Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

"Yes. Without exception, after entering the Eighth Route Army base, they were ambushed by the Eighth Route Army at different times. However, the subordinate units all thought it was just an accident and that they could handle it on their own, so they didn't report it."

Okamura Neiji and Tanabe Moritake's faces turned gloomy.

Both men are smart people.

It was immediately clear that their strategic deception, their tactics of feinting to the east and attacking in the west, had been completely seen through by the Eighth Route Army. Not only had the Eighth Route Army seen through their plan, but they had also used their tactics to ambush their own troops who were raiding Jin-Cha-Ji. Otherwise, such a coincidence would have been impossible. Thinking of this, Okamura Ningji was filled with anger.

It had been less than a year since he took office as commander of the North China Front Army, but things had not been going smoothly at all.

The Southern Shanxi Campaign, which he personally commanded, dragged on, only finally clearing the Nationalist troops from Zhongtiao Mountain a few days ago. While the Southern Shanxi Campaign was indeed a tactical victory, Okamura Neiji didn't consider it a victory strategically. On the contrary, the Zhongtiao Mountain Campaign gave the Eighth Route Army more time to recuperate and develop its strength. In Okamura Neiji's eyes, the Southern Shanxi Campaign was a serious strategic failure.

If the troops used to launch the Southern Shanxi Campaign had been deployed to sweep the Eighth Route Army base, the situation in North China would have been more advantageous. Therefore, just a month after the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain, Ningci Gangcun launched a large-scale sweep of the Eighth Route Army base. However, this was his first large-scale sweep of the Eighth Route Army base, and despite all the strategic deceptions he employed, the Eighth Route Army saw through it.

Ningji Okamura really couldn't understand it.

What did I do wrong?

How could the Eighth Route Army see through his tactics?

The Japanese troops that were originally preparing for a surprise attack were unexpectedly attacked by the Eighth Route Army.

A cavalry regiment, five infantry battalions, a force of 6,000 men, was ambushed by the Eighth Route Army without any warning. Ningji Okamura could even imagine how heavy the casualties would be on his side in this round of ambush by the Eighth Route Army.

The North China Front Army’s manpower was really insufficient.

The previous Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain, the Battle of Baotou by the 35th Army of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army in Suiyuan, the Xuanhuai Campaign by the th Column, and other attacks on Japanese logistics lines by Eighth Route Army units resulted in nearly Japanese casualties during that period. Combined with the Hundred Regiments Campaign, the Japanese army suffered over casualties in less than a year. The North China Front Army had a total of only men, but suffered casualties in a single year, all of which were replaced by fresh recruits.

Especially since the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain had only been over for a month, how could the North China Front Army have fully replenished its forces? Currently, many of its units had not yet been fully replenished with new recruits. The 17th Division, which had suffered heavy casualties, was still in the recuperation phase and unable to participate in the battle.

Even the troops receiving new recruits saw their combat effectiveness severely reduced. After all, these recruits had only trained for two or three months and had never seen combat before being thrown into battle. While they were fundamentally better than the new recruits in China, their combat effectiveness was severely lacking compared to previous recruits.

Because of this, Ningci Gangcun changed his previous mopping-up mode and wanted to catch the Eighth Route Army off guard. Because Ningci Gangcun also knew that it would be unsuccessful to use the same conventional tactics as before to sweep the Eighth Route Army base with these new recruits.

The results of it?

Instead, he was deceived by the Eighth Route Army and was caught off guard by them.

Ningci Okamura said angrily, "The Eighth Route Army of Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei is already prepared. They have seen through our tactics. Since there is no point in hiding it, he immediately ordered all troops to enter Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei directly and carry out a large-scale sweep of the base area.

"Your Excellency, Commander, since the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Eighth Route Army is prepared, should we end the mopping-up operation first, allow the troops to rest for a while, and then formulate a new plan?

Tanabe Moritake persuaded Ningji Okamura.

The massive sweep of the Jin-Cha-Ji base area launched in September was somewhat hastily, if not more so than reluctantly. The Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain and other battles had inflicted heavy casualties on the North China Front Army. The forces currently available to the North China Front Army were far from sufficient to sweep the Jin-Cha-Ji base area.

The summer of 1939 was the summer when the Eighth Route Army had the largest number of troops for mopping-up operations in the Beiyue area of ​​Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei.

At the time, the North China Front Army deployed 140,000 Japanese and puppet troops, not counting the garrisons stationed in various regions. If all these troops were added up, the sheer number of Japanese and puppet troops at the time was staggering. However, the North China Front Army currently has far fewer troops available, and the Japanese army's combat effectiveness is even lower than it was two years ago.

Now that the Japanese forces that raided Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei have been rebuffed by the Eighth Route Army, it's foreseeable that they'll suffer significant casualties. It's fair to say that all the strategies and tactics of this sweep have failed. It's time to call it a day and reconsider the plan for sweeping through the Eighth Route Army base areas, rather than resorting to the retaliatory sweeps following the Hundred Regiments Campaign. Such retaliatory sweeps were largely impulsive.

If we continue like this now, there will be more failures.

But Okamura Neiji was furious, so he shook his head and said, "No need. All the troops will sweep the Eighth Route Army in Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei according to the plan. But you must keep up. Build blockhouses and forts for me in every place you occupy. I want to build 10,000 blockhouses in Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei. I will split the Eighth Route Army in Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei and make it impossible for them to organize a large force.

"Your Excellency Commander..."

"General, this is a telegram from the 21st Division."

Tanabe Moritake still wanted to continue persuading Ningji Okamura.

How many troops could the North China Front Army currently mobilize? If the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Eighth Route Army had been prepared, a typical mopping-up operation would have been impossible to succeed. The North China Front Army's strength was greatly reduced, and many units comprised a third of its troops, having served for less than a year. What kind of battle could these men fight?

And now we are off to a bad start.

The troops should be withdrawn.

At this time, Major General Masaharu Hirata, Deputy Chief of Staff of the North China Front Army, walked in.

"The 83nd Battalion of the 83rd Regiment was completely wiped out in Laishui. A reinforced squadron and a battalion of the Public Security Force that had set out from Laishui were also completely wiped out. The Eighth Route Army troops that had been blocking the st Battalion of the rd Regiment have already withdrawn.

"The whole army was wiped out? All gone?"

"Yes."

Ningji Okamura's face turned pale.

He had heard about these troops being ambushed, and he was mentally prepared. After all, the Eighth Route Army mobilized so many troops for the ambush, how could they easily let those ambushed Japanese troops go? But Okamura Ningji still had some hope in his heart, hoping that these troops could break through. But now, hearing that a battalion of more than a thousand people from the 21st Division had been killed, he couldn't help but feel angry. Not only was a battalion lost, but more than 500 Japanese and puppet troops from Laishui County were also annihilated.

Before the mopping-up operation even began, more than 1500 Japanese and puppet troops were lost.

It's really unacceptable.

There were more than 1500 Japanese and puppet troops, of which nearly 1300 were Japanese troops. Such a loss was too great.

"Commander, there's also news from the 21st Cavalry Regiment of the 21st Division.

After entering Yi County, they were ambushed by the Eighth Route Army's Jin-Cha-Ji First Division, and more than 300 people finally escaped.

Nearly six hundred people escaped from the encirclement of the First Division troops.

When Yang Quanwu and his men began to count their results, they did the same thing. After all, they had found over 900 Japanese soldiers on the battlefield.

However, among the 600 people who escaped, many were injured, including their horses. During their escape, they were attacked by local Eighth Route Army troops and guerrillas in Yi County.

If Laiyuan is the current headquarters of Division 1, where its command and logistics are located, then Yi County is its most important base. It is the location of its most important funds and supplies.

Therefore, whether it is the development of the local government or the development of local troops and militia, the First District attaches great importance to Yi County. After training grassroots commanders, nearly one-fifth of the personnel in the current training brigade of the First District will be assigned to local troops and militia to train them.

So the situation in Yi County is that the main force is large and strong, and the local forces and militia forces are also very numerous and have strong combat effectiveness.

The Japanese cavalry fled the battlefield in panic. How could these local troops and militia let them go? They kept attacking them along the way, and in the end, only about 300 people actually escaped.

The local troops and militia forces in Yi County were overjoyed.

Because they had obtained a large amount of weapons and ammunition, and even captured intact war horses, the Eighth Route Army's local troops and militia units were most in need of weapons and ammunition. Therefore, they were very fond of this kind of battle to defeat the enemy when they were down.

Chapter 376: Choice in Rage

The news that only 21 people from the 21st Cavalry Regiment of the 300st Division escaped once again hit Okamura Neiji hard.

This was the second major blow suffered by the Japanese cavalry after the 35th Army of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army annihilated the Japanese 1300st Cavalry Brigade in the Battle of Baotou. Over cavalry troops were lost in the First Battle. Training cavalry units is not easy.

Although the Japanese army had so many troops in China, they had very few organized cavalry units. This was not because cavalry units were useless, but because training cavalry units was too expensive and time-consuming.

Yet, within just a few months, a cavalry brigade and a cavalry regiment had been lost. The 4th Cavalry Brigade had also suffered heavy casualties in the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain. This was truly heartbreaking for General Ningji, the commander of the North China Front Army.

"idiot."

Ningji Okamura was now covered in anger.

He had fought in so many battles, but this one was the most foolish and abject. Because in previous battles, he had used deceptive tactics to deceive the enemy, and they had always succeeded. Okamura Neiji was also very fond of strategic deception on the front lines. He would often use the trick of making a feint to the east and attacking in the west, and it always worked very well.

Including during the Zaoyi Battle, Ningji Okamura also used this method to deceive the opposing national army.

But this time he had made so many moves, and even some troops had entered Jidong and Jizhong to fight against the local Eighth Route Army. He really didn't understand how the Jinchayi Beiyue District had guessed his plan after he had gone so far and even deceived his own puppet troops.

You can also turn the tables on others.

This was the first time he suffered such a setback on the Chinese battlefield.

For a proud Japanese officer like Okamura Neiji, this was a complete humiliation. He could not accept this humiliation and he had to wash it away.

If he was angry before but could still listen to Tanabe Moritake's words, then now Okamura Neiji was in a rage and could no longer listen to anyone's advice.

He only has one idea now.

We must teach the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei troops of the Eighth Route Army a lesson.

"Sweep away, and we must sweep away the Jin-Cha-Ji Eighth Route Army."

Tanabe Moritake sighed.

Because he had already seen that Ningji Okamura was currently in a state of rage and would not listen to his advice.

But he was really worried.

With the current strength of the North China Front Army, or rather, the current strength of the North China Front Army, it truly cannot conquer the Jin-Cha-Ji Beiyue region. Even during its heyday, the campaign against the Jin-Cha-Ji Beiyue region failed, and the current North China Front Army is far inferior to its heyday. However, the Jin-Cha-Ji Beiyue region is far stronger than it was during the Japanese sweep two years ago. But since Okamura Neiji has made his decision, there is no way he can dissuade him.

So he immediately transitioned to his job as chief of staff.

"Commander, are you transferring the 8th Independent Mixed Brigade?"

"Dispatch. The 8th Independent Mixed Brigade will cooperate with the 15th and 16th Independent Mixed Brigades to participate in the sweep of Changping and Wanping.

The Pingbei Detachment of the 8th Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Column has been too active in the Changping, Wanping, and Fangshan areas, and even their troops have entered Huairou and Shunyi. This unit must not be allowed to run wild like this, and must be eliminated.

"What about Jidong?"

The problems in Jidong are also quite serious.

Although the current strength of the Ji-Re-Liao Advance Army is not very strong, with only about 10,000 troops in Jidong, Jidong, like Jizhong, has a large population and abundant resources, making it very easy to recruit soldiers.

During the period of the Hebei-Rehe-Liaoning advance, the army expanded at a very fast speed.

In addition to the main force of over 27 troops, a large number of guerrilla units were also developed. These guerrilla units may appear small in number, but when added together, they are a significant force. If left unchecked, these guerrilla units would be upgraded to become the main force. The Ji-Re-Liaoning Advancing Army would then inevitably cause major trouble in eastern Hebei and Rehe. The previous plan had the th Independent Mixed Brigade coordinating with the th Division to stabilize the situation in Rehe and eastern Hebei.

But now Ningji Okamura is in a state of rage.

The 8th Independent Mixed Brigade will also participate in the sweep of the Beiyue area of ​​Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei.

"I have already contacted the Kwantung Army. The 29th Division will enter Rehe and Jidong areas to cooperate with the 27th Division to sweep the Rehe and Jidong Eighth Route Army."

"Commander, the 29th Division has just been formed. Can it fight?"

Tanabe Moritake was a little skeptical.

29师团是因为日军兵力不够，所以刚刚组建不到半年的部队。本来29师团今年2月份就得到了组建命令，以步兵第18联队（第3师团）、第38联队（第16师团）、第50联队（第14师团）这三个步兵联队在东北编成。可是目前第三师团在华中前线，第十六师团在本土修整，短时间之内根本无法归建。所以29师团组建的时候，只有50联队一支部队到达。

但现在中国战场到处都需要部队，29师团根本没时间等18联队和38联队归建。所以29师团成立之后，就没等18联队和38联队整体归建。而是从18联队和38联队抽调军官，然后抽调一批新兵，新组建了18联队和38联队。至于原18联队和38联队，就并入其他部队。反正日军前线部队因为伤亡不小，所以很多部队球缺人。这样才组建完毕29师团。29师团成功组建，到现在其实也就三个月时间。

Therefore, the 29th Division cannot be compared with other old units, because most of the current 29th Division is composed of new recruits. The 29th Division is even the division with the highest proportion of new recruits in the entire Japanese Army in China. Therefore, Tanabe Moritake did not have much confidence in such a 29th Division. In Tanabe Moritake's view, the 29th Division may not be better than the 29th Independent Mixed Brigade. Okamura Neiji smiled bitterly and said: "The main forces of the Kwantung Army are in northern Manchuria, and we cannot mobilize them. Being able to allow the Kwantung Army to send the th Division is already my limit."

Of course, Ningji Okamura hoped that the Kwantung Army could send their main divisions into Rehe and Hebei.

However, the Kwantung Army was a self-contained organization, and sometimes it couldn't even control the headquarters, let alone the North China Front Army. If it weren't for the fact that he still had a certain face, the Kwantung Army wouldn't even send out the 29th Division.

Now that the Soviet-German War has broken out, the Kwantung Army has been waiting for the Soviet Union to withdraw its Far East Army. As long as the Soviet Far East Army is withdrawn from the Far East, the Japanese army's northward movement will be able to revive again.

The Kwantung Army was a military faction that firmly supported the northward advance.

However, the Japanese army had a different idea. To date, the Soviet Far Eastern Army had maintained a large scale, with no signs of large-scale troop deployments. Therefore, the Japanese army could only continue to retain a large number of troops in northern Northeast China and northern Mongolia.

“热河和冀东的事情不用管。有27师团和29师团，这里的局面就算不会好转，但也不会恶化下去。独立混成第八旅团、独立混成第十五旅团、独立混成第十六旅团参与扫荡昌平和宛平，36师团的224联队进入延庆、赤峰、龙关，配合33师团的215联队。独立混成第二旅团和26师团13联队派部队扫荡尚义、崇礼、张北、沽源。这一次我要彻底摧毁晋察冀八纵的察东支队和平北支队、察北支队。”

Although Ningji Okamura was furious, he did not completely lose his mind.

He knew that relying on just four independent mixed brigades, two regiments, and some garrison troops of less than 30,000 people would not be enough to immediately eliminate the Eighth Column of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Region. Therefore, he had to solve the problem of the Pingsui Road first.