freenovelworld Chapter 731: Big Detour
Chapter 731: Big Detour
In order to quickly control the retreat route of the First War Zone troops of the Chinese government near Dengfeng: the Fou-Ru Plain, General Okamura Yasuji, commander of the Japanese North China Front Army, believed that the offensive forces of the Japanese 12th Army must be concentrated in the direction of the Fou-Ru Plain, so as to encircle and annihilate the main force of the First War Zone of the Chinese government centered on the 13th Army.
Therefore, General Okamura Yasuji, commander of the Japanese North China Front Army, ordered the Japanese 12th Army to capture Xuchang and then quickly make a detour to the northwest.
From May 1st, the attacking force of the Japanese 12th Army began a large-scale roundabout offensive towards the northwest with Xuchang as the axis. At the same time, General Okamura Yasuji, commander of the Japanese North China Front Army, ordered the Japanese 27th Division and part of the Japanese 37th Division to continue attacking southward, aiming directly at Yancheng, preparing to open up the Pinghan Railway Line in one go.
In order to echo the meritorious operations of the Japanese North China Front Army, the Japanese China Expeditionary Army Command also ordered the Japanese 11th Army to send part of its troops to attack northward from Xinyang. At the same time, in order to contain the Chinese government's First War Zone troops, the Japanese 13th Army was ordered to send part of its troops from Bengbu along the west bank of the New Yellow River floodplain to attack Yingzhou.
The newly formed First Division of the 89th Army of the Huaxia Government was responsible for guarding Yancheng in the First War Zone of the Huaxia Government. Near Zhoujiakou to the east of Yancheng, the Third Cavalry Division of He's 15th Army of the Huaxia Government was assisting in the defensive operations.
On May 2, the Japanese attacking force launched an attack in the direction of Yancheng with the cooperation of more than ten aircraft, more than twenty cannons and puppet troops. As a result, as soon as the defending Chinese army and the Japanese attacking force came into contact, more than 40 officers above the rank of company commander of the 3rd Cavalry Division of the Chinese government near Zhoujiakou were killed.
On May 3, all the officers and soldiers of a company of the newly formed 1st Division of the Huaxia government, which was responsible for guarding Yancheng, were killed in the fierce attack by the Japanese attacking force while defending Sanli Temple north of Yancheng.
On May 4, the Japanese attacking forces began to bombard Yancheng with artillery fire and launched a full-scale infantry attack. The fierce fighting lasted until noon on May 5. The Japanese attacking forces successfully broke through the East Gate and immediately occupied the entire city of Yancheng.
In the area east of the Pinghan Railway Line, in order to cooperate with the Japanese offensive forces in the frontal attack on the Pinghan Railway Line, the commander of the Japanese 13th Army, General Nishio Hisazo, also moved the headquarters of the Japanese 13th Army from Shanghai to Bengbu.
At the same time, General Hisazo Nishio, commander of the 13th Japanese Army, also ordered the 65th Division of the Japanese Army to launch an attack to tie down part of the 19th and 15th Army of the Chinese government on the east side of the Pinghan Railway Line.
The Japanese attacking force advanced along the west bank of the Huai River from Shou County, Anhui Province. In order to quickly achieve the desired results, the Japanese army also deployed two independent infantry battalions with more than 3,000 troops, as well as a cavalry squadron and thousands of puppet troops to participate in the attack.
In the attack direction of the Japanese offensive forces, the Chinese government's Second Cavalry Army, the Third Cavalry Division, the Provisional 30th Division and some local armed forces were responsible for defense. The first to engage in firefighting with the Japanese offensive forces were some local Chinese forces. Since the combat effectiveness of the local Chinese forces was very limited, they could not stop the advance of the Japanese offensive forces at all.
Subsequently, the three regiments of the 8th Cavalry Division of the Chinese government launched an attack on the Japanese offensive forces from the left and right wings. However, under the fierce attack of the Japanese offensive forces' aircraft and artillery, the Chinese army's cavalry attack formation also suffered heavy losses. The Japanese offensive forces later occupied important towns such as Yingshang.
After that, the 8th Cavalry Division of the Chinese government also fought fierce battles with the Japanese offensive forces in Shibalipu and other places many times. After all the defensive positions of the Chinese army were destroyed by Japanese artillery and aircraft, they were forced to abandon their positions.
After the Japanese army occupied Shibalipu, the 8th Cavalry Division of the Chinese government organized troops to launch a counterattack against the Japanese army and successfully recaptured Shibalipu. However, under the fierce attack of the Japanese offensive forces again, Shibalipu was soon lost again.
On the morning of May 5, the Japanese attacking forces attacked westward along the right bank of the Shahe River and the roads between Fuyang and Yingshang. The Chinese government's 8th Cavalry Division had almost been wiped out. Even Deputy Division Commander Lu had been killed in the previous battle. The 8th Cavalry Division was forced to withdraw from the battlefield.
After breaking through the resistance of the 8th Cavalry Division of the Chinese government, the Japanese attacking force continued to attack westward and engaged in some small-scale battles with other Chinese army troops along the way.
After successfully occupying Yancheng and other places, the Japanese offensive force achieved the goal of this diversionary operation. Therefore, on May 7, this Japanese offensive force stopped attacking westward and began to retreat.
However, the diversionary attack launched by this Japanese offensive force did not have much effect. Instead, the active activities of the Chinese guerrilla forces in the Huaiyin area greatly tied down the offensive forces of the Japanese 13th Army.
At the same time, on the front of the Pinghan Railway Line, after the Japanese offensive force captured Yancheng, General Okamura Yasuji, commander of the Japanese North China Front Army, ordered the Japanese offensive force to continue attacking southward with the 27th Division as the main force, and successfully captured Suiping.
From then on, the Japanese attacking forces encountered no resistance from the troops of the First War Zone of China. On May 9, they successfully joined forces in Queshan with a Japanese force attacking northward from Xinyang. This time, the Japanese China Expeditionary Force finally completed the first phase of the "Operation No. 1" plan to open up the Pinghan Railway Line.
The main force of the Japanese 12th Army, whose combat goal was to encircle and annihilate the main force of the First War Zone of the Chinese government, began a large-scale flanking attack to the west after capturing Xuchang. The attack force of the Japanese 12th Army launched a rapid flanking attack towards Yuxian and Xiangcheng, and its target was also directly aimed at the Zhengxian area.
The 62nd Division of the 12th Army of the Japanese Army was the main force responsible for attacking Yu County. On the night of May 2, 1944, the 62nd Division of the Japanese Army began to encircle and attack Yu County. The 91st Division, 193rd Division and the 20th Division of the 89th Army of the Chinese Government were responsible for the defense of Yu County in the First War Zone of the Chinese Government, with a total of more than 30,000 troops.
Facing the fierce attacks of the Japanese offensive forces, the Chinese army stubbornly blocked the advance of the Japanese offensive forces on the Wuliang Temple, Zhuzhu Mountain, Chuhepu and Guolian Street line.