It seems that the elite of the Japanese army that jumped out of thin air, known as the Holy War Army to the outside world, is so well-equipped, fierce in attack, and so strong in combat effectiveness that the Northwest Army has almost never encountered before.

Under the ferocious offensive, the defense line built by the Northwest Army along the Yellow River was directly broken.

The scale of this elite force of the Japanese army is also not small, and it is close to the city of Xi'an.

Fortunately, although Hu Shoushan was a diehard, he didn't drop the chain too much at a critical time, and finally blocked the offensive of the Japanese jihadist army at a huge cost of casualties, which was able to keep Xi'an City.

The chairman of the committee who learned the news was originally hanging on his heart, and then slowly relaxed.

The military value of Xi'an City is too important, and if Xi'an City is lost, the entire Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningbo defense line will suffer a great threat, and even lead to instability in the rear of Chiang's army in the northwest, which is not what the chairman wants to see.

And where is this so-called Japanese jihadist army?

It turned out that it was just after the commander-in-chief of the Chinese Dispatch Army, Junroku Hatata, and the commander-in-chief of the Kwantung Army, Umezu Mijiro, decided to join forces against the Chinese army in Kannai.

On the one hand, Umezu Mijiro sent his right-hand man, Lieutenant General Inoue Yoshisa, who was the forerunner of the Japanese army's armored forces and an expert in mechanized warfare.

Led by Inoue Yoshisa, he specially selected the armored units of the Kwantung Army and the North China Dispatch Army to conduct secret training in puppet Manchuria, so as to eliminate Fu Yisheng's Fourth Cavalry Division of the 35th Army and the so-called armored units of the Eighth Route Army in one fell swoop.

Destroy the armored combat forces of the Eighth Route Army and the 35th Route Army in North China.

In addition, Yamashita was appointed commander of the assault corps.

The corps was composed of two Japanese divisions and regiments, almost 60,000 elites, and was formed by combining the veterans recruited from China and the Ushishima Manchurian Mountain Division, and strengthened the training of mountain operations and mechanized assault operations in the puppet Manchuria, and learned from the mountain combat experience of the mechanized troops pioneered in the south.

This time, he led his troops to advance and killed a horse gun in the direction of Xi'an, which was the decision issued by Yamashita Fengwen.

Speaking of Yamashita Fengwen, an old devil, he has been serving in the Kwantung Army before, because after the Kwantung Army launched the 918 Incident, it has been building a puppet Manchukuo, dealing with the anti-coalition army, and beware of the Soviet army, and there are not too many large-scale battles.

So much so that Yamashita Fengwen was not famous and obscure.

But in fact, this old devil is extremely ambitious, and he is the kind of fanatical warmonger, once he gets the opportunity to fight, this guy will burst out like a mad dog with amazing combat power.

This raid on Xi'an with a horse pistol was just an appetizer for Yamashita Fengwen, who led the Kwantung Army south, before testing his skills.

In fact, Yamashita Fengfumi's appetite was by no means limited to this, he even set his goal in Chongqing, in his opinion, the Kwantung Army, as the flower of the imperial army, would be invincible, and the Chinese army in the Guannai was completely vulnerable.

When the Operational Staff Department was booking the follow-up battle plan for the Holy War Army, Yamashita Fengfumi once put forward the operational goal in a wild speech:

Break through Chongqing in one fell swoop and force the National Revolutionary Army to surrender ahead of schedule!

Speaking of which, if Yamamoto's old devil is still alive, he will definitely become a confidant with Yamashita Fengfumi, and the arrogance of these two guys is exactly the same.

Of course, although this old devil under Yamashita is arrogant, he also has arrogant capital.

The size of the army led by him is 60,000 elite jihadist troops, and the composition of the soldiers is a large number of veterans drawn from the country.

In addition, the Ushijima Manchu Division of the Kwantung Army, which was originally a mountain combat unit.

The team also underwent secret special training in the territory of puppet Manchuria.

The entire jihadist army can be described as elite, even compared to the elite Kwantung Army.

In addition, the firepower configuration has been specifically strengthened, as well as the follow-up of air fire reinforcements at any time.

When the Japanese army broke into the battlefield in the battle of returning to the horse pistol and heading straight to Xi'an, it was even reinforced by the new Type 4 fighters and comet bombers of the Japanese air force.

With the cooperation of aerial firepower, Hu Shoushan's team was pressed and beaten almost the whole time, and the embarrassed lieutenant commander lost all positions, factories, and agricultural areas on the periphery of Xi'an City.

In the end, he could only shrink his troops and defend the city.

Not only that, in addition to aerial fire reinforcements, this so-called jihadist army also has a large number of Type 3 modified tanks, Type 3 75mm anti-tank gun fighting vehicles, Type 4 150 self-propelled howitzer vehicles, as well as a large number of new equipment such as Type 99 rifles, Type 99 light machine guns, Type 100 submachine guns, Type 4 B semi-automatic rifles, and other new equipment attached to the troops.

In this regard, Yamashita Fengwen was full of confidence, and even said in a high-profile manner:

"As pointed out by the Holy War Army, even the so-called elite steel helmets of the Eighth Route Army can only be used as a mantis arm and bring about their own destruction!"

And in addition to the armored division led by Inoue Yosa and the holy war army led by Yamashita Fumi.

This time, in order to completely open up the communication lines in the customs and destroy the development of the base areas of the Eighth Route Army, the Eighth Route Army was beaten back to the suburbs and the field in one fell swoop, and the National Revolutionary Army was forced to surrender with an absolute offensive on the frontal battlefield.

Under the special deployment of the commander-in-chief of the Kwantung Army, Umezu Mijiro, the Kwantung Army also transferred a considerable number of troops to secretly move south and advance in the direction of the Tongpu Line and the Pinghan Line.

In order to completely open up these two continental lines of communication.

At this point, the military intentions of the Japanese army that were finally concealed completely surfaced.

In the former enemy headquarters of the Eighth Route Army.

After the deployment of the Japanese army was exhausted and the true intentions were exposed, the deputy chief of general staff and his entourage were also quite surprised by this.

At the subsequent military meeting initiated by the General Headquarters, the Deputy Chief of the General Staff made a concluding opening remarks at the beginning of the meeting:

According to the news we received, the Kwantung Army is heading south on a large scale, and it seems that it is preparing to jointly dispatch troops to launch a large-scale campaign against our Chinese army.

Moreover, the devil has a great appetite, and according to the analysis of the current situation, the order of the Japanese army's operations is to first face the battlefield, and then to the battlefield behind enemy lines.

This is to clean up Jiang Jun and our Eighth Route Army in one go.

It's a pity that the little devil doesn't have such a good appetite!

Of course, in the face of the southward movement of a large number of Kwantung Army, coupled with the coordination of the Chinese army, the enemy is strong and we are weak in the current situation, our army should continue to adhere to the policy of defending as the offensive, completely drag down the Japanese offensive with the minimum casualties, until the situation is reversed, and then take the initiative to launch a strategic counteroffensive to achieve the final victory in the war. ”

This was followed by an analysis of the war situation, in which the military commanders expressed their opinions.

Ding Wei, who has an excellent ability to perceive the situation, pointed out sharply:

"Whether it is the onslaught of the so-called jihadist army of the Japanese army in the direction of Xi'an, or the sudden battle in the western Hubei region, and the approach to the frontal battlefield on the Chongqing side.

I don't know if any of the comrades have noticed this characteristic, but the direction of the Japanese army's operations, or the purpose of the campaign, seems to be completely different from what it used to be.

If it is said that in the past, the Japanese army launched campaigns aimed at destroying the living forces of our Chinese army and capturing territory.

Then today's little devils seem to be running for the military resources in the vast areas occupied by Chiang's army.

And according to common sense, in the battle around Datong and Zhangjiakou, we almost wiped out the 14th Division of the Kwantung Army of the devils.

In the entire territory of North China, the Japanese army was beaten by us and cowered near the main county towns and communication lines, and did not dare to show their heads at all.

In such a situation, the Japanese army should have focused its military focus and energy on our Eighth Route Army, but why did the little devil turn around and put the beginning of the battle on the frontal battlefield of Chiang's army?

Obviously, the little devil is fighting to nourish the war, and wants to use the military resources plundered by the victory on the frontal battlefield to maintain combat strength, and then turn around to deal with our Eighth Route Army! ”

Ding Wei's words really sounded the alarm for the generals present.

Although the first battlefield of the Japanese army is currently placed on the frontal battlefield, the base areas of the Eighth Route Army must indeed make preparations in advance and guard against the Japanese army turning its guns and killing the battlefield behind enemy lines at any time.

Then the deputy commander-in-chief said: "There has been news from Yan'an in recent days that the attacking Japanese army has basically retreated, but in the defensive direction of Xi'an, the Northwest Army has repeatedly transmitted messages for help to our army.

In addition, on the western Hubei side, Jiang's army has also repeatedly called on our Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army to help.

What do the comrades think about this?

Of course, don't talk about complaining, the anti-Japanese national united front is still there, let's talk about how we can assist Chiang's army in dealing with the Japanese invaders. ”

Commander Wang smiled: "Deputy commander-in-chief, what else is there to say?" The old rule, let's continue to make trouble behind enemy lines, try our best to contain the strength of the Japanese army, and even the backyard fire of the noisy devils, and indirectly support the frontal battlefield! ”

"Lao Kong, what do you say?"

Kong Jie, who was sitting in the corner without saying a word, scratched his nose a little helplessly, thinking to himself, Lao Wang, what are you doing to me if you express your opinion.

But seeing that the eyes of the generals converged, Kong Jie could only express his opinion:

"I have the same idea as Lao Wang, but I would like to add that in order to show the anti-Japanese attitude of our Eighth Route Army and the indirect reinforcement of the frontal battlefield, our operations in the base area, although mainly defensive, still have to organize a few decent active attacks to achieve the goal of containing the Japanese army.

In addition, we can also apply to the Jiang army for some combat observation members, and even war correspondents, so that people can know that we have indeed launched a battle and responded to the frontal battlefield.

Otherwise, people still think that we are like them, and we are happy to watch the drama when we encounter this kind of thing.

Maybe he will turn around and pour dirty water on our heads, saying that we are fighting passively and saving our strength! ”

"Haha, Lao Kong's words are to the point, I think this should be done, so that Lao Jiang has nothing to say!" Li Yunlong, who had a loud voice, immediately echoed.

The deputy chief of the general staff and the deputy commander-in-chief couldn't help but laugh along.

The final response was really decided according to Kong Jie's proposal.

Soon, in the Mengxi area, around the Tongpu Line and the Pinghan Line, as well as in the direction of Xi'an City, all frontal battlefields were completely turned into a pot of porridge.

With the orders and deployment of the former enemy's general headquarters of the Eighth Route Army, just like Kong Jie proposed at the meeting, the main forces in various base areas took the initiative to launch attacks on the Japanese troops in various county towns and communication lines to contain the enemy forces.

Fighting raged everywhere, and the sound of guns and artillery surrounded the outer line of the Eighth Route Army's vast base area, almost all day long.

Front-line communication signals are flying all over the sky, destroying many enemies today, losing positions tomorrow, and constantly calling for reinforcements the day after tomorrow.

Even the aviation units of the Eighth Route Army went back and forth a dozen times.

In such a fierce battle, even the Allied Observer Group, composed of personnel sent by all sides, could not afford to talk nonsense with their eyes open, and then slander the Eighth Route Army for preserving its strength and fighting passively.

In contrast, every time the Japanese army launched a large-scale sweep against the base area of the Eighth Route Army, the Eighth Route Army sent a request for help to Chiang's army, but again and again it was like a mud cow entering the sea, and there was no response at all.

Who knows where all the so-called friendly forces at that time went?

And at a time when the battles of all sides were in a pot of porridge, and all base areas and combat units of the Eighth Route Army were busy in the confrontation with the Japanese army.

Although the propaganda to the outside world said: The steel helmets of the Eighth Route Army, the Iron Triangle Group Army, have all been put into the battlefield and are fighting to the death against the Japanese invaders.

And what is the actual situation?

-- Inside the Special Experimental Military Region of the Eighth Route Army, Kong Jie, Li Yunlong, and Ding Wei, accompanied by the relevant military industry leaders, are tinkering with tracked all-terrain tractors in the arsenal!

The battle outside was hot, but all of this seemed to have nothing to do with the three of them, even Li Yunlong, who was itchy when he heard about the war on weekdays and wanted to rush out to fight the striker immediately, was honestly idle in the base this time.

Why?

Today's Li Yunlong is not only bigger, but also has a bigger appetite, and he can't look down on this small-scale battle at all.

In Li Yunlong's words: "If you want to fight us, you will beat the elite of the devils, go directly to the puppet Manchurian lair of the devils, and clean up all those bullshit Kwantung Army for him!" ”

At this moment, looking at this special experimental crawler tractor, Li Yunlong asked with some hesitation: "Lao Kong, is this thing really as amazing as you say?" ”

Kong Jie said with a smile: "Lao Li, don't underestimate these crawler tractors.

With these special towing vehicles, it is no longer a problem for our mechanized combat vehicles to be completely disastrous swamps, rotten land, rugged and difficult mountain roads, etc., which can be said to be disasters in the past.

It is not to be bragging, under the effect of this special towing vehicle, as long as it is a road that we can walk on two legs, as long as it is a mountain that we can climb on two legs, our vehicles and artillery can basically climb over it.

After that, all kinds of heavy artillery may not be able to fight only in an open area with convenient transportation, maybe we can pull it to the mountains to fight and send a big surprise to the little devil. ”

(End of chapter)