Twenty minutes later, violent shell explosions were heard again at the wing headquarters.
The captain snorted coldly and said: "These are the only tricks the Eighth Route Army has..."
"The explosion this time came from the west of the city. After a while, they will run to the north of the city and continue to sneak attack on us, making us feel that their troops are everywhere outside the city, which in turn creates fear."
"As long as we stand still and defend the city of Tianjin, no matter how provocative the Eighth Route Army is and do not take the initiative to attack, they will be unable to do anything to us. In the end, they will be the ones who are anxious."
"The commander is wise!" the adjutant seized the opportunity to flatter him.
"I humbly call the city defense troops again to remind them to strengthen their vigilance and defend Tianjin City. No one can commit suicide without the order of the commander."
"Rumble..."
At this moment, a duller, more violent explosion, like thunder, reached the command headquarters again.
Compared with the explosion of a mortar shell, this explosion was more like something detonating.
Moreover, the explosion seemed to come from the dock, not from the direction of the city wall.
"Sir, something seems to have happened at the dock. There is a huge plume of smoke..." A guard suddenly rushed in to report.
"We can see it clearly in the headquarters yard... boom..."
Before the guard finished reporting, the same explosion was heard again at the wing headquarters, causing the wing captain's face to change suddenly.
I grabbed the telescope on the table and rushed outside. When I looked up, I saw billowing smoke rising from the direction of the pier.
Hurry up to the roof and stand there to see more clearly.
Below the billowing smoke is a raging fire. The orange-red flames are tens of meters high and can be seen clearly without a telescope.
Continuous explosions were heard in the fire, with no intention of stopping.
The orange-red flames and billowing black smoke also grew larger and larger during the explosion.
"Baga, something must have happened to the fuel we piled at the dock?" the captain judged with a stern face.
As soon as he ran to the door of the war room, he ordered with an anxious look: "Contact the dock immediately to find out whether the explosion just now was an accident or an enemy attack. Hurry up!"
"Let the garrison at the dock control the fire as soon as possible to prevent other weapons, ammunition and supplies from being affected by the fire, and at the same time rescue some oil that has not been covered by the fire."
The captain's mind was very clear, and the series of orders had only one goal: to reduce losses at all costs.
After hearing this, the wing adjutant went to make a phone call. As soon as he left, he saw a phone caller running towards him in a panic: "Reporting to the commander, the pier was attacked by long-range artillery fire from unknown enemies. It received nearly twenty shells.
The oil warehouse was bombed and caught fire and exploded."
"In order to prevent the enemy from using artillery fire to sneak attack on other warehouses again, the garrison at the dock requested to attack immediately and divide their forces to destroy the enemy who just attacked them."
"Long-distance artillery attack?" When the commander heard these words, he thought of the sneak attack Tianjin City was encountering.
His face sank and he made a judgment: "Baga, the enemy who attacked the dock must be from the Peking guerrilla detachment."
"In order to increase our defensive pressure, we have to mobilize troops from the reinforcements to return to Tianjin City and the dock."
"What a cunning enemy. He hits our weak spots as soon as he takes action."
The wing adjutant ran over just after giving the order and asked anxiously: "Sir, the Tianjin dock not only stores a large amount of oil, but also stores weapons and ammunition in several warehouses."
"If the ammunition depot is attacked by artillery fire and the shells inside explode, the entire Tianjin dock will be razed to the ground."
"Since there are not many Eighth Route Army troops attacking the dock, and it is daytime again, and there are no mountains and dense forests around the dock, the terrain is more favorable to us, so we might as well send a reinforced squadron to counterattack."
"Even if we can't eliminate the opponent, we still have to chase them so that they can't continue to attack the dock with artillery fire."
The adjutant's reminder is also something the commander is worried about.
He knew better than the adjutant how many weapons and ammunition were stored at the Tianjin dock.
If they were really destroyed due to a sneak attack by the Eighth Route Army, the entire North China Front Army would be short of ammunition, and it would be a light punishment to have one's caesarean section to apologize.
He punched the table hard and ordered: "Tell the garrison at the dock that they can only dispatch a reinforced squadron to fight out."
"The remaining troops will strengthen their alert and expand the alert range as much as possible so that the mortars equipped by the enemy cannot reach the weapons and ammunition we have hoarded at the dock."
"Make another call to the naval fleet stationed at the pier and ask them to dispatch naval guns to support the garrison at the pier and destroy the enemies who sneak attack the pier as quickly as possible."
After a series of orders were issued, the wing commander began to pace back and forth in the war room.
From time to time, I would climb up to the roof to see if the fire on the pier had become smaller. It could be said that the days seemed like years.
Twenty minutes later, the rapid ringing of the phone rang again. The telephone soldier who was standing by quickly grabbed the phone. After listening for less than a minute, he covered the phone and reported to the commander with an urgent look on his face.
"Sir, something happened to an infantry squadron sent out by the dock garrison."
"The Eighth Route Army that sneaked up on them was equipped with a large number of submachine guns and pistols. They ambushed them on the way to pursue them. They suffered more than half of their casualties in just one sudden fire attack. On the way back, they were attacked by the Eighth Route Army's long-distance artillery fire and sharpshooters, killing more than half of them again.
The squad... only 39 people from a fully-equipped infantry squadron returned to the dock alive, and all other soldiers died in the battle."
"Rumble..."
Thunderous explosions were heard again from the dock to the war room.
Upon hearing this, the commander of the regiment knew that the Eighth Route Army artillery had begun to take action again.
"Jingle Bell……"
Just as I was about to ask my subordinates to call and ask, another phone rang directly.
The telephone soldier picked up the phone and listened for half a minute before he reported with a serious look on his face: "Report from the dock garrison: The Eighth Route Army that sneaked up on them fired artillery again, and all the shells hit an arsenal."
"The arsenal is very strong and has not been destroyed yet, but it will definitely not be able to survive the artillery fire for too long."
"They can no longer spare any troops to hunt down the Eighth Route Army's sneak attack troops. Please ask us to send troops immediately to reinforce the dock and kill the Eighth Route Army there."
"Hiss, hiss..." the wing adjutant took a breath of cold air.
"Captain, the garrison in the city is limited. If we only send an infantry squadron to kill them, it will not only be useless, but it will also make the same mistake as the troops attacking the dock. They lost their wives and lost their troops."
"There are too many troops and there are no troops. The Eighth Route Army has made it clear that it wants us to send troops back to reinforce and not send so many troops to reinforce Tong County."
Knowing that there are tigers in the mountains, we prefer to go to the tiger mountains. Why doesn't the commander of the company know this truth?
However, the front army has too many weapons, ammunition and supplies hoarded at the dock, so there must be no mistakes, otherwise the military career that I have worked hard for for half my life will be ruined here.
Even though he knew that this was another hole dug by the Eighth Route Army for him, he had no choice but to jump out.
Looking at the adjutant's serious face, he ordered: "Send a telegram to the headquarters immediately, saying that the Tianjin Pier has been attacked by the Eighth Route Army, and the fuel our army has stored there has been destroyed in the battle."
"In order to avoid greater losses, half of the brigade from the troops that reinforced Tong County must be transferred back to the dock. Otherwise, the thousands of tons of ammunition our army has hoarded at the dock will not be saved. Please approve it, Commander."
…………
At the headquarters of the Japanese North China Front, Neji Okamura has not had a smile on his face for a long time.
Half an hour ago, his staff recreated all the battles that took place after Huang Yu entered Peiping and fought from the Zhoukou stronghold to Tong County. The results he obtained not only shocked him, but also made him scared.
In just three days, the Peiping garrison lost two to three thousand Japanese and three to four thousand Imperial Alliance troops at the hands of the Eighth Route Army.
If there were doubts about the true identity of the Peiping Guerrilla Detachment before, they are now convinced.
To be able to kill so many troops under its command in such a short period of time, the strength of the opponent must not be underestimated. If it were placed on the ordinary Eighth Route Army, the two guerrilla detachments would not be able to achieve such a great result together.
Now there is only one guerrilla detachment operating in Peiping, which shows that this guerrilla detachment was formed by recruiting elite soldiers and generals from the Eighth Route Army. It is not only powerful in combat effectiveness, but also very well-equipped.
They spent a huge amount of money to build such a strong army, and their purpose must be very ambitious. It is not as simple as coming to Peiping to fight a few battles. After thinking about it, only the goal of staying in Peiping and establishing a base is worthy of such a force.
When I think about the name of this unit, the inference just now becomes even more doubtful.
Okamura Neji is the kind of person who gets more excited when his opponent gets stronger.
But he was not excited at all about the battle in front of him. Instead, he felt extremely stressed.
The battlefield is located outside the city of Peiping. Any carelessness will threaten the security of Peiping and bring shame to the North China Front.
The troops at hand are not enough, and when fighting, she is like a little daughter-in-law. She doesn't have this or that, and her hands are tied. Ever since I became the commander of the North China Front Army, I have never felt so aggrieved as now.
"Where are the mixed brigades drawn from the airport and various strongholds? How long will it take to reach the outside of Tongxian County?" The more Okamura Neiji thought about it, the worse he felt. He could only turn his attention to the upcoming battle of Tongxian County.
Go up, staring at the sand table and asking anxiously.
"Reporting to your Excellency, Commander: Several troops have just completed their formation and are on their way to Tongxian County. According to the current marching speed, it will take two and a half hours to reach Tongxian County." The deputy chief of staff was watching this matter.
answer.
"Too slow!" Okamura Neji shook his head.
"The Peiping guerrilla detachment has a large number of troops, well-equipped equipment, strong combat effectiveness, and a very capable commander. There must be a large number of scouts deployed around Peiping."
"If they discover this mixed brigade in advance, they can take the initiative."
"Perhaps this army we worked so hard to gather will be wiped out before it reaches Tonghua."
"Don't forget, this Peiping guerrilla group has already destroyed a strengthened brigade of our army."
"Compared with their Fangshan line garrison, the combat effectiveness of the mixed brigade is much weaker."
The deputy chief of staff was very confident and reassured: "Commander, please rest assured."
"No matter how powerful the enemy is, they are still a group of light infantry, and they are still vulnerable to aircraft."
"As long as they dare to leave the county, the aviation force will chase them and bomb them to ensure that the mixed brigade reaches Tong County safely."
The first update is delivered today, please order it all!
