Headquarters of the Japanese North China Front in Peiping.
As soon as Li Yunlong and his independent brigade crossed the border from Baoding, the relevant news was transmitted to Neji Okamura by radio.
Frowning, he walked to the sand table. Before he could open his mouth to listen, the chief of staff introduced him: "Your Excellency, Commander..."
"Judging from the marching direction of the Eighth Route Army passing through Baoding, I fully agree with Lieutenant General Suzuki's analysis."
"The Eighth Route Army is likely to reopen a battlefield in Shijiazhuang. By attacking Shijiazhuang, we will force us to deploy troops from Baoding and Xiongxian for reinforcements, and then encircle the points for reinforcements. This will consume our army's strength and create conditions for the future attack on Baoding and Xiongxian."
"Have you not found out the situation of the Eighth Route Army passing through Baoding?" Okamura Neiji nodded, agreeing with the chief of staff's analysis, and then stared at the sign representing the independent brigade on the sand table and asked.
The chief of staff shook his head: "Still investigating..."
"The Eighth Route Army in Yizhong sent four reinforced battalions to blockade the four city gates of Baoding. The Baoding garrison sent troops to counterattack, and these besieging troops retreated. The Baoding attacking troops retreated to the city wall, and the Eighth Route Army's besieging troops returned to the city gate and continued to build up outside the city.
Line of defense.”
"As a result, the Baoding garrison was unable to send troops to investigate the enemy's situation."
"The current information about this Eighth Route Army comes from the intelligence department."
"But the intelligence service is different from a real reconnaissance force after all."
"The Eighth Route Army is very vigilant. Our intelligence personnel only dare to observe from a distance and do not dare to get too close."
"It will take a lot of time to figure out the exact situation of this Eighth Route Army."
Okamura Neiji was obviously very dissatisfied with this result. He frowned and ordered: "It's too slow... Let them hurry up..."
"Mobilize our intelligence personnel lurking in the Sixth Army Division in the Wing to immediately investigate the strength and equipment of the Eighth Route Army's remaining troops."
"Shijiazhuang is more important than Baoding and must not be captured by the Eighth Route Army."
"If the target of the Eighth Route Army's attack in Yinzhong is really them, we must send reinforcements."
"But the specific method of attack: whether to directly reinforce Shijiazhuang, or whether to attack the east and west and force the siege troops to return to reinforcements by attacking the Eighth Route Army base area, still needs to be discussed carefully."
"Before, we voluntarily abandoned the blockade and gathered a large number of troops to defend Baoding. Xiongxian... must have caught the Yizhong Eighth Route Army by surprise. The problem and the choice have also been on their side."
"Whether they attack three counties or stay put, they will not be able to continue to grow and develop in a short period of time. The North China Front will have enough time to restore its strength."
"As a result, the Eighth Route Army jumped out of the battlefield we selected for them and reopened a new battlefield. It caught us by surprise and put problems and choices in our hands."
"The Yizhong Eighth Route Army is worthy of being an old opponent that defeated us twice. They are very powerful in their attacks and specifically target our weaknesses."
After analyzing, he began to issue an order: "The troops stationed in Hexiong County, Baoding, are temporarily on hold. The intelligence department will find out as soon as possible the specific situation of the Eighth Route Army's base area and the Eighth Route Army's attacking troops in Yizhong. The more detailed the better."
"The chief of staff immediately contacted the Shijiazhuang garrison and asked them to strengthen their alert and prepare to defend Shijiazhuang."
"Find out the garrison situation around Shijiazhuang and give up all the strongholds and counties that can be abandoned."
"While the Eighth Route Army in Yizhong has not yet reached Shijiazhuang, withdraw all troops into Shijiazhuang."
"As long as they have enough troops, they may be able to block the Yizhong Eighth Route Army without reinforcements, drag them outside Shijiazhuang City, consume a large number of their troops through defensive battles, and inflict heavy losses on them."
"Then our plan to rely on Baoding and Xiongxian to restrict the development of the Eighth Route Army in Yizhong will be even more problematic."
The chief of staff kept his eyes on the sand table. While listening to Okamura Neji's orders, he also observed the strongholds around Shijiazhuang and the county seat. His mind was running rapidly, calculating the number of reinforcements that could be mobilized.
After Okamura Neiji finished speaking, a rough figure appeared in his mind, his eyes lit up and he said: "Your Excellency, Commander..."
"The humble position can increase the Shijiazhuang garrison to 10,000 people before the Eighth Route Army in Yi Zhong reaches Shijiazhuang... It has 5,000 imperial troops and more than 5,000 imperial alliance troops... The only shortcoming is that there is a little less artillery."
"In order to sweep away the Eighth Route Army's base area in the center, we deployed a large number of troops from the Shijiazhuang garrison to reinforce the iron wall encirclement defense line. Many heavy weapons were destroyed during the battle, and only less than 40% of them were returned after the battle."
"Originally, the Shijiazhuang garrison had a field artillery brigade, a mountain artillery brigade, and an independent heavy artillery brigade. Now there is only a mixed artillery brigade and two heavy artillery squadrons."
"The city defenses are not as strong as Baoding..."
"But as long as they are determined to defend, they still have a high chance of blocking the Eighth Route Army's attack."
"Taking a step back, even if the Yizhong Eighth Route Army is lucky enough to capture Shijiazhuang, it will pay a huge price in the siege battle. When our reinforcements arrive on the battlefield, they can easily take it back, and they can easily annihilate the Yizhong army that suffered heavy casualties.
Eighth Route Army.”
After Okamura Neiji suddenly punched the table hard, he gritted his teeth and ordered with murderous intent: "We have taken the initiative to attack the Eighth Route Army in the wing several times before, but all ended in disastrous defeat."
"The battle in front of us is the Eighth Route Army's initiative to provoke the war and storm Shijiazhuang. The fighting method is more powerful for us. Maybe we can win a great victory."
"Send a telegram to the Shijiazhuang garrison immediately..."
"Immediately abandon all strongholds and counties within 30 kilometers of the surrounding area, and all relevant troops will withdraw to Shijiazhuang and prepare to defend to the death."
"If troops further away can reach Shijiazhuang in time, the county seat and stronghold they are stationed in can also be abandoned."
…………
The former enemy headquarters of the Eighth Route Army.
The chief of staff hurriedly walked to the deputy commander-in-chief with a very serious expression: "Chief..."
"The Japanese and puppet troops around Shijiazhuang really did what Kong Jie and Li Yunlong said. They abandoned all their strongholds and county towns and marched to Shijiazhuang."
The deputy commander smiled and replied: "The calculations of the three of them are really accurate."
"I know that Okamura Neiji will definitely let the Shijiazhuang garrison wait for reinforcements. The Shijiazhuang garrison has insufficient troops and can only temporarily mobilize troops from surrounding areas. The longer it can hold on, the better."
"Thankfully they asked us to prepare in advance, otherwise we would have missed such a good opportunity."
"Send a telegram to the ambush troops immediately."
"The Eighth Route Army in Yizhong has given them all the opportunities. I will ask whoever can't catch them."
"Before the independent brigade reaches the outside of Shijiazhuang City, the little Japanese soldiers cannot stop entering Shijiazhuang one by one."
"Without these foreign aids, the Shijiazhuang garrison only has 6,000 troops at full strength. With the strength and equipment in Li Yunlong's hands, it only takes two days to severely damage these Japanese and puppet troops, forcing Neji Okamura to mobilize troops from Baoding.
"
"Tell the three main groups involved in the ambush."
"Reinforce Li Yunlong immediately after the ambush is over."
"Don't they usually complain about their poor equipment and lack of ammunition? This is a good opportunity for them to replace their guns with guns."
"Cooperate well with Li Yunlong, and we can equip them with mountain and field artillery, not to mention light and heavy machine guns and mortars."
