"Gentlemen, you may have guessed the original intention of the base camp, that's right, it is the 222nd Division of China. Since the beginning of the war, this Chinese army has repeatedly inflicted heavy losses on the Imperial Japanese Army, which is even more humiliating than the Battle of Xifengkou of the 29th Route Army of the Chinese Army, so the base camp instructed our Fifth Division to annihilate it, and more importantly, to capture the commander of this Chinese army back to Tokyo for trial, and to execute it in front of the Japanese people, so as to comfort the heroic souls of the Yamato warriors who died in battle! Seishiro Itagaki said in a slightly hoarse voice, but with a majestic voice.

"Hay!" The Japanese commanders present at the base camp did not dare to have any objection to the decision made by the base camp, and could only express their obedience, although they thought in their hearts that it would be extremely unwise to change the established strategy of the front army for the sake of a small Shina infantry division.

"According to the instructions of the base camp, our 5th Division is the main force of this attack, and at the same time, the 26th Division of the Mongolian Army, the 15th Independent Mixed Brigade and the 4th Cavalry Brigade will assist our troops in the battle, how do you think this battle should be conducted?" Seishiro Itagaki asked.

Some rumors about the 222nd Division, most of these officers here have heard a little, but the Chinese army that fought with them during this period of time is not only dozens of divisions, all the Chinese troops are the same vulnerable in the eyes of these officers, whether it is the Central Army of the Zhina government, or Yan Xishan's Jin Sui Army, only the Eighth Route Army of Zhina is more difficult, but it is not because of how strong the combat effectiveness of the Eighth Route Army is, but because the Eighth Route Army rarely fights with them face to face. If you can't beat it, you can run, and when it comes to running away, they are not the opponents of those dirt roads at all.

According to the thinking of the vast majority of them, there was no need to formulate any operational plans at all, and the large army pointed directly at Datong, together with the first division and one brigade of the Mongolian army to strategically complete the encirclement of Jining, Xinghe, Shangdu and other county towns where the 222nd Division of the Chinese Army was stationed, and then tens of thousands of troops attacked the center from all directions, and finally completely wiped them out in Jining.

Obviously, seeing the thoughts of these officers under him, Itagaki Seishiro got up and said in a deep voice: "It seems that you don't know our opponent at all, do you still think that this 222nd Division is the same as Yan Xishan's Jin Sui Army or Zhang Xueliang's Northeast Army?" Do you know how many great Japanese warriors have died in the hands of this army since the start of the war, the latest statistics of the base camp, since the beginning of September to the present, a total of 29,578 Yamato warriors have stayed in China forever in just two months, and there are more than 30,000 imperial troops who are buried together, most of them died at the hands of this Chinese army, and a large number of officers have died in battle, including the proud Lieutenant General Abe Norihide of our Imperial Japanese Army, It can be said that the Chahar Dispatch Corps was defeated by this branch of the army independently. ”

"As early as more than 2,000 years ago, a great military strategist in China once said that knowing oneself and knowing one's opponent will not be defeated in a hundred battles, but it is a pity that so far our intelligence department has almost blank the situation of this Chinese army, except for those road news, the slightest valuable intelligence has not been collected, so I hope you will not underestimate the enemy and repeat the mistake of sending the Chahar Corps."

The Japanese officers in the conference room were greatly shaken by Itagaki Seishiro's words, and they had all heard the news that the Chahar Corps had finally suffered a major setback and heavy losses in North China, but they had never expected such a tragic situation, with a total of more than 60,000 casualties and the death of a lieutenant general, which had exceeded their expectations of the combat effectiveness of this Chinese army.

"Hay!" Everyone shouted in unison.

Then Major General Noboru Kunisaki, commander of the 9th Brigade of the Fifth Division, got up and said: "It seems that this branch of the army is very different from the army we know of China, at least their combat effectiveness has far exceeded our expectations, you should know that the Chahar Dispatch Corps is formed by the elite of the Kwantung Army, and it is a big test of the Kwantung Army's combat ability of the troops, but now it seems that this result is very bad and cannot satisfy the base camp." I think you should all be interested in seeing and understanding the army that has always been able to bring the Kwantung Army home, but I still hope that Your Excellency the division commander will hand over this vanguard to our Ninth Brigade, because only such an elite can be worthy of fighting our Ninth Brigade. ”

"Yo Xi, Kunisaki-kun is still so confident, okay, after the battle plan is formulated, your 9th Brigade will act as the vanguard." Seishiro Itagaki was very satisfied with Noboru Kunisaki's performance and nodded and said.

"Xie Lu, thank you for the trust of Your Excellency the Division Commander, the Ninth Brigade will definitely use the battle flag of the Chinese army to present a gift to His Majesty the Emperor and His Excellency the Division Commander!" Major General Noboru Kunisaki said loudly.

Major General Toshiji Miura, the commander of the 21st Brigade, was very depressed when he saw that he was preempted by Noboru Kunisaki, and as soon as Noboru Kunizaki's words fell, Major General Toshiji Miura got up and said: "Your Excellency the division commander, I think that to deal with this Chinese army, we must first strategically complete the encirclement of it, otherwise even if we occupy these towns, the result will only be to expel them from these county seats, and we will not be able to fulfill the requirements of the base camp. ”

"Yo Xi, the people of China are very cunning, just like the Eighth Route Army of China, they are like groundhogs, they have no bushido spirit at all, they will only sneak attack and escape, if they are not besieged, it is very likely that this China Army will disappear like those Eight Roads of Dirt." Nishimura Hideon, chief of staff of the Fifth Division, stood up and said.

"Yo Xi, what Nishimura-kun said is reasonable, according to the information obtained by the intelligence department, there are still three armies in North China, the first is the 222nd Division of China, and the second is the 61st Army of China, although this army is said to be an army, but in fact there is only one infantry division and one infantry brigade, with a total strength of only more than 15,000 people, and it has not been replenished since the last war, and the total strength is not expected to exceed 12,000 people. Moreover, the command level of the commander of this Chinese army is not very high, so the threat to the imperial army is not very great. The third branch of the Chinese army is the 6th and 7th brigades of Suiyuan Security stationed in the areas of Guisui and Baotou, and it is a unit that has just been formed in the second theater of China, and its combat effectiveness is very weak. ”

Speaking of this, Seishiro Itagaki got up and picked up a whip on the conference table and pointed to the map on the wall and said: "Therefore, our biggest threat is still the 222nd Division of China, and now this army is stationed in the six counties of Jining, Fengzhen, Xinghe, Shangdu, Zhangbei, and Taolin. ”

The Japanese officers in the conference room were stunned for a while, the Chinese army is too late to escape now, how can it be possible to take the initiative to send it to the door, isn't that no different from sending it to death, is the Chinese people so stupid?

Seeing the puzzled expressions of these officers under his command, Itagaki Seishiro was secretly proud in his heart, and paused for a while before explaining: "Everyone, do you think that if the main force of our division and regiment suddenly attacks Taiyuan in the south, with the strength of the second theater of war, how sure is it that the resistance can withstand the attack of our army?" ”

"If our army cooperates with the 109th Division to attack Taiyuan, the possibility of the Chinese army holding Taiyuan is almost zero." Nishimura Riwen said respectfully.

"Yo Xi, because of this, if I were the commander of the Second World War Zone in China, I would definitely do my best to drag our army in North China to prevent our Fifth Division from moving south. And Yan Xishan of China used to be my classmate, I still have a certain understanding of this person, if I attack here with all my might, I think Yan Xishan will definitely order the troops to defend to the death, and the most effective force in the North Branch is the 222nd Division of China, and when the time comes, we don't need to go to them, the 222nd Division of China will take the initiative to send it to the door. Seishiro Itagaki said with a smile.

Everyone looked at the position pointed by Itagaki Seishiro's stick - Datong. Everyone thought about it, Itagaki Seishiro's idea was really good, if the big warlord in China wanted to keep his old nest Taiyuan, he had to let the 222nd Division contain the Fifth Division, so that the 222nd Division was tied up in Datong, and it was not up to the Imperial Japanese Army to decide whether to live or die at that time.

"Gentlemen, now listen to my orders: the Ninth Brigade acts as the vanguard of our division, captures Yingxian, and Huairen troops are approaching Datong. The 21st Brigade attacked in the direction of Shuozhou, and then attacked from Shuozhou to Pinglu, Zuoyun, and Youyu, and then joined the 9th Brigade under the city of Datong. At the same time, he sent a report to the troops stationed in Mongolia, suggesting that they also divide their troops into two routes, one way to attack Zhangbei and the other to attack Shangdu, and then join forces under the city of Jining. After that, he sent a report to the headquarters of the front army, suggesting that the headquarters send a force of no less than one wing to attack Tianzhen County, and the Fifth Route Army completed the encirclement and annihilation of the enemy's 222nd Division. Seishiro Itagaki ordered loudly.

"Hail"

Soon, the headquarters of the Japanese North China Front sent a telegram back, agreeing to Lieutenant General Itagaki Seishiro's operational plan, and at the same time sending a mixed brigade that promised to send the Chinese garrison to launch an attack on the county seat of Tianzhen. The headquarters of the army stationed in Mongolia immediately sent a telegram, agreeing to besiege the garrison of the 222nd Division in China in two ways.