Anti-Japanese War: I have unlimited assistance

Chapter 180: It’s not just a break-even, it’s a huge profit!
"The 39th Brigade was defeated."

"Major General Takagi Yoshito also died for his country."

Beiping.

North China Front Army Headquarters.

General Terauchi Hisaichi, commander of the North China Front Army, received bad news as soon as he got up.

"Nani?"

Terauchi Juichi's expression changed, and a look of disbelief and shock appeared on his face: "How could this happen?"

"The Eighth Route Army's combat effectiveness is so strong that only a few thousand soldiers can capture a key military town defended by the elite Locust Army overnight?"

Terauchi Hisaichi's tone was filled with surprise.

Terauchi Hisaichi knew about the Eighth Route Army's attack on Yangquan yesterday, and he also sent the Shimen City Air Force to provide air support.

Due to recent days of hard work, when the 20th Division sent a telegram yesterday, Chief of Staff Naosaburo Okabe did not report to Terauchi Hisaichi who was sleeping soundly.

When he woke up one night, Yangquan had been captured by the Eighth Route Army and Takagi Yoshito had been killed.

"General, Yangquan was not lost overnight."

Major General Okabe Naosaburo reported the reason for not reporting last night, and said in a deep voice:

"From the beginning of the attack, the Eighth Route Army took Yangquan in less than four hours and wiped out all the locust troops in Yangquan City, including Major General Gao Mu, and then escaped before dawn."

"So fast?"

Shouyi in the temple was suddenly shocked.

Even when the locust army, with the 20th Division as the main force, attacked Yangquan, it took a whole night to capture it.

Although the field artillery position was ambushed by Li Yunlong's Eighth Route Army troops, the speed was relatively fast.

But it was still far behind the speed of the Eighth Route Army's attack on Yangquan.

You know, the attackers don’t necessarily need a large number of troops, but they also need powerful siege weapons to break through the defenses of the city walls.

"Which unit of the Eighth Route Army attacked Yangquan, and who was the commander?"

Terauchi Hisaichi asked in a deep voice.

Although the details of the Eighth Route Army's attack on Yangquan City are still unknown.

However, Terauchi Hisaichi had a vague feeling that this Eighth Route Army and its commander would definitely be a formidable enemy of the Locust Army in the future.

They were able to capture Yangquan City in just a few hours and kill the brigade commander of the Locust Army, Major General. They were definitely not an ordinary force.

Okabe Naosaburo said: "General, it is not clear at the moment, and the investigation is ongoing..."

"General."

As soon as he finished speaking, the intelligence staff hurried in with a telegram in his hand, bowed and handed the telegram to Okabe Naosaburo with both hands:
"The 20th Division has called and has identified the number and commander of the attacking Eighth Route Army."

Okabe Naosaburo took the telegram and looked at it, his eyes narrowed and his face became gloomy.

Seeing this, Terauchi Hisaichi asked in a deep voice, "Okabe-kun, which army attacked Yangquan last night?"

"General, it's Li Yunlong and the New 1st Regiment."

After reading the telegram, Okabe Naozaburo reported to Terauchi Juichi:
"This man's troops were equipped with 75mm mountain guns and 20mm machine guns. They first used the mountain guns to knock down the city wall, and then used the 20mm machine guns to destroy the locust army's machine gun fire points on the wall before they could enter the city."

"In the end, the two sides engaged in a chaotic battle at the west city wall. All the locust soldiers died, and the Eighth Route Army suffered heavy casualties. Major General Gao Mu also died near the west city gate."

"Fortunately, the locust army that set out from Taiyuan has already arrived in Yangquan and regained control of Yangquan."

After capturing Yangquan, the troops came into contact with the local residents. As soon as the Japanese arrived in Yangquan, they naturally knew the Eighth Route Army's number.

As for the heavy casualties suffered by the Eighth Route Army, Li Yunlong deliberately spread the news to the Japanese through the mouths of the common people.

"Li Yunlong, 75mm mountain gun, 20mm machine gun."

"I see."

Hearing these key words and the heavy casualties suffered by the Eighth Route Army, Terauchi Hisahi nodded with a tone of sudden realization.

The 75mm mountain cannon can knock down the city wall of Yangquan, and the 20mm machine gun can penetrate the battlements of the city wall, preventing the locust army from taking advantage of the terrain, firepower and high ground of the city wall.

After the Eighth Route Army entered the city, the advantages of the 75mm mountain guns and 20mm machine guns could not be brought into play.

The 39th Brigade Headquarters should have been preparing to break out, but was blocked near the west city wall. Except for the clerical staff and medical personnel, the troops of the 39th Brigade Headquarters were all elite soldiers. The two sides fought in a melee near the west city wall. Although all the members of the 39th Brigade Headquarters died for their country, the Eighth Route Army was probably not in an easy situation either. It is normal that they suffered heavy casualties.

"General, the Eighth Route Army is equipped with 75mm mountain guns and 20mm machine guns. This is very suspicious."

Okabe Naosaburo said in a deep voice:
"According to intelligence, the Eighth Route Army is a straw sandal army. Its strongest heavy firepower is a few mortars and heavy machine guns, and it is seriously short of ammunition."

"In the Hexi Village battlefield in southeastern Shanxi, the Eighth Route Army mobilized the firepower of an artillery regiment, and the artillery shells were abundant."

"Also, according to the report from the 79th Regiment, each of the Eighth Route Army's main force soldiers was equipped with a steel helmet, an overcoat, and rubber-soled shoes. This was equipment only available to the elite main force of the Chinese Nationalist Army."

"From the recent clashes between the Locust Army and the Eighth Route Army, the Eighth Route Army's actual equipment situation is seriously inconsistent with the intelligence we have investigated."

The Japanese intelligence system is quite powerful at the moment, and there are Japanese spies everywhere.

Even people like Kenji Doima and General Okamura Yasuji had engaged in espionage activities in China.

Terauchi Hisashi nodded and said, "Order the intelligence department to quickly investigate the equipment situation of the Eighth Route Army." "Hi."

After a pause, Okabe Naosaburo continued:
"Your Excellency, General, I believe the main reason for the failure of the battles in eastern and southeastern Shanxi is the incompetence of the 20th Division Commander, Yamashita Tomoyuki. It would be better to report this truthfully to His Majesty, remove Yamashita Tomoyuki, and send another capable general to Jin Province to serve as the commander of the 20th Division."

Every division commander had to be appointed by Tian Huang himself, let alone the commander of such an important unit as the 20th Division.

"There's nothing wrong with Yamashita-kun's command."

Terauchi Hisaichi shook his head. Yamashita Tomoyuki's father-in-law, Nagayama Motohiko, was his close friend, so he would naturally take care of Yamashita Tomoyuki.

During the February 26th Mutiny in Japan two years ago, Major General Tomoyuki Yamashita, then Director of Military Investigations of the Army Ministry, was originally a backbone of the "Locust Way Faction" and actively sought compromise and negotiations with the rebels. In the end, the mutiny was suppressed and the members of the Locust Way Faction were basically purged, and were either dismissed from their posts or transferred to the reserve.

However, Yamashita Tomoyuki escaped the disaster thanks to the protection of the temple and was transferred to Korea to serve as the commander of an infantry brigade to avoid the limelight.

The last time the commander of the 20th Division was killed by the Eighth Route Army in the Guangyang area, it was precisely because of this relationship between Yamashita Tomoyuki and Terauchi Hisaichi that he was promoted to lieutenant general and served as acting commander of the 20th Division.

However, Yoshito Takagi, who had nothing to do with the relationship, could only watch Yamashita Tomoyuki ascend to power.

"The failures in the eastern and southeastern Shanxi campaigns were mainly due to the failure of the intelligence department and the chaotic command system of the locust army in Shanxi Province."

"First, we must punish the main leaders of intelligence agencies and strengthen our intelligence system."

"Second, we will establish a military-level unit in Shanxi Province to respond to war and security battles in Shanxi Province and completely eliminate the Chinese troops in Shanxi Province."

Terauchi Hisaichi felt it was a pity that Yamashita Tomoyuki suffered defeats in eastern and southeastern Shanxi.

otherwise.

With the help of himself and Yamashita Tomoyuki's father-in-law, Nagayama Motohiko, Yamashita Tomoyuki might become the commander of the locust army front in Shanxi Province.

But now, Commander Yamashita Tomoyuki's position is definitely gone.

"Hi."

"Your Excellency the General is wise. I admire you."

Okabe Naosaburo suddenly lowered his head. He knew very well that the location of Jin Province was extremely important to the locust army.

After completely conquering Shanxi Province, they could either cross the Yellow River to the east to attack northwest China, or cross the Yellow River to the south to attack China's Central Plains.

……

Northern Shanxi.

Liujiacun.

After capturing Yangquan, Li Yunlong and Kong Jie led their troops and spoils northward, caught up with the troops transporting equipment and raw materials, and temporarily stationed in Liujia Village.

The wounded soldiers have been treated. This time, the New 1st Regiment and the Independent Regiment carried enough medical equipment and medicines.

After the storm has passed, the troops will return to southeastern Shanxi with the spoils, and the main force of the 129th Division will come to support them.

"This time, the casualties of our two regiments are within an acceptable range."

Zhong Zhicheng held a list of casualties and captured items in his hand, his face showing little sadness.

"Our New 1st Regiment suffered a total of 516 casualties, including 232 killed and 125 seriously injured. The rest were lightly wounded and will be back in action soon."

Li Yunlong nodded: "How many casualties did the independent regiment suffer?"

Zhong Zhicheng then said, "The independent regiment suffered fewer casualties, totaling over 320 people."

The casualties count included not only those from the siege last night, but also those from the ambush of the Japanese army train on the Zhengtai Railway and the raid on the Japanese station.

As the main force fighting against the Japanese, the New 1st Regiment naturally suffered more casualties than the Independent Regiment.

"Our total casualties are over 2000, while the Japanese's total casualties are about ."

Li Yunlong quickly calculated the number of his own casualties and the number of enemy casualties, nodded and said:
"It's not a loss."

During the battle on Zhengtai Road, due to the ambush and siege, the casualties of the New 1st Regiment and the Independent Regiment were not heavy.

The troops suffered heavy casualties during the siege, and in the final battle at the west gate, hundreds of Japanese soldiers launched a sudden charge against the independent regiment.

The Japanese's move left the soldiers of the independent regiment dumbfounded. How could they dare to die?

Then, the soldiers of the independent regiment set up machine guns and machine guns and shot down hundreds of Japanese soldiers including Yoshito Takagi.

Zhong Zhicheng nodded and said, "In war, casualties are inevitable. It all depends on whether they are worth it."

"Most of the Japs were killed, but many of our casualties were wounded."

"We also seized a considerable amount of weapons and ammunition, over 500 horses, a large amount of equipment and raw materials, as well as some valuables and food."

"It's not just a break-even, it's a huge profit."

The number of Japanese soldiers killed was more than twice that of the Independent Regiment and the New 1st Regiment, and so much spoils were seized, which was a complete victory.

"hey-hey……"

"not bad."

Upon hearing this, Li Yunlong's depressed mood caused by the Japanese bombing of the ammunition and grain depots disappeared.

After a chuckle, Li Yunlong suddenly looked expectant and said, "This time I killed a Japanese major general of a Type A division. I wonder what good things Brother Lin will give me?"

(End of this chapter)