Anti-Japanese War: From Becoming Chu Yunfei to Rising

Chapter 446: The first batch of Huangpu students come together, the combat meeting of the China Expeditionary Army, and the Special Countermeasures Department

(already edited)
-

Japanese side.

Seishirō Sakagaki, who was kicked out of the top decision-making level, is now assisting Toshizo Nishio in organizing the meeting.

In order to better lead and command the war on the Chinese battlefield.

After the Battle of Southern Guangxi came to an end, the Japanese army quickly based itself on the 21st Army in South China.

The South China Front Army was reorganized.

Up to now.

The China Expeditionary Army commanded the North China Front Army, the 21th Army, the 17th Army, the South China Front Army and the 50rd Air Group, with a total of divisions and brigades, with a total strength of approximately .
among them.

The North China Front Army was mainly responsible for combat operations in Pingjin, Henan, Hebei, Shanxi, Shandong, Jiangsu and other places.

The current strategic positioning has been readjusted by the headquarters, and the main tasks have become: consolidating the presence in the occupied areas, maintaining public order in the Japanese-occupied areas, and completing economic development and food production as much as possible.

Obviously, strategic positioning has become extremely marginalized.

The 11th Army, a pure field army deployed around the main force of the Chongqing Army (Central Army), was responsible for the combat mission of destroying the main force of China.

The 13th Army mainly fought in southern Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui and other areas. Its main opponents were the New Fourth Army and Gu Zhutong's troops in the Third War Zone.

The South China Front Army had just been reorganized and was currently mainly responsible for combat operations in Guangdong and Guangxi. Because of the brief defeat in the southern Guangxi battlefield, the Japanese were able to quickly adjust to avoid repeating the mistakes of northern Shanxi.

Nanjing, headquarters of the Chinese Expeditionary Army.

Basically half of the active senior officers of the Japanese army that invaded China were gathered together.

Commander of the North China Front Army Tada Shun, Chief of Staff Kasahara Yukio (successor to Yamashita Tomoyuki), and Major General Lin Canghui, head of the North China intelligence department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (who is considered the Japanese who understands Chu Yunfei's tactics best in the book).

General Okamura Yasuji, commander of the 11th Army (at this point he had not yet returned to Japan to serve as a military councilor)
The commander of the 13th Army, Shigeru Sawada (the old devil who commanded the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Campaign, opened up the Zhejiang-Jiangxi railway line, and brought down the Yonai Cabinet).

Commander of the South China Front Army, Toshiyoshi Ando (former commander of the 5th Division and commander of the 21st Army).

Wait until all the generals gathered together.

Nishio Toshizo immediately ordered someone to place a newspaper in front of everyone.

"Although killing is unavoidable in war, international law should not be completely disregarded, especially for such vicious massacres, which cannot be explained away by saying that it is impossible to distinguish local identities during a law enforcement operation."

As soon as he opened his mouth he began to accuse.

The target of the attack was the commander of the North China Front Army, Tada Shun.

Tada Shun hasn't spoken yet.

The commander of the 11th Army, General Okamura Neiji, responded: "The Heavenly Locust Rescript never mentioned international law, which is enough to show the attitude of His Majesty the Heavenly Locust."

Nishio Toshizo refuted: "There is no need to explain this specifically. You should understand what kind of diplomatic pressure and external environment the empire is facing now."

Tada Shun retorted: "There is a big difference between an incident and a war, but no matter what, in order to maintain the next war, we must further strengthen public security, and the most effective way to strengthen public security is deterrent warfare."

Okamura Yasuji held a different view: "We should not focus on mopping-up offensive operations, but should win over the local Chinese and let them contribute their own strength to the security of the Japanese-occupied areas."

Sawada Shigeru also spoke up and participated in the discussion at this time: "The Locust Army has poor military discipline and insufficient combat effectiveness, which will only affect the image of the soldiers of our Great Japanese brother country!"

"The local locust army formed in southern Jiangsu has not yet reached a unified command, and even belongs to different forces. It is difficult for us to actually control them."

If the previous sentence is still an analysis of facts.

In the next round, it was the old devil Shigeru Sawada who expressed his dissatisfaction.

The work of inducing the Yamashiro government to surrender and promoting the Wang Zhaoming government accordingly was promoted by Seishirō Sakagami, the Chief of the General Staff.

But so far, Wang Zhaoming has not surrendered.

"This matter can only be promoted after the establishment of the Wang Zhaoming government. Currently, the progress is quite smooth, and relevant meetings are being organized. By then, we will push all governments to merge together. In other words, by then, the occupied areas in the entire North China and Central China will be able to achieve unified government orders."

Sawada Shigeru said slowly: "I hope we can move forward as soon as possible, otherwise this will greatly affect our enthusiasm for the battle."

"Do not worry."

Nishio Toshizo continued, "Regarding the establishment of a new government, it is not the current issue. The war in China has caused His Majesty Tianhuang to be extremely dissatisfied. For eight months, we have not yet achieved a real victory. How should we explain this to the people?"

"Some troops had poor military discipline and massacred innocent people while enforcing colonial rule. As true soldiers, they should also reflect on this!"

Tada Shun knew that this was still asking for trouble.

Just pass the blame on.

"As for the matter of the Datong Coal Mine, I have not yet assumed the post of commander of the North China Front Army. In addition, you may not understand the hardships of the soldiers and the cunning of the Chinese."

"The mining of Datong Coal Mine is related to the resource development plan of the North China Front Army, and some Chinese are unwilling to cooperate with our development work. As laborers, they are often lazy and even incite riots. It is not too much to punish them slightly on this basis, right?"

Nishio Toshizo's tone was filled with a hint of rebuke: "You describe large-scale massacres, rape and arson as minor punishments. Is this your attitude as a soldier?" Note 1
"The best way to punish thugs is to take their lives. As for rape, even men can't do it without women. As for arson, it's nonsense. If we set fire to cover up the truth, how could they find so much evidence?"

Tada Shun’s defense is actually quite weak.

Okamura Yasuji expressed his support: "I agree with what you said. We are currently facing a shortage of troops. China is too big. If we do not use some special means to maintain law and order, we will never be able to suppress so many Chinese."

"We are in a foreign country with enemies on all sides. We cannot continue to follow the traditional principles of the Japanese. That is not practical."

"Of course we stick to principles with our own people. We can also stick to principles with the Locust Army, members of the Maintenance Association, and even the good people in the Japanese-occupied areas."

Ando Rikichi, who had been silent, also spoke up at this time: "I support deterrence operations. Facing a country with such a strong manpower, using conventional means may not be effective."

"If we use deterrence tactics to make the Chinese fear the Japanese, then we may be able to truly rule this huge country."

"The troops below are fighting very hard. Our enemies are fighting for every inch of land. We have to pay a huge price for every step forward. Under such circumstances, we are bound to relax after winning the war."

Okamura Yasuji, who had just supported Tada Shun, immediately opposed Ando Toshiyoshi's views again.

“Even so, we still need

obviously.

Although Okamura Yasuji intended to defend Tada Shun.

But he also does not think that deterrence operations will really have any real effect.

There were many officers who held this idea, and Okamura Yasuji was a staunch opponent.

The so-called deterrence operation is actually a large-scale organized massacre.

All people who have connections with guerrillas and resistance forces will be subject to the principle of rather killing the innocent than letting them go.

If he continued in this way, Okamura Neiji felt that no problems would be solved and the efficiency would be extremely low.

Conflict of views among this group of people.

Nishio Toshizo didn't care.

The purpose of his convening this combat meeting was just to give a simple reprimand, without any substantial trouble.

It's more like a show to understand the specific situation of the troops below.

After all, there is a saying that is very true: it is difficult for the commander sitting in the headquarters to truly empathize with the soldiers on the front line.

"Okay, let's discuss the war situation in North China."

Nishio Toshizo spoke slowly.

The few people who were arguing originally stopped talking tacitly at this moment.

Then, at Tada Shun's signal, Lin Canghui spoke up: "Commander, please allow me to introduce to you the important intelligence about the Chinese army that the intelligence department has learned so far."

Nishio Toshizo nodded slowly.

"First, let's look at the current military strength of the Second China War Zone. The overall strength of the Second China War Zone is second only to the Ninth China War Zone, with a total of about 280,000 troops.

If divided by combat effectiveness, the 88th Group Army and the 14th Group Army have the strongest combat effectiveness.

Then came the Fifth Army, the Sixth Army, and the Thirteenth Army. The Eighty-Eighth Army, the Fifth Army, and the Fourteenth Army are currently stationed on the front line in northern Shanxi.

It is large in scale and has sufficient manpower, with an estimated combat force of around 120,000.

The Sixth Army is stationed at the Niangzi Pass line, with an estimated combat strength of around 30,000.

The 13th Army Group is the garrison force of Longcheng, and its estimated combat strength is around 25,000 men.

Besides.

The 71st Army under the command of Song Xilian, an ace unit of the Second China War Zone, was stationed in the area around Lin County.

Pei Changhui's troops of the Ninth Army were stationed in the Licheng area.

Fan Hanjie's troops of the 27th Army were stationed on the Pingxingguan-Tuanchengkou line.

It should be emphasized that according to the battle report of the 15th Mixed Brigade.

The Fifth Army completed the corresponding military reform and adjustment, and its combat effectiveness was enhanced, but they lacked heavy weapons and were not good at siege warfare.

Also.

We have received relevant intelligence that after this battle, the main forces of China's Second War Zone all suffered heavy losses.

They will not be able to launch a new offensive for at least a year."

Nishio Toshizo asked, "Have you figured out the enemy's losses this time and the specific situation of the enemy's heavy artillery units?"

"Sir, according to the information we have so far, the enemy's heavy artillery units have also suffered heavy losses in this round of operations. According to the report from the Third Aviation Group, they have destroyed at least dozens of enemy anti-aircraft guns and artillery. From the subsequent operations in the Yanggao surrounding area, the defense forces also felt that the enemy's heavy weapons firepower suddenly dropped."

"Obviously, there are only two possibilities for this to happen."

"First, their artillery has been reduced in number, and they are unable to use them in a concentrated manner to maximize their power."

"Second, they don't have enough artillery shells. Based on the Chinese government's artillery shell production capacity, it will take them at least three years to accumulate such a large number of artillery shells again."

Lin Canghui paused, and then continued: "The Sixth Army in the direction of Niangzi Pass is equipped with less than fifteen heavy artillery pieces, and the Ninth Army in the Licheng front is only equipped with mortars and other support weapons."

"Today, the artillery, anti-aircraft machine guns, anti-aircraft guns and other weapons of the entire Second and Ninth War Zones of China actually come from foreign aid."

"Both the Soviet Union and the United States have provided them with great convenience. For this reason, our North China Front Army has also applied to the headquarters to send bomber units to bomb Lanzhou Airport to weaken the comprehensive military strength of China's Second War Zone."

"But the headquarters did not approve it because they were worried that it would further provoke the Soviet Union and cause further conflicts with the Soviet Union."

Nishio Toshizo nodded slowly: "I will explain this matter to the headquarters. The bombing of Lanzhou must still be carried out. We must not let the Second Chinese War Zone continue to replenish its strength under our noses. In addition, we also need to further deal with the enemy's bomber forces and destroy them as quickly as possible."

Sakagami Seishirō then said with a serious face: "We are currently collecting further intelligence on the attacking army of the China Ace Campaign. From the current situation, except for the First Army, the remaining troops have shown tenacity and combat capabilities far exceeding those of ordinary troops."

"On this basis, the China Expeditionary Force Command decided to set up a special countermeasures department to study and collect intelligence on these troops."

Everyone's eyes subconsciously turned to Lin Canghui.

If you ask who knows Chu Yunfei's playing style best.

It must be the man sitting at the end of the table.

When he was the intelligence attaché in Shanxi First Army, he had already started to study the fighting style of Chu Yunfei's troops.

Until he later became the head of intelligence in the Shanxi, Shaanxi and Suiyuan regions, and then the head of intelligence for the North China Front Army.

Lin Canghui has been providing relevant information diligently and conscientiously.

However, it is a pity for the Japanese army.

Even if they were well prepared.

But still failed to win the battle.

Lin Canghui did not disappoint the commander of the Chinese Expeditionary Force.

He immediately continued, "We have collected some intelligence about the 71st Army and the First Army, and we have basically grasped the intelligence of Chu Yunfei's troops."

"We have also summarized and generalized the personalities of the commanders above the regimental level under his command based on their tactics and strategies for this battle."

"However, Chu Yunfei's troops have been frequently transferred, and we have more intelligence on the senior commanders."

Sakagaki Seishirō was obviously quite interested in it: "These materials."

"I've already gotten to know this by heart."

Lin Canghui seemed to be eager to make progress.

Faced with such an opportunity, he stepped forward without hesitation.

"Yoshi!" Nishio Toshizo: "Lin Cang-kun, you did a great job."

"I just want to contribute my own strength to the jihad of my brother country."

Naturally, Tada Shun had no objection.

Nishio Toshizo then moved on to the next topic: "What do you think of the report on Shinozuka Yoshio, the commander of the Shanxi First Army?"

"Chu Yunfei has always been arrogant. In this battle, our army will hold on stubbornly, and the enemy will fight for every inch of land. The bloody battle in which the entire 20th Division will be annihilated will inevitably cause a large number of casualties to the enemy."

"Gentlemen, there are no waves that only rise and never fall!"

"Chu Yunfei can't always be on the rise, we should understand this!"

Just as the Japanese military was preparing to adjust its overall strategy for the war against China and introduce corresponding policies.

At this time, Chu Yunfei was still worrying about how to restore production and life as well as construction in northern Shanxi.

Nowadays, the strength of both the enemy and us is intertwined in the entire northeastern Shanxi region.

The northern and northwestern Shanxi regions have been completely connected.

After ten days of hard resistance, a small number of Japanese and puppet troops in Zuoyun area broke through in the direction of Suiyuan.

A large number of puppet troops were also captured, and the battle of the 386th Brigade was declared over.

Around Datong.

The General Headquarters of the Northern Shanxi Front.

Fang Ligong was holding a telegram in his hand at this time, reporting the latest situation to Chu Yunfei: "Commander Chen called, the 771st and 772nd Regiments have suffered a total of more than casualties. It is estimated that more than Japanese soldiers were killed in continuous combat, and enemy and puppet soldiers were killed and wounded. people were captured. The number of captured items is still being counted. It is estimated that the loss is far greater than the capture."

"The consumed weapons and ammunition can be replenished, so they don't need to worry about that. If it weren't for the lack of heavy weapons for attacking, the battle loss ratio might be even better. Senior Chen also has many talented people who can fight."

Chu Yunfei's attitude towards Yan'an was quite ambiguous. Although he had a good relationship with them, he never got closer to them, let alone had any private contact with them.

This made Fang Ligong unable to figure out Chu Yunfei's specific thoughts for a while.

Something that even Fang Ligong couldn't figure out.

The people below were naturally confused.

Given that Chu Yunfei himself had a clear position on maintaining the anti-Japanese national united front, the people below him basically also adhered to this principle in their work.

However, Fang Ligong would think further ahead. Whenever he had the chance, he would try to test Chu Yunfei's attitude: "The command ability of the two regiment commanders Cheng and Ye is indeed good. Their long-term combat experience has given them their own unique command mode.

According to the news sent back by our own people.

After the 386th Brigade captured Zuoyun.

The main force quickly set off and withdrew to their original defense area.

but"

Chu Yunfei put down the document in his hand: "But what?"

"They left a company in the area to maintain law and order and help local residents repair their houses. Intelligence personnel are worried that they are trying to win the hearts and minds of the people..."

Chu Yunfei chuckled and said, "In that case, let's keep the Construction Corps in northern Shanxi according to the original plan, clean up the ruins, repair the houses, and on this basis, relocate the people of northern Shanxi and resettle the refugees."

(End of this chapter)