Chapter 44 It’s Not Easy to Be the Commander of the First Army
Four hours have passed since the special forces attacked the Japanese hospital, and the little people have not gained anything so far.
Although a lot of troops have been invested, it is still like looking for a needle in a haystack.
In TaiY City.
When the commander of the First Army of the Japanese Army in Shanxi Province, Yoshio Shinozuka, heard the news that the hospital was destroyed, he got up from the bed without wearing clothes.
He angrily drew the samurai sword given by Tianhuang and chopped at the table in his bedroom.
He never expected that the Republic of China troops who were suppressed by him would dare to do such a thing under his nose and actually came for a long-distance attack!
Even the commander of the North China Front Army, Tada Shun, who was far away in BJ, called and severely reprimanded him, which made Yoshio Shinozuka sweat.
Since the establishment of the First Army in 1938, three supreme commanders have been replaced in just two years, and there are countless staff officers.
After being transferred from the 10th Division, the war has reached a stalemate stage and the situation is relatively stable.
At present, he has not achieved any results. He is very uneasy about such a big problem today.
Helpless, Yoshio Yuzuka decided to take action himself. Compared with those grassroots officers who had no rules, this old devil's solution was relatively well-organized.
He first sent people to collect which troops had been attacked recently and which troops had lost personnel.
No matter how elite the troops were, they would inevitably leave traces during the march.
In his heart, he had long leaned towards the Eighth Route Army as the suspect of the attacker.
Those indecisive and insignificant peasant armed forces would definitely reveal their flaws.
Yoshio Yuzuka's idea was correct. The Eighth Route Army was not the kind of beasts they were. How could they remain indifferent when seeing the people being slaughtered?
Half an hour after the order was issued, all areas in the province where the devils were stationed sent the information needed by the First Army Staff.
It must be said that none of the devils who could become high-level officials were useless, and they were very efficient when dealing with a matter seriously.
Under the leadership of the chief of staff, these old devils carefully selected several suspicious logs.
The devil squad that disappeared in Xiaowang Village was among them.
After selecting the points where the enemy might pass, the old devils took the hospital as the starting point and the Eighth Route Army base as the end point, and roughly analyzed several routes.
Although it is still not certain which one it is, it is better than wandering aimlessly.
Moreover, they have a large number of people and a full range of arms, including infantry, cavalry, armored forces, and aviation.
If they still can't catch a small group of hostile forces, then these high-ranking officials of the First Army should stop fighting and go back to their homeland to raise pigs.
Yoshio Yuzuka tremblingly adjusted his glasses. Although he already had a battle plan, he was still a little unsure.
He pointed to the map hanging on the wall and said:
"According to the current analysis, this group of guerrillas is fleeing in the direction of their base. The number of people is no less than one squadron, but there is a certain probability that there are non-combatants mixed in."
"We must send troops to investigate all the six routes selected at the moment! Whether it is a highway or a mountain road, we must not let it go!"
"The cavalry will pursue along the highway and summarize the information after reaching the town along the way. After that, we will spread the investigation to the surrounding areas and report the intelligence as soon as the guerrillas are found."
"The squadrons under the 5th Independent Guard will pursue along the mountain road. Your task is to cooperate with the infantry to pay attention to the search along the way and observe whether they go in other directions."
The Chief of Staff of the First Army standing next to him agreed very much and added his own opinion with a sneer.
"They can't run away. Although this kind of weather will affect both the enemy and us, we have the advantage in numbers!"
"If they take the road, our troops are more mobile and it's only a matter of time to catch them. If they take the mountain road, it's no different from seeking death."
"In this kind of weather, even the warriors of our brother country can only run at most three kilometers per hour. By then, what awaits them is a dragnet."
As he spoke, the old devil was full of strong confidence and murderous intent, as if the special agent company had been captured easily and there would be no accidents.
Only then did Yoshio Yuzuka regain his confidence, and the cold sweat on his forehead disappeared. With rich command experience, he did not forget that the enemy might have a support force.
"Remember to notify the garrison bordering the Eighth Route Army base to be prepared to block the enemy's reinforcements and don't let me down."
"Everyone, take action!"
"Hi!"
Everyone in the combat meeting room bowed their heads and returned to their respective posts.
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The devils could never guess that the troops that attacked their hospital were not guerrillas behind enemy lines, but the most elite special agent company of the 129th Division.
Even with the burden, they could maintain a marching speed of five kilometers per hour.
And these doctors were not completely useless. They would provide assistance according to the soldiers' physical conditions during the rapid march in the snowy mountains and forests.
When the doctors learned that there would be a long-distance raid next, they went to the hospital warehouse to get some drugs that could temporarily replenish their physical strength.
They even privately agreed that if they became a complete burden, they would immediately take the drugs that were still under research.
It was not methamphetamine used by the death squad, but an experimental drug that was not addictive but had permanent damage to the body.
At the end of the special forces company, Li Yunlong, who was in charge of the rear guard, was panting.
He took difficult steps and couldn't stop cursing.
"Damn, I'm regressing. I wouldn't have been so tired before."
The foot march is less dependent on the road and is not greatly affected by the weather and season. It can move in various terrains and weather conditions, which is convenient for concealing intentions.
But the disadvantage is also obvious, that is, the marching speed is slow, and the comrades' physical strength is greatly consumed.
Li Yunlong's situation is not an exception. The rest of the soldiers are also very tired at this time.
But everyone is gritting their teeth and persisting. There is still more than an hour before the next rest point originally planned.
According to the plan, after the rescue mission is completed, they will have to advance secretly in the forest most of the time.
Only in the mountains can they be safe and will not be caught up by the enemy's cavalry, and the devil's planes will not easily find them.
In front of him, there are soldiers from the former Northeast Army.
Although he hasn't been home for a long time, the current climate makes him very familiar.
The big man from Northeast China, carrying a crooked-handled rifle, turned his head and looked at Li Yunlong and said:
"Staff Officer Li, please hold your tongue. Save your energy. If you keep talking like this, you will fall behind!"
At the front of the team, Dai Yu, who was on the vanguard reconnaissance, ran in front of Zheng Yingqi.
Seeing the scouts who had obviously made a discovery, he raised his arm and signaled everyone to stop.
"Stop and rest where you are."
Dai Yu looked at his tired comrades around him and said with some concern:
"We found a group of devils ahead, and it seems that we can't avoid them. But from the looks of them, they probably don't know we are here, they are just patrolling in one direction."
Here they come