Chapter 1004 Okamura Neji: We can’t afford the gamble
Japanese Army Baoding Garrison Headquarters.
Telegraph operators rushed to Okamura Neiji one after another and reported to him the latest battle reports from the front line.
Okamura Neji was in a very good mood when he learned that more than 20,000 elite troops on the front line had set off and formed a battle formation to advance towards the 6th Army Division in the Wing. The progress was very smooth.
As long as they successfully reach the scheduled location and build the sixth blockade within the specified time, the pressure and danger faced by the iron wall encirclement will be gone.
But at this moment, the intelligence staff officer who was not supposed to be here suddenly ran towards him with a nervous expression. Before Neji Okamura could speak, he hurriedly reported: "Your Excellency, Commander..."
"We have seen that the intelligence personnel and reconnaissance troops of the Eighth Route Army's breakout force have just sent an urgent message."
"They suddenly divided their forces and quickly moved toward our fourth blockade in company units. Their total strength exceeded two regiments, and they carried a large number of mortars and heavy machine guns."
"We suspect that this Eighth Route Army wants to take advantage of the victory and continue to attack our fourth blockade."
"In order to successfully build the sixth blockade."
"The frontline troops are basically concentrated in the sixth blockade. The fourth blockade only has one regiment of garrison troops and three regiments of the Imperial Alliance Army. They are scattered on average across eight stations. Each main force only has 500 imperial troops and three regiments.
A battalion of the Imperial Alliance Army."
"If the Eighth Route Army concentrates its forces to attack one or two of the main forces, they will definitely break through the fourth blockade."
"Please Commander, please mobilize troops from the front line to reinforce the fourth blockade as soon as possible."
"Are the Eighth Route Army breakout troops crazy?" Neji Okamura cried out.
He strode to the sand table, stared at the fourth blockade on the front line and asked with confusion on his face.
"They just captured the third blockade last night. Although we later voluntarily gave up our position, they also killed three of our reinforced brigades."
"Kill the enemy by one thousand and lose eight hundred by yourself."
"No matter how strong the Eighth Route Army's combat effectiveness is, no matter how fierce the artillery fire is, the casualties will not be less than 2,000. After a night of decisive battle, the troops will definitely be very exhausted."
"They didn't even have time to recuperate. They sent troops directly to attack our fourth line of defense. Aren't they tired?"
"Aren't you worried that the troops will be too exhausted and our troops stationed at the fourth blockade will kill one of them on the battlefield to counterattack?"
"Our escort aircraft are not vegetarians. Now that we are attacking the fourth blockade, aren't they worried about being bombed by aviation?"
Faced with a series of questions asked by Neji Okamura, the deputy chief of staff on the side did not know how to explain them.
After learning as much as possible about the movements of the independent brigade from the intelligence staff, he pointed to the sand table and explained: "Your Excellency, Commander..."
"The fourth blockade is only ten kilometers away from the third blockade. The Eighth Route Army can rush to the blockade in less than two hours."
"They divided their forces into company units to attack the fourth blockade, which shows that the Eighth Route Army is guarding our aviation."
"I don't think they will launch an attack immediately after reaching the fourth blockade."
Neji Okamura continued his analysis of his subordinates' words: "Who said they were probably just lurking at the edge of the fourth blockade, and the real attack would not be carried out until after dark."
"Hayi..."
The deputy chief of staff expressed his thoughts seriously: "They have just experienced a night of bloody fighting and are very tired. They are not suitable to launch a new round of attack immediately."
"If we wait until dark before attacking, the troops will have seven or eight more hours to recuperate, which is enough for the soldiers to recover most of their physical strength."
"Planes escorting frontline troops have to return after dark, and the air force threat they face is gone."
Okamura Neiji suddenly fell into deep thought and spoke after a minute: "There is another possibility..."
"The Eighth Route Army's breakout troops had no intention of storming the fourth blockade. What we saw was an illusion that the Eighth Route Army deliberately let us see, in order to force us to mobilize troops from the front line and return to support the fourth blockade."
"After the number of forward offensive troops decreases, the troops of the Eighth Route Army staying in the base area will have an opportunity to deal with us..."
The deputy staff officer's eyes lit up and he said: "It is indeed possible..."
"Under normal circumstances, the Eighth Route Army's breakout force has just experienced a major battle and is not suitable for launching a new attack."
"Even if they win in the end, the troops will suffer heavy casualties in the battle."
"The gain outweighs the loss..."
"Our opponents are very cunning and shrewd and will definitely not do such stupid things."
"Your Excellency Commander..."
"My humble suggestion is that the former enemy headquarters should be out of sight and out of mind, and simply ignore the mobilization of the Eighth Route breakout troops and let the troops stationed at the fourth blockade step up their vigilance."
"No..." Okamura Neji came and objected after thinking for a long time.
"The fourth blockade is too far away from the fifth and sixth blockades. If the Eighth Route Army's breakout force realizes that we don't have many troops to defend the fourth blockade, and suddenly changes from a feint attack to a strong attack, it will be too late to send temporary reinforcements."
"If something happens to the fourth blockade, the construction of the sixth blockade has just begun, and the construction of the fifth blockade has not yet been completed. Faced with the Eighth Route Army attacking from both sides, the remaining imperial troops on the front line will be in real danger.
.”
"No matter whether the intention of the Eighth Route Army's breakout force to suddenly choose to attack the fourth blockade is true or not, we must mobilize reinforcements from the front line to ensure that the fourth blockade is firmly in our hands."
"We can't afford the gamble."
The deputy chief of staff's face suddenly became particularly ugly.
He found that Okamura Neji could not find any loopholes in his analysis just now.
Even if they knew that the Eighth Route Army's independent brigade storming the fourth blockade was a conspiracy, the imperial army had to slip into the trap for the safety of tens of thousands of troops on the front line.
Before he could speak again, Okamura Neiji had already begun to issue orders: "According to our analysis of the battlefield, there are at most 5,000 people left in the Eighth Route Breakout Force operating outside the iron wall encirclement."
"If they gather heavy troops to storm one of the stations, we will need at least one reinforcement group to hold on until reinforcements from both wings arrive on the battlefield."
"So our troops stationed at the fourth blockade need to be supplemented by at least four brigades to ensure nothing goes wrong."
"Order... each of the six main regiments on the front line will dispatch three reinforcement squadrons to immediately return to support the fourth blockade."
"The Imperial Association Army stationed at the fifth blockade dispatched two regiments to reinforce the fourth blockade and strengthened the strength of each station in battalion units."
"A reinforced brigade fights two battalions of the Imperial Army. It relies on the favorable terrain to hold on to its position. It will definitely last for two hours."
The deputy chief of staff frowned and reminded: "But... Your Excellency, Commander..."
"As a result, the six infantry regiments on the front line are not satisfied with the establishment."
"In addition to the previous losses..."
"Each wing only has two reinforcement brigades left."
"If each regiment does not have a strengthened artillery regiment, the remaining troops of the Eighth Route Army can eat any of our regiments at any time."
