The failure of the Japanese in other directions can be said to be a good thing or a bad thing.
A good thing is that the "Gaohuo" and X1 did not fall into the hands of the Japanese, and the Eighth Route Army did not suffer much losses due to the Japanese attack.
The bad thing is that once the Japanese confirm that the mission in this direction has failed, they will immediately shift their troops to another target... This is also the essence of "Blitzkrieg".
For example, the three squadrons that attacked Sanjiadian immediately turned to the Eighth Route Army's granary in Niujia Village.
The three squadrons that attacked the "High Fire" silo quickly transformed into the second wave of attack troops and headed for Wangxing Airport.
As a result, the number of Japs in the direction of Wangxing Airport increased to a large group.
Obviously, Wangxing Airport, which cannot be defended, is the key target of the Japanese attack.
Shinta Kono analyzed this with Neji Okamura: "Most of Wanxian Airport is occupied by Eagle pilots and new students of the Eighth Route Army. They are incompetent and may not even have X1 equipment. Wangxing Airport is occupied by the Eighth Route Army Air Force.
Moreover, there is no danger to defend and it is easy to attack and difficult to defend, so it is natural to make him the main target!"
Okamura Neji has no objection to this.
Because he considered that it was almost impossible to destroy the Eighth Route Army Air Force by shooting down enemy aircraft, because Eagle Sauce would supplement the Eighth Route Army with enough fighter planes.
Therefore, he should consider eliminating the Eighth Route Army pilots.
The best way to eliminate the Eighth Route Army pilots is to attack Wangxing Airport.
But Okamura Neiji still had concerns. He said: "If we do this, is the target too obvious? Wangxing Airport is nearly two hundred kilometers (road miles) away from the Yuncheng defense line. If the Eighth Route Army knew our army's target in advance, it is very likely that it would
The pilot will be moved to a safe location in time!"
Shinta Kono answered confidently: "No, General, they don't have time to transfer the pilots!"
At this time, Wang Xuexin was taking command of Wangxing Airport, because he also knew that Wangxing Airport was the top priority in this battle.
Once Wangxing Airport is breached by the Japs, it will not only be a matter of dozens of "Hawker 81s" being blown up, but also a matter of the Eighth Route Army's aviation fleet being unable to recover from now on.
Wang Xuexin also considered whether the pilot should be moved to a safe place, but after thinking about it, he finally decided not to do so.
First of all, transfer the pilots out. If the planes at the airport can take off for combat but there are no pilots, will the fighter jets be lost?
Secondly, Wangxing Airport is empty for dozens of miles, and the sky is full of Japanese fighter planes and reconnaissance planes circling at this time. If the pilots are rashly transferred at this time...will they put them in danger instead?
Therefore, Wang Xuexin believes that leaving them at the airport may be safer and more in line with battlefield needs.
"Battal Commander!" Chen Songyong reported at this time: "The Japs' vanguard troops are building a pontoon bridge to cross the river ten miles north of Kuyang Township!"
Wang Xuexin said "hmm" and watched Chen Songyong mark the corresponding location on the map.
If we talk about intercepting the Japanese, there is no doubt that the most suitable way to stop them is in the Yellow River.
But fighting is often far from imagination.
The Eighth Route Army also faced a serious problem at this time, that is, insufficient troops.
To be precise, it is not that there is a shortage of troops, but that most of the troops are deployed on the front line, such as the Luliang Mountains, Yuncheng Defense Line and Zhongtiao Mountain Defense Line.
The three stores in the rear, the "high fire" base, the granary and other important places were urgently dispatched for reinforcements.
The strength in the hinterland behind the defense line is very empty... This is actually a problem faced by all parties facing a "blitzkrieg".
The reason is that the enemy penetrates into weak depths and is a mechanized force with super fast maneuverability. Therefore, there are many dangerous places in the hinterland that are obviously good places to intercept and block attacks, but they can't figure out where to deploy their troops.
For example, along the Yellow River.
Wang Xuexin knew a long time ago that the Japanese had to cross the Yellow River to reach Wangxing Airport.
But the Yellow River is so long, how do you determine at which point the Japanese will cross the river?
If we want to stop the Japanese along the Yellow River, does it mean that at least a few divisions of troops must be brought in to deploy along the Yellow River?
Even the strength of several divisions is only a drop in the bucket for Huang He. Such a defense line is full of loopholes, not to mention that the Eighth Route Army simply does not have that many troops.
The Eighth Route Army used only one regiment to reinforce Wangxing Airport, which was a regiment of 1,500 men from the main division.
Wang Xuexin could only deploy this regiment as close as possible to the defense line of Wangxing Airport.
It is obviously inappropriate to swing too far.
Otherwise, when the Japanese mechanized troops take a roundabout route and then head straight into Wangxing Airport, the infantry unit may not even be able to get back in time.
This is the advantage brought by speed, which allows the army to exert several times its combat effectiveness and seize the initiative on the battlefield, which are the keys to victory on the battlefield.
Therefore, Wang Xuexin could only watch the Japanese mechanized troops crossing the river, unable to send out any soldiers.
Later, Wang Xuexin learned that the Japanese actually encountered some difficulties when crossing the river.
This difficulty comes from a guerrilla group with only fifty people. The leader is an old Red Army man named Guo Lian.
Guo Lian was injured while crossing a snow-capped mountain. Four toes were frozen off his feet, leaving only the little toe. He still has trouble walking, so his superiors sent him to organize guerrillas in the local area.
Guo Lian is always busy. When the farming is busy, he does farm work and production, and when the farming is slack, he practices troops and tactics.
Just opposite the point where the Japanese crossed the river was Huatou Village, where Guo Lian was located.
Guo Lian immediately summoned the guerrillas and said: "Comrades, I have received information that the Japanese are planning to cross the river at our village. There will be hundreds of troops at least, as well as tanks and planes!"
The guerrillas didn't feel anything at all. They thought the captain's next step would be for them to organize the villagers to retreat and hide in the mountains.
Unexpectedly, Guo Lian was silent for a while and then said: "Comrades, the Japanese are coming with bad intentions! Although we don't know what the situation is, looking at this direction, I am afraid they are heading towards our airport. And they are also mechanized troops.
In other words, there will be a surprise attack, and I’m worried that the airport is not prepared!”
Of course, Guo Lian and other guerrillas cannot know more military secrets, so they don't even know the name of the airport.
However, since the fighter planes at Wangxing Airport frequently take off for combat operations, they naturally cannot hide it from those who can see it with their own eyes under the plane.
The guerrillas discussed it for a while and felt that Guo Lian's analysis was correct, so they asked: "Captain, tell me, what should we do?"
Guo Lian replied with a heavy heart: "Since the Japanese are launching a surprise attack, we have to buy time for the airport, so..."
Needless to say, the team members immediately understood that the captain planned to use only fifty guerrillas to prevent the Japanese mechanized troops from crossing the river.