Quartermasters can also fight the devils

Chapter 321: Prelude to the War

The 31st Army Group was also relocated from northern Hunan to Zaoyang. After receiving the Military Commission's order to relocate and change the combat sequence of the Fifth War Zone, Commander Tang also led his troops to Zaoyang urgently.

The main reason why Commander Tang took this order so seriously was that the top government leaders personally sent a telegram to Commander Tang. In the telegram, the top government leaders asked Commander Tang to rush to Zaoyang as soon as possible to make corresponding preparations for the subsequent war.

In addition, the highest level of the government also told Commander Tang that the new 22nd Army stationed in Xiangyang would support his troops and if any situation occurred, the two troops must help each other. This was also to reassure Commander Tang that he had absolutely reliable helpers by his side.

Commander Tang was very confident about the New 22nd Army. Both sides belonged to the government's direct troops. If there was any emergency, the New 22nd Army would definitely not run away alone.

Moreover, if his own troops were on the same battlefield as the New 22nd Army, he would be very secure. The combat effectiveness of the New 22nd Army was obvious to all. It would definitely not be the case that his side fought very well, but other troops were broken through by the Japanese army, causing the entire defense line to collapse.

The only thing that made Commander Tang a little uncertain was that the New 22nd Army might suddenly come up with a new combat plan during the fighting, and he would then have to cooperate with them in excess to complete the mission. He had already experienced this during the Battle of Taierzhuang.

After Commander Tang led his troops to Zaoyang, he quickly sent a telegram to Commander Chen. In the telegram, Commander Tang tactfully asked if the new 22nd Army had any new ideas or plans for future operations, could they let him know first.

In this way, you can prepare yourself in advance, or help to come up with ideas. We are all the government's direct forces, so we can discuss things together and never do anything without consulting others first.

Commander Chen also agreed to Commander Tang's request. Now the new 22nd Army has become the most glorious and powerful force in his system. It would be very good if there were other troops to take care of each other on the battlefield.

Therefore, Commander Chen politely told Commander Tang that they were all government troops and should take care of each other. He would let Commander Huang of the new 22nd Army contact Commander Tang separately to facilitate tacit cooperation in subsequent operations and strive to fight a good battle.

After receiving Commander Chen's telegram, Commander Tang finally calmed down. Now in this battle, his troops would basically not be in any great danger. Maybe they could even work with the new 22nd Army to create a new Taierzhuang victory.

The New 22nd Army was also very happy about Commander Tang's request. After all, the 31st Army Group was also very powerful. If the two armies worked together, they would not have to worry about the Japanese attack.

It can be said that if the Japanese army did not concentrate the troops of two divisions to fight against the New 22nd Army and the 31st Army Group, the Japanese army would have no chance of winning at all.

Commander Li of the Fifth War Zone did not arrange for the New 22nd Army and the 31st Army Group to participate in the attack on the Japanese army at the beginning. Instead, he temporarily placed these two forces in the war zone reserve to prevent possible large-scale attacks by the Japanese army later.

As soon as April arrived, the Fifth War Zone launched an attack on the southern section of the Pinghan Railway from the east and west in accordance with the previously formulated combat plan. At the same time, it also launched an offensive to recover lost territory from various Japanese strongholds in the direction of Zhongxiang.

For a time, the war in the northwest of the three towns was ignited again, and this also caused the land of China, which had been relatively quiet for a while, to be shrouded in war again.

The Chinese government also fully mobilized its propaganda machine, constantly promoting the significance of this operation and carrying out publicity across the country. This helped boost the morale that had been depressed due to the government's second-in-command's defection to the Japanese side, and also rekindled the confidence of the people across the country in the victory of the war of resistance.

The sudden attack by the Fifth War Zone did catch the Japanese army off guard. The 11th Army of the Japanese Army is now replenishing personnel and supplies for several divisions that are about to launch an attack. They had never expected that the Chinese army would dare to launch an active large-scale attack at this time.

After all, since the war between China and Japan, the Chinese army has never initiated a large-scale offensive. In the past, it was the Japanese army that attacked and the Chinese troops defended desperately. Even if there were some proactive attacks, they were only within a small local area.

This attack by the Fifth War Zone also made the 11th Army Commander Lieutenant General Okamura Yasuji determined to eliminate the Fifth War Zone troops as soon as possible.

He even ordered his main force to attack westwards. The Fifth War Zone of China dared to organize such a large-scale attack. If his main force attacked westwards, the troops of the Fifth War Zone would surely launch a fierce attack on the three towns in an attempt to cut off the supply lines of the westward troops. This major hidden danger must be resolved.

Therefore, Lieutenant General Yasuji Okamura ordered the Japanese troops in the garrison areas that were under attack by the Fifth War Zone troops to appropriately abandon some strongholds when they could no longer hold on, preserve the strength of the troops, and prepare for the subsequent counterattack.

The Japanese army is now fighting on many battlefields in China, and its manpower has begun to be stretched to its limits. Many occupied areas are simply unable to send troops to garrison. This is why the headquarters and the Japanese cabinet are eager to capture the mountain city, the seat of the Chinese government.

The Japanese government believed that as long as they captured the mountain city, the Chinese government would have no reason to persist and would surrender to the Empire of Japan. This war, which had consumed too much of Japan's domestic economy, would also end. At that time, the Japanese government could use the war reparations and land obtained from China to quickly restore the local economy.

Lieutenant General Okamura Yasuji, commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, also set the time of the attack on May 1st. He demanded that all the necessary personnel and supplies for the attacking force must be in place before May 1st.

Lieutenant General Yasuji Okamura believed that this time he had squeezed out three complete infantry divisions and two overstretched cavalry brigades, a total of more than 110,000 troops to launch this attack. Even if he could not completely destroy the troops of the China Fifth War Zone, he could at least severely damage the China Fifth War Zone.

This will prevent them from effectively threatening the security of the three towns for a long time afterwards.

Under the attack of the Fifth War Zone troops, the Japanese army gradually gave up some strongholds and continued to retreat, which made the battle reports of the Fifth War Zone's offensive troops look very good during this period.

As a result, the daily sales of major Chinese newspapers have been rising steadily, and the general public is eagerly looking forward to the government recovering the lost territory as soon as possible.