The commander stared at the sand table without saying a word!
The war room also became quiet, and everyone kept their mouths shut, afraid of interrupting the commander's thoughts!
It took a full five minutes for the oppressive atmosphere to be broken by the military commander himself!
"Since our forces are limited and we cannot spare any extra troops to encircle and suppress the Eighth Route Army, we will start with the garrison and open a gap in their strength!"
After saying that, the commander with sharp eyes began to give orders!
"Chief of Staff, you should contact our strongholds on the defense line that have not been attacked now. The sooner the better, and ask them to send out reconnaissance troops immediately to conduct a wide-net search within the three kilometers surrounding the stronghold to find out what is outside the stronghold.
There is no garrison to ambush the troops!”
"If there is, it means that my analysis just now is correct, and we have a way to deal with the eight offensive forces of the Eighth Route Army!"
The garrison's special agent battalion headquarters has now become Li Hao's former enemy headquarters!
Hong Linfeng has been standing next to the map, leading two staff officers to deduce the combat plan being implemented by the army over and over again!
The dozen remaining strongholds on the Japanese and puppet defense lines were indeed left behind intentionally by Li Hao, but it was not a conspiracy or a trap, but Li Hao's helpless move!
There are too many strongholds on the defense line, and there are several kilometers between each stronghold!
The garrison regiment only has two or three main battalions that can launch a counterattack. If they concentrate their troops and firepower to attack the strongholds on the defense line, even if they fight all night, the counterattack troops will definitely still be dragged along the defense line and exhausted!
After dawn, due to the influence of Japanese planes, in order to avoid unnecessary casualties and losses, the troops could only lie dormant and stay still!
If you want to break into the Japanese-occupied areas, expand the results of the war, and seize a large amount of food that is in short supply in the base area, you have to wait until tomorrow night at the earliest!
There was a whole day difference, which was enough for the Japanese army to do a lot of things!
If they respond in time, take the opportunity to retreat under the cover of aircraft, and take away the maintenance committee and traitors in the occupied area along with them, they will definitely get nothing after the troops kill them!
For the sake of the food that the Japanese and puppet troops had stored in this large occupied area, and the lack of available troops, Li Hao could only take one risk!
The eight attacking troops were divided into eight groups and penetrated directly into the hinterland of the area occupied by the Japanese and puppet troops!
Regardless of the Japanese and puppet troops on both wings and behind who have not yet been eliminated, the farther into the hinterland the better, it is best to directly cut off the retreat of the Japanese and puppet troops in this occupied area!
In this way, even if the Japanese army reacted in time and wanted to retreat, eight attacking troops blocked their way back and slowed their march through guerrilla warfare. They would not be able to retreat too far, and they would always be surrounded by the garrison!
As long as the sky turns dark again and the Japanese planes leave the battlefield, the eight attacking troops can turn around and fight back, leaving all the Japanese and puppet troops who want to retreat, while also seizing the food, weapons and ammunition they want to take away, and solving the urgent needs of the base area!
Of course, taking risks comes with risks!
Eight attacking troops went deep into enemy-occupied areas alone, but not all the Japanese and puppet troops on the flanks and behind were wiped out!
Once they are all dispatched, these eight attacking troops will be attacked from both sides and will be made dumplings by the Japanese and puppet troops!
This is the biggest risk of the entire operation!
The Japanese Chief of Staff could tell at a glance that both Li Hao and Hong Linfeng were very talented!
From the beginning of the operation, apart from receiving telegrams, Hong Linfeng never took his eyes off the map!
They were deeply afraid that the Japanese army would discover this loophole and then send troops to surround the eight attacking troops, putting them in a desperate situation!
Li Hao knew Hong Linfeng's worries very well and once again spoke to comfort him!
"Chief of Staff, don't worry. Although this is a big flaw in our plan, I am not unprepared for anything!"
"As long as the Japanese commander is a little more cautious, I am confident that the Japanese and puppet troops in these strongholds will not dare to come out!"
Hong Linfeng shook his head and replied: "Can I not worry? What if the kid doesn't get fooled!"
"Two main battalions, plus the artillery that cooperates with their operations, two county brigades, and eight district squadrons, the total strength exceeds 3,000 people!"
"Once an accident occurs, the blow to us will be absolutely devastating!"
Speaking of this, a hint of hesitation clearly flashed across Hong Linfeng's face!
After struggling for a long time, he said: "Captain, I still suggest that a reinforcement company be transferred from the special agent battalion and the independent battalion to the defense line to protect the retreat of our offensive troops!"
"If the Japanese army really wants to besiege eight attacking troops, with them here, they will definitely be able to save a few troops and prevent the entire army from being destroyed!"
"Now these strongholds are surrounded by only newly established mobile battalions and cavalry battalions!"
"They haven't even completed the training of new recruits, especially the cavalry battalion. They have just learned how to ride horses and shoot, and they haven't even learned how to charge on horseback! If an accident happens, the two battalions will definitely not be able to play a big role, and they may even be invaded by sheep.
The tiger's mouth will cause greater losses."
Li Hao refused without hesitation: "No, the secret service battalion and the independent battalion have missions, and they are very important. Not a single soldier of them can be touched!"
Then he thought for a moment and analyzed: "As for the mobile battalion and cavalry battalion you mentioned!"
"I have no intention of letting them join the war!"
"The reason why we let them divide their troops and lurk around the strongholds that we have not taken down is for one purpose: to bluff, so that the Japanese will mistakenly think that we have deployed heavy troops outside their strongholds, and then they will not dare to attack rashly!"
The worry on Hong Linfeng's face did not disappear, and he asked anxiously!
"What if their commander loses his mind and directly orders the troops to rush out?"
In his eyes, if this problem is not solved, no matter how many Japanese soldiers are eliminated by the eight attacking troops in front and no matter how much food is seized, he will not be happy!
It's like there is a sharp sword hanging on the forehead that may fall off at any time!
As long as it falls, the eight offensive troops on the front line will be finished, and the results they have worked so hard to achieve will be lost!
The most important thing is that with such a heavy loss, the garrison will definitely return to before liberation overnight!
Everyone's efforts of more than two months will be in vain!
Li Hao answered confidently: "Then beat them back!"
"Although the mobile battalion and cavalry company have not yet formed combat effectiveness, their equipment is not bad at all. Especially the mobile battalion, it can be said to be the best in the entire regiment!"
"Each infantry squad is equipped with a light machine gun!"
"In order to achieve the bluffing effect, I strengthened all the extra light and heavy machine guns in the regiment to them, and also placed a flying thunder cannon outside each stronghold!"
"If the Japanese army really intends to leave their stronghold, as long as they show off their momentum, the Japanese and puppet troops will definitely be frightened and retreat immediately!"
"So I believe that the mobile battalion and the cavalry battalion can definitely withstand those little devils in the stronghold!"
"As for the special agent battalion and the independent battalion, their tasks are also very heavy!"
"Chief of Staff, now that the battle has begun, there is no need to worry about the news being leaked!"
"To tell you the truth, in addition to disrupting the enemy's subsequent heavy raids and raising food for the base area, I have another purpose for this operation!"
Hong Linfeng would be really stupid if he didn't know Li Hao's thoughts at this time!
He immediately replied: "It's the Japanese and puppet troops stationed in Laiyuan and Guangling counties!"
"Yes, I plan to take them down together!" Li Hao affirmed!
Then he added: "However, whether this goal can be achieved is not up to me. The key depends on whether the little devil is fooled and cooperates with us!"
Hong Linfeng understood it completely, and shouted with a look of realization: "Commander, now I finally know why you set up the former enemy headquarters at the headquarters of the Secret Service Battalion instead of the headquarters of the Third Battalion, which is closest to the battlefield!"
"It turns out that you are interested in Laiyuan City!"
Speaking of this, what did Hong Linfeng think of again!
Suddenly he slapped his head and shouted: "By the way, Commander, two hours ago you ordered each company of the special agent battalion to march out of the station, and then secretly came back, and then lurked, was it just to attract the Japanese to be fooled!"
Li Hao did not hide anything, and nodded in affirmation: "The mobile battalion and the cavalry battalion were bluffing outside the stronghold, and the secret service battalion and the independent battalion rushed over with great fanfare. I want the Japanese to mistakenly think that our troops operating there are the secret service battalion and the independent battalion!"
"Since the special agent battalion and the independent battalion have been transferred, our garrison base area will be empty!"
"There is no main force except local troops and guerrillas in the entire base area!"
"If I were a little devil, I would definitely seize the opportunity, order the county garrison to take the initiative, cause havoc in our base area, and force us to retreat!"
"If the operation is done well and these garrisons are used well, it is possible to severely damage or even completely annihilate our attacking troops!"
At the Zhoucun stronghold eight kilometers away from the Xiaozhuang stronghold, the commander, Lieutenant Matsumoto, was nervous and anxious!
He heard the gunfire coming from the Xiaozhuang stronghold. It lasted for just over half an hour and then stopped. Then the Xiaozhuang stronghold lost contact!
At this time, the fool also knew that Xiaozhuang's stronghold was over!
The Imperial Army stationed there has one more infantry squad than here, and the Imperial Alliance Army also has one more company. If the garrison can take over there in such a short time, it will definitely be able to easily take over the stronghold it is stationed at!
Matsumoto immediately called the county seat for help, and then stood guard inside the gun tower, staring down at the surroundings of the stronghold, praying that the garrison would come over later!
Two hours later, Matsumoto's tense nerves slowly relaxed!
This place is not far from Xiaozhuang's stronghold. If the garrison really intends to kill themselves, they will be able to crawl over after such a long time!
There is no enemy situation outside the stronghold. There is only one possibility. The garrison does not intend to eat itself tonight!
As soon as I sat down to take a breath, a cry of exclamation rang out from my mouth!
"Sir, there seems to be cavalry outside the stronghold?"
Lieutenant Matsumoto didn't care about his fatigue, stood up and rushed to the shooting hole!
Under the cover of night, even with a telescope, Lieutenant Matsumoto still couldn't see clearly!
But he did hear the sound of horse hooves!
The distance was very far, and the sound that came through was very small, but it was definitely the sound of horse hooves, and judging from the sound, there were quite a few cavalry, at least a platoon!
