On the evening of June 11, the Japanese First Army Headquarters.

"Let's go to the air raid support. The aviation formation at the artillery position has returned to the airport, but..." Kushibuchi Soichi was a little embarrassed to say,

"It's just that the losses of the Army Aviation this time are not small. Two bombers were destroyed and three others were seriously injured. I'm afraid they won't be able to carry out air raids in a short time.

In addition, one of the escorting fighter jets was lost."

To Kushibubuchi's surprise, Umezu Yoshijiro was not as furious as usual when he heard the battle damage report. His cunning eyes lit up at this moment, and the corners of his mouth twitched, revealing a relieved smile.

Kushiyuan Yuyi was filled with doubts and couldn't help but ask:

"Your Excellency Commander, what are you..."

Umezu Yoshijiro walked to the huge battle map with his hands behind his back, his eyes fixed on the location of Wangqiao Town.

"This heavy artillery regiment is a vital force in Jiangdong's hands. When I received the intelligence of the 36th Division, I didn't have much hope of completely destroying it. How could Jiangdong allow such an important force to be so...

It was easily discovered by the imperial army, so I judge that the information obtained by the 36th Division is mostly false."

Kushibuchi Soichi: "That makes sense, then..."

"A false artillery position cannot have such a large amount of anti-aircraft firepower. The Army Aviation suffered such heavy losses, which shows that its ground must be protected by a large amount of anti-aircraft firepower."

"Ha!" Kushibuchi Soichi couldn't help but slap his hands.

"So what we destroyed in the air strike was indeed Jiangdong's heavy artillery regiment!"

"Yes." Umezu Yoshijiro clasped his hands behind his back, looking extremely smart.

"The Koto Heavy Artillery Regiment has been lost. It will not be so easy to break through the defense lines of the 36th and 37th Divisions." Kushibuchi Soichi pointed at the map with a relaxed expression.

"Judging from the current distribution of troops, Jiangdong's main attack direction is Xiangyuan. The 36th Division stationed in Xiangyuan only has one infantry regiment and one field artillery regiment. Should we attack the 20th Division that just arrived in Wuxiang?

"

"The 20th Division will not move for the time being. Let the 36th Division hold on for a while first in case Jiangdong has other means."

At present, the troops in the northern battlefield are somewhat stretched. It is impossible for Umezu Yoshijiro to play all the cards in his hand at once. He must let his opponent take action first before he can take advantage of them.

"What's going on over there with the Fourth Division?" Umezu Yoshijiro asked.

Kushibuchi thought about it and said:

"What Lieutenant General Sawada Shigeru said is not all excuse. Various resistance forces such as the Communist Party's regular army, guerrillas, and militia forces all emerged from along the Pinghan-Han Railway, including the Henan section and Hebei section.

The railway in this section was damaged in many places. Although it has not reached the point of damaging the muscles and bones, it is still a big trouble for the imperial army. The Fourth Division has been busy dealing with it, but Commander Zhina’s combat style of the guerrillas

Your Excellency also knows that they have achieved very little results."

A cold light flashed in Umezu Yoshijiro's eyes, "This must be a premeditated and organized attack, and its purpose is to cooperate with the operations in the direction of Licheng.

Haha... Jiangdong is such a big hand!"

Kushibuchi Soichi also sighed in response,

"By the way, Your Excellency Commander, the 4th Division is requesting supplies."

Umezu Meijiro frowned and looked at Kushibuchi Soichi,

"Didn't we just resupply them when we changed defense? Why do we need them again so soon?"

Umezu Yoshijiro already had a guess in his mind, but he didn't say it outright because he didn't have any evidence.

Kushibuchi Souichi also heard about the character of the 4th Division, and he said truthfully:

"The loss of combat ordnance and supplies for a continuous week must be considerable, but they are backed by the Ping-Han Railway. I can't believe that they have no food in their hands. How do you think this matter should be handled?"

Umezu Yoshijiro's brows furrowed into a frown, and after thinking for nearly a minute, he said:

"Give it to them, but we must strictly control the quantity supplied."

"Hiyi!"

.

Lu'an, the headquarters of the only division.

"How did Liu Dagui do this? He is getting more and more skilled at masturbating!"

The reports from Zhang Shengqing and He Dingyuan were placed in front of Jiang Dong. Jiang Dong was a little surprised that the Second Artillery Regiment had achieved such great results.

Wu Zhan smiled and said:

"The division headquarters engineering battalion and the Second Artillery Regiment acted together. There were more than 30 German-made mg34 general-purpose machine guns in the engineering battalion, and Liu Dagui collected 10 20mm anti-aircraft guns.

This guy is a bit of a thief. All the anti-aircraft firepower was fired when the little Japanese planes were least vigilant after dropping bombs. I heard that the first round of strikes knocked down two large bombers, and the other planes that fled the battlefield were also injured.

"

"Pah!" Jiang Dong patted his bare forehead,

"The tripod mounted on the mg34 is a heavy machine gun. It is not difficult to deal with low-flying Japanese aircraft. I forgot about this.

Send a commendation message to the Second Artillery Regiment, asking them to guard against arrogance and impetuosity and continue to work hard!"

"yes!"

"Except for the Second Artillery Regiment, what is the situation in the rest of the front today?"

Wu Zhan picked up the baton placed aside, looked at the sand table and said to Jiang Dong:

"The Third Regiment exchanged fire with the Japanese 223rd Regiment stationed at Huiting. The Japanese firepower and the morale of the soldiers were not very high. Commander Zeng requested to lead troops across the river and attack Huiting from the north and west.

The remaining units of the first brigade were already ready to cross the river. They only needed the division commander's order to launch a general attack on the Japanese troops on the front line of Wangqiao Town.

The Second Brigade and the First Artillery Regiment are hidden in the mountains about 10 kilometers south of Licheng and Xiangyuan. The road in front of them is seriously damaged, and the First Artillery Regiment is looking for other routes to quickly advance forward.

The enemy and we are in a stalemate on both sides of the Zhuozhang River. Although the three newly formed regiments have made a large-scale gesture of crossing north, they are at a disadvantage in terms of firepower and equipment. If things continue like this, it may not take two days for the little Japanese to defeat them.

You will find clues.

Commander Wei Lihuang sent a telegram from Quwo, saying that he personally led a division to Linfen City to confront the Japanese 22nd Regiment.

Also, during this period, Japanese aircraft frequently bombed our logistics supply lines, causing serious damage to the trucks and various supplies in the supply chain."

After Wu Zhan finished speaking, he put down his baton and waited for Jiang Dong's reaction.

Generally speaking, the situation in all aspects did not exceed Jiangdong's initial expectations. He walked around the sand table and thought for a long time before saying:

"Call back to the Commander-in-Chief of the Guards. The South Route Army only sent one division, which was far from enough. The Japanese troops on the front lines in Linfen and Zhaocheng were thin, and the total number of Japanese and puppet troops was less than 10,000, so he boldly sent troops north.

Battalions and companies can be used as units to adopt roundabout tactics to destroy the Japanese army's logistics supply lines and remove prominent strongholds in various places...

In short, the little devils who have to go to the Jinzhong area will not have a stable life for a day, and they must become turbulent and full of enemies."

After seeing Wu Zhan record it, Jiang Dong continued:

"Tell Cui Hao, don't take the road again if the damage on the road is too big. Don't be afraid of climbing over the mountains. Without a good pair of feet, how can you be regarded as a qualified baggage team soldier? If there are not enough people, please ask the Political Department

Assist and mobilize people to help transport supplies.

Let him deliver the military supplies needed by the frontline troops before the 14th. If he cannot do it, he will take off his military uniform and go to the Industrial Development Committee to serve the foreign devils!"

"Hehe..." Wu Zhan chuckled.

"Send a telegram to Zeng Jian. His Third Regiment can choose the opportunity to cross the northern source of Zhuozhang. However, it is necessary to judge the situation between ourselves and the enemy well, and never rush forward greedily. After crossing the river, don't rush to launch a fierce attack. The mission of the Third Regiment is to contain the enemy's Second Regiment.

The second and third regiments are not allowed to come over to support Xiangyuan and Licheng."

"The division headquarters reconnaissance battalion cooperates with the 2nd Brigade and the 1st Artillery Regiment to ensure that they understand the Japanese defense situation between Xiangyuan and Licheng before launching the general offensive."

"Tell Zhang Shengqing, He Dingyuan, and Cao Bin that the direction of Wangqiao Town is also the main direction of attack in this battle. We will strive to annihilate the Japanese 224th Regiment and the 36th Artillery Regiment in the shortest possible time during the general offensive."

Jiang Dong took out his pocket watch and glanced at the time.

"It is now 6:25 pm on June 11th. Orders have been sent to all ministries. The general attack time is tentatively set at 5am on June 14th.

Be sure to make all preparations before this time and wait for orders from the division headquarters!"

Wu Zhan's face quickly turned red. An exciting moment was about to come again. He stood upright and saluted an extremely standard military salute.
Chapter completed!