klisemfg Chapter 213: Sweeping Northwest Shanxi
Chapter 213: Sweeping Northwest Shanxi
After hearing what Yoshio Kozuka said, the three division commanders in the command center nodded slightly involuntarily.
Everyone is very clear that the Eighth Route Army is now definitely the First Army’s biggest enemy.
Once, in their minds, the Eighth Route Army was nothing more than a group of mud-legged armed forces. Those soldiers in simple clothes and poor equipment looked vulnerable, so they never took the Eighth Route Army seriously.
No one had expected that the Eighth Route Army could launch such a large-scale attack. This simply broke their inherent cognition and made them unbelievable.
In their view, even the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army and the Central Army did not dare to launch a large-scale attack. If it were not for the many mountains and ridges in Shanxi, the Eighth Route Army would have been wiped out by them long ago.
The rolling mountains acted like a natural barrier, providing cover for the Eighth Route Army.
During each large-scale mopping-up operation, the Eighth Route Army would not engage in direct combat with you, but would simply dive into the mountains and disappear without a trace. Even if more troops were sent out, it would be of no avail.
There are simply too many mountains in the Taihang Mountains, with numerous peaks and ravines, making it impossible to find the whereabouts of the Eighth Route Army. This often resulted in the army returning empty-handed in previous mopping-up operations.
The commander of the 37th Division, Shimizu Jiro, said, "Commander, the Eighth Route Army is mostly in mountainous areas. It is difficult for us to eliminate them through our mopping-up operations. Even if we concentrate our forces, the Eighth Route Army will not engage in direct combat with us."
Kozuka Yoshio said, "Shimizu-kun, what you said is very correct."
He nodded slightly, with a hint of cunning in his eyes.
"Therefore, the focus of this mopping-up operation is to destroy the Eighth Route Army base. As long as the base is destroyed, the Eighth Route Army will lose its most important source of logistical supplies. Without logistical supplies, the Eighth Route Army is like a tree without its roots, and it will be difficult to sustain for a long time."
Yoshio Kozuka's idea seems simple but very vicious.
After hearing Yoshio Kozuka's idea, everyone nodded slightly in agreement.
They all understood that cutting off the Eighth Route Army's supply lines was an effective means of attacking the Eighth Route Army.
In the following meeting, Yoshio Ozuka formulated a series of plans for the mopping-up operation. The most terrifying of them was the Three Alls Policy. He wanted to completely destroy the Eighth Route Army base in northwestern Shanxi. It was an extremely cruel method and completely inhumane.
The Eighth Route Army Independent Column became the main target of this mopping-up operation. The existence of the Independent Column made the Japanese devils uneasy, and they had to be eliminated.
The independent column was like a thorn in Yoshio Kozuka's heart, which would not go away until it was removed.
Finally, Yoshio Kozuka shouted the order in the command center.
"Everyone, listen up. In this sweep, the independent column will be the main target of elimination."
"Order the 102nd and 103rd Divisions to attack the independent column base in Ping'an County in two directions. Make sure to completely destroy the enemy's base and eliminate their manpower."
"Order the 37th Division to conduct a sweep of the area where the Eighth Route Army headquarters is located and destroy the Eighth Route Army's important base."
"Hai."
Everyone responded in unison.
Seeing this, Yoshio Kozuka nodded with satisfaction.
"Gentlemen, the combat mission has been arranged. Everyone go back and make preparations. One week from now, on September 9, we will officially launch an attack on the Eighth Route Army base."
Everyone left the headquarters one after another and began to return to their respective bases.
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The next day.
After receiving the mopping-up order, the large Japanese troops in Shanxi region began to mobilize on a large scale.
The originally quiet camp suddenly became lively and noisy. The soldiers hurriedly packed their equipment, vehicles and horses were also driven, and the whole camp was filled with a tense atmosphere.
The 37th Division, which reinforced the Yangquan area with nearly 1.8 Japanese soldiers, carrying a large amount of heavy firepower equipment, began to advance towards the mountainous area in northwestern Shanxi.
The 37th Division's mission was to encircle and suppress the Eighth Route Army headquarters in the mountainous area of northwestern Shanxi. The Japanese had already learned through spies that the location of the Eighth Route Army headquarters was near Daxia Bay.
In order to completely destroy the Eighth Route Army headquarters, the division commander Jiro Shimizu mobilized more than 6 people.
In addition to the soldiers of the 37th Division, he also gathered all the Japanese troops around Yangquan. Although those Japanese troops were not as strong as the regular Japanese troops, they were numerous, with more than 4 people.
the other side.
The 102nd Division and the Japanese invaders, totaling more than 4 people, set out from Changzhi area and headed for Ping'an County.
The 103rd Division also assembled more than 3 Japanese troops, totaling nearly 5, and marched towards Ping'an County from the Xinzhou area.
In order to deal with the Independent Column, the First Army dispatched two divisions and a large number of traitors totaling more than 9 people, determined to destroy the Independent Column's base in one fell swoop.
For a time, the entire northwestern Shanxi region was shrouded in the dark cloud of war.
The First Army's large-scale troop deployment immediately attracted the attention of all major forces, and intelligence personnel from all forces began to investigate the actions of the First Army.
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The Eighth Route Army’s Daxiawan Headquarters.
The communicator received the important information from the intelligence personnel and immediately translated the information skillfully and reported it to the chief of staff.
"Reporting to the commander, the intelligence personnel at the front sent back a telegram."
"Show it to me now."
The chief of staff's eyes instantly became focused, he knew that the information coming from the front must be of great importance.
The operator immediately handed the telegram to the chief of staff.
The chief of staff took the telegram and read it, and was immediately shocked.
His eyes widened slightly and his brows furrowed tightly. He saw on the telegram that the Japanese troops in Shanxi area were being mobilized on a large scale.
Those few simple words struck his heart like a heavy hammer.
He immediately realized that this matter was of great importance.
At this time, the first phase of the Eighth Route Army's Hundred Regiments Campaign was about to come to an end, which was a critical period.
The large-scale mobilization of the Japanese at this time must be a revenge against the Eighth Route Army. Various possible serious situations flashed quickly through his mind.
The chief of staff immediately ran to the chief's office with the telegram.
His steps were hurried, almost jogging.
As soon as he entered the office, he couldn't wait to say, "Chief, the intelligence personnel at the front have sent back important news."
"The First Army has begun to mobilize troops on a large scale. According to intelligence, the 37th Division, the 102nd Division, the 103rd Division and a large number of the Second Japanese Army are gathering. I believe the Japanese are definitely planning to conduct a large-scale sweep and retaliate against our Eighth Route Army."
The Chief of Staff's words were clear and concise, and he conveyed key information quickly to the leader.