Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

The two people simply ignored each other.

Chiang Ting-wen was a veteran general, one of Chiang Kai-shek's Five Tiger Generals and one of Ho Ying-chin's Four Golden Warriors. During the Northern Expedition, Chiang Ting-wen was a prominent general. However, after the Second Sino-Japanese War, Chiang Ting-wen's performance was dismal. Whether in the northwest or in Henan, his focus was simply not on fighting.

In comparison, Tang Enbo is a rising star.

He performed very well in the early days of the War of Resistance Against Japan and has made it all the way to his current position.

Jiang Dingwen thought Tang Enbo was a junior, unruly, and ignorant of etiquette, while Tang Enbo looked down on Jiang Dingwen, believing him to be uneducated and incompetent.

The two men each had their own troops in Henan, and the two armies did not interfere with each other. At the same time, they would not rescue each other. After Chongqing appointed Tang Enbo to be in charge of the frontline war, Chiang Ting-wen's troops did not take action at all, leaving Tang Enbo's own troops to fight.

Tang Enbo also had a headache.

Although Tang Enbo was often ridiculed in later generations, he was actually quite capable. His direct troops were also very powerful, having fought many tough and fierce battles after the July 7 Incident. In battles like the Battle of Nankou, the Battle of Taierzhuang, and the Battle of Zaoyi, Tang Enbo led his troops to great success and demonstrated their exceptional combat effectiveness. Tang Enbo was now deeply hesitant. Since arriving in Henan, he had not considered engaging in war.

In order to compete for power with Jiang Dingwen, he incorporated a large number of troops in Henan in the past two years.

But Tang Enbo is not a fool.

He realized that the troops he had organized were a motley crowd.

Many troops were fine for show during battles, but Tang Enbo had no confidence in them when it came to actual combat. Of course, Tang Enbo didn't really care whether other troops survived or died, except for his own. As long as his own troops were still around, his position within the Nationalist army would be secure.

Besides, there has been no war in the central Henan region in the past two years.

The last time Tang Enbo launched the Northern Henan Campaign, he didn't put much effort into it. He simply crossed the river, fired a few shots, and then withdrew. For Tang Enbo, the war had been a complete win without much effort.

As long as the US military defeats the Japanese army, victory will be easy.

Why go to all the trouble of fighting a war?

This wasn't just Tang Enbo's idea; it reflected the sentiment of most of the Nationalist generals on the front lines. Such a stable opportunity wasn't common, and making money now was the most important thing. Chiang Kai-shek had always wanted to expand into Hebei, but the previous campaign in northern Henan had failed miserably. This was because the generals on the front simply didn't want to fight. Although they were both members of the Nationalist army, Chiang Kai-shek, the leader of the Nationalist army, and the generals on the front lines had different ideas and interests. Chiang Kai-shek was helpless in this situation.

Now that the Japanese army is suddenly about to attack, it is not so easy to get the front-line troops to cheer up.

On May 1944, 5, the Japanese army launched the Campaign of Central Henan.

At midnight on the 16th, the Japanese 36th Division stationed in Xinxiang and the 131st Division, transferred from southern Hebei, crossed the river from Zhongmu. Due to the Japanese surprise attack, the Nationalist Army quickly lost Zhongmu. However, the Provisional th Army, stationed there, quickly organized a counterattack and recaptured Zhongmu from the Japanese. The Provisional th Army's performance was remarkable. At this time, reinforcements should have been sent to support the Provisional th Army and stabilize this defensive line.

As a result, none of the surrounding troops sent reinforcements.

The two sides fought fiercely here for two days, but no reinforcements arrived. Finally, the Provisional 36th Army withdrew. The loss of a crucial Yellow River crossing allowed the Japanese 131th and st Divisions to penetrate central Henan. Other Japanese units also crossed the river here.

The 69th Division and the Tank Division crossed the river here and began to besiege Xuchang.

At the same time, the Japanese 110th and 37th Divisions launched an attack on the Nationalist 17th Army defending the Qiushantou position in the early morning of the 85th. After three days of fierce fighting, the 85th Army withdrew completely. Finally, on the 20th, the Japanese broke through the river defenses and captured Guangwu and Nishui. On the 22nd, they captured Xingyang. On the 24th, the 110th Division, advancing south from Xingyang, and the 37th Division, advancing west from Guodian, occupied Mi County and continued their attack southwestward.

It can be said that the entire Yellow River defense line completely collapsed within a few days.

Tang Enbo reorganized so many miscellaneous troops, and they all collapsed in this battle. Of course, this wasn't entirely the fault of those miscellaneous troops. They were fighting on the front lines, unable to wait for reinforcements. They were unwilling to be cannon fodder, so they retreated one after another.

The Yellow River defense line was breached, and Tang Enbo became anxious. He had not expected that the entire Yellow River defense line would be taken by the Japanese army within a few days.

At this time, Tang Enbo realized that he could not stop the Japanese army by relying on those miscellaneous troops, so he began to send heavy troops.

The Fourth Army, along with the 4th, 28th, and 31st Armies, was the Shaanxi Army, the bloodline of Yang Hucheng's th Route Army. While stationed in Zhongtiao Mountain, it was known as the "Iron Pillar of Zhongtiao Mountain." However, the Shaanxi Army had a relatively good relationship with the Eighth Route Army, and there were many internal conflicts. This included the Fourth Army's commander, Sun Weiru, who had a close relationship with the Eighth Route Army. Consequently, Chiang Kai-shek, concerned about the Fourth Army's continued presence in Zhongtiao Mountain, relocated it.

The 31st Group Army was Tang Enbo's direct military unit, including the 13th Army, Tang Enbo's original unit. In the early days of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the 31st Group Army fought many major and fierce battles under Tang Enbo. It was considered the elite of the elite of the Nationalist Army.

These troops moved forward and quickly stabilized their position.

The 110th Army was located west of Xingyang and Mixian, between Hulao Pass and Majuling. The 37th and th Divisions launched a fierce attack on the th Army, but after several days of fighting, they were unable to defeat it.

The 110th Division and the 37th Division had previously performed very well in their battles against the KMT's miscellaneous troops, and it could even be said that they were unstoppable.

But when they actually encountered the Fourth Army, they were unable to break through. The Fourth Army, a Shaanxi-based unit, had a very strong fighting spirit. Although its weapons and equipment were inferior to those of the Japanese, it firmly maintained its defense line. After several attacks, the 110th and 37th Divisions not only failed to break through the Fourth Army's defense line, but also suffered heavy casualties themselves. Starting on the 110th, Tang Enbo successively deployed the 37th, 26th, and 14st Armies to counterattack the Japanese. The two sides fought for five days.

The battle lasted until the 31st, when the Japanese were counterattacked by the Nationalist Army. As a result, the Japanese were forced to build a defense line and go on the defensive.

The 110th Division, in particular, first crossed the river and then engaged the 31th Army. It was then counterattacked by Tang Enbo's forces, and the 110st Army focused its attacks on the 110th Division. As a result, the 3000th Division suffered over casualties in less than ten days, and one of its regiments withdrew from the battle.

而另一个战场上，暂编15军新29师死守许昌。日军36师团、69师团、131师团、战车师团还有二十多架飞机。轮番进攻许昌，而新二十九师一直在坚持。

Because Tang Enbo gave a death order to the Provisional 15th Army, it must defend Xuchang.

However, the New 6th Division suffered heavy casualties. By June 1, the number of dead soldiers in the New 3000th Division had reached , more than half of them. Tang Enbo ordered them to defend Xuchang to the death, but did not send any reinforcements.

The New 6th Division never received reinforcements, so on June 2nd, it decided to break out. However, during the breakout, it was ambushed by the 69th Division, and the entire New th Division was almost completely wiped out.

After capturing Xuchang, the Tank Division and the 131st Division advanced towards Xiangcheng and Zhengxian. On the 4th, they captured Zhengxian and Yuxian. On the 5th, they captured Linru. On the 6th, they captured Dengfeng, Baofeng, and Lushan, and their advance guard reached the vicinity of Longmen, south of Luoyang.

Later, the Japanese 35th, 62nd, 71st and 132nd Divisions began to cross the river.

By this point, the Japanese had already deployed nine divisions, including one tank division, in central Henan. The North China Front Army, with over half its forces, launched the Central Henan Campaign. Their target was the 9th Army, directly under Tang Enbo's 31st Army.

The 13th Army was the top-notch main force among Tang Enbo's many troops.

First-class elite.

The Japanese knew that if they defeated the 13th Army, the entire First War Zone would be defeated. So the Japanese concentrated their forces and began to look for opportunities to encircle and annihilate the 13th Army.

However, the North China Front Army's offensive capabilities declined significantly, and its combat effectiveness was seriously inferior to before.

Although it seemed to be conquering the city for a while, it did not gain any advantage after encountering Tang Enbo's main force. The 13th Army was really a strong fighter, and the Japanese divisions could not even begin to defeat the 13th Army. Under the 13th Army's counterattack, the Japanese divisions' own casualties continued to rise.

The two sides were deadlocked there.

甚至110师团和37师团，被14集团军和31集团军围攻，步步后退，接连有部队退出战斗。好在后面跟上来的35师团、62师团帮助他们稳住了阵脚。

35师团、62师团、71师团、132师团加入战场之后，对第四集团军和31集团军发起了猛烈的进攻。第四集团军和31集团军伤亡不小，所以只能是选择后撤。

But these two armies are elite troops in Henan.

So although they retreated, they did not collapse. On the contrary, although the North China Front Army had been attacking, its ability to attack was insufficient and it failed to achieve its goal.

The Chinese Expeditionary Force was very angry.

After all, the Japanese army had already deployed 100,000 troops in central Henan, but they had not achieved the desired effect. Although Tang Enbo's ragtag troops had poor combat effectiveness, he did have many powerful troops at his disposal.

Like the Fourth Army, two Japanese divisions were unable to break through their positions.

Seeing this situation, the Chinese Expeditionary Force immediately pulled troops from the 13th Army stationed in Shanghai. The 64th and 65th Divisions were deployed to fight along the Pinghan Railway. The 64th Division contained the 15th and 19th Armies east of the Pinghan Railway, while the 65th Division penetrated central Henan and directly participated in the siege of Luoyang.

In this battle in central Henan, the Japanese army was completely exhausted.

The North China Front mobilized so many divisions, fought for almost a month, and only managed to capture some peripheral cities. They were unable to break through the defenses of the 14th, 28th, 31th, and st Armies.

Therefore, in history, the Chinese Expeditionary Force only transferred two brigades from Shanghai, but this time they directly transferred the 64th Division and the 65th Division from Shanghai. The Japanese troops were increasing, and there were already about 15 people.

At this time, Tang Enbo could no longer hold on.

Tang Enbo initially assumed that the Japanese were only interested in opening up the Pinghan Railway. Therefore, he didn't deploy many troops there, as he wasn't particularly concerned with whether the Japanese could secure the route. Even if they did, what would happen? Could the Japanese still reverse their overall defeat?

I didn't expect the Japanese army to have such a big appetite.

After the battle on the Pinghan Railway, the main force directly attacked Tang Enbo's direct troops. Tang Enbo's judgment was completely wrong.

Tang Enbo claimed to have 300,000 to 400,000 troops under his command, but in reality, half of the troops were severely understrength. Some armies had only 3,000 to 4,000 men, despite having mere designations. They were completely incapable of fighting.

At this time, Chiang Ting-wen, who had nearly 200,000 troops, watched Tang Enbo fight the Japanese army. Chiang Ting-wen's troops were just watching from the sidelines. In fact, if Chiang Ting-wen's troops had also joined the battle at this time, they would definitely have been able to withstand the Japanese attack.

But a dead Taoist friend will not die a poor Taoist.

Jiang Dingwen didn't care about Tang Enbo's life or death. In fact, Jiang Dingwen hoped that Tang Enbo would fail so that he could be the boss in Henan.

Tang Enbo was very anxious.

Hurriedly asked Chongqing for help.

At the same time, Tang Enbo began to withdraw his own troops and prepare to withdraw from the battlefield. However, since the war was still going on, he did not say it. But these troops in Henan were all elite.

Many of their troops have survived the wars between warlords. Apart from their ability to sit on the fence and their ability to see the current situation, they are still very impressive.

They could judge Tang Enbo's thoughts just by looking at the movements of the 13th Army.

As a result, the troops that had been actively resisting the enemy began to prepare to evacuate. The area around Luoyang began to fall rapidly. By June 6, the Japanese army had surrounded Luoyang and began to attack it.

Chapter 551 Battle of Chifeng

The outbreak of the Battle of Central Henan brought about tremendous changes in the situation in the entire North China.

The Japanese army brought almost all the divisions it could mobilize. The only Japanese divisions left in North China were the 29th Division in Rehe, the 59th Division in eastern Hebei, the 26th and 115th Divisions stationed in Mongolia, and the 32nd, 133rd, and 134th Divisions in Shandong.

Then there were no other division organizations or independent mixed brigade organizations.

In other words, these are the only field troops left in the North China Front Army. The rest are security forces such as the Independent Guard, Field Replacement Team, and Independent Garrison.

Currently, there are 29 independent guard corps in North China, eastern Hebei, and the Rehe area. Besides the independent guard corps, there are also four independent garrison corps and 4 field supply corps. In short, there are many such chaotic organizations.

Finally, we managed to maintain enough troops.

But the mobilized troops and the independent guard force are two completely different things.

Although the combat effectiveness of the 131st and 132nd Divisions has declined significantly, they are still stronger than the independent guard forces.

The Japanese army also knew their situation.

Therefore, the independent guards would hide in cities or establish strongholds along important transportation routes. Their strongholds were much stronger than those during the Hundred Regiments Campaign. At that time, they looked down on the Eighth Route Army, so many of the bunkers they built were simple structures of earth and mud, making them vulnerable to ordinary flat-fire artillery.

But it's different now.

The Eighth Route Army troops had more and more artillery pieces.

To guard against the Eighth Route Army, their current strongholds are much more secure than before. They also have a large number of both open and hidden bunkers. If the Japanese had established strongholds like these during the Hundred Regiments Campaign, the Eighth Route Army would have been very difficult to defeat. Of course, the Japanese army at the time didn't have the strength to establish such strongholds everywhere.

When the Battle of Central Henan was in full swing, Wang Qiuyun, Wei Hongjun, Zhang Zihua and others returned to Rehe.

After returning to Rehe, Wei Hongjun first conveyed the spirit of the Seventh Congress to the cadres of the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Military Region. He also learned about the current development of the region. Overall, the region has been performing well over the past year.

The Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Military Region mainly fought against the Japanese and puppet troops in Rehe.

Moreover, when Wei Hongjun was away, the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Military Region developed quite well.

During this period, the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Military Region successively established the Second Special Forces Brigade and the Third Special Forces Brigade.

The Second Special Agent Brigade was formed with the Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Special Agent Regiments and the Workers' Regiment. Zhang Dahu, deputy commander of the First Brigade, was transferred to serve as the commander of the Second Special Agent Brigade, and Xu Daobing, political commissar of the 78th Regiment, formerly the New First Regiment of the Chadong Detachment, was transferred to serve as the political commissar of the Second Special Agent Brigade.

The Third Special Forces Brigade was formed from local troops reorganized by Ding Sheng after his arrival in the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Military Region. The region had a well-established system for developing local forces, so Ding Sheng quickly assembled and reorganized these troops upon his arrival. Wei Hongjun was still in Yan'an at the time, and after consultation with Wang Qiuyun, Han Weiguo, Xu Luomin, and others, the unit was given the designation "Third Special Forces Brigade."

Ding Sheng served as the commander and political commissar of the 3rd Special Forces Brigade.

Ding Sheng was a fierce general of the Fourth Field Army in history, but he was not a military cadre. He was a serious political and labor cadre.

After Ding Sheng reorganized the local troops into the Third Special Agent Brigade, he led them into battle against the Japanese and puppet forces in Rehe. Although it was his first time as a military commander, Ding Sheng performed exceptionally well. Within less than a year, he significantly increased the Third Special Agent Brigade's combat effectiveness.

The Third Special Forces Brigade was the smallest of the brigade-level units in the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Military Region. While it also commanded three regiments, it only comprised approximately 5000 men. While this might seem like a small brigade-level unit within the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Military Region, it would have been considered a significant force in other military regions.

For example, the 120th Brigade, the 358th Brigade and the 359st Independent Brigade of the th Division have a current strength of only about to people.