Quartermasters can also fight the devils

Chapter 509: Counterattack of the Fifth War Zone

After the Japanese army broke through the first line of defense of the Fifth War Zone of the Chinese government from three directions, Commander Li of the Fifth War Zone adjusted the deployment of the troops in response to the offensive posture of the Japanese army.

Commander Li ordered the 29th Army to conduct guerrilla warfare in the Dahongshan area and harass the Japanese troops in Jingzhong and Xianghua from the flanks.

He ordered Sun Lianzhong, commander-in-chief of the Left Army Group, to lead the First Guerrilla Column to conduct guerrilla warfare in Tongbai Mountain and to attack and harass the Japanese troops on Xianghua Road from the southwest.

In addition to the original mission, the Jiang Defense Army was ordered to send troops to cross the river and advance eastward to launch an attack in the direction of Zaoshi and Lianshan, threatening the rear of the Japanese offensive forces and supporting the operations of the right-wing army group.

He ordered the right-wing army group to send part of its forces to hold the west bank of the Xiang River, while the main force was to cross the Xiang River and assemble in the area east of the Xiang River to cooperate with the central army group to encircle and annihilate the 13th Division of the Japanese Army that was heading north from Zhongxiang.

Order the Central Army Group to hold its current defensive position, block and delay the Japanese 13th Division's continued attack westward, and resist successively to the east of Zaoyang to ensure the safety of Xiangyang and Fancheng. At the same time, send a part of the troops to the north of Zaoyang to cooperate with the Right Wing Army Group and the Dahongshan Guerrilla Army to attack the Japanese army from behind.

However, after breaking through the first-line defense positions of the Fifth War Zone of the Chinese government, the three Japanese armies made rapid progress, fully leveraging the Japanese army's mechanization advantages and advancing at a speed of thirty to forty kilometers per day.

By the eighth day of the battle, the Japanese 3rd Division had occupied Tanghe, the 13th Division attacked and occupied Wangji, and the 39th Division also attacked Suiyangdian. The Japanese offensive forces now surrounded Zaoyang.

However, although the Japanese army's attack speed was very fast, their manpower was really limited. They were simply unable to fill the attack line of the encirclement while ensuring the speed of offensive advancement. This resulted in a very large gap between the three Japanese army routes.

After resisting successively, the troops of the Fifth War Zone of the Chinese government jumped to the outer line to fight in time when the encirclement of the three attacking forces of the Japanese army had not yet closed.

However, when the 173rd Division of the 84th Army of the Central Army of the Fifth War Zone of the Chinese government was covering the transfer of the main force near Zaoyang, it was besieged by the Japanese army and its retreat was blocked. In order to break out of the encirclement of the Japanese army, the troops suffered heavy losses and even the division commander Zhong Yi was killed.

After all the troops of the Fifth War Zone jumped into the encirclement of the Japanese army, the Japanese army successfully occupied Zaoyang and sent a victory telegram to the 11th Army Headquarters: the combat objective on the left bank of the Han River has been achieved.

However, Lieutenant General Kazuichiro Sonobe, commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, was not happy after receiving the victory telegram, because he knew very well that the most important point of the first phase of the combat objectives had not been achieved, that is, to encircle the main force of the Fifth War Zone of the Chinese government and destroy it. This was completely different from occupying an empty city of Zaoyang. Moreover, the main force of the Fifth War Zone of the Chinese government had now completely jumped out of the encirclement to the outside line, which was actually a very dangerous thing for the attacking troops.

In fact, just as the commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, Lieutenant General Kazuichiro Sonobe, worried, the commander of the Fifth War Zone of the Chinese government, General Li, had concentrated the forces of 23 divisions around the Japanese offensive forces, preparing to launch a decisive battle against the Japanese offensive forces.

Commander Li of the Fifth War Zone was aware of the Japanese army's battle plan for this battle. What the Japanese army wanted was a local and rapid breakthrough, and then surround and destroy the main force of the Fifth War Zone. Therefore, Commander Li decided to avoid the Japanese army's initial attack based on the Japanese army's battle plan. After the Japanese army's supply lines and front lines were stretched, he would continue to harass the Japanese army's rear and supply lines, slowly consuming the Japanese army's morale, and then he could counterattack the exhausted Japanese offensive forces.

Commander Li knew that after occupying Zaoyang, the Japanese army did not have enough troops to occupy and defend it, and that the Japanese army needed to retreat to its original base and prepare to begin the second phase of their combat operations in this battle. Moreover, the rear and supply lines of the various Japanese troops had long been unable to cope with the harassment of the Fifth War Zone troops.

In addition, as it had been raining recently, the only way for the Japanese army to retreat was Xianghua Road, and vehicles were difficult to move on this road after heavy rain. This was a perfect time for the Japanese attacking forces to be in an unfavorable situation, lack of supplies, and have difficulty retreating.

Commander Li was waiting for this moment. He took advantage of this good opportunity to concentrate his forces to launch a counterattack against the attacking Japanese troops, and then pursue the defeated Japanese troops.

When Zaoyang was occupied by the Japanese frontal attack force, the Japanese left and right wing flanking forces were about to join forces. However, it was obvious that the rapid assault operation of the Japanese 11th Army, apart from severely damaging the 84th Army of the Fifth War Zone of the Chinese Government, did not achieve any other major results.

Lieutenant General Kazuichiro Sonobe, commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, was helpless with the outcome of the battle. Although the combat objectives of the first phase were not fully achieved, the entire battle had to continue as the headquarters was still waiting for him to lead his troops to occupy Yichang.

Therefore, Lieutenant General Kazuichiro Sonobe, commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, issued an order, ordering all front-line divisions to return to their original bases according to the previous combat plan after arriving at the Tanghe and Baihe lines, and prepare to carry out the encirclement operation on the west bank of the Han River in the second phase of the battle planned before the war.

Just three hours after Lieutenant General Kazuichiro Sonobe, commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, issued the order, Commander General Li of the Fifth War Zone of the Chinese government issued an order to all front-line troops to launch a full-scale counterattack.

After receiving the counterattack order from Commander Li, commander of the Fifth War Zone, the six divisions of the 31st Army Group moved rapidly southward from the Nanyang area in the north and attacked the Zaoyang area. The five divisions of the 33rd Army Group were in the south, responsible for blocking the Japanese army's retreat. The five divisions of the 45th Army and the 94th Army, which had been following the Japanese army, were in the southeast direction, and had almost surrounded the Japanese army that was preparing to retreat. A fierce battle began.

The Japanese troops retreating according to the combat plan first came into contact with the five divisions of the 33rd Army attacking from the south. After the retreating Japanese troops reported the situation to the headquarters of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, the commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, Lieutenant General Sonobe Kazuichiro, was very happy.

You know, the main goal of the Japanese army in the first phase was to encircle and destroy the main force of the Fifth War Zone. Although the attack speed of each unit was very fast before, the main force of the Fifth War Zone was not destroyed. Now the main force of the Fifth War Zone actually appeared on its own initiative. This is a very rare opportunity for the Japanese army.