"Ding, ring, ring..." The urgent ringtone of the phone suddenly rang in the war room, instantly attracting everyone's attention.
After picking up the phone and listening for a few seconds, his face turned pale. He put down the phone and walked quickly to Major General Fujita: "Your Excellency, Commander..."
"The city defense fortifications in the east of the city have been broken through by the Eighth Route Army, and the city defense troops were severely damaged. The Eighth Route Army's offensive was too fierce. Under the cover of armored tanks, they quickly blew open the city gate and rushed into Shijiazhuang. The city defense troops of more than a thousand people withdrew in less than two days.
Hundreds of people, the others are all blocked at the top of the city, and they probably won’t be able to get out..."
"The call was from the city defense troops who were blocked at the top of the city. The call was interrupted after an explosion. It must be that they have had an accident."
Although Major General Fujita was ready for the Eighth Route Army to quickly break through the Shijiazhuang city defense fortifications, he was still shocked by the speed of the construction in front of him.
Staring at the east gate where the imperial army logo had been replaced on the city defense map, he gave a serious order: "Let the city defense troops prepare for battle."
"We must slow down the Eighth Route Army's attack at all costs, consume a large number of their troops through street fighting, and make them pay a bloody price in Shijiazhuang City."
"By the way, please report the news that the Eighth Route Army has broken through the east gate of Shijiazhuang to the Peking Headquarters, and please Commander Okamura to send reinforcements as soon as possible."
………
Headquarters of the Japanese North China Front in Peiping.
The communications staff officer hurriedly walked to Okamura Neiji and the chief of staff: "Your Excellency, Commander, there is an urgent call from the Shijiazhuang Garrison Headquarters..."
"The Eighth Route Army attacking them carried a large number of siege artillery and armored combat vehicles. The city defense troops suffered heavy casualties. The Eighth Route Army is likely to enter Shijiazhuang before dark."
"Although the Shijiazhuang garrison has prepared a large number of street fighting fortifications in the city, due to limited troop strength, the Eighth Route Army participating in the siege, in addition to the Yizhong Independent Brigade, also has five or six regiments of other troops, so the strength advantage is still in the hands of the Eighth Route Army."
"Even if we try to exhaust the Shijiazhuang garrison, we are no match."
"We sincerely request the headquarters to mobilize troops to reinforce Shijiazhuang as soon as possible."
"With the current strength of the Shijiazhuang garrison, even if they engage in street fighting, they can last up to four days."
"So soon..." Okamura Neji was shocked by this telegram.
After learning that the Yizhong Eighth Route Army wanted to use Shijiazhuang as a breakthrough point, forcing him to mobilize reinforcements from Baoding and Xiongxian County, so that the Yizhong Eighth Route Army could take the opportunity to send reinforcements, he asked the Shijiazhuang garrison to strengthen the city's defenses and mobilize troops from outside the city to return to Shijiazhuang.
I thought they could rely on city fortifications to defend for two or three days, and then rely on street fighting to fight the Eighth Route Army for two or three days. It would be no problem to hold on for five or six days.
As a result, the Eighth Route Army had just begun to attack the city, and the fortifications of Shijiazhuang City could no longer hold up.
The time the Shijiazhuang garrison can hold out is shortened, so the reinforcements must shorten their marching time and reach the battlefield earlier.
Although Okamura Neiji was dissatisfied with the performance of the Shijiazhuang garrison, he did not say much as the enemy was facing the enemy.
After two minutes of silence, he turned his attention to the chief of staff: "Where are the reinforcements from Taiyuan and Jinan? How long will it take for them to reach the outside of Shijiazhuang City?"
"As long as they arrive on time, we will not be able to relieve the Shijiazhuang garrison and save Shijiazhuang. We may also win a great victory in Shijiazhuang and take the opportunity to eliminate the Yizhong Independent Brigade."
The chief of staff shook his head: "The reinforcements have already set off, but we don't know exactly where they have gone."
"According to the agreement, they will report their latest situation in half an hour at most."
Okamura Neji frowned and answered: "It takes too long..."
"Whether the reinforcements can arrive in Shijiazhuang on time is related to whether we can hold Shijiazhuang. We only contact them once a day. If they have an accident on the march, it will be too late to save the situation from other places until the headquarters receives the news."
"Have the radio operator contact all reinforcements immediately."
"The Eighth Route Army will definitely not let them easily reach Shijiazhuang along the way."
"Let them immediately report their current location and damage along the way..."
The chief of staff hurriedly left the war room and answered Neji Okamura twenty minutes later, but his face became obviously more solemn than when he set out.
Okamura Neji hurriedly reported without waiting for him to speak: "Your Excellency, Commander..."
"We only contacted three reinforcements, and one reinforcement lost contact..."
"The three reinforcements that have been contacted were all attacked by the Eighth Route Army. The losses were very heavy, and the marching speed was much slower than planned."
"According to their current marching speed, the time it takes to reach Shijiazhuang will be delayed by one day at the earliest..."
"And I'm still worried about my humble position..."
Okamura Neiji had already expected this result, his expression did not change at all, and he asked directly: "What are you worried about?"
"I'm worried that they won't be able to survive in Shijiazhuang?" the chief of staff replied bravely.
Okamura Neji didn't react for a moment, and frowned and asked: "What do you mean by not being able to hold on to Shijiazhuang? Please explain it clearly."
"We seem to have underestimated the Eighth Route Army's guerrilla warfare capabilities..." the chief of staff replied tactfully.
"I originally thought that if the reinforcements gave up heavy weapons and ammunition, and marched lightly, constantly changing their marching route during the march, the Eighth Route Army would not be able to attack us through ambush warfare, and would not even be able to fight guerrilla warfare. They would have to follow behind the reinforcements.
Ash."
"As a result, the Eighth Route Army along the route actually mobilized a large number of local guerrillas to join the local troops in blocking our army's reinforcements and consuming their strength."
"The three reinforcements that have been contacted all lost between 500 and 1,000 people during today's march..."
"If they continue at this rate of attrition, they will probably not reach Shijiazhuang and will be wiped out by the Eighth Route Army along the way."
"Sir..." The operator suddenly rushed towards the two people. Compared with the hurried expression just now, there was obviously a hint of panic on his face at this moment, obviously bringing another bad news.
The chief of staff quickly asked: "Have you contacted the last reinforcements?"
"Ha Yi..." The operator nodded quickly.
"We still have no radio contact with the reinforcements. The telegram was forwarded by the intelligence department."
"According to their account, this reinforcement force had several major battles with the Eighth Route Army they encountered along the way."
"Every battlefield left a large number of corpses of the imperial army, the total number has exceeded 1,500."
"They are worried that this reinforcement force has encountered an accident in the Jinzhong Independent Regiment base area."
"All nearby intelligence personnel have been dispatched to search for them following the marching track. The latest news should be sent back soon."
"Bang..." Okamura Neji did not answer, but he slammed his clenched fist on the table in front of him. His face was heavy and his eyes were red, indicating that he was very angry at this moment.
The whole person was like a powder keg that could explode at any time. It would be ignited if he was not careful. The atmosphere in the war room instantly became depressing, and he did not even dare to speak loudly.
