In a bush two kilometers outside the east gate of Xiong County, three little Japanese spies were hiding here to observe the city gate.
"Sir, someone is out of the city..." A kid suddenly reminded the two people next to him.
"Yo Xi..." As soon as the little devil in the lead came out of the city, a smile flashed on his face, and he said happily: "Pay attention and observe..."
"The Eighth Route Army carrying a large number of stretchers out of the city must be their team transporting the wounded."
"The commander has an order: We must find out the casualties of the Eighth Route Army's attack on Xiongxian before dawn."
"Only by determining the number of injured Eighth Route Army troops can we calculate the direct losses of the Eighth Route Army in the entire siege battle based on proportion."
After saying that, he asked his two subordinates to start counting to determine how many wounded and corpses the Eighth Route Army had carried out from the east gate...
…………
Headquarters of the Japanese North China Front in Peiping.
When the sky was slightly bright, the person in charge of intelligence finally returned here with a hint of excitement on his face, obviously he had brought good news.
"Your Excellency Commander..."
"Our intelligence personnel were stationed at the four city gates of Xiong County. After observation and repeated confirmation, the Eighth Route Army suffered a total of 1,186 wounded during the attack on Xiong County, and all of them were seriously wounded who could only be carried away on stretchers."
"In a normal siege battle, the casualty ratio should be one to three, which means that the Eighth Route Army's direct losses in the attack on Xiongxian exceeded 4,500 people."
"Intelligence personnel also reported that...the Eighth Route Army's heavy siege artillery and mountain artillery units outside the city are moving and retreating."
"However, the troops that entered Xiongxian County were not completely withdrawn. Two crippled main regiments were left in the city to repair the city defenses that were destroyed during the battle. It seems that they do not intend to leave."
Neji Okamura stared at the huge sand table in front of him and asked seriously: "Are you sure the data in the report are true?"
The person in charge of intelligence patted his chest and assured: "I dare to use my own head as a guarantee for my humble position."
"In order to ensure that the data is correct, I have arranged a total of eight groups of intelligence personnel. Two groups of intelligence personnel are assigned to watch each city gate, and they are not aware of each other's existence."
"Immediately report the data as soon as I get it, and I will summarize it based on the data they reported. There will be no problems."
"Even if there is a gap with the real data, it will not exceed a hundred people."
Hearing this, Neji Okamura's face immediately flashed with murderous intent. He stared at Xiongxian County on the sand table and said murderously: "Since the Eighth Route Army does not want to give up Xiongxian, it has also arranged two disabled main regiments to defend Xiongxian.
County, then we will eat these two main regiments and let the reinforcements from the south get a good start in Xiong County."
Before the chief of staff could react to the bold idea proposed by Okamura Neji, the head of intelligence spoke again: "Your Excellency, Commander..."
"Talk about attacking the county seat of Xiongxian..."
"I have one more thing to report."
"According to reports from our intelligence personnel lurking around the battlefield, when the Eighth Route Army broke into Xiongxian County, there was a violent explosion in Xiongxian County, and the fireball that rose into the sky was thirty or forty meters high, and the entire sky was dyed red."
"And that ball of fire happens to be located where the Xiongxian Arsenal is."
"Based on my humble opinion, the Xiongxian garrison should have taken the initiative to destroy the city's arsenal and the extra weapons and ammunition when the city was breached."
"The Eighth Route Army that left the city carried almost no ammunition except for a large number of stretchers and some weapons and equipment seized on the battlefield... This further proves that the Xiongxian arsenal was actively destroyed by the Xiongxian garrison, and that the Eighth Route Army hardly captured large quantities in Xiongxian city.
Ammunition replenishes your losses on the battlefield."
"If the reinforcements move south quickly enough, they can surround Xiongxian before the Eighth Route Army left behind in Xiongxian receives ammunition replenishment, and take the opportunity to launch an attack."
"The Eighth Route Army in the city was not only short of troops, but also very short of ammunition. Even the city fortifications were completely destroyed in the siege battles they launched, and they could no longer be used."
"By then, the reinforcements going south will definitely be able to retake Xiongxian County from the Eighth Route Army at a very small cost, eliminate the two main regiments they left behind in Xiongxian County, and kill one to get a good start."
Seeing that Okamura Neji's eyes lit up after hearing this, he seemed to be looking forward to this action very much. The chief of staff could not refuse or object, so he could only answer according to Okamura Neji's wishes.
"I think we can inform the reinforcement troops going south about this idea and let them prepare in advance to besiege Xiong County."
"But the precautions that should be taken cannot be less."
"We must ensure that the Eighth Route Army that evacuated Xiong County really withdrew, instead of circling around the battlefield and fighting back to the battlefield."
"When the reinforcements going south attack Xiong County, they suddenly launch an attack from behind and flank our reinforcements going south. It would be tragic."
Okamura Neiji did not answer and quickly turned his attention to the person in charge of intelligence.
Because the only people currently operating in Xiong County are intelligence personnel.
The person in charge of intelligence immediately assured Okamura Neiji: "Commander, please rest assured..."
"Our intelligence personnel have been keeping an eye on the retreating troops of the Eighth Route Army...the artillery troops and tank troops are our key targets to ensure that their traces are not clear."
"Even if they really want to fight back to Xiongxian and raid our reinforcements going south, I will give the reinforcements an early warning so that they can be prepared or break away from the battle and evacuate the battlefield to ensure that the Eighth Route Army will not take advantage of them."
"Before I came, I contacted the intelligence personnel lurking in Xiong County and asked them to take action as soon as possible to find out the specific strength and equipment of the Eighth Route Army left behind in Xiong County. The more detailed the better."
"With these reconnaissance results, the reinforcements heading south don't even need to prepare for fire reconnaissance. They can just launch an attack directly when they arrive in Xiong County. We will strive to end the battle cleanly in the shortest ten years and with the lowest casualty cost!"
Okamura Neiji once again showed a satisfied smile to the intelligence chief, and then looked at the chief of staff with a questioning expression, as if to say: "Are there any questions or concerns? Speak out and try to solve them all at once..."
The Chief of Staff does still have some doubts about this battle, but he also sees that Okamura Neiji seems to be determined to win this battle, so he can only try every means to fill the loopholes and reduce the possible accidents that may occur when the reinforcements go south to attack Xiong County.
to the lowest.
Staring at the sand table, he continued: "Let the Baoding garrison hold on a little longer!"
"In addition to executing the original order and consuming a large amount of Eighth Route Army troops through offensive and defensive battles, we must also try every means to slow down the pace of the battle and drag the independent brigade of the Eighth Route Army into the Baoding battlefield, thereby solving another hidden danger of the reinforcements moving south to attack Xiongxian County.
The reinforcements going south can also defeat each other, further consuming the combat effectiveness and strength of the Eighth Route Army, and creating conditions for a new round of sweeps against the Eighth Route Army in the future...
