Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

Launch an all-out attack on all fronts. According to Chiang Kai-shek, this meant that the Japanese forces on each front could not coordinate with each other, leaving them with loopholes in their defenses. Concentrate forces on key fronts to annihilate the Japanese forces in organized units and recover the country.

Chiang Kai-shek did not deal with it this time.

Chiang Kai-shek had carefully studied the current Sino-Japanese battlefield and saw that the Japanese army was currently undermanned. Compared to the winter offensive launched in 1939, Chiang Kai-shek was more confident in this autumn offensive.

They believed that they would be able to capture some important cities or annihilate some Japanese troops.

Unfortunately, Chiang Kai-shek knew too little about the troops under his command.

It's normal for the higher-ups to directly influence the thinking of the troops below. Just like after the Eighth Route Army crossed the Yellow River, Wang Ming returned to China as an imperial envoy, disrupting the party's internal thinking.

As a result, the Eighth Route Army and the Nationalist Army fought side by side, and many senior officers in the Eighth Route Army felt that since they had to "obey the united front," there was no need to suffer for the Eighth Route Army. At that time, many veteran Red Army soldiers and cadres defected to the Nationalist Army.

Why the correct guiding ideology is important.

Because he directly affects those below.

Since the outbreak of the Pacific War, Chiang Kai-shek had been unwilling to risk his own strength and fight the Japanese, preferring to wait for the British, Americans, and Japanese forces to decide the outcome. His subordinates were intelligent and understood his intentions. Consequently, each theater of operations shared this sentiment, waiting for victory. Therefore, while Chiang Kai-shek clearly genuinely desired a victory in the Autumn Offensive, his subordinates had a different vision. Since the start of the Autumn Offensive, the battlefields appeared lively, but the fighting was anything but intense.

Fire one shot today and one shot tomorrow.

Some war zones claimed to have deployed numerous divisions and hundreds of thousands of troops, but in reality, only about 10,000 or 20,000 troops actually participated.

The only place where the National Army took real action was Henan.

Because Chiang Kai-shek analyzed that the North China Front Army was now a dog in trouble. The Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei local Eighth Route Army could bully them, so the National Army should also beat the dog in trouble and attack North China.

Therefore, he ordered Chiang Ting-wen and Tang Enbo to launch the Campaign in Northern Henan.

The Japanese army currently stationed in northern Henan was the 36th Division, while the st Independent Mixed Brigade was stationed in southern Hebei. Both units had recently withdrawn from the Yizhong Military Region and were still under-recruiting. This gave Chiang Kai-shek greater confidence in his ability to capture northern Henan.

From northern Henan to the north, the troops can enter the southern and central Hebei regions.

After all, he was the supreme leader of the Chinese theater. As long as the troops entered southern and central Hebei, he would then ask the Eighth Route Army to vacate the area and allow the National Army to station there. If the Eighth Route Army did not obey, it would be sabotaging the war of resistance.

Anyway, this is not the first time that Chiang Kai-shek has done such a thing.

After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, there were many conflicts between the two sides due to territorial disputes. As long as it did not touch upon core interests, the Eighth Route Army would not easily clash with the Nationalist Army. In order to avoid armed conflict with the Nationalist Army, they would even give up some bases.

This is what Chiang Kai-shek thought.

Taking advantage of the current weak situation of the North China Front Army, let the National Army return to Hebei.

The Nationalist Army's First War Zone still had a large number of troops. In this Northern Henan Campaign, the Nationalist Army dispatched Tang Enbo's 28th Army, Sun Lianzhong's 2nd Army, Pang Bingxun's 24th Army, and Sun Tongxuan's 3rd Army.

The Japanese 36th Division was in Xinxiang, while the Nationalist troops surrounded it from three sides. Pang Bingxun's 28th Army was stationed in southeastern and southern Shanxi, Tang Enbo's 2th Army and Sun Lianzhong's 3nd Army were in southern Henan, and Sun Tongxuan's rd Army was in Xuchang.

Tang Enbo and Sun Lianzhong's troops also needed to protect the security of southern Henan.

So it is impossible to mobilize the entire army.

Tang Enbo, in particular, began to dominate the Central Plains in Henan at this time. In addition to his 31st Army, he also expanded three more armies, bringing his total strength to nearly 30. His power greatly expanded.

However, in order to defend southern Henan, he ordered the 28th Army to be dispatched this time. Although the 28th Army was a newly formed unit, it had under its jurisdiction the 85th and 92nd Armies, the newly formed 15th Army, and the 2nd Cavalry Army.

The military force is still very strong.

It is considered the main force of this battle in northern Henan.

In this Battle of Northern Henan, the National Army dispatched 7 armies and a 36nd Cavalry Army, with a total number of more than people to besiege Xinxiang, where the th Division was located.

"Commander, telegram from the 36th Division.

"Are they crazy?"

The concentrated efforts to sweep the Hebei Military Region in 1942 failed, but instead allowed the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Army to expand in Hebei, which had already made Gangcun Ningci very angry. However, the North China Front Army was really short of manpower.

So he watched quietly as the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Eighth Route Army captured the towns and villages in Hebei.

Because the North China Front Army did not have enough troops to stop this.

During this period, the main force of the North China Front Army was hunkered down in the big cities and along the main transportation lines. Now, Ningji Gangcun was waiting for new recruits to bring the North China Front Army back to its peak strength.

Only then will we be able to compete with the Eighth Route Army again.

However, the Kuomintang troops who had been behaving well all along actually launched the Northern Henan Campaign and took advantage of the situation. The 36th Division was originally under-strength in the Japanese army, so the newly formed rd Regiment Division was formed.

The previous Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain, the 1941 mopping-up campaign in the Northern Yue region of Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei, and the current mopping-up campaign in the Hebei-Central Military Region had almost completely replaced the veterans. Their combat effectiveness had greatly declined. Now besieged by over 36 Nationalist troops, the th Division was truly unable to hold out.

So they could only ask for help from the North China Front Army Headquarters.

"Commander, what should we do now? If we lose Xinxiang, these Nationalist troops will enter northern Henan. Furthermore, if the 36th Division and the 129st Independent Mixed Brigade suffer heavy casualties, we will no longer be able to control the th Division of the Eighth Route Army's Taihang Mountain base and the southern Hebei base.

The newly appointed Chief of Staff of the North China Front Army, Lieutenant General Ando Nijuzo, was worried.

I came at a really bad time.

I arrived here just when the situation of the North China Front Army was at its most critical. It was now extremely difficult. The Eighth Route Army in Hebei, Shanxi, and Shandong was becoming increasingly unruly.

Especially after the 41st Division was transferred away, there were not many people left in the whole of Shanxi.

The 129th and 37nd Divisions, as well as the 62rd Independent Mixed Brigade, would be responsible for dealing with the Eighth Route Army Headquarters and the 36th Division. The th Division stationed in Xinxiang, northern Henan, would also participate in the sweep of the Taihang Mountains and the southern Hebei base area.

As the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region grew stronger, it attracted the main force of the North China Front Army to continuously sweep the Jin-Cha Wing. As a result, the pressure on the 129th Division was greatly reduced, allowing the 129th Division to develop rapidly. At this time in history, the 129th Division's base in southern Hebei had basically been completely lost.

But this time and space is different.

Despite being subjected to several major raids by the Japanese, the Ji'nan Military Region is currently thriving. It's even developing rapidly, with troops even deploying troops into northern Henan to establish a base. Many towns and villages in northern Henan became bases for the 129th Division.

After the Kuomintang army evacuated Zhongtiao Mountain, the 129th Division sent a large number of working groups into Zhongtiao Mountain in a short period of time to establish a base there.

One year after the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain, the 129th Division had developed tens of thousands of troops here.

Under this circumstance, if the 36th Division and the 129st Independent Mixed Brigade were annihilated by the Nationalist Army, then the 129th Division would no longer be under control. The Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region alone was already a major headache for the North China Front Army. If the powerful th Division was allowed to escape, then the North China Front Army would truly be unable to control the situation in North China.

"Your thoughts?"

"Commander, my idea is that we must defeat the Chongqing Army and teach them a lesson. After all, the Chongqing Army has more troops. If they get a taste of the sweetness, it will be very disadvantageous to us.

Currently, our forces are very limited in many unimportant locations along the front lines. We're able to maintain a delicate balance with the Chongqing Army because they rarely attack us. This is partly due to their desire to preserve their strength, and partly due to their fear of us. However, if the Chongqing Army were to annihilate our 36th Division in northern Henan and secure the region, they would no longer fear us.

The Eighth Route Army was very powerful and was the main opponent of the North China Front Army.

Ninety percent of the North China Front's forces are currently deployed against the Eighth Route Army. However, China claims that the Nationalist Army is still superior. This is because the Chongqing government has millions of troops and can receive material support from the United States and the Soviet Union. If the Chongqing government gets too comfortable with this and thinks the Japanese army is nothing, then they could launch a large-scale counterattack, and many Japanese defenses would be untenable. Because in many areas, the Japanese have very few troops, but they are simply not moving because the Nationalist Army is not moving.

Overall, the national army still had fear of the Japanese army.

So we have to continue to maintain this fear so that they can behave themselves.

Ningji Okamura nodded.

Looking at the map, he said, "Our main goal now is to wipe out the Eighth Route Army. We absolutely cannot allow the Nationalist Army to come and disrupt this. Shift the 24st Independent Mixed Brigade and the 110rd Independent Mixed Brigade to attack Pang Bingxun's 36th Army from the east and west. Shift the 69th Division southwards, where it will join the th Division in crushing the Chongqing Army that has crossed the river. The th Division will enter Shijiazhuang."

The 24st Independent Mixed Brigade was stationed in Handan, and the 24rd Independent Mixed Brigade was stationed in the Jingjing area. Gangcun Ningci planned to use the two independent mixed brigades to attack the th Army. Although Pang Bingxun's th Army was called a group army, it actually had only two armies.

Among them, Sun Dianying's newly formed Fifth Army, which had been flirting with the Japanese, had only about 24 troops. Moreover, Pang Bingxun was old and in poor health, and the th Army Group did not have the same sharpness as before.

Ningji Okamura was ready to defeat the 24th Army in one battle.

Then the 110th Division was transferred south.

"Commander, if the entire 69th Division moves into Shijiazhuang, will we be short of troops in Baoding?"

"Hasn't the First Brigade just reorganized a 7,000-8,000-man East Asian Alliance Autonomous Army in southern Hebei? Have this force stationed in Baoding."

"Yes."

Chapter 478 The Brave Huang Yong

Chiang Kai-shek suddenly decided to launch an autumn offensive, which was something no one expected.

But it's understandable.

In 1942, the -man expeditionary force had just returned from a crushing defeat, but the Eighth Route Army troops in North China were becoming more and more courageous. Just look at the list of Japanese generals who were killed, and the commander of the Mongolian army, Gan Shigetaro, who was captured by the Eighth Route Army.

Since the Hundred Regiments Campaign, the Eighth Route Army has been on the headlines in newspapers every day.

In Chiang Kai-shek's view, public opinion was too lenient towards the Eighth Route Army and too harsh towards the Nationalist Army. Even when the Eighth Route Army suffered a defeat, they didn't say anything.

But the Eighth Route Army won a victory, and the newspapers were touting it every day.

As long as the national army is defeated, they will be beaten.

No one said anything even though we won.

The people's hearts were turning to the Eighth Route Army, which was something Chiang Kai-shek absolutely could not tolerate.

He is the leader of this country, the head of its legitimate government. Now even the Americans are coming to cause trouble. How could a bunch of Americans understand China's affairs? That's why he decided to launch the autumn offensive.

Let everyone see how he fought against the Japanese.

Let those who keep talking nonsense shut up.

As a result, Okamura Neiji, who was already full of anger, directly mobilized his troops to attack the Nationalist Army. He mobilized the 110th Division stationed in Shijiazhuang, the st Independent Mixed Brigade stationed in Handan, and the rd Independent Mixed Brigade stationed in Jingqing area to protect the Zhengtai Road.

In fact, the Japanese army was very reluctant to go out. The 110th Division was not so bad. During the previous sweep of the Hebei Military Region, the 110th Division mainly defended Shijiazhuang and Tuohe areas and did not fight many battles with the Eighth Route Army troops, so the casualties were not heavy.

But the 1st Independent Mixed Brigade and the 3rd Independent Mixed Brigade had just finished their mopping-up operation.

The 2000st Independent Mixed Brigade, in particular, suffered over casualties when it evacuated the Hebei-Central Military Region. They hadn't received any new recruits yet, and now they were about to send out again, causing widespread complaints.

But there is no way.

This was an order personally issued by Ningji Okamura, and the troops could only move south to participate in the Battle of Northern Henan.

However, the combat effectiveness of these troops has indeed declined a lot.

In the early days of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, an independent mixed brigade of about 5,000 men could easily defeat a Nationalist army of 20,000 to 30,000 men. However, this time, the 1st and 3rd Independent Mixed Brigades deployed seven battalions, totaling about 6,000 men, to participate in the battle.

Unexpectedly, they were unable to deal with Pang Bingxun's 24th Army in the first place.

Although Pang Bingxun was historically considered a traitor, he was different from other true traitors. He fought until he ran out of ammunition and food, and was finally captured before becoming a traitor. After becoming a traitor, he did not do much. He even tried to rebel, but was discovered and stopped by the Japanese. He was already old when he was captured, and his health had always been poor. In the end, he was even carried by others to command the battle.

It should be said that if Pang Bingxun had not been captured and surrendered in 43, he would definitely be an anti-Japanese hero. During the Battle of Taierzhuang, Pang Bingxun was almost years old, but he fought on the front line and made great achievements.

Although Pang Bingxun followed Chiang Kai-shek and the Communist Party of China, it is certain that he supported the anti-Japanese war.

That's the case this time.

Pang Bingxun had only about 24 men under his command. However, the Japanese army's two mixed brigades, which deployed 24 men, were initially unable to defeat the th Army. Although they were able to prevent the th Army from advancing south to attack Xinxiang, they also failed to achieve their goal.

The reason for this was that the 1st and 3rd Independent Mixed Brigade had just evacuated from central Hebei and had not yet rested. The troops were very tired, and with heavy casualties, their combat effectiveness was greatly affected.

The 110th Division didn't care about the battle here.

Departing from Shijiazhuang, we drove directly to Xinxiang. Nationalist troops had crossed the Yellow River to the north and were engaged in a fierce battle with the 36th Division. The 110th Division had to rush to the battlefield and defeat the Nationalist troops.

After the 110th Division moved south, its first target was the 28th Army Group rebuilt by Tang Enbo in Henan.