Anti-Japanese War: From Becoming Chu Yunfei to Rising

Peking, North China Front Army Headquarters.

The air inside the operations room was heavy and oppressive.

General Okamura Yasuji sat at the head of the table, his cold gaze sweeping across the coordinates on the map that were marked "Liaocheng".

"Report."

Chief of Staff Major General Shinichi Kitajima strode to the map and reported rapidly: "The latest aerial reconnaissance shows that the Chinese armored forces have halted their advance outside Liaocheng and have begun constructing field fortifications."

"They seem to be waiting for follow-up infantry groups."

"Block the enemy's stronghold and strike at their reinforcements, or proceed steadily and surely."

Okamura Neiji remained expressionless, tapping his baton lightly on the table: "Chu Yunfei's lack of haste in attacking the city indicates that he is determined to win."

"He wants to remove Liaocheng as a thorn in our side and completely open the door to western Shandong."

He turned to look at the commander of the 12th Army, Tsuchihashi Ichiichi: "Why is the 12th Army's reserve force so late in arriving?"

"The Jinpu Railway was subjected to large-scale sabotage by the Eighth Route Army, and railway transportation was interrupted."

Tuqiao stood at attention and answered in a hoarse voice: "The main force is tied down to the east and south to guard against the enemy's flanking maneuvers. We cannot send strong troops to reinforce Liaocheng in a short time. But don't worry, there are at least four infantry battalions of combat troops in the area around Liaocheng. With our defense of the city, the enemy will have a hard time breaking through in a short time."

Okamura Neiji remained silent for a moment.

The situation is very clear.

Once Chu Yunfei's armored forces merge with the infantry, it will only be a matter of time before they capture Liaocheng.

At that time, the Luxi Plain will be indefensible, and the defense line of Jinan and even the entire Shandong will face collapse.

"The North China Front Army has no mobile forces available."

Okamura Neiji's voice was calm to the point of being cold: "Call headquarters immediately."

"Report on the critical situation in North China. If Liaocheng falls, the Jinpu Railway will be cut off, and the barrier of Manchuria will also be lost."

"I once again request the General Headquarters to immediately coordinate the entry of the Kwantung Army into the pass for reinforcements."

……

Tokyo, Imperial Palace Library, underground headquarters meeting room.

A huge world map hangs on the wall, marked with a dense array of red and blue arrows.

Unlike in the past, today everyone's attention is not focused solely on the crumbling Chinese battlefield, but rather on distant Europe.

Major General Seizo Arisue, Chief of Intelligence at the General Staff Headquarters, is currently giving a briefing on the global war situation.

Although his voice was low, it conveyed a rare sense of optimism.

"Your Excellencies, according to a top-secret urgent telegram sent by General Hiroshi Oshima, the military attaché stationed in Germany."

Seizo Arisue pointed his baton at the long front line of the Soviet-German war, eventually stopping at a salient called "Kursk".

"On July 5, the German army assembled its most elite forces, including SS panzer divisions, and launched an offensive codenamed 'Citadel'."

"Currently, both sides have deployed more than four million troops, tens of thousands of armored vehicles and fighter jets on the Kursk steppe."

"This is a decisive battle of unprecedented scale in human history!"

"Although the Soviet army fought tenaciously, intelligence from allies indicated that its strategic reserves, the Steppe Front and the Fifth Guards Tank Army, had been forced into the battlefield."

"We thus conclude that the Soviets will be completely pinned down in Europe for a very long time to come, and will have no spare capacity to attend to their Far Eastern borders!"①
Upon hearing this, Hideki Tojo's tense face relaxed slightly.

Immediately afterwards, Seizo Arisue's baton swept across the Mediterranean Sea and landed on the island of Sicily in southern Italy.

"At the same time, the British and American allies launched an amphibious landing operation on July 10, codenamed 'Operation Husky,' with their target being Sicily."

"Intelligence indicates that the Allied forces deployed more than 3,000 ships and 4,000 aircraft for this landing, and their elite forces, such as the US 7th Army (Patton) and the British 8th Army (Montgomery), were all deeply involved in the Italian theater."

Seizo Arisue turned around, facing the group of high-ranking officials around the round table, and made the summary of that strategic misjudgment that "excited" everyone:

"Your Excellencies, based on the analysis of intelligence from various sources, the General Staff has reached the following conclusion."

"The Allied 'Europe First' strategy has not changed, and due to the escalating conflict in Europe, its war resources and troop deployment have reached their limits!"

"Although the United States has a strong industrial base, it cannot support two decisive-level offensives simultaneously in Europe and the Pacific!"

"Therefore, the so-called 'new equipment' and 'joint fleet' that appeared on the China battlefield were likely the Americans drawing on their last reserves in an attempt to cover up their subsequent weakness with a last-ditch, desperate attack!"

"Yoshi!"

Chief of the Naval General Staff Osami Nagano slapped his thigh, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes: "How could the Americans possibly have an endless number of aircraft carriers!"

"Their actions on Qiongzhou Island must have emptied the Pacific Fleet's coffers!"

"As long as we can hold off this wave, they will be forced to halt their offensive due to logistical exhaustion!"

Hideki Tojo nodded slightly; this deduction was very much in line with the typical Japanese way of thinking.

Resources are limited; if you use one, you won't have any left over.

They couldn't imagine that once America's industrial machine was running at full speed, it could simultaneously overwhelm two battlefields.

"In that case."

Hideki Tojo's gaze shifted to the last seat at the round table, where the newly appointed Foreign Minister, Mamoru Shigemitsu, sat.

"Shigemitsu-kun."

Hideki Tojo's voice carried a newfound confidence, along with the cunning of a gambler: "Since the Allies are now exhausted from the European theater, this may be the best opportunity for us to restart negotiations."

Mamoru Shigemitsu adjusted his monocle, his expression still grave: "Your Excellency, the previous 'peace draft' has been publicly torn up by Chang Ruiyuan, and the Chinese side's attitude is extremely tough, demanding unconditional surrender."

"That's the attitude of the Chinese, not the Americans!"

Hideki Tojo interrupted him, his tone urgent: "Chang Ruiyuan and Chu Yunfei are merely agents of the Americans. If the Americans feel it's not worth continuing to bleed in the Far East, they will force the Chinese back to the negotiating table!"

"The key is whether we can offer something that will appeal to the Americans."

Hideki Tojo stood up, placed his hands on the table, leaned forward, and stared intently at Mamoru Shigemitsu:
Has the Ministry of Foreign Affairs conducted an assessment?

"If we want to reach an armistice agreement while keeping the bottom line of preserving 'Manchukuo' and 'rule over Korea' firmly in place, are we willing to make further concessions?"

There was dead silence in the conference room.

Everyone knows what "further concessions" means.

Mamoru Shigemitsu was silent for a moment before slowly speaking, his voice somewhat hoarse: "Your Excellency, if you must preserve Manchuria and Korea..."

"Then, we may need to give up more."

"For example?" Hideki Tojo pressed.

“For example, we can promise not only to withdraw all troops from China, but also,” Shigemitsu Mamoru gritted his teeth, “we can announce the abandonment of the concept of the ‘Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere’.”

“We could even promise to withdraw troops in stages from the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), Malaya and other places after the war, and restore the ‘open door’ policy in those areas, allowing American capital to enter freely.”

"idiot!"

Nagano Osami couldn't help but roar, "That's oil and rubber that the Imperial Navy bought with their blood! If we abandon the South Seas, how will the Combined Fleet operate?!"

"Nagano-kun!"

Hideki Tojo sharply stopped him, his eyes cold: "If the mainland is bombed flat, what's the point of having oil?!"

"The key now is survival!"

"As long as we preserve Manchuria as our industrial base and Korea as our springboard, the empire will still have a chance to rise again!"

Hideki Tojo turned to look at Mamoru Shigemitsu, his eyes filled with a desperate resolve:

"Just do as you say!"

"Immediately send a new signal to Washington through neutral channels in Sweden or Switzerland!"

"Tell the Americans that Japan is willing to give up its occupied southern territories, open its markets, and withdraw its troops from China!"

"We have only one request—we are willing to withdraw our troops from Chinese territory, and only hope to retain our sovereignty over Manchuria and Korea, and preserve the status quo of our great Japanese brother state."

"The Americans are currently bogged down in Europe, and they certainly don't want any more deaths in Asia!"

"This is a win-win situation!"

"They will definitely consider it!"

After a moment's hesitation, Shigemitsu Mamoru said in a low voice, "However, Your Excellency, the Chinese will not agree to our peace terms."

The words have not yet fallen.

A communications officer rushed into the operations room.

"Report!"

Hideki Tojo's heart tightened.

Everyone turned to look at the communications officer, who appeared somewhat anxious, with complicated expressions.

After a while.

Hideki Tojo stood in front of a huge map of East Asia, his back to his staff: "You have all seen Okamura Yasuji's telegram."

Hideki Tojo's voice was calm, revealing neither joy nor anger: "The situation in North China has deteriorated. Chu Yunfei's troops have used a large amount of new American equipment, and it is difficult to maintain the front line with the existing forces of the North China Area Army alone."

"Your Excellency Prime Minister."

The Army Deputy Chief of Staff stepped forward and reported, "There are currently no full-scale divisions available for deployment domestically." "The only feasible solution is to draw troops from the Kwantung Army."

"However, the movements of the Soviet army in the Far East are unclear, and the defense of Manchuria is equally important."

Hideki Tojo turned around, his gaze falling on the Manchurian border on the map.

"If North China is not saved, Manchuria will also lose its strategic depth."

He walked to the table, picked up a red and blue pencil, and circled two unit numbers on the Kwantung Army's garrison map.

"Order."

Hideki Tojo issued the order, his tone leaving no room for argument:

"First, immediately draw the 29th Division (code name: Lei) and the 57th Division (code name: Ao) from the Kwantung Army."

"These two divisions have been stationed in Manchuria for a long time, are well-equipped, and have strong field combat capabilities."

"Order them to immediately move into the pass by rail and come under the command of the North China Area Army, so as to block the northward advance of the Chinese army."

"Secondly, regarding the issue of the weak defense in Manchuria."

Hideki Tojo pointed his pen to several fortified areas along the border: "Activate the three 'border guard units' that were secretly formed in the first half of this year."

The Deputy Chief of Staff nodded slightly and quickly took notes.

The so-called "border guard force" was a "switcheroo" tactic implemented by the General Headquarters to cope with insufficient manpower.

These units were primarily composed of Japanese officers and non-commissioned officers, while the core soldiers were largely recruited from puppet troops of Manchukuo and Japanese settlers.

"Order these three garrison units to quickly take over the defense zones of the 29th and 57th Divisions."

Hideki Tojo coldly said, "Maintain radio silence, use the original division number for disguise, and strictly block information."

"As long as the Soviets can't tell the difference, that's enough."

This is an extremely high-risk strategy of robbing Peter to pay Paul.

Fortunately, the Soviets are currently engaged in the Battle of Kursk and have no time to look south.

Faced with the impending collapse of North China, this was the only option for the base camp.

"Send electricity to Okamura Yasuji."

Hideki Tojo put down his pen: "Reinforcements have been mobilized."

"This is the empire's last strategic reserve force."

"If we can't hold North China, let him apologize to His Majesty the Locust King himself."

"Hai!"

Outside Liaocheng, North China, at the temporary assembly point of the 88th Group Army's armored brigade, the camp was brightly lit.

"that whoever!"

"The maintenance officer of the Third Battalion, come here!"

Instead of looking at maps in the command post like the infantry officers, Xing Zhigang, the commander of the 1st Armored Regiment, crawled under the chassis of an M4A3 Sherman tank.

His face was covered in grease, and he was holding an adjustable wrench. Pointing at the suspension system, he shouted, "Look at this idler wheel!"

"How worn out are the bearings?"

"If we go all out tomorrow in this condition, the tracks will definitely come off!"

"Then we'd become sitting ducks. The Japanese 37mm cannons couldn't penetrate it with one shot, but what about two or three shots?"

"Commander, we're running out of spare parts." The maintenance sergeant looked troubled: "The logistics trucks are still on their way, and the new road wheels and idler wheel bearings won't arrive until noon tomorrow at the earliest."

"Tomorrow at noon?"

"By then, the daylilies would be cold!"

Xing Zhigang crawled out from under the tank, took off his gloves, which were covered in black oil, and threw them hard on the ground. But instead of unreasonably demanding that the soldiers "tie themselves up with their belts," he glared at two severely damaged tanks in the corner of the camp:
"I see those two cars, number 04 and number 12. These two cars won't be repaired anytime soon."

Xing Zhigang's tone was cold and decisive: "Pass on my orders: dismantle those two cars and get the parts."

"The main attacking battalions, the First and Second Battalions!"

"Commander, those are two Shermans, you can still fix them."

"Cut the nonsense!"

"Tanks lying around are just a pile of scrap metal; they only become deadly weapons when they're moving!" Xing Zhigang interrupted him. "I just want my assault spearhead to be sharp by tomorrow morning! Even if it means robbing Peter to pay Paul, make sure over 90% of my tanks are ready for combat!"

"Yes! I'll go dismantle it right away!"

The repairman accepted the order and left.

Brigade Commander Yin Chongyue happened to be inspecting the area at that moment. Upon seeing this scene, a look of satisfaction appeared on his originally serious face.

He stepped forward and handed Xing Zhigang a clean towel: "Well done, Tie Tou. You know how to maintain your car by using it. I thought you'd be forcing the guys at the repair shop to do magic tricks."

Xing Zhigang took the towel, wiped his face haphazardly, chuckled, revealing a set of white teeth: "Commander, we did learn a thing or two from the US military advisors, after all."

"Armored troops are a technical job, and there's no room for shortcuts."

"If even one screw isn't tightened properly, it can be fatal on the battlefield."

"But..." Xing Zhigang pointed to the north, a hint of anxiety in his eyes: "I'm not at ease, Commander. If the Japanese can't beat us, they'll definitely have to call in reinforcements. Everyone says the Kwantung Army is elite and has tank divisions. If something goes wrong, wouldn't that ruin your counterattack plan?"

“You’re right, so I’ll send a telegram tonight to try to launch an attack as soon as possible and recapture Liaocheng.”
-
at the same time.

The northern section of Jinpu Road, 200 kilometers from Liaocheng.

South of Heze.

Provisional headquarters of the Eighth Route Army's Eastern Expeditionary Column.

"Commander, the Japanese supply depot in Heze is just ahead."

Zhang Dabiao pointed to the map and said to Li Yunlong in a low voice, "According to inside intelligence, a large amount of food and ammunition are stockpiled here and are ready to be transported to the front line in Liaocheng."

"Moreover, there may be another military train coming from the north passing through here tonight."

Li Yunlong now wears a woolen overcoat and stands ramrod straight.

He held up his binoculars and observed the outpost in the distance. It was brightly lit, with searchlights sweeping back and forth, and heavily guarded.

"Goodness, those Japanese devils are on guard against us!"

Li Yunlong lowered his binoculars, a cunning and ruthless glint in his eyes: "You want to move the stuff away, and you want the train to get past?"

"Did you ask Old Li?"

"Old Zhao, we can't let them get all the good stuff, right?"

Political Commissar Zhao Gang walked over with a telegram, his expression serious: "Old Li, this is not the time for jokes. We just received an urgent telegram from headquarters."

"A comrade in the Northeast sent a message at great personal risk: a Japanese unit is secretly assembling; its designation is the 29th Division. Further details are currently unavailable. The intelligence officer sacrificed himself after sending the telegram."

Li Yunlong's brows furrowed with a hint of seriousness: "The Kwantung Army?"

"Yes, they're probably elite troops again."

Li Yunlong snorted coldly, took off his hat and fanned himself: "Damn it, another elite force?"

"I'm going to take down the elite!"

"Since the Nationalist army is making a killing on the front, we'll trip up the Japanese from behind and fight according to the battle plan previously drafted by the joint command!"

Zhao Gang nodded slightly in agreement. Li Yunlong turned around, looked at the several regimental commanders behind him, and his tone became authoritative and full of murderous intent:
"Give me the order!"

"Zhang Dabiao!"

"Have!"

"You will lead a regiment to be the main force in attacking Heze South Station!"

"Make a big commotion to draw the enemy's fire!"

"Li Manzhi!"

"To!"

"You take the Second Regiment around to the north side of the station and dismantle the railway tracks!"

"Whether it's an armored train or an troop carrier, they must be stopped north of Heze!"

"Deputy Brigade Commander Kong!"

"arrive."

"You take the Third Regiment as reserves, and while you're at it, take down those pillboxes around here. Don't let these puppet troops cause me any trouble!"

After assigning tasks to the infantry, Li Yunlong waved his hand and pointed to the artillery positions behind him.

"The artillery battalion directly under the column, set up all those dozens of American mortars that Brother Chu sent!"

"And bring out all those weapons from the mountain artillery company too!"

"In order to support the friendly forces launching a frontal assault, we must also fight well."

"Yes!" (End of this chapter)