Chapter 27: Smoke Rises (3)
Today's three watches, the first one!
************
At the foot of the Ridge, in the headquarters of the 41st Division of the Japanese Army.
Sakai, the commander of the division, stood in front of the map, holding a magnifying glass and carefully observing the map, and beside him, the two brigade commanders stood with their hands down, respectfully waiting for him to give an order.
The commander of the Sakai Division looked very carefully, especially about the terrain around Meiling Town, and his gaze stayed for a long time.
It took more than ten minutes for the head of the Sakai division to raise his head and let out a long breath, "Panasonic, Nagashima, what do you think about this operation?" ”
The two brigade commanders hurriedly straightened their bodies and said respectfully, "Division commander, we think that the Chinese army in Meiling Town opposite is completely vulnerable, so we don't need to be so cautious. ”
The commander of the Sakai Division did not speak, but listened quietly, and after the two of them finished speaking, he smiled and said, "According to intelligence reconnaissance, there is a regiment of the First Infantry Division of the Yanhuang Legion stationed in Meiling Town opposite, with a strength of about 1,500 people, and the weapons and equipment are quite sophisticated, so do you think that with the strength of two brigades, you can completely take Meiling Town?" ”
"Yes, General!" The commander of the Matsushita Daping Yong Brigade opened his mouth first, and he said, "According to the latest information, although there is a division of troops nominally stationed in Meiling Town on the opposite side, two of the regiments have already started last night and returned to the vicinity of Fengtian City to strengthen the defense of their administrative center, and there is only one regiment left, plus some local villagers are armed, such a few people, I believe that they will not be able to resist the attack of our division." ”
"That's right, division commander, our division is equipped with the latest 105-caliber mountain artillery and large-caliber field artillery, in addition to twelve heavy combat vehicles from the tank detachment to support, I believe that Meiling Town is just around the corner." Nagashima Guzo also opened his mouth, and it could be seen that he was still quite confident in the strength of his side, "With the strength of our Kwantung Army, even if the Chinese army has one or two divisions, it can be easily defeated." ”
No wonder they are so confident, the previous Chinese armies, there is indeed a huge difference in combat effectiveness, one Japanese soldier's combat effectiveness is equivalent to four or five Chinese soldiers, plus there is also a gap in weapons and equipment, resulting in a brigade defeating one or two divisions.
With two brigades, plus a tank detachment and an artillery wing, the two senior commanders of the devil were very confident that they could easily take Meiling Town.
The commander of the Sakai division listened quietly and did not interject until they finished speaking, and then said, "There is a saying in China that you know yourself and know your opponent, and you will not be defeated in a hundred battles, and now the whereabouts of two regiments of the Chinese army on the opposite side are unknown, and until we figure out their exact location, the division cannot rush to attack for the time being." ”
"Division commander, even if there is an ambush in the Chinese army, we are not afraid with our strength." Hearing that the attack was not allowed for the time being, the two brigade commanders were a little anxious, and they took a step forward together, "If it goes on like this, the opponent's strength will increase step by step." ”
Although the commander of the Sakai division looked very easy-going, he was very determined, he waved his hand at the two people, and said resolutely, "This matter has been decided, after determining the specific location of the two regiments on the other side, the division will temporarily prepare for battle." ”
The two brigade commanders had no choice but to exit the house.
Coming to the outside of the tent, Matsushita Ohira Yong grabbed Nagashima Guzo, "Nagashima-kun, the general's decision is like this, and the fighter will definitely be delayed." ”
"Yes, what a good fighter this is, if you catch it, you can break through the defense line of the Chinese army, and then wave your division to the north, and go straight to the bandit nest of the Yanhuang Legion Fengtian, and then it will be the end of the Yanhuang Legion."
According to the intelligence of the Japanese, the total strength of the Yanhuang Army is only two divisions, in addition to some local troops, and these two regular divisions have also been scattered and distributed within a radius of 100 miles around Fengtian.
Therefore, many Japanese generals felt that they should concentrate their superior forces and attack Mukden in one fell swoop, and the Yanhuang Army, which had lost its base at that time, would be a lost dog and would not be able to support it for long.
The two originally planned to ask the division commander to immediately send troops to storm Meiling Town, so as to open the door to Fengtian. In this way, when the time comes, the large army can be killed under the city of Fengtian in one go.
But I didn't expect the division commander Sakai to be so cautious, preferring to be slow rather than risky, and as a result, he missed this opportunity in vain.
The two brigade commanders were walking around outside the division headquarters, like wolves in heat at two or three o'clock in the afternoon, and they almost ran to the side to scratch the wall.
While the two of them were fidgeting, the sound of a car's motor sounded outside the camp, and the car stopped at the gate of the camp.
The two of them looked intently and found that it turned out to be an armored truck, which seemed to have arrived from the Kwantung Army headquarters.
Since the Port Arthur incident, the commander of the Kwantung Army has long been unable to stay in Arthur, and has now moved to Chengde in Rehe Province.
A commander was captured, which was absolutely a shame for the Japanese Kwantung Army, for this reason, several brigades were sent to the rescue, but not only did they not save them, but they fell into Luo Xiao's trap, lost their troops, and the three independent mixed brigades suffered heavy casualties, and finally only one-third fled back to the Goryeo Peninsula.
Because of the failure of the rescue, Honjo Shigeru is now in a secret base of the Yanhuang Army, carrying out labor reform, hoeing weeds, catching insects, fetching water, and plowing the land every day, as if he has become an out-and-out farmer.
Seeing that the person who came was from the Japanese Kwantung Army Headquarters, the two brigade commanders hurriedly greeted them, and they estimated that they must have something to do with the combat order.
The door of the armored truck opened, and a Japanese officer wearing a Nakasa collar badge walked down, then looked at the two brigade commanders and said, "May I ask you, is the commander of the Sakai division inside?" ”
The two of them hurriedly let him go inside, and said, "Here, the division commander is studying combat inside." ”
"Oh, Sakai shogun is very hard!" The visitor couldn't help but sigh in admiration and walked towards the room of the war room.
At this time, the commander of the Sakai Division had also received a notification from the herald that he knew that it was someone from the Kwantung Army Headquarters, so he put down his magnifying glass and arrived at the door of the house.
As soon as the two of them met, the visitor saluted the commander of the Sakai Division and said, "The commander of the Sakai Division, I have come to convey his latest instructions on the orders of the commander. ”
When the commander of the Sakai Division heard this, he hurriedly leaned to the side and gave way to the inside, "Then please come into the war room, there are many people here, and it is difficult to talk." ”
The visitor nodded, and then walked towards the house!
…………