But thinking that it was not a farewell telegram, my brows relaxed slightly.
Urgent means that although the matter is urgent and generally represents something bad, the situation has not yet reached the final stage of despair.
It would be the worst case scenario if the 1st Division sent a farewell telegram.
But how could the 1st Division send an urgent message to the North China Front at this time? Could it be that Mitsuo Nakazawa was asking for tactical guidance again?
"Read it!" Okamura Neji said in a deep voice.
"Hi!"
Kitani Haruo held the telegram in his hand and read:
"More than half an hour ago, the headquarters of the Garrison in Mongolia was covered by the long-range heavy artillery fire of the Eighth Route Army. The commander of the Garrison in Mongolia, Lieutenant General Shigetaro Amakasu, and the commander of the 3rd Tank Division, Lieutenant General Nishihara Issaku, were shattered..."
After saying that, Haruo Koutani first stood upright and then lowered his head to express his condolences.
"Nani?"
Okamura Neji suddenly opened his eyes wide, with an unbelievable look of shock on his face.
On the side, Moritake Tanabe, Seizo Arisu, and all the staff members also had expressions of disbelief.
Two lieutenants were crushed at the same time?
This is simply unimaginable, nothing like this has ever happened.
Moreover, one of them is the commander of the group army, and the other is the commander of the tank division. They are both lieutenant generals with real power.
The battlefield is like this. No matter you are a soldier or a general, as long as you are on the battlefield, all living beings are equal.
Many generals died accidentally on the battlefield. Some were killed by stray bullets, some were killed by artillery shells, and some were hit by cars.
However, two lieutenant generals were bombed to death at the same time, which was very explosive in the entire history of war.
"Is the news confirmed?"
Okamura Neji's eyes widened and turned red, and his voice was hoarse.
"Hi!"
Haruo Kitani lowered his head again and expressed his confirmation: "I have confirmed with the 26th Division Regiment Headquarters that a 150 mm caliber artillery shell fell at the headquarters of the Mongolian Army. All officers of the entire headquarters were killed, and no body was found at the scene.
The complete corpse, the guards of the headquarters only took away some soil, sand, stones and flesh..."
Two powerful lieutenant generals were shattered. Such a big thing, even a top-secret telegram sent from the 1st Division Headquarters.
Haruo Kitani also needs to confirm that it is correct before reporting to Okamura Neji, Tanabe Moritake and others.
Once something goes wrong, Kitani Haruo will also be punished.
Hearing this, the last trace of luck in Okamura Neji's heart disappeared, and he lowered his head to express his condolences.
Behind him, Tanabe Mingwu, Youmo Seizan and a group of Japanese combat advisers all lowered their heads.
If the news that two powerful lieutenant generals were in disgrace were spread back to Japan, it would definitely cause an uproar.
The entire North China Front Army Headquarters fell into silence, and you could hear the drop of a needle. A Japanese combat staff member hurried in with a folder and saw everyone bowing their heads in mourning.
Although he didn't know what was going on, the Japanese staff officer immediately joined in the mourning.
After three full minutes, Okamura Neji raised his head, and Tanabe Moritake, Arisu Seizo, and other Japanese all raised their heads.
Taking a deep breath, Okamura Neji then looked at Communications Staff Officer Haruo Kitani: "Kutani-kun, what is the current situation of the main force stationed in Mongolia?"
"Report to Commander, the situation of the troops stationed in Mongolia is very bad!"
Kitani Haruo's face and tone were solemn:
"The main force of the troops stationed in Mongolia has lost nearly two-thirds. Currently, the commander of the 26th Division, Kuroda Shigenori, has taken over the command. The remaining troops are moving towards Gaoyang County."
"The Eighth Route Army's tank troops, cavalry troops and infantry are pursuing the remaining troops stationed in Mongolia at full speed."
"In addition, because the 1st Division cooperated with the counterattack of the Mongolian army, it launched an attack on the city wall occupied by the Eighth Route Army, resulting in total losses of more than one infantry regiment and one heavy artillery brigade!"
Hearing this news, Okamura Neji's face became even more ugly.
The main force of the troops stationed in Mongolia are elites, especially the 3rd Tank Division, which is a strategic-level force of the Japanese Army.
It is one of the few ace troops in the hands of Neji Okamura.
But I didn't expect that they were almost wiped out in the battle of Datong.
The main force of the garrison in Mongolia arrived near Datong in the morning. It was only three o'clock in the afternoon and only a few hours later. I didn't expect that the garrison in Mongolia would be defeated so miserably.
Okamura Neji was so shocked that he couldn't speak. Then he drew out his general's sword and chopped several blue and white porcelain vases in the corner to pieces.
"Bagaya road!"
…
at the same time.
Outside Yangquan City.
Shi Nao Mountain, the headquarters of the New Regiment, which is also the former enemy headquarters of the Eighth Route Army.
Li Yunlong stared at the map. The combat staff had drawn arrows on the map based on the intelligence regarding the battle between the Japanese reinforcements and the Eighth Route Army's reinforcements.
The situation diagram of the enemy and ourselves on the map shows a staggered situation.
All the main forces of the Eighth Route Army from the Jizhong Military Region, Taihang Military Region, and Jinnan Military Region were dispatched.
Try your best to buy time for the 129th Division and the New Regiment to completely wipe out the 37th Division and the 33rd Division.
The troops of several divisions of the Japanese army were naturally nothing in the eyes of the 129th Division and the Northwestern Shanxi Eighth Route Army.
However, the equipment of the Brotherhood Military Region is poor and the ammunition is not sufficient. Fighting against Japanese division-level troops is quite stressful.
but.
Under the personal command of the head of the headquarters and the chief of staff from a distance, and the firepower and equipment of the brothers' troops had been strengthened, the reinforcement troops of the brothers' military regions dragged the Japanese reinforcements outside Shanxi.
Li Yunlong stared at the map: "Our battle to completely annihilate the 33rd Division and the 37th Division has to be sped up. It is very difficult for our brother troops to fight."
"Yes! The Japanese reinforcements of the North China Front are on the offensive very fiercely, and they are trying to reinforce Yangquan and Shouyang at all costs." The chief of staff nodded.
Zhao Gang suggested: "How about sending a few of our troops to help our brother troops fight for reinforcements?"
"Or we can simply put the Japanese reinforcements into Shanxi and deal with them all together."
Li Yunlong's expression changed slightly: "Old Zhao, your suggestion is good."
"Meat should be eaten in big mouthfuls. The meat that reaches your mouth is good meat."
"Immediately send a telegram to the head of the headquarters to ask all the brothers to withdraw, and put the 21st Division, 35th Division, 110th Division and the 4th Cavalry Brigade into Shanxi."
"As long as the devils dare to come, we will eat them."
The Japanese army has three B divisions plus a cavalry brigade, with a total strength of about 50,000.
The main force of the Eighth Route Army attacking Shouyang County and Yangquan has a total strength of 120,000, including the main force of the 40,000 New Regiment with the strongest combat effectiveness.
Although the 120,000 main force attacking Shouyang and Yangquan will suffer losses after annihilating the 33rd and 37th Divisions.
However, the three divisions and cavalry brigade of the Japanese army were stubbornly blocked by the brothers' troops, and there would also be casualties.
The total strength of the Eighth Route Army is still more than twice that of the Japanese reinforcements. Its equipment is several grades better than that of the Japanese army. It has sufficient ammunition, food, medicine and other supplies, and there are also airdrop supplies arriving at any time.
Li Yunlong: I have great advantages.
The battle to completely annihilate the 33rd Division and the 37th Division did not last long, and most of the troops were far from exhausted.
In this battle, there is a good chance that the Japanese reinforcements of 3 infantry divisions and 1 cavalry brigade will be defeated or even severely damaged.
certainly.
The Japanese reinforcements also include the Mongolian Army. The premise is that the Dingkong Corps can block the main force of the Mongolian Army and the counterattack of the 1st Division in Datong.
However, Li Yunlong knew that Ding Kong's regiment would have little problem blocking the Mongolian army and the 1st Division, because all the heavy equipment of the new regiment was under the command of Kong Jie, and it could even defeat the Mongolian army.
If they can't defeat the Mongolian Army and the 1st Division, Kong Jie and Ding Wei might as well go home and take care of their children.
Just as Li Yunlong was thinking about it, the telegraph soldier held a telegram in his hand, walked over quickly, and gave a military salute: "Report to the commander-in-chief, the independent regiment is in urgent need of a telegram!"
"Read it!" Li Yunlong's expression changed.
Zhao Gang and Wang Dehou also turned their heads and looked at the telegraph soldiers, frowning slightly.
urgent telegram.
Could it be that the Ding Kong Corps is in trouble?
"yes!"
The telegraph soldier took the telegram and read:
"The Ding Kong Corps fought fiercely with the Mongolian army for several hours and defeated the main force of the Mongolian army. They killed the commander of the Mongolian army, Lieutenant General Shigetaro Amakasu, and the commander of the 3rd Tank Division, Lieutenant General Nishihara Issaku. The Ding Kong Corps is currently pursuing the rout.
The main force of the army stationed in Mongolia is Kong Jie, the commander of the independent regiment."
"What?" Li Yunlong's eyes widened suddenly, "Ding Kong Corps killed two Japanese lieutenant generals!?"
Li Yunlong estimated that the Dingkong Corps could defeat the Mongolian troops. After all, the firepower of the Dingkong Corps was too strong.
But Li Yunlong didn't expect that he could actually kill two Japanese lieutenant generals, and even the commander of the Japanese army stationed in Mongolia!
Zhao Gang, Wang Dehou and a group of combat advisers on the side had a look of shock on their faces, which then turned into deep surprise.
I thought the Dingkong Corps was in trouble, but I didn't expect a big surprise.
"Very good."
Zhao Gang smiled all over his face:
"Captain Ding and Commander Kong fought beautifully. They killed two lieutenant generals at once. Our regiment has never achieved such a record."
The most Japanese generals killed by the New Regiment in one go was when the Japanese army shot down the observation group led by Kohisao in mid-air. They shot down one lieutenant general, two major generals, and three generals.
And it was the first time that two Japanese division commanders were killed at the same time.
"Well done!" Wang Dehou said in an encouraging tone.
Then, Li Yunlong asked the correspondent to turn on the radio call function of the radio station and personally spoke to Kong Jie.
Asked how they killed the two old devils Jutaro Amakasu and Issaku Nishihara.
After a while, Li Yunlong put down the receiver and microphone in his hand.
"The situation is all clear." Li Yunlong said happily, "The third salvo of our Katyusha rocket launcher killed the headquarters of the army stationed in Mongolia, and blew up Jutaro Amakasu and Issaku Nishihara to ashes."
Kong Jie's troops had been chasing the Japanese troops stationed in Mongolia for some time, captured some Japanese prisoners, and confirmed from the prisoners' mouths the news that Amakasu Jutaro and Nishihara Issaku had been killed.
Zhao Gang asked: "How many Japanese tanks were killed in this battle?"
He just heard Li Yunlong asking Kong Jie on the walkie-talkie.
However, the noise outside was relatively loud, and Zhao Gang did not hear Kong Jie's reply.
"How many tanks?" Li Yunlong raised the corner of his mouth, "I'll scare you if I tell you."
"According to Kong Jie's conservative estimate, the number of Japanese tanks and armored vehicles they killed in this battle is more than 250!"
Political Commissar Zhao's eyes lit up: "Kill 250 Japanese tanks..."
"Destroy the main force of the troops stationed in Mongolia, annihilate the 37th Division and the 33rd Division, and kill four Japanese lieutenant generals."
Although the 33rd Division and the 37th Division have not been completely wiped out.
But judging from the current situation, the 33rd Division and the 37th Division are already the turtles in the urn, and they can kill four Japanese lieutenant generals in this battle.
After a pause, the smile on Zhao Gang's face became stronger: "Old Li, we are going to get rich!"
"This is all a small fortune. Chief of Staff, please forward this telegram to the headquarters immediately!" Li Yunlong pretended to be calm on his face, but in his heart he was already thinking about how much business he could earn from this battle.
