Lieutenant General Nagata's clenched fists were almost crushed, which showed how bad his mood was now.
But Qi returned to Qi, and he did not lose his mind because of it.
Frowning, he ordered to the chief of staff: "How many more troops can be mobilized from the city to reinforce the south of the city..."
"The division headquarters security brigade can immediately reinforce the battlefield..." the chief of staff replied blurtly.
Lieutenant General Nagata didn't even raise his head and directly ordered: "Let them set off immediately, march quickly to reinforce the south gate, and meet the reinforcements that have been withdrawn outside the city at all costs..."
Just as the communications staff officer was about to make a phone call to convey the order, the chief of staff on the side suddenly objected: "Division commander, think twice..."
"The guard brigade is the last mobile force in the city. If it is attacked by the Eighth Route Army's heavy artillery unit, it will suffer heavy casualties and lose its combat effectiveness. If the Eighth Route Army wants to take advantage of the situation and attack Gu'an County, we don't even have a breakout force."
Lieutenant General Nagata insisted on his opinion and thought that the Chief of Staff was worrying too much. He frowned and replied: "The Eighth Route Army does not have three heads and six arms..."
"There are more than 10,000 of us fighting against them outside the city. Do you think they can still spare their troops to attack Gu'an County?"
"Excuting an order……"
"Jingle Bell……"
Just as the communications staff was preparing to take action, the rapid ringing of the phone reached Lieutenant General Nagata's ears again.
The telephone soldier on the side picked up the phone and listened for a few seconds. His calm facial expression became tense, and then he covered the phone and reported to Lieutenant General Nagata: "Division Commander..."
"Report from the city defense troops in the south of the city..."
"The Eighth Route Army, which was killing our reinforcements outside the city, suddenly drove tanks and armored vehicles to attack the city gate. The offensive was very fierce, and there were also a large number of infantry and cavalry to help..."
"The city defense troops suffered heavy losses in the artillery attack just now, and they may not be able to stop the Eighth Route Army's attack..."
Lieutenant General Nagata's face turned red immediately, giving people a feeling of shame.
Just now, he had sworn in front of his subordinates that the Eighth Route Army did not have the strength to attack Gu'an County. However, on the turned road, the Eighth Route Army had already launched an attack on the south gate of the county with its chariot troops.
Couldn't they have launched the attack a few minutes earlier?
In this case, I don't have to be as embarrassed as I am now.
But as the lieutenant general commander of the division, even though he had been slapped in the face just now, he still regained his senses immediately and immediately looked to the chief of staff aside: "We can't wait any longer. Let the division's security brigade immediately reinforce the south gate, no matter what.
Block the Eighth Route Army's attacking troops at all costs."
The chief of staff still did not move, but once again raised objections: "Division commander, think twice..."
"The Eighth Route Army attacking Gu'an County is equipped with a large number of tanks and armored vehicles, as well as heavy artillery. Even if we send the guard brigade to the east gate, it will be difficult for them to stop the Eighth Route Army's offensive."
"If they enter the county town, we won't even have the breakout troops..."
"I suggest you abandon Gu'an County..."
"No..." Lieutenant General Nagata replied blurtly.
"If we even lose the county seat of Gu'an, why don't we tell everyone that our military operation tonight failed..."
"It's so embarrassing..."
The chief of staff felt very helpless and was so angry that he almost cursed.
Nagata's division was almost wiped out. As the division commander, he didn't want to save the lives of more soldiers. Instead, he was thinking about whether he would be embarrassed or not.
If he had known that the division commander had such a virtue, he should have reported the battle plan to the headquarters at the beginning of the operation and asked the other two divisions of the Kwantung Army to send reinforcements in time. Maybe they would have reached the battlefield by now.
Now that the Nagata Division has been defeated, even if it calls for help from the headquarters immediately, it will take several hours for the other two divisions of the Kwantung Army to reach the battlefield.
"Only by preserving our troops will we have a chance to make a comeback in the future."
"If all the troops are lost in Gu'an County, the division headquarters may be wiped out by the Eighth Route Army..."
"You can save the green hills without worrying about having no firewood. I ask the division commander to consider this matter carefully."
Lieutenant General Nagata was just about to answer the call when the communications staff's report reached his ears again: "Division Commander..."
"The garrison in the south of the city was jointly attacked by the Eighth Route Army's heavy artillery troops and tank troops. The troops suffered very heavy losses. Only less than 300 people were left to continue fighting..."
"And the city gate has been destroyed... it is likely to be breached soon..."
The chief of staff thought that the Eighth Route Army's offensive under the cover of tanks would be very fierce, but he did not expect that the Nanmen garrison with more than a thousand people could not hold out for even half an hour.
I became anxious on the spot and reminded Lieutenant General Nagata again: "Division Commander..."
"Withdraw..."
"The Eighth Route Army has heavy artillery and tanks. Once it enters Gu'an County, even if we send out all the guard brigade, it won't be able to hold out for long."
"It will take the other two divisions to reinforce the battlefield in four hours at the fastest. We definitely won't be able to hold on that long..."
"For the future of the division, please issue a retreat order immediately... If you don't leave, it will be too late..."
Before life safety is not threatened, Lieutenant General Nagata will still consider the issue of face.
When life safety is threatened, all issues will be put behind safety.
After all, everyone only has one life.
If your life is gone, then there is nothing.
As long as he can save his life, he can find a way to earn back the face he lost on the battlefield.
Staring at the map and carefully analyzing his current situation, he suddenly discovered that the Nagata Division had fallen into a dangerous situation that could be completely annihilated by the Eighth Route Army at any time.
Although the attacking troops numbered more than 10,000, they were all blocked on the Great North Slope and were being fiercely besieged by the Eighth Route Army in the Yizhong Army. Their lives and deaths were unknown!
The reinforcements also had an accident on the way.
Now the Eighth Route Army, which is besieging the reinforcements, has begun to gather heavy troops to attack Gu'an County, which means that they have been completely destroyed. Otherwise, the Eighth Route Army attacking Gu'an County will be attacked from both sides.
After this calculation, in addition to the guard brigade at hand, the baggage regiment, engineering regiment, and heavy artillery regiment that were left behind in the county, I actually had no troops left.
The heavy artillery regiment is good at artillery battles. Let them go head-to-head with the Eighth Route Army tank troops with rifles and machine guns, which is tantamount to seeking death.
As a result, the only troops that can really compete head-on with the Eighth Route Army are the Guard Brigade and the Baggage Regiment, with a total strength of less than 3,000 people.
The Eighth Route Army that attacked Gu'an County was able to wipe out more than 3,000 reinforcements sent by itself in a short period of time, which shows that they have very powerful encirclement and annihilation capabilities.
It will definitely be no problem to eliminate the other two brigades of the guard brigade and the baggage regiment under his command.
If the guard brigade really follows the order it just ordered and marches urgently to reinforce the south gate, it will be like giving the Eighth Route Army in Yizhong a vain victory.
Thinking of this, Lieutenant General Nagata couldn't help but become frightened.
