Chapter 895: The Eighth Route Army of Hebei, Shandong and Henan is a powerful enemy
As the base camp of the North China Front, Peiping is a veritable political center. However, as the 9th Independent Mixed Brigade transferred to Linfen and the 69th Division took over the garrison and stationed in Zhongtiao Mountain, the Japanese defense force in Peiping became increasingly empty.
The mobilization of Japanese troops led to frequent assassinations around Peiping, and Japanese soldiers disappeared from time to time. In the eyes of the Japanese army, the underground personnel of both the Kuomintang and the Communist Party were becoming more and more rampant.
On that day, the residents of Peiping clearly felt that the Japanese army was on heightened alert. The number of military police increased significantly. The movement of people was prohibited on the streets along the way from the outside of the city to Tieshizi Hutong, and even the houses and businesses along the street had to close their doors and windows.
A motorcade quickly drove into Beiping City and then headed towards Iron Lion Alley.
"Do you see clearly?"
The man held on to the window on the second floor until the motorcade disappeared from sight before turning his head: "It's strange to see clearly, but looking at the movement and ostentation, he must be a big shot!"
Another person said: "The superiors asked us to pay more attention to the movements in Peiping. This person is most likely from outside the customs. Find an opportunity to go out of the city and report to the superiors!"
After all, Peiping is the headquarters of the Japanese army, and the investigation and monitoring of underground personnel from both the Kuomintang and the Communist Party have never stopped. Unless there is a major emergency, reports will generally not be sent in the city.
Iron Lion Alley, North China Front Army Headquarters.
As the commander of the North China Expeditionary Force, Ishihara Wanji led a group of officers to greet him personally in front of the building, which shows the high status of the visitor.
"Ishihara-kun, long time no see!" the visitor greeted warmly.
"Yamashita-kun, welcome to Peiping!" Ishihara smiled and replied.
The two Japanese generals entered the headquarters building surrounded by a group of Japanese officers. After they entered the office, the other Japanese officers dispersed.
Ishihara Wanji was four years older than Yamashita Fengfumi. Although they had never worked together, they were relatively small in Japan. The two were alumni of the University of China, and later joined the Japanese military, so they were quite familiar with each other.
It's just that the two have completely opposite family backgrounds and personalities. Ishihara Kanji has a superior family environment and has always been proud of his talents. He is famously aloof among the Japanese army.
On the other hand, Yamashita Fengfumi was born in a rural family and relied on his father-in-law's connections to rise to prominence in the Japanese military. He was greedy for money and lustful.
The two chatted for a while, and Yamashita Fengwen said: "Ishihara-kun, I am very sorry. Due to the internal affairs of the Kwantung Army headquarters, the trip has been delayed for a few days. The warriors of our Second Front Army will arrive in Tianjin one after another tomorrow!"
"I have carefully studied the previous combat plan, and I think it is too conservative. The four divisions going south this time are warriors who have experienced hundreds of battles, and the 12th and 14th divisions are Category A formations. What can the mere Eighth Route Army do?
storm?"
Yamashita Tomofumi's arrogance made Ishihara Wanji feel helpless. Before that, the North China Front Army and the Kwantung Army had been arguing over the battle plan.
As the host, Ishihara Kanji proposed to concentrate the power of four divisions to advance through the Ping-Han Railway, implement the strategy of first north and then south, and give priority to the Beijing-Tianjin area to carry out large-scale mopping up. However, this plan was regarded as cowardly by the generals of the Kwantung Army.
Act of.
Yamashita Fengfumi believed that it was possible to fight on two fronts, and to find the main force of the Eighth Route Army for a decisive battle, giving priority to the area around the Longhai Line where the Eighth Route Army's activities were most rampant. In the end, this plan was adopted.
Seeing Ishihara Wan'er's silence, Yamashita Fengfumi felt a little unhappy. They were both commanders of the front army and had equal status. What's more, the North China Front army had requests from others, so naturally there was no need to be scrupulous about words.
"Ishihara-kun, you must understand that the current focus of the empire is in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. The chief of the temple requested additional troops from the base camp. Our army should have been affiliated to the Southern Army. It was only temporarily dispatched because of the corrupt situation in North China. This battle should
Quick victory!"
"Although Senior Private Tojo is a piece of trash, and he had ulterior motives in dispatching me from the Kwantung Army's combat order, at least it is in the interests of the empire in terms of grand strategy!"
Ishihara smiled and shook his head. He had no intention of participating in the domestic struggle. Being outside the political whirlpool, he could see it more clearly.
Thanks to the care of Juichi Terauchi, he was sent from the head of the Military Investigation Department of the Ministry of War to the commander of the 40th Infantry Brigade stationed in Korea, and later served as the chief of staff of the North China Front. This is why Terauchi was able to obtain relevant information.
Hideki Tojo, the current Japanese Prime Minister, Prime Minister, and Internal Affairs Minister, is the core figure of the ruling faction. As the domestic struggle in Japan becomes more and more intense, there are faint signs that the Imperial faction will be resurrected by the Emperor of Japan.
So Hideki Tojo took the opportunity to transfer Yamashita Fengfumi from the Kwantung Army's establishment, in order to weaken the influence of the Imperial Faction within the Kwantung Army.
Ishihara Wanji continued to persuade: "Yamashita-kun, the Eighth Route Army of Hebei, Shandong and Yu is a powerful enemy, and its strength cannot be underestimated. As the commander of the front army, you must be responsible for the warriors under your command. The Holy War of the Empire of Japan can no longer tolerate any omissions!"
"Yesterday, the Thirty-fifth Division received another report of defeat. I think that since the situation has been ruined to this point, it is better to abandon it!"
However, most Japanese people have one thing in common, and that is stubbornness. This character trait is most vividly reflected in Yamashita Fengfumi.
"Tsk tsk!" Yamashita Fengwen stood up and looked at Ishihara Wan'er carefully, and then said sarcastically: "Ishihara-kun, you are really a qualified commander!"
"Zhou Weihan is a serious threat to the empire. I will definitely take his head this time to comfort the souls of many imperial warriors and my brother in heaven!"
The conversation was divided into two parts, and that night, the intelligence from all parties was gathered into Zhou Weihan's hands.
"It seems that the person who appeared in Peiping is Yamashita Fengwen. He came by plane. The Kwantung Army division set off by train yesterday. The first group will arrive in Tianjin tomorrow!"
"In this way, if the Japanese army moves south non-stop, it can reach Xuzhou as early as the day after tomorrow. After a short rest, the main force of the Japanese army can reach Shangqiu on the 21st!"
"It seems that the initial operations on the Longhai Line are over for the time being!"
The second batch of Japanese reinforcements departing from Kaifeng was, without any surprise, eaten up by the Henan Northern Army Division and the 15th Brigade. The Japanese and puppet garrison strength in Kaifeng City had dropped to freezing point.
Fortunately, Kuroshima Morita saw that the situation was not good, and boldly adopted a roundabout tactic to the south, successfully evading the main force of the Eighth Route Army and reaching Kaifeng, and ultimately provided 8,000 Japanese and puppet troops for Kaifeng.
According to the latest information provided by Kuroshima Morita, there are currently 15,000 Japanese and puppet troops gathered near Kaifeng, of which only more than 3,000 are Japanese troops.
At this point, the initial battle on the Longhai Line was basically over. In this battle, more than 14,000 Japanese troops from the 35th Division and the Independent 4th Infantry Brigade were wiped out, and nearly 30,000 puppet troops from all walks of life were wiped out.
A lot of weapons and equipment were seized, but not much ammunition of all kinds. This is also the reason why the Eighth Route Army was able to achieve a great victory in this battle. The Japanese and puppet troops originally did not have much ammunition.
