Inside the headquarters, Ushijima finally breathed a sigh of relief. He finally took it down!
After capturing the most critical line of defense of the Eighth Route Army, it will be much easier from now on. Although it costs more than you can imagine, it is worth it.
Beiyuan also returned to the headquarters without any danger. He simply pretended to be there and did not participate in the charge at all. He is a top student in the Imperial Continent. How could he consume bullets from the Eighth Route Army like soldiers?
"Your Majesty General, fortunately you have fulfilled your mission and captured Chuxiong's strongest line of defense. The next step is to face Chuxiong's lair!"
"Yoshi, Mr. Beihara, your bravery is obvious to all. How many troops do we have now?"
Ushijima began to worry about how much capital he still had. He had been filling it with troops for the past few days, just like a gambler at the round table, just placing bets with his head covered.
When Kitahara heard Ushijima ask about the remaining soldiers, he suddenly looked sad. This style of play was too wasteful for the army.
"Your Excellency General, in addition to the two brigades sent outside to collect food and grass, there are still more than 2,000 people in the brigades here in Shenxian Ridge, which is about two and a half brigades."
"Neni, are there only two and a half brigades left?"
Ushijima couldn't believe his ears. Even if the two brigades outside had no losses, there were only more than 4,000 people left in the entire brigade, and more than half of them were casualties.
"Kitahara-kun, it's almost the agreed time to gather. Have the two brigades who went out to raise food come back yet?"
"Your Majesty General, not yet. It may be that the schedule has been delayed. Once the troops enter the mountains, it is difficult to control the time."
Ushijima thought about it and didn't pursue it further. After all, there was still half a day.
Ushijima estimated that more than a thousand people had been lost in the Shenxian Ridge alone. There was still the last line of defense, and victory would be achieved if they captured it.
"Kitahara-kun, let the troops rest for half a day, and gather the troops who have returned. We will launch a general attack tomorrow morning and capture Chu Xiong's lair in one fell swoop!"
"Hey! I'll make arrangements right away."
With the temporary adjustment of the Japanese, the gunfire at Shenxianling finally stopped, and both sides were adjusting their troop deployment and waiting for a new battle.
Starting from three or four in the afternoon, troops began to return one after another. At that time, two under-staffed brigades with about 1,700 people were sent out. By the final assembly time of 8 o'clock in the evening, only 6 under-staffed squadrons returned, including the Ghana Squadron and the Teng Squadron. No one from Tanaka's team returned.
Only a few dozen elderly people who were unwilling to leave the village were captured. More than a thousand kilograms of food were found, which was not enough to feed a large group.
More than 1,700 people went out, but only more than 900 people came back. Only more than 300 people were left in one regiment of the Imperial Association Army.
After waiting for another two hours, the Tengtian Squadron returned, but there were only about 50 people left. There was no news about the Ghana Squadron, so it was probably a disaster.
After the entire brigade was reorganized, including the cavalry, artillery, and agency personnel, the total number of people left was more than 3,600, including more than 300 wounded.
There are only 3,000 people left who can actually be used in combat, and agency personnel cannot be counted on.
These 3,000 men were Ushijima's final bet. According to his judgment, the remaining strength of the Eighth Route Army would not exceed 300 men. With a strength difference of ten to one, there was no doubt about the victory of the Imperial Army.
Ushijima cheered himself up in his heart. Although the loss was huge this time, he also achieved a brilliant victory!
The reason why the losses were so great was not that the imperial army was incompetent, but that Chu Xiong was too cunning. Who would have thought that he had built a lair with thousands of troops deep in the mountains.
Chu Xiong's actual military strength was several times greater than what the intelligence showed. To be able to fight like this, the imperial army had done its best.
That night, the Japanese did not attack again, and both sides enjoyed a peaceful New Year's Eve.
Anping City, dozens of kilometers away, is a completely different world. Although it is also in the tense atmosphere of wartime, the New Year atmosphere in the city is still very strong.
As long as the family can still open the fire, no one will come out to look for work on this day. Every household will post couplets and eat dumplings. No matter how difficult life is, the New Year will still be celebrated.
The Japanese did not come out to cause trouble for the people in the city on this day. They have been stationed in China for more than a year. Naturally they know the meaning of "year" to the Chinese people. If they want to stay stable in Anping City, they should give the Chinese people proper respect. It's still necessary.
Since the abolition of the old system in 1874, the Japanese no longer celebrate the Lunar New Year, so on this day they just stay in the camp and live in peace with the people in the city.
A new batch of baggage trains has set off, so now there are only two groups of Japs left in the city, less than 500 people;
One part is responsible for guarding the material transfer station, and the strength is a reinforced team;
Of the remaining 400 people, one-third are agency and logistics non-combatants. 200 people were withdrawn from Ma Ting garrison. They are the main force defending the city. Their task is to be responsible for city defense. The other two The troops of the small team guarding the group headquarters were very stretched, which was one of the reasons why they did not come out to deal with the problem.
Although two batches of supplies were shipped out from the material transfer station, there was still a lot left. For this raid on the Liu Town base area, the Japanese had mobilized tens of thousands of troops and supplies for more than a month, and now almost half of them were left.
The person responsible for guarding the material transfer station is the Sakai Squadron of the Anping Garrison Brigade. The squad leader is Second Lieutenant Kikuma Sakai. Two heavy machine gun groups have been strengthened, with a total strength of more than 70 people.
Two heavy machine guns were set up in front of the gate, and no idle personnel were allowed to approach. The transfer station was located in a cotton mill. The Chinese boss had escaped and the factory had stopped working, so it could be used as a temporary warehouse.
Guns, ammunition, grain, medicine, cotton-padded clothes and other military supplies are all stacked in the warehouses and workshops of the cotton mill. For safety reasons, weapons and other supplies are stored separately.
The factory building is surrounded by walls more than four meters high. The building materials are all masonry. The Japs have a lookout post on the roof of the building. There is a team of Japs stationed there and two machine guns on duty. The defense is fairly tight.
In the compound of a wealthy businessman a few hundred meters away from the cotton mill, Shitou and others were studying an attack plan. This wealthy businessman's compound was an independent business and was a secret base of "ghosts".
The person who introduced the defense situation of the Japanese transfer station to Shitou was none other than Song Yuxiong, the apparent person in charge of Ghost. This leader of the underground work in Zezhou City could be said to be very good at espionage work. The intelligence of the Japanese transfer station had been leaked to him. Touchable and transparent.
"Comrade Shitou, this is all the information we have!
The Japs' defense is very strict. Once there is a firefight, the Japs' city defense squadron can arrive in fifteen minutes at most. The Ghost's action team can buy you another ten to fifteen minutes. You only have half an hour at most. "
After listening to this, Shitou felt confident. He said to Song Yuxiong:
"Comrade Judge, this information is enough, leave the rest to us!
It is not easy for the Ghosts to manage this situation in the city. We would rather not blow up the Japs' transit station than expose you, so you don't have to stop the Japs;
From now on, you continue to lurk, and we will leave immediately to eliminate as many traces of contact between us as possible. "
Song Yuxiong nodded. As long as they did not participate in blocking the Japanese, he was confident that the ghost would not be exposed after this incident.
After Shitou got the information, he left the ghost's contact point. In order to keep it secret, he came alone. The fewer people who knew about the ghost's contact point, the better.
