People are shining their swords, secretly helping the Iron Triangle in Northwest Shanxi

Chapter 237

In early October, the sun at noon is still hot.

The capital of Jin Province is too far away, and the headquarters of the First Army has become extremely busy here.

As the Eighth Route Departments gradually withdrew from the battlefield, the Japanese army began to actively deploy, and they wanted to retaliate and sweep.

The three security divisions in southern Shanxi are attached to the independent mixed eighth brigade, and the independent mixed 16th brigade is the main force, focusing on sweeping operations in southern Shanxi.

These deployments have been completed, and the head of the First Division of the First Army also immediately contacted all parties to convey relevant combat orders.

Yoshio Shinozuka, commander of the lieutenant general, and Hideyoshi Kusuyama, chief of staff of the major general, came to the map.

They looked at Xin County with serious expressions on their faces.

"Here in Xin County, we will gradually gather the Ninth and Tenth Independent Infantry Battalions under the Third Independent Mixed Brigade."

"The Sixth and Seventh Mixed Brigades of the Imperial Association Army, the First Squadron of Independent Tanks directly under the Army Command, and the Tenth Squadron of Armored Vehicles."

"In addition, the Ninth and Tenth Battalions of the Independent Infantry have been strengthened with heavy weapons, and each brigade has about 400 troops."

"The troops of the Royal Association Army were also issued heavy weapons according to the instructions of the army headquarters."

"These imperial association troops were carefully selected by us during this period, and they have certain combat effectiveness."

"In terms of weapon configuration, in addition to light and heavy machine guns and large and small caliber mortars, we also equipped them with mountain artillery and field artillery."

A major staff officer came to Shinozuka Yoshio and Kusuyama Hideyoshi, and reported with a serious expression on his face.

In fact, the little devil began to support and train puppet troops in large quantities as early as 37 years ago.

For example, the Puppet Mongolian Army, the Puppet Manchurian Army and other troops, after 37 years they captured a large number of cities and towns.

They even gathered a lot of troops, even a lot of strongholds, and the number of puppet troops exceeded that of the Japanese troops.

Of course, these puppet troops also have their own characteristics, that is, they are willing to fight with the Eighth Route Army.

However, in the face of the Jinsui Army, the Central Army and other troops, many puppet troops are still unwilling to take any action.

Especially the so-called security regiment troops here in Jin Province, except for a few troops, most of them want to be on two boats.

They took refuge in the little devils, but they were unwilling to offend the Jinsui army.

The little devils are also on guard against these puppet troops, they are only equipped with light weapons, and they will not be equipped with heavy weapons.

In the early days of the battle, the Japanese army won successive victories, and they seized a large amount of weapons and equipment.

Up to now, the North China Front Army has a certain amount of inventory, but they dare not give it to the puppet army.

However, as the Independent 48th Brigade gained successive victories in Jin Province and dealt a heavy blow to the Japanese army, they naturally had to make adjustments.

The First Army Command specially dispatched personnel to select puppet troops in areas such as Jin Province, so as to form troops that could fight in the field.

The sixth and seventh mixed brigades of the Royal Association Army are puppet troops drawn from different regions.

The First Army Command provided them with heavy weapons and deployed them here in Xin County.

These two mixed brigades have 1 troops.

The overall weaponry is also weak. The regiment has mountain artillery, the battalion has 82MM mortars, and the company has 60MM mortars.

Each brigade headquarters also has a field artillery company equipped with six Jin-made field artillery.

"Your Excellency, Commander, I have already contacted the Headquarters of the Third Independent Mixed Brigade. When these troops arrive, they will deploy immediately."

"The Ninth Brigade of the Independent Infantry is attached to the Sixth Mixed Brigade of the Imperial Association Army. They will be deployed along Hesuo Town, Qicun Town, and hilly areas."

"The Tenth Brigade of the Independent Infantry is attached to the Seventh Mixed Brigade of the Imperial Association Army. They will be deployed along the line of Zhuangmo Town, County Town, and Xinkou Town."

"The First Squadron of Independent Tanks, the Tenth Squadron of Armored Vehicles, and the Yamamoto Special Service Team will follow the brigade headquarters to the county and serve as reserve teams."

Immediately afterwards, Chief of Staff Kusuyama Hideyoshi pointed to the location of Xin County and introduced it in detail.

The railways, highways, gun towers, and blockhouses in Xin County were destroyed one after another, and even the county town was almost reduced to ruins.

The Japanese and puppet troops could no longer adopt the previous defense strategy of sticking to the gun towers and blocking the bunkers.

But the little devils and these officers are not deadbeats.

Yoshio Shinozuka, the commander of the First Army, has outstanding achievements in the military academy, and is known as a military scholar. He even went to Germany to study and study.

The chief of staff of the army, Nan Shanxiu, also had good grades in the military academy. Later, he used to study military affairs until the sun never set.

Both of these people have the experience of studying abroad, so their abilities are weak.

All the blockhouses and blockhouses in Xin County were destroyed, and they didn't care at all.

After all, they also knew that the Independent 48th Brigade had a strong artillery unit, and these blockhouses could hardly pose a threat to them.

Therefore, the First Army Command arranged tens of thousands of Japanese puppet troops to deploy fishing nets in Xin County.

A large number of puppet troops were stationed in different areas with the cooperation of the Japanese army.

They took the village as the core of their defense, and stationed in the favorable terrain of the county to launch their defense.

The First Army Headquarters required the Japanese and puppet troops to adopt layers of blocking once they encountered the Jinsui Army and other troops, gradually consuming tactical defenses.

They rely on positional defense, with the main purpose of killing combatants and consuming ammunition.

In addition, here in Yangqu, there is also the little devil's killer!

The 36th Brigade of the Independent Infantry under the Ninth Brigade of the Independent Mixed Group was strengthened with a series of heavy weapons.

The machine gun unit, mortar unit, mountain artillery unit, and armored unit have a combat strength of more than 2000.

These more than 2000 troops are a mixed force of multiple arms, and their overall strength is very strong.

Although they are in the Yangqu area, they are also part of the independent mixed ninth brigade.

However, they do not undertake regional defense tasks such as Yangqu, and their command is also with the independent third brigade.

This means that the battle in Xin County has started, and this army can quickly go northward at any time and advance to Xin County to fight.

Once these troops meet in Xin County, they will have dozens of tanks and armored vehicles.

What's more, they are also assisted by the Yamamoto Special Forces and other troops. It can be said that the little devil's defense here in Xin County is really impenetrable.

In addition, in the aviation unit of the North China Front Army, six bombers are always on combat readiness.

They can take off at any time and come to Xin County to support operations and attack the Independent 48th Brigade.

"Continue to communicate with the command of the front army, so that the head of Shigeharu Liushita's brigade can get the command of the aviation force."

"In this way, they can contact the aviation army at any time and request the aviation army to dispatch to start operations."

"Next, we will focus on sweeping the southern Shanxi area. In this series of sweeps, I don't want troops such as the Independent 48th Brigade to have any impact."

Shinozuka Yoshio had a serious expression on his face, and said directly.

"Hi, Your Excellency, Commander." Chief of Staff Kusuyama Hideyoshi immediately agreed.

The Japanese and puppet troops marched towards Xin County in mighty force. At the same time, the various units under the First Army joined in the mopping up troops and began to gather one after another.

In the following time, the Japanese and puppet troops in Xin County continued to increase, and began to station in different areas to defend.

And here in the southeastern area of ​​Shanxi, the little devils assembled troops to launch a frenzied sweep in an attempt to encircle and annihilate the 129th Division troops.

However, the Eighth Route Army has rich experience in anti-sweeping operations. It is completely wishful thinking for the Japanese army to annihilate them.

In mid-October, the Japanese troops still did not gain much.

However, here in Xin County, the Japanese and puppet troops have been in place one after another, and they are actively deploying defensive deployments.

At eight o'clock in the evening, Major General Liuxia Shigeharu, head of the third independent mixed brigade, held a meeting at the brigade headquarters in the county seat.

Huang Daofeng, Major General of the [-]th Mixed Brigade of the Imperial Association Army, and Xu Chengpu, Major General of the [-]th Mixed Brigade of the Imperial Association Army, arrived first.

Kazuki Yamamoto, the captain of the Yamamoto Secret Service Team, came late in the later stage.

Shigeharu Liuxia is a typical little devil, not tall, with a beard, a chubby body, and a pair of glasses.

Shigeharu Liushita, who is in his 50s, graduated from the Army University in the 26th class, and his qualifications are not shallow.

However, his future is obviously a little bleak. Up to now, he is only the head of the major general brigade of an independent mixed brigade.

Naozaburo Okabe, who graduated from the Army University in the 27th class, has already served as the commander of the army.

In contrast, Yanagi Shigeharu's future is almost visible.

If there are no accidents, he will continue to serve as the head of the brigade of major generals, and after one or two years, he will be directly incorporated into the reserve service.

Shigeharu Liushita obviously would not accept such a result, he was always looking for opportunities to gain military exploits.

The independent mixed third brigade had been hit before and suffered some casualties.

In the later period, they were responsible for the defense of the original Pingcheng and other areas. In this large-scale attack by the eight routes, they defended very well.

With the assistance of the puppet Mongolian army, they ensured the absolute safety of the railway in the defense area, and the overall loss was not very large.

Especially when Harada Kenzo and Tsuda Mitake's troops were hit hard and lacked supplies, he specially sent troops to transport supplies.

Because of this series of actions, it attracted the attention of the First Army Command.

After discussions between Shinozuka Yoshio and Kusuyama Hideyoshi, they decided to hand over the important task of defending Xin County to Shigeharu Liuxia directly.

For Shigeharu Liuxia, commanding troops to defend Xin County this time will soon become a turning point in his life.

He knew that sticking to Xin County meant fighting against the Jinsui Army's Independent 48th Brigade, the Eighth Route New First Regiment and other troops.

These troops have successively achieved victories in Jin Province. They can be said to be famous, and they are also the absolute elite troops in the second theater.

Shigeharu Liuxia also knew that if he could defeat them, then with his qualifications, he would definitely be promoted to the rank of lieutenant general.

As long as he has the rank of lieutenant general, it is not impossible to serve as division commander or even army commander in the future.

So Shigeharu Liuxia attached great importance to this opportunity, and he wanted to achieve results.

"Gentlemen, you are also aware of the current situation here in Xin County."

"It was once recovered by the troops of the Jinsui Army and suffered heavy damage."

"Now that the military command asks us to stick to this place, we must not allow Xin County to be recovered again."

"The 48th Independent Brigade of the Jinsui Army, the Eighth Route New First Regiment and other troops are to the west of us."

"But if they dare to attack Xin County, then we must let them come and go."

Shigeharu Liuxia had a serious expression on his face. He looked at the officers of the Japanese puppet army and said with a serious expression on his face.

The two independent infantry brigades here in Xinxian County are all troops under his command, so there must be no problem in commanding them.

And Shigeharu Liuxia invited the two brigade commanders Huang Daofeng and Xu Chengpu of the puppet army, as well as Kazuki Yamamoto, the captain of the Japanese spy team.

The meaning was obvious, he wanted to communicate with them to ensure that he could command smoothly.

Kazuki Yamamoto was hit in Yangcun before, and his troops suffered heavy losses.

But this battle was an enlightenment to Kazuki Yamamoto.

If before, Kazuki Yamamoto was defiant.

Not to mention Liuxia Shigeharu's major general brigade commander of the independent mixed brigade, even if it was the front army, the chief of staff of the major general of the first army, he would not pay attention to him.

However, after the defeat of Yangcun, Kazuki Yamamoto's character has changed a lot.

"Taijun, according to what I said, if we defend here, it is equivalent to being beaten passively."

"Why don't we gather all our troops and attack directly to the west."

"I really want to have a good fight with these Jinsui Army and Eighth Route elites to see how powerful they are."

Huang Daofeng sneered at the corner of his mouth, and said arrogantly.

Huang Daofeng, the brigade commander of the Sixth Mixed Brigade of the Imperial Association Army, is 40 years old this year. He is very strong and strong.

He used to serve in the Northwest Army, Northeast Army and other troops. After the outside of the pass was invaded, he directly took refuge in the little devil.

He has been outside the customs all these years, commanding troops to follow the little devils to sweep up.

In 37, the full-scale combat began, and he followed the Kwantung Army to send a corps into the pass to fight.

Then he stayed in the Suicha area and served in the puppet Mongolian army.

This time the First Army Command selected the Puppet Army to station in Xin County. Yoshio Shinozuka personally invited him from the Puppet Mongolian Army to serve as the brigade commander of the Sixth Mixed Brigade of the Imperial Association Army.

"Brigade Commander Huang has such a big tone, those who don't know think how powerful you are."

"The Puppet Mongolian Army paid heavy losses here, and the Seventh Division of the Puppet Mongolian Army was wiped out here."

"As long as the Jinsui Army and the Eighth Route Army in the west are soft persimmons, the Taijun will not arrange so many troops to station in Xin County."

"What's more, the military command has a clear arrangement, requiring us to stick to Xin County. Don't you, Brigadier Huang, want to go against the arrangement of the military command?"

Xu Chengpu sneered at the corner of his mouth, and said in a strange way.

Xu Chengpu was from the Northwest Army and had worked with Huang Daofeng.

They have won the true biography of the general who turned against him, and now they have turned to the little devil as traitors.

However, these two people have great conflicts. During the Central Plains War, they were both in the Northwest Army, in the same trench.

But in the later period, Huang Daofeng directly joined the Northeast Army and launched a surprise attack on Xu Chengpu.

During the melee, Xu Chengpu was shot several times and almost lost his life.

From then on, he hated Huang Daofeng to the core. If he hadn't been afraid of the Japanese army, Xu Chengpu would have wanted to take Huang Daofeng's life now.

"Xu Chengpu, don't be eccentric here. I didn't kill you at the beginning, but I have already shown mercy."

"Hehehe, Huang Daofeng speaks so loudly. If you hadn't launched a surprise attack back then, even if you had four or five Huang Daofengs, you might not have been my opponent."

For a while, Huang Daofeng and Xu Chengpu confronted each other, and the two glared at each other.

It can be said that the little devil's independent integration into the headquarters of the third brigade here is tense.

Liu Xia Shigezhi didn't say a word, he looked at Huang Daofeng and Xu Chengpu coldly, with an indifferent expression.

As for Kazuki Yamamoto, he didn't even care.

Huang Daofeng and Xu Chengpu, who were about to make a move, noticed Shigeharu Liuxia's gaze, and immediately calmed down.

They knew very well that now that they had taken refuge in the little devil, the little devil would decide their life and death.

If the little devils are angered, they will definitely have no good fruit to eat.

"Brigade Commander Huang, Brigadier Xu, now is not the time for you to fight among yourself."

"Our enemy is the Independent 48th Brigade, Xinyi Regiment and other troops."

"I don't want to see such a thing again, or I will bear the consequences."

Liuxia Shigeharu waited for them to calm down, and said indifferently.

(End of this chapter)