Zhao Gang sighed with emotion after reading the telegram sent from the headquarters, smiled slightly, and then handed the telegram to Li Yunlong.
Li Yunlong received the telegram and saw that there was only one sentence in the telegram: Kill the son-of-a-bitch Hirata Division to the labor and management.
After reading the message, Li Yunlong became more determined to capture the Japanese 37th Division.
"Commander-in-Chief, scout report!"
Huang Erhu put down the high-power phone and reported: "The Japanese reinforcements have retreated towards Xiangyuan and Licheng County."
"Want to run away?" Li Yunlong put down the telegram and said in a cold tone, "There is no door. The 37th Division is doomed. Even if the King of Heaven comes, it won't work."
"Pass my order, the 1st attack group will advance to surround Licheng, the 2nd attack group will surround Xiangyuan County, and the 3rd attack group will capture Guangzhi town for me."
Zhao Gang said: "When various troops attack and advance, they must be careful of Japanese ambush."
"Yes!" Huang Erhu turned around and gave the order.
So far, Li Yunlong has not even used his trump card, the new ball.
Fighting is very similar to playing cards.
If you play all the cards in your hand and the opponent can't afford it, then it doesn't matter what you play first.
However, if the opponent has a lot of back-and-forth with you, then your trump card should be reserved to suppress the opponent's key cards.
Although it is good to command large corps in battle, Li Yunlong still prefers to lead troops to charge.
Someone else was responsible for directing this battle, and he was just a regimental commander below. He had already led his sword squadron, disguised as Japanese soldiers, to behead Kenkichi Hirata.
At this time, there must be a lot of Japanese and puppet troops defeated, and the Sword Squadron can also speak Japanese, which is a good opportunity.
However, as the commander-in-chief, Li Yunlong will definitely not be able to go, and the members of the Sharp Sword Squadron will not be able to leave either. They need to provide shooting elements for the artillery.
Li Yunlong immediately shouted: "Give me the order and the headquarters will move forward immediately!"
…
"Your Excellency, Division Commander, the 227th Regiment and the 6th Battalion of the 226th Regiment, which went out to assist, have returned to the two county towns of Xiangyuan and Licheng."
"In addition, all the mopping up units... have all lost contact at present!"
Guangzhi Town, the headquarters of the Japanese 37th Division, Division Chief of Staff Ishida Kinzo Daizuo reported to Hirata Kenkichi.
Kenkichi Hirata was in disbelief: "Still not contacted?"
"Hi!" Ishida Kinzo said with an ugly expression, "We have not been contacted, and we have lost the radio signals of each brigade!"
"Bagaya road!"
Kenkichi Hirata felt a little uncomfortable.
The 37th Division lost 5,000 elite soldiers in just half a day.
It was even greater than the losses suffered by the 225th Regiment at Millstone Ao last time.
Ishida Kinzo said:
"There is no need to feel bad, division commander. Although our 37th Division lost 5,000 elite soldiers, I think the Eighth Route Army suffered even greater losses."
"Based on the battle loss ratio between the Imperial Army and the Eighth Route Army in frontal combat, the battle loss ratio between the Imperial Army soldiers and the Eighth Route Army is at least 1:3."
"Even if the Eighth Route Army had more troops and strong artillery support, based on a 1:2 calculation, the Eighth Route Army would have suffered at least 10,000 casualties."
"What's more, I didn't bring the regiment flags of each regiment. As long as the regiment flags are there, I can just apply for additional troops after the war."
Hirata Kenkichi nodded, his expression relaxed slightly, but soon his face turned gloomy again: "Ishida-kun, I'm not very worried about this. What I'm really worried about is the telegram sent by Commander Shinozuka."
More than an hour ago, Yoshio Shinozuka had already sent a telegram, informing Kenkichi Hirata and Kinzo Ishida of the news that the commander of the Eighth Route Army was Li Yunlong, and the speculation that Li Yunlong's target was probably the entire 37th Division, and ordered a rush for reinforcements.
The troops immediately stopped advancing and immediately retreated to the two county towns of Xiangyuan and Licheng.
After reading this telegram, Kenkichi Hirata felt a sense of fear deep in his heart for no reason.
In the past, Hirata Kenkichi had never been afraid of any Chinese, but today he was.
Because Li Yunlong had already captured 4 major generals and 1 lieutenant general in the Japanese army, he was afraid of becoming the next one.
"This possibility is very high." Kenkichi Hirata said: "There is a saying in Chinese military art that before you think about victory, you should think about defeat first. We must make preparations in advance!"
"Order, the division headquarters will be transferred to Changzhi immediately."
"The 226th Regiment defends Licheng County, and the 227th Regiment defends Xiangyuan County."
"The troops immediately built fortifications outside the city."
Ishida Kinzo suggested: "Your Excellency, Division Commander, if the target of the Eighth Route Army is really the 37th Division, I suggest that all troops be sent to Changzhi for the decisive battle with Li Yunlong."
"No!" Hirata Kenkichi said flatly, "Changzhi, Xiangyuan and Licheng are three counties that are at odds with each other. The Eighth Route Army will definitely attack the cities one by one. No matter which one the Eighth Route Army attacks first, the other two counties will be able to give them a certain amount of support.
rush to help."
"We don't need to fight to the death with Li Yunlong. We just need to use these three counties to hold Li Yunlong back."
"As soon as the reinforcements from the 14th Brigade and the 18th Brigade arrive, they can counter-encircle Li Yunlong and his troops."
"At that time, it will not be Li Yunlong who wants to eat my 37th Division, but the imperial army who wants to eat his Li Yunlong Corps."
"Hi!" Ishida Kinzo always felt that something was wrong, but couldn't explain it, so he had to lower his head and pause.
…
Taiyuan, First Army Headquarters.
"Your Excellency, Commander, currently all the mopping up troops of the 37th Division have lost contact."
"The reinforcements of the 37th Division have all returned to Licheng and Xiangyuan County."
Chief of Staff Hideyoshi Kusuyama reported to Yoshio Shinozuka.
Yoshio Shinozuka breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he stopped the loss in time and did not cause greater losses to the 37th Division.
The opponent is Li Yunlong. If these 5,000 troops go to rush for reinforcements, they will probably never return.
In terms of field operations, the 37th Division was suppressed in all directions by the troops commanded by Li Yunlong, both in terms of troops and firepower.
Shinozuka Yoshio said: "Kusuyama-kun, please immediately send a report to Lieutenant General Hirata and ask him to immediately order soldiers to build fortifications. Li Yunlong's next move may be to attack the county seat!"
"If Li Yunlong wants to attack the county town," Kusuyama Hideyoshi said, "it will give the imperial army a chance to gather together and annihilate Li Yunlong's regiment."
"The Eighth Route Army must gather at least three times more troops to launch an attack."
"What's more, attacking a city is no better than fighting in the field. If Lieutenant General Hirata defends it properly, there will be no problem in holding on for ten days."
"Within ten days, the 18th Brigade, the 14th Brigade, and even the 2nd Guards Division had arrived."
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Yoshio Shinozuka nodded: "Xiangyuan, Changzhi and Licheng are horns with each other, which is extremely beneficial to the defending side. If Li Yunlong wants to eat the 37th Division, it depends on whether he has a good mouth!"
…
The night was dark, and the main force of the Taihang Column, more than 30,000 people, was marching southward along the road.
On the right is Ding Wei's 1st attack group, in the middle is Cheng Shifa's 3rd attack group, and on the right is Kong Jie's 2nd attack group.
The ammunition consumed by the soldiers during the day has been replenished. Each soldier has been replenished with 100 rounds of ammunition and 5 grenades.
Every soldier ate meat buns and steamed buns sent by the people and militiamen in the rear, and all the wounded have been sent to the rear for treatment.
After winning the battle during the day, the soldiers were highly motivated and ran quickly with their guns on their backs.
During the day, the howitzers and mountain artillery were camouflaged because they were worried about bombing by Japanese planes, but at night they had no worries and all the artillery was marched on the road.
"Commander-in-Chief!" A communications soldier rode up to catch up with Li Yunlong and his party.
When Li Yunlong and Zhao Gang heard the shouting, they stopped and waited for the communications soldiers to catch up.
After a while, the communications soldier caught up with Li Yunlong and reported breathlessly: "Commander-in-Chief, I just received a telegram from the headquarters, saying that the Japanese have all retreated to Xiangyuan, Licheng and Changzhi County, and the 37th Division Regiment Headquarters has fled to Xiangyuan, Licheng and Changzhi County.
Changzhi."
"Damn it!" Li Yunlong narrowed his eyes, "The kid's reaction is quite fast."
Zhao Gang said: "It seems that the Japanese army has seen our intention and is preparing to defend the city. They are trying to use the county seat to hold us back, and then wait for reinforcements to arrive and eat us in one bite."
After a pause, Zhao Gang continued: "At present, the Japanese 37th Division has lost more than 5,000 people. The remaining troops, including the division headquarters, should still have 2 infantry regiments and 1 artillery regiment."
Li Yunlong squinted his eyes and calculated the cost first as usual.
The current strength of the Japanese 37th Division that can still fight is 2 regiments and 1 artillery regiment, with a total strength of about 8,000 people.
And he now has more than 30,000 troops in his hands. Both the number of infantry and the number of artillery are more than three times that of the little Japanese.
The advantages are huge.
1,000 tons of weapons and ammunition, 1,000 tons of grain, and reimbursed weapons and ammunition are at hand.
Captain Li Da was full of energy.
Li Yunlong turned his head and shouted: "Give me the order, all ministries should speed up and move forward!"
…
Two hours later.
Guangzhi Town.
It is more than ten kilometers away from the two county towns of Xiangyuan and Licheng.
It is located in the middle of the two county towns.
The Japanese had already withdrawn from here, and the Eighth Route Army occupied this place without any effort.
Li Yunlong's headquarters is also temporarily located here.
At this time, the troops of the 1st and 3rd attack groups had surrounded the two county towns of Xiangyuan and Licheng.
Ding Wei, Cheng Shifa and Kong Jie were called to the headquarters for a meeting by Li Yunlong.
"We, Old Cheng, have never fought such a battle for wealth in our eight lifetimes."
At the headquarters, Cheng Shifa spoke excitedly: "After the artillery bombarded the infantry, they charged. After the infantry charged, the artillery bombarded them. After the artillery bombarded the infantry, they charged again. This battle was so comfortable."
Ding Wei also said: "Isn't it? Dozens of cannons fired at the Japs at the same time. The scene was simply earth-shattering. As soon as they fought, the Japs were stunned."
"Then infantry-artillery coordination, artillery-tank coordination, and infantry-tank coordination, today finally gave the Japanese a taste of their power."
"Enjoyed, Lao Li, this battle was so enjoyable!" The two discussed loudly. Kong Jie, who had just stepped into the headquarters, laughed at Li Yunlong. After seeing Ding Wei and Cheng Shifa, he said: "Oh,
Are Lao Ding and Lao Cheng here too?"
"We've been here a long time ago." Ding Wei said, "Everyone is waiting for you, kid."
