Chapter 1477 The Last Effort (Part 1)

On April 21, 1943, Fang Xianjue, who was transferred to the Military and Political Department as a councilor, took a transport plane back to Shancheng.

The 9th War Zone Command issued a military order to transfer Fang Riying, deputy commander of the 86th Army, to the 10th Army as the lieutenant general commander.

On April 22, 1943, Fang Riying was about to leave for Hengyang, but the 9th War Zone Command received a letter from the two lieutenant generals of the 3rd Division and the 10th Reserve Division of the 10th Army and all the brigade commanders, regiment commanders, and battalion commanders under their command, jointly boycotting the new army commander to take office.

General Xue was furious, but he felt powerless. This letter meant that if he forced Fang Riying to take office, the result would be that the 10th Army, the "Taishan Army", would completely fall apart.

Even though he was the commander of the 9th War Zone and had been deeply trusted by that person in the past two years, he would inevitably be reprimanded by that person for this matter.

Especially at this time when the Japanese army's attack was unclear, the arrogant General Xue could only hold back his anger and ordered Fang Riying to postpone his appointment and stay in Tanzhou to wait for the opportunity.

The 10th Army once again became an army without a commander, and its 190th Division was also ordered not to return to the Hengyang area.

The only troops available for combat in the entire Hengyang area were the 3rd Division of the 10th Army, the 10th Reserve Division, and the engineer regiment at the foot of Hengshan Mountain.

On April 24, the senior officials of the Military and Political Department noticed that the Japanese army seemed to have the intention to invade Hunan Province, and specially called General Xue of the 9th War Zone, telling him, "There is a lot of intelligence about the direct attack on Zhuzhou and Hengyang from northern Jiangxi. Please pay special attention and actively build strongholds and fortifications, and complete them within a time limit to prevent any eventuality. '

But General Xue did not care, thinking that 'the enemy on the defense line has not increased, so how can there be any eventuality! ', 'The lesson of a frightened bird is so profound! ’

Even though the intelligence stations of the Military Control Commission reported that the Japanese army had large-scale mobilizations as time went by, General Xue, who had won the three Tanzhou battles, was almost stubborn and did not pay any attention to it. He put aside the intelligence sent by the war zone intelligence department and ignored it.

Until April 28, the Military and Political Department sent another urgent telegram: "A large number of Japanese troops are gathering in the southern Hubei area. There are signs of moving south and they may attack Tanzhou at any time!"

General Xue realized that the Japanese army was really going to attack Tanzhou.

However, General Xue was still not too nervous at this time. After the great victory of the third Tanzhou battle at the end of 1942, there was no war in the 9th War Zone for more than a year. The people of Tanzhou had a peaceful life. He believed that he would still win this time and the Japanese army would still fail.

In the dictionary of General Xue, arrogance and conceit do not exist. His confidence comes from Wanjialing and the three Tanzhou battles. Both Anami Korechika and Yokoyama Isamu were defeated by him.

On April 30, the 5th Japanese Army Air Force advanced its headquarters to Jiangxia!

On May 1, Yokoyama Isamu arrived in southern Hubei and established the Hunan Provincial Operations Command!

On May 2, Yokoyama Isamu issued the Hunan-Guangxi Operation Order to the 11th Army!

On May 3, Tian Shunroku, the commander-in-chief of the China Expeditionary Army, moved the front-line headquarters to Jiangxia, and the commander of the 11th Army, Yokoyama Isamu, led his troops to assemble near Yueyang.

On May 4, the day before the Hunan-Guangxi Campaign was launched, someone asked the Japanese Chief of Staff Tojo Koki about the Chinese army's preparations. Tojo Koki said: "Although the Chinese army estimated that the Japanese army would attack Tanzhou, Changde, and the Zhejiang-Jiangxi area and tried to strengthen various positions, its troops were scattered and did not take it seriously. It did not see that China would concentrate its troops from other aspects in response to the Empire's upcoming full-scale attack. Although the Chinese army is also worried that the Empire's operations may develop into larger-scale operations, overall, they have not been able to make a clear and accurate judgment on the Empire's operational ideas so far."

The Japanese had a clear understanding of the pre-war preparations of the 9th War Zone, and it was not very clear.

But General Xue did not know that in order to launch the "No. 1 Operation", the Japanese headquarters carried out an emergency expansion of the army in China at the end of 1943, organized 14 independent infantry brigades and transferred them to the Chinese theater, and also established 8 field supplementary teams to fight with the army, ready to replenish casualties at any time.

In addition, the 3rd and 13th divisions originally planned to be transferred to the Southeast Asian battlefield remained in the Chinese battlefield. The Japanese army directly used more than 250,000 troops for the Hunan-Guangxi battle this time, which was almost the total force deployed in the Battle of Shanghai in 1938. Although many of them were new recruits recruited by the domestic army expansion and their combat effectiveness was far less than in the past, they were definitely not something that the Chinese army with the same number could resist.

Since the beginning of the war, in every large-scale battle, the Chinese army must have at least twice as many troops as before to have the possibility of fighting for several months. For example, in the Battle of Xuzhou, the Japanese side invested 200,000 people, while the Chinese side invested 600,000; in the Battle of Jiangxia, the Japanese side invested 180,000, while the Chinese side assembled the national forces and invested more than 500,000.

But this time, General Xue did not know the enemy or himself!

In early 1942, in order to open up the Yunnan-Burma Highway, China formed an expeditionary force. The Ministry of Military Affairs transferred the 15th and 19th main army groups from the 9th Theater to Yunnan Province. By early 1944, 7 armies were transferred to the India-Burma battlefield again. The 9th Theater had dropped from 400,000 at its peak to less than 300,000.

Even if the Four-Line Regiment, a special infantry regiment that was shelved by the strict order, was added, the total number of combat troops in the 9th Theater was only 300,000.

300,000 vs. 250,000, this should be the closest time for the Chinese and Japanese forces in a large-scale battle.

But even so, the 9th Theater still has a chance!

Although Tang Dao knew that the fourth Tanzhou battle would inevitably fail based on the current war zone deployment, and that there would inevitably be a battle in Hengyang, he still wanted to make a final effort when he thought of the hundreds of thousands of people in Tanzhou City. At the end of April, he called a friend of his in Tanzhou and explained his judgment on the current war situation again.

It was not Xie Jinyuan or Comrade Lao Guo. Although these two had been promoted for their military exploits in recent years, they had been squeezed out of the core circle of the 9th War Zone due to Tang Dao's involvement. Not to mention advising Chief Xue, even his face was rarely seen.

That was a friend Tang Dao had known for less than a year. The age difference was not big, but their spirits were very similar.

In his spare time, Tang Dao took his wife and children to Tanzhou. When his old boss Xie Jinyuan heard about it, he specially received him and specially invited his friend Zhao Zili in the 9th War Zone to introduce him to Tang Dao.

People who can become friends with people like Xie Jinyuan are naturally not ordinary people.

Zhao Zili, a native of Henan Province, was born in 1908. He was only 35 years old when he met Tang Dao, but he was already a star of generals like Xie Jinyuan.

Moreover, this young major general had no family background at all. He joined the Northwest Army at the age of 18 and was admitted to the Whampoa Military Academy at the age of 19. He followed famous generals such as Hao Mengling and Guan Linzheng. He was both a practical and academician. He was promoted from the colonel staff officer of the 9th War Zone to the chief of the staff section and then to the major general chief of the staff department. He was constantly reused.

The biggest reason why Tang Dao and him had a good chat was not because he would be promoted to the chief of staff of the theater at the end of 1943, nor was he one of the important contributors to the "Tianlu Warfare", nor was it entirely because he would be the most sober person in the 9th Theater of War before the Hunan-Guangxi Campaign, but through conversation, he found that he was very opinionated and never followed the crowd.

Tang Dao came to this era, of course, hoping to change something in this era with his clear understanding of the historical context. If it weren't for him, many people's endings would have been doomed.

But Tang Dao is a normal person. In this world, people, regardless of friendship and love, are actually just seeking common ground, looking for people with similar interests among thousands of people.

For example, General Zhang, he is heroic, passionate, and has the purest military temperament, which is very similar to the captain Tang Dao once had, so Tang Dao and him became friends and brothers, not just because of his fame that is destined to go down in history.

Tang Dao also admired some of the characteristics of this young general named Zhao Zili. The two were only 7 years apart in age, and they were of the same generation. They talked happily, which made Xie Jinyuan, the host, a little jealous. He smiled and said, "Young people can still talk to each other. I, an old man, can hardly get a word in."

In fact, Xie Jinyuan was only 38 years old at this time, only 10 years older than Tang Dao. He was just a deputy in the army and was trapped in the concession for 2 years. His former free and easy style was tempered into calmness and sophistication, so he naturally spoke less.

Tang Dao and Zhao Zili also talked about the changes in the world war situation. Tang Dao consciously emphasized the defeat of the Japanese army in the Pacific battlefield. If they still wanted to defend the valuable resources in Southeast Asia, then opening up the mainland transportation line was their only choice. As for the other Tang Dao, he didn't need to say much. He also believed that with his ability to control the war situation, he could make an accurate judgment before the end of the battle of Henan Province.

Although in the past, the young lieutenant general chief of staff was ignored and exiled by the officer surnamed Xue because of his advice, this was already the worst result. Perhaps with the addition of Tang Dao, what different changes will happen in this time and space?

Even if Tanzhou can hold on for one more day because of the increase in troops, and buy one more day for Hengyang, it can dig one more trench and evacuate more people.

Sure enough, as Tang Dao expected, the young lieutenant general chief of staff has been paying close attention to the Japanese army's movements since the beginning of the battle in Henan Province because of Tang Dao's reminder in the middle of last year. When the battle in Henan Province was about to end and the 11th Army of the Japanese Army began to gather troops, he suddenly realized that this time the Japanese army's attack on Hunan Province might not be what the commander thought, or the scale of the previous three times, and there is a 90% chance that it will launch an unprecedented war.

If this is the case, the current strength of the 9th War Zone is far from enough, and the Military and Political Department must be asked to increase troops.

Zhao Zili was a man of strong character and decisiveness. He immediately set off for the war zone headquarters located at the foot of Yuelu Mountain.

Although it was early summer and the temperature in Tanzhou had reached over 30 degrees, under the century-old locust tree in the courtyard of the 9th War Zone Command, General Xue was still in uniform and in a neat and orderly manner.

But today he seemed to be in a good mood. His discipline button was unbuttoned, and he was sitting on a bamboo chair with a relaxed look listening to the report of the Director of the Nanyue Administration Bureau on the "Nanyue Overview".

General Xue was not only the commander-in-chief of the 9th War Zone. Because of the glory of the Wanjialing Battle, he began to serve as the first administrative chief of Hunan Province in 1939. He had both military and political power in one person, and was a well-deserved king of Hunan Province.

While busy with the war, he also founded three higher vocational colleges in Nanyue, namely, industrial, commercial and agricultural colleges, and invested huge amounts of money in Hengshan to build facilities such as the Martyrs' Shrine and sanatorium. This so-called "Nanyue Overview" is a propaganda document on the investment made by Hunan Province in the construction of people's livelihood in the past five years.

To put it bluntly, this is the political achievement of Commander Xue, proving that he can fight when he is on the horse and govern the country when he is off the horse, which paves some roads for his future.

From this person's perspective, as the Allied forces began to counterattack, Japan was already on the decline, and the war would end in two or three years. History has proven countless times that the end of the war means that the famous generals will withdraw from the stage of history.

For those who are unwilling to withdraw, there is only one word waiting for them!

From this perspective, Admiral Xue is definitely a person with sufficient political wisdom.

"Report!" Zhao Zili immediately saluted after coming in.

"Zili is here, just in time, help me see if this paragraph in the manuscript is appropriate." Admiral Xue, who was in a good mood, asked his chief of staff to sit down.

"Okay! However, I still have some emergency to report to you!"

Seeing Zhao Zili in a hurry, Admiral Xue was greatly disappointed. He waved his hand to let several administrative officials leave, and he took Zhao Zili to the operations room.

"Sir, I think the scale of the attack that the Japanese army is about to launch against our 9th theater is far greater than before."

"Oh? Why do you think so?" Admiral Xue frowned slightly.

What bothered him most these days was that someone mentioned the Japanese army's upcoming attack in front of him. A week ago, he said at a military meeting that the Japanese were unable to launch an attack on Hunan Province. As a result, the intelligence from this week has already slapped him in the face.

As a result, the Lieutenant General Chief of Staff, who he personally promoted, actually believed that the scale of the Japanese attack was even larger than before. This was not a slap in the face, but a step on his face.

That is, this person knew the temperament of his chief of staff, knew that he was obsessed with war and rarely thought hard about gaining personal gain. Even when he was promoted to the chief of staff of the theater, he was stunned on the spot.

"The intelligence from the Military Control Commission said that the Japanese army was extremely busy in the Pinghan Railway and the Yuehan Railway, and there were signs of large-scale troop movements. In addition, they arrested a large number of men in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The Japanese army in the northern Hunan region imposed martial law everywhere and did not allow Chinese people to pass. According to past experience, once the Japanese army imposed martial law near the railway station, railway transportation was frequent, and a large number of men were arrested at the same time, it meant that they were planning a large-scale attack." Zhao Zili took out the notebook he carried with him and read out the intelligence from Jiangxia, Yueyang and other areas one by one.

"Moreover, a large number of sealed military trains entered Jiangxia from Henan Province. I have reason to suspect that the Japanese army's assembled forces this time will exceed our imagination."

"Zili, you are really paranoid. The Japanese are no longer the same as before. The battle in Henan Province has not yet ended. How can they gather a large number of troops? Tell me, where do the troops come from? Could it be that they transferred those insignificant puppet troops? If that is the case, I can say shamelessly that even if there are a million puppet troops, my 9th War Zone can break them alone!" General Xue lit a cigarette without caring.

"My personal judgment is that the Japanese army may have already increased its troops from the country. You see, this is the intelligence sent by the Military Control Commission. From March to the end of April, the Japanese army transported 120,000 troops from the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and 50,000 to 60,000 troops from the upper reaches. Adding the two together, Jiangxia has already increased its troops by 50,000 to 60,000. These 50,000 to 60,000 people must have a special purpose to be transferred to Jiangxia." Zhao Zili shook his head stubbornly.

"Even if the Japanese attack, at most they will attack Tanzhou four times. They returned in defeat the first three times. What can they do this time?"

"If the Japanese army's target is only Tanzhou, it's fine, but in my opinion, Xiang Zhuang dances with a sword, I'm afraid the Japanese army's intention is not just Tanzhou."

"Where will it be?" General Xue exhaled a puff of blue smoke.

"I think the Japanese army has a big appetite this time."

Zhao Zili introduced the global war situation that he and Tang Dao had discussed in detail in one breath.

General Xue frowned.

It's not that what Zhao Zili said was unreasonable, but that it was too reasonable. He had not thought of or ignored many of the factors.

What's more terrible is that Zhao Zili was afraid that his commander still didn't believe it, so he made up a sentence at the end: "This is the war chess deduction I did when I was chatting with Captain Tang of the Four Lines last September. At that time, Captain Tang said that if the Japanese army suffered a complete defeat in the Pacific battlefield, they would definitely find a way to open up the mainland transportation line, otherwise hundreds of thousands of Japanese troops in the Southeast Asian battlefield would be doomed.

Now it seems that all his speculations are correct. The Japanese really started with Henan Province first, and then the troops went straight to our Hunan and Guangxi provinces."

If Tang Dao knew that this person was so straightforward and mentioned himself, he would definitely warn him in advance not to mention his name.

The reason is very simple. General Xue used to admire him and was even willing to promote him, but now it is very different from the past.

Tang Dao offended that person, and General Xue was no longer seeking the position of theater commander. If he wanted to climb to a higher position after the war, he must get the support of that person.

He has been trying his best to distance himself from Tang Dao. In the year and a half since Tang Dao led the Four-Line Regiment to the 9th War Zone, he has not even met Tang Dao once.

As a result, he stayed away from Tang Dao, while his chief of staff got involved with Tang Dao and even looked like he admired Tang Dao. What do you think he feels now?

However, these words can only be said under the stage and not on the stage.

"Okay! Your analysis is good. The Japanese army is going to attack our Hunan Province on a large scale. How do you think we should respond?" General Xue put his hands behind his back and looked out the window.

"I think we should first ask the Military Commission to send more troops to the war zone as soon as possible, and secondly, reconsider the location of the decisive battle."

"Why, do you think Tanzhou cannot be defended? Or, where do you think we should choose to fight?" General Xue's voice was already extremely low.

It was like the low growl of a cat.