Age of Conquest Reborn

Chapter 514: Battle on the Eastern Front

Tang Qiuli's risky move put the Japanese army in the Dezhou direction at a disadvantage and threatened to be encircled. It also caused the Japanese army's limited mobile forces to be wasted in the continuous Taihang Mountains. The two men cursed in their respective headquarters.

After a while of being despicable and cunning, Tang Qiuli held his head in his hands and racked his brains to think of countermeasures.--%.net

The critical situation in Dezhou on the eastern front made Zai Ren and Xiangyue Qingji extremely anxious. It was the main direction of attack and accounted for one-third of the attack force. They could not and could not afford to lose it. Rescue was necessary. If the Dezhou battlefield resulted in a disastrous defeat,**

The division's eastern front corps can directly take Cangzhou, thereby threatening Tianjin and the Pingjin area, and will be exposed to the front of the ** division. If this is the case, the imperial army in North China will only be trapped in a few isolated cities or be defeated in Manchuria.

.

Now, the troops in the direction of Datong and Niangziguan are unable to get away. This guy Yamaguchi commanded hundreds of thousands of troops to raid Tang Qiuli's hometown in the Taihang Mountains, but nothing was found. It was like an armed parade. Tang Qiuli was determined to be at odds.

Yamaguchi faced off, and the war was over, with no end in sight.

Xiangyue Qingji couldn't sit still on the Niangziguan front line. Dezhou was a needle in his heart. He rushed back to Peiping to discuss countermeasures with Zai Ren to solve the current crisis. The two leaders of the Japanese invaders were on the map.

After watching for a long time, the situation in Texas was the most dangerous, and reinforcements had to be sent, but there were extra troops there that could be mobilized. Several battlefields were more than a thousand miles apart, and water far away could not quench the thirst of those nearby.

Reluctantly, the troops guarding Peiping and Tianjin, except for the necessary left-behind troops, were collected, totaling 150,000 troops, and assembled into a reinforcement regiment for the Dezhou battlefield. They headed south at starry night to join the direction of Dezhou.

At the same time, Yamaguchi was ordered to end the mopping up mission in the Taihang Mountains within seven days, pass through the Taihang Mountains, and approach Taiyuan in order to break the deadlock in the direction of Niangziguan and Datong, forcing Yan Xishan of Datong and Feng Jiwu of Niangziguan to return to their divisions.

Rescue, this is the Japanese version of besieging Wei and rescuing Zhao. After increasing the troops in Dezhou, Tang Qiuli's main force wanted to eat nearly 400,000 imperial troops in one bite, but he didn't have such a big appetite.

Even though the situation in Texas was critical, Zai Ren and Xiangyue Qingsi did not use the two divisions and one brigade in Shijiazhuang with nearly 90,000 troops. This was the reserve force they left behind for another insidious plan. Now, the entire North China

On the battlefield, neither Tang Qiuli nor Zai Ren and Xiangyue Qingsi were able to use their troops to the limit, and no one had extra troops in their hands to increase the chips for victory for their own side.

After the deployment of troops was completed, Xiangyue Qingsi returned to the Niangziguan front line. Zai Ren could not sit still in Peiping and rushed to the Dezhou battlefield to unified command of nearly 400,000 troops. In this way, between Dezhou, Shandong and Cangzhou, Hebei, the Chinese and Japanese sides gathered

With nearly 800,000 troops, a bloody battle is inevitable.

After learning that the Japanese army was about to increase its troops, the Dezhou Campaign Headquarters reviewed the situation. If the Japanese reinforcements arrived, with equal strength, it would be impossible to completely annihilate the Japanese army in the direction of Dezhou. After careful consideration, they proposed to the division commander that they should take advantage of the opportunity.

Before Japanese reinforcements arrived, they made a decisive decision and launched the third phase of the Texas Campaign in advance.

Tang Qiuli was unwilling to give up. With another 100,000 troops in his hands, he could take advantage of the situation to capture any city in Pingjin and completely disrupt the Japanese army's battle layout. He originally expected that after the victory in Dezhou, the Sulu Mobile Corps and the

The Japanese division's reinforcements immediately returned to the Taihang Mountains and surrounded the hundreds of thousands of Japanese troops at Yamaguchi in the Taihang Mountains to catch turtles in a jar.

After solving the Japanese army in Dezhou, the more than 300,000 troops freed up can attack the Japanese army in the direction of Datong or Niangziguan. If this is the case, the troops of the *** Division can drink Ma Pingjin and trap the Japanese army in North China in several large buildings.

In the city, simmer slowly, when the time is right, swallow it in one gulp, and you can have all of North China for yourself, and the situation in the north will be settled.

Man's calculation is not as good as God's calculation. Zai Ren and Xiangyue Qingsi became jealous and moved all their troops to the direction of Dezhou. It was no longer possible to completely annihilate the Japanese army. Tang Qiuli sighed and had no choice but to agree to the proposal of the Dezhou Campaign Command.

After signing the telegram, I still felt resentful and regretful that I had lost this rare opportunity.

Mei Ting's injury has improved greatly. With the help of the nurse, she can already sit on the bed. She sees her husband walking in gloomily, with a low mood. His good-looking eyebrows are raised, and he looks at her husband with a pair of big eyes. This guy

, is he a little bored and panicking after being with him all day long? The fight is in full swing outside, but he is bored here and feels anxious?

Tang Qiuli saw Mei Ting's look and knew that his wife had misunderstood, so he quickly explained the situation. Mei Ting smiled sheepishly, and that shy look made Tang Qiuli's heart beat. After a while, Mei Ting was joking

He said: "Why bother running so far? There are Japanese troops outside Huangya Cave. If you go out to fight during the day, you can still accompany me at night."

Tang Qiuli's eyes lit up. Mei Ting's joke reminded him that there were hundreds of thousands of Japanese troops in the Taihang Mountains and the mountain pass. They could not be allowed to run rampant in the base area. It would be like entering an uninhabited land and passing through Tang Shao's territory.

He also had to leave money to pay for the trip. He stood at attention and saluted seriously: "Thank you, Director Mei, for reminding me. My subordinates will go to arrange it right away. Do you have any other instructions, sir?"

Mei Ting was so happy that she accidentally touched the wound. She frowned in pain. Tang Qiuli rushed over immediately, with a nervous look on her face. Mei Ting glared at her husband with a strange look and said softly: "Go, I'm fine."

Son, be careful," Tang Qiu left the ward reluctantly. Before leaving the room, she turned back and took a deep look at Mei Ting.

On November 24, Li Honggang's group on the left and Liu Tiehan's group on the right launched simultaneous attacks, targeting Botou and Nanpi south of Cangzhou respectively. The Japanese troops in Cangzhou gradually retreated. Under the pressure of the superior force of the ** Division

, speed up the retracement

During this period, the Japanese 15th Division, 18th Division, and Xiaoshan Brigade, which served as rearguards, totaling more than 70,000 troops, were separated from the main force of the Japanese army by the sudden and violent movements of the ** Division, and were surrounded in Cangzhou.

The Damanzhuang area to the south.

The third phase of the Dezhou Campaign, which was launched in advance, caught the Japanese army by the tail. The Japanese army that had withdrawn into Cangzhou was shocked and turned around and returned south, intending to rescue the besieged Japanese army. The Japanese Army with 390,000 troops pressed forward across the board.

, with most of the troops fighting the main force of the returning Japanese army, and the remaining troops besieging the surrounded Japanese troops.

On a land area of ​​less than a thousand square kilometers between the Nan Canal in the west and the Xinhui River in the east, the Chinese and Japanese armies of six to seven million were fighting against each other. The battlefield was filled with gunfire and gunfire, and both sides were red-eyed.

The Japanese troops who came for reinforcements, under the strict orders of Xiang Yue Qingsi, devoted all their strength to attack the Japanese division blocking troops.

The Japanese army's move played into the plans of Liu Tiehan, Tang Qiusheng and others who had been well prepared. They concentrated two-thirds of their artillery and used intensive artillery fire to blast into walls of fire and endless steel on the Japanese attack route, crushing the Japanese army.

The attacking Japanese army was beaten to a bloody head and stopped twenty kilometers north of Damanzhuang. They abandoned nearly ten thousand corpses and retreated in defeat.

The two battlefields were fighting against each other. The sound of guns and artillery could be heard, but it was difficult to see the compatriots in close proximity. Although they had intentions, they were not strong enough. The Japanese commander must have felt sad and helpless at this time.

After a day and night of fierce fighting, all the besieged Japanese troops were annihilated except for more than 10,000 who fought to break out of the siege. In the third stage of the Dezhou Campaign, the two Japanese divisions were wiped out, with the loss of more than 70,000 troops. The Japanese troops retreated to Cangzhou.

, and came to an end, the ** division suffered more than 30,000 casualties in this battle, and two main brigades were disabled and returned to the Huangyadong base area to rest and replenish.

By the time Prince Zairen, Chief of General Staff of the Japanese base camp, arrived with 150,000 reinforcements, the battle was over. Chen Bing of the ** Division was used in Linsheng, Fengjiakou, Jiedi, and Dongguan lines on the outskirts of Cangzhou to block the Japanese southward passage.

, so that they did not dare to take even half a step out of southern Hebei. The Japanese army's strategic plan of leaving Cangzhou and going down to Jinan with 300,000 troops ended in failure.

Zai Ren was furious and replaced several senior generals one after another. He launched an offensive for three consecutive days with cutting-edge troops, intending to open the south channel and gain a favorable situation. However, they suffered heavy losses and had to give up in shock. Instead, he defended the battlefield in Cangzhou, the gateway to Tianjin, and the battlefield in southern Hebei.

The ** Division had the upper hand, but a large number of troops were also pinned down here.

Regarding the Battle of Dezhou, both sides have their own opinions. Xiangyue Qingsi's report to the base camp said this: "Our army originally had an absolute advantage in the Dezhou battlefield, but Liu Tiehan's troops under Tang Qiuli's unit of the North China First Division were in dire straits.

support

Given the situation, given time, our army will be able to break through the Dezhou defense line and directly take Jinan, the capital of Shandong. Unexpectedly, more than 130,000 people from Tang Qiusheng's Sulu Mobile Regiment of the ** Division, who were originally fighting on the Songhu battlefield on the southern front, suddenly

Join Battlefield Texas.”

"As a result, the situation reversed and our army was at a disadvantage. In addition, after days of hard fighting, the soldiers were exhausted. They were suddenly attacked by the enemy's cutting-edge troops. All units of the North China Expeditionary Army were fighting fiercely with the enemy on various battlefields. They could not divide their troops for rescue before they were attacked.

The root cause of forcing the entire front to retreat was that the troops on the southern front were at a disadvantage in combat, which allowed Tang Qiuli to mobilize troops northward, which was beyond the control of the North China Expeditionary Force."

"On the battlefield in Dezhou, we were able to go on the defensive with minimal losses because of the central control of the Chief of General Staff, His Royal Highness Prince Zai Ren, and the strength of the Pingjin garrison to personally go to reinforce. Only then could our army in Dezhou be able to retreat smoothly. His Royal Highness the Prince's foresight is indeed

It makes us admire and admire.

Xiangyue Qingji's report clearly shirks responsibility, and he also conceals an important fact, that is, most of the troops in the Taihang Mountains of the ** Division also joined the Texas battlefield. He did not mention a word about this. Indeed,

The entry of Tang Qiusheng's troops into the Texas battlefield was the main reason for the tragic defeat of the Japanese army. Isn't Xiangyue Qingji responsible?

Xiangyue Qingsi also understood this and mobilized 900,000 troops to attack three key points starting from Datong in the west and reaching Dezhou in the east. None of them were counted as successful. Datong's troops were also driven back to Hebei by Yan Xishan's Jin army, and Dezhou lost troops and generals.

Beat more

Unfortunately, as the supreme commander of the North China Expeditionary Force, he has an unshirkable responsibility. Therefore, at the end of the report, he greatly flattered Zai Ren, with the purpose of dragging down the Chief of General Staff. This job is not mine.

One person did it.

(To be continued)