Chapter 12: Autumn and Winter Offensive (III)

After the Battle of Wuhan, the Japanese base camp indeed increased its troops in North China. Sugiyama's momentum immediately rose, and the North China Front Army's autumn and winter offensive against the People's Army was also on the agenda.

In fact, although Sugiyama Yuan is full of energy now, during the Battle of Wuhan, to be precise, the old Japanese man's heart was in mid-air, for fear that the People's Party armed forces would take the opportunity to attack.

In order to cut off the international supply line of the National Government in South China and cooperate with the Central China to conquer Wuhan, the Japanese base camp issued an order to form the 21st Army and attack Guangzhou on September 19 after research.

Before the end of 38 years, the Japanese Army had a total of 34 infantry divisions. Among them, there were Guard Divisions and 11th Divisions in Japan, the 19th Division in North Korea, and eight divisions in Kwantung Army, and the other 23 divisions were distributed in North China and Central China. Therefore, if the Japanese base camp wanted to form the 21st Army, it could only draw troops from the above places.

There are only two divisions left in Japan and cannot be transferred. The Kwantung Army, North China Front Army, and Central China Expeditionary Force each undertake important combat tasks and cannot draw troops from one place. In the end, there was only one division of the three fronts, and the 4th Flying Regiment drawn from Central China Expeditionary Force to form the 21st Army.

The North China Front Army was transferred to the 5th Division of Sugiyama-Torres used by the Front Army as the 5th Division. Once this elite force was transferred, Sugiyama-Torres had no reserve force in his hands. The North China Front Army confronted the People's Party in many places, so he could not help but be nervous.

Therefore, when the 4th Cavalry Brigade was later drawn to strengthen the 2nd Army of the Central China Expedition Army, Sugiyama Yuan actually called the base camp, emphasizing the pressure from the armed forces of the People's Party faced by North China and the cavalry brigade was indispensable in combat operations in northern Shanxi, Chanan and other places, and opposed the base camp's military deployment plan. After weighing the comparison of the North China Front Army's forces in northern Shanxi, Chanan and the People's Army, the base camp actually changed the original plan and instead transferred a brigade from the Kwantung Army to Central China.

Fortunately, not long after the worrying days, after capturing Guangzhou, the 5th Division was able to return to the North China Front Army. However, when he went there, Lieutenant General Ando Rikichi was the division commander. When he came back, because Ando Rikichi replaced Lieutenant General Guzhuang Ganlang as the commander of the 21st Army, the division commander of the 5th Division became Lieutenant General Imamura Jun.

As the 5th Division returned to North China, the Japanese base camp issued an order to form the 12th Army and announced the combat sequence of the army on November 11. This newly formed 12th Army has the 5th, 21st, 114th Division, as well as the 5th Brigade and Cavalry Group.

Next, the order to increase troops from the North China camp, which made Sugiyama Motoxinhua angry. On November 16, the 10th Division, under the Central China dispatched troops, and the 27th Division, were ordered by the headquarters, were transferred to the North China Front Army's combat sequence.

At the same time, the Japanese base camp ordered the adjustment of the direct-level troops of the North China Front Army and the combat sequence of the troops under its command. This was nearly a month and a half earlier than the original historical time.

According to the order, the front army directly under the 10th, 14th, 27th, and 110th troops had four divisions, as well as the front flight team. The 1st Army of Umezu Mijiro had three divisions, 108th, and 109th divisions, as well as the 3rd and 4th Brigades of the ** Mixed 3rd and 4th Brigades. In the 12th Army of Otaka Katsuzo, the cavalry group was transferred to the Mongolian army, and the other troops remained unchanged. The 26th Division, the cavalry group, and the 2nd Brigades of the ** Mixed 2nd Brigades were under the jurisdiction of Renumabo's Mongolian army.

After the troops increased again, Sugiyama Tsuki could not wait to launch a combat plan against the People's Army.

"You guys, the front army now has many soldiers and a wide range of generals, so it's time to settle accounts with the Chinese People's Army!" In the conference room of the Front Command, Sugiyama Moto looked at the generals attending the meeting and said murderously, "In order to eliminate the forces of the People's Army in northern Shanxi and Suidong in one fell swoop, I decided to transfer the 5th, 10th, 14th, and 27th divisions, and the flight team to join this battle!"

The North China Front Army now has eleven divisions, one cavalry group, four infantry brigades, and one flight team. Four divisions, plus northern Shanxi and Chanan areas, there are already Mongolian troops stationed in Mongolia. Sugiyama Yuan used a total of five divisions, one cavalry group, one ** mixed brigade and one flight team, with a total force of more than 170,000! This is nearly 40,000 more troops than the People's Army deployed in northern Shanxi and Suidong. It is the first time that the Japanese army has gained an advantage in comparing forces since the armed battle with the People's Party.

"In order to draw relevant troops to fight, the front army will adjust the defense areas of each unit." Sugiyama said without any doubt, "among them, the 5th and the 6th brigades will replace the defense areas of the 21st Division in eastern Henan. The 21st Division will be transferred to northern Shandong to work with the 114th Division to prepare for the guards to head north!

The 25th Brigade of the 108th Division replaced the 14th Division defense zone, and the 5th and 6th Brigades were mixed with the 110th Division to form the 5th and 6th Brigades to garrison the eastern Henan and the north bank of the Yellow River with Kaifeng as the center!

The remaining headquarters of the 108th Division and the 20th Division continued to maintain pressure on Yan Xishan’s troops in southern Shanxi!

In this battle, in order to avoid the air superiority of the People's Party armed forces, all participating troops should focus on night battles. As for the time to initiate the war, it is tentatively scheduled for November 29."

Sugiyama's military plan did make the Japanese leaders here excited, but some of them were doubtful. Although Chief of Staff Tomoto Yamashita wanted to defeat the northern part of Jin, he still reminded: "Your Excellency, considering the combat against the People's Army, this military deployment plan is very appropriate, but the front army has reached its limit in the use of troops. If there is another emergency, the front army will not have the reserve force to deal with it. Should we leave a division as the front army's reserve force?"

In the northern and Suidong combat plan submitted by Yamashita Fengwen, a division and a brigade were retained as the front army reserve. Now Suiyama Yuan is pushing all the available troops up. Although this looks very heroic, it also feels like a gambler-like desperate bet. Yamashita Fengwen has experienced the methods of the People's Army, and Suiyama Yuan's deployment made him feel inexplicably uneasy.

"Yamashita, you don't need to worry too much, there is still a reserve force." Although Yamashita Fengfu was for the success or failure of the front army's operations, the questioning face still made Sugiyama Moto feel unhappy. He looked at Yamashita Fengfu and said lightly, "According to the news from the base camp, four brigades of the 7th to 10th will be sent to our front army. These four brigades are the reserves of the front army."

Yamashita Tomoto was stunned. He had never seen or heard of the news that the base camp had added four brigades. However, this kind of news cannot be fake. It seems that Sugiyama Sora had other news channels. After thinking it through, Yamashita Tomoto nodded and said, "If there are four brigades, then the reserve force of the front army is enough."

Sugiyama Sora did not lie, and there were indeed four brigades that were about to be transferred to North China. However, he did not make it clear that the four brigades were in the marshalling stage at this time. No matter how fast they were, they had to wait until the end of the year to join the North China Front Army.

In original history, the five brigades of the 6th to 10th were compiled in Japan on January 14, 2019. Although the 6th brigades of the 6th brigades of the brigades of the brigades of the brigades of the brigades of the brigades of the brigades of the brigades of the brigades of the brigades of the brigades of the brigades of the brigades of the brigades of the brigades of the brigades of the brigades of the brigades of the brigades of the brigades of the brigades of the brigades of the brigades of the brigades of the brigades of the brigades of the brigades of the brigades of the brigades of

However, Sugiyama Sora did not think that his decision was inappropriate. It took only one month between the initiation of the operation and the end of the year. With the heavy troops of the Japanese army in northern Shanxi and southern Shanxi, as well as the troops deployed in northern Shandong, eastern Henan, southern Shanxi and other places, as long as the escort army did not go north in large numbers, it should be able to support the last month. As for the possibility of the escort army going north in large numbers, Sugiyama Sora believed that the problem of millions of disaster victims in winter needs to be solved, and the possibility of the escort army attacking northern Shandong before the end of the year was not high.

From the end of the meeting to the initiation of the operation, there were only 12 days left. The Japanese troops involved in the war stepped up their assembly to Chahar and northern Shanxi. The mobilization of more than 100,000 troops from four divisions and the transportation of many combat materials, despite the repeated blockade of the Japanese army, such a big news could not be hidden from the eyes of the People's Party's armed forces. The People's Army Headquarters immediately issued an order to fight in winter to the Yulin War Zone.

"The Japanese are coming in full force this time!" Liu Jifeng, chief of staff of the Yulin War Zone, said with a serious expression, "I have conducted night battle drills a while ago, and now I have added more than 100,000 troops. The old Japanese devil, Sugiyama, is somewhat determined to win!"

"It's just a posture. With the original troops in our theater and the newly transferred troops from the headquarters, we will discipline him to lose money and gain publicity!" Xu Chaoyuan, director of the theater political department, smiled and turned around and asked, "Hailan, do you think we are stewing the Japanese in a pot or simmering them slowly?"

The theater commander Chen Hailan was good at long-distance raids, interspersed into the enemy's key points, and had a fatal combat method with one blow. He felt somewhat incompetent about the frontal stalemate. He frowned and said, "As far as I want, of course, it's a good time to steer it. But the gentleman's order clearly stated that we can neither beat the Japanese devils too hard, and lead all the Japanese firepower to ourselves, and we must take the opportunity to temper the participating troops in actual combat, so we can only simmer it on the low heat."

After pausing, Chen Hailan continued, "Since the Japanese have learned their skills and want to fight night battles, we must also have a good hospitality. We ordered Xu Dejian and Zhuang Yi to fight one after another at night and retreat in sequence, and recover lost land with the cooperation of the Air Force during the day. We allowed them to retreat step by step to lure the enemy into depth.

After twenty days of stalemate with the Japanese army, the 11th Army replaced the 12th Army, and the 12th, 42th, and 52th Divisions replaced the 61st, 22nd, and 32nd Divisions, and continued to fight with the Japanese army. The heavy artillery units and air defense units participated in the battle also rotated one after another. The other divisions and brigades that had not yet participated in the battle were also ready for rotation.

In addition, the War Zone Logistics Department must do a good job in material support for winter operations to ensure that there is no non-combat reduction. The Political Department must ensure the discipline of the troops during the war. In short, we must work with the Japanese for two months before we make the final preparations for annihilation of the enemy!"

Although the Japanese army dispatched 170,000 troops, there were nearly 400,000 troops waiting for the People's Army. If Yuan Sugiyama could know that the People's Army was in northern Shanxi and Suidong, there were more than 260,000 troops in Suizhong, northwest Shanxi and other places ready to go, he would know that his determination to defeat northern Shanxi in one fell swoop, and the Suidong People's Army's actions were just a joke!

"If you want to fight night battles, it depends on the time! If you have a few months in advance, you may cause some trouble to our army, but now the beginning of winter is over, the old Japanese devil, Sugiyama Yuan, made the wrong plan!" Zhu Rong, the Minister of Logistics of the War Zone, sneered disdainfully, "Although the winter in the mountainous area of ​​northern Jin is not cold outside the pass, at most one month, the severe cold at night is enough to freeze people to death!"

"Sumanyama Yuan should have the idea of ​​a quick battle." Deputy Chief of Staff Cai Tingkai smiled, "We have only deployed more than 130,000 troops in northern Shanxi and Suidong. The Japanese dispatched more than 170,000 troops. They practiced night battles a while ago. This is clearly intended to avoid our air superiority and use its superior forces to destroy our front-line troops as soon as possible. A slight mistake was made. Sugiyama Yuan did not expect that our army's strength, so his abacus was wrong from the beginning!"

However, Sugiyama Yuan did not think that his plan was wrong. Given that the People's Army was distributed in northern Shanxi and Suidong with the Great Wall, and the Japanese army had more than 170,000 troops after the increase of troops, far exceeding the scope of the command of the Mongolian army, Sugiyama Yuan also targeted the Japanese army in northern Shanxi and Chanan. Among them, because of the large number of cavalry and suitable for grassland operations, the Mongolian army was adjusted to the west of Zhangbei of Chahar by Sugiyama Yuan to deal with the 12th Army of the People's Army; the Japanese army, the 5th, 10th, 14th, and 27th, formed the northern Shanxi Corps, and was personally commanded by Sugiyama Yuan in Peiping, and the front line was controlled by Akira Muto, the deputy chief of staff of the Front.

It was not that Sugiyama was unwilling to delegate power, but that without a superior command organization, the Japanese combat troops were unwilling to accept command from units of the same level, unless there were qualified or outstanding achievements far beyond their peers.

During the Battle of Xuzhou, the Japanese base camp sent a command agency to coordinate the combat operations of the troops in North China and Central China due to concerns about the command relationship between Sugiyama and Shinji Hata. As for the Shanxi war last year, the Chahar Expeditionary Army and the later 26th Division were willing to obey Itagaki's command, because Itagaki's martial honors established in the 9th 18th Incident and later made Jun-harem and others impressed the harem Jun.

The 5th Division is now under the command of the 1st Army, while the 10th, 14th and 27th Divisions are directly under the front army. Although they all belong to the combat sequence of the North China Front Army, the division commanders of these divisions have been in office for a short time and have no one to convince the public. Sugiyama Tsuki could not designate the commander candidates in front out of thin air, so he could only command remotely.

In late November, in northern Shanxi and Suidong areas, it became completely dark at around 6 pm. In the mountains and grasslands inside and outside the Great Wall, although the weather is far from ice, you still need to wear cotton coats to keep the cold. In this season when winter is getting biting cold, at 6 pm on November 29, the Japanese army launched an attack on the People's Army as scheduled.

Although it was a night battle, the artillery fire, machine gun firepower and flares fired from time to time made the battlefield clearly visible. Of course, no matter how clear the air force was, it was still impossible to move in such an environment.

According to the Japanese army's routine, whether it is the Mongolian army outside the Great Wall or the four divisions in northern Shanxi, the first choice is to shell the People's Army infantry positions. As for the People's Army's artillery positions, although the Japanese army really wanted to strike them first, what made the Japanese helpless was that the Japanese existing light and heavy artillery with a caliber of 75,105,150 caliber was not reaching the range!

Sugiyama Moto also wanted to seconded heavy artillery or train artillery with a caliber of 240 and 280 caliber from the Kwantung Army, but firstly, the transport of those big guys was difficult and the time was too late; secondly, after the Korean army clashed with the Soviet army in the summer, the Kwantung Army also strengthened its vigilance and refused to borrow those big guys with deterrence. In desperation, Sugiyama Moto could only order the Japanese army to shorten the artillery time as much as possible and change the launch positions in time.

Of course, in Sugiyama's view, the best way to fight is to rush into the People's Army's positions as soon as possible, engage in close combat with the enemy and fight hand-to-hand combat. As long as the enemy and us are mixed together, the firepower of the People's Army can be restricted. And the Japanese army with the spirit of Bushido and specially trained to fight for the sting, and with the advantage of military strength, it is still very possible to defeat the People's Army.

In the dark night, with the reflection of the flares that light up from time to time, artillery fire and machine gun fire, looking at the dark green helmets above my head, wearing yellow military uniforms, the Japanese were holding bayonets in pieces, and rushing towards their own positions with strange screams like ghosts and wolves. If the recruits who had not experienced actual combat would definitely have big problems, even the veterans who had seen blood many times on the battlefield were a little scared when they first met.

On the People's Army position east of Guanrentun, King Jinbei, and west of Baidenghe, Liang Tieya, the commander of the 612th Regiment, passed the observation hole of the command headquarters, looked at the figure of the 5th Division surging towards his own position, spat on the ground, shouting: "Damn! These ghosts are really haunted! Order all battalions to fire all machine guns to attack the enemy's front-line charge troops! The battalions and the mortars under the company carried out a blocking strike to prevent the enemy from approaching our position too quickly! We must avoid close combat with the Japanese at night and fight hand-to-hand!

What is needed in the war is to carry forward our own advantages and limit the enemy's advantages as much as possible. The Japanese engaged in night battles and close combat. Although the People's Army cannot avoid such combat methods, they also have targeted combat plans.

Whether it was the 12th Army in Suidong or the mixed corps of Zhuang Yi's troops in northern Shanxi, they had experienced night war training. Although the officers and soldiers were frightened for a moment, they also remembered the purpose of "promoting firepower and avoiding hand-to-hand combat" in the night war. After using the anti-aircraft hole built on the reverse slope position to avoid the Japanese artillery fire, they first talked to the Japanese with machine guns as soon as they entered the position.

Previously, the Japanese army was worried that the long preparation time for artillery fire would lead to the People's Army's artillery fire counter-attack, and the artillery bombardment of the People's Army's infantry positions was only a few rounds, and the destruction of the defense facilities on the positions was not serious. Therefore, when the Japanese rushed to the range of the machine gun, they were in trouble.

The Japanese who were charging forward not only had to face the People's Army's machine gun firepower net that poured bullets, but also had to beware of mines that exploded from time to time under their feet and the mortar shells that whistled in the air. There were triple strikes from the opposite side in the air and underground, and it didn't take long to attack the Japanese army's first charge.

After receiving the frontline report, Imamura, the commander of the 5th Division, frowned into a bump and murmured: "The Chinese People's Party armed forces are indeed well-known. In China, only such armed forces will pose a threat to the Imperial Team."

Chief of Staff Colonel Takeda Sakurada suggested: "Your Excellency, although this charge failed, it also tested the enemy's machine gun fire point, front-line mortar position, and the location of mine distribution. It is better to order the artillery gang to knock out the enemy's light and heavy fire point, and then use artillery fire to remove the mines before charging!"

"It is okay to use artillery fire, but you must release the enemy artillery fire to counter the attack." After pondering, Imamura nodded, and frowned and said, "In addition to the mortars used by the front-line troops, the enemy's artillery positions are built outside the range of our artillery fire, which is extremely unfavorable to our army. After the artillery is bombarded, it must be transferred as soon as possible!"

!#


Chapter completed!