Chapter 61 ace is ace

The third battle of Changsha started after the outbreak of the Pacific War.Some people say that Chiang Kai-shek is not a brilliant tactician, but he is at least a visionary strategist. In the first four years of the War of Resistance, whenever he encountered a situation that was about to fail, Chiang Kai-shek encouraged the people of the country and said to hold on Well, if we hold on a little longer, the international situation will surely change. Indeed, at the beginning of 1942, the international situation really changed fundamentally.Japan fought an undeclared war against the United States at Pearl Harbor, dragging its allies into the war in the Asia-Pacific, and China no longer had to resist alone.

In the spring of 1942, the United States dispatched a fleet to bomb Tokyo.After the bombing, the plane originally planned to fly to Quzhou Airport in the third war zone to land. Although the pilot failed to land at the airport as scheduled due to bad weather and other reasons, Quzhou Airport became a thorn in the side and a thorn in the flesh of the Japanese army. quick. In mid-May, the Thirteenth Japanese Army headquartered in Shanghai concentrated more than 100,000 troops and began to launch a large-scale offensive along the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Road. On May 26, the headquarters of the Thirteenth Army of the Japanese Army received information that the Seventy-Fourth Army, known by China as the "Tiger Force", had entered the third theater.

In the Battle of Chunhua Mountain, although the Seventy-Fourth Army suffered setbacks, its powerful combat capabilities and the battle process that severely damaged the Japanese army still made the Japanese command feel afraid. They marveled that the Seventy-Fourth Army was "a very active army."The Seventy-Fourth Army had disappeared on the battlefield for a period of time, but now that it has returned to the arena, it is natural that those who are kind do not come, and those who come are not good. Therefore, this information immediately attracted the attention of the Thirteenth Army of the Japanese Army.

The intelligence did not disclose the specific location of the 74th Army.The Thirteenth Army Headquarters of the Japanese Army inferred that the Seventy-Fourth Army would be deployed in the expected position near Quzhou, and the possibility of attacking this area was also very high. The intelligence is true, and the inferences are roughly the same.In fact, before the Japanese army launched the attack, the Chinese High Command also detected the Japanese army's battle plan in advance and made preparations for it. The third war zone is located behind enemy lines in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and the troops under its jurisdiction are either miscellaneous or guerrillas. No matter the equipment or combat effectiveness, it cannot compare with the main theater in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.Therefore, the Military Commission temporarily decided to transfer to the 74th Army and other departments to strengthen the strength of the third theater.

According to the scheduled combat plan, the third war zone will take Quzhou as the core to fight the enemy decisively.This combat plan basically applies the mature experience of the "retreat decisive battle" in the inland theater. The Seventy-Fourth Army was accused of being placed on the outskirts of Quzhou, preparing to counterattack after the frontline corps defeated the enemy.After the 74th Army entered the third theater, Chiang Kai-shek specifically instructed that the location and actions of the 74th Army must be strictly kept secret, and no one was allowed to disclose it, let alone mention it in telegrams. Therefore, although the Japanese Thirteenth Army could Intercepted and deciphered the Chinese secret message, but could not grasp the specific location and behavior of the 74th Army.

On May 27, the westward Japanese army assembled in the southeast of Quzhou and began to search in front of the 74th Army.The Seventy-Fourth Army had undergone continuous training for nearly five months in Shiwan, Hengshan. The lost soldiers and combat power had been fully recovered, and the officers and soldiers had a strong desire to fight.The 51st Division first fought against the 22nd Division of the Japanese Army. The two sides fought fiercely for two days and were at a stalemate. The third war zone was a backward war zone, and the military depots were very unsound. At that time, it was the rainy season in the south of the Yangtze River, and it caught up with the heavy rain that had not been seen in 60 years.The Seventy-Fourth Army had great logistical difficulties. The 4 million rounds of ammunition that were supposed to be reissued only got 500,000 rounds, and the army rations could not be brought in. For several days, the whole army had to live on porridge in the mountains. .These unfavorable conditions have undoubtedly affected and restricted the performance of the 74th Army, but the trump card is the trump card. Under the resistance of the 51st Division, the 22nd Division of the Japanese Army could not rush through, and in desperation, they simply chose Bypassed the position of the 51st Division.

The 51st Division was followed by the 58th Division. The 22nd Division of the Japanese Army still couldn't get through and encountered unusually strong resistance, while the Japanese troops from other directions reached the predetermined location with almost no resistance.The headquarters of the Thirteenth Army of the Japanese Army was very surprised, and thus suspected that the Seventy-Fourth Army might be hiding in the mountainous area opposite the 22nd Division of the Japanese Army. In order to find the Seventy-Fourth Army, the Japanese army tried many reconnaissance methods.They realized very early on that the "Central Army", including the 74th Army, had officers from the Whampoa faction as the backbone, and the Whampoa faction advocated the supremacy of the country and the nation, and they did not hesitate and were extremely resolute on the issue of the War of Resistance.It is not easy for such troops to instigate mutiny and obtain intelligence through inside lines. The best way is to understand its dynamics through radio listening and deciphering codes.

The Eleventh Army of the Japanese Army used multiple direction finders to detect the location of the radio station of the Seventy-Fourth Army.Because according to the common practice of the Chinese army at that time, the radio station was always close to the commanding agency, and the location of the commanding agency could be known by measuring the position of the radio station. Just as the Japanese army was implementing direction finding, an unexpected event fully confirmed their original guess. On May 31, the 22nd Division of the Japanese Army intercepted a Chinese military vehicle on the road with an adjutant of the 74th Army on board.After the adjutant was shot and died, the Japanese army found some documents and radio information from him, and learned that the Seventy-Fourth Army was in the mountainous area south of Quzhou, and the specific locations of the army headquarters and its three divisions were also known. One sure.