke, commander of the 10th Xuexue Brigade. Of course, it was inevitable that the casualties of the 10th Xuexue Brigade would far exceed those of the 13th Xuexue Brigade.
In the direction of Leping, the 13th Xuexue Brigade built a defense line between Zhutian Township and Huitian Township, five kilometers northeast of Wannian County. It used one brigade and one artillery regiment to shoulder the 101st Division under the 5th Army, and fought a fierce battle.
On the following week, the Japanese troops were sniped in the southern suburbs of Leping County and were unable to advance southward.
When the Xuebing Army was preparing for a New Year's counterattack, as early as that morning, at the headquarters of the 5th Army in Quzhou, Shunroku Hata and the commander of the 5th Army, Furuzo Chiro, Chief of Staff Qin Yashang and the 16th Division
Division Commander Fujie Keisuke, Division Commander Miura Saburo of the 114th Division and others were sitting around to discuss the so-called New Year's Offensive.
"Tonight, we are going to give His Majesty the Emperor a New Year's gift!" Shunroku Hata said first with burning eyes.
Guzhuang Qianlang: "Chinese people sleep on the ice and don't know whether it's hot or cold? At this time, they are still making dumplings on the battlefield. Gentlemen, don't you think this is a challenge to the dignity of our imperial army?"
The reason why Guzhuang knew this was from Shima Sadao's report - Xuebingjun was indeed a bit unscrupulous in the process of preparing dumplings. The aroma of chives and meat was wafting everywhere, and Shima's scouts only had to wiggle their noses twice before moving.
It is not difficult to find this out of the brain. When Dao received the report, his first reaction was that this was an opportunity for a sneak attack. He reported this situation to Guzhuang just to explain the reason for launching an offensive tonight.
Fujie Keisuke narrowed his eyes. As one of the 17 standing divisions of the Japanese army, the 16th Division has its own pride unique to this unit. As Tikiro Furushuo said, this behavior of the Xuebing Army is indeed an insult to the Emperor of Japan.
The extreme contempt of the Xue Bing Army was something he could never tolerate. He sneered: "The Xue Bing Army is destroying itself, so what are we waiting for? What if we can take advantage of the situation to capture Shangrao and encircle and annihilate the Fourth Xue Bing Division? With this gift, His Majesty the Emperor will definitely
You will like it! Gentlemen, let us have a big fight, right?"
Miura Saburo then said: "I think we can unite with the South China Front Army to launch a New Year's offensive. The Chinese New Year customs are much grander than ours. Let's accommodate them and set off a big firework for them. Hehe, Ouyang Yun dares to send a large army Go north to Jiangxi to encircle and annihilate the 11th Army. Why can't we attack thousands of miles and break through in one fell swoop? The 16th Division and our 114th Division have been recuperating for so many days, and it's time for us to contribute. But the Chinese are exhausted - —" He stood up and looked at Hata Shunroku, bowed slightly and said: "Your Excellency, please let us be the vanguard of this raid!"
In Hata Shunroku's plan, if he really wanted to launch a surprise attack tonight, the 16th Division and the 114th Division would definitely be the main force. Seeing that Fujie Keisuke and Miura Saburo were both full of fighting spirit and confident, he Feeling very happy, he waved his hand for Miura Saburo to sit down and said: "I can see your loyalty to His Majesty the Emperor. Very good, then let's take a closer look at how to ensure this gift to His Majesty the Emperor. It’s plenty!”
Just after noon, the scouts of the Fourth and Fifth Divisions who were on the front lines, as well as the fox pupils lurking in Quzhou, Yushan, Dexing, and Leping, suddenly discovered that the Japanese rear camps and the front-line military camps suddenly became lively. The Japanese logistics soldiers carried bags of flour from warehouses and baggage trucks, slaughtered pigs and sheep, and sent them to various military camps and the front line.
This information was quickly summarized in front of Ye Zhao and other frontline commanders. Ye Zhao and others did not know that this was ordered by Hata Shunroku to show it to them, thinking that "the Japanese also celebrate New Year's Eve." Of course, because Ye Zhao He and Ouyang Yun had long thought of launching a New Year's counterattack tonight, so there was no question of letting down their guard. Ye Zhao learned from Xiang Ke, commander of the 10th brigade, Gao Yongxiang, commander of the 5th division, and Chang Yongxin, commander of the 13th brigade. When talking about this, he joked: "Our countrymen have always been kind, so let the little devil be a dead man!"
The sky had just turned dark, and an interesting phenomenon occurred. As if trying to show the enemy that they were having a happy New Year's Eve dinner, the forward positions on both sides were brightly lit, and bonfires were lit up one after another. "Boom, boom" was burning, and one flare after another rose into the sky. The aroma of dumplings, udon noodles, and soba noodles blended together in the confrontation between the two armies illuminated by the flares. It didn't look like a war, but more like a war. It's like having a party.
The headquarters of the Second Xue Army is located in a residential building in Beimen Township, Shangrao City. While the soldiers were enjoying the New Year's Eve "big meal", Ye Zhao and political director Lian Guangming each stood at the command with their own personal guards. At the sentry post outside the Ministry, they looked up from time to time to the east and north, where a flare would be launched from time to time, illuminating the night sky over there brightly. Lian Guangming: "Military seat, it's part of the Japanese show." It’s very high. Do you have other plans?”
Ye Zhao thought for a while and said slowly: "This possibility is very high. I know a little about the folk customs of the Japanese, and New Year's Eve is not a grand festival for them. Since the Meiji Restoration, the Japanese have moved everything westward. You see, we don’t pay much attention to the country’s traditional festivals. However, if Shunroku Hata really wants to launch a New Year’s offensive, he will definitely regret this decision. Isn’t it that we launched the New Year’s counterattack to induce them to launch a large-scale offensive? I just don’t know where Tie Laowu’s troops are!”
"I'll let Xiao Li and the others contact them later!"
"No, let them contact us proactively. There is a possibility of leaking secrets by telegram, but walkie-talkies are more reliable!"