Vanguards of the War of Resistance! Let's travel back in time together, classmates!

373 The Second Battle of Rehe: All Had a Sure Plan

In February, heavy snow fell both inside and outside the Great Wall, and an urgent order was issued from Beiping.

Filled with righteous indignation, Zhang Xiaolang made a desperate gamble, transferring Sun Yat-sen's 41st Army into Rehe. In Chifeng, he also incorporated more than 20,000 people from the National Salvation Army and other militias, setting up three lines of defense against the Japanese army.

Later, Zhang Zhexiang was appointed as the commander of the Second Army Group, and Tang Yuli as the deputy commander. They organized the 36th Division and Zhang Tshu's 12th Brigade, totaling more than 70,000 men, to form the Second Army Group together with Sun Ying.

Zhang Xiaolang led his seven elite brigades and, together with a combined force of 120,000 civilian volunteers, marched toward Chengde.

At the Marshal's Mansion in Beiping, Zhang Xiaolang, beaming with pride, exclaimed, "Hahahaha... Now, my northern and southern armies together number nearly 200,000, while the Japanese army has less than 100,000. Moreover, we are on the defensive, possessing the advantages of manpower and terrain. The advantage is in our hands; victory in this battle is assured..."

The generals around him were not as optimistic as he was, thinking that even 300,000 Eastern B Army troops couldn't stop less than a division of Japanese troops back then.

Although we received orders from our superiors not to resist, the combat effectiveness of our unit is really nothing to brag about. Do you think you're the Tiger Guard? Heh!

At the Nanjing General Headquarters, in the office of the Chief of Staff, the veteran general, unusually dressed in military uniform, attended a meeting. After delivering a passionate speech, he declared that he would make the Japanese suffer, and then issued a series of transfer orders.

The order was given to Song Yuan's 29th Army in Chahar, Guan Zheng's 25th Division of the Central Army, a division under Shang Zhen, and a part of the Jin Army to immediately prepare for eastward march and assemble along the Great Wall in eastern Hebei.

At the same time, orders were given to the Beiping Air Force to provide support for the battle when the opportunity arises, and the eastern coastal areas were ordered to enter a state of first-level combat readiness to deal with any Japanese surprise attacks at any time.

On February 17, 1933, General Muto Yoshihiro of the Kwantung Army Headquarters issued Attack Order No. 473. The following day, the Japanese army launched a probing attack on Rehe in three columns.

The Japanese army made thorough preparations for this attack, planning for as long as half a year. Reinforcements from the General Headquarters rushed to the assembly point without stopping.

Then, the remaining troops from various parts of Northeast China, along with more than 11 puppet troops, were mobilized to launch an attack on Rehe. The remaining troops were responsible for guarding the border with the Tiger Guard Army to prevent the Tiger Guard Army from launching a sneak attack from behind.

In this attack, the Japanese army cultivated a puppet – Zhang Jinghui, Zhang Zuolin's sworn brother, who was a representative of Manchuria and was appointed by the Japanese army as the "Commander-in-Chief of the Manchuria Expeditionary Army against Rehe". His headquarters was located in Jinzhou.

This move was mainly intended to provoke the generals of the former Eastern Army faction, since Rehe was Tang Yulin's garrison, and Tang Yulin's subordinates were basically all former generals of the Northern Army.

The Japanese army's arrangement served two purposes: it allowed them to use a bunch of cannon fodder to fight for them, and it also allowed the generals of Tang Yu's faction to see the power of example.

Therefore, during the Rehe Campaign, quite a few people defected to the enemy.

The Japanese army launched an offensive along three lines, north and south. The northern line was mainly composed of the Japanese 6th Division, along with some Manchukuo troops, totaling more than 30,000 men. They started from Tongliao, attacked Kailu, and then headed south towards Chifeng.

The Eastern Route Army, mainly composed of the Japanese 8th Division and a portion of the puppet Manchukuo army, totaling more than 30,000 men, set off from Jinzhou, crossed the Songling Mountains, and attacked Chaoyang and Beipiao, with the target being C-de.

The main force of the Southern Route Army consisted of the Japanese 7th Division, 14th Division, and 4th Cavalry Brigade, with a part of the 8th Division and a part of the puppet Manchukuo army also participating.

A force of nearly 60,000 people set off from Suizhong and advanced towards Jiankang, Lingyuan, and Pingquan.

On February 18, Zhang Xilang and others issued a telegram in Chengde calling on the entire army to unite sincerely and resist the Japanese army to the end.

On February 24, after unsuccessful communication between the two sides, the Japanese army launched a full-scale offensive.

On the same day, the Rehe Army also split into three routes to meet the Japanese army.

At the Kwantung Army Headquarters in Fengtian, Deputy Chief of Staff Okamura Nji was in high spirits, eloquently recounting the highlights of the battle to a group of high-ranking Kwantung Army officers.

"Commander, gentlemen... the three armies I just introduced to you are only the surface layout of our army."

In addition, our army has a few hidden moves. First, in order to coordinate with our offensive against Rehe, our ally Prince De, located in Chahar, will send troops to support our operation from the flank.

Then, in order to secure victory in the war, His Majesty the Emperor specially deployed a surprise force in Qingdao, Shandong Province. If necessary, this force would advance by land towards the Beijing-Tianjin area to put pressure on Zhang Xiaolang's Northern Army.

In addition, two task forces of the Imperial Navy are fully prepared and ready to launch an attack on Port Arthur at any time.

To coordinate with this offensive, the Imperial Army's Tiger Killing Special Forces have successfully turned an important officer in Zhuanghe County against the Tiger Guards. Once the Tiger Guards launch their attack on our army, he will sabotage the Tiger Guards' trump card from behind, namely the so-called long-range attack weapon.

Hehe! Gentlemen... Do you really think the Tiger Guard Army would just sit idly by and watch us attack Rehe without doing anything? Of course not. All indications suggest that the Tiger Guard Army has been making very frequent military movements recently, and they're getting restless.

However, we were prepared. We were just afraid that Shangguan Yun wouldn't make a move. As soon as he did, our other two hidden pieces would quickly launch an attack, giving them an internal surprise attack, hahahahaha…”

"Yoshi... Emperor Tae-seo... Emperor Oshima Empire... Victory... Victory..."

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