binnovel Chapter 728 Ready
Chapter 728 Ready
Then the main force of the Japanese offensive force made a detour to the west, encircled and annihilated the troops of the First War Zone of the Chinese government, especially the direct troops of the Chinese government. The Japanese 12th Army in North China was the main force responsible for fighting the Chinese army on the front line. The Japanese First Army launched an attack and supported from Shanxi Province, and the Japanese Central China Front Army sent part of its troops from western Anhui and northern Hubei to cooperate.
On the one hand, the Japanese China Expeditionary Army and the Japanese Imperial Headquarters formulated a more detailed "Operation No. 1" plan, and on the other hand, they accelerated preparations for war. In order to supplement the strength of the Japanese China Expeditionary Army, the Japanese China Expeditionary Army began to recruit Japanese expatriates and businessmen in China into the army, which greatly expanded the number of troops of the Japanese China Expeditionary Army.
In order to facilitate the transportation of troops, the Japanese Expeditionary Force in China completely dismantled the rails, sleepers and other equipment of various railway branch lines in the North China and Central China regions in the occupied areas, and transported them to Xinxiang, Kaifeng, Xinyang, Sanzhen and other places for concentration.
By mid-March 1944, the Japanese Expeditionary Force in China had repaired the Yellow River Bridge, which had been broken by the Chinese government's army during its retreat and had been interrupted for six years. At the same time, the northern section of the Pinghan Railway was repaired from Xiaoyi south of Xinxiang to the north bank of the Yellow River, and eight branch lines were laid. In addition, the Japanese Expeditionary Force in China also sent troops to rebuild the Mangshantou stronghold. It can be seen that the Japanese Expeditionary Force in China was well prepared and invested heavily before the war.
By mid-April 1944, the various troops that were selected by the Japanese China Expeditionary Army to participate in the first phase of "Operation Number One" had gradually assembled in place. Among them were the 37th Division, 62nd Division, 110th Division, 4th Cavalry Brigade, 7th Independent Mixed Brigade, Engineer Regiment, Artillery Regiment and other special forces under the Japanese 12th Army. In addition, the Japanese Kwantung Army also selected the 27th Division and the 3rd Tank Division from Suiyuan area. The total strength reached 150,000, and they were commanded by General Okamura Yasuji, commander of the Japanese North China Front Army.
In addition to drawing out Japanese combat troops, the Japanese Army's China Expeditionary Force also assembled Chinese puppet army units such as Sun Liangcheng's Second Front Army, Zhang Lanfeng's Second Group Army, Pang Bingxun's Twenty-eighth Group Army, and Sun Dianying's Eleventh Army.
In addition, the Japanese Central China Front Army and the First Army were also actively deployed to Henan Province, the direction of the first phase of Operation No. 1, in preparation for cooperating with the Japanese Twelfth Army's combat operations.
After witnessing the power of Germany's previous blitzkrieg in the European battlefield, General Okamura Yasuji, commander of the Japanese North China Front Army, also formed the Japanese 3rd Tank Division in his own North China Front Army, preparing to learn from the German army and concentrate the use of tank forces to quickly break through the Chinese army's defense line.
Although the Japanese tanks were a delicious meal with thin skin and large fillings when facing the armored forces of the United States on the Pacific battlefield, on the Chinese battlefield, the poorly equipped Chinese army really had no effective means to deal with these thin-skinned tanks of the Japanese army.
General Okamura Yasuji, commander of the Japanese North China Front Army, who was in charge of the first phase of "Operation No. 1", assembled seven divisions of troops for the operations in Henan Province, and equipped them with more than 14,800 horses and 1,400 vehicles, and 320 mountain and field artillery. Although these Japanese equipment were not good enough in the Pacific battlefield, they were enough to deal with the poorly equipped Chinese army on the battlefield in Henan Province.
The Chinese government's Military Commission also basically judged through continuous intelligence gathering that the Japanese army would launch an attack on the Henan Province area controlled by the Chinese government. At this time, the Chinese government's First War Zone troops were responsible for the defense of Henan Province.
The commander of the First War Zone of the Chinese Government was General Chiang, but this General Chiang had no real power. In fact, the real power of the First War Zone of the Chinese Government was held by the Deputy Commander-in-Chief Tang. At this time, the troops in the First War Zone of the Chinese Government mainly included the Fourth Army, the Fourteenth Army, the Fifteenth Army, the Nineteenth Army, the Twenty-eighth Army, the Thirty-sixth Army, and the Thirty-ninth Army, totaling eighteen armies with a total strength of about 300,000 people.
After the Chinese Government's Military Commission informed the Chinese Government's First War Zone of the intelligence that the Japanese army was frequently mobilized and heavily armed, and was likely to launch a large-scale attack on Henan Province, the Chinese Government's First War Zone Command also made arrangements for the large-scale attack that might be launched by the Japanese army.
However, in sharp contrast to the Japanese Army's China Expeditionary Force's continuous troop deployment and careful deployment, the combat effectiveness of the Chinese government's troops in North China dropped sharply after the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain, especially the elite troops of the Chinese government, which were almost completely lost.
From the perspective of organization, the Chinese government nominally had more than 340 infantry and cavalry divisions, with a total force of 6.5 million. However, in reality, there were not many troops capable of fighting the Japanese army. In addition, the quality of the soldiers in the Chinese army was poor, their fighting will was weak, and they were short of weapons and ammunition. There was a serious lack of heavy weapons in the troops.
Moreover, many of the Chinese government's division-level troops actually only have the combat strength of a brigade or even a reinforced regiment. Moreover, many infantry regiments in the Chinese government's troops do not even have mortars and are short of machine gun ammunition.
After more than seven years of war, the Chinese government was now badly wounded and its army had lost all its elite troops.
The First War Zone Command of the Huaxia Government, which was deployed in Henan Province and other places, also judged that the Japanese army would launch a large-scale offensive operation based on the frequent movements of Japanese troops on the north bank of the Yellow River, especially the Japanese engineering troops who were busy repairing the Yellow River Bridge that had been interrupted for six years.
The First War Zone Command of the Chinese Government judged that the Japanese army was likely to move south to open up the Pinghan Railway Line. Therefore, the First War Zone Command of the Chinese Government also took some corresponding measures to respond. After mid-March, the top level of the Chinese Government also sent telegrams to the First War Zone Command of the Chinese Government.
The top leadership of the Chinese government requested that the First War Zone Command of the Chinese government deploy its troops in the mountainous area near Songshan Mountain to fight a decisive battle with the Japanese attacking forces. Therefore, on March 14, the First War Zone Command of the Chinese government formulated a specific combat plan in accordance with the orders of the top leadership of the Chinese government.
However, on March 18, the First War Zone Command of the Chinese Government changed its plan to engage in a decisive battle with the Japanese offensive forces in Yu County, Mixian County, Xuchang and Luohe areas in accordance with the more detailed "Pinghan Line Operation Plan" issued by the Chinese Government's Military General Staff.