Sign in at the start of the Sword

Chapter 381 Is the Eighth Route Army so powerful?

Jincheng is the railway hub in southern Shanxi and the core of Japanese rule.

In the past few days, the train station has been noisy day and night, with trains constantly coming into the station, dropping off a large number of soldiers and a large amount of supplies.

Three kilometers south of the railway station is the base camp of the Japanese army in Jincheng.

Here, an important military meeting is going on under the watchful eye of Lieutenant General Futian.

Lieutenant General Fukuda is sixty-three, and his white hair shows his old appearance, but if you just look at his sharp eyes, you will only feel that he is in his prime.

More than a dozen senior military officers who participated in the meeting were full of respect for him.

Lieutenant General Fukuda is a living military history of the Japanese army. He participated in the Russo-Japanese War, invaded Korea, Ryukyu, Wanwan, and the four eastern provinces, as well as the current war of aggression against China.

Except for the Sino-Japanese War, he was not old enough to catch up, and basically participated in all the wars in which the Japanese Empire rose all the way.

And have achieved very good results.

This time, when dealing with the extremely difficult Zhongtiaoshan Eighth Route Army, the commander Okamura Ningji repeatedly considered, and sought the opinion of Lieutenant General Fukuda, and appointed him as the commander-in-chief, giving him very high hopes.

"...The situation of the Eighth Route Army over there is like this. Although I think it will hurt morale to say this, I still have to say it. Listen to the miracles of their victories, which were all paved by the defeat of the Imperial Army.

If the threat of the Central Army is one, and the threat of the ordinary Eighth Route Army is two, then their threat is five. They are definitely the number one enemy of the imperial army, and must not be underestimated. "

Toshihide Yamashita, as the senior commander who had the most dealings with the Eighth Route Army such as Li Yunlong and was still alive, did his part to become the keynote speaker for describing the enemy's situation.

The two regiments transferred from the Fourth and Ninth Brigades, on behalf of the two captains attending the meeting, nodded approvingly.

To some extent, they are able to sit in this position, thanks to the blessing of the Eighth Route Army.If Li Yunlong hadn't brought down their former joint captain, the two of them might not have been able to rise up.

Therefore, I strongly agree with the eight-way threat theory advocated by Toshihide Yamashita.

It's just that there are many people, everyone's cognition is different, and their minds are also different.

The brigade leader of the 21st Brigade, Major General Maeda Jiro, looked down on Toshihide Yamashita, a guy who had been defeated repeatedly, and spoke nonsense in front of everyone.

Major General Maeda deliberately said loudly: "In our Imperial Japanese Army, some officers are very incompetent and always lose battles.

They will play tricks and deliberately exaggerate the strength of the enemy in order to avoid punishment.

When I came back, I uttered nonsense. It was not that our army was not good enough, but that the enemy was too cunning. "

Heh heh heh, the military officers who participated in the meeting held back their laughter and endured it very hard. They all looked at Toshihide Yamashita standing there from the corner of their eyes. If General Fukuda hadn't been in charge, everyone would have ridiculed him severely.

Junxiu Yamashita fought three major defeats, and the two generals he served with died. He went to drink with his friends and relax. The friend lost the county town he was guarding, and even lost his life. Only Junxiu Yamashita survived well.

It is rumored in the army that he is a nemesis, who specializes in defeating superiors and colleagues.

Everyone avoided him, if Lieutenant General Futian hadn't called him here, there would have been a lot of strange talk in the room.

Others didn't dare to say that Major General Maeda didn't have that concern anyway: "Old general, such a defeated general who has been defeated repeatedly, with bad luck on his body, will affect our army, please drive him out."

Junxiu Yamashita's face turned into a liver color, and he lowered his head in frustration.

His heart has been riddled with gossip and rumors, and he committed suicide and apologized more than once to comfort the dead soldiers.

But at this time, thinking that the enemy is still alive, he has the courage to live.

Destroying the enemy with his own hands and avenging the dead soldiers is the only reason why he is still alive.

Lieutenant General Fukuda, who sat at the top, calmed down the scene with a peaceful voice: "Maeda, you underestimate the enemy too much. If you can't change your mind, then I will replace you."

A calm statement with infinite power.

All the officers put away their expressions and looked serious, not daring to laugh at the slightest.

Major General Maeda Jiro opened his mouth, and responded with a solemn face.

He knew that Lieutenant General Fukuda was not joking. If he was withdrawn before the battle started, Maeda would become a laughing stock.

"Thank you General for your love, Yamashita will not disappoint the General's expectations."

Toshihide Yamashita understood that this was General Fukuda's endorsement for him. If the general said a word, no one would embarrass him anymore.

"General, some of my subordinates have penetrated into the Eighth Route Army, and I have important information to provide."

Mashiko Shigeo, who is at the bottom of the table, has the lowest official rank to participate in such a high-level meeting as a lieutenant assistant, and it is not his turn to speak at all.

Noticing Lieutenant General Fukuda's attitude, Mashiko Shigeo decided to take a gamble, maybe he could make a good impression in front of the general.

It is not easy to get people into the Eighth Route Army. Lieutenant General Futian was very interested when he heard it, and motioned him to talk about it.

The officers present also pricked up their ears and listened carefully.

Mashiko Shigeo got the approval, stood up excitedly and said: "Some of my people got into the Eighth Route Army by chance.

According to the information they sent out, we learned that the Eighth Route Army is building a large-scale arsenal, with an annual output of about 700 million rounds of bullets and tons of explosives.

The Eighth Route Army has no guns or ammunition, and has become the enemy of the Imperial Army in North China. If they have enough weapons and ammunition, what will it be like?
I'm afraid North China is full of wolf smoke, and the imperial army will not be able to leave the county.This is also the reason why the commander is determined to launch this encirclement and suppression campaign. "

All the military officers attending the meeting showed expressions of astonishment. They were suddenly ordered to bring the troops here. They didn't know that this sudden action was due to the Eighth Route Arsenal.

Even Lieutenant General Fukuda was a little surprised. He learned about this from Komura Ningji, but he didn't know where the news came from.

If the Eighth Route Army is really allowed to build an arsenal and have a steady stream of ammunition, it is indeed not a good thing.

He still remembered that the arsenal was one of them, and there was also an arms dealer named Yuan Lang, who was an important figure in the establishment of the arsenal, and the person Neji Okamura named to eliminate and arrest.

"Continue to talk." Lieutenant General Futian wanted to know what information this little-known lieutenant officer knew.

Mashiko Shigeo received a surprised look and was affirmed by the general, but his face was modest but his heart was already happy.

"Yes, General, as far as I know, there are five regiments in the Eighth Route Army in Zhongtiaoshan, and their combat effectiveness and weaponry can be divided into three levels.

The third class is the three newly established infantry regiments, with a number of about to , and a relatively large proportion of recruits. The weapons and equipment are equivalent to those of other eight-way main regiments, and their combat effectiveness cannot be compared with the imperial army. "

Major General Maeda Jiro nodded in agreement and said: "It makes sense, I said that the Eighth Route Army cannot have so many main forces."

The other military officers attending the meeting also whispered to each other. They all felt that what Toshihide Yamashita said before was too exaggerated, as if the Eighth Route Army was invincible.

It is necessary to mobilize more than five times the number of troops in order to defeat the Eighth Route Army.

The imperial army mobilized 10 people, and easily wiped out the 17 central army.

Mobilize 5 people to fight the th Route Army?

It sounds like a joke, but if it spreads out, others will think they are all third-rate troops!

Now mobilizing imperial troops and imperial association troops to carry out a big sweep is already enough to look up to the Eighth Route Army.

"go on."

After being signaled by the general, Shigeo Masuko cleared his throat and continued, "The second class is a new regiment transferred from the th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army. This regiment consists of a thousand veterans and a thousand recruits.

Equipped with a large number of light and heavy machine guns and mortars, the weapons and equipment are no worse than those of the imperial army, and their combat effectiveness is comparable to that of the imperial army of the same number. "

The regiment leader from the Ninth Brigade felt that this was a place to interject, and took the initiative to say: "The new regiment of the th Brigade once fought against my regiment.

After only one hour of fierce fighting, the fierce battle was carried out, and the enemy and the enemy even launched an artillery battle, resulting in a tie.

Our army launched eight offensives, none of which achieved significant results.

After three hours of fierce fighting, Xinyi Regiment voluntarily withdrew from the battle without giving our army a chance to pursue it. Judging from the casualties, we had a tie. "

Judging from past battles with the Eighth Route Army, a brigade can easily defeat a regiment of the Eighth Route Army, and a regiment relies on firepower superiority, and can fight against three to four regiments of the Eighth Route Army in positional warfare.

If the Xinyi regiment can reach this level, it can definitely be called a strong team.

The officers participating in the meeting secretly kept this number in their hearts, and if they met on the battlefield in the future, they must pay more attention.

When it came to the last new second group, Mashiko Shigeo's face became serious: "The new second group, I call it the first class, I believe there will be no objection.

This is a team of heroes, a team of miracles.

Last year, 1000 people were used to block the five times the strength of the imperial army, and the attack for eight days and nights resulted in an extremely terrifying casualty ratio.

It directly led to the sacrifice of a major general of the imperial army, and almost the loss of an entire regiment. "

All the officers had heard about that failure, which directly led to their original commander, Lieutenant General Youzuka Yoshio, returning home early to retire.

As a witness, Toshihide Yamashita felt it more clearly, with his head bowed and his face full of shame and remorse.

How many times in the middle of the night, when he heard the general's shout and the soldiers' screams, he would sit up from his sleep and break out in a cold sweat.

Since then, he has hardly had a good night's sleep.

"Last year's New Second Regiment is very different from this year's New Second Regiment."

Mashiko Shigeo raised his voice, "According to inside information, the new second regiment has now become a reinforced regiment with more than 4000 people.

There are three infantry battalions, and each infantry squad is equipped with a Czech-style light machine gun and a Soviet-made Bobosha submachine gun. The firepower of the unit is better than that of the imperial army.

There is also an artillery battalion, air defense company, reconnaissance company, engineering company, and other special forces.Able to deal with various complex battle situations.

Their soldiers are as brave and brave as the imperial army, and their fighting will is extremely tenacious.

What a formidable army this is!

I think they can take on any of the aces of the Royals.If the ordinary imperial army meets them, they will be far from their opponents. "

This statement directly silenced all the officers participating in the meeting.

Just counting the strength on paper, an infantry regiment is definitely not the opponent of the new second regiment.

The so-called ace alliance can be powerful. Although they don't want to admit it, they all know it.The army that I and others are in can only be regarded as a second-rate security force.

If you really meet, I'm afraid you will be beaten and humiliated.

Junxiu Yamashita leaned against the wall to stand firm, with blood rushing to his forehead. The new second group was his nightmare, and all his failures and notoriety were caused by the new second group.

He is the most unlucky example of being hostile to the new second regiment.

Listening to Shigeo Mashiko's introduction now, Toshihide Yamashita is even more heartbroken.

His enemy seems to be stronger. I don't know if he can take revenge this time and fulfill his wish?
Lieutenant General Futian, who sat at the top, broke the solemnity, and he laughed heartily a few times:

"How could the Imperial Japanese Army retreat in fear because of one or two strong enemies? The more powerful the enemy, the more excited we should be.

Defeating such an opponent has a sense of accomplishment.

Besides, looking back at the Russo-Japanese War back then, weren't the Russians also very powerful?No, the imperial army was also defeated.

A small New Second Regiment of the Eighth Route Army is just a stepping stone for the Imperial Japanese Army. "

The general's relief made everyone breathe a sigh of relief.Walked out of the fear created by the new second regiment for the prestige.

Major General Maeda Jiro echoed his words, which rekindled their confidence and fighting spirit.

"This time, we have transferred planes from Taiyuan, which can provide uninterrupted air support during the day.

There is also a heavy artillery unit that has been transferred, with a total of twelve howitzers and four heavy artillery, providing long-range firepower.

Whether it is a tenacious enemy or a hard rock fortification, they will be crushed by shells.

Even if we use planes to bombard us with shells, we have to fight our way to destroy the arsenal of the Eighth Route Army. "

Thinking about it carefully, does the Eighth Route Army have air support from planes?
No.

Except for the few poor anti-aircraft machine guns, which pose a certain threat, the other Eighth Route Army can only be ravaged wantonly by aircraft.

It's not good to just be beaten and not be able to fight back.

A 150mm caliber heavy artillery can weigh kilograms per shell, and a direct hit can destroy double-layer concrete fortifications.

I used to hide in stone holes, so it was not easy to chew, and I couldn't move anymore.

Now a cannonball goes straight down, and the person and the hole are buried together.

Such heavy artillery is so heavy that many horses are often used to drag it, making it very difficult to move in the mountains.

In the past, it would never be used in mountain warfare, it is too much to lose.

But being willing to take it out this time is enough to show the general's determination.

Understand the situation of the enemy, and at the same time show that the situation of the imperial army is better than that of the enemy.

"Neither underestimate the enemy, nor underestimate the enemy, but pay attention to the enemy."

Lieutenant General Fukuda set the tone, and then began discussions on detailed combat deployment.

It is necessary to wipe out the vital forces of the Eighth Route Army, destroy the Eighth Route Army arsenal, and capture that special person.

Solving these three things together is by no means an easy task...

(End of this chapter)