mtl008 Chapter 325 Borrowing Troops
Chapter 325 Borrowing Troops
The new combat order from the Japanese 11th Army Headquarters was quickly conveyed to all attacking forces.
Starting from the next day, the 3rd Division on the right wing of the Japanese army sent troops to bypass the 11th Sui County defensive position in Xujiadian and launched a surprise attack on Wujiadadian in the north.
In order to quickly capture Wujia Dadian, the Japanese army directly used poison gas bombs at the beginning, which caused heavy casualties to the 11th Army troops defending Wujia Dadian. They had no choice but to abandon Wujia Dadian and retreat to Gaocheng.
At the same time, the 11th Army troops in the Xujiadian direction also took the initiative to retreat to Taerwan for defense due to the threat from the Japanese troops on the flank and rear.
At this point, the troops of the Japanese 3rd Division finally broke through the first line of defense of the 11th Army Group in Sui County.
The 29th Brigade of the Japanese Army in Xinyang also launched an attack westward from Xinyang, aiming directly at Tongbai City north of Sui County.
However, the Japanese troops on the left wing were not as successful in attacking and encircling the troops as those on the right wing.
Although the Japanese army's encirclement force had two infantry divisions and a cavalry brigade, in order to be able to quickly attack and encircle the enemy, the 11th Army Command transferred most of their artillery units to the 3rd Division for combat.
Now, each of their divisions had only one artillery battalion to provide offensive artillery support, which made it a bit difficult for the Japanese army to outflank the left wing.
Moreover, the 4th Cavalry Brigade played no role at all in the positional attack. Its mission was to quickly rush to Xinye City to launch a surprise attack after the 16th Division and the 13th Division broke through the Chinese army's defense line, and to clear out the scattered Chinese troops in the wild.
As soon as the troops of the 29th Brigade of the Japanese Army began to assemble, they were discovered by agents of the Chinese intelligence department lurking in Xinyang.
Through the undercover agents' investigation, they also learned about the scale and purpose of the Japanese army's assembly in Xinyang. So, that night, the undercover personnel pretended to be the ones to transmit the situation of the 29th Brigade of the Japanese Army to the mountain city using a radio.
In the Fifth War Zone Command, Commander Li was looking at the urgent telegram sent by the intelligence department, and was also calculating the comparison of the strength of both sides in his mind.
The Japanese army's reinforcement of troops on the right wing and the clear attack target also made Commander Li understand the Japanese army's full intentions.
It seems that this time the 11th Army of the Japanese Army not only wanted to defeat the troops of its Fifth War Zone in Zaoyang and Suixian, but also had a big appetite to surround the main force of its Fifth War Zone in Sui-Zao area and destroy it.
However, aren't you, General Okamura Neiji, a little too arrogant? You actually want to encircle the troops of the Fifth War Zone in this large area with only three divisions and three brigades. Your encirclement must be so loose.
It seems that the Japanese army does not have enough troops. They actually want to use such a small number of troops to complete the encirclement mission and the task of destroying the main force of the Fifth War Zone. This is too bold.
Although China has suffered heavy casualties in the past two years of war, haven't you, Japan, also suffered a lot of losses? Aren't your veterans also consumed in large numbers?
Although Japan has a complete military service system and can quickly replenish soldiers from the country, the combat effectiveness of you new recruits is far inferior to that of the old soldiers.
That's it. Why do you, General Okamura, have such big ambitions with such a small force? However, this also gives you a good opportunity. The Japanese army wants to use this small force to encircle and destroy the main force of the Fifth War Zone.
Why don't you use the Japanese strategy against them and lure the Japanese offensive and encircling forces to a place far away from their rear. When you launch an attack on the Fifth War Zone troops in the encirclement, you can attack from the outside, surround the Japanese troops that have made a detour, and annihilate them.
Even if we cannot completely wipe out the Japanese troops, we can still severely strike a blow to their arrogance.
Do it as soon as you think of it. Commander Li immediately started studying the map. When Chief of Staff Xu came in with a bowl of noodles, he pulled Commander Li back from the map.
"My dear Commander Li, you can't eat maps. Eat something quickly. It's already midnight. It won't be too late to study it after eating." Chief of Staff Xu said to Commander Li jokingly.
Officer Li, who was awakened by Chief of Staff Xu, also smiled and said, "If you hadn't called me, I wouldn't have known I was hungry, but now that you mentioned it, I really feel hungry, haha."
Commander Li also sat down at his desk and started eating the noodles quickly, while Chief of Staff Xu walked to the map spread on the ground and started looking at it.
Looking at the markings made by Commander Li on the map, Chief of Staff Xu also began to think carefully about it.
"What do you think? Does the Chief of Staff have any good ideas?" Commander Li walked up to Chief of Staff Xu with a bowl in his hand and asked with a smile.
"I can't say that I have a brilliant idea, but my dear Commander Li, it seems that we don't have enough resources. In this case, I don't think the highest level of the government and the Military Commission will agree with your strategic plan to encircle the Japanese army's outflanking forces." Chief of Staff Xu also expressed his opinion with a smile.
Chief of Staff Xu also saw at a glance the offensive markings made by Commander Li on the map. He personally believed that there was nothing wrong with this strategic concept, but Commander Li also encountered the same problem as the Japanese army, that is, there were not enough troops available.
In this case, the plan will most likely not be approved by the highest levels of government.
"Well, it's true. The only thing we can rely on now is the new 22nd Army in Xiangyang. Although the new 22nd Army is very powerful, we cannot accomplish this strategic vision relying solely on the strength of this one army." While eating noodles, Commander Li also stated the fact that Chief of Staff Xu did not state explicitly.
When Chief of Staff Xu heard what Commander Li said, he knew that Commander Li would not make such a low-level mistake, so he also cooperated and asked: "Commander Li seems to have a good plan."
"Haha, it's not a brilliant plan. However, we have one advantage over the Japanese army. That is, this is our home ground. My Fifth War Zone does not have enough capital, so why don't we borrow some from our neighbors? Anyway, we are all serving the same boss, and if we do a good job, everyone will benefit." Commander Li did not hide anything and directly expressed his thoughts.
"Commander Li means that we should ask the First War Zone next to us in the north to borrow troops? Which troops should we borrow?" When Chief of Staff Xu heard Commander Li's proposal, his eyes lit up.
Yes, there are troops in the First War Zone in the north, and they are not far from the scene. They can reach the designated battlefield quickly. In this way, the problem of insufficient troops can be solved immediately.
"I think that if we transfer the Second Army stationed in the south of the First War Zone and add the new 22nd Army, we can complete our strategic plan of encircling the Japanese army." Commander Li also revealed the final answer.