As for why Chiang’s army was defeated so miserably in the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Campaign, there is certainly a reason.
The main reason is that Chairman Chiang wants to preserve his strength.
On the one hand, on the battlefield behind enemy lines, the confrontation between the Eighth Route Army and the main force of the Japanese North China Front Army became more and more intense. The Chairman still wanted to sit on the mountain and watch the fight between tigers. It would be best if the Eighth Route Army could be completely wiped out and the little Japs were also severely damaged, so he could just sit back and take it easy.
The profit of the fisherman.
If this really happened, the Chairman would laugh out of his dreams.
On the other hand, the Allied Powers such as the United States and Britain implement a war strategy of Europe first, Asia second. They want to resolve the war in Europe first and then deal with the war in Asia last.
Therefore, effective military assistance to the Nationalist Government has been almost non-existent for more than half a year.
Chairman Chiang was naturally unhappy when he saw this situation.
This Yankee didn't come to help, but let me, the Central Army, go up on my own. Doesn't this just want me, Jiang, to lose his troops and lose his general?
Naturally, the Chairman could not do this kind of thing that would make his relatives angry and his enemies happy. He did not want to shift the focus of the Japanese army's battle against the Eighth Route Army behind enemy lines to his Central Army.
The Chairman wishes that the U.S. military could replace his Central Army and go to the front lines to fight the Japanese.
So...
After the Zhejiang-Jiangxi War broke out, the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China especially strengthened the defensive force of the third theater and even mobilized nearly 300,000 troops.
However, the Nationalist Government was only thinking about preserving its strength and relying on Britain, the United States and other countries to deal with the Japanese army. So when the Zhejiang-Jiangxi battle reached a critical point, the chairman of the Generalissimo suddenly issued an order for the troops to retreat and passively resist to avoid Quzhou.
Decisive battle.
The chairman preconceivedly believed based on past experience that the Japanese army would choose to retreat after occupying Quzhou. In this way, his Chiang army would only lose some territory, but it could save the example and wait for the United States, Britain and other countries to take action, and continue to sit firmly on Diaoyutai.
Watch the deadly battle between the Eighth Route Army and the Japanese behind enemy lines.
The final consequences are:
The Japanese army marched straight in, almost destroying everything, and did not encounter much effective resistance at all.
The Japanese captured cities and territories, destroyed a large number of military airports, and plundered a large number of young adults and resources, achieving their strategic goal of "supporting war with war."
In addition, the Japanese army successfully completed their pre-war plan to "destroy the airport and prevent the US military from bombing the Japanese mainland".
And severely damaged the effective forces of the Third Theater. In the entire battle, the Japanese army killed and injured more than 70,000 Chinese soldiers, and more than 200,000 soldiers and civilians suffered casualties. As a result, the combat power of the Third Theater suffered serious losses.
Throughout the battle, the smooth military offensive of the Japanese army surprised all countries in the world. The Eighth Route Army was stunned, and the Jinsui Army and the 35th Route Army sighed.
Even the little devil himself felt like he was dreaming.
The entire military operation went smoothly beyond belief.
Later, in the postwar diary of a Japanese officer who participated in the battle, he wrote this passage:
"After the fighting broke out, the Chinese army was far more unbearable than we imagined, and there was basically no active resistance from it along the way.
During our army's battle to open up the Zhejiang-Jiangxi line, the Chinese army did nothing in this area and simply retreated. Our army did not even lose a single soldier and completely completed the opening task.
After that, the Chinese military's movements became more negative. However, considering the turnaround of our army, our army took the opportunity to advance, rapidly expanded its results, and completed a huge victory in this battle."
After the war, the Chairman of the Generalissimo also regretted this. He never expected that the little devil would go so far.
Of course, these are all things for later.
……
……
Mengxi region.
Generals Kong Jie and Li Yunlong led the rapid reaction force directly under Taihang and an armored corps to successfully complete this combat mission and successfully defeated the Japanese Nanzhi Tank Brigade operating in western Inner Mongolia. In conjunction with Commander Fu's 35th Route Army, they captured Baotou, the base camp of the Japanese troops stationed in Mongolia.
The two generals became famous from this battle.
The Armored Corps of the Eighth Route Army also did not make a sound, but made a blockbuster success.
After the news came out, the entire North China, the entire Chinese battlefield, and even all international parties were shocked.
At this point, the battle between the two sides is far from over.
The Japanese 26th Division stationed in Datong, under the command of the newly appointed division commander, Lieutenant General Kuroda Shigenori, and in accordance with the orders of the Commander-in-Chief of North China, Okamura Neiji, temporarily mobilized all the mobile units of the 26th Division to piece together
A mixed mobile brigade was launched.
Lieutenant General Kuroda’s abacus was very good.
He planned to command the mobile troops of his 26th Division. After taking advantage of the Nanzhi Armored Brigade, he would take the opportunity to enter the battlefield to expand the results. If he could successfully insert the joint between the Eighth Route Army and the 35th Army, he would attack the Hetao area from both sides with the Baotou garrison. p>
Not only can the mobile units of the Eighth Route Army appear in the western Inner Mongolia area be wiped out in one fell swoop, but they can also take the opportunity to capture the Hetao area and inflict heavy losses on the 35th Route Army. Isn’t it possible to kill multiple birds with one stone?
As a result, Lieutenant General Kuroda never expected that as the elite of the empire and the commander of the armored brigade, he would command the most elite tank force in the empire.
Nanzhi could be defeated so quickly!
Even the mobile troops of the 26th Division did not have time to react.
In the end, when the improvised mixed mobile brigade of the 26th Division rushed to the battlefield day and night, it unexpectedly collided with an armored unit led by Li Yunlong on the way.
Li Yunlong had just led his armored troops to defeat a tank squadron of the Nanzhi Tank Brigade. He was leading the troops in pursuit, preparing to expand the results!
News came from the Motorcycle Reconnaissance Platoon:
"Report to the captain, there is a large Japanese mobile force coming towards us from the east!"
Li Yunlong was stunned for a moment, then asked: "Is it the Japanese chariot unit?"
The reconnaissance platoon leader replied on the walkie-talkie: "Captain, it's not like the tank troops of the Nanzhi Brigade. Judging from the situation, they seem to be little devils coming from the direction of Datong. Although they are a mobile unit, they can't fight on the move."
There are not many tanks and armored vehicles in the vehicle.
There were more trucks and cars in the team, as well as many Japanese cavalry.
There are quite a lot of troops, and they are all very dark, at least one or two regiments."
Li Yunlong became happy when he heard this.
"Haha, damn, someone brought us a pillow when we fell asleep!
According to my order, we will not chase the Japanese chariot troops who are escaping. We cannot lose any more watermelons just to chase a sesame seed.
All the tanks charged directly to the east, and with a frontal impact, I directly defeated the Japanese mobile force that was coming over!"
After the encounter between the two sides started.
It was basically a one-sided massacre.
There is no danger in this prairie. The mixed mobile brigade of the 26th Division is on its way. The battle broke out when the Japanese were caught off guard.
The armor level and combat effectiveness of both sides are simply not at the same level.
The Japanese army only temporarily transferred a mixed mobile force from the 26th Division, and the team was not equipped with many tanks and armored vehicles.
Speaking of which, the mobile unit of the 26th Division originally had more tanks. However, after the Eighth Route Army's mobile unit made a surprise attack on Datong, the assets accumulated by the 26th Division for many years were captured, and the armor level dropped significantly. Only then did it appear
The embarrassing aspect in front of me.
Most of the improvised mobile units are trucks, cars, motorcycles, and many primitive cavalry units.
The number of tanks and armored vehicles is extremely limited, and they are still some relatively old-fashioned tanks and armored vehicles.
As for some of the newly equipped armors and tanks, according to the orders of the headquarters, they were temporarily transferred to the Nanzhi Tank Group.
On the other hand, Li Yunlong's side is the most elite armored unit among the mobile units directly under the Taihang Army of the Eighth Route Army, although it only has one armored barracks.
When all the modified tanks, armored vehicles, and various combat vehicles launched an all-out attack under the roar and strafing of the additional artillery and machine guns, such a formation made the little devils who witnessed this scene feel terrified.
Numbness, liver and gallbladder split.
After just one confrontation, the Japanese mobile brigade directly blew up the camp.
At that time, some of the few tanks and armored vehicles of the Japanese army were knocked out by Li Yunlong's anti-tank guns and self-propelled artillery.
The Japanese Major General leading the team had no time to complain and quickly ordered a strategic transfer.
——Escape!
If they don't escape, there may even be a danger of the entire army being destroyed. The combat effectiveness of the armored vehicles these damn Eighth Route Army has on hand is simply frightening.
He suddenly understood why the Nanzhi Brigade was defeated so quickly.
The improvised mobile force that the Japanese army put together cannot be considered an armored force at all, and it is not much different from flesh and blood in the face of these torrents of steel.
But the problem is, it seems difficult to escape even if you try to escape.
Whether it is the two legs of a soldier, the four legs of a war horse, or various vehicles, it is difficult to escape the pursuit of an Eighth Route Army armored vehicle.
Li Yunlong was so excited, this battle was so damn enjoyable.
Under his leadership, the soldiers drove tanks one after another to attack back and forth, killing them many times. After chasing for dozens of kilometers, the Japanese's entire mixed mobile brigade was completely disabled.
The soldiers were going crazy!
Datong, 26th Division Headquarters.
After Lieutenant General Kuroda learned that his mobile unit unexpectedly encountered the armored troops of the Eighth Route Army on the way to Western Inner Mongolia, was completely defeated, and suffered heavy losses, he could not accept it for a while, and Ning Niang staggered and slumped in his chair for a long time.
Can't come to my senses.
Speaking of which, the 26th Division is indeed quite unlucky.
Almost every time, the character gets beaten.
Not long ago, the 26th Division reinforced the North China Front and sent troops to the Shanxi battlefield.
As a result, we unexpectedly fell into the encirclement of the Eighth Route Army. The mixed brigades on the North China Front withdrew without looking back.
This act of betraying his teammates caused the reinforcements of his 26th Division to suffer extremely heavy casualties.
Not only that, the Eighth Route Army took the opportunity to send mobile troops to surprise Datong, causing the base camp of his 26th Division to be captured.
In the end, the commander of the First Army, Yoshio Shinozuka, was transferred as a result.
The previous commander of the 26th Division, Lieutenant General Haremong Chun, also took the blame and resigned.
Who would have thought that the nightmare was not over. The reinforcements to Mengxi were in bad luck again. The reinforced mobile troops ran into Li Yunlong's armored elites halfway.
Of course it means "die before leaving the battlefield".
If the Japanese's mobile combat brigade had not been large enough, even though Li Yunlong's side had strong armor, their troops were limited and not even a small Japanese would be able to escape.
Kuroda was depressed and quickly sent reinforcements to meet the retreat of the mobile brigade.
The reinforcement mobile brigade finally put together by the 26th Division of the Japanese Army only retained the last 30% of the fire.
A hilly area in western Mongolia.
Li Yunlong met Kong Jie, and then talked about how he bumped into a Japanese mobile unit with reinforcements on the way, and then easily defeated the enemy, almost annihilating them.
"Old Kong, later I arrested a few alive and asked, guess what? Haha, damn, the unlucky guy from the 26th Division is in love again!"
Speaking of the results of both sides, one is more outstanding than the other.
Kong Jie also led the armored corps here, defeating the armored units of the Nanzhi Chariot Brigade one after another.
Speaking of pride, Li Yunlong's old habit of bragging has returned.
"Old Kong, why do I suddenly feel that killing is not satisfying enough? What do you mean by sending a chariot brigade here when you say that this little son of a bitch is a real brat? Why, are you looking down on us?"
Kong Jie smiled and said: "Old Li, what do you mean, how many tanks should the Japanese army send over?"
Li Yunlong said without thinking: "What's the point? At the very least, we have to send him ten or eight tanks in groups!"
Kong Jie said: "Old Li, if you want to talk about your bragging skills, no one dares to admit you to the second place. You really dare to think of a group of ten or eight chariots!"
The conversation changed and Kong Jie continued:
"However, after this battle, our Eighth Route Army's armored units have completely gained a reputation. As long as the Japanese are still sure that we are operating in the western Inner Mongolia area, there will definitely be reinforcements from new tank units.
Considering that the Nanzhi chariot cluster was destroyed by us, the number of chariot troops sent by the Japanese will definitely be much larger."
"Haha, then I'll just kill him!" Li Yunlong said.
Kong Jie shook his head with a smile and analyzed the actual situation:
"Old Li, I am very happy, but if we really fight like this, our rapid reaction force and all the armored forces directly under Taihang will become history.
Before the start of this battle, we also discussed with our boss, deputy chief of staff, and others at the headquarters that this time our armored forces can achieve results in the Mongolian area. In the final analysis, we should take advantage of the little Japanese to underestimate the enemy and catch the Japanese by surprise. And they took advantage of the Japanese army's large-scale raids.
But this time we were completely exposed. Once the Japanese have the equipment, they will definitely have a series of combat methods against our armored forces.
With the military strength of the little devils, there will definitely be no shortage of bombers and fighter jets targeting our armored forces, including tank troops that will subsequently encircle and suppress us.
Therefore, it can be said that this battle was the first battle in which our Eighth Route Army's tank troops became famous. But for a long time to come, it may also be the last large-scale armored battle!
After this battle, we must change the armored combat strategy, temporarily disperse our armored units and assign them to frontline support."
Li Yunlong didn't know the situation. He was just unwilling and finally let out a long sigh.
"Damn it, one day the armored force belonging to our Eighth Route Army will be really strong, and we will no longer have to be as helpless as now. We will kill him by then!"
Kong Jie smiled and said: "Don't worry, we will do it one day."
"But... Lao Li, although the evacuation and dispersion of our armored forces is certainly unavoidable, that doesn't mean we have to do it now.
Since this is our first battle, it is also our last battle.