This Spring Festival is probably the most lively and peaceful Spring Festival for the Eighth Route Army soldiers. On the contrary, the Japanese and puppet troops are on tenterhooks all day long, and this is the case until the end of the Spring Festival.
Generally speaking, both sides are in peace with each other.
Until then, the Japanese army, which had been particularly vigilant that the Eighth Route Army might launch an offensive at any time during the winter, suddenly realized - it turned out that just as the Eighth Route Army had advertised this winter, they really had not prepared any military attack plan.
While they breathed a long sigh of relief, old Japanese like Yoshio Iwamatsu, Naosaburo Okabe, and Junroku Hata felt deeply ashamed.
The Eighth Route Army Special Experimental Zone is taking advantage of this solid winter to continue its rapid development.
When the headquarters decided to jointly expand Kong Jie's First Regiment, Ding Wei's New Regiment, and Li Yunlong's New Second Regiment into the Eighth Route Army's Special Experimental Zone, it was planning to use this iron triangle base as a base for experiments in all aspects.
In terms of military industry development, it is the Eighth Route Army's special military industry production base test area.
As for the test results, they are particularly remarkable.
Looking at the overall situation, it seems that the Eighth Route Army Special Experimental Zone is the heart of the system, which jointly promotes the common development and growth of the entire Taihang region, even the entire North China region, and all aspects of the Eighth Route Army's base areas.
Then, driven by the rapid development of the Iron Triangle Army's equipment, the equipment of the Eighth Route Army's main combat units in the Taihang region and even the entire North China region, and even the equipment of local army units and militia units, have been improved to a considerable extent.
In terms of agricultural development, it is the Eighth Route Army Special Agricultural Production Base Experimental Area.
Under the premise of scientific planting and cultivation, coupled with a large amount of reclaimed wasteland, abundant labor force, and high-yielding mother seeds.
Just one quarter of grain production in the experimental area is enough to meet the food needs of the military and civilians in the entire Taihang base area for nearly half a year.
The troops in the Taihang base area could not finish the food, so they transported large amounts of food to other base areas as reinforcements.
In terms of economic development, it is the Eighth Route Army Special Financial Experimental Zone.
According to the advice given to Kong Jie by Xu Qingnian, the economic development chief of the first team, a special wartime financial system that was stable, stress-resistant, and recyclable was created for the Eighth Route Army.
To this end, members of the economic operations department also specially created a set of currency warfare plans to suppress the Japanese-occupied areas during the war.
As for the ultimate effect, the daily tickets issued by the Japanese-occupied areas were made worthless, and the financial currency of the Eighth Route Army was mainly circulated.
In this way, the purpose of controlling the Japanese economy in enemy-occupied areas with currency and completely defeating the Japanese army in the trade war was achieved.
In addition, it is a test area for the construction of the Eighth Route Army aviation unit, a special test area for medical research and development, a new military field test area for dynamic collaborative operations, etc.
With the rapid development in all aspects, the Eighth Route Army generals who came from all bases to visit the special experimental area were all filled with emotion and admiration.
Inside the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army Special Experimental Zone.
When Kong Jie was looking at the map recently, his eyes always focused on the Northeast region, and the work on the map basically revolved around this area.
Kong Jie deduced four routes for the plan to send troops to the east of Rehe and Hebei provinces.
Since the Japanese army changed its strategic approach to the Eighth Route Army in North China, switching from offensive to defensive, and guarding the main county towns and transportation lines, the Iron Triangle Army has basically fought no battles.
Really unable to rest, Li Yunlong and Ding Wei took Kong Jie and conducted a simulated battle on the sand table at the combat staff headquarters to deduce the occurrence and direction of the war.
Today there is some special news.
As soon as he entered the headquarters, Li Yunlong shouted: "Old Kong, Lao Ding, have you heard? The commander of the Japanese First Army has been replaced. I heard that the old Japanese commander was replaced by Yoshio Iwamatsu.
Yoshimoto Seiichi’s!”
Ding Wei said with a smile: "Speaking of which, the old Japanese Iwamatsu was indeed unlucky enough to inherit the mess in Shanxi from the previous commander of the First Army, Yoshio Shinozuka.
After taking office, he was unwilling to give up and launched several large-scale raids. As a result, he was defeated miserably by us. From then on, he stayed at his post honestly and did some ordinary commanding.
However, the autumn offensive launched by our Eighth Route Army and the campaign to encircle and annihilate the 14th Division of the Kwantung Army around Datong and Zhangjiakou all started from the Shanxi battlefield.
This little devil suffered such a big defeat, he should be dragged out to take the blame.
The weight of taking the blame was too light and it seemed too false, but it was too heavy and the little devil couldn't bear the loss.
What else can be done?
After thinking about it, the commander of the Shanxi First Army, Yoshio Iwamatsu, who had just taken office, isn't he the most suitable person to take the blame?
Yes, it’s him!
No, then he stepped down and was replaced by this Yoshimoto Seiichi!"
Kong Jie then expressed his own opinion: "In recent years, with the rise of our Eighth Route Army behind enemy lines, the Japanese army has continued to lose battles, and the Japanese army's security in the rear areas of North China is gradually approaching collapse.
The little devil is like an ant on a hot pot. He has been anxious for a long time. He keeps thinking about dealing with our Eighth Route Army, but he keeps losing battles and losing troops. He can only rebuild the morale and stabilize the morale of the army by constantly changing the future.
Already.
Speaking of which, our base is stable this Spring Festival, and the soldiers have had a stable and festive year. However, during this period, many changes have taken place in the situation within China and internationally.
According to the relevant information we learned from the United States and Yan'an.
On the Pacific battlefield, the Japanese army, which had been advancing rapidly, suffered a disastrous defeat in the Battle of Midway, and basically lost the possibility of maritime hegemony.
This can be said to be the beginning of a turning point in the offensive and defensive reversal between Japan and the United States.
Then the Battle of Guadalcanal broke out between the two sides, and it seemed to be coming to an end. This could be said to be another great victory won by the United States after the victory over the Japanese army in the Battle of Midway.
At this stage of the war, the Japanese army, which fought on multiple fronts, began to gradually become disadvantaged on the Pacific battlefield, and the situation of plundering and attacking in the Southeast Asian battlefield also began to reverse. On our Chinese battlefield, the Japanese army in North China was defeated by us again.
Remove armor.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Under this tragic defeat on all sides, the Japanese army is probably even closer to the edge of collapse!"
Li Yunlong said happily: "Yes, this little devil is now celebrating the New Year as Wang Xiaoer, and every year is worse than the last.
But speaking of it, in the Battle of Guadalcanal, the old bastard Okamura, the former commander-in-chief of the Japanese North China Front who was transferred to Guadalcanal, did really well.
I heard that the US military suffered a lot of defeats at the hands of this old devil Okamura and lost a lot of troops.
Until later in the Battle of Guadalcanal, the Japanese navy had been completely defeated, and this old devil Okamura was still defeating the US military in the land battle!"
"What does this mean? It means that after this old devil Okamura has been trained under our hands, his commanding ability is indeed even more amazing!" Ding Wei laughed.
"It's just that it's a bit to blame for us. If we hadn't trained our opponents too hard, the United States wouldn't have been defeated so miserably!"
As he said this, the three old comrades couldn't help but sigh.
Then talking about the current situation of the war between China and Japan, Kong Jie believed: "The Japanese army has the nature of gamblers. When faced with a complete defeat situation that is about to lose, what do you think gamblers will do at this time?
I think it is nothing more than a desperate attempt, a final struggle and a desperate effort.
This is the so-called fight between trapped beasts.
Therefore, we must prepare in advance and be on guard against the counterattack that the Japanese army may launch at any time."
Then the three of them studied the map to see if the Japanese army launched a counterattack, in what area and in what way would they launch a war.
Ding Wei pointedly pointed out: "In the entire Sino-Japanese battlefield, if the Japanese army currently wants to achieve several victories, it probably can only sharpen its power against the national army on the frontal battlefield.
If we want to deal with our increasingly stable base areas and growing troops, the Japanese troops in North China alone may not be enough.
Central China and South China are also restrained by our comrades of the New Fourth Army and the Chiang Kai-shek Army on the frontal battlefield. It is impossible for the Japanese to mobilize too many reinforcements.
Under this situation, unless the Japanese resist the pressure from the Northeastern border defense and mobilize a considerable number of the Kwantung Army to go south, it is basically wishful thinking for the Japanese to deal with our Eighth Route Army!"
"What Lao Ding said is right, and I think this possibility is very high." Kong Jie agreed with Ding Wei's analysis, "Currently, the confrontation between the Soviet Union and Germany has reached a critical point, and there is no time to take care of the Kwantung Army in the northeastern region.
Given the nature of the little Japanese gambler, at this juncture, it is extremely possible to mobilize troops southward based on the Soviet-Japanese neutrality treaty and take the lead in concentrating troops to deal with our Eighth Route Army.
It just depends on how the Japanese army plans to attack!
For us, we just need to act steadily and be prepared in advance for a sneak attack by the Japanese army.
Once the Kwantung Army moves south, as long as we can withstand this wave of attacks or even hold back the Kwantung Army moving south, this will surely provide the best cover for our advance to the Rehe and Jidong areas in the north.
This is the opportunity we have been waiting for for a long time!”
"But if the Japanese want to deal with us, what method will they use?" Ding Wei asked, frowning in thought.
The three of them pondered for a long time, looking at the map of Nuo Da, which covered a considerable area, and couldn't think of a reason for the moment.
Finally, it was simply proposed:
"Soldiers will block it, water will block it, and water will cover it. No matter how the little devil attacks, we will just take the attack!"
…
…
On the other side, as Kong Jie and others received the news, Yoshio Iwamatsu, the commander of the Japanese First Army in Shanxi, officially resigned half a month ago. Because of his ineffective management and control of the occupied areas and the command of the troops during his tenure, a considerable number of people in the occupied areas were destroyed.
Lost, the troops also suffered heavy losses.
In addition, since Yoshio Iwamatsu took office, the war mission of luring the Shanxi-Sui Army to surrender has not been accomplished. Instead, the Shanxi-Sui Army and the Eighth Route Army were defeated several times.
Therefore, he was demoted and transferred back to the reserve force.
The newly appointed Yoshimoto Teiichi, who was previously the chief of staff of the Kwantung Army, was transferred to the commander-in-chief of the First Army.
This person is a graduate of the 20th class of the Army Military Academy and the 28th class of the Army University School. He is two classes later than Iwamatsu Yoshio and is Iwamatsu's junior student.
As for the high-level command of the Japanese army, that is, Junroku Hata and Yoshijiro Umezu, the commander-in-chief of the Kwantung Army, recommended Yoshimoto Teiichi as the commander of the First Army after discussions. Naturally, there were many considerations.
On the one hand, it is recognition of Yoshimoto Teiichi’s ability.
On the other hand, and more importantly, the appointment of Yoshimoto Sadichi, the former chief of staff of the Kwantung Army, as the commander of the First Army was precisely to promote subsequent war cooperation between the North China Front and the Kwantung Army.
Let this former chief of staff, who is familiar with the Kwantung Army's combat characteristics and warfare methods, also command the First Army for coordinated operations. Junroku Hata and Yoshijiro Umezu believe that this can avoid to a certain extent the cooperation between the Kwantung Army and the North China Front Army like in previous battles.
Inappropriate question.
really……
Yoshimoto Seiichi, an old Japanese soldier, also lived up to expectations. Not long after he took office, he specifically proposed ideas for dealing with the growing Eighth Route Army in a military meeting.
he proposes:
"In recent years, the rapid rise of the Eighth Route Army in the occupied areas of the empire has seriously affected the internal stability of the empire, and has even caused serious impacts on our army's operations on the frontal battlefields, as well as in Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
The top priority is to continue the offensive on the frontal battlefield, capture cities and plunder resources, in order to achieve the purpose of supporting war with war.
You all know this well. As our war with China continues, the pressure on our army's resources is increasing day by day. If we do not plunder through war and force it to continue, our empire will definitely be the ultimate loser!
So we can only persist, and only by persisting, maybe the holy war will have new opportunities! At the worst, we can pay less for defeat.
After the frontal battlefield is stabilized, our next main focus is to seize the initiative in the occupied area and completely suppress the Eighth Route Army troops.
These days I have been studying the war situation between our imperial troops and the Eighth Route Army in the occupied areas.
Unfortunately, judging from the current situation, our army's disadvantages are already quite obvious.
If we continue to maintain the current state of attacking and defending, our army will sooner or later be dragged down step by step by the Eighth Route Army until it is defeated.
If we want to break this deadlock, I think it may only be possible through active military offensive."
Faced with Yoshimoto Teiichi's words of assurance, Okabe Naosaburo asked: "Does Yoshimoto-kun have any good ideas?"
Yoshimoto Sadachi said: "Your Excellency, Commander, I suggest that we prepare for a large-scale and bold military attack.
The method is actually very simple, divided into two steps, and is a tactic commonly used by the Eighth Route Army to seize the opportunity to attack the east and attack the west.
A part of our imperial troops crossed the Yellow River to the west, pretended to attack Xi'an, and raided Yan'an, the political empress of the Eighth Route Army, in order to attract the attention of the Eighth Route Army.
The premise is that this attack must be so massive that even the commander of our army thinks that we are really going to launch a decisive attack.
After the campaign objectives are achieved.
Then we will use the Kwantung Army, which has been prepared in advance and secretly moved south, as the main force, and our North China Front Army as the auxiliary, to completely clear the mainland transportation lines, and to destroy all aspects of the Eighth Route Army base area construction as the primary goal.
Bring the development of the Eighth Route Army base areas back to three years ago!"