"Your Excellency, Commander, there are signs of large-scale Eighth Route Army activity in Taiyuan City. Do you think the Eighth Route Army is going to attack Taiyuan City?" Chief of Staff Major General Tian Zhong replied tentatively.
"Nani?" Yoshio Shinozuka did not answer immediately, but frowned and fell into thought.
It took half a minute to answer: "It's very possible! As long as the Eighth Route Army takes over the counties around Taiyuan City, Taiyuan City will be stripped naked and completely exposed to Tubal Road! Even if they can't completely take over Taiyuan City, they can
Give our Taiyuan garrison a heavy blow!"
"Also, our First Army's defense area is too large, and each division's defense area has a large number of Eighth Route Army troops active. It is difficult to mobilize reinforcements too far away. Even if it can be mobilized, it will not be able to reach Taiyuan City in a short time!"
"In this case, it is more likely that Tubal Road will attack Taiyuan City!"
Major General Tanaka's brows furrowed immediately, and he reminded with worry: "Your Excellency, Commander, in this case, we will have to reinforce these counties!"
"Taiyuan City must not be in chaos, otherwise our First Army will definitely become the laughing stock of the Imperial Army!"
Lieutenant General Yoshio Shinozuka replied thoughtfully: "As long as the counties around Taiyuan City are still controlled by the imperial army, the Eighth Route Army will not dare to bypass these counties and attack Taiyuan City directly!"
"This is a taboo for military strategists! If we make a mistake and attack our Tubal Road, we will be attacked from both sides. If I were the commander of the Eighth Route Army, I would never risk putting tens of thousands of people in danger!" Chief of Staff Major General Tanaka immediately agreed.
"So, as long as we guard the counties around Taiyuan, Taiyuan City will be safe and there will be no chaos!" Lieutenant General Shinozuka Yoshio answered with certainty.
Then he began to issue orders to the chief of staff: "Mr. Tianzhong, immediately arrange troops to reinforce these counties! When will the Eighth Route Army withdraw and when will they return to Taiyuan?"
"Also, since the Eighth Route Army's target for this operation is Taiyuan City, with their consistent fighting style, a lot of them must have sneaked into Taiyuan City."
"Order the Taiyuan City Guards, Gendarmerie, Imperial Army, and Special Agents to strengthen vigilance and arrest all suspected Chinese people in the city. In a word, there must be no chaos in Taiyuan City!"
At the Independent Brigade's hideout outside the north gate of Taiyuan, the good news that more than 5,000 puppet troops had reinforced Shouyang instantly relaxed the nerves of Wang Ping and Cheng Xiao who had been tense for several days.
As soon as a person relaxes, all kinds of fatigue sweep over him.
In addition, there is still a big battle to be fought, and it is necessary to ensure enough physical strength and energy to direct the battle. This time, there is no need for the guards to persuade, and he takes the initiative to get into his own tent to rest.
However, tonight is also a sleepless night for them.
They had just slept for more than two hours when the guards woke them up.
As soon as I returned to the headquarters with exhaustion, the staff officer on duty reported excitedly: "Brigade commander, old regiment commander, the reconnaissance team urgently called, the Japanese from Taiyuan City have sent troops again."
"Two troops, one with a size of 2,500 people, half and half between Japs and puppets, brought a squadron of four mountain cannons. The other had a size of 3,000 men, one brigade of Japs and two regiments of the Imperial Association Army, also led by
We acquired four mountain cannons to reinforce Jinzhong and Xinzhou respectively!"
A surprise flashed across Wang Ping's eyebrows, and then he turned his attention to Chief of Staff Yang Xiong.
"Chief of Staff, excluding the reinforcements just sent by the Japanese, how many Japanese and puppet troops are there in Taiyuan City?"
Yang Xiong, who had been calculating the strength of the Japanese and puppet troops in Taiyuan City these days, immediately replied: "The total number of Japanese and puppet troops is a little more than 10,000!"
"Including the Ninth Mixed Brigade, an infantry brigade, a baggage brigade, an artillery brigade, and an engineering squadron. The Taiyuan City Security Brigade, the Gendarmerie Brigade, and the First Army Guard Brigade directly have a total strength of more than 6,000 people!"
"The Imperial Association Army consists of two regiments, the garrison regiment directly under the garrison headquarters, the artillery battalion, and the cavalry battalion, with a total strength of nearly 4,000 people. In addition, there is a pseudo police force and a special agent team established by the Japanese, with a total strength of about a thousand people!"
"That is to say, the total number of Japanese and puppet troops in Taiyuan City is only more than 11,000!" Wang Ping asked Yang Xiong with a hot look on his face.
"Yes, but Taiyuan Airport still has a garrison of a thousand people, plus ground staff, a total of two thousand people!" Yang Xiong added.
Wang Ping waved his hand and said: "Don't worry about those two thousand people. Self-protection is a problem, let alone reinforcements for Taiyuan City."
"However, speaking of the airport, I have an idea: before the real operation begins, we can attack a few times. If we are lucky, we can also mobilize some troops from Taiyuan City. If the Japanese do not mobilize troops, then we will take advantage of the opportunity.
Get off at Taiyuan Airport.”
"We have no choice but to blow up the plane, but there are still many anti-aircraft weapons, anti-aircraft guns and anti-aircraft machine guns at the airport. For our Eighth Route Army, these are good weapons that we cannot seize even if we want to."
"If we can take it back, our military region will be able to set up a veritable air defense battalion!"
After saying that, Wang Ping turned his attention to Cheng Xiao: "Old Cheng, for the equipment of the Taiyuan Arsenal, the brother troops have been fighting for several days. The results have been achieved, but the losses have also been very heavy. In order to minimize our losses in this
Due to the losses during the operation, I decided that we will start the operation tonight."
Cheng Xiao did not hesitate and nodded directly to answer: "After waiting for so long, it is finally our turn. Lao Wang, we are old partners, and the military region has clearly ordered that you will command this operation and I will cooperate. If you have any orders, just give them.
No need to hesitate!”
This is what Wang Ping wants. After all, Cheng Xiao is now at a higher level than himself.
Then he began to issue orders: "From now on, all troops will begin to rest and replenish their physical strength for tonight's battle."
"The cooking teams of each company will find a way to cook a hot meal for the troops after dawn. They will cook all the good things left by the troops so that the soldiers can have a good meal!"
"The baggage troops will start distributing ammunition at one o'clock in the afternoon. Each regiment is required to have two basic amounts of ammunition!"
"All the military chiefs of battalions and above in the entire army will come here and back at three o'clock in the afternoon. I will personally arrange combat missions for everyone. At eight o'clock in the evening, we will set off on time to kill Taiyuan City!"
At the Japanese First Army Headquarters in Taiyuan City, Chief of Staff Major General Tanaka is reporting to Yoshio Shinozuka on the final progress of the three reinforcements and the latest battle conditions in several directions in Taiyuan City.
"Your Excellency, Commander, as soon as day breaks, the Eighth Route Army that attacked us will withdraw from the battle and hide in the mountains surrounding the battlefield!"
"The aviation force sent a large number of aircraft to search and bomb them, but because the effect was not good, the bombing has been stopped!"
"However, the casualties among the garrison troops in various counties were very high."
"According to statistics, the losses of the Imperial Army alone exceeded 3,000 people, and the Imperial Alliance Army also lost nearly 5,000 people!"
"Because the county garrison suffered heavy losses, they did not send out troops to pursue them when the Eighth Route Army retreated."
"However, the three reinforcements we sent out were all attached to an Eighth Route Army unit. In particular, the 5,000 reinforcements under the command of the native colonel directly attached themselves to the most powerful first detachment of the Eighth Route Army, and fought with them for several times.
Every time, there will be victory or defeat for each other!"
"The native colonel sent a telegram saying that as long as the military headquarters gives him two days, he is confident that he will eliminate the first detachment of the Eighth Route Army in Yangquan!"
Eliminating the most powerful first detachment of the Eighth Route Army is tantamount to cutting off an arm of the Eighth Route Army. Lieutenant General Yoshio Shinozuka's eyes quickly flashed with light, and then he agreed.
"Yes, but I would like to remind Mr. Yuan Yuan that Tubalu is too cunning. You must be cautious when pursuing, and you must not leave Yangquan."
"Beyond Yangquan is the Eighth Route Army base area. There are too many accidents that may occur, and we cannot guard against them!"
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