At the headquarters of Ban Heng Division, the old Japanese soldier Seishiro Ban Heng was furious because he was secretly increasing troops to the front line, preparing to surprise the 55th Army and cut off the connection between the Fifth Theater and the Second Theater.
But before he could implement this plan, Dongping County was captured by the 56th Army, and the Bantian Regiment he was most proud of also suffered heavy losses, and the army was directly reduced by one-third.
This is a great shame and humiliation, how can he let Seishiro Itama swallow such a breath?
It's just that at this time, neither his fifth division, nor the Japanese Second Army, nor the reinforcements from a certain dynasty were ready. Otherwise, the kid would have taken action long ago, so how could he wait until now?
Therefore, this sudden action during the Dragon Boat Festival really caught the little devil off guard.
Moreover, the little devil had no idea that the Chinese would take the initiative to provoke them.
But what Ban Hengzhengshiro couldn't figure out the most was what was the purpose of the Chinese army in seizing Dongping County?
Dongping County is not a strategic location, and there are not many troops stationed there. Except for the conventional garrison force of less than one squadron, the rest of the defense is completed by the Imperial Association Army.
In other words, the enemy's occupation of Dongping County will not cause great losses to the imperial army. If it were him, he would also surprise the Bantian Alliance in a surprise attack. As long as he defeated the Bantian Alliance, it would be just like in his fifth division.
It was like a hole had been torn open in the mass.
Therefore, the fall of Dongping County puzzled Ban Hengzheng Shilang.
And if there is a reason that must be found, Seishiro Itahashi believes that it should be related to the reinforcements of the infantry brigade that Bantian Regiment lost. The Chinese attacked Dongping County in order to mobilize the reinforcements of Sakata Regiment out of the city to ambush.
Thinking of this, Ban Hengzhengshiro wanted to understand something. The Chinese's goal was still Ningyang County, and the first attack on Dongping County was to weaken the strength of the Bantian Regiment in Ningyang County, and then make a surprise attack on Ningyang County.
"Shao Kar!"
Banheng Seishiro realized it on his own, but fell into the pit dug by Dragon Boat Festival again.
The goal of the Dragon Boat Festival is not the Sakata Regiment at all, but his entire Heng Division.
So I'm afraid Seishiro Itahi never dreamed that the small goal he set for the Dragon Boat Festival was indeed too small. One Sakata Alliance was not enough to fill the gap between Dano's teeth. What he wanted to cut was the big cake of the Banhao Division.
However, Ban Hengzhengshiro misjudged the purpose of the Dragon Boat Festival and actually ordered the Japanese and puppet troops who reinforced Dongping Town from Feicheng and Pingyin to continue marching to Dongping Town and recapture Dongping Town.
Because at this time he had already determined that the enemy was going to fight the Bantian Regiment, so after the surprise attack on Dongping Town, he would turn his guns and attack Ningyang County.
In other words, his enemy's attack on Dongping Town was just a pretext. After the attack, they would turn back and attack Ningyang Town. Even if there were defenders left in Dongping Town, the number would definitely not be very large.
The reinforcements from Feicheng and Pingyin can definitely be easily dealt with. Moreover, we can also use this to test the strength of the 56th Army.
In other words, until now, both Captain Sakata and Seishiro Itahashi think that this battle is fought by the 56th Army. Otherwise, they cannot think of which army can have such strength.
An infantry brigade of the Sakata Regiment was completely wiped out in a very short period of time.
Of course, the little devil once suspected that it was an independent regiment of Dragon Boat Festival. After all, Dragon Boat Festival appeared in the defense zone of the 56th Army.
But the information from the Special Higher Education Course was that the Dragon Boat Festival independent group had left long ago, heading back to Bengbu via LY.
Therefore, the little devil inferred from this that the one who attacked Dongping County was none other than the 56th Army.
Therefore, Ban Hengzhengshiro immediately ordered that all defense areas related to the 5th Division and the 56th Army enter first-level combat readiness to guard against a sudden attack by the 56th Army.
He also ordered all frontline units to quickly dispatch scouts, increase the number of lookout posts and patrols, and shorten the intervals between them to guard against sneak attacks by other Chinese troops.
Of course, Banheng Seishiro's focus was still on Dongping County and Ningyang County. He could only make a new judgment on the specific movements of the Chinese army after news came back from the Japanese army in Dongping County.
Although he was 80% sure that the target of the Chinese army was the Bantian Regiment in Ningyang County, he was not sure about 20%.
Seishiro Itahashi is not an easy man either. He is a top student in the 16th batch of the Army Academy and is also known as the 16th batch of glory.
Senior Japanese generals at the same time include the notorious Kenji Doihara, Neji Okamura, Toshiyoshi Ando, etc.
So this old devil is not simple at all, and he is good at being resourceful and seeking victory steadily.
But in Duanwu's opinion, this old Japanese was very ordinary. After learning that Dongping County had been occupied, he actually dared to send reinforcements.
At this time, under Dongping County, part of the 11th Regiment of the Japanese Fifth Division had arrived two kilometers outside Dongping County to rest and recuperate.
The strength of the Japanese troops was approximately one infantry brigade, consisting of two infantry squadrons drawn from Feicheng and Pingyin respectively, totaling four infantry squadrons and one artillery squadron.
In addition, from Pingyin and Feicheng, the Little Devils also mobilized two security groups, about a thousand people, and temporarily mixed them into an infantry regiment.
The total force reached 2,300 people. They stopped about two kilometers away from Dongping County to rest and dispatched scouts to Dongping County.
The scouts were led by puppet troops, and a small group of about 13 Japanese soldiers followed behind the puppet troops.
Obviously, the little devils already know that Dongping County has been occupied by the Chinese army, so they go to investigate and may encounter danger at any time.
Naturally, the little Japanese would not make fun of his own life, so all the work of risking death was left to the puppet soldiers.
The puppet troops walking in front also know this. They are destined to be cannon fodder. Everyone just hopes that the people of the 56th Army have left and leave an empty city for them. Otherwise, if there is a real fight, they
Still a cannon fodder.
Some people have even begun to regret it now. Originally, they simply took refuge in the Japanese because they did not want to die, but in the end, they were unable to escape death, and they also had to bear eternal infamy.
But I'm afraid it's too late to regret now, because no one knows whether they will have a chance to see the sun tomorrow.
Because it is obvious that more than 700 Imperial Alliance troops and more than 100 Imperial troops in Dongping County have been destroyed by the other side. With just the number of people they have gone up, I am afraid they are not enough to fill the teeth of the 56th Army!
Thinking of this, it is inevitable that some people will not curse the little devils following them in their hearts, hoping that they will step on a land mine soon, and that it will be the kind that does not sound in front of them and makes noise in the back.
They had seen this kind of landmine, which was specially used by the Eighth Route Army to deal with the Japs.
When these little devils charged, they were afraid that they would step on landmines, so they grabbed a group of ordinary people to help them step on mines.
However, the Eighth Route Army was superior in technology and developed a mine that did not sound in the front but sounded in the back. The bombs caused heavy casualties to the little Japanese, and even they were happy to see them.
"Wait a minute, I feel it!"
A puppet soldier walking in front suddenly stopped, his body stiffened, and he did not dare to move at all!