Chapter 1077 Okamura Neji made another miscalculation
In order to buy enough time for other Eighth Route Army troops to fight for reinforcements, and to try to wipe out all the troops that the Shijiazhuang garrison might have drawn from surrounding areas, Li Yunlong led the independent brigade to deliberately stop and go on the road...
The trip that could have been completed in two days was actually delayed by him into four days.
"Brigadier... Urgent call from headquarters..."
The radio operator hurriedly ran to Li Yunlong to report, but at this time Li Yunlong was sleeping leaning on the ammunition box, without any sense of nervousness about preparing for war.
After receiving the telegram, I glanced at ten lines and read it in a few seconds.
The person who was still casual just now suddenly became serious. He stood up from the ammunition box, grabbed the armed belt lying aside and tied it around his waist. Then his whole person became majestic.
He turned to the chief of staff who was on standby and ordered: "Other Eighth Route Army units operating around Shijiazhuang have completed their reinforcement missions and eliminated more than 8,000 Japanese and puppet troops..."
"Then it's our turn to take action."
"The troops have rested for such a long time. They should have recharged their batteries and prepared for battle."
"Pass my order..."
"The whole army will set off in ten minutes, fight to the outside of Shijiazhuang City before one o'clock in the morning, and surround Shijiazhuang..."
"Try to build offensive positions and artillery positions outside the city before dawn. When it gets dark tomorrow, we will launch a general attack..."
"The cavalry communication platoon all set off, in groups of three, to immediately look for the six main regiments operating around Shijiazhuang."
"Give them a military order in my name."
"Assemble the troops immediately, bring all the equipment and ammunition and rush to Shijiazhuang to join me..."
"If troops have already arrived, they can build offensive positions outside Shijiazhuang City in advance..."
…………
Japanese Army Shijiazhuang Garrison Headquarters.
Major General Fujita's nerves that had been tense for several days finally showed signs of relief, and the solemn expression on his face seemed to become lighter.
After waiting for so long, reinforcements finally retreated into Shijiazhuang to make up for the small garrison in Shijiazhuang.
"General..." The chief of staff's mood improved a lot, and he walked quickly to Major General Fujita to report.
"Including the two reinforcements that have just entered the city, the total strength of the Shijiazhuang garrison has exceeded 9,000 people...the imperial army accounts for 5,000 people, and the imperial association army accounts for 7,000 people..."
"Excluding the city defense troops that have already boarded the city, the headquarters still has nearly 3,000 mobile troops at its disposal."
"If all the follow-up reinforcements withdraw to Shijiazhuang, even if they pay some price before entering the city, the Shijiazhuang garrison will increase by another 2,000 people."
"When the Eighth Route Army's Yizhong Independent Brigade reaches the outside of Shijiazhuang City, both sides will fight for attrition, and the Shijiazhuang garrison will be able to wipe out all of the Yizhong Independent Brigade."
Only then did Major General Fujita see hope that he could hold on to Shijiazhuang.
A rare smile flashed across his solemn face.
Just as he was about to say a few nice words, a rapid ringing of the phone suddenly rang in the war room, and two or three phones rang at the same time.
Major General Fujita swallowed the words that were already on his lips and subconsciously looked at the telephone soldiers who were answering the phone, hoping to judge whether the call brought good news or bad news from their changing expressions.
The three telephone soldiers seemed to be discussing it, their faces became solemn at the same time, they put down the phone at the same time, and reported at the same time...
"General..."
"The Independent Brigade in the Wing of the Eighth Route Army has reached the outside of the city..."
"The troops are vast and equipped with a large number of heavy artillery, tanks, and automobiles..."
"An offensive position is being built outside the city..."
"Jingle Bell……"
The rapid ringing of the phone reached Major General Fujita's ears again. The phone soldier picked up the phone and listened for less than ten seconds before putting it down. He anxiously reported with fear: "Sir..."
"A large number of Eighth Route Army troops were also found at the west gate of Shijiazhuang, with at least two regiments in strength... Judging from the color of their military uniforms, they do not belong to the independent brigade in the wing..."
"It should be other Eighth Route Army troops who have been specifically attacking our army's returning reinforcements in the past few days..."
"Sir..." Another telephone soldier put down the phone and reported with panic on his face.
"The city defense troops in the south of the city reported that two main regiments of the Eighth Route Army suddenly appeared outside the city, with at least 3,000 troops. They are building offensive positions outside the city. They are not troops from the Yizhong Independent Brigade..."
Major General Fujita's face became more and more solemn, and he quickly asked: "How many Eighth Route Army are there in the east and north of the city, and which unit of the Eighth Route Army they belong to..."
"Our previous plans were all formulated for the independent brigade in the wing!"
"If there is more than one independent brigade of the Eighth Route Army participating in the siege, there are many other Eighth Route Army participating in the battle..."
"Even if the Shijiazhuang city defense force increases to 10,000 people, we will not be able to defend it..."
"It's no match for them even if they fight hard..."
The chief of staff took a deep breath and reported: "There are at least 4,000 Eighth Route Army elites in the east of the city, and more than 4,000 in the north of the city..."
"Judging from the color of the military uniform, it should be the independent brigade in the wing..."
"The equipment level of these two Eighth Route armies is far higher than that of other Eighth Route armies. They are not only equipped with a large number of light and heavy machine guns and mortars, but also a lot of mountain and field artillery."
Major General Fujita continued to ask: "Have you discovered the heavy artillery troops and tank troops under the independent brigade in the wing..."
"This is the trump card of the Yizhong Eighth Route Army that dares to attack us."
"Which direction the heavy artillery troops and tank troops are in is the main attack direction of the independent brigade in the wing. We must arrange more troops to go there and prepare in advance!"
The chief of staff did not leave immediately after recording the order, but showed a hesitant expression.
After watching Major General Fujita struggle for a while, he bit the bullet and asked: "What to do with those returning reinforcements who have not yet entered the city!"
"The Eighth Route Army has surrounded Shijiazhuang. Unless the returning troops launch a strong attack, there is no way they can withdraw into the city..."
Major General Fujita sighed and replied: "In order to keep Shijiazhuang, we have paid a high price..."
"Let's save as many imperial soldiers as possible in the next battle!"
"Let them go back the way they came, and don't hit the guns of the Eighth Route Army like fools."
"They can't enter Shijiazhuang if the Independent Wing Brigade blocks the road!"
…………
Headquarters of the Japanese North China Front in Peiping.
Okamura Neji was very angry, his eyes turned red with anger, as if he could breathe fire.
I thought that by planning in advance, I would be able to gather 14,000 to 5,000 city defense troops for Shijiazhuang.
Even if Yi Zhong independently travels to kill them, don't try to take advantage easily.
Unexpectedly, the Eighth Route Army had already taken precautions and was waiting for the reinforcement troops it sent to Shijiazhuang to penetrate into the Eighth Route pocket formation.
Seven to eight thousand returning reinforcements were completely eaten up by the Eighth Route Army without even seeing Shijiazhuang.
What's more important is that once these returning troops die, the strongholds and county towns they occupied before will also be easily occupied by the Eighth Route Army, and dozens of county towns and strongholds around Shijiazhuang will also be lost.
A strong sense of frustration quickly hit Gangmura Neiji's heart, which was even more uncomfortable than losing a battle on the battlefield.
