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The Japanese army¡¯s combat plan was to encircle Luoyang City and the three national army divisions surrounding it. Artillery units were deployed in the southwest and northwest areas of Luoyang in order to carry out cross-bombing on the defensive positions of the northern defenders of Luoyang City.
At this time, the garrison troops of the first theater of the national army, originally located in the Tang Enbo Group in the Dengfeng area, have withdrawn to the Funiu Mountains in the southwest.
The main force of Sun Weiru's 4th Group Army, which was originally in Gongxian and Yanshi, has withdrawn west to the southeast of Mianchi to Ouchi, Wangbian, Wanggou, Gaocun, and Hancheng, Nanyi, Qinwangzhai, and Qinwangzhai on the north bank of the Luohe River. Guanzhuang area.
Liu Kan's regiment, which was originally stationed south of Luoyang and near Longmen Street and Yichuan County, was forced to attack from Longmen, Yichuan retreated westward to Yiyang and made preparations to continue its westward retreat.
The 47th Army of Li Jiayu's 36th Group Army and the newly formed 8th Army of Gao Shuxun's 39th Group Army, which originally defended the Mianchi area, fought with the enemy in Midi, Yinghao and other places, and the 47th Army withdrew to the Luoning area in the Funiu Mountains in the southwest. The newly formed 8th Army retreated westward along the railway to Shaanxi County, so the three divisions of the National Army defending Luoyang at this time were fighting in isolation.
The field deputy believed that with the victory of the 1st Army to the west and the 12th Army to the south, coupled with sufficient artillery and the direct cooperation of the 2nd Flying Regiment, as well as the 10 infantry brigades of his own division, Luoyang could be captured. .
However, the three divisions of the National Army defending Luoyang, under the command of Commander Wu Tinglin, resolutely carried out a tenacious battle to defend Luoyang.
Before attacking Luoyang, in the name of protecting the ancient city of Luoyang and its historical relics from destruction, the deputy sent a letter from a monk from the White Horse Temple in the east of the city to the city, asking the defenders to open the city. Starting from May 17, the enemy also used loudspeakers to shout, asking the defenders to lay down their weapons and not resist. They also used aircraft to distribute leaflets, offering "advice" to the defenders not to resist and to join the Wang Puppet peace camp.
After the combat order of the 63rd Division was issued to the troops, Liu Yong, commander of the 67th Brigade, first expressed his opinion. He believed that there must be sufficient preparation time for an attack on the defenders holding strong positions, especially terrain and road reconnaissance and attack preparations. , so he proposed that the start of the attack should be pushed back to May 20, but he did not get agreement.
When the Japanese army attacked Luoyang, Cao Fulin's 55th Army in the 5th Theater of the National Army, the Southern Henan Advance Army in the 10th Theater, and a section of the Tang Enbo Group counterattacked in the southern section of Pinghan Road. By May 19, the cities of Queshan, Xiping, Suiping, Luohe and others were recaptured to contain the enemy.
At 19:30 on May 18, the artillery commanded by the Japanese 63rd Division began to violently bombard the Shangqing Palace and other places in the northern garrison position of Luoyang City.
At 3 o'clock in the morning on the 19th, the 67th Brigade launched an attack on Xujia Village, Qianli Village, Houdong, Jianggou, and Yingzhuang areas of the garrison's peripheral positions north of Luoyang. The 12th Field Replenishment Team in Watian was also led by Wu Nuzhong. , Fengjiazhuang, and Dougou areas to attack eastward.
The 65th Division of the National Army is stationed in the area north of Luoyang in the east and the 64th Division in the west.
They used mountains, reinforced concrete fortifications, communication trenches, foxholes, anti-tank trenches, minefields, barbed wire, etc., and used light firearms and mortars to attack Japanese troops moving forward along mountains, hills, villages, and from wheat fields. Fight back.
The defenders¡¯ fortifications, which stretch for dozens of kilometers, and some cement bunkers, not only have shooting holes, but also can accommodate dozens of people, and have telephones to communicate with each other. According to orders, attacks can be organized at any time.
On the day of the 19th, the Japanese 63rd Division experienced continuous fire from field heavy artillery on the Shangqing Palace and Ximapo areas. The light bombers and attack aircraft of the 2nd Flying Regiment conducted two formation bombings in the morning and afternoon; They dug trenches in many places and advanced, but the attack was ineffective and suffered heavy casualties.
The Watian troops attacking eastward from Wunu Tomb captured Shijiatun on the night of the 19th and prepared to attack Miaojiagou about two kilometers east. Because there was a wheat field in the middle, they were attacked by Wangchaoling, Yingzhuang and other places. The defenders on the southern front took advantage of the direct blockade of highland firepower and their advance was blocked.
Based on the above situation, Lieutenant General Masandoku Ye decided to stop the attack, conduct reconnaissance, find out the situation of the defenders in front of him, and prepare for the attack on the 20th.
The North China Front Army was very dissatisfied with the fact that the 63rd Division under its direct command, with the strong cooperation of heavy artillery and aviation, started its offensive on the morning of the 19th and made no progress.
So it was decided to transfer the two infantry brigades of the 3rd Tank Division of the 12th Army, Hidenosuke Kurisi, and the 13th Tank Regiment of the 110th Division, which had already entered near Luoning, to Luoyang, under the command of the 63rd Division, and continue the attack.
Regarding the reinforcements from the Third Tank Division, the 63rd Division on the front line was very happy, and everyone was looking forward to it.
Regarding the Third Tank Division, this division is the only tank division of the Japanese army in the Guannei battlefield in China. The division was originally scheduled to be deployed in 1942.The cavalry group stationed in Mongolia was formed on the basis of the cavalry group. However, because the cavalry group was completely wiped out by Li Guoyao's troops, they had no choice but to mobilize the combat backbone from the first and second tank divisions outside the pass, and then from The North China Front Army mobilized troops to form.
Due to soldier problems, the Third Tank Division, which was originally supposed to be formed in 1942, was not completed until 1943. Coupled with later training and so on, the combat effectiveness was basically formed at the beginning of this year, and this battle was The first battle of the 3rd Tank Division on the Chinese battlefield.
The Third Tank Division of the Japanese Army has two tank brigades and 4 tank regiments. Each tank regiment has a total of 14 combat light tanks, 57 medium tanks, and 27 vehicles. There are 1,071 team members.
In addition, the division also has the 3rd Motorized Infantry Regiment, the 3rd Mobile Artillery Regiment, the Division Search Team and other combat units.
To be honest, the Japanese 3rd Armored Division may be a subpar armored force on the European battlefield, but on the Chinese battlefield, especially when faced with the Chinese army, which is still far behind the Japanese army, it still lacks a 5th Tank Brigade. The 3rd Tank Division, whose regiment participated in the battle, was like a mudslide of steel.
Because among the combat forces in the entire first theater, there are only 5 corps equipped with anti-tank weapons 37mm combat anti-cannon. The 12th, 13th, 14th, 29th, and 85th corps have an average of 6 combat anti-cannons per corps.
Because each unit was caught off guard, the combat defense artillery of the 12th, 13th, 29th, and 85th armies did not play a big role. During the entire battle, these four armies lost 14 combat defense artillery pieces.
The 3rd Tank Division is a rare mechanized force of the Japanese army, and the Japanese army is particularly careful in the timing of its use.
In this battle, the Japanese army was invincible in the early offensive. This was inseparable from the concentrated use of the Third Division of Tanks.
This is also the result of the Japanese learning from the European battlefield, and it is also the experience and lessons of Nomenkan!
In this battle, although the national army had a numerical advantage, the infantry weapons were not bad, and they even had relative air superiority, they were ultimately defeated due to the corruption and incompetence of the upper echelons.
Whether it was Jiang Dingwen or Tang Enbo, they were both poor people and passively avoided war. There was even a rumor in Henan that floods, droughts, and locust soup were the four major hazards. Soup was Tang Enbo. How could such an army leader lead the troops to win the war?
This is the main reason for the defeat of the National Army, but one thing that cannot be ignored is that the concentrated use of Japanese tank groups in the Central Henan Plain was an important reason for the rapid defeat of the National Army.
In the past, when the Japanese army fought against the Chinese army, although tanks were also important weapons, they were assigned to the infantry command, and the tanks only played a supporting role. However, in the Battle of Central Henan, Okamura Neiji learned from European experience, combined with the geographical conditions of Henan, and innovated After learning the tactics of war, they began to use tank groups intensively, and applied the strategies and tactics of blitz warfare to the Chinese battlefield, which achieved miraculous results and led to the great defeat of the national army.
Whether the Third Tank Division is fighting in Xuchang or Lingbao, it can quickly open a gap and traverse the Central Plains for two months, making the national army change its color!
China also admitted in its summary report on the Battle of Central Henan that the Japanese armored forces¡¯ participation in the battle was ¡°like a gust of wind, resulting in a complete defeat of the battle, which is extremely sad.¡±
Especially in the previous offensive operations, Okamura Neiji held the third tank division as a magic weapon for victory, and hid it in the early stages of the battle. When Tang Enbo mobilized the main force as usual to launch a counterattack against the Japanese troops near Mi County, Okamura Neiji used the 3rd Tank Division as the core of the roundabout force to outflank Tang Enbo's troops. Tang Enbo's retreat was cut off, and the position was in chaos.
Now that the attack on Luoyang was frustrated, Okamura Neji once again raised the third tank division. (Remember the website address: www.hlnovel.com