Chapter 805 The Chief of Staff is walking on thin ice
Seeing that everyone was silent, the chief of staff could only stand up and analyze: "The Eighth Route Army in Linfen is different from other Eighth Route Army units, with good equipment and strong combat effectiveness..."
"More importantly, they are very cunning. The combat situations reported to us many times by Linfen have proven this!"
Major Murata frowned and asked: "Chief of Staff, what do you want to say?"
The chief of staff hesitated and replied: "Sir, the Eighth Route Army is too cunning. It is best at defeating the Imperial Army one by one. I think our urgent need now is to gather all the troops outside the city into the county and rely on the county to hold on, without giving the Eighth Route Army any chance.
Defeat us at every opportunity!"
"What about outside the city? What about the interests of the imperial army outside the city?" Major Murata subconsciously wanted to agree. However, as the commander of the Japanese garrison in Xiangfen, it would be too incompetent if the Eighth Route Army ordered the troops to shrink as soon as they started attacking.
, so timid!
The chief of staff analyzed: "Sir, the most important benefit of the entire Xiangfen to the imperial army is food! Don't forget that just yesterday, all the food collected by the towns from the Chinese people had been sent to the county.
A total of more than nine million catties, just short of being sent to Linfen City!"
"Now that the grain has been harvested, the imperial army will not get any other benefits from Xiangfen in a short period of time. In this case, let's temporarily abandon the villages and towns outside the city, stick to the county seat, and protect the nine million kilograms of grain in the city!
"
"This also has the advantage of minimizing the losses of the imperial army."
"When the Linfen garrison regains its strength and reinforcements arrive, we will still have the strength to cooperate with the main force to destroy the Eighth Route Army entering Xiangfen. Instead of consuming the troops in a battle that we know is impossible to win!"
Major Spring did not answer, but frowned and fell into deep thought.
Just then, the operator from the next room rushed in.
"Sir, we have lost contact with Dengzhuang! All radio and telephone contacts have been interrupted!"
The chief of staff became anxious and continued to persuade: "They must have encountered an accident, sir. If they can capture the Dengzhuang stronghold in such a short period of time and eliminate one of our reinforced squadrons and two companies of puppet troops, we can be sure that they can advance into Xiangfen."
The Eighth Route Army must be the main force of the new regiment!"
"If we let them attack Xiangfen, our other squadron scattered outside the city will definitely make the same mistake and be wiped out by the new regiment. By then, if the Eighth Route Army has the courage to attack the county town, we will not have enough troops to defend the county town!"
"Sir, we must make a decision immediately. If we delay it any longer, it will be too late!"
Major Murata first showed a very painful expression on his face, and then gritted his teeth and cursed: "Bagya Road, cunning Eighth Route Army, sooner or later, I will make you pay with blood!"
"Chief of Staff, go and give the order immediately: All our troops stationed outside the city must quickly withdraw to the county seat!"
"Bring the supplies back if you can, and blow them up if you can't. They must not fall into the hands of the Eighth Route Army to capitalize on the enemy!"
"Also, put me through Linfen right away. I want to talk to the chief of staff on the phone!"
At the Japanese brigade headquarters in Linfen City, after Major General Matsumoto was taken away by the military police, because the newly appointed brigade commander had not yet arrived, the chief of staff became the supreme commander of Linfen City.
In the past few days, the chief of staff has been walking on thin ice, fearing that something might happen to Linfen before the new brigade commander takes office.
"Ding ring ring..." Suddenly, a rapid ringing of the phone woke up the chief of staff who was frowning and thinking.
Within a minute of receiving the phone call from the communications staff officer, the chief of staff's face changed, and large beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
As soon as he put down the phone, he cursed: "Bageya Road, the cunning new group, no wonder Linfen is so quiet, it turns out their goal has changed!"
Then he ordered the combat staff on the side: "Immediately mark the garrison status of Xiangfen and surrounding counties on the sand table for me!"
"Xianfen was attacked by the Eighth Route Army, and the garrison has reduced its troops to the county seat. However, we cannot just watch the new regiment control the villages and towns in Xiangfen except the county seat. Otherwise, their base area will be expanded at least twice, or even more
!”
"There is also the intelligence department. Isn't there any news about such a large-scale troop mobilization of the Eighth Route Army?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the intelligence staff rushed in.
"Sir, urgent information comes from the base of the New Regiment!"
"The new regiment and one battalion are stationed. In the afternoon, more than half of the battalion of more than 500 troops suddenly separated and went towards Xiangfen to kill!"
"Because the Eighth Route Army base area was too tightly sealed, the intelligence was sent to Linfen two hours later than usual!"
The chief of staff frowned and made a judgment: "These more than 500 people must be the Eighth Route Army attacking Xiangfen. The Xiangfen garrison is too incompetent, and the more than 500 Eighth Route Army beat them like that!"
The intelligence staff hesitated and replied: "Sir, these 500 Eighth Route Army are not ordinary Eighth Route Army. They brought mortars, heavy machine guns, and two infantry cannons!"
"As far as I know, the Xiangfen garrison is just a garrison brigade. It is not even equipped with infantry artillery. Moreover, it has to divide its troops and station them in many places. It can easily be defeated by the Eighth Route Army one by one!"
The chief of staff had a sullen face and did not answer, staring at his subordinates marking the enemy's situation on the combat sandbox!
Soon, the combat staff member stopped, and then reported with a serious face: "Sir, in several counties including Xiangfen, because only the Eighth Route Army guerrillas are active, we have not deployed the main force!"
"Each county has only one mixed garrison brigade and one regiment of the Imperial Army, with a total strength of less than 2,000 people!"
Another combat staff officer then added: "We don't have any troops anymore! The two brigades have just returned to full strength because there are too many new recruits and they are still training!"
"One brigade defends the city, one brigade controls Linfenbeihe Railway Line and Railway Station, and one brigade maneuvers!"
"If the mobile troops are transferred there, if something happens to Linfen, we can only watch!"
The chief of staff replied with certainty: "The troops in Linfen City cannot move. Not only can they not move, the garrison in Linfen must be further strengthened. The new regiment is too cunning. No one knows whether the attack on Xiangfen is their plan to attack the east or the west.
Attack, want to control Xiangfen!"
"Then what should we do? Call Xiangfen back and ask them to hold on. We have no troops to reinforce them and let them hold on until the brigade regains its combat effectiveness!" the combat staff officer shouted with an aggrieved look on his face.
The chief of staff hesitated and reminded: "Can you mobilize troops from several surrounding counties?"
"A squadron is mobilized from a county, which adds up to a brigade. Plus a regiment of the Imperial Association Army and Xiangfen's own garrison, more than 3,000 people should be able to deal with a battalion of the Eighth Route Army!"
"Definitely!" the combat staff officer affirmed!
"Although these garrisons are not equipped with infantry artillery, they are equipped with mortars. In addition to direct shooting, the role of mortars on the battlefield is no worse than that of infantry artillery!"
"I'll go give the order right away!"
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