Chief of Staff Miyano Jun responded: "Back to Commander, we have lost contact with the airport."

Hearing this, Yoshio Shinozuka's heart suddenly sank, and he asked again: "Where is the 2nd independent mixed brigade? Where are they now?"

Miyano Jun: "The 2nd Independent Mixed Brigade just called back, saying that they were blocked by the main force of the Eighth Route Army about 3 kilometers away from Wusu Military Station. At present, the 2nd Independent Mixed Brigade is making an all-out breakthrough, and Mr. Abe said they can't stop it.

How long will it take to break through the blockade of the Eighth Route Army?"

"In addition, in order to ensure safety, Abe-kun also detached a large group of troops to abandon the main road and switch to the surrounding farmland trails."

Hearing this, a combat staff officer next to him who had a good relationship with Abe Norihide immediately flattered him and said: "General Abe is indeed a famous general of the empire. With such a two-pronged approach, no matter which imperial army breaks through the Eighth Route Army's blockade first,

Ensure timely reinforcements to the airport!”

The deputy chief of staff next to him, Junichiro Uehara, frowned slightly and felt a little uneasy: "The Eighth Route Army actually dispatched its main force. Seeing that these guys came well prepared, their initial target was the Imperial Army.

Wusu Airport, not the Eighth Route Army underground parties in Wusu Military Station."

After a pause, Junichiro Uehara's face became increasingly ugly and he said: "We misjudged the strategic ambitions of the Eighth Route Army from the beginning, and thus misjudged the situation, so that the 1st Battalion of the 2nd Independent Infantry Regiment of the 2nd Independent Mixed Brigade was encountered.

The main force of the Eighth Route Army blocked the attack, but reinforcements failed to arrive in time."

Speaking of this, Junichiro Uehara turned to look at Yoshio Shinozuka: "Your Excellency, Commander, I'm afraid that the Imperial Army's independent mixed 2nd brigade may not be able to arrive at the airport in time. Even if it can arrive at the airport, it may not be possible by then."

It has also been destroyed by the Eighth Route Army!"

The combat staff officer who just spoke said: "Deputy Chief of Staff, are you being alarmist?

Even if the Eighth Route Army dispatched its main force, they are good at fighting in mountains. How could they be the opponent of our Imperial Japanese Army in this open area of ​​​​Ma Pingchuan?

You know, General Abe is a famous general in the empire. A brigade in his hands can easily defeat at least one division of the Eighth Route Army!

Moreover, with General Abe's strategic vision, he should be able to tell at a glance even if the battlefield situation is not right.

And the fact that he didn't say anything shows that he is sure to break through the blockade of Tubal Road in a short time and arrive at the airport for reinforcements."

Junichiro Uehara retorted: "General Abe's choice to divide his troops has already explained the problem. If he is sure to break through the Eighth Route Army's blockade in a short time, there is no need to divide his troops and take smaller routes."

"In that case, even if they can bypass the Eighth Route Army's blockade, their reinforcements will be greatly slowed down by abandoning their vehicles!"

Hearing this, all the Japanese officers in the war room nodded in deep agreement, obviously agreeing with Junichiro Uehara's analysis.

Shinozuka Yoshio then asked: "Uehara-kun, what do you think we should do now?"

Uehara Junichiro: "For the current plan, we can only continue to increase our troops. Even after such a blockage by the main force of the Eighth Route Army, we may not be able to increase our troops in time, but at least we can severely damage this Eighth Route Army and prevent it from leaving the Taiyuan area smoothly.

!”

Yoshio Shinozuka nodded, then his face sank and he ordered: "Order the independent mixed 8th Brigade and the 1st Armored Vehicle Battalion to assemble immediately to reinforce Takeyuku Airport!"

Miyano Shun hurriedly tried to dissuade him: "Commander, no! The 8th independent mixed brigade was severely damaged in Phoenix Ridge last night. There are less than 2,000 troops available. Even if they are sent out, they may not be able to change the situation of the war!"

The most critical thing is that there are only more than 5,000 soldiers available in Taiyuan City. If the independent 8th Brigade and the 1st Armored Vehicle Battalion are dispatched, Taiyuan City will almost become an empty city."

Yoshio Shinozuka said with murderous intent in his eyes: "There must be no room for loss at Wusu Airport, and all these damn Tubal Roads must be wiped out!

As for Taiyuan City, don’t worry, the Eighth Route Army doesn’t have the courage to attack Taiyuan City yet!”

Seeing that Miyano Jun seemed to want to say more, Shinozuka Yoshio interrupted: "I have made up my mind, and I will convey the order immediately!"

"Hiyi!"

Yoshio Shinozuka could only give his order, then turned around and left to convey the order.

…

The screen returns to the Japanese independent mixed 2nd brigade.

Koji Ono had led his troops to attack for 10 minutes, but still failed to break through the Eighth Route Army's blockade. Instead, he suffered casualties in two squadrons.

Ono Koji came to Abe Norihide with a disgraceful face, paused and admitted his mistake and said: "Your Excellency, Brigade Commander, I'm sorry, I have let you down!"

If it were in the past, Okamoto Haruhiro would definitely take the opportunity to scold him, but now he saw that the brigade commander Abe Norihide was angry, so he did not dare to say anything more.

Norihide Abe said: "I observed the battle just now carefully, and the failure was not your fault.

This Eighth Route Army seems to be no ordinary Eighth Route Army. Not only did they build strong fortifications based on the field ridges, but their light and heavy machine gun firepower points were also very carefully matched. They would change positions immediately after almost every attack, leaving no chance for the Imperial Army.

Opportunity for artillery counterattack.

The most important thing is that this Eighth Route Army actually has a large number of artillery, and its combat quality is also very high, no less than the artillery of the Imperial Army.

As soon as the firepower of the imperial army's light and heavy machine guns was almost exposed, the artillery shells from the opposite side immediately fell down.

This made it difficult for the imperial army's machine gun firepower to provide effective reinforcements to the attacking troops."

Abe Kihide's face was as serious as ever. He found that the Eighth Route Army in front of him was definitely the most difficult opponent he had ever encountered in his life.

At this moment, he was extremely glad that he had followed Chief of Staff Suzuki Seisaburo's suggestion of dividing the troops. In this way, even if the main force of the brigade could not break through the Eighth Route Army's blockade in a short period of time, the 3rd Brigade would be able to reinforce the airport in time.

Next to him, Captain Takahashi Akimitsu of the 2nd Independent Infantry Regiment asked for instructions: "Your Excellency, brigade commander, what should we do now? Should we take a detour and take a trail like the chief of staff, or should we continue to attack frontally?"

Abe Kihide seemed to have made a decision a long time ago, and said directly without thinking: "Now, even if we go around, it will waste too much time, so we can only continue to attack from the front!"

Takahashi Akimitsu: "But, as you just said, this Eighth Route Army is no small matter. Even if we continue to attack from the front, we may not be able to break through their blockade."

Abe Norihide: "If we only dispatch infantry, it will be really difficult to break through the blockade of Tubal Road, but don't forget, we not only have infantry, but also armored troops!"

"Order, the 2nd Independent Tank Battalion, in coordination with the 2nd Infantry Battalion, continue to attack!

We must tear apart this Tubal Road blockade in the shortest possible time!”
Chapter completed!