This Spring Festival is probably the most lively and stable Spring Festival for the officers and men of the Eighth Route Army, but the Japanese puppet army was worried all day long, and it was until the end of the Spring Festival.

On the whole, the two sides are at peace with each other.

It was only at this time that the Japanese army, which had been on special alert for the possibility of launching an offensive at any time in winter, suddenly realized that as the Eighth Route had advertised this winter, they really did not prepare any military offensive plan.

At the same time as he breathed a long sigh of relief, old devils like Yoshio Iwamatsu, Naosaburo Okabe, and Junroku Hata felt a deep shame again.

The Special Experimental Zone of the Eighth Route Army continued to develop rapidly in this stable winter.

When the General Headquarters decided to expand Kong Jie's detachment, Ding Wei's new regiment, and Li Yunlong's new second regiment into a special experimental area of the Eighth Route Army, it planned to use this iron triangle base area as an experimental base in all aspects.

In terms of the development of the military industry, it is a special military industrial production base experimental area of the Eighth Route Army.

As for the results of the experiment, it is particularly remarkable.

Judging from the overall situation, it seems that the special experimental area of the Eighth Route Army is the heart of a network, which has jointly driven the common development and growth of the entire Taihang region, and even the entire North China region, as well as the base areas of the Eighth Route Army in all aspects.

Then, driven by the rapid development of the equipment of the Iron Triangle Group Army, the main combat units of the Eighth Route Army in the Taihang area and even the entire North China region, and even the equipment of the local army units and militia units, have been improved to a considerable extent.

In terms of agricultural development, it is a special agricultural production base experimental area of the Eighth Route Army.

Under the premise of scientific planting and cultivation, plus a large amount of reclaimed wasteland, abundant labor, and high-yield mother seeds.

Just one quarter's grain output in the experimental area is even enough for the military and civilians in the entire Taihang base area for nearly half a year's food needs.

The troops in the Taihang base area could not finish eating the grain, and then they transported a large amount of grain to other base areas to reinforce it.

In terms of economic development, it is a special financial pilot zone of the Eighth Route Army.

According to the suggestion given to Kong Jie by Xu Qingnian, the head of economic development of the first team, it was to create a stable, pressure-resistant, and recyclable special wartime financial system for the Eighth Route Army.

To this end, the members of the economic operation department also specially created a set of currency war plans to suppress the Japanese-occupied areas during the war.

As for the final effect, it is to make the day tickets issued by the devils in the Japanese-occupied areas worthless, and mainly to circulate the financial currency of the Eighth Route Army.

In this way, the goal of controlling the economy of the Japanese army in the enemy-occupied area with currency and completely crushing the Japanese army in the trade war was achieved.

In addition, it is also a test area for the construction of the aviation unit of the Eighth Route Army, a special test area for medical research and development, and a test area for the new military field of dynamic coordinated operations.

With the rapid development of all aspects, the generals of the Eighth Route Army who came to visit the special experimental area from various base areas were all filled with emotion and amazement.

In the headquarters of the Special Experimental Zone of the Eighth Route Army.

When Kong Jie was looking at the map recently, his eyes were always focused on the northeast region, and the work on the map was basically carried out around this area.

In the plan of sending troops to the eastern part of Rehe and Hebei, Kong Jie deduced four routes.

Since the Japanese army changed its strategic policy toward the Eighth Route Army in North China, switched from offensive to defensive, and defended the main county towns and communication lines, the Iron Triangle Army basically did not fight any battles.

Li Yunlong and Ding Wei, who couldn't stay idle, pulled Kong Jie and conducted a simulated battle on the sand table in the combat staff to deduce the occurrence and direction of the war.

There is special news today.

As soon as he entered the command headquarters, Li Yunlong shouted: "Lao Kong, Lao Ding, have you heard? The commander of the First Army of this devil has changed, and I heard that the old devil from Iwamatsu Yoshio has been replaced by what is called Yoshimoto Sadachi! ”

Ding Wei said with a smile: "Speaking of which, Yan Song, an old devil, is indeed unlucky enough to take over this mess in Shanxi from the hands of the previous commander of the First Army, Yoshio Shinozuka.

After taking office, he was also unwilling, and launched several sweeps, but we defeated him and returned, and since then he has been honest, honestly staying at his post, and doing some mediocre command.

However, the autumn offensive launched by our Eighth Route Army and the battles around Datong and Zhangjiakou to encircle and annihilate the 14th Division of the Kwantung Army all began to extend from the Shanxi battlefield.

This little devil has suffered such a big defeat, he should always pull out a backpot.

The weight of this back pot is too light, it seems too fake, and it is too heavy, and the little devil can't afford this loss.

So what else can be done?

After pondering, the commander of the First Army in Shanxi, Iwamatsu Yoshio, who has only been in office for a short time, isn't that the most suitable back-up man?

Yes, that's it!

No, then he stepped down, and he replaced this Yoshimoto Sadachi! ”

Kong Jie then expressed his opinion: "Over the years, with the rise of our Eighth Route Army behind enemy lines, the Japanese army has been defeated, and the law and order of this devil in the rear of North China is gradually close to collapse.

The little devil is like an ant on this hot pot, and he has long been in a hurry, constantly thinking about dealing with our Eighth Route Army, but he keeps losing battles and losing troops, and he can only re-boost morale and stabilize the morale of the army through continuous changes.

Speaking of which, this Spring Festival, our base is stable, and the soldiers have had a stable and festive year, but during this period of time, the situation in China and internationally has undergone a lot of changes.

According to what we learned from the United States and Yan'an.

In the Pacific Theater, the Japanese army, which had been advancing all the way, suffered a crushing defeat in the Battle of Midway, and basically lost the possibility of fighting for supremacy at sea.

This can be said to be the beginning of a turning point in the reversal of offense and defense between Japan and the United States.

Then the Battle of Kuah Island broke out between the two sides, and it was already coming to an end, which can be said to be a great victory after the defeat of the American side over the Japanese army in the Battle of Midway.

At this point in the war, the Japanese army fighting on multiple fronts began to gradually show disadvantage in the Pacific theater, and the situation of plundering and attacking in the Southeast Asian theater also began to reverse.

Under these fiascos, the Japanese army is probably even closer to the brink of collapse! ”

Li Yunlong said happily: "Yes, this little devil is now Wang Xiaoer's New Year, and a year is not as good as a year."

However, speaking of which, in the Battle of Kuah Island, Okamura, the former commander-in-chief of the Japanese North China Front Army, who was transferred to Kuah Island, was really a good bastard.

I heard that the U.S. military suffered a lot of defeats and lost a lot of troops under the hands of Okamura, an old devil.

Until later, the Japanese navy in the Battle of Kuah Island had been defeated, and Okamura, an old devil, was still beating the American army in the land battle! ”

What does this mean? This shows that after this old devil Okamura has been honed under our hands, this command ability is indeed even more amazing! Ding Wei laughed.

"It's just a bit of a blame for us, if we hadn't honed our opponent too hard, the United States wouldn't have lost so badly!"

Saying that, the three old comrades-in-arms couldn't help but sigh.

Talking about the current situation of the war between China and Japan, Kong Jie said: "The Japanese army has the nature of gamblers, and when faced with a situation where they are about to lose, what do you think gamblers will do at this time?

I think it's nothing more than a desperate gamble, a final struggle and desperate effort.

This is the so-called battle of trapped beasts.

Therefore, we must prepare and guard in advance for the counterattack that the Japanese army may launch at any time. ”

Then the three of them studied the map and how the war would be waged in what area if the Japanese counterattacked.

Ding Wei pointed out sharply: "If you want to say that in the entire Sino-Japanese battlefield, if the Japanese army wants to achieve a few victories at present, it will probably only sharpen the sword of the national army on the frontal battlefield."

If we want to deal with our increasingly stable base areas and growing troops, I am afraid that the Japanese army in North China alone will not be enough.

Central China and South China are restrained by our comrades of the New Fourth Army and the Chiang Army on the frontal battlefield, and it is impossible for the devils to mobilize too many forces for reinforcements.

In this situation, unless the little devil withstands the pressure of the northeast frontier defense and dispatches a considerable number of Kwantung Army to the south, it is basically wishful thinking if the devil wants to deal with our Eighth Route Army! ”

"Lao Ding is right, and I think it's very likely." Kong Jie agreed with Ding Wei's analysis, "At present, the Soviet-German confrontation has also reached a critical point, and there is no time to take care of the Kwantung Army in the northeast region for the time being.

With the nature of a little devil gambler, at this juncture, it is very likely that he will draw troops south by virtue of the Soviet-Japanese neutrality treaty and take the lead in concentrating his forces to deal with our Eighth Route Army.

It's just that it depends on how the Japanese army will plan to attack!

For us, we just need to fight steadily and prepare in advance for a sneak attack by the Japanese army.

Once the Kwantung Army moves south, as long as we can withstand this wave of attacks, or even drag the Kwantung Army south, this will definitely be the best cover for our advance to the Rehe and Jidong regions in the north.

This is the time we have been waiting for a long time! ”

"But if the devil wants to deal with us, what kind of way will he do?" Ding Wei asked, frowning and thinking.

The three of them pondered for a long time, looking at the map of Nuoda, which covered quite a certain field, and couldn't think of a reason for it for a while.

In the end, he simply proposed:

"The soldiers are coming, the water is coming, no matter how the little devils attack, let's just take it!"

……

……

On the other hand, just as Kong Jie and others received the news, Iwamatsu Yoshio, commander of the First Army of the Devils stationed in Shanxi, officially left his post half a month ago, because of the control of the occupied areas and the ineffective command of the troops during his tenure, which led to the loss of a considerable number of occupied areas, and the troops also suffered heavy losses.

In addition, since Iwamatsu Yoshio took office, the war task of luring the Jin Sui army to surrender has not been achieved, but it has been defeated several times by the Jin Sui army and the Eighth Route Army.

Therefore, it was a demotion and he was transferred back to the reserves.

The newly appointed Yoshimoto Sadachi, who was previously the chief of staff of the Kwantung Army, was transferred to the post of commander of the First Army.

This person is a graduate of the 20th class of the Army Non-commissioned Officer School and the 28th class of the Army University School, two classes later than Iwamatsu Yoshio, and is Iwamatsu's junior.

As for the high-level command of the Japanese army, that is, Junroku Hahata and the commander-in-chief of the Kwantung Army, Umezu Mijiro, after discussions, the reason why Yoshimoto Sadaichi was recommended as the commander of the First Army was naturally due to many considerations.

On the one hand, it is a recognition of Yoshimoto Sadachi's ability.

On the other hand, and more importantly, the arrangement of Yoshimoto Sadachi, the former chief of staff of the Kwantung Army, as the commander of the First Army was precisely to promote the subsequent war cooperation between the North China Front Army and the Kwantung Army.

Having this former chief of staff, who was familiar with the operational characteristics and methods of warfare of the Kwantung Army, and at the same time commanding the First Army to coordinate operations, Junroku Hata and Umezu Mijiro believed that this could avoid to a certain extent the problem of improper coordination between the Kwantung Army and the North China Front Army in previous campaigns.

Really......

Yoshimoto Sadachi, an old devil, also lived up to expectations, and not long after he took office, he put forward the idea of dealing with the growing Eighth Route Army at a military meeting.

He proposed:

"In the occupied areas of the empire in recent years, with the rapid rise of the Eighth Route Army, it has seriously affected the internal stability of the empire, and even caused our army's operations in the frontal battlefield, as well as in Southeast Asia and the Pacific theater to be seriously affected.

On the one hand, it is imperative to continue the offensive on the frontal battlefield, and to achieve the goal of nourishing the war by capturing cities and plundering resources.

You all know this, with the continuation of our war against China, the pressure on our army's resources is increasing day by day, if we do not plunder and forcibly continue through war, our empire will definitely be the ultimate loser!

Therefore, we can only persevere, and only by persevering, maybe there will be a new opportunity for jihad! The worst can also pay less for defeat.

After the frontal battlefield is stabilized, the direction of our main energy next is to fight for the initiative in the occupied area and completely suppress the troops of the Eighth Route Army.

These days, I have been studying the war situation between our Imperial forces and the Eighth Route Army in terms of occupied areas.

It is a pity that, judging by the current situation, the disadvantages of our army are already quite obvious.

If we continue to maintain the current state of attacking as defensive, our army will be dragged down step by step by the Eighth Route Army until it is defeated.

If we want to break this deadlock, I think it may be possible only by taking the initiative to fight for it with a military offensive. ”

Faced with Yoshimoto's sworn words, Okabe Naosaburo asked, "What good ideas does Yoshimoto-kun have?" ”

Yoshimoto Sadachichi: "Your Excellency, I suggest that a bold military offensive on a large scale be prepared.

The method is actually very simple, it is divided into two steps, and it is a tactic commonly used by the Eighth Route Army to attack the east and the west.

Crossing the Yellow River west with a part of our imperial troops, feinting to attack Xi'an, and raiding Yan'an, the political queen of the Eighth Route Army, attracted the attention of the Eighth Route Army.

The premise is that this offensive will be so powerful that even the commander of our army thinks that it is really going to launch a decisive offensive.

After the campaign objective is achieved.

Then, with the Kwantung Army, which had made preparations in advance and secretly transferred southward, as the main force, and with the North China Front Army as the auxiliary, thoroughly wiped out the mainland's lines of communication, and took the destruction of all aspects of the Eighth Route Army's base areas as the primary goal.

Fight the development of the Eighth Route Army's base area back to three years ago! ”

(End of chapter)