Anti-Japanese War: I have unlimited assistance

Chapter 323 Let’s get on the road!

Shanxi.

Qi County.

Headquarters of the 108th Division of the Japanese Army.

"The order we received was to capture Wuxiang County within three days."

The commander of the 108th Division, Motojiro Taniguchi, looked at the two brigade commanders and the regiment commanders and said sternly:
"The shame suffered by our 108th Division on the Xinzhou battlefield must be avenged in southeastern Shanxi."

Both the Chinese and Japanese armies attach great importance to the honor of the troops.

Once a unit suffers a defeat, it will not only be severely scolded by its superiors, but will also be looked down upon by its fellow units.

In the original drama, Kong Jie's independent regiment was ambushed by Yamamoto's special forces and the boss scolded him as a piece of dough.

It was not until the Battle of Lijiaopo that Li Yunlong led the Independent Regiment to completely wipe out the Yamazaki Battalion, and the Independent Regiment was able to turn the tide.

The current situation of the 108th Division is very similar to that of the defeated independent regiment in the original drama.

In the battle of Xinzhou, more than 108 soldiers of the th Division were wiped out by the Eighth Route Army in Jinzhong, and a brigade commander and a regiment commander were killed.

Not only was Taniguchi Motojiro called a waste by Shinozuka Yoshio, but even the 108th Division was ridiculed by other Japanese troops.

Now everyone in the 108th Division, from the division commander to the soldiers, is holding their breath.

Without winning a battle, the 108th Division would never be able to turn things around.

If it fails to turn things around, the 108th Division's designation may be revoked.

The two brigade commanders and a number of regiment commanders were all filled with murderous intent.

Major General Fumio Saeki, commander of the 25th Brigade, confidently challenged Motojiro Taniguchi: "Your Excellency, Division Commander, please let our 25th Brigade lead the attack. After we capture Wuxiang County, we will seek out the main force of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army for a decisive battle!"

Fumio Saeki became the commander of the 25th Brigade after Naozo Nakano was killed by the Eighth Route Army in Jinzhong.

The so-called shame of the 108th Division is actually the shame of the 25th Brigade, mainly because the 25th Brigade suffered a defeat.

This battle was mainly a turning point for the 25th Brigade.

After Colonel Takashi Yoshiichi was killed, Colonel Watanabe became the new commander of the 117th Regiment.

"Yoshi." Taniguchi Motojiro nodded, "Saeki-kun is very brave!"

"In that case, the 25th Brigade will be the main force in this Southeast Shanxi campaign."

The commander of the 104th Brigade, Major General Tomidi Silou, had a blank expression on his face, but sneered in his heart.

He had communicated with Major General Saeki Fumiaki, who was a very arrogant and conceited person.

Saeki Fumiaki had just been transferred from the Kwantung Army and had never fought against the Eighth Route Army. He thought the Eighth Route Army was as easy to deal with as the Anti-Japanese Allied Forces.

He thought he knew the Eighth Route Army very well just because he had read a few battle reports.

Since the other party was willing to take the lead, Tomedi Fourth Floor was happy to oblige: "With Saeki-kun in charge, the 25th Brigade will surely be able to avenge its previous defeat and inflict heavy damage on the Eighth Route Army. My 104th Brigade is willing to assist."

The newly added troops of the 25th Brigade were also transferred from the Kwantung Army, and their combat effectiveness is quite good.

Moreover, this time the North China Front Army also added a field artillery regiment to the 108th Division.

Coupled with the abundant combat supplies, the combat effectiveness of the 108th Division is now the strongest since it entered China, which gives confidence to the Japanese officers.

Seeing that the fourth floor of Tonami did not take the lead in the attack, Taniguchi Motojiro felt a little dissatisfied. Just as he was about to scold a few words, the communications team leader walked in quickly.

"Division Commander, Colonel Yamamoto just sent a telegram."

After bowing his head and reporting, the communications captain handed over a telegram.

Taniguchi Motojiro took the telegram and took a look at it, his face suddenly darkened.

There was only a short sentence on the telegram: The protagonist is in place, please invite the supporting actors and the audience to come on stage.

The so-called protagonist is Colonel Yamamoto Ikki and his special forces team.

The audience was the observation group from the Kwantung Army General Staff.

The supporting role refers to the 108th Division.

The 108th Division, one of the main forces of the First Army, was reduced to a supporting role of a small unit of dozens of people, which naturally made Lieutenant General Motojiro Taniguchi dissatisfied.

But I can only hold it in even if I'm not convinced.

"I don't know what Lieutenant General Shinozuka was thinking. He actually gave the command of such a big battle to a colonel." Taniguchi Motojiro snorted coldly.

In this battle, Yoshio Shinozuka handed over the command to Ikki Yamamoto, and he became a hands-off boss, spending the whole day playing chess with the devil Mutaguchi at the headquarters.

Major General Saeki Fumio said with some disdain: "Colonel Yamamoto and his special forces were ignored by the Kwantung Army, but I didn't expect them to be valued in the First Army."

"I don't know what kind of magic potion Colonel Yamamoto gave to Lieutenant General Shinozuka to gain his favor." A colonel commanding 10 locust troops and locust coalition forces made Colonel Yoshio Saito, the chief of staff of the 108th Division, very angry. After this battle, Colonel Yamamoto was afraid that he would be promoted to major general and rise to prominence from then on.

Major General on the fourth floor of Tomida said, "Colonel Yamamoto and his special forces team once went to the Munich Military Academy in Germany for further studies. Perhaps they really brought new tactics from Germany to the Locust Army."

"Then we'll just have to wait and see!" Taniguchi Motojiro snorted coldly, "Order the troops to march according to the predetermined marching plan!"

"Hi!"

All the Japanese officers lowered their heads.

At the same time, the 20th Division and the 109th Division also received Yamamoto Ikki's telegram.

The difference is that the words "and audience" were not included in the telegrams from the 20th and 109th Divisions.

Because the audience, that is, the Kwantung Army's staff observation group, were all in the 108th Division.

The commander of the 20th Division, Ushijima Tsunemi, and the commander of the 109th Division, Yamaoka Atsushige, did not understand why Lieutenant General Shinozuka let Yamamoto Ikki take command, but they could only obey orders.

On the first day, the 20th Division, the 109th Division and the 108th Division all advanced 40 kilometers.

If the three divisions advance another 20 kilometers at most, they will be able to reach the Eighth Route Army base and even attack the county town defended by the Eighth Route Army.

Taiyuan.

First Army Headquarters.

"General."

Lieutenant Colonel Mizuno Kiyoshi, the one-armed intelligence advisor, walked in quickly and reported with a blank expression:
"We just received intelligence that the Eighth Route Army in southeastern Shanxi is in chaos. They are frantically evacuating civilians and organizing troops to build fortifications. The Eighth Route Army's radio signals are very active."

The three Japanese divisions and puppet troops each advanced 40 kilometers toward the southeast of Shanxi.

Naturally, this situation could not be concealed from the Eighth Route Army.

The Eighth Route Army and the people in southeastern Shanxi were in "just the right amount of panic."

"Yoshi."

Shinozuka Yoshio was leisurely playing chess with Mutaguchi Renya. Upon hearing this information, a smile appeared on his face:
"As expected."

"Commander-in-Chief." Mutaguchi Ren'ya's expression changed. "It seems that Yamamoto-kun's confusing tactics have worked. The commander of the Eighth Route Army Headquarters has no idea of ​​the Locust Army's true combat objectives."

"As the saying goes, warfare is all about deception," Shinozuka Yoshio nodded. "Combining the real and the fake is the true essence of military strategy. It's about making the enemy confused about our real and fake, so we can defeat them by surprise."

"Mutaguchi-kun, you lose."

Yamamoto Ikki was commanding a hundred thousand troops in the front, full of vigor and enthusiasm, while Mutaguchi Renya could only sit on the bench in the rear. He felt very uncomfortable, but he could only pretend to be admiring: "Your Excellency the Commander, your chess skills are superb. I admire you!"

……

Early the next morning.

The Japanese soldiers of the 108th Division are having breakfast.

Division Headquarters.

The communications team leader held a telegram in his hand and reported to the division commander, Motojiro Taniguchi.

"Division Commander."

"The First Army's Communications Department just sent a telegram saying that reconnaissance planes have been conducting reconnaissance along the Baijin Highway and found nothing unusual."

"In addition, reconnaissance aircraft also discovered that the Eighth Route Army and Chinese civilians around Wuxiang County were fleeing towards the Taihang Mountains on a large scale."

"A main force of the Eighth Route Army, approximately one regiment in strength, is constructing fortifications outside Wuxiang County."

The 6th Fighter Flight under the First Army was badly damaged, and new pilots and aircraft were not replenished quickly.

but.

The North China Front Army allocated some reconnaissance planes and fighter jets to the First Army for reconnaissance intelligence and air support, but the number was small.

Do the whole show.
"Your Excellency the Division Commander, it looks like the Eighth Route Army is about to run away!" Colonel Saito Yoshio said in a deep voice.

Upon hearing this, a group of Japanese officers, including Fumio Saeki, became a little anxious.

If we go too late, the Eighth Route Army and the civilians would probably have run away.

"How many kilometers are we away from Wuxiang County?" Taniguchi Motojiro asked with narrowed eyes.

"There's still about 60 kilometers to go!" Saito Yoshio replied immediately. "At our normal marching speed, we won't reach Wuxiang County until around noon tomorrow."

"Wait until tomorrow noon," Major General Saeki Fumio said. "I'm afraid the Eighth Route Army and the Chinese civilians have already fled."

"Saeki-kun!" Taniguchi Motojiro looked at Saeki Fumio and asked in a deep voice, "Can your 25th Brigade reach Wuxiang County before dark tonight?"

The Japanese army's general marching speed was 40 kilometers a day, and marching a distance of 60 kilometers a day was also a big challenge for Japanese soldiers.

Fearing that the Eighth Route Army and the local people might escape, Saeki Fumio immediately said confidently, "There's a very easy road from here to Wuxiang County. We should have no problem getting there before dark."

It is absolutely impossible for all the Eighth Route Army soldiers and civilians to escape in one day.

"According to intelligence, Wuxiang County is home to the 129th Brigade of the 386th Division of the Eighth Route Army, a powerful Chinese brigade." Taniguchi Motojiro then asked, "Once you arrive in Wuxiang County, what are your plans?"

Saeki Fumio was murderous: "Only by killing all the Eighth Route Army and Chinese civilians in Wuxiang County can we wash away the shame of the 25th Brigade!"

"Yoshi." Taniguchi Motojiro was very satisfied with Saeki Fumio's response. "I will transfer the field artillery regiment to your command. March quickly to Wuxiang County. I hope your troops can capture Wuxiang County tonight."

"Please rest assured, Your Excellency the Division Commander!" Saeki Fumio bowed his head, "You will have dinner in Wuxiang County tomorrow morning!"

Then, Fumio Saeki immediately returned to the 25th Brigade Headquarters and ordered the Japanese soldiers who had not finished breakfast to set off immediately.

The commander of the 108th Field Artillery Regiment, Ginzo Sakai, marched with the 25th Brigade, while the 108th Cavalry Battalion was responsible for the advance reconnaissance mission.

Not long after the 25th Brigade and the Field Artillery Battalion set off, the 104th Brigade, the division headquarters and the observation group also set off and marched quickly towards Wuxiang County.

(End of this chapter)