People are shining their swords, secretly helping the Iron Triangle in Northwest Shanxi

The Japanese assembled the 52nd Division, the 53rd Division, the Tieshi Force, the Jiangdao Detachment, and the Furukawa Detachment to prepare for combat.

The news gradually spread, and the headquarters of the First War Zone and the headquarters of the Second War Zone received the news one after another.

Jiang Mingsan was a little nervous and Yan Laoxi was a little panicked.

On the afternoon of February 15, the North China Front Army Headquarters began to issue orders publicly.

Commander-in-Chief General Okamura Yasuji directly stated that he would completely eliminate the resistance forces in the Second War Zone of Shanxi Province and maintain public order in the occupied areas of Shanxi Province.

At the same time, he stated that heavy weapons would be transferred from the 12st Army, the th Army, the Mongolian Army, and the North China Front Army to strengthen combat.

The North China Front Army organized the participating troops into two echelons, north and south, which were commanded by the commanders of the 52nd and 53rd Divisions respectively.

The southern echelon was composed of the 52nd Division, the Ejima Detachment, and the Furukawa Detachment.

The 52nd Division Commander Etsujiro Kono is in charge of the command. The combat strength of this echelon is about people, and the overall strength is still relatively strong.

The northern echelon consisted of the 53rd Division, the Iron Stone Force, an independent mountain artillery regiment, and independent machine gun, mortar and other units.

This is the main attack force of the Japanese, commanded by the commander of the 52nd Division, Takeda Kaoru. This echelon has more than troops.

Among them, the Tieshi Troops were troops seconded from outside the Great Wall.

The unit was composed of the puppet Manchukuo troops and the elite of the Kwantung Army, and its main combat forces were the Iron Heart Unit and the Iron Blood Unit.

After being equipped with tanks and other troops, their combat strength is more than 10,000 people, and their overall weapons and equipment are excellent.

Its combat core is two reinforced infantry regiments, each of which has more than 4,000 people. The entire regiment, from battalions to squads, adopts a reinforced organization.

Because it is a combination of the puppet Manchukuo troops and the Kwantung Army, their weapons and equipment are very distinctive.

In addition to the normal equipment of light machine guns and rifles, each squad is also specially equipped with grenade launchers, sniper rifles, Mauser pistols and other weapons.

Each of their squads consists of about twenty people, equipped with light machine guns, rifles, sniper rifles, Mauser pistols, and grenade launchers.

Judging from its weapons configuration, it is not difficult to see that such a squad is simply a weakened infantry platoon.

They are fully capable of fighting alone, and with their weapons configuration, they can easily deal with any guerrilla force.

The Japanese put a lot of effort into the organization of the Iron Stone Force. The General and Commander-in-Chief of the Kwantung Army, Umezu Michijiro, served as the commander of the First Army of the North China Front Army.

He was also very familiar with the guerrilla forces in North China, so he personally provided guidance this time.

The Tieshi Troops were known as the face of Manchukuo and the Kwantung Army. When they arrived in North China, the Kwantung Army Headquarters specially arranged for staff to see them off.

They were given high hopes and hoped that they could assist the North China Front Army in completely eliminating the resistance forces in Shanxi Province.

With the reinforcement of heavy weapons of some army-affiliated and front-affiliated troops, the Japanese army's force participating in the battle this time exceeded 70,000.

Although there were a certain number of puppet Manchukuo troops, the main force was composed of Japanese troops.

What's more, these puppet Manchukuo troops had been ruled by the Japanese for more than ten years, and had followed the Japanese in carrying out mopping-up operations outside the Great Wall.

They also have a certain combat effectiveness, and with a sufficient number of Japanese devils to supervise and command, they can naturally exert their combat effectiveness.

At eight o'clock in the evening, the headquarters of the Second War Zone sent a series of telegrams.

Old Yan was a little panicked, after all, the previous battle was still fresh in his mind.

During the Battle of Xinkou, 20,000 to 30,000 Japanese troops defeated several armies of the Second War Zone.

He knew that Chu Yunfei, Chen Ziyun and other troops were very capable in fighting, but he felt that the situation this time was completely different from before.

The Japanese had not sent out so many troops to fight before, and Chu Yunfei and others had to defend Zhongtiao Mountain.

Yan Laoxi felt that if they continued to defend Zhongtiao Mountain, the same disastrous defeat of the Zhongtiao Mountain defenders in 41 might happen again. If Chu Yunfei and Chen Ziyun's troops were defeated, Yan Laoxi would not think that his Jinsui Army could stay out of it.

So he sent a telegram immediately and put forward a combat suggestion, which was to retreat to high ground such as Luliang Mountains in western Shanxi.

Chu Yunfei's 201st Division and Chen Ziyun's Zhongtiao Mountain Guerrilla Command moved to western Shanxi to conduct defensive operations in conjunction with the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army.

"Zhongtiao Mountain is such a large territory. If your troops are scattered for defense, they will definitely be defeated one by one."

"We must learn from the lessons of all these years. If we defend to the death, we will not be able to defend any place except by death."

"Pull the troops to Jinxi. We will rely on the Jinxi highlands for defense. If the Japanese dare to come to Jinxi, I will lead you to fight them to the death!"

Yan Laoxi really hopes that these troops will abandon Zhongtiao Mountain and move to western Shanxi for defense.

For this reason, he directly stated that as long as Chu Yunfei and Chen Ziyun came, their troops would reorganize two armies on the spot.

Chu Yunfei and Chen Ziyun both served as army commanders. At the same time, he would strive with the accompanying capital to at least get them the rank of major general.

"We, the people of Shanxi Province, must unite together at critical moments."

"As long as you are willing to come, the future Jinsui Army will definitely be centered around you."

"Given time, it is not impossible for the Jinsui Army to be handed over to you for command."

Yan Laoxi was really anxious this time. He was worried that Chu Yunfei and Chen Ziyun would not listen to his advice, leading to the annihilation of the entire army.

Whether it was the 201st Division or the Zhongtiao Mountain Guerrilla Command, Yan Laoxi invested a lot of effort.

The most crucial point is that if these troops were defeated by the Japanese, the Japanese would then go on to deal with the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army, and Yan Laoxi was not sure he could stop them.

But if Chu Yunfei and Chen Ziyun bring their troops here, then he will have a 100% chance of winning!

Yan Laoxi sent telegrams one after another, wishing he could immediately win over Chu Yunfei and Chen Ziyun's troops.

In the western Henan region, Jiang Mingsan at the Second War Zone headquarters was just a little nervous at first.

But as news came one after another, Jiang Mingsan became restless.

"The Japanese... I'm afraid this time the Japanese are not only going to wipe out the troops in Zhongtiao Mountain in southern Shanxi."

"They want to cross the Yellow River and directly open up the Pinghan Railway."

"The Japanese in northern Henan continued to try to repair bridges, and a large number of reconnaissance planes repeatedly conducted low-altitude reconnaissance on the First War Zone troops."

"The 12th Army of Shandong Province has also made unusual movements. What if... what if there are Japanese soldiers crossing the Yellow River to attack us from Shanxi Province?"

"By that time, can we...can we hold the river defense position?"

"If we can't hold the river defense position, who can stop their attack once they come?"

Jiang Mingsan's face was full of panic. He looked at the map and frowned tightly.

He immediately contacted Deputy Commander-in-Chief Tang Keqin. Currently, most of the military power in the First War Zone is in the hands of Tang Keqin.

However, Tang Keqin did not care too much about it, as the First War Zone is currently strong in manpower and horses.

After Tang Keqin took control of the military power, he wanted to become the king of Central Plains, so he continued to expand his troops.

Up to now, the First War Zone has eight army groups, more than a dozen armies, and hundreds of thousands of troops!

Therefore, in Tang Keqin's opinion, even if the Japanese attacked, they would be able to deal with it. (End of this chapter)