allonlinenovel Chapter 264 Encirclement and reinforcements
Chapter 264 Encirclement and reinforcements
After ending the call with Xie Qiang, Long Fei immediately convened a meeting of all army commanders.
At the same time, Long Fei instructed Xu Peng to send a telegram to Zheng Yaoxian, inquiring about the current situation of the 114th Division.
Once everyone had arrived, Long Fei explained the situation to them and asked if they should take care of the 114th Division now.
According to Long Fei's plan, he wanted to reach the destination first, then conduct intensive training for the troops, and in the process, familiarize himself with the detailed situation of the Japanese in Shanxi.
Then, after comprehensive consideration, a general plan was formulated to eliminate the Japanese invaders in Shanxi.
After all, the entire legion now has nearly 130,000 troops, so when the battle starts, it will definitely be a large-scale operation.
We can't continue like before, fighting wherever the tide takes us.
As expected, the opinions of the various army commanders were not entirely the same. Some agreed to deal with the 114th Division now, while others thought that the troops should be settled first, and then fight the Japanese step by step when the opportunity arose.
As the deputy corps commander, Xu Peng is not familiar with the situation in Shanxi, so he should be more cautious and plan carefully before taking action.
As the corps' chief of staff, Gao Hong's opinion was that although the corps was currently very strong and possessed armored units and a large number of heavy artillery pieces, it was still not a good idea to continue fighting the epidemic.
However, Shanxi's terrain is mostly hilly and mountainous, which is not conducive to mechanized warfare.
Furthermore, the Japanese had already occupied major cities, and the casualties in urban sieges were enormous. In addition, if the city was shelled, innocent civilians might be injured.
We should still try to mobilize the Japanese troops and gradually eliminate their manpower in the process.
Finally, it would be more prudent to capture the cities one by one after the Japanese army has been severely weakened.
Long Fei didn't agree with attacking the 114th Division right now, but Xie Qiang volunteered, especially since the Japanese had just massacred the villagers of Yangjiao Village.
Long Fei felt it was inconvenient to suppress Xie Qiang and his men's fighting spirit, but at the same time he should teach the Japanese a lesson and tell them that the Longyan Legion had arrived and that they should behave themselves from now on.
Even more importantly, the Eighth Route Army Qin Lai Detachment is now with Xie Qiang and his men.
Long Fei wanted to help them eliminate some Japanese soldiers to relieve their pressure, and at the same time, he wanted to send them some weapons and equipment to strengthen their capabilities.
Finally, Long Fei made the decision: "Let's do this, we won't have a large-scale battle this time, we'll just teach the Japanese a lesson, and let the 114th Division live a little longer."
“Deputy Commander Xu, you lead the troops to continue forward. I will take the 1st Special Operations Division. After we finish, we will catch up with you.”
Xu Peng immediately objected, saying, "Commander, I don't think you need to go personally. Sending the 1st Special Operations Division and handing it over to Xie Qiang is more than enough."
The others echoed this sentiment, all agreeing that Long Fei didn't need to personally command such a small-scale battle.
Long Fei could only wink at Xu Peng and then say something.
"I'm going this time because I want to meet someone I've long admired, so please don't try to dissuade me."
Since Long Fei had already said so, no one could object anymore. They could only remind him, as the legion commander, to be extremely careful.
Long Fei then informed Xie Qiang that he would lead the First Special Operations Division to the scene immediately, and they would discuss the details upon meeting.
Xu Peng then led his troops to continue advancing.
When Long Fei arrived at Giethoorn in a great hurry, Xie Qiang quickly introduced him to the village.
Looking at the living General Qin in front of him, Long Fei was extremely excited.
"Hello, Commander Qin. Hello, Political Commissar Lai."
"Commander Long, hello. Our Eighth Route Army has heard a lot about your Longyan Legion. Today we finally meet you, General Long. I didn't expect you to be so young."
Long Fei seemed a little embarrassed by Commander Qin's praise and quickly changed the subject.
"Ahem, Commander Qin, you flatter me. Let's discuss how to fight the Japanese next."
Commander Qin then took out a map and explained it to Long Fei.
"Our Qinlai Detachment originally planned to ambush the Japanese convoy transporting supplies to Kuri City tomorrow."
"Our guerrilla detachment was newly established, and we had great difficulty even with daily food supplies, let alone weapons and equipment."
"I only received news today that the Japanese were raiding Yangjiao Village, so I rushed over to protect the villagers. I didn't expect to be too late, sigh..."
For Long Fei, solving the supply problem for Commander Qin's detachment was a piece of cake.
However, Long Fei still showed full respect for their decision.
"Commander Qin, since you have decided to ambush the Japanese supply convoy, then our Dragon Flame Legion will help you."
"Furthermore, I must teach the Japanese a lesson for the crimes they committed in Giethoorn today, so I want to take down Kurijo as well."
"This……"
Commander Qin hadn't expected Long Fei to have such a big appetite, and hurriedly explained.
"Commander Long, there is a battalion of Japanese troops stationed in Licheng, and if it is attacked, the 66th Regiment of the Japanese in Liaoyang Town will be able to come to our aid very quickly."
Long Fei said dismissively, "If the Japanese devils in Liaoyang Town dare to come as reinforcements, then we'll fight them all together."
"what?"
Commander Qin stared at Long Fei, wondering why this young man was so confident.
Seeing that Commander Qin was very surprised, Long Fei pointed to the map and began to explain his battle plan.
"Commander Qin, I have three regiments here. My battle plan can be summed up in four words: besiege the point and attack the reinforcements."
"My specific plan is this: I will send the 1st Battalion of the 1st Regiment to ambush the Japanese supply convoy with you."
"Once the battle begins, the Japanese troops in Kurijo will hear the commotion and will definitely send troops to their aid immediately."
I will have the Second Regiment ambush the north side of Kuriboh Castle beforehand to eliminate the Japanese reinforcements coming out of the castle.
"Then send the remaining two battalions of the regiment to surround Licheng, forcing the Japanese soldiers in the city to ask the 66th Regiment of Liaoyang Town for help."
"I will send three regiments in advance to ambush between Liaoyang Town and Licheng. As long as Liaoyang Town sends reinforcements, we will wipe them out completely."
After Long Fei finished speaking, Commander Qin smiled and clapped.
"Commander Long, your plan to besiege the enemy's stronghold and attack their reinforcements is excellent. I fully agree with it and will cooperate fully."
Long Fei chuckled: "Since Commander Qin agrees, then we'll set off tonight to lay an ambush."
After dark, the three regiments of the 1st Special Operations Division began to rush to their respective combat positions according to Long Fei's orders.
Long Fei, along with Xie Qiang and the First Battalion of the First Regiment, set off with Commander Qin's guerrilla force.
During the journey, Commander Qin gave Long Fei a detailed account of the situation in the surrounding area that he knew.
Just after Long Fei and his group arrived at their destination, Xu Peng sent a telegram.
The telegram was sent by Zheng Yaoxian and contained detailed information about the latest Japanese 114th Division.
In his telegram, Sixth Brother said that after the Japanese 114th Division suffered heavy losses, its commander, Shigeharu Suematsu, was recalled to Japan, relieved of his post, and forced to retire.
Then Japan replenished its troops and restored the 114th Division to its original size, and transferred Numata Tokushige, the commander of the Second Field Railway of the Kwantung Army, to succeed him.
The 114th Division is not a Class A division, but a special division, with a total strength of about 23,000 men.
After the Japanese occupied Shanxi, the 114th Division was ordered to be stationed in the Heshun area.
In the telegram, Sixth Brother also provided a detailed introduction to the 114th Division and the situation of its subordinate units.
The 66th Regiment, currently stationed in Liaoyang Town, is commanded by Kitahara Sōsuke and comprises three battalions, with a total strength of less than 3,300 men.