Mitake Tsuda quickly got up, got dressed, and headed to the brigade headquarters war room with a sullen face while holding his command saber.
As soon as he entered the brigade war room, Mitake Tsuda saw that the staff officers at the brigade headquarters were already in a mess.
Several operators were busy answering the phone, and the brigade department's phone line was almost full of calls.
"Moses Moses, this is the headquarters of the fourth brigade. Nani Yangquan Railway Station was attacked?"
"Nani Niangziguan and surrounding strongholds were attacked? How many people were in the Eighth Route Army's attacking force?"
"What did you say? A dozen strongholds near Shouyang were attacked at the same time? Are you asking for tactical guidance?"
"Moses Moses..."
Just as the phone was hung up, it rang again the next second, and the operator quickly picked up the call.
Tsuda Mitake's face instantly turned gloomy and gloomy. The battle-experienced old devil had already smelled something unusual.
At this time, the sound of artillery outside the city continued, becoming more and more rapid, rumbling like muffled thunder from a distance, hitting hard on the chest.
"Your Excellency, Brigade Commander!"
Kurosawa Masaji, chief of staff of the 4th Brigade, who wears the rank of Daizuo, spoke urgently:
"The Yangquan Railway Station was attacked by the Eighth Route Army just now. The situation is urgent. I have sent two squadrons to support."
"Starting from zero o'clock, dozens of phone calls came from the strongholds in the direction of Niangziguan and Shouyang, all saying that they were attacked by the Eighth Route Army. The Eighth Route Army's offensive was very fierce."
"Contact has been lost with many strongholds."
Mitake Tsuda sounded unbelievable: "Nani? Dozens of strongholds on the Shotai Railway controlled by our department were all attacked at the same time?"
Even though he was mentally prepared, Mitake Tsuda was still shocked when he suddenly heard the news.
How many troops are needed to attack so many strongholds at the same time? How many weapons and ammunition do we need to prepare? The Eighth Route Army will not survive?
The Fourth Brigade is responsible for the defense of the Zhengtai Railway from Shouyang to Niangziguan, and most of its troops are scattered in these strongholds.
If these strongholds are defeated by the Eighth Route Army, the Fourth Brigade will undoubtedly suffer heavy losses.
"Hi!" Kurosawa Shoji said, "There are still some strongholds whose phones cannot be connected, but there is a high probability that they have also been attacked by the Eighth Route Army. This is probably a large-scale offensive by the Eighth Route Army against our fourth brigade!"
Tsuda Mitake narrowed his eyes: "It's not a possibility, but a certainty. This is the large-scale offensive launched by the Eighth Route Army against our fourth brigade."
"We must report it to the headquarters immediately and take countermeasures against the Eighth Route Army, otherwise the consequences will be disastrous!"
"Kurosawa-kun, immediately report the situation of the Eighth Route Army attack on the Shota Railway stronghold to General Shinozuka and request tactical guidance!"
Along the more than 70 kilometers of Zhengtai Railway, dozens of strongholds and train stations were attacked almost simultaneously.
The Fourth Brigade stationed in Yangquan alone cannot handle the situation no matter what.
Since you can't beat him, just kill him quickly.
Kurosawa Shoji: "Hi!"
…
In Taiyuan, the headquarters of the Japanese First Army.
Yoshio Shinozuka was awakened from his sleep by Chief of Staff Kusuyama Hideyoshi.
"Your Majesty Lieutenant General, this is a serious matter." As soon as he opened his eyes, Yoshio Shinozuka heard Kusuyama Hideyoshi standing in front of his bed with a stack of telegrams in his hand.
"Kusuyama-kun, what happened?" Shinozuka Yoshio asked hurriedly.
"The Shota-Taiwan Railway is being attacked on a large scale by the Eighth Route Army. The Eighth Route Army's deployment of troops and offensive is unprecedented." Kusuyama Hideyoshi spoke urgently.
"Nani?"
Yoshio Shinozuka suddenly stood up from the bed, his tone unbelievable.
He snatched the telegram from Kusuyama Hideyoshi and started reading it.
Seeing this, Yoshio Shinozuka was stunned.
The first telegram was sent by Major General Mitake Tsuda, commander of the Fourth Brigade.
The telegram said: The section of the Zhengtai Railway from Shouyang to Niangziguan, the strongholds, railway stations and artillery towers in charge of the Fourth Brigade were simultaneously attacked by the Eighth Route Army on a large scale. The force used by the other side was huge. It is not yet clear how much force the Eighth Route Army used.
But it is estimated that there are at least 30,000 people, requesting tactical guidance, His Majesty the Emperor is on board, and the Imperial Japanese Army is on board.
The second telegram was sent by the Eighth Brigade west of Niangziguan in charge. The situation was similar to that of the Fourth Brigade.
In addition, there was a telegram sent by the Third Brigade, and Tongpu Road was also attacked on a large scale by the Eighth Route Army at the same time.
"How can this be?"
Yoshio Shinozuka's tone was full of disbelief, and his brows suddenly became tight.
Judging from the telegram, the Zhengtai Railway and Tongpu Railway that were attacked were more than 500 kilometers long, which means that more than 300 strongholds were attacked at the same time.
Where did the Eighth Route Army suddenly appear with so many troops? Did they all grow out of the ground?
Suddenly, Yoshio Shinozuka thought of what Kazuki Yamamoto had said. With the style of the deputy commander-in-chief of the Eighth Route Army headquarters, he would never sit back and let the Japanese cage tactics succeed, and would definitely take countermeasures.
Yoshio Shinozuka didn't pay much attention to it at the time, but now it has come true.
Without any time to think, Yoshio Shinozuka lifted the quilt, put on his military uniform, and walked quickly to the war room.
"I have informed the staff of the communications, intelligence, and special high school departments and the operational staff to come to the war room." Kusuyama Hideyoshi followed behind him and said.
He quickly walked into the combat hall, and sure enough, several close staff officers and a group of combat staff members had already arrived.
Seeing Yoshio Shinozuka and Hideyoshi Kusuyama walking in, a group of Japanese military officers immediately stood on the spot and nodded in the direction of Yoshio Shinozuka.
Yoshio Shinozuka walked straight up to the intelligence staff officer Takeo Anten, fired his bow left and right, and heard two crisp slaps.
"Baga!" Shinozuka Yoshio also cursed.
"Hi!" After being slapped, An Tengwunan didn't dare to show any dissatisfaction and suddenly paused.
Yoshio Shinozuka said in a cold tone: "As the intelligence staff officer of the First Army, the Eighth Route Army launched such a large-scale combat operation in the First Army's defense area, but did not receive any news in advance?"
"This is a serious dereliction of duty on your part. The imperial army will suffer heavy losses because of your dereliction of duty!"
"Report to your Excellency, General!" Takeo Andeng said, "During this period, the intelligence system of the First Army is not under my command, but under the command of Yamamoto Daizuo."
Shinozuka Yoshio's expression was stagnant. He was about to remove Andeng Takeo from his post, but he immediately swallowed it back.
During this period, the intelligence system of the First Army was indeed under the command of Kazuki Yamamoto, tracking down Li Yunlong's aid channels.
However, after several months of continuous pursuit, even with the intelligence system and special high-level courses of the North China Front, little success was achieved.
All we know now is that a mysterious man named Chen has been assisting Li Yunlong. Nothing else is known about this man's origin, age, appearance, or the source of the weapons.
Staring at Takeo Andeng coldly, Yoshio Shinozuka turned to the long table in the combat hall. The long table represented the Shotai Railway and the Tongpu Railway, and was surrounded by red flags. The position of each flag represented
There were eight groups attacking the stronghold there.
Seeing the small red flags almost covering the table, Yoshio Shinozuka's expression became even more ugly.
He was puzzled, and it was still the same question, where did so many people come from on the Eighth Route Army?
Could it be that the size of the regular force of the Eighth Route Army far exceeds the size of the force estimated by the intelligence department?
Suddenly, an unpleasant thought appeared in Shinozuka Yoshio's mind.
The Eighth Route Regular Army is probably far more than 100,000 in size, probably more than 150,000, or even more than 200,000.
At that moment, Yoshio Shinozuka was shocked and broke into a cold sweat...
It turned out that the Eighth Route Army had been hiding its strength. Even when the Japanese army was raiding the area, the Eighth Route Army did not show their true strength and trump card.
Prepare to deliver a fatal blow to the Japanese army's lifeline in North China at a certain time.
"Commander, more than a dozen strongholds in the Yuci section of the Shotai Railway have been violently attacked by the Eighth Route Army. Please request for tactical guidance!" Communications Staff Officer Toshimatsu Kasai said to Yoshio Shinozuka.
Yoshio Shinozuka and Hideyoshi Kusuyama immediately looked at Yuci on the map. Yuci was very close to Taiyuan, less than 30 kilometers away, but it was also attacked by the Eighth Route Army.
Suddenly, Shinozuka Yoshio suddenly felt his scalp numb. So many places were attacked by eight forces at the same time. For a while, he actually had no troops to send.
Even the reinforcements sent out are likely to be ambushed. It is impossible for the Eighth Route Army to launch such a large campaign without being fully prepared.
The cage tactic was highly effective, but its shortcomings were also obvious. The Japanese North China Front had insufficient troops and dispersed most of its troops in vast strongholds and artillery towers. As a result, the originally insufficient troops were even more dispersed.
"Order the 3rd, 4th, and 9th Brigade Headquarters not to send troops for rescue for the time being to avoid being ambushed by the Eighth Route Army."
"The staff immediately formulated a counterattack plan."
…
On the wide road a few kilometers west of Yangquan City, the battle was in full swing.
Two squadrons of Japs approaching No. 400 came to the train station's aid.
Compared with the Japs and puppet troops at the train station, the Japs rushing to the rescue were very cautious and sent scouts ahead to scout and clear the way.
There was no terrain suitable for an ambush nearby. The Japanese scouts discovered the first and second battalions in ambush, and the ambush was changed to an encounter.
It has to be said that the Fourth Brigade is worthy of being the elite of the Japanese army. This group of Japanese soldiers reacted very quickly and had high combat literacy. As soon as they met, they sent mortars, grenade launchers, and machine gun fire in the direction of the 1st and 2nd Battalions.
When encountering other Eighth Route Army units, the Japs would most likely take advantage, but what the Japs were facing was Li Yunlong's new regiment.
Light and heavy machine guns, submachine guns, bazookas, mortars, grenade launchers, all kinds of firepower rained down on the Japanese, overwhelming them.
The Japanese were immediately stunned, and they could only hold on for less than ten minutes before they collapsed in the direction of Yangquan, leaving behind a pile of Japanese corpses.
By the time Li Yunlong led the third battalion to arrive for reinforcements, the battle was already over.
"Report to the head of the regiment, the political commissar, and the Japanese have been repulsed by us." Zhang Dabiao reported to Li Yunlong and Zhao Gang, with Second Battalion Commander Zheng Yu standing next to him.
"How many Japanese have you killed here?" Li Yunlong put the rifle in his holster, and guard Huang Erhu was carrying his shotgun behind him.
"Two squadrons of Japs came. They did not create an ambush, but had an encounter. More than 100 Japs were killed," Zhang Dabiao said.
"Quickly clean the battlefield, and the first and second battalions will alternately cover the retreat into Lion Rock!" Li Yunlong ordered, with a stern look on his face.
Li Yunlong was not angry because he only killed more than 100 Japs without setting up an ambush, because he knew that these Japs were the meat in his bowl, and he would eat them morning and evening.
"Yes!" Zhang Dabiao and Zheng Yu straightened up, shouted in unison, turned and walked towards their respective command positions.
…
(It’s August, please beg for a guaranteed monthly ticket!)