As soon as the first battalion messengers left, Li Hao looked at Zhou Liang, who was operating the radio at the headquarters, and ordered.
"Immediately send a telegram to Commander Zhou, Chief of Staff, and Commander Zhou of the Cavalry Battalion: After the troops have completed their operations against the Japanese and puppet troops' return reinforcements, they will immediately assemble their troops to attack Huaiyuan County."
"All participating troops must be in place before eight o'clock in the evening."
"There are fewer Japanese and puppet troops stationed in the city, and the nearby reinforcements have also been killed. The time it takes for us to capture the county will definitely be shortened."
"Strive to end the battle within three hours and capture Huaiyuan County, and then divide our forces to provide reinforcements and evacuate Huaiyuan City."
At the Japanese military headquarters in Taiyuan, the deputy chief of staff hurriedly walked in and reported: "Your Excellency, Army Commander, the chief of staff is sending an urgent message!"
"A large number of Eighth Route Army troops suddenly appeared in Huaiyuan, and the troops stationed in the county and surrounding strongholds suffered heavy casualties. They judged that the Eighth Route Army is likely to attack the county tonight, destroy the logistics supplies of more than 20,000 troops on the front line, and force our mopping up troops to retreat."
Cutting off logistics supply lines is a common method used by the Eighth Route Army to deal with the Imperial Army.
After the deputy chief of staff finished speaking, the military commander was not too surprised and believed in the judgment of the chief of staff, so he asked immediately.
"How does the chief of staff want us to cooperate?"
The deputy chief of staff replied: "Immediately mobilize reinforcements from surrounding counties to increase the strength of the Huaiyuan garrison and be prepared for any trouble."
"Because there are not many garrisons in the counties around Huaiyuan, the Chief of Staff specifically mentioned Zhangjiakou and hoped that we would contact the garrisons there and dispatch at least one reinforcement brigade to reinforce Huaiyuan."
"The county town has been put under martial law, and all troops and overseas Chinese who can participate in the war are on the city wall to prepare for battle."
"If the Eighth Route Army really dares to launch an attack, they will persist at all costs until the reinforcements are in place and maintain the logistical supplies of the more than 20,000 soldiers on the front line."
The Army Commander nodded in approval and said: "Call back to the Chief of Staff. I agree with his proposal. We will contact the Zhangjiakou garrison now to reinforce them and be prepared for any danger."
At seven o'clock in the evening, the Japanese garrison headquarters in Huaiyuan suddenly rang a very rapid phone ring.
The communications officer subconsciously picked up the phone.
After stopping for less than a minute, his expression changed. He covered the microphone and reported from a distance: "Your Excellency, Chief of Staff, the East Gate garrison reported that they found a large number of Eighth Route Army figures five hundred meters outside the city."
"Trenches are being dug and positions are being built!"
"The Eighth Route Army is really here!" the captain shouted with shock.
He strode to the communications staff, took the microphone and asked: "I am the captain of the supplementary wing, and I want you to find out immediately how many people there are in the Eighth Route Army outside the city and what their equipment is like..."
After pausing for a few seconds, he continued: "I allow you to use flares, but you must use the shortest possible time to find out the true strength of the Eighth Route Army outside the city!"
After he finished speaking, the captain put down the microphone.
But he didn't go away and stayed by the phone waiting for news.
Five minutes later the phone rang, and the commander directly picked up the phone and put it to his ear.
This time he didn't speak, he held up the microphone and listened quietly.
When he put down the phone a minute later, he had a very solemn expression on his face. He walked to the chief of staff and reported solemnly: "Chief of Staff, the East Gate garrison reported that the Eighth Route Army operating outside the city probably has a main battalion equipped with heavy machine guns.
and mortars, digging trenches outside the city."
"In addition, they also found a large number of Imperial Army soldiers among the Eighth Route Army, about two hundred people, helping the Eighth Route Army dig trenches."
"Humble suggestion: Let the artillery fire immediately, blow up their positions, and prevent them from digging trenches."
The chief of staff was moved, and just as he was about to issue an order, he swallowed back the words that came to his lips.
Staring at the commander, he asked: "The Eighth Route Army outside the east gate is also equipped with mortars?"
"Hi!" the captain replied.
The chief of staff shook his head and analyzed: "If they have mortars, our artillery cannot move."
"Only one battalion of the Eighth Route Army has come over now. There must be a large number of Eighth Route Army troops on the way over."
"The Eighth Route Army in this battalion is equipped with mortars. The other Eighth Route Army may also be equipped with siege mountain artillery. Otherwise, they will definitely not be so confident to attack the county town."
"Opening artillery now can indeed destroy the trenches being dug by the Eighth Route Army, but our artillery units will also be exposed."
"When their main force comes over and all the artillery is in place, staring at our artillery positions and blasting them, we will definitely be the ones who suffer in the end."
"Order the artillery units to stand still."
"They are our trump card to defend the county. We must wait until the critical moment to use them."
"The city defense troops strengthened their vigilance, fired more flares, and targeted the Eighth Route Army outside the city. Report any situation immediately."
"Vigilance must also be strengthened in other directions. The Eighth Route Army must first besiege the city and then attack it."
The siege headquarters has been moved from the small village five kilometers away to the high ground less than one kilometer away from the city head.
The lights on the top of the city were brightly lit, and the Japanese army fired a flare every ten minutes. Li Hao was now at the command post's lookout, and could clearly see every move of the Japanese and puppet troops on the top of the city.
Hong Linfeng has returned to the headquarters to continue performing his duties as chief of staff.
Standing behind Li Hao, he tallied up the intelligence that was continuously collected from each unit.
He took a telegram handed over by Zhou Liang, took a look at it, walked to Li Hao and reported.
"Regiment Commander: Commander Zhou reported that the three main battalions of the independent regiment, artillery company, mountain artillery company, and heavy machine gun company, are all in place and are establishing offensive positions."
Li Hao did not look back. While observing the city, he ordered: "Reply the telegram to Commander Zhou."
"The first battalion pretended to attack the east of the city, the second battalion pretended to attack the west, and the third battalion pretended to attack the north. The mountain artillery company rushed to the south of the city and returned to the headquarters for unified command. The mortar company and the heavy machine gun company were divided into three to reinforce the three main battalions."
"Yes, leader..." Hong Linfeng handed the recorded telegram to Li Hao for signature and immediately handed it over to Zhou Liang for dispatch.
As soon as he returned to Li Hao, his voice rang in his ears.
"Chief of Staff, are our troops in place?"
Hong Linfeng nodded and replied: "Three fire companies and several main companies have all gathered five hundred meters south of the city and are establishing offensive positions."
"Order……"
Without a word of nonsense, Li Hao directly began to issue orders: "The six main companies will establish offensive positions as soon as possible and prepare for battle."
"The mortars equipped by each company are concentrated to establish mortar positions to provide unified artillery cover for the attacking troops."
"Three fire companies, an independent regimental mountain artillery company, will establish a mountain artillery position and a mortar position in a unified manner, and the troops will not move."
"Captain Xiao reported that the Japanese and puppet troops in the city have a mortar squadron, a mountain artillery squadron, and an infantry artillery squad."
"These are the heavy weapons that pose the greatest threat to us. Whether we can destroy them depends on these two artillery units."
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