Quartermasters can also fight the devils

Chapter 730: The Japanese Army Advances with Strength

After that, the Japanese offensive forces quickly captured Weishi, Zhengxian, Weichuan, Changge, Xingyang, Cuimiao and other places in succession. Afterwards, the Japanese offensive forces placed their main target of attack on Mi County, preparing to break the support point where the Chinese army gathered its forces to launch a counterattack or to flank the Japanese offensive forces.

At the same time, the Japanese attacking force also gathered part of its main forces in the Xinzheng area and attacked Xuchang in the south.

After a series of failures, the troops of the First War Zone of the Chinese government regrouped and re-deployed their subsequent operations.

Commander Tang, deputy commander of the First War Zone of the Huaxia government, also divided the troops of the First War Zone into two corps, the South Corps, with Li Xianzhou as the commander, and the 12th Army and the 29th Army as the main forces. The North Corps, with Wang Zhonglian as the commander, commanded the main forces of the First War Zone, the 13th Army and the 85th Army.

Commander Tang, deputy commander of the First War Zone of the Huaxia government, prepared to encircle and annihilate the Japanese attacking forces in a pincer attack in the area between Xuchang, Xiangcheng, Yuxian and Mixian.

This battle plan by Commander Tang, deputy commander of the First War Zone of the Chinese government, was formulated on April 22. However, on the night of April 23, the county seat of Mi County was captured by the Japanese attacking force totaling more than 15,000 troops.

The new combat plan formulated by Commander Tang, deputy commander of the First War Zone of the Chinese government, had not yet been implemented before it had already turned into nothing, and the Chinese army completely lost the initiative on the entire battlefield.

At this point, the main offensive forces of the Japanese army had assembled in the area from Zhengzhou to Xinzheng and Mi County on the south bank of the Yellow River. The Japanese Army's 3rd Tank Division, 2nd Independent Tank Regiment and Cavalry Brigade were also crossing the Yellow River in a steady stream, which greatly enhanced the Japanese army's combat effectiveness.

In particular, the mechanized corps of the Japanese Army assembled by General Yasuji Okamura, commander of the Japanese North China Front Army, had a huge advantage in fighting in the plains of Henan Province.

From April 25, 1944, the Japanese offensive forces continued to advance southward. On April 29, the 37th Division, 62nd Division, 27th Division and the 7th Independent Mixed Brigade of the Japanese Army, with the cooperation of more than 150 tanks and vehicles, successfully completed the encirclement of Xuchang City.

Subsequently, the Japanese offensive forces launched a fierce attack on the defensive strongholds of the Chinese army near Xuchang City. The two sides fought fiercely until the morning of April 30, when Xuchang City was already surrounded by the Japanese offensive forces.

The newly formed 29th Division, the newly formed 42nd Division, the 29th Army, the 193rd Division, the 20th Division, and the 91st Division of the First War Zone of the Chinese Government also engaged in fierce battles with the Japanese attacking forces that were attacking the city.

With the coordination of aircraft, artillery and tanks, the Japanese army launched a full-scale attack on Xuchang City. The 20th Division and the newly formed 42nd Division of the Chinese government suffered more than half of their casualties under the fierce attack of the Japanese army. The more than 2,000 officers and soldiers of the newly formed 29th Division responsible for defending the city also put up a tenacious resistance in the face of the fierce attack of the Japanese offensive forces.

However, under the attack of the Japanese army's superior forces and firepower, Xuchang was still occupied by the Japanese offensive forces on May 1. The commander of the newly formed 29th Division of the Chinese government, Lu Gongliang, died heroically, and more than two-thirds of the officers below the regimental commander were killed or wounded.

The fall of Xuchang not only caused the Chinese army to lose control of the central area of ​​the Henan Plain and the water and land transportation hub, but more importantly, the loss of Xuchang completely shattered the combat plan formulated by Commander Tang, deputy commander of the First War Zone of the Chinese government, to flank the Japanese offensive forces.

According to the instructions from the highest level of the Chinese government that "the division defending Xuchang should be supported as much as possible to attract and contain the Japanese troops", Commander Tang, deputy commander of the First War Zone of the Chinese government, also urgently ordered Li Xianzhou to lead 10,000 troops from two armies of the 28th Army Group to move towards Xiangcheng and Yuxian to attack the flanks of the Japanese offensive forces.

However, the two mobile forces of the 28th Army sent by Commander Tang, deputy commander of the First War Zone of the Chinese government, were quickly defeated by the Japanese offensive forces.

In the battle for Yingqiao, the Japanese attacking force mobilized more than 8,000 infantry and cavalry, with the support of more than 20 artillery pieces, 25 tanks and more than 200 vehicles. The two armies of the 28th Army were exhausted and had to retreat. This made the combat plan formulated by Commander Tang, Deputy Commander of the First War Zone of the Chinese government, to flank the Japanese attacking force, declared a failure at the very beginning.

On May 1, 1944, facing the continuous advance of the Japanese offensive forces, the top leaders of the Chinese government, in order to reverse the defeat on the battlefield in Henan Province, sent a telegram to Commander Tang, Deputy Commander of the First War Zone of the Chinese government, requesting Commander Tang to concentrate the 12th, 13th, 29th, 85th, Provisional 1st Army and 78th Army of the First War Zone and use them near Yu County to fight a decisive battle with the Japanese offensive forces.

Commander Tang, deputy commander of the First War Zone of the Chinese Government, then once again began to redeploy troops according to the instructions of the highest level of the Chinese Government. Commander Tang ordered He Cuizhi, commander of the 12th Army of the Southern Corps, to command the temporary 55th Division and the 81st Division to assemble in Zhengxian and Baofeng areas. Lai Ruxiong, commander of the 87th Army, commanded the 22nd Division and the newly formed 43rd Division to advance towards Xiangcheng. Gu Xijiu, commander of the 89th Army, led the newly formed 1st Division and the 2nd Cavalry Division to assemble in Luohe and Yancheng. The 22nd Division held Yingqiao to block the invading Japanese troops.

The main force of the 13th Army of the Northern Corps was ordered to assemble in Baisha and Gaocheng areas. The 85th Army would transfer the garrison tasks of the defensive positions in Dengfeng, Linru and other places to the 9th Army, and then assemble in Dengfeng area. The 29th Army would defend Yu County, and the newly formed 29th Division would defend Xuchang.

The strategic change of the First War Zone of the Chinese government also forced General Okamura Yasuji, commander of the Japanese North China Front Army, to change his previous combat plan.

The original strategic plan of General Okamura Yasuji, commander of the Japanese North China Front Army, was to use the main force to make a large detour to the right after the Japanese offensive force captured Yancheng, encircle and annihilate the main force of Commander Tang of the First War Zone of the Chinese government.

However, after the deployment of various troops of the First War Zone of the Chinese government was changed, the senior staff of the Japanese North China Front Army's General Staff, after research, unanimously agreed that under the current circumstances, the flanking operation carried out by the offensive forces of the Japanese 12th Army from Yancheng in the previous combat plan would definitely not create a favorable strategic situation for the offensive forces of the Japanese Army as expected in the previous combat plan.