area51novel #216 - Make big news? No need
#216 - Make big news? No need
Border Region.
Ren Zhong was reviewing the battle report given by Staff Officer Ye. Now, after every major battle, Staff Officer Ye would distribute the battle report to Ren Zhong, because Ren Zhong's opinions often had a significant impact on the war situation. Regarding weapon configurations and enemy movements, Ren Zhong was often clearer than the staff department.
The progress in both the Lüliang Mountains and Wutai Mountains was very smooth. The Japanese devils didn't put up much resistance, seemingly having given up struggling.
However, when he saw the brigade commander completely trapping the 36th Division in Ze Prefecture, he frowned, sensing that something was amiss.
But for a moment, Ren Zhong couldn't figure out exactly what was wrong.
After he returned to the main world and browsed through the war history of the Japanese devils for a while, he realized the problem.
In the entire history of the War of Resistance Against Japan, there was only one instance of completely annihilating a Japanese division, and that was the victory at Wanjiaping.
But that victory was like stabbing the Japanese devils in the lung. When the 106th Division faced the fate of complete annihilation, this news reached the ears of the old devil, Tainoh. He issued a death order to the Japanese army, no matter the cost, they had to rescue the 106th Division!
In other words, the Japanese devils attached unparalleled importance to a division.
Now, the brigade commander and the others' plan to completely annihilate the Japanese 36th Division was not just stirring up a hornet's nest, but digging up their ancestral graves. It was likely to cause a series of unpredictable consequences.
If they really created such a big news event, Ren Zhong couldn't imagine the extent of the Japanese devils' revenge.
But it would definitely be no less than fighting a battle on the scale of the Battle of Zhongtiaoshan.
Before the tank torrent emerged, Ren Zhong felt that it was a bit premature to startle the snake.
If they really lured the main force of the Kwantung Army south, it might lead to the early implementation of the Japanese devils' southward strategy.
That was nearly a million Kwantung Army troops, currently at their peak, possessing 15 divisions (10 Class A divisions, 2 Class B divisions, 1 Class C division, 1 Class D division, 1 mechanized division), 1 armored army, 22 garrison units, as well as cavalry and air force!
According to historical deductions, most of these Kwantung Army elites would be投入ed into the South Pacific and Pacific theaters. Eventually, 11 divisions would remain (3 Class A divisions, 2 Class B divisions, 5 Class D divisions, 1 mechanized division), 22 garrison units, with a total remaining force of approximately 400,000 men. By this time, the Kwantung Army's forces would be depleted, and they would almost only be able to stay in the Northeast, unable to move. They had to stay to face the Far Eastern Front of the North, otherwise, the Northeast Puppet Manchukuo, their main base, would be at risk of being lost.
But now that this behemoth had not yet gone south, would the brigade commander and the others' plan cause such a big news event that the Japanese devils' headquarters would explode? After all, based on past lessons, the Japanese devils were still very sensitive to division-level devastating blows.
Thinking of this, Ren Zhong returned to the Bright Sword world and immediately communicated his analysis to Staff Officer Ye in an emergency.
According to Ren Zhong's suggestion, for the 36th Division, it was still best to surround three sides and leave one open, annihilating most of its active forces, and then forcing it out of Ze Prefecture, to avoid the Japanese devils going completely crazy and prematurely luring out the Kwantung Army.
Just like the current strength of the Eighth Route Army, the specific situation after the reorganization was only known to the very high-level Border Region Staff Department and the Eighth Route Army Headquarters. At the base area level, ordinary people only knew the designation of a main regiment.
And they didn't know what kind of combat power these designations represented.
This was the Eighth Route Army's foundation, one of its most core secrets.
Even Ren Zhong, the initiator of this reorganization plan, had not actually inquired about the specific numbers. He could only simply deduce the approximate numbers through historical data and the current production capacity of the military industry.
Ren Zhong's suggestions and reminders were quickly discussed by the Border Region Staff Department and high-level officials. The high-level officials decided on a new strategy of surrounding three sides and leaving one open, crippling but not completely annihilating the enemy, and directly issued the new instructions to the brigade commander at the front line.
The brigade commander received the instructions from afar, pondered for about ten minutes, seemed to understand something, and decisively ordered Li Yunlong to leave a rugged road to the south, gathered the troops, and launched an attack on Ze Prefecture in advance, deliberately creating the illusion of being eager to attack and establish meritorious service, pulling out a gap for the Japanese devils to escape through.
"What the hell is the brigade commander doing? Why should we give this old devil Okamoto a way out?" Li Yunlong was in the Independent Regiment headquarters, very puzzled by the brigade commander's latest order.
"Execute the order, Lao Li. The brigade commander's order is very clear and tough, and naturally the brigade commander has his considerations. Understand and execute, don't understand and still execute." Zhao Gang repeatedly read the latest telegram from the brigade commander, confirmed that there was no problem, and said to Li Yunlong.
"We finally managed to trap Okamoto, this big fish, and now we have to let him go with our own hands. I'm really not reconciled," Li Yunlong said indignantly. "Is the Brigade Commander getting senile?"
"What nonsense are you talking about, Lao Li? You are a front-line commander. When it comes to executing orders from higher authorities, you can't easily reject them. Otherwise, what about our discipline?" Zhao Gang saw the Brigade Commander's instruction to surround three sides and leave one open, as well as the instruction to cripple but not kill. Suddenly, something clicked in his mind, and he seemed to vaguely grasp something, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
"Lao Li, you can't be confused about this matter. We are the main force on the southern line and a crucial link in executing the Brigade Commander's orders. Please issue the order. The Brigade Commander is waiting for us to launch the attack."
Li Yunlong paced around the command post for a while, finally not daring to disobey the Brigade Commander's orders. Right now, the Brigade Commander's forward command post was a bit far away, and the radio couldn't directly connect. Otherwise, the Brigade Commander would definitely be yelling at Li Yunlong directly.
In this regard, Li Yunlong still understood the Brigade Commander very well.
"Zhang Dabiao, order the Independent Regiment to launch an immediate attack! The New Third Regiment and the New Fourth Regiment will follow the Independent Regiment, forming a staggered attack formation. Be sure not to give the Japanese any chance to breathe. I want to see the Independent Regiment be the first to kill its way into Zezhou City!" Li Yunlong finally issued the order.
This series of preemptive attacks officially kicked off the offensive against Zezhou.
However, because Li Yunlong's troops took the lead, the original pin-shaped blocking formation was artificially shortened, increasing the effectiveness of the attack, but reducing the tightness of the encirclement, leading to a gap in the southern encirclement.
Okamoto Yasuji, who had been sending out cavalry to look for opportunities, keenly noticed the gap created by the Independent Regiment's attack. Fearing it was a trap, Okamoto Yasuji sent the remaining cavalry brigade to attack the gap.
Sure enough, the cavalry brigade broke through the encirclement all the way and directly occupied the Qidao Ridge, the gateway to the south. Then, the vanguard cavalry squadron rushed to the Dongpo Village pass a few kilometers away, and there was no large-scale resistance. Okamoto Yasuji finally made up his mind to break through from here.
To this end, Okamoto Yasuji sent seven consecutive telegrams to the First Army Headquarters requesting a strategic retreat, claiming that this was the last chance. If they missed the opportunity, the entire 36th Division would be annihilated in Zezhou, forcing Iwamatsu Yoshio to make a decision.
Faced with Okamoto Yasuji, who was determined to leave, Iwamatsu Yoshio, even as his superior, did not dare to bear the risk of having the entire division wiped out.
He directly threw this hot potato to the North China Area Army, letting Okamura Neji decide.
Although the responsibility for losing Zezhou was very serious, Iwamatsu Yoshio could still bear the blame. At most, he would retire to his hometown like Shozuka Yoshio. But losing an entire division was something Iwamatsu Yoshio could not bear at all. Even if he didn't face a military court, he would probably have to commit seppuku to apologize.
Weighing the two evils, Iwamatsu Yoshio also believed that taking advantage of the opportunity, the 36th Division breaking out of the encirclement was much better than being trapped to death in Zezhou.
After all, no one had the ability to mobilize several divisions into the Zezhou Basin to save him now.
Although the staff department assessed that the 36th Division could rely on the city to hold out until reinforcements arrived.
But mobilizing the main force of the Kwantung Army to go south was something that even Okamura Neji couldn't decide. This required the Imperial Headquarters to make a decision before the Kwantung Army could be subdued.
Otherwise, like the last time the Garrison Army in Mongolia, the Kwantung Army's dispatched troops suffered a great loss on the grasslands, and now they would not be easily dispatched.
After all, these were two different command systems. Strictly speaking, the North China Area Army was not as high-ranking as the Kwantung Army. Subordinates could request from superiors, but they could not force them.
"What is Li Yunlong doing? How could he reveal such a big flaw?" On the other side, Kong Jie saw the Japanese fleeing south like a tide and couldn't help but curse angrily. "In order to rush the attack, he put all his eggs in one basket, how could he give the Japanese a chance to escape?"
"Commander, I'm afraid there's more to it than meets the eye," Wang Huaibao interjected from the side. "Commander Li is a veteran of the battlefield and has never made such a low-level mistake. The fact that he revealed a flaw to the Japanese is probably intentional."
Wang Huaibao was an old subordinate promoted by Kong Jie when he was in the Independent Regiment. Now, in the New Second Regiment, he had been promoted to Deputy Commander. He had a relatively deep understanding of Li Yunlong, after all, they had fought together so many times, and Li Yunlong had almost never suffered a loss.
"Are you saying, surround three sides and leave one open?" Kong Jie reacted somewhat. "How could Li Yunlong's brain come up with such a brilliant idea?"
"It might be the Brigade Commander's arrangement. After all, Zezhou is a big city. In order to prevent the Japanese from being cornered and choosing to perish together with Zezhou City, I personally believe that surrounding three sides and leaving one open can indeed reduce civilian casualties in the city," Wang Huaibao seemed to have a lot of his own opinions on this siege.
Kong Jie took a deep look at Wang Huaibao and said.
"What should we do? Wait for orders, or start attacking directly?"
"We can invest some troops in the attack, and another part can go south lightly armed, biting the tail of the 36th Division and pursuing them relentlessly. The road that Commander Li left open for the Japanese is a rugged path through the Zhongtiao Mountains. On this road, the Japanese will not only be unable to take away heavy weapons, but also their speed will be greatly reduced. If we chase after them now, we might be able to bite off a big chunk of meat."
Wang Huaibao said.
"However, in order to prevent the Japanese from biting back, I suggest communicating with the Independent Regiment. Our two families should pursue from the east and west sides respectively. If we both exert force at the same time, even if the Japanese want to bite back, they won't have the ability to resist. This way, we will be foolproof."
Second update, seeking recommendations and monthly tickets.