Taiyuan
Japanese First Army Headquarters
The commander of the First Army, Yoshio Shinozuka, praised Miyano Michichi, the chief of staff of the North China Expeditionary Force: "The upstream river bank was blown up to divert the river, and the river water was led into the canyon. After the canyon was full, it was then blown up. Our team of 20,000 people was led to the hope. Under Mount Ershan, the new regiment of Tubal Road was stationed on Wanger Mountain in advance and built a blocking offensive. When the flash flood came, they tried their best to prevent our team from going up the mountain. This battle can be said to be a classic example."
Although this was a good fight fought by the enemy, this does not prevent Yoshio Shinozuka from giving it a very high evaluation.
Miyano Michichi also nodded: "Since we entered China, the number of regular troops in China has always been several times or even dozens of times more than ours. We still kill them to pieces. It is our patent to win with less. But in front of us, the soil The Eighth Route New Regiment, a team that is not even considered a regular army, was able to annihilate us all at a very small cost despite the disparity of one to twenty troops. This is indeed a classic example of defeating more with less, but... …”
"Just what?" Shinozuka Yoshio looked at Miyano Michichi.
"It's just that I don't think that the new leader Li Yunlong has such an ability." Miyano Michichi questioned, "Although the intelligence department has not found out the information about this Li Yunlong, I don't think that Li Yunlong has such an ability."
Under normal circumstances, the intelligence department of the First Army is mainly responsible for intelligence on the China National Army.
Of course, the intelligence department of the First Army was also involved in the intelligence of the Eighteenth Army.
It is just an intelligence investigation of the 18th Army, generally involving the division and brigade level.
Like the regiment-level intelligence under the Eighteenth Army, the intelligence department of the First Army simply did not have enough manpower and energy to engage in investigation.
"Why do you see it?" Shinozuka Yoshio asked.
"This new regiment belongs to the basic regiment of the 386th Brigade of the 129th Division. It went to Shanxi Province in 1937. Until more than a month ago, this new regiment was unknown and had no achievements. If Li Yunlong really has a shocking strategy If so, how could it be displayed now?" Miyano Michichi analyzed.
"Well, that makes sense." Yoshio Shinozuka agreed, "Your analysis makes sense. Since you don't think it was Li Yunlong, the new commander of the new regiment, who planned the Battle of Wang'er Mountain, who could it be?"
"Someone told me that the brigade commander of the 386th Brigade of the 129th Division is one of the Three Heroes of Huangpu and an extraordinary talent. Some people are wondering whether this strategy was formulated by the 386th Brigade Commander. I thought about it. The possibility is estimated to be very high." Miyano Michichi said, "This Brigade Commander Chen led the 386th Brigade to confront the First Army and won many times due to severe disparity in strength or conditions. The 386th Brigade managed to survive in the cracks. This Brigade Commander Chen Chang’s ability is obvious to all, so I think it is feasible that he can plan this battle.”
"Hmm." Yoshio Shinozuka hummed again, "Your analysis makes sense. It seems that the 18th Army fully advocated in the newspapers that this was the credit of the new regiment Li Yunlong, but in fact it wanted to cover up the 386th Brigade Commander... …”
Before Shinozuka Yoshio finished speaking, a staff officer came over in a hurry: "General, urgent information."
When Yoshio Shinozuka heard this, he frowned. Most of the territory in Jin Province is now under the control of the First Army.
Although the Battle of Wangershan caused some losses, it did not harm the vitality of the First Army at all.
Yoshio Shinozuka was already planning to launch a retaliatory encirclement and suppression campaign against the 129th Division when the main force was free.
And under these background conditions, what other urgent information can there be?
Yoshio Shinozuka received the urgent information and looked down, feeling a little dazed.
This turned out to be the troops of the 18th Army that had cut off the Wenyang River and were preparing to plunder the food supplies of the twenty fortress villages downstream of the Wenyang River.
"Baga, this damn Tubal Road, once more than twenty fortress villages are lost, the food supply of our First Army will be seriously affected!" Shinozuka Yoshio yelled.
Miyano Michichi took the urgent information from Shinozuka Yoshio and read it solemnly: "General, it is the corn and rice harvest season now, and the First Army must take action. We, the North China Expeditionary Force, Part of our military food supply also relies on these fortresses."
Shinozuka Yoshio's First Army was under the command of the North China Expeditionary Army.
"But most of the main force of our army has been contained. In the battle of Wangershan, I lost 20,000 troops in the rear. If we want to take action, we don't have enough troops." Although Yoshio Shinozuka was extremely angry, he was also in a dilemma.
Even though the First Army now has a strength of 80,000, most of them are out of combat and need to be divided and garrisoned in the occupied counties or cities.
Even with the assistance of the Imperial Association Army, the number of the Imperial Association Army is not sufficient.
The Imperial Association Army lost more than 16,000 people in the Battle of Wangershan. The new regiment in Heyuan County failed to encircle and suppress it, and the Imperial Association Army lost three regiments.
There were seven other counties and cities that were attacked by the national army, and many Imperial Alliance troops were also lost.
Coupled with the Imperial Association Army in these twenty-odd fortress villages, the number of Imperial Association Army that the First Army can mobilize now... In fact, if it really needs to be mobilized, it is not impossible.
Deployment of troops from strongholds is definitely still possible.
However, once the stronghold troops are mobilized, let alone the Jinsui Army and the direct troops, they may take the opportunity to take action.
Even if troops are mobilized, it cannot be completed in a short time.
The weather is hot now, and the crisis caused by water shortages in more than 20 fortress villages will soon collapse the morale of the fortress villages.
Once morale collapses, all rescue efforts are meaningless.
Miyano Michichi solemnly said: "We can't give up more than twenty fortresses to the 18th Army. It took a lot of effort to trap them to the limit. If they seize a large amount of supplies and food in front of them, wouldn't it be very fast? Have you regained your strength?"
"Miyano-kun, do you have any good ideas?" Of course Yoshio Shinozuka was unwilling to give up these twenty-odd fortresses.
The action point of the Eighteenth Group Army was really too accurate, and it just hit Yoshio Shinozuka's weakness. In addition to guarding most of the territory of Jin Province, Yoshio Shinozuka's large army was still fighting. In a short period of time, Yoshio Shinozuka could not summon a large number of armed forces.
Otherwise, after the Battle of Wangershan, Yoshio Shinozuka would have already launched an encirclement and suppression campaign against the 129th Division.
"Relying on Station 23 is definitely not possible. We can't mobilize enough troops to carry out encirclement and suppression for the time being, so I'm afraid we have to apply to the commander." Miyano Michichi said, "Let the aviation unit of the North China Expeditionary Force dispatch aircraft. We can't get the food and supplies from these twenty-odd fort villages due to bombing, and we can't let the 18th Army get there."
The aircraft of the First Army were currently supporting the frontal battlefield and had no time to escape.
"That's all we have to do." Shinozuka Yoshio nodded and said to Miyano: "Chief of Staff, please contact the Commander immediately. I will immediately mobilize as many troops as possible for reinforcements."
"Hai."
Next, Yoshio Shinozuka personally called and asked the troops below to mobilize some troops from the stronghold for reinforcements. Of course, he did not dare to mobilize too many troops.
Miyano Michichi also contacted the commander of the North China Expeditionary Force, Tsukino Okamura.
"What, more than 20 fortress villages are facing a water shortage crisis?" Gangcun Cining, the commander of the North China Expeditionary Army, was also shocked when he heard this.
"Your Excellency, Commander, the First Army is temporarily unable to summon enough strength in a short time. I also ask you to send planes to destroy more than 20 fortresses and do not leave supplies and food to the 18th Army." Miyano Michichi said. .
Gangcun Ci Ning pondered for a moment and said, "You destroyed these twenty-odd fortress villages, which will greatly delay our supply of military rations!"
More than twenty fortresses were destroyed, and the short-term effect was good. The 18th Army could not get food and supplies.
But Okamura Jining wants to take a longer view.
There are more than 600,000 Japanese troops in the North China Expeditionary Force, not to mention a large number of Imperial Army troops. The amount of food and materials needed is not a small amount.
It doesn't matter if the supplies and food for the twenty or so fortress villages in front of them are not available, but the fortress villages cannot be destroyed.
Once the fortress is destroyed, rebuilding it will cost a lot of manpower and material resources, and will also waste precious time.
As long as the banks of the Wenyang River are repaired, the river's water supply will resume.
After these twenty-odd fortress villages are recaptured, new crops can be planted immediately.
Of course, in order to prevent the Eighteenth Group Army from repeating its old tricks, the protection measures for the river must be strengthened immediately.
As the chief of staff of the North China Expeditionary Force, Miyano Michichi quickly understood the meaning of Okamura Jining's tone. He tentatively said: "What does your Excellency, Commander, mean, is it that we can use the supplies and food from these twenty or so fortress villages?" Did you give it up?"
"When did I say that I would hand over the supplies and food of these twenty-odd fortress villages to the 18th Army!" Gangcun Cining was filled with murderous anger. "I will say hello to the aviation unit and give my side what I can." All the planes sent out are sent out. Although we cannot completely prevent the 18th Army from harvesting the food supplies in more than 20 fortress villages for the time being, they want to transport the food supplies back without paying any price and without killing too many people. How can it be done!"
The Eighteenth Group Army has taken advantage of the weather. Now that the weather is so hot and the fortress has no water supply, it will soon be in dire straits.
Gangcun Cining wanted to send troops from the North China Expeditionary Army to reinforce them, but it was too late.
What's more, there is also fighting on Gangcun Cining's side, and the mechanized troops cannot escape.
There is no effective way to completely prevent the 18th Army from harvesting food supplies from more than 20 fortress villages, so the only way is to rely on airplanes.
In the past, when we wanted to use planes to bomb the troops of the Eighteenth Army, they were hiding and it was difficult to do so.
Now that they have come out on their own, it saves trouble.
The 18th Group Army team should pay as many casualties as possible at the moment. When Shinozuka Yoshio encircles and suppresses them later, the pressure of resistance will be reduced to a certain extent.
Okamura Jining added: "Let Yoshio Shinozuka seize the time to end the frontal war, and then gather enough military power to launch a strategic encirclement and suppression of the 18th Group Army. As long as the 18th Group Army is wiped out, this food and supplies will not be Have you taken it back again?"
Even if the plane cannot completely prevent the 18th Army from harvesting food supplies from more than 20 fortress villages.
But as the saying goes, one bite won’t make you fat.
It was impossible for his 18th Army to eat up all the food and supplies in a short time and regain its strength.
"Yes, Your Excellency, Commander." Miyano said.
Okamura Jining reminded, "Tell Yoshio Shinozuka not to blindly deploy troops. Although the 18th Army's weapons and equipment are not good, if you want to encircle and annihilate them, you must be fully prepared. Rushing reinforcements will suffer big losses." .”
"Hai, Commander, I know what to say to General Shinozuka." Miyano Michichi responded.
After Okamura Jining and Miyano Michichi ended the call, he still slammed his fist on the table.
He personally customized the plan for the blockade of the 18th Army.
There is an old saying in China that the best strategy is to attack the enemy with troops and not to defeat the opponent's army without fighting.
Okamura Jining wanted to use the blockade to directly eliminate the 18th Army, and he was about to achieve results. Unexpectedly, at this juncture, the 18th Army was defeated.
Okamura Jining didn't want to leave a grain of food to the 18th Army. Miyano Michichi suggested that more than twenty fortress villages should be destroyed immediately, and Okamura Jining also wanted to agree.
But as the commander of the North China Expeditionary Force, they had to consider the overall situation.
China's territory is too vast, and the empire's troops and supplies are really limited.
Destroying more than 20 fortresses and villages will delay the farming season and delay the supply of military food later. It is foolish.
Therefore, the troops of the 18th Group Army could only obtain sufficient supplies for a short period of time.
When Yoshio Shinozuka frees up his hands, immediately surround and suppress them!
"Hello, it's me, Gangcun Cining." Gangcun Cining dialed the phone number of the aviation unit.
"Your Excellency, Commander, do you have any instructions?" came the solemn voice of an aviation force officer on the phone.
"Send all the planes you can to the World War II zone. Over there, more than twenty fortresses in the lower reaches of the Wenyang River are surrounded by the 18th Army. The planes will not bomb the fortresses, but once the ground troops of the 18th Army discover them, Blast me hard!" Gangcun Cining ordered.
Although it could not completely prevent the 18th Army from taking down more than 20 fortresses, the 18th Army wanted to transport the captured materials back smoothly without killing too many people.
"Hai!" came the voice of an aviation force officer on the phone.
…
Shinozuka Yoshio was still greeting the troops below when Miyano Michichi came over and said, "Your Majesty the General, the commander has asked you to temporarily stop the reinforcement of the fortress village."
"Why do you want to stop reinforcing the fortress villages?" Yoshio Shinozuka was puzzled, "Commander, you are not going to give up these twenty-odd fortress villages, right? According to me, even if all the fortress villages are destroyed by planes, Nor can we leave a grain of food to the Eighteenth Army."
"General, you and I are both fans of the authorities." Miyano Michichi said, "The commander is more conscious than us. The 18th Army is too tricky to find. These twenty-odd fortresses cannot be saved. Since we can save them, If it doesn't work, there is no need to rush reinforcements and waste troops. As for destroying the fortress village, not to mention that it will consume a lot of fuel and bombs. If the fortress village is destroyed, we will have to spend huge manpower and material resources to rebuild it, and it will also delay the weather and affect To the supply of military rations at the back. General, you should understand that the empire’s territory is not large, and even for food, it depends on China’s large supply.”
Upon hearing this, Yoshio Shinozuka came to his senses and said, "Yes, it seems that I was blinded by hatred, or the commander saw far away."
"Your Majesty the Commander also said that you should seize the time to end the frontal war, and then mobilize enough troops to encircle and suppress the 18th Group Army, and let them spit out all the materials looted from more than 20 fortresses." Miyano Michichi added. road.
"Yoshi." Yoshio Shinozuka nodded, "Your Excellency, Commander, made a wise decision..."
"General, station 23 submitted emergency information." Just when Yoshio Shinozuka was about to make another call, someone hurried over.
Station 23 submitted emergency information?
Yoshio Shinozuka was stunned. At this time, Station 23 submitted emergency information. Could it be that the 18th Army had threatened Station 23?
After all, the 18th Group Army already has several cannons and sufficient artillery shells, and they cannot rule out the possibility of storming Station 23.
This is an important material transfer and transportation station. It is related to the situation of the First Army on the frontal battlefield and cannot go wrong.
Yoshio Shinozuka quickly put down the phone and received the emergency information.
Yoshio Shinozuka looked down and felt relieved for a moment from the tension in his heart. He was also a little sensitive.
The current defense of Station 23 is so strong. The troops of the 18th Army are currently busy harvesting more than 20 fortresses. How can they be distracted from attacking Station 23?
However, the analysis by Pu You, the webmaster on the 23rd, is indeed very reasonable.
If the Eighteenth Army had not produced a strategic expert, why would it have to launch a strategic counterattack when it was trapped at the end of its rope?
"Miyano-kun, you should also take a look." Shinozuka Yoshio handed the urgent information to Miyano Michichi.
Miyano Michichi looked down after receiving the urgent information, and his expression instantly changed: "General, it seems we have to re-examine our previous judgment."
"Speaking."
"The Battle of Wang'er Mountain is similar to the cutoff of the Wenyang River in front of us. We originally thought that the Battle of Wang'er Mountain was planned by the brigade commander of the 129th Division's 386th Brigade, but now it seems that this may not be the case." Miyano Michichi He said solemnly, "You can feel it. This is planned by the same person, but it is definitely not the 386th Brigade Commander of the 129th Division."
Yoshio Shinozuka said: "If this 386th Brigade Commander had such great ability, I'm afraid he would have helped the 18th Group Army to rescue him long ago. Why wait until now."
"So, the 18th Group Army claimed in newspapers that the Battle of Wangershan was the result of the new regiment commander Li Yunlong. The real intention was to hide the real strategic talents!" Miyano Michichi said decisively, "And I dare to say , this strategic-level talent must have been discovered by the New Regiment first. If we send intelligence agents to investigate and find out the news, I think we will definitely find some clues in the New Regiment."
Yoshio Shinozuka said: "I don't deny what you said. This strategic talent was discovered first by the Tubal New Regiment. But since the 18th Group Army has taken measures to hide and protect this strategic talent, what do you think? , won’t they erase all traces of this strategic talent in the new group?”
"There is no absolute erasure in this world. As long as it has existed, there must be traces." Miyano Michichi said.
"Miyano-kun, why don't you think about it from another angle?" Shinozuka Yoshio said.
"General, what you mean is..." Miyano Michichi looked at Yoshio Shinozuka suspiciously.
"If you were the commander of the 18th Army and found such a strategic-level talent, where would you put him?" Shinozuka Yoshio asked.
Miyano Michichi said without hesitation: "Needless to say, I will definitely stay at the headquarters of the 18th Army."
"So, we don't need to bother sending people to the new group. Otherwise, there is a risk of alerting the enemy." Yoshio Shinozuka said calmly, "We only need to find the headquarters of the 18th Army and then destroy it. Then Talents at this strategic level will definitely die out."
"General, the Eighteenth Group Army has three cunning rabbit holes. It may not be easy to find their headquarters." Miyano said.
"Miyano-kun, I wonder if you still remember Yamamoto Kazuki Colonel." Shinozuka Yoshio reminded.
"Yamamoto Kazuki?" Miyano Michichi was stunned for a moment, and then said politely: "Is it the Yamamoto Kazuki who came back from studying in country D and talks all about special operations?"
Miyano Michichi, like most Japanese Imperial officers, believed that China was a vast territory, and that the only way to completely conquer this land was to rely on a large number of troops, aircraft and artillery.
The special operations that Yamamoto Kazuki talked about, he only had dozens of people, wanted to conquer a nation on this land, Miyano Michichi and most of the Japanese Empire officers scorned this, and even laughed at it. , Yamamoto Kazuki has learned a lot about it on paper in D country!
Now when Yoshio Shinozuka mentioned Yamamoto Kazuki, Miyano Michichi's tone was naturally very rude.
From this look, it seems that Yoshio Shinozuka admires Kazuki Yamamoto's special operations... Rather than admiration, it is better to say that Kazuki Yamamoto is very capable and can actually fool Yoshio Shinozuka.
"Miyano-kun, I think the special operations brought back by Colonel Yamamoto from Country D is actually an innovative method of warfare." Yoshio Shinozuka said solemnly, "And I have given him the power. I believe it won't take long. , he will find the headquarters of the Eighteenth Army."
"That's it, then I'll wait for the good news from the general and Colonel Yamamoto." Miyano Michichi saw that Shinozuka Yoshio attached great importance to Yamamoto Kazuki's special operations, so he didn't say much more.
Never try to wake up a person who is pretending to be asleep. It is useless to say more about whether Yamamoto Kazuki's special operations will work, so let's wait and see.
If, before encircling and suppressing the Eighteenth Group Army, Yamamoto Kazuki could find the headquarters of the Eighteenth Group Army in advance, then his special operations seemed to be not useless.
Of course, Miyano Michichi is not optimistic about Yamamoto Kazuki.
