It was learned that the troops of the 5th theater of operations had besieged the 16th Division in the town. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 infoThe command of the Japanese Second Army, which is also concerned about the situation on the battlefield, is also full of worries about the next battle.

In contrast, the various units of the Central Army that participated in the Battle of Wuhan were very excited about the news. If the Fifth Theater can really completely annihilate the 16th Division, it will also play a very big role in the defense of Wuhan.

Even Okamura Ninji, who was tasked with the main attack on Wuhan, was shocked when he learned that the Second Army's offensive had been frustrated and that it had lost nearly two divisions of troops. After all, such losses are too great.

As a 'Huaxia expert' in the Japanese army, Okamura Ninji has many years of understanding of Huaxia. In his opinion, the occurrence of such a thing in the Second Army this time is obviously a bit of a break from the convention, and it will even affect the situation of the entire Wuhan battle.

Although the main force attacking Wuhan was the Japanese Eleventh Army under his command, the troops under his command also reached five and a half divisions. But the troops he needs to attack are also the elite main forces of the Central Army.

Originally, in Okamura's view, the Second Army acted as a flank attack, and it was possible to break the dense blocking line of the Central Army. And at present, let alone attacking, whether the Second Army can keep the troops before the Second Army goes to war is a matter worth worrying about.

After asking the intelligence officer to collect the recent intelligence about the Second Army, Okamura Ningji said with a somewhat solemn expression: "It seems that we really underestimated the strength of the Eighth Route Army, and they now have the strength to participate in the Battle of Wuhan."

We have collected too little information about this He Zhengdao. This man is very dangerous! It seems that it is necessary for us to let the Empire's intelligence services focus on collecting information about this person, and we must find a way to eliminate him. ”

As a Japanese general who entered China to collect intelligence in his early years, Okamura Ninji didn't know much about the Eighth Route Army. In fact, in the early years of warlord warfare, the Red Army has been ignored by many.

Compared with the earlier Northeast Army, Northwest Army, Jin Sui Army, Gui Army, and Hunan Army, which only operated in southern Jiangxi and other places, and even endured the encirclement and suppression of the Central Army one after another, the Japanese army did not invest too many intelligence resources.

In the eyes of the Japanese army, a unit that could be wiped out by the Central Army at any time has now become the pillar of the anti-Japanese resistance in the north, and this change has indeed surprised the Japanese intelligence forces.

But what surprised the Japanese army the most was the Eighth Route Army that appeared on the battlefield of resistance against Japan, and it seemed to know the Japanese army's combat style very well. Many times, the combat deployment of the Eighth Route Army made the Japanese army fight very awkwardly.

This situation shows that before the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, the Eighth Route Army had analyzed and targeted training for the Japanese army. Although this speculation is somewhat incredible. But the facts seem to have proven this speculation.

When the Red Army carried out the Long March, the slogan shouted was 'go north to resist Japan', and the Japanese army that had already invaded the northeast at that time thought that this was just a slogan shouted by the Red Army for political propaganda, and they did not have the strength to pose a threat to the Japanese army.

What the Japanese army was really worried about at that time was that the Red Army might continue to advance north and operate in areas bordering the Republic of China and the Soviet Union. It was precisely because of this speculation that the Japanese focused their attention on preventing the Red Army from cooperating with the Soviet Union.

It's just that no one would have thought that the Red Army, which arrived in northern Shaanxi, would have the right to control a province after the outbreak of resistance against Japan. In addition, they have successively expanded the scale of their base areas in Gansu and Shanxi.

What the Japanese army never expected was that the Suiyuan area, which they regarded as their own reserve, would be captured by He Zhengdao in one fell swoop. As a result, they were unable to block the Eighth Route Army's passage through Mongolia and communication with the Soviet Union.

There are too many surprises that will lead to today's Eighth Route Army, which not only surprised the Central Army, but also surprised the Japanese army. The potential for this force to explode in the face of adversity is beyond many people's imagination.

But what is really unexpected is the appearance of the independent column and He Zhengdao. This unit, which was established during the Long March, continued to grow and develop, winning almost every battle, and greatly boosting the morale of the Red Army.

As Okamura Ningji, who is familiar with the situation in China, He Zhengdao, the 'red general' who was gradually known to the soldiers and civilians of the Chinese War of Resistance in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, is indeed a dangerous person that they must solve.

Young, mysterious, with a superb level of operational command, and an important military and political cadre of the Eighth Route Army, such a young man means that he will have more infinite potential in the future. If it is not resolved as soon as possible, it may become a major threat to the Japanese army.

No matter how much the Japanese army paid more attention to themselves and their vigilance, He Zhengdao, who had completed the combat mission, also had a rare two-hour rest. As a soldier, he was used to falling asleep to the sound of gunfire.

Compared with He Zhengdao and the reconnaissance troops who had been fighting for a long time, they began to enter hidden points and tunnels to rest one after another. The Japanese soldiers who stayed in the town to rest found that they were unsighted tonight.

The reason is simple: every half an hour at the nearest southern position, nine life-threatening shells are fired. And this shell is often unruly to be found. One shot in the east and one shot in the west, which made the Japanese army miserable.

Even if the headquarters of General Keisuke Fujie's division was set up in an anti-artillery tunnel dug out of the town, there was no need to worry too much about the threat posed by mountain artillery shells. But other troops in the town naturally can't enjoy this kind of treatment.

Barracks, warehouses, artillery positions, and even forward blocking positions were all shelled by the mountain artillery units of the Eighth Route Army without exception. Nine shells at a time, no more than one and no less, and then the shelling stopped.

By the time the Japanese artillery unit counterattacked, the next moment of shelling would start on time half an hour later. But the position of these three guns is different from the position where they counterattacked before.

This meant that the Japanese army needed to recalculate the position of the three mountain guns, and they needed to readjust their shelling parameters before counterattacking. Often, they were all ready, and the short shelling ended early.

This kind of artillery attack and disturbance warfare made Fujie Keisuke also miserable and said: "Yaga! Damn, what's going on with our artillery units? After so many rounds of shelling, why haven't you destroyed the enemy's artillery positions yet? ”

In response to this kind of roar, the chief of staff also said with a bitter and helpless face: "Your Excellency the division commander, the mountain artillery unit of the Eighth Route Army should be divided into several squads. At a time, they used only three artillery pieces and shelled us.

Each artillery fired only three shells per shell, which meant that the time for their shelling did not reach even a minute. And our artillery units, to deduce their position, will take longer than this.

Thinking about this tactic, it should be an extension of infantry attack tactics. They hoped that through this artillery tactic, they would achieve the goal of exhausting our troops. Now it seems that our opponent is really cunning and difficult to entangle! ”

If they hadn't been seized by the Eighth Route Army before, they would not have been an effective threat to them with the range of mountain artillery. But the Eighth Route Army, which had already seized the position to the south, could completely shoot mountain artillery shells into the town.

This kind of artillery attack tactic is indeed a bit incomprehensible. If it were daytime, they might be able to find the artillery positions in a short time and destroy them if they had the air force to cooperate with them.

But the problem is that it is night, and they can only calculate the position of the Eighth Route Army by calculating the trajectory. To calculate the position, but also to adjust the range and angle of the gun, naturally it takes a little time.

And this time difference was also enough to make the mountain artillery units that had finished firing the shells drag the mountain artillery to another artillery position. This kind of artillery guerrilla tactic, used at night, naturally made the little devils miserable.

Many soldiers who originally planned to plug their ears to rest, faced with the sound of the explosion of mountain shells, it was useless to block their ears. The worst thing is that these shells don't know where they will land next time.

Irregular shelling, although the results obtained were not too ideal. But the blow to the morale of the Japanese army was undoubtedly huge. The officers and men of the 51st Army and the 77th Army, who also saw this scene, felt that this kind of shelling was too relieving.

Even seeing the southern position, the artillery battle between the Japanese army and the Eighth Route Army, and the forward alert officers and soldiers of the 51st Army and the 77th Army, they were also very envious: "Who dares to tell Lao Tzu that the Eighth Route Army is poor in the future, Lao Tzu can't kill him!" ”

In the eyes of these officers and soldiers, even their troops could not do such a thing. For the 77th Army, although there were some mountain artillery, the number of mountain artillery shells was also very small, basically one shot less than one shot.

At this moment, the mountain artillery unit of the Eighth Route Army, from late night to dawn, almost did not interrupt the artillery operation against the Japanese army. Even Song Xilian, who woke up in the morning, was still a little surprised when he heard the sound of cannons coming from the town.

asked: "Is the Eighth Route Army still engaged in artillery battles with the little devils?" ”

The staff officer on duty smiled and said, "Yes, military seat!" Last night, the artillery battle between them and the little devils has not stopped. Every half hour, the Eighth Route Army will carry out an artillery bombardment, and the little devils will also carry out a counterattack.

It's just a little surprising that the artillery unit of the Eighth Route Army doesn't seem to have suffered any blows. Their artillery unit, from the first round of shelling last night to the present, has carried out a full nine rounds of shelling, and the counterattack of the little devils is the same. ”

'So did the little devil fight back last night?' ’

'Report to the military seat, I haven't heard this for the time being. Although the 51st Army and the 77th Army did not interrupt their attacks on the little devils last night, judging from the gunfire and firepower, their attacks were more of a harassment and did not launch a large-scale attack.

In the same way, the little devil has always been on the defensive, and did not easily send troops to carry out defensive counterattacks. Although we didn't have a good night's rest last night, I guess the little devils in the town must have not slept all night! ’

Listening to the report of the staff officer on duty, although Song Xilian felt that this tactic was somewhat of a scoundrel. But he also knew that if the Japanese could not get enough rest, it would still be of great help to their attack today.

This also means that he seems to owe a lot of favors to the Eighth Route Army! (To be continued.) )