After receiving Jun Nakamura's warning, the Dameishan Military Division began intensive preparations.
At the same time, the 104th Division, the 6th Division, the Iida Detachment and the 8th Tank Regiment participating in the sweep also began to assemble towards the predetermined area and stand by.
The assembly area of the Iida detachment is in Bengbu County. It will first complete the assembly in Bengbu, and then push all the way south along the road to Guanxian County; the assembly area of the 104th Division and the 8th Tank Regiment is Pukou. First complete the assembly in Pukou, and then go north along the highway to attack Pu County; the Sixth Division assembled in Feixi Town, and then attack directly to Shan County.
They are all Japanese troops, but the gap between different divisions is still very large, with the Sixth Division performing the best.
The style of the Sixth Division is actually quite good, although it has just added a large number of reservists and even reservists, and in the last battle to defend Feicheng, the Dameishan Independent Regiment was almost crippled and replaced with another division. The regiment may have collapsed immediately, but the spirit of the Sixth Division is still there.
The Kumamoto Division is the Kumamoto Division after all, and it did not collapse just because of one failure.
The night after the assembly order was issued, the main forces of the 13th Infantry Regiment, 23rd Infantry Regiment and 45th Infantry Regiment, which were originally stationed in surrounding towns and villages, quickly assembled and arrived before dawn the next day. Feixi, the 47th Infantry Regiment was originally stationed in Feixi Town, which saved a lot of trouble.
After a day and night of rest, the tiredness disappeared from the faces of the officers and soldiers of the Sixth Division.
At six o'clock in the morning, the eastern sky just showed a trace of fish belly white, and the Japanese army camp began to become noisy.
At seven o'clock in the morning, the Sixth Division's four infantry regiments, one cavalry regiment, one field artillery regiment, one heavy baggage regiment, one engineering regiment plus field hospital medical personnel totaled more than 25,000 people. , everyone has finished breakfast and packed their luggage. All tents have been packed, all supplies have been loaded into vehicles, all cannons have been mounted on carriages, and all infantry have completed their formation.
At seven o'clock and ten minutes, the 47th Infantry Regiment took the lead.
At seven and a half minutes, the 45th Infantry Regiment set off again.
At eight o'clock in the morning, all units directly under the division and regiment headquarters set off one after another.
At eight o'clock and ten minutes, Naosaburo Okabe ordered his adjutant to park the armored vehicle he was riding on the side of the road, and then climbed onto a hill next to the highway with his saber in hand. Behind Naosaburo Okabe were several other colonels, except for The Chief of Staff of the Sixth Division, Colonel Shigeta Shigetori, and the commanders of each directly affiliated regiment.
A group of people stood on a hill and looked down condescendingly. They saw countless Japanese soldiers lined up in four columns and marching forward along the road. Following the infantry formations, there were groups of armored vehicles. , groups of trucks dragging 105 field howitzers and groups of horse-drawn carriages loaded with supplies.
The Japanese base camp also considered that the Kumamoto Division had just been severely damaged. In order to maintain the combat effectiveness of this well-known old division, it deliberately strengthened its weapons. Zero-five field artillery, and an additional tank brigade was assigned to the Sixth Division.
This is definitely an honor, because in addition to the Guards Division stationed in Tokyo and the 1st and 2nd Divisions stationed in Manchuria, the 6th Division also has an independent tank unit on its organizational list.
Looking at the torrent of steel rolling under the hill, Naosaburo Okabe couldn't help but feel a heroic feeling in his heart: leading the steel army and galloping on the Chinese battlefield, as a good man of the empire, this is what he should do! nice!
Behind Naosaburo Okabe, Shigeta Shigenori and several regiment captains were also in high spirits. Facing such a powerful modern army and the rolling torrent of steel, few people could really do it. Calmly, from the core, every man is actually the same, full of desire to kill.
In fact, the desire to kill and the desire for beautiful women are the true needs that are integrated into the bones of men.
Shigetori glanced at Naosaburo Okabe in front of him, flattered him and said: "Division Commander, after your iron-fisted management of the army, the combat effectiveness of the Sixth Division has been fully restored. In this sweep, our Sixth Division has also We will definitely be able to recreate the supreme glory of the past during the Russo-Japanese War, and even be better than before!"
After Shigeta Shigenori finished speaking, several captains also agreed.
"The division commander is truly worthy of being the queen of generals. He has a way of running an army."
"The division commander is not only the queen of generals, but also a member of the saber team!"
"Sodais, there are so many students in mainland China, but only six of them can receive the sword given by the Emperor."
"The Sixth Division has been severely damaged. The division commander can restore its combat effectiveness in such a short period of time. If it were anyone else, he really wouldn't have this ability."
Listening to the flattering words of the captain of the 1st Army, Naosaburo Okabe felt greatly benefited.
As long as you are a human being, there is no one who does not like to hear compliments, and everyone is carrying the sedan chair.
However, Naosaburo Okabe was not dazzled by the compliments of his commanders, nor was he confused by the high morale and neat military appearance displayed by the Sixth Division, because Naosaburo Okabe knew very well , the current Sixth Division just looks good and has not been tested in actual combat.
Whether the Sixth Division's combat effectiveness has really been restored, we have to go to the battlefield and have a real fight with Xu Rui's Dameishan Independent Regiment to know. Perhaps, the Sixth Division has really recovered. In the past, perhaps, it was just an embroidered pillow that was beautiful on the outside but covered in wadding.
So, Naosaburo Okabe waved his hand, and then said: "You must not be blindly optimistic. Although the combat effectiveness of the Sixth Division has recovered to a certain extent, there is still a big gap compared with before, especially this time. Our opponent is still the Dameishan Independent Regiment, so we cannot take it lightly."
"Hai." Shigeta Shigenori said with a heavy pause, "The division commander's lesson is that facing a powerful army like the Dameishan Independent Regiment and a cunning opponent like Xu Rui, the imperial army must not be careless. However, , this time the Imperial Army has mobilized two divisions and one detachment of heavy troops, plus the 8th Tank Regiment to cooperate in the battle, so victory should not be a big problem."
After Shigeta Shigenori finished speaking, the captains of the directly affiliated alliances also agreed.
"What Shigeta-san said is absolutely true. In this raid on Damei Mountain, the imperial army mobilized two divisions and one team. It can be said that they killed a chicken with a sledgehammer. No matter how powerful Xu Rui is, he can't make any waves."
"Xu Rui is indeed very cunning, but in the face of absolute strength, all conspiracies and tricks are just a cloud."
"The victory of the Imperial Army in this battle is already a certainty, and there will never be any more suspense. Division Commander, the only thing I'm worried about now is whether our Sixth Division will progress too slowly, and finally let the Iida detachment There is also the 104th Division that takes the lead in occupying the Dameishan Mountain District and annihilating the Dameishan Independent Regiment!"
"But this will not happen." Shigeta Shigenori said, "It is not easy to completely wipe out the Dameishan Independent Regiment."
"Sodais." Naosaburo Okabe nodded and said, "It is indeed not easy to annihilate Xu Rui's Dameishan Independent Regiment, so the combat order issued by the headquarters also clearly stated that if there is a chance to annihilate the Dameishan Independent Regiment, Although the Meishan Independent Regiment is the best, if there is no chance to drive it out of Dameishan, it is still a victory. Therefore, we really have to speed up and advance to Dameishan before the Iida detachment and the 104th Division. .”
Shigetoku Shigetoku paused and said: "Hai."
(Dividing line)
Nanjing Fanghua Garden, Central China Dispatch Army Headquarters.
When Jun Nakamura walked into the combat hall early in the morning, he saw a huge simulation sand table in the center of the hall. The terrain in central Anhui had been completely simulated on the sand table, and the three areas of Pukou, Feicheng and Bengbu had been It was filled with red triangular flags representing the Japanese army, but on the opposite side, it was completely blank.
Hebian Zhengsan stood next to the simulated sand table with his hands behind his hands, a gloomy look on his face.
"All the people in the extra-high school course are idiots!" Hebian Shozo glanced at Nakamura Shun and said, "It's been so long, and I still haven't figured out which unit of the Dameishan Independent Regiment is on the opposite side. Sun Tzu said that you know yourself and your enemy. Only then can we fight without danger. Now that we know nothing about the enemy, how can we fight this battle?"
Nakamura Jun said hurriedly: "Chief of Staff, please calm down. This matter is not because the people in the special high school are incompetent. It is because the **'s confidentiality work is too strict. In addition to normal counterintelligence personnel, the ** has also launched a large number of Women and children serve as their eyes and ears, and as soon as our agents enter their territory, they are immediately discovered, so it is difficult to obtain intelligence.”
"Yes." Hebian Zhengsan's anger softened slightly and he added, "The Kuomintang's confidentiality work is indeed better than that of the Kuomintang."
"It's a lot stronger." Toshi Nakamura paused and said, "Take Shanghai as an example. The military command just established by the Kuomintang has almost been infiltrated by people from the Secret Service Headquarters, but the Secret Service Headquarters is helpless against the Shanghai underground party.* *’s organization is really invulnerable to wind and water, and it is too difficult to deal with.”
Kawabe Shozo shook his head and said: "I don't care about Shanghai, I only care about this mopping up operation."
"Hai." Nakamura Jun paused and said, "Although we have no way to obtain the intelligence of the Dameishan Independent Regiment, the 104th Division, the 8th Independent Tank Regiment, the 6th Division and the Iida Detachment have all entered Designate the assembly area, and then, as long as the three armies can advance together, the Dameishan Independent Regiment will be defeated in this battle!"
Kawabe Shozo said worriedly: "I'm worried that we can't keep pace with each other."
Nakamura Shun's heart moved slightly when he heard this, and asked: "Chief of Staff, are you worried about the Iida detachment? Yes, after all, the Iida detachment is based on the Taiwan garrison brigade, and the quality of the soldiers is indeed much worse." ( To be continued.)