Taiyuan First Army Headquarters
"General, general, general, it's not good."
Moriyama Otani took the newly arrived telegram and hurriedly reported to Yoshio Shinozuka.
"Baga, what happened again!" Shinozuka Yoshio watched Moriyama Otani hurried over to mobilize troops, and his heart immediately skipped a beat.
Moriyama Otani went to mobilize the troops for Taiyuan City Defense. Logically speaking, he did not have time to come over and report the situation.
But he is here, I'm afraid...
"I transferred a regiment of troops from the city defense. I just finished it and was going to go to the intelligence department to see if they had found the team from the 18th Army. The result..." Moriyama Otani explained while taking the newly arrived The telegram was handed to Shinozuka Yoshio, "There was an urgent telegram from Division Commander Hirono Kitamura. Most of the supplies airdropped to them by the plane sent by Commander Okamura were destroyed by the artillery fire of the Jinsui Army. They only received a small part of the supplies." , Division Commander Hirono Kitamura requested another airdrop.”
"Baga!" Upon hearing this, Yoshio Shinozuka grabbed the telegram and looked at it, and almost fainted again.
Yoshio Shinozuka could predict that there were not enough planes on Okamura Jining's side, and they were probably asking for support from the Kwantung Army.
Most of these supplies were actually destroyed by the artillery fire of the Jinsui Army. Wouldn't this require Commander Gangcun to negotiate with the Kwantung Army again?
Even if there can be support for negotiating again, then...it will take time for the Kwantung Army to urgently load supplies into the plane.
It's daytime now. We loaded the supplies in one day. It's already dark, so the plane can't forcefully take off in the dark.
This means that even if Commander Gangcun can get supplies from the Kwantung Army again, he can only airdrop them to Hirono Kitamura tomorrow.
As for the soldiers of the Hirono Kitamura Division and the other two divisions, they will have to freeze in the snow for an extra day and night, and the number of frostbite victims will inevitably increase significantly.
Once a large-scale frostbite incident occurs in three divisions, and the Jinsui Army takes the opportunity to attack fiercely, the consequences will be unimaginable.
"General, our mechanized troops rushed over, but they couldn't save him. Besides, we don't have that many transport vehicles." Moriyama Otani said, "At the moment, we can only continue to contact Commander Gangcun."
"Baga, damn it, damn it." Yoshio Shinozuka jumped up and vented his anger.
The cruel reality still has to be faced. Even if support can be provided to Hirono Kitamura and the others tomorrow, it is better than no hope.
Yoshio Shinozuka bit the bullet and contacted Jining Okamura again.
When Gangcun Cining knew it, he was also furious: "Baga, Xiaozhong, are you a pig? The airdropped supplies can be destroyed by the artillery fire of the Jinsui Army, you..."
Before Okamura Jining finished his words, Yoshio Shinozuka defended himself: "Your Excellency, Commander, I am not on the battlefield. Most of the supplies were destroyed by the artillery fire of the Jinsui Army. I think this should be the pilots or the three divisions." The responsibility of the regiment is either that the pilots dropped to the wrong location, or that the three divisions themselves failed to protect the supplies."
"Baga, Shinozuka, you idiot, you still have the nerve to defend yourself!" Okamura Jining yelled, "If you, idiot, hadn't supported Kazuki Yamamoto in special operations, how could the situation be like this!"
Yoshio Shinozuka was silent.
Yamamoto Kazuki doesn't even respond now, he is definitely a loser.
Supporting Kazuki Yamamoto in special operations has now become the thing that Yoshio Shinozuka regrets most.
The imperial officers below were right, the balance of the war was now tilted towards the Emperor's army.
The scales are not balanced, so what kind of special operations are we doing?
I also expected Yamamoto Kazuki's special operations to be as proud as the world's first machine gun. As a result... Shinozuka Yoshio was full of anger and had nowhere to vent.
"You immediately pull your mechanized troops over for reinforcements, don't lay eggs." Okamura Jining scolded Shinozuka Yoshio again, then dropped the words, hung up the phone angrily, and immediately took the time to talk to the Kwantung Army again Contact there.
Yoshio Shinozuka was hung up by Jining Okamura. He said to Moriyama Otani: "Go and pass on my order to send mechanized troops out to reinforce Hirono Kitamura and the others."
"General, it's not like the mechanized troops can drive over all at once. I'm afraid..." Moriyama Otani didn't finish his words.
Yoshio Shinozuka shouted and interrupted: "Go!"
"Hayi." Morishan Otani hurried away.
"Call Hirono Kitamura back and tell him that I have contacted Commander Okamura again. New supplies are in preparation and are expected to be delivered to him tomorrow, so he must hold on." Shinozuka The righteous man called another person and said, "Also, I have sent mechanized troops to reinforce them!"
"Hai." The visitor quickly went to send a message to Yoshio Shinozuka's order.
"Here comes someone." Shinozuka Yoshio called someone again.
"General, what are your orders?"
"Erase all traces of the existence of the Yamamoto Special Agents, including their training grounds, equipment, documents, etc." Yoshio Shinozuka roared.
Supporting a special operation only to involve three divisions was too costly.
Yoshio Shinozuka never wanted to see anything related to special operations.
"Hayi!"
…
"Division commander, your legs are already frostbitten. You'd better change into clean pants and shoes quickly." The adjutant checked Hirono Kitamura's legs. His pants and shoes were frozen, and his legs were already suffering from frostbite.
"Baga!" Hirono Kitamura kicked the adjutant away and cursed: "The soldiers are shivering in the cold. As a commander, I am ashamed of them!"
"Division commander, you are the commander, you can't fall, you have to..." The adjutant got up from the ground, but still had to change his clean pants and shoes to Hirono Kitamura.
"Baga, I won't fall!" Hirono Kitamura kicked the adjutant away again.
But this time, due to frostbite on his legs, he failed to stand firm and fell to the ground.
"Quick, quick, quick, change the division commander's pants and shoes right away." Seeing Hirono Kitamura fall, the adjutant couldn't care anymore. He quickly called to several other Japanese soldiers and forcibly changed Hirono Kitamura's shoes and shoes. Pants.
"Baga, let me go, I won't change, I won't change..." Hirono Kitamura was still struggling desperately.
"Division commander, the First Army Headquarters sent a reply." At this time, a staff officer took the newly arrived telegram and handed it to Hirono Kitamura.
Hirono Kitamura's struggle stopped for a moment. He took the telegram, read it, and then slapped the telegram on the ground: "Baga, the airdrop support will not arrive until tomorrow, and my soldiers will have to freeze in the snow for a whole day. What kind of bullshit support is this tonight!”
The adjutant picked up the telegram, read it, and said, "Division commander, it takes time to transport the materials from the warehouse to the airport and then load them onto the plane..."
Before the adjutant finished speaking, Hirono Kitamura interrupted with an angry roar: "Give me the order and send all the soldiers who are capable of fighting. Suppress the Jinsui Army's attack and increase the distance to exceed their artillery range. Then Make as many fires as possible to keep warm, cook some food and boil some hot water, and be sure to hold on until the airdrop comes tomorrow."
"Ha Yi!" the Japanese staff officers responded and went to deliver the order.
All the Japanese soldiers from the three divisions who could fight were mobilized. They formed a huge encirclement on the outside, protecting the soldiers who were frostbitten and injured and unable to fight in the middle.
They increased the depth by more than ten kilometers. In this way, the artillery of the Jinsui Army could not hit the middle of the encirclement, and it would not be able to influence the Japanese soldiers to light fire.
"Commander Bo, the Japanese have changed their tactics and are obviously waiting for reinforcements." The staff officer came over to report to Bo, "Their outer defense line is very strong and the troops cannot attack."
"The visibility is good during the day, and the Japanese soldiers are very powerful. It's normal that they can't attack." Bo Zuoyi said calmly, "Since we can't attack during the day, we will withdraw the troops and rest. When it gets dark, we will attack again. At that time, we will attack again. , both sides can’t see it, so they just use the density of firepower. I don’t believe it. They can’t break through their encirclement defense line.”
"Commander Bo, if this is the case, wouldn't the Japanese soldiers in the middle have successfully made a fire?" The staff officer wondered, "They have successfully made a fire to keep warm. They can dry their pants and shoes, and cook rice and boil water. Isn't that right? were able……"
"It's not as easy as the Japanese think." Boyi said calmly, "Just do as you are told."
"yes."
In this way, the Jinsui Army temporarily stopped its fierce attack and chose to take an emergency rest.
Hirono Kitamura's strategy is good, but there are still big problems.
That is a link in Wu Ze's strategic plan that was arranged in advance, and now, this link has taken effect.
"Division Commander, the Jinsui Army cannot attack and will not attack again." A Japanese officer came over to report to Hirono Kitamura.
"Seize the time to make a fire, let the soldiers dry their pants and shoes, seize the time to keep warm, and don't let the frostbite worsen." Hirono Kitamura said.
"Division commander, we don't have enough firewood fuel." The Japanese officer replied, "There is no firewood in the area we occupied. It seems that the firewood was cut down in advance."
"Where's our baggage? Isn't there still fuel and firewood in the baggage?" Hirono Kitamura was stunned. There was no firewood and there was no way to make a fire. The soldiers couldn't dry their shoes and pants and keep warm. This was not good.
"When the fighting started, troops from the Jinsui Army went around to the baggage train that was lagging behind us. The Jinsui Army attacked the baggage baggage, and the fuel and firewood were basically gone." the Japanese officer replied.
"Baga!" When Hirono Kitamura heard this, he was so angry that he wanted to stamp his feet, but found that his legs were numb and he couldn't stamp at all.
Now he felt more and more like a big net, enveloping him impenetrably.
First, the water soaked the shoes and trousers of the army, and then the Jinsui Army seized the opportunity to attack, without giving the emperor's soldiers a chance to light a fire and dry their shoes and trousers.
Then the artillery was detoured in advance to kill the supplies dropped by the aircraft. Now the large army finally surrounded the area and set up defenses, but there was no fuel and firewood.
This link is connected with another, like a rope around the neck, getting tighter and tighter.
The harder the struggle, the closer death is.
Hirono Kitamura now feels more and more terrifying about the strategic master of the 18th Army.
"Division commander, what should we do now?" The Japanese officer also looked extremely bad. The new airdrop will not come back until tomorrow, but the army now feels like it is at the end of its rope.
"Tear off the clothes of the dead and use them for fuel. Take off the damaged rifles and wooden butts to use as firewood. Try to find ways to collect fuel as much as possible." Hirono Kitamura said with some pain.
It is acceptable to take off the butt of a damaged rifle and use it as firewood.
But if the clothes of the dead are taken off and used as fuel, this will... As a commander, he cannot protect the lives of the soldiers, and he has already let the soldiers down.
The soldiers died in battle, but they were still left naked. If the surviving soldiers saw it, their morale would be severely affected.
They would also wonder if they would be stripped of their clothes if they died, and then left naked in the snow.
"Division commander, that's not much." The Japanese officer frowned. Most of the troops were injured now, and the battle dead were really not many, only more than a thousand. The number of damaged rifles was not many, only more than a hundred.
These fuels are of little use to the huge number of wounded soldiers.
"Do you have any ideas?" Hirono Kitamura looked at the Japanese officer.
"New airdrop support will not arrive until tomorrow, but we still have a cold night to spend. If we can't keep warm, more people will definitely fall." The Japanese officer said, "Rather than stay here and watch helplessly Seeing that the non-combat attrition is becoming more and more serious, it is better to push the troops up to attack the Jinsui Army and see if we can obtain supplies from the Jinsui Army."
"The Jinsui Army is not stupid. As soon as we attack, they retreat. How can we do this?" Hirono Kitamura had already thought about this problem.
What's more, the strategists of the 18th Group Army have every plan, he can guarantee it.
If the troops are really pressed forward to attack the Jinsui Army, some of the Jinsui Army's forces will definitely retreat behind them.
At that time, all the soldiers who could fight were sent to fight the Jinsui Army. The wounded and frozen soldiers had no one to protect them. Wouldn't they be allowed to be slaughtered by the Jinsui Army? !
The Japanese officer also said nothing.
When one's own side attacks, the Jinsui Army will retreat. This makes it impossible to obtain the supplies of the Jinsui Army.
"Tell the soldiers that Bushido will not be defeated!" Hirono Kitamura looked at the Japanese officers, "As long as we survive until tomorrow, our planes will airdrop supplies to us again."
"Ha Yi." The Japanese officer went.
Hirono Kitamura clenched his fists and looked at the map, hoping to find other opportunities.
But in the end I could only close my eyes in pain.
The strategists of the Eighteenth Group Army were so cunning that they even thought of details such as firewood in the field in advance. In this vast snowfield, there was only snow and nothing else.
The Japanese soldiers were mobilized. When they heard that the clothes of the deceased were to be taken off to keep warm, many people resisted:
"These warriors died fighting to protect us, but we have to take off their clothes. I can't do that."
"Yes, they are all warriors who died heroically. They should not be half-clothed or naked when they die."
"Today, we took off the clothes of the warriors. Isn't it our turn tomorrow?"
…
Although the Japanese soldiers resisted, they were finally defeated by their own coldness.
The clothes of the deceased were stripped off to start a fire, and the gun butts were used as fuel. In order to keep warm, some Japanese soldiers even secretly damaged the good rifles, and then took off the butts and used them as fuel.
"Commander Bo, look, there is smoke over there. The Japanese soldiers must have started a fire." Someone used a telescope to see smoke rising in the middle of the Japanese encirclement, and quickly came over to report to Bo Zuoyi.
Bo Zuoyi took a telescope and looked at it. There was indeed smoke rising, but not much.
"The range of our artillery is not enough, that's all. Let the Japanese soldiers warm up the fire for a while." Bo Zuoyi was very calm. He could judge that the fuel for the fire must come from the clothes of the dead Japanese soldiers and the butts of the damaged guns. , which is not a lot.
The Japanese soldiers could warm themselves by the fire for the time being, but it was impossible to dry their shoes and pants.
They have now consumed the remaining fuel. Night has come and the temperature has dropped sharply. At that time, it depends on what the Japanese soldiers use to keep warm.
"Commander Bo, why don't we try to attack the Japanese encirclement by force? We should prevent the Japanese soldiers from even getting on the last fire." Someone suggested.
"Forget it, it's daytime now, there's no need to let the soldiers bleed in vain." Bo Zuoyi waved his hands.
"yes."
…
As Bo Zuoyi expected, all the clothes on the dead Japanese soldier's body were burned, and all the burnt wooden gun butts were burned.
Although the Japanese soldiers had a short period of time to warm up, their clothes and shoes were still wet and had not dried at all.
The fuel was gone, and the cold in northwestern Shanxi enveloped the Japanese soldiers again.
Although Hirono Kitamura put on clean pants and shoes, he was still shivering from the cold.
As for the Japanese soldiers in the snow, it goes without saying.
Many people's wet pants and wet shoes turned to ice, and they were frozen together with the ground.
Many Japanese soldiers tried to move but were unable to do so, and some even died of freezing.
The sky gradually became dark, night fell, and the wind actually started to blow.
The wind wasn't very strong. On normal days, no one would care about the wind at this level.
But now when the wind carries low temperatures, its power cannot be underestimated.
Not only the wounded and frozen soldiers couldn't bear it, but even the Japanese soldiers in the encirclement who were able to fight normally couldn't bear it.
They lay on the snow, the cold wind cutting their skin like knives, and frostbite began to appear on the faces of many Japanese soldiers.
Their teeth were chattering so fiercely that they could only bury their heads in the snow as much as possible, like ostriches.
"Commander Bo, the wind is so cold." An officer from the Jinsui Army wrapped his coat around his body and walked over to Bo Zuoyi, who was warming himself by the fire. "It's dark, do we want to attack?"
"This wind is helping us attack." Bo Zuoyi took off his gloves, felt the cold wind with his hands, and then put the gloves back on. "Let the soldiers have a good rest and do a good job of vigilance. At four in the morning When the time comes, if we attack again, most of the Japanese soldiers in the encirclement will be frozen to death, and they may not even be able to pull the trigger."
"Yes." The person is here.
"Commander Bo, do you think there will be a snowstorm tonight?" A Shanxi-Sui Army officer was looking forward to it.
If there is a snowstorm, there is no need to fight this battle, and the Japanese soldiers from the three divisions will be sent directly back to their hometowns.
"It's hard to say," Bo Zuoyi said, "but we are already prepared. If there is a snowstorm at night, we will evacuate as soon as possible, and we won't spend time here with the Japanese."
In Bo Zuoyi's heart, of course he still hoped for a snowstorm.
Who doesn’t look forward to winning without a fight?
