After dawn, the Eighth Route Army that had been fighting all night disappeared instantly, as if they had never appeared outside the stronghold!
Looking at the empty battlefield outside, and then seeing the corpses lying on the ground around them, the wounded who were screaming, and the Japanese and puppet soldiers who were still alive all showed expressions of happiness that they had survived the disaster!
The battle last night was so brutal!
On the Chinese battlefield, they have always suppressed the Chinese army and fought. This is the first time for many Japanese soldiers to face the situation of being suppressed and beaten!
Especially the flying thunder cannon that was given to me by my superiors!
so amazing!
Although the range is limited and the accuracy is not high, the explosion is so powerful that it destroys a large area and leaves no survivors!
During the battle, everyone was praying while fighting so that the explosives fired by the thunder cannon would not fall around them!
Otherwise, even if you are made of steel, your internal organs will be blown to pieces and you will bleed to death!
Of course, the troops also fought back and were not passively beaten all the time!
Gather all mortars and grenade launchers to counterattack, and kill at least three of the opponent's thunder cannons in one artillery attack!
I originally thought that after this counterattack, the Eighth Route Army would have some concerns and give up such a useless weapon like the flying thunder cannon!
Unexpectedly, not only were they not afraid, but they were made more and more cunning by the imperial army's artillery counterattack!
After knowing that the flying thunder cannon was targeted, he actually started a guerrilla fight with the imperial army!
Throw out an explosive pack and move a launching position!
The flying thunder cannon is light in weight and can be quickly transferred without disassembly!
This advantage is fully demonstrated here!
By the time the Japanese artillerymen were aiming at the target and preparing to fire, the gunners of the two-person flying thunder cannon had already run dozens of meters away carrying gasoline barrels!
Faced with this kind of flying thunder cannon that could not be caught or hit, the Japanese army was filled with hatred!
After several consecutive counterattacks have no effect, the only option is to use artillery counterattacks to force the flying thunder cannons to constantly shift positions and reduce the firing frequency of the flying thunder cannons.
Then he watched helplessly as explosives exploded around him, taking away one life after another!
"BaGeYa Road, what are you doing standing still? Clean the battlefield immediately and treat the wounded!" The officer's yelling suddenly sounded from behind, bringing the soldiers back to reality from the shock just now!
"The reconnaissance force will attack immediately to confirm that the Eighth Route Army has indeed retreated!"
"Officers at all levels will immediately count the casualties and then summarize them to the deputy captain!"
In the Japanese military headquarters in Taiyuan, there were only four hours from the time when the chief of staff woke him up until dawn. But for the military commander, these four hours were extremely difficult, and it felt like a year!
He finally managed to stay up until dawn, his eyes kept staring at the chief of staff and never left!
He was lying at the table tallying up the casualty reports that were constantly coming from the telecommunications room, with a solemn look on his face!
"Sir, the losses have been calculated!"
The army commander asked anxiously: "Are the casualties heavy? How many strongholds did we lose in total?"
The chief of staff's face became more solemn, and he nodded and replied: "A total of 128 strongholds in our occupied area were attacked last night!"
"There are small strongholds with only one gun tower, and there are also medium and large strongholds, with garrison troops ranging from a combat detachment to half an infantry brigade!"
"These strongholds have one characteristic. They are all located at the junction of our occupied area and the Eighth Route Army base area!"
"Baga!" the commander suddenly interrupted!
"I just want to know the specific losses of the troops, not the process!"
“Last year’s winter clean-up, our losses have not been recovered yet!”
"If the losses last night were too great, our advantage in Shanxi will be gone, and there will be a lot of gaps in the defense lines in the occupied areas!"
"Once the Eighth Route Army takes the opportunity to launch a large-scale attack on our occupied area, the imperial army will definitely suffer heavy losses and lose a large area of occupied area!"
"Hi!" the chief of staff replied quickly!
"A total of 128 strongholds, large and small, were attacked, and a total of 69 strongholds lost contact!"
"43 of them are small strongholds, ranging from a combat detachment to an infantry squad!"
"The remaining 26 are medium-sized strongholds, with garrison ranging from an infantry squad to a reinforced squadron!"
"If all these strongholds are occupied by the Eighth Route Army, we will lose a total of 1,982 imperial troops!"
"In addition, in order to make up for the lack of troops in the Imperial Army, a large number of Imperial Association troops are stationed at each stronghold, which is more powerful than the Imperial Army..."
"After statistics, these strongholds lost a total of 3,218 Imperial Army soldiers!"
"In the end, there is material loss!"
"Because each stronghold is at the junction of the Imperial Army's occupied area and the Eighth Route Army's base area, a battle may break out at any time. We have stockpiled combat supplies at each stronghold that can be consumed by the garrison for two days!"
"Now that the stronghold is occupied by the Eighth Route Army, all the weapons and supplies hoarded by the garrison must have fallen into the hands of the Eighth Route Army!"
The commander's face immediately turned gloomy to the extreme!
With clenched fists and exposed veins, he opened his mouth and cursed: "In other words, we lost two infantry brigades and three regiments of the Imperial Army in one night yesterday!"
"If all the weapons and ammunition we equip fall into the hands of the Eighth Route Army, they can form at least four more regiments?"
"Bageya Road, what kind of bullshit fight is this!"
"Fighting after fighting, the strength of the Imperial Army became smaller and smaller, while our opponent, the Eighth Route Army, became stronger and stronger and continued to expand its troops!"
"One is ebbing and the other is ebbing. It won't take long before the imperial army's advantage in Shanxi will be gone!"
"Especially the strength advantage, I guess it is gone now!"
The chief of staff did not answer, but there was an expression on his face that he was hesitant to speak!
The army commander happened to see it and immediately asked: "If you have something to say, say it, and if you have something to say, let it go. Both brigades have been lost, what else is there to say?"
"If there is anything else, report it all at once!"
The chief of staff replied bravely: "Sir, the losses just now include only the strongholds that have lost contact!"
"The strongholds still in our hands were also heavily attacked by the Eighth Route Army, and the losses have not yet been taken into account!"
"These strongholds are basically medium and large strongholds with many troops and large strongholds. Even if they are suddenly attacked, they can still organize troops and firepower to fight back!"
"But their losses are also great!"
"After statistics, they lost a total of 1,268 people from the Imperial Army and 1,586 people from the Imperial Alliance Army. They were either seriously injured or killed in battle, and they completely lost their combat effectiveness!"
"There are no statistics on lightly wounded soldiers who can still continue fighting!"
"In addition, many troops stationed in medium-sized strongholds requested to abandon their strongholds due to too many casualties and mobilize their troops to nearby large strongholds and county towns to defend them!"
The military commander refused without thinking: "No!"
"Next, our main combat target is the garrison regiment, and we will focus on defending other Eighth Route Army units! If we abandon those medium-sized strongholds in large numbers, it will be equivalent to giving up large areas of rural areas in the occupied areas and giving them to the Eighth Route Army to establish bases!"
"The Eighth Route Army there is not the garrison regiment of Laiyuan area!"
"They have a large number of reserve soldiers who have undergone simple training. As long as they have territory and equipment, they can be summoned immediately and directly form the main force to fight against the imperial army!"
"If this happens, it will definitely be very difficult for the imperial army to regain those territories and collect food from there!"
"Order, the garrison troops in each county will immediately send additional reinforcements to the strongholds that have not been occupied by the Eighth Route Army. If the Imperial Army is not enough, send additional Imperial Association Army. If the Imperial Army is not enough, expand it!"
"The main force captured a lot of weapons and equipment of the Chinese army on the front line. Except for a small number of heavy weapons that the imperial army valued, all other light weapons were piled rusty in the warehouse!"
"Order the General Staff to immediately count the number of these weapons and study the expansion plan of the Imperial Association Army based on the specific situation in each place!"
"On the battlefield, if the Imperial Army is not enough, we will use the Imperial Alliance Army to fill the gap!"
"Although they can't fight in the field, they can still fight defensively based on their strongholds!"
"The country has repeatedly emphasized that in addition to weapons and ammunition, the imperial army in China should try to be self-sufficient in food and other logistical supplies in the occupied areas!"
"This means that we must not only occupy China, but also manage the occupied areas!"
"The imperial army is good at fighting. It's too unfair to drag them to the local area to serve as security forces!"
"At this time, the role of the Imperial Association Army becomes prominent. Compared with the Imperial Army, they are definitely more suitable for managing local areas!"
"And the most important thing is that it is cheaper to raise the emperor and join the army!"
"The price we need to pay to feed one Imperial Army can at least feed three Imperial Alliance armies!"
The chief of staff's eyes lit up and he immediately complimented: "Sir, you are wise!"
"The most difficult thing for the Eighth Route Army to deal with is not only the main force, but also a large number of local troops and guerrillas!"
"Although their fighting power is not very good and their equipment is poor, they are very cunning. They hide among the people and pop up from time to time to attack the imperial army, making it difficult for us to guard against them!"
"After the Imperial Alliance Army expands, these so-called local troops and guerrillas can be left to them to take care of!"
"What the Imperial Army needs to do is to concentrate its forces to deal with the main force of the Eighth Route Army!"
"Or as a mobile force in an area, reinforcements will be sent wherever the Imperial Army is attacked, gradually compressing the Eighth Route Army's activity space, and eventually annihilating them all!"
"Yoshi! That's it!"
The support from the Chief of Staff gave the Army Commander more confidence to make a decision immediately!
"Then we will expand, take out all the equipment seized from the warehouse, and expand the Imperial Army. In Chinese terms, this is called using barbarians to fight barbarians!"
"In addition, the intelligence says that the garrison has also formed a large number of guerrillas and local troops. I require that the imperial army-occupied areas around the garrison be expanded by at least 10,000 people!"
"When the Imperial Army attacks the garrison in the future, these Imperial Alliance troops will rush into their base area together as a servant army to deal with local troops and guerrillas, occupy the place, and protect the security of the attacking troops' rear area!"
"In this way, the imperial army does not have to send special troops to occupy places, and can concentrate its forces to attack the main force of the garrison, without giving the enemy a chance to defeat us!"
"Also, for all newly formed Imperial Army units, the company commanders will be Chinese, but the deputy company commanders and training instructors must be imperial troops!"
"Each infantry company must have one imperial soldier as deputy company commander and two imperial soldiers as training instructors!"
"In principle, all the deputy positions of officers above the company level are held by the Imperial Army!"
"Guarantee that the Imperial Army troops will be loyal to the Imperial Army without any second thoughts!"
"I don't want to see the troops that the Imperial Army has worked so hard to train, then go to the battlefield and directly change sides, transform into the Eighth Route Army, and then make wedding clothes for the Eighth Route Army!"
The chief of staff replied with a serious face: "I understand, I will immediately organize everyone to prepare an expansion plan for the military commander to review!"
