All the poise, calmness, and attitude of an imperial officer were completely forgotten.
Itagaki Seishiro only wanted one thing now, to rescue the 21st Brigade reinforcements.
God Amaterasu, he never thought that the 'good news' he was looking forward to would actually lead to such a result - the number of casualties in a single battle reached 1,000, and he was completely surrounded by the enemy, facing the threat of annihilation!
shocking!
unimaginable!
You know, only an hour has passed since the last telegram from the reinforcements, which means that in a very short period of time, the reinforcements of the 21st Brigade lost a thousand people.
A single battle, a very short period of time, thirty artillery pieces, various characteristics all show that this Chinese army wearing the combat designation of the Northeast Army has extremely powerful combat effectiveness.
Sakurada Takeshi acted as quickly as possible and notified the Army Aviation Unit of Nanyuan Airport.
"If the reinforcements are wiped out..." Itagaki Seishiro suddenly realized the seriousness of the battlefield situation. Thinking of the consequences of the reinforcements being wiped out, he suddenly broke into a cold sweat.
The situation on the battlefield affects the whole body. If the reinforcements are wiped out, it will have an unignorable impact on the ongoing Shanxi operation. The reason is very simple. The 21st Brigade is not affiliated with the Chahar Mongolian Front that is attacking Yanmen Pass. Corps, but served as the main force attacking Pingxing Pass.
Once the reinforcements are lost, not only will the Fifth Division itself suffer heavy losses, but it also means that the offensive rhythm of the Pingxingguan Battle will be broken. The main force of the 21st Brigade fighting at Tuanchengkou will face a pincer attack from the front, left, right, and front, and will have to attack Retreat in the direction of Hunyuan.
And this is equivalent to declaring the defeat of the Pingxingguan Battle!
no!
Can't let this happen!
Although the Fifth Division still had sufficient combat power to reorganize the second Battle of Pingxingguan, Itagaki Seishiro was absolutely unwilling to lose the current offensive rhythm, thus giving the Jinsui Army a breathing space and more preparation time.
Also, in addition to the short-term military defeat, Itagaki and the Fifth Division were bound to withstand pressure from the political field. A total of four thousand imperial warriors were shattered, and no one could bear the consequences.
As the reinforcements of the 21st Brigade were in a situation of total annihilation, the Japanese troops around Lingqiu seemed to have exploded. They abandoned their current tactical tasks and rushed to Qiaogou. The police commanded by Tojo Hideki The Harmengjiang Corps even dispatched an independent brigade to assist Pingxing Pass.
The sky is blue and clear, and the land in northern Shanxi takes on a new look after the rain.
In Wutai County, in a farmer's courtyard, the headquarters as the highest command center of the Eighth Route Army is located here.
The hall was filled with the sounds of radio operation and reception, and the atmosphere was solemn and dignified. The entire headquarters was operating at the highest efficiency, processing various combat information from the frontline troops in real time.
The boss's face was full of solemnity, and his eyes were like the scorching sun. He looked at the situation map of the enemy and ourselves in the flat sand table. He raised his watch and looked at the time.
9:30 am.
"I wonder how the 115th Division is doing..." the boss whispered in thought.
"Boss, the little devil seems to be crazy. Comrades from the northern department reported that the Japanese Army Air Force took off nine bombers again from Nanyuan Airport. In addition, the Japanese army in Yingxian County mobilized about an independent brigade to move towards Hunyuan. It was extremely There may be reinforcements at Pingxingguan. This is the second round of reinforcements." At this time, the chief of staff came quickly, holding a piece of newly compiled battlefield intelligence: "There are more troops than the first round of reinforcements."
The Japanese army's first round of reinforcements totaled three directions: a regiment in Laiyuan, a regiment in Hunyuan, a tank squadron in Yuxian, plus four fighter jets from Nanyuan Airport, with an estimated strength of about 6,000.
A force of this size is terrifying, but it is insignificant compared to the current second round of reinforcements. An entire independent brigade of tens of thousands of Japanese troops in Yingxian County marched towards Pingxingguan, and nine bombers took off from Nanyuan Airport. .
Today, the total number of Japanese reinforcements reaches 16,000.
"It seems that the 115th Division has hurt these little devils. Otherwise, the little devils would not be so anxious. They beat the children and called them mom and dad. Unfortunately, I don't have enough troops. If there were enough troops, Pingxingguan would be a small town. The Japs' Oriental Verdun Meat Grinder." When the boss heard the news, his eyebrows relaxed slightly and then frowned slightly again. He had already processed the information in his mind, and his words were filled with sighs and regrets.
With such crazy reinforcements from the Japanese army, it is not difficult to guess the situation on both sides of the Qiaogou battlefield. There is no doubt that the 115th Division hurt the little devil, the kind of pain that penetrated into the bone marrow.
Taking this opportunity to turn Pingxingguan into the Japanese army's Oriental Verdun meat grinder, this is the boss's idea of operation, which is bold and extremely imaginative.
With the 115th Division and the Japanese reinforcements as the core, other troops were dispatched to encircle the points for reinforcements, which continued to consume the effective strength of the Japanese reinforcements from all walks of life, and in turn weakened the overall strength of the Japanese army, causing the Japanese army in Shanxi to eventually lose its strategic offensive capabilities.
Unfortunately, imagination always belongs to imagination.
Although the Pingxingguan area can fully support this operational concept, the boss has a serious shortage of troops on hand. If he wants to consume the overall strength of nearly 100,000 Japanese troops, if calculated based on the combat effectiveness of the 115th Division, at least thirteen 115th Divisions are needed. .
Where can he find the Thirteen 115th Division?
Ideas can only be shelved.
"There will be. I believe we will have more and more troops in the future. What are the arrangements now?" the chief of staff smiled and continued.
"Although the war situation is favorable to us, if we continue to drag it out, we will only get stuck in the quagmire and even be unable to get out. The main combat goal of blocking the Japanese reinforcements has been achieved, and annihilating the enemy is no longer achievable. My idea is to retreat proactively and preserve our strength." The boss He pondered deeply and said.
Starting from the current combat situation, the 115th Division has completely taken the initiative in the entire battle and completed the main combat goal of blocking the Japanese reinforcements. Facing two rounds of 16,000 Japanese reinforcements and the threat of Army aviation bombers, coupled with the lack of Friendly forces assist in the battle, and choosing to retreat proactively is the best option.
It's okay to continue to resist, but it's not necessary.
Most of the troops of the 115th Division come from veterans of the First Red Army, and the boss is reluctant to let these precious veterans go to waste under Japanese bombings.
"If you take advantage, you must learn to stop. I agree with taking the initiative to retreat." The chief of staff nodded and affirmed.
"Okay, then tell the 115th Division about the second round of Japanese reinforcements. It takes about an hour and a half for the Japanese bombers to fly from Nanyuan to Qiaogou. They must evacuate the battlefield after an hour." The boss made a decision and ordered.
The Japanese Army Air Force is mainly equipped with the Type 93 heavy bomber. This bomber has a maximum flight speed of 220 kilometers per hour and a regular flight speed of 180 kilometers per hour. It can carry 1.5 tons of aerial bombs. It is about 250 kilometers from Nanyuan to Qiaogou, except Taking off and air formations etc. take time, at most an hour and a half, the Japanese Type 93 bomber group will arrive over Qiaogou.
A single aircraft carried 1.5 tons of bombs, and nine aircraft carried a total of 13.5 tons of bombs. The bombing intensity was quite terrifying. The boss did not want the 115th Division to taste this aerial bomb meal.
Evacuate!
Take the initiative to evacuate!
Today, inspired by the original idea of defending the Yulin Steel Plant against Japanese aircraft bombing, the Eighth Route Army's understanding of the Japanese Army Aviation Forces and its ability to collect battlefield information are far higher than in history.
Through the reconnaissance of the northern comrades stationed near Peking Nanyuan Airport, as long as the Japanese plane takes off, the headquarters will receive the news as soon as possible.
As for the various aircraft equipped by the Japanese aviation force, I also gained a basic understanding and awareness through various channels.
Japanese plane bombings may seem scary, but as long as you understand the opponent's habits, they are actually no different than paper tigers.
(End of chapter)
