The Battle of Nakatiao Mountain has been going on for almost a month, and Okamura Neiji, the commander of the North China Front, has been in the state of a strategist for a full month.
During this month, Neji Okamura stayed in this office of less than thirty square meters regardless of whether he had food or accommodation. He only took a shower once during this period, and he looked unshaven, his clothes were wrinkled, and he looked particularly haggard.
"Dududu..."
There was a hurried knock on the door, and then a figure hurriedly walked in. Ichiro Miyamoto, the chief of the operations section who had been promoted to colonel, hurriedly walked in. As soon as he came in, he said urgently: "Your Excellency, Commander, there is an urgent call from Mount Nakajo...
The Chinese army led by Gao Hongming has withdrawn, and the 31st, 36th, and 37th Divisions are pursuing it."
Okamura Neji, who was standing by the wall silently looking at the map, turned around. At this time, Miyamoto Ichiro realized that Okamura Neji's eyes were already filled with bloodshot eyes. It was obvious that he was overworked after not having a good rest for many days.
Performance.
Okamura Neiji spoke, with a hint of exhaustion and hoarseness in his voice: "Where is the Thirty-Thirty Regiment? What are they doing?"
Ichiro Miyamoto hesitated for a moment and then said: "The commander of the Shonogaoka Division reported that their division has suffered too many losses and has no remaining strength to pursue. It is currently undergoing repairs in Yangping Town, waiting for further orders from the headquarters."
"hehe!"
Okamura Neiji sneered, "This Akinokaki is quite courageous."
Hearing Neji Okamura's words, Miyamoto Ichiro felt nervous and couldn't help but defend him: "Your Excellency, Commander, according to the situation reported by the Thirty-third Division, their division has lost two infantry regiments.
The regiment and most of the artillery regiment, it is understandable that Commander Zhaoye chose to take a temporary rest for the sake of the future of the 33rd Division."
"snort!"
Okamura Neji glanced at the little fat man and said, "Miyamoto-kun, you are very considerate of this fellow countryman. He actually learned to intercede for others."
Miyamoto Ichiro was not surprised that Okamura Neji knew about his relationship with Akino Kaki. After following Okamura Neji for so long, Miyamoto Ichiro had a certain understanding of his character. He lowered his head and bowed.
Bow: "I'm really sorry for causing you any trouble. Commander Zhaoye is a fellow countryman of mine, and he took good care of me when he was in mainland China."
Okamura Neiji stared at Miyamoto Ichiro for a long time, until his back felt a little chilly, and finally he suddenly laughed: "Forget it, the Chinese once said that if you keep something private, you can give it to the public.
How can a person not be selfish at all? The fact that you can remember your senior’s care for you is enough to prove that you are a grateful person, and of course I won’t blame you.”
"Thank you, Commander." Miyamoto Ichiro quickly bowed and thanked him, and then asked: "Your Excellency, Commander, the Battle of Nakajoyama has been fought for so long and it is finally over. We can also explain to Commander Shunroku Hata."
"Explain?"
Okamura Neji sneered, "Do you think we won this battle?"
"this……"
Ichiro Miyamoto blushed and said bravely: "Your Excellency, Commander, although the casualties of the imperial army in this battle were a bit more, now that Mount Nakatō is in hand, we have won the battle from a strategic level.
It’s not an exaggeration.”
"yes……"
Neji Okamura looked a little dazed, so he picked up a newly compiled battle report and put it on the table, "Look at it, this is the casualty report compiled by each division below. This time the empire lost 202 fighter planes
, 157 artillery pieces including 240 caliber were lost, more than 26,000 soldiers were killed, and more than 21,000 people were slightly or seriously injured. Do you know what this means?"
Miyamoto Ichiro stopped talking. In this battle, the Japanese army dispatched a total of four divisions, a brigade, a heavy artillery regiment, and a flying group, with a total of 100,000 people attacking Nakatiao Mountain. Now the losses alone have reached half.
Such a result cannot be called a victory in any way, and at best it can only be called a tragic victory.
Seeing that Miyamoto Ichiro was silent, Okamura Neji waved his hand helplessly: "Immediately send a message to Miyazaki Shigesaburo and others, asking them to stop the pursuit. Except for leaving the necessary troops for defense, the others retreat to their original positions and wait.
Replenish domestic troops and supplies."
"Your Excellency, Commander, is this too hasty? We paid so many casualties and costs to get Gao Hongming and the Chinese to retreat. Now is the best time to eliminate Gao Hongming. How can we give up so easily?"
"The best time to eliminate Gao Hongming?" Okamura Neji sneered: "Are you sure?"
"This..." Miyamoto Ichiro was stunned for a moment, and then he heard who Gao Hongming is? His tens of thousands of troops did not flee in a hurry after losing the battle, but took the initiative to retreat. If they give you a counterattack during the pursuit,
, this loss is huge!
Thinking of this, Ichiro Miyamoto sweatdropped on his forehead and quickly bowed: "I'm really sorry. It was my lack of consideration that caused you trouble."
Okamura Neji showed a serious look on his face, "Miyamoto-kun, you have been with me for several years. I have seen your progress over the years, and I originally planned to recommend you to come here after a while.
You are serving in the brigade below, and it will not work if you are still in this state."
"Hi... I'm so sorry!" Miyamoto Ichiro felt happy and annoyed at the same time, so he could only keep bowing and apologizing.
"Okay, you go down first." Neji Okamura waved his hand, stood up and walked back to the map hanging on the wall. When Miyamoto Ichiro saw this, he understood that his commander had to think about the problem again.
He left out with great discernment and closed the door behind him.
The sudden withdrawal of Gao Hongming and his troops not only caught the Japanese by surprise, but also caught everyone in the First Theater of Operations off guard.
He Yingqin, who was still sitting firmly on the Diaoyutai, immediately panicked. The departure of Gao Hongming and others officially declared that the originally planned central flowering tactic had completely failed, and Zhongtiao Mountain still fell into the hands of the Japanese.
"How dare Gao Hongming do this? He is irresponsible for the great cause of the war. He is running away from the battlefield. I will shoot him!"
In the headquarters of the First Theater Command in Xi'an, He Yingqin was so furious that he broke several cups. Several orderlies and staff nearby looked at him tremblingly and did not dare to say a word.
Pang Bingxun, Sun Lianzhong, Li Tiejun and others also remained silent with sullen faces. Everyone realized that they had gone too far this time and finally annoyed Gao Hongming.
Okay, they don’t play with them now. Are you dumbfounded?
Not to mention this, Guo Jiqiao, who had been watching with cold eyes, just said, "Sir, Zhongtiao Mountain is gone, how are we going to explain to Chairman Chiang?"
This sentence almost made He Yingqin faint from anger. After a long time, he spit out from between his teeth: "Explanation!"