Just when Yang Zhen pondered what the Japanese army meant by this move on the Western Front. Could it really be that when he didn't dare to go north because of the lack of troops, Ma Chunsheng, who was ordered to return to Yang Zhen's headquarters, interrupted his train of thought.

Seeing Ma Chunsheng coming back, Yang Zhen, who was thinking about things in his heart, did not have the slightest politeness. personally poured a glass of water for Ma Chunsheng, and after he rested for a while, he directly said his doubts straight to the point.

Guo Bingxun is not here now, and Ma Chunsheng is actually equivalent to his chief of staff. It's better for two people to discuss it than to think about it here alone.

Moreover, after the September 18 Incident, Ma Chunsheng had always been a puppet policeman for Jiamusi, who had always been a heavy gathering place for the Japanese army, and he still knew very well about the enemy situation in the entire Sanjiang area. With his help as a staff officer, he should be able to effectively help himself thoroughly analyze the next move of the Japanese army.

After listening to Yang Zhen's introduction to the enemy's situation, Ma Chunsheng stared at the map and pondered for a long time and said: "Commander, I feel that one of the main reasons why the Japanese army on the Western Front is not advancing but retreating, I am afraid that it is still a lack of troops, at least they think it themselves. The Kwantung Army suffered a great loss in the first two phases of the operation, and now our minds have completely calmed down. ”

"You see, the Japanese on the Western Front have now only identified a reinforced wing of the Fourteenth Division, part of the Eighth Division. Although the rest of the puppet Manchu army had two brigades, in fact, the Japanese themselves knew in their hearts how much of a role they could play. Judging from the current shape, at least the Japanese army believes that these forces are not 100% certain, at least so far. ”

"Although the Japanese on the Eastern Front seem to have a lot of troops, they still have to guard against the Soviet troops on the east side of the Ussuri River. It is impossible and does not dare to invest too many troops in this direction. As long as our offensive stops, I think that the Japanese troops on the Eastern Front will not only not be able to reinforce, but will even withdraw to their original positions. The Japanese did not dare to risk the emptiness of forces on the Manchu-Soviet border. You know, the eastern border is a key area for them to fortify. ”

Speaking of this, Ma Chunsheng pondered for a while and said: "Commander, for the Japanese army, it is not just the reason for the lack of troops. I am afraid that the confusion in intelligence is also an important reason. Since the formation of our troops, although the speed of development has been excessively fast, there are not no blind spots for them to penetrate, but to be honest, there are not many. ”

"What they are scratching their heads the most now is not our combat effectiveness, nor is it just our equipment, but they have not yet figured out how many troops we have. In other words, until the battle has been fought, they still have no idea about our exact strength. ”

"Our strength on the table is three field brigades, and in the eyes of the Japanese army, it is also the so-called guard divisional backbone regiment. The total number of troops on the surface of this should be very clear according to the Japanese army's consistent intelligence-gathering capabilities. The Japanese army has always been confident in its own combat effectiveness, and they are also very confident in this self-confidence. ”

"Commander, your training method is honest, whether it is the old Northeast Army, the direct army, the Central Army of the Nationalist Government, or the Japanese army, I have never seen it. Although it is a little extravagant at times, the intensity of the training is too much. But it's a good fit for our current situation. ”

"But just like that, our Suzhì is still one section worse than the Japanese army, and it can even be said that it is a big section. Being able to win again and again is certainly a tactical opponent. But there was one thing that the Japanese army did not expect, and that was our reinforcements. Their tactical assumptions are not based on our actual forces, but on those forces that are only superficially exposed. ”

"After the formation of several supplementary regiments and independent regiments, I have always wondered why these reserve units were secretly assembled in the fortresses of Qunce Mountain and Xingshan Fortress, the two most heavily guarded places of our army, when the Japanese army was pressing."

"When the fight started, I realized that this was the beauty of it. At the end of the first phase of the battle, the Japanese army thought that they had suffered heavy casualties, and I am afraid that we were almost done, because they were too confident in the combat effectiveness of their troops. In fact, they did not miscalculate, in the first stage of the operation, although our results were not small, it can indeed be said that we killed 1,000 enemies and lost 800 ourselves. ”

"This is also why in the second stage, they dared to use the main force of a division and regiment to suffer heavy losses on the Western Front, and in fact, the overall battle situation has not played much of a cooperative role, and they still dare to go north alone."

"It is not surprising that the Japanese army believes that our army is limited. Because the Japanese have always been rigorous in doing things, they may have a better population base than us in the population base of each county in the entire Sanjiang Province. Together with the interrogation of our prisoners, they should know that our current main recruits are from labor. ”

"As for the number of people in the area under our control, they are afraid that you will not be able to get these troops even if you dig three feet into the ground. The current three main brigades, these 30,000 troops are probably all our strength. Even if there are some additional troops, it will not be too much. Coupled with the casualties in the first stage, I am afraid that they think that we have suffered too many casualties and do not have much combat effectiveness. ”

"You put these numbers far more than the Japanese army's expected supplementary regiments, independent regiments, and when the battle was more than halfway through, the Japanese army thought that our army was exhausted, and they were thrown into the battlefield. and replenish the main forces in the shortest possible time, which the Japanese army probably did not expect at all. The more we fought, the more we fought, which was a surprise to the Japanese army. ”

"The first phase of the battle has already made Umezu Mijiro realize our true fighting power. That is, there is a certain gap compared with the Japanese army, but this gap is far from as big as they imagined. In the second stage, our strength has increased instead of decreasing, making it even more difficult for him to figure out our true strength. ”

"The Japanese have not only suffered unimaginable or even unimaginable casualties until now. What's more, they are now becoming more and more bottomless in their hearts. The troops are insufficient, the front is too long, and China is too big. Without being replenished by a large corps, the Kwantung Army is now weak-minded. ”

"The Japanese troops stationed in Muling, Hulin, Suiyang, and Mishan were unable to all be dispatched due to the pinching of Jiangbei, and the reinforcements were only one of the 14th Divisions, and they now felt that their forces were empty. Our war has torn a big hole in the defensive posture it has built on the so-called Manchu-Soviet border. ”

"Unless they don't want South Manchuria and West Manchuria, they won't have enough troops to fight back against us before new reinforcements arrive. I estimate that it is impossible for them to have less than three divisions now, and they do not dare to launch a new offensive against us. At present, they will not be able to take out three divisions without mobilizing the Manchurian-Soviet border garrisons and without affecting their overall deployment. ”

"When a greedy snake treats a hedgehog as a good meal, it is doomed to be pricked half to death by the hedgehog, and if it is not done, it will get a intestine through the belly. Commander, you see, judging from the situation of the Japanese troops on the map, it is not that they do not want to fight, but they dare not fight. ”

"After the 2nd and 24th Divisions were almost completely wiped out, and the 25th Division was heavily damaged, it almost became the only mobile force of the Kwantung Army. Don't forget, the Kwantung Army is now fighting on two fronts. His other enemy, however, is far superior to ours. ”

"If it changes to a defensive posture on the Manchurian-Soviet border, in the face of the Soviet army, which is far superior to us and has a huge number of aircraft, tanks, and heavy artillery, whether it wants to or not, it can only deploy a defense in great depth. Otherwise, the opponent will tear through his defense line lightly. ”

"In the case of the lesser of two evils, his 8th and 11th divisions can only adopt a defensive posture for us. And the rest of this 4th Division, I think that when they face us again in the future, unless the Kwantung Army goes crazy, the army will not use these guys in the offensive again. ”

If the main force is transferred to our side, once Jiangbei makes a move, I am afraid that the Kwantung Army will really be numb. In the case that the Eastern Front could not mobilize troops to cooperate, based on the previous battle examples, even if Umezu Mijiro was bold, he would not dare to throw a lone 14th Division on the battlefield. ”

"You must know that once something happens to the 14th Division, our army can even go straight to the front line of Harbin to the east. If Harbin is lost again, whether it is the Kwantung Army, or even its Tokyo base camp, it will be difficult to give a reason to their bullshit emperor. And on the Eastern Front, once something goes wrong, its largest fortress in Hulin will be directly exposed to the front of our army. ”

"In this situation, which can no longer afford to lose, even if the Japanese army is arrogant and does not take us seriously, I am afraid that they will not attack again until Tokyo adds new divisions to them. Although the Japanese do not remember what they eat, you can't deny that they do have a set of strategies and tactics. ”

"However, the little devil attack lacks enough troops now, but these forces are enough for defense, and even blockade us. Mu Ling's 8th Division, Mishan's 11th Division, and Suiyang's 12th Division, their defense areas are now close to us. As long as we don't go deep into our belly, it's still possible to maneuver in a small area. ”

"From the Rao River on the edge of the Ussuri River, it passes eastward through Baoqing and Boli, and ends at the Songhua River in the area where Yilan meets the Tonghe River. Although the little devils have lost the Songhua River, which can be used as a blockade line, they can already take advantage of the mountainous terrain where Wandashan and Zhangguangcailing meet, and form a second blockade line for us. ”

"These forces of theirs are not enough to attack, but more than enough to defend. However, I don't think the Japanese will do this simply because of the lack of troops, and because they have realized their mistakes in their previous understanding of us, they should have other intentions. ”

"I think in addition to waiting for the Japanese base camp to increase its troops. Judging from the current situation of the Japanese army, they also want to take advantage of the sparse population in the Xiajiang area, and most of the materials have to rely on the congenital shortage of materials transported from the outside world, and they want to take advantage of the severe cold of winter to weaken our combat effectiveness as much as possible. ”

"I suspect that in addition to continuing the blockade of us during the Battle of Normenhan, the Japanese army will probably use diplomatic means, especially military pressure and diplomacy, to cut off the continuity between our army and Jiangbei. That is to say, they want to cut off our passage to the outside world. ”

"Although the Ha Giang area is rich in products, it is sparsely populated. It covers an area of more than 100,000 square kilometers and has a population of just over 1 million. In the central plain of Yubara Prefecture, the main grain-producing area, since the beginning of September to the present, the grain harvest has probably been completely lost. However, it is simply difficult to meet the needs of relying solely on the grain output of the northern plains of Baoqing, Luobei, and Huachuan counties to satisfy both the local people and the tens of thousands of soldiers. ”

"As for the other counties, as you know, they are sparsely populated. It's either a large swamp or a deep mountain forest. On weekdays, it is still necessary to transport grain, cotton, cloth and other daily necessities, and now it is even more scarce. Without the replenishment of food from the outside world, coupled with the extreme cold of more than minus 30 degrees Celsius in Xiajiang in winter, we lack clothes and wear less, and we don't need to come down for another winter, and we are frozen to death by freezing and starving. ”

"Siege tactics, this tactic can be said to be a self-seeking tactic for any army with a rear, but it is very suitable for dealing with us at the moment."

Regarding Ma Chunsheng's analysis, Yang Zhen nodded slightly and said: "You are very rational and your analysis is good, but the Japanese army you said was found to have a huge error in the judgment of our army's strength due to continuous defeats, which is also one of the main reasons, but I didn't expect this." ”

"I don't think your analysis is all right, but at least one thing is the same as mine. That is, the Japanese army put on this defensive and stubborn posture, and there must be a blockade in it. ”

"It's already mid-October, and the Ha Giang area has begun to gradually enter winter. If we hadn't seized Jiamusi in time and seized a large amount of winter clothing and grain, we would not have been able to solve the problem of winter clothing by relying solely on the base areas. Even if the grain can only last until the beginning of spring next year, I am afraid that the bottom will be clean. ”

"At least Jiamusi has been laid, and the winter clothes we captured are enough to change the clothes of the whole army. Otherwise, if we simply stick to the north of the Songhua River, we will be able to hold the base area. But without food supplements, without winter clothing, hunger will kill us in a winter. That's why I had to go south to cross the river after I was already exhausted. ”

"If we can't fight, there is no reinforcement, no food, no supplies, and we will end up like the Anti-United Nations. We still need to import raw materials for arms and munitions, but we still rely on ourselves to find ways to find food, military uniforms, and other materials. If food also needs to be imported, let's not say that we don't have so much hard currency. Even if you have, you can't put your lifeline in the hands of others. ”

Ma Chunsheng nodded when he heard this: "Commander, then what should we do now?" Is it to put all the forces at hand into it and open a gap above one point, or to shrink the whole line for the time being. In response to Ma Chunsheng's question, Yang Zhen smiled and said, "What do you think we should do next?" ”

Ma Chunsheng hesitated for a moment and said, "Commander, I think it's time for us to rest." Before the beginning of spring next year, the Japanese army may not make any major moves. After two months of bloody fighting, the division that had been fighting for a long time was already extremely tired and urgently needed to rest and recuperate, and now the structure, cadres, ammunition, and weapons and equipment of various units damaged in battle all need to be adjusted. ”

"In this two-stage operation, the casualties of the troops, especially the veterans, were very large. Even after several replenishments, most of the units remain incomplete, and the three brigades do not now have a full formed wing. The forces are now in an unsustainable situation, and it may be very disadvantageous for us to continue fighting. So I still stopped and rested for a while. At least let the troops take a breath and adjust the formation, weapons and equipment. ”