Lieutenant General Kato did not answer with a stern face, but ordered: "Call me the captain of the engineer wing!"
Soon, the engineer captain with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel rushed over.
Before he could speak, Kato asked: "The engineer regiment will go to the front to repair the road to ensure that the heavy artillery can pass, and it also needs to clear the mines on the road. How long can it be repaired in one day!"
"Five kilometers..." the Engineer Regiment replied after taking a serious look at the road full of potholes and deep ditches.
Seeing Lieutenant General Kato frowning and about to get angry, the captain of the Engineer Regiment quickly added: "Sir, this is only possible if the Engineer Regiment repairs the road day and night!"
Kato knew that getting angry was useless, so he swallowed the words that had reached his lips and continued to ask.
"What about the Imperial Alliance Army plus three regiments?"
"Twenty kilometers!" the engineer captain hesitated and affirmed!
"There are nearly 5,000 people in the Imperial Association Army and the Engineer Regiment. I can disperse all 5,000 people in this humble position, repair five kilometers of roads at once, and move forward quickly!"
"That's pretty much it!" Kato's face looked much better.
Then he ordered: "From now on, all the Imperial Association Army will be under your command. Bring the Engineer Regiment and the Imperial Association Army to reinforce the forward troops, clear mines and repair roads!"
Lieutenant General Kato, who had a head-to-head confrontation with the Eighth Route Army for the first time, obviously underestimated the power of the Eighth Route Army's guerrilla warfare and mobile warfare.
Since he couldn't leave, Lieutenant General Kato returned to the command vehicle and immediately began to close his eyes and rest.
The Eighth Route Army is good at guerrilla warfare, mobile warfare, and also good at night fighting. He must have enough energy to deal with the night fighting that the Eighth Route Army may launch, and bring more troops out of southwestern Shanxi to reinforce other battlefields!
"Boom boom boom..."
He had just rested for less than an hour when three dull explosions woke him up.
The alert Lieutenant General Kato heard several gunshots in addition to the explosion. Even though he was hidden behind the explosion, he still heard it clearly!
"What's going on?" Kato suddenly opened his eyes and asked, staring at the adjutant guarding him.
Before the adjutant could speak, the chief of staff came in and reported angrily: "Division commander, the Eighth Route Army is so cunning. They even used stones as landmines!"
"The engineer's mine detector has no effect, even if it is placed next to the mine, it will have no effect!"
"Where's the gunshot? What happened with the gunshot just now?" Kato stared at the chief of staff and continued to ask.
The chief of staff shook his head and replied: "I don't know, the engineer wing didn't mention the gunshots just now!"
"Bageya Road, the Eighth Route Army is so cunning. They took advantage of the explosion of the landmine to shoot, and the explosion directly covered the sound of the gunfire. If you don't listen carefully, you will never hear it..." Lieutenant General Kato cursed loudly.
.
"Send two more infantry squadrons to them to protect them. Make sure there are no Eighth Route Army sneak attack troops near the highway!"
"As for the landmines, we can only let the Engineer Regiment figure out its own solution!"
Lieutenant General Kato had a wonderful idea. After giving the order, he closed his eyes again and waited for the troops to continue moving forward after the road was repaired.
However, his dream was destined to come to nothing. From the moment he closed his eyes, the scattered gunshots on both sides of the road never stopped.
The infantry of the two squadrons quickly caught up with the engineering regiment and the Imperial Army who were building roads.
And their arrival did save the engineer wing from attack.
However, he obviously underestimated the combat effectiveness of the new regiment.
The Eighth Route Army operating nearby immediately changed the target of the sneak attack and stared at the Japanese infantry on guard on both sides of the road.
Two squadrons of Japs are scattered on the five-kilometer-long road. There is a sentry group and two little Japs almost every forty or fifty meters. With such a troop density, no matter how vigilant they are, it will not be enough.
A new group of opponents.
"Division commander, the two infantry squadrons protecting the engineer wing have suffered heavy casualties. In less than two hours, more than half of the two squadrons have suffered casualties!" the chief of staff rushed into the armored command vehicle and reported anxiously.
Lieutenant General Kato didn't ask for any reason. He stared at the chief of staff and cursed: "Bagya Road, what do they do for food? Are the guns in their hands all fire sticks? Why don't you fight back and kill those sneak attackers!"
"There is also aviation. With so many Eighth Route Army sneak attacks on us, don't they know how to launch attacks from the air?"
The chief of staff quickly explained: "Commander of the division, please calm down. It's not that the warriors didn't fight back, it's because the Eighth Route Army is too cunning!"
"They all acted separately, with five or six people working in one action group. The target was small, and the aviation force could not detect them at all, let alone attack them!"
"Although they only have five or six people, their equipment is very good. Each action team is equipped with a light machine gun, two submachine guns and several rifles. Even one of our combat detachments will not be able to match them!"
"In order to ensure that there is no Eighth Route Army along the highway, the infantry protecting the engineers can only disperse their troops completely, and put them in groups of two fifty meters apart to guard!"
Lieutenant General Kato, whose anger was rising, could only suppress his anger after hearing these words.
He underestimated the strength of his opponent and sent too few troops. Under such circumstances, it was impossible for anyone to defeat the Eighth Route Army's sneak attack.
Therefore, if we really want to be held accountable, I, as the division commander, also have an unshirkable responsibility.
After hesitating for a long time, Lieutenant General Kato finally made a decision and ordered with a stern face: "Deploy two infantry brigades to reinforce the engineer wing!"
"Tell the reinforcements that their forces must not be too dispersed and must have the ability to counterattack!"
"Once attacked, counterattack immediately and kill the Eighth Route Army's sneak attack troops under the cover of aviation!"
"Also, report the situation here to the front army headquarters truthfully. They must have many ways to deal with the Eighth Route Army's guerrilla warfare and mobile warfare! In addition, tell the commander that because the Eighth Route Army completely destroyed the road, it is impossible for us to reach our destination on time.
, Commander, please make preparations in advance!"
"Hi!"
Headquarters of the Japanese North China Front, Okamura Neiji was furious in his office again.
Lieutenant General Kato's telegram completely disrupted his deployment!
In his plan, Kato's division would be able to join the battlefield in ten days at most. Now it seems that they will not be able to join the battle in less than half a month.
The extra five days directly meant that the North China Imperial Army had to hold on for five more days under the counterattack of the Eighth Route Army.
The North China Eighth Route Army was now on stimulants, attacking itself at all costs, with one purpose: to consume a large amount of the Imperial Army's troops and minimize the impact of Kato's division joining the battle.
There are no traces of the missing units from the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei and Taihang bases of the Eighth Route Army. Okamura Neiji has a hunch that the Eighth Route Army must be organizing a very large-scale operation. Once the operation is successful, the North China Front Army will definitely become very passive.
, even if the Kato division joins the battlefield, it will probably be of no avail.
Therefore, Okamura Neji is more anxious than anyone else, looking forward to Kato's division joining the battlefield as soon as possible, the sooner the better!
The second update is here today! Please add it to your favorites! Please subscribe! Please give me a monthly ticket! Please give me a reward!
