Anti-Japanese War: I have unlimited assistance

Chapter 356 Guards Mixed Brigade!

More than half a month later.

Taiyuan.

First Army Headquarters.

"Report to the General, we have just received intelligence that the main force of the Eighth Route Army in Central Shanxi has gone to northwest Shanxi after capturing Ning County, Shenchi County and other counties."

Intelligence staff officer Lieutenant Colonel Mizuno quickly walked into the operations hall and reported to Yoshio Shinozuka.

"Nani!"

Mutaguchi Renya's voice suddenly rose an octave.

Yoshio Shinozuka's face darkened. This was not good.

Yamamoto's expression didn't change at all, it was both expected and unexpected.

The Japanese staff officers breathed a sigh of relief.

At present, Taiyuan has two main divisions, two independent mixed brigades, one infantry regiment and one cavalry regiment.

In nearly a month, these Japanese troops built a large number of defensive positions in Taiyuan and its surrounding areas.

In the northern part of Shanxi, part of the Mongolian army was ready to reinforce the First Army at any time.

In Baoding and Shimen areas of Hebei Province, some troops of the Japanese Second Army were also assembled.

Once the Eighth Route Army dared to attack Taiyuan, the main force of the North China Front Army would inevitably come to Shanxi to reinforce.

Shinozuka Yoshio's face was expressionless: "Immediately find out the movements of the Eighth Route Army in southern Taiyuan."

"Hi."

Lieutenant Colonel Mizuno suddenly lowered his head and quickly left.

About half an hour later, Lieutenant Colonel Mizuno walked in quickly and reported:

"Just received a telegram from the 1st Independent Mixed Brigade. The main force of the 129th Division of the Southern Eighth Route Army is retreating. Major General Hyakutake is asking whether to pursue them."

The 1st Independent Mixed Brigade was sent to the st Army not long ago.

However, he was sent by Yoshio Shinozuka to garrison in Yuncheng, southern Shanxi.

The situation in Taiyuan was critical this time, so Yoshio Shinozuka transferred him back to Taiyuan.

"Order Major General Hyakutake to stay where he is to avoid an ambush by the Eighth Route Army." Yoshio Shinozuka narrowed his eyes.

"Hi."

Mizuno Kiyoshi immediately went to pass on the message.

"Commander, it seems we've fallen into a trap," Mutaguchi Ren'ya said. "The Eighth Route Army never intended to attack Taiyuan. This was all bluffing. Their real strategic goal was to capture the county towns along the Tongpu Line north of Taiyuan and then expand into northwestern Shanxi."

While speaking, Mutaguchi Ren'ya looked at Yamamoto with contempt.

This time, the Eighth Route Army captured eight county towns north of Taiyuan, and the First Army suffered heavy losses in property, territory, and casualties, all due to Yamamoto's misjudgment.

Now let’s see how Yoshio Shinozuka and Ikki Yamamoto end up.

Yamamoto Ikki saw Mutaguchi's expression and said coldly, "They pretend to be strong when they are weak, and pretend to be strong when they are weak. The Eighth Route Army was indeed prepared to attack Taiyuan, but this time, the commander reacted quickly and saw through their strategic objectives early on, so they didn't succeed." Shinozuka Yoshio nodded and said, "Yamamoto is right. If we had been two or three days slower, the main force of the Eighth Route Army might have already reached the city."

Mutaguchi Ren'ya's mouth twitched, and he stood there like a clown.

It is obvious that Yoshio Shinozuka and Kazuki Yamamoto are now in cahoots.

Yoshio Shinozuka simply didn't listen to him.

After a pause, Shinozuka Yoshio continued, "As for the counties captured by the Eighth Route Army, you can order the 14th Division to move north and recapture all the counties captured by the Eighth Route Army."

At present, the main force of the Eighth Route Army in Jinzhong has gone to northwestern Shanxi, and the Eighth Route Army in southeastern Shanxi has been withdrawn to southeastern Shanxi.

With the strength of the First Army, it is not difficult to recapture these county towns and restore traffic on Beitongpu Road.

A combat staff officer was about to pass on the order when Shinozuka Yoshio stopped him and said, "Wait, after confirming that the 129th Division has returned to southeastern Shanxi, we can send the 14th Division out."

Operations Staff: "Hi."

Yamamoto Ikki suddenly felt a little satisfied. It was good that the commander acted cautiously.

Then, Yamamoto said to Shinozuka Yoshio, "General, Li Yunlong is leading the main force of Jinzhong to northwest Shanxi. This is not a good thing. Commander, please immediately request the North China Front Command to mobilize troops and supplies to attack northwest Shanxi as soon as possible."

"Commander," Mutaguchi Renya immediately jumped out to retort, "The main force of the Eighth Route Army in Jinzhong has left Jinzhong. The first thing we must do is attack the Eighth Route Army's Jinzhong Military Region, destroy the Jinzhong base, and eliminate the threat posed by the Zhengtai Road. Only when the Zhengtai Road is unblocked can our First Army have a steady supply of combat materials, and coal, military equipment, and raw materials can be shipped out of Shanxi."

Fighting requires supplies, including fuel, ammunition, food, bedding and other combat materials.

All these combat supplies need to be transported by rail.

Yamamoto Ikki said in a deep voice, "The Jinzhong base area has comprehensive fortifications. Its tunnels and concrete combination are comparable to a fortress. Taking it down will be no easy task. Our First Army should take advantage of the fact that the main force of the Eighth Route Army has not yet established a firm foothold in northwestern Shanxi and eliminate it in its cradle as soon as possible. Otherwise, with the Eighth Route Army's rapid development, within a year at most, the Eighth Route Army in northwestern Shanxi will probably reach 50,000 men!"

"You all have a point." Shinozuka Yoshio narrowed his eyes. "The last time I went to Peking for a meeting, General Sugiyama told me that the headquarters is taking the battle in Shanxi very seriously and plans to mobilize a large force to encircle and suppress the Eighth Route Army attacking Shanxi, including the Imperial Guards Division and the Heavy Artillery Brigade."

"Imperial Guards Division?" Mutaguchi Ren'ya and Yamamoto Ikki both looked delighted.

What made Mutaguchi Ren'ya happy was that the combat effectiveness of this Guards Division was ranked among the best in the entire Type A division.

After the war broke out, the elite soldiers of other Type A divisions were more or less consumed in the war.

However, the Imperial Guards Division has been protecting the Sky Locusts in Tokyo. All of them are veteran elites with excellent combat skills and first-class equipment.

When the Imperial Guards Division came to Shanxi to fight the Eighth Route Army, wasn't it like using a cannon to kill a mosquito, crushing it with ease?
What made Yamamoto Ikki happy was that the soldiers of the Imperial Guards Division were all veteran elites with strong combat skills and high cultural literacy. He could select the most elite fighters from them, develop them into special forces members, and then form a special forces team of the same size as the special forces team. Its combat effectiveness must not be underestimated.

After all, the members of this new special forces team are the troops that protected Tianhuang. If they can make a name for themselves and let Tianhuang know about it, then his goal of innovating tactics will be successful.

Shinozuka Yoshio said, "This unit isn't the entire Imperial Guards Division, but rather a portion of it. It's the Imperial Guards Mixed Brigade, composed of the 1st and 2nd Imperial Guards Infantry Regiments and the Imperial Guards Field Artillery Regiment. Commanded by Major General Sakurada Takeshi, they'll be heading to Shanxi to fight under the command of our First Army."

The infantry and cavalry of the Imperial Guards Division were drawn from across the country, while the artillery, engineers, and logistics troops were drawn from the divisional areas in the Kanto region (the 1st and 14th Divisions).

In order to protect the Imperial Palace, we must try our best to select outstanding soldiers to form the Imperial Guard Division.

Therefore, the soldiers assigned to the Imperial Guards Division were also regarded as high-level troops by the world.

If you have relatives serving in the Imperial Guards Division, then the family will have the feeling that "if one person succeeds, the whole family will benefit", and the sense of pride is self-evident.

Whether it was Yamamoto Ikki, Mutaguchi Renya, or Shinozuka Yoshio, they were all very confident in the combat effectiveness of the Imperial Guards Division - even the most elite Jinzhong troops of the Eighth Route Army could not defeat the Imperial Guards Division with the same number of troops.

After a pause, Shinozuka Yoshio added with murderous intent, "In addition, to maintain law and order in the occupied areas, the headquarters has established nine security divisions composed of retired personnel and new recruits. These nine security divisions are quite powerful. Our First Army will receive a large number of troops and supplies. By then, the Eighth Route Army in Central Shanxi and the Eighth Route Army in Northwest Shanxi will be completely wiped out."

(End of this chapter)