"Your Excellency, Commander, we have good news for the troops sweeping up the left flank. They have successfully broken through the Eighth Route Army's blocking position." The communications staff officer reported with a smile on his face before he could stand firm.
"The tunnels on the battlefield were all destroyed by shelling."
"The main force of the mopping up force is marching quickly through the blocking position and into the Yizhong base area." The deputy chief of staff became even more confused and asked directly: "Why are they fighting so fast."
"Is it possible that the Eighth Route Army in Yizhong just watched people serve food?"
"I know that the Kwantung Army has just arrived and is not easy to move up and down. I don't dare to use tunnels to fight against the mopping up troops."
"Perhaps the Yizhong Eighth Route Army suffered heavy losses in the last major sweep, and the troops that finally filled the gap lost their troops in the battle of Baoding. Now the troops blocking the sweep are all new soldiers, and their combat effectiveness is too poor to dare to defend the tunnel." Okamura Neji's mind was in a state of confusion, and he had no idea why the battle situation had turned out like this. It was completely different from the course of the battle that he had expected.
The deputy chief of staff's proposal was like a beacon in the night, quickly allowing him to find a solution to the problem.
Looking at the map, his eyes lit up and he said, "It's really possible..."
"Although it is unclear the specific losses of the Yizhong Eighth Route Army in the battle of Baoding."
"But they belong to the siege party, and no matter how strong their fighting power is, the losses will not be small."
"After entering the city, they engaged in a large-scale street battle with the Baoding garrison."
"As the saying goes, if you kill a thousand enemies, you will lose eight hundred."
"The casualties suffered by the Yizhong Eighth Route Army in the Baoding battle must have exceeded half of the total strength of the participating troops."
"It's really possible that more than half of the persimmons that are blocking the mopping up troops are new recruits."
"With this analysis, it makes sense that the mopping up troops are invincible in front of the tunnel."
"Report to your Excellency, Commander..." the communications staff officer returned to Okamura Neiji again, with a bigger smile on his face than before, and said bluntly.
"Good news from the right-wing sweep force: They have successfully broken through the Eighth Route Army's blocking position and entered the Yizhong base area."
"The troops are heading straight to Mancheng according to the scheduled combat plan..."
"It is expected that Mancheng County will be captured during the day tomorrow..."
"The tunnels dug by the Eighth Route Army on the position were not as strong as expected. Our army destroyed them all with a burst of artillery fire, making it impossible to continue to use them." When he first heard the good news, Okamura Neji still thought that the Eighth Route Army was blocking the troops. There were too many new soldiers and they did not have the guts to use the tunnels to fight to the death with the mopping up troops, so they did not block the mopping up troops' fortifications and gave up their positions.
As he listened, he noticed something was wrong. What does it mean that the tunnels dug by the Eighth Route Army in the position are not that strong?
If the proportion of new recruits in the Eighth Route Army was not so high, relying on the tunnel low-hand position, and Okamura Neji's understanding of tunnel warfare, the mopping up troops might not be able to win the battle twice if they attack again.
Now that the Eighth Route Army has voluntarily abandoned its position, it has been misunderstood by the mopping up troops as being vulnerable. The mopping up troops originally looked down upon the tunnels and felt that the tunnels were not as strong as they imagined and that the North China Front was just playing tricks on them.
With such a victory as the foundation, those arrogant Kwantung Army must look down on the tunnels even more. If another tunnel is encountered during the next sweep, a barrage of artillery fire will cover it, and then the infantry will attack to clean the battlefield... The attacking troops will definitely suffer heavy losses.
Thinking of this, Okamura Neji suddenly had a bold idea in his mind. His face instantly turned pale, he punched the table next to him, and shouted anxiously: "Bagh Yalu, we seem to have been fooled."
"The three-way mopping up force easily occupied the Eighth Route Army's first blocking position."
"It's not because the Eighth Route Army's blocking force is too weak to fight to the death with the attacking force."
"It's because the Eighth Route Army is showing weakness to the mopping up troops and deliberately giving up very little, making them mistakenly believe that tunnel warfare is just that, not as strong as we reported."
"When the two sides have another major tunnel battle in the future, the Eighth Route Army will be able to use the mopping up troops to underestimate the enemy and severely damage the mopping up troops."
"What a cunning enemy. I was almost deceived by them."
"Call back to the sweep team immediately."
"The blocking position they occupied was abandoned by the Eighth Route Army on its own initiative, and was not conquered by their strength."
"The Eighth Route Army in Yi Zhong will show weakness to them again."
"The mopping up troops must be on heightened alert and must not have any thoughts of underestimating the enemy." The deputy chief of staff was frightened by Okamura Neji's extreme reaction and hesitantly reminded: "Your Excellency, Commander..."
"Are you worrying too much..."
"Maybe this matter is not as responsible as you think..."
"It's just because the proportion of new recruits of the Eighth Route Army in the wing is too high and they don't dare to go head-to-head with the mopping up troops."
"The so-called showing weakness to the enemy is all our own speculation, and there is no real evidence." Okamura Neji shook his head and replied firmly: "What more real evidence is needed."
"The success report sent to us by the right-wing mopping up troops is the evidence."
"Regardless of whether the Eighth Route Army in Yizhong considered this aspect or not, the mopping up troops easily captured the Eighth Route Army's blocking positions, easily destroyed the tunnels, and then developed the idea of underestimating the enemy... This is all true."
"As long as one Eighth Route Army relies on the tunnel to defend its position."
"The mopping up troops will suffer big losses on the battlefield because they underestimate the enemy."
"Immediately send a telegram to the Third Route mopping up troops. Let's be more serious: Just say that we have received accurate information that the Eighth Route Army voluntarily abandoned the Yixian blocking position and deliberately showed weakness to them and made them look down on the tunnels."
"We must not be deceived. Let's send it now, quickly." The deputy chief of staff was persuaded by Okamura Neiji, but he did not move. Instead, he shook his head solemnly and said: "If the Eighth Route Army in the Wing is really showing weakness, even if we Sending a reminder telegram to the mopping up troops won’t be of much use.”
"We had a meeting the day before yesterday... This group of arrogant soldiers has never seen a tunnel, and they look down on the tunnels from the bottom of their hearts. They think we are deliberately exaggerating the power of the tunnels and avoiding responsibility for previous defeats."
"Don't believe our introduction about the tunnel at all."
"Now that they have seen the tunnel, the results are completely opposite to what we introduced. These arrogant soldiers definitely don't believe us."
"Now send a telegram to remind them that saying they were able to successfully destroy the tunnel is not a reflection of the strength of the troops, but that the Eighth Route Army is showing weakness to them. It is tantamount to having three hundred taels of silver here, making them doubt our original intention, let alone believe us."
"A major sweep is imminent. If this incident arouses mutual suspicion between the frontline troops and the headquarters and civil strife breaks out, the gains will definitely outweigh the losses."
"Since sending telegrams to persuade is useless, it will cause some uncontrollable accidents."
"Bizhi believes that the headquarters should stay put instead. There are tunnels everywhere in the base area. Not every tunnel can allow them to win so easily. As long as the mopping up troops suffer a defeat, they will see the true power of tunnel warfare."
"Please tell me, Commander..."
