coobybook Chapter 625: When attacking Fu'an County, I, Chu Yunfei, must not be absent. I must help the sc
Chapter 625: When attacking Fu'an County, I, Chu Yunfei, must not be absent. I must help the sc
Taiyuan City, the headquarters of the Japanese 12th Army.
"Your Excellency the Commander, the county seat of Guxian has been completely occupied by the enemy. We have launched three counterattacks but have failed to recapture it. The troops on the front line had to withdraw to Pingtian Town and prepare to intercept the enemy here!" Chief of Staff Ippei Mitsui reported with a distressed face.
The successive loss of Guxian County and Ping'an County made Mitsui Ippei feel that a storm was coming. His original intention was to call back the 50,000 troops stationed outside, but Shinozuka Yoshio disagreed, which made the situation develop in a direction that was increasingly unfavorable to the Japanese!
Yoshio Shinozuka did not care about the loss of one or two county towns. Even if they were lost now, they could be taken back in no time. What he was most concerned about was the Shuiquan Oilfield, which was the cash cow of his 12th Army. Once it was lost, it would really hurt the foundation of the 12th Army.
"Fujiwara-kun, can you tell me how your plan of building a plank road in the open while secretly attacking Chencang is going?"
Fujiwara Ichiro replied respectfully, "Commander, I told you before that our air force is not passively avoiding war. Even though the damn navy idiots left Taiyuan Airport, it does not mean that our 18th Flying Division is unable to support the overall situation. In the past few days, we have obtained nearly 80 combat aircraft. The number of aircraft we have is basically the same as that of the enemy, and even slightly more. The performance of the aircraft of both sides is basically at the same level, which makes it very difficult for us to seize air superiority."
"Once we get into a long war of attrition, it will be even more disadvantageous to us. I had no choice but to come up with the strategy of repairing the plank road in the open while secretly marching through Chencang, and tactically deceive the enemy. At present, it seems that the enemy has not discovered that this is our conspiracy, and still thinks that we have been passively avoiding the war. The false intelligence we released has also been believed by the enemy. It is expected that in the next few days, the enemy will soon divide its forces, and then it will be the time for our 18th Flying Division to attack."
"This time we won't attack, but once we do, we will cripple the enemy. As long as we can gain air superiority on the battlefield, the enemy tanks and armored vehicles that pose the greatest threat to us will become sitting ducks. A single bomb will blow them into scrap metal."
"When the time comes, we will cooperate with the ground forces to launch a counterattack, which will definitely inflict heavy damage on the enemy. I'm afraid we can't completely destroy the enemy for the time being, but this time we can annihilate most of the enemy's main forces. In the next one or two months, the enemy can only take a defensive position, and we can devote all our energy to dealing with the Shanxi Suiyuan Army. It will take at most one month to defeat the Shanxi Suiyuan Army. After these two battles, Shanxi Province will have a very stable period for at least half a year. We can take advantage of this time to intensify preparations for war, and then attack the enemy's Zhaojiayu base and completely pull out this hateful nail!"
Shinozuka Yoshio nodded in satisfaction and couldn't help but praise: "Yoshi! Fujiwara-kun, your plan is very perfect and the implementation effect is also very good. The enemy has been successfully deceived by us and will soon fall into our trap. I only have one request for you, that is to kill the enemy's air force at all costs and regain air supremacy on the battlefield."
"Mitsuki-kun, I'll leave the confidentiality to you. This matter is top secret. Before the operation is launched, no leaks are allowed. Anyone involved in this matter must be closely monitored. If you find any suspicious people, arrest them immediately for questioning!"
"As for the loss of Ping'an and Guxian counties, it's really not a big deal. They're just two counties. Let's make the enemy happy first. When they get carried away, that's when we can really strike back. Now everything I'm doing is fishing. If we don't make the bait fatter, the big fish won't take the bait."
"We have to give the enemy a false impression that the imperial army's combat effectiveness is very weak right now. This is why I have caused Takahashi's army to suffer defeat after defeat. Only if the defeat is more realistic will the enemy be truly fooled."
"I have to say that Hirata Kojiro's suggestion is really useful. Using those short puppet soldiers to pretend to be imperial soldiers, the retreat really looks like real imperial soldiers. If we retreat a few more times, our enemies will really believe that everything they see is real. Only when they are convinced, it will be the best time for us to counterattack."
Mitsui Ippei actually didn't agree with this. He concluded that the risk of doing so was too great and it was very likely to backfire. But Shinozuka Yoshio was in high spirits and didn't want to pour cold water on others at this time, which would only bring trouble to himself. As for Fujiwara Ichiro's plan, he felt that the possibility of success was greater. After all, the news they released was linked to each other, leaving Lin Zhenhua no chance to choose.
It's just that Lin Zhenhua's luck is too good, and he is very blessed by God. He is not sure whether the plan will succeed in the end. He can only say that he has done his best and left it to fate. Anyway, no matter what the final result is, he has done everything he can. Even if someone criticizes him, he has something to refute. Don't think he is so negative, but his position as chief of staff is already unstable. He will be transferred in three months at most. He really doesn't want to take the blame for others, and just wants to play soy sauce and do some work on the side.
After capturing Guxian County, the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army directly changed their original battle plan. Originally, they were planning to find an opportunity to capture Taiyuan City, but after discovering that the strength of the Japanese was not as weak as they had imagined, they prepared to continue to implement the backup plan and directly changed the direction of the attack, targeting Shuiquan County.
Chu Yunfei heaved a sigh of relief after learning this. He had advised his old commander before that now was definitely not the time to counterattack Taiyuan. To put it bluntly, doing so would be completely beyond one's capabilities. Although the 12th Japanese Army looked relatively weak, its combat effectiveness should not be underestimated. It was able to maintain operations on two fronts at the same time and persist for so long, which fully proved that the strength of the Japanese was not made of clay. These second- and third-line troops were not so easy to fight either. If you underestimate them, you will definitely suffer a great loss.
"Brother Ligong, we can't just stand by and watch. Last night, Li Yunlong came to me and wanted me to join the counterattack. My opinion has always been very clear. No matter who fights the Japanese, my 358th Regiment will help."
"Besides, with the support of the independent regiment, the Japanese will never be able to make any progress. We can take this opportunity to train our troops. The troops cannot truly grow without the baptism of blood and fire. I have decided to deploy three battalions of troops to join the siege this afternoon. What do you think of my arrangement?" Chu Yunfei asked directly.
Chief of Staff Fang Ligong pondered for a moment and replied with some hesitation: "Captain Chu, the current situation is actually very unfavorable to Li Yunlong and his men. The Japanese will soon receive reinforcements from three divisions. Li Yunlong and his men only have six days. Within these six days, they must capture Xiashuiquan County and Fu'an County and build preliminary defensive fortifications. Otherwise, they may really be surrounded by the Japanese."
"Since this morning, I have noticed something is wrong. Li Yunlong and his men have increased the intensity of the bombing of the Japs and eliminated a large number of their firepower points, but this will not have much effect on the next battle. The Japs only need to hide their artillery and people in the houses. Li Yunlong will never dare to let the bombers in his hands bomb the houses in the city. That would easily lead to large-scale accidental injuries. Li Yunlong will never be able to bear this responsibility."
"If we want to capture Fu'an County in a very short time, Li Yunlong and his men can only deploy more troops. Their intention in coming to see Captain Chu is very obvious. They want our 358th Regiment to share some of the pressure with them. We must help them. The harder we fight here, the more cities the Japanese will lose, and the less pressure there will be on the old commander."
"We are not fighting this battle for others, but for our Jinsui Army. This counterattack is massive, and we have received full support from Shancheng. We are equipped with the first batch of weapons provided by the Allies. If we still can't perform well, it will be much more difficult to get more assistance in the future."
"Otherwise, the old commander would not have stopped the attack on the Japanese as usual after losing a division. Instead, after a simple half-day rest, he ordered the troops to march immediately and head directly to Ningwu County, requiring them to reach the outskirts of Ningwu County before noon tomorrow and launch the attack at 2 pm. This shows how determined the old commander is this time."
"The Japanese in Pingtian Town have been defeated. I always feel that there is something wrong. I specifically reminded the old commander, but I haven't received any response so far. I think it's better to be cautious about this matter. I want you, Captain Chu, to find Li Yunlong and ask him to send a reconnaissance plane to investigate the situation!"
Chu Yunfei had not noticed this before. Now that he thought about it, there was something wrong with the Japanese's retreat this time. He immediately found the map and checked it carefully. The more he looked, the more solemn his expression became. He said anxiously, "Brother Ligong, your reminder just now is very correct. I also think there is something fishy about this matter. The Japanese's combat effectiveness will never be so poor. There must be a conspiracy. Maybe the Japanese have already set up a trap in front of us, waiting for us to get in. I will go to Li Yunlong now and ask him to send a reconnaissance plane to check. You immediately contact the old commander and ask him to suspend the attack on Ningwu County!"