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Tangshan.

The headquarters of the Japanese Kwantung Army.

After more than 10 days of rapid march, General Umezu Yoshijiro personally led 7 divisions and 2 brigades of the Kwantung Army to arrive in Tangshan.

During this period, the Kwantung Army troops were occasionally attacked by Eighth Route Army aircraft.

However, the main targets of the Eighth Route Army's aircraft were the two battlefields in North China and Xuzhou.

The bombing of the Kwantung Army was insufficient and the Kwantung Army's losses were not large.

"General."

A Japanese military staff officer walked in quickly and reported to General Yoshijiro Umezu:

"Prime Minister Tojo just sent a telegram. The North China Front Army is preparing to move to Manchuria. The base camp ordered us to go to the Tianjin area immediately to meet General Gomura and the North China Front Army."

"understood."

General Umezu Meijiro nodded, waved his hand and said.

General Umezu Yoshijiro initially refused to lead the main force of the Kwantung Army to North China to reinforce the North China Front.

The reason for his apparent refusal was that Umezu Yoshijiro was afraid that after the main force of the Kwantung Army was transferred, the Soviet army in the Far East would take the opportunity to invade Manchuria.

However, the base camp believed that the Soviet army and the German army were fighting fiercely at this time, and the Soviet army would never dare to fight on two fronts.

Because the Japanese also have a temper. If the Soviet army dares to take the opportunity to attack Manchuria, then I will dare to go north to Siberia and attack the Soviet Union from both sides with the German army.

At that time, the Soviet Union will be in a situation of fighting on two fronts.

The current strategic situation in Manchuria is that the Soviet army does not want to go to war with the Japanese army, and the Japanese army does not want to go to war with the Soviet army.

In fact, the reason why General Umezu Yoshijiro refused to lead his troops into the customs...

I understand everything I understand.

General Okabe Naosaburo, Lieutenant General Miyano Michichi, Hisao Fururu and dozens of other generals were defeated in North China. He was a serious imperial general and would definitely be targeted when he came to North China.

In fact, when he reached the position of Umezu Yoshijiro, he could see everything clearly.

The so-called bushido spirit, the so-called loyalty to the Locusts, and the so-called caesarean section to apologize after defeat are just tools to brainwash the lower-level Locust soldiers.

He finally became a general and a feudal official, and barely escaped the fate of becoming a chess piece and cannon fodder.

Umezu Yoshijiro didn't want his jade to be broken so early and he was loyal to the Locust.

Umezu Yoshijiro looked at the map and found that the distance between Tangshan and Tianjin was about 130 kilometers, and it would take three days to reach it by urgent march.

If it was just to respond to the North China Front Army...it wouldn't be a difficult combat mission.

Thinking of this, Umezu Yoshijiro said in a deep voice: "Send the order! Order all divisions and brigades to rush to Tianjin at full speed to meet the North China Front!"

"Hi."

The communications staff officer lowered his head and quickly turned around and left.

Watching the communications staff member leave, Umezu Yoshijiro sighed quietly.

After the North China Front moved into Manchuria this time, it was equivalent to the base camp completely abandoning North China.

Everything west of Shanhaiguan, including Pingjin, Tangshan and Shandong Province, had to be abandoned.

After the Eighth Route Army has established a foothold in North China, it will inevitably send its troops to the northeast. At that time, there will inevitably be a battle between the Kwantung Army and the Eighth Route Army.

The Eighth Route Army has heavy tanks, heavy artillery and fleets of aircraft.

Just thinking about it, the Kwantung Army will one day fight with such a force, Umezu Yoshiharu feels terrified.

……

Good news on the Xuzhou battlefield came frequently.

After the 11th Army was defeated, it fled to central China overnight.

The Japanese brigade stationed in Xuzhou failed to resist and escaped.

After the 129th Division regained Xuzhou, it did not continue the pursuit.

Unlike the New First Regiment, the Independent Regiment and the New Second Regiment, the 129th Division army has been marching southward and has been fighting for nearly two months.

The soldiers of the 129th Division need to rest and recuperate.

And chasing further south is Central China, and there are still many Japanese in Central China.

At this time, the 129th Division should not continue to pursue southward.

After regaining the strategic location of Xuzhou.

Next, the task of the 129th Division is to expand its base area and develop eastward to connect with Shandong Province.

The westward development completely turned Henan Province into the territory of the Eighth Route Army.

In this way, the Eighth Route Army can completely connect North China and the Central Plains.

Since ancient times, there has been a saying that those who win the Central Plains win the world.

……

At this time, the Japanese in Baoding were preparing to escape towards Tianjin.

Okamura Neiji ordered the 2nd mixed brigade and all the puppet troops to stay behind, and the remaining five divisions and the other two mixed brigades dispersed towards Tianjin and then reunited in Tianjin.

Tianjin was originally the headquarters of the Japanese 27th Division.

However, when the North China War broke out, Okamura Ningji transferred the 27th Division to Baoding to fight, and then transferred it to Huailai County to block the Eighth Route Army's North Attack Group.

At this time, the 27th Division was completely destroyed.

Now in Tianjin, only some Japanese garrison troops and puppet troops remain.

Kong Jie led the independent regiment and was preparing to regain Tianjin.

However, the Japanese 43rd Division, 46th Division and 47th Division had already landed at Tianjin Port and rushed to Tianjin.

However, the independent regiment has cut off the passage from Baoding to Tianjin.

Baoding.

Frontline headquarters of the Japanese North China Front.

Okamura Neiji has already issued an order to transfer to Tianjin.

"Your Excellency, General."

Youmo Jingsan said in a deep voice:

"Information came from the garrison in Tianjin that the Eighth Route Army North Road Attack Group has cut off the passage from Baoding to Tianjin."

"I suggest taking a transport ship from Cangzhou to Lu Province, and then from the coast of the Bohai Sea to Manchuria."

Okamura Neji narrowed his eyes.

He never expected that this battle would be such a disastrous defeat.

Even the retreat route of the North China Front Army was cut off by the Eighth Route Army.

Fortunately, the base camp issued an order to the North China Front Army to move into Manchuria, otherwise the North China Front Army would have been completely wiped out by the Eighth Route Army in this battle.

However, Okamura Neiji rejected Arisu Seizo's suggestion.

"Arimatsu-kun." Okamura Neji said in a deep voice, "If you can think of it, the Eighth Route Army can also think of it."

"Now our North China Front has five divisions and two brigades that need to be transferred. Can the base camp mobilize so many transport ships for us in a short period of time?"

You Mojing Sanbian said: "Your Excellency, General, there are three divisions of transport ships in Tianjin Port. If they are squeezed together, they should be able to load all the Locust Army troops."

The transport ships of these three divisions were the ships that transported the 3nd, 42th and 46th Divisions.

Each of the five divisions and two brigades in Baoding suffered heavy losses under the attack and shelling of the Eighth Route Army.

After squeezing it, it can be almost loaded and shipped to Manchuria or the mainland in one go.

"Even if the base camp mobilizes a large number of transport ships for us." Okamura Neiji shook his head, "The Bohai Sea is within the bombing range of the Eighth Route Army. As long as the Eighth Route Army sends out bombers to blow up the transport ships on the coastline, we will need 10 Is the main force of the locust army going to swim back to the mainland?"

After a pause, Okamura Neiji continued: "In Tianjin, there are three divisions of the Locust Army, and in Tangshan, seven divisions and two brigades of the Eastern Army are approaching us to support us."

"Even if the channel between Baoding and Tianjin is cut off, the worst possible outcome will be to abandon heavy equipment and move to Tianjin with light equipment."

"As long as we arrive in Tianjin and join up with the three local divisions and the seven divisions of the Kwantung Army, we will be completely safe."

"Hi." Youmo Jingsan lowered his head, he was convinced. Judging from the analysis of Okamura Neiji, it is indeed more feasible to move to Tianjin than to the coastline of Shandong Province.

As the command from the headquarters was issued, the devils began to prepare to turn (escape) in (escape).

The 2nd Mixed Brigade, which was selected to end the decisive battle with the Eighth Route Army in Baoding, was also ready to be destroyed.

However, the Japanese army's transfer would have to wait until evening.

At night, the Eighth Route Army generally does not attack.

In the afternoon, the Eighth Route Army started its classic tactics again.

After the artillery bombardment, the infantry charged, and after the infantry bombardment, the artillery bombardment was completed. In addition to the artillery bombardment, there were also aircraft bombings.

Different from the tactics of the Japanese army, the tactics used by the Eighth Route Army were mainly based on artillery bombardment and aircraft bombing, supplemented by infantry and tank charges.

After three days of indiscriminate bombing, some puppet troops have collapsed.

Even some Japanese troops were on the verge of collapse.

Okamura Neji and Arisu Seizo knew very well that if the fierce battle in Baoding continued, there would be no chance of the North China Front coming back.

After daytime infantry and tank attacks, as well as indiscriminate bombing by heavy artillery and aircraft, the Japanese and puppet troops suffered terribly and suffered heavy losses.

night.

The Japanese troops from each division and two brigades quietly withdrew from their positions and retreated toward Tianjin in the northeast.

But soon, the vanguard of the retreating Japanese troops exchanged fire with the cavalry and armored troops of the Eighth Route Army.

This is the 11th Brigade of Okamura Neiji's personal guards. It has two infantry regiments, one tank regiment, and one brigade each for artillery, baggage troops, and engineers.

Compared with other divisions and brigades, the 11th Mixed Brigade has always been in Baoding City and has not participated in battles or been bombed.

The organization is well preserved, the soldiers are recharged and have strong combat effectiveness.

but!

The cavalry and armored units of the new regiment of the Eighth Route Army are also recharged and have strong combat effectiveness.

What the two sides competed for was firepower.

There was a booming sound of artillery and intensive gunfire in the distance, and Okamura Neji raised his binoculars to look.

"General."

"The leading troops of the 2nd Independent Infantry Regiment have exchanged fire with the enemy. The enemy's firepower is very strong."

A staff officer walked over quickly and reported to Neji Okamura.

Okamura Neiji's tone was indifferent: "Order the tank regiment to defeat the enemy! Inform the commander of the tank regiment, Akita Ginichi, that if the enemy is not defeated within 20 minutes, he will perform a disembowelment himself to thank the locusts."

The cavalry and armored units of the Eighth Route Army cut off the highway from Baoding to Tianjin.

On this plain terrain, if the Japanese army is willing to give up hundreds of mountain cannons, as well as a large amount of baggage and combat supplies.

The Japanese army could take a detour and take a small road instead of a road.

but!

Okamura Neiji is still preparing to fight. He does not want to give up these mountain cannons, because there are also 20 150mm howitzers and 10 240mm howitzers.

These are treasures.

If the heavy artillery regiment and the artillery regiments of each division were lost, the North China Front would lose at least half of its combat effectiveness.

Give it a try and turn your bicycle into a motorcycle.

"Hi."

The staff officer quickly lowered his head, turned around, and went to convey the order to the tank regiment.

……

at the same time.

The new regiment's frontline headquarters.

Li Yunlong was woken up by Zhao Gang, who was on duty during the war. He jumped up and said, "Old Zhao, is there something wrong?"

Zhao Gang smiled slightly. This kid snored loudly when he was sleeping. Unexpectedly, he was quite alert.

Zhao Gang said: "Old Li, I just received a report from the cavalry troops. They are already at war with the Japanese, and the Japanese are escaping towards Tianjin."

"It's just as I expected!" Li Yunlong narrowed his eyes, "That old devil Okamura Neji wants to escape, and he is escaping in the direction of Tianjin."

Zhao Gang said: "Our cavalry and an armored force will definitely be able to block the Japanese attack in a short period of time, but we are afraid that the Japanese will imitate us and break out."

Tianjin is almost due east of Baoding.

Judging from the map, the distance from Baoding to Tianjin is about 120 kilometers. If the road conditions are good, the troops can reach it in two days of urgent march.

Once the Japanese break out to Tianjin and join up with the Japanese army there, it will be difficult to eliminate the main force of the Japanese North China Front!

"The Japanese will definitely disperse and break out."

Li Yunlong applied for silence, his eyes were stern:

"Give me the order to attack across the board as planned, catch up with the Japanese and annihilate them all!"

"Yes."

The staff officer who came to report straightened up, turned around and went to deliver the order.

Following the order from the regiment headquarters.

Thousands of cannons roared together, and the night sky was filled with orange-red shell trajectories, and dense shells fell on the positions of the Japanese and puppet troops.

Li Yunlong had long been prepared to face the Japanese's escape.

……

The leading Japanese troops exchanged fire with the Eighth Route Army cavalry troops three kilometers behind.

The location of the Japanese 11th Brigade Tank Wing.

The 54 tanks of the tank regiment were lined up on the road waiting for orders.

"Co-captain."

A Japanese cavalryman ran over quickly and handed the commander of the regiment, Akita Ginichi, an order:

"General Okamura's order."

"General Okamura gave me the order personally?"

Senior Colonel Akita Gin looked stunned and took the order from the Japanese cavalry.

Under normal circumstances, shouldn't General Okamura give the order to the commander of the 11th Hungry Brigade, and then the brigade commander give him the order?

Give orders beyond the level.

Has General Okamura started micromanaging?

With a puzzled expression on his face, Colonel Akita Gin issued an order: Defeat the enemy within 20 minutes and open the road for the large army, otherwise he would have to commit suicide by caesarean section.

Although the tank regiment of the 11th Brigade was pieced together from here and there, some tank soldiers and tanks were remnants of the original 3rd Tank Division. Even Akita Ginichi was from the 3rd Tank Division. A tank captain.

In the Battle of Datong, the commander of the 3rd Tank Division, Lieutenant General Nishihara Issei, was killed. The 3rd Tank Division suffered heavy losses and all its numbers were wiped out.

In the early days of the Sino-Japanese War, the appearance of a tank regiment on the battlefield was an existence that could make the Chinese army despair.

The Chinese army could only destroy a Japanese tank by using the tactics of meat bomb impact and paying the price of more than 100 casualties.

Even the ace troops of China's regular national army are difficult to deal with the Japanese tanks, let alone the poor Tuba Road.

But the Tubal Road now is no longer the Tubal Road it used to be.

Although they are all called Tubalu, they were originally poor beggars, but now they are rich and wealthy.

Today's Tubal Road has heavy tanks that can instantly kill the Japanese Type 95 and Type 97 tanks on the battlefield.

Akita Ginichi really didn't want to fight the Eighth Route Army armored units unless it was absolutely necessary.

After reading the order issued by Neji Okamura, Akita Ginichi was silent for a moment.

The chariot regiment was one of General Okamura's trump cards. In addition to the cavalry, the enemy also had heavy tanks that bypassed Baoding. General Okamura could not have been unaware of this situation.

In this mission, the tank regiment will attack the heavy tanks of the Eighth Route Army head-on.

But since it was an order, he could only execute it to the letter and open the passage for the large army.

Taking a deep breath, Akita Ginichi issued a gathering order with a ferocious face: "Send the order, trucks with fuel tanks in front, tank troops in the back, tank formations, prepare to attack the enemy!"