Anti-Japanese War: I have unlimited assistance

Chapter 350: New Japanese Tactics!
Shanxi.

Taiyuan.

First Army Headquarters.

"General."

"Just now, the North China Front Command sent a telegram that an air raid has been carried out on Mengxian County, where the Jinzhong Eighth Route Army Air Corps headquarters is located."

Yamamoto Kazuki, dressed in military uniform and carrying a saber, walked quickly into the headquarters, his whole demeanor exuding a murderous aura.

Shinozuka Yoshio was lying on the armchair, resting with his eyes closed. When he heard Yamamoto's words, he opened his eyes and said, "Oh? What's the result?"

Compared to Yamamoto Ikki's reluctance, Shinozuka Yoshio has already laid down. He is going to retire anyway, so why should he worry so much?
"Li Yunlong guessed the retaliatory air raid of the North China Front Army and prepared a large number of anti-aircraft artillery and anti-aircraft machine guns. The aviation corps suffered 20 casualties, which is about the same as a flying squadron." Yamamoto Ikki replied.

"The losses are considerable." Shinozuka Yoshio sighed. "Did the North China Front Army mention in the telegram who the new commander is and when he will take office?"

"There was no explicit mention of a new commander, but General Sugiyama Motoyuki asked you to serve as the acting commander of the First Army, so I don't have to return to the country to retire. The responsibility for the defeat of the 108th Division will be borne entirely by Lieutenant Colonel Sakakura Hiromi." Yamamoto Ikki raised the corner of his mouth and quickly returned to normal.

Who would have thought that the new commander of the First Army would suddenly want to take a look at the Jinzhong base on his way to Taiyuan.

As a result, he was shot down on the spot and his body was completely destroyed.

The headquarters will not send a new commander in the short term.

As Yamamoto Ikki was Yoshio Shinozuka's confidant, someone took the responsibility for the defeat, so he naturally did not have to retire.

When Yoshio Shinozuka heard the news, his expression froze slightly. He had already accepted his fate and retired, planning to return to his homeland to live a leisurely life, but he didn't expect that he would continue to serve as the commander.

After a series of defeats, Yoshio Shinozuka no longer had the ambition he had when he first arrived in Taiyuan.

He found that no matter how hard he tried, it was still difficult to win the battle.

There was even a time when he felt a headache whenever he thought of Li Yunlong and the Eighth Route Army.

But when he lay down and let her fuck him, his headache miraculously disappeared.

When he heard that he would have to continue to serve as the commander of the First Army and fight against Li Yunlong and the Eighth Route Army, Shinozuka Yoshio's head began to ache again.

Yoshio Shinozuka rubbed his temples with a worried look on his face.

He had a bad feeling. The Eighth Route Army was becoming increasingly powerful. If he and Yamamoto did not leave Taiyuan now, they might not be able to leave in the future.

Seeing that Shinozuka Yoshio had no fighting spirit, Yamamoto became a little anxious: "General, this is our chance to wash away this shame. As long as we can win one or two battles, we can change the views of the North China Front Command and the headquarters. As long as we can eliminate Li Yunlong and the Eighth Route Army, we can completely improve the public security in Shanxi. By then, it is not impossible for you to be promoted to general and serve as the commander of the front army..."

Yoshio Shinozuka was stunned. The others were just officers making promises to their subordinates.

Why is it the other way around when it comes to me?

Shinozuka Yoshio sighed and said, "Yamamoto-kun, you and I both know that Lieutenant Colonel Sakakura isn't the Eighth Route Army's spy lurking in the First Army Headquarters. There's someone else lurking there. Furthermore, I suspect there are also Eighth Route Army spies lurking in the North China Front Army Headquarters. The Eighth Route Army knows all of our battle plans and contingency plans. We have no chance of winning."

Sekigahara Roku and Yamawaki Masataka were killed along the way, proving that someone had leaked their whereabouts to the Eighth Route Army.

The disastrous defeat of the 108th Division also showed that the Eighth Route Army knew the combat plan of the Japanese First Army in advance.

The Eighth Route Army was fully aware of the Japanese Army's battle plans, but the Japanese Army knew nothing about the Eighth Route Army.

How is this fight going?
"General," Yamamoto said, his fighting spirit still high, his tone unchanged. "I will personally identify the spy lurking in the First Army Headquarters and the North China Front Army Headquarters. Furthermore, we may be able to exploit the Eighth Route Army's infiltration into the Locust Army Headquarters."

"Yamamoto-kun, what you mean is..." Shinozuka Yoshio narrowed his eyes, "using spies lurking in the headquarters to convey false information to the Eighth Route Army."

"You can also pass on a fake battle plan." Yamamoto Ikki said in a flat tone, "Besides... General, you and I have no choice..."

"Yes, you and I have no choice. On this big ship of the empire, Tianhuang, the entire people of the empire and the entire locust army have no choice." Shinozuka Yoshio gradually regained his fighting spirit. It was not up to them to decide whether to continue fighting or retire.

In this battle, Japan is gambling on its national destiny. If it wins, the Yamato nation will rise; if it loses, the Yamato nation may never rise again.

"Your Excellency, Commander."

At this moment, Mutaguchi Renya walked in quickly with a flattering look on his face.

After learning that Yoshio Shinozuka had been stripped of his command and was returning to his home country to retire, Mutaguchi Ren never came to see Yoshio Shinozuka again.

Even Mutaguchi Renya and a group of staff were ready to welcome and curry favor with the new commander.

But Mutaguchi Ren also heard from the communications staff that Shinozuka Yoshio would continue to serve as the commander of the First Army.

He immediately wanted to go to the commander's office to apologize to Yoshio Shinozuka, hoping to get Shinozuka's forgiveness.

Shinozuka Yoshio looked at Mutaguchi Renya with an unhappy look on his face: "Can't you see that Yamamoto-kun and I are talking about something?"

As the saying goes, when a person leaves, the tea gets cold. Before he left the First Army, Mutaguchi Ren just ignored him as the commander.

Yoshio Shinozuka was extremely disappointed and heartbroken with Mutaguchi Ren'ya.

"Commander, I'm here..."

"go out!"

Before Mutaguchi could finish his words, Shinozuka Yoshio scolded him coldly.

"Hi…"

Mutaguchi glanced at Yamamoto, lowered his head with a bitter expression, turned around and left the commander's office in dejection.

He knew very well that once he left, he would most likely be banished to the cold palace by Yoshio Shinozuka.

Yamamoto stared at Mutaguchi's back, his expression devoid of sympathy. "He's a flatterer, opportunistic, and incompetent in commanding tactics. If such a person were to take power, it would be a disaster for the Locust Army and the Empire."

"Mutaguchi-kun has made contributions to the holy war, but his actions really disappoint me." Shinozuka Yoshio said expressionlessly.

"By the way, Yamamoto-kun, you said a few days ago that you had come up with a tactic to deal with the Eighth Route Army. Tell me about it."

"Yes," Yamamoto Ikki said, "The development potential of the Eighth Route Army's Jinzhong base has been exhausted. Next, Li Yunlong will definitely go to other places to develop, that is, to establish a so-called base."

Shinozuka Yoshio nodded. "The Jinzhong base area is small, with a small population, and its development potential is indeed insufficient. Please continue."

"Hey." Yamamoto Ikki continued, "We must establish a new blockade around the Jinzhong base before the main force leaves. This will prevent the main force of the Jinzhong Eighth Route Army from leaving the base. Only in this way can we curb the development of Li Yunlong's troops and find an opportunity to eliminate them."

"The problem now," Shinozuka Yoshio shook his head, "is that we've already wasted a huge amount of strategic materials like steel and cement, trying to blockade the Eighth Route Army in Jinzhong, but we've failed. Those reinforced concrete bunkers and turrets can't stop the Eighth Route Army's rocket launchers. Continuing to use steel and cement to build strongholds, turrets, and other concrete fortifications will only be a waste of manpower, material resources, and financial resources."

Yamamoto Ikki pointed at the map and said, "I've seen the bunkers and turrets they built. They're almost all shoddy work. Their defenses can only withstand 75mm mountain artillery fire. They can't even compare to the bunkers and turrets on the Maginot Line. The bunkers and turrets on the Maginot Line could withstand continuous, directed fire from 150mm heavy artillery. If we also build fortifications like these outside the Eighth Route Army's Jinzhong base, we'll definitely be able to block the main force of the Jinzhong Eighth Route Army from advancing outward."

Shinozuka Yoshio frowned. "We need to apply to the North China Front Army for this. Our First Army doesn't have that much steel and cement. The North China Front Army headquarters was very disappointed when the blockade failed last time, so they may not approve it."

Taiyuan can naturally produce cement, but it can only produce civilian cement and cannot produce high-grade military cement.

The hardness of civilian cement cannot be compared with that of high-grade military cement.

The steel and cement consumed in building dozens of bunkers and turrets like those used in the Maginot Line could have been used to build a fortress.

Even the Kwantung Army, which had relatively abundant strategic materials, only built 17 fortresses to guard against the Soviet army in the Far East.

Yamamoto Ikki said, "We can use tactics like tunnels, bunkers, and artillery towers. This way, we can save a lot of money on steel and cement, but once completed, its defensive strength will be comparable to that of a fortress."

"The tactics of the Eighth Route Army?" Yoshio Shinozuka's eyes lit up. The Eighth Route Army used the tactics of tunnels and bunkers to block the attack of the First Army.

The Eighth Route Army has proven that this tactic is extremely effective.

"To be precise, the Locust Army's defense line is more impenetrable than that of the Eighth Route Army!"

Yamamoto spoke confidently and eloquently:

"In fact, this tactic can be implemented in most areas of North China, except for the plains."

"Using railways as pillars, highways as chains, tunnels, blockhouses, and artillery towers as locks, supplemented by blockade ditches and walls, a network of cages was constructed from the guerrilla zone toward the Eighth Route Army base area. This would divide, compress, and encircle the anti-Japanese forces in the Eighth Route Army base area, restricting the mobility of the Eighth Route Army and guerrillas, facilitating surprise attacks and captures, and at the same time severing the ties between the Eighth Route Army and the Chinese people."

"Build strongholds consisting of tunnels, bunkers, and artillery towers every 10 miles on the highway and every two or three miles on the railway."

"In the plains and lake areas, we can force the Chinese people to dig new ditches and divide the Eighth Route Army base areas into several small, disconnected areas."

"Then, the locust army will coordinate with the garrison and mopping-up forces, concentrating their forces to carry out zone-by-zone sweeps and defeat each enemy one by one..."

"Yoshi." Shinozuka nodded in satisfaction. "This tactic sounds great. Yamamoto-kun, please take the trouble to prepare a detailed plan as soon as possible. I will personally submit it to the North China Front Command and convince General Sugiyama Hajime."

Yamamoto Ikki was full of energy: "Hi."

(End of this chapter)