It must be said that Neji Okamura's intuition was very accurate. The Sixth Division on the front line was indeed a prominent part of their Japanese army, and the Chinese army was indeed gathering and was about to launch a general attack on them.
The green mountains remain the same and the green water flows forever.
For Okamura Neiji, he was no longer as calm as when he came. The national army's encirclement and suppression plan made him break out in a cold sweat.
It was a pity that due to limited space, there was no special telegraph machine on the special plane. Neji Okamura could only wait until the plane turned back to Yueyang before issuing orders, so he immediately ordered the plane to turn back to Yueyang immediately.
The distance between Yueyang and Xinqianghe is actually very close. Even if a bomber like the Mitsubishi Heavy Machinery Firebird flies slowly, it only takes half an hour to reach Yueyang.
…
The fighting has ceased, but the smell of gunpowder smoke left on the battlefield is still strong.
The charcoal left by the burning horses on the ground, the brown patches left by the burning blood on the ground, the corpses lying across the ground, and the Chinese soldiers walking on this yellow land formed a desolate pattern.
Zhang Tianhai had heavy dark circles under his eyes, and he felt exhausted from within. The troop casualties were so heavy, which was unprecedented since the formation of the theater guard force. The key is that the current Japanese army is still very powerful. As long as they are willing, they can attack them immediately. Launch an onslaught.
It took a lot of effort to become the commander-in-chief of a former enemy, able to command an army of seven or eight thousand people. Now it's great to be back as a regiment commander. A wry smile appeared on Zhang Tianhai's face.
"Commander in Chief, the current casualties among the troops are so high, should we still defend as before?" Li Yinglun came to Zhang Tianhai and reported.
"If we can't defend, we have to shrink the front line. Let's take our current position as the standard!" Zhang Tianhai sighed softly. At present, he is like a gambler who lost all his money when he went out to "stud". I don’t have much capital, and my family’s fortune has been emptied. I am very helpless.
"Sir, I have a suggestion from my humble position. Why don't we take advantage of the Japanese army's unstable foothold to recapture Changle Town in one fell swoop." Li Yinglun said in a deep voice.
It's not that Zhang Tianhai has never thought about this suggestion, it's just that he currently has only more than 2,600 available troops, and the artillery battalion has already used up all its shells, and the Japanese army's temporary positions have probably been set up. .
"We don't have many troops left..." A trace of struggle flashed across Zhang Tianhai's face.
"The Japanese army is also having a hard time now. The attacks from the Thirty-seventh Army have never stopped. If we can give the Thirty-seventh Army some help at this time, then Tanaka Shizuichi's life will be even more difficult, and even They will abandon the entire division on the south bank of the Miluo River, and I guess they dare not take this risk." Li Yinglun said softly, this was his judgment on the current situation of the Japanese army.
Zhang Tianhai took a deep breath, because he had to admit that what Chief of Staff Li Yinglun said was actually very reasonable and extremely tempting - if it could be exchanged for the 13th Division being wiped out, even if all the theater security forces were wiped out, It is absolutely worth it to stop in front of Changle Town.
"Okay, let's give it a try!" Zhang Tianhai said in a deep voice. At this time, he already had the mentality of a gambler: he was betting that the Japanese 13th Division would not be able to hold on; he was betting on the first time in Changsha The battle was about to end. After all, the Sixth Division had gone south to Xinqiang River for a fierce battle for a few days. He didn't believe that Xue Yue would give up this rare opportunity... This was the Sixth Division, not the Sixth Division's reserve. Division 106th Division!
"The commander-in-chief is wise." Li Yinglun said calmly.
"Chief of the General Staff, how do you think this battle should be fought?" Zhang Tianhai looked at Li Yinglun. He also wanted to hear the latter's opinion. After all, he still had no clue.
"I believe that we can form a capable force, probably a battalion, to launch a feint attack on the Japanese army in front of them, and then send a battalion of troops to attack the location of the Japanese artillery unit. Our position will be guarded by the cavalry battalion. There shouldn't be much of a problem." Li Yinglun proposed a bold idea.
"Artillery unit?" Zhang Tianhai frowned slightly, obviously very confused.
"If I guess correctly, the Japanese artillery position is currently at Qili'ao. According to their artillery range and rate of fire, the general direction is there. And according to my judgment, the Japanese army currently has many personnel responsible for guarding the artillery. It will be too much." Li Yinglun analyzed in a deep voice.
"Why do you say this?" Zhang Tianhai asked puzzledly.
"If I guess correctly, Tanaka Shizuichi's first priority must be to defend Changle Street and counterattack the 37th Army. Otherwise, their situation will be very dangerous, so when our troops pretend to attack Changle Street, It will inevitably involve the Japanese army's few mobile reserves, and even the troops guarding the artillery wing." Li Yinglun's explanation was very clear, and it was obviously the result of his thinking.
"What if we don't transfer?" Zhang Tianhai's eyes began to become a little sharp.
"If they don't mobilize, then at least they won't have any reinforcements, right?" Li Yinglun laughed softly.
"It seems reasonable, then let's do it!" Zhang Tianhai said in a deep voice, "You are responsible for staying behind, I am responsible for the surprise attack, and Zhou Fangjie is responsible for the feint attack!"
"Yes, sir!" Li Yinglun stood at attention and saluted.
Indeed, it was entirely because of the lack of troops at hand and the serious losses of officers that Zhang Tianhai had to resort to this strategy of almost letting several main commanders of the guard force serve as battalion commanders.
In fact, as the commander of the surprise attack force, Zhang Tianhai also had some selfish motives: he wanted to quickly restore the combat effectiveness of the artillery regiment. He couldn't just leave those dozens of cannons waiting to rust, right? This is not his style. He always wants to get some interest back from the Japanese artillery regiment.
Although the losses of the current theater security forces are indeed heavy, the troops' execution ability is still there, especially under Zhang Tianhai's personal command and deployment. It only took only twenty minutes for the two battalions to be reorganized.
As a resolute commander, Zhang Tianhai set off after reorganizing the troops. He quietly left the position south of Changle Town with his troops and disappeared without a trace.
…
At the same time, Lieutenant General Okamura Neiji, as the supreme commander of the Japanese Eleventh Army, finally returned to his headquarters. The journey was full of excitement. He had already ordered the troops to carry out the orders for the frontline troops.
The military situation is so fierce that Okamura Neji cannot help but ignore it!
…
PS: An update is coming, let’s see if there is any ink tonight! Still working overtime! (End of chapter)
