Chapter 228: The Shocked Chiefs Of Staff
After Beiping City had its city gate breached by the Japanese Army’s 20th Division and they killed their way into the city, it not only shocked citizens in major cities across the nation but also stirred up the foreign public concession, with everyone discussing it heatedly,
Even the Second War Zone guarded by National Revolutionary Army troops, who were already rectifying their troops and grain supplies to guard against the Japanese Army launching new invasion operations after occupying Beiping, was also standing ready under Commander Yan’s command.
“I never thought Beiping would ultimately be breached by the Japanese Army!”
“It seems my Taiyuan and the entire Northern China are in peril!”
“These damned Japanese Army’s ambitions are truly too great. Once Beiping City is occupied by them, they will absolutely continue to advance northward to attack Tianjin and our side!”
“It seems I must think of a way to deal with these damned Japanese Army!”
“My territory absolutely cannot fall into the hands of these Japanese Army, especially Taiyuan this headquarters!”
However, at the command post in Taiyuan, Commander Yan, as the commander of the Second War Zone, was becoming increasingly irritable at this moment,
And in his office at the command post, he was pacing back and forth,
He felt that once Beiping fell, the first to bear the brunt would be Tianjin and his Taiyuan area.
He firmly believed the Japanese Army would definitely attack,
So in his mind, he was also rapidly thinking about how exactly to preserve his territory and drive away or repel the Japanese Army’s assault.
He also had some understanding of the Japanese Army’s formidable operations.
Although he had not yet engaged in large-scale frontal combat with the Japanese Army,
But now, from the combat power displayed by the German-equipped clone troops stationed on the Beiping City side, who even deployed tank units yet still could not hold Beiping, it had already made Commander Yan uneasy.
One must know that he himself did not have a tank unit capable of rivaling Zhou Wenhua’s German-equipped clone troops, yet their tank unit with so many new type tanks still could not defeat the Japanese Army’s large-scale invasion offensive operation,
So he was also reappraising the Japanese Army’s operational capabilities for the first time.
“No! We cannot just wait passively like sitting ducks for death!”
“We must cry poor, just like constantly crying poor to Chairman Chang’s side, to get him to dispatch elite troops over to assist us here in defeating the Japanese Army’s invasion, and even unite all forces confronting the Japanese Army!”
Finally, Commander Yan immediately made the decision.
At the same time,
After the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, following the successive falls of Beiping and Tianjin, when the North China war situation was in an extremely critical state,
The Eighth Route Army’s 115th Division main force, 120th Division main force, and 129th Division main force also successively received orders to head to the North China anti-Japanese front lines to execute the operational strategic policy of establishing anti-Japanese base areas, in order to pin down and consume the Japanese Army’s vital forces, to cooperate with National Revolutionary Army troops and the Japanese Army in large-scale operations on the frontal battlefield,
However, when Beiping was attacked and captured by the Japanese Army’s 20th Division at the enormous cost of casualties,
The 115th Division main force, 120th Division main force, and 129th Division main force had not yet been reorganized into the Eighth Route Army.
But when the three division commanders and three chiefs of staff of these three divisions all learned the shocking bad news that Beiping had already fallen under the Japanese Army’s iron hooves,
These three division commanders and three chiefs of staff also immediately held an emergency operational meeting, gathering together to discuss the upcoming operational plans to resist Japanese Invaders.
“What to do? Now that Beiping has fallen under the Japanese Army, the next target of these Japanese Invaders’ invasion operations will absolutely be Tianjin, or even Commander Yan’s Shanxi region!”
“Once these two places are fully occupied by the Japanese Army, then the entire Northern China will be in peril!”
“So we must find a way to resolve this matter, and not let the Japanese Army rampage and do as they please, occupying these important areas!”
“We cannot recover Beiping now. Even that German-equipped elite troops that kept sending victory reports, along with their new type tank units, were defeated by the Japanese Army’s large-scale invasion offensive operation. I’m afraid if we go to Beiping, it would just be sending ourselves to die!”
“Moreover, we are also powerless regarding Tianjin. It’s too far from us, and besides, it’s not our jurisdiction!”
“So what do you all think? Any good opinions? The battle situation is becoming increasingly critical!”
After everyone gathered in a meeting room full of guard members,
Division Commander He of the 120th Division main force also immediately voiced his concerns.
And he also directed his inquiring gaze at everyone, waiting for their responses.
“We don’t have many good methods now either, especially since our current weaponry and ammunition are very lacking and inferior, with most people still using cold weapons!”
“So we really cannot engage in head-on hard combat on the frontal battlefield with the Japanese Army’s elite main forces! We can only fight ambush warfare and guerrilla warfare!”
Division Commander Liu of the 129th Division also responded with a grave expression.
After his words fell, the entire meeting room was instantly silent, deathly quiet, where one could hear a pin drop.
At this moment,
“Report! Leaders!”
“A transport convoy arrived at our 115th Division’s outer garrison, saying they were ordered to deliver weaponry and ammunition to us for resisting Japanese Invaders in the future, and the person donating this equipment is a wealthy merchant named Zhou Wenhua!”
“He operates foreign trade and freight, and quite a bit of business over in Shanghai!”
“Please instruct, should we accept this donated weaponry and ammunition?”
“They have not only brand-new rifles, but also light and heavy machine guns, and mortars!”
“It made me envious just looking at them!”
At this moment,
A regiment commander, panting and covered in sweat, ran excitedly and emotionally to the outside of the meeting room, standing there and loudly reporting.
Because those guard members had not yet let him enter the meeting room.
“What!”
Upon hearing this,
All the division commanders and chiefs of staff attending the meeting were instantly shocked, exclaiming in unison.
