boyutpedia Chapter 508: The Battle of Zaoyi Begins
Chapter 508: The Battle of Zaoyi Begins
Yichang serves as a barrier for Chongqing, the temporary capital of the National Government. It is surrounded by mountains and rivers, and is located at the eastern end of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. It is only 480 kilometers away from Chongqing. Its strategic position is extremely important.
When it was learned that the Japanese 11th Army was preparing to launch an attack on the Fifth War Zone and Yichang, the highest level of the government also ordered the commander of the Fifth War Zone, General Li, to block the Japanese army's strategic intentions at all costs. The Fifth War Zone needed to pay close attention to the movements of the Japanese 11th Army and take decisive action when the opportunity arose.
At the same time, the highest level of the government also ordered the Military Commission to conduct detailed operational research based on the intelligence obtained on the Japanese offensive plan, and asked the intelligence departments to cooperate in spreading false intelligence to confuse the Japanese army and cooperate with the combat deployment of the Fifth War Zone.
After studying the Japanese offensive plan, the Military Commission clearly suggested that Commander Li of the Fifth War Zone should not be passive in dealing with the enemy, but should send troops to take active actions to seize the initiative and continuously harass the Japanese rear to achieve the goal of containing and disrupting the Japanese army's westward advance.
At the same time, the main force of the Fifth War Zone was deployed in the area from the east of the Han River to the Dahong Mountain, looking for opportunities to annihilate or severely damage the Japanese attacking forces advancing westward or retreating eastward. This was also the guiding principle of the Chinese army in this battle.
After studying the Japanese army's combat plan, Commander Li of the Fifth War Zone also expressed his approval of the Military Commission's combat guidance suggestions, and began to concentrate on deploying troops based on this combat idea.
Commander Li divided the 50 divisions of the Fifth War Zone into three army groups and the War Zone Mobile Corps, namely:
The Second Army was the left-wing army, with Sun Lianzhong as the commander-in-chief. It was composed of the 30th Army and the 68th Army, including the 27th Division, the 30th Division, the 31st Division, the 44th Independent Brigade, the 119th Division, the 143rd Division, and the 27th Independent Brigade.
He ordered Sun Lianzhong, commander-in-chief of the left-wing army group, to lead the Second Army Group and the Hubei East Guerrillas to contain the attack on Xinyang Line and prepare to attack Xianghua Road with powerful troops.
The 11th Army Group is the central army group, with Huang Qixiang as the commander-in-chief. It is under the 39th Army and the 84th Army, including the 56th Division, the 173rd Division, the 174th Division, and the 189th Division.
The commander-in-chief of the Central Army Group, Huang Qixiang, was ordered to lead the troops to block the Japanese attacking forces from Gaocheng to the west of Suixian. If the Japanese offensive was too fierce, the troops could retreat to between Tangxian and Huantan and cooperate with the reserve corps to encircle and defeat the Japanese from both wings.
The 33rd Army was the right-wing army, with Zhang Zizhong as the commander-in-chief. It was composed of the 55th, 59th and 77th Armies, including the 29th, 74th, 38th, 180th Division, 9th Cavalry Division, 13th Independent Brigade, 37th Division, 132nd Division and 179th Division.
He ordered Zhang Zizhong, commander-in-chief of the right-wing army group, to command the troops to hold the positions on both sides of the Xiang River, consolidate the narrow intersections on the south side of Dahong Mountain, control the main force to the north of Changshoudian, and wait for an opportunity to defeat the invading Japanese army.
The Fifth War Zone Mobile Corps was formed with the 31st Army Group as its main body, with Tang Enbo as the commander-in-chief. It was composed of the 13th Army, the 85th Army, and the 92nd Army, which were assembled in the northeast of Zaoyang and deployed according to battlefield conditions.
The 22nd Army Group was used as the theater reserve corps, with Sun Zhen as the commander-in-chief, and the 41st and 45th Armies under its command, which assembled in Shuanggou area and were on standby.
The 21st Army Group was the guerrilla corps, with Li Pinxian as the commander-in-chief. It had the 7th Army and the 48th Army under its command. It was responsible for attacking Japanese strongholds and transportation lines along the river, and organizing troops to attack and harass the southern section of the Pinghan Road, threatening the Japanese rear.
In addition, the Upper Yangtze River Defense Command was established with Guo Chan as the commander-in-chief. It was composed of the 26th Army, the 75th Army, the 94th Army, the 128th Division and the 6th and 7th Guerrilla Columns. Relying on the positions on the right bank of the Han River and the Dongjing River, it did its best to prevent the Japanese army from crossing the river and consume the Japanese troops. It cooperated with the right army group troops in a decisive battle with the Japanese army.
It can be said that in order to block the Japanese attack on western Hubei, the Fifth War Zone also brought out all the troops that could be used. However, the troop casualties in the Fifth War Zone have never been adequately replenished. Therefore, although there are many troop numbers, the actual number of troops participating in the war is less than 300,000.
When the Fifth War Zone completed the organization of its troops and secretly transported them to designated combat positions, Lieutenant General Kazuichiro Sonobe, commander of the Japanese 11th Army, ordered the battle to begin at the end of April.
The first to take action were the Japanese troops in Jiujiang, south of the Yangtze River. They began the so-called "mopping-up" operation in a high-profile manner. At the same time, the Japanese Navy also began a feint attack on the areas around Poyang Lake and Dongting Lake. The Japanese Air Force also bombed the main transportation routes and cities in Hunan and Jiangxi provinces, creating the illusion of an attack on the Ninth War Zone of China, thereby diverting the attention of the Chinese government.
Of course, the Chinese government and the Ninth War Zone were well aware of the Japanese army's "feinting to the east and attacking in the west" trick. Apart from the Ninth War Zone requiring all troops to be well defended, no reinforcement operations were carried out. Everyone was just watching the Japanese army perform a one-man show here.
Finally, Lieutenant General Kazuichiro Sonobe, commander of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, was very proud when he saw that the troops south of the Yangtze River were starting to fight according to the formulated combat plan. He was full of confidence in the combat plan he had formulated.
Lieutenant General Kazuichiro Sonobe, commander of the 11th Japanese Army, felt that his confusing tactics had worked, so he ordered all participating troops that had already been assembled to launch a surprise attack on the troops of the Fifth War Zone in accordance with the combat plan formulated before the war.
The first to make a breakthrough was the 3rd Division on the right wing of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army. This unit set out from Xinyang and quickly attacked towards Biyang. On the day of the attack, the offensive force of the 3rd Division broke through the frontal defense line of the 2nd Army of the 5th War Zone of China.
On the second day of the battle, the 13th Division on the left wing of the Japanese army also set out from Zhongxiang and attacked rapidly. On the same day, it broke through the front defense line of the 33rd Army of the Fifth War Zone of the Chinese government.
After the Japanese army's flanking troops on the left and right broke through the Chinese army's defense line in front of them, they began to advance rapidly from both wings towards Zaoyang. The Chinese Second Army and the 33rd Army, whose front defense line had been broken, followed the advancing Japanese troops and continuously ambushed the Japanese troops.
After the Japanese army's flanking troops made a breakthrough, the 39th Division of the Japanese army also launched an attack on the Fifth War Zone troops in front of Sui County. After a fierce battle, it successfully broke through the front defense line of the 11th Chinese Army.