Devil's Army

Chapter 1908 Preparations for the Hubei Campaign 1

As the situation in Anhui became clearer, the defeat of the Japanese army was inevitable.

The First, Second, and Third Brigades of the First Army in Henan Province, along with the Yidong Independent Brigade, began reconnaissance of the Japanese troop deployment along the border between Hubei and Henan.

At that time, Hubei Province was the core hub of the War of Resistance against Japan in Central China, possessing a triple core position as the "forefront of strategic confrontation, rear base, and transportation lifeline," making it a key area that both China and Japan were vying for.

The Japanese army regarded Hubei as a springboard for "advancing westward into Sichuan and controlling Hunan and Jiangxi in the south".

They used Wuhan as the headquarters of the Japanese Central China Army (11th Army) and Yichang as the gateway to the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, directly threatening Chongqing, the wartime capital of the Nanjing government.

Meanwhile, the Nanjing government forces used Hubei as a "southwest barrier": the Sixth War Zone (defending western Hubei and Enshi) and the Fifth War Zone (defending northwestern Hubei) built defensive lines relying on the mountains.

Enshi was the exile residence of the Hubei Provincial Government at that time, forming a confrontational pattern of "using mountains to block the plains and using the Han River to protect the Yangtze River". Defending Hubei meant defending the eastern gateway of Chongqing.

(For ease of command, Leng Feng reorganized the five brigades in Henan Province into the First Front Army Corps for the Southern Expedition, and the four brigades in Anhui Province into the Second Front Army Corps for the Southern Expedition)

时任一军南下一方面军团总指挥的一旅长通过情报分析得知，日军在湖北武汉及周边有第11军的第6师团，第13师团和第39师团主力。兵力约4万人。

The Japanese army had an independent mixed brigade of 17 and part of the 39th Division in Yichang and the eastern part of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River. The force was about 2 men.

The Japanese army had an independent 20th Mixed Brigade and part of the 13th Division in the Shashi-Jingzhou riverside area, with a strength of about 1 men.

The Japanese army had an independent mixed brigade of 14 and part of the 68th Division in the Tongcheng-Tongshan-Chongyang triangle area in southern Hubei, with a strength of about 1 men.

Including troops stationed in other regions, the Japanese army had 12 to 15 troops in Hubei Province.

This was not something that could be defeated by the First Army's southward advance and the First Front Army's four brigades, totaling more than 4 men.

Even with the addition of two and a half brigades of the Southern Independent Division in Jiangxi, totaling more than 2 men, there was still no chance of victory.

Through analysis of the Japanese army's heavy troop deployment, the brigade commander discovered that the Japanese army in the occupied area was focusing on controlling the Yangtze River shipping and the Pinghan Railway.

It served as the core channel for transporting supplies and maneuvering troops in Central China, while simultaneously suppressing the guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines of the Fifth Division of the New Fourth Army.

However, northwestern and southwestern Hubei were still in the hands of the Nanjing government forces.

Hundreds of thousands of government troops from Li Zongren's Fifth War Zone were stationed in the Laohekou area of ​​northern Hubei.

More than 30 government troops under Chen Cheng's Sixth War Zone were stationed in 25 counties in western Hubei, including Yichang, Enshi, Jiangling, and Yidu.

Enshi had military stations, military workshops, and schools, and it received a large number of refugees and exile organizations, providing manpower and material support for the War of Resistance.

The Xiangyang-Laohekou line in northern Hubei was an important stronghold for the government forces to contain the Japanese army.

Although the 700,000 to 800,000 government troops in Hubei Province might not necessarily come to the aid of the First Army when it launched its offensive against the Japanese, General Li Zongren of the Fifth War Zone was a staunch anti-Japanese figure, and he would certainly not stand idly by while the Japanese army advanced into his territory.

The brigade commander decided to first target the Japanese troops near the government-controlled areas and gradually eliminate the remaining Japanese forces in Hubei Province.

A brigade commander sent a telegram to Commander Zhang of the Southern Independent Division, asking whether the troops were ready to attack Hubei.

Commander Zhang replied: Except for the 1st and 2nd Regiments of the 1st Brigade, which are stationed in Yushan County and Guangfeng County, which are adjacent to Zhejiang, the other units of the Southern Independent Division are ready to attack Hubei.

With only two regiments defending against the Japanese in Zhejiang, the forces were far too weak. However, the fighting in Hubei was bound to be fierce, and the Southern Independent Division was unable to muster more troops to defend against the Japanese in Zhejiang.

The brigade commander was also in a dilemma.