Chapter 413 Under the Counterattack of the Soviet Army
() Now the Japanese Army finally breathed a sigh of relief, but the Navy had to dispatch warships to assist the Army in evacuating Tianjin. But even with the addition of hundreds of thousands of Japs, the Japanese Kwantung Army still did not dare to relax. Zhukov won the Battle of Hailar after
After the victory, considering that the strength of the Chinese 18th Group Army was enough to capture Pingjin, it did not continue southward, but crossed the Greater Khingan Mountains eastward and entered the original Anti-Alliance North Manchu base area, now the Northeast Military Region.
After meeting with the two military region chiefs Xu and Gao, Zhukov not only immediately asked his subordinates to transfer the newly occupied Hailar and other places to the Northeast Military Region as soon as possible in order to obtain the help of Chinese comrades in providing guides and covering flanks (in fact, it was also to free up mobile troops).
force), all the captured Japanese light weapons were given to the Northeast Military Region free of charge, so that they could re-arm at least 100,000 troops. At the same time, the arrival of the Soviet army also directly destroyed the forces that were still wreaking havoc in Northern Manchuria despite the severe cold.
Hundreds of thousands of Kwantung troops were scared back to the south of the Songhua River
The Anti-Japanese Alliance's seven battles and seven victories between the end of 1938 and the beginning of 1939 once shocked the world. However, as the Japanese Kwantung Army continued to increase its troops, the troops were exhausted from long battles, and their ammunition consumption was high, they eventually had to return to the base area for repairs.
, but they did not expect that the Japanese army counterattacked massively despite the severe cold, and suffered a big loss immediately. The Japanese army exceeded 400,000 (during the sweep, another
The strong military strength (an increase of 100,000) offset the relatively vast depth of the North Manchu base area, and the severe cold in North Manchuria in winter made it impossible for many people to persist outdoors for a long time (especially at night, even with good cold-proof clothing, not to mention the large
Some people do not even have this condition.) Therefore, the transfer of citizens, which is relatively easy to do in the mainland, has become very difficult...
As a result, the anti-union soldiers either had to fight the Japanese with inferior strength; or they had to give up the old, weak, women and children who could not bear the severe cold outdoors. As a result, a considerable number of them were kidnapped or killed by the Japanese army; in desperation, the commanders and soldiers had no choice but to
Treat them with a sense of luck
They were taken away together, but due to the extreme cold outside in winter, especially at night, large areas froze to death and frostbite. In order to keep out the cold, many people and even soldiers ignored the ban and lit fires to keep warm. However, they naturally attracted Japanese planes, and as a result they were bombed and even massacred.
Encirclement and suppression by troops
By the end of February 1939, the total casualties of the Anti-Japanese Alliance officers and soldiers had exceeded 300,000. Among them, more than 50,000 died of frostbite and more than 100,000 were injured by frostbite (of which more than 20,000 were disabled and permanently reduced in number).
More than 70,000 people died in the battle, and
There are more than 30,000 people who have not returned to the army, and the number of permanent attrition exceeds 180,000. The strength of the main force of the Anti-Japanese Alliance has dropped by two-thirds compared with the "Seven Wars and Seven Victories". And the people in the base area are even more
A person who suffered a great disaster and was only killed by the Japanese
The number exceeded 30,000. More than 10,000 women and children were abducted by the Japanese army. In order to avoid the Japanese, more people in the base areas had to brave the lowest outdoor temperature of minus 30 to 40 degrees, or even lower cold temperatures to hide in
Deep mountains and wilderness. As a result, people died of cold and disease.
The total number of missing people exceeded 200,000. In addition to casualties, the Japanese also burned hundreds of thousands of houses in the base area, stole hundreds of thousands of livestock and poultry, and destroyed tens of thousands of acres of farmland (Note 1).
The already poor economy has become even worse.
Although such "results" were achieved, the Japanese Kwantung Army also paid a huge price. In just over a month, the total number of casualties of the Kwantung Army reached more than 200,000. Among them, only
The number of people who died from frostbite and suffered from frostbite reached more than 20,000 respectively.
and more than 100,000 people, and the number of people who died in battle, died of illness, and disappeared was even higher. The total number of permanent attrition of the Japanese Kwantung Army in these two months exceeded 120,000. The losses are not small. But for the continued
For the Kwantung Army, which received additional troops, they could afford the price.
In the past two months, Xu Xiangqian, who was regarded as a god by his subordinates because of his invincibility, finally revealed that he was too bellicose. As a result, he killed many enemies and suffered many casualties, which even affected the development of his team and the protection of the masses.
Gao Yuan, who was overly courteous to the old leader at first, took back part of his power. However, since then the two have formed a stronger relationship.
A harmonious and beneficial complement, this pair made the enemy even more fearful. But even so, after the Japanese tried to consume them at all costs, and even implemented the extermination policy of "kill them all if they can't be taken away" against the Chinese in Northern Manchuria.
, how long the main force of the Anti-Japanese Alliance, which has been severely weakened, can hold on, even the two leaders Gao and Xu are somewhat unsure.
Originally, both of them pinned their hopes on the South Manchuria Column, which had initially regained its strength during the "Seven Wars and Seven Victories". However, they did not expect that the Soviets would start fighting with the Japanese at this time, which would be a great help to the Anti-Japanese Alliance.
Not only were all the main forces of the Kwantung Army that invaded the base area scared away, the Anti-Alliance also gained
It can be equipped with light weapons for more than 100,000 people, which immediately relieved it. Xu Xiangqian even proposed to Zhukov that the two armies should work together to further expand the results. Although Zhukov was a little worried about the threat of Japanese aircraft, he still expressed his eagerness to make contributions.
Agreed.
So the Northeast Military Region immediately mobilized all available forces and worked hard to cobble together an army of 400,000. Although many of them were still holding shotguns and there were many underage soldiers, so many people crossed the Songhua River and surrounded them for the second time.
After Harbin, the important town in Northeast China, Japan is still
The Kwantung Army headquarters was shocked and panicked, and quickly sent an army of more than 100,000 people to rescue. Unexpectedly, the armored units of Zhukov's 1st Group Army also quietly drove to the south of the Songhua River (the Songhua River had not yet thawed at this time)
, you can drive a tank on the ice, but in order to prevent
The enemy's shelling damaged the ice, so they could only sneak across the river at night (the winter in the Northeast is really cold), and used camouflage to avoid aerial reconnaissance by Japanese aircraft. When more than 100,000 Japanese troops approached Harbin, they
Quickly moved to the enemy's flank and launched an unexpected attack.
How could the Japanese army, which was mainly light infantry, resist the attack? In just a few hours, the Japanese army of more than 100,000 people had been defeated across the board, and the main force of Zhukov's 1st Group Army also drove across the Songhua River in time to coordinate the pursuit.
(Note 2), almost annihilated all the more than 100,000 Japanese soldiers
Note 1: The winter in the Northeast is too cold, and the fields are frozen as hard as stone slabs. In addition, the overwintering crops are very short and are not as easy to destroy as in the mainland. Therefore, the Japanese gave up quickly, otherwise the losses would be even greater.
Note 2: The first target of the Japanese aircraft is Soviet tanks, so there will be no time to prevent the Soviet infantry and artillery from crossing the river. When the Japanese aircraft group appears, the first thing the Soviet tanks and armored vehicles have to do is to find a place to hide.
They stood up to protect themselves, so the pursuit could not be sustained, and they could only rely on these infantrymen who had crossed the river. (To be continued.)