Before the chief of staff could go out, a major rushed in directly.
"Sir, a large number of main forces of the Eighth Route Army have appeared around Taiyuan City. They are equipped with a large number of artillery and are attacking the outer turrets and checkpoints of Taiyuan City!"
"How many people there are and how many artillery pieces are equipped? Find out immediately!" Shinozuka Yoshio stared at the major and ordered.
As soon as the major left, Yoshio Shinozuka turned his attention to the chief of staff: "Chief of staff, shouldn't you give me an explanation? So many Eighth Route Army troops suddenly appeared outside Taiyuan City, what is your staff doing for food? Also,
Intelligence Department, what are you doing with your intelligence network? You don’t even know that there are so many Eighth Route Army troops lurking outside Taiyuan City. Do you have to wait until they fight all the way into Taiyuan City to find out!"
"Please rest assured, Commander, I will immediately check the strength and equipment of the Eighth Route Army outside the city!"
At the critical moment of life and death, the Japs are very efficient.
In less than ten minutes, the chief of staff returned to Yoshio Shinozuka with a serious look on his face.
"Your Excellency, Commander, there is more than one division attacking us on the Tubal Road outside the city. They are well-equipped. There are nearly two brigades of field artillery in Guangshan. They are also equipped with a large number of mine cannons and mortars. Their offensive capabilities are very strong!"
"They have only been attacking for ten minutes, and we have already lost several of the gun towers and checkpoints we deployed outside Taiyuan City!"
"Also, our reinforcements at Taiyuan Airport were ambushed by the Eighth Route Army outside the city, and the entire army was destroyed. Now the Eighth Route Army has entered the airport! If there is no rescue, the airport guard can hold on for up to two hours!"
"Baga!" Shinozuka Yoshio's bad premonition just now came to mind again.
Although he hasn't figured out the reason yet, he trusts his intuition.
As a soldier, and an excellent soldier at that, Yoshio Shinozuka believed in his intuition very much. Because, in his military career, his intuition saved his life more than once, and even turned defeat into victory in a battle.
At this moment, the communications staff officer suddenly broke in.
"Your Excellency, Commander, the Fourth Mixed Brigade of Yangquan has received an urgent call. Yangquan has once again been besieged by Tubal Road. The troops have suffered heavy losses. We are requesting reinforcements!"
As soon as he finished speaking, another staff officer broke in: "Your Excellency, Commander, the original Colonel sent an emergency call. Just now, the troops were suddenly counterattacked by Tubal Road. The battle is ongoing, but Tubal Road's offensive is very fierce, and the casualties of the troops are very high.
big!"
Not long after, Yoshio Shinozuka received telegrams that seven or eight surrounding counties were under attack.
"Hagajia Road, I understand!" After hearing one bad news after another, and then hearing the continuous sound of gunfire coming from outside the city, the frowning Yoshio Shinozuka finally showed an expression of sudden realization.
"This is definitely a conspiracy by Tubal Road, a conspiracy against our Taiyuan City!"
Chief of Staff Major General Tian Zhong immediately said: "The Eighth Route Army's ultimate goal is to capture our Taiyuan City. The reason why they attacked so many counties around us at once is to hold back our garrison in these counties and prevent them from reinforcing Taiyuan City!"
At this point, Major General Tanaka's brigade commander's face suddenly turned pale, and he reminded with worry: "Your Excellency, Commander, we have been fooled!"
"Last night, we sent reinforcements of more than 10,000 people. Now, the entire Taiyuan City defenders plus the Imperial Alliance Army only have more than 11,000 people. It will definitely be very difficult to defend such a large Taiyuan City!"
"I will immediately send a telegram to the reinforcements we sent out yesterday and ask them to quickly return to support Taiyuan City!"
"It's too late!" Lieutenant General Yoshio Shinozuka replied with a gloomy face and a very helpless response.
"Didn't you hear the telegram just now? All the reinforcements we sent were counterattacked by Tubal Road and suddenly withdrew from the battle. The casualties must be very heavy. And since the Eighth Route Army's goal is Taiyuan City, they will definitely try their best to hold back the reinforcements.
Don’t let them return to support Taiyuan!”
"Then what should we do! There are too few defenders in Taiyuan City, and they will definitely not be able to hold on for too long!" Major General Tanaka asked anxiously, staring at Yoshio Shinozuka.
The worry on Yoshio Shinozuka's face disappeared at this moment, and a sneer appeared on his face.
In front of all the subordinates in the headquarters, he shouted with arrogance: "Tubalu underestimated the strength of our imperial army and overestimated its own combat effectiveness."
"Taiyuan City is not an ordinary county town. Even if they are equipped with a lot of mountain artillery, they may not be able to capture it. What's more, we still have more than 10,000 troops stationed in Taiyuan City!"
"Chief of Staff, you immediately organize troops to enter the outer city fortifications. We will definitely not be able to hold on to the checkpoints and gun towers outside the city for too long!"
"We have complete defenses in the outer city. Even if Tubal Road is equipped with a lot of mountain runners, it will be difficult to capture it!"
"So, we only need to deploy a thousand Imperial Alliance troops and five hundred Imperial troops in each direction of the outer city!"
"No problem!" Major General Tanaka replied after silently calculating the strength of the troops at hand.
Shinozuka Yoshio continued to order: "The remaining troops, whether the Imperial Association Army or the Imperial Army, are all deployed to the inner city!"
"As long as we hold on until dawn, the Eighth Route Army attacking us outside the city will retreat~"
"Chief of Staff, please don't forget that even if Taiyuan Airport is destroyed by Tubal Road, we still have several airports in Shanxi. As soon as dawn breaks, they can send planes to reinforce us."
"Also, Chief of Staff, please don't forget that there are many overseas residents of the Japanese Empire in Taiyuan City, many of whom are veterans who have served in the military. If we gather them together, we can get at least two thousand more elites!
"
Chief of Staff Major General Tanaka finally lost his urgency and the worried expression on his face disappeared, and immediately replied: "Your Excellency, Commander, I will make arrangements for you immediately!"
"My humble position guarantees that the Tuba Road who attacked us outside the city will definitely pay the price!"
At Taiyuan Airport, the Japanese garrison of less than 1,000 people has lost less than 500 people, and they are all scattered in warehouses and barracks to defend themselves.
In the airport of Nuo Da, the battles are all going on around these points.
"Bring in all the six field artillery pieces of the field artillery company and blast them house by house. Since they are unwilling to come out, bury them in the ruins!" Political Commissar Cheng Xiao frowned and ordered with a murderous look on his face.
road.
"But, brigade commander, the field artillery has been sent to the Second Regiment. It will take at least an hour to transfer it!" Guard Battalion Commander Zhong Yusheng replied with a frown.
"Use tanks!" Suddenly, a familiar voice sounded behind Cheng Xiao.
"Old Wang, why are you here? If you don't stay at the north gate, won't you be afraid of accidents?" Cheng Xiao asked with a frown.
"Just take command of Yang Xiong in the peripheral battle. I heard that you captured two tanks here. If they are still usable, then we will rely on them to break through the north gate of Taiyuan City! Take me to see the tanks first. If they are good, I will help you kill the airport first.
The remaining Japs will go back to the North Gate!"
In order to capture the hundreds of Japanese soldiers trapped in the barracks, the guard camp had suffered more than a hundred casualties.
If tanks can help, the casualties of the guard battalion will definitely be minimized.
Thinking of this, Cheng Xiao's eyes flashed twice quickly, and he replied without thinking: "Let's go, I'll go see these two tanks with you, right behind!"