Rise from eight hundred.

Chapter 1477: Final Effort (Part )

On April 1943, 4, Fang Xianjue, who was transferred to the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs as a councilor, returned to Shancheng on a transport plane.

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

1943年4月22日，方日应正欲启程前往衡阳，第9战区司令部却收到来自第10军第3师、预备第10师两名中将师长及麾下所有旅长、团长、营长联名抵制新任军长上任的信件。

General Xue was furious, yet felt powerless. This letter meant that if he forced Fang Riying to take office, the result would be the complete disintegration of the 10th Army, the "Taishan Army".

Even though he was the commander of the 9th War Zone and had gained the man's trust in the past two years, he would inevitably be reprimanded by him for this matter.

Especially at this time when the Japanese army's attack potential was unclear, General Xue, who had always been stubborn and arrogant, could only swallow his anger and ordered Fang Riying to postpone taking office and stay in Tanzhou to wait for the opportunity.

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

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

On April 4, the senior military and political officials realized that the Japanese army seemed to be planning to invade Hunan Province, so they sent a special telegram to General Xue of the 24th War Zone, telling him, "There is a lot of information about the direct attack on Zhuzhou and Hengyang from northern Jiangxi. Please pay special attention and actively build strongholds and fortifications. Complete them within a time limit to be prepared for any eventuality."

But General Xue didn't take it seriously, thinking, "The enemy on the defense line hasn't increased, so how can there be a surprise!" and "The lesson of a frightened bird is profound!"

Even though as time went by, the Military Intelligence Bureau's intelligence stations in various places reported "signs of large-scale mobilization of the Japanese army", but General Xue, who had won the three Tanzhou battles, was almost stubborn and did not pay any attention to it this time. He shelved the intelligence sent by the war zone intelligence department and ignored it.

On April 4, the Ministry of Military Affairs sent another urgent telegram: "A large number of Japanese troops are gathering in southern Hubei. They are currently showing signs of moving south and may attack Tanzhou at any time!"

General Xue then 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 had been no fighting in the 9th War Zone for more than a year, and the people of Tanzhou had a peaceful life. He believed that he would still win this time and the Japanese army would still fail.

Arrogance and conceit do not exist in General Xue's dictionary. His self-confidence comes from Wanjialing and the three battles of Tanzhou. No matter whether it was Anami Korechika or Yokoyama Isamu, they were just defeated by him.

On April 4, the Japanese 30th Army Air Force advanced its headquarters to Jiangxia!

  On May 5, Isamu Yokoyama arrived in southern Hubei and established the Hunan Provincial Combat Command!

On May 5, Isamu Yokoyama issued the Hunan-Guangxi Operation Order to the 2th Army!

On May 5, Commander-in-Chief of the China Expeditionary Army, Junroku Tian, ​​moved the front-line headquarters to Jiangxia, and Commander of the 3th Army, Isamu Yokoyama, led his troops to assemble near Yueyang.

On May 5, 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, their forces were scattered and they did not take it seriously. They did not see that China would concentrate its forces in other areas 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 a larger-scale operation, overall, they have not been able to make a clear and accurate judgment on the Empire's operational ideas."

The Japanese had a clear understanding of the 9th War Zone's pre-war preparations, if not exactly clear, at least about percent of it.

But Admiral Xue did not know that in order to launch "Operation No. 1943", the Japanese military headquarters had urgently expanded its forces in the country at the end of 14, organized 8 independent infantry brigades to be transferred to the Chinese theater, and established field replacement teams to fight with the army and 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 25 troops in the Hunan-Guangxi campaign, almost the total number of troops deployed in the Battle of Shanghai in 37. Although many of them were new recruits recruited from domestic military expansion and their combat effectiveness was far less than before, they were definitely not something that the Chinese army of the same number could resist.

Since the beginning of the war, in every major battle, the Chinese side had to have at least twice as many troops as the Japanese in order to have the possibility of fighting for months. For example, in the Battle of Xuzhou, the Japanese deployed 20 troops, while the Chinese deployed 60; in the Battle of Jiangxia, the Japanese deployed 18 troops, while the Chinese mobilized the entire country's forces and deployed more than 50 troops.

  But this time, General Xue did not know himself nor the enemy!

In early 1942, in order to open up the Yunnan-Burma Highway, China formed an expeditionary force. The Ministry of Military Affairs transferred the 9th and 15th main army groups from the 19th War Zone to Yunnan Province. By early 1944, another 7 armies were transferred to the India-Burma battlefield. The 9th War Zone had dropped from 40 at its peak to less than 30.

Even if we add the Four-Line Regiment, a special infantry regiment that was shelved by that strict order, the total number of combat-capable soldiers in the 9th War Zone is only 30.

30 versus 25. This should be the closest military strength between China and Japan in a large-scale battle.

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

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

It was neither Xie Jinyuan nor 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 their involvement with Tang Dao. Not to mention advising Commander Xue, they rarely even saw him.

He was a friend Tang Dao had known for less than a year. They were not much different in age, but they had very similar personalities.

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 invited his good friend Zhao Ziling from the 9th War Zone to introduce him to Tang Dao.

Anyone who can become friends with someone like Xie Jinyuan is naturally not an ordinary person.

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

Moreover, this young major general has 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 person and an academician. He was promoted from colonel staff officer of the 9th War Zone to chief of staff and then to major general chief of staff.

  The biggest reason why Tang Dao and him had such a good chat was not because he would be promoted to the chief of staff of the theater at the end of 1943, nor because he was one of the important contributors to the "Tianlu Tactics", nor because he would be the most sober person in the 9th Theater to judge the war situation before the Hunan-Guangxi Campaign, but because through the 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, the fate of many people would have been determined long ago.

But Tang Dao is a normal person. In this world, no matter friendship or love, people are actually just seeking common ground, looking for people with similar interests among thousands of people.

For example, General Zhang is heroic, passionate, and possesses the purest military temperament, which is very similar to Tang Dao's former captain. Therefore, Tang Dao became friends and brothers with him, not only 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 seven years apart in age, and they were of the same generation. They seemed to be talking happily, which made Xie Jinyuan, the host, a little jealous. He smiled and said, "Young people can still talk to each other. An old man like me can hardly get a word in."

In fact, Xie Jinyuan was only 38 years old at that time, only 10 years older than Tang Dao. He had mostly held deputy positions in the army and had been trapped in the concession for two years. His once high-spirited and free-spirited character had been tempered into calm and sophisticated, 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 want to defend the valuable resources in Southeast Asia, then opening up the mainland transportation lines is their only choice. As for the others, Tang Dao needs no further explanation. He also believes that with his ability to control the war situation, he can make accurate judgments 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 his superior named Xue because of his advice, this was already the worst outcome. Perhaps in this time and space, with the addition of Tang Dao, something different will happen?

Even if Tanzhou could hold out for one more day because of the increase in military strength, and buy Hengyang one more day, they could also dig one more trench and evacuate more people.

Sure enough, just as Tang Dao had expected, the young lieutenant general chief of staff had been paying close attention to the movements of the Japanese army 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 Japanese 11th Army began to assemble its troops, he suddenly realized that this time the Japanese army's attack on Hunan Province might not be what the commander had expected or be of a similar scale to the previous three times. There was a % chance that they would launch an unprecedented war.

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

Zhao Zili was a man of strong character and decisiveness, and he immediately set off for the war zone headquarters located at the foot of Yuelu Mountain. Although it was early summer, the temperature in Tanzhou had reached over 30 degrees. Under the century-old locust tree in the compound of the 9th War Zone Command, General Xue was still dressed in military uniform and looked neat and tidy.

However, he seemed to be in a good mood today. His discipline button was unbuttoned, and he was sitting on a bamboo chair with a relaxed look on his face, 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, but because of the glory of the Battle of Wanjialing, he began to serve as the first administrative chief of Hunan Province in 1939. He combined military and political power in one person and was a well-deserved King of Hunan Province.

While he was busy with the war, he also founded three higher vocational colleges in Nanyue, namely industry, commerce and agriculture, and invested huge amounts of money in Hengshan to build facilities such as the Martyrs' Shrine and sanatorium. This so-called "Nanyue at a Glance" was a propaganda document on Hunan Province's investment in people's livelihood construction over the past five years.

To put it bluntly, this is the political achievement of Commander Xue, proving that he can fight wars when on horseback and govern the country when on foot. It paves the way 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 be over within two or three years. History has proven countless times that the end of a war means that famous generals have left the stage of history.

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

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

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

"Zi Li is here, just in time. Please help me check if this paragraph in the manuscript is appropriate." Admiral Xue, in a good mood, asked his chief of staff to sit down.

"Okay! But I still have some urgent matters to report to you!"

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

"Sir, I believe the scale of the Japanese attack on our 9th War Zone will be far greater than before."

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

What annoyed him most these days was that someone mentioned in front of him that the Japanese army was about to attack. A week ago, he said at a military meeting that the Japanese were unable to launch an attack on Hunan Province, but the intelligence received this week had slapped him in the face.

As a result, the lieutenant general chief of staff, whom he promoted personally, actually believed that the scale of the attack launched by the Japanese army was even greater than before. This was not a slap in the face, but a slap in his face.

In other words, this man knew the temperament of his chief of staff, knew that he was obsessed with war and rarely tried to scheme for personal gain, so he was even stunned when he was promoted to chief of staff of the theater.

"The Military Control Commission has received intelligence that the Japanese military is extremely busy on the Pinghan Railway and the Yuehan Railway, and there are signs of large-scale troop movements. In addition, they are arresting a large number of men in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The Japanese military in northern Hunan has imposed martial law everywhere and is not allowing Chinese people to pass. Based on past experience, once the Japanese military imposes martial law near train stations, railway transportation is frequent, and a large number of men are arrested, it means they are 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 strength of the Japanese army assembled this time will exceed our imagination."

"Zi Li, you are really paranoid. The Japanese are no longer the same as before. The battle in Henan Province is not over yet. How can they gather so many troops? Tell me, where do the troops come from? Could they transfer those insignificant puppet troops? If that is the case, I can say with confidence that even if there are a million puppet troops, our 9th War Zone can defeat them alone!" General Xue lit a cigarette with disapproval.

"In my personal judgment, the Japanese army may have already increased its troops from home. Look, this is the intelligence sent by the Military Control Commission. From March to the end of April, the Japanese army transported 3 troops from the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and 4 to 12 troops from the upper reaches. Adding and subtracting the two, the number of troops increased in Jiangxia has reached to . These to people must have been transferred to Jiangxia for a special purpose." Zhao Zili shook his head stubbornly.

"Even if the Japanese come to attack, they can only attack Tanzhou four times at most. They were defeated in the first three times. What can they do this time?"

"It would be fine if the Japanese army's target was only Tanzhou, but in my opinion, Xiang Zhuang is dancing with a sword, I'm afraid the Japanese army's intention is not just Tanzhou."

"Where would that be?" Admiral Xue exhaled a puff of blue smoke.

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

Zhao Zili gave a detailed introduction to the global war situation that he and Tang Dao had discussed.

Admiral Xue frowned deeply.

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 involved.

What was even more terrible was that Zhao Zili was afraid that his commander still didn't believe it, so he made up a sentence at the end: "This is a war chess simulation I did when I was chatting with Captain Tang of the Four-Line Regiment 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 were correct. The Japanese really attacked Henan Province first, and then headed straight for 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 simple. General Xue used to admire him and was even willing to promote him, but things are very different now.

Tang Dao offended that person, but General Xue was no longer seeking the position of theater commander. If he wanted to climb to a higher position after the war, he had to 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 never even met Tang Dao once.

As a result, he stayed away from Tang Dao, but his chief of staff got involved with Tang Dao and even seemed to admire Tang Dao. What do you think his mood is now?

However, these words can only be said behind the scenes and not in public.

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

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

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

Like a low growl from the throat of a feline.