Start as a young leader, grow bigger and stronger, and create more glory

Chapter 183: Serial Encirclement

In order to consolidate its rule in the areas occupied by the Tang Dynasty and strengthen unified command over the battlefields in North, Central and South China, the Japanese Imperial Headquarters ordered the formation of the Tang Expeditionary Army on September 939, 9 of the Tang calendar.

When it was first established, it commanded the North China Front Army, the 23th Army, the 17th Army, the 55st Army and the rd Air Group, with a total of divisions and brigades, with a total strength of approximately .

In February 940, the Tang Expeditionary Force formed the South China Front Army, which was responsible for combat operations in Guangdong and Guangxi provinces.

At the beginning of 941, it was composed of the North China Front Army (the 21st, 20th Army and the Mongolian Army) and the th, th and rd Army, with a total of divisions and independent brigades.

However, due to the uninvited appearance of Xu Le's 88th Army, Japan mobilized several divisions and independent mixed brigades from its homeland and the Kwantung Army to expand the First Army stationed in Taiyuan.

当今，第一军除原本下辖的36、37、41师团和4个独立混成旅团外，新编入了15、17等6个师团，以及数个独立混成旅团，目的就是用来钳制88军。

The First Army has become the largest army in the Japanese Army in the Tang Dynasty.

As for the more than 10 troops in Linfen, they originally belonged to a mobile field division. The Japanese headquarters did not incorporate them into the First Army. However, because the Second War Zone was equipped with some weapons purchased from the 88th Army, Japan had to frequently mobilize troops to defend the Second War Zone and the First War Zone in northern Henan.

The 6th Division that was once stationed in Linfen was transferred away, and it is unclear which new troops will replace them. The Japanese are still quite conservative about some of their organizations.

For example, there must be a tank brigade and a field heavy artillery brigade around Huo County. Even the 88th Army Intelligence Department has not found any deployment information, and even the numbers are unknown.

However, the 21st Division, whose artillery regiment had been destroyed, was rarely punished by Japan. Instead, the Japanese drew elite infantry regiments from the regular divisions to supplement the 21st Division and replenished the field artillery regiment, making its overall combat effectiveness even stronger than before.

Perhaps it was because of Mikuni Naofu's cautious character, he retained his strength when he knew that the 176th Division was once invincible. Also because of him, the 6th Division did not suffer too much loss.

At the Taiyuan First Army Headquarters, the then army commander-in-chief Yoshio Iwamatsu sat at the front of the conference table. Sitting on both sides of him were the lieutenant general division commanders and major general brigade commanders of the independent mixed brigades.

"Gentlemen, General Hata Shunroku's order has come down. The 88th Army has become a huge threat to our North China Front Army, and may even endanger Japan's Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Plan, so this tough bone must be eaten.

The general ordered us to launch a fatal blow to the 12th Army before December. At that time, the air force will cooperate with us to bomb the area under the jurisdiction of the 88th Army, and the 88th Army of Shandong Province will also launch an attack from eastern Henan.

At the same time, the troops directly under the North China Front Army would also detour from northern Henan to southern Shanxi under the personal command of General Okamura Yasuji.

This battle is not only to completely destroy the 88th Army, but also to recapture all the lost positions in southern Shanxi and completely drive the Tang army out of Shanxi Province and northern Henan. "

After saying that, Iwamatsu Yoshio picked up his wine glass and stood up, looking at everyone present with a serious expression: "Gentlemen, the First Army has suffered a year of humiliation and once became the laughing stock of the headquarters. Although I have only been in office for a short time, this is also my shame, the shame of the First Army, and the shame of the empire. Let us raise our glasses and celebrate in advance for defeating all the Tang army!"

Swish, swish, swish...

More than a dozen Japanese generals all stood up and drank the wine in one gulp.

"Long Live His Majesty the Emperor!"

"Long Live His Majesty the Emperor!"

.....

A group of Japanese generals motivated themselves with wine and expressed their loyalty to their own Emperor Hirohito. Everyone seemed confident, except for the commander of the 21st Division, Naofu Mikuni, who came from Xiaoyi, who didn't take it seriously.

He never doubted Japan's strength, never denied his loyalty to Emperor Hirohito, and never doubted his own combat capabilities.

However, the only troops in the entire Shanxi Province that had fought against the 88th Army were his 21st Division and 37th Division.

The 37th Division had been transferred to northern Shanxi to perform garrison duties because of the heavy losses it suffered in the Linfen battle.

Not to mention the former 114th Division, whose organization was disbanded. With the guarantee of Yoshio Shinozuka, Numata Tokushige once again led his troops to fight against the 88th Army, but within a month they were defeated and only a few hundred people escaped.

As Yoshio Shinozuka was transferred, Tokushige Numata was also sent back to Japan to face trial by the Imperial Headquarters Military Court.

Therefore, among the people present, only Mikuni Naofu understood the horror of the 88th Army. His artillery regiment, together with the artillery regiment of the 6th Division, had hundreds of cannons, but they were completely wiped out in just half an hour without firing a single shot.

This shows how strong the 88th Army’s reconnaissance and strike capabilities are!

The courage that allowed Naofu Mikuni to still confront the 88th Army today came purely from the pride accumulated by the 21st Division from its repeated victories since the invasion of the Tang Dynasty in 38.

But his pride as a lieutenant general has been hit again and again by Xu Le's 88th Army, and now there is little left.

Naofu Mikuni tried his best to conceal his fear. If Yoshio Iwamatsu saw it, according to the Japanese army's discipline, he would probably be sent to a military court and charged with disturbing military morale.

Being able to hold the position of division commander, he must be fearless of death and he is willing to sacrifice his life for the emperor.

But he was afraid of inexplicable deaths, like the artillery regiment was gone, but he didn't know where the enemy's artillery was, and he didn't even know the overall military deployment of the 88th Army so far.

He was now somewhat envious of the 37th Division stationed in northern Shanxi; facing the guerrillas was better than facing the 88th Army.

...

Looking at his confident subordinates, Iwamatsu Yoshio was very pleased. He said again: "For this battle, our imperial army will be divided into three parts.

The 21st, 22nd and 27th Divisions will set out from Zhongyang, Xiaoyi and Lingshi respectively, and surround Shuitou Town from three sides, and then quickly move towards Yan County. The 15th and 17th Divisions will set out from Huo County, with the 17th Division's tank squadron leading the way, attacking Fenxi, and cooperating with the three divisions in the north to complete the encirclement of Yan County and Fenxi. The 3th Division will stay in Huo County as a backup support.

The second part is mainly composed of several divisions in Linfen. They will split into two groups. One group will attack Pu County in the west and cooperate with our First Army to form a larger encirclement of the 88th Army, completely trapping the 88th Army. The other group will go south and launch a full-scale attack on the area under the jurisdiction of the Second War Zone of the Tang Dynasty.

The third part will be mainly composed of the troops coming from northern Henan and Jincheng that I mentioned before. They will focus on Zhongtiao Mountain first, and then go north after taking it down, and cooperate with the troops coming south from Linfen to take the entire southern Shanxi region in one fell swoop. "

After briefly talking about the general battle plan, Iwamatsu Yoshio raised his glass again and said, "As long as this battle goes smoothly, the shame of the First Army will be wiped out, and our imperial army will completely control Jin Province. We want to let those bastards in the navy see that our army is the strongest force in the empire. Cheers!"

.....

This kind of combat plan is what Japan is most accustomed to using. They use their mobility and weapons and equipment advantages to besiege the Tang army step by step.

However, whether it was Yoshio Iwamatsu, Yasuji Okamura, or even the commander of the Tang Dynasty Expeditionary Force in Demon City, Hata Shunroku, their understanding of the 88th Army was still stuck on the last Battle of Zhongyang.

Because they were victorious in that counterattack, it shows that the 88th Army had limited forces to mobilize, otherwise they would not have abandoned the city in vain.

Moreover, according to the information recently reported by their intelligence department, the 88th Army has only dozens of tanks and at most 200 artillery pieces.

So they believed that under such a large encirclement, hundreds of thousands of troops would be able to wipe out the 88th Army and the Second War Zone's troops in Shanxi Province.

But they missed one thing, or rather, one person, and that was Xu Le.

This cheating man.

A month ago, the 88th Army indeed had only 100 tanks and about 200 artillery pieces.

But now, the 88th Army not only has 300 of the world's top tanks, but also 500 large-caliber cannons, and all infantry have been mechanized.

But it’s no wonder that the Japanese didn’t think of this. No one in the world would have thought that such a cheater would exist.