It is said that power makes a man shine. Facing the clouds of generals below, his spine, which had been bent by Chu Xiong before, stood up like a dead tree in spring. Commanding a hundred thousand people in a battle still made his blood boil.
In his opinion, the suspense of this battle had already been lost before it even started. The infantry commander in central Sichuan had put the 180,000 Central Army troops in southern Shanxi on the chopping block through various tricks.
"Gentlemen, the time has come to make contributions to His Majesty the Emperor!
In this battle, the imperial army will attack the Zhongtiao Mountain area in a pincer shape from the east, west and north with a central breakthrough;
The campaign is divided into two phases:
In the first stage, the tactic of breaking through the middle was used to break through the curved defense line called the Oriental Maginot by the Chinese, and divide the Chinese defense area in Zhongtiao Mountain into two;
As a result, the Chinese armies defending Zhongtiao Mountain were unable to coordinate with each other and had to abandon their established positions and defend the mountain passes individually, creating uncoordinated passive resistance;
Occupy Yuanqu, Jiyuan, Mengxian, Pinglu and other county towns and related pass strongholds, blockade the ferries on the north bank of the river, and complete the internal and external double encirclement of the Chinese army. This is the key to the decisive victory of the battle!
The second stage is to concentrate the superior troops on the various positions of the Chinese defenders scattered throughout the country, repeatedly sweep them, and defeat them one by one.
The imperial army's special operations forces will adopt new combat methods and paralyze all the Chinese people's command systems within an hour of the launch of the battle, making it impossible for them to organize unimaginable resistance;
The imperial army is fighting a modern war. Tactically, it will be a dimensionality reduction attack against the Chinese. The general attack time is set at 17:00 this afternoon!
On the eastern front, the main force of the 35th Division commanded by Harada Yukichi, the first part of the 21st Division commanded by Lieutenant General Tanaka Kuichi, and the first part of the 4th Independent Cavalry Brigade, with about 25,000 people, were under Zhang Lanfeng and Liu Yanfeng of the Manchuria Army. With the cooperation of the police, they invaded Jiyuan and Meng counties in three directions along the western section of Daoqing Road..."
Mudan City, First War Zone Chief's Department
General He and several senior government officials were studying the Japanese's strategic intentions. The battle in southern Shanxi was imminent, and all military commanders had returned to their respective defense areas to prepare for defense.
The counterattack planned by the national government is scheduled for the morning of the 10th. There are still three days left. All armies are preparing intensively. Unfortunately, the supplies and ammunition that each army can mobilize are limited. They can only maintain low-intensity operations for a week, and there is no way to counterattack. condition.
Chief of Staff Guo walked in hurriedly, holding a thin message in his hand, and reported to General He:
"Chief Commander, intelligence came from the Tsing Yi Society that the Japanese three-pronged army divided their forces from the east, west and north to attack together. They used the method of advancing through the middle and encircling the two wings to launch a full-scale attack on our defense area;
Several special forces were sent to attack our communications and headquarters at all levels;
Use heavy troops to capture various transportation points, cut off our army's communication, and defeat them one by one;
Blockade mountain passes and ferries, gradually tighten the encirclement, and complete the plan of a joint attack. "
General He took the message from General Guo, read it carefully, and then looked at the map to think of countermeasures.
After a long time, General He made a decision in his mind and said to General Guo:
"Chief of Staff Guo forwarded the enemy's intentions to the Zeng Department of the Fifth Group Army and the Liu Department of the 14th Group Army, and ordered each department to target the communication lines and step up guerrilla attacks to hinder the enemy's attack preparations and troop concentration."
Unfortunately, due to the absence of the theater commander, the above orders could not be effectively organized and implemented.
No one from top to bottom paid attention to the Japanese's separate attacks.
At 17:00 on May 7, following Xiao Zhuoyi's order, one hundred thousand Japanese soldiers attacked in three directions, and the Battle of Southern Shanxi officially broke out.
Less than an hour after the battle broke out, the defense lines of the Kuomintang army became loose, and the entire front was in danger. They were not opponents of the same level at all. The two sides were not fighting a war of the same era.
The northern line, across the main road, is the joint between the 5th and 14th armies of the Zhongtiao Mountain area.
The Japanese's strategic intention was to quickly capture the Henglingguan Yuanqu Avenue, take Yuanqu County directly, divide and encircle the two defending armies, and annihilate them one by one.
At the position of the 43rd Army in Shibaping, the sound of guns and artillery could not be heard, and the shouts of killing resounded in the night sky.
The 41st Division commanded by Lieutenant General Kiyoshi Shimizu and the independent mixed 9th Brigade commanded by Major General Kenyoshi Ikegami, consisting of approximately 30,000 people, used the lightning tactic of central breakthrough to launch a fierce attack from the Hengling Pass to both sides of Yokogaki Avenue. The battle It's intense from the get-go.
The geographical location of Hengling Pass is very important and it is the focus of the national defense army. Two armies are placed on both sides of Hengling Pass, namely Lieutenant General Zhao Shiling's 43rd Army on the northeast side and Gao Guizi's 17th Army on the southwest side.
The positions of the 43rd Army and the 17th Army were both fiercely attacked by the Japanese. The intensity of the firepower exceeded the expectations of the two army commanders.
"Boom boom boom..."
"Boom boom boom..."
Dozens of heavy artillery pieces from the 41st Division Artillery Regiment launched a fierce bombardment on the Shibaping position. The defenders of the 43rd Army suffered heavy casualties. At least half a platoon was hit by each artillery strike. It was completely using flesh and blood to force the enemy. Carry.
In the headquarters of the Japanese 41st Division, two old Japanese soldiers, General Qing Shui Shui and Major General Chi Zhi, were happily admiring the masterpiece of their artillery.
General Qing Shui said proudly:
"Mr. Chi, listen, what wonderful music. On such a wonderful night, the sound of death played by the empire's heavy artillery group made thousands of Chinese people tremble, and the mountains on both sides of Hengling Pass were trembling. It’s almost stained red with the blood of the Chinese people.”
Seeing that General Qing Shui was very interested, Major General Chi also said jokingly:
"Qing Shuijun, Hengling Pass is boasted by the Chinese as the first pass in Zhongtiao Mountain and is known as the Maginot Line of Defense in the East;
In the past few years, the imperial army concentrated heavy attacks several times, but failed to break through the Chinese defense line. This time, Qing Shuijun only made a few rounds of artillery attacks, making the Chinese defense line in danger. I think they will be able to break through before dawn. The defense line is approaching Hengqu City. Lord Qingshui is really a famous general in the empire! "
Major General Chi's words were very useful to General Qing Shui. The northern battlefield was the top priority in the Central Plains Campaign. As long as Hengling Pass was defeated, Hengqu City was captured, and the campaign goal of cutting Zhongtiao Mountain into two parts was achieved, the first success would be achieved. It has to be him.
"Mr. Chi is overly praised. This is all due to the coordinated efforts of you and me. We can defeat the enemy in front of us at dawn without even dawn!"
General Qing Shui didn't take Hengling Pass seriously at all. Under the power of modern heavy artillery, these medieval masonry barriers in China simply couldn't withstand a few cannons.
Major General Chi also felt that what General Qingshui said was very reasonable. He had great confidence in the power of the Empire's heavy artillery——
If it doesn't collapse with one cannon, use ten cannons!
No wonder he was so confident. After just over an hour of shelling, the Chinese defense line had already become loose.
"Kill the chicken and give it to me!"
"Onboard!"
As soon as the artillery fire extended, the 237th Regiment of the 41st Division launched an attack on the 43rd Army position in Shibaping.
"Division Commander, the Japanese infantry has launched a charge. Our division has suffered heavy casualties and may not be able to hold the defense line. Please ask for help from the military base!"
The chief of staff of the 70th Division, the main force of the 43rd Army, reported to the division commander, Lieutenant General Shi Zuoheng.
