On July 27, the encircled 4th Cavalry Brigade finally sent an urgent telegram to Okamura Ninji requesting haste reinforcements: "As a result of the fighting of the past week and the general counteroffensive of the enemy since the 26th, our brigade has suffered numerous casualties. In addition, in the long-term battle, most of the officers and men above the rank of cavalry and artillery squad leader were killed and wounded in battle, and most of the officers and men became disabled. The enemy forces continued to attack and had to tighten their positions, and even if they held on, they were in an extremely critical state. Due to the serious shortage of ammunition, even hand-to-hand combat cannot lift the encirclement, please go to reinforcements as soon as possible, otherwise our brigade is in danger of survival! ”

It was the first time that the 4th Cavalry Brigade had asked for reinforcements since it had been surrounded, but it was this first request that seemed dire. In fact, Okamura Ninji and Tanaka Kuichi are very clear about the situation of the Fourth Cavalry Brigade, and these two actually don't think that they can relieve the Fourth Cavalry Brigade. Therefore, Okamura Ninji's reply to the Fourth Cavalry Brigade had four words: "Hold on and wait!" ”

A good one to hold on to wait is actually to let the Fourth Cavalry Brigade wait for death. Buying time for them to "surround" the main force of the Eighth Route is, to put it bluntly, the 4th Cavalry Brigade is already an outcast. It's just that what's more interesting is that not all the devils feel that the Fourth Cavalry Brigade is completely unsaved, and when the Fourth Cavalry Brigade is crying for help, there are really devils who are actively trying to save them.

This fool is Masanobu Tsuji, this Masanobu Tsuji may not be understood by many comrades, his position has always been a staff officer, and his military rank is a big sashi, but the status and influence of this product in the Japanese army should never be underestimated, and its popularity is no less than that of the chief of staff and the minister of the army. So what is the "brilliant" resume of this Masanobu Tsuji?

The Battle of Normenheim, the attack on Singapore, the capture of the Philippines, Guadalcanal. It can be said that almost all the important battles of the Japanese Army are related to this Masanobu Tsuji, and almost all the battle plans of these battles are written by Masanobu Tsuji.

Of course, although Masanobu Tsuji participated in the formulation of many battle plans, not every battle was victorious. Needless to say, there is no need to talk about Guadalcanal. Anyway, this product is a good hand at bullying the weak, and it will be strained as soon as it hits a hard idea. And such a bully who is afraid of the soft and afraid of the hard is still a military expert in the Japanese army, and he is also very famous, you know what kind of quality the Japanese army's think tanks are.

To put it bluntly, the most prominent feature of Masanobu Tsuji is that he is scheming, and he likes to put on a show, and his temperament is extremely cruel, and he is very good at speculation. Born in 1902 in a family of charcoal burners in Enuma County, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, this product was quite stubborn when he was a child, and his elementary school teacher asserted that no matter how hard he tried, he could not get into middle school.

Masanobu Tsuji, who was "deeply insulted", became angry and worked hard from then on, and graduated from the Nagoya Army Infant School and the Central Army Infant School with the highest grades. When he graduated from the 36th class of the Japanese Army Non-commissioned Officer School, he won the first place again, and also received a saber given by the Japanese emperor, and was a member of the notorious "saber group". When the 43rd class of the Army University graduated, it was ranked among the top six. Less than 3 months after graduating from the military academy, he was appointed as the squadron leader of the 9th Division, participated in the first Battle of Songhu and was wounded. These resumes made him highly praised after entering the military circles, and he successively served as a staff officer in the Kwantung Army, the Base Camp Army Staff Headquarters, the North China Dispatch Army, the 25th Army, the 11th Army, and the China Dispatch Army. During the Kwantung Army, he was regarded as a confidant of Hideki Tojo.

But to tell the truth, this Masanobu Tsuji's ability to fight is very average, and what he is best at is his ingenious show. When he was a staff officer in the Kwantung Army, he once spent 100,000 oceans to hold a grand funeral for Zhang Zuolin, wanting to understand the negative political impact of the Kwantung Army's murder of Zhang Zuolin; While in Normenhan, the cargo suddenly landed on the front line in a reconnaissance plane, then turned around and flew away, making a name for himself; In Shanghai, as a squadron leader, he reprimanded a junior officer who carried a hotel girl in a military vehicle, forcing the other party to commit suicide in shame; At the headquarters of the Chinese Dispatch Army in Nanjing, he saw senior officers fanning them in the summer, so he rushed up to tear them to pieces, reprimanded them for corrupting their morals, and made many generals lose face; Soon after becoming chief of staff of the 33rd Army, he slapped a wounded soldier with a high fever several times on the battlefield, rebuked him as a coward, and bragged that he had killed an Allied pilot who had parachuted and salted it and eaten it......

These showmanship methods are simply innumerable, but they really have an appetite for foolish devils, which attracted the favor of the so-called "intellectuals" in Japan at that time, and they all regarded them as the most brilliant stars in the military circles. Of course, the devils who really have some ability also don't think so, for example, the "Malay Tiger" Yamashita Fengfumi, commented on Tsuji Masanobu: "Tsuji's people have strong desires, are treacherous and cunning, and are good at playing tricks, not a useful talent for the country." ”

However, in Japan, which follows the trend and likes to blindly follow and lack assertiveness, Masanobu Tsuji's unconventional and sensational behavior still deceived many people, giving the Japanese at that time a very "thoughtful" feeling.

After the defeat of the war, Masanobu Tsuji, who had "thoughts" and "backbones", was afraid that the Allies would investigate his crimes of brutally killing British pilots, forcing American and Filipino prisoners of war to "march to death", and massacring 40,000 lives of overseas Chinese in Singapore (included in the textbooks of Singapore secondary schools). Later, he took advantage of Chiang's hatred of the Communist Party and took refuge in his service, mingling with the Military Command Bureau of the People's Party and the Second Department (Intelligence) of the Ministry of National Defense, to give advice to Chiang to fight the civil war. Under the protection of Chiang, in 1948, the goods were repatriated to Japan as a general repatriated soldier. Immediately after that, he took refuge in the US spy agency, and under the dual leadership of the CIC (Allied General Intelligence Agency) and the CIA, he carried out long-term espionage activities in New China and Southeast Asia.

Masanobu Tsuji, who had washed his old foundation, relied on the new master, and suddenly changed his previous low profile, and began to jump out to write books and brag about his personal experience, and successively published best-selling books in Japan, such as "Sneaking Three Thousand Miles", "Secret Activities in Thailand and China", "Fifteen to One", "Guadalcana", and "Nomenhan". In the book, this thing tries his best to shirk personal responsibility and win the sympathy of the old Japanese soldiers. In 1951, the annual income of this product was as high as 3.5 million yen, and using this star effect, this product was also elected as an alternate member of the House of Representatives in 1952 and a member of the House of Councillors in 1959. In 1961, the goods went to Thailand and Laos to spy under the pretext of tourism, and soon disappeared. According to the grapevine, the goods were executed by the Lao People's Liberation Army, and some say that it was fed to tigers. Of course, the Japanese version is that the real purpose of Masanobu Tsuji's visit to Indochina was to find the gold that the Japanese army had plundered and buried.

All in all, it was such a clown-like figure who hatched a so-called "Fen Battle" plan at the end of July 1944 in an attempt to save the Fourth Cavalry Brigade that was besieged by the Eighth Route Army in the martial arts. ”

On August 1, Masanobu Tsuji drafted and issued the "North China Front Offensive Order" in Anyang, and its main operational idea was actually very simple, first of all, the Fourth Cavalry Brigade of the martial arts must continue to hold its position and firmly contain the main force of the Eighth Route Army. Then the North China Front did its best to take out the absolute perseverance of the imperial army to destroy the blocking Eighth Route Army in one fell swoop, and then divide and encircle and eliminate the Eighth Route on the spot.

At first glance, this plan does not seem to be a surprise at all, and there is no essential difference from what the devils are doing now. What's all the fuss about such a broken plan?

Even in the eyes of the soldiers who really came to the front line to fight, Masanobu Tsuji's plan was simply whimsical, the Fourth Cavalry Brigade was already exhausted, and at this time, there was no ammunition and two troops were insufficient, how could they resist the attack of the Eighth Route Army, which had an absolute advantage? Let the Fourth Cavalry Brigade continue to hold on, isn't this a fool's dream!

Masanobu Tsuji's plan was more than this, according to his plan, Okamura Ninji's troops should gather strength and then crush the Eighth Route Army in front of them like a flash flood. At this time, Okamura Ninji's troops were tired and tired, and their combat effectiveness was not three. And because the traffic situation is so bad, and the heavy artillery attached to it is still far behind, how can we talk about defeating the Eighth Route Army in one fell swoop in such a state?

Kuichi Tanaka knew this, and he felt that according to Masanobu Tsuji's battle plan, in order to accumulate strength, he had to stop and rest and wait for the artillery units to follow. And now the 4th Cavalry Brigade has only its last breath left, and it can't afford to delay even a minute. Therefore, Tanaka Koichi strongly opposed Masanobu Tsuji's "hard work" and proposed to immediately launch a wheel offensive with the existing troops until the blocking forces of the Eighth Route Army were completely dragged down.

It's just that no one listened to Tanaka Kuichi's words at that time, and the reason was very simple, it was he who put the Fourth Cavalry Brigade to death, and according to Tsuji Masanobu's opinion, Tanaka Kuichi should be held responsible.

Obviously, Masanobu Tsuji still looked at the Eighth Route Army with old eyes, and he didn't realize that this was not what it used to be, and he believed that the reason for Tanaka's failure was that he was incompetent and cowardly, and that a wreck like him was not qualified to wear the imperial army's uniform. Fortunately, Okamura Ninji is still more sensible, he knows that Masanobu Tsuji is a blood layman, and Tanaka Kuichi has already had direct contact with the Eighth Road, so Tanaka Kuichi's opinion is more valuable for reference.

For example, Tanaka Kuichi mentioned: The Fourth Cavalry Brigade will not last long at all, and if this problem is not solved, all rescue operations are meaningless, and the key issue is very meaningful to Okamura Ninji.

Of course, the cunning Masanobu Tsuji was always able to justify himself, he thought that it was simple to reinforce the 4th Cavalry Brigade, and if there were not enough supplies, they would be airdropped, and if they were not enough, paratroopers would be sent to reinforce them. Well, that seems like a good idea. At least it looks like that, with paratroopers and airdropped supplies, wouldn't the 4th Cavalry Brigade be able to hold it?

However, this suggestion is simply nonsense for real soldiers, not staff officers hiding in the second line and opening their brains. Not to mention airborne paratroopers, even airdropped supplies are unreliable. Because at this time, the position of the Fourth Cavalry Brigade had been compressed to the extreme, and only a small area of two or three hundred meters below remained. With such a small area, who can guarantee that the airdropped materials can be accurately delivered? As for the reinforcement of the airborne paratroopers, it is even more of a joke, even the supplies may not be able to be thrown in, let alone a big living person!

In Tanaka's eyes, this idea is simply whimsical, that is, playing the piano indiscriminately. But what made him feel depressed was that he couldn't stop it. Because Okamura Ninji agreed!

Could it be that Okamura Ninji has no military literacy? It's not like this, in all fairness, Okamura Ningji still has two brushes, and the Eighth Route Army was quite uncomfortable during the North China Public Security War, which proves his level.

So why did Okamura Ninji agree to this ridiculous suggestion? The reason is very simple, Masanobu Tsuji's product is not seen as a red-lacquered toilet, but there are still a lot of brainless fans, and this product has an unusual relationship with Hideki Tojo, and even Okamura Ninji must sell him some face. Of course, Okamura Ninji didn't let Masanobu Tsuji mess around, he came to a compromise. He agreed to airdrop some supplies to help the Fourth Cavalry Brigade first, and if the effect is good, let's talk about the rest of the matter!

In fact, Okamura Ninji's meaning is very clear, that is, he wants Masanobu Tsuji to retreat in the face of difficulties, and as long as the effect of the airdrop of materials is not satisfactory, he will immediately reject the plan to send more paratroopers.

I don't know if Masanobu Tsuji understands Okamura Ninji's true purpose, anyway, he is quite happy, if it weren't for Okamura Ninji's strict prohibition on him boarding the transport plane, this cargo is 100% ready to put on another show - go to the air to take a turn in the air and make a speech that boosts the morale of the Fourth Cavalry Brigade.

So what was the result of this airdrop operation? Hehe, don't say it, the effect is quite ideal, 75% of the weapons, ammunition and medicines under the empty head accurately fell on the territory of the Fourth Cavalry Brigade, so that the Fourth Cavalry Brigade, which was almost exhausted by oil lamps, had a breath of relief.

This operation greatly boosted Masanobu Tsuji's confidence, and he believed that it fully demonstrated the correctness of his opinion, and strongly demanded that the parachute operation begin immediately. Of course, whether it is Okamura Ninji or Tanaka Kuichi still muttering in their hearts, it's just that they have no excuse to stop it for the time being.

In desperation, Okamura could only agree to try again and airdrop a squadron of paratroopers to reinforce the 4th Cavalry Brigade. Interestingly, Masanobu Tsuji was quite dissatisfied, believing that one squadron of paratroopers was simply not enough, and at least one brigade had to be airdropped. Anyway, after some hard bargaining, in the end Okamura Ninji and Masanobu Tsuji reached a compromise, first airdropping two squadrons, and if the effect was good, airdropping two more squadrons.

The devil's paratroopers set off, but this time their luck was not as good as the last time, and they were intercepted by the Red Air Force on the way, and after a fierce air battle, half of the transport planes and escorted fighters went to hell. After the remaining half flew over Jiangwu, it was hit by the ground anti-aircraft fire of the Eighth Route Army, and lost another part. Let's put it this way, only a third of these devil's paratroopers really jumped out of the cabin.

However, jumping out of the cabin does not mean that everything is fine, and only when you successfully land and enter the position of the 4th Cavalry Brigade can you be considered alive, and this difficulty is quite high.

How so? First of all, the paratroopers of the devil are relatively poor in quality, and they basically have no combat experience before, and they have very little experience in parachuting. This means that they have a lower success rate in complex battlefield environments.

Second, the devil's last airdrop was successful, and to tell the truth, luck accounted for the vast majority. And this kind of good luck is not available every time, and this time the devil's luck is relatively poor.

In the end, the last time the devils airdropped supplies, the Eighth Route Army immediately learned a lesson, deployed relatively powerful anti-aircraft firepower in this area, and waited for the devils to throw themselves into the net.

Therefore, only 12 out of 10 of the devils of these two squadrons can really land safely, and most of the devils are beaten into a sieve in the air. And the fate of these devil paratroopers after landing was also quite bad, most of them deviated from the intended goal and landed on the position of the Eighth Route Army, either they were killed by random shooting, or they could only be captured.

All in all, Masanobu Tsuji's high hopes for air reinforcements proved to be an out-and-out defeat, and had no more purpose than to send heads to the Eighth Route Army.

But it is very interesting that Masanobu Tsuji does not admit this, he believes that his plan is not wrong at all, and it is Okamura Ninji's conservatism that is wrong. He believed that the first airdrop was a success, and if the paratroopers had completed the airdrop on the first time, the result would have been completely different. He believed: "It was Okamura-kun's conservatism that made the rescue operation a failure, and if Okamura-kun had been more active and resolutely joined the paratroopers the first time, the result would have been completely different!" This goods also unashamedly continued: "At that time, the Fourth Cavalry Brigade will be able to continue to hold out, and the energy of the Eighth Route will inevitably be dispersed, and our army can completely win this battle!" Not to mention turning things around in one fell swoop, the empire will not be defeated at least so soon......"

It seems that Masanobu Tsuji also wants to hold Gangmura Ning responsible, as if the Japanese army only accidentally lost the second Battle of Handan. So is this really the case? We can assume that even if Masanobu Tsuji could reinforce two squadrons or even one brigade of the 4th Cavalry Brigade, would that change the outcome of its annihilation? The 129th Division has an absolute superiority in troops, and as the Eighth Route Army becomes more and more experienced in combat, this advantage will become bigger and bigger, not to mention a brigade, even if Masanobu Tsuji can airdrop a wing or even a brigade, it will only be annihilated by the 129th Division!

Let's put it this way, from the beginning of the Battle of Handan, the Japanese army had no chance of winning, and it was impossible to win at all, the only difference was the problem of losing more and losing less...... (To be continued.) )