Comrade, Your Ingredients Are Too Complicated

 Chapter 330 Stud! Add one division and two brigades

Thirteen kilometers north of Datong, the joint command post of the 26th Division and the Cavalry Group.

“Two generals, report from the front.”

“So far, the enemy’s outermost fortifications built in Datong have been completely destroyed by the mountain and field artillery regiments.”

"The 11th Independent Infantry Regiment and the 71st Chariot Regiment are continuing to attack the city from the west and north. Based on the current progress, it will take us two days to approach the city wall."

After speaking, the communications staff immediately lowered his head and stood at attention, fearing that any move would anger the two lieutenant generals in front of him.

After patiently listening to the battle report, Yano Otonzaburo first moved to the sand table and pulled out several small red flags symbolizing the Eighth Route Army based on the information he had just obtained.

 Then, the old devil pretended to be casual and said:

“Yo Xi, it seems that the warriors are very energetic, and the overall progress is pretty good.”

"How come the casualties were not reported just now? I can rest assured that I will never take my anger out on you."

  Attacking Datong, which has been stationed in the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region for a long time, will inevitably cause small casualties. All the senior officials of the Mongolian Army were mentally prepared for this in the early stage of decision-making.

 That's why Jutaro Amakasu suggested that Li Shouxin and King Toku's troops be transferred from the rear.

 All this is to consume the ammunition of the Eighth Route Army and reduce our own casualties as much as possible.

 “Casualties.”

 Faced with his own Lieutenant General's question, the communications staff officer's reaction was obviously unnatural. He adjusted his expression, put on a brave face and replied:

“As of 11 o’clock this evening, the 26th Division has suffered 3,100 casualties, including 1,927 casualties.”

“The losses of heavy weapons were relatively light, and the Eighth Route Army did not find our artillery position. However, due to the air strike, a Type 91 105 mm howitzer was completely disabled.”

As soon as these words came out, Yano Otonzaburo's old face suddenly turned red, and his whole person entered a red temperature state.

Although the old Japanese had prepared himself mentally before taking action, the current casualty figure was still beyond his expectation.

 Just two days before the war started, one-fifth of his division had actually evaporated. If we continue fighting like this, wouldn't it be possible to capture Datong only if the entire army is wiped out?

 The casualties of the friendly forces made Issaku Nishihara a little nervous.

Compared with the 26th Division that combined infantry and artillery, the formation of the cavalry group was inherently unsuitable for siege, otherwise its troops would not be able to deal with the flanking positions.

Although the old devils strictly prohibited the armored forces from going too deep before the war, no one knew for sure until the specific report came out.

 The communications staff officer did not remain silent for long, and soon he opened the folder and continued reporting:

"The situation of the cavalry group was better. In two days, there were only 1,700 casualties, of which 632 were jade warriors."

“In the armored forces, the losses of tanks were very small. Only seven Type 95 light tanks were destroyed by the enemy. However, the situation of various types of armored vehicles is not optimistic, and more than half of them have been lost.”

Hearing this, Nishihara Yice reluctantly breathed a sigh of relief.

It is indeed difficult to replenish armored vehicles, but the foundation of the cavalry group is light tanks and medium tanks. As long as they can keep their tanks, their combat effectiveness will not drop too much.

 After digesting the battle report, the two Japanese lieutenant generals were unable to express their sorrows.

“Hey, it seems that the Imperial Alliance Army with two divisions and six divisions alone is basically unable to win.”

“Lieutenant Colonel Iguchi, go and send a telegram to urge us and ask where our support troops have gone? Can they reach Jin Province within one day?”

"Hi!"

Hearing the order from his general, the communications staff breathed a sigh of relief, and then trotted away from the command post.

How difficult is it to attack Datong? Neji Okamura, who oversees the army in the Fengzhen area, is naturally Menqing.

 At present, the battle is only in the peripheral stage, and one regiment of troops is consumed every day. How many people might have died in the street fighting after the city wall was blown down. After all, basic light weapons have always been the Eighth Route Army's advantage. An infantry squad is equipped with a barrel, a light machine gun, two submachine guns and several rifles.

It has an astonishing amount of ammunition. Even if the Chou people come, they have to knock one out before leaving.

Some particularly wealthy main forces are even equipped with 50 or 60 mm mortars.

Looking back on our own side, the Type 38 rifle, the Taisho Type 11 light machine gun and the Type 89 grenade are still the same for thousands of years. Their firepower is down by more than one level.

If this kind of equipment were used in street fighting, it is estimated that the Class A division would have to be pressed to the ground and rubbed.

 In order to prevent the North China Front from also having a desperate Osaka Division, Okamura Neiji specially transferred the 110th Division, the 7th Independent Mixed Brigade and the 15th Independent Mixed Brigade to come for reinforcements.

In this way, a situation of one hundred thousand people attacking a city can be created.

  ·······

 After the communications staff officer left, Otonzaburo Yano found that his colleagues were still in a daze. He followed the other person's gaze and found that Nishihara Issaku was studying the map of Datong County.

“Nishihara-kun, are you worried about the street fighting?”

“Street fighting can indeed drag the battle into a stalemate, but the level of modernization in Datong is very low, and almost 99% of the buildings are masonry structures.”

“This means that it is difficult for the enemy to take advantage of the complex environment in the city. If our numbers are large enough, we may even become the dominant party.”

As someone who has been stationed in Datong for three years, Otonzaburo Yano can boast that he knows every corner of the city.

In the old devil's view, the houses in the county town cannot block the direct fire of 75mm mountain and field artillery, not to mention that the cavalry group has a path-opening weapon like a tank.

As if he could see that his colleagues still had concerns, Yano Otonzaburo said confidently:

“You can rest assured that I will come up with a battle plan that satisfies everyone within two days.”

“Besides, the generals in the Republic of China army who are best at defending the city are defeated by you and me. No matter how powerful the Eighth Route Army named Nie is, is it possible that he is better at defending than the Seventh Route Army?”

“Show off the momentum of the Taiyuan Battle and let us join hands to conquer the city in front of us.”

The colleague in front of him was so confident that Nishihara Issaku was too embarrassed to refute.

 From his perspective, the Eighth Route Army must also be aware of the above situation. I am not a fool. Since I can build a large group of fortifications outside the city, I will definitely strengthen the defense system inside the city.

 As long as there are buildings to rely on, there is a high probability that our side will be in trouble.

 When he thought that infantrymen might appear from the roof at any time carrying a rocket launcher, and then kill his precious Type 97 medium tank with one shot, Issaku Nishihara felt that the future was gloomy.

 After a while, the old devil shook his head, changed the subject and said:

“After two days of fighting, have your division encountered any artillery positions of the Eighth Route Army?”

This artillery is not an artillery regiment composed of Miss 75, but the large-caliber mortar mentioned by the independent mixed second brigade.

In the current stage of positional warfare, the Eighth Route Army's mortars caused heavy casualties to the Japanese offensive troops. After all, these mortars were somewhat invincible in the trenches.

Moreover, the defenders' artillery shells were really abundant. Every time they fired, they covered an area with full-speed fire, almost lifting the Type 92 infantry cannon to fire.

"That's not true. I guess the enemy wants to save it for a critical moment."

“I have ordered each regiment to report the enemy’s large-caliber mortar immediately as soon as it is discovered. That terrible thing must be nipped in the cradle.”

 When mentioning the 120mm mortar, Otonzaburo Yano specifically emphasized his tone.

 For the next half hour, the two discussed the follow-up combat plan in depth and proposed more suitable options in many details.

In order to allow the troops who were fighting continuously to adjust their status, they canceled today's night attack plan and asked all units to strengthen existing positions in place.

 (End of this chapter)