On August 28, 1941, the headquarters of the 11th Army of the Central China Dispatch Army.

"Okamura Ninji, that's just the case."

"I really don't understand what he thinks, he only has 100,000 troops in his hands and still has to divide the troops into three ways, does he think he is carrying out the Barbarossa plan?"

"The rigid and backward tactics deserve to be a stepping stone for Xue Boling."

After putting down the detailed battle report of the first battle of Tanzhou in his hand, Anan Wei expressed his opinion to his chief of staff with great disdain.

As a major general with no real power, Nakatsuka Nagakei did not have the courage to evaluate a commander of the front army, and he could only selectively ignore the game of the bigwigs.

Considering that the next battle was related to his future and safety, he pretended to be careless and reminded:

"Xue Boling still has some strength, and the combat effectiveness of the Ninth Theater of the Republic of China should not be underestimated, and they can even achieve the unity of the army and the people in a specific period."

"What's more, we must pay attention to the movements of the Eighth Route Army Air Force, the Kwantung Army, the North China Front Army and the Eleventh Air Force have issued an early warning to all troops with blood."

"Once those villains launch a surprise attack from the air, the troops will definitely suffer heavy casualties. Now is the time to employ people, and we must try to avoid meaningless casualties. ”

If the above words were to Yoshio Shinozuka, the sword master would definitely respond with a big fight as soon as possible.

However, Anan was not a stubborn man, and unlike some commanders with muscles in his head, he knew what it meant to be loyal and good for what it meant to be good at what it was.

After hearing the reminder of his chief of staff, the old devil nodded solemnly.

The previous air battle in the mountain castle directly overturned the assumptions of the top brass of the dispatch army.

The devils were surprised to find that the Eighth Route Army could be so generous and regardless of previous suspicions, and even trekked to the southwest region to help preserved fruits guard the airspace.

In order to verify the above conclusions, the Japanese army used a large number of spies that had been lurking for many years.

According to past experience, such a large-scale campaign will inevitably intercept intelligence at the first opportunity.

Who would have thought that the agents not only found nothing, but were found out a lot of contact points by the treacherous gentleman Boss Dai.

However, such secrecy measures made the devils suspect that some kind of secret connection had been established between Guoguo and the Eighth Route Army, resulting in the Central China Front Army having to be restrained in everything at this stage.

The 1st Air Division is really a supermodel-like existence in the Asian battlefield, and it has to be guarded against.

In fact, it is not to blame the agents for not collecting intelligence, after all, even a few people inside the preserved fruit know the truth about the air battle. More than some important military intelligence, the bald head cares more about how to get his subordinates to defend the scandal for him.

"Don't worry, I'm not the reckless people of the North China Front."

"As early as two months ago, I applied to Commander-in-Chief Shunroku Hata for anti-aircraft guns of various calibers. When the battle officially began, two flying teams from the Eastern Army came to help. ”

"This time, we learned from our allies in Poland and France, and concentrated our forces and multiple tank brigades to launch a surprise attack at the beginning of the campaign, striving to break through the enemy's defensive line in a short time!"

From the second half of 1940 onwards, the life of the devils became worse and worse.

The Battle of the Hundred Regiments, the Battle of Shanggao, the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain, the Second Battle of Taiyuan, and the air battle of Shancheng, they didn't even have a chance to breathe after a series of fierce combination punches.

Blessings are incomparable, and disasters are not singular.

While the battlefield of the Republic of China was frustrated, the ugly country was also pressing step by step.

Master Luo is constantly adjusting the trade policies of the two sides to put pressure on them, and the supply channels of oil and rubber may be cut off at any time.

If they don't open up a new battlefield so that they can plunder enough strategic resources, they will suffocate to death in the Republic of China sooner or later.

The choice currently left to the book,It's nothing more than going north or south.。

Although the Barbarossa operation of the German 3rd was unstoppable, in less than two months Army Group North had reached Leningrad, Army Group Center had completely taken Smolensk, and Army Group South was about to complete the siege of Kiev.

However, Da Linzi still did not draw too many troops from the Far East, and left 500,000 troops to confront the Kwantung Army.

Thinking of the shadow that was played by the "Big Mac" T26 back then, the books gave up the idea of going north.

The mustache didn't give any real money benefits, and there was no need to fight with the hairies for the sake of the broken land of Eastern Siberia.

Compared to the woolly bear with tens of millions of troops, the ugly country looks better to bully.

There is no possibility of going north, so naturally you can only go south.

After making the final decision, the devils are ready to take advantage of the low pressure in the north to officially implement the plan to enter Southeast Asia.

Due to the insufficient strength of the Japanese army, and now too many troops have been invested in the battlefield of the Republic of China, how to smoothly transfer troops from the battlefield has naturally become the most critical and urgent need.

It is definitely not possible to directly divide the troops, not to mention whether the Eighth Route Army will take the opportunity to beat the water dogs, but there is a high probability that the bald head will seize the opportunity to organize a counteroffensive.

After the arguments of the main battle faction, the base camp decided to stud again before going south, and strive to find a breakthrough in the Republic of China to stabilize the situation.

As the saying goes, persimmons pick soft pinch.

The Eighth Route Army, which has a large number of air forces and artillery, is not easy to mess with, so the preserved fruit has once again become the target of the devils.

Against this background, Anami Yukichi was ordered by the headquarters to replace Lieutenant General Kazuichiro Sonobe, who had suffered a crushing defeat in the Battle of Kamisaka, and became the new commander of the 11th Army.

The task assigned to him is not complicated, that is, to smash the Ninth War Zone of the Republic of China and take Tanzhou.

As long as the devils' plan can be successfully completed, the bald head of the mountain city will not want to live a stable life.

"This time, we have concentrated five divisions and five independent mixed brigades, together with 26 artillery brigades and more than 200 fighters of various types, we will definitely be able to destroy the will of the army and people of the Republic of China to resist the war."

"The affairs of North China have nothing to do with us, let Okamura Ningji lead people to defend it himself."

"Leave the Central China battlefield to me! I would like to see what Xue Boling can use to block the 150,000 army. ”

······

Yuelu Mountain, Tanzhou, Ninth Theater Command.

"I really don't know what the devils think, they actually sent a civilian official to preside over the overall situation."

"Kazuichiro Sonobe and Okamura Ninji are not our opponents, and a small lieutenant general dares to invade Tanzhou! This time, the theater has gathered the strength of 12 armies, and it is necessary for Anan to see what the Heavenly Furnace tactics are. ”

"As long as they can eat the devils of the five divisions, the troops even have hope of uniting the Fifth and Sixth Theaters to recover Jiangcheng!"

Seeing that his chief of staff, Wu Yizhi, was getting more and more excited, Xue Boling hurriedly reached out and tugged at the other party's arm.

The two are fellow villagers and comrades-in-arms, and they have worked together since the Northern Expedition, and there is naturally no problem with their mouths when there is no one around.

Judging from the resume, Anan Weiji is indeed a civil servant. He served as the director of the military affairs bureau, the director of the personnel bureau, and at its most exaggerated time, he was also the deputy minister of the army.

The only experience of leading troops to fight was three years ago when he was a division commander in Shanxi for eight months, and there was no record of large-scale battles at all.

"Okay, don't say a word."

"Shunroku Hata is an old fox, I don't believe he will send a rookie to the front line to command the army, the other party must have a skill that we have not yet discovered."

"Let the troops at all levels pay attention to intelligence work, and we must not let the enemy easily launch a surprise attack on us. When necessary, space can be exchanged for time, and the old method can be used to divide and surround the enemy. ”

The fall of many provinces has deprived the preserved fruit of a number of grain-producing areas.

At this time, the status of Hunan is particularly important, and it is not just a matter of saying that Huguang is familiar with the world.

In order to resist the menacing Japanese army, the Ninth Theater almost took out most of its funds, and even the idle anti-aircraft guns in the mountain city were borrowed.

As if thinking of something, Wu Yizhi first looked around, and then asked in a low voice to his commander:

"Brother Boling, see if we can find a way to contact the Eighth Route Army."

"As long as the other side is willing to send some air support, the next battle will definitely be extremely easy. How can you say that you have accompanied others for more than 20,000 miles, if you don't try it, you will know the result. ”

"If the other party can help Shancheng fight an air battle regardless of his previous suspicions, it will definitely not be a trivial matter before. With the chairman in front, your previous experience is nothing. ”

As soon as these words came out, Xue Boling laughed angrily.

The military literacy of his own chief of staff is very strong, but his emotional intelligence and political sense are very poor.

Although he did not witness the air battle in the mountain castle with his own eyes, a fool could see that his chairman had been sulking for several days.

Now, if anyone dares to secretly contact the Eighth Route Army, it is estimated that even a commander of General Zhu's level will have to end up suspended.

After thinking for a moment, he slapped the other party on the shoulder, and then said a little depressedly:

"What kind of bad idea are you, people are willing to go to the mountain city for the sake of the common people, how can I have the face to ask people to help."

"Besides, as long as the opponent's plane appears in the sky over Tanzhou, believe it or not, Boss Dai will appear at our headquarters after the battle is over."

"If you have time to talk nonsense with me, it's better to go and see the preparations of the people."

In the last battle, the Ninth War Zone mobilized a large number of people in order to stop the pace of the devils' attack.

The soldiers and fellow villagers dug up large and small roads, poured water into the fields in the countryside during the retreat, and planted mines in the water if possible.

The local people firmly carried out Xue Boling's policy of clearing the wilderness, and did not leave a grain of rice for the enemy.

This trick directly caught Okamura Ningji off guard, after all, they only brought a few days' rations when they were marching in the past, and when they were about to finish eating, they would go to nearby villages to grab them.

In the face of the strange tricks of the Ninth War Zone, the devils behaved very uncomfortably.

It was precisely because the transport truck with heavy equipment was stuck in the mud and the logistical supplies could not be sent to the front line for a long time that Okamura Ninji chose Mingjin to withdraw his troops.

Faced with his own commander's inquiry, Wu Yizhi's expression was quite proud.

"Don't worry, I have arranged a special person to carry out and accept everything. With your prestige, the common people are very cooperative with the work of the grassroots soldiers. ”

"As long as the devils can't come up with any new tricks, we can thwart the devils' conspiracy again."

Compared with the optimistic chief of staff, Xue Boling seemed worried at this time.

At present, the biggest problem with preserved fruit is that it is difficult for the various major theaters to coordinate with each other, and there are often situations in which troops at all levels fight their own battles.

What's more, there are still people who are reluctant to spend their blood, and the so-called support cannot create an effective threat to the devils at all, which is not uncommon in many large-scale battles.

The sixth theater of operations is better, after all, the commander is his own man. Once the war is necessary, the other side will definitely send troops to cooperate with its own side in time.

The fifth theater of operations may not respond in time, after all, Rendelin suffered a lot of losses in the battles of Suizao and Zaoyi, and it would be good to ensure that his defense area would not be captured by the enemy.

The mess made Xue Boling sigh, and he instructed the chief of staff beside him as he walked towards the military area of the Dayun Mountain position:

"Call the commander of the 74th Army over to me, and ask him to sell less biscuits and hurry up to the headquarters for a meeting, I have an important task entrusted to him."

······

When Anan Weiji and Xue Boling were making their own pre-war preparations, the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army in Shanxi was not idle.

Originally, the deputy commander-in-chief had set the time for the attack on Suiyuan in October this year, but the undercurrent in central China made him have to advance his plan.

After the air battle in Shancheng, the bald head repeatedly asked the Eighth Route Army to tell the border area, strictly prohibiting the Eighth Route Army from taking the initiative to attack without receiving a request for help.

Everyone understands the other party's careful thinking, which is nothing more than the fear of being robbed.

But the anti-Japanese fight against devils is not for someone's own selfish desires, but to save the suffering people on the land of China.

If the Eighth Route Army launched an attack on the Mongolian army stationed in the Suiyuan area during the Second Battle of Tanzhou, it would be able to contain a group of enemies more or less.

In order not to sabotage the united front, the headquarters really took great pains.

Although the 1st Air Force Division may not have time to change its equipment, and the 1st Marine Regiment does not have enough time to run in with the new equipment, it can only practice more now to improve its combat effectiveness as much as possible.

"Zhang Wanhe, air defense units and guard units are stationed in all major supply centers, and your logistics department can transport weapons and supplies from today."

"I only have one request, all the inventory added up can be used by the three main forces for at least a month!"

"Yes! Mission completion guaranteed! ”

In this campaign, the headquarters left sufficient time for the logistics department to prepare.

At the suggestion of the Yellow River, the comrades built a number of supply centers along the railway line. Once the war began, trains could bring a steady stream of supplies to the front.

Considering that there might be an enemy infiltrating Shanxi, squatting along the Tongpu Railway to launch a onboard charge against the transport trains, Huang also specially modified several armored trains.

In this way, although the capacity is reduced, the safety and reliability have been improved by several grades, and Zhang Wanhe no longer has to worry about the accident of the baby train.

The most important thing in Shanxi is coal, and the transportation capacity is small, so it will run a few more times.

(End of chapter)