ushernet Chapter 162 Prelude to the Great War (3)
Chapter 162 Prelude to the Great War (3)
In late February, the Japanese Army's Fifth Division on the East Route took the lead and moved south from Weixian, successively capturing Yishui, Juxian, and Rizhao, and then headed straight for Linyi.
The Fifth War Zone sent the Third Corps to defend Linyi. The Fifth Corps fought desperately and intercepted the attack of the Fifth Division head-on in Linyi. However, the gap in equipment between the two sides was too large. After suffering heavy casualties, the Third Corps failed to completely stop the attack of the Fifth Division. As a last resort, Commander Pang of the Third Corps could only ask for help from the war zone.
Commander Li of the war zone fell into deep thought after receiving the telegram for help from the Third Corps. The gain or loss of Linyi was very critical. If the Fifth Division occupied Linyi and the Tenth Division attacked from the west to the south, the war zone would have to divide its troops into two routes to intercept them. It could only passively defend and could not concentrate its superior forces to deal with one of the Japanese troops. In this way, his idea of winning a battle in the Fifth War Zone would not be realized.
Now, the Japanese troops on the southern front have been pinned down on the south bank of the Huai River. Without sending additional troops to central China, it will be difficult for them to cross the Huai River and attack the Fifth War Zone together with the Japanese troops heading south.
The Fifth Division's independent attack to the south could achieve their strategic goal of first inflicting heavy damage on one Japanese force and then encircling and annihilating another. They could not miss this good opportunity to inflict heavy damage on the Japanese force.
"Commander Li, look at the Third Corps' telegram for help. Which unit should we send? Should we send the 102nd Division?" After looking at the enemy and friendly situation map hanging on the wall for a while, Chief of Staff Xu turned to ask Commander Li. He was also very clear about the importance of the Japanese troops in Linyi, and knew that at this time a powerful force must be sent to attack the Fifth Division from the flank. This would deal a certain blow to the Fifth Division and prevent it from launching an attack to the south in the future.
Commander Li did not answer Chief of Staff Xu immediately, but walked slowly around the office. He was a little hesitant about whether to send out the 102nd Division of the Central Army. After thinking for a while, he walked to the map and looked at it carefully, then turned to Chief of Staff Xu and said, "Brother Yanmou, the 102nd Division of the Central Army cannot be moved. It is our trump card at the moment, and it is not the time to use it yet. It is a hard bone I left for the Japanese th Division on the west route to chew."
"Then, which unit should we send to reinforce the Third Corps? We have no more troops that can be mobilized near Linyi, and the reinforcement unit must have the courage to move forward. Otherwise, it will be difficult to accomplish the strategic concept of severely damaging the Japanese Fifth Division, thereby forcing the Fifth Division to stop fighting southward." Chief of Staff Xu also frowned. He knew that Commander Li was worried that the 102nd Division would be out of the control of the war zone after being sent to reinforce Linyi, and he was also worried that the 102nd Division would not work hard and would not achieve the strategic concept of the war zone.
"I just checked. The southern front is generally stable now. The 13th Division of the Japanese Army suffered heavy losses on the north bank of the Huai River some time ago. Without strong reinforcements, it will be difficult for the Japanese Army to launch another attack on the southern front. I suggest that the 59th Army on the north bank of the Huai River be transferred here and Commander Zhang be asked to reinforce the Third Corps. He will definitely complete our previous strategic plan." Commander Li told Chief of Staff Xu about the reinforcements he had selected.
"Commander Li, Commander Zhang's 59th Army does meet the requirements for the attack, but there is a huge old grudge between him and Commander Pang of the Third Corps. Is this arrangement appropriate?" Chief of Staff Xu quickly reminded Commander Li in front of him.
"Oh? There is such a thing? Yan Mou, tell me about it." Commander Li really didn't know that there was a deep conflict between the two, so he asked hurriedly.
It turned out that during the Central Plains War, Commander Pang of the Third Corps and Commander Zhang of the 59th Army were both subordinates of Feng who defected from the Northwest Army. Later, Commander Pang learned from his superior Feng, accepted money from the top leaders at the time, defected on the battlefield, and opened fire on Commander Zhang's Northwest Army. This caused the surrounding Northwest Army to find that their friendly forces suddenly became enemy forces and they were caught off guard. Commander Zhang was also seriously injured by Commander Pang, which led to a great hatred between the two.
After listening to Chief of Staff Xu's explanation, Commander Li was also happy. He was also a direct participant in the Central Plains War. He thought for a while and said to Chief of Staff Xu with a smile: "Yanmou, based on my understanding of General Zhang, he should not refuse this order. How about this, you give the order to the 59th Army first. I believe that at this time of national crisis, Commander Zhang will put aside his personal grudge with Commander Pang."
Lieutenant General Seishirō Itagaki, commander of the 5th Division of the Japanese Army, was currently in the division headquarters, looking at the battle situation in the direction of Linyi on the map. He was not very satisfied with the attack on the front line. The Third Corps of the Chinese local faction army was defending Linyi. This corps had only 13,000 people in total, and their equipment was extremely poor. The entire corps had only four mountain cannons. However, his own offensive forces were blocked on the outskirts of Linyi City, and the speed of progress was very unsatisfactory.
"Your Excellency the division commander, the intelligence department has received the latest news that the Fifth War Zone of China will send the 59th Army to Linyi to reinforce the Third Corps." The division chief of staff, Major General Sakurada Takeshi, came over with a telegram and reported.
Itagaki Seishirō took the telegram and read it, then asked, "Where is the 59th Army now?"
Sakurada Takeshi searched on the map, then pointed to an area on the north bank of the Huai River and said, "According to intelligence, China's 59th Army is still defending the north bank of the Huai River. They have previously fought against the 13th Division of the Central China Expeditionary Army."
"Well, General Zhang of the 59th Army is a formidable soldier. Unfortunately, it will take at least three days for his troops to reach Linyi. This period of time is enough for us to capture Linyi." After calculating the time required for the 59th Army to reach the Linyi battlefield, Itagaki Seishirō came to an optimistic conclusion.
Sakurada Takeshi also did a quick calculation in his mind. He also thought that his division commander's prediction was correct, so he nodded and said, "Yes, sir, I also think that the 59th Army cannot reach Linyi within three days. Although our current attack speed is not fast, with the loss of combat effectiveness of the Chinese Third Army on the opposite side, I believe that the subsequent battle process will become smoother. There will be no problem in occupying Linyi within three days."
After hearing his chief of staff's analysis, Itagaki Seishirō nodded in agreement and said, "Well, tell the attacking troops to take Linyi within three days. Sakurada-kun, you also know that I have a bet with Lieutenant General Rensuke Isogai, the commander of the 10th Division, to see who can reach Xuzhou first. I don't want my 5th Division to lose this bet."
Commander Zhang of the 59th Army was stunned for a moment after receiving the order from the theater command. The commanders in the theater knew that he had a grudge against Commander Pang, but the theater still sent the 59th Army to reinforce Linyi. This showed that the battle situation in Linyi was already very critical. This also showed the trust that Commander Li of the theater had in him. Commander Li believed that he would give up personal grudges at this time of national crisis.
Commander Zhang immediately ordered all troops of the 59th Army to set out immediately and march quickly to the Linyi battlefield. In accordance with the order of the theater command, they attacked the Japanese 5th Division that was attacking Linyi from the flank.
General Zhang knew very well that in order to fulfill the order given to him in the war zone telegram to severely damage the Japanese offensive forces, he had to launch an attack unexpectedly. Considering the huge disadvantage in weapons and equipment of the two armies, if his 59th Army wanted to complete this strategic concept, it had to march quickly, suddenly appear on the battlefield, and launch a surprise attack on the Japanese flank.
Under the leadership of General Zhang, the officers and soldiers of the 59th Army marched quickly and reached the flank of the 5th Division's offensive force that was attacking Linyi in just one day and one night, and launched an attack when the Japanese army was completely unprepared for defense.
The attacking force of the Fifth Division was completely stunned by the officers and soldiers of the 59th Army who suddenly attacked from the flank. The Japanese commander also found it incredible. According to their estimation, it would take about two days for the reinforcements of the Chinese troops to arrive in Linyi. When they were preparing to adjust their deployment and mobilize troops to stop the 59th Army that attacked from the flank, the remaining officers and soldiers of the Third Corps, who had been passively attacked from the front, suddenly launched a counterattack from the front.
The Japanese army was now attacked from both inside and outside, and was in a state of disarray. It could only mobilize troops to block and defend on both sides. However, under the desperate attack of the 59th Army, the Japanese army fled to Ju County after less than four days of resistance. The Japanese army was also prepared to play coward and defend Ju County, waiting for the arrival of reinforcements.
At this point, the Japanese Army's Fifth Division's southward attack on the eastern route was temporarily stopped, which also cut off an important arm of the Japanese Army on the northern line of the Jinpu Road, and also created a favorable space for later dealing with the Tenth Division.
Zhang Wenwu was looking at the battle report of the victory in Linyi. While he was happy about the victory, he was also thinking, why didn't Commander Li use the 102nd Division on standby in Xuzhou to rescue Linyi, but instead sent the 102th Army to reinforce? What on earth were the bigwigs in the war zone thinking? Was it really as he guessed, that the nd Division would be sent to guard that village? Wasn't that the job of the Second Army?
At the beginning of the Linyi counterattack, the Japanese 10th Division in the west, led by Lieutenant General Isogai Lianjie, launched an attack southward regardless of the consequences. His first target was the important town: Tengxian
The Japanese army responsible for attacking Tengxian was the 10th Regiment of the 33rd Infantry Brigade of the 10th Division. After learning that the 10th Division of the Japanese Army was moving south, the Fifth War Zone Command immediately mobilized Sun Zhen's 22nd Sichuan Army to defend Tengxian. The day of the war was getting closer.
(Thanks to Luo Degui who likes two-headed fish, Lu Yilin who likes to chop melons, KING kid, Zhi Xia Xia, Zhatianbang.sack, Wang Dagou, and the knight who reads a lot of books for their gifts! Thank you all for your support and encouragement!)
(In addition, the Spring Festival is approaching, and since the weather has been bad recently, please be safe on your way home!)