Chapter 160 Chapter 18 The Hebei-Shandong-Henan Army's Summer Offensive Operations: Warm-up Wars Before the Great Counteroffensive

Entering 1944, major changes took place in the international and domestic anti-fascist war situation.After the Soviet Red Army won a major victory in the Battle of Stalingrad, it began a strategic counter-offensive and pushed the front to the territory of Germany and its occupying power.With the victory of the Soviet army, Britain and the United States landed in Normandy, France in June 1944, opening up the second European battlefield.At this time, German fascism was in the process of collapse. In the Pacific battlefield, the U.S. military continued its maritime counter-offensive in 1944 in accordance with the tasks set out in the Cairo Declaration, and pushed the front line closer to the Japanese mainland.At this time, the end of Japanese fascism is approaching.

While the international anti-fascist war was successfully developing, the anti-Japanese war behind enemy lines in North China was in an unprecedentedly favorable situation. At the beginning of 1944, in order to save their defeat on the Pacific battlefield and assist their lone army invading Nanyang, the Japanese invaders decided to destroy the US air force base in central China, and started from Henan to the Ping-Han, Yue-Han, and Hunan-Guangxi railways on the Kuomintang's frontal battlefield. Launching a new offensive along the route is intended to open up the mainland communication line from northeast China to Vietnam, so as to use mainland China as its dying base.

In order to carry out this battle of Henan, Hunan and Guangxi, the Japanese army successively withdrew a large number of troops from North China and Central China.Among them, all the 32nd, 35th, and 110th Divisions, most of the 4th Cavalry Brigade and part of the 1st Mixed Brigade were transferred from the Hebei-Shandong-Henan border area.The left defense was replaced by the 59th Division, the newly organized 117th Division, and the 1st Independent Infantry Brigade. In this way, the number of troops used by the Japanese army in this area was significantly reduced, and the combat effectiveness was greatly weakened.

At the end of 1944, around the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan border area, there were 4 divisions of the Japanese North China Front Army, including the 59th, 69th, 114th, and 117th divisions, 4 independent infantry brigades and 1 independent mixed brigade. The following is the composition of the above-mentioned troops: Under the jurisdiction of the 1st Army: Lieutenant General Chujiro Miura, Commander of the 69th Division, and Ryoichi Yamamoto, Chief of Staff.The headquarters is located in Yuncheng, Shanxi.The division was originally responsible for the security of the Linfen area. In March 1944, it moved to the Yuncheng area to take over the defense of the 37th Division. The defense of the Linfen area was taken over by the 3rd Independent Infantry Brigade. In May, Lieutenant General Miura, the head of the division, led the main force of the division to cross the Yellow River near Baiqu, and supported the 12th Army in the battle to open up the Beijing-Han line. In June, he returned to Yuncheng, but the 59th Infantry Brigade remained in Shanxian County, Henan Province. .Under the jurisdiction: Commander of the 59th Infantry Brigade, Iguro Qiango (formerly Major General Matsuzaki Naoto): 82nd, 83rd, 84th, and 85th Independent Infantry Brigades.Major General Kunisa Kentaro, head of the 60th Infantry Brigade (headquarters in Yuncheng, Shanxi): the 86th, 118th, 119th, and 120th Independent Infantry Brigades.

Lieutenant General Saburo Miura, head of the 114th Division, and Yasuo Takatsu, chief of staff, were organized in July 1944 with the 3rd Independent Infantry Brigade as the backbone, and completed in August.Responsible for guarding 25 counties along the Tongpu Railway near Linfen.Under the jurisdiction: Major General Oigawa Hachiro, 83rd Infantry Brigade (headquarters located in Pingyao): 199th, 200th, 201st, and 202nd Brigades of Independent Infantry.Major General Katsuaki Matsunoo, Commander of the 84th Infantry Brigade (formerly Major General Hishida Motoshiro, headquartered in Xinjiang): 381st, 382nd, 383rd, and 384th Independent Infantry Brigades.Engineering Corps, Communication Team, Field Hospital.

Major General Itatsu Naotoshi, head of the 10th Independent Infantry Brigade, was formed in February 1944 with the headquarters of the 28th Infantry Regiment of the Kwantung Army as the backbone. At the end of February, it took over the 62nd Division as the guard task along Shitai Road . In May, the brigade headquarters moved to Taiyuan.Under the jurisdiction of the 227th, 228th, 229th, and 230th Brigades of the Independent Infantry. Major General Yoshikawa Yoshikawa, commander of the 14th Independent Infantry Brigade.The brigade was organized in Lu'an, Shanxi Province in March 1944, and the headquarters was set up in Lu'an, which was responsible for the security tasks in the Lu'an area.Under the jurisdiction of the 243rd, 245th, and 246th Brigades of the Independent Infantry.

Under the jurisdiction of the 12th Army: Lieutenant General Keihisa Suzuki, head of the 117th Division, and Colonel Kohei Changjiangkou, Chief of Staff. In July 1944, the 4th Independent Infantry Brigade was organized in Xinxiang, Henan, and the headquarters was set up in Xinxiang, which was responsible for the security of the area along the Yellow River near Zhengzhou.Under the jurisdiction: Major General Yoshitake Hideto, head of the 87th Infantry Brigade (headquarters in Kaifeng): 203rd, 204th, 205th, and 206th Independent Infantry Brigades.Major General Yoshio Ukai, Commander of the 88th Infantry Brigade (headquarters located in Zhengzhou): 388th, 389th, 390th, and 391st Brigades of the Independent Infantry.

Directly under the jurisdiction of the front army: Lieutenant General Nakayasu Hosokawa, head of the 59th Division, and Chief of Staff Changjiang Tiannian.The division originally belonged to the 12th Army's battle sequence. When the Ping-Han line was opened up for combat, it was transferred to the front directly under the direct control of the Front Army and was responsible for the security of Shandong. At this time, the headquarters was moved from Tai'an to Jinan. On April 6, after the 7th Independent Mixed Brigade participated in the battle to break through the Ping-Han Line, the 59th Division took over the brigade's garrison area with a force, and commanded the 5th Independent Mixed Brigade and the 1st Independent Infantry Brigade at the same time .Under the jurisdiction: Major General Tiansaka Eighty-eighth, head of the 53rd Infantry Brigade (later, Major General Uesaka Katsuki took over, the headquarters was set up in Zhangdian, Shandong, responsible for the security of 13 counties in Qingzhou, Jinan and Wuding): Independent Infantry No. 1 41, 42, 43, 44 brigades.Major General Chang Daoqin, head of the 54th Infantry Brigade (the headquarters is located in Tai'an, and is responsible for the security of 19 counties in Jinan, Tai'an, and Caozhou. The focus of the security is the Jinpu Railway.): Independent Infantry 45th, 109th, 110th, 111th Brigade .

Major General Asami Toshihiko, head of the 1st Independent Infantry Brigade, is headquartered in Yanzhou, Shandong.The brigade was organized in Yanzhou in February 1944 and was responsible for the security of Yanzhou, Jining Caozhou and Yizhou.Under the jurisdiction of the independent infantry 191, 192, 193, 194 brigades. The head of the 3rd Independent Infantry Brigade, Major General Yanagawa Shinichi (later replaced by Major General Naomi Hattori), headquartered in Shijiazhuang.Formed in February 1944, the brigade succeeded the 110th Division and was responsible for the security of 22 counties in the Zhending area and 5 counties in the Bohai area. Line, Shitai line, Shide line guard and ensure cotton production areas.Under the jurisdiction of the 195th, 196th, 197th, and 198th Brigades of the Independent Infantry.

Major General Riko Komatsuzaki, head of the 1st Independent Mixed Brigade, is headquartered in Handan.Since August 1943, the brigade has been in charge of guarding 14 counties in the Shunde area, the vicinity east of Zhangde in Henan and the area 60 kilometers south along the Ping-Han Line, and Linlu County. In August 1944, the first department was responsible for the security along the Pinghan Road and important business sites (cixian paper house and power plant about 32 kilometers southwest of Handan, and Liuhegou coal mine about 50 kilometers southwest of Handan).Under the jurisdiction: 72nd, 73rd, 74th, 75th, 76th Battalions of Independent Infantry.

Most of the above-mentioned Japanese military units were newly established in the first half of 1944, with few veterans and weak combat effectiveness.