I am helping

Shanxi.

Taiyuan.

North China Front Army First Army Command.

"General."

"The casualties of the First Army have been calculated."

In the Commander's Office, Intelligence Staff Takeo Iteng holds a folder and reports to Shinozuka Yoshio.

"Read!" Yoshio Shinozuka frowned.

Although the Japanese army claimed that the Eighth Route Army launched the Hundred Regiments Campaign offensive, the Japanese army only suffered more than 200 casualties.

However, as the commander of the First Army, he clearly knew that the base of the First Army was already in a mess, and the Eighth Route Army destroyed railways and roads everywhere.

Even the two counties of Liao County and Yushe, which were in the hinterland of the Eighth Route Army's base area, were retaken by the Eighth Route Army, and the situation was already very bad.

The situation in other parts of North China is not much better than that of the First Army.

Commander Tada Hayao who proposed and implemented the cage tactics was severely criticized by the base camp. If he could not effectively counteract the Eight Routes, Commander Tada Hayao might be at risk of stepping down...

I'm afraid that I, the commander of the first army, will also be in danger.

"The Fourth Brigade killed more than 5500 people and injured more than 300 people."

"The Ninth Brigade killed more than 800 people and injured more than 500 people."

"The Third Brigade killed more than 1300 people and injured more than 500 people."

"The 37th Division killed more than 3100 people and injured more than 100 people."

"..."

On the office chair, Yoshio Shinozuka listened to Takeo Iteng report the number of casualties, his old face gradually turned black.

The casualties were much greater than he had imagined.

Among them, the fourth brigade suffered the most casualties, not only defending the defenders of the fourth brigade on the Zhengtai Road from Shouyang to Niangziguan, but also the fourth brigade in Shouyang County, Yangquan City, Liaoxian County, and Yushe County Troops, although the [-]th Brigade was transferred to the Central China battlefield with more than [-] people, it was no different from the annihilation of the entire army.

The next most casualty was the 37th Regiment of the 225th Division. If the soldiers hadn't tried their best to keep the regiment flag, the number of the 225th Regiment might have been cancelled.

More than 1 people were killed in battle by the First Army alone, not including wounded soldiers.

The First Army had never suffered such a big loss.

Simply a shame.

Taking a deep breath, Yoshio Shinozuka gradually regained his composure, waved his hand, and signaled Takeo Iteng to leave.

Takeo Iteng closed the folder, paused to Yoshio Shinozuka, and walked out quickly.

After a moment of silence, he turned his head and looked at Hideyoshi Kusuyama, the chief of staff at the side: "Mr. Kusuyama, how is your staff's 'Central Blossom' combat plan going?"

"The battle plan is generally done, but there are still some details that need to be improved."

Kusuyama Hideyoshi's tone was calm. Just now he heard the number of casualties of the First Army, which was both expected and unexpected.

It was expected that the number of casualties of the First Army would be large, but what was unexpected was that the casualties were so large.

With a look on his face, Shinozuka Yoshio asked: "What details need to be improved?"

Kusuyama Hideyoshi said.

"The plan of the staff department is to deploy heavy troops in the four directions of Heshun and Liao County, Baijin Line, Xiangyuan and Wuxiang, and Hanchang Road."

"Once the bait enters the bandit area of ​​the Eight Routes and attracts the main forces of the Eight Routes to besiege, the army of the Four Routes will be dispatched immediately, forming a situation of blocking the main forces of the Eight Routes from east to west and attacking from north to south."

"There are still three questions."

"The first is that the First Army is short of troops and urgently needs to replenish its troops. If it cannot replenish its troops, at least the front army needs to reinforce the strength of a brigade."

"The second is the lack of material preparation. Since the communication lines were severely damaged by the Eighth Route Army, it will take time to prepare the military supplies for the mopping up."

"The third is that the commander who is used as a bait and the specific strength of the troops are yet to be determined by the commander."

Shinozuka Yoshio nodded and said, "I can ask Commander Tada for support on the first and second points."

"The third point..."

"Does Yamamoto-kun have any suitable candidates to recommend?"

While talking, Yoshio Shinozuka turned his gaze to Kazuki Yamamoto who had been silent all the time.

"General, with all due respect."

Kazuki Yamamoto still had a cold and paralyzed face, and his tone did not fluctuate at all: "This battle plan is simply terrible."

"Oh?" Shinozuka Yoshio said in surprise, "Yamamoto-kun, tell me your opinion!"

Kazuki Yamamoto said: "Judging from the failure of the two large-scale offensives launched by the Eighth Route Army and the cage tactics."

"This group of mud-legged people already has the strength to eat up a regiment of the Imperial Army in a short period of time."

"Is the general really willing to use a regiment of soldiers as bait?"

"Yamamoto-kun is raising the prestige of the Eight Routes and the morale of the imperial army!" Kusuyama Hideyoshi snorted coldly. Kazuki Yamamoto objected to his central flowering tactics, so he naturally wanted to refute.

"Your Excellency, Chief of Staff, I am just stating the facts." Kazuki Yamamoto said, "The almost destruction of the 225th Regiment is a good proof."

Kusuyama Hideyoshi said: "I admit that the fighting power of these mud-legged people is beyond our imagination."

"However, the main reason for the defeat of the 225th Wing was that it was attacked by the Eighth Route Army in the middle of the night and was heavily shelled by the Eighth Route Army."

"If it is a frontal battle, the 225th Wing will definitely be able to penetrate the base of the Eighth Route Army."

"The decoy troops only need to occupy a mountain in the bandit area, defend it according to the danger, and attract eight groups to besiege."

"As long as we can hold on for a day, our peripheral troops will be able to encircle the main force of the Eighth Route."

"The army of the four routes can surround the eight routes in a narrow area, and the main force of the eight routes can only be wiped out."

"Besides, the Eighth Route Army has already launched two large-scale offensives, and it is already a tired army. My suggestion is to launch a retaliatory sweep against the Eighth Route bandit areas as soon as possible without waiting for the Eighth Route Army to rest."

Shinozuka Yoshio couldn't help but nodded frequently after hearing Kusuyama Hideyoshi's plan.

Kazuki Yamamoto said disapprovingly: "Your Excellency Chief of Staff's thoughts are too wishful thinking."

Kusuyama Hideyoshi snorted coldly: "I'm not optimistic about my central blooming tactics, so what's the best trick Yamamoto-kun has, why don't you tell me?"

At this time, Kusuyama Hideyoshi was suppressing his anger, he really wanted to curse.

If Yamamoto Kazuki was not the celebrity in front of Yoshio Shinozuka, he would have slapped him long ago.

A chief actually opposed him again and again, he didn't know what to say, who gave you the courage?

Yoshio Shinozuka also looked at Kazuki Yamamoto with a look of expectation on his face.

Kazuki Yamamoto said in a condensed voice:

"In my opinion, before the brigades and divisions launch raids, our special service team will enter the Eighth Route Bandit area, launch a fatal blow to the Eighth Route Army headquarters, and destroy its headquarters."

"The eight-way communication means are very backward. The radio station is only assigned to the brigade level, and the communication at the regiment level can only rely on telephone lines or communication soldiers on horseback."

"As long as the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army can be destroyed, the Eighth Route Army in the bandit area in southeast Shanxi will fall into the predicament of having no leader and fighting on their own."

"At this time, the brigades and divisions will launch mopping operations again, and there will be a high probability that the main force of the Eighth Route will be completely wiped out by our First Army."

"Does Yamamoto-kun know the exact location of the Eighth Route headquarters?" Kusuyama Hideyoshi asked with a sneer.

"It depends on whether the intelligence department can find the location of the Eighth Route headquarters." Kazuki Yamamoto said.

Nanshan Hideyoshi sneered: "Yamamoto-kun can't even find Li Yunlong's assistance channels, let alone the location of the Eighth Road headquarters?"

"Besides, the location of the Eighth Route Army headquarters is always changing, even if the intelligence department can lock the location of the Eighth Route Army headquarters."

"When Yamamoto-kun led the special agent team to arrive, the Eighth Route headquarters did not know where to flee."

"Beheading Yan Xishan, the headquarters of China's Second Theater Command, is more reliable than beheading the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army."

"The failure of the Daxiawan operation is a good proof."

"Yamamoto-kun's thoughts are too wishful thinking."

The last two sentences were Hideyoshi Kusuyama's reciprocation to Kazuki Yamamoto.

Kazuki Yamamoto didn't say any more, it was obvious that the commander was more optimistic about Hideyoshi Kusuyama's plan, and it was useless for him to say more.

At this moment, Toshimatsu Kasai, the communications staff officer, walked in quickly and said to Yoshio Shinozuka, "General, Commander Tada wants to talk to you!"

"I'm going over here."

Yoshio Shinozuka's expression changed, and he immediately stood up and adjusted his military appearance.

Walking to the door, he turned back and said to Kusuyama Hideyoshi, "Mr. Kusuyama, continue to improve your central flowering battle plan, and make sure there is nothing wrong with it."

"Hi!" Kusuyama Hideyoshi nodded quickly.

After Shinozuka Yoshio left, Kusuyama Hideyoshi glanced at Kazuki Yamamoto proudly.

Kazuki Yamamoto was too lazy to talk nonsense with him, he slightly nodded at Hideyoshi Kusuyama, and walked out with a command saber on his face expressionlessly.

……

Independent regiment, Yangcun.

"Head, hehe... Our county brigade has fought 5 battles during this period, all of which have been won."

"Kill more than 140 devils, more than 200 puppet troops, take down 1 small stronghold, and 3 gun towers."

"By the way, I also helped the Desperate Column fight a blockade, defeating the devil reinforcements from Wuxiang County rushing to help Yushe County."

In the inner room of the regiment headquarters, Chen Dagu, the captain of the county brigade, reported to Li Yunlong with a smile on his face.

"You did a good job, kid." Li Yunlong said in surprise, "You won less than five battles in just one month?"

Li Yunlong would not be surprised if Chen Dagu led the 3rd Battalion to win 5 battles in a month.

But the county brigade is a group of militiamen, and its combat effectiveness is very weak, which is incomparable with the combat effectiveness of the main force of the new regiment.

Chen Dagu said: "Although the quality of individual soldiers in our county brigade is not good, we are well equipped and have sufficient ammunition."

"After these few battles, the overall combat effectiveness of our county brigade has been qualitatively improved."

"Moreover, the county brigade now has more than 1000 people. In addition to the ammunition that needs support from the regiment headquarters, we can grab food from the devils and traitors."

In addition to weapons and equipment, the more than 20 company and platoon officers also played a big role.

Handing over 19 mountain cannons to the division headquarters, Li Yunlong asked for more than 20 company and platoon officers from the brigade commander, and gave them all to Chen Dagu.

Li Yunlong nodded, with a satisfied look on his face: "Okay, your kid is now living the life of a regiment leader."

"I'm living the life of the head of the regiment." Chen Dagu smiled, "Don't you, the head of the regiment, live the life of the brigade commander?"

With a laugh, Li Yunlong said: "I'll give you the 800th militiaman again."

"Don't worry about weapons and ammunition, they are absolutely fully equipped. In addition, I will transfer 6 large-caliber heavy machine guns to you."

"The devil's mopping up is about to begin. Your county brigade will stop recruiting troops recently. Your recent task is mainly to increase the combat effectiveness of the militia."

After delivering 30 tons of medicines back to Yangcun that day, Li Yunlong impatiently tried the M2 large-caliber heavy machine gun.

The power and rate of fire are very fragrant.

If the Maxim heavy machine gun hits a person, it will punch a bleeding hole.

Then this large-caliber heavy machine gun can definitely cut a person in half.

You can also use it to deal with Devil's trucks and tanks, and even the air defense is better than Maxim.

Li Yunlong himself left 60 large-caliber heavy machine guns, and the remaining 120 large-caliber heavy machine guns and more than 1100 guns were handed over to the brigade headquarters with ammunition in exchange for the No. 800 militia.

"Yes!" Chen Dagu looked slightly happy, and said, "Leader!"