Chapter 1477 The commander of the army is beyond reach
More than ten strongholds in the no-man's land were attacked at the same time, including many large and medium-sized strongholds.
For such a large-scale attack, the possibility of the garrison being able to do it quietly is too low.
The news of the attack on No Man's Land came from a large stronghold attacked by the Datong Independent Battalion.
The telegram was first sent from the stronghold to the nearest county seat, then from the county seat to the brigade headquarters with a high-power radio station, and finally forwarded to the Japanese military headquarters in Taiyuan.
The commander's first reaction after reading the telegram was disbelief.
The main force of the garrison is clearly still in Datong, how could it suddenly appear in no man's land?
Even if a part of the main force of the garrison eluded the Imperial Army's eyes and ears and quietly returned to the base to support them, the 5,000 offensive troops on the front line would not be left alone.
Unless all the main force of the garrison returns to the base area to support them, these five thousand offensive troops will definitely have the strength to kill them. The difference is that the price paid will be higher.
This is the second question that the military commander can't figure out.
To put it another way, if the garrison regiment really performs a miracle and escapes from its shell again, the main force of the regiment will return to the base area to help kill the 5,000 offensive troops gathered by the military on the front line, and then take the opportunity to enter the no-man's land and attack the stronghold there.
So where did the more than 10,000 Eighth Route Army troops in Datong City come from, and who were they?
This is the third question that the military commander can't figure out...
After looking back and forth between the telegram and the sand table several times, the silent commander finally choked out a sentence: "Let the intelligence department immediately give an order to the intelligence agents lurking in Datong: Find out what the Eighth Route Army in Datong is at all costs.
What is your identity?"
"If the Eighth Route Army attacking the no-man's land is really the main force of the garrison, then the garrison in Datong City is fake. We were deceived by them again."
The chief of staff was worried and reminded: "What to do with the strongholds in no-man's land?"
"The telegram said: Although the Eighth Route Army that attacked them was wearing all kinds of clothes, it was very well equipped and also had siege artillery."
"All the mobile troops in the stronghold have been taken away. The remaining troops can just meet the defense of the stronghold. Every soldier who dies will lose one, and there is no reserve force."
"If the Eighth Route Army is allowed to attack, the stronghold will definitely be captured."
The commander replied helplessly: "No one can tell us apart. We are too far away and beyond our reach. There is nothing we can do!"
Speaking of this, the commander's mood became even worse.
His face became increasingly serious, and he stared at the Laiyuan battlefield on the sand table and continued: "I am most worried about the safety of the five thousand attacking troops on the front line now."
"It is impossible for the Eighth Route Army to take the risk of losing its base and being cut off from its retreat, bypassing our offensive troops and attacking no man's land. Now their troops are in no man's land with heavy weapons, and our offensive troops have lost
Contact, it’s like disappearing out of thin air.”
"I suspect something has happened to them."
"If this is true, not only will the stronghold that sent us the telegram encounter something unexpected, but the entire no-man's land will be attacked by the garrison!"
The Shanxi garrison spent a lot of manpower and material resources to build the no-man's land, and its blockade role on the battlefield is irreplaceable.
If there were no uninhabited areas blocking the defense regiment's outward expansion channels and preventing supplies from flowing into the defense regiment's base, thereby weakening their material reserves and restricting their development, the defense regiment would be at least twice as strong as it is now.
More importantly, the no-man's land cut off the connection between the garrison and other surrounding Eighth Route Army units.
The garrison has an arsenal with huge production capacity. If no man's land cuts off the arsenal's supply of raw materials, they can produce a steady stream of weapons and equipment.
Not only can it enhance the equipment level of the garrison itself, but it can also support other surrounding Eighth Route Army troops, improving their combat effectiveness and equipment level at the same time.
At that time, the Shanxi garrison will face unprecedented pressure...
The chief of staff's face became increasingly pale, and he could not imagine the battlefield situation after the no-man's land was captured by the garrison.
He strode to the sand table and said anxiously: "Your Excellency, Army Commander, the no man's land is too important and must not be lost."
"We must find a way to protect the no-man's land, otherwise we will not be able to curb the momentum of the garrison's outward development."
"Maybe the garrison regiment base area will be integrated with other surrounding Eighth Route Army forces, and a larger base area will be formed to crush us in terms of strength. Then the possibility of suppressing them as we are now is almost zero."
Of course the Army Commander is aware of the powerful strength of the Garrison Regiment, Laishui Independent Regiment, Huaiyuan Independent Regiment...the combined forces of these Eighth Route Army units.
If this is the case, the battle situation in north Shanxi will change drastically.
The biggest change is that the offensive and defensive sides will switch.
Due to serious depletion of troops, the Shanxi garrison could not keep up with its replacements and became weaker as it fought. The Eighth Route Army was exactly the opposite. After several main regiments joined forces, they would definitely become stronger as they fought.
If we encounter a large-scale war again, it will not be the imperial army sweeping away the Eighth Route Army base areas, but the Eighth Route Army attacking the areas occupied by the imperial army and compressing the imperial army's living space...
As the current military commander, if something like this happened within his jurisdiction, he would definitely become the laughing stock of the entire empire.
Losing one's official position and title is a minor matter. If not, you may be sent to a military court. Not only will you lose your life, but you will also lose the military honor you have earned after half a lifetime of hard work on the battlefield...
So as long as I am still in Shanxi, I cannot allow this to happen.
Looking at the sand table, racking my brains to think of solutions.
"Give a withdrawal order to the troops that swept away the Huaiyuan Independent Regiment and Laishui Independent Regiment!" The army commander thought of a way to reduce losses and hurriedly ordered.
"Leave a small number of troops behind to prevent the Laishui Independent Regiment and Huaiyuan Independent Regiment from counterattack, and the other troops march quickly to the edge of the no-man's land to stand by."
"Contact all the strongholds that can be contacted in the no-man's land, send out all the reconnaissance troops, and find out what happened on the Laiyuan battlefield as quickly as possible? How many Eighth Route Army troops entered the no-man's land."
"We cannot fight with our eyes closed."
"Mounting the troops of the Laishui Independent Regiment and the Huaiyuan Independent Regiment is our last hope to preserve the no-man's land. There can be no accidents."
"They must understand the enemy's situation before they can enter the no-man's land. Reinforce where necessary, and provide reinforcement where needed..."
"Remind these two mopping up troops to keep secret when retreating. It is best not to let the Eighth Route Army they are mopping up know about it."
"The Eighth Route Army is different from other Chinese armies. They have no factional disputes and will not disregard the life or death of friendly troops in order to preserve their strength."
"If we let them know that our mopping up troops are going back to the no-man's land, we will definitely stop them and prevent them from making their way."
Li Hao thought of all the solutions that the Japanese army commander could think of.
Li Hao also thought of a solution that the military commander couldn't think of.
Not to mention that some troops from the Laishui Independent Regiment and the Huaiyuan Independent Regiment were brought to Datong by Li Hao to participate in the siege. Both sides often sent telegrams to report the situation.
Even if not, the connection between Li Hao and these two groups is very close.
When Li Hao decided to capture the no-man's land, he began to consider possible accidents on the battlefield.
After searching the entire military map, apart from mopping up the troops of the Laishui Independent Regiment and the Huaiyuan Independent Regiment, there was no third Japanese force within fifty kilometers that had the strength to reinforce the no-man's land.
After the garrison regiment's attack on the no-man's land began, an encrypted telegram from Li Hao appeared in the hands of the two regiment leaders.
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