Chapter 72 Chapter 72 High-level wrestling 1

Just as the reinforcements from the Chinese side were poorly used, improperly commanded, decision-makers hesitated to wait and see, and the 10th Army in Hengyang City was struggling and looking forward to it, the Japanese base camp and the Japanese Army Command in China were also falling into unprecedented confusion and hesitation. This is a fact that the Japanese military high command cannot accept emotionally or rationally: a small city of Hengyang actually blocked the Japanese army from opening up the line of communication to the mainland; The No. 1 battle against the massive torrent of steel.The fanatical spirit of Bushido was eclipsed by the great enthusiasm of the Chinese soldiers and civilians to sacrifice their lives to serve the country. Is the fire of victory rising like a brilliant star going to be extinguished under the city of Hengyang?

The 10th Army of the National Army is indeed an admirable division capable of attacking and defending well. Its flexible tactics and techniques, tenacious fighting will and precise organization and scheduling are all commendable.All of this made the Japanese troops who participated in the war feel inferior.Inferiority has always been a hidden pain in the spiritual system of this island country, and it is also a dark wound deep in the soul of the Dahe nation.Once this hidden pain and hidden injury occurs, the morale of the officers and soldiers who maintain the strong spiritual shell of the Japanese army will immediately collapse.

Since the Japanese invaded China, they have never encountered such a difficult opponent on the frontal battlefield, nor have they ever conducted such a difficult battle and battle. The combat effectiveness of the Japanese army's divisions has dropped sharply. The momentum of pulling out the stronghold was also swept away. Yan Junliu couldn't help recalling in his mind the heroic deeds of the Great Leap Forward not long ago. What an encouraging record that is!Operation No. 1 was launched on April 18, 1944.Commander Eitaro Uchiyama commanded 5 divisions and 3 brigades of the 12th Army with 200,000 troops and began to open up the Ping-Han Railway Campaign. On April 18, the 37th Division fell into Zhongmu. On the 20th, the 62nd Division defeated Zhengzhou. On the 21st, the 7th Independent Mixed Brigade occupied Xinzheng.

April 23.Uchiyama Eitaro issued a preparatory order to attack Xuchang.But, it's not good!On this day, there was heavy rain and the temperature dropped by more than ten degrees. They were about to participate in the battle. The 27th Division, which was rushing towards Xuchang, froze to death dozens of officers and soldiers, and more than 2,000 people suffered frostbite. Uchiyama Eitaro was dumb and ate Coptis chinensis, he couldn't tell what he was suffering, and his heart was utterly desolate.I thought to myself: The sense of despair that our division had felt during the battle of Yichang two years ago came quietly again.Think about it, it’s late April, and the Central Plains, located in the center of China, should be the season when the temperature is gradually warming up, spring grass sprouts, and the earth returns to spring.But now, the weather is suddenly so cold that many soldiers died of frostbite, which is too abnormal.Could it be that the strength of the country and the army is exhausted, or that the killings that have invaded China for more than ten years are so cruel and inhumane that they have reached the point of wrath? !Uchiyama Eitaro faintly felt that there really seemed to be a supernatural force in the dark that was controlling this war.The Central Plains is the origin and birthplace of the Chinese nation. There are outstanding people!It seems that Xuchang, a thousand-year-old capital, is not easy to use swords.Feeling guilty, Eitaro Uchiyama didn't dare to underestimate him. Uncharacteristically, he actually mobilized three divisions and one brigade to attack Xuchang.

On the 25th, Uchiyama Eitaro took a train through the newly restored Yellow River Bridge, crossed Zhengzhou, and arrived at the front-line command post of the 12th Army in Xinzheng County Government.After Keiko Yamaguchi and Uchiyama experienced a life-and-death love affair in Yichang, she always tried to come to China to accompany Uchiyama when there was no big war in Uchiyama.When she stepped off the train wearing a bright kimono, Uchiyama went to help her, which made the staff who went to welcome her very jealous for a while. On the 26th, Neishan convened a meeting of division heads and said calmly: "All offensive troops should be assembled in concealment before sunset on the 28th. After capturing Xuchang, the main force of our army returned to the west of Pinghan Road, and then captured China's Another more famous ancient capital, Luoyang, was used to defeat the main force of the Tang Enbo Corps of the Chinese Army in this area!"

On April 30, the Japanese 12th Army began to attack Xuchang.The defenders were weak and did not receive timely and powerful reinforcements, so they were forced to abandon Xuchang on May 1. Since Zhongtiao Mountain was occupied by the Japanese army, there have been no major battles in this area in the past three years.The Chinese army has also lacked empirical understanding of the Japanese army's combat power.An army guarding Xuchang fell within a day, and the troops in the first war zone were generally fearful and timid for a while.The "Great Wall of Flesh and Flesh" boasted by Jiang Dingwen and Tang Enbo, the two fellow townsmen whom Generalissimo Jiang used highly, was torn a big hole by the Japanese army overnight.Hundreds of thousands of national troops were panicking, scattered like birds and beasts, crumbled and blew thousands of miles away.

On May 1, after the 12th Japanese Army captured Xuchang, Isamu Yokoyama, commander of the 11th Japanese Army, ordered the 11th Independent Infantry Brigade to go north from Xinyang, Henan to meet the 27th Division of the 12th Army going south. On the morning of May 9, the two armies met in Queshan, Henan.At this point, the first phase of Operation No. 1 came to an end, and the Ping-Han Railway was fully opened. When the Japanese base camp received the news, it seemed that they had been injected with a booster. They celebrated with each other, and immediately held various celebration activities.However, times can change, and the Japanese Empire at this time is already very different from Japan in 1938. The people seem to have lost all enthusiasm for war overnight and went to the other extreme.The parade could not be organized, and there was no one to support the fundraising. In the end, the people had to be forced to hang the sun flag.

The dictatorial and overwhelmed Prime Minister Hideki Tojo doesn't want the people of the country to talk about failure, so let's not talk about it, but you can't stop the people of the country from thinking about it.The Japanese army that attacked Imphal was on the verge of defeat; the United Fleet was defeated by the U.S. Army many times, and it was already defeated; Yamamoto Fifty-Six was killed by the U.S. Air Force less than a year ago, and his successor, General Koga Mine, was killed by the U.S. Air Force. Killed; General Ananweiji's 2nd Front Army has withdrawn westward from New Guinea. Due to the loss of sea control, 3 large troop carriers were sunk by the US military, and nearly 10,000 officers and soldiers died on the seabed.All these defeats, no matter where they came from, were enough to cancel out the small victories achieved in the Central Plains of China.

The Japanese really couldn't laugh anymore.The victory in the Central Plains battlefield this time is like a dying person, returning to the light, and the days are numbered. On May 30, the Japanese Ministry of Army, the General Staff Headquarters, and the Chinese Expeditionary Army punished the 27th Division for a large number of accidents of frostbite and freezing to death, and ordered the removal of the commander of the Division Takeshita Yoshiharu from the position of the division commander. Made an explanation. After the Ping-Han Railway was opened, Okamura Ningji and Uchiyama Eitaro believed that the king should be captured first, and the next target was the 13th Army, Tang Enbo's ace unit.They believe that as long as the 13th Army and the 1st Army of China's 8th theater are eliminated, China's Central Plains troops will collapse without fighting.

On May 1, Eitaro Uchiyama deployed a large pocket with the strength of 4 divisions, preparing to encircle and wipe out the 13th Army of the National Army Commander Shi Jue.But I didn't expect General Shi to run faster than a rabbit, and he fled before the encirclement was formed. On May 5, Uchiyama Eitaro watched helplessly as the 13th Army of the National Army hid far away in the dense virgin forest of the lofty mountains of Zhongyue Songshan.We had no choice but to turn the horse's head and cooperate with the 1st Army originally stationed in Taiyuan to attack Luoyang. On May 18, the siege of Luoyang started.The 63rd Division of Ye Fuchang, although there are aircraft and heavy artillery to assist in the battle.But at noon on the 19th, the Chinese defenders were still blocking the city, and even the outer positions of the Luoyang National Army defenders had not yet broken through. At 13:00 on the 19th, after receiving the report, Okamura Ningji became furious and roared: "Quickly transfer the two regiments of the 12th Army near Luoyang to the command of the 63rd Division to launch a strong attack. Within 3 days, Luoyang must be captured. Otherwise, Commander Ye Fuchang will have to cut open his stomach to thank the Emperor!"

Faced with Commander Okamura's death order, Ye Fuchang was still helpless until the sun set on the 19th.Had no choice but to pick up the saber and commit suicide.But was dissuaded by left and right. Okamura Ningji was in a hurry in Beiping.He had nestled in Beiping for several years, and finally got the chance to fight a big battle.If he can win several big victories in a row, he can look forward to the throne of the commander-in-chief of the Chinese dispatched army.But at this time, several subordinates are not up to date, don't they be anxious! Chief of Staff Sanji Shiroto said at the right time: "General, it's time to change generals. Deputy Field is maintaining law and order in Beiping. It's okay to bully small groups of guerrillas in China. He lacks combat experience in commanding large corps, so it's hard to make a difference. He was originally that piece of material. Now, the 15th Brigade has been reorganized and upgraded to the 63rd Division. As the tide rises, he naturally became the division commander of the 63rd Division. This gentleman lacks experience in fighting against the regular Chinese army, and he is arrogant If a division cannot be commanded well, if we give him troops, I am afraid that it will only increase casualties and will not help the matter. It is better to let Commander Neishan go from Xinzheng to Luoyang to command the front line!" Okamura sighed: "Oh, that's the way it is. There are too few capable commanders. I'm afraid it will become more and more difficult to fight in the future. The quality of soldiers is also a big problem. They just graduated from middle school and trained for a month or two. Going up to attack the city and seize the territory, how few casualties are there?!" On May 23, Uchiyama Eitaro saw that the troops were ready to attack the city.The staff members were asked to write a proclamation, trying to persuade the defenders to lay down their weapons, under the pretense that it was to prevent the ancient city of Luoyang from being destroyed by the war.But it was immediately rejected by the 15th Army of the Luoyang Defense Army. On the 24th, Uchiyama came to the Qilihe frontline command post and issued an order to attack Luoyang.On the 25th of the war, Wu Tinglin, the 15th Army of the National Army, led his troops to abandon the city and break through.Luoyang lost the battle and changed hands. For unknown reasons, when Okamura reported the results of the battle, he greatly reduced the number of casualties.After the base camp received the telegram, it made a big publicity.Wasn't it a miracle on earth to capture the huge Luoyang city, killing more than 5,000 enemies, and the imperial army suffered less than 300 casualties? ! In fact, whether it was the base camp of the Japanese army or Okamura himself, there was something unspeakable: the Japanese people could no longer bear the excitement of that bloody defeat. After the Japanese army captured Xuchang, Jiang Dingwen was afraid of being surrounded by the Japanese army, so he hurriedly moved the headquarters of the commander-in-chief of the theater into Funiu Mountain, and watched the Japanese army attack Luoyang without paying attention.The upper beam is not straight and the lower beam is crooked, and the upper and lower beams are effective, and the armies of all groups retreat to the southwest one after another.The hundreds of thousands of troops in the huge national army's first theater were thrown into chaos and disintegrated by the Japanese army, which was less than 1/10 of their own.General Li Jiayu, the commander of the 33rd Army, saw that the situation was in danger, so he stepped forward and organized a retreat. On May 21, when General Li Jiayu retreated to Qinjiapo, Shan County, he was surrounded by superior Japanese troops who were chasing after him. During the fierce battle, General Li Jiayu died heroically and became one of the few generals who died in the Anti-Japanese War. Seeing that the Central Plains battlefield was out of control, Chiang Kai-shek urgently ordered Chen Cheng to support him.Soon, Jiang Dingwen and Tang Enbo were dismissed. So far, the Japanese army has ended the first phase of the No. 1 operation to open up the mainland transportation line.The Japanese army only suffered more than 8,000 casualties.