Bright Sword: Develop alone, bring back an artillery regiment

"Hey!" Yasuda Shinichi paused, and continued: "The imperial army's abandonment of the city wall can effectively eliminate the threat of artillery fire from armored trains, but in doing so, it also means that the imperial army has lost the strongest line of defense. You can easily enter the city through the gates and walls."

"In this way, the enemy and our generals will fight together at close range. After dawn, even if the imperial army's fighter planes can take off, they will definitely not be able to provide us with effective tactical guidance."

"But with the current strength of the Imperial Army in Jinzhong City, although it can last for a long time, it is absolutely impossible to defeat the main force of the Eighth Route Army with a strength of over [-].

In particular, we cannot be sure whether the Eighth Route Army outside the city is their entire force! "

"To put it simply, if we abandon the city wall, it is equivalent to abandoning our strongest fortification. It also means that we will be doomed to fail without reinforcements."

"So, we have to report the situation here to the headquarters."

"After learning about the situation, Commander Shinozuka Yoshio ordered us to hold on to Jinzhong County, then he will definitely deploy troops to provide us with tactical guidance.

Taiyuan is only 40 kilometers away from Jinzhong, and the imperial army marched with trucks, and it took less than two hours to reach Jinzhong County. "

Speaking of this, Yasuda paused for a moment, then changed the topic and continued: "Of course, Commander Shinozuka Yoshio may not be able to provide us with tactical guidance due to limited troops, and then give us an order to break through.

However, this possibility is not great. Firstly, Jinzhong County is different from Yangquan and Pingping County. This is the south gate of Taiyuan City. Once this gate is lost, the Chinese army can directly threaten Taiyuan City. "

"Therefore, the strategic position of Jinzhong County is not unimportant. Even if the troops are insufficient, Commander Shinozuka Yoshio will certainly not allow Jinzhong County to be lost, and the entire army of our 9th Brigade will be wiped out."

"So, Commander Shinozuka Yoshio will definitely send troops to provide us with tactical guidance."

"At that time, we will not only be able to defend Jinzhong County, but also join forces with reinforcements to defeat, severely injure, or even wipe out the main force of the Eighth Route Army!"

"In addition, the safety of Jinzhong County is also related to the crisis of Taiyuan City. It is of great importance. We must also report and let Commander Yoshio Shinozuka know in advance.

The destruction of our 9th Brigade's entire army is small. If Taiyuan City, the First Army Headquarters, or even the entire Shanxi Province are lost because of the destruction of our 9th Brigade, then we will become an empire. sinner.

Even if it is dead, it will be left in the history books for thousands of years! "

Makoto Yasuda spoke sincerely, not only because he didn't want to die, but also because he didn't want to become a sinner of Japan.

Hattori Naotomi was caught in a tangle: "If it is just because there are more than 1 Eighth Route Army, we need to ask the headquarters for tactical guidance. Does this mean that we are too incompetent?"

Makoto Yasuda: "Your Excellency, Brigade Commander, there is a precedent for the Imperial Army's independent and mixed 1st Brigade. It is not shameful for us to ask for tactical guidance." …

"Besides, compared to the interests of the entire Imperial Japanese Army and the Great Japanese Empire, what is our personal honor and disgrace?
Also, please brigade leader, take the overall situation as the most important thing! "

"It's… okay."

Naotomi Hattori hesitated for a while, and finally accepted the proposal of Chief of Staff Yasuda Makoto, because right now he really wasn't sure that he could defeat the main force of the Eighth Route Army outside the city.

The battle outside the West City Gate had already made him lose his original arrogance and self-confidence.

Immediately, Yasuda went to the communication department to send a telegram in person.

……

The screen is pulled to Taiyuan.

Japanese 1st Army Headquarters.

Tonight is destined to be another sleepless night for Yoshio Shinozuka, because not only the Eighth Route Army continued to attack the large Japanese strongholds on the railway lines such as Zhengtai, Tongpu, and Pinghan, but even the Central Army of the First War Zone The army also rushed out of Zhongtiao Mountain one after another during the day yesterday and launched an attack on the 41st Division in front of them.

Although the Central Army's attack was not violent and looked more like a tentative attack, Yoshio Shinozuka was very clear that Wei Junru, the commander-in-chief of the first theater, and Yan Laoxi, the commander-in-chief of the second theater, were not the same. Similarly, he is a staunch anti-Japanese faction.

When the Japanese army attacked Shanxi, it was the Central Army headed by Wei Junru who posed the greatest threat to them.

Although the Central Army is just a tentative attack right now, as long as the 41st Division reveals a little flaw, the main force of the Central Army dormant in Zhongtiao Mountain will surely come out like a pack of wild wolves, and give them a fatal blow.

This is exactly what Yoshio Shinozuka is most worried about!
At this moment, Nobunaga Ono, the head of the communications section, suddenly broke in from the outside with a solemn expression. He held a translated message in his hand, walked up to Yoshio Shinozuka, gave a sharp pause, and then reported: "Commander Your Excellency, the 9th Brigade of the Royal Infantry is urgently calling!"

Yoshio Shinozuka knew that the urgent telegram from the 9th Brigade at this time was definitely not a good thing, so he couldn't help frowning and scolded: "Read!"

"Hi!" Ono Nobunaga paused again, picked up the translated telegram and read: "General Hattori said that Jinzhong County was attacked by the main force of the Eighth Route Army. The enemy dispatched at least tens of thousands of troops and armored trains. They A fierce shelling was launched on the four gates of Jinzhong County. The 9th Brigade suffered heavy casualties and was forced to abandon the city wall and build barricades in the city instead.

However, the Eighth Route Army's offensive was very rapid, and it seemed that they were determined to take Jinzhong County. Although the 9th Brigade could persist for a while, it might not be able to defeat the main force of the Eighth Route Army.

I kindly request His Excellency the Commander to provide tactical guidance.

Naotomi Hattori, Major General of the 9th Brigade of the Imperial Army Infantry. "

Yoshio Shinozuka frowned even more after listening to the contents of the telegram.

The Chief of Staff Miyano Toshi next to him was also frowning. It was really a leaky room and it was raining overnight. He said, "Your Excellency, Commander, could this be Naoko Hattori lying about the military situation?"

After a pause, Jun Miyano changed the subject and continued: "Of course, I'm not saying that the Eighth Route Army didn't attack Jinzhong County, but that the Imperial Army's air force obviously attacked the Zhengtai Railway during the day yesterday. Dozens of tracks.

The Eighth Route Army had no railway soldiers, so how could they repair the damaged rails in such a short period of time? "

Shinozuka Yoshio suddenly thought of something, he gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice: "The Eighth Route Army didn't have railway soldiers before, but that doesn't mean it doesn't now.

Moreover, dozens of rail tracks on the Zhengtai Railway were bombed from Shouyang to Niangziguan. If the Eighth Route Army hid the armored trains in Pingding County, then they really needed to repair less than 10 rail tracks.

Because Shouyang and Jinzhong were still under the control of the imperial army, the imperial army did not carry out raids and bombings on the Shouyang-Jinzhong section of the Zhengtai Railway.

In the middle of the night, repairing 10 bombed railroad tracks is not a big project for a well-trained railway force! "

……