Chapter 36 Chapter Thirty-Fifth

In the eight years of the all-out war of resistance, China's first theater has never fought a good battle. The Henan-Central Battle that broke out in the first half of 1944 was the largest battle on the Central Plains battlefield during the Anti-Japanese War and the battle with the largest number of troops invested by both sides. This battle has profoundly exposed the overall deterioration of China's social, political, economic, and military aspects. The officials of the party and government departments under the Nationalist Government, local officials at all levels, and military generals belonging to different factions, the patriotic soldiers in the early days of the War of Resistance Enthusiasm and the will to fight have been sapped by a long and brutal war, complex internal self-interest, and unbelievable corruption.However, the collapse of the army under the command of the national government is no longer a purely military issue, but a kind of overall chaos on the battlefield.Most Chinese, including high-ranking members of the KMT, are aware of a worrying possibility: the KMT regime in Chongqing, which led the all-out War of Resistance, is likely to be the first to collapse before the Japanese are driven out of China. This collapse did not come from the military pressure of Japanese aggression, but an irreversible self-erosion and self-destruction.

"This time the Central Plains battle defeated the army and lost ground, and it is hard to escape the crime. However, looking back on the past and planning for the future, this bloody lesson is deeply vigilant, and it does have the value of frank review."The First Theater wrote this in the post-war review report. This battle, known as "defeating the teacher and losing ground, and the guilt is hard to escape", started on the bank of the Yellow River. The defense area of ​​the first war zone extends from the Daqing River near Beiping in the north, Tongguan, the gateway to Shaanxi in the west, Jinpu Railway in the east, and south of Xuchang on Pinghan Road in the south. It is the largest war zone in the Anti-Japanese War. The Yellow River runs across, and Zhongtiao Mountain, Taihang Mountain and Funiu Mountain stand among them.After the start of the all-out war of resistance, the Chinese army was defeated on the Ping-Han line, and lost all the territory north of the Yellow River. In the following year, the Xuzhou battle was defeated again, and half of the Central Plains was preserved after digging the Yellow River embankment.When Wei Lihuang was in charge of the war zone, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party united in the war of resistance, and the battlefield behind the enemy in North China was active. The armed forces in the enemy's rear were still struggling with the Japanese army in this area, and all the troops under the control of the Nationalist Government retreated to the south of the Yellow River.To the west of the first war zone is Hu Zongnan's eighth war zone, which is responsible for blocking the Communist Party's central Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia border region, to the east is connected to the Lusu theater, and to the south is Li Zongren's fifth theater, which is in charge of defense in western Hunan.The three theaters are connected together to form a broad and long confrontation line in the Central Plains to confront the Japanese army.

The first war zone is divided into two parts commanded by the commander-in-chief Jiang Dingwen and the deputy commander-in-chief Tang Enbo respectively. Commander Jiang Dingwen's chief department is located in Luoyang, and the troops under his command are: The Fourth Army, Commander-in-Chief Sun Weiru.Under the jurisdiction: the 38th Army, commander Zhang Yaoming, its 17th division, division commander Shen Jizhi; the new 35th division, division commander Kong Congzhou.The 96th Army, Commander Li Xingzhong, its 177th Division, Commander Li Zhenxi; the new 14th Division, Division Commander Chen Zijian.The above two armies were adapted from the old troops of Yang Hucheng of the Northwest Army.The fourth group army's defense area is connected to the Tang Enbo's position on the right, and is responsible for the defense of the Yellow River in Zaoshugou, Sishui, Gongxian, Yanshi, and Mengjin.

The thirty-sixth group army, commander-in-chief Li Jiayu.The actual units under its jurisdiction are only the 47th Army, commander Li Zongfang, its 104th Division, division commander Yang Xianming, and the 178th Division, division commander Li Jiaying.The army is the Sichuan Army, which is responsible for the defense of the Yellow River on the front line of Xin'an and Mianchi west of Mengjin.In addition, on the sequence list of the group army, there are also Zhang Jipeng's 14th Army, its 83rd Division, commander Shen Xiangkui; the 85th Division, division commander Wang Lianqing; and the 94th Division, division commander Zhang Shiguang.The Fourteenth Army is a direct line unit of the Central Army. In fact, it is directly commanded by Jiang Dingwen, the commander of the theater, and is stationed near the Lujia Temple in Luoyang.

Thirty-ninth Army, Commander-in-Chief Gao Shuxun.The actual units under its jurisdiction are only the newly formed Eighth Army, commander Hu Bohan, its newly formed Sixth Division, commander Ma Runchang; the temporary twenty-ninth division, division commander Yin Yingzhou.The army was reorganized from the Hebei People's Army, so it also commanded about one division of Qiao Mingli's Hebei People's Army.The army's defense area borders Hu Zongnan's Eighth Theater to the west, and is responsible for the defense of the Yellow River on the front line of Mianchi and Guanyintang.

Fourteenth Army, Commander-in-Chief Liu Maoen.The actual units under its jurisdiction are only the 15th Army, commander Wu Tinglin, its 64th Division, division commander Liu Xianjie, and the 65th Division, division commander Li Jiyun.The army was formerly known as the Zhensong Army in Western Henan, stationed near Luoyang. Liu Kan Corps, Commander-in-Chief Liu Kan.Under the jurisdiction: the Ninth Army, commander Han Xihou, its fifty-fourth division, division commander Shi Songquan; the new twenty-fourth division, division commander Song Ziying.The basic unit of the army is composed of Zhejiang Army and Feng Army.Temporarily formed into the Fourth Army, Commander Xie Fusan, its 47th Division, Commanded by Yang Wei; Temporarily formed into the Fourth Division, Division Commanded by Ma Xiongfei.The army was expanded from the 47th Division of the Ninth Army before the war.The Corps was stationed near Luoyang.

Tang Enbo, the deputy commander, also serves as the commander-in-chief of the Shandong-Suyu-Anhui border area. The commander-in-chief is located in Ye County, and the troops under his command are: The 28th Army, Commander-in-Chief Li Xianzhou.Under the jurisdiction: the 85th Army, commander Wu Shaozhou, its 23rd Division, division commander Zhang Wenxin; the 110th Division, division commander Liao Yunzhou; the 11th Reserve Division, division commander Zhao Lin.The army is a direct line of the central government, responsible for the defense of the Yellow River from Huayuankou to Guangwu in the north of Zhengzhou.The 15th Army was temporarily formed, with Liu Changyi as its commander, and the 29th Division was newly formed, with Lu Gongliang as its commander; the 27th Division was temporarily formed as Xiao Jin, its commander.The army was adapted from the Hebei Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army and served as the defense of the Yellow River on the front lines of Huayuankou and Zhongmu.The Eighty-Ninth Army, Commander Gu Xijiu, its new First Division, Division Commander Huang Yongzan; the 20th Division, Division Commander Zhao Guisen.The army was formerly known as the Song Zheyuan Department of the Northwest Army, stationed in Mi County and Xinzheng.

Thirty-first Army, Commander-in-Chief Wang Zhonglian.Under the jurisdiction: the 12th Army, Commander He Cuizhi, the 22nd Division, Division Commander Tan Naida; the 81st Division, Division Commander Ge Kaixiang; the 55th Division, Division Commander Li Shouzheng.The predecessor of the army was the former Department of Han Fuju of the Northwest Army.The 13th Army, Commander Shi Jue, the 4th Division, Commander Cai Jianming; the 89th Division, Commander Jin Shi; the 117th Division, Commander Liu Mantian.The army is a direct descendant of the central government.The 29th Army, commander Ma Liwu, its 91st Division, commander Quan Ying; the 193rd Division, commander Guo Wenshuo; the 16th Division, commander Wu Qiujian.The army was reorganized from the new Second Army in 1941.The 31st Group Army troops were stationed in Linru, Dengfeng, Yexian, Jiaxian and Xiangcheng areas.

He Zhuguo, Commander-in-Chief of the Fifteenth Group Army.Under the jurisdiction: the Second Cavalry Army, Commander Liao Yunze, the Third Cavalry Division, Commander Xu Changxi; the Temporary Fourteenth Division, Division Commander Li Hongci; the Eighth Cavalry Division, Division Commander Ma Bukang.The Seventy-eighth Army, commander Lai Ruxiong, the new 42nd Division, commander Peng Kailiang; the new 43rd Division, commander Huang Guoshu; the new 44th Division, division commander Yao Bingxun.There is also Chen Youxin's pan-east advance, stationed in Shenqiu area. The Nineteenth Group Army, Commander-in-Chief Chen Daqing.Under its jurisdiction is the temporarily organized Ninth Army, commander Huo Shouyi, its 111th Division, division commander Sun Huancai;The army is mainly based on the Northeast Army. It was adapted from the temporary Eighth Army at the end of 1943 and stationed in Fuyang, Anhui.

The above eight group armies and seventeen armies, with a total of more than 400,000 men, were deployed in the defense of the Yellow River along the lines of Sishui, Guangwu, Zhengzhou, Zhongmou, and Weishi, along the Pinghan Railway between Xuchang and Suiping, and in Mi County. , Linru, Xiangcheng and Luoyang in depth. Since the defeat at the Battle of Zhongtiaoshan in 1941, the troops in the First Theater basically did not fight again.The Kuomintang generally believed that after the outbreak of the Pacific War, the Japanese invaders were unable to launch large-scale operations.Therefore, after Jiang Dingwen and Tang Enbo presided over the first theater in 1942, they knew very well what the main task Chiang Kai-shek entrusted to them was: never take the initiative to launch an attack on the Japanese army in front of them, and while seeking a long-term confrontation, look for opportunities to cooperate with them. The anti-Japanese armed forces of the Communist Party clashed in order to curb the growing trend of the Communist Party's armed forces behind enemy lines.

Jiang Dingwen, courtesy name Mingsan, was born in Zhuji, Zhejiang. He was forty-nine years old at the time and was a person who had a close relationship with Chiang Kai-shek among the generals of the Kuomintang army.After the Wuchang Uprising broke out in 1911, he joined the student army at the age of 16, and later entered the Datong Army Middle School in Shaoxing and the Jiangwu School in Zhejiang.When Sun Yat-sen took office as the extraordinary president in 1921, he was appointed as the lieutenant colonel's adjutant of the Generalissimo's General Staff Department.He was the first batch of cadets of the Whampoa Military Academy and was the district captain of the cadet team, which was highly appreciated by Chiang Kai-shek.He was seriously injured in the battle of the Eastern Expedition. After recovering from his injury, he was promoted to the head of the regiment and became a general in the Northern Expedition.On the issue of dealing with the Chinese Communist Party, he was highly consistent with Chiang Kai-shek's political stance, and once led his troops to suppress the defection of the 19th Route Army in Fujian.It was his performance in the Xi'an Incident that made him famous and his relationship with Chiang Kai-shek stronger.During the incident, he and Chiang Kai-shek were detained by Zhang Xueliang. In order to rescue Chiang Kai-shek, he acted as an intermediary between Xi'an and Nanjing, and was one of the core figures who contributed to Chiang Kai-shek's safe escape.After the outbreak of the all-out war of resistance, as Chiang Kai-shek's confidant, he was appointed as the director of the Xi'an camp, and besieged the Communist Party's Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region in political, military, and economic aspects.While concurrently serving as the chairman of the Shaanxi Provincial Government, he bought and sold officials, embezzled and accepted bribes, accumulated amazing wealth, and lived an extremely corrupt life. Japanese posted pictures of him holding a beautiful woman in one hand and banknotes in the other everywhere in the north bank of the Yellow River. Propaganda poster.At the end of 1941, he was transferred to the post of commander-in-chief of the first theater and the commander of the Jicha theater, and began to work with Tang Enbo, another confidant of Chiang Kai-shek. In the winter of 1940, Tang Enbo led his troops into Henan and served as the commander-in-chief of the Shandong-Su-Yu-Anhui border area.After the Battle of Southern Henan in early 1941, Tang Enbo never fired a single shell at the Japanese army.In addition to dealing with the Communist Party's anti-Japanese armed forces under the order of Chiang Kai-shek, his main energy was placed on extortion and expansion of strength.With his basic army as the core, he ruled out dissidents and formed cliques for personal gain. When his power reached its peak, he had more than 400,000 troops.The reason why he set up the commander's office in Ye County is because Ye County is the birthplace of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and also Cao Cao's lair in the Central Plains. For this reason, he called himself the "King of the Central Plains".In order to get closer to the center of power of the Nationalist Government, he used the money and wealth he collected to bribe. Almost all the big and small dignitaries around Chiang Kai-shek received heavy bribes from him; Special cars and special ships traveled thousands of miles to Chongqing.All his money and wealth come from the cruel exploitation of the people.There was a severe drought in the Central Plains, and locust plagues reappeared. Thousands of miles of red land, starvation everywhere, ten rooms and nine empty rooms, soldiers and bandits were noisy, and refugees filled the fields. Since then, the people of Henan have said that "water", "drought", "locust" and "soup" are equally serious. The conflict between Jiang Dingwen and Tang Enbo is almost irreconcilable.Jiang Dingwen puts his veteran status in front of Tang Enbo, Tang Enbo not only disagrees, but also intends to fight against Jiang Dingwen.In order to subdue and even isolate Tang Enbo, Jiang Dingwen wooed the northern troops and the leaders of the Sichuan Army. middle.The two serve as the commander-in-chief and deputy commander-in-chief of the same war zone. They should have worked together in the same headquarters, but they each commanded their own troops and entrenched in separate areas. When conflicts arise, they tear each other down and temporarily calm At that time, the well water does not violate the river water.It is hard to imagine what will happen once a major war breaks out in such a war zone. Fortunately, there has been no battle here for a long time. The reason why the Japanese army did not launch large-scale offensive operations in this area for a long time was that apart from the decline of Japan’s national strength, military power and financial resources, and insufficient troops due to the Pacific War, the most important reason was that the Japanese army believed that the battle with the Communist Party’s anti-Japanese armed forces behind enemy lines was the most important reason. The main combat content of the Japanese occupying forces in a region. The Japanese North China Front Army believes that: An important part of eastern China has fallen into the hands of the Japanese army. The Chongqing army was forced to withdraw to the mountainous area south of the Yellow River, and could only linger on.On the contrary, the Chinese Communist Army took advantage of the Japanese army's deployment of troops and the reduction of its troops to establish a firm base in the vast areas of North and Central China and gain a firm foothold. The Japanese army also discovered that the Kuomintang regime in this area showed a tendency to be unstable: Chiang Kai-shek and his faction (the Kuomintang), who are staunchly anti-communist, are now isolated.The democratic parties are so-called dissatisfied elements, which are likely to isolate the Kuomintang.In addition, the new army in cooperation with Japan controlled by the current regime in Nanjing and the regime in North China has been shaken by the activities of the Chinese Communist Army, and its combat effectiveness may be crushed and absorbed. Japan believes that the reason why the Communist Party is the enemy is because it is very different from the Kuomintang: If you don’t understand the traditions and characteristics of the Chinese Communist Army, especially ignoring the characteristics that everyone in its main force is an excellent fighter, talking about the Chinese Communist Army is tantamount to talking about soldiers on paper... Their leaders, due to years of adversity Among them, he overcomes all difficulties and breaks through hardships and dangers, so his strong will and cunning resourcefulness are by no means comparable to ordinary people. As the commander of the Japanese North China Front, Ningji Okamura has devoted his energy to fighting the Communist Party's anti-Japanese armed forces since he took office. The anti-Japanese armed forces of the Communist Party became stronger and stronger.If the rear is unstable, it will be impossible to fight on the frontal battlefield. The more "mopping up" the Communist Party's anti-Japanese armed forces are, the more active they become, so they dare not launch an offensive on the frontal front. ——The dilemma of the Japanese army has made the first theater of China peaceful for three years. However, this peace is about to be broken. A war of unprecedented scale will take place on the Central Plains battlefield. What prompted the Japanese army to launch a large-scale offensive operation was the bombing of the Japanese military airport in Hsinchu, Taiwan by U.S. warplanes flying from a Chinese base during the Battle of Changde. This bombing made Japan once again strongly aware that its homeland security would be seriously threatened.At the same time, since February 1944, the situation in the Pacific War has become more and more unfavorable to Japan: the U.S. military has broken through the Japanese Marshall Line of Defense and has already pressed down on Truk, where the Japanese Navy's Combined Fleet Command is located.The US military immediately launched a large-scale air strike on Truk, and at the same time bombarded the Japanese army on the island with powerful naval gun fire.Then, the U.S. military successfully landed on the Braon Atoll and headed straight for the Mariana Islands.In the southeast waters, at the end of February, the Japanese army lost support points on important islands one after another. Rabaul, the strategic frontier, was isolated. The US military broke through the Dampier Strait, threatening the north coast of New Guinea. ——The successive defeats of the Japanese army in the Pacific led to the resignation of the Army Chief of Staff Moto Sugiyama and the Chief of the Naval Command Department Nagano Shoshin.Prime Minister Hideki Tojo, who was appointed by the emperor as Chief of Staff and Minister of War, believed that on the European battlefield, the United States and Britain would soon open up a second battlefield, and the Allied forces would advance deep into the European continent; on the Soviet-German battlefield, the Soviet Union had already passed After the crisis, the battlefield advantage will continue to expand; on the Asian battlefield, the U.S. military will continue to compete desperately with the Japanese army for the islands in the Pacific Ocean, so as to gradually shrink to the Japanese mainland; the British army will also try to retake southern Myanmar, Andaman Islands and northern Sumatra.From an overall point of view, Japan can only adopt a comprehensive defensive posture, and whether this defensive posture can maintain a relative initiative will depend on the degree of control over the Chinese battlefield. ——"Because of being suppressed by the US military in the Pacific Ocean, it is necessary to ensure the connection between the Chinese mainland in the west and the south no matter what. If there is a problem on the front at sea, the 500,000 troops in the south cannot sit idly by." The so-called "ensure the connection between mainland China in the west and the south" is based on the fact that although China and Japan have been in full-scale war for the seventh year, the railway traffic running through the north and south of China, the Ping-Han Line, the Yue-Han Line and the Hunan-Guangxi Line, The Japanese army still couldn't fully control it.Although the Japanese army occupied a large area of ​​southeastern China, in terms of communication lines, the north-south communication artery was blocked by the Chinese army.On the Ping-Han line, the troops of China's first war zone are stuck near Xuchang; the Guangdong-Han railway line is occupied by the troops of China's ninth war zone near Changsha; the Hunan-Guangxi railway is also in a state of being cut off.That is to say, from the northeastern part of China occupied by the Japanese army to the south, into the North China Plain, the Central Plains, the two lakes, until Guangdong and Guangxi, and then to Burma on the Indochina Peninsula occupied by the Japanese army, the north-south traffic on land was impassable.At this time, the Japanese navy was almost completely destroyed by the U.S. military in the Pacific Ocean. The hundreds of thousands of Japanese troops hanging in Indonesia and Singapore and Malaysia, once the crisis came, had no other way of escape except to retreat to China.Therefore, the north-south line of communication in mainland China must be opened up. The Japanese Army Base Camp believes that the day when Japan will fight the US and British allies and the Chinese army will come sooner or later. It is estimated that this moment should be in 1946.For the final decisive battle, preparations should be made now, that is, while doing our best to block the US military on various islands in the Pacific Ocean, we must also open up and maintain the traffic from south to north in mainland China, so as to ensure that there is room for maneuver in future advances and retreats. ——"It is a huge operation to open up the Chinese front divided into North China, Central China, and South China, and to join French Indochina. However, considering the current situation of the US Air Force base in this area, it must be completed within 1944 anyway. above measures." On January 24, 1944, the emperor was played at the base camp, explaining the reasons for launching a large-scale offensive in the Chinese battlefield: Destroy the enemy's airfields in the key areas of southwest China, with the primary purpose of protecting the homeland and the East China Sea.After opening up the mainland, even if the communication with the south at sea is cut off, the materials from the south can be transported through the mainland to strengthen the combat effectiveness, which is the second purpose.In this way, it is estimated that the situation of the future war will improve.At the same time, as an incidental harvest, important resources such as tungsten ore in the captured areas can be obtained. The emperor approved the operation. The base camp issued the operational outline that day, and named the operation "Operation No. 1". This is a battle plan of unprecedented scale.The gist of it is: first of all, in the south of Pinghan Road, use the twelfth army and one part each of the first, eleventh and thirteenth armies, about six divisions, to launch an offensive in April 1944 Then, mobilize the Eleventh Army, one part each of the 23rd Army, and one part of the Thirteenth Army, comprising about thirteen divisions, to launch a campaign against Changsha and Hengyang in Hunan, Guilin and Liuzhou in Guangxi, and the border areas of Hunan, Guangdong and Jiangxi. Three stages of offensive operations; around the beginning of 1945, Nanning was captured, and the 21st Division of the Southern Army stationed in French Indochina joined forces in Lang Son, Vietnam.The idea of ​​Japan is to completely open up the Ping-Han Railway, the Guangdong-Han Railway and the Hunan-Gui Railway, and connect China's north-south traffic arteries so that the trains starting from "Manchukuo" can travel thousands of kilometers south to Vietnam. There is no obstacle along the way, thus completely connecting the Chinese battlefield with the southern battlefield. In order to complete this unprecedented large-scale battle, the Japanese base camp once again carried out domestic mobilization, recruited recruits, organized fourteen independent infantry brigades, and sent them to the Chinese battlefield immediately; To supplement casualties.At the same time, the 3rd, 13th, and 22nd divisions, which were originally planned to be transferred to the south to fight, remained on the Chinese battlefield.In order to strengthen the air combat force, the Third Flying Division was expanded into the Fifth Air Force, and seven flying teams were transferred from the Kwantung Army. ——Despite the best efforts of the Tokyo base camp, compared with the combined air force of China and the United States, the air power of the Japanese army on the Chinese battlefield is still at a disadvantage. The Japanese army's operations in the south of Pinghan Road were launched in Henan: policy 1. In late April, the North China Front Army launched an offensive from the area along the Beijing-Hanzhou Railway on the banks of the Yellow River, defeated the enemy forces, especially the troops in the first theater, and occupied and secured the key points along the southern line of the Beijing-Hanzhou Railway. 2. Order the Eleventh Army and part of the Thirteenth Army to support the operations of the North China Front Army. 3. The main combat period is scheduled to be about one and a half months. The main regiments used in combat are as follows: North China Front Army The Twelfth Army (37th, 62nd, 0th Division, 3rd Tank Division, 7th Independent Mixed Brigade, 9th Independent Infantry Brigade, 4th Cavalry Brigade). Part of the First Army. The Eleventh Army (the main force of the Eleventh Independent Infantry Brigade). Thirteenth Army (four brigades each of the 65th and 64th Divisions commanded by the commander of the 65th Division). Part of the Fifth Air Force. command essentials 1. The North China Front Army should organize and alternate the new troops before the beginning of the first ten days, and order the corps required for combat to assemble near the station for training. 2. The North China Front Army should repair the iron bridge on the Yellow River near Bawangcheng before the first ten days of April. 3. The North China Front Army should order the main force of the Twelfth Army to concentrate in the southern area of ​​Xinxiang and part of it in the area on the left bank of the Yellow River west of Kaifeng by mid-April to complete combat preparations.When the Twelfth Army moved forward, the head of the 59th Division was ordered to command the fifth independent mixed brigade, the first and fourth independent infantry brigades, etc., which were under the direct control of the front army and were responsible for the security tasks in Shandong Province. 4. The Twelfth Army should generally launch an offensive in late April. After defeating the enemy, enter the vicinity of Yancheng and make preparations to fight against Luoyang. Open up the land connection line leading to the Wuhan area. 5. The main force of the Twelfth Army should quickly detour from the vicinity of Yancheng to the right, break into Luoyang, and defeat the enemy's troops in the first theater. 6. Before launching this battle, the North China Front Army ordered the First Army to feint to the west, and after the start of the battle, ordered a part of the First Army to cross the Yellow River from the vicinity of Yuanqu in time, cut off the Longhai Road, and support the Twelfth Army Main battle. 7. The 11th Army will launch an offensive from the vicinity of Xinyang to the vicinity of Queshan with a force in the first ten days of May to support the North China Front Army in its operations. 8. Around the end of April, the Thirteenth Army fought with a force near Fuyang to contain the enemy and enable the North China Front Army to proceed smoothly. 9. The 27th Division, deployed by the Kwantung Army, first stood by on the left bank of the Yellow River. As the operation progressed, it advanced to the Wuhan area by land. 10. After the completion of the battle, the North China Front Army should immediately send about half of the 37th Division and about half of the 3rd Tank Division to the Wuhan area by land and placed under the command of the Eleventh Army. 11. After the completion of the battle, the North China Front will roughly use Luoyang, Linru, Wuyang, and Biyang Dongfang as the first line against the enemy to ensure the key points along the southern line of the Beijing-Hanzhou Railway. 12. The troops used to ensure the new occupied area are scheduled to be roughly as follows: the 62nd Division, the 110th Division, the 3rd Tank Division (half missing), and the 7th Independent Mixed Brigade. 13. With the progress of the battle, the North China Front Army should seize the opportunity to build airfields near Zhengzhou, Luoyang, and Yancheng, and at the same time quickly repair the southern section of the Beijing-Hanzhou Railway. However, "according to the proposal of Operation No. 1, although it is imperative to open up the Beijing-Han line of operations in North China, the front army is not interested in it on the grounds of the danger of the Yellow River."Neiji Okamura explained that the main combat target of the North China Front Army should be the CCP’s anti-Japanese armed forces.After research, the staff members of the North China Front Army Command decided to "temporarily sacrifice the security of the area we occupy to some extent, so that the troops under the army can be drawn to the maximum extent" to carry out the combat tasks assigned by the base camp.Neiji Okamura put forward two requirements for this operation: "First, the target is Tang Enbo's army. If the main force of Tang's army is to attack Mi County during the battle, it should be considered to encircle it in a large scale to annihilate it; Absolutely eliminate the three evils (no burning, no looting, no killing) during combat.” The Twelfth Army of the Japanese North China Front Army, which was in charge of the main attack, had three divisions and six brigades under its jurisdiction, three of which were newly formed troops.In order to strengthen its strength, the Japanese base camp issued a new battle order for the Twelfth Army, which greatly expanded its strength.Twelfth Army, Commander Lieutenant General Eitaro Uchiyama.Under the jurisdiction of Nagano Yuichiro's 37th Division, Hongo Yoshio's 62nd Division, Hayashi Yoshiharu's 110th Division, Takeshita Yoshiharu's 27th Division, and Nobu Masatoku's 1st Division The Sixty-Three Division, the Third Tank Division of Yamaji Shunan, the Seventh Independent Mixed Brigade of Tetsushiro Taga, the Ninth Independent Infantry Brigade of Kiichi Nagamine, and the Fourth Cavalry Brigade of Shigeru Fujita.Forces directly under the Army: Field Heavy Artillery Sixth Wing, Independent Field Artillery Eleventh Brigade, Independence Mountain Artillery First Brigade, Field Antiaircraft Artillery Seventy-fourth Brigade, and Independent Engineers Thirty-eighth, Fortieth Wings and The 59th and 60th Brigades and above participated in the war, plus the troops registered as the Twelfth Army, the total strength of the Japanese army was at least 160,000. But the officers of the Twelfth Army are still worried. The two sides of the confrontation line have not fought for many years, so they cannot fully grasp the details of China's first theater.Therefore, they were very dissatisfied with the dispatched army headquarters allowing them to break through the defensive positions of the Chinese army from the front. They believed that the Chinese defenders south of the Yellow River Iron Bridge and Bawang City must be strong and well-armed, and a frontal attack would bring great damage. casualties.After research, they believe that they can cross the Yellow River from the Zhongmu area in the east of Zhengzhou, attack Zhengzhou, Xinzheng and Mi County, and directly threaten the flanks of the Chinese defenders near the Iron Bridge of the Yellow River, forming a front and rear flanking situation. In this way, the Chinese defenders The defense line must be completely collapsed.Based on this vision, the Twelfth Army formulated a detailed combat plan: one policy On or about April 20, the army launched a frontal attack from the area along the Pinghan Road on the banks of the Yellow River with a force from the southwestern part of Kaifeng. land. Two guiding essentials ——The 37th Division of the Army and the 7th Brigade were assembled independently in Kaifeng and its eastern regions; the 110th and 62nd Divisions were assembled on both sides of the northern bank of the Zhengzhou Iron Bridge on the Yellow River; The 9th Infantry Brigade assembled near Ji County; in order to deceive the enemy, the 27th Division assembled in Bo'ai and Qinyang areas west of Xinxiang; the 3rd Tank Division assembled in Jixian and the area north of it; The brigade is preparing for combat in the currently guarded area of ​​Shangqiu. 2. Before the start of the battle, the 27th Division was at Mengjin, north of the Yellow River, and the main force of the Fourth Cavalry Brigade was at the north bank of the Yellow River between Bawangcheng and Kaifeng. Bawangcheng and Zhongmou attacked the enemy's positions in front of them. 3. The 37th Division commanded the 7th Brigade, an independent and mixed brigade. At dawn on April 18, they crossed the New Yellow River in front of Zhongmu and rushed towards Zhengzhou and the areas south of it; The 10th Division, the 9th Independent Infantry Brigade, broke through the enemy's position in front of Bawang City, and quickly advanced to the south of Zhengzhou, Sishui, Mixian, Guodian, Xinzheng and other important places, capturing and annihilating the enemy in the Zhengzhou Plain .In order to make the enemy's position in front of Bawang City suffer heavy blows and be broken through at the beginning of the battle, the third tank division should coordinate with one part.The main force of the army is scheduled to attack at dawn on April 20.Before the offensive begins, first occupy the high ground near the Hanwangcheng west of the chasm. 4. When the main force of the army arrives near Zhengzhou, the 3rd tank division and the 4th cavalry brigade should immediately move south of the Yellow River; One quickly advanced towards Xinyang, joined forces with the 11th Army, and opened up the Pinghan Road.Then, with the opening of the Ping-Han Road, the 27th Division, which is scheduled to be used in the Hunan-Guangxi battle, will advance to the Wuhan area. 5. After the main force of the army arrives in Yancheng, it should turn to the right with extremely rapid and sudden actions, and rush towards the Luoyang area, in order to find and wipe out the main force in the first theater. 6. In addition to one part of the Fifth Air Force to support this operation, when necessary, direct support should be provided by powerful combat and bombing units. 7. After the battle begins, the First Army will be in Puzhou, Shanxi, and the Thirteenth Army will be in Fuyang, Anhui. 8. The end of this major battle will be roughly in late May. Uchiyama Eitaro's plan was a three-way blitz plan: first, the 37th Division on the left wing, the 7th Brigade, and the 4th Cavalry Brigade would cross the Yellow River south from the vicinity of Zhongmu, forcefully occupy Xinzheng, and then respond The troops of the Central First Road captured Zhengzhou and Mixian County; the 27th Division on the right wing set up a posture to attack Luoyang on the north bank of the Yellow River, restraining Jiang Dingwen's four army groups so that they could not reinforce Tang Enbo's defense area; 2. Composed of the 110th Division, the 9th Independent Infantry Brigade, and the 3rd Tank Division, after crossing the Yellow River with the iron bridge, they attacked the fortress of Bawang City, captured Xingyang and Guangwu, and compressed the 31st Army Group Army of the Chinese Army To the west of Mi County.Then the main force of the Twelfth Army went south along the Pinghan Road, looking for and annihilating the 28th Group Army of the Chinese Army, and capturing important places such as Xuchang, Yuxian, and Xiangcheng. The main force was in the Dengfeng area, and after being wiped out, it went straight to the city of Luoyang.Judging from the Japanese army's combat plan, its operational scale, operational determination, and operational objectives are firm and clear. After three years of pampering, China's First Theater is about to face a vicious battle with uncertain fortunes. It was the Americans who first judged that the Japanese army was going to launch a large-scale offensive in the Central Plains of China.Stilwell, Chiang Kai-shek's chief of staff in the Chinese theater, submitted a report to Chiang Kai-shek as early as September 1943, arguing that the Japanese army must aim to secure its lines of communication to various parts of Southeast Asia in view of the successive defeats on the Pacific battlefield , Launching large-scale offensive operations along China's north-south railway artery.In order to prevent the Chinese army from being defeated by the Japanese army one by one, Stilwell suggested that the northern Chinese troops take the initiative to launch an offensive against the Japanese army to disrupt the Japanese army's combat attempt.Stilwell even proposed a specific offensive plan for the simultaneous actions of various Chinese armies: Fu Zuoyi commanded the 35th Army to advance eastward along the Pingsui Railway to isolate the Japanese army in Baotou; Guihua attacked the Japanese army; Yan Xishan's troops attacked Tongpu Road across the board; Tang Enbo's main force moved eastward and crossed the Yellow River to threaten Kaifeng and Xinxiang; Zhu De commanded the Eighteenth Army to enter the Wutai area and attack Pinghan Road.However, Chiang Kai-shek believed that the equipment of the Chinese army was too poor. To carry out such a large-scale counter-offensive operation, the United States had to equip China with fifteen American troops. Stilwell's suggestion was shelved. Entering 1944, intelligence from the First Theater showed that the Japanese army had begun repairing the Yellow River Iron Bridge, and there were signs of frequent troop movements.The Chongqing side realized that this might be the prelude to the Japanese army going south, so it redeployed the force configuration and defensive positions in the first theater, and issued a more detailed operation based on the principle of comprehensive defense and partial attack on March 4. Guidance essentials.According to the guidelines of the Military Commission, the First War Zone issued a combat guidance plan for a decisive battle with the Japanese army near Songshan Mountain ten days later. The main contents are: 1. The flood defense forces between Fugou and Sishui should prevent the enemy from crossing the border and breaking through. 2. If the enemy successfully breaks through the encirclement, the river defense troops should rely on the bases in Xuchang, Weichuan, Changge, Xinzheng, Zhengzhou, and Xingyang to exhaust the enemy. 3. At the same time, the Tang Corps and the Fourth Army should use their controlled forces to form a defensive zone in the mountains on the north side of Dengfeng (Dengfeng) and Mi (Mixian), and between Sishui, in Xiangcheng, Yexian, Linru, Deng Feng, Mixian, and Yuxian areas constitute the offensive zone.If the enemy invades our defensive zone, the troops in the defensive zone should resist firmly; the troops in the offensive zone should turn to the left and flank the enemy.If the enemy's main force invades our offensive zone, the troops in the offensive zone should engage in a decisive battle with the enemy immediately; the troops in the defensive zone should immediately shift their offensive, turn to the right, and flank the enemy. 4. The Twelfth Army, Thirteenth Army, Seventy-eighth Army, New First Division, and Twentieth Division of the Tang Corps were secretly deployed in the offensive areas of Dengfeng, Linru, Yuxian, Xiangcheng, and Yexian , And draw a division to stick to Xuchang.The troops near Linquan should be prepared to move westward to participate in the battle west of Pinghan Road. 5. In addition to guarding the original river defense, the Fourth Army should hold the main positions from Laofangou to Jingou with one army, and occupy the forward positions of Zhangzhuang, Tieshan, and Gaoshanzhai with one army, and secure the Hulaoguan stronghold. On March 16, the Chongqing Military Commission called the First Theater twice in a row to revise the battle plan, emphasizing the defense of Xuchang and other important strongholds, and believed that the battle plan reported by Tang Enbo did not conform to the Military Commission's intentions.The first war zone revised the plan on the 31st and reported it again, changing the decisive battle area to the areas around Xiangcheng, Yuxian and Xuchang. 汤恩伯上报的作战计划，不但把日军将要发动的大规模攻势作战称为“突围”——仿佛他多年来一直在包围着日军似的——而且煞有介事地声称自己要与企图“突围”的日军进行“决战”。有史料表明，汤恩伯曾向蒋介石提出过一个主动进攻的建议，说他要在中原麦收季节里“先发制人”，命令暂编第十五军袭击开封和中牟，第十三军袭击新乡，第八十五军夺取霸王城，第二十九军作为预备队。——明知蒋介石不会同意所谓的“主动攻势”，汤恩伯兴师动众的表态除了冒充勇猛之外没有任何意义。关键是他提出“主动进攻”的时间，是在军事委员会下达作战指导之后，如果他真的想要“主动进攻”，不要说他的部队与日军沉闷的对峙了三年，就是按照史迪威的建议于几个月前积极动作，也不会致使日军发动攻势后第一战区一败涂地。 最能体现汤恩伯在军事上不作为的，莫过于对黄河岸边霸王城附近的邙山据点的丢弃。早在一九四一年十月第二次长沙会战时，日军华北方面军为了册应第十一军作战，曾以第三十五师团强渡黄河，第一战区由十二万大军构成的黄河河防当日便被日军突破，郑州城在两天之内丢失。日军华北方面军完成册应作战回撤时，除了留下一部兵力驻守中牟县城之外，还在第一战区一线阵地的要点霸王城修筑起桥头堡阵地。这个阵地孤悬于黄河南岸，日军驻守兵力仅为两个步兵大队和一个炮兵大队，而在近三年的时间里，第一战区竟然对此无动于衷。——对一个嵌入自己前沿的至关重要的据点尚且不管不问，凭什么还能说出自己要“主动进攻”？ 仅从第一战区最后确定的防御部署上看，也无法理解蒋鼎文和汤恩伯在军事上何以如此低能——中条山会战失利后，黄河沿线成为中日两军对峙的第一线，日军随时可能强渡黄河发动攻势，而就在日军进攻企图已经相当明了的时刻，第一战区的部队依旧是一线排开、散乱不堪的态势：陈大庆的第十九集团军在皖西和豫南，主要任务是应对共产党领导的新四军；何柱国的第十五集团军在汜东和淮北，主要任务是应对共产党领导的八路军；在灵宝至垣曲之间担任河防任务的，是在华北地区与共产党抗日武装摩擦失败的杂牌军高树勋部；李家钰的第三十六集团军在新安；刘戡实际指挥的兵力仅有三个师，散布在伊阳和伊川一带；孙蔚如的第四集团军在汜水与偃师之间。第一线本来就漏洞百出，而作为战区主力的李仙洲的第二十八集团军和王仲廉的第三十一集团军，却被散布在郑州、荥阳一直到许昌平汉路沿线以及黄泛区以西地带。——第一战区的整个防线，既没有梯次配备，也没有控制主力于后方，完全是被动挨打的部署，一旦前沿的任何一点被日军突破，整个防线便再也没有一个位置可以支撑反击。——中国第一战区官兵，在这样两位长官的指挥下，面对即将降临的空前规模进攻在劫难逃。 会战是从日军第三十七师团于中牟附近偷渡黄河开始的。 四月十七日黄昏，长野祐一郎召集第三十七师团各部队军官，在中牟县城的警备队里下达了攻击命令。此时，第三十七师团的先头部队已经开始行动了： 中牟一带一片漆黑，寂静无声，掠过河面的风轻轻吹动河边的草。右翼队利用黄昏，占领了重庆军阵地前面五百米的沙丘要地。左右两翼队于二十三时分别由准备进攻的位置出发。右翼队由中牟西南方，左翼队从中牟东方和南方，在军旗下肃静地向重庆军阵地逼近。零时过后，右翼队正面的重庆军可能发觉我军的进攻，突然向我军猛烈射击，立即枪声四起，整个中牟正面乱成一片。我第一线部队保持沉默，继续匍匐前进，逼近重庆军阵地。阵地前方杂草丛生，音响很大，已难隐蔽，于是满怀强烈斗志发起了猛攻。 黄河中牟一带的河防阵地，是刘昌义的暂编第十五军的防区。 暂编第十五军是一支刚组建的部队，本来只下辖一个师，即萧劲的暂编第二十七师。进驻中牟河防阵地后，吕公良的新编第二十九师被划归该军指挥。军长刘昌义，河北人，行伍出身，性格耿直暴烈，但他接纳的大都是有军校毕业文凭的军官。因此，尽管全军新兵很多，战斗力很弱，可军官们个个来历不含糊：副军长李强是黄埔一期的老资格，参谋长赵蕴奇进过陆军大学干训班，暂编第二十七师师长萧劲是赴德留学生，新编第二十九师师长吕公良毕业于黄埔六期。两个师的团长们，无一不是黄埔或陆大的，最低也是讲武堂出来的。至于营连级军官也都个个有学历，排级军官里的军校生占到了三分之一。 四月初，第二十八集团军调整部署时，把暂编第十五军的两个师拆开，其部署相隔很远：暂编第二十七师负责中牟河防，新编第二十九师防守许昌城。关于这样的部署，不少人议论纷纷，认为把武器最差、战斗力最弱的暂编第二十七师放在了最前沿，而把武器精良、战斗力较强的新编第二十九师放在了后方许昌，有本末倒置之嫌。但是，刘军长还是认真执行了这个部署。他把暂编第二十七师的七十九团和八十团部署在黄河岸边的一线阵地上，八十一团留在师部所在地滹沱张庄附近当预备队，他的军部设在距离前沿不远的新郑西南的大高庄，军直属部队离他两公里，他住的大房子里只有一名副官、一名侍从参谋和八名卫士。 十八日凌晨二时，前沿一线阵地发生战斗的消息传到军部，刘军长立即决定副军长、参谋长留在军部，他带着侍从参谋由特务连跟随出发上前线。侍从参谋提醒他是否带着军官队，说这些军官尽管打起仗来很难说有什么用处，但至少可以让他们当传令兵吧！刘军长表示，如果带部队，就从新郑附近的新编第二十九师八十六团调一个营来。 上前沿的刘军长走出不远，就碰上了暂编第二十七师运送伤病员和军官家眷的三十多辆大车正在浩浩荡荡地向后撤退。刘军长对伤病员们说，路上必须遵守纪律，不得扰民，否则统统枪毙。 下午，刘军长在暂编第二十七师师部见到萧劲师长，他立即意识到了局面的严重。 日军第三十七师团和独立混成第七旅团，正在暂编第二十七师正面阵地前强渡。日军在中牟县城东面的邢庄、荣庄、傅庄以及县城西面的三王庄，开辟了四个强渡突击点。面对日军的优势兵力和多点突击，仅凭暂编第二十七师阻击显然十分单薄——在与日军对峙的黄河天险第一线，中国军队的河防薄弱得令人吃惊——暂编第二十七师只有几门迫击炮，三个团加起来才有五挺机枪，官兵们只能用手榴弹与冲上来的日军战斗。在付出很大伤亡代价后，河防全线都处在边打边撤的状态。天亮时分，日军扩大了渡河面，后续部队不断地涌上南岸，守军的小李庄、小辛庄、桃村庄、大潘庄和洞上村等阵地均被日军突破。后退中的暂编第二十七师官兵，利用村落、沟渠、树林和沙丘节节抗击，很大程度上迟缓了日军的推进速度——“该敌利用原有和新筑阵地对我军的进攻进行了顽强的抵抗，斗志也很旺盛。阵地似有斜射、侧射的设备标识，效果也颇可观”。暂编第二十七师的下级官兵，基本上都来自河北抗日义勇军，是有抗日热情的河北农民，他们没有经过正规军的军事训练，打起仗来也不懂那么多的战术，凭借的只是一股死拼到底的精神——回顾整个豫中会战，首先接战的暂编第二十七师虽然最终没能守住阵地，但官兵们的战斗精神令人刮目相看。 到了十八日晚上，中牟一线的河防阵地已全部丢失，日军打到了暂编第二十七师师部滹沱张庄附近。师部给刘军长准备了晚饭，可刘军长却举箸难咽。萧劲师长认为，连预备队都派上去了，各团还是不断地后退，黄河天险和坚固的阵地工事尚且挡不住日军的进攻，日军已经突入纵深，我军再想依靠沙丘平地把日军打回去，基本上没有可能。但刘军长固执的命令必须组织部队实施反攻，并表示他要亲自率领他带来的那个作战营和特务连，再加上戴眼镜的军官队参加反击，非要把日本鬼子赶回黄河以北去。 十九日凌晨二时，刘军长率队出击了——在国民党军部队中，军长带着部队打冲锋的情景极其罕见，或许这就是行伍出身的刘昌义的血性所在——在黑夜中迎着日军向北搜索时，作战营的先头连在黑牛张村附近被日军发现，当即展开了战斗。刘军长命令另外两个连左右迂回，命令特务连和军官队跟在先头连后面正面强攻。各路官兵杀声震天地冲进了黑牛张村，日军丢下十几具尸体后向北退去，战斗中刘军长的突击队伤亡五十多人。与此同时，暂编第二十七师的八十一团和七十九团也分别发动反击，收复了两个村庄。天亮之后，刘军长的突击队和暂编第二十七师部队把当面的日军向北逼退到刘巧村附近。——形势似乎有了好转的趋向，如果此时中国军队的后续部队上来的话。 但是，暂编第二十七师的周围没有任何增援部队。 十九日天亮之后，日军骑兵在炮火的助战下，向中国守军发动冲锋，暂编第二十七师抵挡不住，一直撤到昨天反击开始的位置，全师已经伤亡上千人，双方胶着在树头村附近的沙丘地带。日军第三十七师团师团长长野祐一郎有些不安，赶到前沿亲自督战，他看到中国守军虽然已没有固定阵地，但“利用附近村庄的围墙、树木等为掩体，抵抗相当顽强”。他们投出“很多手榴弹，爆炸声在树林中猛烈回响”。几门简陋的迫击炮尽管对冲锋的日军没有很大威胁，可还是对日军“后方集结部队造成若干损失”。 刘昌义直接指挥暂编第二十七师作战，令师长萧劲认为军长的越级指挥扰乱了他的作战计划，两人之间产生了冲突。更令刘军长烦闷的是，昨晚他亲自指挥的反击取得了成效，而现在的反胜为败却让他很难接受。——刘军长不知道，就在他闷闷不乐时，日军的一支突击部队已绕到了他的身后。 就在日军第三十七师团突破暂编第二十七师河防阵地的同时，步兵第二十二联队第一大队大队长佐藤正混，率领“先遣挺进队”的三百名官兵偷偷渡过了黄河。这三百日军一律轻装，没有马匹和行李，除了随身携带的轻武器外，全队只携带着四挺机枪。为了行动更加隐蔽，三百人的脚下全穿着日本人称为“足袋”的布袜子。“先遣挺进队”的任务是不顾一切直扑郑州城。他们十八日晚上八时出发，遇到中国守军以及可能惊动狗吠的村庄便绕过去，走过田野，蹚过河流，置体力不支者于不顾，始终以每小时八公里的速度猛跑。他们利用通往郑州的被废弃的铁路路基作为直线行军的路标，一些士兵累倒掉队，没倒下的边跑边往嘴里塞饭团，竟然于十九日凌晨跑到了郑州火车站的城墙附近，而一路上中国守军没有丝毫察觉。在城墙下，佐藤正混命令第一中队立即攀城。日军利用黎明前的暗夜和晨雾，用绳索爬上了城墙，然后在微明的天色中摇晃太阳旗——“由于出其不意，敌人毫无斗志，从城墙上开始后退，中队即以两个小队向北门猛扑。城里到处是被枪声和手榴弹爆炸声吓得惊慌的老百姓。冲进一处像是司令部的房屋里，重庆军刚刚逃跑的迹象历历在目。” 位于中国第一战区纵深、城防坚固的郑州城，竟在会战开始的第二天便被日军攻占了城池一角，而突袭郑州城的日军仅为缺少一个中队的大队，实施攻城的日军仅仅是一个中队，这实在令人难以置信。 日军第三十七师团于中牟附近发起攻击的同时，第二十七师团也开始向洛阳方向实施佯攻。在黄河边，日军工兵架设浮桥，调动船只，步兵在河岸边侦察边测量——“伪装成和真的渡河一样。”趁着中国守军的注意力被吸引到中牟方向和洛阳一线黄河对面的时候，中央一路的日军悄悄经过黄河铁桥，潜伏到黄河南岸那个被日军占据已久的邙山头桥头堡附近——在长达三年的对峙期间，中国守军竟然看着日军在眼皮底下对黄河铁桥进行修复。修复黄河铁桥不是一件容易的事情，不要说实施步兵攻击，就是用炮火干扰也定会迫使日军停止修复。但是，日军竟然把桥修好了，现在又堂而皇之地从桥上过来了，这也是咄咄怪事。——十九日晨，太阳刚刚升起，日军向中国守军第八十五军预备第十一师的阵地开始了猛烈炮击。与此同时，在洛阳以东，日军第四十四、第十六飞行战队起飞战机二百多架次，轮番向中国守军黄河前沿阵地狂轰滥炸。日军第一一〇师团第一六三联队第二大队向邙山头高地发动了冲锋。预备第十一师的一个营在营长王鑫昌的率领下奋力抵抗，激战到中午时分，王营长和全营三百多名官兵全部阵亡。接着，在邙山头阵地以西，日军第一一〇师团第一九联队第三中队，在中队长涩谷幸雄的带领下，向黄河前沿阵地摩旗岭发动攻击。日军集中重炮、野炮和山炮一起轰击，第一三九联队也集中了所有的重武器支援作战，中国守军利用工事障碍顽强阻击，但阻击阵地很快就在日军的炮火中被毁，日落时分摩旗岭主阵地丟失。第八十五军当即命令预备第十一师动用预备队三十三团对日军实施反击，军工兵营和特务营也紧急增援前沿。但日军已经从中国守军的防御线上撕开了口子，后续部队从缺口处蜂拥而至，三十三团多次冲击未果，团长佘子培身负重伤。霸王城东西两侧的邙山头和摩旗岭高地相继失守后，日军消除了黄河河防正面最前沿的障碍，中国守军的炮兵也由于失去了前沿观察点而无法准确射击。二十日，吴绍周的第八十五军全线向塔山、万山地区撤退。 日军第六十二师团渡过黄河后，向荥阳县城猛扑过去。中国守军第八十五军的数百名官兵依城防守，二十日傍晚时分城墙被日军攻破，荥阳失守。 从霸王城撤退的吴绍周的第八十五军，潮水般地向南面的郑州涌去，与抢先占据郑州城墙一角的日军“先遣挺进队”撞到了一起，第八十五军立即对这股突进到纵深的日军小分队展开了围攻。混战中，中国官兵缴获山炮一门，日军“先遣挺进队”伤亡惨重，被打死十六人，十五人身负重伤。就在这支日军小分队几乎绝望之时，第六十二师团的第六十三旅团赶到了郑州城下。第六十三旅团是第六十二师团的左翼，任务就是攻击郑州城。该军一路南下郑州时，不断地向撤退中的第八十五军部队实施追击，追上的基本上都是行李大车队，因为不需要停下来作战，所以推进的速度很快，二十日下午二时其先头部队第十二大队就看到了郑州的城墙。大队长贺谷当即决定与那支惊魂未定的“先遣挺进队”联合攻击郑州城。日军第十二大队从已被占据的城墙一角向城内突击，中国守军在日军的攻击下很快溃退，郑州全城随即陷落。 郑州失守后，根据蒋介石的指示，汤恩伯把第一战区部队编成了南北两个集团，进行了紧急调整部署：南集团由李仙洲为司令，统一指挥贺粹之的第十二军的三个师、马励武的第二十九军的三个师、赖汝雄的第七十八军的三个师、刘昌义的暂编第十五军的两个师以及陈又新的泛东挺进军的两个旅，在平汉路及其以西的临颍、许昌、禹县、郏县、宝丰、叶县和襄城等地，阻击消耗南下的日军；北集团由第十三军和第八十五军组成，以第三十一集团军总司令王仲廉为指挥，集结在南集团西面的登封、临汝一带的山区里养精蓄锐，等沿着平汉路南下的日军与沿途节节阻击的中国军队拼得精疲力竭，开始向黄河以北撤退时，汤恩伯将亲自督率藏在山区里的那两个军，快速出击拦截，围歼日军。 以上部署完全是汤恩伯的一厢情愿：让精锐的中央军部队躲在山区里不与日军接触，把至关重要的平汉路沿线防御，全都交给只掺进一支中央军的众多杂牌军，在明知道如此部署平汉路必丢无疑的情况下，却煞有介事地说要等日军力竭向北撤退时出击围歼。——日军发动此次攻势作战，就为占领平汉路且巩固之，根本没有打完就撤的计划，汤恩伯对日军将会精疲力竭以至北撤的判断凭据何在？自台儿庄作战起，徐州会战、随枣会战、枣宜会战，及至这次豫中会战，日军每一次的作战目标都有寻歼汤恩伯部主力之意，而汤恩伯硬是每一次都能令日军根本见不到他的主力。他那装备精良的中央军嫡系部队，总是早早地、远远地躲到核心战场以外，理由永远都是待机出动。汤恩伯就这样为蒋介石保全着精锐部队，而让台儿庄战场上的池峰城、枣宜战场上的张自忠孤军抗敌。 部署完毕之后，汤恩伯致电蒋介石：“军决以有力之钳形态势，包围由中牟及邙山头方面进犯之敌于许昌、襄城、禹县、密县之间地区而歼灭之。” 二十日下午，日军第十二军发布作战命令，其要点是：攻占密县附近一带，摧毁中国军队的支撑要点，主力向新郑推进，准备围歼汤恩伯部主力。 按照作战命令，日军第三十七师团除派遣一支小部队向密县方向突击外，主力部队沿着平汉铁路迅速南下直趋新郑。平汉铁路两边的道路已被中国军队破坏，日军艰难推进。下午，日军与中国军队第七十八军新编第四十二师以及从中牟撤下来的暂编第二十七师遭遇。中国守军凭借既有阵地工事、地堡和壕沟展开猛烈的阻击，但在日军的强大攻击下，新编第四十二师伤亡惨烈，两名营长和六位连长阵亡，士兵死伤过半。当身后的新郑县城已被日军攻占的消息传来时，中国守军只有继续撤退。一一二十一日凌晨三时，日军独立混成第七旅团突击到了新编第四十二师和暂编第二十七师身后的新郑城下，拂晓时分向城垣发动攻击，守城的新编第二十九师和新编第四十二师的两个团，不敌日军的猛烈攻势，纷纷溃退。上午八时，平汉路上的重要据点新郑城落入日军之手。 在新郑城以北阻击日军的暂编第十五军军长刘昌义，从中牟一路退下来却心有不甘。二十一日，他指挥暂编第二十七师官兵阻击了日军第三十七师团整整一天，日落后，阵地侧翼一个名叫绪张村的阵地丢失，导致师部失去了掩护屏障。师长萧劲认为没有再阻击的必要了，建议继续后退，但刘军长坚持死守不退。两人僵持不下，萧师长带着暂编第二十七师甩下军长走了。性格倔强的刘军长带着特务连、作战营还有军官队集中在绪张村西面几百米外的小树林里。此时，特务连加上军官队仅剩下一百三十多名官兵，作战营加上配属该营的迫击炮排也仅剩下四百余人。刘军长说，郑州和新郑都已陷落，我们是在敌后孤军作战，但汤长官命令我们在此阻敌，我们哪怕牵制住一部分日军，也能给相邻友军减少一点压力