Kong Jie, Li Yunlong, and Ding Wei are not the type to sit back and watch the excitement.
On the frontal battlefield, the battle between China and Japan in western Hubei was in full swing. During the bloody battle in Hengyang, which was also intensifying, the Eighth Route Army was not idle at all.
In addition, after the various batches of material assistance for the reinforcements are received.
The Eighth Route Army quickly launched an active offensive behind enemy lines as planned.
As for the effect...
After finally capturing the small city of Hengyang, the Sixth Front Army, under the command of the old Japanese soldier Okamura, continued to advance vigorously, advancing all the way to the Guiliu area.
The commander of the First Army, Yoshimoto Seiichi, was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot under the offensive launched by the Eighth Route Army from all sides.
Nowadays, behind enemy lines, especially in Shanxi, the elite troops of the Eighth Route Army have grown beyond recognition.
In North China, especially the Japanese and puppet troops led by the First Army stationed in Shanxi, they were almost defeated.
This time, in order to rely on the victory on the frontal battlefield and support the war with war, the Japanese army shifted its focus to the frontal battlefield, including the battles in Changsha, Hengyang and other areas, including the formation of the Jihad Army and mobile troops, and mobilized a large number of troops from North China.
Elite and mechanized vehicles.
This made it increasingly difficult for the Japanese army, which could barely maintain its rule in North China, to continue.
When the Eighth Route Army troops quickly launched an offensive against the Japanese-occupied areas with the Taihang area as their main attack point, the Japanese troops in North China, especially the Japanese First Army in Shanxi, were defeated one after another.
The old Japanese soldier Yoshimoto Teiichi could only live in a few isolated counties along the Tongpu line.
The Japanese troops in Yuncheng to the west were unable to withstand the Eighth Route Army's offensive and were forced to retreat to Linfen.
The two sides of Jincheng in the south are controlled by the Eighth Route Army, which can cut off the communication channel between Jincheng and northern Henan at any time.
She County in Licheng in the east was lost, the Japanese army was forced to retreat to Changzhi, and the Handan-Changchun Highway was completely cut off.
The high ground west of the city is under shelling, and the Luliang Mountain troops of the Eighth Route Army may launch another siege of Taiyuan at any time.
The Mongolian troops stationed in the north have retreated to Datong, and almost the entire area from Datong to Taiyuan is in a blank area.
In the central Zhengtai Line area, Shouyang, Yangquan, Jingxing and other places are still there, but Xiyang, Heshun and Yushe counties were all lost under the fierce attack of the Eighth Route Army.
Suddenly, the First Army was in a precarious situation and could be surrounded by the Eighth Route Army at any time and the entire army could be annihilated.
This time, with the launch of the Eighth Route Army's large-scale counterattack, the entire North China, eastern Mongolia, Shandong, and northern Henan, including the Huaihe River and the Dabie Mountains, were almost entirely occupied by the Eighth Route Army's troops and the New Fourth Army's massive counterattack.
The Japanese army's communication lines were almost completely cut off, and a large number of mechanized troops from North China were transferred to fight in the south.
The Japanese defenders who were attacked in various places had no mechanized troops coming from all directions to reinforce them. Then, due to the Eighth Route Army's absolute superiority in strength, they were completely surrounded and isolated, and they became an isolated city.
Yoshimoto Seiichi, who was so anxious, finally understood:
The position of commander of the First Army in Shanxi is really not easy to sit in. He is just dancing on the crater of a volcano, and he will be wiped out in ashes accidentally!
However, some people were happy and some were worried, and not all Japanese officers were in a hurry.
For example, Lieutenant General Harada, who was especially good at making war fortune and doing business, was not in a hurry at all. The confrontation between the Japanese army and the Eighth Route Army became more and more intense, but he dealt with it with ease, and even established a line with the Commander of the Mongolian Army, Shichita.
What exactly is going on?
It turned out that after successive wars, the Mongolian troops stationed in Datong were shrinking, and the Zhangjiakou area was almost out of food supply. Shichita was also at a loss. Then he received news from Harada. Harada said that he could provide food for Shichida's troops, but only if needed.
Corresponding to some military supplies.
Then Harada, who was especially good at making profit from middlemen, obtained military supplies from the troops stationed in Mongolia, and then exchanged money and food from the Eighth Route Army.
Make a lot of money from it.
As for the call for help from the commander of the First Army in Shanxi, Yoshimoto Teiichi.
Harada and Nanada both lit up firecrackers in tacit agreement in response: the Eighth Route Army was attacking the city, and the two sides were fighting in Jiaozuo. Not to mention sending reinforcements to Shanxi, the two old Japanese even turned to Yoshimoto for help.
Yoshimoto Seiichi: "..."
It must be said that in the face of the Eighth Route Army's offensive, the various units of the Japanese First Army were already unsustainable.
However, as soon as Gibbon came to power, he asked them to leave the city under various pretexts to find a decisive battle with the Eighth Route Army. For this reason, the First Army had long been divided.
These troops were originally going to be transferred to the Pacific, but due to the entanglement of the Eighth Route Army, large-scale defense changes were not possible.
Now that the Japanese army is at a disadvantage in the Pacific battlefield, otherwise the old devil Okamura would not be rushing to launch an offensive in the south, thinking only of opening up the mainland's communication lines to reverse the situation of the war.
Therefore, these Japanese officers do not want to go to the Pacific battlefield to be cannon fodder.
Therefore, all these officers were determined to stay in Shanxi and not leave, and even maintained a tacit understanding with the Eighth Route Army - as long as your Eighth Route Army did not come to attack us, we would definitely not take the initiative to provoke you.
Including this Eighth Route Army offensive, why were Xiyang, Heshun and other county towns all lost, but Shouyang, Yangquan and other areas were safe and sound?
Do you really think that the Harada Division stationed in the Shouyang Yangquan area has strong combat effectiveness?
hey-hey.
The Eighth Route Army had just shown signs of taking the initiative to launch an offensive. Harada's side sent a large number of supplies to the Eighth Route Army, including a large amount of arms and various military supplies, in front of Kong Jie.
As the saying goes, you are short-tempered and soft-handed.
In the end, even the boss who heard about this said with a smile: "We can still carry this full meal. Let's continue to raise Harada's pig and don't rush to kill it!"
Therefore, after the Eighth Route Army launched its offensive, Shouyang and Yangquan launched several symbolic attacks, and then Harada sent troops to pretend to fight a few defensive battles, and then he could claim to the outside world that he had defended the occupied area!
How exaggerated is the tacit understanding between the two parties?
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! There is a town under Yangquan, which can be said to be the place with the best security in the rear area of North China. I have never heard of the Eighth Route Army causing trouble. Even in the county town
Not even a thief.
For this reason, this town has been rated as an excellent public security town almost every year in the entire rear area of the Japanese occupation area in North China.
But what is the actual situation?
If you enter this town, you will find that there are many Japanese soldiers and puppet soldiers in this town. But the difference is that the Japanese soldiers in this town are not like the devils in other counties, who hold their heads high and are domineering.
, I can be as low-key as I can on weekdays. I would like to lower my head when I walk, as if I don’t dare to see anyone.
As for the puppet soldiers in the town, they would not flatter or make fun of them in front of these Japanese soldiers.
Some people even noticed that the little devils even looked quite flattering in front of these puppet soldiers, and even spoke in a soft voice.
These puppet soldiers all have friendly faces on weekdays, and they even take the initiative to help the villagers in the town with farm work, chores, and the like.
Why is this so?
It turned out that the troops wearing puppet uniforms in the town were all disguised as Eighth Route Army soldiers. They swaggered into puppet army uniforms, carried Japanese military weapons, ate Japanese military rations, and blatantly drilled in the county town.
But the little devils in the town could only turn a blind eye and pretend not to see him, and they had to accompany him carefully.
It's so arrogant!
The idea was naturally Kong Jie's, and this was part of the tacit understanding between him and Harada. Why do you think the public security in the town is so good and it is rated as excellent every year?
That's because almost the entire town is occupied by the Eighth Route Army.
…
As for the old Japanese Harada and other complicit officers, their ideas are very simple.
Anyway, the imperial army is already at dusk in Shanxi, so they can just stay here until the war is over and return home.
They also understood clearly what the No. 1 combat plan was, even if it was opened, what would be the use of a communication line without material transportation and troop garrison?
As Harada said in private while drinking with other division commanders stationed in Shanxi: "When Yan Junliu opened the communication line to the south, the Eighth Route Army was cutting it off in the north. When you turned back, the National Army came out to cut off the south side. You can take care of it."
Such a long transportation line?
If you can’t change the outcome, what’s the point of looking at the process?
It’s better to make more money and go back before the war is over, at least your family won’t starve and you can still be rich, right?”
In fact, it was not only Harada who had this kind of mentality, but also a large number of Japanese officers and soldiers in Shandong and Hebei.
Especially as the war continues, any discerning devil can see that this holy war is basically hopeless.
Poor old devil Okamura is alone on the front line trying to turn the tide.
But my colleagues in the occupied areas in the rear area began to behave badly one by one.
Soon after, even the air power that the Japanese army had relied on for many years was completely gone.
The Eighth Route Army Air Force, which had completed its rest, had grown to 60 new fighter squadrons and began to compete for air supremacy in the rear of North China.
After a series of confrontations, the Japanese Taiyuan Airport was almost completely blocked.
In addition, Kong Jie also hid 20 ace flying squadrons, resting in secret, preparing to compete with the Kwantung Army.
Speaking of which, Kong Jie has to thank the old devil Okamura.
With the promotion of Operation Plan No. 1, in order to compete with the Chinese army for air supremacy, the Japanese army deployed almost all the South China, East China, and Central China Air Forces, and could barely compete with the Chinese and American Air Forces that received fuel support from the Eighth Route Army.
In the North China region, the North China Air Force, with the support of the Kwantung Army Air Force, could barely protect itself, focusing on defense, and had almost no ability to compete with the Eighth Route Army.
The situation where twenty or thirty air units were dispatched at every turn is no longer the case. After the Kwantung Army Air Force lost its troops, it was unable to send out more air units for reinforcements.
…
When leaving the Ninth War Zone, Li Yunlong used some special methods to plant a seed in the heart of Zhang Zongling, deputy commander of the 74th Army of the Central Army.
The two secretly discussed a possible combat plan in the staff department at that time.
Li Yunlong circled the two places of Ningxiang and Yongfeng on the map, then inserted the chess pieces of the Japanese 40th Division, and then analyzed: "After the Japanese main force captured Changsha, the 40th Division on the flank battlefield was heading towards Changsha with its baggage.
Movement. One of them is in the Ningxiang area, fighting with the other part of your 74th Army, but the main force has not come for reinforcements. They should be escorting supplies to the rear of Changsha, preparing to participate in the Hengyang offensive and defensive battle.
This old Japanese soldier Seiichi Aoki was eager to go to Hengyang to perform meritorious service. He only sent troops to clear the vicinity of the supply line, but did not pursue the pursuit in depth and was not willing to fight.
However, the unit is short of mechanized transport vehicles and is out of touch with the main mechanized force of the Japanese. If not, who will be hit?
Changsha has been lost. I'm afraid that Commander Xue hasn't come to his senses yet. When Commander Xue comes to his senses, in order to shirk responsibility, he might even read a copy of your book.
If your 74th Army can win a victory at this time, what will Chiang Kai-shek think?
When the time comes, won’t you all be promoted to high-ranking positions or get some gold bars? Maybe the whole country will sing the praises of your anti-Japanese heroes. Congratulations in advance to all of you!”
At that time, Li Yunlong had already shouted to Zhang Zongling the slogan of using your sword when facing an enemy.
He also harshly rebuked the Chinese army for only being passively defensive and lacking the spirit to take the initiative to attack.
Zhang Zongling is also a warm-blooded general. The battle plan given by Li Yunlong is indeed feasible. Zhang Zongling was also moved at the time and said quickly: "Brother Li, no, Brother Yunlong! I haven't even written this character yet, I'm afraid I won't be able to use it. And it's too late."
Without orders from Feng, how can I fight privately?"
In fact, at this time, the regimental commanders and staff members in the headquarters were also thinking that this was indeed a good chance. Even if they could not encircle and annihilate the 40th Division, repelling it would still be a great achievement.
Li Yunlong struck while the iron was hot: "This so-called general will not accept military orders abroad. I mean, brother Zong Ling, even someone like me, who comes from a humble background, understands this truth. You, a well-educated and educated person, must know this, right?"
You rely on asking for instructions to fight a war. It's amazing that you can seize this ever-changing opportunity.
How do you think we, Lao Li, including Lao Kong, have achieved the fame we have in just a few years? Let me tell you, it was not by being a good boy!"
Zhang Zongling was speechless for a moment, so he thought for a while and said: "Brother Yunlong, your idea is very good, but it may not be possible to achieve it by relying on our department alone!
You also know a thing or two about the situation of friendly troops in neighboring countries. Once the war starts, the friendly troops may remain immobile. Without their assistance, we may not be able to win."
Li Yunlong said: "This matter is easy to say and difficult to say. The prosperity in the world is all for benefit, and the hustle and bustle in the world is for benefit. If we divide the merits and unite them, we will definitely be able to accomplish it.
First of all, the Pre-19th Division near your headquarters, as well as the rest of your 74th Army, and Li Yaozong's 100th Army, can all unite. You take the lead and they follow the rear. I can apply for air reinforcements!
With all our cooperation, we still can't defeat a small group of Japs?
I would say the specific strategy is very simple. First attack the 40th Division's headquarters in Yongfeng, then penetrate directly into Yuelu Mountain. After attracting the attention of the Japanese, the friendly forces will directly outflank the retreat!"
Zhang Zongling said: "The units of the 74th Army can ask the old commander for help, but I have a conflict with Li Yaozong!"
Li Yunlong said: "No matter what kind of contradiction is not worth mentioning in front of the enemy, you can definitely do it if you go and ask for it in person!"
Later, after Li Yunlong returned to the experimental area headquarters, he raised his head and said:
"Hey, Lao Kong, what do you think we are doing in the Ninth War Zone? Let me tell you, we are teaching Zhang Zongling and other senior officers of the Jiang Army to fight step by step!"
According to Li Yunlong's idea, the Eighth Route Army sent air fire reinforcements to cooperate with Zhang Zongling's 74th Army to win a victory, and then assisted the 74th Army to advance to the outskirts of Hengyang and establish a communication channel with the Hengyang defenders.
By then, the Japanese troops advancing in the Hengyang area will definitely be delayed even longer.
Yan Shunroku could only continue to contact the Kwantung Army and send additional reinforcements to the North China battlefield to further weaken the strength of the Kwantung Army stationed in Kwantung.