"Commander, the telegram sent from the North China Front Army Headquarters also said that the main force of the 19th Division of the Eighth Route Army is dividing into three groups and marching north!"
"The first main force of the Eighth Route Army, about 60,000 people, is heading north along Baijin Road, with the goal of Taiyuan!"
"The main force of the second Eighth Route Army is about 40,000 people, and its target is Shouyang!"
"The main force of the third Eighth Route Army is about 40,000 people, and its target is Yangquan!"
"According to the situation detected by the reconnaissance aircraft, the first main force of the 19th Division of the Eighth Route Army has four artillery regiments, and the second and third main forces of the Eighth Route Army have three artillery regiments."
The North China Front Army has passed all the reconnaissance information to the First Army Headquarters.
"Nani?"
"The 19th Division of the Eighth Route Army dispatched 140,000 main troops and 10 artillery regiments?"
Iwamatsu Yoshio's heart that had just dropped suddenly rose again.
The size of the troops and artillery units dispatched by the 19th Division of the Eighth Route Army was basically twice that of the First Army.
If fighting in the wild, the First Army is definitely no match for the 19th Division of the Eighth Route Army.
However, the First Army is in a defensive posture. If the Eighth Route Army wants to destroy the First Army, it must dispatch at least three to three times the number of troops to have a chance of destroying the First Army.
Yoshio Iwamatsu secretly lamented that the strength of the Eighth Route Army of the 19th Division has skyrocketed in the past two years.
In the past, although the Eighth Route Army in southeastern Shanxi had a large number of troops, it was poorly equipped and had very little ammunition.
An infantry regiment of the First Army can enter the Eighth Route Army's base area in southeastern Shanxi and raid it.
But now, the troops of the 19th Division of the Eighth Route Army have dared to move northward unscrupulously, and the First Army has nothing to do.
Of course, the main force of the 19th Division of the Eighth Route Army is definitely stronger in combat effectiveness than the National Army.
But in terms of the quality of individual soldiers, they are still not comparable to the Japanese army.
After all, the troops of the 19th Division were expanded in the past two years. Before joining the war, the soldiers were all farmers. They had not been trained for long and had never fought in a decent battle.
However, after the 19th Division fought several major battles and adapted to large-scale operations, its overall combat effectiveness will inevitably improve by leaps and bounds.
"Your Excellency Commander..."
"I believe that the strategic intention of the 19th Division of the Eighth Route Army, like its previous march north, must be to provide cover and assist for the new regiment of the Eighth Route Army to attack the 1st Division."
After calling the 1st Cavalry Brigade and giving the order, Chief of Staff Masaru Hanatani came over and said.
Several operational staff officers of the First Army were already working on the map based on the communications staff's words, drawing arrows representing the Eighth Route Army's northward march.
Yoshio Iwamatsu nodded: "But we can't be careless and order the 37th Division and the 33rd Division to immediately shift to a defensive state!"
The main force of the 37th Division has already assembled in Yangquan.
The main force of the 33rd Division has been assembled in Shouyang.
Because of the telegram sent by Pangolin, the Japanese army thought that the Eighth Route Army was going to gather heavy troops to attack Taiyuan, so the 33rd Division and the 37th Division were ready to reinforce Taiyuan at any time.
Iwamatsu Yoshio secretly rejoiced that General Okamura Neiji only transferred the 1st Cavalry Brigade to reinforce the 1st Division of Datong.
If one or two divisions are removed from the 1st Army to reinforce Datong, the 19th Division of the Eighth Route Army will definitely attack Taiyuan.
Hanatani Masaru: "Hi!"
Afterwards, Hua Guzheng took paper and pen and began to draft telegrams to the 33rd Division and the 37th Division.
Yoshio Iwamatsu looked at Yangquan City and Shouyang County on the map, his eyes looking thoughtful.
The danger in Taiyuan has been lifted for the time being, but the Zhengtai Railway is afraid that it will be completely destroyed by the 19th Division of the Eighth Route Army.
Facing the main force of the Eighth Route Army heading north, the 33rd Division and the 37th Division could only barely protect themselves, and could not reach the more than 100 kilometers of Zhengtai Railway within the defense areas of the two divisions.
This is also something that can't be helped.
Who made the First Army unable to defeat the Eighth Route Army?
However, if the Eighth Route Army storms the 33rd and 37th Divisions, these two divisions can still turn north.
Why not temporarily give up Shouyang and Yangquan to the Eighth Route Army?
Judging from the current situation, the entire First Army is still very safe.
Thinking of this, the stone in Yoshio Iwamatsu's heart finally fell to the ground.
Major General Kazuki Yamamoto of the First Army Headquarters always felt that something was wrong, but when he thought about it carefully, he couldn't figure out what was wrong.
Yamamoto spoke softly. He couldn't think of a clue, so he had no choice but to keep silent.
…
The war in Datong began.
Just as Li Yunlong had estimated in advance, the whole of North China would be in chaos.
The 1st Division of the Japanese Army is one of the oldest units in the Japanese Army.
Everything in the world is full of chance.
In order to protect a heavy artillery regiment, the Japanese army planned to build a three-unit division, and it was the division with the first number.
North China Front Commander Okamura Neiji was prepared to severely damage or even completely annihilate the main force of the Eighth Route Army's new regiment at the expense of the 1st Division and the 6th Heavy Artillery Regiment.
at the same time.
The main force of the Japanese army stationed in Mongolia, as well as the troops directly under the North China Front, two cavalry regiments, were rushing towards Datong day and night.
All military regions of the Eighth Route Army have received orders to use guerrilla warfare, sparrow warfare and other tactics to delay the enemy's reinforcements from Datong.
The reinforcements at the brigade and division level of the Japanese army cannot be handled by other military regions.
Forcing a death order to block enemy reinforcements at all costs will only increase casualties.
Although the Eighth Route Army's strategic goal this time was not to completely annihilate or severely damage the 1st Division.
But it was still necessary to pretend to block the attack. After all, if the Eighth Route Army did not even block the attack, it would probably arouse the suspicion of the Japanese army.
Datong.
Six artillery battalions of the Eighth Route Army fired hard at the city wall of Datong, blasting dozens of gaps in the city wall.
Kong Jie then took advantage of the time and estimated that the Japanese fighter jets and bombers would arrive in about half an hour, so he ordered the artillery unit to move to cover immediately.
Although the anti-aircraft firepower was very strong, Kong Jie did not want the artillery and air defense troops to confront the Japanese planes and bombers head-on.
Subsequently, Kong Jie ordered four battalions of infantry to immediately attack the city wall from all sides.
Since the Japanese infantry abandoned the city wall fortifications, the Eighth Route Army occupied the city wall without much effort.
The 6th Heavy Artillery Regiment of the 1st Division was setting up artillery, waiting for the arrival of the reconnaissance liaison plane, and was preparing to fire at the Eighth Route Army artillery position outside the city under the guidance of the reconnaissance liaison plane.
However, it took an hour for the reconnaissance liaison plane to arrive from Peiping, but the Eighth Route Army only bombarded for half an hour and opened dozens of gaps in the city wall.
Upon seeing this, the Japanese artillerymen quickly pulled the cannon to a hidden place and hid it.
After all, after the Eighth Route Army occupied the city walls and fortifications, they could call and direct artillery to fire at the fortifications inside the city.
However, the Eighth Route Army's artillery position happened to be moving and concealed. By the time the Eighth Route Army's artillery position re-set up its artillery, the Japanese heavy artillery regiment was already concealed.
Then the four battalions of troops began to enter Datong City and started house-to-street street fighting with the Japanese from the 1st Division.
Although Kong Jie does not intend to fight to the end with the 1st Division, this scene must go on to buy one day for the New Regiment and the main force of the 19th Division!
One day later, the main force of the 19th Division and the new regiment will be able to complete the strategic encirclement of the 33rd Division and the 37th Division.