At ten o'clock in the evening, Lieutenant General Ito's tent was still brightly lit.
The afternoon battle made him very dissatisfied. Whether it was the attack on the city wall or the street fighting after the troops entered the city, he felt like he had been slapped in the face.
Although the dinner prepared by the orderly was very rich and there was a bottle of sake, Lieutenant General Ito had no appetite at all. He ate a few bites and asked the orderly to withdraw. Then he stared at the map spread on the table in front of him and fell into deep thought.
"Division commander, our attack tomorrow will definitely capture Xiangfen and kill the Eighth Route Army in the city!" In order to break the increasingly solemn atmosphere in the tent, the chief of staff hesitated and complimented.
"I'm not worried about taking Xiangfen City!" Lieutenant General Ito finally spoke, and then expressed his current worries.
"What I'm most worried about is the encirclement and suppression campaign!"
"By taking Xiangfen, we have only wiped out half of the entire Eighth Route Army base area. However, the total strength of the new regiment has definitely been eliminated, not even half, not even one-third!"
"And what about our losses? Along the way, their guerrillas and local troops caused nearly a thousand casualties to us!"
"Then we lost an infantry brigade in the rear area, and today we lost another one and a half brigade. The total combined strength of a regiment is gone!"
"I can't imagine how many more troops we will lose in the ensuing encirclement and suppression, as well as the decisive battle with the main force of the new regiment!"
Seeing the chief of staff frowning and not speaking, Lieutenant General Ito continued: "Let's just say that our Central Route Army, after losing one and a half brigade today, will not have enough troops to divide into three for tomorrow's encirclement and suppression to ensure the entire encirclement and suppression.
The tightness of the line..."
Without troops, even if the King of Heaven comes, there will be no solution.
The chief of staff could only lower his head and stare at the map, then said nothing.
Lieutenant General Ito sighed, knowing that this was embarrassment for the Chief of Staff. As a result, the atmosphere in the headquarters once again became silent and depressing.
"Da da da... boom boom boom..."
Suddenly, a burst of gunfire broke the atmosphere.
As soon as Lieutenant General Ito raised his head, his eyes shot out two murderous auras, and then he judged.
"The sound of gunfire came from the north gate. The Eighth Route Army in the city must want to repeat their old tactics and re-direct the process of their breakout battle in Linfen City!"
Then the conversation changed and he ordered: "However, they underestimate us too much~ Xiangfen is not Linfen. Although we only accept two infantry squadrons at each city gate, because the city is small and the troops are very concentrated, they want
It’s definitely not that easy to break through the interception of our two squadrons!”
"There are also cavalry units and chariot units. They can join the battle after ten minutes of reinforcements surrounding the city~"
"Since the Eighth Route Army in the city has taken the initiative to fight out and die, then I will help them!"
"Chief of Staff, order the chariot brigade and the second brigade of the cavalry regiment to attack immediately to reinforce the north gate~"
"Also, order the interception troops outside the other three city gates to strengthen their alerts from now on to prevent the Eighth Route Army from attacking from the east to the west!"
"The Third Battalion of the Cavalry Regiment is ready to attack at any time!"
"The guard troops directly under the division have also stepped up their vigilance, especially the artillery positions. Don't let the Eighth Route Army's supporting troops find the opportunity to make a sneak attack!"
The chief of staff responded and rushed out of the tent.
Lieutenant General Ito also withdrew his gaze from the map and began to focus on the battle that had already begun at the city gate.
If I win this battle, the low morale of the troops will definitely be restored a lot, and many of the main forces of the Eighth Route Army will be eliminated!
Five minutes flew by in a blink of an eye.
The sound of horse hooves and the roar of chariots that sounded just now are getting fainter and fainter.
Lieutenant General Ito was confident that within a few minutes, the reinforcements would collide with the Eighth Route Army's breakout troops and kill them.
"Division commander...something happened~"
Suddenly, the chief of staff rushed in with a shocked and panic expression on his face. When he saw Lieutenant General Ito, he reported.
"The cavalry and chariot brigade arrived late. The Eighth Route Army in the city successfully broke through. They also blocked our reinforcements on the way and killed dozens of our cavalry!"
"Impossible..." Lieutenant General Ito denied without hesitation.
"Our troops guarding the city gate are not stupid. In just a few minutes, the Eighth Route Army broke through their interception. Could it be that the Eighth Route Army can fly..."
"Two entire infantry squadrons of the Imperial Army, even with more than 300 pigs, can hold back the Eighth Route Army's breakout troops for more than ten minutes... Chief of Staff, you must be mistaken!"
The chief of staff quickly explained: "It's a tank..."
"None of the four tanks we entered the city in the afternoon escaped. The Eighth Route Army used some method to make two of the tanks move!"
"Two tanks rushed at the front, and the infantry followed closely behind to attack. The defense line formed by our two squadrons was completely destroyed in one blow!"
"After they successfully broke through, they left two tanks and a large number of machine guns in the rear. Our cavalry was caught off guard and ran into them, and was directly killed by their powerful machine gun firepower."
"Also...even if the Eighth Route Army in the city does not have tanks to cooperate, they can successfully break through before our reinforcements arrive~"
"How is this possible?" While Lieutenant General Ito was still immersed in shock, the Chief of Staff did not stop but continued to report.
"When they broke through, the Eighth Route Army inside and outside the city concentrated at least thirty mortars and a dozen infantry cannons to attack our two squadrons blocking the north gate. The shelling only lasted two minutes, and the two squadrons were attacked
More than 500 rounds of artillery shells were fired. Then the Eighth Route Army in the city broke out under the cover of tanks..."
"Bageya Road, the Eighth Route Army is so cunning, the duck that had already been bitten in its mouth actually let them fly again~" Lieutenant General Ito finally reacted.
Then he ordered with a stern face: "Since the Eighth Route Army in the city has broken through, there is no need to block the city gate!"
"Let these troops quickly gather at the division headquarters. The breakout just now shows that there is an elite Eighth Route Army with powerful firepower hidden around us. If the troops continue to be dispersed, it is likely that the Eighth Route Army will use the cover of night to defeat them one by one!"
The chief of staff reacted quickly: "I'll give the order right away!"
The headquarters of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region was also brightly lit due to the heavy encirclement and suppression by the Japanese army.
Just when the commander was sitting on the chair, squinting his eyes and seizing the time to rest, a burst of rapid footsteps came over, and then the sound of opening the door rang in his ears.
The commander suddenly opened his eyes and saw the deputy chief of staff rushing towards him with a worried look on his face.
Perhaps because he saw that he was awake, he reported before he came over: "Commander... the arsenal... something happened in the arsenal..."
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