Quartermasters can also fight the devils

By five o'clock in the morning, the smiles were gone from the faces of Lieutenant General Yasuji Okamura and the staff officers in the headquarters, because according to the previously formulated combat plan, the 106th Division should have sent a telegram of successful operation to the headquarters after infiltrating the designated position. Judging from the time, the 106th Division should have sent the telegram of success by now, but now no one has received any news from the 106th Division.

"Mr. Yoshimoto, the commander of the 106th Division, Lieutenant General Junrokuro Matsuura, has not sent a telegram yet?" Lieutenant General Yasuji Okamura asked with a frown to the chief of staff, Lieutenant General Sadaichi Yoshimoto beside him. He was very dissatisfied with Junrokuro Matsuura's procrastination.

Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Sadaichi, the chief of staff, looked at the somewhat unhappy Commander Okamura Yasuji, shook his head and said in a low voice: "Commander, the 106th Division has not sent any telegrams yet, and we don't know where the troops of the 106th Division are now."

"Damn it, what the hell is Matsuura Junrokuro doing? It's such a short distance, but his 106th Division hasn't completed the journey yet? Are they here to fight or for sightseeing?" Lieutenant General Yasuji Okamura couldn't control his temper and started to scold him harshly.

Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Sadaichi Yoshimoto did not respond to Lieutenant General Yasuji Okamura's complaint. He also knew that ever since the incident with the 101st Division, Commander Okamura Yasuji had been under great pressure. There were many doubts about Commander Okamura Yasuji in the Expeditionary Force and the Imperial Headquarters. This was why Commander Okamura Yasuji was so concerned about the battle on the Nanxun Line, because he wanted to completely eliminate the Chinese government's New nd Army.

"Commander, let's wait a little longer. Maybe there is some emergency situation with the commander of the 106th Division, Lieutenant General Junrokuro Matsuura. After all, there are still some Chinese troops on alert and defense outside the mountainous area over there. It will take some time for the 106th Division to defeat those Chinese troops." Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Sadaichi Yoshimoto made his own judgment and comforted the anxious Commander Okamura Neiji.

Lieutenant General Okamura Yasuji also knew that Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Sadakazu wanted him to stay calm and wait for a while. Things on the battlefield would always have many variables. Indeed, the 106th Division was probably trying hard to defeat the Chinese army's defensive forces in the south.

At eight o'clock in the morning, Lieutenant General Okamura Yasuji and Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Sadaichi could no longer sit still. They kept calling the radio to call the 106th Division. Both of their heads were full of question marks. What the hell was going on with the 106th Division? How could the people of an entire division suddenly disappear in the mountains? They still couldn't be contacted until now.

All the staff officers in the headquarters were also analyzing the situation that the 106th Division might encounter, but no matter how they analyzed, they could not explain the reason for the collective disappearance of the 106th Division. If you say that the 106th Division was ambushed and surrounded by the Chinese army in the mountains, then the 106th Division should have sent a telegram to inform of the situation.

If they were to say that the 106th Division was surrounded and destroyed by the Chinese army in a very short time, they would never believe this absurd illusion. Although the 106th Division had suffered certain losses before, after continuous temporary reinforcements, the 106th Division had more than 106 people when it set out. How many troops would the Chinese army have to mobilize to completely destroy the th Division in one night? This is unrealistic.

"Mr. Yoshimoto, have the Air Force reconnaissance planes been sent out?" Lieutenant General Yasuji Okamura asked the Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Sadaichi Yoshimoto, who was also frowning, with a deep frown.

Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Sadaichi Yoshimoto looked at the sand table in front of him and whispered, "Commander, the Air Force reconnaissance plane has been sent out, and it is estimated that it will be able to send back news in about 106 minutes." He personally did not think that the reconnaissance plane could find any trace of the th Division in that dense forest, but there was no other good way now.

When the Japanese reconnaissance planes flew over the mountainous area and began to circle in search of the 106th Division, the more than 106 tired officers and soldiers of the th Division, who had been wandering in the mountainous area all night, all shouted loudly at the planes in the sky, and waved their arms and the small national flags they brought with them.

However, the Japanese pilots had no way of seeing the excited Japanese officers and soldiers in the dense woods, and the pilots could not descend too low, as that would easily attract the attention of the Chinese army in this mountainous area and cause the plane to crash into the mountain.

Looking at the flying plane, Lieutenant General Junrokuro Matsuura, commander of the 106th Division, felt mixed emotions. In this damn mining area, his radio station was severely interfered with and he could not get in touch with the headquarters normally. He urgently needed to lead his troops out of this mountainous area, even to a place with less interference, as long as he could get in touch with the headquarters.

The Japanese officers and soldiers shouted at the planes all over the mountains, but the Japanese pilots could not find them in the woods. However, their calls were heard clearly by the Chinese people who went into the mountains to hunt and collect medicinal herbs. As a result, the Chinese troops stationed in the mountains received intelligence reports of the appearance of the Japanese army from various places almost at the same time.

When the news reached the First Corps Headquarters, Commander Xue was stunned at first. Which Japanese unit had gone to Wanjialing? So he quickly asked the Corps' intelligence chief to find out the situation.

Just thirty minutes later, the intelligence director brought two pieces of news to Commander Xue. One was that the day before yesterday, a multi-regiment troop from the 6th Brigade of the 9th Division of the Japanese Army in Ruichang set out from Ruichang and headed west. The intelligence personnel stationed in Ruichang had already passed this news to the war zone in the morning, and the war zone also notified the First Corps.

The second piece of news is that five Japanese troops were spotted in the direction of Wanjialing. Currently, the local garrison has discovered that there are approximately 13,000 to 15,000 Japanese troops circling in the mountainous area of ​​Wanjialing. According to the observations of the investigators, these Japanese troops seem to be lost.

Commander Xue took the two pieces of information and immediately analyzed in his head that the ones who got lost in Wanjialing must be the 106th Division of the Japanese Army, and the multi-regiment Japanese army that set out from Ruichang must have replaced the 106th Division and was fighting with his own troops in Wuning. After all, the size of the more than Japanese troops in Wanjialing was a good exposure of the Japanese army's unit number.

The Japanese discovered that there was a large gap between the defense lines of our troops southwest of Wanjialing, and they wanted to infiltrate them at night. It seems that the Japanese did not know that there was a mining area in that mountainous area, which led to them losing their marching direction. That's great! This is simply a godsend.

Commander Xue immediately thought of the Japanese army's strategic intentions. At the same time, he also discovered that this was an excellent opportunity to encircle and annihilate the Japanese 106th Division. He had almost assembled his troops and was ready to attack the Japanese army's flank and rear in the direction of Hongcheng, but the sudden appearance of the Japanese 106th Division made him change his mind immediately.

Firstly, as for Hongcheng, the New 106nd Army will have no problem holding out for five or six days. Secondly, if we can encircle the 106th Division in the Wanjialing area, we can also force the Japanese army to withdraw troops from Hongcheng to rescue the th Division, which can also ease the pressure on Hongcheng.

The most important thing is that the temptation to encircle and annihilate a Japanese division is too great. If we can encircle and annihilate the 106th Division, then even if the New nd Army is wiped out, it will be worth it.

Therefore, Commander Xue sent a telegram to the 106th Army, the 106th Army, and the th Army, asking them to change their original plan of attacking the Japanese flank in Hongcheng, and attack towards the two wings of Wanjialing, and encircle the th Division in the mountainous area of ​​Wanjialing. He was determined to keep the th Division here.

When Commander Huang and Chief of Staff Zhao Dong of the New 106nd Army received the battle plan revised by Commander Xue, they were almost going crazy. How long would they have to hold out in Hongcheng? Is it so easy to encircle and annihilate a Japanese division? To eliminate more than people of the th Division, it might take more than days or even more than a month, not to mention what might happen in the meantime.

But now they have no choice. Their new 106nd Army belongs to the combat sequence of the 106st Corps. Moreover, they also know how attractive Commander Xue's plan to encircle and annihilate the th Division is to the higher-ups. Their new nd Army can only continue to hold on in Hongcheng. As for whether the Japanese troops in Hongcheng will rescue the th Division, only the th Army Command of the Japanese Army knows. They cannot expect this to happen smoothly.

In fact, Army Commander Huang and Chief of Staff Zhao Dong both knew that Commander Xue, the war zone and even the highest level of the government all hoped to encircle and annihilate the 106th Division, while the Japanese 106th Army also probably hoped to destroy the New nd Army in Hongcheng. Now it depends on which of the th Division and the New nd Army can hold out.

When Zhang Wenwu saw the telegram sent by Commander Huang, he also understood this truth. He handed the telegram to Ouyang Heng and said, "Brother Ouyang, now it depends on whether the 106th Division is more survivable or our New 106nd Army is more survivable. Tell all officers and soldiers that Commander Xue has led his troops to encircle the Japanese 106th Division. Tell them that they have held on. We will definitely survive longer than the Japanese th Division."

The large-scale troop movement of the First Corps was also discovered by the Japanese Air Force's reconnaissance aircraft. When the Air Force sent this news to the Japanese 106th Army Headquarters, Commander Lieutenant General Okamura Yasuji and Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Sadaichi also understood that it seemed that the Chinese army was heading for the th Division in Wanjialing.

But what they couldn't understand was that if the 106th Division was still in the Wanjialing area, why didn't it contact the headquarters? Whether you are dead or alive, Lieutenant General Junrokuro Matsuura should at least fart for us to hear. If you keep silent, how can we formulate the next combat plan when we don't even know your exact location? Isn't this ridiculous?

"Mr. Yoshimoto, have the Air Force continue to send reconnaissance planes towards Wanjialing. We must determine the exact location of the 106th Division. We don't know anything about the situation right now, so we can't make a correct judgment. The only thing we can be sure of now is that the officers and soldiers of the 106th Division are still alive. The Chinese army's mobilization is to encircle the 106th Division in Wanjialing." Lieutenant General Yasuji Okamura ordered his chief of staff, Lieutenant General Sadaichi Yoshimoto, who was beside him.