The chief of staff shook his head: "I don't know what Li Yunlong and the others are going to do to attack Taiyuan."
"But the fact that they dared to come and inquire about the enemy situation in Taiyuan shows that they did not let it go in vain, and they already had a lot of confidence in their hearts."
"And this telegram was sent by Kong Jie and Li Yunlong together."
"Li Yunlong is bold, and Kong Jie is prudent in his work. His name is on the telegram, which shows that Kong Jie also agrees with Li Yunlong and Huang Yu's ideas."
"As the saying goes, there will be consequences for the foreign emperor's orders. Since they have ideas about Taiyuan, the headquarters must provide them with help. Nothing can be said to hold them back."
In response to this, the deputy chief of staff was convinced and immediately ordered: "Contact the intelligence department immediately to find out the latest enemy situation in Taiyuan..."
"The faster the better, report any news to the headquarters as soon as possible."
…………
At the Japanese Army Shanxi Garrison Headquarters, Yoshio Iwamatsu was in a very good mood.
The mopping up troops were so powerful that in just a few days they captured half of the Eighth Route Army's base areas in northwestern Shanxi and wiped out thousands of Eighth Route Army troops.
Although the mopping up troops also lost thousands of people in the battle, their losses were nearly double those of the Eighth Route Army.
But more than half of these battle losses were caused by the Imperial Alliance Army, and the real Imperial Army only accounted for less than 40%.
According to the current attack rhythm, as long as there are no accidents in the battle and no third-party troops join the battle, the final victory will definitely belong to you.
The Northern Shanxi Eighth Route Army was an opponent that both Yoshio Shinozuka and Neji Okamura had not eliminated. If they were eliminated by themselves, the huge benefits would be enough for them to move up a level.
Dreams are not easy to come true. As a veteran on the battlefield, Yoshio Iwamatsu knows this truth.
In order to prevent the Eighth Route Army in northern Shanxi from receiving foreign aid, the first thing Iwamatsu Yoshio did when he got up every day was to ask if there were any changes in the other Eighth Route Army in Shanxi, and today was no exception.
The chief of staff looked calmly and said: "Commander, please rest assured..."
"Other units of our army are not idle.
"Although they did not directly attack other Eighth Route Army troops in Shanxi, they have stepped up their alerts and asked each unit to deploy elite troops to actively attack the Eighth Route Army base areas to harass them and prevent them from taking rash actions."
"As of today, there are no signs of mobilization of troops in the Taiyue Base Area and the Southeast Shanxi Base Area of the Eighth Route Army."
The worried look on Iwamatsu Yoshio's face did not calm down. He looked at the chief of staff and continued to ask: "Where is the Eighth Route Army operating around Shanxi?"
"I just contacted the front army headquarters half an hour ago." The chief of staff continued to answer.
"According to their report, the imperial army stationed near Shanxi found no signs of large groups of Eighth Route Army entering or leaving Shanxi."
"Yoshi..." Yoshio Iwamatsu finally smiled.
He said happily: "As long as the Northwestern Shanxi Eighth Route Army has no foreign aid, they will definitely lose this big sweep."
"The only thing we need to worry about next is cleaning up the army's logistics supply lines."
"This is the Eighth Route Army's usual combat method in counter-mopping up operations."
"Forcing us to retreat by cutting off our army's logistics supply lines."
"Commander, please rest assured..." the chief of staff said confidently.
"I have prepared two infantry regiments and four regiments of the Imperial Army to protect the logistics and supply lines of each unit."
"All baggage troops are required to march only during the day. After dark, they must stay in heavily defended towns for the night, and then continue marching after dawn."
"Just because of this, the Taiyuan garrison lost two more regiments of the Imperial Alliance Army."
Yoshio Iwamatsu said with a nonchalant expression: "If it's less, it's less. It's no big deal."
"As long as there are no problems with the logistics and supply lines of the mopping up troops, the large-scale mopping up can continue and the Eighth Route Army in Northwestern Shanxi is eliminated, everything else will not be a problem."
"As for Taiyuan's safety..."
"No need to worry at all..."
"As long as there are no problems with the tank brigade returning to support us from southwest Shanxi, I won't be afraid of more troops coming from the Eighth Route Army."
The chief of staff felt that Yoshio Iwamatsu trusted the tank brigade too much, which was not good.
When Kong Jie and Li Yunlong were still in northwestern Shanxi, Yoshio Shinozuka had not dispatched large-scale chariot troops.
As a result, they all returned defeated and lost many tanks.
At that time, the Eighth Route Army was also not equipped with anti-tank weapons, but it still won the battle.
If the Eighth Route Army really planned to attack Taiyuan and use Taiyuan as a breakthrough point to relieve the Northwestern Shanxi Eighth Route Army, Taiyuan would definitely not be able to be saved by just one chariot brigade.
After hesitating for a while, he reminded Iwamatsu Yoshio: "Your Excellency, Commander..."
"The frontal battlefield is different from the battlefield behind enemy lines."
"The chariot brigade can kill all sides on the frontal battlefield and chase the Chinese army."
"On the battlefield behind enemy lines, there is no objection to this style of play."
"If the Eighth Route Army just lays a landmine on the road, it may cost one of our tanks. If the Eighth Route Army really intends to attack Taiyuan, a tank brigade is definitely no match for the Eighth Route Army."
"Please prepare countermeasures in advance."
"It's not necessary..." Yoshio Iwamatsu replied arrogantly.
"What you just said is very correct. The role of a tank brigade on the frontal battlefield cannot be compared with its role on the battlefield behind enemy lines."
"But my use of a chariot brigade to defend Taiyuan is not an operation behind enemy lines."
"Who told you that fighting the Eighth Route Army is fighting behind enemy lines?"
"Taiyuan is surrounded by plains and there are no mountains."
"As long as the Eighth Route Army dares to come to Taiyuan, they will definitely fight us head-on. The chariot brigade can kill all directions on the frontal battlefield and wipe out all the invading Eighth Route Army."
The chief of staff was choked and could not utter a word.
I felt vaguely that the commander was too mythical about the chariot brigade. I wanted to refute him but couldn't find a reason to refute, so I could only suppress this worry in my heart and accept this point of view.
Then he stared at Yoshio Iwamatsu and continued to ask: "Your Excellency, Commander..."
"The current tank brigade is arranged at Taiyuan Airport..."
"There are no strong fortifications there and it is easy to be attacked."
"The humble official is worried that they will have an accident outside the city, so they should be temporarily transferred into the city. Even if the Eighth Route Army comes to kill them, they will have enough time to fight."
Iwamatsu Yoshio shook his head again: "The reason why the tank brigade can compete on the frontal battlefield is because they have very powerful assault capabilities."
"If you trap them in Taiyuan City, how can you launch an assault on the Eighth Route Army when the chariot brigade is attacked?"
"It is precisely because there are no solid city defenses at Taiyuan Airport that the chariot brigade can immediately deploy into a battle formation. After the troops were attacked, they immediately launched a counterattack against the Eighth Route Army, strangulating with the enemy as quickly as possible and defeating them.
"
"As for the accident..."
"You worry too much..."
"All major transportation routes around Taiyuan are controlled by the imperial army. If the Eighth Route Army comes to attack us with heavy weapons, it will have to take the highway and will not be able to leave our sight."
"Do you think our troops deployed in those strategic military towns and traffic arteries will allow them to easily reach the outside of Taiyuan City?"
"Perhaps there is no need to wait for the chariot brigade to take action. The Eighth Route Army that wants to take advantage of Taiyuan will be almost exhausted by the blocking force."
