Chapter 32 5. War is really inseparable from the people

Commander Okabe of the Sixth Front Army of the Japanese Army studied the war situation in western Hunan when he was ill.He was resolutely opposed to the Japanese army's Zhijiang operation, but since the Zhijiang operation had begun, he had no choice but to pay due attention.Because the 20th Army that participated in the Zhijiang operation was the main force of his Sixth Front Army, and a large number of generals went to Xiangxi. He, the commander, didn't care about it, and he really couldn't bear it. In the past few days, he has been receiving battle reports from the frontline, all of which are bad news, which makes his blood pressure keep rising, making him have a headache and feeling very uncomfortable.Some time ago, he really wanted to gamble with Neiji Okamura and let go of the war. He also told the base camp that he was unwell to relieve his troubles.It doesn't seem to work now, you have to ask about it, maybe there is still a chance to turn the tide of the battle, even if it can't be turned around, the loss should be minimized.

Wuhan in the early summer is very hot this year.Okabe, whose blood pressure has not been lowered, feels hot all over. If he touches his body with his hands, his whole body is hot.He put a cool towel on his forehead, he couldn't stop thinking, and was always entangled by the figures of several division heads.Okabe thought that the best way to rescue Xiangxi was to send troops from Guangxi, not from Changsha, the front of Xiangxi.The area around Changsha and Hengyang has long been monitored by the Chinese and American air forces. Even if there is a small effort, it is clearly seen by the Chinese army. They are too sensitive to the front line of Changsha and Hengyang.

He got up and asked the combat section chief to tell his thoughts to Yokoyama Yu in Guangxi, and to listen to Lieutenant General Yokoyama Yokohama's opinion. If it worked, he asked the 11th Army to send a division to take out the troops in Xiangxi.The most ideal is to open up a channel so that the 47th Division, 116th Division, 68th Division and several independent brigades can enter the Guangxi occupied area smoothly for the next step. Isamu Hengshan, commander of the 11th Army, took Guangxi with little effort, but he did experience the tenacity of the Chinese army in Hengyang.The Battle of Hengyang made him change his previous view of the Chinese army. The Chinese army is not all idiots, and the Chinese are not the sick men of East Asia. This country is now like a wake-up lion, becoming more and more ferocious.He really had the feeling of "farewell for three days, and look at each other with admiration".

Isamu Yokoyama received a telegram from Okabe, but did not reply immediately. He studied with his staff for a long time.The staff of the 11th Army is also relatively cautious. The instructions of the commander of the Sixth Front Army, Okabe, must be implemented. Besides, Okabe’s considerations are reasonable. Sending surprise troops from southwestern Hunan would have been an impeccable strategic plan before last year. , but things are very different now. Lieutenant General Yokoyama understood what his subordinates meant.After much thought, he decided to send the 34th Division to start from the whole county of Guangxi, first occupy Xinning at the junction of Hunan and Guangxi, and use Xinning as a base to advance to Xiangxi.He sent a telegram to report the operational deployment of the 11th Army to Okabe, commander of the Sixth Front Army.Then start to act.

More than 10,000 soldiers and horses of the 34th Division of the Japanese Army, cleared by tanks and chariots, quickly entered the territory of Hunan from the whole county of Guangxi.The surrounding people were chased away by the Japanese army. They reported the situation to the Chinese army chief. More than 10,000 Japanese troops came. The tanks and cannons were scary. The Xinning garrison was the 43rd Division of the 94th Army, and the division commander immediately reported the information reported by the common people to Tang Enbo.Tang Enbo only said one sentence, this war is really inseparable from the common people, so he hung up the phone.He hurried to Suining with a large number of people including the deputy commander and chief of staff of the Third Front Army.Before departure, Ding Zhipan, the commander of the 26th Army, Mou Tingfang, the commander of the 94th Army, and the chiefs of staff of each army were notified to rush to Suining and hold an emergency meeting.

Since the Battle of Western Hunan, Tang Enbo has held military meetings of the Third Front Army in Suining many times.The first military meeting was not held in Suining, because this place was too close to the front line. At that time, there were no Chinese troops stationed outside Suining, so it had to be held in Jing County.Tang Enbo still remembers it vividly, and was praised by the chairman of the military meeting at that time: "Well, we must use this attitude and action to understand the Battle of Xiangxi from a strategic height." What did Tang Enbo say at the first meeting?He patted the seeds on the head with his hands and remembered that the seeds on the head were still working.At that time, he told the commanders of the various armies that the chairman of the general committee made up his mind to resist the Japanese army attacking Xuefeng Mountain.If Xuefeng Mountain is not defended, Anjiang and Zhijiang will not be protected, so the chairman of the committee ordered Yaowu to defend it even if he put his life on it.We are all students of the principal. At critical moments, we must share the principal's worries and serve the party and the country.The task of the Third Front Army is to ensure that the right wing of the Fourth Front Army is safe.

Now, according to reliable information, there is a division of the Japanese army who intends to pass through Wugang, take Huitong directly, and attack Zhijiang.The terrain in this area is far less dangerous than Xuefeng Mountain, and there are no favorable barriers to guard against. Therefore, the third front army decided to attack the enemy in separate attacks, and they had to take care of this pass even if they were killed. "If you don't succeed, you will become benevolent!" Chiang Kai-shek admired this sentence, so he praised him. Today's military conference is much simpler.Now the entire Xiangxi battlefield is turning in a positive direction, the counterattack order has been issued, and the day of winning the Xiangxi battle is not far away.

The attempt of the Japanese 34th Division will not succeed, they are here to seek death.At this military meeting, Tang Enbo called Li Shilin, the commander of the 43rd Division stationed in Xinning, and Cheng Hualong, the chief of staff, and others, and asked them to let go of their hands and feet and pull up all the American cannons and tanks of the entire division. Skimp on ammo. "Let me tell you, the Yankees have so many guns and ammunition that you can't finish them all." Tang Enbo laughed at everyone. Chief of Staff Liu Guangji said: "Everyone understands Mr. Tang's meaning. We must show the military might of our third front army. We have been chased and beaten by small Japanese planes, artillery, and tanks in the past. This time we should feel proud. Let me tell you officers, Commander-in-Chief Tang has asked Commander-in-Chief He for instructions, and He Yingqin has promised to send a large number of planes to assist in the battle, and promises to be there whenever needed.”

The atmosphere of the military conference became heated. Commander Li Yutang, Commander Mou, and Commander Ding Zhipan all made speeches successively, expressing their positive attitudes.Tang Enbo said to everyone: "After the battle of Xinning, the 94th Army returned to Jing County to rest and reorganize. The other armies went to Suining to rest and reorganize. From the perspective of strategic tasks, the counterattack to northern Guangxi and the recovery of Guangxi must fall in the first place. The three fronts are on their way, and we have to make preparations for the next step."

Li Shilin, the commander of the 43rd Division, led the entire division to deploy on the Xinning defense line, and they are waiting for it.People from all directions came to report the news, and the people of Xinning also organized a stretcher team, transport team, and ambulance team with thousands of people, and they also scouted the enemy's situation for the 43rd Division.After Tang Enbo heard about it, he felt an indescribable feeling in his heart. It was better than in Henan, where he failed to handle the relationship between soldiers and civilians. The 34th Division of the Japanese Army was very cautious. They first sent a vanguard of more than 2,000 people to launch a tentative attack on Xinning, followed by the main force of the division.The artillery of the 43rd Division opened up without letting the Japanese attack first. Hundreds of American heavy artillery made the Japanese army's vanguard very embarrassed.The offensive formation of the troops was extremely chaotic. Before the guns in their hands were fired, they were severely wounded, causing a large number of casualties.

The mixed air brigade that took off from Zhijiang, more than a dozen fighter jets and bombers, abandoned the vanguard of the Japanese army and rushed directly towards the main force of the 34th Division.After more than a dozen heavy bombs were dropped, the planes dived and strafed continuously.The main force of the Japanese army had to retreat and hide in the forest. On the way back, the Chinese Air Force bombed and strafed the vanguard, basically destroying the momentum of the Japanese attack.They finally gathered the troops and were making adjustments when a group of planes from the sky came again.They found the target in the air, and more than a dozen fighter planes swooped down and fired in turn. The Japanese army had no power to parry, but just ran away with their heads in their arms. Japanese soldiers were hiding everywhere in the ditches and rice fields. Commander Li Shilin seized the opportunity and ordered the whole division to attack without even leaving the reserve team.The officers and soldiers of the 43rd Division had been waiting for this opportunity for almost a month. They watched the neighboring troops win the battle, but they had no chance to kill the enemy and make meritorious service.It was time to serve the country. Like tigers, they pounced on the Japanese army. Those who ran fast escaped, and those who didn't run fast were killed by swords. The vanguard of the Japanese army left its baggage and was routed. It took less than a day for the two sides to face each other, and the 34th Division of the Japanese army who came to rescue retreated back to the county.Isamu Yokoyama reported to Okabe that the Chinese army defending Xinning was high-spirited and well-equipped. The Chinese Air Force dispatched more than 20 fighters in one day, and it was impossible to break through the Xinning defense line. Okabe didn't say anything, he couldn't blame Yokoyama's 11th Army.If you want airplanes but don't have airplanes, and you can't compare with others in equipment, this battle is doomed to failure.Okabe put down the cup of water that he had just taken the medicine for. Without asking for instructions from Commander-in-Chief Neiji Okamura of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, he made a decision without authorization and ordered Ichiro Sakanishi to organize the Zhijiang combat troops to retreat and shrink back to the area east of Shaoyang. Neiji Okamura heard that Okabe had issued an order to retreat. Although he was a little unhappy in his heart, he still agreed.He has no reason to prevent the retreat of the frontline troops. Besides, Okabe is unwell, and he can take the initiative to take care of the frontline affairs, which is also a very good thing. In order to enable the front-line Japanese troops to better implement the retreat order, Okamura Ningji had no choice but to issue an order for all troops to assemble and retreat, in order to repair the contradiction between him and Okabe.Neiji Okamura has been difficult to be the commander-in-chief of the China Expeditionary Army for the past six months. He not only has to deal with endless inquiries from the local government cabinet, but also has to fight with different factions in the army, and also has to intervene in the huge Chinese theater. Little Japan in 1945 was the most difficult, bitter, and tragic year since the beginning of the 20th century. From the Japanese Emperor Hirohito to the common people, life was suffering.Not to mention the bombing and attack of the Allied Forces on the Japanese mainland, but in terms of the Chinese theater alone, the western Hunan region is in a tight situation, and the entire Northeast and North China are also in jeopardy.In particular, the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army of the Communist Party, as well as the armed forces behind the enemy lines and militia teams in rural areas and counties led by them, kept the Japanese and puppet troops in a constant state of panic. Neiji Okamura is not as arrogant as he used to be. He is thinking about his retreat. Many senior generals in the Chinese army have friendship with him. Once Japan is defeated, he thinks they will extend their hands to help him.The main enemy of the Chiang Kai-shek clique is not Japan, and Okamura Oka Ningji knows this inside story.Before China's all-out war of resistance broke out, he had studied the dynamics of Chiang Kai-shek and He Yingqin of the Kuomintang. At that time, they ignored the Japanese occupation of the three northeastern provinces and devoted themselves to destroying the Communist Party's armed forces. Neiji Okamura suddenly had an idea that he could help Chiang Kai-shek deal with the Communist Party's Eighth Route Army.He has studied the characteristics of the Eighth Route Army's operations, and he has made a summary of guerrilla warfare, mobile warfare, and mountain warfare, and he has written a pamphlet.At that time, it will be dedicated to Chiang Kai-shek, and people like He Yingqin and Tang Enbo will say a few words, everything will be easy to handle, and it is also possible to be a military adviser. Moriji Okamura still had foresight, and what happened later was exactly as he thought.