The thirteen infantry brigades that Okamura Neiji specially transferred from outside the pass to the pass were all destroyed, and the heavy artillery regiment that fought together was also annihilated immediately.
However, the high-level Japanese army did not know about this at the time, so there were still frequent battles in Lintun and along the Baijin Railway.
Subsequently, the Nationalist Government loudly publicized the victory of the National Army in the Changzhi Battle from the rear, and the little devils realized that the main force sent to the Changzhi area had been completely wiped out.
North China Expeditionary Force Headquarters.
Ichiro Matsumoto, the head of the Japanese Army Intelligence Section, placed a set of intelligence on Okamura Neji's desk: "Your Excellency, General, the Kwantung Army led by Imada-kun encountered an accident in Changzhi and was completely wiped out by the National Army and the Eighth Route Army!"
"Nani?" Okamura Neji was surprised after hearing this.
Ever since Imada Yukio reported that Changzhi had been occupied, the entire Changzhi area had been occupied within three days. Today happened to be the third day. Okamura Neji was waiting for good news from the front line of Changzhi, but he unexpectedly received bad news.
"Impossible. The strength of Imada-kun's troops is only slightly inferior to that of a full division. There is also a heavy artillery regiment accompanying the battle. Its combat effectiveness is stronger than that of a division. It can attack from the front and defeat ten times the enemy.
Even if the war fails and a certain price is paid, it is not difficult to escape. How could it be possible to be completely wiped out by the Chinese?" Okamura Neiji looked at the information in his hand and said in disbelief.
"This is absolutely true. The Nationalist Government has published a newspaper to publicly promote the victory of this war. It is hailed as the Fengtian Incident and the first great victory!" Matsumoto Ichiro knew that although Okamura Neji usually treats his subordinates relatively gently, at this time he also
Don't dare to touch its bad luck easily.
"Your Excellency General, perhaps the China government is deliberately exaggerating this matter. Mr. Imada just achieved a preliminary victory in Changzhi. How could the situation change so quickly? No amount of speculation is useless. Contact Imada-kun's radio station immediately!"
Chief of Staff Moritake Tanabe said.
"Hi!" Ichiro Matsumoto responded.
"If this matter is true, how should I explain it to Umezu-kun and how should I explain it to the base camp?" Okamura Neiji slumped in his chair and muttered to himself.
In order to achieve the goal of regaining Changzhi in one fell swoop and thereby defeating the largest military group of the national army in North China, Okamura Neiji took great pains.
The North China Expeditionary Force did not have enough strength, so they applied for the transfer of troops from outside the customs. Before the war, they even promised Imada Yukio that they would rebuild the 41st Division with the existing strength. The vast Tainan region, including Changzhi, was the 41st Division.
The regiment's divisional area.
For this reason, Wu'an, Wuyi and other places were separated from the defense area of the 104th Brigade.
But Okamura Neji never expected that this incident and Yukio Imada's arrogance would make Isamu Terauchi feel dissatisfied.
Although the role played by Isamu Terauchi could not influence the balance of the battle, it ultimately cut off the supply of the Japanese troops on the front line from a logistical perspective.
Yukio Imada also noticed Isamu Terauchi's inaction, but because the logistical supplies were in the hands of Isamu Terauchi, he would only cause trouble for Isamu Terauchi in the future.
Therefore, neither of them made the conflict public, and Neji Okamura, who was far away in Peiping, naturally did not know about it.
After a long time, without waiting for a reply, Okamura Neiji's heart became colder and colder, and he immediately picked up the phone on the table.
"Take Handan orders for me!"
In the office of Isamu Terauchi in Handan City, there are several delicious side dishes, a bottle of sake, and two wine glasses on his desk.
Isamu Terauchi poured a glass of wine on the ground with a smile on his face, and then said: "Imada-kun, if you don't stay outside the pass, why do you have to come to the pass? Forget it, come to the pass, why are you looking for trouble in my defense zone? You just
Come on, General Gangcun is going to move away the base camp I have been running for a long time. Doesn’t this cut off my financial resources? Doesn’t this force me to take action? "
"Imada-kun, you are a true warrior of the Empire. Go all the way. With so many Imperial soldiers accompanying you, you will not be alone!" When Isamu Terauchi said this, there was no trace of guilt on his face.
Internal strife is common in every nation, and it is common for fellow citizens to kill each other because of their own interests.
Moreover, due to Japan's complex regional culture, there are many conflicts between each region. This was only alleviated after the Meiji Restoration.
After that, Isamu Terauchi picked up the wine glass in front of him and drank it all in one gulp: "Ten years is never too late for a gentleman to take revenge. Even ten days is too slow for me to take revenge. How happy!"
Suddenly, the red phone on the table rang, frightening Terauchi.
This red phone was specially used to contact superiors. When it rang at this time, it was inevitable that Terauchi would not think too much.
Terauchi Isamu patted his face and forced himself to calm down. He knew exactly what to say to his superiors.
"Hey, I'm Isamu Terauchi!"
"Terauchi-kun, do you know what the current situation is in Changji? Has Imada-kun contacted you recently!" came a rapid and angry voice.
When Terauchi heard it, he recognized the voice of Okamura Neiji: "Your Excellency, General, Imada-kun only contacted me once after he led his troops to send troops. On the 19th, Imada-kun's troops sent a telegram, stating that they would continue to supply ammunition.
Someone has sent it over!"
"The garrison of our 104th Brigade in Tainan has been strictly guarding the section from Handan to Dongyang Pass. No abnormalities have been found, and the defenders at Dongyang Pass have reported intelligence to me every day. No eight have been found in the surrounding area," Isamu Terauchi immediately realized that he
Maybe he let something slip, so he immediately changed his words and said: "No trace of the Chinese armed forces was found!"
"Imada-kun may encounter something unexpected in Changzhi, so we will send personnel to investigate immediately, as soon as possible!"
"Hi!"
After hanging up the phone, Isamu Terauchi couldn't help but laugh out loud. The ammunition supplies transported from Handan were taken away by the Eighth Route Army. However, when his superiors did not send a telegram of reprimand, Isamu Terauchi understood that the North China Expeditionary Army Headquarters did not
know this.
In this way, the responsibility for the failure of the frontline war cannot be placed on Terauchi Yukio. It was obviously Imada Yukio who commanded the battle but failed, so what does it have to do with Terauchi Yukio?
Although the truth was known, Isamu Terauchi would still do what he had to do, and then issued an order to Hideo Oki of Wu'an to immediately investigate the situation around Changzhi.
On the same day, Hideo Oki sent out several search teams, using the Handan-Changchun Highway as the main line, and went deep into the hinterland to conduct reconnaissance in the direction of Changzhi.
During this period, the Japanese Xinxiang Airport sent reconnaissance planes to circle in the Changzhi area many times, and happened to discover the scene of a Japanese search team fighting with the Eighth Route Army.
The re-rising of the Blue Sky and White Sun Flag in Changzhi City confirmed the authenticity of the news released by the Nationalist Government, and Okamura Neiji's carefully formulated battle plan was aborted.
The leading role was gone, and the gongs and drums beside him naturally had no effect. Then the Japanese troops from all walks of life broke away from the battle and retreated unwillingly towards their respective defense areas.