You are ordered to support the War of Resistance against Japan; China enters Level 1 combat readines

"tank??"

A murmur of discussion arose in the conference room.

"Are they enemy reinforcements?"

"They have tanks?"

"It's just a tank, nothing to worry about!"

Despite the unexpected appearance of tanks, most Japanese generals were not too worried.

Chief of Staff Yukio Kasahara calmly analyzed, "Commander, even if we have one tank, it won't change the fact that they are surrounded. One tank can't cause any big trouble."

Tada Shunya didn't pay much attention and casually asked, "How is the defense arrangement at the Fangxian Pass?"

The brigade commander in charge of the area's defense immediately stood up, head held high, and replied, "Reporting, Commander! I have dispatched the Morita Battalion from the 7th Independent Mixed Brigade to deploy there!"

"The battalion is fully equipped and manned, and to counter potential armored targets, it has been specially reinforced with three Type 94 37mm rapid-fire anti-tank guns!"

"Three anti-tank guns?"

Upon hearing this arrangement, the generals in the conference room nodded in agreement, completely relieved.

"Yosh! With three anti-tank guns, the Morita Battalion is more than capable of dealing with any known Chinese tank!"

"Don't even mention one; even if several more came, they'd just be throwing their lives away!"

"It looks like we'll be receiving good news soon!"

The atmosphere relaxed again, and the conversation even turned to the large-scale "sweeping" operation planned for the Jin-Cha-Ji Border Region.

They discussed how to thoroughly "teach" the Eighth Route Army a lesson in retaliation for their recent frequent raids.

In their view, catching those few "small fry" was only a matter of time.

One or two tanks were not enough to bring together the high command of the North China Army for a major meeting.

The main focus of this meeting was how to retaliate against the Eighth Route Army!

Simply catching a few small carrion is clearly not enough to wash away the shame of "making a scene in Beiping" or to vent one's anger.

Only by inflicting a brutal reprisal on the Eighth Route Army can we vent our anger and deter all resistance forces.

"Gentlemen,"

Tada Shun spoke first, setting the tone.

"The Beiping Incident, though a minor incident, damaged the prestige of the Imperial Army! In particular, it made those Eighth Route Army guerrillas hiding in the mountains laugh at us!"

"If we don't use swift and decisive measures, how can we demonstrate the might of the imperial army?"

"Every inch of North China must tremble under the wrath of the Imperial Army!"

Chief of Staff Yukio Kasahara immediately chimed in: "What the Commander says is absolutely right! The Eighth Route Army has become increasingly rampant lately, sabotaging transportation routes, attacking strongholds, and even daring to launch regimental-level offensives against county towns!"

"A thorough and devastating 'purge' must be carried out to break their backbone!"

The "purge operation" mentioned by Yukio Kasahara is the infamous "Great Sweep".

A violent division commander slammed his fist on the table, grinning maliciously, "It should have been done a long time ago! My suggestion for this 'purge' is 'Three Alls'—kill all, burn all, loot all!"

"Any man between the ages of fifteen and sixty found in any area where the Eighth Route Army is active shall be killed without exception!"

"All villages must be burned down! All grain and livestock must be destroyed!!"

Another Japanese soldier with the rank of major general added, "Killing isn't enough!"

"A special task force should be formed, disguised as Eighth Route Army soldiers or civilians, to infiltrate the core areas of their base areas and carry out assassinations, poisoning, and spreading rumors to sow discord between them and the people."

"We must let those peasants know that helping the Eighth Route Army means the death of their entire village!"

"And there's the economic blockade!"

"Strictly control the flow of all supplies, including salt, iron, and medicine, into the mountainous areas!"

"We want the entire North China region to tremble at the mere mention of the Imperial Army's name!"

"The goal of this sweep is not only to eliminate the Eighth Route Army's fighting force, but also to completely destroy their foundation for survival!"

"Let this land never again inspire the courage to resist within the next ten years!"

"besides……"

One vicious suggestion after another came from the mouths of beasts.

Tada Shun nodded in agreement.

His long-standing "cage policy" is slowly transforming into a "scorched earth policy".

Just as the discussion among the beasts was getting increasingly heated—

Another communications officer stumbled in, clutching a telegram in his hand, his face filled with disbelief.

"Die... die your mother's ass!"

"Reporting to the Commander! Urgent battle report! The Morita Battalion of the 7th Independent Mixed Brigade... encountered an enemy tank attack at Fangxian Pass... the battalion... the battalion has been routed!"

"The jade shattered...more than six hundred people shattered!"

"What?!"

"What did you say?"

"That's impossible!"

The entire conference room erupted in chaos!

All the generals stood up abruptly, unable to believe their ears.

A Japanese colonel near the door grabbed the reporting staff officer by the collar and slapped him twice without saying a word.

Snapped!Snapped!

"Baka! You lied about military intelligence, you deserve to die!"

The staff officer who was reporting was so badly beaten that he saw stars, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

"Yes...yes! What I'm saying is true! It's a battle report just delivered by the 7th Brigade, absolutely certain!"

Now, the Japanese soldiers in the headquarters were completely uneasy!

A fully equipped brigade, with a strength of over 1,100 people, and more than 600 people were killed in a single operation?

Are you kidding me?

What's the difference between this and completely destroying the organization?

On the North China battlefield, it was virtually impossible to annihilate an entire Imperial Army battalion!

It often requires paying several times or even ten times the price, and using the main force in a fierce battle, before there is even a slight chance of success!

Could it be a large-scale enemy mobilization?

Tada Shun's face was filled with surprise and uncertainty as he glared at the communications officer and asked:

"How many troops and tanks has the enemy deployed?"

The staff officer trembled with fear and stammered, "According to...according to the telegram sent back by the remnants of Morita's battalion...the enemy...the enemy only has...one tank..."

"One...one car?"

The meeting room fell into a deathly silence!

You could hear a pin drop!

One tank wiped out a battalion equipped with anti-tank weapons?

This is simply a fantasy!

Suppressing his raging anger, Tada Toshiaki growled, "What about those three anti-tank guns? Are they just for show?"

The staff officer, sweating profusely, forced himself to read the entire telegram: "Lieutenant Colonel Morita reports... Our anti-tank guns hit multiple enemy tanks... but... but none of them penetrated their armor..."

"Lieutenant Colonel Morita decisively ordered a retreat..."

"Baka yarou!!!"

Tada Shun finally snapped, especially when he heard Morita order a retreat.

"Useless! Morita, that idiot! He should commit seppuku and apologize to His Majesty the Emperor!!"

A battalion equipped with heavy anti-tank firepower was somehow breached by a single tank!

No matter how strong the tank's protective capabilities were, Battalion Commander Morita... deserved to die!

Those were a full thousand elite warriors of the empire!

Even if you use sheer numbers, you can overwhelm the enemy!

That idiot actually ordered a retreat?

Wouldn't that give the enemy the opportunity to defeat them one by one?

Tada Shun felt like he was about to explode with anger!

First it was Abe Sho, then Morita, they're all useless good-for-nothings!

But after the rage came a chilling cold.

Even 37mm anti-tank guns are ineffective?

That means the 47mm main gun of the Type 97 medium tank currently in service with the Imperial Army is likely also ineffective!

As the commander of the army group, Tada Shun quickly calmed down from his rage.

"Order! 1st Tank Brigade, deploy immediately! Assign Type 95 heavy tanks!"

"At the same time, all troops around Fang County are ordered to set up obstacles at all costs to slow down enemy movements and buy time for the Type 95 heavy tank units to arrive!"

Type 95 heavy tank?

The high-ranking Japanese officers in the headquarters gasped in shock!

That was the Japanese army's ace tank, their most prized possession!

The Japanese main battle tank is currently the Type 97 medium tank, with a main gun caliber of 47 mm.

Although it is larger than the caliber of a 37mm anti-tank gun, the difference is still limited.

In addition, the Japanese also equipped themselves with Type 95 light tanks and Type 94 ultralight tanks.

The Type 95 light tank has a main gun with a caliber of only 37 mm, while the Type 94 ultralight tank is even worse, as it doesn't even have a main gun and is only equipped with a machine gun.

The Japanese tank with the largest main gun caliber at present is the Type 95 heavy tank.

The main gun has a caliber of 70 millimeters!

This time, Tada Shun went all out and directly deployed the Type 95 heavy tanks.

"I don't believe there's any armor that a 70mm main gun can't penetrate!"