Beacon starts from the departure of a strong man

Chapter 516 Armored Group in the Far East

The 11th Army under Neji Okamura can be said to have been built with a lot of money by the Japanese invaders.

The 11th Army has a total of 7 divisions and an independent mixed brigade, with a total number of more than .

Under the instructions of Shunroku Hata, Neji Okamura's 11th Army mainly attacked the fifth and ninth theaters of the Republic of China.

Therefore, Okamura Neiji specially formulated a special plan for the 11th Army.

Among them, the 3rd, 13th, and 16th Divisions, these three divisions, are temporarily dealing with the fifth theater.

The 6th, 9th, 101st, and 106th divisions, these four divisions are temporarily dealing with the ninth theater.

According to Yu Hua’s idea!
The 88th Army of the Sichuan Army, and the 29th Army Group that Wang Zanxu had just left Sichuan.

On the front lines of Ruoxi and Wuning, they dealt with the Sixth Division, provided assists, and rushed to support the Sixth Division's encirclement of Nanchang.

Unfortunately, this time, Okamura Neji actually used the western section of the Xiushui River as a breakthrough!

The Japanese Sixth Field Heavy Artillery Brigade was the first to bombard the western section of the Xiushui River to attack the Chinese field heavy artillery.

This time, the Japanese artillery had more than 100 artillery pieces and bombed the Chinese position for three hours.

The Sixth Field Heavy Artillery Brigade has four heavy artillery regiments!

They are the 10th Field Heavy Artillery Regiment and the 13th Field Heavy Artillery Regiment.

and the 14th Field Heavy Artillery Regiment, all of which have 150 four-year-old 24mm howitzers.

Only the 15th Field Heavy Artillery Regiment has 100 16-year-old mm howitzers.

Among them, there is also the 11th Independent Mountain Artillery Regiment, which has 75 Type 12 mm mountain guns.

The 2nd Siege Heavy Artillery Battalion has 150 Type 4 mm howitzers.

The number of Japanese artillery pieces has reached more than one hundred.

In addition, the artillery regiment under the division had more than 200 artillery pieces concentrated in this Nanchang battle.

This time, Okamura Neiji also deliberately assigned the artillery regiment to the division.

All were handed over to the command of Major General Raishiro Sumita of the 6th Field Heavy Artillery Brigade.

Many veterans guarding the western section of the Xiushui River had fought bloody battles with the Japanese in the Songhu area.

Even these veterans faced so many artillery bombardments.

They were also completely shocked. The density of artillery bombardment had exceeded that of the Battle of Songhu.

This round of shelling alone has made it very difficult for the defenders in the western section of Xiushui River to deal with it.

Duan Heng, commander of the 107th Division of the National Revolutionary Army, urgently asked Luo Zhuoying for help. The Japanese army launched a massive attack on the western section of the Xiushui River.

A large number of reinforcements are needed to prevent the Japanese army from crossing the river!
Although Xiushuihe has many mountainous areas, the 107th Division suffered considerable casualties in the face of the powerful Japanese artillery.

Luo Zhuoying also learned on the phone that the western section of the Xiushui River was under heavy attack by the Japanese army.

He could only let Duan Heng withstand the Japanese attack and dispatch his own troops to rush for reinforcements.

However, after Duan Heng's 107th Division withstood a round of Japanese shelling, there were not many troops left at all.

The second wave of Japanese attacks was to release poisonous gas!

In order to quickly capture Nanchang, Okamura Neiji specially hoarded a lot of poison gas bombs this time.

More than 107 poison gas bombs fell on the th Division's positions.

Afterwards, the Japanese 101st Division and 106th Division launched a charge towards the Chinese position.

The western section of the Xiushui River was quickly captured by the Japanese army, although the eastern section of the Xiushui River was not the focus of the Japanese attack.

However, since the western section of Xiushui River was captured, the Japanese army began to encircle the troops in the eastern section of Xiushui River.

The troops stationed in the east section of Xiushui River are Liu Duoquan's 49th Army and Xia Chuzhong's 79th Army.

The 49th Army is the Northeast Army, and the 79th Army is the Type A adjustment division run by Principal Chang, which is often called the German Arms Division.

The western section of Xiushui River fell, and the Japanese army began to attack the eastern section of Xiushui River!

Coupled with the encirclement of the Japanese army in the western section of the Xiushui River, Xia Chuzhong and Liu Duoquan's tribes, the combination of the two made the Japanese army tear open.

In addition, the Japanese follow-up troops threw poison gas bombs at the 49th Army and the 79th Army.

The defenders suffered heavy casualties. Among them, Wang Lingyun, commander of the 76th Division under Xia Chuzhong, was poisoned.

After the gas bombs were thrown, some soldiers still survived on the garrison position.

However, at this time, Japanese tanks and armored vehicles rushed up!
This time, Okamura Neji made a plan to attack Nanchang, mainly highlighting the word "quick"!
The Battle of Nanchang was a "lightning" attack launched by the Japanese army on a large scale with tanks and armored vehicles against the Republic of China army.

Okamura Neiji dispatched Type 135 tanks and Type tanks, a total of tanks, and some armored vehicles, totaling more than tanks and armored vehicles.

Japanese tanks and armored vehicles broke through the defensive line of the defenders in the eastern section of the Xiushui River. They did not wait for the following infantry, but directly strangled the following defenders.

According to Okamura Neiji's instructions, tanks, armored vehicles and Japanese infantry maintained a two-day journey.

In the sky, the Japanese Third Flying Regiment provided air cover for tanks and armored vehicles.

Under the pursuit and roundabout attacks of Japanese tanks and armored vehicles.

Faced with such an armored cluster attack, the Republic of China army was completely helpless, and the troops retreated even faster.

This was the first time for many troops to see such large-scale Japanese tanks and armored vehicles.

For a moment, people like Liu Duoquan's 49th Army, the 105th Division of the Northeastern Army, were running frantically for their lives.

The 105th Division once fought a bloody battle in Songhu. Facing the powerful artillery fire of the Japanese army, this army was not defeated like it was today.

Wang Tiehan's 105th Division threw away all the weapons they could. Many soldiers were afraid of being overtaken by Japanese tanks and armored vehicles.

The Japanese attack lasted less than a day and had completely defeated the Republic of China army in front of Nanchang.

After Okamura Ningji saw the power of the armored group attack, he himself was surprised.

The first time he tried such a tactic, Okamura Neiji felt that it would only take a week to capture Nanchang City.

Under attack from Japanese tanks.

Liu Duoquan's 49th Army withdrew to the west of Anyi, and Xia Chuzhong's 79th Army withdrew to the east bank of Yuanhe River.

The Ninth War Zone had not yet had time to readjust its defense lines and mobilize troops to form positions to intercept the Japanese tank troops.

The Japanese armored group has captured Anyi!

Anyi is less than fifty kilometers away from Nanchang. According to the Japanese armored group troops, they can reach the city of Nanchang in less than half a day.

At the same time, the Japanese 101st Division followed closely behind the armored group.

The 106th Division is also approaching Nanchang!

This was the first time for all the troops in the ninth theater to see such an attack method, and all defenses had not yet had time to adjust.

The Japanese army has already arrived at the city!

Even Luo Zhuoying is preparing to reenact the battle between the Sichuan Army, the Northeastern Army and the Central Army, similar to the Wanjialing battle;

The strategic intention of severely damaging one of the Japanese divisions went bankrupt as the Japanese captured Anyi in one fell swoop.

When the troops of the two divisions arrived, the Japanese armored forces began to march towards Nanchang.

In order to intercept the Japanese armored forces, the former enemy commander-in-chief Luo Zhuoying had no choice but to order his troops to blow up the Ganjiang Bridge to block the Japanese army.

However, this failed to stop the Japanese army. The Japanese army built a pontoon bridge and began to attack Nanchang.

The defenders in Nanchang City are the fifth reserve division of the 32nd Army!

Song Kentang, commander of the 32nd Army, was from Ji Province and Shang Zhen's capable general.

The strength of one division is undoubtedly a drop in the bucket against two Japanese divisions. In addition, the soldiers of the fifth division are prepared. Many of them were on the battlefield for the first time, and their combat effectiveness was not very good.

Nanchang City was quickly captured by the Japanese army!

The Japanese army captured Nanchang City so quickly that Fan Shaozeng and Wang Zanxu of the Sichuan Army were unable to react.

On the Ruoxi and Wuning lines, they still followed Yu Hua's previous method of planting explosives and landmines on the roads.

Then send troops to lure the Japanese into an ambush circle, and encircle and annihilate them with heavy troops!

However, this time, Okamura Neiji adopted armored group tactics and captured Nanchang City.

He learned that the Sichuan Army, which the Imperial Army hated, was on the Wuning front line in Ruoxi, and immediately ordered his troops to encircle and annihilate the Sichuan Army.

The Japanese army still used tanks and armored vehicles to clear the way, weaving in and out, and infantry followed up;
In the sky, the Japanese 3rd Flying Regiment covered the tank troops.

Fan Shaozeng's 88th Army and Wang Zanxu's 29th Army had never seen such a battle.

The Sichuan Army, like the Northeast Army and the Central Army, was stunned by the armored group.

In addition, the surrounding friendly forces were defeated by Neji Okamura's tactics.

The Sichuan army lacked reinforcements and was surrounded by the Japanese army. Fortunately, Deng Xihou, Pan Wenhua, and Liu Wenhui came to the rescue.

Give timely orders to Fan Shaozeng and Wang Zanxu, allowing them to take the opportunity to break out!

otherwise!
The 88th Army and the 29th Group Army of the Sichuan Army may end up in a scene of total annihilation!

Battle of Nanchang!

From the beginning to the end of the war, the Japanese army captured Nanchang and wiped out the surrounding Republic of China troops within a week!
After reading the relevant documents!

Yu Hua couldn't help but sigh, Okamura Neji is really a talent! !

In this battle, Okamura Neji did not follow the old-fashioned tactics of the Japanese army at all!
Instead of following the script, he adopted new tactics.

To be honest, Yu Hua feels that Okamura Neiji's tactical thinking has surpassed many contemporary military generals of the Japanese army.

In the Battle of Nanchang, the Japanese army used artillery on a large scale for the first time, and used tanks and armored groups on a large scale.

You know, in the past, the Japanese artillery units, such as heavy artillery brigades, also moved together with the divisions.

The tanks are also dispersed into the division team to implement infantry-tank coordination.

This time, Okamura Neiji broke his thinking, gathered the tanks of the 11th Army together, and used an armored cluster charge.

Artillery units are used intensively to provide fire support!
In the past, the little devils used infantry to clear the way. This time Okamura Neiji asked the armored group to clear the way, and the infantry followed up.

Okamura Neiji’s approach changed the way the Japanese army fought;

Using tanks to pursue roundabouts, divide and destroy enemy forces is far more effective than having tanks cover infantry.

In this battle of Nanchang, the Japanese armored group pursued and detoured for about 350 kilometers, which greatly utilized the mechanized advantages of tanks and armored vehicles.

The 11th Army captured Nanchang and successfully cut off the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Railway, causing the third and ninth theaters to lose contact.

The third war zone is cut off from the southwestern hinterland of the motherland, making military supplies, food supplies, and medicine supplies more difficult.

At the same time, the situation in the southeastern provinces that have not yet fallen will become more difficult.

In this battle, whether it was the Sichuan Army, the Northeast Army, or the Central Army, they suffered heavy losses from the Japanese armored group.

At this moment!

There is also a big discussion going on within the Japanese army!

The Konoe cabinet had previously insisted that if the Battle of Wuhan was victorious, the Republic of China government would surrender.

However, now that the Battle of Wuhan has been won, the Republic of China government not only did not surrender, but persisted in the war of resistance.

And moved the capital to a mountain city, where they continued to gather strength to resist the Japanese army.

Within the Japanese army, many ordinary people were criticizing the Konoe cabinet.

Because the pie of the Konoe cabinet was too big before, but now that the pie is gone, the people's mood suddenly improved.

In order to calm domestic public opinion, the Konoe cabinet had no choice but to resign.

Kiichiro Hiranuma, the head of the Privy Council of the Japanese Army, reorganized the cabinet.

Inside the cabinet!
Japanese Army Minister Seishiro Itagaki, and Deputy Minister of War Ministry Hideki Tojo.

Tojo Hideki glanced around and spoke first:
"The empire is now strong and powerful, although there was a slight mistake during the war in the Far East."

"But none of this matters!"

"Now our citizens have the spirit to support the Imperial Crusade for the future of the Empire."

"I think we can go to war with Mao Ziguo!"

"We were able to defeat Mao Ziguo back then, and we can do it now too!"

After Itagaki Seishiro heard Tojo Hideki's speech, he spoke: "The empire needs allies now!"

"The Germans attack Poland!"

"The Third Reich has a very high prestige now. I think the Empire should form an alliance with the Third Reich."

"With allies, the empire can also have international support!"

Who knew that as soon as Itagaki Seishiro's words came out, the Navy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs objected and could not form an alliance with the Third Reich.

As soon as this meeting started, conflicts arose!
The Prime Minister of the Cabinet, Kiichiro Hiranuma, felt his head spin when he heard that the venue was as noisy as a wet market.

Facing this militaristic carriage, Hiranuma Kiichiro is simply unable to stop it.

He could only push the carriage forward and accelerate.

Only when the carriage fell off the cliff was it truly stopped.

In the following days, Hiranuma Kiichiro spent his time in quarrels.

Finally, with the approval of Hirohito, an old Japanese army, the Japanese army decided to form an alliance with the Third Reich.

Moreover, the Minister of War, Seishiro Itagaki, strongly supported his general Hideki Tojo to fight with the Soviet Union.

Now!

Is the focus of the Japanese army going south or north?

Since the Meiji Restoration, the Japanese army has always wanted to dominate the world, and there are also domestic ideas of advancing north and south.

Going south to attack the colonies of Britain, France, the United States and other countries and obtain oil resources is mainly what the navy wants to do.

The army wanted to march north to attack the Soviet Union, capture large areas of Soviet territory, and expand its interests in the Far East.

In addition, the current Soviet side has been assisting the Republic of China government with resources and supporting the Nationalist government in its war of resistance.

This made the Japanese Army very unhappy, and they felt that they had to teach this "hairy boy" a lesson!

Regarding the debate about whether to advance north or south, old Japanese leader Hirohito decided to let the troops go to the north first.

After receiving the order, the Japanese base camp immediately sent relevant information to the Kwantung Army.

Let the Kwantung Army get ready!

At the same time, the staff headquarters of the Japanese base camp also made some combat plans for the battlefield inside the pass to deal with emergencies.

The commander of the Kwantung Army, Kanekichi Ueda, was very happy after learning the relevant information.

Watching the Guannei Division, they swept and crushed the Republic of China army all the way, with continuous military exploits.

Many Kwantung Army troops outside the Pass are envious in their hearts!
Now that Ueda Kenkichi got the information, he shouted in his heart: "It's finally our turn!"

(End of this chapter)