bookbashuk #224 - Operation One Arrives Early
#224 - Operation One Arrives Early
Just as Ren Zhong was preparing diligently, the Japanese devils' winter mopping-up operation of 1943 suddenly descended upon the Jin-Cha-Ji base area without warning.
Moreover, this time it was even more intense than in Ren Zhong's original timeline.
Although the Jin-Cha-Ji base area had made considerable progress, the Japanese devils still possessed a significant advantage and had made ample preparations this time, causing enormous damage to the Jin-Cha-Ji base area.
The Japanese devils' Ichi-Go Operation was prematurely conceived due to the flapping of Ren Zhong's butterfly wings, and as a prelude to the Ichi-Go Operation, they cleared the security around Pingjin in North China to ensure the North China headquarters' role as a logistical stronghold during the Ichi-Go Operation.
The Japanese North China Front Army and the Kwantung Army, under the guidance of the headquarters, jointly formulated an operational plan and established the 6th Area Army in Yanjing in advance. The General Headquarters issued the combat sequence of the 6th Area Army, appointing Commander of the North China Front Army, Japanese devil Okamura, concurrently as Commander of the 6th Area Army, and Major General Miyazaki Shuichi as the Chief of Staff of the Area Army, which was under the command of the 11th Army (3rd, 13th, 34th, 37th, 58th, 116th Divisions), the 23rd Army (22nd, 104th Divisions, Independent Mixed Brigades 19, 22, 23, Independent Infantry Brigades 8, 13), and the 34th Army (39th Division, Independent Mixed Brigade 17, Independent Infantry Brigades 6, 7, 11, 12, 5th, 9th, 10th Field Replenishment Units), with the 11th Division, 12th Division, 23rd Division, 26th Division, and 27th Division directly under the Area Army, forming the most elite offensive cluster.
In this way, the Japanese devils formed an unprecedented unified field army group on the mainland. In the General Headquarters' conception, the Japanese devils attempted to completely open up the transportation lines from south to north on the mainland through this field army group, realizing an absolute defense circle from the Northeast to the South China Sea for the Japanese mainland.
Compared to the historical timeline, this cluster, whose purpose of establishment was to penetrate the entire mainland transportation line, would have been established more than half a year later, but due to Ren Zhong's influence, this freak was prematurely conceived.
Among them, the 11th Army was in Central China, and the 23rd Army was in South China, which could not be used for the North China war situation for the time being.
However, the newly established 34th Army, and the 11th Division, 12th Division, 23rd Division, 26th Division, and 27th Division directly under the Area Army, were all transferred to attack the Jin-Cha-Ji base area, coupled with a large number of puppet troops and security regiment cannon fodder, with a total force of over 100,000!
In the original historical timeline, the North China Front Army's mopping-up of Jin-Cha-Ji only concentrated parts of the 26th Division, 62nd Division, 63rd Division, 110th Division, and the Independent Mixed Brigades 2 and 3, as well as a large number of puppet troops and security regiments, totaling more than 40,000 people.
Not only were there four more elite divisions from the Kwantung Army moving south, but the total strength had also more than doubled.
In this way, although the combat effectiveness of the Eighth Route Army's main regiments in the Jin-Cha-Ji base area was also stronger than in history, there was still a huge gap in the face of the well-prepared Japanese devils.
In addition, the Jin-Cha-Ji base area underestimated the Japanese devils' large-scale mopping-up operation this time, and the secrecy of the Japanese devils' plan was very high, using a long period of several months to infiltrate North China in batches at the regiment level for reorganization.
This made the Eighth Route Army's underground intelligence personnel and the GMD's intelligence personnel lack much early warning about the Japanese devils' 34th Army and the gathering of the five directly subordinate divisions.
Before the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region could react, these 100,000 troops simultaneously launched a lightning attack in two clusters, catching the Ji-Zhong Military Region and the First Military Sub-district completely off guard.
The losses were very heavy, and the Ji-Zhong Military Region and the First Military Sub-district base areas almost simultaneously fell within a short period of two or three days.
Fortunately, the base areas had a sound emergency mechanism. In the face of insurmountable force, the main regiments of the base area were forced to fight and retreat. The base area military region ordered the main regiments to disperse in battalion and company formations, jumping out of the Japanese devils' encirclement overnight, so that the losses of the main force were still within a controllable range.
Even so, the losses in other aspects of the base area were very huge. The factories that had been painstakingly developed had to be blown up by themselves. The local guerrillas and armed work teams shouldered the task of covering the retreat in the face of strong enemies, fighting many moving battles. The losses in personnel, materials, and infrastructure in the base area were very painful.
Ren Zhong was also a little surprised when he received this unexpected combat briefing. He did not expect the Japanese devils to come so fast and so fiercely.
Moreover, the target of the attack first fell on the Jin-Cha-Ji area.
This felt a bit like a space-time intrusion.
Although Jin-Cha-Ji was also heavily injured in the historical timeline, and the core base areas such as the First Military Sub-district completely fell, that was because its strength was too much weaker than in this timeline. According to Ren Zhong's original idea, if the Japanese devils came according to the mopping-up model of the original timeline, he would give them a "surprise."
Unexpectedly, the Japanese devils were not idle either, and did not rush foolishly into the base area.
Instead, they also made some real-time intelligence judgments on the growth of the Eighth Route Army's strength, and came up with such a blitzkrieg.
But thinking about it, it was also right. Jin-Cha-Ji faced the heartland of the North China Front Army, and the Japanese devils secretly sent out a lot of spies and lackeys to gather intelligence.
The strategic depth of the Jin-Cha-Ji base area was not large, and after these spies walked around, the chances of keeping such information as the main regiments of their respective military sub-districts secret were very small. After more than half a year of intelligence collection, even if the Japanese devils had some omissions, they still had a good grasp of the general situation.
The Japanese devils carried out military operations based on such the latest intelligence, and the targeting was self-evident.
Looking at the report in his hand, facing the changes of the Japanese devils, Ren Zhong's limited CPU was a bit burned. This had already diverged from the original timeline.
Now the two sides were in a state of blind fighting.
Both sides had reshuffled their trump cards.
At this time, neither Ren Zhong nor anyone else knew that the Japanese had secretly formed the Sixth Area Army and begun implementing a grand strategy from north to south.
However, with historical information from the original timeline, Ren Zhong was more sensitive than others, sensing an abnormal undercurrent.
"Chief of Staff Ye, I'm worried that the Japanese's actions this time are not just aimed at our base," Ren Zhong carefully considered the causes and consequences, combined with the intelligence he had obtained from the original timeline about Operation Ichi-Go, and decided to seriously discuss the current battle situation with Chief of Staff Ye.
"Old Brother Ren, what do you mean?" Chief of Staff Ye knew that there was new information as soon as he heard this.
Chief of Staff Ye no longer doubted Ren Zhong's intelligence capabilities.
"If the Japanese were only targeting our base, I feel that the current intensity has exceeded the control capabilities of the Japanese North China Area Army," Ren Zhong calmly analyzed.
"We all know that the North China Area Army alone can't possibly organize an army of 100,000 to attack our base. Now, based on the intelligence we already know, the Kwantung Army has already sent four elite divisions to participate in the attack, which shows that this battle has already moved beyond the scope of the North China Area Army."
"If our organization's speculation is correct, the Japanese are now launching a major campaign against our main battlefield, and the attack on the Jin-Cha-Ji base is just a prelude."
"And the real purpose of the Japanese is to completely open up the mainland transportation lines from north to south! On the one hand, to solve the problem of transporting materials between north and south, and to compensate for the huge pressure faced by maritime transportation; on the other hand, to obtain so-called strategic security for the Japanese mainland on the continent, so that the Allied strategic bombers cannot take off from the continent to bomb their mainland."
On the map that Ren Zhong had spent time drawing, he marked the strategic intentions and key points of attack of the Japanese Operation Ichi-Go in the original timeline one by one. Chief of Staff Ye couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart when he saw it.
This was a grand plan spanning the entire continent.
Although Ren Zhong didn't mark the troop deployments of the Japanese Operation Ichi-Go, which would be too shocking, and Ren Zhong didn't dare to reveal too much.
But just looking at the scope of the entire campaign, Chief of Staff Ye felt a tingling sensation in his scalp.
"Old Brother Ren, is this news confirmed?" Chief of Staff Ye asked. This matter was too important, already related to the fate of the nation, and Chief of Staff Ye had to be cautious.
"Our organization's judgment is that the possibility is extremely high," Ren Zhong said, although he couldn't be sure, his attitude was very clear. "I think we should now do everything possible to collect intelligence on the Japanese troop movements. The North China region has basically been confirmed, which is the Japanese Northern Attack Group. Next, we need to confirm the actions of the Japanese in Central and South China. If the news is correct, the Japanese Central China Attack Group and the South China Attack Group will also have some preparatory actions."
"We judge that in North China, the Jin-Cha-Ji base is only the first wave of the Japanese attack. Next, the Japanese are very likely to launch the Battle of Henan against the First War Area."
According to the progress of Operation Ichi-Go launched by the Japanese in the historical timeline, Ren Zhong increasingly felt that the Japanese's current actions were very similar.
"Old Brother Ren, this matter is of great importance. I will go back and report it immediately, and coordinate with all parties to collect relevant intelligence. If the intelligence confirms what you said, how should we respond?" Chief of Staff Ye asked humbly.
Ren Zhong was silent for a while.
Ren Zhong calculated for a moment. According to his understanding, the Taiyue Chen Brigade has undergone a new round of expansion and reorganization. Now there are 10 Class A regiments, 15 Class B regiments, and 24 Class C regiments, which is definitely the strongest army on the Eighth Route Army's side, even stronger than the strength of the border area's garrison troops.
In addition to the 5 Class A regiments, 10 Class B regiments, and 25 Class C regiments in Taihang, the focus of the Taihang Group is shifting south, trấn giữ the Taihang and Taiyue bases. Chen Brigade can mobilize 25 Class A and B regiments, totaling 50,000 troops, plus more than 10 Class C regiments to ensure logistics and supplies.
When the main force of the Japanese army crosses the Yellow River and launches the Battle of Henan, perhaps a campaign can be launched on the north bank of the Yellow River to reoccupy the entire Central Hebei Plain, assist Jin-Cha-Ji in re-recovering the base, and cut off the Japanese logistics transportation line in one fell swoop.
Completely cut off the supply of supplies to the Japanese heavy troops.
You must know that most of the Japanese logistics and supplies need to rely on supplies from the Northeast. If the entire Central Hebei Plain is controlled, cutting off the Japanese logistics on the north bank of the Yellow River, the Japanese heavy troops going south will be in a dilemma. The Japanese army without logistical support should not be as unstoppable as in history, directly destroying the First War Area.
Perhaps Operation Ichi-Go can be turned into a protracted war.
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