roccoschili Chapter 95 Iron Wall Encirclement
Chapter 95 Iron Wall Encirclement
Yes.
The car was carrying officers of brigade and regimental rank and above from the 6th and 16th Divisions of the First Army in North China. They had received orders from Yoshio Shinotsuka to rush to Yangquan for a meeting.
Commander Yoshio Shinotsuka also traveled by train from Taiyuan to Yangquan to personally direct the First Army's spring mopping-up operation.
In the county government building, soldiers of various branches of the Japanese army were coming and going.
From soldiers to officers, everyone in the First Army was incredibly arrogant because the 11th Army of the Central China Front had recently achieved great victories on the Central China battlefield.
The Battle of Zaoyi has ended. The Japanese occupied Yichang and annihilated 3.7 Chinese soldiers. Although the Japanese failed to defeat the main force of the Fifth War Zone, they encountered fierce resistance from the Chinese soldiers and suffered heavy casualties of more than 1.1.
Despite this, the Japanese considered it a great victory, which meant that the Imperial Army's advance in the Chinese theater was becoming increasingly smooth.
It was precisely because the Japanese became increasingly brave and powerful on various battlefields in China that they became even more arrogant and overbearing, thus sowing the seeds for the later outbreak of the Pacific War.
Inside the main government building, in a spacious hall, lies the headquarters of the 4th Brigade.
Yangquan County is located near northwestern Shanxi. To the northwest lies the Lüliang Mountains, and to the south are the Taihang Mountains and other areas deep in the territory of the Eighth Route Army. In order to contain the base of the Eighth Route Army, the Japanese stationed a brigade in Yangquan County.
In the center of the conference table in the operations hall, a map of the sandy terrain of northwestern Shanxi was prepared, with various Japanese Rising Sun Flags on it. In the direction of the Taihang Mountains and Lüliang Mountains, there were also many flags of the Eighth Route Army, the Central Army, and the Jin-Sui Army.
This intelligence was basically obtained through months of reconnaissance by the Japanese air force.
Looking at the overall picture on the sand table map, the Japanese territory appears to be smaller, with only towns marked, while there are many Chinese army flags in various towns and villages in the Lüliang and Taihang Mountains areas.
In other words, the Japanese army only occupied major cities in the heart of North China, while the towns and villages were teeming with troops from the Central Army, the Eighth Route Army, and the Jin-Sui Army.
Even so, in order to contain the development of the Chinese army, the Japanese army also built many pillboxes and bunkers in major towns and villages, almost one every few kilometers, forming an arc-shaped semi-encirclement, firmly locking down the hinterland of North China and monitoring the Chinese army at all times.
at this time.
Those seated on either side of the conference table were officers of the First Army Brigade or above.
This included Iguchida, commander of the 4th Brigade; Taro Kameda, commander of the 6th Division; and Yu Sakurai, the division chief of staff.
However, there was an empty seat on the right side of the conference table, indicating that one person was missing.
And sitting in the main seat was Yoshio Shinotsuka, that old Japanese devil.
Yoshio Shinotsuka glanced at the empty seat, his expression clearly displeased.
At that moment, Miyano Michiichi, the First Army Chief of Staff sitting to the side, asked, "Guards! Where is Commander Ishi?"
The guard waiting nearby immediately responded, "We received his call half an hour ago, saying he had arrived in the county town."
Miyano Michiichi scolded, "Hmph! This Ishimura really knows how to put on airs for our First Army, making so many of our Empire's army generals wait for him alone! He's utterly heartless!"
"You, contact him immediately, quick!"
"Hai!"
Just as the guards were about to take action, a man hurriedly entered from outside the door. It was none other than Shi Yousan, who was wearing a yellow dog skin.
Since surrendering to the Japanese, Shi Yousan has been serving the Japanese army. This time, his two divisions are to cooperate with the First Army in the spring mopping-up operation.
In April, Shi Yousan suffered a devastating defeat at the hands of the Eighth Route Army in the battle of southern Hebei. He then turned to the Japanese army and signed a non-aggression pact with Sasaki, the commander of the Japanese garrison in Kaifeng. He also prepared to surrender to the Japanese army after jointly eliminating the Eighth Route Army.
Originally, he intended to move his troops to Beiping, but the situation was not very stable, Sun Liancheng did not cooperate with him, and the Eighth Route Army in North China kept besieging and suppressing him, leaving his troops exhausted.
Sasaki presented him with a difficult challenge: he would accept Sasaki if Sasaki cooperated with the First Army to complete the spring sweep.
Shi Yousan, a typical traitor, naturally agreed.
When Shi Yousan entered the room, he saw so many Japanese officers staring at him with resentful eyes. He thought to himself, "I'm doomed this time, I'm too late!"
Shi Yousan quickly greeted them, saying, "Everyone, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. There was a small problem on the way, which caused a delay."
"Sorry, sorry, haha..."
However, none of the Japanese generals responded to him, and he could only sit awkwardly in that empty seat.
Once everyone had arrived, Yoshio Shinotsuka began issuing battle orders.
"Alright! Everyone's here. Next, Commander-in-Chief General Okamura will give our First Army the security task."
"The 16th Division has two field brigades that are mainly targeting the Lüliang Mountains in western Shanxi for clearing operations, and are carrying out a three-pronged blockade of Wenshui, Fenyang and Pingyao areas, covering a range of 300 kilometers."
"The Sixth Division, centered on Yangquan County, launched a three-pronged blockade of Mashun, Yushe, and Wuxiang areas, covering a range of 400 kilometers."
"The Sixth and Seventh Army Groups of the North China Security Army, in coordination with the Sixteenth Division. The Eighth and Ninth Army Groups, in coordination with the Sixth Division."
At this point, Yoshio Shinotsuka subconsciously glanced at Yuzo Ishi.
His gaze was meaningful...
When Shi Yousan surrendered, he brought with him two divisions, totaling more than 6,000 men, who were temporarily organized into the 8th and 9th Army Groups of the North China Security Army. In other words, Shi Yousan's troops were to cooperate with the 6th Division in the mopping-up operation.
Seeing the look in Shi Yusan's eyes, he nodded repeatedly, appearing completely obedient.
The other officers all looked at him with disdain. This old bastard had the face of a 'slave to three masters'. This time, the 'Iron Wall Encirclement' plan had to use him as the vanguard to test his friendly attitude.
For the next half hour or so, Yoshio Shinotsuka talked until his throat was dry, and he completed the deployment of the "Iron Wall Encirclement" plan.
As he finished giving his combat instructions, a guard next to him handed him a cup of tea.
Yoshio Shinotsuka cleared his throat and said, "Our First Army's mission is not only to wipe out the Chinese army, but also to leave no village alive along the way. Kill all the Chinese men, and spare the Chinese women!"
"The Imperial warriors of the 11th Army of the Central China Area Army have achieved a great victory. We must send these Chinese women to the 11th Army to express our gratitude to those Imperial warriors who have won this victory!"
At this point, several generals looked over, their eyes gleaming.
They realized that this spring sweep was not only about encircling and defeating the bandit army in North China, but also about capturing a large number of Chinese women.
The 6th Division Chief of Staff, Yu Sakurai, was even more aware of this.
Sakurai Yushin thought: This kind of routine operation is not uncommon. But this time is different. This year's Chinese battlefield is filled with a lot of "theory of national subjugation", and the Chinese army in Central China has suffered a defeat. Now, taking advantage of the situation to encircle and suppress them can not only effectively strike a blow against the bandits in Taihang Mountain, but also capture a large amount of supplies and women.
If successful, it will completely crush the Chinese people's will to resist.