Anti-Japanese War: From Becoming Chu Yunfei to Rising

Peking, North China Front Army Headquarters.

General Okamura Yasuji sat quietly on his commander-in-chief's throne, motionless, like a petrified statue.

Two telegrams were placed in front of him.

One of the documents was a piece of devastating news from the newly formed Fifth Army, under Sun Dianying, regarding the complete annihilation of the 12th Heavy Artillery Brigade.

The other was a telegram from Shizuo Yokoyama, filled with tragic grandeur and resolute apology.

After the telegram arrived.

The once busy and noisy command center instantly fell into a deathly silence.

A deathly silence, like that of a tomb.

These two telegrams were like two heavy iron fists slamming into Okamura Yasuji's face.

He was so dizzy and his blood was churning from the impact.

Okamura Neiji, that old Japanese devil, felt as if his heart was being squeezed tightly with cold iron clamps.

Each heartbeat was accompanied by excruciating pain.

Including the small-scale battles and frequent reconnaissance encounters in the early stages.

The entire operation along the Handan-Anyang line lasted less than ten days.

It has only been ten days.

They had already fallen into a complete disadvantage.

Moreover, the defeat was so swift, so devastating, and so inexplicable.

The 12th Heavy Artillery Brigade was thus inexplicably destroyed.

"Your Excellency Commander"

Chief of Staff Miyano Michiichi stood to the side, cautiously, not daring to even breathe loudly.

Every time he fought Chu Yunfei.

This commander, who is usually known for his calmness and wisdom, would often show signs of losing his composure.

"Why."

a long time.

Okamura Neiji finally spoke slowly, his voice hoarse like two rusty pieces of iron: "Can anyone tell me why this is?"

"What about our aerial reconnaissance? What about our intelligence network?"

"Why were we completely unaware of such a large-scale artillery mobilization by the Chinese army?"

"Why did we not receive any news before the Red Party organized such an elite force to go to the battlefield?"

Okamura Neiji suddenly raised his head, his narrow eyes bloodshot: "Why!?"

He practically growled.

The staff officers present all lowered their heads, silent and trembling, none daring to respond.

What can they say?
They said our planes dared not fly too close, for fear of being shot down by the Chinese army's anti-aircraft guns.

They said our intelligence network had already been almost completely destroyed by the Military Intelligence Bureau.

Is the newly established inspection department frantically "cleansing out" suspicious personnel again?
These are all just excuses.

Failure is failure.

There are no excuses.

Looking at his silent subordinates, Okamura Neiji's anger burned even brighter.

Since Lin Canghui's tragic death in Siam, their intelligence work has been deteriorating day by day.

Despite having Lin Canghui's intelligence, they still frequently suffered defeats, but at least high-ranking commanders like Okamura Yasuji wouldn't be defeated inexplicably.

Even now, eighteen hours later, Okamura Neiji still couldn't figure out how the heavy artillery brigade had been wiped out.

Two days later, they still couldn't figure out where this Eastern Expeditionary Column came from.

The soldiers fighting on the front lines were also unable to capture a single prisoner from this unit.

of course.

Okamura Yasuji also knew that now was not the time to assign blame.

He must do everything in his power, immediately, to salvage this damned, collapsing battle!

"Where is our air force?" Okamura Yasuji asked through gritted teeth. "Where is our 1st Air Corps? Why hasn't it gone to support the 8th Division?"

An aviation staff officer, steeling himself, stepped forward and replied in a trembling voice, "Reporting to Your Excellency, the First Air Corps has done everything in its power."

"They dispatched all their fighter jets and bombers early this morning. But the Chinese air force is far stronger than we expected!"

"Their 'Flying Tigers' were equipped with the latest P-40 fighter jets, whose performance was in no way inferior to our fighter jets, and they were also able to effectively intercept our bomber formations."

"And then there was that mysterious Soviet air force that flew La-7 fighters. Their pilots were extremely fierce and fearless in combat. The fighters that the Soviets were equipped with were second only to our Zero fighters in low-altitude dogfighting."

"After a morning of air combat, my First Air Corps has lost more than ten aircraft. Although the Chinese army has suffered more losses than us, their number of aircraft seems to be quite considerable. In order to sustain operations, my air corps has begun to launch planned attacks."

"Nani?"

This news was like a bucket of ice water, chilling Okamura Neiji to the bone.

The planned attack was actually caused by excessive losses and overwhelming air superiority pressure.

The Nationalist Army in North China has now reorganized two units: the First and Second Flight Groups.

Each was equipped with 24 P-40 fighters, and the 1st Group of the Soviet Volunteer Air Force in China was equipped with 33 L-7 fighters (originally 48, two groups, lost in combat).
The Nationalist Air Force in North China was arguably the most formidable strategic force in the entire Far East theater.

Their combat skills may not be as good as those of Japan's elite pilots.

It's important to know that Japan's initial pilot training consisted of elite personnel.

Currently in China, they have begun to train "pilots" capable of taking off and fighting in large numbers.

Comparatively speaking, their combat skills were several times worse.

Without heavy artillery support and without air cover.

What does Okamura Yasuji have to win this battle?

Should the soldiers of the 8th Division be made to use their flesh and blood to withstand the Nationalist army's shells and tanks?
"No! This can't go on!"

A flicker of desperate madness, like a cornered beast, flashed in Okamura Neiji's eyes.

He slammed his hand on the table and roared at Miyano Michiichi, "Immediately! Send a telegram in my name to His Excellency Shunroku Hatake, the commander of the China Expeditionary Army!"

"Please! No!"

"We demand that they immediately dispatch at least two flight squadrons from Hubei, Fujian, and other places to provide support in North China!"

Upon hearing this, Miyano Michiichi looked troubled.

"Sir, that's probably difficult. In Central China, we are also facing immense pressure from the more than 200,000 troops under Xue Yue of the Ninth War Zone, while American air forces are also frequently engaged in combat with them."

Okamura Yasuji rudely interrupted him: "Also, send a telegram to the General Headquarters, report this matter, and request that the country should immediately launch a full mobilization, as our manpower is far from sufficient!"

Okamura Neiji walked to the huge sand table, looked at the precarious battle situation on it, took a deep breath, and issued a series of decisive, yet passive, orders.

"Order! The 5th Division shall immediately cease its offensive against the 40th Army!"

"All personnel, immediately switch to defense, consolidate forces, hold the outer defensive line, and make every effort to cover the flank of the 7th Brigade to prevent it from being divided and encircled by the Chinese army!"

Okamura Yasuji knew that Anyang's offensive had been thwarted.

After all, reinforcements from both armies had arrived, even if in his eyes they were just ragtag troops with weak fighting capabilities.

Even if there were tens of thousands of pigs, the Fifth Division wouldn't be able to catch them all in a few days, as the main forces under the Flying Tigers were fully deployed to the battlefield.

They are very likely to repeat the same mistake. After their troops are divided and surrounded, Chu Yunfei will use overwhelming force and firepower to eliminate one of them before looking for another opportunity to fight.

Okamura Yasuji, this old Japanese soldier, was a veteran of countless battles and had extensive command experience.

Naturally, he had long since figured out Chu Yunfei's fighting style and strategy, but Okamura Neiji still couldn't figure out how to counter Chu Yunfei's heavy sword without an edge style.

Once a local advantage was established, Chu Yunfei's decisiveness far exceeded their reaction speed.

It's as if there's no time lag in the decision-making process.

This greatly troubled Okamura Neiji.

At this moment, Handan's defenses have also become passive.

He no longer cared about annihilating Pang Bingxun or engaging in a decisive battle with Chu Yunfei.

All he can do now is use Sun Dianying, a pawn he has just acquired and whose reliability is still unknown.

Go and be cannon fodder.

They were to sacrifice their lives to alleviate even a fraction of the pressure on the already precarious 8th Division, which was under considerable strain on its defensive line.

"Order!"

"The newly formed Fifth Army under Sun Dianying shall immediately move towards Cixian County. Ignore the enemy in front and concentrate all forces to attack the flank of the newly formed Sixteenth Division of the Chinese Army under Guo Yanzheng!"

"At the same time, send a telegram to the commanders of the 8th Division, the 5th Division, and the 7th Mixed Brigade, informing them that if the situation becomes critical and there is a possibility of annihilation, they should immediately coordinate a coordinated retreat to the rear along the Liaocheng, Qinghe, and Linqing line."

"Hai!"

However, Okamura Neiji's eyes showed no sign of relaxation.

he knows.

What Okamura Yasuji just did was merely a stopgap measure, a desperate attempt to fix one problem at another. He had even made preparations for the Nationalist army in North China to open up the northern section of the Pinghan Railway.

As for the Japanese side, they wanted to truly stabilize this battle line that was already riddled with leaks, and even hoped to turn defeat into victory.

Japan must invest more chips into this already unbalanced scale. "Reinforcements."

Looking at the huge map, Okamura Neiji muttered to himself, "We need more reinforcements."

He turned his gaze to his chief of staff, Miyano Michiichi.

"Miyano-kun."

Okamura Neiji's voice carried a hint of barely perceptible weariness: "Where else can we draw troops from now?"

this problem.

Miyano Michiichi could only manage a wry smile when asked.

He walked up to the map, his face filled with a sense of helplessness at his predicament.

"Commander, look."

Miyano Michiichi used his baton to slowly trace the symbols representing Japanese troops across the map.

"Currently, almost all of our field troops in the North China Front Army have been engaged in confrontation and combat with the enemy in front of us."

"Whether it's the Pinghan Railway, the Longhai Railway, or the Jinpu Railway."

"Whether it's Henan, Hebei, or Anhui."

"We and the Chinese army are in a state of interlocking and mutual restraint."

“Drawing troops rashly from any location could immediately disrupt the military balance in the region, giving the Chinese army an opportunity to take advantage of the situation.”

To put it bluntly, he means that there are no more troops available.

Even if the Fifth War Zone did not launch an attack on them, Okamura Neiji would not dare to be careless.

Okamura Neiji asked, somewhat unwillingly, "Can't you even spare a regiment?"

Miyano Michiichi pondered for a moment, seemingly making a difficult choice.

finally.

He pointed his baton at a relatively "stable" region on the map: Shandong.

"Your Mightiness."

Miyano Michiichi cautiously said, "If we disregard the cost, perhaps we can still squeeze some troops out of Shandong."

"Currently, there are two troops that are relatively close to the front line in Handan."

"One of them is the 32nd Division stationed in Yanzhou. This division consists of the 210th, 211th and 212th Infantry Regiments, totaling three regiments."

"The other one is the Independent Mixed Sixth Brigade, which is stationed in Ju County."

"My suggestion is..."

Miyano Michiichi glanced at Okamura Neiji's slightly changed expression, gritted his teeth and continued, "We can draw two infantry regiments from the 32nd Division and one infantry battalion from the Independent Mixed Brigade No. 6."

"Form a temporary reinforcement force and rush to the battlefield in Handan."

"In this way, we can add at least 10,000 fresh troops to the front line."

Even if it cannot quickly reverse the course of the war.

"But at least, we can temporarily stabilize our precarious front line by increasing troop strength."

This suggestion.

It seems to be the only viable solution at the moment.

But Okamura Neiji remained silent for a long time after hearing this.

His brows furrowed into a deep frown.

Okamura Yasuji's finger unconsciously circled the Shandong region on the map.

"Shandong."

He slowly uttered those two words, his voice filled with deep apprehension.

For Okamura Yasuji

Shandong is a thorn in his heart that he can't get rid of.

There.

It was the place in his entire North China "security zone" that gave him the most headaches and made him feel the most powerless.

“Miyano-kun,” he looked up at his chief of staff, “Miyano-kun, have you forgotten what kind of place Shandong is?”

Miyano Michiichi, of course, had not forgotten.

He said bitterly, “Your Excellency, I know. That’s the area where the Red Party’s armed activities are most rampant.”

"rampant?"

Okamura Neiji sneered: "That's not just 'rampant,' that's practically wildfire!"

He walked to the window and looked out at the ancient outline of Beiping City.

His thoughts, however, had already flown to the land of Qilu that had kept him up at night.

He didn't understand.

I really can’t figure it out.

Why was the so-called "Eighth Route Army," those ragged and poorly equipped "local Eighth Route Army" soldiers, so tenacious in their resistance?

In their repeated "pacification" campaigns, they clearly adopted the most brutal "three alls" policy (kill all, burn all, loot all) against villages that dared to resist.

Burn it all, kill it all, loot it all.

They even slaughtered all the villagers, regardless of age or gender, creating one "no man's land" after another.

PS: This is why the book "The War to Stabilize North China" records many instances of Japanese casualties, sometimes only a few dozen or even just a few people, yet the casualty ratio reached tens of thousands. Their targets were mostly civilians who picked up hoes and carrying poles, rather than actual combat troops.

Okamura Yasuji believed that by using this bloody and extreme terror, he could completely destroy the Red Party's will to resist.

But the fact is just the opposite.

Every bloody massacre was followed not by submission.

Instead, they resisted even more fiercely and frantically!

Those resisting troops were like weeds in a field.

Today, use fire to burn it completely clean.

Tomorrow, after a spring rain, it will stubbornly emerge again from that scorched earth.

It is ever-renewing and will never wither.

This indomitable and inexhaustible tenacity tied down a large portion of their forces, preventing them from committing them to the main battlefield.

The constraints imposed by the Eighth Route Army caused Okamura Yasuji to waver and feel weary about the prospects of this "holy war."

"If we withdraw all the main forces stationed in Shandong."

Okamura Neiji turned around and looked at Miyano Michiichi, his eyes filled with worry: "That land that we just 'purified' with our blood, I guarantee, will be completely devoured by those red flames again in less than a month."

"At that time, our logistical supply lines and our resource supply areas will be fatally threatened."

"The risk is simply too great for an uncertain place like Handan."

Okamura Neiji shook his head, his face filled with a dilemma: "This deal isn't worth it."

Miyano Michiichi fell silent.

He knew that the Commander was right.

However, if reinforcements are not dispatched.

Handan, too, is on the verge of collapse.

original.

The 7th Mixed Brigade, which participated in this operation, was a security brigade stationed in Huimin, Shandong.

The unit stationed in Jinan was originally the 10th Mixed Brigade.

Because of insufficient troops at the front, the General Headquarters transferred two main divisions from the Kwantung Army southward.

Strengthen military forces in North China.

The 8th Division was originally scheduled to be stationed in the area surrounding Jinan, but it has now been transferred to the front line in Handan.

The area surrounding Jinan at this time.

This task was assigned to the 1st Mixed Brigade, which had suffered heavy losses in previous battles.

When it was first formed, this mixed brigade was a security brigade responsible for the defense of the Handan area and was tasked with sweeping operations.

obviously.

Nowadays, the counterinsurgency war on the main battlefield is no longer something that the Japanese military's counterinsurgency brigades can participate in; even if they do participate, they can only barely undertake support missions.

At this moment, there were still three field armies in the Hebei and Henan regions: the Japanese 35th Division, which was mainly stationed in the Henan direction and confronted the troops left behind by the Fifth and First War Zones.

The 36th and 37th Divisions are currently in a standoff with the 27th Army and the 31st Army Group under Wang Zhonglian, and are unable to be mobilized.

For a while.

The entire North China Area Army Headquarters was caught in a predicament of being overwhelmed and stretched thin.

One of the staff officers seemed to have mustered his courage and stepped forward half a step, saying, "Commander, perhaps we can think of another way from the Kwantung Army."

After all, the Soviets and Germans are currently engaged in a closely contested conflict, and the Soviet threat to us in the Far East is far less than that to the Nationalist army in North China. In addition, there are a large number of permanent fortifications along the Far Eastern border, so it is highly unlikely that the Soviets would launch an attack on our army. (End of this chapter)