Chapter 298 Armored Train Supply Center and Tanzhou Battle

August 28, 1941, the 11th Army Headquarters of the Central China Expeditionary Force.

"Okamura Yasuji, that's all."

"I really don't understand what he was thinking. He only had 100,000 troops, but he had to divide them into three groups. Did he think he was implementing the Barbarossa Plan?"

"Stereotyped and backward tactics, deserve to be a stepping stone for Xue Boling."

After putting down the detailed battle report of the first Tanzhou Campaign in his hand, Anami Korechika expressed his opinion to his chief of staff with great disdain.

As a major general without real power, Nakatsuka Nagakage did not have the courage to evaluate the commander of a front army, and could only selectively ignore the game between the big guys.

Considering that the next battle was related to his future and safety, he pretended to be nonchalant and reminded:

"Xue Boling still has some strength, and the combat effectiveness of the Ninth War Zone of the Republic of China should not be underestimated. They can even achieve unity between the military and the people in a certain period."

"What's more, we must pay attention to the movements of the Eighth Route Army Air Force. The Kwantung Army, the North China Front Army and the 11th Air Force have issued warnings to all troops with blood."

"Once those villains launch a surprise attack from the air, the troops will definitely suffer heavy casualties. Now is the time to use people, and we must try to avoid meaningless casualties."

If the above words were said to Shinozuka Yoshio, the swordsmanship master would definitely respond with a big fight at the first time.

However, Anami Korechika is not a stubborn person. Unlike some commanders who are full of muscles, he knows what it means to be honest but unpleasant.

After hearing the reminder from his chief of staff, the old devil nodded solemnly.

The previous air battle in Yamashiro directly overturned the ideas of the senior officials of the expeditionary army.

The Japanese were surprised to find that the Eighth Route Army could be so generous and put aside past grudges, and even traveled across mountains and rivers to the southwest to help Guofu guard the airspace.

In order to verify the above conclusion, the Japanese army mobilized a large number of spies who had been lurking for many years.

According to past experience, such a big move must be able to intercept intelligence at the first time.

Who would have thought that the agents not only got nothing, but were caught by the cunning gentleman Boss Dai and found many contact points.

However, such confidentiality measures made the Japanese suspect that there was a secret connection between Guofu and the Eighth Route Army, which led to the current stage of the Central China Front Army being restrained in everything they did.

The Air Force First Division is really a supermodel in the Asian battlefield, and it must be guarded against.

In fact, it is not the fault of the agents for not collecting intelligence. After all, even in Guofu, only a few people know the truth about the air battle. Compared with some important military intelligence, the bald man cares more about how to let his men keep the scandal for himself.

"Don't worry, I'm not one of those reckless men in the North China Front Army."

"Two months ago, I applied to Commander-in-Chief Hata Shunroku for anti-aircraft guns of various calibers. When the battle officially begins, there will be two flying squadrons of the Kwantung Army to help."

"This time we will learn from the allies' tactics in Poland and France. At the beginning of the battle, we will concentrate our forces and multiple tank battalions to launch a surprise attack, and strive to break through the enemy's defense line in a short time!"

Since the second half of 1940, the life of the devils has been getting worse and worse.

The Hundred Regiments Campaign, the Shanggao Campaign, the Zhongtiaoshan Campaign, the Second Taiyuan Campaign, and the air battle in Shancheng, a series of fierce combination punches, left them with no chance to breathe.

Good fortune never comes alone, and misfortune never comes alone.

While the Republic of China suffered setbacks on the battlefield, the Ugly Country was also pressing forward step by step.

Master Luo constantly adjusted the trade policies of both sides to put pressure on them, and the supply channels of oil and rubber could be cut off at any time.

If they don't open up a new battlefield so that they can plunder enough strategic resources, they will suffocate to death in the Republic of China sooner or later.

The options left for the Japanese at present are nothing more than going north or south.

Although the Barbarossa operation of the German III was unstoppable, the Northern Army Group reached Leningrad in less than two months, the Central Army Group also completely captured Smolensk, and the Southern Army Group was about to complete the encirclement and annihilation of Kiev.

But Dalinzi still did not withdraw too many troops from the Far East, and left 500,000 troops to confront the Kwantung Army.

Thinking of the shadow of being beaten by the "Big Mac" T26, the Japanese gave up the idea of ​​going north.

The little mustache did not give any real money and silver benefits, so there was no need to fight with the Russians for the broken land of East and West Siberia.

Compared with the Russian bear with tens of millions of army, the ugly country looks easier to bully.

There is no possibility of going north, so naturally they can only go south.

After making the final decision, the Japanese are ready to take advantage of the opportunity when the pressure in the north is small to officially implement the plan to march into Southeast Asia.

Since the Japanese army was already short of manpower and now had too many troops deployed in the battlefield of the Republic of China, how to smoothly transfer troops from the battlefield naturally became the most critical and urgent issue.

Direct division of troops is definitely not an option. Let alone whether the Eighth Route Army will take the opportunity to beat the drowning dog, but there is a high probability that the bald man will seize the opportunity to organize a counterattack.

After the war faction argued with reason, the headquarters decided to go all in before going south, and strive to find a breakthrough in the Republic of China to stabilize the situation.

As the saying goes, pick the soft persimmon.

The Eighth Route Army, which has a large number of air forces and artillery, is not easy to mess with, so the preserved fruit once again became the target of the devils.

In this context, Anami Korechika succeeded Lieutenant General Sonobe Kazuichiro, who was defeated in the Shanggao Battle, and became the new commander of the 11th Army under the order of the headquarters.

The task assigned to him was not complicated, which was to smash the Ninth War Zone of the Republic of China and take Tanzhou.

As long as the devils' plan could be successfully completed, the bald man in the mountain city would never live a peaceful day.

"This time we have concentrated five divisions and five independent mixed brigades, and with 26 artillery battalions and more than 200 fighter planes of various types, we can definitely destroy the will of the Republic of China's military and civilians to resist the war."

"The affairs of North China have nothing to do with us, let Okamura Ningji lead his people to defend it."

"Leave the battlefield in Central China to me! I want to see what Xue Boling can do to stop the 150,000 troops."

······

Tanzhou Yuelu Mountain, the headquarters of the Ninth War Zone.

"I really don't know what the devils were thinking. They actually sent a civilian to take charge of the situation."

"Sonobe Kazuichiro and Okamura Yasuji are not our opponents. How dare a small lieutenant general invade Tanzhou! This time, the theater has assembled the forces of twelve armies. We must let Anami Korechika see what the Tianlu tactics are."

"As long as we can eat up five divisions of the devils, the troops may even have the hope of joining forces with the Fifth Theater and the Sixth Theater to recapture Jiangcheng!"

Seeing his chief of staff Wu Yizi getting more and more excited, Xue Boling quickly reached out and pulled his arm.

The two are fellow townsmen and comrades-in-arms. They have worked together since the Northern Expedition. It is natural that there is no problem with talking nonsense when no one is around.

From the resume, Anami Korechika is indeed a civilian. He has served as the director of the Military Affairs Bureau and the Director of the Personnel Bureau. At the most exaggerated time, he was also the deputy minister of the army.

The only experience of leading troops in battle was that he was the commander of a division in Shanxi for eight months three years ago. There is no record of any large-scale battles to be recorded.

"Okay, stop talking."

"Hata Shunroku is an old fox. I don't believe he will send a rookie to the front to command the army. The other party must have a skill that we haven't discovered yet."

"Let the troops at all levels pay attention to intelligence work and not let the enemy easily launch a surprise attack on us. When necessary, we can use space to exchange time and use the old method to divide and surround the enemy."

The fall of many provinces has caused Guojian to lose many grain-producing areas.

At this time, the status of Hunan is particularly important. Huguang is not just talk.

In order to resist the aggressive Japanese army, the Ninth War Zone almost took out most of its assets, and even the idle anti-aircraft guns in the mountain city were borrowed.

As if thinking of something, Wu Yizi first looked around, and then whispered to his commander:

"Brother Bo Ling, do you think we can find a way to contact the Eighth Route Army through connections?"

"As long as the other party is willing to send some air support, the next battle will definitely become extremely easy. After all, you have accompanied them for more than 20,000 miles. If you don't try, you won't know the result."

"If the other party can help Shancheng fight an air battle regardless of past grudges, then they will definitely not care about the previous trivial matters. With the chairman at the forefront, your previous experiences are nothing."

After these words came out, Xue Boling laughed out loud in anger.

His chief of staff has strong military literacy, but his emotional intelligence and political sense are very poor.

Although he did not witness the air battle in Shancheng with his own eyes, even a fool can see that his chairman has been sulking for several days.

Now if anyone dares to secretly contact the Eighth Route Army, even a commander at the level of General Pig will probably end up suspended.

After thinking for a moment, he slapped the other person on the shoulder, and then said a little depressed:

"What a bad idea, they are willing to go to the mountain city for the people, how can I ask them to help."

"Besides, as long as the enemy's plane appears over Tanzhou, do you believe that Boss Dai will appear in our headquarters after the battle?"

"If you have time to talk nonsense with me, you might as well go and see the preparations of the people."

In the last battle, the Ninth War Zone mobilized a large number of people to stop the pace of the Japanese attack.

The soldiers and villagers dug up large and small roads, irrigated the fields in the countryside when retreating, and buried mines in the water if conditions permit.

The local people firmly implemented Xue Boling's policy of fortifying the walls and clearing the fields, leaving no rice for the enemy.

This move caught Okamura Ningji off guard. After all, they only brought a few days of rations when they marched before, and went to nearby villages to rob when they were almost finished.

Faced with the strange tactics of the Ninth War Zone, the Japanese were not used to it.

It was because the transport vehicles carrying heavy equipment got stuck in the mud and the logistics supplies were delayed in reaching the front line that Okamura Neiji chose to call off the troops.

Facing the inquiry of his own commander, Wu Yizi looked quite proud.

"Don't worry, I have arranged special people to execute and inspect everything. With your prestige, the common people are very cooperative with the work of the grassroots soldiers."

"As long as the devils can't come up with any new tricks, we can defeat the devils' conspiracy again."

Compared with the optimistic chief of staff, Xue Boling seemed worried at this time.

The biggest problem of Guojian at present is that it is difficult to coordinate between the major war zones, and there are often situations where troops at all levels fight on their own.

What's more, there are still people who are reluctant to spend money, and the so-called support does not pose an effective threat to the devils at all. This phenomenon is common in many large-scale battles.

The Sixth War Zone is better, after all, the commander is one of them. Once the war needs it, the other side will definitely send troops to cooperate with them in time.

The Fifth War Zone may not respond in time. After all, Delin suffered heavy losses in the Sui-Zao and Zao-Yi battles. It would be good if he could ensure that his defense zone would not be captured by the enemy.

Xue Boling sighed at the mess. He walked towards the military area of ​​Dayun Mountain and instructed the chief of staff beside him:

"Call the commander of the 74th Army and ask him to sell less biscuits and come to the headquarters for a meeting. I have an important task for him."

······

While Anami Korechika and Xue Boling were making their own pre-war preparations, the Eighth Route Army headquarters far away in Shanxi was not idle.

Originally, the deputy commander-in-chief had set the time for the attack on Suiyuan in October this year, but the undercurrent in central China forced him to advance his plan.

After the air battle in Shancheng, Guangtou had repeatedly asked the Eighth Office to convey to the border area, strictly prohibiting the Eighth Route Army from taking the initiative to attack without receiving a request for help.

Everyone knows the other party's little thoughts, which is nothing more than fear of having their territory taken away.

But fighting the Japanese invaders is not for someone's selfish desire, but to save the suffering people on the Chinese land.

If the Eighth Route Army launched an attack on the Mongolian troops in Suiyuan during the Second Battle of Tanzhou, it would have more or less tied down a group of enemies.

In order not to destroy the united front, the headquarters really took great pains.

Although the Air Force 1st Division may not have time to change its equipment, and the Marine Corps 1st Regiment does not have enough time to adapt to the new equipment, they can only practice more to improve their combat effectiveness as much as possible.

"Zhang Wanhe, all major supply centers are stationed with air defense forces and guard forces. Your logistics department can transport weapons and supplies from today."

"I only have one request, all the inventory added up can at least allow the three main forces to use it for one month!"

"Yes! Guarantee to complete the task!"

In this battle, the headquarters left sufficient preparation time for the logistics department.

At the suggestion of Huang He, the comrades built multiple supply centers along the railway line. Once the war starts, the train can transport a steady stream of supplies to the front line.

Considering that there might be enemies infiltrating Shanxi and squatting along the Tongpu Railway to launch a board charge against the transport trains, Huang also specially modified several armored trains.

Although this reduced the transport capacity, the safety and reliability were improved by several levels. Zhang Wanhe no longer had to worry about the precious train getting into trouble midway.

What Shanxi lacked the most was coal, so if the transport capacity was small, they would run more trips.