Due to the arrival of the 14th, 33rd and 33rd brigades of the 6th, 8th, 16th and 16th brigades, and heavy artillery brigades, the total strength of the Yue army besieging Chengde has exceeded 120,000.

As the commander-in-chief of the attack on Chengde, Okamura Ningji seemed to be a little high-spirited at this moment, with five divisions and four brigades, reinforced heavy artillery, and all the Kwantung Army's reading air force and tank brigade, this lineup can already be compared to the lineup of the Imperial Army's Shanghai Dispatch Army during the Shanghai Incident last year.

Normally, the Kwantung Army and the Chinese garrison army are both corps-level units, and after the Russo-Russian War, in addition to maintaining a certain number of standing divisions and regiments, the army abolished the domestic army-level, front-level army, and even the general army units, and the Shanghai Dispatch Army was only a temporary structure.

However, the difference is that the supreme commander of the Kwantung Army is the emperor, and each commander of the Kwantung Army must return to his home country to present to the emperor without going through the Ministry of War.

From this point of view, the Kwantung Army had the same powers as the General Army, and after the Manchurian Incident, under the deep care and care of His Majesty Emperor Hirohito many times, the military department continued to transfer elite troops to join the Kwantung Army's combat sequence, and already wanted to build the Kwantung Army into a sharp blade, and the development and growth of the Kwantung Army to the point that it would become a real general army in the future is also just around the corner.

As the deputy chief of staff of the Kwantung Army, he can command several senior lieutenant general division commanders with the rank of major general, Okamura Ninji can't help but feel a little proud, but he knows that this kind of pride must not be exposed, as the former commander-in-chief of the enemy, Okamura Ninji knows that his task is to capture Chengde, and the capture of Chengde will undoubtedly be the biggest highlight in the entire Rehe Campaign, because the troops under the command of the two division commanders Matsuki Naoliang and Hirose Shousuke under Chengde Castle have suffered heavy losses, Even the commander of the 27th Infantry Brigade, Major General Brigade Commander Hiramatsu, was killed by a cannon!

Undoubtedly, this will be the best time to show his command ability, speaking of which, at this moment, Okamura Ningji still has a slight feeling that Zhang Xuewu and his troops of the newly formed first division of the Central [***] are stuck in Chengde, if they do not fight back and hold on, I am afraid he will not have the opportunity to personally arrive at the front line to command and coordinate the troops.

Okamura Ninji stood in the large field tent of the temporary headquarters, and the division commanders and brigade commanders who were seated at the long table stood up one after another, although many of them were much older in rank and seniority than Okamura Ninji, but now Okamura Ninji was the deputy chief of staff of the Kwantung Army, and he was also the former commander-in-chief of the enemy appointed by His Excellency Commander Muto Nobuyoshi, and the face of etiquette must still be given.

Okamura Ninji, who had a kind smile on his face, hurriedly beckoned everyone to sit down, and ordered someone to bring out the sake, dried squid, and shrimp that His Excellency the Commander had brought to the labor army, and the tense and solemn atmosphere of the pre-war military meeting suddenly changed, and peanuts, miso soup, pickles, and other things were placed on the battle map. The commander of the Sixth Division, Itamoto Masaemon, was slightly stunned, looked at Okamura Ninji and said, "What does this mean by the deputy chief of staff?" ”

Okamura Ningji smiled slightly and said: "Our army is heavily pressurized and the troops are coming to the city, and the middle [***] of a division in Chengde City is as for making our emperor [***] people sad?" This is a fine white snow sake, so please try itachimoto-kun! ”

Saying that, Okamura Ninji handed a wine glass to Itamoto Masaemon, Itamoto Masaemon hesitated for a moment, and saw that the brigade commanders below were tearing dried beef and squid with their hands, and when he thought that even the march was sleeping in the open and relying on dry food to satisfy his hunger, and even drinking hot water was a luxury, he was immediately relieved.

Looking at the crystal clear sake in the cup, Itamoto Masaemon frowned slightly and drank it all, and after a long breath, Itamoto Masaemon grabbed a squid and bit it up.

After a few glasses of sake, Hirose Shousuke and Matsuki Naoliang, who had been fighting hard under Chengde City for several days, could not withstand the pestering of Pu Mu, the commander of the 16th Division who had newly arrived at the front of Chengde, and others, Matsuki Naoliang said helplessly: "The middle [***] that sticks to Chengde is different from the middle [***] we have seen in the past, they are equipped with a certain number of German advisers, but the combat style is not exactly the same as the German army, the structure of its civil engineering fortifications and the combination of fire positions are the most I have seen in my life, the first line of positions and the second line, The third-line position formed a reverse oblique angle, and the soldiers attacking the first-line position also had to face the fire of the second- and third-line positions, and the Chinese soldiers were like marmots digging frantically in the frozen soil, as long as there was no combat apprenticeship, they would be digging and building fortifications, and due to the relationship between the frozen soil, the effect of the 75-millimeter caliber mountain artillery was very limited. ”

After hearing this, Okamura Ninji nodded and said: "The heavy artillery brigade of the commander of the Kobayashi Yasuo Brigade will raze Chengde City to the ground, as long as we have enough firepower to inflict huge casualties on the defenders before the attack, then we can easily contribute to the positions of the Chinese defenders." ”

Hirose Shousuke sighed and said: "There is a flat river around Chengde, and the heavy artillery group must lack effective cover, what if it encounters an attack by the Northeast Army Air Force?" Moreover, Zhang Xuewu's department in Chengde City also has a certain number of chariots, they have taken the initiative to attack many times, these chariots are quite flexible and mobile, so that our army is unable to defend, and the enemy army occupies the advantage of complete terrain, I am afraid this will become a bitter battle! ”

Itamoto Masaemon suddenly found that Nishi Yoshiichi, who was always very active and loved to perform after drinking in the past, had been pouring himself drink cup after cup with his head stuffed today, thinking that the guy with good luck last night was said to have completely annihilated the reinforcements of a division in the middle of [***], and said with a little jealousy: "Hey! I said Nishiyoshi-kun, it was your luck last night, a division of the middle [***] hit your muzzle, what's wrong? Don't you want to say something just after a big victory? ”

Nishiyi glared at Itamoto Masaemon, took a sip of the sake in the cup and slapped the table and said: "I admit that the encirclement and suppression of this Zhong [***] last night was a temporary arrangement, and I did not take into account that the enemy would desperately and stubbornly resist, so that the troops suffered heavy losses, and they needed to rest for two or three days before they could enter the battle, and this Zhong [***] is not fat, it is a barbed fish bone, which is stuck in my throat!" ”

The last sentence of Nishi Yoshiichi almost roared, and everyone present, including Okamura Ninji, was stunned, the early stage of the Rehe Battle seemed to be too smooth, and the battle was almost a march, since the 14th Division and the 10th Division outflanked and besieged Chengde on two sides, it seems that everything has changed? In the fierce offensive and defensive battles under the city of Chengde, the Chinese defenders, who were at an absolute disadvantage, not only defended the city of Chengde to a solid foundation, but also attacked frequently, and the 10th and 14th divisions suffered heavy casualties in the fierce attacks for several days.

Not only the newly formed 1st Division of the Central Army of the Chengde China Nanjing Political Axe resisted stubbornly, but even the 106th Division, which was reinforced by a lone army, was barely counted as a second-rate force, and caused heavy casualties to the imperial army? This seems to indicate that the resistance of [***] will become more and more fierce in the future?