Glorious Mission 1937

After receiving the telegram from the commander of the Eighth Division Masaai Honda, General Saito of the Third Army of the Kwantung Army was shocked, especially when he learned that Chen Feng's troops had dispatched thousands of soldiers at once. General Saito immediately lost his composure on the chariot of Ji. He knew the powerful offensive ability of Chen Feng's troops. A few months ago, Chen Feng's troops attacked Hailar. It only dispatched an infantry division, but it was almost The Ninth Division, the most elite of the empire, was wiped out. If the navy hadn't just caught the handle of the Chinese, I am afraid that the Ninth Division would not exist in the Kwantung Army's battle order now.

At the same time that the Third Army Headquarters reported to the Kwantung Army Headquarters, it ordered the Japanese 71st Division, the Mixed 69th Brigade, and the 17th and 19th Divisions of the Puppet Manchukuo National Defense Forces to immediately station in Shuangliao and reinforce them in the direction of Tongliao.

The outbreak of the Battle of Tongliao completely shocked the Kwantung Army Command. They had previously judged that Chen Feng's troops would launch an attack on the Kwantung Army, and they also predicted in advance the direction and method of Chen Feng's troops' possible attack. There are four judgments by the ministry, from north to south are Hailar, Zhalantun to Harbin; Ulanhot, Songyuan to Xinjing (Changchun); Tongliao, Shuangliao to Fengtian (Shenyang); Jidong, Rehe to Jinzhou.

As for the way of attack, it will still be the same as before. Under the cover of aircraft, artillery and tanks, the large corps will gradually advance along the main road, capture all the towns along the way, and use airborne troops to conduct surprise attacks when necessary.

But they guessed the attack direction correctly, but they didn't expect that Chen Feng's troops would use such a risky attack method, that is to say, they were stunned by Chen Feng's troops in terms of tactics.Although the Eighth Division has little loss now.But Lieutenant General Naozaburo Okabe, who knew Chen Feng's subordinates well, knew that if the Eighth Division was not rescued immediately, the [-] troops in the encirclement might really become a snack for the Chinese army.

Xinjing. Kwantung Army Headquarters.

The battle command room was silent, and the atmosphere was extremely depressing. General Yamada Otosan was a good guy, but losing his temper was not something anyone could afford. General Yamada just dropped his cup because of the war in the southeast of Sui. Everyone in the combat command room was shocked.

"Nishimura, what's the current situation of the Eighth Division, and what's the loss?" General Yamada asked loudly.

"Report to Your Excellency, Commander. The news I just received. The Eighth Division suffered little losses, less than [-] casualties, and the loss of the Imperial Army was even less than one brigade. The North China Army divided and surrounded Kailu, Tongliao, Naiman, and Kezuo Middle Banner. The rest of the places were occupied by the China Army!" Lieutenant General Toshio Nishimura, Chief of Staff of Intelligence, said loudly.

"The Chinese army did not attack the city. Do you know how many troops the Chinese have touched this time?" General Yamada continued to ask.

"The Chinese army has not attacked the city yet, because after the Eighth Division was transferred to the Tongliao area, it began to build large-scale city defenses. And it was quite effective. If the Chinese army attacked by force, it would pay a very heavy price." Then Nishimura The Lieutenant Commander said: "According to the information collected by the intelligence department, the Chinese army that attacked Tongliao has a large number of soldiers, and there are 4 division-level designations that do not repeat. In addition, there are a large number of technical arms, including artillery, chariot soldiers, etc. It is conservatively estimated that the number of troops will not be less than 12."

"Baga, it's unforgivable that your intelligence department doesn't know anything about the mobilization of the 12 troops of the Chinese army!" General Yamada said angrily.

"Hay!" Nakamura Nishimura bowed his head.

At this time, Lieutenant General Okabe Naozaburo, the chief of staff, got up and said, "Your Excellency, now is not the time to pursue accountability, and the intelligence department is not inactive. They have reported to the headquarters many times during this period. It is only because the Chinese army is mobilized too frequently this time, and we believe that the main direction of the Chinese army’s attack is on the sea (Hairar) Qi (Qiqihar) line, so the headquarters has been negligent.”

"Okabe-kun, this branch of Chen Feng is your old opponent, what should the imperial army do with the current situation?" General Yamada said loudly.

"Your Excellency, Commander, now we not only need to consider how to rescue the Eighth Division, but also strictly prevent the Chinese army from launching an attack across Manchuria. Based on what I know about Chen Feng from China, this person is not a big talker, he Since he has mobilized troops across the Suidong line, it means that he is likely to launch a full-scale attack on the entire Manchuria!" Lieutenant General Okabe Naozaburo said loudly.

"Nani, Okabe-kun means that the Chinese are going to engage in a strategic decisive battle with our army?" Yamada Otozo said inexplicably in shock.

"Hey, although I don't want to have a full-scale war with the Chinese army at this time, I think this battle may be unavoidable. Now it is Tongliao. Presumably Ulanhot, Zhalantun and even Rehe will soon spread News!" Lieutenant General Okabe said.

"Okabe-kun, how is our plan going?" General Yamada asked in a deep voice.

"More than half of it has been completed. The fortifications in North Manchuria have basically been completed, and the construction of South Manchuria is almost complete, but the progress of the Central Manchurian project is a bit slow, and there are still a lot of things that have not been completed." Lieutenant General Okabe replied. .

"If Huang Jun and the Chinese army fight in the field, what are the chances of winning?" General Yamada asked solemnly.

"Your Excellency, if it's an all-out decisive battle, the imperial army's chances of winning will not exceed three levels!" Naozaburo Okabe replied in a deep voice.

"Third floor, so low?" General Yamada asked, frowning. Obviously, he didn't believe that the Kwantung Army, which the entire Japanese people were proud of, had only a three-story chance of winning.

"Your Excellency, although our army has a certain advantage in terms of military strength, we must know that the real imperial army in Manchuria's armed forces is only a mere 60 people, and the rest are Koreans and Chinese. If the war goes well, it will be fine. , once the battle goes wrong, these people's will to fight will instantly drop to zero."

"Secondly, weapons and equipment. According to the analysis of the wreckage of weapons obtained outside the battlefield last time, the performance of the tanks and fighter planes of the Chinese army far exceeds that of any tanks and planes currently in service in the Imperial Army. In addition, they also have a variety of formidable powers. It is a powerful individual combat weapon, and it is the most unwise choice to use the weaknesses of the imperial army to counter the strengths of the Chinese army!" Naozaburo Okabe explained.

"Then what should we do, are we really going to be beaten passively?"

"Your Excellency, the Chinese people still don't know that our army has built a large number of permanent defenses on the front line of Suidong, so the imperial army can use these permanent fortifications to block the Chinese army. It won't take long and heavy casualties The Chinese army will automatically retreat, so the most important thing right now is to rescue the 12th Division. The Kwantung Army has already wiped out the [-]th Division. There must be no more divisions that can be organized Extinct." Lieutenant General Okabe said.

"Yoxi. Okabe-kun is right. In this case, the imperial army will take a defensive posture across the board, waiting for the attack of the Chinese army. Then use the third army as the main force to form a southern assault group. With a chariot division, it will attack Tongliao. The Chinese army in the territory launched an assault with the aim of rescuing the Eighth Division. Do you have any other opinions?" General Yamada said.

"Your Excellency, Commander, I believe that it is necessary to set up the front enemy defense headquarters like the Chinese army. In the next battle, the imperial army and the Chinese army are likely to have a long confrontation, fighting to exhaust the will to fight, so set up the front army. It is very necessary to have a strategic command organization." Okabe Naozaburo said.

"Yoxi, what Okabe-kun said is very reasonable. It is indeed necessary to form a permanent forward command organization."

“命令：立即组建皇军第1方面军，由斋藤大将担任司令官，参谋长喜多诚一中将。下辖：第3军（第8师团、第71师团、第69混成旅团）、第5军（第1师团、第77师团、第84师团）、直属第122师团、第134师团、第139师团、山炮兵第9、11、22旅团，野战重炮第7、19旅团、战车第12旅团。另外皇协军蒙古军以及满洲国政府军步兵第6、7、9、14、19、20师、骑兵第4、5、6、8师也归第一方面军指挥，第一方面军负责双辽、四平以南广大区域的防御任务，同时担任解救第八师团等部的任务，并且随时做好反击准备。”

“命令：组建第第3方面军，由冈部中将担任司令官、柳田元三中将，下辖：第30军（第9师团、第23师团、第66师团）、第44军（第11师团、第24师团、第57师团）以及方面军直属第136师团、独立混编第79旅团、独立混编第130旅团、独立混编第134旅团、独立战车第1旅团，野炮兵第8、9、10旅团，野战重炮第8、18旅团，战车第10旅团，另外满洲国国防军第4、5、8、10、11、12、13师归第三方面军指挥，主要负责松原以北，直至齐齐哈尔、黑河一线的防御工作。”

“命令：组建第17方面军，由秦彦三郎中将担任，远藤梨子少将担任参谋长，下辖：第4军（第25师团、第71师团、第29师团）、第17军（第28师团、第119师团、第123师团）以及战区直属第149师团、独立混编第80旅团、独立混编第131旅团、独立混编第135旅团、独立混编第136旅团，总司令部调拨3个炮兵旅团2个野战重炮旅团以及1个战车旅团划归第17方面军司令部指挥，此外满洲国政府军的6个步兵师4个骑兵师也归第17方面军司令部指挥。第17方面军司令部主要负责四平以北，直至松原的防御工作。同时还要防备苏俄的偷袭！”

“除此之外，总司令部直辖战车第一师团、第二师团、第五师团，野战重炮第15、16旅团、大陆铁道队（铁道第3联队、铁道第4联队）、第2航空军、第5航空军、第8航空军，空降兵第一旅团、第二旅团以及隶属于司令部的各部分军管单位！”

With the establishment of the forward headquarters of the Kwantung Army Command, the Japanese counterattack began! (To be continued..)