For this battle plan, Kawabe Shozo really put a lot of thought into it. In order to explain his battle plan as clearly as possible, Kawabe Shozo even asked the combat staff of the staff department to make a slide. Now this slide is It is being played in the operations hall of the Central China Dispatch Army Headquarters.
Nishio Hisao and all the senior generals in the headquarters were sitting in the front row. Sitting on Nishio's left hand side was the commander of the Second Army, Higashikaru Miyagihiko, but sitting on his right was a major general. This major general is the major general's staff officer, Onijima Ichiro, who came from the North China Front to observe.
Once you're ready, the slideshow will begin.
The first thing that appeared on the screen was a map of the situation between ourselves and the enemy in central Anhui. The core area in the map, including Damei Mountain District and the peripheral Pu County, Shan County, and Guan County, were all painted in blue, which meant He said that this is an area controlled by the Dameishan Independent Regiment and is an enemy-occupied area.
Immediately afterwards, a huge red arrow appeared in the direction of Pukou in the south of the blue area, Feicheng in the west, and Huainan in the north. The arrow in the direction of Pukou was marked with the 104th Division, and the arrow in the direction of Feicheng was marked with The red arrow in the direction of Huainan of the Sixth Division is marked as the Iida detachment.
Then, three huge red arrows began to extend forward, and they were pointing in the direction of the huge blue area in the center.
As the three red arrows continued to advance, the blue area in the center of the map began to shrink. Soon, the areas marked Pu County, Guan County and Shan County turned into red areas, while the blue area continued to shrink. , and soon only the central Damei Mountain area remained.
At this point in the slideshow, Hebian Zhengzo signaled to pause.
Then, Kawabe Shozo walked up to the stage, bowed to Nishio Hisao, Higashiya Nurihiko, and a group of senior generals from the Huazhong Condemnation Army below, and explained: "Your Excellency, Your Majesty the General, Your Highness the Prince, also Everyone, in this mopping up operation against Dameishan, it is not difficult to mop up the peripheral areas. The imperial army has powerful mechanized troops, especially the arrival of the 8th Tank Regiment, which makes this mopping up operation even more powerful! So it can be foreseen Got it, Xu Rui’s Dameishan Independent Regiment will never dare to confront the imperial army head-on in the outer area.”
Nishio Shouzou and the senior generals present at the meeting nodded one after another. There was indeed no objection to this.
The Japanese generals present here are eager for the Dameishan Independent Regiment to confront the imperial army head-on in the outer area.
Kawabe Shozo continued: "So the key to this mopping up operation is not the peripheral operations, but how to break through the core defense line of the Dameishan Independent Regiment!"
Along with Kawabe Shozo's explanation, the slideshow continued to play down.
On the map, a city model appeared at the southernmost end of Damei Mountain District, which is the direction of Meizhen. On the edge of Damei Mountain District, along the trend of Qingniu Ridge and Qingfengling Ridge, a large number of small cities appeared. Black dots, these small black dots form a string of pearls, and the city model of Meizhen looks like the pendant of this string of pearls.
The slide show stopped here, and Hebian Zhengsan pointed at the screen and said: "Please see, the core defense line of Dameishan Independent Regiment mainly consists of two parts. The cornerstone of the entire defense line is Shaqiaogang Fortress, along the Qingqing The strongholds scattered at the passes of Niuling and Qingfeng Ridge are the two wings of the entire defense line."
After a pause, Hebian Zhengsan said again: "Shaqiaogang Fortress is a reinforced concrete fortress that Xu Rui has run for a long time. It not only has a systematic permanent fortress fortification group, but also a heavy artillery brigade on the cliff to attack Shaqiaogang. The cost of the Qiaogang Fortress will be extremely huge! And the final result may not be as expected, so I think we should avoid the Shaqiaogang Fortress on the front and choose the two wings of Damei Mountain for the breakthrough."
At this time, an untimely voice suddenly sounded. It was Ichiro Onijima who came to observe from the North China Front.
"Riverside Sang, as far as I know, the two sides of Damei Mountain are lofty mountains and primeval forests. Qingniu Ridge and Qingfeng Ridge are like the open arms of giants, surrounding the old nest of Damei Mountain Independent Regiment. Previously, Damei Mountain When the Independent Regiment did not build strongholds at the passes of Qingfengling and Qingniuling, the Himeji Division was completely wiped out. Now the Dameishan Independent Regiment has built permanent fortification groups at all passes. If the Imperial Army wants to It’s even more difficult to achieve a breakthrough!”
As soon as the words fell, Nishio Juzo and a group of senior generals nodded one after another, because Onijima Ichiro's questioning voice expressed their inner worries, and this was indeed the case.
However, Kawabe Shozo was calm and said with a smile: "Onijima-san's question is very reasonable, but I want to remind you, the general, that when the Himeji Division swept Daimeishan, it was summer, and Qingniuling , Qingfengling's primeval forest is infested with snakes and insects, making it almost impossible to pass through, but now it is the mid-winter season, and there are no snakes and insects in the primeval forest, so passage is basically unimpeded!"
"Sodes." Nishio Shouzou and many senior generals suddenly nodded.
Yes, why did you forget that it is winter now? In winter, all snakes and insects are extinct, and the impenetrable virgin forest becomes a smooth road. As a result, the seemingly impeccable defense line of Damei Mountain suddenly becomes everywhere. Loopholes, the stronghold fortifications built by Xu Rui at various passes are meaningless.
However, Onidao, who had just spoken, added: "Hebian Sang, you must not forget that there is a terrifying force in the battle sequence of the Damei Mountain Independent Regiment, the Wolf Fang Force! The primeval forest in winter may not be enough to become a The Imperial Army is an obstacle, but the Wolf Fang Troops are good at jungle warfare. In the dense primeval forest, the Lang Fang Troops will become a lingering nightmare for the Imperial Army! This must be something that Hebian Sang cannot deny, right?"
A low intake of breath immediately sounded in the combat hall.
To this day, the Wolf Fang Troops are definitely notorious among the Japanese. Their reputation is almost as bad as that of the ultimate demon in Japanese mythology, Yamata no Orochi!
Kawabe Masami still looked calm and composed.
Hebeian Zhengzo said with a smile: "Onigashima-san, what I want to tell you is that Xu Rui's Wolf Fang troops are not without their weaknesses. Although they are extremely good at special operations in complex terrains such as jungles and cities, they are still in the open. In plain terrain, their threat will be greatly reduced. This has been fully proved in the Battle of Jiujiang, because in the Battle of Jiujiang, even the founder of the Spike Force, Xu Rui, almost died in the Battle of Jiujiang. In the hands of Commander Okamura’s guards.”
Nishio Shouzou and a group of senior generals subconsciously nodded when they talked about this.
However, Major General Onidao, who came from the North China Front to observe, would not be easily convinced, and immediately raised a new question: "But the problem is that the outer reaches of Damei Mountain are precisely the virgin forest, which is the complex complex that the Langya troops are best at. Regarding the terrain, does Riverside Sang have any countermeasures?"
Hearing Onigashima ask this, Kawabe Shozo felt happy.
Onigashima, the idiot, thought that this would embarrass him, but he didn't know that he was paving the way for him.
Bu Xia Hebian Zhengzo said with a smile: "This is exactly what I want to say. The Damei Mountain area is densely forested and is a complex terrain that Langya is best at. However, this point is not unchangeable."
"Change?" Onigashima said in surprise, "Hebian-san, can you still change the terrain?"
"I'm afraid I can't change the terrain, but it is possible to change the landform." Hebian Zhengzo smiled slightly and added, "Don't forget, Onigashima-san, it is the winter festival now, so just set a fire and burn down Damei Mountain. The virgin forest can turn the complex jungle terrain into an open terrain without any cover in an instant. In this way, the threat of the Wolf Fang troops will be greatly reduced, and the imperial army will basically clear the obstacles to advance!"
Following Hebian Zhengsan's explanation, a flame suddenly burst out on the screen, and then the flame spread rapidly, spreading to the entire Damei Mountain area in just a moment. Then, the three red arrows that had entered the outer reaches of Damei Mountain started to appear again. It extended and penetrated straight into the core area of Damei Mountain. After a while, the last remaining blue area also turned into red.
"Set fire?" Nishio Shouzou was stunned for a moment, then nodded happily and said, "Sodes!"
Looking at the slide show on the screen, Onijima Ichiro finally closed his mouth.
Nishio Juzo stood up from his chair and applauded. The senior generals present also stood up and clapped along. Even Onijima Ichiro had to express a polite applause.
Hebian Zhengzo looked hesitant and bowed deeply to everyone present.
Nishio Shouzou pressed his hands to signal everyone to be quiet, and then said to Kawabe Shozo: "Kawabe-san, this is the most perfect and rigorous combat plan I have ever seen so far, bar none!" After a pause, He added, "A plan is just a plan after all. To turn the plan into a real war, you still need to do a lot of work."
"Hai!" Hebian Zhengsan nodded and said, "I will do my best in my humble position!"
"Yo Xi." Nishio Shouzou nodded happily and added, "Then start preparations according to this combat plan. As soon as the combat readiness materials sent by the base camp are in place, we will immediately launch a mopping up operation against Damei Mountain!"
"Hai!" Kawabe Shozo bowed again and saw off Nishio Shouzou and a group of senior generals.
However, Nian Yan of the Dong Jiuyi Camp did not leave immediately. Instead, he walked up to Hebian Zhengsan with a smile and said: "Hebian Sang, the battle plan you made this time is indeed wonderful. I also firmly believe that the battle plan you made this time will be a success." Our combat plan will definitely shine, and Xu Rui’s Dameishan Independent Regiment will be destroyed soon!”
"Hai." Hebian Zhengzo paused again, "Your Highness has given you the compliment."
"A prize? Haha, actually that's not the case." Dong Jiu'er Palace Nianyan waved his hand and said, "After this battle, Hebian Sang will be promoted to lieutenant general. By then, I don't know if he is willing to join our Second Army to serve as a lieutenant general." Where is the division commander? Although the 10th Division has been rebuilt in Yangzhou, the division commander is not yet in place."
"Hai!" Hebian Zhengsan suddenly became energetic. (To be continued.)