The battle reports on the front line were transmitted to the Japanese Kwantung Army Headquarters in Changchun one after another, and almost none of these news were good news.In particular, the news that the Eighth Division was completely annihilated and Chifeng was lost was a heavy blow to the commander of the Kwantung Army, Umezu Mijiro.When he got the shocking news, the old devil almost fainted again, but fortunately, the old devil finally survived.Yoshimoto Sadachi looked at Umezu Mijiro with an angry face, and said cautiously: "Your Excellency Commander, the Imperial Army is actively mobilizing its forces, and when the Imperial Army gathers superior forces, it will definitely be able to turn defeat into victory and defeat these hateful Dirt Eight Roads in one fell swoop." ”When Umezu Mijiro heard this, a wry smile appeared on his face, even if he could turn defeat into victory, how could the 23rd Division, the Eighth Division, and the 12th Division be completely annihilated, even if they could turn defeat into victory, would it be possible to save the lives of tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers It is obviously impossible.The Kwantung Army was a complete defeat in this battle, and Umezu Mijiro felt that he was basically the end of his life.Umezu Mijiro frowned and thought for a while, and asked: "What is the situation of the 24th Division now?"
"Your Excellency, the 24th Division has received an order and stopped near the Naiman Banner, according to the report of the 24th Division, their scouts found a large number of cavalry and infantry of the Eighth Route Army, which had rushed to the Hongshan area, as if they were trying to block the imperial army from moving south. ”Yoshimoto Sadaichi hurriedly bowed his head and replied."
Hmm" Umezu Mijiro nodded slightly and said: "Now that the Eighth Route Army is in full swing, even if the 24th Division has the assistance of 10,000 Imperial Cooperative Army, it is not the opponent of the Eighth Route Army, don't risk going south for the time being, strengthen your vigilance, prevent the Eighth Route Army from sneaking attack, and wait until the Imperial Army has mobilized enough troops, and then counterattack Chifeng together." ”"Hai" Yoshimoto replied respectfully.At this moment, a devil officer hurriedly ran in and said with a respectful face: "Report to Your Excellency Commander, according to the report from the front, there are about 20,000 people in the Eighth Route Army, and they are advancing in the direction of Chaoyang.In addition, the main force of the Rehe Military Region of the Eighth Route Army, about 60,000 people, had already left Chifeng and approached Ningcheng to the south. ”"Nani" Umezu Mijiro's face changed slightly, he stood up, glanced at the map, and asked with a frown: "Where is the main force of the Seventh Column of the Eighth Route Army now?"
"Report to Your Excellency Commander, the main force of the Seventh Column is still staying in Chifeng for the time being. ”The devil officer hurriedly replied.Umezu Mijiro nodded, then raised his head and looked at Yoshimoto Sadaichi and asked, "Yoshimoto-kun, what do you think" Yoshimoto Sadaichi hurriedly replied: "Judging from the current situation, the people of Shina want to take the opportunity to capture Ling Yuan and Chaoyang. ”Umezu Mijiro nodded and said, "But the seventh column of the Eighth Route Army only sent 20,000 people, that is, the strength of one division, to advance to Chaoyang, and its main force did not leave Chifeng. ”Yoshimoto Sadachi hurriedly explained: "Your Excellency Commander, the Eighth Route Army captured Chifeng, and all the Eighth Division was shattered, with the combat effectiveness of the Eighth Division, although the Seventh Column of the Eighth Route Army finally won.But their losses were bound to be not small, and this Tubalu had been fighting fiercely in Chifeng for nearly two days, and their soldiers must have been exhausted by this time.Naturally, he needed a temporary rest and recuperation, and he thought that by tomorrow morning at the latest, the main force of the Seventh Column of the Eighth Route Army would inevitably leave Chifeng, either go south to attack the 11th Division, or move east to directly attack Chaoyang. ”"Yo Xi" Umezu Mijiro nodded and said: "Your analysis is very reasonable, if you lose Chifeng, Chaoyang must not lose it again, immediately order the 25th Division, be sure to rush to Chaoyang as soon as possible." ”"Hai" Yoshimoto Sadachi replied respectfully, and then said: "Your Excellency Commander, that Lingyuan direction." ”Umezu Mijiro couldn't help frowning, sighed softly and said: "The 11th Division was already facing the attack of more than 100,000 Eighth Route Army, and now the 60,000 main force of the Rehe Military Region of the Eighth Route Army is going south to support, if the main force of the Seventh Column goes south to attack Lingyuan, then even if the 11th Division has three heads and six arms, it is impossible to withstand the attack of so many Eighth Route Army, and immediately pass the order to order the main force of the 11th Division to immediately abandon Lingyuan and retreat to the vicinity of Jianchang County." ”Yoshimoto Sadachi frowned and said, "Your Excellency Commander, isn't it a pity to give up Ling Yuan so easily" Umezu Mijiro sighed helplessly and said: "Ling Yuan can be recaptured if he loses it, but if the soldiers of the imperial army die, they will never be able to live."
The casualties we have paid in this battle are too great, and we must not make fearless sacrifices." ”Yoshimoto Sadaichi replied respectfully.Umezu Mijiro frowned, looked at the map in front of him, and said with a serious face: "Yoshimoto-kun, let's imagine that if the Tsuchibachi Road captures Chaoyang, Lingyuan and other places, what do you think they will do next" "Well" Yoshimoto Sadachi frowned and thought hard, looked down at the map, and after a while, he suddenly realized: "Your Excellency means that the ultimate goal of the Shina people is to capture Jinzhou" Umezu Mijiro nodded and said: "I don't rule out this possibility, If the Eighth Route Army really captured Jinzhou, it would be equivalent to closing the gateway to Manchuria in Guannai, and it would also cut off the connection between our Kwantung Army and the Imperial Army in Guannai. ”"They don't have the guts," Yoshimoto said with a frown.Umezu Mijiro shook his head and said, "Now that the Eighth Route Army has won consecutive battles, its morale is booming.The successive victories will inevitably swell the confidence of those Tu Balu, especially Li Guotao, who has always been adventurous, and can be said to be a complete gambler.But the hateful thing is that he has won all bets in the past.For example, in Shanxi, the Seventh Column captured Niangzi Pass and cut off the external connection of the Shanxi Imperial Army, which eventually led to the tragedy of the annihilation of the First Army. ”"But our Kwantung Army is not the First Army, and no matter how big the Eighth Route Army is, it is impossible to eat the entire Kwantung Army in one bite."
Yoshimoto said with a serious face.Umezu Mijiro nodded and said: "It's true that the Eighth Route Army doesn't have such a big appetite, but what I'm worried about now is the Soviet Russia in the north, they have given a lot of aid to the Eighth Route of the Dirt, and it is obvious that they have colluded with the Eighth Route of the Dirt.If the Eighth Route Army captured Jinzhou and Soviet Russia suddenly entered the war, the imperial army would inevitably fall into an extremely passive situation. ”aa2705221: