Stop and go along the way, although the road conditions from Xingtai to Jingxian are a little worse. But the original distance was only more than 200 kilometers, and the distance that could be reached on the same day was stretched to three days by Yang Zhen. However, although it is a little slower, Yang Zhen also knows the terrain of this main combat area in the next step.

After coming out of Xingtai, Yang Zhen was not in a hurry, but Chen Hanzhang over there was waiting a little anxiously. Since the previous attack by the Japanese army, he has not been very worried about Yang Zhen's safety. Especially on this way, on the line from Linqing to Gucheng, and passing through the confrontation area where the enemy and the enemy are intertwined, Chen Hanzhang is even more uneasy.

After Yang Zhen set off from Xingtai, the telegrams he asked for along the way were almost never broken. Although Yang Zhen was accompanied by the guard troops, the confrontation between the two armies was so long that it was impossible for him to deploy heavy troops in all areas. Who knows if there are any small units of Japanese troops that will take advantage of their weak defenses and infiltrate into their own depths?

Fortunately, although he was a little anxious to wait, Yang Zhen finally arrived safely at the headquarters he had set up in a small village south of Jing County. After arriving at Chen Hanzhang's headquarters, Yang Zhen didn't bother to rest, just wiped his face briefly. Ignoring the resolute opposition of Chen Hanzhang and Du Kaishan, he rushed to the front line of the confrontation between the two armies north of Texas to inspect it.

In a very cleverly set up concealment department on the front line, after carefully observing the Japanese army's first-line defensive positions, no questions were raised. It wasn't until he returned to Chen Hanzhang's headquarters and the three of them talked that Yang Zhen said: "Old Chen, I came here this time mainly for two things. ”

"First, I need to learn more about the changes in the enemy situation on your side. Second, I would like to hear your views on the deployment of the first phase of the battle. Judging by the next step in the entire theater of operations, your position is critical. Especially if the Japanese army implements a landing operation, your flank will also be directly within the range of the Japanese attack. So on the deployment scenario, I'd like to hear from you. ”

"The second thing is a moment, but now the most important thing I need to know is the first point. In particular, since the end of the war in eastern Henan, there have been no major changes in the activities of the Japanese troops on the front line in Dezhou, and there have been no major changes in the entire deployment of the Japanese army. Including the changes in the deployment of the Japanese army on the front line, you can tell me in detail. ”

Regarding the several questions raised by Yang Zhen, Chen Hanzhang seemed very confident and said: "No. 1, since the battle of eastern Henan has entered a stalemate stage. The frequency of the enemy's activities on the front line in Texas changed from a general calm, with only a small number of reconnaissance operations, to extremely frequent activities. ”

"On many occasions, we have even organized squadron-level troops to launch continuous exploratory attacks on various support points on our front. On the largest scale, it concentrated two infantry brigades to launch an attack on Sangyuan on the front of Dezhou, Huangjia Town and Houjiaji on the north bank of the Maji River on the eastern front of Dezhou. ”

"During the offensive operation, the Japanese army adopted a combination of tactics and launched continuous attacks on several garrison points of our army. At one time, Huangjia Town broke through the forward positions of our army and captured several support points of our army's first-line defense. However, after the arrival of our army's follow-up reinforcements, they immediately retreated, and absolutely did not engage in the slightest love battle. ”

"At the same time, the Japanese troops on the front line in Texas also adopted the method of disguised reconnaissance many times, trying to infiltrate our depth to conduct reconnaissance. On the surface, the whole operation is to find out the defensive deployment of our army on the front line. But I always felt that something was wrong with the Japanese army's approach. ”

"In the middle of the operation, except for the one time in Huang Jiazhen, it was almost a blow away. Even after the victory of Huangjia Town, as soon as it was found that our reinforcements were dispatched, they immediately withdrew to the south of the Mache River and absolutely did not engage in any love battles. If these actions are simply to find out the strength and configuration of our army's front-line defense, they cannot be so hasty. ”

"However, since the withdrawal of the First War Zone from Chongqing to the west of the New Yellow River, the enemy in Texas has almost stopped all of the extremely frequent small-scale operations except for the constant artillery battles with us. And at the front, some less important secondary positions were also abandoned. ”

"The forces were moved to the second-line positions, and a certain contraction was carried out. However, in the main defensive positions on the front line, they have increased the input of troops. At the same time, the fortifications of the first and second lines were constantly being reinforced, and the deployment of firepower was increased. Judging by the only known intelligence, the Japanese troops on the front of Texas increased the firepower of two artillery squadrons. At the same time, the number of rapid-fire guns deployed has also increased significantly. ”

"One, based on the information we've gotten so far. The Japanese army in the city of Texas has been reorganized. In this reorganization, the Japanese army did not follow the previous habit of replenishing new recruits based on the original units that had been damaged in battle. Instead, all the Japanese troops in Dezhou were reorganized into the 22nd Division, which was under the unified command of Lieutenant General Saburo Isata, commander of the 22nd Division. ”

"At present, the Japanese army in front of us has put the main force on the front of Texas. On the left flank of the Dezhou battlefield from the old city to the Xiajin line, and on the right flank of the Deping, Jizhen, Xin'an Street to Lingxian line, only one brigade of troops was placed on each side, and the entire defense was dominated by the puppet army. And the Japanese army's forces in Jinan and Yanzhou did not have any northward transfer. ”

Chen Hanzhang's words fell, and Yang Zhen pondered for a moment and then said: "Old Chen, according to the normal military deployment, the Japanese army on the Texas battlefield should definitely not give up the flank. Our army has a powerful tank cluster, and its mobility far exceeds that of infantry. ”

"Isn't it the Achilles' heel of their active exposure of the flanks that they concentrate their forces too much on the front? The current deployment of the Japanese army is a little too abnormal. Judging from the situation of the entire Texas battlefield, if the Japanese army dares to do this, it will definitely have a backhand. You must warn the commanders of all units on the front line to be cautious when acting. ”

Regarding Yang Zhen's evaluation, Chen Hanzhang nodded and said, "No. 1, what do I think too." This move of the Japanese army was a bit too contrary to military common sense, and they took the initiative to expose the flanks to us. I can't think of any other reason than to cover it up, or to release smoke to cover its true strategic intentions. ”

"If they follow their current deployment, almost all the troops on the Texas battlefield will be handed over to our mouths. Once the two flanks of our army attack quickly, the connection between the enemy in Texas and the Japanese army in Jinan south of the Yellow River will be quickly divided by our army. Unless the Japanese commanders went mad, they probably had other intentions in doing so. ”

Speaking of this, Chen Hanzhang walked to the map and pointed to the map and said, "No. 1, I'm not very worried about the Texas battlefield. The terrain here is favorable for the equipment of our army. Now I have left in my hands two reinforced regiments, all equipped with trucks and half-track armored vehicles, for use as mobile units. Even if the Japanese army has any conspiracy, I can mobilize my troops at the first time and defeat the strategic attempts of the Japanese army. ”

"Even if the Japanese army is to cooperate with their landing in Bohai Bay, and their main direction of attack is east of Jinpu Road, I have nothing to worry about. What I am most worried about now is our west, the line of Guantao, Linqing, and Wucheng west of Jinpu Road, that is, the entire Hebei-Shandong border area, the junction of our army and the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region. ”

"And the current strength of our army is mainly concentrated in the front of Texas and on both flanks. Therefore, in this direction at the moment, it is mainly the troops of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region that are undertaking defense. Compared with the vertical and horizontal area of the water network in the northwest of Linqing, there are almost no large rivers in this direction. The terrain is also flat, which is also conducive to the operation of the Japanese army. ”

"Although this is the old base of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region, whether it is the people's situation or the enemy's situation, it is quite beneficial to them, and they are basically equivalent to fighting on the inside line here. However, under the situation that the troops of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region also have to take into account the two directions of northern and eastern Henan, they will definitely not be able to invest too many troops here. ”

"At the moment, they are on the front line of the entire Guantao, but they are just two brigades plus a few divisional troops. Not only is the main force somewhat insufficient, but even the firepower is very weak. In addition to two brigade artillery, they deployed in this direction only one mountain artillery battalion reinforced with a field artillery company, as well as four mortar batteries armed with Japanese-made 150-mm mortars. ”

"And judging by the intelligence fed back by our liaison officers, they are in addition to two brigades in this direction. The troops of the independent regiments and regimental detachments belonging to several sub-divisions seem to have a lot of troops. However, the general training is insufficient, the equipment is also very poor, and there is no experience in coordinated combat of infantry artillery. ”

"Most of the experienced backbone units of the original military subdivisions have been upgraded to form the main brigade before the war. On average, only one old unit is left in each sub-division, and the basic regiment composed of personnel is used as the main force and is used to bring the old to the new. At present, some of the troops deployed in this direction by the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region were even armed by local governments during the battle, and some of them were upgraded. ”

"Most of the old units had only one battalion, or even only one company. Most of the rest of the constituents are local armed forces of county brigades or independent battalions, as well as a large number of recruits. Once the Japanese army attacks in this direction, it can really play a major role, except for the two main brigades. That is, the combat effectiveness of the two independent regiments that were expanded from the original divisional backbone regiments was quite acceptable. ”

"The remaining troops will not be able to cope with this kind of big war, at least for a short time, until they have undergone major training. I also know that most of their main forces are still on the battlefield in Shanxi, and there are not many old troops available in their hands, so they can only be deployed in key directions. But this kind of over-emphasis on the southern Hebei region and ignoring the deployment of the northwest Shandong region really worries me. ”

"If the Japanese army adopts a multi-pronged attack, attacking north from the Linqing and Xiajin lines, avoiding the preset positions built by our army's eastern cluster along the water network area in the upper reaches of the Fuyang River. Taking advantage of the weak forces of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region in this direction, it forcibly and rapidly interspersed to the north to seize Qinghe, Jixian, and Nangong. ”

"At the same time, on the front of Texas, we counterattacked from Texas to the north with a force to contain the strength of our army on the Texas battlefield, so that our army on the front of Texas had no time to take care of anything else. At the same time, troops were dispatched to attack in the northern Henan region to disperse the strength and energy of the troops of our Hebei, Shandong, and Henan Military Regions. Then the change in the situation is quite dangerous for us. ”

"In particular, there are no large rivers on this line, which can be used as a natural blocking position. In addition, at present, the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region is not focused on this direction. Once Qinghe and Jixian are lost, not only the flanks of our army and the troops of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region will encounter considerable danger. Even the connection between the two strategic clusters of our army, east and west, will be forcibly severed by the Japanese army. ”

"At that time, the two major clusters of our army, east and west, will not be able to take care of each other, and the connection with the troops of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region will be severed. In addition, the Japanese army landed in Bohai Bay on the right flank of our army's entire North China battlefield, and even more than one landing operation, then our entire battlefield will be completely disrupted. ”