jdhmnovel Chapter 1043 Shandong's Defeat
Chapter 1043 Shandong's Defeat
Since the start of the full-scale war, the Japanese could almost advance unimpeded into any area without the 72nd Army. However, when they encountered the 72nd Army, no matter how skilled the Japanese generals were or how strong their elite troops were, they all had to stop and could not even gain the initiative on the battlefield.
Take the standing divisions currently participating in the battle as an example. There are far too many divisions that have been decimated by the 72nd Army on the main battlefield, especially the 3rd and 7th Divisions. Although they cannot be said to have been completely destroyed, they are not far off.
The 3rd Division was originally a top-class division. Although its personnel have been replenished, the proportion of veterans who have undergone extensive training is now less than 15%.
If we take the Third Division out, it won't be able to regain its former fighting strength, let alone even half of it.
The Japanese Isogai and Itagaki divisions, which are heading south this time, have not suffered any losses at the hands of the 72nd Army. Even if they have, the losses they have suffered are relatively small. After entering Shandong Province, they have broken through multiple lines of defense of the 3rd Army Group and have now entered the provincial capital.
"Itagaki-kun, let's drink to the reopening of the Japanese Empire."
Whether in Beiping or Huangpu, the Japanese army seemed to have hit a wall. Although Beiping had been occupied by the Japanese army, the 72nd Army's defense line was less than 50 li (about 25 kilometers) from the west and north of the city. The Japanese army stationed in North China had fought there several times, but apart from losing thousands of men, they had not occupied an inch of land.
Not to mention Pujiang, hundreds of thousands of troops rushed in, and now the battle lines are still the same as they were a month ago, and some places are even impossible to hold.
This was even before the 72nd Army launched a full-scale attack. If they had launched a full-scale attack, the Pujiang Expeditionary Army would have been in serious trouble.
Therefore, the Japanese General Headquarters urgently needed to break through the situation. After these two divisions marched south from Beiping, they had already advanced hundreds of kilometers in just a few days, and had occupied more than a dozen cities along the way. According to them, this was considered to have opened up the situation for the Japanese army.
"Isoya-kun, it's too early to talk about this now. Have you forgotten what we said when we set off from Tianjin? The entire Third Army is nothing to fear. If the two of us join forces, we should be able to defeat them in a month at most. But the 72nd Army in the east is a different story. They have already arrived in Qingzhou, and according to the intelligence I just received, their troops are also gathering. I think we should stop in the provincial capital, cease pursuing the Third Army, and instead build a defensive line on the eastern flank."
Division Commander Itagaki silently put down his wine glass. He knew very well who was the most powerful on this battlefield. The Third Army was nothing. Although they fought fiercely, without logistics, defeat was only a matter of time.
On the other hand, the 4th Infantry Division of the 72nd Army to the east was their real formidable enemy.
If these people don't come, we can share the Shandong 72nd Army's occupation of the coastal area of the peninsula with them, while we occupy the inland area.
However, this situation seems impossible at present. According to information from Japanese intelligence agencies, that Ma Ruizi has begun to assemble his troops and is ready to attack at any time.
"You're overestimating them. There's another piece of information you might not know: after the war started, a large number of troops were transferred to Pujiang. Even now, quite a few troops are still taking off from Qingdao every day, flying directly to Nanjing, and then being transferred to Pujiang. The Fourth Infantry Division is now just an empty shell."
Division Commander Isogai smiled and shook his head, then took a few sheets of paper from his subordinate's briefcase. The sheets of paper contained a record of all the troops and weapons transported south from Qingdao after the start of the Battle of Pujiang.
"From heavy artillery regiments to air defense battalions, from engineer companies to infantry regiments, almost all the troops have gone south, and they also have to defend the island city to prevent our navy from attacking. How many people can they spare? I also believe that the 72nd Army is a formidable fighting force, but if they only take some local militia, it will not pose a great threat to us."
When Division Commander Isogai received the news and learned that there were several security regiments inside, he wasn't afraid at all.
Although the security regiments under the 72nd Army were of decent combat strength, they were absolutely no match for the regular Japanese army, especially a standing regiment like theirs that had been trained for many years; the gap was even greater then.
Moreover, in the mind of Division Commander Isogai, if this army really risked advancing westward, it might not be a bad thing. The navy has always been thinking about avenging the past. If the coastal area of the island city is sparsely populated, even if we suffer a defeat in Shandong Province, the navy can still take the island city smoothly and drive the 72nd Army back to the inland.
Southeast Shandong
An army of tens of thousands marched south in orderly formation. Although its weaponry was not the best, it was still much better than some of the ragtag troops on the Pujiang battlefield. This was the main force of Commander Han's Third Army Group.
After fleeing the provincial capital, Commander Han's will seemed to have been broken. He led his troops south, showing no intention of staying to resist.
“Send a telegram to the 4th Infantry Division of the 72nd Army, saying that we are currently engaged in fierce fighting with the Japanese army in the provincial capital, and ask them to accelerate their advance and provide urgent support to the provincial capital before tomorrow night.”
Commander Han, sitting in the car, didn't even open his eyes. The clerk next to him wrote down the order, but looked troubled. If the person actually went, wouldn't that be setting them up for failure?
"Go send it quickly."
Seeing that the clerk did not move, Commander Han said with great displeasure. His adjutant gave him a look, and the only way to find the clerk was to send a telegram.
The responsibility for losing eastern Shandong does not lie solely with my Third Army Group; your 72nd Army is also implicated.
In fact, in Commander Han's mind, when Ma Leizi sent the telegram last time, he should have sent them to lead their troops over, let the 72nd Army block the way, and let the Third Army clean up the mess after they were fighting each other to the death.
But at the time, I couldn't make up my mind. I always felt that the 72nd Army was too ambitious. You can see this in Pujiang now. After Li Shaoyi appointed himself as the commander of the war zone, Jinling was able to command from behind the scenes. Now look at who the old man can command.
"Commander Han, Commander Li of the 72nd Army is not someone to be trifled with. If he finds out we tricked him, then we..."
"So what? I really don't believe he can capture me among tens of thousands of troops. I'm not someone to be trifled with as an army general..."