So, what kind of weapon makes Sakamoto Masaemon, the division commander of the main division, pay so much attention to it?
The first one was that the four Taisho four-year-old 150mm howitzers he borrowed were finally shipped from distant North Korea.
The Japanese Taisho 4-year-old 150mm field howitzer is a field howitzer equipped for the artillery wing of the infantry division and the independent field heavy artillery brigade. It is powerful and highly accurate and is mainly used for campaign-level suppressive firepower.
After the September 18th Incident, the Japanese army began to decentralize this kind of artillery to the artillery regiments belonging to the divisions. However, currently, several divisions of the Kwantung Army have not had time to assign them due to domestic restrictions.
Therefore, Masaemon Sakamoto could only rely on his old connections in the military to borrow them from the North Korean garrison, and he would have to return them after using them.
But in his opinion, the six Type 38 105mm field guns originally allocated to the artillery wing directly under the division were not powerful enough for the thick and solid Great Wall. A 150mm caliber cannon was necessary to destroy the Great Wall in one fell swoop. The various battlements and walls.
Another key weapon is intelligence about the Chinese defenders.
In fact, there is no need for him to go through the channels of the military intelligence department. He can get the numbers and establishment of the Chinese garrison at Xifengkou and Lengkou from newspapers in major cities in China.
You must know that since Lengkou and Xifengkou were defeated by the Chinese army one after another, the entire land of China has almost boiled.
People rushed to tell each other, and newspapers rushed to report on it.
Moreover, some newspapers with government backgrounds, as if they were afraid that others would not believe it, exposed some confidential information, including unit numbers, names of commanders, the establishment of participating units, etc. It doesn't cost the little devil much at all
The details of the two armies, the 32nd Army in Lengkou and the 29th Army in Xifengkou, were clearly understood.
Fortunately, Zhao Changshu, who had been instructed by Zhou Wen a long time ago, sent several reporters from the Central Daily News who came to the Model Brigade to interview the Model Brigade after hearing the news a few days ago to the 32nd Army Headquarters, and refused any reporters to the front line positions on the grounds that the front line was dangerous. interview. These middle-aged people who have been ignored
The Central Daily reporter was very angry about this. Taking advantage of his background in Gaochen, he even reported it to the Peking Military Commission.
However, Granny He was in charge of heaven and earth, but she could not take care of the Jin army who did not rely on him for food and drink. She could only send a few words of reprimand to end the matter, but she also had a bad impression of the Model Brigade in her heart.
Therefore, Masaemon Sakamoto now has detailed information on the 29th Army and the 32nd Army, but the situation of the Model Brigade is still at a loss. Even the insiders of the Kwantung Army's Military Headquarters Special High School in Nanjing can't find any information about the model brigade. Information about the Jin Army Model Brigade, and even
He was not registered at all on the list of the Nanjing Military Commission.
In fact, this is because the Model Brigade was established not long ago, and Zhou Wen had repeatedly asked Marshal Yan to disclose the name of the Model Brigade after the Great Wall War of Resistance. Even the senior officials in the Taiyuan Appeasement Office did not inform them for the time being. within months
The secrecy of the Model Brigade was maintained.
Otherwise, given the current general lack of confidentiality awareness in the Republic of China, and the fact that Japanese spies are spread throughout all levels of the Republic of China government, the detailed information of the Model Brigade may have been on Sakamoto Masaemon's desk.
However, precisely because of the mystery of the Model Brigade, Sakamoto Masaemon's vigilance increased.
In his opinion, who is familiar with the situation in the Republic of China, the 32nd Army and the 29th Army are ultimately China's local troops. Although their combat effectiveness cannot be underestimated, their weak equipment and logistical supply capabilities determine that their combat endurance is not strong.
Moreover, these warlord troops have the habit of conserving their strength. When the consumption of materials and personnel exceeds their psychological endurance, they will naturally develop a fear of war.
It has to be said that Sakamoto Masaemon was very familiar with the national conditions of the Republic of China. In the original history, it was because General Shang Zheng of the 32nd Army wanted to preserve his strength that he only sent one division, the 139th Division, with more than 5,000 people. The troops defend Lengkou Pass, and the main force
However, the force was placed in Qian'an County, which was about 20 kilometers away. This led to the situation where the Japanese army concentrated its forces to attack and failed to rescue, and Lengkou Pass was forced to be lost. The failure of Lengkou Pass was one of the reasons for the failure of the Great Wall Anti-Japanese War.
The performance of the 29th Army in the July 7th Marco Polo Bridge Incident a few years later was completely different from the image of the heroic swordsman unit during the Great Wall Anti-Japanese War.
Of course, this is a later story and will not be mentioned for now.
Therefore, Sakamoto Masaemon's keen intuition told him that this mysterious model brigade was probably the key factor in the destruction of the Yoneyama advance team and the 14th Mixed Brigade.
As a senior senior commander, although Sakamoto Masaemon looks down on the current Republic of China army, he is not so arrogant that he believes that the Japanese army will win every battle in large and small battles.
Suffering some setbacks in local battles and fighting a few defeats that do not affect the overall situation are inevitable things in war. Just like the 128 Songhu Incident a year ago, the imperial army also suffered a tragic defeat at the temple.
However, the final winner of that local war was still the imperial army.
Moreover, the Chinese army has too many people. In a certain environment or due to some accidental factors, it is understandable that the Chinese army has the upper hand for a while, such as the defeat of the Xifengkou 13th Regiment. , get rid of this idiot Suzuki Ii
Due to the pig factor, the Chinese army took advantage of its numerical advantage and the cover of darkness to carry out sneak attacks and succeeded.
However, the destruction of the Mishan Brigade and the Huncheng 14th Brigade was not as simple as a defeat. They were not defeated, but were completely and completely annihilated by the Chinese army. No one could come back alive.
Therefore, Sakamoto Masaemon has no idea about the combat style of this model brigade, its weapons and equipment, tactical characteristics, number of troops, etc.
But he knew that in order to completely annihilate a mixed brigade of the imperial army that mixed artillery, cavalry, infantry, baggage and other arms, it required more than just the advantage of large numbers, at least at the tactical level, the strength of officers and soldiers. Military qualities and weapons
This requires an overwhelming advantage in terms of firepower and other aspects.
Therefore, he personally led the 6th Division to dispatch this time. The main target to deal with was the Chinese army in Lengkou. As for the 29th Army in Xifengkou, he only needed to send some troops to contain the attack.
Sakamoto Masaemon's specific deployment is: the remnants of the 14th Regiment and 13th Regiment of the 11th Brigade, as well as a field artillery brigade sent from the artillery regiment, form a Western Front Attack Group, with the commander of the 11th Brigade Major General Toshio Nakamura, commander of the regiment, mainly attacks and contains
The 29th Army at Xifengkou.
