Chapter 174 Three Lights

Just when Huang He was imagining the future with the new decision, the headquarters of the North China Front Army far away in the north was about to be smashed.

After being hit by the Red Iron Fist twice in just a few dozen days, Tada Shun almost lost his mind. This proud devil could not accept that the Eighth Route Army had turned the world upside down in North China.

When he first received the intelligence, he thought that the Eighth Route Army was just making a dying counterattack. After all, the cage policy he promoted was very successful, which was also expected.

And in his memory, the opponent's main force was only three divisions. Even with those messy militias, it would not pose a big threat to the Japanese locust army.

But he never expected that more than 100 regiments of the Eighth Route Army took a month to destroy many railways in North China, and many transportation lines suffered serious blows.

The cage policy that he had worked hard for many years turned out to be like a joke.

Under this series of blows, he finally realized one thing.

The North China Front Army needs to have a new understanding of the Eighth Route Army, and must reorganize its forces to give a resolute blow to the Eighth Route Army in North China.

Just as Tada Shun was thinking hard about the solution, Chief of Staff Yukio Kasahara came in with a telegram from the new commander of the Mongolian Army.

"Commander, I don't know what you are worried about. The rapid expansion of the army will definitely lead to a decline in quality. This is common sense that everyone knows."

"Although the enemy claims to have 105 regiments, there is a lot of water in it. After two major battles, their main force will have some losses."

"At this time, we just need to concentrate our forces and we can easily defeat them."

Tada Shun, who regained his composure, nodded, took the letter and began to read. The new commander of the Mongolian Army is very thoughtful and much more decisive than Okabe Naosaburo.

"Okay! Then agree to the other party's request and attack together! Let's try to get rid of the Eighth Route Army, this big threat, in one go!"

"Give Shinozuka Yoshio one last chance. If he is still so useless, let Iwamatsu Yoshio prepare. The First Army should also change its spirit."

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Taiyuan, the First Army Headquarters, Shinozuka Yoshio sat in the main seat of the conference room with a sinister look.

Since the Eighth Route Army launched the Hundred Regiments Campaign, this old devil has summoned all the staff to a meeting every day, and from time to time there will be a lucky person to welcome his big fight.

However, the situation today is different from the past. Good news has been coming from all over Shanxi Province.

"Mr. Lieutenant General, after several days of repairs, some railways have been reopened. Although the transportation volume has not reached the peak period, Taiyuan and Shimen are open to traffic."

"The two flying squadrons transferred from the north P direction have arrived at Qinxian Airport. Major Asakawa has woken up and is expected to recover his combat effectiveness in half a month."

"The Mongolian Army also sent a telegram, and they will definitely arrive in Shanxi Province in five days."

These news made Shinozuka Yoshio smile for the first time in a long time. He patted the shoulder of the staff officer in front of him to show encouragement.

The First Army had been beaten by the Eighth Route Army for more than a month because of insufficient manpower. If the other party had not known when to stop, the old devil might not have been able to help but use the three divisions near Zhongtiao Mountain.

With the support of the Mongolian Army, Shinozuka Yoshio was confident to organize a counterattack.

And the additional troops included armored forces and cavalry. As long as they acted in the right terrain, they could definitely catch the Eighth Route Army off guard.

The Army Aviation Corps was also pleasantly surprised. Shinozuka Yoshio himself did not expect that after losing a flight squadron, he was not blamed but had new reinforcements.

Considering that the enemy in Jin Province had almost no air defense capabilities, the aircraft that came to the First Army this time were mainly bombers, and the efficiency of ground attacks was unknown.

In the following period of time, it only took a period of training to form combat effectiveness.

After the previous staff officer left, Chief of Staff Hideyoshi Kusuyama came to the conference room with a folder. Judging from the different degrees of scars on his face, it was obvious that he had been beaten a lot in recent days.

"Nani!"

The first message in the folder made Shinozuka Yoshio drop his jaw.

Kusuyama Hideyoshi was sent to investigate the troops that bombarded Taiyuan Airport. After several days of hard work, the First Army finally figured out that it was the Eighth Route Army that attacked its own airport.

After learning that he had misunderstood a potential ally, the swordsmanship master was extremely angry. He drew out his command knife and slashed the opponent's shoulder with the back of the knife.

The chief of staff groaned in pain, bowed his head and saluted, took out the map he had just drawn and handed it to his commander.

"Your Excellency Lieutenant General, the intelligence agency has not yet figured out the opponent's number, but we have found the attack route and retreat route of the Eighth Route Army."

Shinozuka Yoshio took the map handed over by the other party. There were two routes clearly marked on the map, and there were various annotations along the way. It was obvious that the cartographer was very careful.

Such a move made the old devil barely calm down. He took back his command knife and began to analyze the opponent's route.

After just half a minute, Shinozuka Yoshio's eyes gradually narrowed, and the whole person exuded the breath of a beast.

"The other party is well prepared. Not only does the route perfectly avoid all strongholds. Even when retreating, they also reasonably use the terrain advantage to isolate the pursuit troops from their influence,"

"I have to say that the so-called base areas behind enemy lines of the Eighth Route Army are indeed good. The mass base of these beggars is simply incredible. I really don't know why they have such great appeal."

"It's really troublesome to be targeted by such an enemy. We can't let them continue to develop."

Although other staff officers did not see the specific battle report, they all knew that the opponent's commander was not mediocre.

The route may have been planned before departure. This was a contest between the staffs of both sides. But the choice of attack timing is completely a reflection of personal ability.

Thinking of this, Yoshio Shinozuka couldn't help but slap the table in front of him heavily. The better the enemy is, the more he wants to kill him to eliminate future troubles.

Jun Tada was already dissatisfied with him about the previous affairs between doctors and hospitals. This old devil knew that if he didn't do something, someone would soon take his place.

Kusuyama Hideyoshi naturally knew this.

Although they have been beaten a lot recently, the two of them are both prosperous and devastated. Once the commander of the First Army is changed, he will definitely not have any good fruits to eat. He can only be thrown into the reserve army because of the mercy of the locusts.

Facts have proved that no one who can achieve this position is a fool. Kusuyama Hideyoshi has long found the key factor for the victory of the new second team. He pointed at the map he drew and said tentatively:

"Your Excellency, Lieutenant General, that Eighth Route Army dispatched at least 300 people, and they also carried a large amount of weapons and ammunition. Such a team could reach Taiyuan silently. The people of the Republic of China must have contributed."

After hearing this, Yoshio Shinozuka nodded in agreement.

It is more than a hundred kilometers from the Yuliao area to Taiyuan. Even if the Eighth Route Army had four legs, it would not be possible to reach it in one night, and it must rest on the way.

After the first phase of the Hundred Regiment War, in order to prevent being caught off guard again, the First Army arranged a very dense number of observation posts and plainclothes patrols on this stretch of road.

Without a foothold during the day, even the most elite troops in the world can be exposed.

"It seems that our control over the security area is far from adequate. Someone actually protected such a huge team and luggage under our noses."

"Send people to investigate and find out which villages have people doing one thing in front of others and another in the back. Catch them and kill the chickens to scare the monkeys."

"Hi!"

After receiving the order, Kusuyama Hideyoshi was about to turn around and leave.

But at this moment, Yoshio Shinozuka kept him. The old devil took off his glasses, his eyes narrowed with a crazy look.

"Mr. Nanshan, the Eighth Route Army's nonsense is over, don't you want to take revenge?"

Having said this, he took out a military order from his arms. This was just sent by Shun Tada this morning.

"The goal this time is to completely destroy the enemy's so-called three major bases. It will be a joint operation by the North China Front Army and the Mongolian Army!"

The Mongolian Army had a new commander some time ago. Yamawaki Masataka was ready to attack the Eighth Route Army on the first day he took office. After all, the opponent's development momentum was too brutal.

In just four years, the army expanded to 105 regiments, which was in the occupied territory of my younger brother's country!

What puzzled the Japanese lieutenant general the most was why the Eighth Route Army had a full set of French light weapons.

As we all know, learning Gaul Chicken in childhood has a long history. Since the Meiji Restoration, the Japanese army has studied Gaul chicken.

Yamawaki Masataka can become a lieutenant general, so he naturally has a deep understanding of magic weapons.

This Japs was very worried about one thing. His scalp went numb when he thought that he might be chased and exploded by various French cannons in the future.

Judging from the current situation, if left alone, the Eighth Route Army is likely to be stronger than the First Army or the Mongolian Army.

In order to nip a powerful enemy in the cradle, Masataka Yamawaki contacted Shun Tada on his first day in office, hoping that the other party could work with him to encircle and suppress the enemy.

However, the prerequisite for the attack is to find where the main force of the Eighth Route Army is. If you can't even find the enemy, strangulation can only be a fantasy.

Although the response plan has been arranged by his superiors, Yoshio Shinozuka, an old devil, wants to test his staff. He wants to see if there is any talent among his staff.

It's a pity that the young staff officers were afraid of being scolded, so no one answered in the room full of people. In the end, Kusuyama Hideyoshi came to the rescue in time, ending the awkward atmosphere in the conference room.

"I think all units should use the brigade as a standard and go deep into the hinterland of the Eighth Route Army to raid! Use the lives of the peasants of the Republic of China to force them out!"

In the past, the Japanese were limited by their own military strength and supply capabilities, and their raids on base areas were not strong.

In addition, the Japanese did not pay enough attention to the Eighth Route Army at that time, so the North China Front Army's small life was mostly carried out in the form of a punitive team.

This pattern of small groups of troops constantly entering the mountains is very easy to deal with, and they must be stopped and eliminated with all their strength. The Eighth Route Army often used large numbers to attack small numbers, so the Japanese naturally suffered a big loss from ambushes.

But this trick can't be used often, and it's not a brainless day.

At that time, the Eighth Route Army again used the tactic of luring the enemy deep into the enemy's territory. A small group of the Eighth Route Army accidentally encountered a small force and was defeated by the heroic and invincible Japanese locust army.

In order to expand the victory, the Locust Army resolutely pursued, but accidentally fell into the encirclement of the cunning Eighth Route Army and the entire army was shattered.

But once the troops are increased, the Eighth Route Army will directly break into pieces and hide in the mountains.

Faced with this situation, Kusuyama Hideyoshi decided to directly press into the three major base areas with large forces. Threatening the lives and property of the people and forcing the opponent's main force to come out.

"The flipping tactic was only introduced in 1942."

After all, the roots of the base area lie in the common people. The Eighth Route Army must not remain indifferent to what the Japanese did.

After hearing this answer, Shinozuka Yoshio clapped his hands lightly, seeming to be satisfied with this answer.

"Open plot, it's not bad."

"If the teams cooperate properly, it might have a good effect. It's a pity that this tactic is not ruthless enough!"

At this point, the old devil slowly read out the order issued by the two commanders.

They decided to use the 36th Division of the First Army, the rebuilt 4th Independent Mixed Brigade, and the 110th Division and 15th Independent Mixed Brigade under the Mongolian Army, totaling more than 40,000 people.

In early October, a large-scale sweep of the Taihang and Taiyue Military Regions began.

Among them, the 4th Independent Mixed Brigade went south from Yangquan and attacked Liaoxian. The 36th Division went north from Changzhi and also headed towards Liaoxian, creating a situation of pincer attack from the north and south.

The reason for such a big fuss is also very simple, that is, to find the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army!

The 110th Division and the 15th Brigade attacked southwest from the Juma River, focusing on sweeping Wangkuai and Fuping, and trying to capture the headquarters of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region.

Moreover, the two beasts also asked their subordinates that this operation should not only eliminate the regular troops of the Eighth Route Army, but also eliminate the people in the base area.

All people in the enemy area, regardless of gender, age or age, should be killed.

All houses should be burned. All food and fodder that cannot be transported should also be burned. All pots and bowls should be smashed, and wells should be buried or poisoned.

They want to use this inhumane policy to create more no-man's land. The Eighth Route Army will not get any support and help from the people, let alone fight guerrilla warfare.

Once the opponent mobilizes troops to block or try to eliminate the troops entering its base, the attacked will defend on the spot.

As long as they can hold on until reinforcements arrive, they will definitely be able to eat up the opponent's troops.

It is also an open conspiracy, but it is more cruel. This move clearly tells the Eighth Route Army that it is either a decisive battle or allowing him to destroy the base.

However, neither Shinozuka Yoshio, Yamawaki Masataka, nor Tada Shun had expected one thing, that is, Huang He had updated the equipment of the Eighth Route Army.

The troops that originally lacked heavy weapons began to be equipped with French artillery. The armored forces that were proud of their daily lives had to face the most severe test in Shanxi Province.

At the same time, Yamawaki Masataka took another big step towards the title of Master of Prophecy.

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After the second phase of the Hundred Regiments Campaign ended, Captain Li was a little absent-minded every day. Not only was there no war during this period, but there was no news about the training of airborne troops.

Old Li, who had nothing to do, took the opportunity to go to the logistics department to collect supplies and quietly touched Huang He's laboratory.

It was painful, so painful

The brothers in the ward made me feel like I was in an anti-aircraft artillery position...