Taiyuan Japanese North China Expeditionary Force First Army Headquarters
First Army Commander Yoshio Shinozuka, Chief of Staff Major General Kusuyama Hideyoshi, and Major General Yamamoto Kazuki are leading a group of staff to study the huge map of Shanxi Province on the wall. On the map, with Heyuan County as the core, it is covered with There were densely packed red flags, each of which represented at least a regiment-sized unit of the Eighth Route Army.
"Your Excellency, Commander, the Special High School Division has sent a notification that the command authority of the Shanxi-Sui Army has received a telegram from Yan Xishan, requesting them to immediately enter a state of combat readiness and fully cooperate with the Eighth Route Army to launch a strategic counterattack." A staff officer walked up to Yoshio Shinozuka. report.
"Kusuyama-kun, it seems that my junior fellow student is still unwilling to give in. He wants to use the Eighth Route Army's help to win back the victory." Shinozuka Yoshio shook his head and said with a bitter smile.
"Your Excellency, I applied to send aviation troops to bomb Daxia Bay. Since I know that the Eighth Route Army headquarters and Yan Xishan are there, I can't hesitate!" The speaker was Yamamoto Kazuki. As a shining star in the Japanese military, he is not arrogant and arrogant. He is not arrogant, but follows Yoshio Shinozuka more conscientiously, because he knows very well that without the support of Yoshio Shinozuka, it would be impossible for him to achieve such a record, let alone have his current status.
"Daxia Bay is in the hinterland of the Eighth Route Army base area. The Eighth Route Army had already evacuated before our planes could fly to the place. A hard-fought attack by the aviation force would have no result except the consumption of precious fuel." Yoshio Shinozuka shook Shaking his head, he knew that Yamamoto Kazuki was right, but the reality was that their army aviation was not invincible at certain times.
"Yamamoto-kun, in recent times, once a plane from Taiyuan Airport takes off, several different radio waves will be detected by the interrogation department. The Chinese people have been frightened by you. At least in recent times, we want to use It is not very realistic for the aviation force to raid the Chinese people." Chief of Staff Kusuyama Hideyoshi on the other side also smiled bitterly. Yamamoto Kazuki's set of combination punches completely scared some people in the Chinese government. It is said that now in Chongqing, Xi'an, Luoyang and other big cities In the city, the military commanders and the central commanders were like crazy, desperately trying to capture the empire's agents, and sniper teams were set up on the roofs of every tall building to fully monitor the city to prevent anyone from carrying out shelling in the city.
"Is it true that there is nothing we can do if they stay there? Now the Eighth Route Army is actually allowed to organize such a large-scale battle?" Yamamoto Kazuki looked sad and angry, feeling extremely insulted.
"The strategic purpose of the Eighth Route Army is not yet clear, so we can only wait and cannot rush to mobilize troops." Yoshio Shinozuka was also helpless. He really didn't have much money in his hands. He did not dare to dispatch the troops in his hands easily. Once he judged If you make a mistake, the consequences will be more serious.
The First Army of the North China Expeditionary Force currently includes the 36th Division, the 37th Division, the 41st Division, the 3rd Independent Mixed Brigade, the 4th Independent Mixed Brigade, the 9th Independent Mixed Brigade, and the 4th Independent Mixed Brigade. The 16th Brigade looked very large, well-equipped, and equipped with all types of troops.
But the Chinese army that the First Army needs to face is also huge. In addition to the Eighth Route Army, there are also the Shanxi-Sui Army and the Central Army. They have to protect the Zhengtai Line and the Han Line, guard the Chinese Army in Shaanxi and Henan, and garrison nearly a hundred buildings in Jin Province. In the county seat, after calculating this, Lieutenant General Shinozuka Yoshio does not have much mobile troops at all.
"Your Excellency, I believe that the target of the Eighth Route Army is definitely not Heyuan County. Heyuan County is a small town with more than 200 imperial troops and more than a thousand imperial alliance troops. Even if the Eighth Route Army wants to capture Heyuan County, it will still need to dispatch two or three main regiments. It's enough. Like now, nearly 20,000 troops were dispatched, and even precious artillery was used, just to attack a county with little strategic significance. With the consistent style of the Eighth Route Army, they would not do this. "Yamamoto Kazuki has always been consistent. He claims to be one of the few smart people in the Japanese army, but at this moment, the actions of the Eighth Route Army also left him confused.
"Is it really the Eighth Route Army that wants to cooperate with the Jinsui Army to launch a strategic counterattack in retaliation for our attack on Kenanpo?" Kusuyama Hideyoshi reminded.
"As long as Heyuan County is captured, the 358th Regiment of the Jinsui Army and the 1,000th Regiment of the Eighth Route Army can connect the defense areas together, and at the same time, they can threaten the Zhengtai Line nearby. It is not impossible, but why have they not done so until now? Instead of attacking Heyuan County again, they built a position at Laojun Mountain and put on a defensive posture. It was unnecessary. The few troops Hirata Ichiro had couldn't do anything to them. "Yoshio Shinozuka still can't make up his mind. determination.
At this moment, the aviation force sent the latest aerial photos. The photos showed that the entire Laojun Mountain had turned into a large construction site. Thousands of people wearing standard military uniforms were busy there, although many troops should have been hiding. , but you can still see thousands of people in the photo. According to common sense, the Eighth Route Army troops stationed at Laojunshan must be more than 5,000 people, and they are all the main force. To know whether the Eighth Route Army is the main force, you can guess it by looking at the military uniforms. Probably.
We said before that the troops who reinforced Laojun Mountain were not all local armed forces or even bandits? Why are there still thousands of soldiers wearing standard military uniforms? Is there something new going on? Speaking of which, this was done by Wang Yue again. When he learned that there were more and more troops at Laojun Mountain, he sent 5,000 sets of military uniforms to Li Yunlong, along with 20,000 bottles of feed. Canned fish and a batch of weapons and ammunition. In any case, the loss of the 772nd Regiment this time was entirely due to himself. He really didn't expect that it would be so big this time. If these thousands of people were annihilated by the Japanese just because of him, Wang Yue felt that he would never have peace of mind in his life, so he wanted to help them as much as possible.
"Ichiro Hirata's report is still a bit conservative. There are almost five regiments on Laojun Mountain. The divisions of some local troops in China are only of this size. What is going on? Are they going to fight with the main force?" Tsuka Yoshio sounded a little annoyed. The Eighth Route Army was really disrespectful and was going to engage in a decisive battle with the main force without making a sound. Did he really feel that he was old and could no longer wield the sword?
"Your Excellency, look at this. This is a crater caused by the explosion of at least hundreds of artillery shells." Yamamoto Kazuki handed over a photo. It was the previously destroyed Eighth Route Army artillery company position. Hundreds of artillery shells were exploded. It was already in the A huge crater was created there.
"Sweep, there are at least four large-caliber artillery and hundreds of shells. Why didn't the Eighth Route Army directly attack the city? Heyuan County simply can't stop such firepower." Major General Kusuyama Hideyoshi also took a breath of cold air. When will the shells be fired? The Eighth Route Army, which calculates rounds of rounds, has the ability to mobilize hundreds of artillery shells at one time. Even the Imperial Army cannot match the amount of artillery shells used.
"Huting stronghold, Heyuan County. Could it be that the Eighth Route Army just wanted to send troops to support them in attacking the Huting stronghold. In fact, they never wanted to capture Heyuan County from the beginning to the end?" Looking at the photo, and then looking at the huge map in front of him, Shinozuka Yoshi The man said leisurely, at this time he was infinitely close to the truth.
"Report, Your Excellency, Commander, there is an urgent call from the Black Island Regiment. They encountered the Cavalry Regiment of the Eighth Route Army Headquarters and a tank unit with at least twelve tanks ten kilometers north of Heyuan County. The two sides fought fiercely for half an hour, and the Black Island Regiment suffered heavy losses. , Captain Kuroshima requested aviation tactical guidance!" Just as Yoshio Shinozuka was thinking, a staff officer ran over and reported loudly.
"Nani, tank unit? Yamamoto-kun, doesn't the Eighth Route Army only have two tanks?" Lieutenant General Yoshio Shinozuka was also shocked. It was scary. It was scary enough that the Eighth Route Army had tanks. Now it actually has twelve tanks. Is it possible? Will you have to engage in a tank battle with the Eighth Route Army in Jin Province in the future?
"Your Excellency, this can only prove that the Eighth Route Army has received new support. They are getting support from the outside world one after another." Yamamoto Kazuki also looked serious. His opponent has become more powerful. With tanks, he has already defeated the Black Island Cavalry. There is no hope for the future of the alliance, Kuroshima Morita? Haha, just a clown.
"Do the aviation forces still have aircraft that can support the Kuroshima Wing?" Yoshio Shinozuka asked.
"Currently, the combat aircraft of the aviation unit are all on their way back. The closest ones to the Black Island Wing are the three Kawasaki Type 87 heavy explosive aircraft near Ping'an County. However, they have already completed bombing." The staff officer replied with some embarrassment. , the Army Air Force has limited strength, and if a war breaks out suddenly, it has almost no maneuverability.
"Let them go over immediately and cover the Kuroshima Cavalry Regiment as much as possible. In addition, let Kuroshima stop fighting and immediately turn towards Heyuan County." Yoshio Shinozuka thought for a while and ordered the staff, regardless of whether it is the Kuroshima Cavalry Regiment. The team and the co-captain, Kuroshima Morita, are all things he cannot ignore.
Kuroshima Morita is a distant branch of the royal family, a hereditary baron, and has a distinguished status. In the First Army, this guy is a thorn in the side. He does not obey orders and acts recklessly. It is commonplace. As for his subordinates, they are not good people either. , more or less have some status, joining the army is just to gain some qualifications. Such a unit, even if it is well-trained and well-equipped, it will be fine if it fights smoothly, but once it encounters a hard battle, this unit will become In order to avoid trouble, Lieutenant General Yoshio Shinozuka felt that he still had to give the opponent an excuse to retreat. Once this guy was killed in battle, he would inevitably be in trouble.
But soon, the aviation reinforcements sent back news that shocked everyone. The Black Island Cavalry Regiment had surrendered when they rushed to the battlefield. Yes, that's right, an elite cavalry regiment was lost. After defeating four to five hundred people, they actually surrendered to their opponents. You know, the Kuroshima Cavalry Regiment is a strengthened coalition. Now Colonel Kuroshima Morita still has at least a thousand troops in his hands, but that's it, this The guy actually surrendered, he actually surrendered.
Another news from the aviation force confirmed the previous report from Heidao. The Eighth Route Army used at least twelve light tanks and more than a thousand cavalry. Judging from the situation on the battlefield, the Eighth Route Army also used 75mm caliber heavy artillery, hitting more than One hundred rounds.
The Japanese pilot asked if he could strafe the Eighth Route Army troops, but considering Kuroshima Morita's safety, Shinozuka Yoshio still asked the pilot to come back. It seemed that he could only wait until the war to find a way to redeem this guy. Thinking of this, The lieutenant general couldn't help but sigh. It seemed that he could no longer wait any longer.
