Quartermasters can also fight the devils

It was not until four days after the Japanese 13th Army occupied Jinhua and Lanxi that the various search teams and intelligence units of the Japanese Army finally figured out that most of the troops of the Third War Zone of the Chinese Government were gathered near Quzhou.

Therefore, after finally figuring out the military deployment of the Third War Zone of the Chinese government, Lieutenant General Shigeru Sawada, commander of the 13th Army of the Japanese Army, judged that the main force of the Third War Zone of the Chinese government was gathering near Quzhou, and was obviously preparing for a decisive battle with his 13th Army in Quzhou.

The day after it became clear that the troops of the Chinese government's Third War Zone were assembled near Quzhou, Lieutenant General Hata Shunroku, commander of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, ordered the Japanese 11th Army to follow the battle plan of the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Campaign and dispatch 25 battalions from the 3rd, 6th, 34th and 68th Divisions to launch an attack from the western front to cooperate with the subsequent operations of the Japanese 13th Army.

On June 116, the attacking forces of the Japanese th Army began to advance toward Quzhou along both sides of the Qujiang River. On the north bank of the Qujiang River were the troops of the Japanese nd Division and the th Division, and on the south bank of the Qujiang River were the Japanese th Division and the nd Division plus the Kono Brigade.

At the same time, in order to strengthen the combat effectiveness of the 13th Army on the front line, Lieutenant General Hata Shunroku, commander of the China Expeditionary Army, drew three infantry battalions from the 26th Division and the 37th Division of the Japanese North China Front Army to form a temporary brigade, commanded by Major General Ko June Kunio, commander of the 26th Brigade, and reinforced the front line of the Japanese 13th Army. This brought the Japanese army's strength participating in the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Campaign to a huge scale of 82 battalions.

The top leaders of the Chinese government were also very concerned about the major battle taking place in their hometown. Previously, the top leaders of the government ordered Commander Gu of the Third War Zone of the Chinese government to concentrate troops to fight a decisive battle with the Japanese army in Quzhou because they did not expect that the Japanese army would mobilize so many troops this time.

Just now, the highest level of the government has clearly seen the scale of the Japanese troops participating in this battle from the intelligence gathered by the intelligence departments and various troops. This time, the Japanese army is not only attacking alone by the 13th Army in Zhejiang Province, but the 11th Army in the three towns has also sent a large number of troops to attack Zhejiang Province from Jiangxi Province. The Japanese army has mobilized so many troops this time, which is not something that the Third War Zone of the Chinese government can resist.

The top government officials stood by the window of their room with gloomy faces, looking at the lush green scenery outside in early summer, but their hearts were as cold as in the cold winter. The top government officials felt that facing such a large number of Japanese troops, even with the assistance of the troops of the Ninth War Zone of the Chinese Government, it would be very difficult to win the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Campaign.

The top government leaders could clearly see from the attack directions of the 13th and 11th Japanese Armies that the Japanese army was preparing to capture the main force of the Chinese army in Quzhou and then surround and destroy it. However, how could the top government leaders let the Japanese army succeed?

After thinking for a while, the highest level of the government called the confidential secretary and personally gave an order to Commander Gu, the commander of the Third War Zone of the Chinese Government, to cancel the decisive battle originally planned for the Third War Zone of the Chinese Government and the attacking forces of the Japanese Thirteenth Army in Quzhou.

The highest level of the government ordered Commander Gu of the Third War Zone of the Chinese Government to immediately withdraw the main force of the Third War Zone from Quzhou and transfer it to the outer line, leaving only a part of the troops on the inner line to slow down the advance of the Japanese army. After the main force successfully moved to the outer line of the Japanese 13th Army's offensive force, the remaining troops would break out from the attack of the Japanese 13th Army's offensive force.

The idea of ​​the top government leaders was very simple. Since they couldn't win, there was no need to fight hard. Now they only had a few capable troops. Since the Japanese army wanted to find their own troops for a decisive battle, they would not let the Japanese army succeed. Anyway, the place was big, so they could just take the Japanese army around.

You know, the Japanese army is still deploying troops in the Pacific and Southeast Asia. The strategic materials and ammunition are definitely not enough to support such a large-scale offensive force of the Japanese army for a long time. The longer the delay, the more advantageous it will be for us.

In addition, if we can tie down such a large number of Japanese troops, our allies England and the United States will be very happy. In this way, we can naturally ask our allies for more aid materials, weapons and ammunition.

On June 3, the various offensive forces of the Japanese 13th Army launched a formal attack on Quzhou. However, what the commander of the Japanese 13th Army, Lieutenant General Sawada Shigeru, did not expect was that heavy rain suddenly began to fall in the sky of Zhejiang Province, which soaked all the troops of the Japanese 13th Army that had just launched the attack.

The rainstorm caused the water levels of Qujiang River and the surrounding rivers of all sizes to rise. The attacking forces of the Japanese 13th Army were blocked by the rising rivers and could only watch from across the river, but they could do nothing.

This was because the original bridges over Qujiang River and several other rivers had long been blown up by the troops of the Third War Zone of the Chinese government, and the surrounding ships had long been fortified or burned by the local people. There was not a single ship to be seen on the huge Qujiang River and other rivers.

However, the attacking troops of the 13th Japanese Army had already arrived at the city of Quzhou with great difficulty. They couldn't just stop fighting, right? Therefore, Lieutenant General Shigeru Sawada, commander of the 13th Japanese Army, ordered all troops to launch an attack on the defensive positions of the Chinese Army in Quzhou according to the original battle plan, while taking precautions against rain.

In this way, starting from June 3, the attacking forces of the Japanese 13th Army launched a fierce battle with the Chinese troops who were holding their positions in the heavy rain and floods. However, the Japanese attack progressed very slowly in the heavy rain and mud. At the same time, the offensive operations under such weather and conditions consumed a lot of physical strength and energy of the officers and soldiers of the Japanese 13th Army.

The slow progress of the Japanese 13th Army's offensive force provided great convenience for the transfer of the Chinese government's Third War Zone troops. When the officers and soldiers of the Japanese 13th Army's offensive force were still attacking the defensive positions of the remaining Chinese troops in the mud, the main forces of the Chinese government's Third War Zone all followed the orders of the war zone headquarters and took advantage of the heavy rain to transfer to the outer line of the Japanese 13th Army's offensive force. Then, the Chinese troops left behind in Quzhou took advantage of the heavy rain at night to successfully slip out of the gap of the Japanese offensive force and began to transfer to the outer line as planned.

After four and a half days of hard fighting, the attacking forces of the Japanese 13th Army finally rushed into Quzhou City. However, what surprised the attacking forces of the Japanese 13th Army was that there was no trace of Chinese troops in Quzhou City, and the main force of the Chinese government's Third War Zone mentioned earlier was not even seen.

(Thanks to Kun Zuo who loves garlic clams, Wei Yan who loves beef casserole, Wei Guogong who loves beef jerky, and Wei Guogong who only eats dumplings without vinegar and beef jerky for their gifts! Thank you all for your support and encouragement!)