There was nothing special about the first staff meeting of the 11th Army, as the Japanese Central China Dispatch Force had drawn up a plan to attack Anqing as early as the beginning of the year, and it was impossible for Okamura Ninji to make targeted arrangements at the beginning of his new term.

The system of the Japanese army is different from **, the division commander has a lot of operational authority, like the raider Anqing, the superior only needs to explain the combat task to the 6th Division and the Botian detachment participating in the battle, and the specific attack is arranged by the front-line commander on the spot, and the 11th Army does not interfere too much. However, as soon as Okamura Ninji arrived in Nanjing, there was a disagreement between the 6th Division and the Hatada Detachment for the attack on Anqing, and the commander of the 6th Division, Shiro Inaba, found Okamura Ninji.

Inaba Shiro and Okamura Ninji are only one year apart, his army non-commissioned officer school is one year later than Gangmura, but Lu University graduated one year earlier than Gangmura, the starting point of the two is the same, but the situation of the later development shows differences, Okamura Ninji is already a military commander with hundreds of thousands of troops, and he was received by the emperor before the expedition, and the queen presented a scarf woven by himself, while Inaba Shiro is just an ordinary division commander.

"Inaba-kun, it's been hard all the way." Okamura Ninji personally led his staff and others at the entrance of the headquarters department, and saw Inaba get out of the car and go forward.

Shiro Inaba was greatly relieved to see Okamura Ninji himself here, "Commander Okamura, after a few years, Your Excellency is better than ever. ”

The two exchanged pleasantries and walked in arm-in-arm.

In the reception room of the headquarters, the staff of both sides sat opposite each other, and the orderly soldiers passed through it and poured tea for everyone.

"Inaba-kun, I am well aware of the battle near Luzhou, with the strength of two large teams to break through the enemy's 3rd division, capture the famous city, and wipe out the stubborn enemy, the army headquarters would like to congratulate and express deep gratitude." Ningji Gangmura delivered a speech first.

"This is all due to the majesty of the saints and the bravery of the soldiers, and the cowardice of the enemy's troops in front of them is not enough to boast." The capture of Hefei did not bring much honor to Shiro Inaba, and his goal was Anqing.

Okamura Ninji had served as Sun Chuanfang's adviser in China more than 10 years ago, and was the deputy chief of staff of the Shanghai * Dispatch Army at the time of the 128 Incident in 1932, but he had been serving in the Kwantung * Army all these years, and his impression of China had been blurred, and he asked:

"Inaba-kun, what is the situation of the enemy army in front of Zhishina, I heard that there are about 10 divisions" Okamura Ninji said in a slightly worried tone.

"Except for the enemy's 107th Division, the rest is nothing to worry about!" Shiro Inaba said confidently.

"Oh, Your Excellency has a high opinion of this division."

"Yes, be bold in your plans and bold in your attacks." Inaba Shiro told the story of the raid on Wuhu Airport, and then said another thing with a stern expression, "After the commander of the Meiguang Ogishu Division was transferred, I had a conversation with Ogisu-kun, and he talked about the characteristics of the opponent. ”

"What are the characteristics?" Okamura asked.

"Strategic, swift!" Ogisu Libing's evaluation is the same as that of Shiro Inaba.

Speaking of which, the two of them glanced at each other at the same time, thinking of the same person.

Oda Nobunaga.

Oda Nobunaga was a famous Japanese Warring States general, known for his strategy and courage, and the Battle of Barrel Sasama defeated the 40,000 troops of Imagawa Yoshimoto, the famous general of Owari at that time, in a surprise attack, which is a very famous example in Japanese war history. In the Battle of Nagashino, he used an innovative three-stage shooting method to annihilate Takeda Akabi, known as the most elite cavalry of the Warring States, and became the hegemon of Japan.

Okamura Ninji found that Shiro Inaba had a point, the Battle of Wuhu reflected the courage of the opponent, and the Battle of Mingguang showed the resourcefulness of the opponent, and the opponent who combined the two was undoubtedly terrifying.

"Your Excellency, Commander, I request to attack Anqing." Shiro Inaba stood up and bowed deeply to Okamura Ninji in pleading.

Okamura Ninji frowned, it didn't matter to him which unit attacked Anqing first, but the Hatada detachment that attacked Anqing from the east would never honestly serve as an assist.

After serving as a military commander, he not only studied the habits and characteristics of his opponents, but also had a good understanding of his subordinates. Moreover, the Inaba Division must capture the front line of Shucheng Tongcheng before it can launch an attack on Anqing, which may be delayed very late, and the Hatian detachment can land directly from the vicinity of Anqing. The "plan for the 6th Division to attack and the Hatata detachment to respond to the attack" formulated by the General Staff Headquarters was a bad idea that was conjured up in a room and did not at all correspond to the actual situation at the front.

What can't be done, Okamura Ninji can't agree, he said, "Inaba-kun is not afraid of hardships, and I admire his perseverance, but it's just that your main attack on Anqing is difficult to coordinate in the actual process" Euphemistically rejected Inaba Shiro's request.

Shiro Inaba's face was gloomy, and he came to Nanjing regardless of the front-line war, but it did not achieve the effect, and the staff next to him also showed an indignant expression.

Okamura Ninji glanced at the other party, his expression unchanged, and continued, "Hankou, I hope to be captured by the 6th Division. ”

Inaba Shiro was immediately overjoyed, Wuhan was the de facto capital of China at that time, and if his troops could capture it, it would become an army that captured the two capitals of the enemy country, which would be the supreme glory of the 6th Division.

"Thank you, Commander Gangcun!" He and all his subordinates stood up at the same time and bowed in thanks.

"Hata-kun, please."

"Your Excellency, Commander, please."

On the second day after Shiro Inaba visited Okamura Ninji, Lieutenant General Shigeichi Hada, the commander of the Taiwan Mixed Brigade, also arrived from Zhenjiang, and Okamura Ninji still led his staff to greet him at the door.

Like Shiro Inaba, the two talked about the Anqing issue.

"Ha Tianjun, do you know Xu Ming, the commander of the Anqing garrison?" Okamura asked in a very ordinary tone.

"Oh, I've heard of it, he's a good Go player." Shigeichi Habata thought for a moment and gave such an answer.

Okamura Ninji felt a sigh in his heart, as a general who attacked Anqing, his understanding of the enemy's main general was still at this point, which made him feel worried.

However, Gangcun is very well cultivated, but he just reminded, "I just learned with the commander of the Inaba Division that he and the commander of the Ogizhou Division have a high opinion of this opponent." ”

"Really? 2 generals who lost the battle, claiming that the enemy is strong, I can understand. "Shigeichi Habata was born in a family of eunuchs, and his career was extremely smooth and there were few setbacks. He has been conducting rainforest landing warfare and jungle warfare training in Taiwan for the past six months, and he does not know the situation of Xu Ming, the rising star of the squadron, although he knows that the Ogizhou Libing Mingguang has suffered a fiasco, but he blames it on his personal incompetence.

Okamura Ninji still had the intention of persuasion, "Hata-kun, in order to ensure the success of the first battle, can you consider the 6th Division reaching the vicinity of Anqing, and your unit will land again." ”

Shigeichi Harata smiled confidently, "Your Excellency Commander, you have been overly concerned, our army's six months of training in Taiwan can completely defeat any Chinese army alone. If possible, I will ask His Excellency the Commander to visit the Daguan Pavilion in Anqing within a day after the battle begins. ”

But he also knew that this was the first battle of the army commander, and he hoped that it would be safer, so he made a slight compromise: "Our army will attack after the Inaba Division captures Tongcheng." ”

Hata's words were simple, but Okamura Ninji's heart became more and more heavy, the two attacking troops had a strong phenomenon of grabbing merit, and the Hatata brigade that attacked for the first time did not have a full understanding of the enemy, but limited to the Japanese army's system and his own philosophy of doing things, Okamura Ninji could not directly give orders.

"Then Bo Tianjun, please take care, the opponent's commander Xu Ming is a person who likes to surprise attack opponents very much, and he should be able to deal with attacks as well, please be sure to consider this."

Shigeichi Harata was very puzzled by his commander's prudence, and said perfunctorily: "Thank you for the commander's teachings, and I deeply love him." ”

After Habata Shigeichi left, the orderly who was waiting for Okamura Ninji next to him heard a long sigh that contained countless worries.

Anqing, Lion Rock, the 643rd Regiment is conducting mountain coordinated offensive training, the smoke is filled, it is difficult to observe the position with the naked eye, the offensive and defensive sides are using various means to confront, the regiment commander Xie Jinyuan saw that the troops were already in shape, and a happy smile appeared on his face.

Suddenly, he saw a herald from the division headquarters coming, "Commander Xie, the division commander asks you to come to the logistics department of Anhui University at 5 o'clock in the afternoon." ”

"Did you say anything about it?"

"It's like having a fish feast, and the teacher asks you to be on time."

"Did Deputy Head Yang go?" Xie Jinyuan frowned and asked.

"The division commander only asks the regimental commanders and above," the guard replied respectfully.

Xie Jinyuan was surprised, the war was coming, Xu Ming was not a romantic person, how could he hold a fish banquet at this time? What's more, if you don't call the deputy head of the regiment, things will be strange.

Xie Jinyuan walked to the logistics department, which is located in a warehouse at National Anhui University, and there is a small office in front of it, which is extremely hidden.

Qiu Linfeng, the division commander's first confidant, the head of the quartermaster department and logistics department, was watching the door when he saw Xie Jinyuan coming and personally opened the door for him.

Xu Ming inside was already waiting here, and Chief of Staff Zhang Shaofang, Deputy Division Commander Chen Huizhi, and the four regiment commanders all arrived after a while.

After everyone arrived here, Xu Ming looked at the six people in front of him, these were the core of the 107th Division, he coughed and said:

"Calling you here today is for a top-secret combat deployment, there are 7 people present, and the 8th person must not be informed."

Seeing that Xu Ming said so cautiously, everyone agreed although they didn't know why.

What Xu Ming wanted to say was naturally a matter of the Hatada detachment, Hakata Shigeichi thought that his plan was seamless, but he never imagined that there was still a person in the world who had already understood it clearly.

The reason why Xu Ming has not formulated a response plan until now is because of secrecy, and on the other hand, and most importantly, he wants to judge whether the sneak attack of the Potian detachment happened as in history.

There are many things that have changed in this time and space, there is no such successful battle of Mingguang in history, there is no such powerful 107th Division, and there is no Xu Ming.

But there is one thing that will never change, and that is the personality and characteristics of people. Hakuda Shigeichi is a Japanese commander who likes to sneak attack opponents very much, he sneak attacked in the Battle of Anqing, he also sneaked in the Battle of Madang, he still sneaked in the Battle of Jiujiang, three sneak attacks, and achieved great success at a very small price, from Wuhu to Wuhan is 500 kilometers, and a brigade of the Hatian detachment has completed half the distance!

Shigeichi Hata will never change his tactical style!