Chapter 10 2. War chess is war

Two roughly identical colored military maps, laid out on two large tabletops.Chinese and Japanese characters respectively mark the whole territory of Hunan, southern Hubei and western Jiangxi on two maps.The Xiangjiang River is like a green belt, and Dongting Lake is like a blue maple leaf, which are the same on both maps.The locations and names of mountains, rivers, roads, cities, villages and towns are also in the picture.The only difference is that the two maps are in two different combat command rooms, and the soldiers surrounding the maps are of different nationalities. Xue Yue, Commander of the Ninth War Zone, Wu Yizhi, Chief of Staff, Zhao Zili, Chief of Staff, and the staff of the headquarters were engrossed in the war game deduction.

Chess pieces with troop numbers written one by one moved on the map, and the staff officers reported combat elements such as troop strength, time, and position.Wargames were the means of expressing the combat scenarios at that time. For those who command the upcoming battle, wargames are wars. On June 22, 1941, the German army's 5.5 million troops were prepared according to the "Barbarossa" that had already been prepared. plan to attack the military power of the Soviet Union on a large scale.When the Soviet-German War broke out, the Japanese military's initial reaction was to feel sudden.Because according to the military alliance of Germany, Italy and Japan, such a large military operation should be ventilated internally in advance, and the Japanese generals are puzzled. From a strategic and tactical point of view, why does Germany put itself in the disadvantageous position of fighting on two fronts?

But the Soviet-German war broke out after all, and the Japanese military needed to respond.At this time, the Japanese base camp had serious disagreements over whether to attack the Soviet Union northward or to open up the Pacific battlefield southward.Prime Minister Konoe took a compromise and decided to observe the development of the situation first and wait for an opportunity. With the victory of the German army's lightning tactics in the early stage of the war, the "Northern Movement" actively advocated sending troops to fight against the Soviet Union, and would attack Moscow with the German army.However, as the Soviet army gradually stabilized its position, the German army encountered stubborn resistance after the initial smooth progress. It was impossible to end the war in a short period of time. Realize the strategic concept of "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere".

After all, going south to the Pacific Ocean is where the fundamental interests of the Japanese nation lie, and its importance is far greater than going to the icy Volga River to share a spoonful with the yellow-haired and blue-eyed Germans.The Japanese base camp began to mobilize troops from inland China to gather along the southern coast. Among them, two and a half divisions were withdrawn from the 11th Army in Wuhan, namely the 4th, 6th and part of the 33rd Division.Fearing that the Chinese army would counterattack after the troops were withdrawn, the base camp adopted a strategy of retreating from advance, and took the initiative to attack the Chinese army in front of them, so as to relieve the worry of going south.Therefore, the summer and autumn offensive planned by the base camp at the beginning of the year has more realistic meaning and purpose.

"Finally tasted the taste of a little snake swallowing an elephant!" Xue Yue was secretly happy after grasping Japan's intentions. He analyzed and studied the possible offensive methods and routes the Japanese army might take with his staff, and deduced actual combat on the map over and over again. various complications that may arise.It was midsummer, and there was no cool place to go in Changsha. Xue Yue was sweating profusely like the staff. Following Xue Yue's train of thought, the Japanese army will still follow roughly the same route as last time in this attack, and his style of attack is:

The theater of operations is in northern Jiangxi and southern Hubei. Against non-main attacking enemies, we will try our best to attack the areas north of Chongren and Xingan, east of Yichun, Wanzai, Tonggu, Xiushui, and north of Xiushui, Changshou Street, and Meixian. Destroy each of them; in northern Hunan, lure the main force of the enemy army to the south of the Miluo River and north of Jinjing, Fulinpu, and Sanjie Bridge, counterattack and annihilate them. With the experience and glory of the first Changsha battle, Xue Yue is extremely optimistic about the prospects of this counterattack, almost romantic.

After the counterattack took effect, they chased Yongxiu, De'an, Ruichang, Xianning, Puqi, and Yueyang, and regained the lost ground in Jiujiang and Wuhan. Take advantage of the victory and advance, step out of the war zone, regain the lost land, and sweep away thousands of troops like a sweeping mat, like entering an uninhabited land! Just when Xue Yue thought his battle plan was complete and flawless, he didn't know that the shadow of failure had already enveloped him.Because his opponent has been replaced by Okamura Ningji, who has been dealing with him for many years, to the new commander of the 11th Army, Anan Keiki, whose personality and combat command style are completely different.

Since the day he accepted his appointment on February 15, 1941, Anan Weiji has carried with him the combat maps of the three provinces facing the 11th Army and relevant materials of the troops of both sides, and studied them carefully whenever he had time.By the time he took office on March 10, he had a good idea of ​​the battle ahead. On the wargame of the Yueyang 11th Army Command, everything was left by Neiji Okamura.Anan either ran among the commanders of various divisions and regiments to understand the situation and listen to their opinions, or he thought for a long time alone.He often remained motionless for hours in front of the huge chessboard made of this map.Isamu Kinoshita, who served as the chief of staff with him, came from the division. He couldn't figure out the temper of the commander who came from the palace, and he didn't want to disturb his train of thought, so he had to accompany him in silence.

When he took office, Anan flew from the mainland to Nanjing, and first reported to the six generals, Commander-in-Chief of the China Dispatched Army, Hata Toshi.Hata Shunroku also came to China in early 1941. Before his departure, the Emperor summoned him and said that he had a sacred mission to resolve the incident in China.Hata Junliu and Anan had a long talk all night, and the topic repeatedly turned to offensive operations in the summer and autumn.He hoped that in this battle, Anan must wipe out the main force of the Ninth War Zone in the area south of Mishui and north of Changsha, and eradicate these direct troops that Chiang Kai-shek relied on to support the war of resistance.

"If this battle is fought well," Hata Junroku said, "the whole situation in China will undergo a huge change." Anan listened respectfully, bowing from time to time and nodding in agreement. After repeated requests, Anan naturally had his own ideas, and he hoped to fight the battle well more than Hata Shunroku from the prominent position of the Deputy Chief of the Army Department of the base camp to the harsh conditions and harsh environment of the Chinese battlefield. War is a festival for soldiers, which provides the only opportunity for soldiers to realize their own value, and meritorious service on the battlefield is an important condition for Japanese soldiers to be recognized and move to higher ranks.

Anan has two sons and a daughter, and he only loves the second son.When he learned that this bright and lively child had died in the war in China, the extreme sadness in his heart almost broke him down.From then on, he always carried a photo of his beloved son with him no matter where he went, and he planned to turn his loving father's love into incomparable cruelty when the time came. The soldiers who were motionless on the war chess board finally waited for the care of the hands of fate. One day, Anan called a meeting of the staff of the headquarters to explain his combat intentions.He announced that the combat operation was code-named "Operation Plus". Anan said: "The reason why the last Changsha battle did not achieve great results is that the distribution of troops was too scattered and the main attack direction was not highlighted, so a strong impact and lethality could not be formed." As Anan said, he divided the troops in southern Hubei and northern Jiangxi into the front of Hunan, and the staff immediately saw a brand-new advantage pattern.Anan paused for a while, and when the minds of the staff officers adapted to the new situation, they placed all the troops remaining in southern Hubei and northern Jiangxi in front of northern Hunan, and someone immediately involuntarily exclaimed. Someone once said that the combat style is determined by the character of the commander. Continental Order No. 538.In the 16th year of the Showa era (1941), the order was issued on August 26: In order to complete the current mission, the commander-in-chief of the Chinese Expeditionary Force may temporarily go beyond the designated combat area in central China to conduct operations in summer and autumn. From mid-August in the base camp, people living in the mountains and riversides of northern Jiangxi and southern Hubei often heard the slight sound of car motors and the footsteps of large troops on the road beside the village in the dead of night.When there is a moon, you can sometimes see fleets of motorboats coming and going on the river.The motorboat does not turn on the lights, only black shadows.The common people wondered: What kind of army is this and what are they doing? Military and civilian spies wrote down everything they saw while enduring mosquito bites and hiding in the grass overnight, and then passed the information from one person to another like a relay race.In the end, all the information was placed on Xue Yue's table by the staff officer of the intelligence office of the Ninth Theater Command. Xue Yue compared the map and thought over and over again: "Arrange troops? All the soldiers are transferred to the north of Hunan, don't you want Tongcheng? You don't want Yueyang? Impossible! Feign movement? What do you mean? You want me to concentrate the troops in the north of Hunan, and you can come from both sides ?” Xue Yue did not draw any conclusions from the intelligence, so his war game and Anan's war game were completely different in terms of the distribution of Japanese troops.