books44 Chapter 498
Chapter 498
"That's right!" Commander Xu pointed at the map and said in a deep voice,
Although the Japanese army held the city firmly, they must have understood that once their supplies ran out, they would be doomed.
So, as long as they think there's a glimmer of hope, they'll take a gamble."
"Will these Japanese soldiers really be fooled?"
Political Commissar Rong on the side frowned.
"The Japanese won't sit still and wait for death. A commander of Kuribayashi Tadamichi's caliber will definitely not wait until they run out of ammunition and food before taking action."
Master Xu explained,
"If we really surrounded Wutai and the Japanese troops in Xinzhou were unable to arrive!
Kuribayashi Tadamichi might actually break through."
Zeng Jiwen, standing by, slowly scanned the map, his gaze wandering between Taiyuan, Xinzhou, and Wutai.
After thinking for a moment, the corners of his mouth suddenly lifted slightly, revealing a hint of a smile:
"Maybe we can change our target!"
"Change target?"
Commander Xu was slightly stunned.
"Correct!"
Zeng Jiwen nodded.
"Our original goal was to destroy the 109th Division, but now it seems that Wutai is impregnable. A head-on attack would be like using our own weakness to attack the enemy's strength.
Since Kuribayashi Tadamichi is prepared, why don't we change our tactics?"
He paused, pointed at the map and sneered:
"We'll abandon the assault on Wutai and instead attack the 41st Division, the reinforcements coming to Xinzhou!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the room changed instantly and everyone's eyes lit up.
"Either the Japanese troops in Xinzhou continue to reinforce, or the defenders in Wutai break out!"
Chen Shukang's eyes lit up and he said excitedly,
"It all depends on what Shinozuka Yoshio chooses."
Commander Xu also reacted and added thoughtfully:
"Also, if Kuribayashi Tadamichi really leaves the city, we only need to leave two regiments and one artillery regiment to blockade Wutai, and the rest of the troops can go directly to support the Third Column."
"Yes."
Zeng Jiwen said calmly,
“There is a reservoir next to Wutai City, so Kuribayashi Tadamichi will not be short of water for the time being.
But food and ammunition are not unlimited.
The longer he holds on, the more we will force the Japanese troops in Xinzhou to take the risk of sending reinforcements.
Surrounding the enemy and attacking the reinforcements is our best option."
Upon hearing this, Chief of Staff Wang Zhuo nodded and said:
"Okay! I'll notify all troops to adjust their combat deployments."
"Ok!"
Zeng Jiwen, Commander Xu and others nodded, and the initiative of the battle began to tilt towards them.
At the same time, in Taiyuan, inside the Japanese First Army Headquarters, the lights were on, and the officers sat around the combat conference table in a depressing atmosphere.
Yoshio Shinozuka looked quietly at the battle report on the table, his expression uncertain and his brows tightly furrowed.
At the beginning, he followed the advice of Kuribayashi Tadamichi and transformed Wutai into a military fortress, which consumed a large amount of supplies of the First Army.
At that time, he felt a little distressed. These supplies were enough to build multiple strong strongholds in the entire occupied area, but now, they were all piled up in Wutai.
However, after hearing the news of the battle last night, his mood eased a little.
"During last night's battle, I once thought that Kuribayashi Tadamichi would be loyal to the Emperor."
Shinozuka Yoshio sighed softly.
"But unexpectedly, a telegram came in the afternoon from Wutai saying that the Eighth Route Army's attack had failed and they had withdrawn from the city."
The chief of staff beside him nodded in agreement:
"Yes, General, Wutai has been defended!
We also obtained some intelligence on the Eighth Route Army."
He unfolded a telegram and continued:
“Based on the battlefield situation, the Eighth Route Army deployed more than 30,000 people.
There were approximately 20,000 Eighth Route Army troops around Wutai, and over 10,000 were blocking our 41st Division reinforcements.
Shinozuka Yoshio's brows twitched slightly, and his eyes became more serious: "Thirty thousand people..."
"Yes, and..."
The Chief of Staff paused, his face slightly solemn.
"Intelligence shows that the Eighth Route Army is extremely well-equipped, and their artillery and rifles even exceed our army's standard equipment.
This shows that the North’s aid far exceeded our expectations.”
Yoshio Shinozuka's face darkened completely.
"In other words, this is no longer a simple Tubalu army." He said in a deep voice.
"exactly."
The Chief of Staff added,
"The most crucial thing is that the 41st Division's reinforcements were severely blocked."
"Reinforcements are being blocked?"
Yoshio Shinozuka's expression suddenly became even uglier.
"Yes, the 41st Division encountered a fierce attack in the Xinzhou direction.
Although not completely annihilated, they suffered heavy casualties and were pinned down on the road by the Eighth Route Army."
Yoshio Shinozuka's fingers tapped the table unconsciously, his eyes fixed on the map.
He didn't expect that the direction of this battle would be so difficult.
"General, do we need to re-evaluate our strategy?"
The Chief of Staff asked tentatively,
"Should we consider withdrawing the 41st Division to avoid greater losses?"
Shinozuka Yoshio was silent for a long time, and finally shook his head slowly: "We can't retreat."
When everyone heard this, they were all shocked.
"If we retreat now, it means the entire Wutai front will completely collapse."
Shinozuka Yoshio said slowly, "By then, the Eighth Route Army will have taken over the Wutai area, and Daixian and Fanzhi, which are located near the Tongpu Railway, will probably also fall.
As a result, our only connection with Beijing was the Tongpu Railway.
Once the Eighth Route Army cuts off the Tongpu Railway and attacks Taiyuan.
That..............."
"But what if we continue to send reinforcements?"
The Chief of Staff hesitated and said,
"I'm afraid we'll fall into the trap of the Eighth Route Army."
"Indeed, I'm afraid we've fallen into their tactic of surrounding a point and attacking reinforcements."
Shinozuka Yoshio's face looked a little unhappy.
“But even if it’s a trap, there’s nothing we can do about it now.
There are also signs of Eighth Route Army activity in Datong."
After saying this, Shinozuka Yoshio stood up and glanced at everyone sharply:
"Immediately order the 41st Division to accelerate its advance, and notify the 20th Division to prepare for assembly.
Since the Eighth Route Army is surrounding the enemy and attacking the reinforcements, the First Army will fight to the end!"
"Hi Yi!"
The staff officers responded in unison and immediately took action.
August 17th.
With the adjustment of tactics in the Wutai area, Yang Nengjun immediately adjusted the combat deployment after receiving the order from the commander-in-chief of the front line, and left the 1st Regiment, the 3rd Regiment and the Artillery Regiment in Wutai.
The rest of the troops began to advance towards Guyugou.
As the 41st Division began to increase its offensive intensity.
But they were soon ambushed by the Eighth Route Army.
The 3rd Column sent a regiment to bypass the rear of the 41st Division's reinforcements, cover them with artillery fire, destroy the roads, and cut off the supply lines of the Japanese reinforcements, making it difficult for the 41st Division to advance.
At the same time, in Wutai City, Kuribayashi Tadamichi gradually felt something was wrong.
At this time, the area around Wutai had begun to become quiet.
Jia Linzhongdao quickly realized that the Eighth Route Army had adjusted its tactics.
Abandoned the attack on Wutai.
But then Jia Linzhongdao thought of a tricky thing.
That is the supply of the troops. Whether it is food, medicine, ammunition, etc., they are all being consumed rapidly.
The troops in the city could not hold out for long.
Even though Wutai City stored three weeks' worth of reserves for their division.
However, if the Eighth Route Army was determined to encircle Wutai, they would only run out of ammunition and food.