The Sword of Swords is a Guard for Kong Jie

While Huang Yu and Wei Dayong were seizing every minute to train their troops, Lieutenant General Fujita, who was far away in Jinzhou City, was also not idle.

Although he was lucky to keep his position as division commander, the Kwantung Army Headquarters also gave him a death order.

Eliminate all Eighth Route Army activities in Jinzhou within two months.

Not only did the Kwantung Army Headquarters not hold him responsible for the recent losses, they also allowed him to make meritorious contributions while serving his sentence, and continued to lead troops to encircle and suppress the Eighth Route Army operating in Chaoyang.

But if the Eighth Route Army activities in Jinzhou are not eliminated within two months.

I'm sorry, you have to be punished for both crimes and you will definitely lose your position as division commander.

For the sake of his own future, Lieutenant General Fujita had to fight for his life.

During this period, he sent all his scouts into the mountains to search for the Eighth Route Army, determine their locations, troop strength, and equipment, and prepare for the next major sweep.

At the same time, all the captains who had participated in the previous two major raids were gathered together.

Discuss the various tactics used by the Eighth Route Army in battle and think about ways to break the impasse.

We should strive to develop a new strategy specifically for dealing with the Eighth Route Army’s mountain guerrilla warfare.

"Division Commander..."

The Chief of Staff suddenly trotted towards Lieutenant General Fujita with a nervous expression on his face.

After waving his hand to signal the combat staff around him to leave, he spoke: "Division Commander..."

"After continuous investigation, we have already located the Eighth Route Army's base in Jinzhou..."

"In a place called Xiaowangzhuang..."

"It used to be a small village in the mountains. After the imperial army occupied the Northeast, they moved all the people there to settlements, and the village became deserted."

"The Eighth Route Army built a large number of bases and training grounds in the surrounding mountains with Xiaowangzhuang as its center. Almost all troops were concentrated there for training."

"They also organized people to reclaim wasteland around Xiaowangzhuang. It seems that they plan to stay in Xiaowangzhuang and not leave..."

"Because the Eighth Route Army is on high alert, our scouts cannot get close to their base, and we have not yet found out their strength and equipment."

Lieutenant General Fujita suddenly became excited.

As long as we can locate the Eighth Route Army's secret base in Jinzhou, the subsequent large-scale mopping-up operation will definitely be much easier.

Several main regiments marched along their planned routes and headed straight for Wangzhuang, where they would certainly be able to avoid many ambushes and sneak attacks along the way.

After all, the initiative on the battlefield is in our own hands.

The mopping-up troops have the final say on where and when they want to go.

The Eighth Route Army hiding in the mountains had no conditions to set up an ambush in advance.

They can only passively follow behind the mopping-up troops.

If the mopping-up force could attack fast enough and surround Xiaowangzhuang before the Eighth Route Army moved, and completely wipe out all the Eighth Route Army stationed in Xiaowangzhuang, the mission assigned to the Fujita Division by the Kwantung Army Headquarters would be accomplished.

The more Lieutenant General Fujita thought about it, the more excited he became. He seemed to have seen the tragic scene of the Eighth Route Army being annihilated by him in Xiaowangzhuang.

He immediately clenched his fist and ordered: "Check..."

"We must find out at all costs how many Eighth Route Army soldiers there are in Xiaowangzhuang, what equipment they have, and how strong they are... the more detailed the better..."

"If we win this battle, I will personally go to the Kwantung Army Headquarters to ask for credit for the reconnaissance and intelligence departments."

The battlefield is fair.

While Lieutenant General Fujita was still immersed in the joy brought by the previous good news, the radio operator who hurried over brought him back to reality.

"Division Commander..." "The Panjin Garrison Brigade sent an urgent message..."

"The Eighth Route Army operating in Jinzhou has entered Panjin..."

"Last night, they not only captured a mine defended by a full infantry squadron, but also devoured a reinforced squadron's reinforcements by besieging the point, causing them to lose more than 400 elite Kwantung Army soldiers in one night."

"The Panjin Garrison Brigade hopes that we can dispatch a battalion to reinforce them and maintain local security..."

Before Lieutenant General Fujita could respond, the Chief of Staff on the side loudly retorted: "We cannot send troops to support Panjin..."

"We don't even have enough troops to encircle and suppress the Eighth Route Army. If we send more troops to reinforce Panjin, the forces we will have to participate in the mopping-up operations in the future will definitely be even less. Please think twice, Your Excellency, the Division Commander."

If this incident happened a month or two ago, when the Fujita Division had more than 20,000 elite soldiers, Lieutenant General Fujita might not have taken a battalion seriously and just transferred it.

But not now.

After two consecutive failed mopping-up operations, the total strength of the Fujita Division had been reduced from more than 20,000 to more than 10,000.

The more than 10,000 casualties were mostly infantry.

If we analyze it from the perspective of combat effectiveness.

Although the Fujita Division had not suffered more than half of its troops in casualties, its overall combat effectiveness had been reduced by half.

In order to wipe out the Eighth Route Army in Jinzhou in the upcoming mopping-up operation, with the overall combat effectiveness of the division reduced by half, every soldier in Lieutenant General Fujita's hands was very precious, even if they were baggage soldiers with little combat effectiveness.

The Panjin Garrison Regiment asked for a fully-strength infantry battalion, which was tantamount to asking for half of Lieutenant General Fujita's life.

Even without the Chief of Staff's reminder, Lieutenant General Fujita would not nod.

After thinking for a while, he replied: "Call the Panjin Garrison Brigade back."

"A major war is imminent, and the Fujita Division cannot spare any extra troops to reinforce them."

"Tell them to strengthen their defense and alertness, not to leave the city easily, and stabilize Panjin's deteriorating situation."

"We will launch a new round of sweeping operations as soon as possible to encircle and suppress the Eighth Route Army operating in Jinzhou."

"Eliminate them, and Panjin will never be attacked again."

Not long after the radio operator left with the reply, a messenger suddenly rushed in from outside the door with a nervous look on his face.

After seeing Lieutenant General Fujita, he reported while panting: "Division Commander..."

"The Eighth Route Army operating in the mountains has been dispatched."

"More than a thousand troops suddenly launched an attack on the blockade, equipped with mortars and heavy machine guns, and the offensive was very fierce."

"We never thought that the Eighth Route Army in the mountains would take the initiative to attack the blockade and leave the mountains where they were hiding."

"So we only built simple bunkers on the blockade line, without even a fixed firing point."

"The troops responded hastily and suffered heavy casualties."

"The Eighth Route Army has already torn open four gaps in the defense line."

"The Eighth Route Army is advancing along the gap to both sides of the blockade line to expand the gap."

"We also sent some troops to attack the settlements near the blockade. Several settlements have already been captured..."

The only bit of good mood on Lieutenant General Fujita's face disappeared, and his brows furrowed. He stared at the sand table and asked anxiously: "Where are the breakthrough points torn open by the Eighth Route Army? Where are the settlements that were attacked?"

"Have you found out the real reason why the Eighth Route Army suddenly launched an attack on the blockade?"

"I believe they would not leave the mountains that protect them for no reason." (End of this chapter)