Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 301 Adjusting the Target
Beiping, the headquarters of the Huapei Expeditionary Army.

"Gentlemen, you should all know this by now." Okamura Neiji sat at the head of the table and looked around.

"The General Headquarters has made the decision to resolve the China Incident swiftly."

"Shanxi has an extremely bad security situation because the Eighth Route Army, which is based in Yan'an, and the troops of the First War Zone of the Central Army are active there."

"In addition, the public security situation in Hebei and Shandong is also unstable."

"According to the report from headquarters, the security situation in the main occupied areas, ranked in order of stability, is as follows: Inner Mongolia, the Triangle Area, Wuhan, and North China is the worst."

"Gentlemen, what are your thoughts?"

After the Eighth Route Army organized the Hundred Regiments Offensive, Okamura Yasuji consistently prioritized the pacification and suppression plan as the top priority of the North China Area Army's mission.

The North China Front Army's large-scale mopping-up operations against the Eighth Route Army did indeed achieve considerable results.

However, in subsequent sweeps, the locust army was able to achieve less and less success.

Even though the Eighth Route Army had disappeared, they seemed to be everywhere, which made Okamura Neiji a little depressed.

Yoshio Shinotsuka, sitting below, was even more restless.

Of all the security areas, North China has the worst security.

In North China, Shanxi also ranks last in terms of public security.

In other words, of all the places occupied by the locust army, his territory was the worst.

However, no one at the scene paid any attention to Yoshio Shinotsuka's expression.

"Sir, I think we can concentrate our forces and first defeat the two army groups of the Central Army in Zhongtiao Mountain."

"The head of the First Operations Section of the General Staff of the North China Area Army, Hideaki Amuro, stood up and said."

“Tell me your reasons.” Okamura Neiji’s expression remained unchanged.

"The reason is simple: the Central Army in Zhongtiao Mountain is tying up three divisions of the Locust Army in southern Shanxi."

The total strength of the First Army in Shanxi is only about 70,000 to 80,000 men, and half of them are tied up in southern Shanxi.

“I think that if we can eliminate these two army groups, then the 36th, 41st and 47th Divisions will be able to move freely and then focus all their efforts on dealing with the Eighth Route Army.”

"This will not only improve the security situation in North China, but also increase the pressure on Chongqing, achieving two goals at once," Amuro Hide said confidently.

"Sir, I have a different opinion on this."

As soon as Amuro Hide finished speaking, Ozawa Jūjūrō, the head of the Second Intelligence Section of the North China Area Army Staff, stood up.

Upon hearing Ozawa Jūjūrō's words, Amuro Hide glared at him angrily; the two had a history of discord.

However, Amuro Hide did not expect that during his moment of glory, Ozawa Juro would stand up and humiliate him.

"This is a joint meeting, and everyone has the right to speak."

Okamura Neiji gestured for Amuro Hide to sit down, then let Ozawa Juro continue.

"Sir, if we shift our operational objective from the pacification plan to the annihilation of the Central Army, it will indeed allow us to free up the forces of three divisions in southern Shanxi in a short period of time."

"However, this action will certainly relieve the pressure on the Eighth Route Army, and they will take advantage of the Central Army's retreat to re-establish a new base in the Zhongtiao Mountain area."

"The Eighth Route Army is ten times more troublesome than the Kuomintang army, and it may not be a good thing for us then."

Ozawa Juro was in charge of intelligence, so his understanding of the Eighth Route Army was greater than that of most of the people present.

In his view, now that the Locust Army has finally managed to suppress the Eighth Route Army, they should relentlessly pursue them until they are completely annihilated.

Instead of readjusting the target after a short period of time.

This would give the Eighth Route Army a chance to recover.

After hearing their respective reasons, Okamura Neiji fell silent for a moment.

The Imperial Army Minister and the Chief of the General Staff have reached a consensus.

Next, the headquarters should not only consider Southeast Asia, but should focus on China and the northern issues.

Only in this way can they secure more resources for the army.

To achieve this goal, it is necessary to first ensure the restoration of security in the occupied territories and to exert significant pressure on China.

If we can take advantage of changes in the international situation, we can bring the situation in China to a stalemate in the short term.

Therefore, the route for advancing northward can be brought back to the forefront of the discussion.

"As required by higher authorities, the North China Front Army must clarify its next action objectives, then coordinate its actions and focus its efforts on the same target."

“Based on this requirement, we can only deal with the Central Army in Zhongtiao Mountain for now,” Okamura Yasuji said.

Okamura Yasuji also knew how difficult the Eighth Route Army was to deal with, but the Eighth Route Army was like a basin of sand; the tighter you held it, the more it leaked out.

However, the troops in Zhongtiao Mountain were a clear target, which was more advantageous for large-scale operations.

With Okamura Yasuji setting the tone, Ozawa Jujiro had no choice but to abandon his plans to continue.

Taking Zhongtiao Mountain first wouldn't be bad, since the defenses of the Guo army within Zhongtiao Mountain have already been thoroughly investigated by intelligence personnel.

Once we capture Zhongtiao Mountain, we can not only concentrate our efforts on dealing with the Eighth Route Army, but also use Zhongtiao Mountain as a springboard to bomb Luoyang and Zhengzhou to the south.

This will be of great importance in the next step of subduing China.

After discussion, everyone agreed that before attacking Zhongtiao Mountain, they should first strike the Eighth Route Army.

Firstly, it would allow us to stabilize the rear and make it easier to redeploy troops.

Secondly, it allows troops to be drawn from the Central China region under the guise of a sweep.

Whether or not it can be kept secret from the Central Army, as long as there is an excuse, some people will bury their heads in the ground.

"Shinotsuka-kun, this attack on Zhongtiao Mountain has mobilized 10 troops from the court, and you will be the commander."

There aren't many battles involving more than 10 locust soldiers, because that would require astronomical amounts of resources.

“哈依！”筱冢义男起身表示了感谢。    除了本身就在晋南的36、41、47师团，和豫北的25、37师团以外。

Okamura Yasuji also specially dispatched the 33rd, 21st, and 35th Divisions from Xuzhou, Kaifeng, and other places.

Furthermore, they applied to their superiors to have the 4th Division, which was originally scheduled to go south, transferred from Shanghai, and two air squadrons were also transferred from the Kwantung Army.

With such thorough preparations, Yoshio Shinotsuka was determined to capture Mount Nakajo.

"Commander, we have received intelligence that the Japanese army is deploying a large number of troops to the vicinity of Shanxi. They are very likely to attack Zhongtiao Mountain."

He Jing, the chief of staff of the Kuomintang army, handed the document to Chiang Kai-shek.

"According to the Japanese military's public statements, is this an attempt to wipe out the Eighth Route Army?" Chiang Kai-shek looked at the document, feeling somewhat pleased.

He liked it when the Japanese army attacked the Eighth Route Army, preferably in a mutually destructive battle, so that he could reap the benefits.

"Chairman, something doesn't seem right. Do we really need so many people to sweep away the Eighth Route Army?"

The Japanese army had previously carried out sweeps against the Eighth Route Army, but never with such a large force.

Moreover, according to intelligence, two Japanese heavy artillery regiments suddenly disappeared. Where did they go?

They couldn't have gone into the mountains to fight the Eighth Route Army, could they? Even a fool would think that's impossible.

"Hmm, what you said makes sense. Here's what we'll do: send orders to the First and Second War Zones to have them increase their vigilance."

"The troops inside the Zhongtiao Mountains should reinforce and build fortifications. If the Japanese army attacks, they should use the advantageous terrain to block the Japanese army layer by layer."

What Chiang Kai-shek said were all based on past defensive experience, after all, Wei Junru had done a good job before.

Although Wei Junru is currently 'staying' in Chongqing and hasn't returned, I'm sure there won't be any problems if I use the previous strategy.

Chiang Kai-shek himself did not pay much attention to the movements of the Japanese, and when he arrived in the First War Zone, no one took the Japanese troop movements seriously.

The troops in Zhongtiao Mountain made no mobilization or defenses whatsoever, and did not even prepare for battle. There was not even any food stored in the various strongholds.

As for the Second World War Zone, the Jin-Sui Army was already weak, and Yan Xishan had some dealings with the Japanese, so there was no troop movement.

Even the Kuomintang troops in the First and Second War Zones were preparing to watch the Eighth Route Army make a fool of itself.

"Old Chen, what do the Japanese mean by this?"

Looking at the Japanese troops' movements on the map, Luo Ping felt somewhat confused about the situation.

Judging from the layout, the Japanese were planning to sweep through the Jin-Sui Military Region.

However, the Japanese troops were not sent to Ping'an, Anqiu and other places.

No new troops even arrived in Luyang.

According to intelligence, the Japanese troops were all gathered in places such as Luye, Xinkou, Wuyi, Taiyuan, and Taigu.

If you want to sweep through northwestern Shanxi, going from east to west is not a good idea; opening up the middle is the best choice.

"I think the Japanese devils have ulterior motives."

Chen Chengxing only needed to think for a moment to understand what the Japanese were planning.

"What do you mean?" Luo Ping didn't understand.

“Southern Shanxi.” Chen Chengxing pointed at the map.

"Didn't you notice that the main force of the Japanese troops is along the railway line?"

“They can take the train at any time and travel directly to southern Shanxi along the Tongpu Railway,” Chen Chengxing said.

It's already the end of April, and the Japanese have probably already completed the transfer of supplies.

"Now that you mention it, it's true!" Luo Ping gasped.

According to reports from the logistics smuggling team during this period, there was no tense atmosphere in either Zhongtiao Mountain or Xi'an.

Even Zhongtiao Mountain has always been a bustling place with all sorts of people.

Once the Japanese make their move, the Nationalist army will most likely be caught off guard.

"What should we do now?" Luo Ping asked.

“The Zhongtiao Mountains are not something we can control,” Chen Chengxing shook his head.

Given the current relationship between the Eighth Route Army and the Kuomintang army, even if headquarters were to remind them, it would be of no use.

"Old Luo, we just need to manage our own little territory, the Second New Brigade."

"If I'm not mistaken, when the Japanese launch their offensive, they will inevitably also attack the Eighth Route Army units."

The Japanese probably don't know how incompetent the Guo army in Zhongtiao Mountain is.

Therefore, before the Japanese launched their attack, they would definitely try to prevent the Eighth Route Army from intervening.

The best approach is to use offense as a form of defense.

"Xu Wu!" Chen Chengxing called out.

"Brigade Commander, Political Commissar." Xu Wu ran over from the staff office next door.

"Send orders to all regiments and county brigades, telling them to be on high alert, as the Japanese may launch a sweep at any time," Chen Chengxing commanded.

"Yes!"

"Sigh," Luo Ping shook his head as he watched Xu Wu's retreating figure.

In any case, the Guo Army in Zhongtiao Mountain was a powerful anti-Japanese force, numbering 20.

It's just unknown whether they can withstand the Japanese attack.

At this time, apart from Chen Chengxing, no one knew how badly the Central Army in Zhongtiao Mountain would perform.

(End of this chapter)