In the war room made of thatched grass, Liu Yi was explaining the situation between the enemy and ourselves in front of the map: "At present, the Japanese 108th Division originally stationed in Jinan has been stationed in Jining and Zouxian areas. The total strength of the Japanese army gathered in the Lunan area has exceeded six.
Ten thousand people are almost twenty times the strength of our army. Brothers, the situation is very dangerous!"
Li Yulong, Liu Fengsheng, Niu Dagen and other veterans looked calm and composed after hearing this.
Compared with the original Battle of Jiangpu, the current difficulties are indeed nothing. If the independent regiment cannot defeat the Japanese, at least they can still escape. As long as they burrow into the deep mountains and old forests, the Japanese may not be able to catch them even if they dispatch a hundred thousand troops. But
Back in Jiangpu, the Baoshan regiment had no way out. They could only fight head-on with the Japs, but didn't they persevere in the end?
However, the officers with local armed forces backgrounds who had just joined the Independent Regiment changed their faces one after another.
It’s no wonder that in the previous big melee, the local armed forces gave the Japs a heavy blow. The total military strength dropped sharply from more than 20,000 at its peak to less than 2,000 now. Until now, many people have mentioned the Japs.
They all still have lingering fears. Now, the strength of the Japs in the Lunan area has once again increased to 60,000. How can they not panic?
Seeing that the atmosphere in the war room was a little solemn, Yue Weihan suddenly spoke to comfort him: "Don't worry too much, the total strength of the Japanese army in Lunan has indeed increased to 60,000, but this is only temporary, as long as we can hold on for ten days.
In half a month, the main force of the Japanese army will definitely be transferred away, and then Lunan will still be the world of our independent regiment!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Xin, the machine-generated staff officer, suddenly walked in with his slender waist twisted. He immediately stood at attention and saluted: "Brigade, the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs is reporting an urgent war situation!"
"Emergency war report?" Yue Weihan frowned, then said without raising his head, "Read it!"
Major Liu Xin immediately opened the folder and read: "The Lunan Administrative Office and Baoshan Brigade: Xue Yue Corps and Tang Enbo Corps annihilated the Japanese 26th Division on the front line of Pingdingshan early this morning, achieving an unprecedented victory. We hereby inform the Ministry of Military Affairs, He Yingqin
, June 3, the twenty-seventh year of the Republic of China."
"Great victory at Pingdingshan!?"
"Total annihilation of the Japanese 26th Division!?"
Li Yulong, Niu Dagen and other officers were immediately excited when they heard this.
"Brigade, it's better now." Li Yulong said harshly, "The little Japanese suffered a big loss on the Wuhan battlefield, and they will probably send elite troops from other battlefields to reinforce them. If nothing else, Lunan's
The 108th Division will be transferred soon, which will greatly reduce the pressure on our independent regiment."
Liu Yi was also very excited and said: "Master, this is great news for our independent group."
There was no trace of joy on Yue Weihan's face. The great victory at Pingdingshan and the annihilation of the Japanese 26th Division were indeed great news for the independent regiment, but for the Wuhan battle and even the more than a hundred people gathered in the Wuhan theater
For the main force of the national army, this may not be a good thing!
It might even be a disaster!
Seeing that Yue Weihan was not in a high mood, Liu Yi immediately announced to everyone: "Okay, that's it for today, let's break up the meeting."
The war situation has undergone major changes, and the independent regiment no longer needs to consider how to smash the 108th Division's mopping up.
Soon, the officers attending the meeting left one after another, and only Yue Weihan and Liu Yi were left in the war room. Liu Yi hesitated for a moment, but still said to Yue Weihan: "Brigade, you seem a little unhappy?"
"No, I'm not unhappy, but I'm a little worried." Yue Weihan shook his head and said, "I'm really worried."
"Worried?" Liu Yi said in astonishment, "Xue Yue's Corps and Tang Enbo's Corps completely wiped out the Japanese 26th Division in Pingdingshan and achieved an unprecedented victory second only to the Lunan victory. This is great news for the entire Anti-Japanese War.
, I believe that the situation in the Wuhan battle will also be greatly eased. What do you have to worry about, sir?"
"As the saying goes, misfortunes come from where blessings depend, and blessings come from where misfortune depends." Yue Weihan said with concern, "I'm worried that Chairman Chiang Kai-shek will gain confidence again because of the victory at Pingdingshan, and then repeat the mistakes of the Battle of Xuzhou! Battle of Xuzhou
Although we were able to resolve the crisis by luck, if there is another mistake this time, it may be difficult to recover."
Yue Weihan's worries are very reasonable, because Chairman Chiang often makes such mistakes.
There were many such examples in the eight years of the Anti-Japanese War in history. Whenever the national army achieved a small-scale victory, it would definitely be followed by a large-scale rout. The Taierzhuang victory was followed by the Xuzhou rout, and the Wanjialing victory was followed by the Xuzhou rout.
Immediately after the fall of Wuhan, the victory at Kunlun Pass was followed by the great defeat of Henan, Hunan and Guangxi!
Yue Weihan could turn the tide and bring the officers and soldiers of the Baoshan Battalion out of the strategic corner of Sihang Warehouse. He could turn the tide and rescue the 700,000 refugees in Nanjing. He could also turn the tide and save the fate of tens of millions of people in more than 40 counties in the Huanghuai region.
But it is impossible to change the entire senior leadership of the national army, let alone Chairman Chiang’s thinking mode!
It is conceivable that after the victory at Pingdingshan, the entire senior leadership of the National Army may become blindly optimistic, and Chairman Chiang is afraid that his confidence will be inflated again, and he may use all the main force of the National Army to attack the Japanese army. In that case,
The main force of the national army in the Wuhan theater is in danger, and the Wuhan battle may only end in failure.
Liu Yi said solemnly: "Sir, are you worried that Chairman Chiang will order a counterattack?"
If Chairman Chiang really orders a full-scale counterattack, the trouble will be really big!
Although the national army has superior strength, the quality of its individual soldiers and weapons and equipment are far inferior to those of the Japanese army. With the solid defense fortifications built in advance, the national army can barely resist the Japanese offensive, and occasionally it can gather enough troops on local battlefields.
Use superior forces to fight a few small-scale annihilation battles, just like this Pingdingshan victory.
However, if the National Army counterattacks across the board, it will have to abandon the solid defense fortifications that have been built, which means fighting the Japanese army in the field. Field combat is the Japanese army's favorite and best way of fighting. To fight in the field, the National Army's ten elite
The division may not be able to withstand the attack of a Japanese field division, so how can we fight this battle?
Yue Weihan said sadly: "With Chairman Chiang's character, he is probably inseparable."
"Then what should we do?" Liu Yi asked anxiously, "Traveler, what should we do now?"
"Leave for Jinan immediately, it's time to go to Jinan." Yue Weihan took a breath and said in a condensed voice, "After arriving in Jinan, immediately let each regiment and battalion return to their establishment, and then create as much trouble as possible for the Japanese army. This way
At least it can take some of the pressure off the main force of the national army on the frontal battlefield, and that's all our Baoshan Brigade can do."
…………
Zhengzhou, Japanese frontline command post.
The commander of the Central China Front, General Hata Shunroku, has flown to Zhengzhou and is convening a review meeting with the commanders and chiefs of staff of the Third Army, the Fifth Army, the Seventh Army, and the chief of staff of the Third Army, Major General Tomo Tetsuda, has just made a profound review to Hata Shunroku.
, and proposed countermeasures: "I think the imperial army should show its weakness to the enemy and induce the Chinese army to counterattack."
"Showing the enemy's weakness to lure the Chinese army to counterattack?" Hata Junroku said, "Tengtian-kun, can you tell me the reason?"
"Hai." Teng Tianzhi suddenly lowered his head and said, "The 26th Division has just been shattered, and the Chinese Army's soldiers are in full swing. If we launch a frontal attack at this time, the Imperial Army will suffer heavy casualties. One of the reasons is that the Chinese Army is south of the Ping-Han Line.
In this section, a large number of solid defense fortifications were built on the north bank of the Yangtze River. If the imperial army continued to attack by force, the price would be heavy. If the Chinese army could be lured out of the fortifications and the two armies fought in the field, the imperial army's field advantage would be fully utilized. The second reason for this is,
Therefore, I think we should show our weakness to the enemy and lure them into fighting in the open field."
"Yo Xi." Hata Shunroku nodded happily, "Tengtian-kun, do you think the China Army will be fooled?"
Chiangda Tomo said very confidently: "As long as the imperial army suspends its offensive and pretends to be weak, I believe that China leader Chiang Kai-shek will definitely be fooled. He will definitely make a strategic misjudgment and believe that the time is ripe for a large-scale counterattack."
, and then all Chinese troops will be ordered to launch a full-scale counterattack! There is no doubt about this!"
"Yo Xi." General Hata Junliu said happily, "order, all armies suspend the attack."
…………
The unusual behavior of the Japanese army immediately attracted close attention from the top brass of the national army.
As soon as Chairman Chiang received the news, he rushed to the war room of the General Staff Headquarters and urgently discussed the situation on the front line with many senior generals who also came after hearing the news.
At this moment, General He was pointing his command post at the simulated sand table to introduce the battle situation on the front line to Chairman Chiang: "Based on the battle situation reports submitted by all fronts and group armies, it is now possible to basically determine the direction of Luohe, Zhoukou and the northern foot of the Dabie Mountains.
The heavy Japanese army groups have all stopped their offensive, and some are even shrinking and retreating."
"Oh?" Chairman Chiang said solemnly, "The Japanese army has stopped its offensive? Are some parts still shrinking and retreating?"
Vice Commander Bai curled his lips and said: "The Japanese army is deliberately showing weakness to induce our army to take the initiative to engage in field battles with them. Our army must not rashly counterattack!"
General Li also nodded repeatedly and said: "Judging from the sustained combat capabilities displayed by the Japanese army during the Battle of Songhu and Xuzhou, the Japanese army on the Wuhan battlefield is far from exhausted and cannot advance. At least several of their heavy troop groups are still strong.
Being able to continue fighting for more than two months, it is obvious that this is just a trap by the Japanese army."
Chairman Chiang pondered for a moment and asked General He: "Jingzhi, what do you think?"
Admiral He said: "I believe that the Japanese army should adopt a strategy of retreating before advancing. They will take the initiative to shrink first, and then launch a new round of offensive after the main divisions have replenished and rested."
"My dear, you and I have come together." Chairman Chiang patted General He on the shoulder and said happily, "The Japanese army has always been arrogant. If they had not reached the end of their strength, how could they take the initiative to shrink? Obviously, the Japanese army took the initiative
The strategy is to retreat in order to advance, trying to intensify replenishment and recuperation in anticipation of the next round of offensive!"
After saying this, Chairman Chiang said with murderous intent: "We must not give the Japanese army any chance to breathe. I order all theaters, corps, and group armies to immediately attack and launch the most violent counterattack against the Japanese army, so as to strive to defeat the Japanese army within a week."
Restore the entire Henan within 10 days and advance the front to Hebei, Shandong, Anhui, Jiangsu and other provinces!"