After the end of the Li Cheng Military Competition, there was also an unexpected episode that surprised all parties.

A certain section chief of the confidential section of the Hebei-Shandong Border Military Region suddenly defected to the enemy and fled to Jinan with the help of the devils, who immediately held a press conference to vigorously slander the Eighth Route Army.

But in fact, this confidential section chief who showed signs of treason against the enemy had long been targeted by the intelligence officers of the Eighth Route Army.

The intelligence department of the headquarters had noticed him a long time ago, and was originally going to directly eradicate him, but later after hearing about this, Kong Jie discussed it with the deputy chief of the general staff, so he simply kept it for the time being, and gave him the code name Poppy.

- Keeping poppies for confusing devils.

Then, Kong Jie secretly communicated with Commander Chen of Southern Hebei, Commander Lu of Jizhong, Political Commissar Luo of the Shandong Military Region and others in advance, and decided to use this confidential section chief as a chess piece.

What for?

It turned out that at the secret meeting of this military games, Kong Jie proposed: "We gathered troops to take the devils by surprise in the Mengdong defense line, if we don't make a plan to launch a surprise attack on the Chahar area, the little devils may not be easily fooled!" ”

"Our action of gathering in the Menggong defense line is too big, just the devil's reconnaissance, there are a large number of Eighth Route Army troops gathered in the Mengdong area, the little devils spy and investigate all day long, worrying, who will believe that we are honestly squatting here?

Even if we have a series of actions in North China, we may not be able to attract all the attention of the devils.

So we had to do a slingshot plan.

The first step is to lure the snake out of the hole and attract the devil to attack.

The second step is called the Black Tiger to dig out the heart, after the defeat of the devils, when they take a short rest, they directly attack the other side of the devil's defense line, advance in the direction of Chicheng, and prepare to lay a nail in the middle of Beiping and Zhangjiakou.

The third step is to take advantage of the fire to rob, and the army that crossed the defense line in the Jin-Cha-Ji base area and Mengdong was ready to cut off the connection between Zhangjiakou and Beiping at the same time. ”

And during the development of this top-secret combat plan, he needed the support of other bases, so he deliberately let the confidential section chief know the news through the meeting, and then secretly revealed it to the little devil.

Everything went very smoothly.

- Tu Feiyuan, this old devil, has been very depressed recently, and the military cadres have relied on their intelligence department for the defeat of the battles they have fought back and forth.

This time, it was not easy to make a big gain, and through the rebellion, the chief of the Confidential Section of the Eighth Route Army actually detected such an astonishing operational intelligence secretly planned by the Eighth Route Army.

Tu Feiyuan dared to delay, and hurriedly reported the information.

Okamura did not dare to delay at all, and immediately strengthened the corresponding defense force.

Umezu Mijiro, who had already integrated the Kwantung Army and was preparing to go south for reinforcements, after learning the news, also hurriedly ordered to delay the Kwantung Army's southward speed.

In the end, the two sides clashed, and the Eighth Route Army penetrated directly into the combat units in the area of Beiping and Zhangjiakou, but was successfully repelled by the Japanese army after the strengthened defense.

The Japanese army successfully kept the base camp in Beiping.

But he still shocked the two old devils, Okamura and Umezu Mijiro, into a cold sweat.

Thankfully, fortunately!

If it weren't for the timely arrival of the intelligence of Tu Feiyuan, once the Eighth Route launched a surprise attack, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Shortly after the battle.

Umezu Mijiro's Kwantung Army had not yet officially moved south.

The Eighth Route Army suddenly launched a counteroffensive in North China claiming Operation August Storm.

All the troops that had tried to attack in the direction of Zhangjiakou were also withdrawn.

At this time, Okamura was completely convinced that the Eighth Route Army was ready to launch a battle plan to recover North China.

Under Okamura's repeated requests for help, Umezu Mijiro did not hesitate, almost tightened his belt, and gathered the few elites left, a total of five elite armor divisions, preparing to bypass the Mengdong defense line, which was easy to defend and difficult to attack, and after going all the way south, he moved closer to Beiping through the eastern Hebei region and advanced.

It is planned to cooperate with the North China Front Army to stabilize the security of the rear of North China in one fell swoop.

At the same time, it advanced in the direction of central Hebei, waiting for an opportunity to level the base area of the Eighth Route Army in central Hebei, forming a sweeping trend from north to south.

Umezu Mijiro sat in the remote command of the Kwantung Army Headquarters, cooperated with Okamura, and fought jointly.

These two old devils have a big plan this time.

According to Umezu Mijiro's idea, since the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War, the Kwantung Army has firmly occupied the Kanto region, and the reinforcements sent to China have been very few.

This inevitably made Umezu Mijiro, the commander of the Kwantung Army, secretly hold back his anger in his heart.

This time, since it was decided to send heavy troops to reinforce China, the dispatch army was sent to fight.

That's not a petty fight.

It is necessary to fight a few big victories to demonstrate the military might of the Kwantung Army.

Including the southward reinforcement of the Kwantung Army, the movement was very noisy, and it was not even concealed at all, as if announcing to the world and to all international parties that the Kwantung Army was going out of the customs operation.

And General Okamura, who was sitting at the headquarters of the Chinese Dispatch Army in Nanjing, was also a lot more down-to-earth after receiving such elite reinforcements from the Kwantung Army.

But he knew very well how powerful the Eighth Route Army was now.

Even with the help of the elite of the Kwantung Army of nearly five divisions, it may not be able to defeat the Eighth Route Army in one fell swoop, let alone completely eliminate the Eighth Route Army.

In order to be absolutely safe, Okamura proposed: "If we fight a decisive battle with the Eighth Route Army, and in the decisive battle, we will inflict heavy losses on the Eighth Route Army in one fell swoop, or even completely destroy the Eighth Route Army, I am afraid that the army on only a few sides will not be able to catch it."

At present, the eight roads in North China, especially in Shanxi, Shandong, and Hebei, are the most rampant.

And if you want to completely eliminate these eight routes, only with the North China Front Army, which is sent by China, even if you add the five master regiments of the Kwantung Army that went south to reinforce this time, the strength is far from enough.

In particular, these eight-way tactics are cunning, and once the combat is ineffective, they will immediately retreat to the base area and launch a counterattack with the help of favorable terrain.

There is not enough strength to deal with! ”

Umezu Mijiro was stunned when he said this, and he wanted to scold his mother in his heart.

A few years ago, when the Eighth Route Army had not grown in strength and was still in the final stage, let alone such a battle, even if it was a division of the Kwantung Army, he might be able to sweep through the major base areas of the Eighth Route Army.

Now it is exaggerated to such an extent that the elite of his five Kwantung Army divisions, plus the North China Front, even have to consider whether it is the opponent of the Eighth Route Army.

Not to mention the defeat and elimination of the Eighth Route Army.

Of course, the culprit of Umezu Mijiro's desire to scold his mother is not Okamura, who is currently in danger and trying to turn the tide, but His Excellency Junroku Hatata, the former commander-in-chief of the Chinese Dispatch Army, who has taken the opportunity to slip back to the domestic reserve after seeing that the momentum is not good.

For Okamura's ability and courage, Umezu Mijiro still admires it a lot.

"So, Okamura-kun, what's your plan?"

Okamura replied: "First of all, with the help of the strength of the Kwantung Army reinforced by Umezu-kun, we will assist our North China Front Army to completely stabilize the overall situation in North China, contain the main force of the Eighth Route Army in North China, prevent the Eighth Route Army from going south to launch an offensive, and take the opportunity to assist the New Fourth Army to grow."

Second, after maintaining the situation in the north, a sweep against the New Fourth Army was launched in the southern region, in central and southern China.

It is important to wipe out the New Fourth Army in one fell swoop before the final decisive battle in North China begins. ”

Okamura, the old boy, is going to pick a soft pinch of persimmons first.

Compared with the Eighth Route Army, which is growing stronger and stronger, well-equipped, and has strong combat effectiveness, the military strength of the New Fourth Army in the south is much weaker.

In addition to Central China and South China, the Chinese dispatched army basically did not suffer too much heavy losses, and in frontal battlefield operations, it continued to defeat the national army to recuperate, and even some combat strength was restored.

Such an opportunity, since the Eighth Route overhauled the defense line in Mengdong and prepared to defend in the north and attack in the south.

According to Okamura's meaning:

"Strike first, stabilize the Eighth Route in North China, launch an offensive in the south, start before the Eighth Route, and completely eliminate the main force of the New Fourth Army first."

This is followed by the follow-up battle plan:

"Once the New Fourth Army is wiped out, Central and South China will be basically stable. As for the national army, the city is more than defended, and the attack is insufficient, and the Battle of Yuxianggui has completely destroyed their military self-confidence, how can they still have the courage to take the opportunity to counterattack?

At that time, the No. 1 operation plan will also be smoothly implemented, and the communication lines of Chinese mainland will be basically opened.

I can transfer the elite of Central and South China and put all of them into North China, and then unite with the elite of your Kwantung Army to launch a decisive battle with the main force of the Eighth Route Army in North China.

Eliminate the main force of the Eighth Route Army in one fell swoop. ”

Okamura's imagination was very good, "If this battle is won, the occupied areas of our empire will be completely secured, and with the help of completely opened communication lines, after the complete alliance with our navy, the remnants of the national army in the south will be completely vulnerable."

At this point, even if the Pacific theater and Southeast Asia have suffered a crushing defeat.

With the help of the Chinese battlefield, our army still has the power of mediation.

Even if the war is defeated, there are fruits of victory in China, and our empire will not necessarily be weakened by it. ”

What a magnificent blueprint!

Umezu Mijiro listened with excitement.

A group of devil officers who participated in the meeting also listened enthusiastically, this Okamura deserved to be an inspirational speech, and after some mobilization, the dawn of the victory of the bullshit holy war seemed to be close in front of the devils.

The other side.

The former enemy headquarters of the Eighth Route Army.

The main force of the Devil Kwantung Army went south in large numbers to reinforce it, how could the Eighth Route Army not detect such a movement.

The specific strength of this Kwantung Army, including the marching route and even the stationing situation, and even who the Kwantung Army officers who led the team and what their personalities were, all kinds of information were clearly and concretely presented in the relevant intelligence documents in the conference room at this moment.

I have to say that the comrades of the intelligence department of the Eighth Route Army are quite remarkable.

"Five elite divisions of the first class, more than 100,000 devil elites!"

The deputy chief of the general staff opened his mouth and judged: "The little devil has indeed made a bloody investment this time, and as soon as the elite of these five Kwantung Army goes south, it can basically be said that the armed elite of the Kwantung region, which is already withering, has almost been transferred."

It's like falling asleep, someone will send a pillow.

The devil is afraid that if we don't start a plan to advance north, it will create an unprecedented emptiness for us in the Kanto region! ”

Of course, the Devil Kwantung Army is known as the elite, and it has been recuperating in the Kwantung region for many years, and it is said that there were more than 1 million elite troops in its heyday.

That's pretty exaggerated.

Even if China sent troops to occupy the major regions of North China, Central China, and South China, and constantly fought behind enemy lines and on two frontal battlefields, the number of troops at its peak was only about one million.

But how big is the chassis in Kanto?

Even after the opening of the Pacific Theater, the elite of the Kwantung Army continued to be transferred, and this time it continued to move south to mobilize five divisions and more than 100,000 troops.

The Kwantung Army, which is stationed in the territory of the Kanto region, is still a behemoth in terms of the total number of troops.

Moreover, there was the Manchurian Defense Force, which assisted the Kwantung Army in its operations.

This is also the reason why Umezu Mijiro dared to resist the pressure of the Soviet side and the Eighth Route Army and send elite troops south for reinforcements.

Moreover, the five elite divisions that have been reinforced are operating in the eastern Hebei region, and once the situation in the Kwantung region changes, they can return to help at any time.

So the current conundrum is:

"First, we must mobilize all intelligence forces to gain insight into the operational direction of the Chinese dispatch army after the Kwantung Army moves southward as soon as possible."

"Second, we must continue to practice the strategy of hiding from the world and crossing the sea, and we must further speed up the process of running-in training of troops in eastern Mongolia and western Mongolia."

"Third, all base areas and recovery areas are ready to guard against the Japanese counterattack at any time!"

The deputy chief of the General Staff finally concluded: "Comrades, our war with the Japanese army has reached a critical juncture, and the more we get to this time, the more we must calm down, and the competition between the two sides will see who has more lasting endurance."

In order to follow up the battle plan to advance northward, so far, our main elite is basically hidden in the eastern area of Mengxi and Mengdong in northern Shanxi.

In fact, the major base areas behind enemy lines are also in a state of elite emptiness.

Once the Japanese counterattack, we will be forced to change our strategy and switch from offensive to defensive, until we completely drag down the Japanese attack. ”

It's actually quite helpless.

Even if the Eighth Route Army has grown to the point where it is today, it is still far behind the overall strength of the Japanese army.

If the National Army and the Eighth Route Army can really be of one mind, the overall strength of the two sides will be able to get closer a lot.

It's a pity, it's a pity!

When the command of the special experimental zone analyzed the battle situation, Ding Wei even pointed out:

"The devil is going south with more than 100,000 Kwantung troops to reinforce this time, if we really carry out a large-scale attack on our base areas in Shanxi, Shandong, Hebei, and northern Henan, we may not be able to withstand it in the absence of the main forces of our base areas.

Even with the help of the fortifications built on the outside line over the years, to withstand the attack of the devils, the emptiness of the elite troops will definitely be detected by the Japanese army.

The devil will then find out that the continuous southward transfer of our Mengsi Mengdong troops some time ago is just an illusion.

If we further judge that we are planning for the troops to advance north.

We have laid so much groundwork for so long, and the battle plan that we have built one ring after another, I am afraid that it will be completely ruined. ”

Who's to say it isn't?

War is always full of too many uncertainties, and before the strength can completely crush the enemy, who can guarantee the absolute direction of the war?

Kong Jie breathed a long sigh of relief and said, "I can only gamble!"

Let's gamble on the devils to launch one sweep after another against our base areas behind enemy lines over the years, but in the end they failed miserably, and they have completely lost the confidence and determination to carry out the sweeps.

Judging from all aspects of analysis, it is not very likely that the devils will sweep the base area with all kinds of turrets on our outer line, and the fortification groups.

Especially after the development of the equipment level of our troops, the little devils often suffer big losses in unfavorable terrain operations. ”

"I hope so!" Ding Wei echoed.

- This is the final contest of fate!

The Eighth Route Army did everything possible to do what manpower could do.

In the face of reinforcements from the Kwantung Army, the Eighth Route Army in North China quietly changed its strategy, no longer seeking an active military offensive, but choosing to retreat to defense.

If necessary, you can even re-throw some of the reconquest areas to the imps.

This made the Chinese Dispatch Army and the Kwantung Army in North China win some battles for a time, but they were quite proud.

During the period of temporary calm behind enemy lines in North China, the comrades of the New Fourth Army in the south took the opportunity to launch a summer offensive to attract the attention of the little devils first.

Until the end of August.

The joint battle plan of the old devil Okamura and Umezu Mijiro has finally begun.

The Japanese army gathered forces in Central China and South China to launch a sweep against the base areas of the New Fourth Army.

The news was quickly transmitted to the front enemy headquarters of the Eighth Route Army.

To tell the truth, the deputy commander-in-chief, the deputy chief of the general staff, the teacher and other generals who heard about the battle situation breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, the Mandate of Heaven still returned to the side of the Eighth Route Army.

The strategic direction of the Japanese army, which seemed to have no flaws, was finally wrong.

As for what to do next, it is natural to bluff and hide from the world.

The base areas of the Eighth Route Army in North China, where the elite forces had long been empty, actively launched an active offensive, claiming to the outside world that the August Storm Operation was actively planning the anti-summer sweeping operations of the New Fourth Army in the south.

At the same time, the judgment of the Japanese army was paralyzed with this, so that the devils could not see the fact that the base area of the Eighth Route Army was empty.

After the military meeting of the former enemy's general headquarters, Kong Jie stayed behind and held a special meeting with the deputy commander-in-chief, the deputy chief of the general staff, the commanders of the main divisions, and the principal responsible persons of the base areas.

During the meeting, the deputy chief of general staff carried out the work on the military map in front of him, marking out the places of Houhe, Guisui, Datong, Zhangjiakou, Licheng, Shimen, Baoding, Hengshui, Handan, Cangzhou, and Tianjin one by one, and then completely connecting them into a line.

"So where is left next?"

Kong Jie replied with a smile: "Next is Liaocheng, Weifang, Pingdu, Puyang, Yancheng and other places, all of these places are connected, and our plan is almost completed!" ”

"So after the August Storm operation was launched, on the whole, we were fighting everywhere, fighting everywhere, and we were completely fighting into a pot of porridge.

But our ultimate goal is to completely open up the transportation lines where these last few counties are located. The deputy chief of the General Staff summed up, and in particular:

"Again, this time the strategic plan is classified as a military secret, and it cannot be publicized to the outside world until the plan is achieved."

"Comrades, whether this plan can succeed or not depends on this last success!"

"Once it is done, the victory we will achieve will be no less than the devil's desperate manpower and material resources, and what bullshit No. 1 battle plan is huge!"