After reading the telegram just sent by Okamura Neji, Lieutenant General Suzuki's mind was filled with questions.
He couldn't understand.
The Yizhong Eighth Route Army that attacked the blockade totaled only six regiments, with a total strength of more than 10,000 men at most.
There are more than 30,000 troops stationed at the blockade, including more than 20,000 Imperial Army troops. They are equipped with a large number of heavy weapons and have plenty of ammunition.
There are also a large number of gun towers, strongholds, and permanent firepower points to rely on.
No matter which aspect you analyze, the odds of winning are on your side.
At this moment, the two sides had just started fighting, and he had just begun to deploy troops and generals to counterattack, when Okamura Neiji gave himself an order to withdraw from the battle, abandon the blockade, and shrink the defense.
Isn’t this just making yourself a fool?
But the military orders were like mountains, and as a subordinate, even if Okamura Neiji asked him to die now, he would not hesitate to execute them.
The chief of staff also read the telegram sent by Okamura Neiji, and then reminded Lieutenant General Suzuki: "Your Excellency, Division Commander..."
"The superiors suddenly asked us to abandon the blockade. Your Excellency the Commander must have his own considerations."
"The low-level headquarters immediately sent a telegram to the blockade garrison, asking them to set off immediately and march quickly to Baoding and Xiong County according to the distance... The mobile troops just sent by Baoding immediately turned around and returned..."
"It is also necessary to deploy young men and women within the city, rely on Baoding's existing city defenses, and build two lines of defense outside the city to further increase the number of permanent firepower points on the city head and build Baoding into a military fortress that the Eighth Route Army can never break."
Lieutenant General Suzuki frowned and replied: "The retreat order must be carried out, but not now..."
"The Eighth Route Army is good at night fighting, especially night fighting that combines guerrilla warfare and mobile warfare."
"If we allow the blockade troops to retreat now, it is tantamount to hitting their guns and seeking death."
"All troops stationed along the blockade are well prepared for a retreat, plan their retreat routes in advance, and abandon their strongholds at dawn and evacuate to the nearest county."
The chief of staff immediately reminded: "Division commander, think twice..."
"Yizhong Eighth Route Army is different from other Eighth Route Army..."
"If they really plan to attack our retreating troops, it will be useless even if we withdraw during the day..."
"The aviation forces that can provide us with air support suffered heavy losses in previous air defense operations and have not been replenished. It is difficult for our retreating troops to receive air support."
"If the Eighth Route Army wanted to attack them, they would not separate day and night..."
"Furthermore, if the blockade garrison retreats one minute later, the Eighth Route Army in the wing will have one more minute to prepare."
"If our retreat plan is exposed in advance and the Eighth Route Army rushes to the road where the retreating troops must pass and sets up an ambush, our losses will definitely be very heavy."
"Before the Eighth Route Army noticed that we were about to abandon the blockade, the garrison troops in various places suddenly abandoned the blockade, quickly evacuated their strongholds, and marched towards the surrounding counties. The Eighth Route Army, which was ambushing them, had no time to send reinforcements..."
"What do you know?" Lieutenant General Suzuki was already very annoyed.
The Eighth Route Army in Yizhong had just launched an attack. Before he could counterattack, Okamura Neji gave an order to retreat, and he was fooled.
I have suppressed my anger and am worried that I have nowhere to vent my anger.
When I heard the Chief of Staff say that he didn't understand the Yizhong Eighth Route Army, the anger I had suppressed in my heart surged out like a flood from a bursting embankment.
He stared at the chief of staff and cursed.
"Do you have as much combat experience as I do against the Eighth Route Army?"
"The Eighth Route Army in Yizhong suddenly assembled six main regiments to attack the blockade. This was obviously a premeditated attack."
"No one can be sure that the Yizhong Eighth Route Army's participating troops are only the six main regiments we have seen so far."
"In case they have other troops participating in the war, they are lurking around our stronghold and setting up a net. If the troops retreat now, wouldn't they just hit their guns?"
"Although there are not many aviation troops in the center of the wing who can still take off for combat operations."
"But there are still seven or eight."
"Although the number is limited, we cannot provide air support to the retreating troops anytime and anywhere."
"But as long as they cruise back and forth in the sky, it is a kind of deterrent. It can not only improve the morale of the retreating troops, but also threaten the safety of the Eighth Route Army in the wing, so that they dare not attack our retreating troops rashly."
"After all, no one knows which retreating force will be reinforced by the remaining aircraft of the aviation force."
"If we collide with their ambush troops, the Yi Zhong Eighth Route Army will definitely pay a heavy price."
"The troops retreating during the day will have a wider view."
"Without the cover of night, even if the Eighth Route Army sets up an ambush along the way they must pass, the advance scouts sent by the retreating troops will be able to give early warning, and they will not be caught off guard by the Eighth Route Army's ambush troops."
Lieutenant General Suzuki's guess and analysis are not unreasonable.
The chief of staff racked his brains and couldn't think of a reason to break the situation.
But he always felt that the Yizhong Eighth Route Army would not do this, and there were not as many troops participating in the war as the division commander said.
Although he didn't know the Eighth Route Army in Yi Zhong very well, he had fought against them after all. Facing old opponents, he still had some sixth sense on the battlefield.
But he had no evidence to support his judgment.
The division commander was angry again. If he continued to fight against him, he would definitely not end well, so he could only nod and accept the order.
…………
The off-screen stronghold received a retreat order half an hour ago.
Then the stronghold became brightly lit and the alarm bells sounded.
The soldiers yawned and rushed out of the barracks, packing their equipment and ammunition amidst the scoldings of their officers.
Some soldiers followed the commander into the ammunition road, loaded boxes and boxes of ammunition onto carts, and prepared to take them away together.
When troops evacuate the blockade, they don't need to discard the strongholds at their feet, but the equipment and ammunition stored in the strongholds cannot be discarded.
In previous counter-mopping operations, the participating troops lost a large amount of equipment and ammunition.
Before leaving, Okamura Neiji said that in order to deal with the Eighth Route Army in Yizhong, the front army had replenished the weapons and ammunition of the Baoding garrison during this period far more than other troops.
Now that the big sweep is over, the front army will definitely no longer be able to replenish the Baoding garrison with equipment and ammunition as before.
So they have to use it sparingly.
After abandoning the blockade, the troops withdrawn to the three counties will have to defend the area for at least half a year, during which time a large amount of weapons and ammunition will certainly be needed.
The front army's supplies cannot be readily available, so the best way is to reserve more.
So when they received the order to retreat, they arrived at each stronghold together with the order to take away all the weapons and ammunition from the stronghold.
The changes in the stronghold startled the Eighth Route Army who were watching them outside the stronghold. They thought that the little devils had noticed that the regiment leader was coming to attack and made preparations in advance.
As a result, the reconnaissance team waited for a long time but did not see the Japs strengthening the position security troops. They did not even increase the number of machine guns. Instead, they hid in the stronghold packing equipment and ammunition, and instantly guessed that the Japs in the stronghold were about to run away.
