Lieutenant General Yoshio Shinozuka, commander of the First Army Headquarters of the Japanese North China Front, was in trouble.
The root cause is that the Yamazaki Brigade was surrounded and annihilated by the Eighth Route Army in Lijiapo some time ago.
In terms of military strength alone, it is not a big deal for an army of more than 700 people to be surrounded and annihilated by the enemy.
The problem is that the recent situation is a bit delicate:
Shinozuka Yoshio's immediate boss, the North China Front Commander Tada Shun, has always been dismissive of the Eighth Route Army's attitude. For this reason, he has been criticized by many parties in Tokyo. They believe that the Eighth Route Army can develop and grow because of Tada Shun's wrong policies.
.
It happened that at this time, the news that the Yamazaki Battalion was surrounded and annihilated by the Eighth Route Army spread throughout the army and then to Tokyo.
An independent regiment of more than a thousand people could actually encircle and annihilate more than 700 elite imperial troops?
Yoshio Shinozuka still doesn't believe this statement. He thinks there must be other reasons.
But the idle guys in Tokyo don't think so, especially the young ones.
They seized on this and made a big fuss:
"If the Eighth Route Army's combat effectiveness has reached this level, does that mean that the North China Front Army is no longer able to control the situation?"
"Shun Tada has been emphasizing that the Eighth Route Army is vulnerable, but the facts prove that this is not the case!"
"Shun Tada should be responsible for the mistakes he made. It was he who caused this situation today. We cannot let this mistake continue!"
…
The implication is to replace the commander of the North China Front.
Tada Shun's life is not easy, and Shinozuka Yoshio's life is not going to be easy either.
Yoshio Shinozuka still remembers Shun Tada’s almost pleading voice on the phone:
"This may be our last chance! We must win a convincing victory during this period, otherwise..."
Yoshio Shinozuka knew what would happen otherwise. Lieutenant General Tada Shun would be replaced due to lack of ability. This would be a great shame for Japanese soldiers, although they would probably be promoted to Tada Shun's rank as a sign of comfort.
Yoshio Shinozuka did not hesitate and immediately used the special agent team again.
He hoped to use special agents to destroy the Eighth Route Army's command center, and then launch a major sweep, so that the main force of the Eighth Route Army could be wiped out in one fell swoop, or at least cause heavy casualties to them.
Doing this can be a form of revenge for the Eighth Route Army's encirclement and annihilation of the Yamazaki Brigade. Secondly, it can also give Tokyo a powerful reply: North China is always under our control, and the Eighth Route Army is not as strong as you think!
However, Yamamoto Kazuki stood in front of him at this time and told him that the special agent team had not completed its mission.
Yoshio Shinozuka stood up with a loud sound and said dissatisfied: "Yamamoto-kun, this is the second time you have failed. This time, not only did you fail to complete the task, but you also suffered such heavy losses. What else do you have to say?
?”
"Yes!" Yamamoto Kazuki lowered his head in shame.
Prior to this, Kazuki Yamamoto did not even bother to attack the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army.
In his opinion, his special agent team should be sent to Chongqing to play a greater role.
So he refused at first and didn't even take the task seriously.
but now……
Yamamoto Kazuki discovered that this task was not as simple as imagined.
If the first time they were accidentally blocked by an Eighth Route Army, then the second time they had already reached their destination and exchanged fire with the target face to face, but they still couldn't do what they wanted and suffered such heavy casualties.
...The eighty-strong special agent team suffered 35 casualties, more than one-third.
This is something Yamamoto Kazuki cannot accept.
What made him even more unacceptable was that he didn't even know who the opponent was who caused him heavy casualties!
This is simply a disgrace to the imperial soldiers!
What a disgrace to the secret service!
Kazuki Yamamoto had nothing to say and waited for Yoshio Shinozuka to punish him.
However, Yoshio Shinozuka didn't say anything, and just sighed: "That's it, go down and rest for a few days. Although your failure has made our sweep passive, you have tried your best!"
"Yes!" Kazuki Yamamoto responded and glanced at Yoshio Shinozuka in surprise.
How did Yamamoto Kazuki know about Shinozuka Yoshio's helplessness? At this time, the quality of the Japanese army was not as good as before. A large number of experienced veterans died on the front line, and the quality of the supplemented and expanded troops was not as good as the batches, like Yamamoto Kazuki.
There are only a handful of elites left, how else can Yoshio Shinozuka deal with them!
Just as Yamamoto Kazuki was about to go out, he hesitated and turned around to report to Yoshio Shinozuka: "Your Excellency, Lieutenant General! I have some ideas about this raid. I wonder if Your Excellency, Lieutenant General, is willing..."
Yoshio Shinozuka nodded.
Anyway, now that the situation is like this, it might as well listen to Kazuki Yamamoto’s thoughts.
"Yes!" Yamamoto Kazuki bowed his head slightly to express his gratitude, and then continued: "Although the special agent team failed to achieve the strategic goal in this battle, it proved that my guess was correct. If we want to avoid being discovered by the enemy, our intentions
, we must avoid all armies and people, including our own army!"
Yoshio Shinozuka was stunned and asked: "What do you mean..."
"Your Excellency, Lieutenant General!" Kazuki Yamamoto explained: "Don't think that the imperial army can keep secrets. This is not a matter of loyalty to the imperial soldiers, but... there are a large number of Manchukuo troops living with them, many of whom
The spies of the Eighth Route Army and every move of the imperial soldiers are under their surveillance, and they can judge or guess the intentions of our army through the abnormal actions and movements of the imperial soldiers."
Yoshio Shinozuka nodded slightly, this has always been a stubborn problem of the Japanese North China Front.
Due to insufficient manpower, the imperial army had to recruit the Manchukuo Army in order to control the huge Japanese-controlled area.
The Manchukuo army was recruited but they could not be trusted to fight independently... If they fought independently, they would either fire blanks against the enemy or simply surrender with their equipment.
Therefore, the imperial army and the Manchukuo army could only be mixed into combat.
As a result of mixing, it is inevitable that many intelligence personnel will sneak into the army, leaving the Japanese army with almost no secrets from the enemy.
"Yamamoto-kun, is there any way to change this situation?" Shinozuka Yoshio asked.
"No, Lieutenant General!" Yamamoto Kazuki replied: "I don't mean to change this situation, but... we may be able to take advantage of this situation!"
"What do you mean?" Shinozuka Yoshio became somewhat interested.
Yamamoto Kazuki walked to the map hanging on the wall, pointed at the map and explained: "We have been raiding enemy villages step by step, and the enemy can always get the news in advance to retreat. But... if we organize two
A pure imperial army, without any warning or contact with any other troops, penetrated directly into the heart of the Eighth Route Army from both wings and controlled two villages to hold on..."
Yoshio Shinozuka nodded.
As a result, a large area of the Eighth Route Army was surrounded by the imperial army before they could retreat!