The sound of gunfire gradually became sporadic, and finally stopped completely.
When the smoke cleared, a new group of reconnaissance planes circled in the sky to see if there were any missed areas.
At this time, looking down from the perspective of the new group of pilots in the sky, the entire front more than 40 miles wide to the south of Baoding was already covered with dense shell craters.
The anti-tank cones that were neatly arranged two hours ago have disappeared.
Even if there are sporadic anti-tank cones that slip through the net, the tank soldiers can detour when they see them, without affecting the battle of the tank troops at all.
After listening to the staff report that the Japanese anti-tank cones and minefields had been cleared.
Li Yunlong's expression was very satisfied.
Li Yunlong issued an order in a stern tone: "Let the artillery and artillery rest for a while. The logistics force will prepare the artillery shells. In two hours, we will launch an artillery bombardment on the Japanese positions!"
Although fighting requires one go at a time.
But after all, artillery and cannons need to rest. Uninterrupted shelling for several hours is a test for the artillery and will also reduce the life of the gun barrel.
After a pause, Li Yunlong continued to issue orders:
"Order the air force to prepare for bombing and support. After the bombardment is completed, planes will carry out a wave of bombing."
"After the artillery and aircraft bombing is completed, the infantry and tank troops will conduct a trial attack to test the enemy's strength and firepower."
Although the new regiment has powerful firepower, the quality of its individual soldiers is not inferior to that of the Japanese army.
But after all, the total strength of the Eighth Route Army was not as good as that of the Japanese and puppet troops.
If you have the idea of defeating the Japanese and puppet troops in the Baoding area with one attack.
I'm afraid the Eighth Route Army will suffer heavy losses.
So Li Yunlong is not anxious at all now. What should be anxious now is the Japanese and puppet troops.
"yes!"
The staff quickly issued orders to each unit according to Li Yunlong's instructions.
At this moment, the communications staff officer held a telegram in his hand and walked over quickly: "Report to the head of the regiment, a call from headquarters!"
"Read it!" Li Yunlong stared at the map and said without looking back.
"Yes!" the communications staff officer read, holding the telegram in both hands. "According to reliable information, the commander of the Japanese North China Front, Okamura Neiji, led the 11th mixed brigade to leave Peking three days ago and arrived at Baoding, the front line."
Li Yunlong raised his head and said in a surprised tone: "Okamura Neji, an old devil, actually came to Baoding?"
The communications staff officer put the telegram on the table, turned around and left quickly.
Li Yunlong's face showed a thoughtful look. He thought that old devil Okamura Neji would defend Beiping.
After all, according to boss Chen's information, Okamura Neji has not left the north for nearly two years.
Afraid of being assassinated.
At the same time, Li Yunlong couldn't help but sigh that compared with Boss Chen's intelligence, the Eighth Route Army's intelligence was not even a bit inferior.
If it was Boss Chen who provided the information, I'm afraid Okamura Neji was just about to leave Peiping, and Boss Chen would have already received the information.
As for the Eighth Route Army, Neji Okamura only received the intelligence three days after leaving Peiping.
Moreover, there is only information about Okamura Neiji leaving Peiping, and there is no other information at all.
In other words, it is simply impossible for Li Yunlong to assassinate Okamura based on this information.
It is a pity that the current boss Chen seems to have reduced intelligence support.
But the problem is not big. Without precise information, the Eighth Route Army will still fight against the Japanese, but the process will be more tortuous.
"Commander." Wang Dehou asked: "Since Okamura Neji is not in Peiping, do you still order the New Second Regiment and the Independent Regiment to attack Peiping?"
Li Yunlong thought carefully for a moment and then said: "Forward this telegram to the North Road Attack Group and order the New Second Regiment and the Independent Regiment to seize Beiping. Since Okamura Neji has arrived in Baoding, there must not be many Japanese in Beiping. The order from the headquarters is not an order.
Is it best for us to recover Peiping peacefully? This is a good opportunity! If the Kwantung Army seizes Beiping, it will be almost impossible to recover Beiping peacefully!"
To deal with the Japanese and puppet troops in Baoding, the New First Regiment and the main force of the Jizhong Military Region are enough.
If you don't care about Peiping, let the Independent Regiment and the New Second Regiment go south to form an encirclement situation with the New First Regiment and the Jizhong Military District against the Japanese and puppet troops in Baoding.
That would be better, as it would defeat the North China Front faster and easier.
but!
In this case, the main force of the Japanese Kwantung Army will take the opportunity to enter Peiping, and then there will inevitably be a bloody battle between the Eighth Route Army and the Kwantung Army in Peiping.
"yes!"
Wang Dehou quickly drafted a telegram, Li Yunlong signed it, and then gave it to the communications staff officer for dispatch.
…
The North Road Attack Group is marching along the road.
Trucks pulled heavy artillery and mountain artillery, tanks carried oil drums, and Eighth Route Army soldiers sat with grass rings above their heads.
Several fighter jets and reconnaissance aircraft flew in formation at low altitude to escort the ground troops.
The soldiers were brave and high-spirited.
At this time, the main force of the New Second Regiment and the Independent Regiment had crossed the mountainous area and entered the North China Plain.
After a day's march, the main force was not far from Peiping.
The troops would have to march for more than half a day before they could reach the outside of Peiping City and launch an attack on the enemies in Peiping.
On both sides of the road, there are many Japanese strongholds with gun towers and bunkers.
But at this time, there were no Japanese or puppet troops in these bunkers and gun towers.
Almost all the Japanese and puppet troops in North China were transferred to the Baoding area to fight.
Even if there is a damaged road, the engineers of the New Regiment and the Independent Regiment can quickly repair it.
At this time, Ding Wei was sitting in a Willys Jeep, admiring the Lieutenant General's sword in his hand.
Satisfied expression.
That day, when the last remnants of the 27th Division were being gathered together to annihilate, Lieutenant General Takeshita Yoshiharu, the commander of the 27th Division, took the lead in charging with a command saber in hand.
As expected, Lieutenant General Takeshita Yoshiharu was beaten to a pulp by the Eighth Route Army's submachine guns.
This lieutenant general's sword, which represented the status of the Japanese commander, was also seized by the soldiers of the Independence Regiment.
Kong Jie also coveted the lieutenant general's sword, but if it was seized, it would be returned to the public, so the lieutenant general's sword belonged to Li Yunlong.
At this moment, the jeep suddenly stopped and Ding Wei sheathed his sword.
I saw the communications staff officer holding a telegram in his hand and walking over quickly to report to Ding Weihui: "Reporting to the regimental commander, an urgent telegram has just been sent from the frontline headquarters. Neji Okamura has led the main force of the mixed 11th brigade to Baoding. Regiment Li
The commander ordered us to seize Peiping before the Kwantung Army arrives!"
Ding Wei's eyes lit up when he heard this.
A jeep behind also stopped. Kong Jie jumped out of the back seat of the jeep and walked quickly to Ding Wei's side and asked.
"Old Ding, what's going on? Who sent the telegram?"
Ding Wei said: "It's a telegram from Lao Li. That old Japanese from Okamura led the 11th mixed brigade to Baoding. Lao Li ordered us to seize Peiping before the Kwantung Army."
Kong Jie's expression changed. According to the intelligence, this mixed 11th brigade of the Japanese army was the personal bodyguard of Neji Okamura, and was also the elite among the elite of the Japanese army.
The Huncheng 11th Brigade was established in 1934. After the July 7th Incident broke out, the Huncheng 11th Brigade participated in the battles to capture Peiping and Datong, and was later transferred to the Peiping area to garrison.
This mixed infantry regiment of the 11th Brigade has two infantry regiments, one field artillery battalion and one mountain artillery battalion.
Later, after Okamura Neji arrived in Peiping, he formed a tank regiment for the 11th mixed brigade.
There are guards from the North China Front Army Headquarters in Peiping, and Okamura Neiji is sinister and vicious.
Therefore, the New Second Regiment and the Independent Regiment did not rush to order the vanguard troops to march towards Peiping at full speed.
"So, there are no Japanese troops left in Beiping?" Kong Jie also looked happy.
Ding Wei nodded: "That's right!"
Kong Jie quickly analyzed: "I don't know where the Kwantung Army's devils have gone. I suggest that the cavalry and quick reaction troops be dispatched immediately to seize Peiping immediately."
The so-called quick reaction force is a force composed of elite troops, and then trucks carry these elite troops on the march.
Ding Wei nodded and said: "Lao Kong, I don't worry about others going there. It's better to leave this task to you, but don't worry, I will lead a large force to Peking as quickly as possible."
"good!"
Kong Jie did not hesitate and nodded immediately.
Immediately, the two of them saluted each other with a military salute.
As the command was issued, the rapid reaction troops of the New Second Regiment and the Independent Regiment, as well as the cavalry, quickly assembled.
More than 2,000 cavalrymen and more than 500 trucks full of Eighth Route Army soldiers, led by Kong Jie, rushed toward Peking.
…
at the same time.
Xuzhou battlefield.
Japanese 11th Army Headquarters.
A combat staff officer held a folder in his hand and reported to Hengshan Yonghui: "Reporting to General, according to the three consecutive days of feint attacks by the Locust Army and the Locust Alliance Army, the enemy's firepower has been reduced by half, especially the enemy's heavy artillery firepower.
It has been reduced by more than half.”
After hearing the report from the combat staff, Isamu Yokoyama smiled slightly and felt happy.
"Your Excellency, Commander." Chief of Staff Major General Zhongshan Zhenwu said: "Yesterday and today during the day, the Eighth Route Army did not launch an attack. It seems that the Eighth Route Army does not have much ammunition."
"That's right!"
Yokoyama Yong nodded sympathetically:
"General Okamura Neiji also sent a telegram, asking us to quickly defeat the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army, while reminding us that the Eighth Route Army can obtain battlefield airdrop supplies."
"Isn't this a contradiction?"
At the beginning, Isamu Yokoyama really believed in Okamura Neiji. After all, he had to be responsible for the more than 100,000 elite Japanese troops in the 11th Army.
However, after three days of continuous feint attacks by the Japanese and puppet troops, the Eighth Route Army also stopped attacking during the day.
This convinced Hengshan Isamu, Zhongshan Zadawu and others that the Eighth Route Army did not have much ammunition.
As for whether the Eighth Route Army has any conspiracy?
If the Eighth Route Army had enough ammunition, it could directly defeat the 11th Army head-on, so why would there be any conspiracy?
Isn't it unnecessary to take off your pants and fart to engage in conspiracy?
Based on the previous experience of the Eighth Route Army receiving airdropped supplies, every time the Eighth Route Army received airdropped supplies, they were nearby, and the Japanese and Locust Alliance troops fighting against the Eighth Route Army could also see it.
But this time, the battlefield was surrounded by Japanese and Locust Alliance scouts, and no airdrop was seen by the Eighth Route Army.
Nakayama Sadatake and Futami Akizaburo smiled in agreement.
"Your Excellency, Commander, our staff department has completed the combat plan and contingency plan for counterattack and defeating the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army. Please take a look."
Zhongshan Zhenwu handed over the folder in his hand.
Yokoyama Isamu took the folder and read it.
Soon, Isamu Yokoyama read the battle plan and emergency plan with a satisfied expression: "Yoshi, just follow this battle plan and send a telegram to General Okamura Neiji, saying that you can learn the tactics of the 11th Army and adopt
The night attack consumes the Eighth Route Army's ammunition, and I believe the North China Front Army will be able to defend Baoding."
"Hi."
Nakayama Sadatake and Futami Akiyamaro both bowed their heads.