Anti-Japanese War: Li Yunlong dared to attack Taiyuan

A staff officer looked at the map and thought for a moment, then pointed to Tongliao and then Siping and said, "If the Eighth Route Army takes Tongliao and then attacks Siping, we can cut off the connection between Xinjing and Fengtian."

"If they want to cut off Fengtian's connection with us, does the Eighth Route Army want to eat us up? Is the Eighth Route Army's attack direction southward?"

Toshimichi Kamimura drew a circle on the map.

If the staff officer's idea was followed, and Tongliao was taken before attacking Siping, Xinjing would indeed be caught in a two-pronged encirclement by the Eighth Route Army.

But the Eighth Route Army placed such an isolated force between Xinjing and Fengtian. Aren’t they afraid of being surrounded by them?

"Report, urgent telegram from Tongliao!"

"The Eighth Route Army has entered Tongliao City!"

"So fast!"

Before Kamimura Toshimichi and others could figure out what the Eighth Route Army was going to do, Tongliao sent another telegram saying that the city of Tongliao had been captured.

"Eighth Route Army bombers have destroyed the Tongliao city wall. The attacking force is the cavalry column of Li Yunlong's Eighth Route Army. They rushed directly into the city. The defenders are now resisting inside the city. Requesting tactical guidance!"

After reading the contents of the telegram, Kamimura Toshimichi thought for a moment and said, "Order the Tongliao defenders to hold Tongliao to the death. Use the terrain to inflict as many casualties as possible on the Eighth Route Army. Reinforcements will arrive at daybreak!"

"Hayi!"

"Send a telegram to the defenders of Fengtian, Siping, and Tieling. Eighth Route Army troops have appeared in Tongliao. They are very likely to attack Siping, and may also attack Fengtian, Tieling, and other areas. Tell them to strengthen the defenses around Siping and Tieling!"

"Mobilize a division to Siping. Siping must not be lost!"

"Hayi!"

Uemura Toshimichi ultimately decided to abandon Tongliao. Tongliao was defended by only one battalion, while the Eighth Route Army had 40,000 men, all cavalry. Leaving the city would only lead to their demise. Holding onto the houses within the city might offer a chance for a miracle.

As for reinforcements, most of the troops that can be mobilized in the four eastern provinces are now concentrated near Harbin and Xinjing, and there are no troops available to support Tongliao.

Instead of supporting Tongliao, it is better to strengthen the defense of Siping, which is much more important than Tongliao.

As for telling the Tongliao defenders that the reinforcements did not exist at all, it was just to give the Tongliao defenders some hope, making them think that the empire had not given up on them, and that as long as they held on, reinforcements would arrive.

"Hayi!"

"Report the situation to the Kwantung Army Headquarters!"

"Hayi!"

At this time, Toshimichi Kamimura still did not realize the Eighth Route Army's intention to attack Tongliao. He wondered why he would place this army of more than 40,000 people in Tongliao if he were the commander of the Eighth Route Army, and it was also a highly mobile cavalry.

If this cavalry is placed near Songyuan, it can play a greater role.

Just as Kamimura Toshimichi was thinking, another signalman rushed into the headquarters: "Report, urgent telegram from Chaoyang!"

"Chaoyang?"

"Hayi, urgent message from Chaoyang! A large number of armed men have been spotted outside Chaoyang City and have begun attacking the city!"

As soon as he finished speaking, another signalman rushed in.

"Report, urgent telegram from Chaoyang, the identity of the siege force has been identified. It is the Chahar Column under Li Yunlong's Eighth Route Army. The commander is Shen Quan!"

Compared with Tongliao, the importance of Chaoyang's geographical location can be seen at a glance.

Because Jinzhou is not far from Chaoyang, which is the southern gate of the four northeastern provinces.

Jinzhou is less than 80 kilometers away from Chaoyang. At this distance, infantry can reach it in two days of rapid march, and cavalry can reach it even faster!

There is also a railway from Chaoyang to Jinzhou, as well as a railway leading to North China.

This is also the reason why the order was given to occupy Chaoyang instead of bypassing Chaoyang.

If Chaoyang is not occupied and only Jinzhou is blocked, the Japanese in North China can take another route, the Jin-Gu Railway, if they want to quickly support the four northeastern provinces.

The Jingu Railway is a railway from Gubeikou to Jinzhou. It is also called the Jincheng Railway. It has a branch line that can directly reach Beipiao and go around to the back of Jinzhou.

That's why Li Yunlong ordered Shen Quan to capture Chaoyang first, and then quickly attack Jinzhou along the railway, completely blocking these two roads leading into the four northeastern provinces (this railway was destroyed in 1947 during the Liaoshen Campaign and reopened in 1949, and the target was the reinforcements landing at Huludao).

"Report, Shen Quan's troops have entered Chaoyang City!"

"Report……"

Telegrams were delivered to Kamimura Toshimichi one by one. While Kamimura Toshimichi was still thinking about the attack on Chaoyang, Shen Quan's troops had already entered Chaoyang City.

There were not many Japanese defenders in Chaoyang City, only a battalion of troops plus some puppet troops, and their main task was to ensure the safety of railway transportation.

The Japanese did not expect that Shen Quan's troops could cross mountains and ridges and directly cross the Yanshan Mountains to attack Chaoyang.

In particular, the Shenquan troops attacked at night. When the Japanese defenders discovered that the Shenquan troops had started the attack, the attacking troops were already very close to Chaoyang City.

Most importantly, Chaoyang Railway Station was built outside Chaoyang City mainly to facilitate the transportation of goods, and the city wall connecting Chaoyang Railway Station and the city was directly demolished to facilitate transportation.

After Shen Quan's vanguard captured the train station, they easily entered Chaoyang City.

At this time, Kamimura Toshimichi quickly reacted and realized that the target of Shenquan’s troops was definitely not a small Chaoyang, but Jinzhou.

Toshimichi Kamimura looked at Jinzhou, then at Tongliao where Ma Renxin's troops were located. In an instant, he figured out a lot of things.

He gasped as his whole body trembled.

He now finally understood what Li Yunlong's troops wanted to do. Before, whether it was heavy troops approaching Harbin or a large army approaching Xinjing, it was just to cover the movements of these two troops.

Li Yunlong's troops have now divided the four eastern provinces into three areas. Li Yunlong wants to eat up all the Japanese in the four eastern provinces. If you couldn't understand Li Yunlong's combat intentions before, now it can be said that the real intention is revealed.

Chapter 584: Sneak Attack on Arshan

If Ma Renxin occupied Tongliao, the enemy and friendly situation on the map would not be clear.

But when Shen Quan's troops appeared in Chaoyang, Kamimura Toshimichi understood, he understood everything.

From the map, it can be clearly seen that Li Yunlong's troops divided Manchuria into three parts.

The line from Baicheng to Songyuan to Wuchang divided Manchukuo into Heilongjiang Province in the north and Jilin Province and Liaoning Province in the south.

Ma Renxin's troops appeared in Tongliao, and the Fifth Division went south to capture Siping. After taking Siping, Jilin Province and Liaoning Province could be divided into two parts, making it impossible for them to support each other.

If that were all, Kamimura Toshimichi wouldn't be too worried, after all, the main forces are now concentrated near Xinjing.

There are more than 100,000 troops and more than 100,000 puppet troops around Xinjing, and a large amount of food and ammunition are stored. It is no problem to hold out for several months, and reinforcements will arrive soon.

But now Shen Quan's troops appeared in Chaoyang. If his troops took Jinzhou again, the road for reinforcements from North China to support Manchuria would be completely blocked.

The most crucial thing is that once Shen Quan's troops, Ma Renxin's troops and the Fifth Division jointly attack Fengtian, Fengtian may not be able to be defended.

In order to strengthen the defense of Xinjing, most of the defenders in Fengtian had been transferred away, leaving only one Type C division and more than 20,000 puppet troops stationed in Fengtian.

Fengtian was the largest industrial city in Manchuria. It had the largest arsenal in China at that time, as well as four tank production lines and three aircraft production lines.

In addition, it can also produce various ammunition and supplies.

If Fengtian falls, the consequences will be unimaginable.

Thinking of this, Toshimichi Kamimura couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

"Send a telegram to the Kwantung Army Headquarters immediately. Li Yunlong's target is Fengtian!"

"Immediately order the garrisons around Jinzhou to rush to Jinzhou, and the garrisons in Huludao and other places to reinforce Jinzhou immediately!"

"Order the troops supporting North China to return to Manchuria immediately, immediately, immediately!"

At this time, Toshimichi Kamimura was extremely sober and determined that Fengtian must not be lost.

In order to protect Fengtian, we must defend Jinzhou and force the Kwantung Army in North China to return.

At this time, Uemura Toshimichi gritted his teeth and said, "Order the 157th and 160th Divisions to move south immediately to support Fengtian!"

After hearing this, the Chief of Staff went to Toshimichi in surprise and said, "Commander, if the 157th and 160th Divisions are transferred, what will happen to the defense of Xinjing? We only have three divisions left to garrison Xinjing..."

"Xinjing is no longer important, we must defend Fengtian!"

Although Xinjing was the capital of Manchukuo, its importance was far less than Fengtian.

"Go give the order!"

"Hai!"

"Order the five divisions coming from the Korean Peninsula to immediately turn around and support Fengtian!"

"Hai!"

"Send my orders to the Kwantung Army Headquarters!"

"Hai!"

Soon, Toshimichi Kamimura's telegram was delivered to Michiro Umekyo.

"Baga, that bastard Kamimura Toshimichi is so panicked just by being attacked!"

After reading the telegram, Mei Jing Meijiro threw the telegram from Kamimura Toshimichi aside.

"Send a telegram to Kamimura Toshimichi and tell him to hold Xinjing. That bastard! Shen Quan's army only has 50,000 men. Even with Ma Renxin's troops, there are less than 100,000. They also have to defend Jinzhou, Chaoyang, Tongliao, and Siping!"

"How many troops can attack Fengtian?"

"This bastard, doesn't he know that the Eighth Route Army is waiting for him to reveal his weakness?"

Mei Jing Meijiro cursed angrily, feeling a little disappointed with his friend.

Now the Eighth Route Army is eager for the Fifth Army to leave the city and fight with them in the wild, but now Kamimura Toshimichi is actually taking the initiative to transfer the troops out of Xinjing.

"Commander, what if the Eighth Route Army really wants to concentrate its forces to attack Fengtian?"

"Hmph, mobilize troops from North China to come back for support! It would be best if we can hold Jinzhou. If we can't, we must recapture Jinzhou before the Eighth Route Army gains a firm foothold. We must firmly attract Shen Quan's troops to Jinzhou, and then the siege of Fengtian will fall without a fight!"

"What about North China?"

Mei Jing Meijilang's face flashed with annoyance and he said, "That's the business of the North China Expeditionary Force. Our Kwantung Army's mission is Manchuria and Siberia!"

"As for the North China Front Army, their situation is already very dire. They should just abandon some areas. Once the Empire resolves the problems in Siberia, we will help them take them back!"

In fact, Mei Jing Meijiro was also very worried about problems in Fengtian.

That's why this was the last resort.

If it were any other city, Mei Jing Meijiro could give it up with great pain, but Fengtian was absolutely not an option. That was the foundation for the Kwantung Army to compete with the Imperial Headquarters, and it must not be lost.

Even if Fengtian was in danger of being captured, Mei Jing Meijiro would not order the destruction of Fengtian's arsenal.

"Mobilize three of the five Korean divisions to Fengtian, and the remaining two divisions to continue from Tonghua to Xinjing!"

Mei Jing Meijiro looked at the map of Manchukuo and felt for the first time that the troops he had were not enough.