Lieutenant General Kato did not answer with a calm face, but ordered: "Call the corps captain of the Engineer Regiment!"

Soon, the commander of the engineering corps, who was on the rank of Zhongjiao, rushed over.

Before he could speak, Kato asked: "The Engineers' Corps went to the front to repair the highway to ensure that heavy artillery can pass, and also eliminate mines on the highway. How long can it be repaired in a day!"

"Five kilometers..." The Engineer Regiment took a serious look at the roads covered with potholes and deep trenches and answered.

Seeing that Lieutenant General Kato was about to get angry when he frowned, the commander of the Engineer Regiment quickly added: "Sir, this is the only way for the Engineer Regiment to repair the road day and night!"

Kato knew that getting angry was useless, so he swallowed the words that had already reached his mouth and continued to ask.

"What about the Imperial Army of three regiments?"

"Twenty kilometers!" The captain of the Engineer Regiment hesitated for a moment and said affirmatively!

"The Imperial Army and the Engineer Regiment have nearly 5,000 people. The Imperial Army can disperse all 5,000 people, repair the five-kilometer highway at one time, and move forward quickly!"

"This is almost the same!" Kato's face looked much better.

He then ordered: "From now on, all the Imperial Army will be under your command. Take the Engineer's Corps and the Imperial Army to reinforce the vanguard troops, clear mines and repair the road!"

Lieutenant General Kato, who had fought head-on with the Eighth Route Army for the first time, obviously underestimated the power of the Eighth Route Army's guerrilla warfare and mobile warfare.

Since he couldn't leave, Lieutenant General Kato, who returned to the command car, started to close his eyes and rest.

The Eighth Route Army is good at guerrilla warfare, mobile warfare, and also good at night warfare. He must cultivate his spirit to deal with the possible night warfare by the Eighth Route Army, bring more troops out of southwestern Shanxi, and reinforce other battlefields!

"Boom boom boom..."

After less than an hour of rest, three dull explosions woke him up.

In addition to hearing the explosion, the alert Lieutenant General Kato also heard a few gunshots. Although he was hiding behind the explosion, he could still hear clearly!

"What's going on!" Kato, who suddenly opened his eyes, stared at the adjutant guarding next to him and asked.

Before the adjutant could speak, the chief of staff came in and reported with anger: "Chief of the Division, the Eighth Route Army is too cunning and actually uses stones to make landmines!"

"The engineer's mine detector has no effect, and it has no effect when placed next to the mine!"

"Where is the gunshot? What happened to the gunshot just now?" Kato continued to ask as he stared at the Chief of Staff.

The Chief of Staff shook his head and replied: "I don't know, the Engineer's Wing did not talk about the gunshots just now!"

"Bageya Road, the Eighth Route Army is so cunning. They took advantage of the mine explosion and the explosion directly covered the gunshots. If they didn't listen carefully, they would definitely not hear it..." Lieutenant General Kato cursed.

"Send two infantry squadrons to them to protect them, and make sure that there are no Eighth Route Army sneak attack troops near the highway!"

"As for landmines, we can only let the engineer corps find a way out!"

Lieutenant General Kato's idea was very beautiful. After giving the order, he closed his eyes again and waited for the road to repair and the troops continued to advance.

However, his dream was destined to fail. From closing his eyes, the scattered gunfire on both sides of the road did not stop.

The infantry of the two squadrons soon caught up with the Engineer Regiment and the Imperial Army who were building roads.

And their arrival did save the engineer corps from attacks.

However, he obviously underestimated the combat effectiveness of the new regiment.

The Eighth Route Army, which was active nearby, immediately changed its target of sneak attack and stared at the Japanese infantry guarding on both sides of the highway.

There are two squadrons of Japanese devils scattered on the five-kilometer highway, and there is a sentry group of two Japanese devils almost every forty or fifty meters. With such a density of troops, no matter how vigilant they are, they are not the opponent of the New Regiment.

"The division commander, the two infantry squadrons protecting the engineering corps suffered heavy casualties. In less than two hours, the two squadrons had suffered more than half of the casualties!" The chief of staff rushed into the armored command vehicle and reported anxiously.

Lieutenant General Kato didn't ask any reason, staring at the Chief of Staff and cursed: "Bageyalu, what do they do for? Are the guns in their hands all fire sticks? Why not fight back and kill those sneak attackers!"

"There are also air forces, so many Eighth Route Army attacked us, don't they know how to launch an attack from the air?"

The Chief of Staff quickly explained: "The division commander calmed down. It was not that the warriors did not fight back, it was because the Eighth Route Army was too cunning!"

"They all acted in dispersed, with five or six people in one operation team, with small targets, and the air force could not detect them at all, let alone attack!"

"Although they only have five or six people, they are very well equipped. Each operation team is equipped with a light machine gun, two submachine guns and several rifles. If one of our combat teams meets them, they are not the opponent!"

"In order to ensure that there are no Eighth Route Army along the highway, the infantry protecting engineers can only completely disperse their troops. Two people are separated by fifty meters apart from each other to guard!"

Lieutenant General Kato, who was angrily angry, could only suppress his anger after hearing this.

I underestimated the strength of my opponent. I sent too few troops and insufficient troops. No one could win the Eighth Route Army's sneak attack under that situation.

Therefore, if you really want to hold yourself accountable, you will also bear an unshirkable responsibility as the leader of the division.

After hesitating for a long time, Lieutenant General Kato finally made a decision and ordered with a calm face: "Take two infantry brigades to reinforce the engineering corps!"

"Tell the reinforcements that their forces must not be too dispersed, and they must have the ability to counterattack!"

"Once you are attacked, counterattack immediately and kill the Eighth Route Army's sneak attack troops under the cover of the air force!"

"Also, report the situation here to the Front Army Command, and they must have many ways to deal with the Eighth Route Army guerrilla warfare and mobile warfare! In addition, tell the commander that because the Eighth Route Army completely destroyed the road, we cannot arrive at the destination on time. Please prepare early!"

"Hi!"

At the headquarters of the Japanese North China Front, Okamura Yasuji was furious in his office again.

Lieutenant General Kato's telegram completely disrupted his deployment!

In his plan, the Kato division can join the battlefield in a maximum of ten days. Now it seems that they will not be able to join the battle without half a month.

The extra five days directly mean that the North China Imperial Army had to persist for another five days under the counterattack of the Eighth Route Army.

The Eighth Route Army of North China is now like it is stimulant, attacking itself regardless of its own purpose, and consumes a large amount of the Imperial Army's troops and minimizes the impact of the Kato Division joining the battle.

There are no traces of the Eighth Route Army's troops that disappeared from the Jin-Cha-Hebei base and Taihang base. Okamura Yasuji had a premonition that the Eighth Route Army would definitely be organizing a very large-scale operation. Once the operation is successful, the North China Front Army will definitely become very passive, and even if the Kato Division joins the battlefield, it may not be helpful.

Therefore, Okamura Niji is more anxious than anyone else, hoping that the Kato Division will join the battlefield earlier, the sooner the better!

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Chapter completed!