At the beginning of October 1940, after some careful preparations, Gangcun Ningji finally started.Gangcun Ningci gathered 150,000 troops and launched a fierce attack on the central Henan region.In the face of the fierce offensive of the Japanese army, the First Theater organized an army of 400,000 troops under the unified command of General Wei to carry out stubborn resistance, and the Battle of Central Henan broke out.At the same time, the Japanese 11th Army, under the command of the new commander Kazuichiro Sonobe, gathered more than 60,000 Japanese troops and launched a frantic attack on the Chinese army north of Xinyang, in an attempt to destroy the main force of our Fifth Theater and open up the southern line of the Pinghan Railway.Ma Zhenguo held a telegram in his hand, hurriedly walked to Li Guotao, frowned and said with a serious face: "I just received the news that Gangcun Ningci concentrated his troops and crossed the Yellow Flood Area in three ways to attack Zhengzhou.Commander Wei, believing that Zhengzhou is an important town in the Central Plains and must not fall into the hands of the Japanese invaders, has begun to mobilize troops and prepare to recover Zhengzhou. ”When Li Guotao heard this, he couldn't help frowning, and asked with a worried face: "How is the battle situation on the southern front?"
Ma Zhenguo hurriedly replied: "In the southern Henan battlefield, the Japanese 3rd Division rushed to the Chinese defenders' positions on the north side of Xinyang, trying to cut off the defenders' retreat, but was stubbornly resisted by the 68th Army of the 2nd Group Army of the Chinese army, and the attack failed to work.Subsequently, the main force of the Japanese army attacked the Suiping, Wuyang, and Shangcai areas along the Pinghan Road and its two sides from the Xinyang and Luoshan areas in three ways.Generally speaking, the battle situation was very unfavorable for our army. ”Li Guotao sighed softly, reached out and took out a cigarette, lit it and took a puff, spewed out a puff of white mist, and said helplessly: "Thousands of miles away, we can only worry about the map now."
I only hope that the first and fifth war zones can block this offensive of the devils, and if the little devils really completely open up the Pinghan Railway, it will be even more troublesome. ”Ma Zhenguo nodded and said: "But I heard that Lao Jiang really ordered my Eighth Route Army to counterattack Hebei in order to contain the Japanese army in North China and cut off the logistics supply line of the Japanese army." ”"Hmph" Li Guotao couldn't help but snort coldly and said: "What he said is easy, at present, the Japanese army is still arranging 100,000 troops along the Pinghan Railway in Handan, Beiping, waiting for work, obviously this Gangcun Ningci has dug a trap, just waiting for us to jump in" Ma Zhenguo nodded and said: "This dang, we must not go up."
However, Lao Chiang was suppressed in the name of the Central Political Commissar, and it is not good for us to openly disobey the order.However, the headquarters is already trying to find a way to communicate with Chongqing, and the Henan battlefield has been attacked, and we should provide support, but how to support is to be cautious. ”Li Guotao nodded and said: "You're right, we will never sit idly by, but we can only give a certain amount of support, and we will ultimately rely on themselves on the battlefield in Henan." ”Ma Zhenguo nodded approvingly and said, "I estimate that the headquarters should also make up its mind, and the order is estimated to be coming in the next two days." ”"Hmm" Li Guotao nodded and said: "Don't worry about these for now, let's take care of ourselves first, what is the current situation of the troops." ”Ma Zhenguo said confidently: "After nearly two months of rest, the troops have basically recovered their combat effectiveness, and the morale of the soldiers is high, and they are clamoring to fight a good battle with the little devils" Li Guotao shook his head with a smile and said: "These stinky boys, it seems that this time is about to suffocate."
Inform the military commanders and political commissars of the various units and ask them to calm the emotions of the soldiers, and in this critical period, they must not be allowed to cause any trouble." ”Ma Zhenguo nodded and said.In the afternoon of the same day, Li Guotao finally received an order from the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army, looking at the telegram in his hand, Li Guotao nodded with a smile and said: "The head of the headquarters, this move is high" Political Commissar Meng said with a serious face: "The headquarters ordered the rest of the troops to launch a feint attack on the little devils along the Pinghan Railway, on the one hand, to deal with the pressure of Chongqing and public opinion, and on the other hand, it is also to confuse the little devils.Cover our seventh column and advance into the eastern Hebei region. ”Li Guotao smiled and nodded, and said: "Two years ago, the large-scale anti-Japanese uprising in eastern Hebei, in less than half a month, the number of rebel soldiers and civilians reached more than 100,000, dealing a heavy blow to the Japanese puppet army.At that time, our Eighth Route Army judged the situation and sent the main force to advance into eastern Hebei, preparing to establish an anti-Japanese base in eastern Hebei, but unfortunately, under the frantic counterattack of the Japanese army, the uprising finally failed.The main force of our Eighth Route Army, the main force of the Righteous Army, was forced to withdraw from the eastern Hebei region, and was surrounded and intercepted by the Japanese puppet army along the way, and suffered heavy losses.Although a small number of troops remained in eastern Hebei and persisted in the anti-Japanese struggle, the anti-Japanese base areas in eastern Hebei were never able to develop and grow, and they were completely unable to achieve our army's previous strategic attempts.This time, our Seventh Column was ordered to advance into the eastern Hebei region in order to completely change this status quo and develop and strengthen the eastern Hebei base area.At the same time, our army launched an offensive in the eastern Hebei region, which will inevitably make the little devils transfer troops to support the eastern Hebei region, so that it can also effectively support the Henan battlefield. ”"Attack the little devil in the south, let's attack in the north and stab him in the back, so that the little devil can't take care of the end."
Ma Zhenguo said with an excited smile.Li Guotao said excitedly: "You are right, we are going to stab the little devil in the back this time, this Gangcun Ningci is the new official, we have to give him a big gift no matter what." ”Political Commissar Meng smiled and nodded, and said, "I think this gift of ours, Gangcun Ningci will definitely be very satisfied." ”Li Guotao nodded and said: "Immediately send an order to all troops to set off for the north early tomorrow morning, pass through Chahar, and advance to the eastern Hebei region." ”"Yes" Ma Zhenguo responded respectfully, turned around and went to convey the order in person.Early the next morning, the 50,000 troops of the Seventh Column of the Eighth Route Army left their garrisons one after another, secretly marched north along the rugged mountain road, and advanced in the direction of eastern Hebei.After a long march of about ten days, Li Guotao led the main force of the seventh column and successfully reached the territory of Xinglong County, and then the troops continued to advance eastward, approaching Zunhua and Jixian County, and successfully reached the eastern Hebei region.After a long march, the soldiers were already a little tired, Li Guotao ordered the troops to temporarily rest in the mountains for two days and prepare for battle.aa2705221: