“…… The 17th Division has a glorious history, having galloped through the Siberian snowfields and defeated the German army in Qingdao. Commander Sawada www.biquge.info ordered me to inspect the 17th Division first, and welcomed the inclusion of the 17th Division in the sequence of the 13th Army. I think that with a brave and good division like you, a more brilliant victory will not be far off, and it will definitely go down in the history of the locust army in the future......"

The 17th Division was formed in Himeji City in November 1907 and participated in the attack on German territory in China and the dispatch of troops to Siberia during World War I.

However, the 17th Division was not the elite of the Japanese army, and in 1925, the 17th Division became one of the four divisions that were disbanded by the Japanese government due to military spending. It was not until April 1938 that it was reorganized and became part of the Chinese Dispatch Army to participate in the Battle of Wuhan.

And Sakurai was obviously applying grease and powder to the face of the 17th Division, and by the way, it also boosted the morale of the army. When the officers of the 17th Division heard this praise, they all felt hot and comfortable.

"In order to accomplish the mission of the Holy War, it is necessary to carry forward the spirit of the heroic and good fighting of the Locust Army, destroy the New Seventh Army, occupy Yongcheng in one fell swoop, establish meritorious deeds for the dispatch army, repay the grace of His Majesty the Emperor, and proclaim the ......national prestige of the Japanese Empire."

Sakurai's voice grew louder and more passionate, and his arms were constantly waving in the air to strengthen his tone and momentum. His voice spread in all directions, slamming back against the walls and echoing through the room.

The Japanese officers present did not blink their eyes or ears, and listened to Sakurai's arrogant clamor like a wooden stake.

Miyamoto sat upright, but the afterglow of his eyes swept the officers around him. Seeing that they were listening intently, there was no expression on their faces, and they didn't know what they were thinking.

"Ignore the enemy, be arrogant." Miyamoto made his own judgment, he didn't think that he could easily defeat the New Seventh Army and occupy the Yongcheng base area. This Sakurai Provincial Third obviously does not have a thorough understanding of the New Seventh Army and Yang Tianfeng. But he didn't say anything, waiting to hear Sakurai Shozo preach the battle plan.

Sakurai finally put an end to the encouragement and clamour, took the folder, and deployed the sweep plan that will begin on October 25.

The winter sweep will be the main force of the 17th Division, and its subordinate 53rd and 54th Infantry Wings, 23rd Field Artillery Wing, and 17th Engineer Wing will be dispatched. At the same time, the 13th Army will be transferred to the 12th Brigade and the 13th Brigade and some garrisons in Suxian and Xiao counties to participate in the sweep.

Miyamoto frowned slightly, feeling that the number of troops seemed to be a lot, but it was not a great advantage when calculated.

Do you think that the 17th Division will transfer two infantry wings, one field artillery and one engineer wing, so what about the areas and railway lines where these troops were originally stationed, can't they just be left there? In other words, one of the two independent mixed brigades should be of a changing nature, which will not only reduce the force of the original garrison area, but also reduce the force of direct sweeping.

Miyamoto simply calculated that Xiao County could dispatch two brigades, and Su County was one, that is, three thousand people. Together with the main force of the division and regiment, an independent mixed brigade, a total of more than 20,000 people. However, the sweeping plan of the Sakurai Provincial Three Deployment Department is still two ways to attack the Yongcheng base area.

I'm afraid not! Miyamoto grinned secretly, feeling a little lacking in confidence.

With the strength of the New Seventh Army alone, even if the more than 20,000 locust army cannot be defeated, there will be no danger. But will the New Seventh Army fight alone? Wouldn't the national X army in western Henan be reinforced? Not to mention anything else, the 1st Cavalry Division, the 14th Cavalry Brigade, which have a very good relationship with the New Seventh Army, and Sun Tongxuan's Third Group Army, will not sit idly by. Maybe there will be Liao Lei's 21st Group Army, and the Jiluyu and Suluyu detachments of the Eighth Route Army may also help in the war, right?

Miyamoto, who has studied Yang Tianfeng and the New Seventh Army very deeply, knows how good Yang Tianfeng's popularity is. Although he didn't know the core secrets of the base area, he knew that Yang Tianfeng had received a lot of friendly help in previous battles.

In Miyamoto's view, if you want to defeat the New Seventh Army and occupy the Yongcheng base area, you must not be in a hurry, you must patiently plan and prepare, and strive for a decisive battle. The most certain method of warfare is not this one-line sweeping attack, but a siege, and the total strength should be more than 60,000.

With a strength close to one division, that is, about 20,000 people, not only did the New Seventh Army not be able to break through one by one, but it could also carry out tactical actions such as roundabout copying with 10,000 people. The Three-Way Army pressed slowly but firmly from the north and east, forcing the New Seventh Army to engage in frontal combat, and the victory of the Locust Army was not far off.

And the sweeping plan that has been formulated now is very different from Miyamoto's expectations and assumptions. He believed that it would be very difficult to completely destroy the Yongcheng base area and eliminate the New Seventh Army. The ideal result may be that the New Seventh Army will suffer considerable losses and lose some territory.

After the deployment of the three basic forces of Sakurai Province, he began to talk about the essentials of the battle, and from his mouth he viciously said the words "destroy, kill all".

Alas, the chief of staff of the First Army, the insight is nothing more than that. The corners of Miyamoto's mouth moved slightly, and contempt developed in his heart.

In Miyamoto's research results, changing the policy towards captives was also one of them. The Japanese army indiscriminately killed prisoners, and even killed prisoners in front of the battle, in order to deter the enemy. But this kind of deterrence did not play a role, especially when it was used by Yang Tianfeng in reverse. The officers and men of the New Seventh Army all know one truth, retreating from the battlefield will be subject to battlefield discipline, and being captured by devils will not be spared, so there is only one way to fight stubbornly and resist desperately.

Apparently, Miyamoto believed that by continuing to kill the captives, he was actually strengthening the enemy's resistance. In the same way, he believes that the burning, killing, and plundering of the common people in China has had the opposite effect and needs to be changed.

It's not that Miyamoto likes the Chinese, but rather that he hates the Chinese people, especially those who help the anti-Japanese armed forces. However, he believed that hatred and killing did not have much effect, and the key was to make them not help the enemy, but to submit to the locust army, coexist peacefully with the locust army, and then help the locust army, so as to achieve the goal of conquering China......

Hmph, atrocities can cause the consequences of the cycle. Not only did it cause a strong reaction in the international community and damage the reputation of the locusts, but it was also used by the anti-Japanese forces to incite more resistance forces. Don't you even understand this?

Miyamoto listened to Sakurai's fierce orders and arrogant shouts, and looked down on the chief of staff of the army more and more. He couldn't help but sigh secretly, Anhui and Su assigned to the Thirteenth Army, and the powerful arm of the North China Army to help Songdao would not play a role, could he continue to implement his strategy and implement his ideas?

"At the end of the meeting, the preparatory stage for the general operation began, with Xiao County and Su County as the center, to carry out a clear attack on the periphery of the enemy's base area, and strive to occupy a more favorable forward base......," Sakurai mentioned Xiao County, and Miyamoto's spirit was immediately concentrated.

"The Longhai Railway should be restored at an accelerated pace and become a strong and indestructible iron chain, firmly wrapped around the enemy's neck. Judging from the statistics of the past month or so, the progress of the construction of the railway in Xiao County, which is close to the enemy area, is too slow, and the military headquarters will transfer engineering troops to assist the local garrison. Sakurai didn't know Miyamoto, nor did he know who the head of the garrison in Xiao County was, but this criticism made Miyamoto unhappy.

I don't understand the situation, and I only rely on the data on paper to make such a judgment. Miyamoto was unconvinced, and wanted to open his mouth to plead, but he still kept his mouth shut.

………….. (To be continued.) )