In Taiyuan, the headquarters of the Japanese First Army.
After the inspection, North China Front Chief of Staff Miyano Michichi returned to Peiping by plane.
Not long after Commander Yoshio Shinozuka got up, Communications Staff Officer Toshimatsu Kasai walked in and reported to him.
"Report to the general, the defenders of Tongpu North Road reported that the Jinggou Bridge was blown up last night, and a train loaded with cement was also blown up and fell into the mountain stream."
"Nani?"
"idiot!"
Yoshio Shinozuka's face suddenly darkened. The first news he received early in the morning was bad news, which made it difficult for him to be in a good mood all day long.
By coincidence, part of the cement on this train was the reinforced concrete base that Yoshio Shinozuka planned to use to build the Yuliao Highway.
Unexpectedly, it disappeared halfway. We have to wait until next month for the next truck of cement.
During this period, cement was called cement by the Chinese. Like steel bars, cement was also in short supply by the Japanese army.
"What's going on?" Yoshio Shinozuka frowned, "Tongpu Road is so tightly defended, but it still can't stop Tubal Road from blowing up the bridge?"
Kasai Toshimatsu said: "In addition to the bombing of Jinggou Bridge, a detachment near Xiaotang's stronghold was also attacked by the enemy. The enemy's marksmanship was very ruthless. No one in the detachment survived, and everything was shattered. Captain Okada Ichiro suspected that this
Both attacks were carried out by the same enemy."
After the Japanese army began to implement Shun Tada's cage policy, security incidents everywhere have indeed become much smaller, but there are still sporadic attacks and harassment.
However, serious incidents like this kind of bridge bombing rarely happen.
"How long will it take to repair the bridge?" Yoshio Shinozuka asked.
"It will take at least half a month!" Kasai Toshimatsu replied.
Half a month? Yoshio Shinozuka's face darkened, which meant that Tongpu North Road would be paralyzed for half a month.
The supplies looted from Datong will not reach Taiyuan for at least half a month.
But now that the matter has come to this, Yoshio Shinozuka can't say much. Railways were often bombed in the past, but it's just stopped in recent months.
At this moment, a young officer with the rank of captain walked in holding a telegram, walked up to Toshimatsu Kasai, slapped his feet together, and handed the telegram with both hands.
Afterwards, the Japanese captain turned around and left. Toshimatsu Kasai glanced at the telegram and said.
"General, we received a call from the North China Front Army Headquarters. Tomorrow the 7th Tank Regiment stationed in Mongolia will take a train along Tongpu Road from our defense area southward to reinforce the Zaoyi battlefield."
"Commander Tada ordered us to prepare receptions at various railway stations in advance."
Yoshio Shinozuka's face darkened. The 7th Tank Regiment came at the wrong time.
At this time, Yoshio Shinozuka did not connect the bridge bombing incident with the 7th Tank Regiment.
After all, a fully-equipped Japanese tank regiment with more than 50 tanks can move sideways in any war zone in China.
The Chinese troops in Shanxi were seeking death if they dared to provoke the 7th Tank Regiment, so Yoshio Shinozuka never even thought about it.
Yoshio Shinozuka stood up and walked to the map. He looked down from Datong along the Tongpu Railway and found the Jinggou Bridge.
He turned to Kasai Toshisatsu and said: "Give power to the 7th Tank Regiment and tell them to take the train to Yuanping Station, get off the train and follow the highway to Taiyuan."
Yuanping Station is about 110 kilometers away from Taiyuan. The speed of the tank on the road can reach more than 30 kilometers per hour. It only takes more than three hours to drive the tank to Taiyuan along the road.
Not a big problem.
"Hi!" Kasai Toshiatsu said, then walked quickly towards the communication room.
…
At night, Southeast Shanxi, Baishan Railway Line.
As the main force of the 385th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army entered Nanguan Town, the entire Baijin Railway Breakthrough Battle began.
With the assistance of more than 20,000 people, the main forces launched a massive attack on more than 200 miles of railway lines.
The main force stormed the strongholds along the railway, and each road-breaking unit broke the road with the active cooperation and strong support of the masses.
Very busy.
At the same time, the Lujiazhuang stronghold between Shouyang and Taiyuan on the Zhengtai Railway was established.
Cao Jiang, commander of the first company of the cavalry battalion, ordered the generals and horses to be tied up in a nearby grove, and then led his troops to quietly approach the stronghold.
The cavalry battalion of the new regiment has just been formed, and most of the cavalry's horsemanship is not good enough, but there is no problem in dismounting and fighting, because these are elite veterans.
Moreover, each cavalry company strictly follows the firepower configuration of an infantry company, that is, each squad has one light machine gun and one submachine gun.
Therefore, each cavalry company of the New Regiment has 9 light machine guns and 9 submachine guns, and the firepower is very fierce.
This time Li Yunlong also temporarily assigned two mortar squads to the cavalry company, with a total of 4 mortars. In addition, he also temporarily assigned 2 Maxims.
Open up and hit.
Cao Jiang, who had never fought such a wealthy battle, immediately ordered all mortars and machine guns to fire at full speed.
Artillery shells continued to fall and explode in the stronghold, and the gunfire was very dense, like firecrackers.
The Japanese and puppet troops in the Lujiazhuang stronghold were usually harassed by sporadic guerrillas. They had never seen such a formation. They thought they were being attacked by a regiment from the Eighth Route Army, and they were so frightened that they called and shook people on the spot.
The nearby Japanese patrol team heard the gunshots and came over, and even Shouyang County sent Japanese reinforcements.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, the new regiment cut the barbed wire fence from more than a dozen positions in company units and quickly passed the Zhengtai Railway.
By the time the Japs from Shouyang County arrived at the Lujiazhuang stronghold for reinforcements, the cavalry company had already mounted their horses and fled.
…
Early the next morning.
Shinozuka Yoshio invited Yamamoto Kazuki to play chess.
The two were playing chess while discussing the Japanese army's weapons.
Yamamoto Kazuki said: "General, with all due respect, the minds of the ordnance officials responsible for ordnance production are too rigid and old-fashioned. Look at what weapons they have equipped the Japanese army."
"The Type 38 rifle has only five rounds of ammunition. Every time a bullet is fired, you have to pull the bolt to eject the cartridge case. The light machine gun is also insufficiently equipped, and its firepower is too poor."
Although he recognized Yamamoto Kazuki's special operations theory, Yoshio Shinozuka had a different view on the issue of army equipment.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Shinozuka Yoshio said: "Japan is a resource-poor country. If it is equipped with automatic weapons, it will greatly increase combat costs."
"Based on the basis of 150 rounds of ammunition carried by an individual soldier, a rifle used for single-shot shooting can almost support a day's combat."
"And 150 rounds of ammunition may not be enough for a repeating submachine gun like the one equipped by the special forces for an hour."
"If one million army troops are equipped with submachine guns, then the empire's existing resources, productivity and transportation capacity will be expanded at least ten times."
"Such a high-cost war is not something the empire can afford."
"General, in my opinion." Yamamoto Kazuki said, "It is an undisputed fact that the empire is poor in resources. If it were not for this reason, there would be no need for the empire to carry out this war."
"But since the Manchurian Incident in 1931, China's three eastern provinces have become the empire's largest resource supply and military production base."
"Now, most of China's land and resources have fallen into the hands of the empire."
"Such a vast occupied area, such rich resources and cheap labor..."
"Why not adjust arms production in time and come up with better weapons and equipment for the troops?"
"Nowadays in European countries, individual weapons are almost dominated by automatic firearms. The combat effectiveness of an army is mainly reflected in its powerful firepower."
"With powerful firepower coupled with advanced strategies and tactics, such as special tactics, the empire can achieve hegemony."
Compared to Yoshio Shinozuka, Kazuki Yamamoto, who participated in the Battle of Nomonkan, has a deeper understanding of what real modern warfare is.
The aircraft fleet roared in the sky, the heavy artillery roared on the ground, and the tanks attacked intensively.
Aerial bombs and large-caliber heavy artillery exploded the Japanese positions into a sea of flames.
Thousands of tanks came overwhelmingly, and the tracks of the tanks mercilessly crushed the bushido spirit of the Japanese soldiers.
Yoshio Shinozuka sighed slightly and was about to speak.
"General!"
Communications Staff Officer Toshimatsu Kasai walked in quickly, his face a little ugly, as if something had happened.
Walking up to Shinozuka Yoshio, Kasai Toshimatsu paused and said:
"The Baijin Railway was attacked by the Eighth Route Army. Bridges were bombed, more than 50 kilometers of roadbed were destroyed, and the rails and sleepers were stolen by the Eighth Route Army. The main force of the Eighth Route Army also stormed Nanguan Town and other strongholds and military stations along the railway. The garrison troops suffered heavy casualties.
.”
"Nani?" Yoshio Shinozuka said in disbelief and stood up suddenly.
Yamamoto Kazuki remained unmoved, as if this was all what he expected.
Yoshio Shinozuka suddenly thought of what Yamamoto Kazuki said a few days ago: the deputy commander-in-chief of the Eighth Route Army would never let the Japanese army's cage policy be implemented.
I didn't expect it to come true so quickly.
As expected, the Eighth Route Army took action against the Baijin Railway.
Yoshio Shinozuka took the telegram and looked at it, and saw that the telegram read:
Last night, the strongholds, artillery towers and bunkers along the Baijin Railway were attacked on a large scale by the Eighth Route Army. The scale of the attack was huge, with at least 10,000 attacking troops, and probably no less than 30,000 people including the militiamen and civilians.
Preliminary estimates indicate that in just one night, dozens of kilometers of roads were destroyed, dozens of bridges were bombed, and a train was damaged.
The rails and sleepers were stripped bare...
The specific casualties cannot be estimated at the moment. The Eighth Route Army's attack on the Baijin Railway is still in progress.
"Baga!" Yoshio Shinozuka picked up the blue and white porcelain tea cup on the table and threw it to the ground.
There was a crisp ding sound, the blue and white porcelain tea cup shattered, and the freshly brewed Longjing tea spilled on the floor.
A lot of financial and material resources were spent on the construction and construction of the railway for more than a year. It was about to be repaired, but it was completely damaged overnight.
The Eighth Route Army launched a combat operation on the Baijin Railway just when it was about to be repaired, which gave Yoshio Shinozuka the feeling of fattening a pig before killing it.
And the railway built by the Japanese army was that fat pig.
Suddenly, an unpleasant feeling suddenly appeared in Yoshio Shinozuka's mind, and he hurriedly asked: "Have the Shota Railway and the Tongpu Railway been attacked on a large scale?"
"There is no large-scale attack." Kasai Toshimatsu said, "Major Takahashi stationed in Shouyang County reported that the Lujiazhuang stronghold was attacked by the Eighth Route Army last night. The attacking Eighth Route Army strength was about one battalion. Takahashi Major Takahashi arrived with reinforcements
, the Eighth Route Army fled, and this morning the patrol found that many barbed wire fences had been cut. It is suspected that a small group of Eighth Route Army troops crossed the Zhengtai Railway last night."
"Leave him alone as a small force." Yoshio Shinozuka breathed a sigh of relief.
As he expected, the Eighth Route Army's attack on Baijin Railway had reached the limit of what they could bear, and there were no more troops to attack Zhengtai Road and Tongpu Road.
After a pause, Yoshio Shinozuka said to Toshimatsu Kasai: "Order Taigu to come far, and the defenders of Qin County will immediately rush to the rescue of the Baijin Railway."
"Order the 9th Brigade and the 4th Brigade to move towards the Baijin Railway."
"Remind Major General Koshiki Toranosuke and Major General Tsuda Mitake to scare away the Eighth Route Army, but not to go deep into the Eighth Route Army's hinterland."
