Even though it was late at night, Sugiyama Yuan, the commander of the North China Front Army, who had just rested, was still woken up by Chief of Staff Yamashita Fengwen. The reason is very simple, the farewell telegram of the independent mixed into the 3rd Brigade makes the situation very serious.

As the chief of staff of the North China Front, Yamashita really didn't know what to say. Every time the situation just went up, there was a little hope, and before they could be happy for two days, things would become a mess or even out of control.

Originally, he and Sugiyama were looking forward to the convergence of the 3rd Brigade and the 12th Division tomorrow, but this expectation became a nightmare moment that made them unable to sleep peacefully with the farewell message sent by the 3rd Brigade tonight.

Sugiyama Moto, who was woken up overnight, also seemed to know that something big must be there. Otherwise, Yamashita Fengwen, who was the chief of staff, would not dare to wake him up at this time. After all, as the chief of staff, there are some things that Yamashita Fufumi can handle.

Without waiting for him to ask, Sugiyama Moto, who had just walked out of the room, heard Yamashita Fengwen say a little anxiously: "General, something happened!" I just received a farewell message from the 3rd Brigade, and they were routed by the Eighth Route Army! ”

'What about that?' How is this possible? In the afternoon, didn't the 3rd Brigade say that it was not far from the 12th Division? ’

'Yes! According to our last telegram in the afternoon, they had already settled in Sanchakou Township, not far from Zhuozi. It's just that no one thought that the Eighth Route Army would launch a large-scale sneak attack on them at night.

The most alarming thing is that in the battle of the night attack on the Third Brigade, the Eighth Route Army used a batch of heavy artillery, as well as a number of tanks and armored vehicles. The defensive positions of the 3rd Brigade were broken through by the enemy's tanks and armored vehicles. ’

Listening to Yamashita Fengwen's report, Sugiyama Yuan, who had taken the telegram and carefully browsed it, was silent for a while before saying, "It's the Eighth Route Army again!" It's really unbelievable that they used our equipment to form a tank armored unit.

It seems that the importance of the Eighth Route Army is necessary to be upgraded by one level, and they will be listed as a level with the Central Army of the Nationalist Government. The combat mode of this unit also deserves our great attention. The Eighth Route Army must be resolutely eliminated! ”

Perhaps because there were too many times to make the Eighth Route Army angry, in the face of the news that the Third Brigade was defeated by the Eighth Route Army, Sugiyama Moto's mentality was still calm. The reason is simple, he already knew that he was about to step down from the post of commander of the Front.

It can be said that the next matters concerning the North China Front will be left to the next commander. This also means that the Eighth Route Army, which made him lose face as commander of North China, will be left with a headache for others.

However, Sugiyama still felt that it was necessary for him to ask the Imperial War Department to pay attention to this anti-Japanese force that they regarded as the 'Dirt Eight Road'. Most importantly, the rapid development of this force is inevitably inseparable from the support of the Soviet Union.

The tank brigade of the 12th Division was heavily damaged the previous time, and in Sugiyama's view, those weapons must have been supported by the Soviet side. The Eighth Route Army, which has now controlled Suiyuan, has undoubtedly opened up a land route with the Soviet Union.

Listening to Sugiyama Moto's words, Yamashita Fengwen also nodded in agreement: "General, what should be done about this matter?" ”

'What to do?' To use a Chinese saying, we are now far away from the water and cannot save the near fire. Whether it is the 3rd Brigade or the 12th Division that is still trapped in Zhuozi, we are no longer able to rescue.

What we need to do now is to do our utmost to ensure stability in all parts of North China. The recent security situation in North China has seriously affected the supply of resources to the empire. After Tada Jun takes office, let him solve these troubles!

Now that the Imperial front is stretching too long, the Admiralty guys have blocked the Cabinet's request for military spending on us. If we want to stabilize the situation in North China, we must first solve the threat of the Eighth Route Army. If this army is not resolved, there will be no peace in North China! ’

Perhaps it is clear that with the existing strength of the North China Front Army, it is no longer able to prevent the Eighth Route Army from completely annihilating the 12th Division trapped in Zhuozi. What Sugiyama wants to think about now is to let the next commander pay attention to the Eighth Route Army.

At least in Sugiyama's view, it was an obvious mistake for the Army Headquarters to attach too much importance to the Southern Theater of Operations, bent on eliminating the so-called Chinese regular army, while ignoring the rapidly rising Eighth Route Army.

When the Battle of Xuzhou is over, the divisions of the North China Front Army that participated in the Battle of Xuzhou will also be rebuilt one after another. At that time, Sugiyama Mototo believed that the Eighth Route Army, which always liked to sneak attack from behind, would have a hard time winning on the frontal battlefield.

In addition, the newly formed division regiment recruited from Korea and Taiwan will also arrive in North China with the new commander. This means that in the future, the scale of the garrisons of the North China Front in various parts of the army will be further strengthened.

As the saying goes, 'once a son of heaven is a courtier', now that the army headquarters has decided to revoke his appointment as commander. This means that the new commander will take over the mess of the North China Front.

Seeing Sugiyama Moto, who was a little indifferent, Yamashita Fengfumi, as the chief of staff, also didn't know what to say. After all, if Sugiyama Motomo steps down as commander, he, the chief of staff, will also face the situation of being transferred from his current position.

This means that in addition to Tada Jun, the new commander, the future North China Front Army will also have a new chief of staff of the Front Army. Even if Yamashita Fengwen felt unwilling to be transferred like this, he knew that he was not up to him.

What's more, the North China Front is indeed a mess in the eyes of many war ministers. Compared with the achievements of the Central China Front, the North China Front has indeed not made too many achievements since the Battle of Songhu.

The most important thing is the loss of troops of the North China Front, which is too much for the army headquarters to bear. In addition, the occupied areas that were fought down were recovered by the Eighth Route Army one after another, and the little devils were even more distressed.

Sugiyama Yuan, who was woken up, didn't seem to be in the mood to study any countermeasures, so he said directly: "Send a telegram to the head of the mountain village division to inform me of this matter." In addition, he sent a telegram to Li Shouxin and asked him to dispatch troops to meet him near Xinmin.

If the 12th Division is unable to reach the Mengdong region safely, then there is nothing we can do. If it is for the sake of the 12th Division, and then increase our garrison, I am afraid that the situation in North China will really become difficult to control.

However, in the reply call, I can inform the commander of the mountain village division that I will order the North China Army Aviation Unit to fully cooperate with their breakthrough operation. Whether they need ammunition or air fire support, I will give it my full support.

In addition, in order to ensure the stability of the situation in North China, the front army really could not afford to send infantry to the rescue. The destruction of the 3rd Brigade of the Independent Mixed Brigade has once again deprived us of an elite infantry brigade. ”

Even if Sugiyama didn't want to see the 12th Division completely annihilated, he valued the latter more than the stability of North China. After all, a Japanese division is undoubtedly more worthy of attention than the area controlled by a front army.

The 12th Division, which was in an emergency meeting, looked at the telegram sent by the North China Front, and the commander of the wing couldn't help but say: "Baga! Does this telegram mean to give us up? We're here to help! ”

For the troops of the 12th Division, they could have stayed well in Manchuria. But this time, at the invitation of Sugiyama Moto, the former division commander, he went south to help the North China Front Army encircle and suppress the Eighth Route Army, which was also highly valued.

But who would have thought that after the 12th Division entered Zhuozi, it would encounter this situation. Not to mention the total annihilation of an infantry brigade, the remaining main force of the division and regiment has basically been lost.

Under these circumstances, the North China Front directly stated that it was no longer able to send infantry to rescue them, which really made some officers of the 12th Division find it difficult to accept. They felt as if they had been abandoned.

Only Seitaro Yamamura looked at this telegram, and felt a little uncomfortable in his heart. But he said very calmly: "Gentlemen! In the next breakout battle, we can only rely on ourselves.

If I were General Sugiyama instead, I would have made such a decision. Compared with the stability of North China, the safety of our division is indeed nothing. In order to rescue us, the North China Front has already paid a heavy price.

At the end of this meeting, I would like to ask you to inform our warriors. If we want to break through, we must have an attitude of fighting to the death. Even if we may face it, it will be surrounded by the Eighth Route Army.

But I hope that the division, from me to ordinary soldiers, will be able to fight their way out of the encirclement with fearless courage and invincible determination. As long as one person succeeds in breaking through the encirclement, our 12th Division may have the possibility of rebuilding.

For the sake of this banner of the division and the future of our division, I hope that you will work together. As the commander of the division, no matter whether I can break through this time or not, I will be loyal to His Majesty the Emperor's Greater East Asia and common prosperity! ”

Looking at Seitaro Yamamura who stood up and saluted everyone, and the co-captain who participated in the meeting, he couldn't hear that Kiyotaro Yamamura already had a will to die. But if you think about it, with such a big failure, Seitaro Yamamura is indeed bound to die.

Compared with being captured alive by the Eighth Route Army, or returning to a safe area to be recalled to China for interrogation, dying directly on the battlefield is undoubtedly the best choice for him. However, the honor of the division needs to be jointly maintained by all of them.

Once their division is completely annihilated this time, then their old army division will really face the fate of being abolished. Such a thing, even if they die, I am afraid that they will feel uneasy!

After the last battle meeting, Kiyotaro Yamamura suddenly said, "When you see you, the next battle will be all up to you." If there is a chance and a need, I can sacrifice for the empire and the division. ”

'General, please rest assured, my subordinates will do everything possible to let us break through here alive!' ’

'Please, gentlemen! ’

Maybe I really can't imagine that there is any other way to successfully break out of the encirclement. The only thing that Seitaro Yamamura could think of was to arouse the will to fight of every officer and soldier in the division. In this way, maybe some miracles will happen! (To be continued.) )