All the poise, calmness, and attitude of an imperial officer were completely forgotten.
Itagaki Seishiro only wanted to do one thing now, rescue the reinforcements of the 21st Brigade.
God Amaterasu, he never thought that the 'good news' he was looking forward to would actually lead to such a result - the number of casualties in a single battle reached 1,000, and he was completely surrounded by the enemy, facing the threat of annihilation!
shocking!
Unimaginable!
You must know that only one hour has passed since the last telegram from the reinforcements, which means that in a very short period of time, the reinforcements of the 21st Brigade lost a thousand people.
A single battle, a very short period of time, thirty artillery pieces, and various characteristics all show that this Chinese army wearing the combat designation of the Northeast Army possesses extremely powerful combat effectiveness.
Sakurada Takeshi acted as quickly as possible and notified the Army Aviation Unit of Nanyuan Airport.
"If the reinforcements are wiped out..." Itagaki Seishiro suddenly realized the seriousness of the battlefield situation. Thinking of the consequences of the reinforcements being wiped out, he suddenly broke into a cold sweat.
The situation on the battlefield affects the whole body. If the reinforcements are wiped out, it will have an unignorable impact on the ongoing Shanxi operation. The reason is very simple. The 21st Brigade is not affiliated with the Chahar Mongolian Territory attacking Yanmen Pass.
Corps, but served as the main force attacking Pingxing Pass.
Once the reinforcements are lost, not only will the Fifth Division itself suffer heavy losses, but it also means that the offensive rhythm of the Pingxingguan Battle is broken. The main force of the 21st Brigade fighting at Tuanchengkou faces a pincer attack from the front, left, right, and front, and has to attack
Retreat in the direction of Hunyuan.
And this is equivalent to declaring the failure of the Pingxingguan Battle!
no!
Can't let this happen!
Although the Fifth Division still had sufficient combat strength to reorganize the second Battle of Pingxingguan, Itagaki Seishiro was absolutely unwilling to lose the current offensive rhythm, thus giving the Jinsui Army a breathing space and more preparation time.
Also, in addition to the short-term military defeat, Itagaki and the Fifth Division were bound to bear pressure from the political field. Four thousand imperial warriors were shattered, and no one could bear the consequences.
With the reinforcements of the 21st Brigade in a state of total annihilation, the Japanese troops around Lingqiu seemed to have exploded. They abandoned their current tactical missions and rushed to Qiaogou. The police commanded by Tojo Hideki
The Harmengjiang Corps even dispatched an independent brigade to assist Pingxing Pass.
The sky is blue and clear, and the land in northern Shanxi takes on a new look after the rain.
In Wutai County, in a farmer's courtyard, the headquarters as the highest command center of the Eighth Route Army is located here.
The hall was filled with the sounds of radio operation and reception, and the atmosphere was solemn and dignified. The entire headquarters was operating at the highest efficiency, processing various combat information from frontline troops in real time.
The boss's face was full of solemnity, with a pair of eyes like the scorching sun, looking at the situation map of the enemy and ourselves on the flat sand table, he raised his watch and looked at the time.
9:30 am.
"I wonder how the 115th Division is doing..." the boss whispered in thought.
"Boss, the little devil seems to be crazy. Comrades from the Northern Department reported that the Japanese Army Air Force took off nine bombers from Nanyuan Airport again. In addition, the Japanese army in Yingxian County mobilized about an independent brigade to move towards Hunyuan. It is extremely dangerous.
There may be reinforcements at Pingxingguan, this is the second round of reinforcements." At this time, the chief of staff came quickly, holding a piece of the latest compiled battlefield intelligence: "There are more troops than the first round of reinforcements."
The Japanese army's first round of reinforcements totaled three directions: a regiment in Laiyuan, a regiment in Hunyuan, a tank squadron in Yuxian, plus four fighter jets from Nanyuan Airport, with an estimated strength of about 6,000.
A force of this size is terrifying, but it is insignificant compared to the current second round of reinforcements. An entire independent brigade of tens of thousands of Japanese troops in Yingxian County marched towards Pingxingguan, and nine bombers took off from Nanyuan Airport.
.
Today, the total number of Japanese reinforcements reaches 16,000.
"It seems that the 115th Division has hurt these little devils. Otherwise, the little devils would not be so anxious. They beat the children and called them mom and dad. Unfortunately, I don't have enough troops. If there were enough troops, Pingxingguan would be a small town.
The Japs' Oriental Verdun Meat Grinder." When the boss heard the news, his eyebrows relaxed slightly and then wrinkled slightly again. He had already processed the information in his mind, and his words were filled with sighs and regrets.
With such crazy reinforcements from the Japanese army, it is not difficult to guess the situation on both sides of the Qiaogou battlefield. There is no doubt that the 115th Division gave the little devil a painful beating, a pain that penetrated deep into the bone marrow.
Taking this opportunity to turn Pingxingguan into the Japanese army's Oriental Verdun meat grinder, this was a bold and imaginative operational idea conceived by the boss.
With the 115th Division and the Japanese reinforcements as the core, other troops were dispatched to encircle the points for reinforcements, which continued to consume the effective strength of the Japanese reinforcements from all walks of life, and in turn weakened the overall strength of the Japanese army, causing the Japanese army in Shanxi to eventually lose its strategic offensive capabilities.
Unfortunately, imagination always belongs to imagination.
Although the Pingxingguan area can fully support this operational concept, the boss has a serious shortage of troops on hand. If he wants to consume the overall strength of nearly 100,000 Japanese troops, if the calculation is based on the combat effectiveness of the 115th Division, at least thirteen 115th Divisions are needed.
.
Where can he find the Thirteenth 115th Division?
Ideas can only be shelved.
"Yes. I believe we will have more and more troops in the future. How will we arrange it now?" the chief of staff smiled and continued.
"Although the war situation is favorable to us, if we continue to drag it out, we will only fall into a quagmire and even be unable to escape. The main combat goal of blocking the Japanese reinforcements has been achieved, and annihilating the enemy is no longer achievable. My idea is to retreat proactively and preserve our strength." The boss.
He pondered deeply and said.
Starting from the current combat situation, the 115th Division has completely taken the initiative in the entire battle and completed the main combat goal of blocking the Japanese reinforcements. Facing two rounds of 16,000 Japanese reinforcements and the threat of Army aviation bombers, coupled with the lack of
Friendly forces are assisting in combat, so choosing to retreat proactively is the best option.
It's okay to continue to resist, but it's not necessary.
Most of the troops of the 115th Division were veterans of the First Red Army, and the boss could not bear to have these precious veterans wasted in vain under Japanese bombings.
"If you take advantage, you must learn to stop. I agree with taking the initiative to retreat." The chief of staff nodded and affirmed.
"Okay, then tell the 115th Division about the second round of Japanese reinforcements. It takes about an hour and a half for the Japanese bombers to fly from Nanyuan to Qiaogou. They must evacuate the battlefield in an hour." The boss made a decision and ordered.
The Japanese Army Air Force is mainly equipped with the Type 93 heavy bomber. This bomber has a maximum flight speed of 220 kilometers per hour and a normal flight speed of 180 kilometers per hour. It can carry 1.5 tons of aerial bombs. It is about 250 kilometers from Nanyuan to Qiaogou, except
The take-off and air formations took up to an hour and a half at most, and the Japanese Type 93 bombers would arrive over Qiaogou.
A single aircraft carried 1.5 tons of bombs, and nine aircraft carried a total of 13.5 tons of bombs. The bombing intensity was quite terrifying. The boss did not want the 115th Division to taste this aerial bomb meal.
Evacuate!
Take the initiative to evacuate!
Nowadays, inspired by the original idea of defending the Yulin Steel Plant from Japanese aircraft bombing, the Eighth Route Army's understanding of the Japanese Army Aviation Force and its ability to collect battlefield information are far higher than in history.
Through reconnaissance by comrades from the Northern Department stationed near Nanyuan Airport in Peking, as soon as the Japanese aircraft took off, the headquarters would receive the news as soon as possible.
Through various channels, I also gained a basic understanding and understanding of the various types of aircraft equipped by the Japanese Air Force.
Japanese plane bombings may seem scary, but as long as you understand the enemy's habits, they are actually no different than paper tigers.