Twenty miles south of Xuzhou Railway Station is the headquarters of the Japanese 66th Regiment.
It was completely dark. The Japanese army had been attacking fiercely for a day, but Xuzhou Railway Station remained motionless.
"Baga! What a loser! A brigade of troops, as well as a tank detachment and an artillery regiment to assist in the battle, can't even take down a train station where only one China battalion is stationed. You are incompetent, a waste!" Captain of the 66th Regiment
As Colonel Tsune Yamada spoke, he slapped Major Kameda, the captain of the 3rd Battalion, in the face.
Major Kameda stood up again and suddenly lowered his head: "Hai!"
It wasn't until Colonel Yamada finished losing his temper that Lieutenant Colonel Yamamoto, the deputy commander next to him, said: "Kameda-kun, Colonel, you need your explanation, what is going on?"
"Hai." Major Kameda lowered his head suddenly and said to Colonel Yamada, "Your Majesty Colonel, although the Chinese Army stationed at the train station is not large in strength, it has very strong combat effectiveness and good equipment. There is even an infantry company equipped with all the equipment.
The assault firepower of this submachine gun is even far superior to that of the Imperial Japanese Army!"
Colonel Yamada frowned and said: "A China infantry company equipped with submachine guns?"
"Hai." Kameda Major said, "Our 3rd Squadron had already occupied the outer positions of the train station, but after the China Infantry Company launched a counterattack, the 3rd Squadron immediately retreated. Since then, our 3rd Squadron has been defeated several times.
The attacks were repeatedly frustrated by this Chinese infantry company, and even poison gas bombs had little effect."
Colonel Yamada said solemnly: "Yamamoto-kun, it seems that this Baoshan Brigade is really difficult to deal with."
"It's not just difficult to deal with." Lieutenant Commander Yamamoto said, "It's not a bad idea to call this Hoyama Brigade the nemesis of the Imperial Army. The Kunisaki Detachment, Sakamoto Detachment and Isoya Division of the original Sakagaki Division are all from Japan.
The elites in the Imperial Army's battle sequence have fallen into the hands of the Baoshan Brigade one after another. This record is definitely not a fluke."
Osaka Yamada said: "Yamamoto-kun, what good suggestions do you have?"
Lieutenant Colonel Yamamoto said: "Your Excellency, the Baoshan Brigade is the elite of the China Army. It is well-equipped, has high morale, and is very determined to fight. Such troops are difficult to deal with. However, they are not without their weaknesses. Their weakness is that they are trapped alone.
In this corner, there is neither foreign aid nor supplies!"
Osaka Yamada said: "Then what do you mean..."
"Faced with such a force, if the imperial army attacks by force, the casualties will be too high." Lieutenant Colonel Yamamoto said this, then pointed to the map and said, "Colonel Colonel, please look at this map of the suburbs of Xuzhou. From the map, the train station is alone.
Hanging outside Xuzhou City, more than a thousand meters away from the city wall, it is better to break into it with the 1st Battalion, cut off the connection between the railway station and Xuzhou City, and then use the 2nd and 3rd Battalions to feign attacks in turns, which will not only consume the energy of the defenders of the railway station, but also
Consume their ammunition, and in this way, within three days, the Chinese defenders at the railway station will definitely choose to break out because they have run out of ammunition."
"Yo Xi." Colonel Yamada said happily, "Immediately send a report to the division headquarters and request adjustments to tactics."
"Hai." Lieutenant Colonel Yamamoto lowered his head suddenly, then turned around and walked into the telecommunications room to send a report to the division headquarters.
…
Hefei, Central China Front Army Headquarters.
Lieutenant General Naosaburo Okabe has arrived in Hefei on a special plane and officially assumed the position of Chief of Staff of the Front Army.
Lieutenant General Okabe privately expressed great appreciation for the adjustment of the Headquarters Staff Headquarters. In his opinion, the reason why General Terauchi was able to serve as the commander of the North China Front was because he was born into a noble family. What is even more intolerable is that General Terauchi was able to serve as the commander of the North China Front.
Although his abilities were mediocre, he always liked to show off his "smart" commanding abilities, which led to major strategic misjudgments in the Battle of Xuzhou.
Originally, Lieutenant General Okabe planned to strengthen the deployment of troops in the direction of Fuyang and Mengcheng. In this case, it would be wishful thinking for the main force of the national army in the Xuzhou Theater to break through. Unfortunately, due to the interference of General Teruchi, the frontline command post did not do anything.
Without adjustments in tactical deployment, the main force of the national army in the Xuzhou Theater finally broke through.
However, General Hata Toshiro came from a family of generals. His father was a famous imperial general, and his elder brother, Entaro Hata, had just resigned as the commander-in-chief of the Kwantung Front.
In the war room, the staff have prepared a huge simulation sandbox.
General Hata and the senior staff of the headquarters were discussing tactics around the sand table. Lieutenant General Okabe walked in quickly, put his feet back and stood at attention and said to General Hata Shunroku: "Your Excellency, the 114th Division's forward 66th Regiment has entered Xuzhou.
And just sent a telegram, it is indeed China’s elite Baoshan Brigade stationed in Xuzhou City!"
General Hata Toshiro pondered for a moment and suddenly asked: "Okabe-kun, do you think the deployment of the Wuhan battle needs to be postponed?"
Lieutenant General Okabe said: "Your Excellency, the city of Xuzhou has not yet been captured, and the Longhai Line and Jinpu Line have not yet been opened. At this time, if you rashly order the Second Army, the Fifth Army, the Seventh Army, the Tenth Army, and the Eleventh Army
If we attack Wuhan, the heavy Chinese army group that has just moved into the Sulu border and the central Shandong mountainous area will definitely fight back to Xuzhou!"
"In this way, our army's logistics supply line will be completely cut off by the China Army. If we continue to attack at this time, our logistics supply will be cut off and our follow-up force will be weak. If we retreat, we will block the enemy from the front and back, and there will be pursuers behind us. If we are not careful, it is very likely that
Triggering the overall collapse! If this battle is defeated, the empire will be unable to launch any large-scale offensive within three years."
General Hata Toshiro said: "Then can we mobilize the main force along the Yangtze River and then attack Wuhan along the Yangtze River?"
The advantage of attacking along the Yangtze River is that there are no logistical worries and there is no need to worry about the supply line being cut off by the Chinese army.
Lieutenant General Okabe said: "Your Excellency, although the distance is closer to Wuhan along the Yangtze River waterway, there are many rivers, lakes and mountains on both sides of the Yangtze River. This kind of terrain is not conducive to the power of the mechanized equipment of the Imperial Army, but is more conducive to the progress of the China Army.
For mountain operations and guerrilla operations, I think the imperial army should gather its main force to attack Wuhan along the Ping-Han Line!"
I have to admit that the views of Naosaburo Okabe are quite reasonable.
Historically, the Yellow River Flood Zone blocked the advance path of the Japanese mechanized equipment, forcing the Japanese army to change its route to attack Wuhan along both sides of the Yangtze River and the northern foot of the Dabie Mountains. As a result, it caused great difficulties for the Japanese offensive. The 106th Division was almost defeated by Xue Yue
The army was completely wiped out. This was the "Wanjialing Victory", one of the three major victories of the national army.
At this time, the national army is only stronger than in history!
Whether it is the determination of the country's military and civilians to resist the war, or the morale of the national army officers and soldiers, due to the desperate fluttering of this little butterfly Yue Weihan, they have been greatly improved compared with history. More importantly, due to Chairman Chiang's adoption of
Yue Weihan's four-pronged attack strategy greatly preserved the main force of the Xuzhou battlefield without losing troops and generals like in history!
Therefore, if the Japanese army really attacks Wuhan along both sides of the Yangtze River, the result will only be worse than in history.
General Hata Toshiro nodded and said: "Okabe-kun, do you mean to say that it is not appropriate for the imperial army to launch the Wuhan Battle before completely occupying Xuzhou and completely opening up the Longhai Line and Jinpu Line?"
"Hai." Lieutenant General Okabe lowered his head suddenly and said, "It is no exaggeration to say that Xuzhou is the lifeline of the imperial army."
"Yo Xi." General Hata Toshiro nodded happily, "Okabe-kun, immediately send a report to the 114th Division, ordering Suematsu Shigeharu to seize Xuzhou as soon as possible at all costs, and completely open up the Longhai Line and Jinpu Line."
"Hai." Lieutenant General Okabe lowered his head suddenly, and immediately took the order and left in a hurry.
…
Tongshan, the division headquarters of the 114th Division.
Chief of Staff Saburo Isoda hurriedly walked into the war room and said to Lieutenant General Suematsu Shigeharu: "Your Excellency General, the Front Army Headquarters sent an urgent message to order our troops to seize Xuzhou as soon as possible at all costs, completely open up the Longhai Railway and Jinpu Railway, and prepare for the main force of the Front Army.
The Battle of Wuhan laid the foundation."
"At any cost?" Suematsu Shigeji frowned and said, "Isoda-kun, order the Yamada Brigade to launch an attack on Xuzhou Railway Station overnight, and completely eliminate the remaining Chinese enemies in the railway station before dawn, and then order the 127th Brigade to
The 128th Brigade set off overnight and advanced towards Xuzhou, and the division headquarters also moved forward."
"Hai." Colonel Isoda lowered his head suddenly and immediately took the order.
…
On the outskirts of Xuzhou, the headquarters of the Japanese Yamada Regiment.
Lieutenant Colonel Yamamoto hurriedly walked into the war room, immediately put his feet back and stood at attention, and said to Colonel Yamada with a solemn expression: "Your Excellency, Colonel, the division commander has an urgent call!"
After saying that, Lieutenant Colonel Yamamoto handed over the telegram in his hand.
Colonel Yamada took the telegram and hurriedly read it, then frowned and said: "Order all infantry brigades to assemble immediately, and then send a telegram to Mr. Otsuka and Mr. Kobayashi to request tactical support from the field artillery regiment and the tank detachment.
." After saying this, Colonel Yamada looked at his watch and said, "After forty minutes of shelling, launch a general attack on Xuzhou Railway Station!"
…
A small forest in the northern suburbs of Tongshan County.
The Pang Hu team of the special operations team directly under the Baoshan Brigade was lurking in this sparse grove.
On the road about two kilometers away from Xiaosonglin, a huge Japanese army convoy was driving forward in a mighty manner. On both sides of the convoy, there were a large number of Japanese infantry running to follow. The Japanese army's guard posts had even been put down.
Two thousand meters away on both sides of the road, if you extend a few hundred meters further, you can find the National Army special forces hidden in the woods.
"Damn it, looking at this posture, there should be a division. The Japs came pretty fast." Pang Hu put down the telescope, turned around and growled, "Second Lieutenant Lan Ping, immediately send a report to the brigade headquarters, say Tongshan
A large group of Japanese troops were found on the road to Xuzhou, with a strength of about one division. It is estimated that they will be able to arrive outside Xuzhou City in half an hour."
"Yes." Lan Ping, the radio operator who followed the special operations team, quickly started to set up the radio station.
Since the last time she accompanied the special operations team to Linyi to perform a special operations mission, Lan Ping has almost become a non-staff member of the special operations group. For any special operations mission that requires radio communication, Lan Ping will definitely be seconded.