Chapter 2 2. Defeat in Henan

In accordance with the "Operation Outline No. 1" of the base camp, the North China Front Army of the Japanese invaders began to formulate an operational plan for the Pinghan Road.Ningji Okamura, the commander of the North China Front Army, is a murderer who committed heinous crimes on the land of China.He dispatched 65 brigades of troops from his jurisdiction in an attempt to bloodbath the Central Plains of Henan.The main forces are the 62nd Division, the 110th Division, the 3rd Tank Division, the 4th Cavalry Brigade and 4 independent brigades. The organizational units of the Japanese Army from large to small are: General Army, Front Army, Army, Division, Brigade, Wing, Brigade, Squadron, and Squad.A squadron is equivalent to a platoon, a squadron is equivalent to a company, and a brigade is equivalent to a battalion.Wings are equivalent to regiments, brigades are equivalent to brigades, and divisions are equivalent to strengthening divisions or corps.This is compared with the organizational system of the Chinese army. Generally speaking, the organizational system of the Japanese army is larger than that of the Chinese army. For example, the brigade is at the battalion level, but each brigade of the Japanese army has more than a thousand people and is multi-armed. The configuration and combat effectiveness far exceed that of the Chinese army.Under normal circumstances, the Chinese army would have to be six times stronger to win.

The Chinese army in the Henan area of ​​the Central Plains belongs to the first theater.Commander Jiang Dingwen and Deputy Commander Tang Enbo have 8 groups, 1 corps, 17 armies, and 41 divisions, with a total strength of more than 400,000 troops.However, the attacking Japanese army commanded by Neiji Okamura, the North China commander of the Japanese invaders, was no more than 60,000 horses.According to routine, the Chinese army is sure of victory in the Battle of Henan. However, when the Japanese army was frequently mobilized near Henan, Tang Enbo, the deputy commander of the first theater, did not even understand the Japanese army's strategic intentions.In Li Zongren's words, Tang Enbo is an idiot.At this moment of imminent fire, he has neither a careful battle plan nor practical contingency measures.Tang Enbo's state in the first theater was caused by the Supreme Command's misjudgment of the situation.

The U.S. military attache in Chongqing believed that the Japanese offensive in Henan was nothing more than a spring exercise, and the Japanese army would soon return to their original defense line.Stilwell asserted that the Japanese army did not have the capability to make a large-scale offensive in China.Chiang Kai-shek also made the same judgment. The world's anti-fascist battlefield has won successive victories, and the day when the Chinese army cooperates with the Allied counterattack will not be too far away.He said at the military conference last month that the Chinese army launched an offensive after completing preparations, and that the counter-offensive must be carried out in an upright manner, and the time for the counter-offensive was set in May and June of 1944.

Based on this judgment, Chiang Kai-shek dispatched troops from the first theater to Xinjiang to maintain social order, and also sent some troops to Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia to besiege the central government of the Communist Party.However, the development of the war proved that the U.S. Military Advisory Department and the Chinese Supreme Military Command made a big mistake. They obviously underestimated the determination and ability of the Japanese army to put all their eggs in one basket and launch an all-out offensive. The intention of the Japanese army had already been detected by the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army. Proceeding from the overall situation, they promptly reported the enemy's situation to the Commander of the First Theater Command, and at the same time notified the Central Military Commission of the Kuomintang many times in order to attract Chiang Kai-shek's attention.However, they turned a deaf ear to the information from the Eighth Route Army headquarters and remained indifferent.

On April 16, 1944, the Japanese army came to Zhengzhou. On the night of the 17th, the 12th Army of the Japanese Army first launched an attack from Zhongmou County, Henan Province. In the early morning of the 18th, the 27th Division of the Defending Army was defeated and its position was broken through.The Japanese army continued to advance towards Zhengzhou and Xinzheng in two ways. At dawn on the 19th, the Japanese army occupied Zhengzhou Station, and the 15th Army of the Zhengzhou Defenders abandoned the city to break through that night. Another army of the Japanese army fought fiercely with the Chinese defenders at the foot of Mount Mang.One battalion of the 11th Division stood firm and sacrificed.After the front line of Mangshan was broken by the Japanese army, the 85th Army of the Yellow River Railway Bridge had to retreat, and the front line of defense was opened.

Chiang Kai-shek became anxious at this time. He wanted to change the expeditionary force's plan to enter Burma, and transfer back the elite expeditionary troops stationed on the southwest border to guard the eastern front and strengthen the defense of Hunan and Guangxi.Chiang Kai-shek's idea was rejected by the United States, especially Stilwell, the commander-in-chief of the U.S. Army stationed in China. Not only could the troops not be transferred back, but even U.S. arms were not allowed to be used in the Eastern Front.Chiang Kai-shek and Stilwell were enemies. The helpless Chiang Kai-shek deeply knows the humble status of a weak country.He had to adjust his deployment hastily in an attempt to remedy it. On April 20, Chiang Kai-shek sent a telegram to the First Theater:

1. The Tang Corps should deal a severe blow to the enemies who invaded the vicinity of Xuchang; they should temporarily monitor the enemies in Mi County and pretend to contain them. 2. The Sun Group Army should strengthen its attack force and attack the enemy in front of it. In view of the Japanese invaders attacking everywhere, Tang Enbo planned to concentrate powerful troops near Yu County to attack. Chiang Kai-shek agreed, and instructed that one army should be used to defend Yu County to the death, and try to attract and contain the Japanese army to support the defenders in Xuchang, which would also facilitate a decisive battle with the Japanese army in Yu County.

After occupying a large area of ​​the county in Zhengzhou, the Japanese invading army held a military meeting of the heads of divisions and brigades of the participating troops in Xinzheng on April 26, and issued an order for the next phase of operations: the 62nd Division advanced to the southwest of Xuchang, cut off the The Kuomintang defenders retreated to the southwest; the 37th Division, an independent mixed brigade, part of the 3rd Tank Division, attacked Xuchang; the 27th Division attacked Yancheng and joined the 11th Army going north.After the missions of the offensive troops were completed, they advanced to Yu County and Linru respectively.

On April 29, the 62nd Division took the lead and broke through the Yinghe defense line of the Chinese army in one fell swoop, thus ensuring that other troops entered the attack position.The battle to attack Xuchang started the next day. The 29th Division of the defenders fought desperately until dusk.The Japanese army broke into the city from the west and south. The division commander Lu Gongliang was killed in battle, and the defenders suffered heavy casualties. The remaining personnel broke out from the northeast corner of the city. On May 1, Xuchang fell. The Japanese army completely controlled the Changtaiguan Railway from the Yellow River Iron Bridge in the north to the north of Xinyang in the south.The first step of the plan has been realized, and Pinghan Road has been opened.At this time, the First Theater organized the 13th Army to counterattack Mi County, which was occupied by the Japanese army.The Japanese army knew well that the 13th Army was the elite of the First Theater, and as long as it was wiped out, the First Theater could be completely defeated.This is the opportunity that the Japanese army is most eager to seek.Okamura Ningji immediately issued an order to the 12th Army, and the Japanese 12th Army moved quickly, even before Xuchang was fully occupied, it hurriedly turned around and moved towards Dengfeng.The 110th Division went from north to south, the 62nd Division went from east to west, the 3rd Tank Division and the 4th Cavalry Brigade, they all rushed towards the 13th Army like hungry wolves.The commander of the first war zone panicked and urgently ordered the 85th Army to rush to help.

The actions of the Kuomintang army were always slow. The 110th Division of the Japanese Army arrived at the outskirts of Dengfeng earlier, cutting off the connection between Dengfeng and Yanshi.The 3rd Chariot Division also captured Linru before the 85th Army, and its vanguard troops also entered the vicinity of Longmen in Luoyang.As a result, the 9th and 13th armies of the Chinese army were divided by the Japanese army.The 9th Army began to break out, but was intercepted and killed by the Japanese along the way, and was defeated. At the same time, the 13th Army began to retreat to Linru at dusk.Along the way, they were constantly attacked by Japanese tank divisions and suffered heavy losses.

On May 8, all the main positions in the Dengfeng area were occupied by the Japanese army.The next day, the 69th Division of the Japanese Army began to capture Mianchi, seized a large amount of food and ammunition from the Chinese army, and cut off the Longhai Railway, leaving Luoyang isolated.The Japanese army was very shrewd. After they monitored Luoyang, they split up to pursue Tang Enbo's main force.The only mechanized corps of the Japanese army on the battlefield in China's Guannei, showing its prestige on the vast plains of the Central Plains.The 3rd Tank Division chased and killed them all the way as if they had entered the land of no one, and drove straight in, occupying the outer counties of Luoyang within a few days.At this time, Luoyang was completely surrounded by the Japanese army. In order to restore the situation and save face, China's Supreme Military Command ordered troops from the Fifth Theater, the Tenth Theater and the First Theater to counterattack the Japanese army. Although they gained some gains, they were blocked by the Japanese army. While blocking the periphery, the Japanese army stepped up their attack on Luoyang. The 15th Army and the 94th Division of the Kuomintang were guarding Luoyang City. There were 7 regiments in total, but they fought very tenaciously.The Japanese army attacking Luoyang suffered repeated setbacks and entered Luoyang Chengguan three times, but were driven out of the city by Chinese soldiers.The Chinese defenders suffered heavy casualties, with only 1,700 men left in the 94th Division, still engaged in street fighting with the Japanese. When the enemy was strong and we were weak, and without the support of foreign aid, Wu Tinglin, commander of the 15th Army, ordered a breakout.The remnants of the guard troops withdrew from Luoyang in the dark, and a few troops did not receive the order to break out of the siege, and continued to fight until the last person was fighting. On May 25, Luoyang was completely occupied by the Japanese army. In the battle of Henan, the most embarrassing thing was the commander's department of the first theater.They were chased wildly by the Japanese army, retreated again and again, and were almost driven out of the Henan provincial border, and finally settled in Guanzhuang in the southeast of Xinxiang.The headquarters of the 36th Army was ambushed by the Japanese army in Zhangjiahe, Shan County. Commander-in-Chief Li Jiayu died in the fierce battle. On June 22, the national government posthumously awarded him the rank of general of the army. The Battle of Henan ended with the fall of Luoyang.So far, the Japanese army not only opened up the Ping-Han Railway, but also controlled the Longhai Line.The Japanese offensive is not over, this is only the first step of their "Operation No. 1". One of the Japanese troops was heading towards Changsha and Hengyang, preparing to participate in the Hunan-Guangxi battle. Chiang Kai-shek invested 400,000 troops in the Battle of Henan, intending to deal a heavy blow to the Japanese army. However, the 400,000 Kuomintang army was defeated and defeated one after another under the attack of more than 50,000 Japanese troops.The entire battle lasted 40 days, and 38 cities including Zhengzhou, Luoyang, Xuchang and other medium-sized cities were lost. The Chinese army killed more than 37,500 people and captured more than 15,000 people.The Japanese army killed more than 850 people and injured more than 2,500. Henan was defeated, and the whole country was in an uproar, and the people were outraged.Hundreds of thousands of troops were defeated, and Tang Enbo couldn't escape the guilt. Many people wrote to ask him to be punished, and some even proposed to kill Tang to thank the people of the country.Tang Enbo's situation was extremely unfavorable, but thanks to Chiang Kai-shek's favor, Tang Enbo did not suffer much grievance.In view of the disastrous defeat in the first war zone and the anger of the common people, Jiang Dingwen, the commander of the first war zone, and Tang Enbo, the deputy commander, were dismissed. Chiang Kai-shek knew that the defeat in Henan could not be blamed on the commander of the theater. The main reason was that he underestimated the Japanese offensive and misjudged the situation. It was just a diversionary feint by the Japanese army.Chiang Kai-shek thought to himself, this loss is too big.The mistakes I made are like a dumb man eating coptis, who cannot tell what he has suffered, and the lesson is too profound.