Anti-Japanese War: I have unlimited assistance

at the same time.

Fighting also broke out on the road from Shaohukou to Datong, and the reconnaissance troops of the Eighth Route Army discovered the Japanese ambush troops.

The Japanese army's ambush this time fully learned the ambush combat skills of the Eighth Route Army.

The Japanese were lying in ambush on both sides of the road, one kilometer away from the road.

After the Eighth Route Army's reconnaissance troops and main force had conducted some reconnaissance, the ambush troops all entered the ambush positions.

Then, the Japanese mainly ambushed the artillery and tank units of the Eighth Route Army. After killing the artillery and tank units, the 1st Cavalry Brigade and the 7th Tank Regiment encircled them.

Yamashita Tomoyuki's ideas were as rich as his own, but reality was as cruel as it was real.

First, the 40th Regiment used ashes to make a nest, but still failed to fool the main force of the Eighth Route Army.

Tonight, Yamashita Tomoyuki planned to wipe out the Eighth Route Army in one fell swoop.

After nightfall, Ding Wei directly sent out a reconnaissance team to find the location of the Japanese ambush troops.

Then, the reconnaissance troops and artillery observers directly called for artillery fire support from the rear.

After a fight, the Japanese suffered heavy casualties.

"Contact the frontline headquarters immediately."

Yamashita Tomoyuki gave an order with a gloomy face.

Beside him, the commander of the Imperial Guard Division, Sadamiru Iida, and the commander of the 25th Division, Shiro Kuwahara, also had grim expressions.

"Hi."

A communications staff officer quickly shook the handle and then answered the phone to the North China Front Command in Datong.

This place is not far from Datong, so in order to facilitate communication, we connected the telephone line.

"Your Excellency, Chief of Staff, the call is connected."

In the distance, the rumble of artillery could be heard. Yamashita Fengwen walked over with a gloomy expression, grabbed the phone, and put the receiver to his ear:

"Your Excellency, please answer the phone."

A moment later, Sugiyama Gen's voice rang out on the phone receiver, and he immediately asked impatiently, "Yamashita-kun, has the enemy's main force entered the locust army's ambush circle?"

Yamashita Tomoyuki actually heard a hint of panic in Sugiyama Gen's voice.

"Report to His Excellency the General."

Then, Yamashita Fengwen said in a deep voice: "The ambush plan has been exposed. The main force of the Eighth Route Army is attacking our troops. Requesting tactical guidance!"

"Nani!"

Sugiyama Gen's voice suddenly rose, his tone full of disbelief.

The 21st Division fought to the death with the Eighth Route Army at Shaohukou in order to buy time for deploying the encirclement. The 40th Regiment was completely annihilated in order to lure the main force of the Eighth Route Army into the ambush circle.

Now you tell me that the main force of the Eighth Route Army was not fooled?

At this moment, General Sugiyama Moto felt very uncomfortable. He felt like there was a breath of air stuck in his chest that he couldn't spit out or swallow.

"Yamashita-kun."

"The 26th Division Headquarters was beheaded by the Eighth Route Army Special Forces in Heyuan County. Lieutenant General Jun Hougong, the 26th Division Commander, Colonel Kato, the Chief of Staff, and all other personnel of the 26th Division Headquarters were killed in action."

"Currently, the Eighth Route Army at Jiangjunling is launching a general offensive against the 26th Division, and the offensive is fierce."

Immediately, Sugiyama Gen told Yamashita Tomoyuki a piece of important news.

Although the 26th Division Headquarters was destroyed, there were still several regimental headquarters under it, and these regimental headquarters reported the matter to the North China Front Army Headquarters.

However, the North China Front Army Headquarters was unable to reverse the situation and could not take over the command of the 26th Division Headquarters.

Because the North China Front Army Command had no understanding of the battle situation and enemy information, forcing command would only make the situation of the 26th Division Headquarters more difficult.

"Nani!?"

Yamashita Tomoyuki's "Nani" was louder than Sugiyama Gen's previous "Nani".

The expressions of Iida Sadamira and Kuwahara Shiro standing by became even uglier.

The fact that the main force of the North China Front Army was forced to this point by the Eighth Route Army was beyond the expectations of all the devils.

And this is just the main force of the Eighth Route Army in northwest Shanxi!

If the main forces of the Eighth Route Army in southeastern Shanxi and other military regions were added, the strength of the Eighth Route Army would probably be infinitely close to that of the North China Front Army.

"In Taiyuan, the battle is at a stalemate, and the First Army has suffered heavy casualties."

Sugiyama Gen gave another message.

"General, what should we do now?" Yamashita Tomoyuki asked in a deep voice with an increasingly ugly expression.

On the other end of the line, Sugiyama Gen thought for two minutes before saying, "At this point in the battle, it's almost impossible to completely annihilate the Eighth Route Army. The only option is to cut losses. You hold your ground there for a day, using a tactic of gradually blocking the enemy to wear down and hold them back. I will quickly mobilize the military train to transport the combat supplies from Datong, and then you can retreat."

The Japanese army still had more than 8,000 tons of combat supplies in Datong, which were originally intended to be used to attack northwestern Shanxi.

There are more combat supplies ready to be shipped to Peking.

However, the battle was originally planned to last for a month, but only one-third of the time had passed and only one-third of the prepared combat supplies had been consumed.

"……Hi!"

Yamashita Tomoyuki lowered his head and then hung up the phone.

The 26th Division Headquarters was beheaded, and it was only a matter of time before it was defeated. Once the 26th Division was defeated, the Eighth Route Army in Jiangjunling would be able to march straight into Heyuan County and attack Datong.

"Order the 1st Cavalry Brigade and the 7th Tank Regiment to return to Datong to protect the headquarters."

Yamashita Tomoyuki immediately issued an order that cavalry and tanks could only play a limited role in mountain warfare.

"Hi."

The communications officer bowed his head.

Meanwhile, at the Japanese front headquarters in Datong, Sugiyama Gen said to Colonel Muto Akira, "Mr. Muto, I'm going to fly back to Peking tomorrow morning. I don't care what method you use, but you must transport all 8,000 tons of combat supplies back to Peking within one day."

"Hi…"

Muto Akira's expression froze, and after hesitating for a moment, he finally accepted this almost impossible task.

It was almost impossible to mobilize more than a dozen military trains in one day to transport 8,000 tons of combat supplies from the military depot to the railway station and then to Peiping under the harassment of the single track and the Eighth Route Army guerrillas.

However, in order to preserve the locust army's combat supplies, Muto Akira had no choice but to give it a try.

……

At the same time, Li Yunlong at the front-line command post in Jiangjunling and Zhao Gang in Ping'an County in the rear were also talking on the phone.

The call has just been connected.

Li Yunlong: "Old Zhao, I want to tell you a good news."

Zhao Gang: "What good news? Did you kill Sugiyama Yuan?"

Li Yunlong: "No, guess what the good news is?"

Zhao Gang: "Since Sugiyama Gen wasn't killed, then it must be the 26th Division Commander Hou Gongjun who was killed."

Li Yunlong: "How did you guess that?"

Zhao Gang: "As soon as you lift your butt, I'll know what you ate yesterday."

Li Yunlong: "..."

Li Yunlong: "Haha, Lao Zhao is the one who knows me best. It's only a matter of time before the independent battalion defeats the 26th Division. Over at Shahukou, Ding Wei's main force has encountered the main force of the Japanese directly. The pincer attack on Datong can only rely on our troops at Jiangjunling. Lao Zhao, how is the situation over there? How much ammunition do you have?"

Zhao Gang said, "We're running low on ammunition. We still have over 10 million bullets, but only a few hundred thousand shells..."

Although Zhao Gang did not participate in the front-line command, he also played a huge role in this battle.

First, the strategic transfer of hundreds of thousands of civilians in base areas such as Ping'an County, Heyuan County and Anhua County, commanded by Zhao Gang, went smoothly.

At the beginning of the battle, Zhao Gang took over the logistics dispatch of the rear base, fully ensuring the supply of ammunition and supplies to the front-line troops.

For example, as soon as the Battle of Shaohukou ended, 800 tons of ammunition replenishment immediately fell into Ding Wei's hands, which was truly the case of "food and fodder come first before troops move".

If it weren't for Zhao Gang, the soldiers on the front line wouldn't have fought so smoothly.

With the infiltration of the Japanese 50th Regiment and the airborne troops, the fire in the backyard had already started.

Li Yunlong's eyes widened as he asked loudly, "How come there's only so little left? Zhao Gang, you prodigal son, why don't you know how to save it?"

Before the war, Li Yunlong remembered that the three regiments in northwestern Shanxi had a total of more than 60 million rounds of ammunition and more than artillery shells.

Two-thirds of the bullets were consumed, and five-sixths of the shells were consumed!

The intensity of the fighting in this battle was beyond Li Yunlong's expectations.

"Li Yunlong, you have to speak with conscience," Zhao Gang said angrily. "Your front lines are constantly bombarded with artillery fire, with hundreds of cannons firing, thousands of shells a minute. And now you're blaming me?"

"If you think I'm not good enough as the logistics director, then quickly find someone else. I'm not going to be the logistics director anymore."

"Do you think I'm happy to be the Minister of Logistics? Leading troops to the front line to kill the devils, isn't that more comfortable than being the Minister of Logistics?"

Li Yunlong laughed heartily and said, "Calm down, Lao Zhao. Our Northwest Shanxi Military Region can't survive without you as its logistics chief! Hurry up and prepare 600 million rounds of ammunition and 10 artillery shells. Tomorrow we're going to attack Datong and pierce the Japs' ass." (End of chapter)