freenovelworld Chapter 737 End of Phase 1
Chapter 737 End of Phase 1
Major General Kandai Kiyomasa, the commander of the 59th Brigade who was killed by a landmine, was the highest-ranking commander killed by the Chinese Army since the Japanese China Expeditionary Army launched the "Operation No. 1". It was also the greatest achievement of the Chinese Army in the entire Battle of Central Henan. Starting from June 12, the offensive forces of the Japanese First Army began to retreat and retreated back to the territory of Shanxi Province, which was occupied by the Japanese army before the war.
On the other hand, in addition to sending part of its troops to reinforce the offensive forces of the Japanese First Army in the Lingbao area, the main force of the Japanese 12th Army completed the security deployment in important towns such as Luoyang, Yiyang, and Linru in June 1944, ensuring the Japanese 12th Army's control over the southern section of the Pinghan Railway.
At the same time, Lieutenant General Uchiyama Eitaro, commander of the Japanese 12th Army, used two cavalry brigades as the main force to launch a mopping-up operation against the Chinese army along the Pinghan Railway north of the Ru River. Since mid-June, the center of the Battle of Central Henan has also shifted to the Zhoukou area.
Responsible for the defense of Zhoukou area were parts of the 19th and 15th Army Groups of the First War Zone of the Chinese Government. The 111th Division of the Chinese Government was the main force, in addition to the 3rd Cavalry Division of the Chinese Government and some local security forces. The commander-in-chief was Commander Chen of the 111th Division.
Starting from June 18th, the offensive forces of the Japanese 12th Army, under the cover of artillery, launched attacks on Shangshui, Zhoukou and other places, while the Chinese army mainly fought fierce battles with the offensive forces of the Japanese 12th Army in the Zhoukou area.
On June 20th, the attacking forces of the Japanese 12th Army began to converge and surrounded Shangshui City on all sides. The 111th Division of the Chinese government was guarding Shangshui City.
After the battalion commander of the 661nd Battalion, st Regiment, th Division of the Chinese government discovered the artillery positions of the attacking forces of the Japanese th Army, he personally led the entire battalion to attack the artillery positions of the Japanese th Army, but was surrounded by reinforcements sent by the Japanese th Army, and finally the entire battalion died heroically.
The attacking force of the Japanese 12th Army first broke through from the east gate of Shangshui City. After a company of officers and soldiers from the 111th Division of the Chinese government were killed in the defense of the east gate, the attacking force of the Japanese 12th Army also entered the city.
Afterwards, the attacking forces of the Japanese 12th Army and the Chinese defenders engaged in an eight-hour street fighting. Finally, on the second day, the attacking forces of the Japanese 12th Army completely occupied Shangshui City.
At this point, the offensive forces of the Japanese 12th Army had completed the security deployment after opening up the Pinghan Railway Line, providing a guarantee for the land rear communication line for the next phase of "Operation No. 1", the Hunan-Guangxi Operation. Subsequently, the main offensive forces of the Japanese 12th Army headed south one after another, and most of them were incorporated into the combat sequence of the Japanese 11th Army in the three towns.
Thus, the first phase of the Japanese Army's "Operation No. 1", that is, the Battle of Central Henan, ended. In the Battle of Central Henan, which lasted more than two months, the Japanese Army's China Expeditionary Force deployed a total of about 150,000 troops. In the end, the Japanese Army's China Expeditionary Force roughly completed the pre-war strategic goals at the cost of only more than 4,000 casualties.
In a report submitted after the war by Lieutenant General Uchiyama Eitaro, commander of the Japanese 1th Army, to General Okamura Yasuji, commander of the Japanese North China Front Army, and General Hata Shunroku, commander of the China Expeditionary Army, the Japanese army's casualties in the entire battle accounted for about 3% of the total number of troops participating in the battle, the number of wounded accounted for about 5% of the total number of troops participating in the battle, and the number of sick accounted for about % of the total number of troops participating in the battle. Among the tanks of the rd Tank Division that participated in the battle, one-third were unable to move, but only nine were completely destroyed by the Chinese army.
The Chinese army suffered extremely heavy losses in the Battle of Central Henan. A total of 43 divisions, with a total strength of about 400,000 people, were involved in the Battle of Central Henan.
As a result, after the Battle of Central Henan, only 15% of the divisions had not suffered losses, and the rest of the troops were all hit hard by the Japanese attacking forces.
Moreover, most areas of Henan Province were ravaged by war, more than 30 cities were occupied by the Japanese army, and the losses were simply incalculable. In particular, the ancient capital of Luoyang was subjected to crazily looting by the Japanese attacking forces, and a large number of cultural relics and ancient buildings were destroyed.
Through the first phase of "Operation No. 1", the Japanese Army's China Expeditionary Force not only opened up the Pinghan Railway Line, but also occupied the Longhai Railway Line in Henan Province, which had a catastrophic impact on the war situation in the entire North China and even the whole of China.
Compared with the losses of the Japanese offensive forces, the losses of the Chinese army were so heavy that "they were laughed at by the world and were the greatest shame in the eight-year war of resistance."
As a result, the military commanders of the First War Zone of the Huaxia Government on the battlefield in Henan Province naturally became the target of public criticism. Under the pressure of public opinion, Commander Jiang of the First War Zone of the Huaxia Government was dismissed, Deputy Commander Tang was dismissed but retained his position, Commander Ma Liwu of the 29th Army was dismissed, and another division commander was handed over to military court for trial. A division commander and three regiment commanders were sentenced to death as a warning to others.
The main reason for the disastrous defeat in the Battle of Central Henan was that the troops of the First War Zone of the Chinese government were quite insufficient in actual combat troops, and the quality and combat effectiveness of officers and soldiers were extremely poor. When the Japanese offensive troops began, seven of the 21 divisions commanded by Commander Tang, deputy commander of the First War Zone of the Chinese government, had insufficient combat strength.
For example, the so-called three divisions of the 78th Army of the Huaxia government were simply reorganized from two independent brigades and a training center with additional recruits. Less than a month after the so-called three divisions were reorganized, the Battle of Central Henan broke out, and the troops of these three divisions did not even receive any replenishment of equipment.
Even the Thirteenth Army, which is the elite of the Chinese government, has seen its combat effectiveness greatly affected due to various reasons.
For example, the 117th Division under the 13th Army, the Provisional 27th Division and the New 29th Division under the Provisional 15th Army, and the Provisional 55th Division under the 12th Army, these troops either had not yet developed their combat effectiveness, or had no combat experience, or had no equipment replenishment. All these reasons greatly affected their combat effectiveness.
As for the several armies under the 28th Group Army of the Chinese government, there is a great shortage of officers and soldiers, their equipment is very poor, and there is a lack of various special forces. Even less than one-third of them have usable rifles. This has resulted in the Chinese army having many unit numbers but very limited combat effectiveness.