Time back to four days ago, Zhongtiao Mountain Yuanqu County.

Looking at the dilapidated city gate, the chief of staff of the 41st Division, Major General Hitohachi Sakamoto, smiled with satisfaction. He pestled his family heirloom katana on the ground and said triumphantly:

"Your Excellency, it seems that we have good luck."

"Not only did not a single enemy aircraft meet during the march, but even the siege battle went so smoothly."

"The only shame is that we didn't catch those annoying bugs, but then they never had a chance to harass us again."

Obviously, Qing Shui was in a good mood, and he nodded and motioned for the other party to enter the city with him.

When the 41st Division and the 9th Independent Mixed Brigade broke through the frontal defense line of Hengling Pass, Gangcun Ningji immediately issued an order for a new stage.

This old devil demanded that the troops of the northern front drive straight along the Boqinghe Avenue and occupy the main villages and towns along the way and the county seat of Yuanqu.

With heavy artillery and armored units, the devils completed the task in just one day.

Of course, such a smooth result is also due to the preserved fruit defenders who retreated without a fight. They obviously have tens of thousands of people, and they can rely on the favorable terrain to block the attack layer by layer.

However, because of the lack of trust between the troops, for fear that the friendly forces would retreat first and betray themselves, the 41st Division almost bloodlessly completed the task assigned by Okamura Ninji.

"Even if everything goes well, don't let your guard down, Major General Kenkichi Ikegami reminds us with his life."

"In the future, no matter what, we must not divide the troops, and we must act as a unit of the entire division. As long as we have a flaw, those bed bugs will definitely not let go of any opportunity. ”

"Is there any news from the front? Did Commander Ninji Okamura give instructions? ”

After hearing his commander's advice, Sakamoto Renhachi nodded in agreement with a serious face.

Due to the experience of the independent mixed 9th Brigade, the 41st Division never dared to divide its troops, but the mysterious Eighth Route Army never gave up its attack on them from beginning to end.

Although the substantial damage is not great, it really disgusts everyone.

The other party is proficient in guerrilla warfare, and is as ubiquitous as a wild dog, pounced on it and bitten it twice whenever conditions permit. They will even use the terrain to ambush to buy time for the people of the Republic of China to evacuate.

"Hey! I will always arrange a special vigilance force, please rest assured that Your Excellency Lieutenant General! ”

"There's no news from the front yet, but I guess"

Before they could finish speaking, a communications soldier came to the two with a telegram. Qing Shui took the message and read it carefully, followed by a classic island country scolding.

"Yaga! Okamura Ninji, this puppet! Not the son of man! ”

"I know that the mysterious Eighth Route Army has the ability to destroy the brigade level, and I want to divide my troops to attack! He must be taking revenge on me for my previous actions! ”

Seeing that his lieutenant general was about to enter a familiar state of rage, Sakamoto Renhachi carefully took the telegram from the other party's hand, and it would be torn up one step too late.

The content of the message was simple and clear, and the command of the front army demanded that the troops of the 41st Division be divided into two routes.

Part of it marched east along Yuanji Avenue and joined the friendly forces of Jiyuan and Yangcheng.

Subsequently, combined with the combined strength of the four divisions, they occupied the road and the major ferry crossings, surrounded and quickly annihilated the remnants of the 14th Army that had fled inside the Nakajo Mountain.

The other unit advanced west along the north bank of the Yellow River, cooperating with the 36th and 37th Divisions to encircle the Fifth Army, and strive to end the entire Battle of the Central Plains by the end of May.

Originally, this task was jointly completed by the 41st Division and the Independent Mixed Ninth Brigade, but unfortunately the latter had been eliminated by the 1st Air Division and the 1st Marine Regiment.

It was not for nothing that Qing Shui was so nervous, after all, it was a force of 4,500 people, and it was actually wiped out by the enemy with a thunderbolt.

After a major battle, the 41st Division had only 14,000 fighters left.

If the soldiers are divided into two ways, the enemy may seize the opportunity to sneak attack successfully.

"Your Excellency Lieutenant General, do we obey the orders given by Commander Gangcun?"

"Or let me come forward and explain the stakes to the front command, and try to get them to take back their lives."

Although his chief of staff is very discerning, he can always help him solve problems at critical moments. But I have offended my boss before, and rejecting the other party will affect my career nine times out of ten.

After thinking for a moment, Qing Shui Gui gritted his teeth and said:

"Execute the order! Let the troops prepare to go, and you and I will each take the way. ”

"Sakamoto-kun, you must be cautious! I had a sense of foreboding, and I always felt that something was going to get in the way. ”

"Hey! Take care! ”

······

Garrisoned on the northeast defense line of Zhongtiao Mountain were the 98th Army and the 15th Army of Guozhuo, and there was originally the 93rd Army, but due to the tight fighting on the Eastern Front, Commander Wei sent it to reinforce the 9th Army.

Among them, the 15th Army is the Zhensong Army, which can be called the standard template among the preserved fruit miscellaneous troops.

The old foundation of this army is composed of hooligans and ruffians in western Henan, and it can be said that it is armed with a semi-bandit nature.

It has a very poor reputation in the battle sequence of the preserved fruit, and its combat effectiveness is at the bottom all year round. Their strength on paper is on par with that of the 17th Army, and they are also facing problems such as low quality of soldiers and poor weapons and equipment.

The only thing that is commendable is that the troops have participated in many major battles, but unfortunately the performance is average and there is no outstanding record.

The current army commander is a resolute anti-Japanese general, but his ability is very average, and he has not completely understood even the most basic way to control people.

The situation of the 98th Army was not very good, they were originally only a division of the Shaanxi Army. It was only after the previous army commander took refuge in the bald head that it was expanded into a military-level unit, which also belonged to a miscellaneous unit.

However, compared with its peers, the army has a very clear advantage.

They have been active in Zhongtiao Mountain since the defeat in the Battle of Taiyuan, and they have been stationed much longer than friendly forces, and they are quite familiar with the surrounding situation.

There is also a reason why these two motley armies have been able to hold the defensive line for so long, and the troops that Okamura Ninji has placed here are the 33rd Division and the 4th Brigade of the Independent Mixed Brigade.

Both were not fully staffed, together they were less than 10,000 people, and most of the main forces were sent to the brutal Western Front battlefield. Their task is not to attack at all, but to contain them.

On the evening of May 11, 1941, the field hospital of the 98th Army.

At this time, the two division commanders and the chief of staff were all gathered together, and three pairs of eyes were staring at the middle-aged man lying on the hospital bed, and their expressions looked panicked.

Ten minutes later, Commander Wu opened his eyes with great struggle. He sat up with the help of the nurse, and just as he tried to speak, he broke out in a cold sweat.

"Commander! You're finally awake! You have been unconscious for four and a half days, and you have worried the brothers for a while. ”

"You have a wound in your jaw and you can't speak out loud yet. If you have any questions or arrangements, try to give us as brief an order as possible, and you can rest assured that the affairs of the army will be left to us. ”

Four days earlier, the North China Front had launched an offensive on all fronts.

As the main force of the Northeast Defense Line, the command of the 98th Army naturally received special care from the elite of the small group of devils.

Although the guards put up desperate resistance, they managed to buy time for reinforcements. But Commander Wu was seriously wounded in the battle, being hit in the jaw by a bullet and piercing the thigh with a bullet.

Fortunately, the task of the 33rd Division and the 4th Brigade of the Independent Mixed Brigade was mainly to contain and not launch an attack on the whole front, otherwise the defenders who did not have a coordinated command would definitely encounter big trouble.

Commander Wu moved his stiff neck, and then began to ask for details of the war.

"What about the casualties of the troops in the past four days? Have we lost our positions, is there any news from the 15th and 93rd armies next door? ”

"How's the battle going on all fronts? Has there been a breakthrough in any direction by the enemy? ”

The three of them glanced at each other, and these questions were not embarrassing, and finally the chief of staff stepped forward and began to report.

"The casualties were manageable, only 3,000 men were lost in four days, but the enemy was not feeling well. Our 42nd Division made a good start on the first day, annihilating 700 enemies in Wangcun and killing a Dazuo. ”

"Not an inch of position was lost, the situation of the 15th Army was similar to ours, and the 93rd Army was transferred to the Eastern Front. At present, only the northern front has been pierced by the enemy, and the rest of the directions are in our hands. ”

After hearing the four words of the loss of the northern front, the commanders of the armed forces were stunned.

This meant that the two armies were completely separated, and the devils might even occupy the crossing of the Yellow River. Once they are in their pockets, the troops face the problem of being deprived of supplies.

Even if the front line has not been lost yet, defeat is a matter of time.

As if seeing the nervousness of his own military commander, the chief of staff walked over and signaled the other party not to get excited.

"Commander, I'm not the first day of being a soldier, I can understand the situation on the battlefield."

"In addition to the 15th Army, we have a very strong ally. Just three days ago, the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army took the initiative to get in touch with us, and they are rushing to support us as quickly as possible. ”

"And they now have an air force, and they have been fighting with the devil's army since the first day of the war, and the air supremacy of the entire Zhongtiao Mountain is in our hands."

This news shocked Commander Wu, especially when he heard that the other party actually had an air force and had air supremacy on the battlefield.

After the surprise, there is a full sense of security, after all, this is not the first time that the two sides have cooperated.

When their 98th Army crossed the Yellow River and rushed to the front line of Niangzi Pass to block the Japanese army's westward attack, they cooperated with the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army to inflict heavy losses on the Japanese army along Zhengtai Road.

In 1938, he himself fought side by side with the deputy commander-in-chief. It successively smashed the enemy's nine-way siege and eight encirclement and suppression, and even opened up the Nanyue anti-Japanese base area.

For the 129th Division, an ally, Commander Wu's assessment is very simple. That's reliable! Very reliable! Much more reliable than any preserved fruit troops!

"Okay, try to keep in touch with each other!"

"We must cooperate with others, as long as the two of us attack at the same time, we will definitely be able to eat the enemy who is attacking the northeast front."

But at this moment, there were explosions in the west.

Boom Boom!

The three people in the ward immediately looked out of the window to the outside world, the originally dark sky had been reflected red by the firelight, and one shell after another fell on Dong Feng's position on the Western Front.

Judging from the power of the explosion, it must be a 105-mm heavy howitzer that only divisions and regiments are equipped with.

"Guard platoon! Hurry up and transfer with the commander! It's not safe here! ”

"Fuck, it's definitely a little devil coming around the northern line! Look at this firepower must be no less than a brigade! Evacuate! ”

"Commander, the front line will be handed over to the three of us. You can recuperate with peace of mind, and we'll see you later! ”

As soon as he finished speaking, several soldiers carrying stretchers rushed into the ward. They ran away without saying a word, carrying the commander of the martial army, and all their actions were like countless rehearsals.

Under the uneasy gaze of the army commander, the two division commanders and the chief of staff returned to their posts.

······

Six hours later, at three o'clock in the morning, all officers of the 98th Army at and above the regimental level gathered in the temporary command post.

The atmosphere in the room was extremely solemn, the dim kerosene lamp seemed to be the mood of everyone, and the previous optimism disappeared without a trace.

The commander of the military force sighed, and the reserved seats were a full third empty, which meant that several old friends remained on the ground forever.

"Just now, I received a telegram from the commander of the 1st Theater Guard."

"The county seat of Yuanqu has fallen, some ferries have also been lost, and our army's supply lines are gone."

"Now we have two choices, one is to hold our positions and wait for the support of the Eighth Route Army. The second is to follow the orders of the higher authorities and move to the north of the Qinyi Highway. Use the strategy of gyratory drilling to hit the enemy's flank. ”

The entire conference room was silent, and no one answered their commander's questions.

At this moment, the commander of the 42nd Division, Wang Shi, took the case. His eyes were red, and he looked like he was going to eat someone.

"Commander! The 15th Army of the Dog Day! I will never let them go for the rest of my life! ”

"These bastards will withdraw when they say with, and they won't even say hello! Just caught fire! One of my regiments was caught by devils! Fifteen hundred, all dead on the ground! ”

"If you don't avenge this revenge, I swear that I won't be a man!"

These words immediately resonated with everyone, and the scene gradually showed signs of getting out of control.

In tonight's battle, the 33rd Division divided into three routes and launched an attack on the positions of the 98th Army guarding the positions of the 98th Army and the 15th Army in Dongjiao Village.

As a result, the 15th Army did not put up any resistance, retreated at the speed of light from the enemy's shells, and fled directly into the mountains of Yokogawa Town.

Such an irresponsible move directly pitted the friendly forces that were still holding on.

The 33rd Division, in coordination with the 41st Division, launched a general attack from three directions. In just six hours, a third of the soldiers of the 98th Army were killed.

"Commander, let's retreat too! It's still too late to go, and you can join the 9th Army on the Eastern Front. ”

"There are at least 20,000 devils, and it is impossible for us to fight with this little background. If we continue to defend like this, we will all be finished as soon as dawn! ”

Looking at the subordinates who were all injured, the military commander Wu would be a little unable to open his mouth for a while. He originally wanted to persuade everyone to hold out for a while longer, as long as the Eighth Route Army arrived at the battlefield, they could counterattack.

But the morale of the current troops is extremely low, and if the fight continues, there will definitely be deserters.

The orders given by the commander of the 1st Theater of Operations were also unreliable, and the enemy of the two divisions was blocked in the north, and the statement of striking at the enemy's flank was like a joke.

After thinking for a moment, he announced his decision.

"Withdraw, the troops at all levels will be reduced to pieces and converge with the 9th Army to the south!"

What a terrible writing today......

Two chapters tomorrow, 7~8k, the hour is cool and comfortable!

(End of chapter)