"Boom boom boom..."

The explosion rumbled, and the fire light kept flashing.

The expression of Yamazaki Ukichi, commander of the 116th Division, flickered in and out during the explosion, and the footsteps of everyone in the division headquarters became even more urgent and panicked during the explosion.

"Your Excellency, Division Commander, all the outer positions have been lost. Warriors... warriors..."

The staff officer hesitated, his face full of guilt.

Yamazaki Ukichi stood up with a wry smile,

"The warriors have no fighting spirit. There are already deserters, right?"

The staff officer's head drooped deeply.

After the last battle, the soldiers of the 116th Division were completely frightened.

The former division commander, Lieutenant General Shinohara Seiichiro, died, and most of the junior officers were killed. Today's 116th Division is no longer as ambitious and high-spirited as it was when it was first formed. Under the horrific firepower, the soldiers

I just want to go home, I just want to see my relatives in my hometown, and I can hardly hear the oath of loyalty to His Majesty the Emperor.

After Yukichi Yamazaki took office as the division commander, he did a lot of work in an attempt to change this situation, but in the end he failed to achieve any results, and instead weakened the division commander's fighting spirit.

"here we go again!"

When Feng Jinzhang's 3rd Division launched an attack on the Niangziguan area, the first thing the soldiers of the 116th Division thought about was not how to fight back or how to hold their position. The shadow of fear enveloped their bodies, and the thoughts of escape filled their brains.

The position was destroyed by heavy artillery, the fortifications were blown down, and they lost their fighting spirit. The soldiers who had resigned themselves to their fate sat blankly in the overwhelming artillery fire. Their eyes were empty and their thoughts were wandering to nowhere.

"Da da da..."

The light and heavy machine gunners roared and fired rows of bullets into the darkness. There was no longer any so-called long burst or short burst.

The confused Japanese soldier would not let go of the trigger until a row of bullets was empty.

When the attacking soldiers of the 3rd Division heard such gunshots, a contemptuous smile appeared on their faces.

In the previous two years of combat, even if the Japanese army was heavily surrounded, the light and heavy machine gunners could calmly fire long and short bursts of fire with unparalleled accuracy, which meant that they still had tenacious combat effectiveness, confidence and fighting spirit.

At present, all the light and heavy machine gunners of the 116th Division are like recruits entering the battlefield for the first time. They just want to use up all their bullets as soon as possible and then run away quickly.

The troops and firepower of the enemy and ours are not at the same level, but this is not the most important thing. The most important thing is that one is in the sky and the other is in the ground.

Under such circumstances, the Third Division captured the outer positions of Niangziguan with almost no effort and is advancing towards the core position of the 116th Division.

The Japanese soldiers on the front line retreated one after another. If the officers yelled too hard, they would offer a symbolic resistance and then continue to flee.

The 116th Division is finished!

This is the common view of everyone at this moment.

Yamazaki Ukichi dressed neatly with his sword and gun, and walked out of the command bunker accompanied by his staff.

Chinese artillery shells continued to fall on various positions, and the mountains and plains were filled with imperial soldiers fleeing in panic.

"Kill!"

The unique roar of the national army soldiers and the sound of the wind reached Yamazaki Ukichi's ears.

The soldiers under several regiment captains had almost fled, and they subconsciously gathered around the division commander.

"Everyone, let's go. Niangziguan can't be defended anymore. Go to the rear to collect the defeated troops."

Yamazaki Ukichi said to several officers in a calm tone.

"Your Excellency, Division Commander?"

"Your Excellency, Division Commander..."

The officers all stepped forward, their faces covered with shame and guilt.

Compared with ordinary soldiers, they still have some military pride left in their bodies.

Yamazaki Ukichi looked around at everyone with a smile, nodded and said:

"I have to bear the main responsibility for what the warriors of the 116th Division have become like today.

In addition, my wife is missing, so I don't have the courage to go see the Commander.

There are still thousands of warriors in the 116th Division. You are officers and must be responsible for the warriors. After this battle is over, let the soldiers rest for a while and try to be transferred to central and southern China in the future. Don't stay in northern China anymore!"

A few words seemed to drain away all the strength in his body. He waved his hand like a fly,

"You go, I'll stay and obey orders!"

After briefly looking at each other, the tangled look on the officers' faces disappeared. They bowed to Yamazaki Ukichi at the same time, then shed a few drops of cat tears and left without looking back.

"Your Excellency, Commander, I told you not to let the 116th Division guard Niangziguan, why didn't you listen to me?"

Yamazaki Ukichi knelt on the ground and looked up to the sky and sighed.

There was only one second lieutenant beside him.

The sky is getting brighter, and the morning sun comes from the east, dyeing Niangziguan, the ancient and modern battlefield, red.

In the midst of the red, heroic Chinese soldiers rushed in like a wave.

The morning sun shines on me, and the battle flag floats above my head, creating an indescribable brightness.

"when!"

Yamazaki Ukichi threw his sword and gun to the ground, slowly raised his hands above his head, and kept his eyes fixed on the south, watching the Chinese soldiers getting closer and closer.

The adjutant behind him made the same move after being slightly stunned.

…

…

"Bagaya road!"

Shun Tada, who was in Datong, slapped the table and cursed angrily,

"Was it six hours? No! How could Niangziguan and Xinkou be lost in such a short period of time? What the hell was Tuqiao doing at that time!"

The staff members hid far away, and only Yukio Kasahara dared to step forward.

After all, he had served two commanders and had seen a lot of strong winds and waves.

"Your Excellency, Commander, the intention of the Chinese has been revealed!" Yukio Kasahara pushed away the debris on the combat map, pointed at the Jinzhong area and said:

"Wei Junru wants to take advantage of the battle between the north and the south and eat up the First Army and the Twelfth Army in one fell swoop.

Xinkou and Niangziguan are key places for advancement and retreat. Controlling these two places by the Chinese is equivalent to blocking the necks of the 1st Army and the 12th Army.

The retreat route is cut off, and supplies cannot be transported in!

Although it seems that what Wei Junru is doing is simply wishful thinking, we have to be careful, after all, there are nearly 100,000 Jiangdong troops in Shanxi!

Intelligence shows that the combat effectiveness and equipment of the 5th Army and the 14th Army have been greatly improved.

Wei Junru has been prepared for it!"

Tada Shun suddenly raised his head and drank a mouthful of cold water. The cold water swam in his esophagus, and his restless heart calmed down a little.

Yukio Kasahara continued:

"Wei Junru is colluding with Jiang Dong. It is impossible for Jiang Dong not to know that such a big thing happened on the Shanxi battlefield. The opinion of the staff office is to temporarily abandon the No. A operation, the 27th Division will stick to it, and the 57th Division will return to Taiyuan."

"No no no..."

Tada Shun shook his head firmly,

"Taiyuan can be left to Wei Junru, but the No. A operation cannot be stopped. I must get the oil field!"

Yukio Kasahara knew Shun Tada's character well, and he sighed in his heart,

"Then we can only let Lieutenant General Doqiao once break out of the encirclement with all his strength. If the delay is too long, the Military Commission in Chongqing is likely to send the cheap 17th Corps to Shanxi to participate in the war. By then, the situation will be very detrimental to the imperial army!"

Tada Shun didn't answer. He wandered around the map like a fat pig, making a grunting sound when he stopped.

"How is the situation in Suiyuan?"

"The Yantian Brigade supported Guyang's Second Division, Fu Zuoyi's 35th Army, Jiangdong's Guards Division and Ma's Army, all in Baotou and on the Wuyuan front line.

The 27th Division was attacking the outer positions of Baotou. With the assistance of aviation, the battle was difficult, but it was still advancing!

The engineering troops raced against time to repair the railway from Guisui to Baotou. The Chinese had only damaged the rails before, but the roadbed was still intact, and the repair work was progressing smoothly."

It is difficult for Shun Tada to put down No. 1 operations and oil fields.

In his opinion, as long as the First Army and the Twelfth Army act decisively, they will definitely be able to successfully break through.

Between Taiyuan and the oil fields, Shun Tada would choose the latter without hesitation.

Once the oil fields are controlled, the strength of the Imperial Army will be further improved. If Taiyuan is lost, it can be regained in the future.

After hesitating for a long time, he finally made up his mind with a slap on his forehead.

"Send Lieutenant General Tuqiao a report and let him judge for himself based on the current situation on the Shanxi battlefield, whether the First Army and the Twelfth Army should continue to hold on to Taiyuan or break out immediately!

No matter what Dohashi’s decision is, the aviation force will provide full assistance!”

"Hiyi!"
To be continued...