As soon as Okabe Naosaburo said this, all the Japanese high-ranking military officers present had solemn expressions on their faces. Many of them had worried expressions on their faces.
" But we are besieging Xu Prefecture right now. The 108th division has already set off from Tianjin by boat and will soon land in Haizhou. We can attack Xu Prefecture from the east!"
If they went to take back Xuzhou now, wouldn't they miss the opportunity?”
"General, this is also a helpless move! After the fall of Jinan, the northern section of the Jinpu railway line was completely cut off. If we don't take it back as soon as possible, it won't just affect the logistics of the two divisions on the front line.
There was also the morale of the army. Once the morale was affected and the morale was unstable, the situation would be even worse!”
"Although we can still get supplies from the Jiaodong Peninsula by sea, the distance will increase by thousands of miles. The supply line is too long, which is even more unsafe and unreliable.
Moreover, the Zhina Army in Jinan could still advance eastward along the Jiaoji railway at any time and threaten this supply line!
Therefore, Jinan had to be taken back. Even if it meant delaying the Imperial Army's attack on Xuzhou, it would not hesitate!”
Deputy Chief of Staff Shozo Kawai also stood up and agreed,""General, your analysis is reasonable.
In fact, even if we don't consider it from a military perspective, we still have to take back Jinan as soon as possible!
Because Jinan has been taken back by the Huben Brigade, the negative impact it has on us is not only on the military level, but also on politics.”
"Especially Han Tiansheng and his Tiger Regiment. In less than two days, they took down Qufu and Jinan, two important cities. Even General Isaya Lianjie died in battle.
Jinan was an important town in North China, and now that it had been recaptured by the Zhina Army, the base camp would not allow such a situation to exist.
Therefore, no matter from a military or political point of view, Jinan had to be taken back, and Han Tiansheng's troops had to be annihilated!”
Since the two Chiefs of Staff had reached an agreement, Juichi Terauchi had to take it seriously. After a moment of silence, he raised his last concern."However, if we stop attacking Xuzhou, will the main force of the Chinese army in the 5th Battle Area in Xuzhou take advantage of the situation to counterattack?
At that time, would the Imperial Army troops in Shandong be in danger because of this?”
Okabe Naosaburo had clearly considered this and immediately gave a suggestion,"General, after the 108th division lands in Haizhou, we can quickly advance to Xu Prefecture and take over the Nianzhuang area in Pizhou.
Then contact the northern troops of the Central China Army and ask them to increase their attacks to contain the enemy.
This way, the 5th and 14th divisions would be able to return to the north and counterattack Jinan!”
Hearing Okabe Naosaburo's words, the last bit of worry in the temple was gone.
He immediately nodded and ordered,"Immediately give the orders to the 5th, 14th and 108th divisions. Do as the chief of staff says."
Especially the 5th and 14th divisions, they were ordered to take back Jinan as soon as possible, annihilate the Tiger Legion, and capture Han Tiansheng alive! We can't let him escape!"
"Ha Yi!" Okabe Naosaburo and Kawagawa Shozo stood up and kowtowed in unison.
……
In Tai 'an, Kenji Dohihara had just led his 14th division to Tai' an and had not had the time to catch his breath.
A signalman from the division quickly ran up to Kenji Dohihara and saluted him,""General, the headquarters just called. Jinan was attacked by the Chinese army two and a half hours ago and has fallen.
The commander in the temple has ordered us to join forces with the 5th division to counterattack Jinan and take it back at all costs. We must wipe out the Tiger Regiment and capture Han Tiansheng alive!”
"Nani? Jinan has fallen?" Dohihara Kenji was shocked when he heard this. He hurriedly stood up and snatched the message. After reading it in a hurry, he could not help but gasp.
"Bagaya Lu, this Han Tiansheng is really cunning. He actually dared to make such a risky move under our eyes!"”
"General, what should we do?" Lieutenant Sano asked with a serious expression.
Doihara Kenji rolled his triangular eyes and said sternly,""Contact the 5th division immediately. Han Tiansheng's troops are too cunning and their combat strength is not bad.
We can't act alone, we need the two Regiments to work together and make sure that nothing goes wrong. We can finish off Han Tiansheng's troops in one go!”
……
At that time, the 5th division had already pushed into Linyi City and was about to break through.
However, at this time, they received news that Jinan had fallen and the headquarters wanted them to retreat and recapture Jinan.
The 5th division commander Itagaki Seishiro was shocked, but he still decisively gave the order to retreat, leaving only one regiment to monitor and contain the national army in Linyi.
He personally led the main force out of the camp and retreated in the same direction.
On the way, the Chief of Staff, Nishimura Liwen, suddenly caught up with him on horseback and reported,""General, General Dohihara Kenji of the 14th division called to ask about your plans.
It seems like he wants to join forces with us to take back Jinan!”
Unlike Kenji Dohihara, the 5th Division led by Itagaki Seishiro had the reputation of being the Steel Army in the Japanese Army. It was the absolute ace elite force of the Army.
Itagaki Seishiro had proven this point on the battlefield in Shanxi not long ago. He had defeated hundreds of thousands of Jinsui Army and the Central Army in the Second Battle Area with half a division, sweeping through more than half of Shanxi.
Therefore, although Itagaki Seishiro was shocked by the fall of Jinan, he was full of confidence in taking back Jinan and eliminating Han Tiansheng's Tiger Regiment. He felt that even if he only had his 5th division, he could easily take it back.
This strong confidence came from his outstanding commanding ability and the 30,000 elite soldiers under him.
In Itagaki Seishiro's opinion, he had only had half a division of troops back then, but he had been able to sweep through half of Shanxi and was invincible in North China.
Now that the 5th division was fully filled and he had 30,000 soldiers, what was there to be afraid of?
Itagaki Seishiro's arrogance and confidence were the same as Han Tiansheng's judgment, that was, they had not realized the power of Han Tiansheng and his fierce army.
Therefore, Itagaki Seishiro was still a little surprised and disdainful of Doihara Kenji's call.
Therefore, he didn't even take the message from Lieutenant Liwen. Instead, he said,""Since that's the case, let Tufei Yuanjun and his 14th division go north from Tai 'an and surround Jinan from east to west. We won't give Han Tiansheng's troops a chance to escape!”
"General is wise!" Lieutenant Liwen patted his horse without leaving a trace and said,""General, I have another suggestion. It might help us wipe out the Tiger Legion and capture Han Tiansheng alive!”
"Oh?" Itagaki Seishiro looked up at Nishimura Riken in surprise and said,""What suggestion? Why don't you just say it?"
"According to the information provided by the Special Higher Police, Han Fuqu's family went to Jining after escaping from Jinan.
This Han Tiansheng also started from Jining, first defeating the 10th division, then taking advantage of the situation to attack Qufu and Jinan.
I feel that the Han family should still be in Jining!
Thus, I suggest that we send out a rapid mobility unit to attack Jining City. While Han Tiansheng's troops are not in Jining City, we can take this place.
Han Tiansheng and his soldiers are mostly from Jining. If we can capture their families, we will be able to break their morale.
This way, destroying them and taking back Jinan would be twice the result with half the effort!”
"Is there a need for us and the 14th division to do this?" Itagaki Seishiro asked hesitantly.”
Nishimura Liwen lowered his head. Furthermore, Han Tiansheng's troops first destroyed the 10th division, then attacked Jinan.
He has already displayed extraordinary combat strength. We should take him seriously!”
Although Itagaki Seishiro was arrogant, he was not stupid. On the contrary, he was extremely smart. After being persuaded by Nishimura Rion, he immediately changed his mind.
"Immediately order the cavalry and tanks to turn around and attack Jining. We must take down this city at all costs!" The rest of the troops continued to march towards Jinan!”
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