At seven o'clock in the morning, the battle losses of the 1st Division were reported to Taiyuan.

After listening to the report, Okamura Ninji's face was extremely pale.

Although he had already been mentally prepared, when he really heard the news, he still felt a burst of blackness in front of him, just one night, a field heavy artillery brigade and a cavalry brigade were gone? This loss is so great that it hurts so much that it hurts deep into the bone marrow!

The entire war room was also silent.

Including the commander of the 1st Army, Sadaichi Yoshimoto, everyone looked solemn.

Even people like Takuya Mizuhara pretended to have a sad look on their faces, even more sad than their colleagues such as Yasushi Inoue and Jiro Sakuma, which was simply heartbroken.

No one dared to speak out easily, and everyone looked at Okamura Ninji.

Okamura Ningji stared at the sand table with a cloudy expression.

Tojo-kun and His Majesty the Emperor will certainly be extremely disappointed when they hear the news.

But at this moment, Okamura Ninji is not most concerned about whether Hideki Tojo and Hirohito will be angry or disappointed? He is most concerned about winning or losing this battle now.

The price paid is already so huge, if he still fails to achieve the combat goal in the end, then he Okamura Ninji may really not be able to explain to the base camp and His Majesty the Emperor, and he can only cut his stomach.

Therefore, this sweep must be won, and it must not be lost!

Thinking of this, Okamura Ninji quickly calmed down, and his thoughts returned to his previous clarity.

"Gentlemen, let's talk about it." Okamura Ninji said, "How should this battle be fought next?" ”

After Okamura Ninji finished speaking, several senior officers in the war room did not dare to speak easily, and no one dared to answer easily before they knew Okamura Ninji's inner thoughts, in case they touched the mold, wouldn't it be self-inflicted?

In the end, Sue Seizan answered: "Your Excellency, yesterday afternoon's street fighting has fully proved that the chariot troops and infantry alone are not enough to seize the city, and it must be coordinated by powerful artillery and aviation firepower, but now the 3rd Brigade of the Field Heavy Artillery has suffered heavy losses, and the aviation has extremely limited gasoline, so we have to think of no way." ”

After a pause, Yusue Seizan said again: "So, I think that the four divisions on both flanks can't wait any longer, and they must immediately launch an attack on the Wohu Mountain and the Jiugong Mountain Area." ”

Okamura Ninji couldn't think of any good way either.

He nodded and said, "Okay, then attack in advance." ”

"Hello!" After a slight pause, he turned around and motioned to Inoue, the head of the communications section, to give combat orders to the four divisions on the left and right flanks.

……

In the official residence of Huangshan in Chongqing, the battle hall of Yunxiu Tower.

"Headmaster." Tang Zong, Chu Yunfei and several staff officers all stood up and saluted.

"Okay." Chang Kaishen smiled and returned the military salute and motioned for everyone to continue.

Tang Zong said: "Principal, the military commander Taiyuan Station has just sent another secret telegram, saying that the 386th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army launched another night attack last night. ”

"Really?" Chang Kaishen said, "What is the result? ”

Tang Zong thought for a while and said, "The result should be a draw." ”

"Nope." Chu Yunfei said, "I think it should be the victory of the 386 brigade." ”

"What's going on?" Chang Kaishen stopped the two from arguing, and said, "Yunfei, come on." ”

"Yes." Chu Yunfei responded, and said, "The 386th Brigade mobilized an artillery regiment, at least 30 or more mountain guns, and launched a precision attack on the artillery position of the 1st Division of the Japanese Army under the observation and guidance of the special forces, and it lasted for more than an hour!" ”

"What?" Chang Kaishen was stunned and said, "For an hour? ”

"Yes." Chu Yunfei said, "After an hour of shelling, the 3rd Brigade of the Field Heavy Artillery and the 1st Wing of the Field Artillery belonging to the 1st Division of the Japanese Army suffered heavy losses, and the remaining artillery could not even make up an artillery wing, which had a serious impact on the next battle in Laoxian. ”

"No, there's a problem here."

Chang Kaishen waved his hand and said: "Even if an artillery regiment is used, it will not be so easy to severely damage the 3rd Brigade of the Field Heavy Artillery and the 1st Wing of the Field Artillery of the 1st Division, right?" The Japanese wouldn't put their artillery in a row and wait for the 386th Brigade to blow it up, right? ”

Tang Zong said solemnly: "It is said that the 386th Brigade fired more than 20,000 shells in an hour!" ”

"What? More than 20,000 shells in an hour?! Chang Kaishen first changed his complexion, and then said, "This is impossible, this is absolutely impossible, how can 30 guns finish more than 20,000 shells in an hour?" ”

Chang Kaishen studied artillery at the Zhenwu School in Japan back then, and he still had a little experience in artillery manipulation.

Tang Zong shook his head and said, "Headmaster, if you keep firing rapidly from beginning to end, it is still possible to finish more than 20,000 shells in an hour!" ”

"Rapid fire for an hour?" Chang Kaishen said, "The barrel must not be scrapped? ”

"The 386th Brigade has no intention of keeping their artillery." Chu Yunfei said, "They adopted a suicidal fighting method, using rapid fire from beginning to end, waiting for the Japanese infantry to reach the front of the position, and retreated as soon as the cannon was blown up." ”

"No, it's still not." Chang Kaishen shook his head and said, "If I'm not mistaken, there is a cavalry brigade in the formation table of the 1st Division, right?" If the artillery of the 386th Brigade wants to hit the camp of the 1st Division, the distance cannot be too far, and the farthest distance is only five or six kilometers, which is not a quarter of an hour's work for the cavalry? ”

After a pause, Chang Kaishen said again: "How could the Japanese army let the artillery of the 386th Brigade fight for an hour? ”

"Headmaster, I was about to say this." Tang Zong said solemnly, "This night attack of the 386th Brigade is a serial set, in addition to using artillery to hit the camp of the 1st Division, it also ambushed a large number of heavy machine guns in front of the artillery position, and the 2nd Brigade of the Japanese Cavalry was ignorant, and as a result, it stepped into the trap and was almost completely annihilated!" ”

Chu Yunfei continued: "The 2nd Cavalry Brigade dispatched a total of more than 4,500 cavalry from three cavalry wings, and in the end, less than 500 cavalry escaped back, and even the brigade commander Katsuo Miyamoto was killed on the spot. ”

"What?" Chang Kaishen couldn't help but gasp, it was so poisonous.

Tang Zong sighed: "The use of troops in the 386th Brigade is really breathtaking. ”

Chu Yunfei said: "I'm sure that this poisonous plan must have come from Wang Ye's hand. ”

"Wang Ye?" Chang Kaishen said in a deep voice, "Is that the top student who graduated from the Berlin Military Academy in Germany?" ”

"Yes." Chu Yunfei said, "This person is really a military genius, he not only has Li Yunlong's cunning, Kong Jie's toughness, and what is even more rare is that he has also received a regular military academy education, so his vision and knowledge are far above Li Yunlong and others, especially the wolf warrior squadron he trained single-handedly, it is really an elite army!" ”

Tang Zongdao: "According to the information provided by Taiyuan Station, in this night attack, the wolf warrior unit commanded by Wang Ye seems to have played a vital role, the reconnaissance of the camp of the 1st Division, the observation of the target and the correction of the shooting Zhuyuan, etc., were all completed by this wolf warrior unit, and it can be said that without the wolf warrior unit, there would be no night attack." ”

"The party-state must also have such elite troops." Chang Kaishen asked with a moving expression, "Yunfei, you have been in the northwest of Jin for a while, and you have also been in contact with this Wang Ye, do you know what is going on with his wolf warrior troops?" ”

"Headmaster, the students are ashamed." Chu Yunfei said, "In fact, the student has studied secretly for a long time, and he has also imitated his wolf squadron to form a tiger squadron, but the combat effectiveness is far behind. ”

"Really?" Chang Kaishen frowned and said, "Is there any secret in the middle that is not passed on?" ”

"Yes." Chu Yunfei said solemnly, "The Wolf Warrior Squadron has many combat skills and training methods that only Wang Ye can master, and even the ordinary troops of the 386th Brigade can't reach it, and outsiders can't reach it, so it's a pity that the Tiger Squadron we formed can only get its shape and not its spirit." ”

"It's a shame." Chang Kaishen sighed.

"If it had been a few years earlier, we could have sent people to study in Germany."

But now that Germany has formed an Axis alliance with Japan and has become an enemy of China, it is no longer possible to send young officers to Germany to study special operations.

……

Liao County, headquarters of the Eighth Route Army.

The deputy chief of staff walked quickly into the war room and reported to the boss: "Boss, the night attack of the Northwest Column of the Shanxi Northwest Column on the 1st Division of the Japanese Army has ended, and great results have been achieved. ”

"Oh, really?" The boss said happily, "How big is the result?" ”

The deputy chief of general staff said: "According to the information provided by our Taiyuan inner line, the 3rd Field Heavy Artillery Brigade, the 1st Field Artillery Wing, and the 2nd Cavalry Brigade of the 1st Division of the Japanese Army have all suffered heavy losses, and the brigade commander of the 2nd Cavalry Brigade, Miyamoto Katsuo, was also killed, or Xiao Wang killed himself. ”

"It's this Wang Ye again." The boss laughed and scolded, "He didn't kill the prisoner this time, did he?" ”

"Nope." The deputy chief of staff said with a smile, "The old devil refused to surrender, so he was killed by Xiao Wang, and it is said that Li Yunlong was very unhappy and felt that Wang Ye had robbed him of the limelight." ”

"These two guys." The boss scolded with a smile, "It's really not worry-free." ”

After a pause, the boss said again: "However, the price paid by the Northwest Column of Jin is not small." ”

"yes." The deputy chief of the general staff said, "In addition to the 36 precious 75 mountain guns, the participating troops were also frantically pursued by the Japanese air force on the way to retreat, sacrificing more than 300 soldiers, more than 100 soldiers were seriously injured, and nearly half of the 100 heavy machine guns participating in the battle were also lost." ”

"Damn." The boss was so angry that he slammed his fist on the table.

It's distressing, 36 mountain guns, 50 heavy machine guns are gone.

In addition, more than 300 brave soldiers were sacrificed, and these were all elite.

"But the good thing is that the sacrifice is also worth it." The deputy chief of general staff comforted the boss and said, "At least the heavy artillery firepower of the 1st Division has been basically destroyed, then the next battle in Laoxian will be much easier, and the defensive pressure of Ding Wei's team will be much smaller than before, and the chances of holding the three county towns will be greatly increased." ”

The boss snorted and said, "Now it's up to the two wings to fight." ”

The deputy chief of the General Staff said with a smile: "I don't think it's a big problem. ”

……

Let's go back to the northwest of Jin.

At seven o'clock in the morning, two hours after the end of the counterattack of the northwest column of Jin, the Japanese troops in three directions launched a fierce attack on Lao County, Ping'an County and Anhua County at the same time.

At the same time as the attack on the three county towns, the 27th, 110th, 26th, and 75th divisions of the Japanese army on the north and south flanks also launched attacks on the Wohu Mountains and the Jiugong Mountains at the same time.

Among them, the 27th and 110th Divisions of the Japanese Army were responsible for attacking the Wohu Mountains in the south.

The 110th Division's cavalry brigade was tasked with the vanguard of the two divisions, with two cavalry squadrons and a heavy machine gun squadron on horseback.

Less than three hours earlier, the 2nd Cavalry Brigade had just been ambushed by the 386th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army, and more than 4,000 cavalrymen of three cavalry wings had been slaughtered in less than a quarter of an hour.

For example, the 110th Cavalry Brigade, in addition to sending a cavalry squad to serve as the spearhead, also divided the entire cavalry brigade into three marching columns, one cavalry squadron in front, one cavalry squadron in the back, and the remaining heavy machine gun squadron on horseback and the brigade headquarters in the middle.

In this way, no matter which squadron is attacked by the Eighth Route Army,

The other two squadrons were able to respond in time and not be wiped out.

However, not long after entering the Crouching Tiger Mountains, he received a report from the top soldiers.

"Captain!" The spearhead rushed to Captain Morijiro and reported, "A strange target has been spotted ahead. ”

"Strange target?" Morijiro frowned and said, "Ogasawara-kun, what kind of strange target do you say clearly?" ”

"Captain, I can't tell." Ogasawara said, "You might as well go over and see for yourself, the target is a kilometer away on the opposite hillside, and it's still safe." ”

Morijiro could only follow Ogasawara to the hill in front.

Located on the edge of the Crouching Tiger Mountains, this hill is relatively independent and relatively high, making it an ideal vantage point if engaged, but the 386th Brigade does not control it.

It may be that this hill is isolated from the entire mountainous area, and it is easy to be surrounded by Japanese troops.

But this was a good thing for the Japanese army, and Morijiro stood on the top of the hill on horseback, and he could clearly see the mountains and fields several kilometers ahead.

Morijiro soon sees the strange target that Ogasawara said.

It's not strange, but it's not strange, isn't it just a foxhole? I saw thousands of foxholes, almost all over the opposite hillside.

In the center of the hillside is a small village.

The thousands of foxholes dotted the entire area of the small village.

It's strange to say, but it's really strange, because I've never seen a defensive position like this.

Foxholes can never be used as independent fortifications, but must be supplemented by trenches, that is, a trench is supplemented by a number of foxholes to form a shallow and deep infantry defensive position, such foxholes can form a strong protection for the main trenches, and prevent the main trenches from being attacked by enemy infantry too quickly.

But there were only foxholes on the hillside ahead, but no trenches in sight.

Morijiro raised his binoculars and asked, "Ogasawara-kun, have you come close to reconnoitre?" ”

"Nope." Ogasawara shook his head and said, "I'm worried that the Eighth Route Army is hiding in these foxholes, and there are few people in our spearhead detachment, so I didn't rush to reconnoitre. ”

Morijiro said, "Then now you can carry out close reconnaissance." ”

"Hello!" Ogasawara spurred his horse down the hill, and with his cavalry detachment of more than ten cavalry, he launched a tentative charge against the small village on the opposite hillside.

Although the ground in the mountains is still a little soft, it is not a big problem.

In a short time, Ogasawara's cavalry detachment approached the foxhole at the front.

But there was silence in those foxholes, and there was no sign of the Eighth Route Army.

The Ogasawara detachment then evacuated and continued to approach the small village on the mountainside.

Through the binoculars, Morijiro paid close attention to the movements around Ogasawara's detachment.

Just as the Ogasawara detachment was about to approach the small village, a figure suddenly appeared in a foxhole on the right, and then without waiting for Morijiro to warn, the Eighth Route Army pulled the trigger.

"Horn hook!" A gunshot rang out, and Ogasawara immediately fell off his horse.

Immediately a dense burst of gunfire rang out, and a large number of enemies suddenly appeared in the thousands of foxholes that had just been empty, and all of Ogasawara's detachment was shot and killed in just one round of firepower.

"Yaga!" Morijiro said hatefully, "Sure enough, they all hid people." ”

The adjutant said: "Captain, it seems that the situation here is similar to the situation encountered by the southern cluster in Yunqi Town and the northern cluster in Tiandagang, these foxholes definitely do not exist in isolation, there must be tunnels connected underneath, and the Eighth Route Army can quickly transfer personnel and equipment through the tunnels!" ”

"I don't need you to say this, I know." Morijiro said with a dark face, "I'm in trouble now." ”

Morijiro's words were quickly verified, and in the next hour or so, the Mori Brigade launched several attacks in a row, but did not achieve any results except for the death of more than 100 people.

But fortunately, immediately behind the cavalry brigade, the 110th Infantry Wing also arrived quickly.

The 110th Infantry Wing immediately took over the attack and launched an attack on the small mountain village on the hillside ahead.

However, after a few hours of fierce attack, near noon, the 110th Infantry Wing failed to achieve decent results, although it once captured hundreds of foxholes, but it was useless at all, because it failed to capture all the foxholes on the hillside, and failed to kill and injure a large number of the living forces of the Eighth Route Army, so when the Eighth Route Army launched a counterattack from the ground and underground at the same time, the Japanese troops hiding in the foxholes could only withdraw in embarrassment, otherwise they would definitely be annihilated.

In short, the 110th Infantry Wing stormed for two full hours, and was unable to advance an inch.

Then, the 110th Division and the 27th Division also arrived.

Hearing that a small hillside blocked the 110th Infantry Wing, it was difficult for the Imperial Army to move an inch, and Hayashi Yoshitaro and Takeshita Yoshiharu were a little unconvinced, how could it be?

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