Liang Jian: Commander, save some for me

"Yes, this operation absolutely cannot go wrong again." Itagaki Seishiro nodded. The commander had already given the order that even if they couldn't annihilate that Northeast Army, as long as they dealt a blow to the Eighth Route Army, they would have completed their mission.

"Division Commander, don't worry, we will definitely be able to complete the mission," Yamamoto Ichiki said. The commander had already lowered the requirements, and if they still couldn't complete the mission, they would have no face to see the commander.

After waiting for a few minutes, the car finally drove into the military camp and arrived in front of the office building.

As soon as Tani Hisao and Nagayoshi Ichiro got out of the car, Itagaki Seishiro came up to greet them.

"Tani Hisashi-kun, Nagae-kun, it's been a long time," Itagaki Seishiro greeted with a smile.

"Itakatsuki-kun, it's been a long time." The two responded politely.

"Let's not delay any longer. Let's discuss the specific plan as soon as possible. We can eat after we've finished talking," Itagaki Seishiro said impatiently.

"That's exactly what I was thinking." Tani Hisao and Nagayoshi Ichiro nodded in agreement.

The group went to the conference room together. A map had been pinned to the blackboard, with the direction of the attack marked on it.

Without wasting any words, Itagaki Seishiro began to explain the battle plan after everyone was seated. In fact, apart from Tani Hisao and Nagayoshi Ichiro, everyone already knew the battle plan and had conducted multiple simulations.

Because the plan was quite long and needed to be explained in detail, it took Seishiro Itahira more than an hour to finish speaking, but it took them a long time to formulate the plan.

"That's roughly the plan. The main objective is to annihilate this Northeast Army, and the secondary objective is to strike at the Eighth Route Army and severely damage them."
In this way, the Northeast Army will be without external support, and even if they want to do something big again, it will be impossible. On the contrary, if they dare to make a move, we will still have a chance to completely annihilate them! Do you all understand?!" Itagaki Seishiro summarized.

"I understand!" Everyone nodded.

"Tani Hisao-kun, this operation requires you to act as bait to lure that Northeast Army into attacking you. You should understand the plan, right?" Itagaki Seishiro said to Tani Hisao.

Actually, he was a little worried that Tani Hisao might change his mind at the last minute and disagree with their plan, which would make it more difficult for them to annihilate that Northeast Army.

That Northeast Army was clearly targeting Imperial troops who had participated in the massacre, and the Sixth Division was precisely that bait.

"Itagaki-kun, I am aware of the plan, and I will cooperate with you," Tani Hisao said slowly. He was well aware of what Itagaki Seishiro was worried about.

"That's good, that's good." Itagaki Seishiro breathed a sigh of relief. Compared to severely damaging the Eighth Route Army, he hoped to severely damage the Northeast Army. The reason was that the Northeast Army had caused him heavy losses and put his current position and life in jeopardy.

“However…” Tani Hisao paused deliberately at this point.

"But what?! If you have any requests, Mr. Tani Hisao, you can make them, and I will fulfill them." Upon hearing this, Itagaki Seishiro's heart immediately jumped, and he quickly said, fearing that Tani Hisao might change his mind.

After all, if Tani Hisao did not agree to be the bait, it would be difficult for them to trick that Northeast Army.

"Can your plan really work?! This is such an obvious trap, the enemy should see through it, right?!" Tani Hisao asked rhetorically.

If the enemy knew that the reinforcements coming were from a force that had participated in the massacre, wouldn't they have guessed the reason behind it?! It looks like a trap no matter how you look at it.

"That's certainly a possibility, but the enemy is more likely to think we're provoking them. So, we'll set up multiple command posts and let the enemy find the real one themselves."

Only in this way can the enemy be dispelled from the possibility that it is a trap. The commander is a smart man, but smart men are often arrogant.

"Especially when you think you've guessed completely right!" Seishiro Itahira explained.

Generally speaking, people who consider themselves smart have a fatal weakness: they are too confident in their own judgment. They may be able to make accurate judgments once or twice, but this will only fuel their arrogance.

"This is what the old Chinese saying means: 'Too clever by half,'" Tani Hisao said with a smile.

"Besides, our bait is you, the person they most want to kill. When they find the real command post and discover you, they naturally won't think it's a trap."

"On the contrary, it will make them even more certain that the commander sent you here to provoke them, and in that case, the enemy will definitely take action!" Itagaki Seishiro continued.

No matter how clever the enemy is, they would never have imagined that they would use a division commander as bait.

"Overall, the plan is feasible, but I'm also in considerable danger, right?" Tani Hisao said.

The plan was a good one, but it would put him, the commander of a Class A division, at risk of losing his life.

"Tani Hisashi, don't worry, I've already arranged for a strong force to protect you. It's the Yamamoto Special Attack Unit that the commander specifically sent to Germany for training."
This unit was carefully selected from soldiers of top-tier divisions, and I have already tested their combat capabilities; they are definitely several times stronger than the elite soldiers of top-tier divisions.
Therefore, your safety is absolutely not a problem. Moreover, whether this operation can truly annihilate this Northeast Army depends on Yamamoto's special attack team holding off the enemy.

"Without letting them realize it's a trap, we can easily retreat!" Itagaki Seishiro continued.

That Northeast Army was too powerful. If only soldiers from a Class A division were sent to protect Tani Hisao, they probably wouldn't be able to do it. Even if they could, they wouldn't be able to hold off the enemy when they wanted to retreat.

In this way, the other troops will be unable to encircle the enemy, the enemy will simply run away, and his plan will be completely ruined.

"Is the commander of this Yamamoto Special Attack Unit here?!" Tani Hisao asked, his gaze sweeping over everyone before finally settling on Yamamoto Ichiki. The officers here were all division commanders or brigade commanders, except for this colonel, so the answer was obvious.

“Commander Hisao Tani, I am the commander of this special attack team. My name is Ichiki Yamamoto.” Ichiki Yamamoto quickly stood up and replied.

"I need to assess the strength of your unit afterward. Otherwise, I won't feel at ease taking such a big risk without strong protection," Tani Hisao said with a serious expression.

Just hearing others say that this unit is very strong is not enough; you have to see it for yourself to know. Seeing is believing.

"No problem!" Yamamoto Ichiki readily agreed. It was simply a matter of letting the soldiers demonstrate their strength to the enemy and prove their unit's capabilities. If other divisions asked him to demonstrate their strength, he might disagree, but they needed Tani Hisao as bait right now, which was a dangerous task. Demonstrating their strength would put Tani Hisao at ease.

"Well, after we finish eating, I'll check out the strength of your soldiers!" Tani Hisao nodded, sizing up the other party and finding that Yamamoto Ichiki was indeed no ordinary man.

There was an air of arrogance in his eyes, and he remained neither humble nor overbearing in his presence. If it were an ordinary colonel, he would probably be so nervous in front of him that he wouldn't even be able to speak clearly.

“Okay,” Yamamoto Ichiki agreed.

Seishiro Itahira didn't say anything about this. He had already verified the fighting power of Yamamoto's special attack team, and it was indeed very strong.

The unit that the commander trained with a great deal of resources is truly remarkable.

Itagaki Seishiro then explained the specific operational plan for annihilating that Northeast Army, which took him quite a bit of effort to finish.

"Is that Northeast Army of a few thousand men really worth the trouble of having a Class A division plus half a Class A division, a total of 30,000 troops, go to such lengths to encircle and annihilate them?!" Tani Hisao suddenly said.

According to Seishiro Itaga, they needed to mobilize nearly 30,000 troops to encircle and annihilate a force of only a few thousand men, including a formidable unit like the Yamamoto Special Attack Corps.

"Gu Shoujun, I'm not kidding, that Northeast Army is ridiculously strong. Just take the airport for example, I set up a regiment to defend it."
However, the enemy breached the defenses in less than two hours, destroying the planes and capturing the pilots.

Although the Eighth Route Army was involved, their main purpose was to stall for time; the actual fighting was still carried out by the Northeast Army.
"A regiment, and a regiment from my 4th Division at that, with its heavily fortified airfield, was breached by the enemy just like that. Do you think they're weak?!" Seishiro Itagaki said helplessly.

Upon hearing this, Tani Hisao fell into deep thought. He knew the fighting strength of the Fourth Division; it was not much worse than their Sixth Division.

The airport was more heavily defended than many county towns. If it were the Nationalist army, even 20,000 troops would not be able to break through it in two hours, let alone two days.

"That's quite far off. Take the 16th Division's command post, for example. It was also a regiment. Although they were somewhat careless, they were still wiped out by the enemy in a short time."
Moreover, this wasn't even the entire enemy force; it was at most half their size. In other words, given the same number of soldiers, the soldiers of a Class A division simply couldn't defeat that Northeast Army.

"Do you still think it's unnecessary to send so many people to besiege the other side?!" Itagaki Seishiro asked rhetorically towards the end.

If he hadn't been worried about potential problems with the operation against the Eighth Route Army, he would have thought that 30,000 men might not be enough.

"Looking at it this way, the enemy is indeed quite powerful." Tani Hisao gasped. He used to think that sending so many people was an overreaction, but now it seems that it was necessary to send so many people, otherwise, they would not be able to stop the enemy's breakout at all.

"What do you think? To successfully annihilate the enemy, this is the only way to have a chance," Itagaki Seishiro replied. If the enemy weren't so strong, he wouldn't have repeatedly asked the commander for reinforcements.

"It seems we misunderstood you before," said Nagayoshi Ichiro. He had initially thought that Itakane Seishiro's Fourth Division was too weak, but now it seemed that the enemy was too strong.

If it were only the 4th Division that was in such a state, it would be understandable, but the fact that even the 16th Division was beaten like this speaks volumes.

“I understand. Sometimes I doubt myself too!” Itagaki Seishiro sighed. He had been driven to despair by this group of enemies. If the commander hadn’t been willing to give him another chance, he would have committed seppuku when Nakajima Kesago was killed by the enemy last time.

"Itagaki-kun, don't be too discouraged. No matter how strong they are, they only have a few thousand men. This time we have mobilized so many people, we will definitely be able to take down the enemy in one fell swoop," Tani Hisao said, trying to comfort him.

"Yes!" Seishiro Itagaki nodded.
"Speaking of which, how's the plan and deployment against the Eighth Route Army going?!" Tani Hisao appropriately changed the subject.

"Don't worry, all the units have already started to move. Now only the 6th Division and the 25th Combined Division are missing. Once all your men arrive and adapt to the environment here, you can participate!" Itagaki Seishiro said slowly.

After all, inflicting heavy losses on the Eighth Route Army was their last hope, so Itagaki Seishiro dared not be careless.

"Yoshi! I hope our cooperation will eliminate this major threat!" Tani Hisao said with satisfaction.

If things go smoothly, they should be able to complete the mission soon.

Soon, they went to have dinner. Afterwards, Tani Hisao went to see the Yamamoto Special Attack Corps and was amazed by the soldiers. These soldiers were all equipped with the most advanced German firearms, and each squad was also equipped with a walkie-talkie.

The squadrons were also equipped with a radio, so it can be said that this unit had no communication problems and could quickly contact each other to allow for troop retreat or attack.

The most important thing in war is speed, but very few troops can actually achieve that.

Moreover, these soldiers were extremely accurate marksmen, far superior to those of the soldiers in their Class A divisions, and their firepower was also formidable.

When he came out of the training ground, the shock on Tani Hisao's face had not yet faded.

"Commander Tani Hisao, how do you feel about the combat effectiveness of the troops I'm leading now?!" Yamamoto Ichiki asked with a smile, a hint of smugness on his face, as he enjoyed seeing the shocked expressions on others' faces.

"Yamamoto-kun, the force you lead is indeed very powerful! It's probably the strongest in the Empire!" Tani Hisao exclaimed, his tone full of praise.

"You flatter me," Yamamoto Ichiki said with a smile.

"Yamamoto-kun, with you all in charge this time, I feel much more at ease. I also believe that this operation will definitely annihilate the enemy completely." Tani Hisao is now full of confidence in this battle plan!

With nearly 30,000 troops surrounding and suppressing them, plus the presence of the powerful Yamamoto Special Attack Corps, no matter if it was the Northeast Army or any other army, they certainly wouldn't be able to escape.

"That's for sure," Yamamoto Ichiki replied. It seemed that Tani Hisao wouldn't go back on his word.

“Itagaki-kun, Commander Shinotsuka has indeed trained a very powerful army,” Tani Hisao said to Itagaki Seishiro.

(End of this chapter)