Hashimoto Group deduced that Sun Weiguo's troops had to undertake the defense of Guangdong, so there would definitely not be too many troops who could follow Sun Weiguo to fight in Guangxi.

However, the chief of staff of the 22nd Army, Wakamatsu Zhiyi, felt in his heart that Guangxi was very important to the Chinese troops, and if the Chinese troops had no effect on the counterattack of the Japanese army in Guangxi this time, then the Japanese army would be able to garrison Guangxi for a long time, which would pose a great threat to the rear of China's southwestern region.

Sun Weiguo is an anti-Japanese general, and his 47th Group Army is the elite of the elite, if the Chinese troops want to annihilate all the Japanese troops in Guangxi, then the Chinese troops will inevitably transfer Sun Weiguo's 47th Group Army troops to participate in the war, according to Wakamatsu Zhiichi's speculation, the troops that followed Sun Weiguo to Guangxi to fight this time will have at least four divisions.

However, at present, the commander of the 22nd Army is Hashimoto Group, and he deduced the number of troops that Sun Weiguo brought into Guangxi to fight, which is related to the follow-up combat deployment, and Wakamatsu Zhiyi did not dare to make a direct judgment.

He looked at Hashimoto and waited for Hashimoto's answer.

"Guangdong has just been recovered by Chinese troops, this is a victory that China can preach in the international community, and at present, in order to be able to occupy Guangdong again, we have begun to set up the South China Front Army on Hainan Island, and the South China Front Army has more than 200,000 troops, which is a great threat to Guangdong. Then if the Chinese troops want to hold Guangdong, then they still have to rely on Sun Weiguo's 47th Group Army.

According to the information provided by the intelligence organs, the 47th Group Army currently has about seven divisions of two armies under its jurisdiction, so I judge that Sun Weiguo can only send three divisions to Guangxi to participate in the war at most, and these three divisions are their limit, and if more troops are sent to rush, unless the troops want to abandon Guangdong. ”

Hashimoto pointed to the location of Guangdong on the map, and said with a serious expression on his face.

"Your Excellency Commander, Guangxi is obviously more important to the Chinese troops than Guangdong, and they may not transfer the main force of the 47th Group Army to Guangxi to fight. You now judge that there are only three divisions of troops that followed Sun Weiguo to Guangxi, and I don't think this is necessarily possible. Wakamatsu glanced at Hashimoto and suggested softly.

Hashimoto shook his head with a smile, he looked at the map with a confident expression on his face, and he felt that he would definitely not be wrong in his judgment.

Hashimoto successively served as chief of staff of the Chinese garrison army, chief of staff of the First Army of the North China Front, and director of the first department of the General Staff Headquarters.

This time, he was directly named by Nishio Shouzo as the commander of the 22nd Army, Hashimoto Group did not have much ambition, he just held the idea of not seeking merit but seeking no fault.

As for Sun Weiguo's troops participating in the war, Hashimoto's group just wanted to block it, as long as they repelled the counteroffensive of the Chinese troops.

Of course, if they can grasp the absolute superiority, the Hashimoto group does not mind encircling and annihilating the Chinese troops.

Compared to other Japanese commanders, the Hashimoto group appeared to be more cautious, and in terms of strategy, the Hashimoto group appeared to be superior.

"They will assemble in Yulin, so if they want to cut off the supply line from Qinzhou Bay to Nanning, they will definitely capture Lingshan County first. At the moment we do not have many troops in Lingshan County, and we need to immediately send troops to Lingshan County to build fortifications in Heng County and Lingshan County to protect the supply line from Qinzhou Bay to Nanning. ”

Hashimoto had already begun to hold the baton, and he pointed to Heng County and Lingshan County on the map, and said in a serious tone.

"Your Excellency, how are we going to deploy?" Wakamatsu Zhiyi's eyes looked at Hashimoto, and he asked directly.

"The 16th Division and the 57th Division are deployed in Hengxian and Lingshan counties to form at least three lines of defense, the 1st Brigade of Independent Combat Vehicles and the 2nd Brigade of Independent Combat Vehicles are deployed in Hengxian County and the rear of Lingshan County to serve as strategic reserves, and the troops of the 9th Brigade of the Field Siege Heavy Brigade set up positions behind Hengxian and Lingshan County to support the 16th Division and the 57th Division in combat, and the Guards Division serves as the general reserve of the whole army."

Hashimoto looked at Wakamatsu Zhi, and he directly said his suggestion.

When Wakamatsu heard Hashimoto's suggestion, he had a thoughtful expression on his face.

"If you don't have any other ideas, just follow my orders and order the divisions and units to start their operations immediately." Hashimoto looked at Wakamatsu and said.

"Hi, Your Excellency, Commander." Wakamatsu Zhiichi immediately saluted Hashimoto and said.

Wakamatsu went to convey the order of the Hashimoto group at the beginning, and the commander of the 16th Division, Lieutenant General Moriokaji, and the commander of the 57th Division, Lieutenant General Ito Tsukuro, immediately led more than 40,000 troops of the 16th Division and the 57th Division to Hengxian and Lingshan Prefecture.

The 1st Brigade of Independent Combat Vehicles and the 2nd Brigade of Independent Combat Vehicles followed them, while the troops of the 9th Brigade of the Field Siege Heavy followed the troops of the 16th and 57th Divisions, and the troops of the 9th Brigade of the Field Siege Heavy Brigade would set up positions near Hengshan and Lingshan County to directly support the two divisions in combat.

The Guards Division was deployed near Qinzhou, and the Guards Division was used as the general reserve of the 22nd Army, and they were also responsible for guarding the headquarters of the 22nd Army.

At about 4 o'clock in the afternoon of the 16th, the troops of the 16th Division of the Japanese Army had begun to enter Lingshan County, and the troops of the 57th Division had also begun to enter Hengxian.

By the time the 1st Ranger Brigade arrived to reconnoitre, the Imp troops had already begun to move into various locations.

At five o'clock in the afternoon, the first battalion of the Ranger encountered the Japanese 16th Division Search Wing in Lingshan County, the two sides launched a fierce battle in Lingshan County, after paying each other's casualties, the first Ranger Battalion troops took the initiative to withdraw from the battlefield, and then the Japanese 16th Division Search Wing began to pursue, and the two sides fought fiercely again, and waited until the second battalion of the Ranger came to reinforce the Japanese search wing, and then the Japanese search wing began to retreat.

However, immediately after that, the field artillery wing of the 16th Division of the Japanese army immediately began shelling, and the troops of the 1st and 2nd Rangers Battalion had to start withdrawing.

Japanese reconnaissance planes began to appear from the sky, and Japanese reconnaissance planes began to reconnoiter the vicinity of Yulin.

At the same time, the search wing of the 16th Division joined forces with the search wing of the 57th division of the Japanese army, and they began to search the vicinity of Hengxian and Lingshan counties.

The reconnaissance unit of the 1st Ranger Brigade was greatly hindered, and for a time they had no way to report the reconnaissance situation to Sun Weiguo.

By about seven o'clock in the evening, the two cavalry battalions of the 1st Ranger Brigade began to disperse, and some progress was made. (To be continued.) )