At this moment, the overall strength of the Hagiwara Brigade can be regarded as a complete two infantry wings - although the Saijo Brigade had to reduce the three infantry brigades to two due to the loss of troops in the southwest of Jinxi; However, long before this, the North China Front had been transferred from Hebei to several independent infantry brigades in Shanxi to supplement the battle losses of the divisions under the First Army; Among them, there is an independent infantry brigade that is assigned to the Hagiwara Brigade, that is, the independent infantry brigade that is currently performing garrison duties in the castle.

In this way, the two wings and six infantry brigades under the brigade can be said to be fully manned. And just tonight, these six infantry brigades, except for the two guarding Wencheng and Little Elm Mountain, the remaining four brigades were almost all put into battle!

What's more, the two wing commanders of the brigade, Kosuke Otsuka and Shigehei Saijo, were forced to go to the front line to command.

This situation should be the first time since the Battle of Taiyuan at the end of last year!

It is no wonder that the brigade commander, Major General Hagiwara, himself suddenly realized this, and became angry at the sand table in the headquarters - the battle situation that could have been actively controlled is facing the danger of getting out of control.

The chief of staff of the brigade, Kawabe Daisa, was the first to react. Just now, when I was marking them one by one on the sand table with a few staff officers, the idea of "shrinking the front" jumped out of Hebian's mind:

"General, you should immediately withdraw the troops of the Saijo Wing Captain on the front line of Zhaojia Village in the lower reaches of the Qinglong River. Although the combat capability of the 12th Brigade of the Jin Army is average, intelligence shows that the brigade still has two fully formed regiments, and they suddenly appeared tonight, posing a great frontal threat to Saijo Shigehei. ”

"Is there any sign that Saijo's retreat has been cut off?" Hagiwara's gaze lifted from the sand table and looked directly at his chief of staff.

"Judging from the battle reports they have submitted so far, there is no such danger for the time being, but the combat front of our brigade tonight is too long, and we should consider shrinking back from the south in time."

"Immediately send a telegram to Saijo Shigehei and order them to quickly disengage from the enemy, at least shrink back to the Rihwapu line, so that the flank direction can realize the reliance on the main force of Xiping Village and prevent the enemy from being attacked on the belly and back."

"The general is wise, I'll call them to execute."

Masao Kojima, the head of the secret service on the side, did not participate in the operational decisions of the brigade commander and the chief of staff; The three main battlefields formed tonight had little to do with him, and his attention was focused on three small areas: First, in the Little Elm Mountain, there was still a possibility that there were still small units of the Zhina Army that had attacked the periphery of the Songjiagou comfort women's camp tonight, and they must be thoroughly searched. Second, in the Guanmen Mountain Pass behind Xiping Village, tonight there was already a plainclothes squad specially searching for prisoners of war such as Warrant Officer Takamatsu of the Divisional Cavalry Wing, and they had mixed into that area, hoping to find valuable clues. Third, before midnight, he personally called the advance team deployed by Hirai Temple No. 1 Nakazo to secretly arrest comfort women, and it should have sneaked out of the area of the Qinglong River in Guanmen Mountain; Following the last time the battle with Pulu was used to fish in troubled waters, the trick was repeated.

In Kojima's view, no matter what the victory or defeat of these three main battlefields is, the most important thing is to ensure the absolute safety of the Songjiagou comfort women camp, rescue Warrant Officer Takamatsu, who has a special background in the military leadership, and further capture the women of Shina who served as comfort women. It's also where his pressure responsibilities lie.

It is said that the three teams that searched Little Elm Mountain, infiltrated Guanmen Mountain, and advanced to the lower reaches of the Qinglong River also carried radios (walkie-talkies); But at least the two teams in Guanmen Mountain and the lower reaches of the Qinglong River were secretly operating, and it was difficult to take the initiative to contact their radio stations -- so the telecommunications staff officers who were watching the nervous transmission of battle reports in the brigade headquarters were inevitably a little lonely.

At this time, the latest situation from the battlefield in Xiping Village was fed back again: Takagi Shaosa of the Saijo Wing and Nara Shaosa of the Otsuka Wing commanded five infantry squadrons and had just broken through the defense line of the Qinglong River in Xiping Village, which was held by the Shina Army, and established a bridgehead position on the east bank of the river. The Chinese army is organizing troops to frantically besiege the bridgehead in an attempt to press it back to the west bank of the Qinglong River.

On the contrary, he ordered the chief of staff of the riverside to remotely control the battlefield in Xiping Village, and be sure to sweep away the Zhina Army in the village within an hour - five infantry squadrons from two wings, with a strength of 1,000 troops, and two machine gun squadrons and an artillery squad to assist in the battle.

The chief of staff of the riverside, who followed the instructions, after a little study and judgment, immediately ordered the two captains of the Xiping Village battlefield not to be overly obsessed with the gains and losses of the bridgehead position, but to make full use of the superiority in troops to complete the tactical development, and if necessary, to divide two infantry squadrons to withdraw from the battle line in Xiping Village, cross the Qinglong River at the north and south ends outside the village, and then attack and flank the Zhina Army in Xiping Village.

Hagiwara listened to the remote control command and was satisfied. Prior to this, Takagi Shaosa, the captain of the Saijo Wing, had made an urgent call, saying that reinforcements from the Shina Army had suddenly appeared north of Saiping Village, and the two infantry squadrons and one machine gun squadron under his command were counter-surrounded. But then the main force of the Nara Infantry Brigade of the Otsuka Wing arrived and relieved the siege of Takagi Shaosa. In this regard, the brigade commander Major General was quite proud of his foresight: he sent Nara Shaosa in advance to lead the team to the front line of Xiping Village. Otherwise, Takagi Shaosa's troops would be in danger.

It can also be seen from this that the Chinese army, which was stubbornly stationed in Xiping Village, was strongly supported by the troops from the outside line on both its north and south flanks, which was quite unexpected by him and the chief of staff of the riverside.

At present, the main force of the Xu Brigade Detachment of the Eighth Route Army on the southern flank of Xiping Village (according to the judgment of Wing Commander Saijo), including a large force of infantry and a small force of cavalry, has been expelled to the lower reaches of the Qinglong River and the area south of Lihuapu. What is more tricky is that the captain of the Saijo Wing, who led two infantry squadrons, an artillery squadron and a truck team to pursue this enemy, suddenly encountered a new force that had recently joined the battle - the 12th Brigade of the Jin Army and started a fierce battle; The brigade commander, Major General regarded this as a dangerous signal, and had telegraphed Saijo Shigehei to retreat and return to the Ewhapo front line to build a defense system; As long as the main force of the Xu Brigade Detachment of the Eighth Route Army and the 12th Brigade of the Jin Army, which had been expelled before, did not violently suppress from the south, the battle line could be successfully shortened.

As for the reinforcements of the Shina Army that once appeared on the north flank of Xiping Village, although they once surrounded the Takagi Brigade of the Saijo Wing, with the timely participation of the main force of the Nara Brigade of the Otsuka Wing, the reinforcements of this unit have been suppressed into Xiping Village. The chief of staff of Hebian, who received this report at that time, judged that the reinforcements should come from Hekou Village at the foot of Guanmen Mountain, which, like Xiping Village, was the so-called base area of the Eighth Route Army entrenched at the western foot of Guanmen Mountain; The Imperial Army, which was dispatched tonight, did not include Hekou Village as a target for the time being, out of the tactical purpose of concentrating its forces on the key sweep. Therefore, it is highly likely that the Eighth Route Army in Hekou Village will send troops to aid the besieged village of Xiping. In this link, the brigade and regiment headquarters inevitably miscalculated and almost caused a defeat.

"Hebian Jun, has there been a new battle report from Junfeng Highway?"

Seeing that his chief of staff was busy giving a command, Hagiwara immediately asked a new question. The battle report of the Junfeng Highway he mentioned was the area of the eastern foothills of Xiaoyushu Mountain north of Fengdian County, and at this moment, at the southern end of the highway leading to Junling County, an important town on the same Pulu Road hundreds of miles away, a fierce battle was also being waged -- the most powerful of the Shina Army that appeared on the three battlefields tonight: the main force of the 391st Regiment of the Central Army, in that direction, it faced off head-to-head with the two squadrons of the Nomura Infantry Brigade of the Otsuka Wing and the three squadrons of the Kameda Infantry Brigade of the Saijo Wing.

Of all the battles tonight, only this sensitive area close to one's side, whether it is Fengdian County or Little Elm Mountain, any Chinese army that appears in this area will undoubtedly instantly stimulate the nervous nerves of the entire Hagiwara Brigade and Regiment Headquarters.

What can give people a little relief is that up to now, the combined forces of the Otsuka Wing and the Saijo Wing have successfully driven the 391st Regiment of the Central Army away from a series of mountain passes at the eastern foot of Xiaoyushu Mountain, and blocked the path of this enemy army to escape from the northern suburbs of Fengdian County back to the old nest of Dayushu Mountain in time, forcing it to carry heavy artillery and other equipment onto the Junfeng Highway.

"Not yet, General," said the chief of staff of the riverside, checking and reviewing several telegrams placed on the table next to the sand table, all of which had been sent back from three different battlefields one after another: "Kosuke Otsuka's last battle report was transmitted twenty minutes ago, indicating that the two squadrons of the division were strongly blocked by the troops of the 391st Regiment after the break on the Junfeng Highway, and the blocking position was even put into the 92nd infantry gun; The two 75 mountain guns of the independent mountain artillery deployed by our brigade at the Qingshikou of Xiaoyushu Mountain are still on their way to the Otsuka Department. ”

Damn it!

The brigade commander, Major General, roared uncontrollably again--the Qingshikou of Little Elm Mountain is close to the southwest corner of Fengdian County, and the Otsuka unit pursuing the 391st Regiment of the Central Army at this moment is on the road in the northern suburbs of Fengdian County.

After all, the chief of staff on the riverside did not know the reason, so he could only speculate and explain: The artillery position at Qingshikou was almost permanent, and the two Qiwu mountain guns were dismantled from the erected gun emplacements and transported to the Otsuka Department by mules and horses, which may have been delayed for some time.

Hagiwara Akira, who was panting, suddenly grabbed the thin wooden pole used to indicate the sand table, poked the Junfeng Highway north of Fengdian County, and asked the chief of staff and several operational staff officers beside him: "You analyze, how long can the 391st Regiment of the general, which has been cut off from its normal return route, support it on the Junfeng Highway?" ”

A staff officer timidly glanced at the chief of staff by the river, and stopped talking. But before the river could respond, the brigade commander Major General frequently knocked on the northern section of the Junfeng Highway with a thin wooden pole: "Here, if you can quickly put in a force and block the rear wing of the 391st Regiment of the Central Army, will it be annihilated?" ”

"Where can we find such a force at this time?" Hebian Dazuo cautiously questioned: "At the end of the Junfeng Highway is Junling County, which is eighty or ninety miles away from the current battlefield, and the garrison in Junling City is just an infantry squad." ”

Hagiwara snorted loudly, and turned the thin wooden pole in his hand to tap the northwest foot of Little Elm Mountain on the sand table, which quickly made everyone have an epiphany: A squadron of the Kameda Infantry Brigade of the Saijo Wing was now patrolling along the western and northern foothills of Little Elm Mountain by truck and motorcycle, in order to prevent the remnants of the Shina Army in the vicinity of the Songjiagou comfort women's secret camp tonight, risking their lives to escape from the steep west and north of the Little Elm Mountain.

If this infantry squadron starts to work at full speed now and pounce on the Junfeng Highway along the wasteland at the northern foot of Little Elm Mountain, there is absolutely the possibility of cutting off the retreat of the 391st Regiment of the Central Army!

The mood of everyone in the brigade headquarters suddenly became excited.