At the Baoding garrison headquarters, a messenger suddenly broke in. Before the chief of staff could speak, he reported with a panicked look on his face.
"Commander of the brigade, something happened on the front line..."
"The lurking troops in the east of the city were attacked by flying thunder cannons. The troops suffered heavy casualties in the counterattack. The Eighth Route Army siege troops were launching a full-scale attack on them and they could no longer hold on."
"The city defense troops also suffered a devastating blow from the Eighth Route Army."
"The captain died in the battle, and less than a hundred people were left to retreat into the city."
"How is this possible?" Major General Kawasaki was dumbfounded and asked with a shocked look on his face as he stared at the messenger.
"You must be mistaken."
"There are more than 500 ambushes in the east of the city, and more than 1,000 city defense troops. A total of 1,500 to 600 troops. How could they be wiped out by the Eighth Route Army so quickly."
"Even if there are 1,500 or 600 pigs there, it will take a lot of time for the Eighth Route Army to eliminate them."
"Are 1,500 to 6,000 troops worse than 1,500 to 600 pigs?" Cun Shangzhongzuo was also frightened by the bad news and quickly answered: "Please make it clearer."
"How were the garrison in the east of the city and the lurking troops in the east of the city defeated?" The messenger answered bravely: "After the ambush attack, the Eighth Route Army's siege troops were killed and caught off guard."
"But they quickly adapted their tactics."
"Switch from offense to defense, retreat proactively, shrink the defense line, and wait for the ambush troops to take the initiative to attack them."
"The Eighth Route Army used flying artillery and mortars to attack latent troops from a long distance."
"The explosive package thrown by the thunder cannon was so powerful that only two rounds of firing severely damaged the lurking troops."
"The Eighth Route Army took the opportunity to launch an attack and beat the latent troops back steadily."
"General..." Another messenger ran in panting. Before he even rushed to Major General Kawasaki, he reported anxiously: "The arsenal in the east of the city was attacked by an unknown Eighth Route Army."
"The opponent is well-equipped and powerful in combat."
"The arsenal garrison...has...been destroyed..."
"Nani..." The shocked expression on Major General Kawasaki's face became more intense. He stood up from the chair and once again showed an expression of disbelief.
"Isn't the Eighth Route Army still attacking lurking troops in the east of the city? Why did it end up in the arsenal?" The messenger shook his head: "I don't know about my humble position."
"The opponent has about a hundred people, but they are very powerful. They severely damaged the arsenal garrison and left them defenseless." Major General Kawasaki walked quickly to the sand table and glanced at it with a look of realization: "Baga, this is The Eighth Route Army interspersed troops."
"What a cunning opponent."
"While attacking us head-on, we will send troops to intersperse and seize the arsenal."
"Baoding City is very large. The city defense garrison suffered heavy casualties in previous battles. There are almost no mobile troops available in the city."
"As long as the intervening troops they send out are strong enough, even a hundred people can easily capture the Baoding Arsenal." Cun Shang Zhongzuo quickly asked: "Then what should we do next."
"The latent troops in the east of the city were severely damaged, almost completely destroyed, and the arsenal in the east of the city was also lost."
"The brigade headquarters doesn't have a reserve team."
"We can only mobilize troops from other directions to reinforce the east of the city."
"But the pressure to defend the city in other directions of Baoding is also great, and there is no way to allocate troops to reinforce the east of the city." Major General Kawasaki was silent for a while before speaking: "We can only cut off the wrists of strong men."
"There are not enough troops stationed in the city, and there must be loopholes in the defense of such a large Baoding."
"Only by voluntarily giving up some areas and shrinking the defense line can we make up for the gap in strength."
"Order……"
"The remaining troops in the east of the city will retreat to the west of the city immediately."
"The troops from the south of the city and the troops from the north of the city alternately cover, and all of them abandon the city head and retreat to the west of the city."
"I will concentrate all my forces to defend the west of the city."
"Use the intricate terrain in the west of the city to fight street battles with the Eighth Route Army's siege troops."
"Fight it house by house and hold on until reinforcements arrive in Baoding."
"Contact the front army headquarters again."
"The Yizhong Eighth Route Army has launched a general attack on Baoding City tonight."
"The east side of the city has been breached."
"Our department has decided to abandon most of the city, concentrate its superior forces to defend the west of the city, and request reinforcements to reach Baoding as soon as possible."
"The headquarters has also begun to move." After saying that, he was ready to leave the headquarters and retreat to the west of the city. As a result, as soon as he reached the door, a telephone soldier reported from behind: "General, the garrison in the south of the city is reporting."
"The city defenses have been breached by the Eighth Route Army, and the latent troops in the south of the city have joined the battle."
"The Eighth Route Army used thunder cannons extensively in battles."
"The city defense troops and latent troops suffered heavy casualties and are resisting step by step, slowing down the Eighth Route Army's attack speed." Major General Kawasaki took a breath and exclaimed: "The Eighth Route Army is so fast."
"It took less than an hour to continuously break through the two defense lines in the south and east of the city."
"Hurry up and get out the order I just gave you, and let the participating troops retreat as soon as possible. You must not be dragged on the battlefield by the Eighth Route Army."
"Otherwise we won't even have enough troops to defend the west of the city, and we will have to be defeated by the Eighth Route Army one by one, and finally lose Baoding."... At the headquarters of the Japanese North China Front in Peiping, Okamura Neiji was awakened from his sleep by the staff officer on duty.
I was still a little angry when I woke up, but after reading the rescue telegram from Kawasaki, I felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured on my whole body, and I instantly became very sober.
His steps were getting faster and faster, and he arrived at the war room in a few seconds.
"Have you received any other telegrams from Baoding?"
"What is their situation now? How long can they hold on? How many troops are left in the city?" The staff officer on duty shook his head: "For the time being, we have only received this telegram requesting help."
"The Baoding garrison headquarters is moving to the west of the city. The radio signal is temporarily interrupted. We have not been able to contact them yet."
"Keep in touch!" Okamura Neji ordered with a serious look. After saying that, he turned his attention to the chief of staff: "How long will it take for the Kwantung Army going south to be in place?"
"According to the plan, a division will arrive in Peiping by military train in two days. They will repair for a day before heading south to Baoding." Okamura Neiji shook his head: "It's too slow. I'm afraid Kawasaki and the others won't be able to hold on that long."
"As soon as the decisive battle started, the Baoding garrison lost a wall."
"The battle is fiercer than we thought."
"The Eighth Route Army in Yizhong is also stronger than we thought. If we want to keep Baoding, we must speed up the reinforcements."
"Contact the Kwantung Army immediately."
"First assemble a main brigade and march south to Peiping in military columns. After repairing here for three hours, we will go directly south to Baoding to reinforce the Baoding garrison."
"This reinforcement force must set off within one day and reach Baoding within two days."
"Let the baggage troops stationed at the train station stock up on ammunition and supplies in advance, and replenish the troops with relevant supplies as soon as the military columns stop. The faster the better." The situation in Baoding was critical, and the chief of staff also realized the seriousness of the problem, and went after the order. Telecommunications room run.
