Yamazaki was able to serve as the captain of the Japanese field force, and his vision and ability were both good. One look at the battlefield situation revealed that it would be difficult for the troops to break through the Eighth Route Army's blocking positions.
Even if you kill the Eighth Route Army blocking the road ahead, you will pay a huge price. The Eighth Route Army field hospital has been moved long ago, and in the end you will get no benefits.
It is better to save your strength and use it as bait to attract more Eighth Route Army to besiege you, creating opportunities for the main force to encircle the Eighth Route Army.
After a quick glance at the surrounding terrain, he began to issue an order: "The offensive troops will withdraw from the battle immediately, and the entire army will retreat to Lijiapo. We will establish defensive positions based on the favorable terrain and wait for reinforcements!"
"I want to send a telegram to the Military Headquarters: The Yamazaki Brigade accidentally crossed into the hinterland of the Eighth Route Army base area and encountered the main force of the Eighth Route Army. Our department decided to stick to Lijiapo and attract the main force of the Eighth Route Army to come and besiege. Please mobilize heavy troops to encircle Lijiapo."
"After the encirclement is completed, the center of Yamazaki Battalion will bloom and wipe out all the Eighth Route Army!"
In the war room of the headquarters, the boss was so angry that he punched the table and cursed angrily: "If you run away from the battlefield, our Eighth Route Army will be completely embarrassed by him!"
"Chief of Staff, immediately capture the escaping company commander and kill him..."
"And that son-of-a-bitch Yamazaki Brigade, we must find out how he got into our belly quietly. If someone neglects their duties in this matter, the headquarters will investigate and deal with them one by one. No one can be merciful!
"
"The sneak attack on Yangcun by Yamamoto's special agent team has just passed. Yamamoto's special agent team is still roaming around outside. Our troops have not yet developed a memory. This time, letting a brigade of Japanese soldiers sneak into the hinterland of the base is simply a shame for our Eighth Route Army!
"
The chief of staff replied with lingering fear: "The escaped company commander has been captured, and the headquarters will definitely deal with it seriously!"
"I will also investigate the matter of Yamazaki Brigade sneaking into our base area quietly and give an explanation to the headquarters. Boss, please rest assured!"
"Fortunately, the Yamazaki Brigade was stopped at the last minute, otherwise the field hospital would have been in danger!"
"I have to thank Comrade Huang Yu under Kong Jie for this!"
"Ten days ago, I told Brigadier Chen that our field hospital's defenses were full of loopholes. We pretended to be Japanese troops and attacked the field hospital, but actually got close to the field hospital."
"Brigadier Chen was so frightened that he broke into a cold sweat when he found out, and immediately dispatched a main battalion to plug the loophole discovered by Comrade Huang Yu!"
"The Yamazaki Brigade's sneak attack on the field hospital took exactly the same route as Huang Yu, and happened to hit the main battalion temporarily transferred by Brigadier Chen!"
After hearing this, the boss took a deep breath: "Then we really have to thank Comrade Huang Yu!"
"The field hospital is different from other units. It is related to the medical support and morale of our entire Eighth Route Army. There must be no accidents!"
"When the battle is over, we must give Comrade Huang Yu a commendation in the name of the headquarters!"
"But our top priority now is to kill the Yamazaki Brigade!"
"Report..." A communications staff officer ran in panting.
"Chief, we have found out the situation about the Yamazaki Brigade: they currently have 800 people left, equipped with nine mortars and nine heavy machine guns..."
"After being blocked by us, the entire army retreated to Lijiapo and took advantage of the favorable terrain to build fortifications, as if they were going to wait for reinforcements there!"
"Boss, something seems wrong!" The deputy chief of staff frowned upon hearing this.
"Although the Yamazaki Brigade is well-equipped and powerful in combat, it only has 800 people. As long as we attack with all our strength, they will definitely die!"
"Under normal circumstances, they should evacuate the base area immediately."
"Now we are doing the opposite and defending Lijiapo, waiting for us to attack!"
"I suspect that the Yamazaki Brigade was a decoy sent by the Japanese army to deliberately attract us to attack. The main force of the Japanese army formed a large encirclement on the outside and wiped out all our troops attacking the Yamazaki Brigade!"
"Bang!" The boss punched the table again and gave a firm order: "I don't care what conspiracy the kid has, we must kill this son-of-a-bitch Yamazaki Brigade!"
"Otherwise, there will be more Yamazaki brigade going deep into our base area to cause destruction in the future!"
"As for the conspiracy you mentioned, it depends on whether the little devil has such a big appetite. As long as the frontline troops attack smoothly and eat up the Yamazaki Brigade in a short period of time, the Japanese army without the bait will naturally retreat."
The deputy chief of staff understood God's words: "I will make arrangements now."
At the 386th Brigade Headquarters, as soon as the order came from the headquarters to kill the Yamazaki Brigade, the brigade commander and the chief of staff began to formulate a combat plan.
"Our total strength is more than six times that of the Yamazaki Brigade. Thanks to that guy Tokonje, we also have the firepower advantage...Whether it's a head-on fight or a trick, we are 100% sure to kill them!" the brigade commander looked at him.
Maps analyzed with confidence.
"The Lijiapo battle is easy to win, but the difficult part is blocking the enemy's reinforcements!" the chief of staff replied.
"This matter was highlighted in the order given to us by the headquarters!"
"What we need to be on guard most is the Fourth Mixed Brigade of Yangquan. They can reach Lijiapo by marching in fifteen or six hours!"
"Lijiapo has a difficult terrain and is a place that is easy to defend but difficult to attack!"
"It takes time for us to mobilize our troops, prepare before the war, launch a general offensive, and clean the battlefield..."
"We have to be prepared for an air attack by the Japanese in the middle. I estimate that fifteen hours will definitely not end the battle. We need to leave some extra time for possible accidents. We must arrange a capable force to go for reinforcements."
"Let Kong Jie's independent regiment block the attack!" the brigade commander ordered firmly.
"The independent regiment has the strongest foundation, well-equipped equipment, and sufficient ammunition. They are the only ones in our brigade that can fight a war of attrition!"
"The 772nd Regiment, the New First Regiment, the New Second Regiment, attack Lijiapo head-on..."
"Li Yunlong's new second regiment has just been formed not long ago, and it is temporarily serving as a reserve team..."
As soon as Major Yamazaki's telegram arrived at the Japanese First Army Headquarters in Taiyuan, the war room became extremely lively.
Yoshio Shinozuka personally took command and took this battle very seriously.
"Reporting to your Excellency, Commander, the Yamazaki Battalion has built a ring of fortifications in Lijiapo. As long as the military headquarters can airdrop ammunition supplies to them and provide air support at any time, he is confident that they can hold on for more than five days." The communications staff officer ran over as soon as he received the telegram from the Yamazaki Battalion.
report.
"Yoshi... Yamazaki-kun is indeed an excellent commander from mainland China, and he unexpectedly created such a good fighter for us unintentionally!" Yoshio Shinozuka was very satisfied with Major Yamazaki's arrangement and couldn't help but praise him.
"Call Yamazaki-kun back immediately... As long as he cooperates with the First Army to kill the main force of the Eighth Route Army, I will personally go to the Front Army Headquarters to ask for credit from him!"
"Is there any news from the aerial reconnaissance? How many Eighth Route Army troops are rushing to Lijiapo now!"
"At least three main regiments of the Eighth Route Army! Including their so-called local troops, the total strength exceeds 5,000 people!"
"Yo Xi!" Yoshio Shinozuka became more and more happy as he listened. He looked at the subordinates in the war room who were very happy to give the order.
"In the past, we encircled and suppressed the Eighth Route Army. Killing hundreds of them in one battle was a great victory..."
"This time our opponents have five thousand people. If we kill them, the situation in Shanxi will become more and more favorable to us!"
"I hope everyone will stick to their posts, do their jobs well, and be sure to eliminate all the Eighth Route Army troops gathered around Lijiapo!"
"Who is responsible for contacting the aviation force? Immediately arrange for aircraft to airdrop ammunition supplies to the Yamazaki Brigade..."
"The aviation force will also prepare three aircraft to take off at any time to reinforce Li Jiapo!"
A major staff officer immediately stood up and took the order: "I will make arrangements now!"
"Who is responsible for contacting the reinforcements!" Yoshio Shinozuka continued to ask while looking at the subordinates in the war room.
The two combat staff immediately stood up and waited for orders.
"Which of our reinforcements is closest to the Lijiapo battlefield, and how long will it take to kill it?"
"Reporting to your Excellency, Commander, the Fourth Mixed Brigade stationed in Yangquan is the closest to the battlefield!"
"There are three infantry brigades stationed in Yangquan, and we have arranged for two infantry brigades to march urgently to reinforce Lijiapo... Everything goes well, they can reach the battlefield within fifteen hours!" a combat staff officer pointed to the sand table and introduced.
"How long does it take for the second line of reinforcements to reach Yangquan!" Yoshio Shinozuka continued to ask!
"At least twenty-five hours!" the combat staff replied.
Yoshio Shinozuka immediately frowned: "There is a problem here. The reinforcements sent by Yangquan are too few to encircle the Eighth Route Army on their own. They must hold off the Eighth Route Army for ten hours and wait for the second reinforcements to arrive.
Encircle the Eighth Route Army!"
"They only have two infantry brigades, and the Yamazaki Brigade has less than 3,000 people. If the Eighth Route Army desperately breaks through, can they hold it back?"
"If we can't do this, our operation will probably end in vain!"
"It's difficult!" a staff officer answered honestly.
"Lijiapo is in the hinterland of the Eighth Route Army base, and they are more familiar with the terrain there than we are!"
"If you don't have a certain strength advantage, it will be really difficult to hold them back!"
Another staff officer was embarrassed to remind: "But there are only three infantry brigades in Yangquan County..."
"If we continue to deploy troops to reinforce Lijiapo, Yangquan will become an empty city, which is too dangerous!"
Yoshio Shinozuka suddenly interjected: "Besides the three infantry brigades of the Fourth Brigade, are there any other troops in Yangquan County?"
The operational staff officer had already seen the Yangquan garrison clearly before deploying the troops. Looking at Yoshio Shinozuka, he answered without any pressure: "There is also a military police squadron, a regiment of the Imperial Association Army, and a mountain artillery squadron..."
"According to the order of the military headquarters, the mountain artillery squadron will join forces to reinforce Li Jiapo!"
"The 386th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army has an artillery battalion equipped with a large number of infantry artillery and mountain artillery. The reinforcements must have powerful enough artillery fire to suppress them."
Yoshio Shinozuka nodded and fell into deep thought.
After thinking for a minute, he raised his head and started giving orders!
"Order all three infantry brigades stationed in Yangquan to reinforce Lijiapo, and the mountain artillery squadron must also be brought along!"
"Although the Imperial Alliance Army's combat effectiveness is very poor, it can still be used to defend the city without any problem!"
"The gendarmerie squadron will stay in Yangquan to supervise the operations. There will definitely be no problem with safety!"
"The main force of the Eighth Route Army has gathered in the Lijiapo area. At most there are some local troops and guerrillas left near Yangquan. Do not threaten the safety of Yangquan!"
The chief of staff on the side was convinced: "I agree with the commander's analysis!"
