Wang Xuexin really had no choice against the Japanese tactics.
Because the Eighth Route Army had no air superiority from the beginning, the original plan when occupying Yuncheng was to ensure that the Japanese would not put too much air power and aerial bombs on the Eighth Route Army when they started fighting everywhere.
But now, the Japanese have spent a lot of money to deal with the Eighth Route Army. They not only invested a large number of "Zero Fighter" and Type 96 and Type 97 fighters, but also deployed aerial bombs to bomb Yuncheng...
Before occupying Yuncheng, the Eighth Route Army actually did not need to worry about Japanese aircraft bombing.
The reason is that the Eighth Route Army has almost no targets worthy of bombing by the Japanese. On the other hand, it is engaged in guerrilla warfare and can be transferred at any time. It is difficult for the Japanese aircraft to find valuable targets. Therefore, the Japanese only use 98 light explosives and small bombs weighing 25 kilograms. Later, they transferred
The "Zero War" and Type 97 bombers were mainly used to deal with stubborn troops and attack the Eighth Route Army.
It's different now.
This batch of fighters of the North China Front were probably designed to deal with the Eighth Route Army's aviation fleet, and the aircraft they used were all powerful aerial bombs weighing several hundred kilograms.
Telegrams and phone calls came to Wang Xuexin's headquarters one after another, but Wang Xuexin chose not to answer them all.
Because he knew that most of these were telegrams from the front line asking the Eighth Route Army Air Force to go into battle or to use "high fire" to blow up Japanese planes.
The Eighth Route Army commanders and fighters did not know the situation, but Wang Xuexin understood that it was precisely at this time that the air force could not be dispatched.
Otherwise, if more than a hundred "Hawker 81s" fight against more than a hundred "Zero Fighters", and all the Japanese pilots are experienced, what are the chances of winning?
More importantly, the Eighth Route Army has always been short of pilots.
What will happen next after these pilots sacrificed their lives?
Waiting for Major Doug to train the next batch?
I won’t be able to get out of here in a few years!
Wang Xuexin did not dare to act rashly for this reason, and it was useless for anyone to urge him.
As for "high fire"...
The reason why it won last time was because the Japanese did not know that Wang Xuexin's method was followed by the proximity fuze.
The Japs are not stupid. They cannot be bombed once and then stupidly go near the "high fire" to be bombed.
Therefore, they don't even need to install proximity fuses... The Japanese don't dare to intercept them anyway, so there's no point in installing them. At most, they are only partially installed to let the Japanese know that these things will still air explode and cannot get close.
Chen Songyong, who was exhausted after answering the phone, wiped his sweat and walked up to Wang Xuexin. Then he sighed and said, "This guy Okamura Neji seems to have figured out our tactics thoroughly."
Wang Xuexin understood what Chen Songyong meant.
Regarding the Japanese bombing of Yuncheng, the Eighth Route Army was unable to respond at this time. This shows that Okamura Neiji grasped the weakness of the Eighth Route Army, or it can also be said that it was Wang Xuexin's weakness.
This also reflects the brilliance of Okamura Neji.
Okamura Neiji did not follow a step-by-step approach as Zhou Yuankai said.
For example, "high fire" cannot be intercepted by fighter planes, so Okamura Neiji used anti-aircraft artillery and reconnaissance aircraft to intercept, or used hot air balloons to build an air defense network to intercept.
These are all "treating a headache and treating a headache and treating a pain in the feet".
Okamura Neiji saw the key point: air superiority.
This is a problem that the Eighth Route Army cannot avoid and cannot solve with "high fire".
Therefore, Okamura Neiji changed the situation that was supposed to be "defense" into "offense", that is, using offense instead of defense, and kicked the hot potato of passive defense to Wang Xuexin.
This is also the reason why Wang Xuexin did not care much about the issues raised by Zhou Yuankai and had no intention to solve these problems in the previous post-war summary meeting.
Because Wang Xuexin understood that the focus at this time was not the "high fire" itself, but...as long as the Japanese were willing to invest fighter planes in the direction of the Eighth Route Army, the Eighth Route Army would definitely lose air supremacy.
Once air superiority is lost and fighter planes are used to bomb, the "high fire" will be almost useless and useless.
Okamura Neji is not a small person, and it is unlikely that he cannot see this level.
Just as Wang Xuexin was thinking, Zhang Zongping handed a telegram to Wang Xuexin and said: "Battal Commander, the commander is very concerned about the battle situation in Yuncheng. He believes that if there is no solution, we should give up on our own initiative!"
Wang Xuexin nodded.
The chief is right, the situation now is different from before.
Now the Japanese have the momentum to gradually transfer their main force from the stubborn army to the Eighth Route Army... The stubborn army must be snickering about this.
The commander looked further ahead. He knew that if the war continued like this, it would be a confrontation between the Eighth Route Army and the entire Japanese state machine.
The strength of the Eighth Route Army is far inferior to that of the Japanese. This is a helpless reality.
Therefore, instead of being exhausted by the Japs in Yuncheng and then reluctantly retreating when they can no longer hold on, it is better to choose to retreat proactively.
This is what the chief said to the chief of staff: "We can make long-term plans for the retreat! For example, we can relocate the steel plants, copper smelting plants, etc. in Yuncheng in a planned way, and the workers and people will also be moved away, leaving the Japanese with an empty city in the end.
.This not only ensures part of the production capacity but also reduces the losses of our army!"
After a pause, the leader added: "The price to pay for defending Yuncheng is too high! After all, Yuncheng is a city, not Zhongtiao Mountain. It cannot withstand the Japanese bombings! Unless we can compete with the Japanese
We have air superiority, or we have enough air defense forces, otherwise we don’t have the conditions to confront the Japanese!"
The chief of staff also agreed: "In order to defend Yuncheng, we have lost our tactical flexibility. We can only be dragged by the Japanese. This will put us in a passive position in future battles with the Japanese. I agree to withdraw from Yuncheng!"
When Wang Xuexin saw the telegram, he did not respond immediately. He thought about it for a while before asking Zhang Zongping to send a telegram to the headquarters. He asked two questions in the telegram: "One: With the current intensity of bombing, can the Japanese attack the enemy for a long time?"
Persistence? Two: If the bombing intensity is reduced, can Yuncheng persist for a month?"
The commander laughed as soon as he saw the telegram. He pointed at the telegram and said to the chief of staff: "Look, a newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger. This little Northeast refuses to admit defeat and wants to compete with the Japanese!"
The chief of staff pushed up his glasses and asked a little strangely: "This little Northeast...why should we fight for it? With the way the Japanese are doing now, it is estimated that if one hundred 'Zero Fighters' don't work, they will send two hundred more, and two hundred more will be sent."
If the fight fails, more will be sent... This is not the way to go!"
What the Chief of Staff said is not cowardice, but rather a long-term consideration of the problem based on objective facts, rather than blindly emphasizing spirit and bravery to stand up to the Japanese.
If the Eighth Route Army had always fought like this strategically, I am afraid it would not have developed into what it is today.
The leader thought for a while and said: "Maybe Xiao Dongbei really has a way. He always surprises people, so it's okay to let him try! We can also see if the Japanese are really determined to invest so many resources to attack Yuncheng!