Chapter 597 I want to take advantage of the situation (first update)
"Where are the troops? Where did the troops who took the initiative to attack the Japs come from?" Liu Sen asked the most critical question of the entire operation.
Huang Yu was just about to answer when he heard Kong Jie say first: "A few days ago we really couldn't spare the troops to attack the areas occupied by the Japs, but now we have."
"This is also a very important reason why we can catch the Japanese by surprise. They don't even know that we have another elite in our hands, and this elite is provided by them."
…………
At the Baoding Japanese Brigade Headquarters, Colonel Kawasaki is improving the already formulated mopping up plan based on the number of reinforcements.
"Sir, the total strength of the reinforcements exceeds 6,000. There is also a chariot brigade and a cavalry brigade to assist. The strength is far beyond our estimate. I would like to propose that all the extra troops be strengthened and given to the outflanking force." The deputy brigade commander was very pleased.
Be cautious about speaking your mind.
"I have suffered losses at the hands of the Yi Zhong Eighth Route Army, so I understand their combat effectiveness."
"Although the blind expansion has weakened their combat effectiveness a lot, it should not be underestimated. The outflanking troops in the sweep plan are only more than 2,000 people, with the Imperial Association Army and the Imperial Army each accounting for half. If they are attacked by the Eighth Route Army, there are still many
It is likely to be wiped out in a short period of time."
"As far as I can remember, in the previous counter-mopping operations of the Eighth Route Army, they used tactics to deal with us many times. It was better to cut off one of their fingers than to hurt them."
"Not only can it tear a hole in our army's blockade line and create conditions for the main force to break out, but it can also seriously damage the morale of our army through annihilation wars, seize our weapons and equipment, make up for our own losses, and support the war with war."
"Otherwise, without ammunition supplies, they can be killed on the battlefield by sheer consumption."
The deputy brigade commander must learn from his experience of defeat and not repeat the same mistakes. Colonel Kawasaki immediately made a decision: "Then we will strengthen each of them with two more reinforcement squadrons, a mountain artillery squadron, a mortar squadron, and a cavalry squadron.
The total strength has been expanded to 3,000."
"The strength of the frontal offensive force remains unchanged, but all the tanks and armored vehicles equipped by the tank brigade must be gathered together to form a torrent of steel to sweep across the Yizhong Plain frontally, maximizing their mobility and firepower advantages."
"Then cooperate with the outflanking troops to encircle on three sides and annihilate the enemy within Shunping territory."
The deputy brigade commander immediately showed a pleased expression: "Sir, you are wise. No matter how the Eighth Route Army in the wing responds, it will not take advantage of our three-way mopping up troops."
"Sir, there is an urgent call from SJZ's reinforcements..." the communications staff officer hurried to the two men and interrupted.
"They were attacked endlessly by the Eighth Route Army on the march. The troops suffered heavy losses and their marching speed was nearly half slower than expected. They were unable to reach Baoding on time. Please make preparations in advance."
After saying that, he took out another telegram and continued to report: "The reinforcements sent by Dezhou were also attacked by the Eighth Route Army on the way. The troops suffered heavy losses and their marching speed was greatly affected. They will arrive in Peiping three days later than expected."
"Although the tank brigade and cavalry brigade dispatched from Zhangjiakou were rarely attacked, the roads along the way were damaged, making it impossible for the armored vehicles in the team to move forward smoothly."
"In order to avoid being defeated by the Eighth Route Army after dividing our troops, we can only advance while building roads."
"Bang..." Colonel Kawasaki punched the table hard, and the smile on his face was replaced by anger at the same time. He gritted his teeth and cursed: "Bagya Road, what we want to mop up is the Eighth Route Army in Yizhong, and the Eighth Route Army from other places ran out.
Why are you joining in the fun?"
"The lips are dead and the teeth are cold..." the deputy brigade commander replied with a wry smile.
"The Eighth Route Army knows this truth better than we do. Once the Eighth Route Army operating in the wings is eliminated by us, the Baoding garrison will have no opponents and can reinforce other battlefields at any time."
"As long as the Yizhong Eighth Route Army escapes this large-scale sweep, we will be dragged by the Duer Regiment in Baoding, unable to reinforce other battlefields, and their combat pressure will be greatly reduced."
"That's why these Eighth Route Army will try their best to hold back the reinforcements and prevent the Eighth Route Army in the wing from being wiped out by us."
Colonel Kawasaki was furious, but he quickly calmed down, took a deep breath, pretended to be indifferent and said: "It's okay, I'm just arriving in Baoding a few days late."
"Our opponents have already taken root in the plains in the center of the wing. Launching an attack a few days later will not have any impact."
"Call back the reinforcements immediately: As long as they arrive in Baoding safely, it doesn't matter how late or early they are."
Little did he know that this was just the first meeting gift prepared for him by the Eighth Route Army.
At eleven o'clock in the evening, the brigade headquarters, which had been busy all day, also fell silent at this moment.
Although the room was still brightly lit, there was not a single moving figure. The staff officer on duty, the telephone soldier, the deputy chief of staff... were all lying on the table to rest.
"Urgent call... Sir, urgent call from Yixian County..."
"They were attacked by the Eighth Route Army. The opponent was equipped with mortars, infantry artillery, mountain artillery, and field artillery. The offensive was very fierce. The city defense troops suffered heavy losses. They can still hold on for four hours at most. Please ask the brigade headquarters to send reinforcements immediately?"
The deputy staff officer on duty was so frightened that he jumped up from his chair. After receiving the telegram and taking a glance at it, his face turned pale. As he ran to the brigade commander's bedroom, he ordered: "Everyone, be on standby..."
"Operators and operators, continue to contact Yixian County and immediately find out the identity of the enemy who attacked them and their troop strength. The more detailed the better. I will go and inform the brigade commander now. Such a big matter of troop reinforcements requires the brigade.
The president makes the decision himself.”
In less than three minutes, Colonel Kawasaki appeared at the door of the war room with a very solemn expression.
When he walked in, he asked: "Who is attacking Yixian, how many troops are there, and what is the equipment like?"
"The main force of the Duer Regiment, with a total strength of about 2,000, is equipped with a large number of light and heavy machine guns and artillery." The operator put down the phone and said what he had just asked.
"The Yixian garrison was caught off guard by the opponent and has lost 40% of its troops. The Imperial Army, police and others are being summoned to defend the city. They should be able to hold on for four hours."
"No..." Colonel Kawasaki was keenly aware that there was something wrong here.
"The siege force of the Duer Regiment is more than three times that of the Yixian defenders, and their firepower is several times theirs. They also have a large number of offensive artillery to support them. If they attack with all their strength and destroy the city wall with artillery fire, the front-line garrison will not be able to defend it for two hours.
But now he can stay there for four hours, there must be a conspiracy."
"Could it be the Eighth Route Army calling for reinforcements at the encirclement point?" The deputy brigade commander suddenly thought of a possibility.
"This is a common tactic used by the Eighth Route Army to deal with us. They use our combat style of attacking and rescuing them to ambush our reinforcements halfway along the road, thus consuming our troops."
The chief of staff immediately nodded in support: "That's definitely the case."
"The Eighth Route Army knew that we were going to send out heavy troops to sweep them away. In order to avoid a devastating blow to the base area, they took the initiative to attack and encircle the points for reinforcements to consume our troops and take the opportunity to disrupt our battle plan to sweep the Yizhong Plain."
The operator interrupted again: "Sir, the reason why the front-line garrison can still hold on for four hours is largely due to the poor combat effectiveness of the Eighth Route Army's siege troops."
"According to reports from the Yixian City Defense Forces, the Eighth Route Army attacking them seemed like a bunch of new recruits. If it weren't for their powerful firepower, they all wanted to fight out and fight back."
"The battle losses of the city defense troops are basically caused by artillery fire coverage, and the infantry threat is very small."
The deputy brigade commander insisted on his opinion: "Even if the Eighth Route Army's siege force has mostly new recruits and its combat effectiveness is very poor, we cannot deny the Eighth Route Army's judgment that it wants to encircle the point and provide reinforcements."
Colonel Kawasaki seemed to have thought of something, and replied thoughtfully: "I think your analysis is correct."
"The Eighth Route Army's siege force has many new recruits but poor combat effectiveness. This is a fact that no one can deny."
"It means that the Eighth Route Army we will face in future battles will be similar. This should be considered good news."
"As for encirclement and reinforcements, even if there is one, it depends on whether the Eighth Route Army has such a big appetite."
"Yixian County is under attack. Under normal circumstances, we would dispatch an infantry brigade to march quickly to reinforce the battlefield."
"If the Duer Regiment concentrates all the troops and firepower of the three garrison regiments, it will indeed be able to eat up the reinforcements and achieve the purpose of consuming our army's strength."
"But if we don't take the unusual path and directly dispatch three infantry brigades to rush to reinforce Yixian County, do you think the Duer Regiment still has the strength to encircle the point between Baoding and Yixian County to provide reinforcements?"
"To put it bluntly, if they were not afraid of death, they would still want to continue to surround the area and call for reinforcements."
“Not only am I not worried, I’m also applauding.”
"If we can take this opportunity tonight to severely damage the main force of the Du Er Regiment, even if there are no reinforcements, the existing strength of the mixed brigade can sweep across the Yizhong Plain and encircle the Du Er Regiment and the three garrison regiments in Shunping."
The deputy brigade commander was the first to react: "Sir, do you want to take advantage of the situation?"
Colonel Kawasaki did not answer directly, but asked with expectation: "What do you think?"
"I think it's a good idea, and I fully support this idea..." the deputy brigade commander replied immediately.
"If two or three months later, the Du Er Regiment and the three garrison regiments form combat effectiveness, I will definitely object to this."
"But there is no problem now. The Duer Regiment has just undergone a large-scale expansion, and the troops have not yet formed combat effectiveness. Although their current strength is two or three times the original, the overall combat effectiveness is not as high as before."
"In a head-on confrontation, the two infantry brigades of our army can suppress them and fight."
"In order to ensure nothing goes wrong, the commander dispatched three brigades to reinforce Yixian County. There will be no problem."
"The field artillery brigade just formed by the army should also be brought with them. The Duer Regiment has a field artillery battalion in hand. If they really dare to ambush our reinforcements halfway, the field artillery brigade will take the opportunity to eat up the field artillery battalion and destroy it.
The Duer Regiment has severely damaged our trump card many times, creating conditions for sweeping the Yizhong Plain in the future."
The chief of staff thought as he added: "The reinforcements will go straight to Yixian after leaving the city. No matter what situation they encounter, they cannot be divided."
"The Eighth Route Army in Yi Zhong is very cunning and cannot give them any chance to defeat us one by one."
"Even if we don't have the chance to severely damage the Duer Regiment through encirclement and reinforcements, as long as we hold Yixian County, we will win."
"Not only can we take the opportunity to improve the morale of the mopping up troops, but it can also severely damage the morale of the Eighth Route Army."
After Colonel Kawasaki stared at the map for another half minute, and after repeatedly confirming that there was no danger in reinforcing the Duer Regiment, he immediately gave the order: "Then send troops immediately..."
"The deputy brigade commander personally leads the team. I hope you can seize the opportunity to wash away the shame and severely inflict heavy damage on the Du Er Regiment. If there is any situation, report it immediately. I will stay here tonight and wait for your good news."
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