Chapter 208 Isn't that sending food to our mouths?
"Rumble..." The mountain artillery mounted behind the second company roared quickly, and the shells roared towards the Japanese.
The moment the cannon sounded, the sound of the explosion of the artillery shells reached everyone's ears at the same time.
The fire splashed, and the sandbag bunker in front of the heavy machine gun was instantly blown to pieces, and the heavy machine gun was blown over together...
All the nearby Japanese soldiers were not spared and fell to the ground screaming.
Some of the Japanese were not knocked unconscious by the explosion, but fell to the ground screaming and squirming...
"Everything..." The three mortars fired accordingly, sending the shells into the Japanese and puppet army bunkers, continuing to kill the remaining Japanese soldiers there.
Soon enough, the second company commander held up the box cannon and jumped over the sandbags in front of him. He rushed and shouted: "The little devil is finished... go over and kill them... rush with me!"
In the former Japanese military headquarters in Taiyuan, Yoshio Shinozuka was awakened from his sleep by his subordinates.
He was in a particularly bad mood. He was just about to curse someone when he came over and asked his staff to report quickly: "Your Excellency, Commander... Something happened in Jinzhong!"
"Shaozuo Shangchuan, who is staying in Jinzhong, just called: They were attacked heavily by the Eighth Route Army. There were at least 3,000 men on the other side and they were equipped with no less than 40 artillery pieces, including mountain artillery and infantry artillery for siege!"
"The troops left behind in Jinzhong have suffered heavy losses. Please ask the military department to send reinforcements immediately...otherwise Jinzhong will definitely be occupied by the Eighth Route Army!"
"What did you just say? Jinzhong County was attacked, how is this possible?" Shinozuka Yoshio's first reaction was exactly the same as Kawasha Zuo's, feeling that his subordinates were joking with him.
The staff officer could only continue to report: "I don't even believe this is true...but Kamikawa Shaozuo did call the military headquarters for help..."
"The phone hasn't been hung up yet. If you don't believe me, you can ask it yourself!"
Yoshio Shinozuka couldn't stand any longer. He returned to his room, put on his military uniform, and rushed to the war room. As he rushed, he asked, "Do you know which unit of the Eighth Route Army attacked Jinzhong and what its specific number was?"
Seeing the staff officer shaking his head, Yoshio Shinozuka didn't curse, but he took bigger steps than before.
He rushed into the war room and went straight to the phone, grabbed the microphone on the table and asked: "I am Yoshio Shinozuka, commander of the Shanxi Garrison!"
"How is the situation in Jinzhong City? Report immediately. Try to be as detailed as possible!"
"Only by understanding your true battle situation can I send troops to reinforce Jinzhong!"
"The general is wise!" Kamikawa Shaozuo's panic-filled report soon came from the microphone.
"We were attacked by at least 3,000 Eighth Route Army troops...the opponent's siege firepower was very strong. They completely suppressed the defenders on the top of the city and were unable to stop them. The casualties were extremely high!"
"If the general doesn't send reinforcements soon, we will definitely not last until dawn!"
"Which Eighth Route Army are they?" Yoshio Shinozuka finally believed the bad news that Jinzhong was attacked by the Eighth Route Army and continued to ask into the microphone.
"The humble position is not clear yet!" Yongchuan Shaozuo replied, shaking his head.
"Jinzhong County is surrounded by the Eighth Route Army. We have no idea about the situation outside the city and have not captured any prisoners..."
"Idiot... The war has been going on for so long, and I haven't even figured out the identity of the enemy. What a mess..." Yoshio Shinozuka's anger suddenly surged up in his heart, and he cursed into the microphone...
Just as he was about to continue speaking, a report suddenly came from the receiver: "Sir... the East Gate of Jinxi was breached by the Eighth Route Army..."
"They have already entered Jinzhong County and are heading directly towards the headquarters!"
Kamikawa Shaozuo was shocked after hearing this.
Before he could give the order, he said into the microphone: "Your Excellency, Commander... The east gate of Jinzhong has been breached by the Eighth Route Army. If you don't send troops to reinforce, Jinzhong County will be lost..."
After finishing speaking, he gave the order to the communications troops who had just arrived: "Let the garrison in the east of the city rely on street fighting fortifications to block the Eighth Route Army's siege troops layer by layer, hold them back, and buy time for the reinforcements to reach Jinzhong!"
Yoshio Shinozuka put down the phone with a sullen face, looked at the sand table in front of him, and began to issue orders: "Immediately transfer an infantry brigade from Taiyuan, and then transfer a battalion of the Imperial Army. The troops will advance lightly, and they must reach Jinzhong County in the shortest possible time!
"
"The intelligence department should immediately figure out the identity of the Eighth Route Army that attacked Jinzhong. It needs to be fast..."
"By the way, find out how they arrived in Jinzhong!"
"Thousands of Eighth Route Army troops suddenly arrived outside the city of Jinzhong and attacked Jinzhong... Even the heavenly soldiers and generals are not so powerful!"
Twenty minutes later, Yoshio Shinozuka received a call from Kamikawa Shaozuo again.
The Eighth Route Army that entered Jinzhong from the east gate had already advanced more than 400 meters to the city center... The intercepting troops suffered heavy casualties. The Eighth Route Army had artillery support and almost no losses!
The West Gate and South Gate were also broken through by the Eighth Route Army, and the two sides were engaged in street fighting!
Twenty minutes later, the only remaining north gate in Jinzhong was also breached by the Eighth Route Army...
The troops left behind in Jinzhong suffered heavy losses, with less than two hundred men left to continue fighting...
"General, the offensive arsenal has been occupied by the Eighth Route Army!" The telephone soldier put down the phone and reported another bad news to Yoshio Shinozuka.
"Bagaya Road, didn't I ask Kamikawa Shaozuo to blow up the arsenal? Why didn't they blow it up!" Yoshio Shinozuka said very dissatisfied.
The phone soldier quickly explained: "He sent people to blow it up, but it didn't succeed!"
"There was an Eighth Route Army ambushing Jinzhong City in advance... After the siege began, they suddenly captured the arsenal... and also established a defense line around the arsenal to prevent us from re-capture the arsenal..."
Yoshio Shinozuka could no longer describe his anger in words.
The Eighth Route Army anticipated the enemy at every turn, and it was obviously a premeditated battle.
If Jinzhong is lost and the Jinzhong arsenal is captured by the Eighth Route Army... the Eighth Route Army attacking Jinzhong will have enough weapons and ammunition to continue to threaten Taiyuan's security...
Taiyuan is the seat of the Shanxi First Army Headquarters, the capital of SX Province, and the economic and political center.
A mixed brigade is stationed all year round...
But in order to support the frontline sweep, the garrison has been reduced to an infantry regiment, and the troops have to be divided to protect the airport outside the city and the outer city arsenal... There are only two brigades of troops that can be used to defend the city...
Taiyuan is several times larger than Jinzhong. The two infantry brigades seem to be many, but they are scattered behind more than ten kilometers of city walls. On average, there is not a single soldier on the five-meter city wall.
In case the Eighth Route Army attacking Jinzhong suddenly goes crazy and gathers heavy troops to attack Taiyuan.
With the current defensive strength of Ethereum, the outer city will definitely not be able to defend...
Not only will the Shanxi garrison lose face, but the North China Front Army will also lose face in the country!
When that time comes, in order to save the face of the imperial army and defend Taiyuan, I will definitely send heavy troops from the front line back to support Taiyuan. Then the Shanxi garrison's sweeping campaign against the Eighth Route Army will be ruined...
"What a cunning Eighth Route Army. They want to attack Taiyuan to force us to divide our troops and return to the occupied areas to end the big sweep..." Yoshio Shinozuka quickly figured out the real reason why a large number of Eighth Route Army appeared outside Jinzhong City, and cursed with clenched fists.
!
The chief of staff agreed: "The Eighth Route Army likes to use this method the most when it comes to counter-mopping up!"
"A part of the troops circled around inside our encirclement, fighting guerrillas to attract our attention...The main force went straight behind the mopping up troops to cause damage, cut off the mopping up troops' logistics supply lines, and forced us to retreat..."
"I didn't expect them to be so bold this time. They actually sent troops to attack Taiyuan across a hundred or two hundred kilometers!"
"Taiyuan is the seventh inch of our Shanxi garrison. The Eighth Route Army will target this place when they attack. Once they succeed, our campaign against the Shanxi Eighth Route Army will be defeated without any attack!"
"But there is a fatal flaw in doing so!"
"As long as we hold Jinzhong, the Eighth Route Army will not be able to force us to retreat by attacking Taiyuan unless they advance."
"The troops they penetrated outside Jinzhong City may be eaten by us, losing their wives and losing their troops!"
Yoshio Shinozuka nodded in support: "The chief of staff is right!"
"The Eighth Route Army has a good idea and a good layout!"
"But it's not like we don't have a solution!"
"The troops reinforcing Jinzhong haven't been assembled yet, okay? Let them go faster. They must reach Jinzhong within three hours and drive the Eighth Route Army out of Jinzhong!"
"The staff immediately designated a troop deployment plan...to dispatch two brigades from surrounding counties and strongholds, and together with the infantry brigades to reinforce Jinzhong, they would eliminate the Eighth Route Army attacking Jinzhong..."
"The air force is ready to go immediately!"
"At dawn, planes will be dispatched to reinforce Jinzhong County and conduct air strikes on the Eighth Route Army's siege troops!"
"If the troops reinforcing Jinzhong have not recaptured Jinzhong before dawn, the aviation force will immediately destroy the Jinzhong arsenal to prevent the Eighth Route Army from taking it for its own use!"
On the road connecting Jinzhong to Taiyuan City, an assault company carrying out a secret mission is lurking here on standby.
Cavalry company commander Zhang Dashan and guard battalion commander Duan Yong stood beside Huang Yu, one on the left and one on the right, with expressions of nervousness and suspicion.
"Commander Huang, Taiyuan City will really send troops to reinforce Jinzhong... I heard that there are not many Japs in Taiyuan City. If we send more troops, Taiyuan City will have no troops. Will the little Japs take such a big risk for Jinzhong?"
Duan Yong, the guard battalion commander, was fairly familiar with the enemy situation around him, but looked suspicious in his analysis.
"We will definitely send troops..." Huang Yu replied firmly.
"If it were an ordinary county town, the Japanese army in Taiyuan would definitely turn a deaf ear!"
"Jinzhong is different. It is the gateway to the southeast of Taiyuan City. Once it is occupied by us, the troops can march straight in to attack Taiyuan..."
"Taiyuan City is very big. If it is attacked, the remaining troops will definitely not be able to defend it. It is better to reinforce Jinzhong and block our offensive in Jinzhong. The crisis facing Taiyuan will naturally be relieved!"
Duan Yong nodded and continued to ask: "Then how many little devils do you think Taiyuan will send to reinforce Jinzhong!"
"A light infantry brigade!" Huang Yu replied.
"The Taiyuan garrison has too many places to defend...all the troops are arranged according to the minimum standards, and Taiyuan can only have one more infantry brigade!"
"Jinzhong is in danger and may be captured by the regiment leader at any time!"
"If the Japanese want to hold Jinzhong, the reinforcements they send must march forward quickly..."
"Only light infantry can reach Jinzhong in the shortest time."
"Light-armed infantry... aren't they bringing food to our mouths?" Zhang Dashan of the cavalry company suddenly interrupted, his eyes shining as if he saw a pile of gold ingots.
"Commander Huang, the cavalry company likes to deal with the Japanese light infantry the most..."
"As long as they dare to come, I am sure that they will never come back!"
