"More than 20,000 people!" the lieutenant general replied solemnly.
"Including the 4,000 people who have been killed outside the city and the troops attacking the airport, there are at least 30,000 people!"
Then he stared at the chief of staff and asked the question that he least understood: "There are so many Eighth Route Army troops, and they are all elite troops. Where do they come from!"
"There are Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei base areas, southwestern Shanxi, and Taiyue!" the chief of staff replied quickly.
"The independent division with the strongest combat effectiveness in the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei base area, the brigade directly under the Taiyue base area, and the new regiment of the Eighth Route Army in southwest Shanxi are all here!"
"These troops were stationed too far away from Taiyuan City. Under the cover of the local Eighth Route Army, they marched day and night to the outside of Taiyuan City, and then lurked. Our intelligence personnel could not find any trace of them at all!"
The lieutenant general finally made a judgment: "This is a premeditated military operation~"
"The Eighth Route Army is going to take over Taiyuan City!"
"Deploy troops from other places to catch us off guard. The surrounding Eighth Route Army can stay and provide reinforcements to buy time for the siege troops. The Eighth Route Army wants to capture Taiyuan City!"
"Chief of Staff, send a telegram to the front army headquarters immediately, report our situation truthfully, and request reinforcements!"
"The aviation force must reinforce the battlefield after dawn and cooperate with our ground attack troops to kill the two Eighth Route Army troops that have reached the outside of Taiyuan City."
"In this way, we can give the Eighth Route Army outside the city a heads-up and dampen their morale. At the same time, we can also concentrate our forces on defense to block the Eighth Route Army's offensive!"
Headquarters of the Japanese North China Front in Peiping, Okamura Neiji has been in a very good mood these days.
The crisis in Shijiazhuang has been lifted.
Moreover, according to the results reported by each attacking force, they destroyed many Eighth Route Army troops in this battle.
Okamura Neiji knew that there was a lot of water in the results of the battle. He had received too much bad news during this period. Finally, he received a piece of good news that could boost the morale of the North China Front. There was no need to pursue it seriously.
Tonight, Okamura Neji had a rare sweet dream.
I dreamed that half a year later, the Imperial Army, which had regained its strength, under the cover of a large number of aircraft and heavy artillery, stormed into the Eighth Route Army base area with overwhelming force, and finally wiped out the Eighth Route Army.
Those opponents who had defeated him all became his prisoners and were eventually killed by himself.
"Pa bang bang..."
Just when he was raising his command sword in his dream and preparing to kill his opponent, a rapid knock on the door woke him up from his dream.
"Your Majesty Commander, urgent military information... Something happened in Taiyuan City again!"
Okamura Neiji sat up from the bed after a while, stared at the door and asked: "What did you just say? Come in and talk!"
"Hi!"
The chief of staff walked in with a serious look on his face.
"Taiyuan City urgent call, they were attacked by the main force of the Eighth Route Army. Taiyuan Airport has been occupied by the Eighth Route Army and is in urgent need of reinforcements~"
"The Eighth Route Army that attacked them exceeded 30,000 people. They were all elites from other base areas. They had strong combat effectiveness and were equipped with a large number of artillery!"
"Nani?"
The good mood on Okamura Neji's face suddenly disappeared, he put on a military coat and rushed out.
As he walked, he ordered: "I want to know the specific situation of Taiyuan City now!"
When we walked to the war room, the chief of staff had already reported everything he knew about the situation, and the combat staff also marked all the content at point 150 on the sand table.
Okamura Neiji glanced at the sand table and said solemnly: "I agree with the judgment of the Taiyuan garrison. The Eighth Route Army wants to capture Taiyuan City!"
"The surrounding troops are not moving and are staying behind to provide reinforcements. With the combat effectiveness of the Eighth Route Army, our recent reinforcements will not even be able to reach the outside of Taiyuan City within three days!"
"They must be allowed to hold Taiyuan City for at least three days, otherwise Taiyuan City will be lost..."
""Give them a telegram back: From now on, whether it's air support or artillery support, we will give them whatever they want! But we must defend Taiyuan City for at least three days!"
"Immediately mobilize troops from the surrounding areas to reinforce Taiyuan City!"
"Even if the Eighth Route Army deploys heavy troops on the only way our reinforcements must pass, we will reinforce Taiyuan at all costs~"
"Compared with Shijiazhuang, Taiyuan City is more important to our North China Front!"
The chief of staff reminded: "Would you like a brigade from Taiyuan to reinforce Shijiazhuang to come back together?"
"Of course we have to go back, and we have to march back in a hurry. If we can use rail transportation, we will use it. If we can't, we will use cars. If not, we have to run back!"
Having said this, Okamura Neji was suddenly stunned for a moment, and then a very shocked expression appeared on his face.
After a long time, he opened his mouth and said, "I understand. I finally understand why the Eighth Route Army suddenly attacked Shijiazhuang."
"This matter is a conspiracy from beginning to end!"
"The Eighth Route Army did not really attack Shijiazhuang, but diverted the attention of the Imperial Army by attacking Shijiazhuang, and then forced the Imperial Army to mobilize troops from Shanxi to prepare for their attack on Taiyuan!"
"Which commander of the Eighth Route Army actually laid such a huge trap for our North China Front Army?"
"Order the intelligence department to find out what I want to know at all costs!"
"There is also Taiyuan City, which must not be lost!"
"Since Taiyuan City is the real target of the Eighth Route Army, they will definitely try their best to block the imperial army's reinforcements in Taiyuan."
"So the ground reinforcements cannot be quenched by water from far away!"
"If you want to defend Taiyuan City, your best hope lies with the Taiyuan garrison and aviation!"
"We must give Taiyuan City a death order, and we must not abandon Taiyuan City. The troops are not enough, and I allow him to mobilize the expatriate armed forces in Taiyuan City to supplement the troops!"
"Order the aviation force to reinforce Taiyuan City at all costs from now on!"
"As long as Taiyuan City is in need, the aviation reinforcements must arrive unconditionally!"
The chief of staff's face became more serious than ever before, and he replied solemnly: "I am humble enough to give orders now!"
Outside Taiyuan City, the battlefield was full of gunfire.
The attacking troops did not stop because of dawn and continued to attack!
"Old commander, the headquarters is reporting that the Japs plane to reinforce Taiyuan has taken off and will be here in an hour. Do you think you should order the attacking troops to suspend the attack and disperse and hide? We will fight again after dark!"
Cheng Xiao's proposal is the Eighth Route Army's long-standing approach.
During the day, you can avoid the Japanese planes and rest. At night, after the Japanese planes return to their nests, the troops will be pulled out to continue fighting!
Wang Ping shook his head in surprise and replied: "We cannot retreat, and the offensive against the Japanese cannot be weakened. Otherwise, the pressure on Xiao Yunshan and the Independent Regiment will definitely increase greatly, and they may not be able to hold on until dark at night!"
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