Chapter 31 Chapter Thirty-One All Over Again (1)

In the Battle of Zaoyi, the "China Dispatch Army" entrusted the Eleventh Army with two tasks. One was to attack the main force of the Fifth Theater.This thing is ambiguous, you can say that it was not resolved, because in the end, Tang Enbo couldn’t do anything, but Sonobe would never be so stupid. He took it for granted that he succeeded, and he was quite successful—if he was not successful, he would be surrounded The headquarters of the 33rd Army, and Zhang Zizhong was killed? The other is to cross the Xianghe River in the west and go straight down to Yichang. If the previous question was relatively easy to explain, then this question is a bit annoying now, and the Ministry of Garden was hesitant because of this.

can you not go On May 23, the Ministry of Gardens once again convened staff to discuss. At the meeting, the debate on whether to attack Yichang was very fierce, and it was divided into two factions with diametrically opposite opinions. The "suspension faction" believes that after nearly a month of fighting, the officers and soldiers are not only extremely exhausted, but also because the supply line is too long, the supply of food, grass and ammunition for the troops has already become insufficient. Where is Yichang, it is still more than 200 miles west of the Xianghe River. In that case, the officers and soldiers will only be more tired, and the supply line will only be longer. Once they encounter a powerful enemy like Tang Enbo's army, the consequences will be disastrous.

The "battle faction" will not give in. If you are tired and afraid of anything, you will pass after a while.Now Xue Yue's Ninth War Zone and Gu Zhutong's Third War Zone are resting after the winter offensive and are unable to take the initiative to attack. Not only can we transfer some troops over, but we can also use the transportation along the river for supplies. Hearing this, Sonobe's eyes lit up, yes, why didn't I think of it? From the bottom of his heart, Sonobe was originally on the standpoint of the "battle faction". He came to Wuhan in March and had only been working for less than three months. Nishio clearly wanted to help him get on the horse. Hitting Yichang is really a bit shameless.

Then settle down and attack Yichang. According to the plan, Sonobu transferred another 40th Division from around Wuhan to make up for the shortage of front-line troops. In the middle of the night on May 31, the Eleventh Army crossed the Xianghe River. Drawing lessons from the ambushes of the 2nd, 33rd and 3rd regiments, before crossing the river, the divisions first concentrated their artillery firepower and violently bombed the south bank. In charge of the river defense was Wang Yanxuchuan Army, which was poorly trained and equipped. The first round of bombardment was dizzy. In addition, the vision was blurred at night, and the Japanese rubber boat that was forced to cross was mistaken for an amphibious tank.

The new round of offensive launched by the Eleventh Army was completely beyond the expectations of the Chinese Command and the Fifth Theater.Previously, both Chiang Kai-shek and Li Zongren thought that the Zaoyi Battle was just a reprint of the previous spring offensive, and that the Japanese army would retreat the same way after being frustrated, so they issued the pursuit order according to the gourd painting. But the Japanese army is not going home now, but suddenly crossed the river and directly threatened Yichang. Yichang is the gateway to eastern Sichuan, and it is within a thousand miles away from Chongqing. The gain or loss of its territory is related to the safety of the accompanying capital.

Defending Yichang was originally the job of the Fifth Theater.However, before the Japanese army launched the Xianghe offensive, Li Zongren temporarily transferred the two armies originally stationed here in order to concentrate his troops, so that Yichang almost became an undefended city. There was no defender in Yichang, and the main force in the war zone was left behind by the Eleventh Army. In addition, the commander of the fifth war zone was far away from Laohekou, so he could not accurately grasp the combat situation in Yichang. Li Zongren fell into the dilemma of command failure. If Zhang Zizhong was still there, I would not have fallen into such a situation.

Li Zongren was at a loss and had to send an urgent telegram to the Chinese Command. After receiving the telegram, Chongqing immediately fell into unprecedented tension and anxiety.Obviously, it is no longer enough to rely on Li Zongren, who is left behind, and another general must be sent to Yichang to sit in charge. It turned out that Zhang Zhizhong was going to be sent by the high command, but Zhang Zhizhong had made up his mind to abandon military affairs and pursue politics after the Battle of Songhu. Finally, drums were played to pass the flowers, and they passed to Chen Cheng.Zhang Zhizhong joked with him in front of him, saying that you are very smart and unmatched, but when you go this time, you will become unmatched stupid.

For Chen Cheng, this was indeed another temporary job. Before his own people arrived, the other party had already set up their positions and waited there. Knowing that the result is not good, it may be like the Battle of South Guangxi, only a temporary rescue. In the end, it is not only useless, but also has to be punished, but Chen Cheng has to go. In the eyes of Chiang Kai-shek, you are the role of the firefighting captain. If you are sent to fight fires everywhere, that is considered important. Can you not go? On June 4, Chen Cheng arrived in Yichang by ship, and only one infantry regiment followed him eastward.

What can a regiment of infantry do?On the way, Chen Cheng asked the commander to transfer the Eighteenth Army, which was training in Chongqing, to his front, and secondly, he asked Chongqing to be directly responsible for the supply of food, grass and ammunition. On June 8, the Eighteenth Army disembarked from the Yichang Wharf and entered the urban area, thereby filling the original power vacuum. But the time left for the fire chief is too little. As soon as Chen Cheng arrived in Yichang, the garden department knew about it. Of course, he deciphered it through the secret message.The commander of the 11th Army immediately changed the original step-by-step deployment and ordered the divisions to advance to Yichang at full speed, and even gave up some cities occupied along the way, in order to catch the opponent by surprise.

Because the fifth war zone was actually in a state of command failure, although there were still many troops along the way, no one dared or was willing to stop the Japanese army. They almost opened the way for the opponent to go. As a result, the front of Yichang was almost exposed. The Eighteenth Army hurried to Yichang, without even time to catch a breath and familiarize themselves with the fortifications of the position, the three divisions of the Japanese Army had already killed the city. On June 12, after three days of continuous hard fighting, the 18th Army, which was besieged by the enemy, finally retreated without support, and Yichang fell.

everyone is withdrawing Chen Cheng is a veteran soldier who has experienced many battles. Before he was ordered, he knew whether Yichang would be able to defend or not. However, when his worries became reality, he still felt very uncomfortable. At this time, the Eighteenth Army that withdrew from Yichang had already suffered heavy casualties and was exhausted, but Chen Cheng still organized the troops and turned to cut off the rear traffic of the Japanese army. The traffic line is the lifeline, and no one can let it go, so the two sides fought again around the road leading to Yichang. Tanks can be driven if there are roads. It is difficult for Japanese tanks to penetrate even anti-aircraft artillery, and they can only find their lifeblood. It turned out that it was a track. The Eighteenth Army concentrated its heavy machine guns and used armored bullets to beat the tank and chariot until it couldn't move a step. But even so, Chen Cheng was still unable to move forward, so he could only let the Eighteenth Army retreat at night. It was twelve o'clock in the middle of the night when the retreat order was received.There was no moon that night, and all the troops could only rely on the compass to judge the direction and groped forward. One of the regiments walked five miles away, and suddenly heard the people next to them neighing. Listening carefully, it turned out to be a Japanese accent! In the darkness, there was no way to know how many Japanese troops there were, and they didn't dare to attack rashly, for fear that if they fired a shot, they would not hit the opponent, but instead mess up their own team. The head of the group is heartbroken, so let's go together. At this time, the Japanese army also found the other party, but they kept their heads down and hurried on their way. This evening was really tense and fun enough.The two life-and-death rivals marched forward shoulder to shoulder, and separated after walking for a while. Don't think it was a missed opportunity. After returning, the regiment leader knew that what he encountered was not a small army, but a large army that had withdrawn from Yichang. If he opened fire, he would not be able to get any advantage. As for why the Japanese army was so honest at that time, it was mostly because they also didn't know the truth of the opponent, so they simply hurried on their way. The Ministry of Garden's ability to occupy Yichang this time is considered a wonderful stroke of his, so why should he withdraw again? The reason is that the "China Dispatch Army" asked the Japanese 11th Army to attack Yichang, not to say that it would occupy there all the time, but only to cause a blow to the Chinese army and reduce the threat around Wuhan. On the night when the Eleventh Army occupied Yichang, the Ministry of Garden told the three divisions to return after a week of stationing.So what are you going to do this week? It's simple. It's just smashing, looting, and completely destroying the military facilities in Yichang, so that this place cannot become a Chinese military base in the future. But the Sonobe quickly changed this order, and there was really no way for him to change the order day and night. After the three divisions crossed the Xianghe River to the west, the 40th Division transferred by the Ministry of Garden was responsible for breaking the rear to cover the other three divisions boldly attacking Yichang. With Chen Cheng taking the burden in Yichang, Li Zongren put all his thoughts on the 40th Division and organized various armies in the Fifth Theater to besiege it without stopping. Since the battlefields are concentrated in mountainous areas, heavy artillery and tanks cannot be used. The 40th Division was greatly restricted in combat, and was eventually trapped in the mountains and could not get out. The combat effectiveness of Wang Yanxu’s Sichuan army was originally very weak and could not fight tough battles. Zhang Zizhong was besieged in the pumpkin shop, and his line of defense was first opened from the Sichuan army. However, they have an advantage that most Southwestern troops have, that is, they are more suitable for mountain warfare and guerrilla warfare. Everyone knows how to climb mountains, and when the battle is going well, it's quite "crazy". They have replaced Tang Enbo's army, which is accustomed to positional warfare, and become the main force besieging the 40th Division. After seven days and seven nights of siege, the commander of the 40th Division was wounded by the Sichuan army, and it was only after paying a heavy price that they were able to break out of the encirclement. What happened to the 40th Division was like a blow to Sonobu's head, and after careful calculation, since the launch of the Zaoyi Battle, the 11th Army has suffered more than 10,000 casualties, which is equivalent to a division. The backbone troops are gone, and after more than a month of continuous combat, the troops are exhausted to the extreme. Some soldiers dozed off while walking, and fell down on the road while walking. The strength of the 11th Army is limited, so we can't just want to stay in Yichang for a few more days, so that we can't lose money, and even Wuhan's defense is a problem. In view of this consideration, the Ministry of the Garden reported to the headquarters of the "China Dispatch Army" , Requesting early withdrawal from Yichang. Occupying Yichang, Nishio thought it was time to explain to the Japanese command, and with a swipe of a pen: agree. Beginning on June 15th, the three divisions of the Eleventh Army quietly withdrew from Yichang in batches, which is why the Japanese army rushed to the road at night. This was originally good news for Chen Cheng. If the Japanese army does not withdraw, it is certain that even if you grit your teeth, you will not be able to attack. Now it doesn't matter how he withdraws, as long as he withdraws, he can still pursue it from behind and take advantage of it. While deploying, he heard a piece of news that made him dumbfounded. The Japanese army went back and forth, and returned to Yichang. What prompted Sonobe to repent again was the will of the chief, or more precisely, the will of the Japanese High Command, the General Staff Headquarters. The recent international situation has changed again, and it seems to be extremely beneficial to Japan. On June 14, 1940, the German army marched into Paris in mighty force, and the French government headed by Marshal Pétain quickly chose to surrender with a raised hand. This news seemed to give the Japanese a shot in the arm. The latter had already had a lot of worries on the Chinese battlefield, but now they are excited again. What is the role of Petain? He was the hero of World War I, the savior of France. Without him, France would not have won the cruel World War I. Even he bowed his head. It seems that it is impossible not to fight. The withdrawal plan was never mentioned again.What the General Staff Headquarters wants to show today is their arrogance. The latest slogan "Germany is invincible" is posted on the Eiffel Tower.That was in Europe, and in Asia, our Japanese army should be invincible. They also have enemies all over the world, but they can also be invincible all over the world. Yichang must not be given up, but must be firmly occupied and used as a springboard to attack China's rear. In this case, Chiang Kai-shek will one day be forced to follow the old path of Petain. Occupying Yichang for a long time is a major event, which means that more troops must be sent to the pass. On June 15, Prince Zaihito, Chief of Staff, and Prince Hirohito, Chief of the Military Command both entered the palace, and asked Emperor Hirohito for his orders on behalf of the navy and army respectively and obtained permission. On June 17, the 13th Division, which was the last to withdraw from Yichang, received an order and had to return the same way.After that, this division was almost a typical example of reaping its own consequences—when they left, they destroyed everything that could be destroyed according to the order, and they couldn't even find a place to sleep when they returned. Reoccupying Yichang, Sonobe need not worry about the possible weakening of Wuhan's defense force, because the Japanese military command has transferred the 4th Division of the Kwantung Army into the pass and joined the 11th Army's combat sequence. From the beginning to the end, the most "disastrous" person should be Chen Cheng. If you defeat Guinan once and then defeat Yichang, you can say that it is like the Battle of Songhu and Wuhan. Everyone stands face to face. This was not the case twice, and it was only when they were about to lose that they handed over the baton temporarily. In Chen Cheng's words, someone else stole the cow, but he has to pull the pegs that tie the cow. In the end, there are all witnesses and material evidence. Where did you escape? Before Chen Cheng had enough of complaining about himself, the besiegers came up, and they were all people - his own people. Chen Cheng's main role at this time is not the commander-in-chief or the commander-in-chief of the theater, but the head of the political department.