Anti-Japanese War: I have unlimited assistance

Chapter 422: Great Victory at Jiangjunling!
Farewell telegram: Mitake Tsuda is an amateur.

After reading this telegram, Yoshio Shinozuka's whole body seemed to be petrified, like a clay sculpture.

He thought about the resume of Tsuda Mitake, who was born in Tokyo in 1890 and is 49 years old this year.

On May 1911, 5, he graduated from the 27rd Infantry Department of the Army Academy, and his classmates were Fumio Saeki, Naotsugu Sakai, and Torazō Ishimoto.

On December 12 of the same year, he was promoted to second lieutenant of infantry, but was unable to enter the Army University afterwards.

After the July 12 Incident, Tsuda Mitake was transferred to the Japanese Kwantung Army and served as the commander of the 14th Infantry Regiment of the 14th Brigade of the th Division. He often led the th Infantry Regiment to attack local anti-Japanese armed forces.

Last year, Tsuda Mitake was promoted to Army Major General and transferred to the North China Front Army, where he served as the commander of the 133rd Infantry Brigade of the th Division, with Sangmu Chongming as the division commander.

At the beginning of this year, Mitake Tsuda was transferred to the First Army to serve as the commander of the 4th Independent Mixed Brigade.

Judging from his resume, although this person has no experience in fighting any major battles, he is not a layman, right?
Could it be that the problem in the battle of Jiangjunling was caused by Tsuda Mitake?
Shinozuka Yoshio slumped in his chair. "Yamamoto-kun, the Imperial Guards Mixed Brigade and the 4th Brigade are gone. Major Generals Sakurada and Tsuda are gone too."

"General."

Yamamoto Ikki said solemnly, "It was both expected and unexpected."

"From the powerful artillery firepower displayed by the Eighth Route Army, I guessed that this battle would most likely end in failure, but I didn't expect it to be such a devastating defeat."

Shinozuka Yoshio sighed. "In fact, after the 1st and 2nd Guards Regiments were completely destroyed, the headquarters should have forced the th Brigade and the Guards Mixed Brigade to move to Heyuan County to stop the losses in time."

He knew that what he said was hindsight, but now he regretted it very much and thought he should not have taken the gamble at that time.

The 1st and 2nd Guards Regiments are the elite among the elite. Without these two infantry regiments, it would be difficult for the remnants of the th Brigade to defeat the New st Regiment.

"Even if it's a mandatory order, Major General Sakurada and Major General Tsuda will not obey your orders."

Yamamoto Ikki's face was gloomy:
"I don't think this is surprising. They made the same mistake as most Imperial soldiers: they considered themselves gods of war. With only a few thousand men, deep inside enemy territory, they stubbornly confronted an enemy with the firepower of an entire artillery division. How could they not be defeated?"

"In fact, when the headquarters held a combat meeting, I repeatedly emphasized that we must not take it lightly when dealing with the New 1st Regiment of the Eighth Route Army and Li Yunlong."

"I'm sorry, but Major General Sakurada and Major General Tsuda still didn't listen to me."

"If the Imperial Guards Mixed Brigade had quickly defeated an Eighth Route Army unit on the first day of combat and not launched a rash attack, the 1st and 2nd Imperial Guards Infantry Regiments would not have been surrounded by the main force of the New st Regiment..."

“There’s an old Chinese saying that if a general loses one order, the whole army will be ruined.”

Shinozuka Yoshio nodded. "Warfare is a game of deception. Facing such formidable opponents as Li Yunlong and the New 1st Regiment, the Locust Army absolutely cannot make the slightest mistake, or they will exploit their weaknesses and kill us in one fell swoop."

"But Yamamoto-kun, now is not the time to discuss tactics and strategy."

"Do you think the Locust Army and the Locust Alliance in northwest Shanxi should continue their attack?"

In this battle, both Yamamoto and Yoshio Shinozuka knew very well that the battle plan had actually been leaked.

But both of them tacitly kept it a secret and didn't mention it, because they had racked their brains to figure out what the problem was, so they simply gave up thinking about it.

Now the entire Guards Mixed Brigade and the 4th Brigade have been destroyed.

There were also mistakes in command made by Takeshi Sakurada and Mitake Tsuda, who made the unauthorized decision to delay the Eighth Route Army at Jiangjunling, and Sakurada Takeshi's farewell telegram, which identified Mitake Tsuda as an amateur.

In addition, 3000 tons of combat supplies stored by the First Army in Datong were destroyed by the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army.

Datong is under the jurisdiction of the Mongolian Army, and it is also the Mongolian Army that protects combat supplies.

Without combat supplies, the attack cannot continue, and this responsibility should be borne by the troops stationed in Mongolia.

However, the troops stationed in Mongolia must also have something to say.

It is true that the 3000 tons of combat supplies and the Datong garrison belonged to the Mongolian troops, but the ones who attacked Datong were Chinese troops who fled from the First Army's jurisdiction, so this responsibility should be borne by the First Army.

By then, buck-passing and wrangling are inevitable.

If this had worked well, the responsibility for the failure of the offensive would not have been so great on Shinozuka Yoshio and Yamamoto.

"Commander, I don't think it's appropriate to continue the attack," said Yamamoto Ikki.

"Let's talk about it in detail." Yoshio Shinozuka said expressionlessly.

Yamamoto Ikki spoke frankly: "The opportunity to destroy the main force in northwest Shanxi has been lost. The remaining two locust armies have only 1000 tons of combat supplies, and can only sustain continuous combat for a week at most."

"Even in a positional battle with the Eighth Route Army at Jiangjunling, the Locust Army could not defeat the Eighth Route Army."

"I judged this based on the reports from various units."

"The Eighth Route Army at the Shaohukou and Majiapo defense lines each has two artillery regiment-level artillery firepower."

"These should be the artillery units of the Eighth Route Army Independent Regiment and the New Third Regiment."

"if."

"The Eighth Route Army assembled the artillery units from these two locations at Jiangjunling. Li Yunlong now has the firepower of eight artillery regiments."

"On the Locust Army side, there are only the 36th Division's Field Artillery Regiment, the 2th Division's Mountain Artillery Regiment, and the nd Brigade's Mountain Artillery Battalion."

Two artillery regiments plus one artillery battalion against eight artillery regiments, the advantage is not mine.

"Exactly what I thought."

Shinozuka Yoshio nodded and pushed up his glasses.

"Order the First and Second Route Attack Forces, with the exception of the 14th Division stationed in Heyuan and Anhua counties, to immediately move all remaining troops and supplies to Taiyuan."

Yoshio Shinozuka mainly considered two aspects.

On the one hand, the Japanese troops in Shanxi were attacked by guerrillas almost every day, and their ammunition was consumed every day, and they were already running out of money.

We cannot defeat the New 1st Regiment of the Eighth Route Army by continuing the attack, and the remaining 2,000 tons of combat supplies from this operation cannot be wasted.

Ammunition must be used sparingly. It is best to kill one Eighth Route Army soldier with one bullet and several Eighth Route Army soldiers with one artillery shell.

On the other hand, the Eighth Route Army in northwestern Shanxi was gaining increasing power.

If no troops were sent to watch over northwest Shanxi, Li Yunlong, leading the three Eighth Route Army regiments in northwest Shanxi, would sooner or later devour the entire northwest Shanxi.

Li Yunlong only controlled nine counties in northwestern Shanxi, but he had such a terrifying development speed.

If Li Yunlong controlled the 38 counties in northwest Shanxi.

Is that okay?

The 36th Division was just a newly formed security division, and it was bound to be unable to cope with the New st Regiment with strong combat effectiveness and firepower.

The 14th Division can only barely cope with it. Let the 14th Division watch there for now, and we will have to continue to send reinforcements to northwest Shanxi later.

At least before the next offensive begins, Li Yunlong's Eighth Route Army troops in Northwest Shanxi must not be allowed to continue to grow stronger.

"Hi."

Yamamoto Ikki lowered his head, turned around and quickly conveyed the order.

……

Southeastern Shanxi.

Eighth Route Army Headquarters.

"The New 1st Regiment called and said that after a day of fighting, the New 1st Regiment recaptured Jiangjunling and completely wiped out the Japanese 4th Brigade, the Imperial Guards Mixed Brigade, and the remnants of the puppet army that were defending Jiangjunling."

"In this battle, the Japanese Fourth Brigade was completely wiped out."

"Completely annihilate the Sky Locust Guards' Mixed Brigade."

"Completely annihilate the pseudo-Independent Fifth and Sixth Divisions." "Killed Major General Sakurada Takeshi, commander of the Imperial Guards Mixed Brigade."

"Killed Major General Mitake Tsuda, commander of the 4th Brigade."

"We captured 5 field guns and 1 mountain gun."

"More than 6,000 Japanese and puppet troops were captured."

The communications officer read out the contents of the telegram one by one, and there was thunderous applause in the headquarters.

Some staff officers shed tears of excitement.

This old devil Sakurada Takeshi is still quite something.

At the last moment, he decisively ordered the Japanese soldiers not to commit suicide and dispersed the remaining Japanese soldiers throughout the tunnels to fight guerrilla warfare.

It took the New 1st Regiment half a day to eliminate the main force of the Japanese troops entrenched in Jiangjunling.

It took another half a day to wipe out these devils scattered in the tunnels.

Fortunately, the result was satisfactory. As soon as the battle ended, Li Yunlong immediately sent a victory report to the headquarters.

"Well done!"

The chief slammed his fist on the table, and the map, kettle, magnifying glass and other items on the table shook together, his tone full of joy.

"Another great victory."

The chief of staff crossed his arms, his expression full of joy. This kid Li Yunlong is good at creating surprises.

At the beginning, the headquarters heard that the devils had assembled 6 Japanese and puppet troops and launched a surprise attack on the headquarters of the New st Regiment in northwestern Shanxi in three directions.

The leaders and chief of staff were all worried about Li Yunlong and the Eighth Route Army soldiers in northwestern Shanxi.

Although the total strength of the Eighth Route Army in Northwest Shanxi was 3, most of them were newly recruited soldiers who had just been expanded, and the gap in combat effectiveness between the new recruits and the old soldiers was too large.

The Japanese army has a luxurious lineup!
There is the Type A division 14th Division, the Tianhuang Guard Mixed Brigade, the 36nd Brigade led by Abe Nobuhide, known as the flower of the empire's famous generals, and the aggressive th Division.

However, the result was unexpected, even shocking.

Li Yunlong led his troops and wiped out the Guards Mixed Brigade, the 4th Brigade and two puppet army divisions in just three days.

Not to defeat them, but to annihilate them completely!

It was an amazing victory for the commander and chief of staff, for the entire Eighth Route Army, and even for the entire Chinese army.

Since the full-scale war between China and Japan broke out after the July 7 Incident, there have not been many such victories.

The Chief of Staff said: "Among the Japanese troops eliminated in this battle, one was the Japs' Heavenly Locust Guards. This is of extraordinary significance to the Eighth Route Army and even the entire Chinese army!"

"We must capitalize on this," the commander nodded. "We must increase the publicity for this point. If done well, it can weaken enemy morale and boost the morale of the soldiers and civilians fighting the war nationwide. With this combined strength and weakness, the theory of national doom will be refuted."

After he finished speaking, the commander could not help but praise him: "Li Yunlong, this kid, is becoming more and more skilled in commanding large-scale military operations."

The Chief of Staff nodded and said, "Indeed, commanding large-scale military operations is extremely difficult. Not only does one need to be proficient in directing coordinated operations between various arms, but one also needs to possess high command and management capabilities, constant vigilance, and a strong psychological foundation and resilience. It requires a wide range of skills and expertise, especially a forward-looking strategic vision and a holistic perspective. Furthermore, one must possess extensive combat experience and the ability to adapt to changing circumstances."

"Li Yunlong has basically mastered the art of commanding a force of 30,000 to 50,000 people." The commander looked extremely satisfied!
A portly staff officer said expectantly, "Li Yunlong's New 1st Regiment, with only 20,000 or 30,000 main troops, already possesses such formidable combat power. If this young man's New 1st Regiment grows to over 100,000 elite troops in northwest Shanxi, how terrifying will its combat power be?"

"By then," another staff officer said cheerfully, "I'm afraid the New 1st Regiment alone will be able to wipe out the First Army, right?"

The leaders and staff were all full of expectations.

If Li Yunlong’s new regiment had hundreds of thousands of elite main forces.

I'm afraid the New 1st Regiment alone can destroy the Japanese North China Front Army.

By that time, the headquarters will definitely be rich.

Because Li Yunlong will hand over half of the weapons and equipment.

If the New 1st Regiment grows to hundreds of thousands of people, then the other units of the Eighth Route Army will also have at least hundreds of thousands of well-equipped elite main forces.

By then, the entire Eighth Route Army will probably have millions of elite troops.

One million elite main forces, the leaders and staff couldn't help but get excited just thinking about it.

"This time, Li Yunlong completely wiped out the Japanese Imperial Guards Mixed Brigade and the 4th Brigade. He should be able to make a lot of money."

The Chief of Staff smiled slightly and looked at the leader:

"Boss, for the sake of the overall situation, it's time to reorganize Li Yunlong's New 1st Regiment, Ding Wei's New 3rd Regiment, and Kong Jie's Independent Regiment into units directly under the headquarters."

The complete annihilation of two Japanese brigades is equivalent to the complete annihilation of a Japanese division.

Among them, the Imperial Guards Mixed Brigade was a unit of the Japanese Army's Type A Division. After completely annihilating it, Li Yunlong doubled the weapons and ammunition he earned.

Every time Li Yunlong handed over the weapons he earned to the brigade commander, and the brigade commander handed them over to the division commander, they would both take a small portion, leaving only the majority in the hands of the headquarters.

"The brigade commander and the division commander probably won't agree, right?" A comrade from the political department said with concern.

"I'll go and do some ideological work with the brigade and division commanders." The chief of staff smiled faintly. "As long as I'm sincere enough, they'll definitely have no objections."

At this time, he led the 129th Division northward to Zhengtai Road to attack the 20th Division, and he had no idea that the head of the headquarters was trying to poach his troops.

As the main force of the 386th Division, the brigade commander of the 129th Brigade naturally led his troops to attack the 20th Division.

In the last battle on Zhengtai Road, the 129th Division and the 20th Division fought against each other, and the 129th Division had a slight advantage due to its superior manpower and artillery firepower.

Both sides summed up their experiences after the war and conducted targeted training.

The Japanese 20th Division intensified its bayonet fighting and individual shooting training, intending to regain its honor in exchange of fire and hand-to-hand combat.

On the other hand, the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army, in addition to tactical training of the troops, also greatly strengthened the construction of artillery firepower.

Today, the 129th Division has a total of 5 artillery regiments, 1 75mm mountain artillery regiment, 1 82mm mortar regiment, a 105 howitzer regiment, a 120 mortar regiment, an anti-aircraft artillery regiment, and a 152 howitzer company.

总部直属1个152榴弹炮团，2个75山炮团，1个105榴弹炮团，1个120重迫击炮团，一个高射炮团和一个坦克团。

Today, the Huangyadong Arsenal in southeastern Shanxi can produce its own 60mm and 82mm mortars and artillery shells. The 82mm mortars are equipped at the regimental level, and the 60mm mortars are equipped at the battalion and company level, with sufficient ammunition.

Rich as hell.

The 20th Division had a field artillery regiment under its command. Although each infantry regiment was equipped with four mountain guns and four infantry guns, as well as some mortars and grenade launchers, the 4th Division was directly crushed in terms of artillery firepower.

The result is self-evident. The bayonet fighting and individual shooting of the Japanese soldiers in the 20th Division had not yet come into play, and their positions were often covered by the artillery fire of the Eighth Route Army.

The 20th Division was under pressure, so naturally it had no extra troops to support the Japanese attacking Meng County.

However, in a frontal combat situation, the 129th Division's current combat effectiveness is not enough to defeat the 20th Division.

However, the fact that the 129th Division could achieve this was enough to shock everyone.

What made the Japanese soldiers of the 20th Division feel the most dread was that every time they fought with the troops of the 129th Division, they could clearly feel that the opponent's combat effectiveness had increased significantly.

"Okay!" The commander nodded happily. "After this battle is over, the work of brigade commander and division commander will be handed over to you."

The commander continued, "Send a telegram immediately commending Li Yunlong and the New 1st Regiment for their great victory at Jiangjunling. However, they must guard against arrogance and impatience and remain cautious at all times. Two other Japanese armies are heading for Ping'an County. Have Li Yunlong and the New 1st Regiment be prepared to respond. After this battle, I will congratulate him profusely and commend him."

The chief of staff and the other staff officers smiled but said nothing.

Congratulating Li Yunlong on his prosperity and rewarding him, does that mean that Li Yunlong should directly hand over half of the weapons and ammunition to the headquarters?

(End of this chapter)