Defeat is defeat, but as Major General Fujita said, Shijiazhuang is too important.
Once captured by the Eighth Route Army, the huge political influence it would bring would be of no use even if he, the commander of the North China Front Army, was taken out to take the blame.
For the sake of our own future and the morale of the North China Front Army, we must continue to fight this battle no matter how difficult it is.
He took a deep breath, tried his best to regain his composure, then stared at the chief of staff and asked: "How many people have the Shijiazhuang garrison increased to?"
"Including the expatriate armed forces, there are still a few hundred people left to reach 10,000 people." the chief of staff replied.
"That's okay..." Commander Nei Okamura ordered with a sigh of relief.
"As a provincial capital city, Shijiazhuang's city defenses have always been very strong. Even if the Eighth Route Army in Yizhong brought heavy artillery and chariot troops, they would not be able to capture it easily."
"Nearly 10,000 defenders are relying on solid city defenses to wait for reinforcements. If it doesn't work, they can send the Yizhong Independent Brigade into Shijiazhuang and fight with them in street battles. In this way, the heavy artillery and tank troops brought by the Independent Brigade to Shijiazhuang will be If it loses its effectiveness, it will definitely be no problem to use the existing garrison in the city to fight off the 18,000 Eighth Route Army."
"As for the time, if you stick to it for half a month, it will definitely be fine."
"It's enough for us to mobilize heavy troops from other places to relieve Shijiazhuang."
The chief of staff hesitated and reminded: "Your Excellency, Commander..."
"I am not as optimistic as you in my humble position..."
"Although there are nearly 10,000 troops stationed in Shijiazhuang, the real imperial army only has 5,000 or 6,000 troops."
"The Imperial Alliance Army accounts for a total of four thousand people."
"Let them rely on the city fortifications and, under the supervision of the Imperial Army, defend their positions and still be able to fight. If the Eighth Route Army is put into Shijiazhuang and engages in street fighting with the Eighth Route Army, the thousands of Imperial Army troops will definitely rush to surrender to the Eighth Route Army."
"Not only will they not be able to help the garrison in the city, they will in turn help the Eighth Route Army attack Shijiazhuang."
"I believe that with the current strength of the garrison in the city, it will be no problem to defeat the 5,000 to 6,000 Eighth Route Army. We can hold on for ten days at most. Any longer than that and it will be impossible."
Okamura Neiji frowned and ordered: "Then let the Imperial Alliance Army defend the city wall and rely on the city defenses to face the Eighth Route Army's attacking troops head-on."
"After killing them all, let the Eighth Route Army enter the city, and let the remaining imperial troops in the city fight with the Eighth Route Army in street battles."
The chief of staff continued to remind: "Even so... I still think that the Shijiazhuang garrison cannot hold on for more than half a month."
"If we send troops from other places to reinforce the battlefield, it may be too late."
"The Eighth Route Army is not a vegetarian along the way. It will definitely try every means to prevent the reinforcements from rushing to Shijiazhuang. You must consider this."
"I still recommend that troops be mobilized from Baoding and Xiongxian counties to reinforce Shijiazhuang."
"Or just let them raid the Sixth Army Division in the Wing Center, encircle the points to provide reinforcements, and force the independent brigade that attacked Shijiazhuang to return to defend their base."
"This is the way the Eighth Route Army often deals with us. We can definitely retaliate in kind."
"Stupid..." After listening to the chief of staff's analysis, Okamura Neji became angry. Instead of continuing to argue with him, he opened his mouth to curse.
"You have forgotten the true purpose of the Eighth Route Army's attack on Shijiazhuang."
The chief of staff slapped himself on the head fiercely and said: "Commander, please calm down..."
"Ji Zhi was so angry just now."
"The reason why the Yizhong Eighth Route Army opened a second battlefield in Shijiazhuang is to force us to vigorously implement the battle plan of defending Baoding and Xiong County, transfer the remaining Yizhong garrison out of the county, and eliminate them in the wild."
"If we mobilize troops from Xiong County and Baoding to reinforce Shijiazhuang, we will be tricked by the Eighth Route Army."
"The Yizhong Eighth Route Army that attacked Shijiazhuang only had one independent brigade. They also left independent brigades and several garrison regiments in their base area."
"If you rush to send troops to the Eighth Route Army base in Yinzhong, you will definitely suffer big losses."
Having said this, the chief of staff walked directly to the sand table and observed the surrounding counties and strongholds with Shijiazhuang as the center. After two minutes, he looked away and continued his analysis with a frown.
"But I just took a look at the garrison situation around Shijiazhuang."
"Except for Taiyuan, Jinan, Pingjin and other places, we can no longer send troops to reinforce Shijiazhuang."
"Whether it is Pingjin area or Taiyuan and Jinan, the reinforcements have to walk for five or six days on the road to reach the Shijiazhuang battlefield. If the Eighth Route Army destroys the road and slows down their march, they may not be able to reach it in seven or eight days. I am afraid that the Shijiazhuang garrison will I can’t hold on for that long.”
Neji Okamura replied with a murderous look on his face: "We must persist even if we can't persist. This is our only hope to stabilize the battle situation in Yinzhong and defend Shijiazhuang."
"Just in case, we can now deploy troops from Jinan and Taiyuan to reinforce Shijiazhuang."
"The other Eighth Route Army operating in North China is different from the Yizhong Eighth Route Army. Because of insufficient equipment and the lack of heavy weapons in the troops, they do not have the strength to fight a big war with us."
"As long as the two places send heavy troops and strengthen a certain number of artillery, cavalry, and tank troops, the Eighth Route Army encountered along the way can only slow down their march by destroying the road and not threaten their safety."
The troops stationed in Baoding and Xiong County cannot move. The method proposed by Okamura Neiji is undoubtedly the only way to break the situation.
The chief of staff vaguely felt that something was wrong, but could not think of a reason to refute, so he could only accept the order.
Just as they were about to give the order, the operator suddenly rushed towards them with a solemn expression: "Sir..."
"Urgent call from Shijiazhuang Garrison Headquarters..."
The chief of staff quickly took the message and read it in a few seconds. His face turned pale, and he returned to Okamura Neji and reported in a solemn tone: "Your Excellency, Commander..."
"Shijiazhuang has been surrounded by the Eighth Route Army..."
"The Independent Brigade in the Wing of the Eighth Route Army has reached outside Shijiazhuang City?" Neji Okamura asked subconsciously.
The chief of staff shook his head: "It's the Eighth Route Army that has been providing reinforcements outside Shijiazhuang in the past few days."
"The total strength exceeds six main regiments. Although the equipment is not very good, it has a large number of troops."
"We are building offensive positions and digging trenches outside the city."
"Shijiazhuang has been completely sealed off and no one is allowed in or out."
"Before, we thought that Shijiazhuang would only be attacked by the Yi Zhong Independent Brigade. Although they are well-equipped and have strong combat effectiveness, their troops are limited."
"With the addition of these Eighth Route Army troops, the Eighth Route Army troops participating in the attack on Shijiazhuang will directly exceed 20,000 people."
"The battle situation on the frontline has changed. I'm worried that the Shijiazhuang garrison may not be able to hold out for even five days."
Okamura Neji also had a bitter face, his brows were furrowed, and he didn't answer a word for a long time.
He was also alerted by the battle report suddenly sent from Shijiazhuang.
There is an essential difference between 10,000 people attacking Shijiazhuang and 20,000 people attacking Shijiazhuang.
The Eighth Route Army has insufficient troops and will be at a loss to attack the city. The offensive efficiency will naturally be very low.
Now that their problem of insufficient troops has been solved, they can unleash their hands and feet to attack fiercely, and their siege efficiency can be at least doubled.
Naturally, the time that the Shijiazhuang garrison can hold on is not that long.
