Bright Sword: Construction starts from southeastern Shanxi

Therefore, after further thinking and struggling, Sugiyama Gen decided to first wipe out the Eighth Route Army in the Beiyue area, and then after the new year, let the First Army attack the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army in southwestern Shanxi, and finally take advantage of the locust army's peak strength to directly attack southeastern Shanxi.

In this way, the entire occupied area in North China will be impregnable.

The occupation of Anyang in northern Henan by the Eighth Route Army was nothing more than a tactic of the Eighth Route Army to attack Wei and save Zhao.

If we withdraw our troops at this time, I'm afraid it will really be what Zeng Jiwen wants.

After all, there are still two Type A divisions of the Locust Army in western Hebei. Although the 14th Division was ambushed and two regiments were destroyed, there are still the 5th Division and a brigade of the 14th Division.

Sugiyama Gen still didn't believe that Zeng Jiwen's troops could continue to defeat his one and a half divisions.

But Sugiyama Gen didn't realize it.

When were the two Japanese regiments wiped out, they were also the oldest divisions of the Japanese army.

Sugiyama Gen didn't realize the seriousness of the problem.

Perhaps the complete annihilation of the two regiments of the 16th Division had become commonplace for the entire North China Front Army.

Following the issuance of the order from the North China Front Army, the Fifth Division in Xingtai, led by General Seishirō Itagaki, left the 41st Infantry Regiment to guard Xingtai and began to march towards Handan with the entire division.

At the same time, the commander of the 14th Division, Kenji Doihara, led the 50th and 59th Regiments, plus the cavalry, engineers, logistics, and artillery regiments directly under the division, and began to advance towards the Ci County area.

The news of the Japanese army's departure was also passed on to the Eighth Route Army Headquarters and Tainan Military Region Headquarters through underground intelligence organizations in Xingtai and Handan.

Former General Headquarters.

At this time, the deputy commander finally breathed a sigh of relief after looking at the information about the Japanese troop deployment.

"It seems that the 14th Division in southern Hebei has been beaten and is getting angry. The two divisions in western Hebei have finally moved south."

Hearing the deputy commander's words, the deputy chief of staff also breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's not easy. Three regiments surrounded a regiment, luring the Japanese army to split up and then surrounded and devoured it. And it was a Type A regiment of the Japanese army!"

“I never dared to think about this before!”

Hearing the deputy chief of staff's words, the deputy commander waved his hand.

"There's only the 389th Division. The other units are currently unable to confront the Japanese head-on."

Hearing the deputy commander's words, the deputy chief of staff nodded.

"Now that Zeng Jiwen and his men have lured this group of Japanese troops to Anyang, I'm afraid the Japanese mopping-up forces in other directions in the Beiyue area will also attack."

Tainan Military Region Headquarters.

When Zeng Jiwen and others received the telegram from Ji'nan, they immediately realized that the Japanese army had taken the bait.

So Wu Lin was asked to make preparations in southern Hebei, fighting and retreating at the same time, so that the 14th Division could not easily occupy Anyang. It was necessary to deal a heavy blow to the 14th Division and lure part of the 5th Division's troops towards Anyang.

At the same time, when the 1st Column and the 393rd Brigade of the 14th Division in the Taiyuan direction attacked Anyang, they could also start attacking Jiexiu and other places to attract the two mixed brigades of the Japanese army in Taiyuan.

As the 14th Division moved south, Wu Lin also began to command the 3rd Column and started a firefight with the two regiments of the 14th Division in the Guanglu Gaoyu area.

Then they fought and retreated all the way to Ci County.

The fighting between the two sides has been in a stalemate.

Noon on the 5rd.

As the 3rd Column evacuated to Ci County, the 395th Brigade began to take over the 3rd Column and continue fighting with the two regiments of the 14th Division.

Moreover, as the artillery battles between the two sides continued, the sound of the 181st Artillery Regiment's artillery gradually weakened.

And when the commander of the 14th Division, Kenji Doihara, heard the sound of the opposite artillery gradually weakening in the rear, a smile suddenly appeared on his face.

Are the Locust Army's artillery so easy to use? Even if your Zeng Jiwen's troops seized so many of the Locust Army's artillery, the Locust Army's artillery capabilities are not something that your Zeng Jiwen's troops can match after a few days of training.

Since the 14th Division brought a complete artillery regiment with 36 artillery pieces, the 3rd Column and the 395th Brigade were suppressed by the two regiments of the 14th Division and were unable to counterattack for a whole day.