Predator Reborn

Chapter 657 What a big appetite!

The encirclement and suppression operation lasted for more than half a month, with a total of seven main divisions and 150,000 Kwantung Army troops. In this encirclement and suppression operation, not only did they not achieve any results, but they suffered heavy losses. Five main divisions, dozens of

Ten thousand elite Kwantung Army troops were lost in this encirclement and suppression campaign.

At the same time, the Shanhaiguan defense line, which the Japanese army called impregnable, disappeared under the fierce attack of the main force of the Northeast Field Army of the Eighth Route Army. Hundreds of thousands of elite Eighth Route Army soldiers left the border and became the hinterland of the three northeastern provinces, attacking Guandong.

The enemy that threatens the military the most.

Among them, what is even more unexpected is that among the hundreds of thousands of elite Kwantung Army soldiers who were lost, more than 15,000 Imperial Army soldiers surrendered to the Eighth Route Army and became prisoners of war in the hands of the Eighth Route Army. Yes.

It is said that this is the first time since the empire launched the war of aggression against China that the organic soldiers of the Imperial Army have surrendered to the Chinese Army. This time the 125th Division organically surrendered to the enemy, which is not only a shame for the entire Japan, but also a disgrace for the whole of Japan.

A great humiliation for the entire Kwantung Army...

Faced with various combat defeats, as the direct commander of this encirclement and suppression campaign, the Kwantung Army Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Kimura Hyōtaro will certainly not end well. He just returned to the Kwantung Army headquarters, and the person who greeted him was not the commander.

The enthusiastic face of General Umezu Mijiro is instead a group of vanguard troops with murderous looks on their faces...

Lieutenant General Kimura Hyōtaro, the bearer of the ultimate responsibility. He had just returned to the headquarters and before he had time to take any rest, he was taken directly back to the country by the military police, preparing to be tried by a military court...

Although Chief of Staff Kimura Hyōtaro, as the ultimate scapegoat of the entire Kwantung Army's senior leadership, bore all the responsibility for the defeat of this battle. However, General Umezu Mijiro, as the supreme commander of the Kwantung Army, was also criticized by domestic senior leaders, even the Emperor.

His Majesty's severe rebuke.

Almost a week has passed since the end of this encirclement and suppression campaign. However, General Umezu Mijiro still has not recovered from the defeat of this encirclement and suppression campaign...

After all, the real elite of the Kwantung Army in his hands is less than a million people.

So far, in less than half a year, the number of imperial troops that he had lost to the Eighth Route Army alone totaled an astonishing 150,000 people.

Although a large number of expatriates from the three northeastern provinces were recruited into the army, three new divisions were reorganized, totaling 60,000 troops. However, without half a year of formal training, it was impossible for these new divisions to go to the battlefield and compete with the elite Soviet Union

The Red Army and the Eighth Route Army troops fought...

In general, so far in the war, the troops in our hands have directly lost more than 100,000 people.

The loss of one hundred thousand Kwantung Army elites made General Umezu Mijiro, who had been short of troops for a long time, feel particularly helpless. The hundreds of thousands of troops confronting the Soviet Red Army could not move no matter what. So, the loss of dozens of troops

The tens of thousands of troops directly caused the emptiness of defense forces in a large area of ​​​​Liaoning. In the end, there were only less than 80,000 elite Kwantung Army troops stationed in the entire Liaoning area, and the Eighth Route Army in the Mengshan area became increasingly arrogant.

Troops engage in confrontation…

At this moment, General Umezu Mijiro is almost always worried about the lack of military strength in the Liaoning region.

However, what makes the general's nervous mood slightly easier to bear is that in this encirclement and suppression campaign, although he paid the price of annihilating hundreds of thousands of troops, it also caused heavy losses to the Northeast Field Army of the Eighth Route Army entrenched in the Mengshan area.

Very huge casualties.

The commander believed that the Northeast Field Army of the Eighth Route Army would never dare to attack the Imperial Army with its exhausted troops from all directions after the troops had suffered such huge casualties and were extremely exhausted after more than twenty days of bloody battles.

The occupied county. Because in that case, these tired troops would undoubtedly come to die...

As long as the enemy and we can carry out a month-long restraint and military confrontation in the Liaoning area, then the several new divisions we have just announced will begin to take shape. Then, the strength of the three divisions will arrive in the Liaoning area.

From now on, in the entire Liaoning region, the disparity in strength between the enemy and ourselves will soon undergo astonishing changes. As for the Northeast Field Army of the Eighth Route Army, even though their main force has left the border at this moment, they are still surrounded by the iron barrels of the Imperial Army.

I can't afford any big waves.

However, God didn't seem to want General Umezu Mijiro's dream to come true. Just when General Umezu Mijiro was completely immersed in his dream, a burst of rapid footsteps reached his ears. They were followed closely.

, Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Teiichi, the newly appointed chief of staff of the Kwantung Army, stood in front of him with a look of panic.

"Chief of Staff, what happened? You are so panicked..." General Mijiro Umezu asked with dissatisfaction towards the Chief of Staff who interrupted his sweet dream.

"Hai, please forgive me, Commander. The special high-tech intelligence personnel who have just been hiding in the Eighth Route Army base area have sent the latest intelligence, which shows that there is a large-scale military mobilization in the Eighth Route Army base area. Judging from the scale of the mobilization, the total force is at least

There are 70,000 people. In addition, the ultimate goal of the Eighth Route Army's large-scale military mobilization is unknown, and the Special High-Tech Department is currently investigating..."

"How is it possible that there are 70,000 troops? After such a brutal and bloody battle, the Eighth Route Army actually still has 70,000 troops... Bageya Road, who can tell me how many Eighth Route Army armed forces there are in the entire Mengshan area..." Angry

General Umezu Mijiro roared loudly at the chief of staff in front of him.

"Your Excellency, Commander, I have just arrived at the Kwantung Army, and I am not yet clear about the situation. However, I immediately ordered the Special High-Tech Department to find out the specific strength of the Eighth Route Army and the firepower equipment of the army in the shortest possible time..." Yoshimoto Sadichi Middle School

Jiang replied with an embarrassed look on his face.

"Yo Xi, go and convey the order right away, and ask Tekko to find out the specific number of the Eighth Route Army's Northeast Field Army in the shortest possible time. Otherwise, you will die. In addition, inform Tekko that no matter how much effort it takes,

The price must be to investigate the specific purpose of the Eighth Route Army's large-scale military mobilization in the shortest possible time..." The general nodded. After a pair of sharp eyes, he glanced at the chief of staff in front of him with a look on his face.

He ordered murderously.

"Hai..." Facing the commander who might get angry at any time, the chief of staff did not dare to stay any longer. He replied loudly, turned around, and rushed out of the commander's office...

Faced with the commander's mandatory order, Te-High-Tech was in a state of unspeakable suffering. Because, under several attacks from Director Qian Zhonghua of the Base Intelligence Division, the entire Te-High-Tech had lost nearly a hundred people in the Eighth Route Army base area.

Elite intelligence operatives.

However, in the face of death, the commanders at all levels of the THT Science and Technology Branch very wisely chose to execute the order. As a result, the Japanese army spent a lot of energy and various intelligence personnel hidden in the Mengshan base area all sprung up like bamboo shoots after a rain.

Begin a vigorous reconnaissance of the combat goals hidden behind the large-scale military mobilization in the base area...

The hard work paid off, and THT paid once again: the intelligence network carefully established by THT in Mengshan Base of the Eighth Route Army was almost completely destroyed under the attack of Qian Zhonghua from the Eighth Route Army Intelligence Department.

Important military information appeared in the hands of Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Sadichi...

Returning to the commander's office, Chief of Staff Yoshimoto Seiichi, who had just taken office and had not yet figured out the commander's temper, could not help but feel a little nervous. However, as a senior officer, in his heart, he did not express

Not showing any timidity. Facing the commander's sharp gaze, Yoshimoto Teiichi quickly walked up to the general and reported.

"Your Excellency, Commander, this is the latest information just sent from Ttech..."

"Think... How many secrets are hidden behind this large-scale military mobilization of the Eighth Route Army..." After hearing the war issue that he was most concerned about, Kimura Hyoutarou immediately walked to the huge military map in high spirits and asked about

The chief of staff stood behind him and decisively dropped these words.

"Hai, according to reconnaissance: the Eighth Route Army mobilized a total of 70,000 troops this time and used a large number of siege artillery. As for the attack targets, they are the remnants of the 127th Division stationed in Tonghua County, the remnants of the 128th Division in Anshan County, and

The 135th Division in Tielingxiacheng... As for the final combat purpose, there are currently no details... In addition, according to the reconnaissance report of the Air Force, the Third Army of the Eighth Route Army set off last night..." Yoshimoto Sadai quickly put on the map

, marked the specific locations of the three county towns. Then, he explained...

"What a huge appetite..." After thinking for a short time, General Kimura Hyōtaro, who was looking at the military map in front of him, couldn't help but exclaimed loudly...

Just before Yoshimoto Seiichi, who was behind him, had yet to react from the shock, Kimura Hyoutarou had already picked up the command knife he put on the table and walked out of his office quickly. Along the way, he was almost trotting towards the battle

The room walked over.

Under the shocked gazes of all the staff in the war room, Mijiro Umezu quickly walked to the huge combat sand table, and gave a loud order to Chief of Staff Yoshimoto Seiichi who was following closely behind him: "Chief of Staff, let the staff immediately

I want to know how long it will take the Eighth Route Army to capture these three counties in the shortest time..."

"Hai..."

The chief of staff replied decisively. He turned around and began to face the combat staff in the staff office, assigning specific tasks. As the commander, Mijiro Umezu stood beside the sand table, waiting for the results of the staff office's deduction...

Half an hour later, while General Umezu Mijiro was waiting anxiously, Chief of Staff Yoshimoto Teiichi came over with a frustrated look on his face. He spoke under the expectant gaze of the commander.

"Your Excellency, Commander, because the 127th Division and the 128th Division stationed in Tonghua County and Anshan County suffered huge casualties in this encirclement and suppression operation. Both divisions have not reached full strength. According to

With the current strength and firepower of the Eighth Route Army, the two divisions and the county defenses can only hold on for ten days at most."

Seeing the face of the commander in front of him, it immediately became gloomy as soon as he finished speaking. Yoshimoto Teiichi changed the subject and continued.

"However, although the 127th and 128th divisions can only hold on for ten days. However, the 135th division stationed in Tieling is a fully integrated division. No matter in terms of firepower or military strength, it is not

Therefore, if the Eighth Route Army troops launch an attack on Tieling regardless of casualties, my 135th Division stationed in Tieling can hold on for at least half a month. At the same time, it will cause very heavy casualties to the Eighth Route Army troops in the project.

….”

However, what Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Sadichi did not expect was that in his just deduction, the Eighth Route Army unit attacking Tieling, like the other two Eighth Route Army units, only strengthened a main column of artillery and air defense troops. It completely ignored the following troops.

An engineer regiment, a cavalry regiment, and a tank battalion with very powerful assault force were advancing together...

Of course, Wang Nanhu, the commander of the third column, would not put these secret troops in front of the Japanese intelligence personnel who could achieve unexpected results in these siege battles.

However, the commander at this moment, Umezu Mijiro, could not control so much. Hearing that the 135th Division stationed in the Tieling area could finally hold on for more than half a month, Umezu Mijiro had a frown on his face.

He immediately stretched himself out. Then, he spoke to the chief of staff in front of him.

"Okay, as long as we can persist for more than half a month, it will be enough. Chief of Staff, immediately convey the latest order from the Kwantung Army Headquarters."

"Order Tonghua County, Anshan County, Tieling County...the garrison troops in the three cities to hold their positions and block the Eighth Route Army's offensive until the entire army is destroyed. Order all the garrison troops in Fengtian City, under the command of Lord Kuroda, to start immediately

Strengthen city defenses to meet the siege of the main force of the Northeast Field Army of the Eighth Route Army..."

"Order all the garrison troops at Shanhaiguan to re-improve the entire defense line within a week. Then, dispatch one or more divisions to reinforce Fengtian City. Order the three newly formed divisions around Changchun to immediately complete the revision. Within a week

, complete the reorganization. Then, set off by train to reinforce Fengtian City... All ministries must rush outside Fengtian City within half a month. Chief of Staff, now the headquarters must send a person to take charge of the mission with Fengtian City as the center.

, a large-scale decisive battle is about to begin. I wonder if you have any opinions?"

Until this moment, Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Teiichi, as the chief of staff, was amidst the continuous orders from the division commander in front of him. Just now in the office, in response to his report, why did the division commander exclaim, "It's so big."

Appetite...'

The fundamental purpose of the Eighth Route Army's dispatch of troops this time was not to eliminate the garrison troops in the three counties. It was to capture Fengtian City, which was completely surrounded by the three counties... And the entire Fengtian City, for the entire Kwantung Army,

, its importance is almost impossible to express in words.

Because, in Fengtian City, there is the largest arms production base in the entire three northeastern provinces. In the entire three northeastern provinces, nearly one million troops consume daily weapons and ammunition, and almost half of the quantity is produced by Fengtian Arsenal. What's more important is that

, Fengtian City not only has the largest military production base in the three northeastern provinces, but also has the leading iron and steel mills in the entire three northeastern provinces...

It can be said that if the entire Eighth Route Army north of Fengtian City is occupied, it will cause a huge blow to the entire Kwantung Army. Likewise, it will also create a very passive situation for the entire Kwantung Army...

Thinking of this, Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Sadichi did not dare to have any slights, and quickly replied: "I am reporting to the commander, if you can trust me, I will be willing to rush to Fengtian City in person to command all the combat troops in Fengtian City.

To defeat the heavy attack of the Eighth Route Army at the minimum cost..."

"Yoshimoto-kun, I believe in your command ability. However, you are not particularly familiar with our enemies and the several divisions our army has deployed around Fengtian City. If you rush to command the battle, will you..."

The chief of staff in front of him asked for a fight. General Umezu Mijiro nodded with satisfaction, and his sense of this chief of staff became much better.

However, General Umezu Mijiro's reason defeated his emotions immediately. After all, the success or failure of this battle was related to whether his troops could gain a foothold in the Liaoning area. At the same time, it was also related to Fengtian City, which

The life and death of the city, which is the lifeline of the Kwantung Army, had to be treated with caution by General Umezu Mijiro. After thinking for a short time, Lieutenant General Umezu Mijiro asked with hesitation.

Faced with the commander's hesitation, Yoshimoto Teiichi did not give up. Instead, he faced the commander in front of him and once again asked for orders decisively:

"Your Excellency, Commander, it will take at least ten days from now on for the main force of the Eighth Route Army to approach the outskirts of Fengtian City. I believe that ten days will be enough for me to get familiar with my subordinates and opponents. Please rest assured, Commander.

, I promise to live up to my high expectations and repel the attack of the Eighth Route Army..."

He looked at the resolute look of the Chief of Staff in front of him, and then thought about what the Army Chief told him when the Chief of Staff took office. After thinking for a long time, General Umezu Mijiro finally nodded.

Then, he explained to the chief of staff in front of him: "Yoshimoto-kun, since you are so confident, then I will leave the entire Fengtian City and the hundreds of thousands of troops around Fengtian City to you. I hope you will do it for our entire Kwantung Army.

, we must keep the entire Fengtian City safe..."

"Hai, Commander, please rest assured. I promise to complete the mission despite my humble position..."

"Yoshi, Mr. Yoshimoto, in order to support your operations, the First Division of the Kwantung Army Aviation Division has assigned a group of mixed fighters to you for use. At the same time, if there is any important situation, report it to the Kwantung Army Headquarters immediately..."

Lieutenant General Umezu Mijiro nodded at the end and said sincerely.

"Thank you Commander for your support..."