Anti-Japanese War: I have unlimited assistance

Chapter 91 Black Island Cavalry Regiment!

Itagaki Seishirō's face shows that he is a very cunning and treacherous person. This is the kind of person who hides a dagger behind a smile.

But at this time, the commander of the Japanese Fifth Division, Lieutenant General of the Japanese Army, had a gloomy and ashen face, and looked as if he wanted to eat someone.

"Report to the General."

Lieutenant Colonel Ichiro Desai, the communications officer who came to report, trembled with fear and answered with a stiff upper lip:

"According to intelligence from the 20th Division, the enemy troops attacking the Locust Army Officer Training Corps are small in number, only about 400 men, but this unit has formidable firepower and is equipped with a large number of light machine guns and submachine guns."

"A large number of light machine guns and submachine guns?" Itagaki frowned. "I'm asking which Eighth Route Army unit did this."

"Hi."

Desai Ichiro suddenly lowered his head, his strong desire to survive making him speak very quickly:
"Reinforcements from the 20th Division discovered a large number of 7.62mm Tokarev pistol shell casings on the battlefield where the Officer Training Corps was engaged in battle with the Eighth Route Army. Currently, based on records of engagements between the Locust Army and the Chinese Army, the only Chinese army with this caliber of ammunition was the New 129st Regiment of the 386th Brigade of the th Division of the Eighth Route Army."

"According to intelligence, this regiment is a core regiment under the Eighth Route Army. It does not appear on the Chinese government army's organizational chart."

Although he was not a professional intelligence officer, Ichiro Desai was well aware of the temper of the senior lieutenant general of the empire in front of him.

If the answer did not satisfy him, at best he would be severely slapped, at worst he would be sent to the battlefield and charge towards the Chinese army positions with the front-line soldiers, risking his life.

Therefore, before coming to report, Ichiro Desai had already communicated in detail with the 20th Division to respond to Itagaki's inquiries.

Itagaki: "The New 1st Regiment of the Eighth Route Army... Li Yunlong?"

"Hey." Desai Ichiro lowered his head. "The Eighth Route Army that ambushed the Officer Training Corps is most likely the New 1st Regiment led by Li Yunlong."

Itagaki Seishirō narrowed his eyes, and murderous intent was in his eyes. This Li Yunlong is really annoying.

The ghost lingers.

Itagaki asked in a puzzled tone, "Isn't Li Yunlong's New 1st Regiment operating in the Wutai County area?"

Originally, Itagaki wanted to send troops to Wutai County for a sweep, but on the one hand, he lacked detailed intelligence, and on the other hand, he had no extra troops.

Ichiro Izumi breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed his answer had satisfied the lieutenant general before him. He then reported, "The night before yesterday, when the 20th and 109th Divisions were attacking Yangquan, the 20nd Battalion of the 26th Field Artillery Regiment of the 2th Division was ambushed by a group of Eighth Route Army troops. They lost 12 Type 95 75mm field guns and over 500 Locust Army soldiers."

Itagaki Seishirō asked in a deep voice, "Is there such a thing? Did the 20th Division destroy the enemy?"

"No," Ichiro Desai replied, "They let this Eighth Route Army unit escape. According to intelligence from the 20th Division, the Eighth Route Army unit that attacked the field artillery battalion was also equipped with a large number of light machine guns and submachine guns, with ample ammunition and formidable firepower."

"I suspect that the Chinese Army unit that attacked the 20th Division's field artillery was also... the New st Regiment led by Li Yunlong."

In the last sentence, Ichiro Desai summarized his guess, which makes sense.

Itagaki suddenly felt much better. It turned out that it was not just the Fifth Division that was ambushed by Li Yunlong of the Eighth Route Army.

The field artillery battalion was ambushed under the noses of tens of thousands of locust soldiers. Not only did it lose an artillery battalion and hundreds of locust soldiers, but it also allowed the enemy to escape.

Kawaishi Fumisaburo is such a loser...

"understood."

Itagaki waved his hand, signaling Ichiro to leave.

Ichiro Desai bowed and turned away.

"General."

But about ten minutes later, Ichiro Desai came in with another telegram in his hand, and his feet slammed together with a crisp sound:
"The North China Front Command just sent a telegram saying that the Kuroshima Cavalry Regiment, which is to supplement our Northern Group, has already departed from Peking."

At present, the First Army has not yet been formed, and the Kuroshima Cavalry Regiment is directly under the North China Front Army.

After Itagaki's cavalry brigade was completely wiped out, he applied to the North China Front Army for a cavalry regiment.

It was still the early days of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. The Japanese army, which had been preparing for this war of aggression for decades, had sufficient combat supplies and manpower.

"Oh?" Itagaki Seishirō's expression changed. "It's the Kuroshima Cavalry Regiment?"

Itagaki Seishirō knew about the Kuroshima Cavalry Regiment. Its commander was Baron Kuroshima Morita, a member of the imperial family. The cavalry he led was of high quality. After a moment's reflection, Itagaki gave the order: "Order the Kuroshima Cavalry Regiment. Upon arrival in Shanxi Province, proceed to Pingding County and search for the Eighth Route Army. Once the Eighth Route Army is located, the Kuroshima Cavalry Regiment must not initiate an attack. Once the locust army attacking Taiyuan is free, we will then eliminate the Eighth Route Army in one fell swoop."

The Japanese army’s main task now is to capture Taiyuan and destroy the main force of the Second War Zone.

Therefore, the Japanese army had not had time to capture Heshun, Liaoxian and other places in southeastern Shanxi.

At present, the Japanese army has only captured Pingding and Xiyang. After capturing Taiyuan, the devils will turn around and attack southeastern Shanxi.

Then they attempted to destroy the Eighth Route Army that was preparing to establish a base in southeastern Shanxi.

"Hi."

After recording the telegram, Ichiro Desai closed the folder, suddenly lowered his head, and turned away.

……

Southeastern Shanxi.

Brigade Headquarters.

"Brigade Commander, I just received insider intelligence that the North China Front Command's grassroots officer training team, which was sent to the Japanese Fifth Division and other main forces, totaling over 300 soldiers, including the escort, was ambushed approximately 10 kilometers west of Niangzi Pass."

Chief of Staff Zhou handed a telegram to the brigade commander who was drinking water from a porcelain cup, and the former spoke with amazement.

Although the Eighth Route Army had just arrived, it had already established an intelligence network in Shanxi Province.

The news of the battle on the Zhengtai Highway had just spread to Yangquan, Niangziguan and other places when the headquarters, division headquarters and brigade headquarters received the news one after another.

The brigade commander was shocked, put down the porcelain cup in his hand, took the telegram and started reading it.

"200 Japanese junior officers and 100 elite soldiers of the Kwantung Army were completely wiped out, not a single one escaped."

After reading the telegram, the brigade commander's tone was also full of amazement.

"Who did this?"

Chief of Staff Zhou sounded puzzled. "According to the intelligence provided by our insider, it seems that our Eighth Route Army did it. However, our Eighth Route Army usually only ambushes the Japanese transport convoys and rarely takes the initiative to ambush the Japanese combat units."

There was no way around it. The Eighth Route Army had almost no logistical supplies and had to rely entirely on self-sufficiency.

If the enemy's combat troops were ambushed and suffered heavy losses in the battle but captured too little, it would be a huge loss.

If the ambush was on the Japanese supply train, even if the troops suffered heavy casualties, they could still seize a batch of combat supplies.

Otherwise, the Eighth Route Army would have been wiped out in a few battles, so how could they have established a base?

"Could it be the 115th Division, our brother unit, who did this?"

Chief of Staff Zhou expressed his guess.

Judging from the intelligence, the Japanese troops that ambushed were very powerful.

The Eighth Route Army was poorly equipped overall, lacking weapons and ammunition. Moreover, judging from the contour lines on the map, there were no geographical conditions suitable for an ambush in that area, unless the main force of the 115th Division took action.

"It must have been Li Yunlong." The brigade commander looked as if he had thought of something. "Last night, Political Commissar Zhong of the New 1st Regiment sent a signalman to brigade headquarters to report that Li Yunlong, the commander of the New 1st Regiment, had taken a battalion of troops out on a side project."

"Li Yunlong?"

"That makes sense. There's no such thing as Li Yunlong. A single battalion ambush over 300 elite Japanese soldiers. Li Yunlong is truly audacious."

Chief of Staff Zhou suddenly realized and said in amazement.

The Japanese are now extremely powerful. Even if the main force ambush their transport team, it will not be done easily without more than five times the number of troops, and it is easy to end up losing money.

The brigade commander suddenly laughed and said, "I was still confused. Li Yunlong voluntarily handed over so many weapons and equipment. It doesn't seem like his style. It turns out that he secretly went out to make a fortune."

(End of this chapter)