"Kachanov just told me that border troops in various parts of the Soviet Union have been mobilized. Moscow has decided to fully support us, and one of the biggest worries has been eliminated."

In the headquarters of the 39th Army Corps, Xie Chengrui looked at the huge sand table and said to Wu Zhan with a smile.

A hint of joy appeared on Wu Zhan's face, but it soon faded away.

"Did Lao Maozi make a request?"

Xie Chengrui shook his head,

"There are no demands. They hope that after the oil defense war is over, the 39th Army Corps can regain Shanxi and Suiyuan and contain more Japanese troops on the North China battlefield.

The Soviets are still gathering strength, and they will not make any real moves."

Wu Zhan nodded,

"There is news from the Military Intelligence Bureau that the Japanese Fourth Division will not participate in the battles in Shanxi and Suiyuan. Their main task is to ensure the normal operation of the Pinghan-Hankou Railway."

"The Ping-Han Railway is the life supply line for the Japanese army in Central China. The 4th Division is not active in team operations. It is reasonable to let them continue to ensure the operation of the railway."

"If the 4th Division does not move, we can allocate more troops to the liberation operation. The commander of the army has captured Wuyuan and captured a Japanese lieutenant general alive. Is it time for the southern battlefield to start moving as well?"

"Well..." Xie Chengrui stared at the sand table,

"The terrain of the Jinzhong Plain is conducive to us fighting a large-scale annihilation war. My initial idea is to let all the Japanese troops pass Xinkou, and then wait for them to enter the area between Yunzhong Mountain, Taihang, Taiyue and Luliang Mountain.

We worked together with the Southern Route Army to tighten our pockets and completely eliminate the First Army and the Twelfth Army in the Jinzhong Plain!"

"Wow..." Wu Zhan shook his head and sighed,

"This is a big game. If we can do it, we can not only regain Shanxi, but also make the North China Front disappear."

Xie Chengrui chuckled twice,

"This is just my strategic idea. It is extremely difficult to implement it smoothly!"

"I can't see it." Wu Zhan is very optimistic about this idea.

"This idea of ​​yours is similar to the recovery plan formulated by the General Staff. I will ask them to re-formulate the plan based on this idea in a moment.

A large-scale annihilation war can save time and material resources, and is generally beneficial to us.

Let’s see if Jun Tada dares to fight us in the Jinzhong Plain!”

Xie Chengrui nodded noncommittally,

"Wei Junru requested the establishment of a joint command and placed the command in Pingyao. What do you think?"

"I think we can agree that the Fifth and Fourteenth Group Armies are indispensable in this battle. Putting the general headquarters in Pingyao can better supervise the two armies to fight and avoid losing the chain."

"Okay, I'll have someone answer him soon, and let's make preparations and go to Pingyao tomorrow!"

"no problem!"

Xie Chengrui remembered something again,

"Old Wu, please go to the Military Intelligence Bureau in person. Whether it is a liberation battle or an oil defense battle, our battle plan is very critical. There must be no leaks during the battle.

You personally instruct Song Li to mobilize all the people in the Military Intelligence Bureau, ensure the confidentiality of the intelligence, and seize the time to find the mole!"

When Wu Zhan asked this question, his face became extremely serious, and he solemnly nodded in agreement.

…

…

About an hour after Io Mizukawa sent his farewell telegram, Naosaburo Okabe and Shun Tada received another telegram from the old Japanese.

Io Mizukawa said in the telegram that he had broken out of the county town and reported the details of the battle with the Jiangdong troops. He also talked about the strength and combat effectiveness of the Jiangdong troops.

Although Io Mizukawa didn't say it clearly, what he said between the lines was that he wanted to ask for reinforcements to speed up and retake the county seat.

Although the county seat was lost, Io Mizukawa was still there, and the two reinforcements did not stop.

At 4 o'clock in the afternoon, the two regiments of the Japanese 26th Division were less than two hours away from Wuyuan.

The commander of the 26th Division, Shigenori Kuroda, received an order from Naosaburo Okabe, asking the 26th Division to speed up its march and rush to Gohara County before dark to meet Io Mizukawa.

The march of the 26th Division is still divided into several small sections and three large sections. Once an ambush is encountered, this arrangement will cause a small number of troops to be surrounded. Kuroda Shigenori insists on such a march method because it can avoid the entire army being surrounded.

Falling into a fate of siege.

After receiving the order from Naosaburo Okabe, this marching formation remained unchanged.

"Your Excellency, Division Commander, we will pass by Wuliangsuhai in half an hour. After arriving at Wuliangsuhai, there will be open areas along the road. There is no possibility of an ambush. We can speed up the march."

The captain of the 11th Regiment of the 26th Division came to Kuroda Shige's side and said.

Kuroda Shigenori nodded calmly. Ahead was the last mountainous area, which was the last chance for the Chinese to ambush. He said to the captain of the 11th Regiment:

"The troops should be vigilant and quickly pass through the mountainous area in the current formation. After passing the mountainous area, they will regroup and run towards Wuyuan with all their strength!"

"Hiyi!"

…

"Deputy division commander, we can already see the Japanese army's path exploration troops. The first ones are armored vehicles and tanks, which are conducting fire reconnaissance on both sides of the road. Most of the Japanese army will enter the ambush circle in 10 minutes!"

An Ziliang, commander of the reconnaissance battalion of the 1st Guards Division, reported to Zhou Cexun on the walkie-talkie.

"Understood, the reconnaissance battalion will act according to the scheduled combat plan!"

"clear!"

The soldiers of the 1st Guards Division had already set up an ambush position two hours ago. Three main regiments participated in this battle, the division headquarters reconnaissance battalion, the anti-tank battalion and the engineer battalion, except Lai Xiaochuan's artillery regiment.

, all major units have arrived.

There was still a vast expanse of white on the side of the road, and nothing looked different.

But hidden under the white snow are thirteen thousand soldiers.

The positions of the 1st Guards Division were all built underground and covered with snow, making them appear extremely secretive.

"Rumble..."

Three armored vehicles and two tanks first appeared at the mountain pass in the northeast. The soldiers under the snow suddenly became nervous. Many people said in their hearts:

"Coming..."

After walking out of the mountain pass, the Japanese soldiers and officers breathed a sigh of relief.

They were very careful all the way from Guyang. They had to investigate every hilltop at least twice, which took a lot of mental and physical damage.

Ahead was a vast white open space, and you could see for several kilometers at a glance. Only a fool would choose to ambush in such terrain. The Japanese soldiers gradually relaxed their mentality.

Armored vehicles and tanks were parked on the road, waiting for the infantry group behind them.

The little devils in the car opened the hatch one after another, exposed their heads for some air, and if they enjoyed it, they lit up a cigarette and smoked it leisurely.

It took more than 10 minutes for more than 5,000 Japs to get out of the mountain pass. The military vehicle Kuroda Shigenori was riding in was in the middle of the team. When he walked out of the mountain pass, he took a deep breath and said to the staff officer beside him:

"Rest where you are for five minutes and report our position to the headquarters!"

"Hiyi!"

Zhou Cexun used the gaps in the snow to watch every move of the Japanese troops. Everyone in the command post did not dare to take a breath, for fear that the white breath they exhaled would float outside and alert the Japanese troops.

"Order the artillery to deal with the Japs' armored vehicles and trucks first, pay attention to allocating targets, and try to defeat them completely in the first round!"

Zhou Cexun gave the order in a low voice, but his eyes still stayed on the Japanese army's formation. He was looking for the Japanese commander.

"Rumble..."

Armored vehicles and tanks were launched, followed by large groups of Japanese infantry.

In front of the armored vehicle is the Japanese army's road-opening team, with a total of 5 Sanbuzi and a dozen Little Japs.

The First Guards Regiment is in the north, and the Second Regiment is in the south. Thousands of people's eyes follow the march of the Japanese army, neatly and quietly.

The leading troops had already passed the bend in the road and walked onto the highest section of the roadbed.

The target in front of the soldiers was extremely obvious, and many of them had even smelled the smell of gasoline coming from armored vehicles, tanks and trucks.

The clanking sounds of various parts on the Japanese soldiers' bodies also reached the ears of the soldiers.

"call!"

Zhou Cexun breathed lightly, and then said:

"Prepare!"

"Kakaka..."

Under the thick snow, there was a slight sound of gunshots being fired. The soldiers held their rifles and machine guns in their arms, waiting for the final attack order.

Infantry guns and anti-tank guns of various calibers have been aimed at the target!

The sun was setting in the west, and the northern part of the country had become even colder. The cold wind from Siberia blew up the snow foam on the ground, and the crystal snow foam swirled and flew into the Japanese marching column. The Japanese soldiers subconsciously narrowed their eyes.

Kuroda Shigenori sat in the passenger seat and studied the battle map. The north wind made him shrink his neck involuntarily, the tip of his nose itched, and he sneezed.

"Ah sneeze!"

"Boom boom boom..."
To be continued...