As the so-called 'capital' of the puppet Mongolian Union's autonomous government, Zhangjiakou is undoubtedly a place that this puppet government cares about very much. The previous independent column regained Baotou, Guisui and Datong, which really scared them enough.

If they hadn't known, the North China Front and the Kwantung Army would not have watched their self-righteous 'capital' be recaptured by the Eighth Route Army. It is estimated that many of them will find a way to escape this place during the previous winter offensive.

Compared with the puppet government established by the Japanese army in Beiping at present, and the puppet Mongolian government established after the occupation of Guisui. What really attracted the attention of the Japanese army may be to bet on the puppet Manchukuo with the Manchu relics.

This time, the 12th Division of the Kwantung Army and the North China Front Army dispatched tens of thousands of Japanese puppet troops to carry out a sweeping operation. It really made these pseudo-Mongolian officials living in Zhangjiakou breathe a sigh of relief and felt that their safety was somewhat guaranteed.

If there are no troops in front of their 'capital' that can resist the attack of the Eighth Route Army, I am afraid that they will not dare to live in this 'capital'. They will also be worried that the Eighth Route Army will liquidate them at any time.

It's just that many military and political officials of the puppet Mongolian government never dreamed that the troops who seemed to be triumphant in the previous round had only started a good show, but the situation took a sharp turn for the worse, which caught these high-ranking military and political officials off guard.

In the face of the strict orders of the North China Front, Li Shouxin, the commander-in-chief of the puppet Mongolian army, had to command the puppet Mongolian army to fight fires everywhere. It's just that even the little devils eat turtles in front of the Eighth Route Army, how much effect can they play in rushing to fight the fire?

With the loss of Xinghe and Shangdu, the rear and front banners of Chahar were successively recovered by the Eighth Route Army. As the commander-in-chief, Li Shouxin already knows what the Eighth Route Army is planning, this is the Kwantung Army division that the Eighth Route Army wants to completely annihilate before entering Suiyuan!

Looking at the heavy losses of the cavalry troops stationed in various places, Li Shouxin knew how important the army was to stabilize his position as commander-in-chief. Every time I saw the telegram sent by the North China Front, I was very entangled and helpless.

Perhaps he never thought that the Eighth Route Army, which arrived in northern Shaanxi after a long march of 10,000 miles, would grow to this point in just a few years. I didn't expect that the independent column that attacked the Bailing Temple back then would have such a strong combat effectiveness.

In the hands of the independent column alone, the puppet Mongolian army formed by Li Shouxin in Suiyuan, Mengdong, Chahar, Rehe and other places was annihilated and captured by the Eighth Route Army. At present, when the puppet Mongolian army heard the independent column, they seemed to be a little frightened.

Just when Li Shouxin was worried and continued to send troops to rescue the Kwantung Army trapped in Zhuozi and Wuchuan, it would only consume their combat effectiveness. Zhangjiakou Airport was attacked on a rainy night, and the puppet Mongolian officials in the city also began to be assassinated, and the whole city was panicked.

When the peripheral troops guarding Zhangjiakou sent a telegram saying that the main force of the Eighth Route Army was moving towards Zhangjiakou, Li Shouxin looked at the house full of panicked pseudo-Mongolian officials, and also felt that there was a reason not to send troops to rescue them.

On the other hand, the Japanese major general who served as the garrison officer of Zhangjiakou said with disdain: "Baga! Look at what you look like now, isn't it the Eighth Route Army attacking the city? We are in the city, there are tens of thousands of troops, are we still afraid that we will not be able to hold it? ”

Tens of thousands of troops, it sounds like a lot. But in fact, in the entire vicinity of Zhangjiakou, there was only one Japanese infantry brigade. The rest of the troops were all pseudo-Mongolian infantry so-called defending the 'capital'.

Many high-ranking officials of the puppet Mongolian army know that the real elite of the puppet Mongolian army is the cavalry. As for the infantry, many of them are used to scare the common people and pretend. Its combat effectiveness is only afraid that it is not as good as many of the puppet armies that have been recruited.

It's just that as the commander-in-chief, Li Shouxin also said wisely: "You really don't need to panic too much, we have a strong city defense, and General Miyamoto's troops are stationed there." If the Eighth Route Army wants to attack Zhangjiakou, it must not be so easy.

The most important thing is that we still have the North China Front in the rear to provide support at any time, and if the Eighth Route Army wants to take us, I believe it will not be so easy. What's more, the imperial army that attacked Datong before, they can also return to Zhangjiakou at any time. ”

As for the puppet Mongolian army under his command, Li Shouxin also didn't mention it much. Because he knew very well that the combat effectiveness of those troops could not be counted on at all. In normal times, they can't even pay their salaries, how can they expect these soldiers to work for them?

In the final analysis, these troops are often formed by them to loot people's wealth and coax little devils. It's okay to pretend at ordinary times, but if you really pull it to the battlefield to fight, it is estimated that it will leak immediately!

Only the cavalry troops are the troops that Li Shouxin really places his trust in. However, the continuous battles also caused serious losses to the cavalry units in his hands. Fortunately, the loss of these cavalry made the Japanese army trust them even more.

After all, in the eyes of many Japanese generals, Li Shouxin was willing to send elite troops to rescue them, and he was also a loyal minister of the imperial army. But in fact, Li Shouxin knew that he didn't send cavalry to the battle, so that the little devil doubted his loyalty, then it was really bad!

In order to ensure the safety of Zhangjiakou, after the proposal of the senior officials of the puppet Mongolian government, as well as the suggestion of the Miyamoto Infantry Brigade stationed in Zhangjiakou. The troops that failed to make a breakthrough in Datong were transferred back to Zhangjiakou.

And the return of these troops is exactly what He Zhengdao wants. After all, there is still a long way to go from Datong to Zhangjiakou. There, the troops of the fourth division of the column are waiting for them to come to the door!

In He Zhengdao's words, as long as the little devils dare to easily provoke a war, they must be made to pay a heavy price. To put it simply, that is, the little devil doesn't have a long memory, and the harder he fights, the more well-behaved and sensible the little devil is.

By the time of the previous winter offensive, the independent column had already effectively controlled many places from Yangyuan to Zhangjiakou. In addition, the 115th Division also sent a main force to respond to the Weixian area, and the return of these invading troops was also extremely difficult.

Whether it is He Zhengdao or Division Commander Lin of 115, the instructions given to the troops participating in the battle are actually the same. That is, like cutting meat, focusing on the baggage and rearguard troops of the little devils, accumulating small victories into big victories, and dragging down the main force of the Japanese army that returned to help.

The Japanese puppet army, which only controlled some important county towns, did not seem to be able to do much in the face of the return of the main force. As long as they dare to send troops out of the city, maybe not long after they leave, the county may be captured by the Eighth Route Army.

In this case, they could not send troops to meet the main force of the returning Japanese army until it arrived not far from the county seat. Otherwise, fighting with these reinforcements will often outweigh their losses.

The Japanese troops attacking Datong, plus the puppet army, originally numbered more than 40,000 people. After an offensive battle, they have lost tens of thousands of people. Of the remaining 30,000 troops, nearly half of the troops were transferred back to Zhangjiakou.

The remaining Japanese troops who still insisted on attacking in the Zhuozi area soon discovered that the independent column troops blocking them had been encircled from Tianzhen, Yanggao and other places. Together with the main forces of the 2nd Division, they were also caught in a situation of encirclement.

Such an erosive situation made Sugiyama Yuan, who was far away in Beiping, feel deeply tired and said, "Why? Will we always fall into the trap of the Eighth Route Army? Is it feasible to let the troops that have returned to Zhangjiakou return now? ”

Regarding Sugiyama Yuan's inquiry, Yamashita Fengwen also said helplessly: "General, this will only allow our troops to waste their energy on the way back and forth. Moreover, it will also give the Eighth Route Army more opportunities to take advantage of.

The current situation can only allow our troops in Datong to break through at all costs. As long as they can break through the resistance of the Eighth Route Army and successfully join up with the 12th Division, maybe we will have a chance to turn defeat into victory. ”

The ideal is very plump, but the reality is very skinny!

Although Yamashita Fengfumi's idea is good, it is not very operable in reality. Because the 12th Division at this moment, except for food, is not short for the time being. Their weapons and ammunition have reached their limits, and they are about to fall into the point where they have no ammunition available.

In the repeated breakout battles, even the rifle cartridges they carried began to be consciously controlled. As for heavy artillery and tanks, they are also in a situation where there are no shells and no fuel. If you want to break through in this way, the difficulty can be imagined.

In response to this situation, Sugiyama Yuan thought for a while and said: "Send a telegram to the commander of the mountain village division, and ask him to find a favorable place in the Zhuozi area to wait for reinforcements. I believe that tomorrow and the day after tomorrow there will be good weather to provide our air force with conditions for takeoff.

They are now not short of food, but they are short of weapons and ammunition. As for fuel, we can't resupply it by air. Weapons and ammunition, we can still do it. As soon as the weather improves, I will coordinate with the Air Force to transport and replenish a large number of supplies.

Time is all that matters now, and the longer they hold on, the better our chances. In addition, the troops in Datong were ordered to hold on. When the weather improves, we will send the Army Air Force to provide air support to it.

As long as their two armies converge, it is believed that it will be impossible for the Eighth Route Army to destroy our two forces. As for the troops who returned to Zhangjiakou, they were told that the order would not change, and that they must return to Zhangjiakou as soon as possible. ”

'Hey! ’

After listening to the order given by Sugiyama Moto, Yamashita Fengfumi also knew that if he could turn defeat into victory, he might only be able to count on God's help. At least Yamashita knew that Sugiyama still had a lot of prestige in the army aviation.

After all, since Sugiyama Yuan took office, the only thing worthy of praise in his tenure as commander of the North China Front Army may be the air raids on Yulin and Xi'an, which caused a lot of casualties to the Eighth Route Army.

Other than that, he doesn't seem to have much merit to show his hands on. It can be said that after the end of this battle, it is estimated that there will be no possibility of staying in office unless the commander Sugiyama is dismissed.

After all, the Japanese army could not tolerate the winners and losers either. The situation in North China has become so corrupt, as the commander of the North China Front, he is undoubtedly the best scapegoat, and it is also the best excuse to find reasons for failure.

It was difficult to accept the suggestion of Hitomi Shuizo at this moment, and looked at the telegram sent by Sugiyama Moto. I also know that it sounds easy to hold on to help, but it is not easy to do it.

At the moment he abandoned a large number of cars, tanks and armor, even with heavy artillery. With these weapons on the road, even if they can be replenished by airdrops, how long will they be able to hold out? (To be continued.) )