"I suggest we attack Niangziguan!" Zhu Shixiong was the first to speak.
"Niangziguan is an important pass on the Shanxi-Hebei route and a key military stronghold in northern Shanxi. It has two gates, east and west. The west gate is a Ming Dynasty structure, more than three zhang high, while the east gate is a Sui Dynasty structure, less than three zhang high..."
"Niangziguan Pass is a strategic pass between Shanxi and Hebei, a place that military strategists have always fought over, and it has always been a key military strategic location."
Zhu Shixiong said slowly, "The General Staff just said that the 4th Brigade of Pinglu Warriors is stationed at Niangziguan."
"Everyone probably knows who Hiratsu Yongfu is."
"A close confidant of Yoshio Shinotsuka and Hisaichi Terauchi, a favorite of Emperor Hirohito, a graduate of the Army War College, and a typical hawkish military officer."
"This guy was a real troublemaker back then. During the Battle of Shanghai, his 10th and 11th Regiments really threw the entire Shanghai area into chaos."
"If we attack Niangziguan, the First Army and the Second Army will definitely use all their troops to reinforce Niangziguan at all costs. At that time, we will have the opportunity to defeat them one by one."
"Yes! Commander Zhu is right!"
"Commander Zhu is absolutely right!"
"I agree with Commander Zhu's point of view!"
"......"
Everyone echoed and agreed with Zhu Shixiong's point of view.
"Have you ever considered what would happen if the Japanese army were to encircle us?"
Lin Feng stared into Zhu Shixiong's eyes and said, word by word, "Commander Zhu, in a battle between two armies, the one who attacks first loses and the one who attacks later wins. This is an unchanging truth. As the attacking side, if the battle goes against us, we may be completely wiped out."
"Suppose the Japanese army does not reinforce Niangziguan as we planned, but instead launches a counter-encirclement against our North China Field Army, can you, Zhu Shixiong, withstand it?"
Zhu Shixiong was speechless.
Niangziguan Pass is geographically very important and was a strategic location fought over by military strategists.
Destroying the 4th Brigade is easy, but if the Japanese army quickly launches a counter-encirclement, I'm afraid...
Lin Feng's insightful remarks directly targeted Zhu Shixiong, causing the other generals to fall silent.
"Think about it, we only have a little over 100,000 men, while the Japanese Second and Third Armies together have over 200,000 men. It's simply impossible to wipe them out in one go."
Lin Feng scanned everyone present and said, "Therefore, I suggest that we divide our forces into several groups and launch harassment operations against the First Army and the Second Army respectively."
"The first step is to send two regiments to attack Yangmingbao Airport and cut off the Japanese air reinforcements."
"The second step is to send three divisions to circle around to the rear of Niangziguan and ambush the Second Army advancing westward at Jingxing."
"The third step is to send a division to attack Niangziguan, so that the other Japanese devils will mistakenly believe that our main attack direction is Niangziguan, thereby attracting their troops."
"Finally, our main force will attack this place!"
Lin Feng stood up and pointed to a huge red dot on the map.
Everyone turned their attention to the large map.
The huge red dot was about 150 kilometers away from Niangziguan.
"Taiyuan!!!"
The senior generals of the North China Field Army said in unison.
Taiyuan is the capital of Shanxi Province and the location of the headquarters of the Japanese First Army.
It is also the industrial and economic center of Shanxi.
It is of immeasurable importance to the entire Shanxi province and to North China.
Once Taiyuan is captured, the Japanese front lines in Shanxi will collapse without a fight, and the other Japanese forces in central Shanxi will naturally be routed.
At that point, they will be forced to retreat eastward to Jingxing, north of Niangziguan, to redeploy their forces.
With the war in the south at a stalemate, it is probably unrealistic for the Japanese army to mobilize a large number of troops to retake Shanxi in the short term.
"Clap clap clap clap clap clap clap—!"
Everyone stood up and looked at Lin Feng with excited eyes.
Because Lin Feng's suggestion undoubtedly opened a new door for them.
"Good! Good! Good! Good!"
Chen Dahu slapped his thigh and said, "I knew it! How could someone as smart as the Commander-in-Chief agree to the first plan?"
"Hahaha!"
Zhu Shixiong couldn't help but burst into laughter, "I reckon Yoshio Shinotsuka and Hisaichi Terauchi would be furious if they knew we were operating independently. This is what we call going against the grain."
"There are only Japanese devils there, our headquarters will be completely confused too."
"Hahaha!"
Everyone burst into laughter, feeling incredibly happy.
"Alright, alright."
Lin Feng waved his hand to interrupt the laughter and said, "Quickly draft the battle plan and send it to all units. At the same time, compile a clear intelligence report on the Japanese invaders near Niangziguan and send it over."
"yes!"
After two hours of discussion, a detailed battle plan was finally formulated.
The battle plan is as follows:
Step 1: The 1st Infantry Regiment and the 4th Artillery Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division launched a surprise attack on Yangmingbao Airport and wiped out the Japanese air force.
The second step: The 11th Motorized Infantry Division, the 12th Armored Division, and the 13th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division ambushed the Second Army's westward advance at Jingxing.
Step 3: The 2nd Infantry Division and the 39th Heavy Artillery Regiment of the 10th Artillery Division will attack Niangziguan.
Step 4: All main forces secretly assembled in Taiyuan.
Step 5: The main force launches a general offensive against Taiyuan and takes Taiyuan in one fell swoop.
Subsequently, Chen Dahu wrote the battle plan into a report and sent it to each division.
"This battle was the first time since the establishment of the North China Field Army that it had directly confronted the Japanese invaders."
"Whether we fight well or not will determine the future status of our North China Field Army in China. Everyone must be extremely vigilant, use all our skills, and give the Japanese devils a good beating so that they never return!"
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