Comrade, Your Ingredients Are Too Complicated

May 8, 1942, Kaifeng.

As the situation became increasingly turbulent, massive amounts of intelligence flew into the headquarters of the 35th Division like snowflakes.

Looking at the piles of various types of documents on his desk, Japanese Lieutenant General Shigeta Tokumatsu held his forehead with his right hand, and then pinched his eyebrows painfully.

There is a large amount of information that is unknown to be true or false, and it is not easy to extract correct information and respond to it.

This kind of boring work is really laborious, even if he leads the staff to distinguish carefully, it will take a lot of time.

Just as the old Japanese paused his work and slumped down on the imperial chair, preparing to close his eyes and rest, an officer with the rank of major general suddenly broke in.

"Your Majesty Lieutenant General, we are in big trouble!"

"Based on the intelligence collected by our brigade, I personally believe that the Eighth Route Army in the Zhongtiao Mountain area will inevitably launch the first round of attacks around the middle of this month."

"The enemy's strength is conservatively estimated to be no less than 50,000!"

The reorganized Fourth Cavalry Brigade has been responsible for intelligence work in northern Henan.

As the first commander, Sakuma had the right to directly enter the 35th Division headquarters without notification.

The sound of the report from his superiors made Shigeta Tokumatsu slowly open his eyes. The old devil had a sad face at this time, and anyone could see that he was strong on the outside but weak on the inside.

"Inform officers above the rank of lieutenant colonel, as well as staff officers from the first section, to come to the headquarters for a meeting."

Since the war had not yet officially started, the top Japs in Kaifeng quickly gathered in the combat conference room.

After all the wing commanders and senior officers were in place, Tokusatsu Shigeta spread out a map around Jiyuan on the table, and then began to explain his views.

"The current situation is very serious. The Eighth Route Army in southern Shanxi is ready to launch an attack."

"This time the enemy is very powerful. The opponent's veterans are more elite than the samurai. The light weapons are more advanced than ours, and the heavy firepower is several times that of our younger brother's B division, and the logistical supplies are guaranteed."

"Our only advantage is that we have three defensive lines that have been operating for a whole year."

Hearing the unsubtle speech of their division commander, all the Japanese officers present felt very uncomfortable. No one expected that in just three years, our own side and the Eighth Route Army would actually change their offensive and defensive positions.

Massive artillery, a bottomless reserve of fighter planes, plus light tanks all over the mountains and plains.

Faced with the above configuration, they even had the illusion of being on the European battlefield.

Oh, right. Also include mortars of various calibers.

This is not a difference of several times of firepower, it is clearly more than ten times! Whoever hits him gets confused!

As if aware of the low air pressure in the combat conference room, the old Japanese soldier Shigeta Tokumatsu coughed lightly and forcibly said:

"Gentlemen, the difficulty is only temporary."

"Currently, the mainland and the Kwantung Army are mobilizing forces. Soon there will be new troops to deal with the Eighth Route Army, and even the most elite Class A divisions will come in to support."

"In this battle, we just need to hold on firmly. Counterattack is the task of follow-up reinforcements."

After the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain, the frightened Twelfth Army decisively raised the defense level in northern Henan. In Jiyuan County alone, the Japanese deployed more than 30,000 troops, including the independent eighth brigade.

This main force has competed with the Preserved Fruit First War Zone for many years and has achieved quite impressive results.

In addition to concentrating his troops, Shigeta Tokushima ordered people to build fortresses, fortifications and bunkers in various important transportation areas, and even laid a large number of mines frantically.

According to his own words, even if these three lines of defense combined are not as good as Siegfried, they are still on the same level as Maginot.

Such a large-scale war was just to prevent the Eighth Route Army from suddenly launching an attack from the east of Zhongtiao Mountain.

"Hi."

"Best regards, Lieutenant General!"

After hearing the news that the Kwantung Army was about to reinforce, a group of Japanese officers once again burst into fighting spirit.

In their perception, those elite troops with well-equipped equipment and a long history of military establishment are basically synonymous with invincibility. Even if the enemy is the Eighth Route Army, it cannot stop the iron hoof of the Class A Division.

"Give me the order."

Shigeta Tokumatsu said in a serious tone:

"Troops at all levels in counties in northern Henan have built multi-level and deep positions at various traffic arteries, passes and commanding heights. They need to dig more tunnels, prepare anti-tank trenches, and build anti-tank bunkers."

"Rely on solid fortifications to block attacks layer by layer and consume the Eighth Route Army's effective strength! It doesn't matter if you lose your position during the day, you must regain it at night!"

"In addition, let each infantry brigade organize a dedicated suicide squad to hide in it and wait for opportunities to blow up enemy tanks."

"Hi!"

After a series of orderly orders were issued, the morale within the headquarters immediately improved significantly.

If they just hold back the Eighth Route Army in southern Shanxi, it does not seem to be an impossible task in the eyes of the Japanese. After all, they have a lot of messy troops.

It would take a while to catch tens of thousands of pigs on the plains, let alone live people.

······

At the same time, in Yuanqu County, the 129th Division advanced to the command post.

"Excluding the necessary guard troops, there are ten main regiments, two artillery regiments and one armored regiment participating in the first wave of attacks, totaling 41,700 people."

"In terms of logistics, the Suiyuan Military Region sent 500 liberation trucks some time ago. Coupled with manpower and animal power, there will definitely be no problems with supplies during the battle."

"By the way, there are also comrades from the Air Force. As long as they have air supremacy, the 1st and 2nd Air Divisions can provide at least 500 sorties of air support every day."

After hearing the chief of staff's report, Cheng Shifa and Ding Wei felt relieved.

Hundreds of armored units, hundreds of artillery pieces of various calibers, and air force support that can be called at any time. This kind of family background sounds exciting.

After calming down, Cheng Xiazi pointed at the map of Jiyuan on the wall and said:

"The army is setting out. The movements of the troops cannot be concealed from the enemy. The Japanese are fully prepared."

"According to intelligence, our opponents in the first battle are the independent mixed Eighth Brigade, the Manchu and Mongolian Development Youth Corps, and the puppet troops transferred from northern and eastern Henan."

The so-called Manchu and Mongolian Development Youth League were young farmers recruited from the mainland in order to solve the problem of insufficient troops and immigrants.

After these people came to the Republic of China, they would conduct drills in strict accordance with the requirements of the army.

After three years of training, some outstanding people can directly join the regular army. Those who are slightly worse will be converted into field soldiers, engaged in military training and production at the same time, and can be drafted into the army at any time.

In order to prevent the common people in northern Henan from resisting, the Manchuria-Mongolia Development Youth League was equipped with various light and heavy weapons, including more than a dozen small-caliber barrel guns.

Strictly speaking, there is really no difference between these Japs and the troops under the Garrison Division.

As for the strength of the puppet army?

There are only 18,000 people in the four armies, and they are all just a mob.

After everyone present digested the information, Cheng Xiazi picked up the second document from the table, and then continued to add:

"I received news from the front line that the Japs have built multi-layered in-depth defense fortifications on the road we must pass. It seems that they intend to consume our effective strength through layer-by-layer blocking."

"Guys, do you have any ideas?"

While asking the question, Cheng Xiazi glanced at the southwest corner of the conference room.

There sat seven allies from afar, including Brother Wen who came to learn from the combat experience of the large corps, and the top commanders of the six main divisions.

In this situation, the Viet Minh comrades still don't understand the deep meaning of the friendly forces. This is obviously the teacher who wants to get to know the students' bottom.

After thinking for a moment, Brother Wen stood up in the expectant eyes of his colleagues and slowly stated the battle plan in his mind.

"Our Eighth Route Army has an overall advantage in strength, but the Japanese are not weak in fighting will and ability. The enemy is backed by a solid position, so if we want to attack by force, it will definitely be a bloody battle."

"So I personally believe that this campaign should move forward steadily and step by step."

"First use heavy firepower and heavy artillery to attack the Japanese. Then the main infantry units will slowly advance, gradually destroying the opponent's effective forces, and plan for it slowly."

In 1942, Brother Wen was only thirty-one years old.

He had just taken off his teacher's gown, and he was just a history teacher who had read a few books on military theory. In terms of military level, he is even worse than a bald man.

Moreover, the Viet Minh has never had any successful military operations since its establishment. After all, their enemies are Benzi and Vichy.

Needless to say, the former is definitely the dominant player in the Asian battlefield.

The latter seems to stretch the hips, but that is compared to Tokuzo and Oiying. If you just deal with a group of Southeast Asian natives, they are definitely heavenly soldiers in the literal sense.

All of the above have caused Brother Wen to be too one-sided when thinking about problems and always ignore some objective premises.

The ally's answer made Blind Cheng's eyes flash with a trace of imperceptible disappointment.

If famine does not break out in Henan Province now, then the Eighth Route Army can indeed prepare for the battle step by step, and can even use the Twelfth Army to train in rotation in northern Henan.

But time waits for no one, and every second lost now could cause significant damage.

What's more, the allies in North Africa are still waiting for food, and the battle must be ended as soon as possible to open up a new battlefield.

After tactfully denying Brother Wen's plan and explaining the specific reasons to him, Cheng Xiazi announced his battle plan domineeringly.

"Limited time! Limited depth! Concentrate superior forces! Encirclement in roundabouts! Quick battle and quick victory! Complete the annihilation of the enemy!"

······

After the combat meeting, Cheng and Ding came to the office together.

The two looked at each other and saw helplessness and confusion on each other's faces.

"Old Ding, why do I feel that Director Xiao and I were tricked by Director Huang? Do those Viet Minh comrades really have the same ideology as those in the border area?"

"There are years of war there, and the people's lives are very difficult. Under such circumstances, they actually pay out of their own pockets for a small banquet in Taiyuan every five hours, and a big banquet every ten hours?"

"The most outrageous thing is that Brother Wen actually brought a few lesbians with him, and even said that one of them would take care of my daily life. Didn't this make me make a mistake?"

Hearing this, Ding Wei slammed the cigarette butt in his hand to the ground, and then complained:

"I heard that in Southeast Asia, they eat bananas, lemons, coffee after meals, and pineapples before going to bed. Our brigade commander has never enjoyed these days."

"It will probably be more troublesome after we get over it. Even though the Viet Minh's unit numbers start from 308, there are actually only six thousand-man divisions in total."

"When I asked Brother Wen, he just told me about Zhou etiquette and transgression. What nonsense!" (End of Chapter)