The roaring sound of artillery at Niangziguan attracted the attention of not only the Japanese troops in Shanxi and North China, but also the commander-in-chief of the Chinese Expeditionary Army, General Hata Shunroku.
At this time, Shunroku Hata was sitting behind his desk, looking at a telegram in front of him, tapping his fingers lightly on the table, his eyes seemed to be unfocused, as if he was wandering in the sky.
After a long time, Shunroku Hata suddenly asked: "Kawabe-kun, what do you think of this telegram from Neji Okamura?"
The Kawabe-kun that Shunroku Hata was talking about was Lieutenant General Shozo Kawabe, the Chief of General Staff of the Chinese Expeditionary Army.
After hearing what Shunroku Hata said, Shozo Kawabe pondered for a while before slowly spitting out a few words: "Not so good?"
"Nani?"
Hearing what Shunroku Hata said, Shozo Kawabe was stunned. What did his boss mean by this?
Seeing Shozo Kawabe's confused eyes, Shunroku Hata smiled softly, stood up and walked to the sofa nearby and made a gesture of invitation. After Shozo Kawabe sat down, he personally picked up the teapot and poured a cup for Shozo Kawabe.
Tea.
"Kawabe-kun, let me ask you, in your impression, what kind of person is Okamura-kun?"
"Okamura Neji is a man of great talent." Kawabe Shozo thanked him first, then put his left hand on his right wrist, drank it all in one gulp, and then replied, "As far as I know, the entire Emperor of Japan
Among the military generals, there are not many who are as talented as Okamura Neiji."
"Oh!" Shunroku Hata glanced at him, "I didn't expect Kawabe-kun to have such a high opinion of Okamura-kun."
"It's natural. Okamura-kun is one of the people known as the 'Three Feathered Crows' (this title in Japan means something similar to the Three Heroes of China)."
Kawabe Shozo said seriously: "The achievements Okamura Neji has made in China over the years are obvious to all. In the 13th year of Showa (1938), he led the 11th Army to invade Wuhan, the capital of China. This
It’s enough to prove his excellence.”
Hata Shunroku didn't expect that his chief of staff would admire Okamura Neiji so highly. He took a deep look at him, picked up the teapot and gave Kawabe Shozo another cup, and said slowly: "The Chinese have an old saying, it's called Chengya.
Xiao He defeated Xiao He, I think it makes sense.
Okamura-kun has always been steady in battles, but this time he was obviously a little impatient when dealing with Gao Hongming, didn't you see it?"
"Maybe." Kawabe Shozo thought for a while: "I admit that Okamura Neji took some risks this time, but isn't war full of uncertainty and contingency?"
Shunroku Hata snorted: "You are right, war is indeed full of chance and uncertainty, but this time it is obviously a battle that is almost certain to be lost. Okamura-kun still has to put his own future on the line. Is this...
Is it the wisdom of a general?"
Kawabe Shozo didn't expect Hata Shunroku to be so unfavorable to Okamura Neji. He frowned: "Commander, I didn't expect you to have such a pessimistic attitude. But in this case, why didn't you dissuade or even stop Okamura-kun?"
"stop?"
Shunroku Hata snorted, "How can I stop it? Are you giving orders in the name of the commander-in-chief?"
"this……"
Kawabe Shozo was speechless. As the commander-in-chief of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, Hata Shunroku actually did not have as much power as most people imagined.
Of course, Shunroku Hata had the right to order Okamura Neiji to cancel the battle in the name of the commander-in-chief of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, but that was not what happened, and that is not how the official acted.
Of course it is possible to do this, Okamura Neji even wishes he would do it.
But if the situation of the Shanxi war changes in the future, Shunroku Hata, who personally denied the battle at the beginning, will have to take the blame for Neji Okamura. Therefore, anyone with some wisdom will not do this, and Shunroku Hata is certainly no exception.
"Then you agree to Okamura-kun's request to dispatch aircraft and reinforcements?"
"No."
Shunroku Hata shook his head.
"I will not transfer a single aircraft or a wing to Okamura Neiji. As the commander of the North China Front, he has 200,000 troops under his command. If he can't even deal with a mere local militia, then it's a capability issue.
Besides, he has already destroyed all the more than 300 aircraft of the entire North China Front Army. Why is he still asking me for an aircraft? Where can I transfer aircraft to him? Who in the Central China Front Army or South China Front Army is willing to give the aircraft to him?
he?"
Hebian Zhengzo stopped talking.
Airplanes are treasures no matter where they are. Who would be willing to lend their treasures to others, and there is a high probability that they will be beaten by meat buns.
Sighing softly in his heart, Kawabe Shozo bowed to the only one, "I understand, I will draft a telegram immediately and call back to Okamura-kun."
After saying that, he was about to stand up, but was stopped by Shunroku Hata, "Wait a minute, you have to remember that the tone of the telegram should be as gentle as possible and not too harsh."
"Hi!" Hebian Zhengzo agreed and then walked out.
Snowflake Mountain Japanese Army Position
More than a dozen Type 92 machine guns were pouring out tongues of fire crazily. Machine gun bullets shot through the low grass. Grenades and Type 92 infantry cannons kept firing, and hot shrapnel roared in the air.
The fierce firepower overwhelmed the soldiers of the Independent Regiment who were responsible for the main attack and could not raise their heads. Li Yunlong lay in a depression, looking at the bullets that kept whizzing past his head, and felt extremely anxious.
After just occupying the front mountain of Snowflake Mountain, Li Yunlong was quite happy. He thought that if he could capture Snowflake Mountain today, the Independent Regiment would be able to show its face. However, he never thought that he would be happy too early. In order to defend the place, the 165th Regiment
However, after hard work, both the bunker and the fortifications were built very solidly and well-organized, which suppressed the Independent Regiment extremely hard for a while.
In addition, the dense grass in front of the Japanese position acted as a barbed wire fence. Many Eighth Route Army soldiers fell into the grass and had difficulty moving. They were torn into two pieces by the 7.7mm heavy machine gun of the Japanese Type 92 heavy machine gun. The attack of the independent regiment was suppressed.
Seeing that the troops were suppressed, Li Yunlong was particularly angry. He turned around and asked the correspondent behind him: "Why hasn't our plane arrived yet?"
The correspondent replied with a grimace: "Commander, most of our planes have gone to support Xinkou, and they can't take care of us for a while."
"Fart, the Jinsui Army at Xinkou has surrendered five divisions. Do they need so many aircraft support? I think those grandsons of the Jinsui Army are just afraid of death!" Li Yunlong, who became angry and angry, cursed:
The correspondent shrank back, not daring to offend his regimental leader at this juncture.
At this moment, Monk Wei, who was following Li Yunlong, suddenly pointed forward and shouted: "Captain, someone has climbed over."
"Huh?" Li Yunlong glanced attentively, and sure enough he saw an Eighth Route Army soldier crawling slowly from the grass toward the Japanese position.