When the chief heard this, he looked at the map on the table.

The terrain of Shanxi is relatively special, the west is Luliang Mountain, there is the Jin Sui army stationed, although the Jin Sui army offensive battle is not good, but the defensive battle is still possible.

To the south is Zhongtiao Mountain, which is the territory of the Central Army, and it is not so easy for the devils to defeat it.

Further west and south are the Yellow River, where Chinese troops are stationed.

At the moment, neither the Jin Sui Army nor the Central Army have yet tore their faces with the Eighth Route Army, and they will definitely not let the devils break through from the west and south.

Then the devils in Shanxi can only break through to the north and south and escape.

And there are only two directions to the north and south to break through and escape, Datong and Niangzi Pass.

As long as the two gates of Datong and Niangzi are closed, the devil will not be able to escape.

Datong is still in the hands of the new regiment, and there is a synthetic battalion of more than 5,000 soldiers of the Eighth Route Army guarding there.

Moreover, Taiyuan is 300 kilometers away from Datong, and there is a high probability that the devil will not break through from Datong.

So.

After the defeat of the devils in Shanxi, they can only break through from Niangzi Pass, and the devils directly under the North China Front Army and the devils in Ji Province will definitely attack Niangzi Pass desperately.

"Which unit is responsible for attacking Niangzi Pass?"

The chief drew a circle on the map, and then his eyes narrowed, and he asked:

"What is the strength of the Japanese army defending Niangzi Pass?"

The chief of staff said: "It was the 2nd Brigade of the Jizhong Military Region that attacked Niangzi Pass, and the 129th Division sent a mountain artillery battalion to reinforce it, and the Headquarters of the Jizhong Military Region gave the 2nd Brigade 2 Infantry Artillery Battalions of the 92 Infantry Battalion, and the artillery unit had an artillery regiment. ”

"The enemy's strength defending Niangzi Pass has a Japanese army brigade of 700 people and a puppet army brigade, with a total strength of about 1,500 people."

The 2nd Independent Brigade is the main brigade of the Jizhong Military Region, with 3 infantry regiments and a total strength of nearly 6,000 troops.

This 2nd Brigade was the same brigade that had ambushed the Devil Infantry Wing and the Heavy Artillery Wing on the Pingsui Railway in northern Shanxi Province with the troops of the 6th and 7th Battalions of the New 1st Regiment Division.

After that battle, the 2nd Independent Brigade was captured by the devils, as well as some business equipment given by Li Yunlong, and instantly became a local tyrant army, and its strength was also strengthened.

Although the 2nd Independent Brigade is subordinate to the Jizhong Military Region, it has been developing and growing in the North Taihang area and has not returned to the Jizhong Military Region.

Considering the strong combat effectiveness of the 2nd Independent Brigade, the headquarters ordered the 2nd Independent Brigade to capture Niangzi Pass and hold Niangzi Pass for 7 days.

But now the chief wants to completely annihilate the Japanese army in Shanxi, and those seven days are far from enough.

Because the North China Front can still gather tens of thousands of devils to reinforce Shanxi, the 2nd Brigade will have to fight out in more than 7 days.

"With 3 infantry regiments and an artillery regiment, it is not a big problem to defeat Niangzi Pass."

The chief's tone was worried: "But the devils have gathered heavy troops to attack, and the 2nd Brigade may not be able to hold it." ”

Although the Eighth Route Army had air support, there were not many bombers and fighters that could be used to reinforce Niangziguan, because air support was also needed in other theaters.

Of course, it is better than nothing, and with air support, the battle of the 2nd Independent Brigade is much easier to fight.

But with the 2nd Brigade alone, even if Niangzi Pass is easy to defend and difficult to attack, I am afraid it will not be able to hold Niangzi Pass.

The chief of staff thought about it carefully: "Why don't you order the 129th Division to divide one or two brigades of troops to reinforce the 2nd Brigade?" ”

The chief shook his head: "Niangzi Pass is the key to whether or not the Japanese army in Shanxi can be annihilated in this battle, and a strong combat force must be sent." ”

After a pause, the chief thought for himself: "In this way, order the 2nd Independent Brigade to seize Niangzi Pass as soon as possible according to the original plan, and send a telegram to Li Yunlong, asking one of the three regiments in the northwest of Shanxi to reinforce the 2nd Independent Brigade." ”

The current Independent Regiment and the New Second Regiment are under the command of Li Yunlong.

The headquarters only needs to give Li Yunlong an order.

As for which regiment to let reinforce the 2nd Independent Brigade, it was up to Li Yunlong and Zhao Gang to decide.

Soon, the chief of staff drafted a telegram, first commending Li Yunlong, the flying brigade killed Okabe Naosaburo for doing a good job, and then asked Li Yunlong to draw a regiment from the three regiments in the northwest of Jin Province to reinforce Niangziguan and the 2nd Brigade of Du.

After reading the telegram, the chief signed his name, took it to the telegraph man, and sent it out with a new password.

……

Peiping.

Iron Lion Alley.

Command of the North China Front.

Although the new commander of the North China Front was killed, it did not make much waves in the headquarters.

Because even if Okabe Naosaburo was not killed, he came to Iron Lion Hutong safely and became the commander of the North China Front.

That's useless, as long as Okamura Ningji doesn't leave Beiping, the North China Front will still listen to Okamura Ningji.

"Your Excellency, Commander, Chief of Staff."

In the War Hall, the intelligence staff officer reported the latest information to Okamura Ninji and Tanabe Moritake:

"There is intelligence that the main force of the Eighth Route Army in the southeast of Shanxi, the Eighth Route Army of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region, and the Eighth Route Army of the 120th Division have left their base areas."

Since the planes of the North China Front's aviation units were completely wiped out and the Eighth Route Army gained air supremacy in North China, the devils did not have reconnaissance planes to reconnoitre.

The movement of the Eighth Route Army can only rely on those few hidden spies and agents.

Once the telegram is sent, the Japanese spies and agents who are lurking will be detected by the radio detection vehicles of the Eighth Route Army.

It is equivalent to saying that Japanese spies and agents are disposable, and after this use, they will be arrested.

Okamura Ninji and Tanabe Moritake's faces suddenly became solemn.

Tanabe Moritake said in a solemn tone: "Your Excellency, General, it seems that the Eighth Route Army will launch an attack on the locust army of the Taiyuan and Zhengtai railways within three days. ”

Previously, the General Staff of the North China Front analyzed that the Eighth Route Army would launch an offensive within five days.

But as soon as this information came out, the Eighth Route Army would definitely attack within three days, so some of the Japanese army's preparations would be too late.

Okamura Ninji's face was expressionless, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

Deputy Chief of Staff Yousue Jingsan said: "Your Excellency General, it seems that the Eighth Route Army was planning this attack as early as a month ago, and mobilizing so many troops to attack the Zhengtai Railway and Taiyuan requires a huge amount of combat materials, and it is definitely not ten days and half a month to be ready." ”

Okamura Ninji raised his gaze and stared at the map, his eyes thoughtful.

In the face of the Eighth Route Army's Japanese attack on Shanxi, the North China Front was not unprepared.

In addition to sending troops to attack the base areas of the Eighth Route Army in the southeast and northwest of Jin, it was also prepared to assemble troops of three divisions and one cavalry wing to attack along the Zhengtai Railway from Niangzi Pass.

After joining up with the two divisions stationed in Shouyang and Yangquan, the troops of the First Army and the Fifth Division of Taiyuan were transferred to Ji Province.

Okamura Ninji carefully reviewed whether there were any flaws in his battle plan.

In the end, Okamura Ningji's gaze stopped at the junction of Ji Province and Shanxi - Niangzi Pass.

"Tanabe-kun." Okamura Ninji pushed his round-rimmed glasses and asked, "How many troops are there in the Locust Army and the Locust Association Army stationed at Niangzi Pass?" ”

"Your Excellency, General." Tanabe Moritake replied, "A locust army brigade and a locust association army brigade are stationed at Niangzi Pass. ”

Okamura Ninji's face turned dark, and he scolded: "Yaga, such an important position, why are there only so few troops stationed there?" ”

"Your Excellency, General." Tanabe Shengwu wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, "Some time ago, the Locusts Army gathered forces to attack the Jizhong Military Region of the Eighth Route Army, and there were not many troops left, so there were relatively few troops stationed at Niangzi Pass. ”

"However, I have ordered the commander of the 4th Cavalry Brigade, Major General Sakuma, to lead the 25th Cavalry Wing to Niangzi Pass, and it is expected to arrive at Niangzi Pass at noon tomorrow."

The 4th Cavalry Brigade is under the jurisdiction of the 25th Cavalry Wing and the 26th Cavalry Wing.

However, the 26th Cavalry Wing had been completely annihilated by the Jizhong Military Region and the flying brigade of the New First Regiment, and the 25th Cavalry Wing had also suffered heavy losses in the aircraft bombing of the Eighth Route Army.

Okamura Ninji frowned: "It's not enough, order the defenders of Jingcheng County to abandon the county seat, immediately go to Niangzi Pass, and strengthen the defense of Niangzi Pass." ”

"Hey!"

Moritake Tanabe bowed his head suddenly.

……

The night is like ink.

When it was about to get dark, Li Yunlong ordered the soldiers to rest on the spot.

Since they were marching along the road, the soldiers walked relatively fast, covering nearly 60 kilometers in one day.

The cooking classes of each company began to cook on the fire, and the smell of all kinds of meat filled the entire road.

The guard companies of the battalions were responsible for guarding against a sneak attack by the enemy in the middle of the night.

Although the probability is very low, it has to be guarded against.

At the temporary regiment headquarters of the new regiment, Wang Dehou carried an oil lamp, pointed to the map and said to Li Yunlong and Zhao Gang: "Regiment commander, political commissar, you see, we are here at present, and we are still about 140 kilometers away from Taiyuan, and according to the current marching speed, it will take about two and a half days to reach Taiyuan. ”

The base of the new regiment in the northwest of Shanxi Province is about 200 kilometers away from Taiyuan.

If it is a car, according to the speed of 30 kilometers per hour, it only takes half a day to reach Taiyuan from the northwest of Shanxi.

However, even the new regiment has only become semi-mechanized, and there are not so many cars to transport the fighters to Taiyuan at the moment.

Because the car also had to pull artillery and war materiel.

Therefore, the vast majority of soldiers can only march on foot.

Li Yunlong nodded and said, "Immediately send a telegram to the regimental headquarters of the Independent Regiment and the New Second Regiment to ask about their location." ”

"Yes."

Wang Dehou hurriedly drafted two telegrams, and after Li Yunlong signed them, he handed them over to the telegraph soldiers behind him.

At this moment, the telegraph soldier translated a telegram, got up and saluted: "Report to the regiment commander, political commissar, headquarters telegram!" ”

Wang Dehou hurriedly took it and walked quickly to the oil lamp, and Li Yunlong and Zhao Gang also came up to watch the telegram together.

"Didn't the headquarters order the 2nd Brigade to guard Niangzi Pass?"

After reading the telegram, Wang Dehou's tone was surprised.

Wang Dehou, who flew to the headquarters with Li Yunlong to attend the combat meeting, naturally knew the entire battle plan.

"It seems..."Zhao Gang's eyes narrowed, "The head of the headquarters wants to play a big game of chess." ”

Li Yunlong carried the oil lamp, looked at the map again and again, and soon understood the thoughts of the head of the headquarters: "I know what the head of the headquarters thinks, the head of the headquarters wants to close the door and kill the dogs, and wipe out all the devils in Shanxi!" ”

Wang Dehou and Zhao Gang instantly realized that it was no wonder that the head of the headquarters ordered a regiment to be selected to reinforce the 2nd Independent Brigade.

To kill the dog, you have to close the door first, otherwise the dog will jump over the wall in a hurry.

Li Yunlong's tone was cold: "Order the right side to attack the independent regiment of the group, immediately give up the south to Taiyuan, and make a detour from Wutai Mountain to Niangzi Pass, you must arrive at Niangzi Pass within 2 and a half days!" ”

……