451 begging for tickets in the battle of encirclement and reinforcement, asking for guaranteed tickets

"Your Excellency General...... Akai Harumi lowered his head slowly, his bloodshot eyes staring at the military map spread out on the table, as if he wanted to find some turning point on it.

Muto Nobuyoshi half-squinted his eyes, leaned on a wide mahogany Taishi chair a little lazily, and sighed softly: "The Kuomintang army outside the city has at least five divisions, most likely six, and both artillery and aircraft are absolutely superior. Last night's assault on their positions in the eastern part of the outer city could roughly tell that there was a brigade set up there, that is to say, there should have been at most two Kuomintang infantry divisions besieging us. Then their remaining three or four infantry divisions should be on the line from Lianhua Mountain to Xiaoqing River, eleven kilometers to the east. You think...... Are the 8th, 9th, and 10th Divisions their opponents? ”

There was dead silence in the room. The commanders of the three lieutenant generals and divisions couldn't help but gasp, and a trace of horror slipped through their six red eyes.

Were the three Japanese divisions the opponents of the four Kuomintang integrated divisions? If this question had been raised half a month ago, everyone would have felt ridiculous, but now there seems to be no doubt about the mystery -- not three Japanese army divisions and not four Kuomintang integrated divisions with air superiority. Therefore, this so-called "siege relief" operation looks like a self-imposed trap no matter how you look at it.

If the three divisions that came to relieve the siege on the Eastern Front were defeated by the Kuomintang army again, how would Japan deal with this unprecedented situation? Accept the "harsh conditions" proposed by China in exchange for the lives of 60,000 Japanese officers and soldiers in the city of Jinan? Or do you continue to send reinforcements to do this kind of loss-making business of meat buns and dogs? Or simply order the 2nd, 5th, and 6th Divisions to launch a vigorous suicide attack on the victorious six Chinese divisions, and fight to pull them down

After coming over for a while, I heard Muto Nobuyoshi muttered softly twice, and then slowly spoke: "Gentlemen, in fact, we still have a chance to survive this battle. That's ...... Taking advantage of the opportunity of the main force of the Kuomintang Army in China to destroy the 8th, 9th, and 10th divisions of the Imperial Army, they made every effort to break through to the north"

Speaking of this, Muto Nobuyoshi suddenly stood up, sluggish and tired, and disappeared for a while, and his eyes suddenly emitted a fierce light

"The focus of the defense of the Kuomintang army besieging us must be in the east, and the north must be empty. We will use all the 60,000 elite proposals in our hands to make a decisive assault, kill a bloody road, and then cross the Yellow River north...... Then retreat along the Jinpu Road to Tianjin and join the 4th Division. In that case, we will have the strength of four divisions in Zhili, and after the reorganization is completed, we will either go north to Manchuria or west to Beijing, and then the initiative of the war will return to the hands of the empire."

"Your Excellency...... Will the Kuomintang army also ......" Mu Dazhi took a deep breath and asked with a little worry in his tone.

"Huh...... Then we will defeat them in Naoli or Manchuria" Muto Nobuyoshi sneered twice, glanced at the three division commanders with doubts on their faces, and said with a smile:

"The southern branch has a long coastline, but there is no sea defense, and it is all up to their powerful army to guard the coastline. Therefore, the farther north the battle line of the two sides, the more coastline the Kuomintang army had to defend. At present, they are at most six reuniters in Shandong...... This should also be the upline that they can use. If we hand over Shandong to the Kuomintang, then they will have to defend it with at least three divisions. In that case, there will only be a maximum of three divisions that will fight us in Zhili, if we choose Manchuria as the battlefield...... The Kuomintang army is afraid that there will not be a single soldier, but this time the empire has fallen into the trap of the British and American powers, tied their hands and feet, and put the battlefield in Shandong, which is the most beneficial to the Kuomintang. ”

"But...... What about the 8th, 9th, and 10th Divisions? As soon as we leave, they will have to face six Kuomintang divisions, will they all be wiped out? ”

The question was asked by Lieutenant General Harumi Akai, commander of the 2nd Division, and it seemed that he was really worried about his allies with a melancholy on his face. When the Red Second Army fought the plains, those Kuomintang could not be saved......

Muto Nobuyoshi shook his head slightly, and said with a wry smile: "I have already calculated this, and it is impossible for them to run back to Qingdao." However, it can retreat to the northeast and retreat to the seashore of Guangrao County. The navy could send a fleet to meet them in Bohai Bay, and although there was no port there, it could still be connected to the warship in small boats...... As for heavy weapons and baggage, it is estimated that there will be no more of them by then. ”

……

Over the next few days, everything seemed to turn out for the better.

First, the 10-year loan of $500 million from US imperialism, which had been delayed for a long time, was finally approved by the US Congress. In the eyes of those congressmen, a Chinese Nationalist government that defeated Japan would certainly be able to repay the loan in the future. And Japan, which is defeated by China, will definitely be devastated and no longer able to threaten the interests of the United States, so this loan is definitely a symbol of the interests of US imperialism. At the same time, JPMorgan Bank agreed to help the Nationalist Government sell up to $200 million in 15-year bonds.

Second, the situation on the battlefield in Shandong is also very good. The 8th, 9th, and 10th Divisions of the Japanese Army attacked the blocking positions of the 5th and 18th Divisions of the Kuomintang Army for several days, and as a result, they were bruised and swollen. And the 60,000 Japanese troops in Jinan City did not seem to be as desperate as imagined, but seemed to have completely accepted their fate, and even the routine engagement was avoided. The entire city of Jinan has been quiet for days, and it seems that a big victory is just around the corner

The former enemy headquarters of the Shandong Front, located on the Thousand Buddha Mountain in the south of Jinan City, was also jubilant today. Several high-ranking members of the front army sat in a staggered manner, and the fragrance of the best green tea wafted through the room, and a few rays of light spilled down from the open windows of the meditation room, which looked particularly bright. Bai Chongxi changed into a loose "training uniform" and did not wear a hat, sitting leisurely on the upper seat, with a confident smile on his face.

"In the past few days, Japan's so-called elite army has been battered in front of our impregnable defenses, and yesterday's offensive has shown signs of exhaustion. I think it's almost time for us to fight back, otherwise I'm afraid that little Japan will find out about the smell and run away."

It was Li Zongren who spoke, and there was no war under the city of Jinan these days. The blocking positions on the eastern front that he defended were indeed fighting for days, and the Japanese troops of the three divisions even exerted their strength to feed, and organized seven or eight rounds of offensives every night, but all of them were in vain.

Li Zongren was naturally indescribably satisfied at this time, and looked at An Sihua with a smile as he spoke: "Brother Sihua, the next thing is to see your armored army perform, we are all looking forward to another great victory of Zha Lai Nuoer."

"Brother Delin, just rest assured, this battle is bound to be a great victory in the annals of history" An Sihua straightened his waist and smiled coldly, with indescribable rigidity and pride: "Although the Japanese army is tenacious and brave, in front of the war machine assembled with steel, their bushido spirit is not vulnerable at all"

"Okay" Bai Chongxi was overjoyed when he heard this, stood up and clapped his hands: "Then we don't have to delay any longer, so as not to have too many dreams at night." Tomorrow morning... Zhong began to fight back, with the armored corps as the vanguard, breaking through from the left flank of the Japanese front. The 5th and 18th Divisions then advocated a counterattack on the whole front, and the 4th Division left Yimeng Mountain and marched north to Linzi, cutting off the Japanese army's retreat. We must destroy the main forces of the Japanese army in the shortest possible time and usurp the final victory of this war for the party-state."

"We must prove with concrete actions that China will always be the hegemon on the East Asian continent"

……

The Kuomintang army in this time and space has been learning from the Germans for several years, and it is difficult to say whether they have learned real skills, but the behavior is somewhat similar. For example, this counterattack is not the masterpiece of some genius military strategist, but a comprehensive plan has been drawn up a long time ago. All the possibilities and unexpected factors are taken into account, and then the implementation is carried out step by step. Oh, the Shandong Front also imitated the Germans and gave this plan a name, called the Guderian Plan, because this plan was formulated by Guderian...... And the name sounds bullish too.

According to the Guderian Plan, the Armored Teaching Brigade and the 19th Division were to form an armored group, under the command of Anderswar and Guderian. On the night of 25 April, the armored group will move to the line of Xiaoxinzhuang and Daxinzhuang on the north side of the Japanese front, and spread out along the Xiaoqing River. The attack would begin at five o'clock the next morning. Under the cover of heavy artillery and aircraft, the armored group will force its way across the Xiaoqing River, which is actually not wide, break through the Japanese alert position, insert itself from the flank and rear of the Japanese Eighth Division, and then rapidly advance from north to south, sweeping the reserve army, baggage army, artillery and headquarters behind the battle line in the future, and completely destroying the rear assembly area of the three Japanese divisions.

At the same time that the armored group called for an assault, the 5th and 18th Divisions in front of the Japanese army would also launch a full-front counterattack as planned. According to the law of the Japanese army's actions in the past six days, five o'clock in the morning should be the time when the Japanese army's night attack ends. The Fifth and Eighteenth Divisions will take advantage of the fact that the Japanese attacking troops, especially the artillery, will be transferred to the Ping'an area to conceal them, and at the same time, they will be caught off guard and at the same time contain the frontal strength of the Japanese army and prevent them from quickly withdrawing from the battlefield.

In addition, the Fourth Division, which had been in charge of the campaign reserve, had also concentrated on the edge of the Yimeng Mountains a few days ago, and they would use one brigade to hold the mountains south of the Japanese front to prevent the desperate Japanese troops from entering the mountains to "fight guerrillas." The main force of the Fourth Division will attack Linzi in the rear of the Japanese army from Laiwu County, completely cutting off the road for the Japanese army to return eastward, and discovering the possibility of creating and creating a complete annihilation of the 8th, 9th, and 10th divisions of the Japanese army.

Finally, the 1st and 6th Divisions outside Jinan City should continue to outflank the 60,000 Japanese troops in Jinan City, and also transfer the 6th Artillery Regiment to Li Zongren's group on the Eastern Front to strengthen the firepower of frontal counterattack. Therefore...... The siege army of Jinan will be the weakest during this time, but this is also helpless, at present, the Kuomintang's military strength in Shandong is actually insufficient, not counting 50,000 security troops, that is, 160,000 people, and the Japanese army to be eliminated is as many as 140,000 If it is not for overwhelming air superiority, this task is almost a fool's dream......

……

April 26, 1928, 4:30 a.m.

On the frontal battlefield about 112 kilometers wide between Xiaoqing River and Lianhua Mountain, the shouts and guns that had been ringing all night gradually subsided. As in the previous six days, the three elite divisions of the Japanese Army still launched a fierce attack on the defensive ground held by the two Kuomintang integrated divisions with the greatest strength on the night that had just ended. But the result is regrettable...... Except for the addition of more than 1,000 "gods" to the Yasukuni Shrine in Kudanzaka, there will be no other gains.

It was when most of the Japanese on this battlefield walked off the battlefield listlessly with their heads drooped, ready to go back and nibble on a few bites of cold rice balls, and then sleep beautifully.

On the north bank of the Xiaoqing River on the northern edge of the battlefield, more than 20,000 heavily armed Kuomintang officers and soldiers were lying on the cold ground. Most of the soldiers were munching on the army's field rations. A tool that I don't know if it's a biscuit or a stone, put it in my mouth piece by piece, and then soak them in a sip of cold water until they are soft before swallowing them. In short, it will definitely fill your stomach and you won't be able to eat the dead, but the taste is terrible...... And those company commanders and platoon commanders kept raising their wrists to look at their watches, waiting for the pre-scheduled time to come. Most people were very nervous. Because they don't know what kind of situation will be presented when the battle breaks out. In particular, the officers and men of the 19th Division of the Nationalist Army, which was composed of city soldiers from Shanghai and Wuhan and Nanyang volunteers, said that today's battle was the first actual battle of their division.

On the open plain about two kilometers behind the infantry attack position, the 18 150mm howitzers and 54 105mm howitzers belonging to the artillery battalion of the 19th Division Artillery Regiment and the Armored Teaching Brigade were ready. The gunner's door had already pushed the thick shells into the chamber, and just waiting for the artillery commander to give the order, the arquebuses would be pulled one by one.

On the other hand, the armored army and the motorized army, which has 168 Renault FT-1 light tanks, 142 GM1 armored transporters, and 2,300 other vehicles of various kinds, are ready to stop. The morale of the officers and men was also very high, and at the slightest order, the armored cluster would pierce the enemy's chest like an unsheathed sword.

As the hour and minute hands of thousands of domestically produced Nanyang watches on this battlefield pointed to the Roman numeral 5 at the same time, more than 400 cannons of four divisional artillery regiments, seven brigade-level artillery battalions, and 14 regimental-level artillery companies roared almost simultaneously. The sharp and unpleasant whistling sound and the huge roar that followed resounded, and the fierce and scorching shells scorched the entire Japanese defense. Clusters of orange flames exploded one after another above the position, lifting fragments of civil fortifications, bunkers, weapons, and human limbs and severed arms into the sky. In particular, the seventy-two 150mm heavy howitzers attached to the four divisional artillery regiments were even more powerful, and every roar was made. There were gaps in the side of the Japanese front, and all the tools within all the scales covered by the power of the explosion were thrown out. The artillery groups of the Kuomintang army frequently slapped at the front of the Japanese army, and the fragments of the shells screamed and scattered wantonly, turning the entire Japanese front into a terrifying artillery hell. The Japanese troops, who had just finished the night's attack and had not had time to enter the artillery bunkers, suffered casualties at the beginning.

At the same time, the Kuomintang army aviation also began to operate, and 248 A-1 dive bombers were dispatched at the same time, flying in a neat line over the battlefield and rushing straight to the target that had been predicted before the battle. Bombs weighing up to 100 kilograms were dropped on what was believed to be the Japanese artillery position, headquarters, or reserve assembly positions.

A battle that was more like a blitzkrieg than the raid of Zalainorr began.

In the front enemy headquarters about four kilometers behind the forward positions of the Japanese army. The commander of the Shandong Dispatch Army, Shirakawa Yoshinori, who had just reached the front line to supervise the battle, immediately judged that this was a general offensive instigated by the central government

"Order all the artillery to fire at me, don't care about the planes of the Chinese army, the artillery group bombards the forward positions of the Chinese army, and it is faster to shoot all the shells for me," Shirakawa Yoshinori no longer cared about the general's prestige, and almost shouted orders to the panicked advisers.

"Send a telegram to Count Muto in Jinan, inform him of the situation here, and let the 2nd, 5th, and 6th divisions in Jinan City wait for an opportunity to break through."

"Order the 32nd Wing to immediately shrink and build fortifications near the county seat of Zi. The 35th Wing was ordered to shrink to Zhangqiu County and hold on. ”

"Order the Reserve to be ready to fight back."

"Order the 8th Cavalry Wing to strengthen to the area along the Xiaoqing River. The 10th Cavalry Regiment guarded the southern front of the battlefield. The 9th Cavalry Wing seized the county seat of Zouping. ”

After decades of military service, Shirakawa Yoshinori had an unusually rich battlefield experience, and he could roughly judge the number of artillery pieces the squadron had put into artillery bombardment just by the density of the rumbling artillery sound coming from a distance. There were almost 400 guns of various calibers ploughing the less fortified positions of the Japanese over and over again, which means that the squadron had at least four infantry divisions in its own front, and if you count the aviation equivalent to the combat strength of two infantry divisions. This attack should be the decisive battle that will determine the final outcome of this war, if the three divisions in their hands are destroyed by the squadron in today's decisive battle, then the three divisions in Jinan City will not be able to escape the end of destruction. Six divisions were lost at once, plus one division was heavily damaged...... There are only ten divisions and regiments in the hands of the empire that are still connected to combat power, and although it can still lead reserve officers and soldiers to form new divisions and regiments, it is not an overnight thing for the combat effectiveness of these new divisions and regiments to reach the level of common sense divisions