readytorunbook Chapter 733 Target: Luoyang
Chapter 733 Target: Luoyang
On May 7, the Japanese offensive forces successfully occupied the north of Lushan City. Afterwards, the Japanese offensive forces immediately attacked towards Xiatang.
Xiatang is the only transportation line leading to the Funiu Mountains. Its location is very important. The First War Zone of the Chinese government also stored a large amount of food and ammunition in Xiatang.
Although the Huaxia army responsible for defending Xiatang and nearby defensive positions in the First War Zone of the Huaxia government nominally has five divisions, the newly formed 42nd Division currently has less than two battalions remaining after battles in Xinzheng, Xiangcheng and other places.
After the Baofeng battle, the newly formed 43rd Division had less than five battalions of troops. The newly formed 29th Division and the temporary 27th Division also had only more than a thousand troops left, and the combat troops accounted for less than half of the total.
The only newly formed 42th Division with sufficient manpower had very old weapons and equipment. Xiatang was quickly captured, and the Japanese army continued to advance westward. By the end of the month, all the officers and soldiers of the new 44nd Division were killed or wounded. In the battle for Sikeshu alone, the new 200th Division suffered more than casualties, including the regiment commander.
By early May, most of the troops in the First War Zone of the Chinese government began to retreat or directly disintegrate as soon as they came into contact with the Japanese attacking forces. This made it impossible for the Japanese attacking forces to capture and annihilate the main force of the First War Zone of the Chinese government.
At the same time, the Japanese 12th Army, which was conducting a large-scale flanking attack westward from Xuchang, failed to achieve the combat goal of encircling and annihilating the main force of Commander Tang, deputy commander of the First War Zone of the Chinese government. In particular, when the main force of the Japanese 3rd Tank Division captured Longmen and other places, the speed of the collapse of the troops of the First War Zone of the Chinese government was accelerated.
At this time, conflicts arose within the Japanese attacking force over the combat objectives. The Japanese 12th Army Command was not satisfied with the hasty attack of the Japanese 3rd Tank Division on the Longmen area, believing that the overly hasty attack of the Japanese 3rd Tank Division had somewhat disrupted the combat plan to encircle and annihilate the main forces under Commander Tang, deputy commander of the First War Zone of the Chinese government.
In the face of what has now become a fact, the Japanese 12th Army still focuses its main combat goal on attacking the main force of the Chinese government's First War Zone.
However, General Okamura Yasuji, commander of the North China Front Army of the Japanese Army, and the Japanese Imperial Headquarters were very dissatisfied with the combat plan of the Japanese 12th Army. General Okamura Yasuji, commander of the North China Front Army of the Japanese Army, demanded that the Japanese 12th Army immediately organize its main force to quickly capture the important town controlled by the Chinese army: Luoyang.
Because the Japanese military headquarters desperately needed some important victories on the Chinese battlefield. As the war situation in the Pacific and Southeast Asia had deteriorated sharply, they wanted to use events on the Chinese battlefield to boost the low morale of the Japanese army. In this way, the ancient capital of Luoyang became the Japanese army's primary target of attack.
At this time, the Chinese troops that had not suffered heavy losses on the battlefield in Henan Province were mostly concentrated in the Luoyang area. The First War Zone of the Chinese Government was centered in Luoyang, and assembled troops from four of the three armies, namely the Fourth Army, the Fourteenth Army, and the Thirty-ninth Army, totaling six divisions.
However, the organization of these troops is mostly incomplete. In addition, the 12th Army, the 13th Army, the 29th Army, and the 85th Army are also rushing to Yi Yang from the mountainous areas in the south. The First War Zone Command of the Chinese government also hopes that the arrival of these troops will be able to attack the flanks of the Japanese offensive forces, thereby protecting the defending forces of Luoyang City.
Therefore, Commander Tang, deputy commander of the First War Zone of the Chinese government, made new adjustments to the troops again. Commander Tang ordered Commander Wu Tinglin of the 15th Army of the Chinese government to lead the 64th Division, the 65th Division and the 94th Division of the 14th Army to defend Luoyang City.
He ordered Liu Kan to command other units of the 14th Army and the Provisional 4th Army to launch an offensive against the Japanese troops occupying East Longmen Mountain. He ordered the 4th Army Group and the 9th Army to hold on to their existing defensive positions as much as they could. He ordered the 13th Army and the 85th Army to quickly tail the Japanese troops attacking Longmen from Linru. Commander Tang, deputy commander of the First War Zone of the Chinese government, was preparing to encircle the Japanese offensive forces near Luoyang.
On May 10, 1944, General Okamura Yasuji, commander of the Japanese North China Front Army, ordered all Japanese troops participating in the attack to expand the scale of the attack, requiring the Japanese offensive forces to support each other in the east, west, and south, encircle and annihilate the troops of the First War Zone of the Chinese government, and then attack and occupy Luoyang.
The specific deployment of General Okamura Yasuji, commander of the Japanese North China Front Army, was that the Japanese 12th Army should send its main force to quickly attack in the direction of Yi Yang and Xin'an, and then the offensive forces of the Japanese 12th Army would enter the northwest of Luoyang.
The attacking force of the Japanese First Army should quickly cross the Yellow River and then attack quickly in the direction of Luoyang. In addition, General Okamura Yasuji, commander of the Japanese North China Front Army, also withdrew troops to prepare to defeat the Chinese army north of Luoyang and attack in the direction of Xin'an.
According to the combat plan of General Okamura Yasuji, commander of the Japanese North China Front Army, the Japanese First Army stationed in Shanxi Province was the first to take action. The Japanese First Army needed to immediately withdraw a part of its troops to cross the Yellow River near Yuanqu, thereby cutting off the Longhai Railway Line and supporting the main force of the Japanese Twelfth Army in combat. This was also something that had been deployed in advance in the "Operation No. 1" plan.
The Japanese First Army was assigned to carry out this combat plan. The basic corps was composed of twelve infantry battalions of the 69th Division of the Japanese Army. The Japanese First Army code-named this attacking force: "Tianbingtuan".
After careful reconnaissance and preparation, the Japanese attack force, the "Tianbingtuan", crossed the Yellow River from three places: Yuanqu Front, Hedi Village and Bailang Village on the night of May 9, 1944, and built a pontoon bridge at the Bailang Ferry.
The Huaxia River Defense Force of the First War Zone of the Huaxia Government not only had poor individual combat qualities among its officers and soldiers, but even the river defense fortifications of the Yellow River were mostly submerged by the quicksand in the Yellow River after every strong wind, so their help in defense was very limited.
However, the river defense forces of the First War Zone of the Chinese government still organized a fire blocking line with rifles, machine guns and mortars, and put up a tenacious resistance against the Japanese offensive forces.
The Japanese offensive forces successfully broke through the riverside defense line set up by the First War Zone of the Chinese government and quickly completed the troop assembly on the second day. Then the Japanese offensive forces divided into groups and attacked towards Mianchi and Yinghao areas.