The 78th Group Army suddenly sent troops to Hubei, Henan and Anhui, catching the Japanese by surprise. At this time, the four main divisions of the Japanese were already exhausted and their troops were scattered everywhere, so they suffered a lot of losses;
In just one day, the three main divisions of the 78th Group Army wiped out tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers. The other Japanese soldiers quickly shrank and retreated 20 kilometers before barely stabilizing their position.
The 78th Group Army took the mobile warfare in the mountainous areas to the extreme. It pushed back the Japanese for 20 kilometers and advanced 20 kilometers in one day. This was already the limit of the 78th Group Army. The infantry group almost reached the speed of the mechanized troops.
The 78th Group Army has adjusted its organization several times, and the New Seventh Division has been separated from the organizational structure and officially included in the order of battle of the expeditionary force.
The current 78th Group Army has direct jurisdiction over 3 infantry divisions, 1 mountain division, 1 artillery brigade, 1 baggage regiment, 1 cavalry regiment, 1 reconnaissance regiment, 1 communications regiment, and 1 health regiment, with a total strength of about 10 Ten thousand people;
The total number of people has not expanded much, and they still follow the route of elite soldiers. Most of the soldiers are veterans for more than three years, and the cadres have received rotation training in the military training team;
It is more than enough to pull out a soldier at random and serve as a squad leader in another unit.
The only one that can maintain such a high veteran rate is the 93rd Group Army. After the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain, there was basically no fighting. Most of them are veterans. It has 3 infantry divisions and a large number of directly affiliated troops under its jurisdiction, with a total personnel of more than 80,000 people. Field troops.
The 78th Group Army has rarely participated in large-scale battles since the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain. It has been busy developing in the past two years, operating Funiu Mountain and Tongbai Mountain, and accumulating strength for the attack on Dabie Mountain. This time it finally got the perfect opportunity.
The 78th Group Army has been sharpening its sword for two years, and now it is finally time for the sword to be unsheathed.
Jiangcheng, the headquarters of the 11th Japanese Army, is brightly lit
Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama had just taken over as the commander of the 11th Army, and before his butt was even hot, variables appeared in the winter offensive;
His predecessor, Lieutenant General Tsukada, was on temporary assignment when his plane was shot down by anti-aircraft artillery from the 9th Company of the 3rd Battalion of the 412th Regiment of the 138th Division of the 48th Army.
The winter offensive at Tsukada was very good. In just half a month, dozens of large and small cities in Hubei, Henan, and Anhui were captured, and great results were achieved;
Helpless, he was extremely happy and sad, and was shot to death by the Chinese. This was the highest-ranking Japanese who was eliminated on the domestic battlefield.
Yokoyama Isamu originally thought he had picked up a ready-made big peach, but he did not expect that the battle situation had changed drastically, and he urgently needed to come up with a countermeasure.
"Kinoshita-kun, has the intelligence department figured out which army the Chinese troops suddenly appeared in southern Henan? How many troops are there? What is their strategic intention?"
Yokoyama Isamu asked Major General Kinoshita Isamu, chief of staff of the army, that he is still a little confused now.
I have to say that the Japs' intelligence department is indeed very efficient. They obtained a lot of valuable information in just one day. At least they figured out who the opponent was and did not embarrass Isamu Kinoshita in front of the new commander.
Kinoshita Isamu replied:
"Your Excellency, Commander, the one who suddenly joined the battlefield is the 78th Group Army, which is active in Tongbai Mountain. It belongs to the Central Military System. It has been active in Zhongtiao Mountain before. In the past two years, it has been developing towards Funiu Mountain and Tongbai Mountain. Their main force is only a few meters away from Xinyang. ten kilometers."
Yokoyama Yong nodded and said:
"Yo Xi, it turns out they are working for the 78th Group Army. Although they have not shown much prominence in the past two years, they are a truly elite force!
He once stole the show in the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain. His commander Zhao Sihu is as famous as Chu Xiong, the other Tiger of China, and is one of the most difficult generals in China.
I have been paying attention to them since then, but I didn’t expect to meet them so soon. They are really not a good person;
With such a great reputation, there are no false soldiers, and the opponent will do nothing if he doesn't take action. Once he does, he is as vicious as a poisonous snake, causing the imperial army to lose thousands of troops in one day, and the important town of Xinyang was retaken by it. "
Kinoshita Isamu nodded in agreement. They had met a real opponent this time, and they had to come up with a response plan as soon as possible;
Because at dawn, the 78th Army will launch a new attack.
Kinoshita Isamu thought for a while and said:
"Your Excellency Commander, judging from the enemy's offensive, the total strength of the 78th Army will not be less than 50,000, which is almost the limit of the Chinese Army's strength!
The Imperial Army has been fighting continuously for half a month, and the morale of the 78th Group Army is high, and the situation is not favorable for the Imperial Army;
The strategic purpose of the imperial army's winter offensive has been achieved, and the main force in the fifth theater has been crippled. I suggest that we still struggle with it. The main force will alternately cover the withdrawal from the Dabie Mountains and leave the remote mountainous areas to them. "
Yokoyama Isamu raised his hand to interrupt Kinoshita Isamu and said coldly:
"If this is the case, the efforts of the Imperial Army in the past half month have been in vain, and more than 10,000 troops have been lost in vain. Our Imperial Army will also be frustrated to make wedding clothes for others;
Our 11th Army has never had a tradition of withdrawing without a fight. The 78th Group Army is China's elite. Did our 11th Army destroy too many of China's elite troops? "
Major General Kinoshita had already felt the commander's strong fighting spirit. Since the commander had made up his mind, he could only continue the fight. He began to formulate combat plans overnight, adjust combat deployments, and prepare for a decisive battle with the 78th Group Army.
Isamu Yokoyama did not rest this night, nor did the 78th Army;
After they rested on the spot for 2 hours, the Mountain Division passed through the gap in the defense of the 106th Division and the 39th Division overnight;
Hidden by day and night, along the line of Luoshan and Guangshan, capture the mall before the Japanese can react;
Cut off the 106th Division and the 39th Division, which were rushing deep into the Central Plains;
The main three divisions pushed forward in a straight line, striving to defeat and annihilate the 106th Division and the 39th Division in the shortest possible time, without giving the Japanese Eleventh Army time to react.
After receiving the order, the Mountain Division moved through the night toward the mall, marching 50 kilometers in one night, and then retreated into the mountains and forests to rest after dawn.
After daybreak, the three infantry divisions of the 78th Group Army set out from Luoshan and advanced in a zigzag attack;
The remnants of the 106th Division and the 39th Division, whose forces were too dispersed, only lasted a few hours before being defeated, fighting and retreating all the way towards the mall.
At this time, the four Japanese divisions were too scattered. The main 3rd Division was still in the Anqing area of Anhui Province, the 40th Division was located in Lu'an City, and part of the 39th Division was located in the Macheng area;
Because the troops pursuing the fifth theater were too scattered before, the organization of each division was already in chaos. It took more than a day or two to gather them together. This gave the 78th Group Army the opportunity to cut and encircle the 106th Division, which had penetrated deep into the Central Plains Province. and the First Division of the 39th Division created conditions.
The 106th Division and the 39th Division have about 30,000 troops deep into the Central Plains Province. In the Xinyang area, nearly 10,000 people were wiped out by the 78th Group, and the remaining 20,000 troops retreated to Luoshan and Guangshan areas;
They blocked the 78th Group Army along the favorable terrain and waited for reinforcements.
The two sides fought fiercely for another day. Under the layers of Japanese resistance, the 78 Group only advanced less than 10 kilometers.
After dark, the Mountain Division, which took a day's rest, continued to attack Shangcheng. They were still about 55 kilometers away from Shangcheng County, and they had to arrive before dawn;
After marching 55 kilometers overnight, they launched an attack on the mall and captured it. It was time to test the mountain division's mobile warfare capabilities.
