Chapter 165: The Jinsui Army seized the Shangdang area? ( words long chapter) "Sir, the vanguard troops report that no enemy troops have been spotted in Tongshi Town!" Behind the few slopes outside Tongshi Town. A Japanese soldier carrying a field backpack reported to Kasahara Koizumi, who was responsible for leading the attack on Tongshi Town. Kasahara Koizumi frowned as he listened to the Japanese soldier's report. I just felt very strange. Ever since he changed the direction of his troops and moved towards Tongshi Town instead of Yuxi Town, the troops have not encountered any resistance. Apart from some terrain factors, even if they encountered an ambush, some cavalrymen of the Eighth Route Army would hurriedly fire two shots at the marching troops, or fire two shots and then quickly retreat. You must know that when we first went to Yuxi Town, we would encounter strong resistance from the Eighth Route Army at every place suitable for ambush along the way. Moreover, the Eighth Route Army responsible for blocking the enemy was very different from the Eighth Route Army encountered before.
In the past, the Eighth Route Army troops responsible for blocking the enemy would basically wait until they entered the ambush circle and only opened fire when they were only a few dozen meters away. They would even stop shooting after firing a few shots, and throw grenades when the troops were within thirty or forty meters. As for machine guns, they will only fire in bursts when necessary. The Eighth Route Army's fighting style seemed to the Japanese to be because they didn't have enough bullets, so they could only fire a few shots, then throw grenades and charge... So Kasahara Koizumi also got used to the Eighth Route Army's style of fighting. However, Kasahara Koizumi discovered that the Eighth Route Army he encountered this time was completely different from the Eighth Route Army he had encountered before. The Eighth Route Army they encountered this time did not wait until they were within a few dozen meters before opening fire as they did in the past. Instead, they opened fire before they even got within a hundred meters! And once they opened fire, they basically would not stop. It was not like the Eighth Route Army was short of bullets at all. More importantly, the Eighth Route Army responsible for blocking them was also equipped with a large number of light machine guns. The light machine gunners of the Eighth Route Army kept moving and shooting, without caring about the accuracy of the machine gun shooting. Just aim at an approximate location and fire a burst of bullets. The Japanese soldiers in charge of the attack also wanted to use grenade launchers to blow up the Eighth Route Army's machine guns as they did before. As a result, the grenade launcher was shot down by the Eighth Route Army's sniper as soon as it was taken out, or it was blown up by the Eighth Route Army's grenade launcher. After the artillerymen behind set up their mortars and started firing, their mortars had basically just been set up and they would be immediately bombarded by the Eighth Route Army. It was as if there was an eye in the sky watching their movements and telling the Eighth Route Army all their intelligence. Moreover, the Eighth Route Army responsible for blocking the enemy had no desire to fight. As soon as they set up the mountain artillery and fired, they retreated immediately without any delay. It was as if the orders received by the Eighth Route Army soldiers responsible for blocking the enemy were not to block the enemy with all their might. Instead, fight if you can, retreat if you can't.
But Kasahara Koizumi didn't think much about it, because the Eighth Route Army responsible for blocking the enemy did delay the enemy for a lot of time. In the end, Kasahara Koizumi thought that the Eighth Route Army was preparing to abandon Shiquan County and only needed to delay time to cover the retreat of the large force behind them. But when Kasahara Koizumi received the order from Hiraru Isamu and led the 22nd Regiment to change direction and march towards Tongshi Town, everything was different. The only few locations suitable for ambush on the way to Tongshi Town only encountered harassment and ambush by a small part of the Eighth Route Army, and there was no decent battle at all. It can be said that Kasahara Koizumi and the 22nd Regiment basically reached the outskirts of Tongshi Town without any obstruction. This made Kasahara Koizumi wonder what the purpose of the Eighth Route Army was. Is the Eighth Route Army preparing to abandon the entire Shangdang area? Didn’t the Eighth Route Army know that once Shiquan County was lost, the northern part of the Shangdang area would be undefendable? Moreover, the Eighth Route Army mobilized so many troops to besiege the Yamazaki Battalion and wasted so much energy. Are they ready to give up? This is really unlike the Eighth Route Army, nor is it like a normal way of fighting. Kasahara Koizumi sat on a rock, his mind working frantically. Try to find a reasonable explanation for the Eighth Route Army's actions. Kasahara Koizumi even thought that the Eighth Route Army might want to let the 4th Brigade advance deep into the enemy's territory alone and then surround it. However, this idea only stayed in Kasahara Koizumi's mind for less than a second and was immediately abandoned. Because it's simply impossible. The 4th Brigade is not the Yamazaki Battalion, it only has less than a thousand defeated soldiers. The 4th Brigade now has more than 7,000 troops capable of direct combat. Not only are they well-equipped, but now Tongshi Town, the only plain area in Shiquan County, has been taken. What methods did the Eighth Route Army use to encircle the 4th Brigade? "Kikuchi-kun, what do you think the Eighth Route Army is doing? Why do I feel like the Eighth Route Army is about to abandon the Shangdang area? " Kasahara Koizumi thought for a long time, then turned his gaze to the deputy commander of the corps, Shinichi Kikuchi, beside him. Shinichi Kikuchi also felt a little strange when he heard what Kasahara Koizumi asked. The performance of the Eighth Route Army is very different from that in the past. Shinichi Kikuchi seemed to have thought of something and spoke to Kasahara Koizumi. "Colonel, do you still remember the last report from the Special High Section about the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army stealing the Eighth Route Army's military merits?" Kasahara Koizumi listened to what Kikuchi Shinichi said, thought for a while, and after recalling what Kikuchi Shinichi was talking about, he spoke. "Kikuchi-kun, are you talking about the incident when the 358th Regiment of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army tried to seize Linyuan County after the Eighth Route Army attacked it last time?" Shin Kikuchi nodded and began to analyze. "Master Colonel, think about it, in a small county like Linyuan, the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army wanted to steal the Eighth Route Army's military achievements. Now that the Eighth Route Army has taken over the entire Shangdang area, how could the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army not be tempted by such a large piece of territory?
I think Commander Yan from the Second War Zone must have put pressure on the Eighth Route Army and asked them to hand over the Shangdang area. The Eighth Route Army was forced to surrender the Shangdang area under pressure. Since the Shangdang area no longer belonged to the Eighth Route Army, why did the Eighth Route Army still want to stop us? " "I think this is probably the reason why the Eighth Route Army abandoned the entire Shangdang area and stopped blocking us. I estimate that the entire Shangdang area is likely to be in a vacuum period now. The Eighth Route Army withdrew directly from the Shangdang area, but the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army had not yet taken over the various areas of the Shangdang area, and then we just happened to counterattack the Shangdang area! "After listening to Kikuchi Shinichi's analysis, Kasahara Koizumi suddenly felt that he had suddenly realized something. Yes, if we follow the results of Kikuchi Shinichi's analysis, then all the strange actions of the Eighth Route Army can be explained. The reason why the Yamazaki Battalion was besieged by so many troops after it ran into the Eighth Route Army Headquarters Arsenal was because the main force of the Eighth Route Army was preparing to return to the Taiyue Mountain area from the direction of Hegu Town. The Yamazaki Brigade was simply unlucky and crashed directly into it. In addition, the Eighth Route Army headquarters arsenal was located right at that location. Could the Eighth Route Army not mobilize a large force to besiege the Yamazaki Battalion? And the reason why Yamazaki Jihei reported that the Eighth Route Army officer went to Yuxi Town was also explained. That’s because there is also a large force of the Eighth Route Army in Yuxi Town, and they should be preparing to retreat into the Taihang Mountains. When a large-scale force enters the mountainous area, there must be a senior officer leading it. In order to buy time for the large troops to enter the mountainous area, he encountered such fierce resistance when he led the 22nd Regiment to Yuxi Town. Because the Eighth Route Army needed to delay time so that large troops could carry supplies into the mountains. After he changed direction and headed towards Tongshi Town, he did not encounter any ambushes. That's because the large force in the ancient town has already completed the transfer, so there is naturally no need to stop them anymore. Maybe the Eighth Route Army that is besieging the Yamazaki Battalion has already begun to prepare to retreat. From this perspective, all the confusing operations of the Eighth Route Army along the way can be instantly understood. "Quick, tell the brigade commander our guess! Let's say that there are many possibilities that the Shangdang area is in a vacuum period. Should we take advantage of this opportunity to march quickly and reoccupy the entire Shangdang area?" Kasahara Koizumi quickly ordered the telegraph operator to send his speculation to the brigade commander via telegram, asking the brigade commander to consider whether to quickly enter the Shangdang area. “Remember to ask the brigade commander to ask the Army Aviation whether the Eighth Route Army besieging the Yamazaki Battalion at Wangjiapo has begun to retreat. If the Eighth Route Army over there begins to retreat, it means that my guess is most likely correct!" Kasahara Koizumi was very excited. If his guess is correct, then the greatest credit for the reoccupation of Shangdang area goes to him. Moreover, the Eighth Route Army withdrew from the Shangdang area. What would happen even if the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army re-entered the Shangdang area? Without the natural barrier of Shiquan County, what could the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army use to stop their large army? Besides, it’s not that Kasahara Koizumi looked down on the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army. Except for a few units, the combat effectiveness of most of the other units of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army was not as good as that of the Locust Association Army. Although he is not good at fighting, he is good at fighting and grabbing credit. To be honest, Kasahara Koizumi even thought that the cities behind Shangdang area had been reoccupied by the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army. By that time, taking the city from the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army would be a real military achievement. The most important thing is that the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army is much easier to fight than the Eighth Route Army.
When the Eighth Route Army received orders from their superiors, they generally carried them out to the letter. Even if they have to sacrifice all their lives to stop the enemy, as long as there is only one person left, they will not let the enemy pass through their position. Their fighting spirit was so strong that it even surpassed that of most of the armies of the Empire of Japan. This was what Kasahara Koizumi saw with his own eyes, and the recognition of the Eighth Route Army's strong fighting will was also said by Pinglu Yongfu himself. As for the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army... I can only say that the fighting spirit of some troops is indeed not bad, but many troops are basically the kind that will either flee or surrender after a little resistance... They don't care whether there are friendly troops fighting bravely behind them, and they may even expose their friendly troops in order to protect themselves. "Sir, the brigade commander called back and said that the last observation report from the Army Aviation was half an hour ago. The Yamazaki Battalion had been completely wiped out by the Eighth Route Army and no longer needed rescue. In addition, the Army Aviation has withdrawn and will have to wait until dawn tomorrow to provide air support. The brigade commander asked you to quickly search Tongshi Town and wait for the arrival of the main force. Do not act rashly." Kasahara Koizumi listened to the report from the telegraph operator and looked up at the setting sun which was already beginning to set. We also knew that the troops had been on the move for a day and were already tired. In addition, it was soon to get dark, so it was indeed not suitable to continue advancing. But it doesn't matter. It's good for the troops to rest for a night. As long as my guess is correct, it's no big deal for the troops to rest for a night. Only by conserving your energy can you face challenges in a better state, right? Although Kasahara Koizumi desires credit, it does not mean that he only thinks about credit. Life is much more important than credit. What’s the use of having many achievements if you’ve lost your life? "Call back and tell the brigade commander that I will immediately conduct a sweep around Tongshi Town." "Kikuchi-kun, please make some arrangements. Arrange one brigade to inspect Tongshi Town, and one brigade to be responsible for defense. Be careful of the Eighth Route Army's night attacks." After deciding to rest for a night, Kasahara Koizumi began to issue various orders. Although he guessed that the Eighth Route Army had most likely retreated, Kasahara Koizumi still did not let down his guard. What if my guess is wrong? What if the Eighth Route Army did not retreat, but instead launched a night attack on us, and we happened to underestimate the enemy and failed to pay attention? It would be ridiculous if the Eighth Route Army seized our regiment headquarters. He had heard that the commander of the Eighth Route Army's independent regiment's favorite thing to do was to launch surprise attacks on enemy headquarters. After destroying the enemy's command center, take advantage of the enemy's troop command chaos and launch a surprise attack on the local forces. Not to mention the distant ones, weren’t the Kimura Brigade and Sakata Nobutsu defeated in this way? The Kimura Brigade, an entire brigade, had its headquarters destroyed by the Eighth Route Army in less than two days, and the troops were directly defeated. The same thing happened to Sakata Regiment. He was killed by the Eighth Route Army just one week after he was promoted to general. He can be said to be the general with the shortest surviving time in the empire. Kasahara Koizumi didn't want to be sleeping in the middle of the night and have the Eighth Route Army come up to him and cut his neck. Or maybe a shell hits you while you are sleeping. After all, there is flat ground all around, which is very suitable for artillery aiming.
Not to mention intermittent firing, the Eighth Route Army could even set up artillery on the mountains outside Tongshi Town and fire directly at this side. Therefore, Kasahara Koizumi hopes to clean up Tongshi Town and then station defenses inside Tongshi Town. In addition, places like towns can serve as a defensive measure in themselves. Although they are not very strong, they are better than being in an open space outside. …… "boom!" Not long after Kasahara Koizumi issued the order, a violent explosion was heard from the position outside Tongshi Town. It was obvious that some Japanese soldiers had triggered the mines buried by the Eighth Route Army. (End of this chapter)