Umezu Yoshijiro summarized the gains and losses of the confrontation with the Xuebing Army, and finally concluded that when the Xuebing Army came with overwhelming force, it was absolutely unwise to confront them head-on. At this time, the best choice was to take what Sun Tzu said in The Art of War The same as before, wait until the enemy has given up and then launch a counterattack. Only in this way can it be possible to turn defeat into victory and beat up the cadet army. Regardless of whether Umezu Yoshijiro's suggestion is correct or not, Hata Shunroku adopted it. Therefore, Okamura Neji's He consciously ignored the telegram. He did not reply at all, but just said to the communications staff officer on duty that day: "We will definitely annihilate the Northbound Army of the Xuebing Army, but not now."
In Okamura Neiji's plan, once the general headquarters sends enough troops to contain the Anqing Xuebing Army, he can attack Madang without any scruples. As long as Madang is captured, the Anqing Xuebing Army will become a The only result is to be annihilated. The relationship between Okamura Neji and Hata Shunroku is relatively bad. He doesn't want to humble himself and ask the dispatched army headquarters to support his Madang strategy. He guesses from his own thinking point of view. Shunroku Hata believed that it was impossible for Shunroku Hata to not see such a clear direction of the war, so after calling Hata Shunroku, he was not worried at all that he would not send troops to support Anqing, and instead focused on planning the Madang strategy.
The movements of the Hukou Xuebing Army are indeed very suspicious. Those soldiers and horses are wandering in the front line of Hukou in an endless stream. This really looks like a cover-up trick. The Xuebing Army is very strict in preventing the infiltration of reconnaissance and intelligence personnel. , this gave Zhongdao Qingcun the illusion that there was no silver 300 taels here, so even though the three waves of reconnaissance teams sent out before did not survive a single Japanese, Zhongdao Qingcun still continued to send troops, and then, when he was about to die, After more than a hundred elite Japanese soldiers, he finally obtained the real information about Hukou. The strength of the Hukou garrison was that there was one division earlier, but now, there is only one brigade left. As for the troops that kept appearing on the front line, The crowd is an illusion created by the brigade officers and soldiers constantly coming in and out.
After learning the detailed troop allocation at Hukou from the bloody-faced scout, Nakajima Qingcun did not become angry because he was deceived. On the contrary, he said with a smile: "The Chinese people are really cunning, pass on my orders." , except for the gendarmerie brigade left to guard Jiujiang, other officers and soldiers of all ranks should prepare to fight. His Majesty’s warriors, use your invincible courage to bury the cadet army."
Nakajima Qingcun was nicknamed "Nagashima Fox" because of his resourcefulness, and he himself was very conceited about his military talents. Nakajima Qingcun was good at grasping details and especially liked to outwit him, so in his eyes Come on, it’s interesting if your opponent is stronger. If your opponent is too mediocre, how can you show your own uniqueness?
Madang Fortress is located in the No. 3 Bunker more than two hundred meters to the left of the No. 1 Fort. Ouyang Yun was doing a battle drill on the sand table with the staff of the Corps Staff Department. When the troops crossing the river successfully landed, they immediately began to Under the leadership of the chariot troops, they eliminated the Japanese troops along the way and defended the Dawang Temple. When the Japanese troops in Huangmei, Jiujiang and Wangjiang remained silent, Ouyang Yun concluded that Okamura Neji was attracted to Ma Dang. , the main force of the Xuebing Army went to attack Anqing, and there were only a little more than two divisions left in Pengze. This was an irresistible temptation for Okamura Neji. Next, the 2nd Army will definitely concentrate its efforts on attacking Ma when,
Suddenly, Huang Hua ran in from the next room. He held a telegram in his hand and said loudly: "Commander-in-Chief, the comrades lurking in Wangjiang Hutong have sent a telegram, and the Japanese 11th Division has begun to assemble."
Ouyang Yun nodded, then glanced at He Zhengjiang and Chen Shichang, and said: "If I were Okamura Neiji, then the sooner the attack starts, the better. Pass my order to the front-line combat troops, stop the civil work and prepare to fight. ."
The construction of the Madang Fortress began since the outbreak of the All-out Anti-Japanese War, and it has now grown to a considerable scale. Originally, the fortress had a dedicated defense force, but it was used as cannon fodder after the 74th Army took over. At present, it has existed in name only, so , the next defensive battle can only focus on the Xue Bing Army. The Xue Bing Army left behind in Madang will be one division from the Third Xue Division. The chariot troops of the Third Xue Division have been deployed. Now even if the troops directly under the Corps are added, In other words, the infantry of seven regiments will defend the three-kilometer-long Yangtze River defense line around Madang Fortress. In terms of force distribution alone, it can be said to be quite tense. The tradition of learning from the army, whether it is defense Whether it is an offensive operation, whenever necessary, civil engineering operations will be carried out to the maximum extent to obtain solid defense fortifications and bunkers. After Ouyang Yun took over the defense of Madang Fortress, he immediately began to organize manpower to strengthen civil engineering operations on the basis of the original fortifications. Now, under the non-stop operation of the officers and soldiers of the Third Xuexi Division for two days and two nights, in addition to the bunkers, tunnels, forts and other facilities that were built previously, Madang Fortress has two more minefields and three forts. There are about five regiments of artillery hidden in Hujiacun, about five kilometers away. Although Ouyang Yun likes to take risks in battles, these are all measures he has to take when he is forced to have no choice. As long as the situation allows, in fact, he I still like to fight a sure battle. For example, this time, on the surface, it seems risky for the Xuebing Army to defend Madang Fortress with a division of troops. However, if you include the artillery of the five regiments, Let alone the Xuebing Army, it can hold Ma Dang for a month. As long as the ammunition can keep up, it will be no problem for the first half of the year.
He Zhengjiang was the frontline commander of this defensive battle. He immediately picked up the phone and called the frontline troops to convey the commander-in-chief's order. Then, after speaking to Ouyang Yun, he hurriedly came from the underground with a dozen guards. Went to the front line in the passage,
In the previous deduction, how to deal with the bombardment from the river was unanimously considered by Ouyang Yun and the staff to be the top priority of this defensive battle. During the defensive battle of Jiangyin Fortress, the Xuebing Army used surprise troops to secretly attack the Japanese army. The Third Fleet used fire attacks to burn the Third Fleet to a cripple. The defensive situation of Madang Fortress was even worse than that of Jiangyin Fortress. However, the same strategy could not work again, and there was no water surface. With the support of the fleet, the Japanese fleet's threat to the Xuebing Army is far greater than the last defensive battle of Jiangyin Fortress. If the defenders cannot effectively contain the bombardment from the giant artillery on the river, then even if they can defend Madang as scheduled, There will definitely be a heavy price to pay.
Chen Shichang once proposed dispatching the air force for bombing. However, considering that the Taiwanese Corps was currently being encircled and suppressed by the superior Japanese army and was struggling to survive and could not do without the support of the air force, Ouyang Yun still rejected this proposal. However, the existence of the Yangtze River Fleet has indeed affected the defense. After careful consideration of the course of the battle, he proposed a strategy. He used self-propelled artillery to choose the right time to conduct a sneak attack on the Yangtze River Fleet. Then he took advantage of the sufficient mines and torpedoes in the Madang Fortress and used human-controlled torpedoes to maximize the attack. to counter the Japanese warships,
Continuing with the previous topic, after Ouyang Yun and Chen Shichang discussed it, they felt that the last method should work wonders at night, so Chen Shichang began to take the initiative to select officers and soldiers with good water resistance from the Third Learning Division, Langya and the army's direct guard troops. Form a torpedo warfare group,
Chen Shichang took the order and left. Ouyang Yunzheng continued to lie on the sand table and watch. Huang Hua appeared again, and the telegram he brought this time was from Ye Zhao. The 106th Division of Jiujiang took the lead in launching an attack on Hukou. , and it seemed that all the troops were dispatched from the beginning. In the direction of Hukou, although Ye Zhao led the army to immediately increase the construction of fortifications after taking over, the local defenders felt that the Japanese army could not possibly be blocked by Jiujiang before that. The attack was launched from here, so almost no fortifications were repaired. Therefore, facing such a large-scale Japanese offensive, Ye Zhao immediately felt the pressure. He sent this telegram to ask if a regiment from Duchang could be transferred back to Hukou to strengthen the defense force. ,
Ouyang Yun asked the 12th Xuexi Division to make a feint at Hukou to confuse the Japanese army. On the one hand, he wanted to cover up the Japanese army's sight, but on the other hand, he also wanted to see if he could use a trick to fool the 106th Division. Dare not act rashly. Facts have proved that the commander of the 106th Division, Nakajima Qingcun, is not so easy to fool. Although he was once confused, judging from his resolute investment of heavy troops in Hukou, he not only realized that the lake He understood the importance of the mouth to the Madang Fortress, and also wanted to capture the Hukou in one fell swoop, thus threatening the Madang Fortress from the side and completely changing the course of the Madang Battle.
"Pass my order and let Commander Ye decide on the situation. I have only one request for the Twelfth Division. Before the Madang Fortress falls, they must defend Hukou and Duchang and never let go. A devil is coming."
Huang Hua answered resoundingly and trotted out. Ouyang Yun turned his head and cast his gaze in the direction of the lake mouth on the sand table. His brows couldn't help but frown slightly. There is no doubt that the premature fall of Jiujiang made the Japanese army desperate. The strategy has become richer. If Okamura Neiji focuses his attack on Hukou, first goes to Hukou and then besieges Madang, then,
This is a terrible idea. Since the Battle of Hankou, Madang Fortress has been famous for being easy to defend and difficult to attack, but this has a prerequisite, that is, when the Japanese army chooses to attack frontally, if there are any flaws in Madang Fortress, then, On land, facing the west of Hukou, is its weak point. Thinking of the Japanese 112th Division in Huangmei, opposite Jiujiang, and the Botian detachment, there is no trace. Ouyang Yun felt the horse's strength for the first time. When the defensive battle is uncertain,