Anti-Japanese War: From Becoming Chu Yunfei to Rising

Chapter 134: Only Japanese soldiers were injured in southeastern Shanxi; the Japanese garrison battalion suffered greatly. (Subscribe)
Battle of Handan City.

at this moment.

It attracted the attention of command organizations at all levels.

It's not just the Eastern Route Army Headquarters and the Commander-in-Chief's Headquarters in the Second World War Zone.

The Japanese North China Expeditionary Army Headquarters and even Chiang Kai-shek, who was in Wuhan at the time, were also closely following the progress of the war.

Regarding the division of command of the Eastern Army in the Second War Zone for combat purposes.

Commander-in-chief of the Eastern Route Army: Zhu, commander-in-chief of the Eighth Route Army and deputy commander-in-chief of the Second War Zone.

The troops under his command included Zeng Wanzhong's Third Army, Tang Enbo's Thirteenth Army, Zhao Shoushan's Seventeenth Division, Chu Yunfei's troops, and all Eighth Route Army troops active in the area (the main forces of the 115th and 129th Divisions and their guerrilla detachments).

Chiang Kai-shek still fully approved of it.

He has the same idea as Yan Laoxi.

It is believed that the Eighth Route Army troops will eventually return to the surface.

Rather than the "guerrilla warfare" that had been carried out before.

Regarding the anti-Japanese war situation in the entire Shanxi region and maintaining Chiang Kai-shek's leadership position.

There are many benefits.

Wuhan.

In a combat meeting room.

Chiang Kai-shek and others are closely following the war situation in Shanxi.

Not far from them, a group of combat staff were discussing the progress of the Nanjing defense war.

The war has reignited in Shanxi.

The situation in northern Shanxi was in chaos, and Chu Yunfei led his troops in the southeastern part of Shanxi to launch an active attack.

It even amazed Chiang Kai-shek and others.

Many senior generals praised Chu Yunfei's adventurous move.

"Chairman, Chu Yunfei's move is a preemptive strike. His purpose should be to annihilate the main force of the enemy with superior forces and eliminate the danger in the bud.

Otherwise, once the First Army Commander, Kiyoshi Kozuki, is free.

He will certainly mobilize the main forces of the 20th and 109th Divisions to conduct a mopping-up operation in the southeastern Shanxi region."

Bai Jiansheng paused, then raised the baton in his hand and pointed to Handan and Changzhi.

"Shangdang area... whether it is the Taiyue Mountain area to the east, the Zhengtai Railway to the north, or the Taihang Mountains to the east, they are all easy to defend but difficult to attack... If the Japanese army invades Shangdang area, they will definitely choose to attack from Handan, Wu'an, and Shexian. Only here will they have roads for supplies."

“It’s only here that there aren’t so many mountainous terrains.”

Bai Jiansheng paused, and was extremely impressed by Chu Yunfei's approach: "Brother Yujie's move may be a little risky, but if it succeeds, it will bring huge benefits."

"At least in the short term, the Japanese army will not be able to gather forces to threaten the southeastern Shanxi region."

Chiang Kai-shek, Chen Chi-xiu, Liu Fei and others nodded frequently as they listened.

Their views are not much different from Bai Jiansheng's.

"If we can annihilate the Japanese troops entrenched in Handan, the 13th Army, which is fighting the Japanese in Xiyang, will have nothing to worry about. Changzhi, Jincheng and even the entire Shangdang area will still be in our hands."

"But... according to previous intelligence, a main force of a Japanese infantry regiment with more than 3,000 troops is stationed in Xingtai alone. In Shijiazhuang, more than 3,000 troops under the command of Nakajima Imao of the 16th Division are also staying in place to rest."

"The Sixteenth Division?"

Chiang Kai-shek frowned and asked, "Aren't they fighting outside Nanjing?"

"They are the wounded and resting troops from the previous battles in North China. There are not many troops... But at this time in the area around Xiyang, there are still many main Japanese troops that have not yet been mobilized to join the previous war."

Chen Cixiu paused, then added: "A conservative estimate is that there are more than 10,000 troops, and the troops in the southeastern part of Shanxi are essentially exhausted. If we cannot annihilate the enemy in a short period of time, Chu Yunfei's troops are likely to be in danger."

As he spoke, Chen Cixiu's tone was filled with worry.

Yes, he also admitted that if this adventurous attack was successful, the benefits would naturally be significant.

But if it fails, the consequences will be equally unbearable.

It is very likely that this will prompt the Japanese army to launch an attack plan in the eastern Shanxi region ahead of schedule.

Risks and opportunities coexist.

Chiang Kai-shek frowned slightly and asked, "Jiansheng, where are the replacement groups from Guangxi and other places?"

"At present, the vanguard troops have arrived in Shaanxi. According to the plan, they will arrive at the front line within ten days and replenish the frontline troops."

"Commissioner, these 4,000 soldiers have inferior weapons and equipment, and their training is almost non-existent. Should they be trained in Shaanxi before being sent to the front line?"

Chiang Kai-shek shook his head and said: "If we train them in Shaanxi, then Enbo will not have suitable troops."

"Can"

Liu Fei also wanted to persuade him, after noticing Chiang Kai-shek's small movement of tightly gripping the cane in his right hand.

The words were not spoken.

After hesitating for a moment, Chiang Kai-shek continued, "Send a telegram to Sun Weiru, asking him to be responsible for the training and replenishment of the 17th Division and the 122nd Division of the Sichuan Army in Sichuan. The task is to complete the training within three months, and the money, food and weapons will be supplied by our Military Commission."

"Yes!"

Chiang Kai-shek took action.

The icing on the cake is not as good as the timely help.

Just as the Second World War was mired in the quagmire of war and was at a complete disadvantage.

Chiang Kai-shek quickly adjusted the allocation ratio of strategic resources and manpower.

All the troops, weapons and ammunition that were originally intended to be used to replenish the Jinpu front were transferred to the southeastern part of Shanxi.

In order to achieve a phased victory in this battle and buy enough time for victory in the Battle of Xuzhou.

Started in 1934.

In order to prepare for the war with Japan, the Military Commission ordered the large-scale construction of defensive positions and fortifications.

This is the national defense engineering works mentioned above.

Overall, the degree of completion is relatively low.

Until the outbreak of the July 7 Incident.

Some local national defense fortifications were still completed.

A series of solid defensive positions were set up along the Pinghan and Longhai railways, with Xinxiang, Shijiazhuang (already fallen), and Baoding (already fallen) as forward strongholds, and Luoyang, Kaifeng, Xuzhou, and Haizhou as the main defense zones.

This was judged by senior generals including Chiang Kai-shek.

The Japanese army's next step.

There are two possibilities.

First, go south along the Pinghan Railway, advance towards Wuhan, and cut across the east and west.

The second is to go south along the Jinpu Road and join forces in North China.

no matter what.

In Hebei, Chu Yunfei's troops took the initiative to attack.

Its own purpose was to destroy the Japanese army's manpower and defend southeastern Shanxi.

But in Chiang Kai-shek's eyes, the southeastern Shanxi region was used as bait.

In fact, it can tie down a large number of Japanese combat forces.

This is quite beneficial to the overall situation of the War of Resistance.

Of course, this is also beneficial to Chu Yunfei's troops who are in urgent need of support.

Who is injured?
In the entire southern Shanxi region, only the Japanese and Tang Enbo's troops are currently in difficulty.

Tang Enbo's 13th Army, which was previously under Fu Zuoyi's Seventh Army, was still fighting the Japanese army in Xiyang.

Even with reinforcements from the central government, Tang Enbo could no longer hold on.

Large-scale fighting had been going on for a week.

What followed was fifteen days of small-scale fighting.

The consumption of manpower and supplies was serious.

The soldiers were exhausted.

The Japanese army was also extremely exhausted.

After completely conquering Xiyang.

The Xiyang Detachment was under the command of its commander, Major General Tani Nagahide.

Stopped the attack.

It turned into a confrontation situation.

At this time, only one third of the troops of Tang Enbo's 13th Army were left.

After receiving the secret telegram from Chiang Kai-shek.

Tang Enbo just sighed and told them to pass on the order. Make preparations to celebrate the New Year in Shanxi!
After the Japanese outer positions in the west gate direction were taken out.

Chu Yunfei did not rush to order an attack.

At this time, he was standing next to Song Ming, the commander of the heavy mortar battalion.

Use functions such as bird's-eye view and fast view switching to quickly find loopholes and nodes in the Japanese defense.

"See that dead branch over there?"

Following the direction of Chu Yunfei's finger, Song Ming raised the telescope in his hand.

After a moment, he said, "I see, sir, there seems to be a Japanese heavy machine gun position over there."

"Knock him off!"

"Yes!"

Song Ming turned around and operated the cannon himself. He raised his thumb and simply measured the distance between the two sides.

A mortar shell quickly fired out.

A sharp whistle suddenly sounded above the heads of the Japanese soldiers under the dead branches.

It was the sound of artillery shells tearing through the sky.

"Cannonball!"

Not satisfied with just one shot, Song Ming put down the telescope.

Once again, a simple adjustment.

He turned around and took the shells from the ammunition carrier beside him.

Two more shells hit.

A heavy machine gun position was knocked down without firing a single shot, and the Type 92 heavy machine gun was blown into pieces.

Chu Yunfei was very satisfied with this and praised: "Well done!"

Song Ming chuckled, and he was not modest: "Others say that I, Song Ming, got to the top by flattering others."

"But they don't think about it. If our artillery is not good enough, can it be appreciated by you, sir?"

"Oh?"

Chu Yunfei laughed: "Next time someone says that, tell me and I'll seek justice for you!"

"Yes!"

Song Ming's eyes lit up and he was quite excited.

"These little Japanese soldiers are so cunning. In less than two weeks after occupying Handan City, all the depressions within a two-kilometer radius were filled up by them, leaving no shelter at all."

Chu Yunfei frowned slightly.

These little Japanese devils are very cunning.

The situation outside Handan City was slightly different from the previous intelligence.

This place is not the outer position that was previously taken down.

The Japanese troops can be fully deployed
If the infantry unit launches an attack directly.

Even with artillery support, the casualties would not be low.

Qian Bojun immediately ordered the soldiers of the first and second battalions, who were responsible for the offensive mission, to quickly carry out earthwork under the leadership of their respective company and platoon leaders.

By digging trenches, the charge distance can be shortened as much as possible.

In Qian Bojun's opinion.

Chu Yunfei was determined to wipe out the Japanese troops in Handan City.

Even if we have to fight a stupid battle, we must kill these Japs!
"At three o'clock, about 700 meters away, that place should also be a firing point. Can we attack it?"

Song Ming raised the telescope and looked over: "Yes, but the distance is too far, the visual effect is not good, and we may need to fire a salvo."

"The shells can be replenished after they are used up."

"Yes!"

Song Ming called on his soldiers to get ready.

He personally took to the field again and made simple adjustments to the shooting parameters.

Then a shell was fired.

"Boom~!"

There was an explosion, but it was a bit far from enough.

But it doesn’t matter. After calibrating a few shells, Song Ming already had an idea in his mind.

Under the command of Song Ming.

One after another, 82mm mortar shells were fired again, hitting the Japanese heavy machine gun positions again.
at this time.

"Major, the enemy's mortar units are bombarding our heavy machine gun positions. Two heavy machine gun positions have been destroyed so far."

"Nani?"

The Japanese frontline commander, Yasuoka Takefusa, was extremely surprised when he received the report.

The sound of the explosion was extremely brief. It seemed that not many shells were fired.

however.

The mortar troops were able to accurately knock out their heavy machine gun fire points.

Before this, they were able to detect the location of their own firepower points without even a single exploratory attack.

What a terrifying ability!

"The enemy commander must have studied at my Japanese Army Officer School. They know the deployment and use of our machine gun fire points very well!"

"Hai!"

The adjutant remained silent. At this time, he had no good way to deal with the enemy.

After clearing the outer strongholds, do not attack after occupying the outer second-line positions.

"The enemy's earthworks will take a lot of time, but our reinforcements will arrive by tomorrow afternoon at the latest."

Yasuoka Takefumi touched his chin. He thought about it for a long time but still had no idea why his opponent played like that.

"Report to the captain immediately!"

"Hai!"

He walked into the trench, raised the telescope in his hand and looked in the direction of Chu Yunfei, Song Ming and others.

Open area, no shelter.

The location of the 82mm mortar position can be discovered through the telescope at the first moment.

The maximum range of the 82mm mortar and the Type 97 90mm mortar equipped by the Japanese infantry company are both 2850 meters.

Even if the 82mm mortar position is within the range of our own mortars.

Yasuoka Jōji did not dare to rashly order to open fire.
After all, the mountain artillery regiment under Chu Yunfei's command is no pushover.

This battle was extremely frustrating.

The heavy mortar battalion was exposed naked in front of the Japanese like dancers.

An irresistible urge ignited in my heart.

But, Yasuoka Takefumi also knew it.

The reason why the four Type 97 90mm mortars have not been put into use on the battlefield so far.

This is because the garrison lieutenant colonel Ichiro Oi was prepared to use it when the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army launched a general offensive.

It must not be exposed before then.

The idea is beautiful.

After the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army lowered its vigilance, it hoped to inflict heavy casualties on the enemy in a short period of time.

But Chu Yunfei knew too much about the Japanese army's tactics and fighting style.

It was impossible for an independent garrison battalion to be without supporting artillery in the early stages of a war.

The Type 97 90mm mortar is almost standard equipment for garrison battalions.

It doesn’t matter if the Japs don’t want to expose their firepower.

Chu Yunfei led Song Ming and others to knock out the Japanese army's firepower points outside the city one by one.

Ichiro Oi was still hesitating.

The Japanese soldiers on the positions outside the city were suffering terribly.

A strong sense of uneasiness always hangs over my heart.

The occasional explosions were like the sword of Damocles hanging over our heads, before slashing down...
I took a train for half a day today, but I can still guarantee the update, so please rest assured.

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(End of this chapter)