Anti-Japanese War: From Becoming Chu Yunfei to Rising

Chapter 135: Muchuan Detachment Goes South, Arrogant Japs (Subscribe)
"Report, Commander, Chu Yunfei's troops called to inquire about the movements of the Japanese army."

"Call back immediately. Except for the Japanese troops in Xingtai who have come out in full force, the Japanese troops in southeastern Shanxi have not yet been dispatched."

"Yes!"

Chu Yunfei did the same.

After bringing the heavy mortar battalion to knock out all the firing points outside the city.

Then he returned to the front-line command post.

It's getting late.

The general offensive will certainly be launched tomorrow.

According to previous intelligence and the yellow and green bars in the three-dimensional combat map.

According to conservative estimates, there are still at least 1,000 Japanese troops in the city.

The general offensive began, and the battle would take at least six hours of fighting.

Chu Yunfei urgently needed to know the movements of the Japanese army.

Comprehensive telegrams from all parties.

And the latest intelligence forwarded by the Second War Zone Commander Headquarters.

The Japanese army seemed unconcerned about the fighting that broke out in the Handan area.

The offensive focus of the First Army combat forces in Shanxi region was placed on the northern Shanxi region.

A large number of troops were organized in northwest Shanxi and the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei region to carry out net-sweeping operations.

When this information was placed in front of Chu Yunfei.

He couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

this point in time.

The battles in the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei region are recorded in the war history.

However, in northwestern Shanxi, the sudden outbreak of a battle of such scale was most likely caused by other reasons.

It was beyond his control, which was interesting.

The battle in the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei region was led and commanded by Political Commissar Nie, deputy commander of the 115th Division.

The background is that the main force of the 115th Division moved south to fight in the southeastern Shanxi region.

Under his leadership, the Eighth Route Army grew from a 2,000-man garrison to a size of 15,000 in just one month.

After the Japanese army learned the news.

They wanted to take advantage of the Eighth Route Army's unstable foothold to annihilate and wipe it out.

This battle is also known as the "Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region smashes the Eighth Route Army's siege" operation.

Adopt a combination of guerrilla warfare and mobile warfare.

The combat deployment was determined as follows: "Use guerrillas to constantly harass, consume and tire the enemy, while the main force will secretly assemble and wait for an opportunity to annihilate the enemy."

We are determined to form a guerrilla force using the method of old leading new, in order to widely harass, deplete, and exhaust the enemy forces that are under siege.

Some guerrilla units attacked Japanese rear strongholds and transportation lines day and night to contain and confuse the Japanese army;
The main forces of the four military sub-districts were dispersed and secretly assembled to seek opportunities to annihilate the enemy.

Take advantage of the Japanese army's unfamiliarity with the terrain.

The Japanese army was worn down and defeated, causing the so-called siege to fail.

Is this operation led by Katsuki Seiji or commanded by Terauchi Hisaichi?

There is no conclusion yet.

However, what can be confirmed is that Terauchi Hisaichi approved Kozuki Seiji's battle plan.

The battle ended with the Japanese and puppet troops losing more than a thousand people.

As for the losses of the Eighth Route Army, Chu Yunfei did not have much impression.

But no matter what, it is a victorious battle.

Logically speaking.

When he took the initiative to attack Handan.

It will inevitably affect the strategic deployment and situation of the Japanese army in the entire southeastern Shanxi region.

however.

The commander of Shanxi's First Army, Kiyoshi Kozuki, seemed unwilling to pay attention to Chu Yunfei's actions.

Could it be that Terauchi Hisaichi changed his strategic intentions?

Focus on the battlefield in Shanxi and prioritize ensuring the output security of resource areas?
If this is true...this old devil Terauchi Juichi really cannot be underestimated.

but
Based on Chu Yunfei's understanding of these old devils, he felt that this matter seemed unlikely.

These old devils in high positions are all very stubborn.

Forcing him to accept Katsuki Seiji's strategy... would probably be more painful than killing him.

The original idea was to go south along the Pinghan Line and sweep across Hebei and Henan.
If the Fifth Division and Chahar Corps had not been deeply involved in the Shanxi battlefield, he would not have changed his strategic intentions.

During this period of time, we should be planning to attack Shandong and Xuzhou.

Chu Yunfei raised his eyebrows.

I thought of a possibility!
Is it possible?

The conflict between the First Army Commander Katsuki Seiji and the North China Expeditionary Army Commander Terauchi Hisaichi broke out ahead of schedule.

If Katsuki Seiji refuses to carry out Terauchi Juichi's orders.

It will also lead to abnormal deployment of Japanese troops and confusion in support at this stage.

If that's the case.

Then the next battle will be much easier and the living space may also be expanded.

fact.

Chu Yunfei actually guessed it.

At this time, the battle in the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Border Region was in full swing.

Although often achieved considerable results.

But the Eighth Route Army troops killed were basically not the main force.

The vast majority of the guerrillas wore ordinary people's clothes.

Let’s talk about the difference between us and ordinary people.

It is the military cap on his head.

The fighting style of these guerrilla fighters gave the Japanese army a lot of headaches.

Although it does not have any lethal weapons such as guns.

But rely on familiarity with the terrain.

Traps were set up everywhere on the routes that the Japanese had to take.

Its combat methods include but are not limited to: lighting firecrackers to harass, burying earth mines...
Many guerrilla fighters even hid on the hillsides, pushing large rocks down and throwing stones.

Although the Japanese troops did not suffer too many casualties.

but.

They were exhausted from the continuous attacks.

This situation is very unfavorable for the subsequent operations.

The respective commanders also understood this.

Chase and kill three to five guerrillas, or at best twenty to thirty.

More often than not, it's when they're climbing up the hillside or the top of a mountain with difficulty.

The guerrillas had long since disappeared.

Most of the day was wasted.

Time was wasted, and supplies and ammunition were consumed.

But the mission progress...has hardly improved at all.

At the current rate.

Kiyoshi Kozuki also knew that these little devils were totally incapable of completing the original cleaning task.

After all, four days had passed and they still hadn't found the main force of the Eighth Route Army.

People eat and horses chew, and the logistical pressure increases.

The pressure from the North China Expeditionary Army Headquarters has also been transmitted to him.

Telegrams representing the will of the North China Expeditionary Army Commander Terauchi Hisaichi came one after another. Kazuki Seiji was under tremendous pressure at this time.

On the one hand, he needed to fight against the Central Army and the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army which were conducting mobile warfare in the mountainous area of ​​Jinzhong.

On the one hand, he also needed to personally direct the encirclement and suppression operations in northern Shanxi.

If it weren't for the First Army Chief of Staff Hashimoto Gun's help in the battle in northwestern Shanxi.

I'm afraid this old devil's rest time will not exceed four hours a day.

Just as Kiyoshi Kozuki and a group of combat staff were discussing the possible location of the main force of the Eighth Route Army.

The confidential clerk presented another new telegram.

Terauchi Hisaichi bypassed him and took direct command of the 109th Division, with a main force from Shijiazhuang and part of the 16th Division, under the command of Major General Shozo Kikawa, commander of the 118th Infantry Brigade.

It was organized into the Muchuan Detachment and led its troops south to provide assistance to the Handan area.

Its combat mission was to defeat and wipe out the main force of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army in front of them.

Kazuki Seiji glanced at the telegram and was very dissatisfied: "The Chinese troops active in the southeastern part of Shanxi are just the remnants that were defeated in the previous battle. It is irresponsible to the empire to waste military strength in such a blatant way."

"The main force of the Jinsui Army, the Seventh Army, is operating in the northwest of Shanxi, and the Sixth Army is operating in the southwest of Shanxi. In my opinion, it is just a group of small troops bluffing!"

The combat staff on the side lowered their heads silently.

It was as if no one heard it.

True.

Katsuki Seiji has a high prestige in the military and is a representative of the French-educated faction.

But Terauchi Juichi's prestige is even higher!
After expressing his dissatisfaction with a few words, Katsuki Seiji frowned.

It still focused its energy on the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei region and did not regard the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army in southeastern Shanxi as an opponent.

Instead, he regarded the Eighth Route Army as a major threat to Shanxi's First Army.

"General...when our army was fighting in the northwest of Shanxi, we noticed a situation...Fu Zuoyi's troops seemed to have adopted a passive strategy of avoiding fighting against our attack...when our army attacked their defense line, there seemed to be no decent resistance. Instead, the fighting will of those poorly equipped Eighth Route Army was quite tenacious!"

"In that case, we should change the combat objectives in the northwest of Shanxi and specifically attack the Eighth Route Army and eliminate them!"

"Hai!"

That night.

Within the headquarters.

Chu Yunfei, Fang Ligong, Qian Bojun, Luo Weiguo, Wu Ziqiang and Liang Guoping gathered together.

After the intelligence summary is completed.

Operational plans and arrangements require minor adjustments.

The number of Japanese support troops that have been confirmed so far is only a few thousand.

With the current strength of the troops, we can seize the opportunity to defeat them, or even severely damage them.

The only tricky part is...

There was no suitable place for the battle.

The Japanese army supported Handan from Xingtai...it was smooth sailing.

Want to ambush.

We can only start from the villages along the road.

There was not enough time either.

The distance was too close, and if the Japanese army did not consider their own conditions, they could march overnight and arrive early the next morning.

Fang Ligong pushed his glasses and took the lead in opening the topic: "Xingtai is only 120 miles away from Handan, including the time it takes for the Japanese troops to assemble and prepare for battle.

Even if the Japanese army marches normally, they will reach the outskirts of Handan by tomorrow afternoon at the latest."

"Yes, if they are fast, they will probably arrive early tomorrow morning."

After Qian Bojun finished speaking, he added: "But the Japanese army is not a pushover. The troops that dare to counterattack them during this period are basically the elite of the Central Army. Although we are wearing the uniforms of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army, they will also regard us as the main force of the National Army. In order to ensure their own combat status, I don't think they will march overnight... We should have at least half a day."

Chu Yunfei nodded. He thought so too.

only.

The only thing he was worried about was the Japanese planes.

In this plains battle, the Japanese fighter planes are simply an unstoppable weapon of destruction.

This thing poses too great a threat to the mountain artillery regiment.

Once caught by Japanese fighter planes.

It is easy to cause a large number of casualties.

Even the damage to the artillery.

this period.

It is difficult to replenish a 75mm mountain gun with well-trained artillerymen.

There is not much time left for Chu Yunfei.

He turned sideways and said, "Sun Ming, go outside and look at the sky."

"Yes!"

Sun Ming walked out of the command center and looked up at the sky.

The waning moon hangs in the sky.

The cold wind blew, and Sun Ming shivered.

Chu Yunfei saw Sun Ming shook his head slightly.

"The weather should be good tomorrow. This is not good news. The Japanese fighter planes are likely to support the Japanese troops in Handan City."

"We cannot predict how many fighter planes the Japanese will deploy...so the duration of the battle needs to be further compressed."

Chu Yunfei turned to look at Liang Guoping, who had remained silent, and said, "Guoping, if your mountain artillery regiment fires at night, will there be any problems?"

"If we only attack Handan City, there will be no problem."

"What about precision bombardment?"

Liang Guoping shook his head: "If there is no calibration during the day...it may take more shells to achieve the corresponding effect, and it is easy to cause meaningless waste."

Chu Yunfei nodded.

During the day, they quickly broke through the Japanese army's outer positions west of the city.

The artillery positions of the mountain artillery battalion were thus advanced three kilometers.

It is only about four kilometers away from Handan City.

Although they were set up in the village, the Japanese fighter planes were not blind.

You will eventually find it if you circle it a few more times.

Anti-aircraft machine guns can only affect the attacks of Japanese fighter planes.

Chu Yunfei was not naive enough to think that he could fight for air supremacy and intercept their planes with just an anti-aircraft machine gun company.

"Commander Chu, the current situation is very difficult. I suggest that we retreat to Shexian County and fight from the defensive positions outside the city..."

Chu Yunfei hasn't spoken yet.

Qian Bojun immediately retorted, "Sir, the morale of the troops is high now. If we start strong but end weakly, the morale of the troops will surely be unstable if we withdraw hastily."

"Yes!"

Wu Ziqiang also said: "Although our regiment is the reserve force in this operation, the morale of our soldiers is high and they all want to go into battle and kill the enemy."

Chu Yunfei touched his chin and immediately gave the order: "The new infantry regiment will move to the Kangzhuang Village line."

"Kangzhuang?"

Wu Ziqiang was a little puzzled: "This place is not far from our army's position, but it is not a strategic location..."

"That's right, but after you move to this position, you can effectively protect the flank safety of my attacking force."

"We are not without help now. The main forces of two divisions of the Eighth Route Army are helping us to block the enemy. Since the Xiyang Detachment is unwilling to move, we will send a telegram to the Eastern Route Army Headquarters, requesting the 115th and 129th Divisions to take the initiative to move to the Xingtai front line and annihilate the remaining enemies in the city."

Chu Yunfei then ordered: "At dawn tomorrow, the general attack will be launched. The mountain artillery regiment will carry out saturation fire coverage on the enemies in the city. After hitting three base points, immediately withdraw to the direction of Kangzhuang.

The heavy mortar battalion also needs to move forward to the front line to provide fire support.

I don't need to explain how to use the two batteries, Cannon One and Cannon Two, right?"

Qian Bojun smiled and nodded: "Please rest assured, sir, I promise to end the battle within six hours."

"I don't have six hours to give you. You need to finish the battle within four hours. I have already helped you knock out all the firepower points outside the city and the street fighting inside the city. After the bombardment is over, you can only rely on yourselves."

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)