Age of Rebirth

Chapter 570 The Encirclement of She County ([-])

In the Battle of Xiangtangpu, the Hirano Hiroshi Division of the Second Japanese Army, which was originally tasked with rescuing Yamaguchi, suffered heavy casualties after being ambushed by an army of 11 from the North China Independent Division. Tanks, artillery, and cavalry units were all lost, and they retreated to Shexian County. , and was immediately surrounded by independent division troops in Shexian County.

The news spread that the commander of the North China Dispatch Army, Commander Xiangyue Qingsi, who was commanding the overall situation on the front line of Niangziguan, was so shocked that he almost fainted. He never imagined that the second army that was going to save people was also surrounded and fell into the rescued area. At this point, he couldn't figure it out, what happened to the Imperial Army in North China?Passive everywhere, smooth everywhere.

He had nothing to do, he didn't have any soldiers in his hands, the second army was put together by demolishing the east wall and repairing the west wall, and the three battlefields facing Yan Xishan and Tang Qiuli's troops couldn't be reduced any more. However, once Datong is lost again, Zhangjiakou, an important town in Northwest Hebei, may be captured by the Jin army, and the Japanese army in North China will lose an important strategic support point.

Niangziguan couldn't move at all. One division had already been withdrawn, and its strength was already at a disadvantage. Once the independent division of Niangziguan on the opposite side launched a fierce attack, with the current strength, he was not sure whether Jingxingguan would not be lost. , out of Jingxing Pass, is Shijiazhuang, an important town in southwestern Hebei, and it is an important strategic node, controlling Zhengtai Road. [

Cangzhou in the south of Hebei can’t afford to fight at all. There are more than 30 troops from the Independent Division. The pressure is already great. Moreover, Cangzhou is too close to Tianjin. Directly pointing to Tianjin, with the strength of Tianjin's defenders, there is no way to defend. If Tianjin is lost, Beiping will become an isolated city. The situation in North China that the empire has spent many years working hard to manage is in danger of collapse.

Kazuki Kiyoshi was under tremendous pressure. Yamaguchi's troops could only resign themselves to fate. Hirano Hiroshi of Shexian County could no longer make any mistakes. He mobilized more than 100 million troops. From the beginning of the full-scale attack to the current full-line retreat, he finally failed. In such a situation, his heart was shrouded in a feeling of failure. Ever since Rensuke Isotani's First Army was crushed, it became the beginning of a nightmare for the North China Dispatch Army, and Kiyoshi Kazuki had no good days.

The staff officers were shocked to find that His Excellency the Commander seemed to have aged a lot overnight. His gloomy complexion, drooping bags under the eyes, and dark circles under the eyes were obviously caused by insomnia. Great psychological pressure.

Xiangyue Qingji didn't close his eyes all night. He couldn't afford to lose any more. If he lost the First Army, the Yamaguchi Army, and the Second Army, the Imperial Army in North China would lose nearly one-third of its strength. Even if he committed suicide by caesarean section, it would be difficult to apologize to His Majesty the Emperor.

January [-], [-], can be said to be the darkest day for Kiyoshi Kazuki. The loss of Isoya Rensuke's First Army was to implement the plan to capture Xuzhou from the base camp and then go south to the Songhu battlefield. What a burden, but how to explain the current situation of the Yamaguchi Army and the Second Army, he is implementing his own combat plan, and the Yamaguchi Army has been confronting the Jin Army on the front line of Wuxiang for a long time, so that objectively it has formed a lone army. The greatest responsibility.

He blamed himself very much, why didn't let Shankou retreat earlier, Tang Qiuli was too cunning, Yan Xishan's troops were very capable of fighting, or he simply didn't have the ability to control the overall situation, didn't predict the potential crisis, it seemed to be both, and It doesn't seem to be the case, the unwillingness, resentment, disappointment and many other complex emotions in Qingyue Qingji's heart are like a mess in his heart, and he can't make sense of them.

But there is one thing, Kazuki Kiyoshi knows in his heart that he is likely to follow in the footsteps of Kanichiro Tashiro and end up leaving sadly. After the war between Japan and China for a long time, the North China Dispatch Army not only made no achievements, but lost troops and generals, and fell into a passive position. This responsibility , Someone has to take responsibility, and those people in the base camp will never let themselves go.

For a while, Kiyoshi Kozuki was a little disheartened, but the difficulties in front of him still had to be resolved. The situation of Hirano Hiroshi’s Second Army was extremely dangerous. He read Hirano Hiroyoshi’s urgent telegram again, “Your Excellency, Commander, On the morning of the [-]th, at Xiangtangpu on the south bank of the Qingzhang River, south of Shexian County, our troops were suddenly ambushed by the superior forces of the North China Independent Division. In view of the situation on the battlefield, our department was unable to do anything with us and ordered to retreat to Shexian County."

"Multiple blocking defense lines were arranged along the way, but they failed to stop the attack of the Chinese army. On the evening of the [-]th, the independent division troops surrounded Shexian County. All the artillery was directed at the city. The artillery and tanks are completely lost, and the situation is critical, Your Excellency Commander, please send reinforcements as soon as possible, otherwise, it is not impossible for the entire staff to be destroyed."

Kiyoshi Kazuki read this telegram many times. Based on Hirano Hiroshi’s words and Thaksin’s words, based on the fact that he had fought Tang Qiuli many times and had never taken advantage of it, Tang Qiuli was very determined to wipe out the Second Army. Otherwise, there would not be such a big move. By now, Xiangyue Qingsi also understood that Tang Qiuli's strategy was a typical example of "surrounding the spot to fight for aid" as mentioned in the Chinese military book.

Afterwards, he realized that it was already too late, and the siege of She County had to be resolved. He thought twice and rushed to Beiping in person to see His Royal Highness Prince Zai Ren, Chief of the General Staff of the headquarters. After meeting Zai Ren, he felt sensitively that his old friend, His attitude towards himself was obviously much colder, but Xiangyue Qingsi ignored so much. His purpose of asking to see Zairen was to use him to mobilize the Kwantung Army troops from Manchuria to go south and enter the siege of Jieshe County in North China.

With his Xiangyue Qingsi, it is very shameless to invite those arrogant soldiers of the Kwantung Army. Now that things are up to now, he can't take care of so much. If the second army is lost again, he can't even do a good death After listening to his request, Zai Ren frowned, thought for a long time, and finally agreed, Xiangyue Qingsi felt somewhat relieved.

Seeing the figure of Xiangyue Qingsi leaving, Zai Ren's face became gloomy. This old friend is no longer of any value, but is his own burden. The base camp will not reuse a commander who has been defeated many times. It will be a matter of time, and it is impossible for him to mediate for him. If he fails, he will also be implicated. At this time, Zai Ren already has the idea of ​​giving up Xiangyue Qingsi and leaving North China as soon as possible.

It's a pity that Xiangyue Qingsi didn't see Prince Zairen's face, otherwise, the frustration and resentment in his heart would torture him for many days. After returning to the front line of Niangziguan, he sent a telegram to Hirano Haoliang who was besieged in She County , ordered him to stick to She County for eight to ten days at any cost.

Hirano Hiroshi, who received the telegram, fully understood the Commander's order for him to stick to it. Relying on the high walls and deep ditches in Shexian County, coupled with the urgent construction of fortifications, Hirano Hiroshi stood firm for fifteen days with more than 6 imperial soldiers. It's not a problem, this is not in the wilderness, he has the confidence to deal with the troops of the independent division for many days.

However, he encountered the same fatal problem as Shankou, that is, the extreme lack of supplies. Xiangtangpu was ambushed, and most of the supplies were destroyed by the artillery fire of the Chinese army. More than 6 people, crowded in the small She County, consumed His ration is a huge number, there is no supplement, and he can only live by counting rice grains, so how can he not panic.

Now, Hirano Hiroshi, in the name of the commander, issued an order to ration the rations. The non-frontline combat troops only have one meal per person per day, and the combat troops have two meals. Even so, the small amount of supplies is already very fast After being consumed, the logistics officer told him that the food was only enough to last another five days. Hirano Hiroyoshi swallowed hard, and then ordered that the rations of non-combat troops be halved again.

On January 14, in the name of the chief of the general staff of the base camp, Zai Ren issued an order to the Kwantung Army to quickly form a southward corps through the base camp in the name of the chief of staff of the base camp. , Supplemented by chariots, artillery, and cavalry units, they went south to enter the customs and joined the North China battlefield. In addition, the Kwantung Army Air Force dispatched no less than [-] aircraft of various types to form the North China Air Force.

The order also specifically emphasized that the Kwantung Army's southward corps directly obeyed the orders of the chief of the general staff of the base camp, Prince Xianyuan Gongzairen, and that military operations were not subject to the restraint of the North China Dispatch Army Command. Order, he got at least two pieces of information, the life of the Imperial Army in North China is not easy, and Xiangyue Qingji is going to be unlucky. [

Minamijiro carried out this order without compromise. Within two days, he quickly organized and completed the Southward Corps, and took the Kwantung Army Chief of Staff Neiji Okamura as the commander. Nanjiro absolutely believed in Neiji Okamura's military ability He was full of confidence. Before leaving, he had a secret talk with Neiji Okamura, asking him to use this opportunity to try to bring North China into the Kwantung Army's jurisdiction. Neji Okamura understood. Take this as a golden opportunity for the Kwantung Army.

At this time, in the Northeast, since Tang Qiuli's Bloody Hand Regiment went south and entered the customs, except for the sporadic resistance of the Anti-Union Forces, there is no armed force that can pose a threat to the Kwantung Army. The entire Northeast has become a Japanese army. The paradise of the Kwantung Army, under such circumstances, the senior generals of the Kwantung Army, who are very quiet and thinking about moving, naturally want to turn their hands to the North China region next to the Northeast.

In the minds of the senior generals of the Kwantung Army, the army units of the Empire of Japan, except for the Kwantung Army, which is known as the flower of the Imperial Army, are all second-rate troops. There is a kind of meaning that I am the only one. At that time, the equipment and combat effectiveness of the Kwantung Army troops were indeed second to none among all Japanese army troops, and the generals were inevitably arrogant.

On January 15th, Neiji Okamura, who was full of confidence, led the Kwantung Army Southward Corps composed of [-] soldiers from Jinzhou, boarding a train and heading southward. Depart on the [-]th and arrive in Tianjin the next day.

After a brief stay in Tianjin, via Bazhou, Renqiu, and Hengshui, they arrived in Handan on January [-], and quickly launched an attack.

(To be continued)