Chapter 1052: Weifang Battle

Knowing that Li Yansan and they had already participated in the actual battle, Qiao Youhua was naturally very happy, and immediately gave Li Yansan and them an order, so that they could prepare to return to China at any time to resist the war, and at the same time, Qiao Youhua urgently asked Wan Hu to contact the German Yadru in Tianjin, and asked him to come to Pingshan County to discuss major matters with him as soon as possible.

……

It is said that Li Wen, chief of staff of the Third Division, with his more than 30,000 men and horses, had already led the advance to the boundary of Weifang and was preparing to attack, but found that the Japanese army in Weifang had already prepared, not only built perfect fortifications, but also according to the news transmitted by the underground party comrades lurking in Weifang City, the total strength of the Japanese puppet army in Weifang City had exceeded 50,000.

Li Wen did not act rashly, before, the Japanese army in Weifang City had less than one brigade, and in such a short period of time, it had gathered more than 50,000 troops, which was no longer something that his vanguard army could bear.

Therefore, Li Wen ordered the troops to stop advancing ten miles outside Weifang City and build field fortifications to wait for the arrival of follow-up reinforcements, and at the same time sent a telegram to the headquarters, asking the reinforcements to come as soon as possible.

Weifang should actually be called Weixian, located in the east of central Shandong, guarding the only way to enter the Jiaodong Peninsula from the hinterland of Shandong, that is, the Jiaoji Railway, the strategic location is self-evident, especially in the case that Jinan, Tai'an and other places have been captured by the Dragon Tooth Column.

Originally, the Japanese troops stationed in Weifang did not plan to stick here alone, after all, the 10th Division and other units had been wiped out, and the Tuba Road was too powerful, and they wanted to retreat to Yantai, Qingdao and other places to make plans again, after all, where the back was to the sea, the advance could be attacked and retreated, and the defense could be defended, and if it was really not possible, they could escape by boat, so the Tuba Road would not be able to help them.

However, as the Japanese base camp decided to hold on to the Shandong Peninsula, the Japanese military high-level telegraphed that they must hold on to Weifang, and promised that reinforcements would arrive soon.

As a result, the Japanese army in Weifang began to shrink its forces, and all the Japanese puppet army garrisons in the surrounding counties, such as Gaomi, Shouguang, Changyi, Anqiu and other places, as well as the towns and towns under their jurisdiction, were all transferred to Weifang.

In this way, the Japanese army gathered nearly 20,000 Japanese troops and more than 30,000 devils in a short period of time, making Weifang's strength swell to more than 50,000 in a very short period of time.

Yantai, Rizhao direction also has the Japanese puppet army and a large number of military supplies, along the Jiaoji railway and highway is constantly driving towards Weifang, the Japanese army is determined to block the Chinese army in the direction of Jinan in Weifang, so as to ensure the safety of the Jiaodong Peninsula.

After receiving Li Wen's report, Zuo Quan, who was in charge of the overall situation in Jinan, frowned and said: "It seems that if you want to recover the Jiaodong Peninsula, you have to fight a tough battle in Weifang!" After pondering for a moment and looking at the map, Zuo Quan immediately ordered the herald to urgently transfer the heavy artillery brigade and the air defense brigade to set off immediately, followed by the main force of the 3rd Division and other units, and rushed to the front line of Weifang to aid Li Wensuo's department.

At the same time, the 50,000 newly formed regular troops of the Eighth Route Army were also ordered to immediately move into Zichuan and other places, ready to support the two main forces of the 2nd and 3rd Divisions at any time. Only the guard regiment was left in Jinan to be responsible for security and garrisoning.

After deploying all this, Zuo Quan also told Wu Ming, commander of the 3rd Division, who was leading the main army eastward along the Jiaoji railway line, the news that the Japanese army in Weifang had been prepared, and asked him to prepare mentally in advance.

After Wu Ming received Zuo Quan's telegram notification, he said to the deputy division commander Zhao Youde: "It seems that this time it will be another tough battle!" ”

Zhao Youde nodded with a heavy expression: "Yes, but this is not surprising, after all, the devil will definitely not give up the Jiaodong Peninsula easily, and this battle is inevitable." ”

"Since this is the case, then immediately send a telegram to Political Commissar Li and tell him to make more preparations for the siege of the city, and when we arrive, we will attack immediately." Wu Ming said.

"Didn't the chief of staff say that the heavy artillery brigade and the air defense brigade will be transferred to us, and now we are on the way, and we will wait for their arrival from time to time before launching an attack!" Zhao Youde asked.

"No, the soldiers are fast, how can they wait for the war? In fact, the chief of staff is too cautious, if I, more than 30,000 horses, will not hesitate to launch an attack on the Japanese army in Weifang, although the devil has an advantage in troops, but its strength cannot all be Japanese troops, most of them are still puppet troops, plus to garrison the field defense positions and city walls in the suburbs of Weifang and the city, the troops will inevitably be dispersed, maybe we still have the advantage in local forces.

With the consistent style of the devils, they will definitely deploy the rabble of the two devils in front as cannon fodder, so once our army launches a fierce attack, the outcome is really unpredictable, even if they can't capture Weifang, at least they can break through a few Japanese defense lines. After Wu Ming finished speaking, he looked at the surrounding scenery and said awe-inspiringly: "Therefore, when we arrive, we must immediately launch an attack, and if we hesitate, our morale will fall, and this battle will not be able to be fought." As for the heavy artillery brigades, it is believed that they will come soon. ”

Zhao Youde's eyes flickered, and he nodded thoughtfully, obviously agreeing with Wu Ming's statement.

Qingdao, military port.

At this time, the warships in the harbor gathered, the whistle sounded one after another, resounding through the sea and air, as a huge behemoth slowly sailed into the military port under the escort of a group of cruisers, a group of high-ranking Japanese officers who had been waiting on the dock of the military port for a long time could not help but look excited, including the commander of the 114th Division Lieutenant General Shigeji Suematsu and a group of senior Japanese officers, of which the youngest was also Osa.

"It's coming, it's finally here, Yoxi!" Shigeharu Suematsu couldn't help but smile as he looked at the ships of the huge naval fleet that had followed the aircraft carrier into the harbor.

The Japanese officers around him were also overjoyed and happy.

The reinforcements of the combined fleet of the Navy have finally arrived, and their arrival will not only provide powerful naval and air fire support for the Japanese troops on the Shandong Peninsula, but also bring them more than 50,000 newly formed land forces, which is extremely rare for the Jiaodong battlefield where there is a shortage of troops.

However, with the disagreement between the navy and the army, Shigeharu Suematsu still couldn't afford to personally lead a large group of major officers to wait here in the bitter cold, mainly because there was also a heavyweight who arrived with the naval fleet this time, that is, Ishihara Waner, the deputy chief of the Japanese Army General Staff Headquarters who promoted the Japanese cabinet's determination to keep the Jiaodong Peninsula and East China, although Ishihara Waner still had the rank of lieutenant general at this time.

However, as the planner of the 918 Incident, and his outstanding strategic vision, Ishihara Waner enjoyed a high reputation in the Japanese Army, and Shigeharu Suematsu also respected him until then, so this time Ishihara Waner secretly came to Qingdao to command the battle with the Dragon's Tooth Column, and after he got the news, he immediately personally led a group of his subordinates to the dock to greet him as a sign of respect.

After the aircraft carrier stopped and anchored, a small transport ship slowly sailed away from the aviation side and headed towards the dock.

Looking at the heavily loaded guards on the transport ship, Shigeharu Suematsu and the others stepped forward one after another.

Soon, the transport ship reached the shore, and Ishihara, dressed in a lieutenant general's uniform and with a calm face, walked out of the cabin, surrounded by several burly Japanese officers, and strode towards the shore of the pier on the deck.

Shigeharu Suematsu hurriedly took the lead in saluting: "Welcome to General Ishihara!" "Although the two are at the same level in military ranks, Ishihara is a high-ranking official in the General Staff Headquarters, so Shigeharu Suematsu is still a lower level in terms of actual military power, and the Japanese army has a strict hierarchy, coupled with the respect in his heart, Shigeji Suematsu naturally behaves very politely.