Bright Sword's Bloody War of Resistance

Chapter 672 Neji Okamura Visits Kaifeng

Not long after the year, although Zhou Weihan still stayed in Tainan, the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region issued an official order that all troops continue to strengthen training, political cadres do a good job in ideological work, and logistics troops at all levels report the status of ammunition reserves and send out combat troops at the same time. The backbone helps the local armed forces in their respective defense areas to carry out training.

After Zhou Weiguo returned to Tainan from Jinmen, he did not stay in Tainan too much. Zhou Weihan ordered him to go to the grassroots to check the training work of the regiments as the deputy chief of staff of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region.

While the Eighth Route Army was preparing for war in an all-round way, the Japanese army was also not idle. The Japanese army in Shangqiu stopped the internal fighting under the intervention of their superiors. divided.

The remnants of the Appeasement Army stationed in the various military-administered counties in eastern Henan were originally reorganized. After the two reached a consensus, they forcibly reorganized the Appeasement Army on the grounds that the various places in eastern Henan needed to strengthen their defense forces, and their affiliation was transferred from the Jinling Puppet Army. The government was transferred to local governments.

This group of appeasement troops suddenly changed from a regular army to a local puppet army. More than a thousand puppet troops were stationed in each military-administered county, and more than a dozen Japanese troops were deployed as actual commanders to maintain local law and order.

War is about logistics. Besides the supply of military supplies, the most important thing is food.

Years ago, the Japanese army consciously drove the victims of the disasters in the occupied areas into the base area in southwestern Shandong in order to consume the food in the base area of ​​the Eighth Route Army and increase the burden on the base area.

In the process, the Japanese army ordered the local puppet army to plunder people's property and food to prepare food. Even some landlords in the Japanese-occupied areas couldn't help but tighten their belts for the New Year.

In mid-March 1942, Neiji Okamura arrived in Kaifeng, where the headquarters of the 3th Division was located, on a transport plane that took off from Beiping.

Before Neiji Okamura arrived, the head of the 35th Division, Kumayoshi Harada, had led a group of generals to wait at the airport for a long time. After seeing the plane landed smoothly, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

China's territory is too vast, and the divisions of the Japanese army do not have the equivalent of enfeoffed princes in their divisional areas, and they have great power. As the commander of the North China Expeditionary Army, Neiji Okamura seldom participates in major meetings of the Chinese Expeditionary Army on weekdays. After leaving Peiping, this time it was a rare visit to Kaifeng in person.

"Your Excellency, Division Commander, with all due respect, is General Gangmura's trip too hasty? He did not have a fighter jet to accompany him. In case the national army knows in advance, something unexpected happens." The chief of staff of the 35th Division, Hideichi Takeda, was worried. Said.

"Okay, let's stop this matter. When Your Excellency the General returns, send two reconnaissance planes to guard him!" Harada Kumayoshi waved his hand in a dull mood and said.

Recently, the Eighth Route Army troops on both sides of the railway from Anyang to Xinxiang have gone crazy. According to reports from the strongholds along the way, since the beginning of the year, there have been frequent formations of the Eighth Route Army.

The Japanese army was tortured enough, but the Eighth Route Army was elusive, and ran away after the fight, without giving the Japanese the slightest chance to fight back. Harada Kumayoshi even wondered whether there was an internal problem, why the Eighth Route Army was able to avoid the Japanese reinforcements every time.

Okamura Ningji's trip this time seemed extremely hasty to all his subordinates, but he just received a telegram beforehand, and then went to the airport to greet him.

And Ningci Gangcun did this because he was afraid of encountering accidents on the way. The Pinghan Railway running from north to south was often attacked by the Eighth Route Army.

But even by plane, there have been precedents where a senior Japanese general was shot down by an anti-aircraft machine gun when his plane passed the National Defense Zone.

A group of little devil officers did not stay at the airport for too long. After returning to the division headquarters, Neiji Okamura ordered the other little devil officers to retreat, leaving only the commander of the 35th division, Kumayoshi Harada, and the commander of the infantry regiment, Ishi. Tian Taijiro, Chief of Staff Takeda Eiichi, the three are the top three figures in the 35th Division.

Accompanying Neiji Okamura was the head of the intelligence department of the dispatched army headquarters, and the chief of staff, Moritake Tanabe, still stayed in Jinmen to take command.

Okamura Ningji still had the usual elegant style. After taking a sip of the hot tea in the cup, he said: "Masters, you must be wondering why I arrived in Kaifeng in a hurry. You must all know that some time ago, I was stationed in Kaifeng. A group of soldiers in Jinmen rebelled, bringing a large number of overseas Chinese to flee to the southern foot of Yanshan Mountain, and united with the Eighth Route Army in the eastern Hebei area. Soldiers put down the chaos!"

"In addition, the equipment and technicians in the arsenal and other factories in Jinmen were looted, and many banks in the city and the Chinese who had always been friendly to the Imperial Japanese Army were brutally murdered!"

"According to subsequent investigations and reports from the 41st Division Office, during the chaos in Jinmen, a small unit of the Eighth Route Army was operating in Jinmen City at the same time. From various indications, this Eighth Route Army colluded with the rebellious Japanese army. , The Eighth Route Army has benefited a lot from Jinmen, and the base areas of Southern Hebei, Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei, and Eastern Hebei where the Eighth Route Army is located have all received a large amount of equipment and technical personnel!"

"After the base camp learned of this, it was extremely furious. His Majesty the Emperor ordered my North China Dispatch Army to take necessary measures immediately!" Okamura Neiji said that there was no resentment on his face at the end, but he could not help but sigh.

Since he took office, he has always adopted a soft policy, but the Eighth Route Army has grown stronger in North China, and the commotion has become more and more serious. First, the Eighth Route Army launched a hundred-regiment war and attacked the Japanese army's important lines of communication in North China.

Later, the Changzhi area, which was an important flank to attack Zhongtiao Mountain, was recovered by the National Army and the Eighth Route Army. The National Army in the Zhongtiao Mountain area took the opportunity to expand outwards and regain lost ground. Full recovery.

After careful calculation, there are not a few Japanese troops in the hands of Zhou Weihan. The 41st Division and the Kwantung Army were wiped out by the Eighth Route Army successively. The Independent First Mixed Brigade stationed in Anyang was severely damaged. The fourth cavalry brigade in the southwest was basically wiped out.

Moritake Tian Michi, Yukio Imada, Sadaji Suzuki, Kichizo Kojima and three other Japanese lieutenant generals died in the hands of the Eighth Route Army commanded by Zhou Weihan. Yoshio Shinozuka, the commander of the First Japanese Army, committed suicide because of the defeat in the battle. , Chief of Staff Toshi Miyano was dismissed and returned home, and went to a military court.

All these incidents happened during Neiji Okamura's tenure. Under the persuasion of Chief of Staff Moritake Tanabe and the lack of troops of the North China Dispatch Army, the Japanese army shifted its focus to Southeast Asia. Neiji Okamura swallowed hard. After taking this breath, he was going to pick the soft persimmons first, deal with the national army in the Zhongtiaoshan area first, and then deal with the Eighth Route Army when he was free.

Unexpectedly, the news of the Jinmen Mutiny had not yet been waited for in the early spring, and the news of the Jinmen mutiny was sent back to China. The Japanese army base camp repeatedly sent reprimand telegrams to Okamura Neiji, saying that during his tenure, he did not do his job well and that the law and order in North China had deteriorated. Order him to take action against the Eighth Route Army immediately.

As soon as this incident happened, even the staff within the North China Dispatch Army Command questioned Okamura Neiji's previously adopted soft policy. Fortunately, Okamura Neiji and Tanabe Moritake agreed with each other, and they barely stabilized the morale of the army. .

"Your Excellency, since His Majesty the Emperor personally gave the order, the previous plan for recuperation will also need to be changed. However, there are many Eighth Route Army bases in the North China Dispatch Army defense area. If we launch a full-scale encirclement and suppression, our troops will be too dispersed. Have the desired effect!" After hearing Okamura Neiji's words, Harada Kumayoshi immediately expressed his thoughts.

"Yoxi!" Neiji Okamura nodded upon hearing the words, and continued: "This time, we need to formulate an encirclement and suppression plan with clear goals and key breakthroughs!"

"Concentrate the targets mainly in the three regions of eastern Hebei, Jinchaji and southern Hebei. For these three Eighth Route bases, we must finally hit the main force of the Eighth Route Army, destroy its mass base, destroy its arsenal, and blow up the Eighth Route Army's movement from Jinmen. The returned machinery and equipment will destroy the logistics system of the Eighth Route Army, in addition, the Eighth Route Army operating in the southwestern area of ​​Shandong should also be the key target of attack!"

"The activities of the Eighth Route Army in the Tainan area are the most rampant, but in order to avoid causing changes in the national army in the Changzhi area, we can slow down the sweep of the Tainan area!" Neiji Okamura said.

Zhou Weihan still makes him obsessed, but Changzhi is the largest military group of the National Army in North China in the Zhongtiao Mountain area. Due to the possibility of causing trouble behind the scenes, the target of the raids had to be set in an area far away from the national army.

"The complete recovery of Southwest Shandong by the Eighth Route Army is a disgrace to the Empire of Japan. This time, your 35th Division will be the main force in the sweep of Southwest Shandong. In view of the fact that you need to guard against the national army on the western front, the 32nd Division in Yanzhou will , Xuzhou's 21st Division will send troops to assist!"

"At the same time, I have already contacted the headquarters of the dispatched army. At that time, Central China will form a temporary detachment to go north, and you will take full command of it!"

"My lords, you must complete your efforts this time and bring the southwestern Shandong region back to the glory of the Great Japanese Empire. Otherwise, all the lords here will commit suicide and apologize to His Majesty the Emperor!" Ningji Okamura treats his subordinates in a rare way He gave the order in a stern tone.

Fortunately, Ningji Okamura didn't say anything to death. All the little devils present knew that compared to regaining Southwest Shandong, it was the most difficult thing to wipe out this group of Eighth Route Army!
"Your Excellency, please rest assured that our army has already started preparing for war after the year. Many soldiers of the imperial army in Shangqiu realized their shame and braved it. They have been waiting for the opportunity to wash away their shame!" Harada Xiongkichi said.

"Yo Xi, hello!" Neiji Okamura nodded in satisfaction.

Harada Xiongji didn't know that at the time of this secret meeting, the Japanese army in Shangqiu was indeed "reorganizing the army and preparing for war", but it was just helping the Eighth Route Army to prepare for war.

This incident also started when Terauchi Yong dispatched a Japanese infantry brigade from the 41st Division to Shangqiu.

For this group of specially educated Japanese soldiers, they came to Shangqiu with a special mission. Compared with Tainan and Hebei, Shangqiu was no different from an unexplored virgin land in Si Neiyong's eyes. Sending soldiers to Shangqiu is promising.

Moreover, the top leaders of the Eighth Route Army in the Hebei-Shandong-Henan area are also acquaintances. How could Si Neiyong's business acumen give up such a good opportunity.

Doing business in Shangqiu is like borrowing other people's chickens to lay their own eggs. Anyway, there is no need for the 41st Division to supply the ammunition supplies.

As for the Eighth Route Army, eight new infantry regiments were established in the Hebei-Shandong-Yuan Military Region. Although they captured a lot in the battle, and when the new troops were formed, they were basically fully equipped with weapons and equipment, but the ammunition consumed in daily training was not a small amount. , especially the seven or nine caliber bullets consume the most.

The two parties immediately hit it off, you provide supplies, I pay, and the price remains the same as before.

Just to explain a sentence, where there are people from Osaka, you can do business.

At the headquarters of the 38th Division on the front line in Shangqiu, division commander Zhao Yunxiang was complaining to Sun Liangcheng.

"Junzuo, this group of new Japanese is too ruthless. They don't give the brothers any money at all. Since they came, we can only do some small businesses that the Japanese don't like. Brothers have different opinions now. Little!" Zhao Yunxiang said.

"Not small? You have to bear with me if you are not small. Now it is not the same as before. Judging from recent signs, the Japanese may have to make big moves. At that time, the main force of the Japanese army will gather here. If there is a commotion at this time, Our entire 38th Division can’t please!” Sun Liangcheng said coldly, he also loves money, but he cherishes his life even more, you compete with the Japanese for money, it’s not like the old birthday star drinks arsenic and hates his life.

"Yes, yes, I understand this, but I heard that the Japanese are now satisfied with selling some ammunition, and now they even sell a lot of shells!" Zhao Yunxiang said.

"Damn it, why are these Japanese from the 41st division so vicious? They are completely different from the Japanese from other divisions. When they don't provoke them, they are gentle!" Sun Liangcheng wondered.

Before, the 38th Division also secretly did business with the Eighth Route Army, reselling military supplies, and even secretly selling key controlled grains to the Eighth Route Army.

However, after the Japanese army of the 41st Division came, they got on line with the Eighth Route Army for some reason. The Japanese army and the Appeasement Army inevitably had conflicts in the transaction. Surrounded, the trader was fine, but all the materials and stolen money being traded were confiscated.

What was even more exaggerated was that on the one hand, this group of Japanese troops told their superiors that the combat power of the appeasement army was insufficient and needed to strengthen training, and applied for more ammunition supplies, but on the other hand, they reduced the ammunition distribution of the appeasement army.

Back and forth, the appeasement army became the target of exploitation, but this group of Japanese troops turned around a lot.

(End of this chapter)