In the headquarters of the Japanese Taigu Defense Line.

Deputy Chief of Staff of the First Army Command Masao Miyazaki.

Watching the Eighth Route Army continue to pour artillery fire on the 14th Brigade and the 18th Brigade's defense line of more than 10 kilometers, his expression was bitter.

Because the 14th Brigade and the 18th Brigade have a total strength of more than 10,000 people, the commanders of the two brigades are both major generals, and no one can command anyone.

Thereupon.

Iwamatsu Yoshio sent Deputy Chief of Staff Masao Miyazaki to the Taigu Defense Line to command the 14th Brigade and the 18th Brigade to guard against the attack of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army.

Masao Miyazaki thought it was a beautiful difference.

Because the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army went north to Taiyuan, it was just a military operation in Datong to cover and assist a new regiment in the northwest of Jin.

It is unlikely that the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army will attack the Taigu defensive line.

The 14th Brigade and the 18th Brigade only needed to hold the defensive line in case the main force of the Eighth Route Army broke through the 14th Brigade and the 18th Brigade.

Because once the Eighth Route Army broke through the Taigu defense line, it would enter the Fenhe Plain, and it could drive all the way to the city of Taiyuan.

With the strength and firepower of the Eighth Route Army, and the 1st Cavalry Brigade went to reinforce the 1st Division, the Japanese army would definitely not be able to stop the advance of the main force of the Eighth Route Army on the Fenhe Plain.

Although the main force of the Eighth Route Army is unlikely to attack Taiyuan.

However, as soon as the Eighth Route Army came up, it used 500 mortars and infantry guns to bombard the Taigu defense line indiscriminately.

Half an hour of shelling caused considerable losses to the 14th and 18th brigades.

However, the losses were within the acceptable range of the Japanese army.

Although there are not many reinforced concrete fortifications in the Taigu defensive line, most of the rest are strong civil fortifications, and the mortars and infantry guns of the Eighth Route Army are difficult to destroy in the case of curved fire.

Only mortars of 120 mm caliber, or 75 mm caliber mountain guns, field guns, and howitzers of 105 mm caliber or more can destroy these civil engineering fortifications.

Masao Miyazaki thought that the Eighth Route Army's tentative artillery bombardment lasted for 5 minutes, and at most it did not exceed 10 minutes.

But a round of tentative firing by the Eighth Route Army used more than 500 mortars and infantry guns, which lasted for 30 minutes!

At least one base number of shells were fired, more than 50,000 shells!

This shocked Masao Miyazaki greatly.

He knew that the Eighth Route Army was very rich, but he didn't expect it to be so rich, and more than 50,000 shells were fired with just one tentative artillery bombardment.

You must know that the current artillery reserve of the entire 1st Army is only about 50,000 shells.

The Eighth Route Army was only one of the attacking troops, and a round of tentative artillery bombardment wiped out the entire artillery reserve of the 1st Army.

Where did the Eighth Road get so many shells?

Was the commander of the Eighth Route Army an idiot?

It is nearly 100 kilometers away from the base of the Eighth Route Army in the southeast of Shanxi.

With such a long logistics supply line, according to this play, can your logistics supply keep up?

Or is it that the shells of the Eighth Route Army are blown by strong winds?

"Yaga!"

Masao Miyazaki, who couldn't think of a clue, could only scold hatefully.

Immediately after, the Eighth Route Army launched a tentative attack, and part of the Japanese firepower was exposed.

Immediately afterwards, after the tentative attack of the Eighth Route Army, the artillery of the Eighth Route Army began to operate again.

This time, the 75-mm mountain guns and 105-mm howitzers of the Eighth Route Army opened heavy fire on the positions of the 14th and 18th brigades.

And.

The mountain artillery and howitzers of the Eighth Route Army fought both tricky and fiercely, and they specially covered the Japanese army's firing points.

By this time, it was getting dark.

You can clearly see the night sky, the orange-red trajectory that is as dense as a spider's web, densely and continuously falling on the Japanese position, and then exploding.

Almost the entire Japanese defense line was suddenly plunged into the fire, gunsmoke and mud fog of the explosion.

The Japanese civil fortifications and firing points were continuously covered by artillery fire.

This shelling lasted for an hour, and even the entire sky to the north was lit red by the fire of the shells.

After an hour of shelling, the infantry of the Eighth Route Army launched another attack.

Most of the firepower points exposed by the Japanese army were destroyed before, but this time all the firepower points of the Japanese army were exposed, and only then did they repel the attack of the Eighth Route Army.

As soon as the Eighth Route Army withdrew, the barrels of the artillery of the Eighth Route Army cooled slightly, and they began to shell the Japanese artillery positions again.

This time the shelling continued for another half an hour, and did not stop until the barrels were red.

An experienced veteran gunner smokes a cigarette with a barrel and waits for the barrel to cool down before continuing to fire.

However. The 14th Brigade and the 18th Brigade of the Japanese Army were a little unbearable.

Taigu Line, the headquarters of the Japanese army.

The commander of the 14th Brigade, Major General Motoquan Shin, and the commander of the 18th Brigade, Major General Nakanaga Taro, walked into the headquarters with an ugly face while carrying the major general's command saber.

Both of them had gray faces, blackened by the smoke of the shells.

Major General Motoquan Xin, commander of the 14th Brigade, took the lead and said with an ugly face: "Miyazaki-kun, the artillery fire of the Eighth Route Army is too fierce, and the losses of our brigade are very large, please reinforce the 41st Division." ”

"The losses of our 18th brigade are also significant!" Major General Nakanaga Taro, commander of the 18th Brigade, also said in a deep voice, "The artillery shells of the Eighth Route Army are like they can't be finished. ”

"In just a few hours."

"The artillery of the Eighth Route Army poured at least 150,000 shells on our defensive positions."

Masao Miyazaki narrowed his eyes and said: "Judging from the offensive posture of the Eighth Route Army, this Eighth Route Army does not look like it is coming for cover and assist, and the Eighth Route Army is very similar to wanting to fight Taiyuan!" ”

Motoizumi Shin and Nakanaga Taro were taken aback.

If this Eighth Route Army wants to attack Taiyuan, with the 14th Brigade and the 18th Brigade, it will definitely not be able to hold the Taigu defensive line.

Yuanquan Xin said: "Miyazaki-kun, I suggest abandoning the Taigu defense line, only two hours of shelling, the locust army and the locust army thousands of soldiers have already fed the shells of the Eighth Route Army, if the Eighth Route Army shells for a few more hours, the 14th Brigade and the 18th Brigade of the Locust Army, as well as the 3rd Division of the Locust Army, all have to die on the position." ”

Nakanaga Taro said, "Motoquan-kun, are you 14th Brigade afraid?" I don't believe that the Eighth Route Army has so many shells, and the Eighth Route Army wants to break through the Taigu defense line unless it crosses over the corpses of our 18th Brigade soldiers! ”

Yuan Quanxin said: "Zhongyongjun, our soldiers can't be useless jade shatters, we should retreat immediately!" ”

"Yaga!" Nakanaga Taro said angrily, "Motoquan-kun, do you want your 14th Brigade to escape?" ”

The 14th Brigade fled, and the defense line of the 18th Brigade was absolutely undefensible.

Because the Eighth Route Army would come back from the position of the 14th Brigade and wrap the dumplings of the 18th Brigade.

Masao Miyazaki said in a deep voice: "Motoquan-kun, Nakanaga-kun, don't be impatient, I'll ask Commander Iwamatsu Yoshio for tactical guidance." ”

That's what Yoshio Iwamatsu was worried about.

One wants to retreat, the other wants to defend to the death, and the two brigade commanders do not agree on their ideas, what kind of battle is there to fight?

Then, Miyazaki Masao walked quickly to the telephone, the Taigu defense line was only 40 kilometers away from Taiyuan, and the telephone line was drawn between the headquarters and the headquarters of the Taiyuan First Army.

Masao Miyazaki can call Yoshio Iwamatsu at any time to report the situation.

……

Taiyuan.

The headquarters of the First Army.

Yoshio Iwamatsu hung up the phone call from Masao Miyazaki and suddenly fell into a daze.

The main force of the Eighth Route Army, which was heading north from the Baijin Road, poured more than 150,000 shells on the Taigu defense line defended by the 14th and 18th Brigades of the Japanese Army, and the 14th and 18th Brigades were almost unable to withstand it.

Let's be honest.

Yoshio Iwamatsu can't understand the Eighth Route Army anymore, what kind of reputation is he going to do?

Didn't it mean that the main force of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army, which was going north along the Baijin Road, was covering and assisting, and how did it come up with a posture of attacking Taiyuan?

Within a few hours, 150,000 shells were fired......

The Kwantung Army is not as rich as your Eighth Route Army.

The stone that had fallen in Iwamatsu Yoshio's heart suddenly lifted it up again.

The Eighth Route Army doesn't really want to fight Taiyuan, right?

Although he was panicked, Iwamatsu Yoshio had no expression on his face, looked at Hanaya Masashi and Yamamoto Kazuki on the side, and asked in a deep voice:

"Hanaya-kun, Yamamoto-kun, what do you think?"

When Yoshio Iwamatsu answered the phone just now, Hanaya Masashi and Yamamoto Kazuki were standing aside, so they also heard Miyazaki Masao report on the situation of the Taiya Defense Line.

"Your Excellency, Commander." Hanaya said disdainfully, "I think the Eighth Route Army is just a bluff. ”

"Bluffing?" Iwamatsu Yoshio's expression moved.

"Yes!" "The Eighth Route Army threw 150,000 shells on the Taigu defense line, and it didn't really want to attack Taiyuan. ”

"With the transportation capacity of the Eighth Route Army, the Eighth Route Army that went north from Baijin Road carried no more than 200,000 rounds of artillery shells."

"It will take at least two days for the Eighth Route Army to transport artillery shells from southeast Jin to the Taigu defense line."

"So I concluded that as long as the 14th Brigade and the 18th Brigade survive today, the Eighth Route Army will not be able to launch much offensive."

Yoshio Iwamatsu nodded, slightly relieved in his heart, and then looked at Yamamoto Kazuki.

Yamamoto Kazuki had a paralyzed expression, feeling Iwamatsu Yoshio's gaze, he knew that His Excellency the Commander wanted him to speak, so Yamamoto said: "Your Excellency the Commander, I suspect that the real strategic goal of the Eighth Route Army is Taiyuan!" ”

Iwamatsu Yoshio's heart beat suddenly, and he asked in a deep voice, "Yamamoto-kun, do you have any basis?" ”

Yamamoto Kazuki walked quickly to the map on the wall, pointed to the map with a wooden pole and said: "If the main force of the Eighth Route Army that is attacking the 1st Division in Datong is not the new 1st Regiment of the 8th Route Army, but the independent regiment of the 8th Route Army and the new 2nd Regiment, the main force of the new 1st Regiment of the Eighth Route Army, make a detour from other places and attack Taiyuan together with this Eighth Route Army. ”

"And the main force of the Eighth Route Army, which went north to attack Yangquan and Shouyang, made the 33rd Division and the 37th Division unable to reinforce the First Army."

"The 1st Cavalry Brigade was transferred out of Taiyuan, and the 21st Division, the 35th Division, the 4th Cavalry Brigade, and the Mongolian Army went to reinforce the 1st Division."

"Taiyuan will fall into the situation of being surrounded by the Eighth Route Army, and there will be no reinforcements."

After Yamamoto Kazuki finished speaking, Iwamatsu Yoshio's brows furrowed tightly.

Hanaya retorted: "Yamamoto-kun, this is just your speculation, it is impossible for the Eighth Route Army to attack Taiyuan!" ”