19: Chapter 19 North China Shaken! The Japanese Are Stunned!

"Tanks??"

A wave of discussion broke out in the meeting room.

"Are they enemy reinforcements?"

"They actually have tanks?"

"It's just one tank, nothing to worry about!"

Despite the unexpected appearance of a tank, most of the Japanese generals weren't overly concerned.

Chief of Staff Kasahara Yukio calmly analyzed, "Commander, even with one tank, it doesn't change the fact that they are surrounded. A single tank cannot cause much of a stir."

Tada Shun didn't pay it much mind either and casually asked, "How is the defensive deployment at the Fang County Pass?"

A Brigade Commander responsible for the area's defense immediately stood up and answered with his head held high, "Report, Commander! I have dispatched the Morita Battalion under the 7th Independent Mixed Brigade to set up defenses!"

"The battalion is at full strength, and to deal with potential armored targets, we have specifically reinforced them with three Type 94 37mm rapid-fire anti-tank guns!"

"Three anti-tank guns?"

Hearing this configuration, the generals in the meeting room nodded one after another, their minds completely at ease.

"Yoshi! The Morita Battalion, coupled with three anti-tank guns, is enough to handle any known Chinese tanks!"

"Let alone one, even if a few more come, they'll just be sent to their deaths!"

"It seems we will receive news of victory very soon!"

The atmosphere became relaxed again, and the conversation even shifted toward the planned large-scale 'mopping-up' operation against the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Border Region.

They discussed how to thoroughly 'teach a lesson' to the Eighth Route Army in retaliation for their recent frequent sabotage operations.

In their eyes, catching those few 'small fry' was only a matter of time.

One or two chariots weren't enough to warrant a high-level meeting of the North China Army.

The focus of this meeting was how to retaliate against the Eighth Route Army!

Just catching a few nobodies was clearly not enough to wash away the disgrace of the 'Havoc in Beijing' or satisfy their anger.

Only by carrying out a brutal retaliation against the Eighth Route Army could they vent their hatred and intimidate all resistance forces.

"Gentlemen,"

Tada Shun spoke first, setting the tone.

"The Beijing incident, though a minor nuisance, has damaged the prestige of the Imperial Army! Especially letting those rustic Eighth Route Army soldiers hiding in the mountain ravines see us as a joke!"

"If we do not employ thunderous methods, how can we demonstrate the military might of the Empire?"

"Every inch of North China must tremble under the wrath of the Imperial Army!"

Chief of Staff Kasahara Yukio immediately chimed in, "The Commander is absolutely right! The Eighth Route Army has become increasingly rampant lately, sabotaging transportation, attacking strongholds, and even daring to launch regiment-level offensives against county seats!"

"We must conduct a thorough and devastating 'Rectification Operation' to break their backbone!"

The 'Rectification Operation' Kasahara Yukio spoke of was the notorious 'Great Mopping-up'.

A violent-tempered Division Commander slammed the table and grinned hideously, "We should have done this long ago! I propose a 'Three Alls' policy for this 'Rectification'—kill all, burn all, loot all!"

"In any area where the Eighth Route Army is active, any male between the ages of fifteen and sixty shall be killed on sight!"

"All villages are to be burned to the ground! Not a single grain of food or head of livestock shall be left behind!!"

Another Japanese officer with the rank of Major General added, "Killing alone is not enough!"

"We should form Special Infiltration Units, disguised as Eighth Route Army soldiers or civilians, to infiltrate the core areas of their base, carry out assassinations, poisonings, and spread rumors to drive a wedge between them and the people."

"We must let those peasants know that the price for helping the Eighth Route Army is the total annihilation of their village!"

"And an economic blockade!"

"Strictly control the flow of salt, iron, medicine, and all other supplies into the mountains!"

"The entirety of North China must tremble at the mere mention of the Imperial Army's name!"

"The goal of this mopping-up is not just to eliminate the Eighth Route Army's effective strength, but to completely destroy their basis for survival!"

"So that for the next ten years, no courage for resistance will ever sprout from this land again!"

"And..."

One vicious suggestion after another came from the mouths of these beasts.

Tada Shun nodded in approval as he listened.

The 'Cage Policy' he had been pursuing was slowly transforming into the 'Three Alls Policy'.

Just as the discussion among the beasts grew more intense—

Another Communications Staff Officer practically stumbled in, clutching a telegram, his face filled with disbelief.

"Su... Sumimasen!"

"Report, Commander! Urgent battle report! The Morita Battalion of the 7th Independent Mixed Brigade... was ambushed by an enemy tank at the Fang County Pass... the battalion... the battalion has been routed!"

"Fallen... over six hundred have fallen!"

"Nani?"

"What did you say?"

"That's impossible!"

The entire meeting room instantly erupted in chaos!

All the generals stood up abruptly, unable to believe their ears.

A Japanese Colonel near the door grabbed the reporting staff officer by the collar and gave him two slaps without a word.

Slap! Slap!

"baka! False reporting of military intelligence, you deserve to die!"

The reporting officer saw stars from the slaps, and a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

"Hai... Hai! What I said is true! The battle report just sent by the 7th Brigade is certain!"

This time, the Japanese in the Headquarters could no longer remain calm!

A full-strength battalion of over 1,100 men, with over 600 fallen at once?

Is this a joke?

What's the difference between this and having the unit completely annihilated?

On the North China battlefield, it's almost impossible to annihilate an Imperial Army battalion as a whole!

It usually requires a cost several or even ten times higher, using main forces through fierce combat, to have a slight chance of doing so!

Did the enemy mobilize on a large scale?

Tada Shun's face was filled with suspicion and uncertainty as he glared at the Communications Staff Officer and asked:

"How many troops did the enemy deploy? How many tanks?"

The officer trembled all over and stammered, "Ac... according to the telegram sent back by the remnants of the Morita Battalion... the en... enemy only has... one tank..."

"On... one?"

The meeting room fell into a dead silence instantly!

You could hear a pin drop!

One tank routed a battalion equipped with anti-tank weapons?

This is simply a fantasy!

Tada Shun suppressed his overwhelming rage and growled, "What about those three anti-tank guns? Were they just for show?"

The officer broke into a cold sweat and forced himself to read the rest of the telegram: "Lieu... Lieutenant Colonel Morita reports... our... our anti-tank guns hit the enemy tank multiple times... but... but none could penetrate its armor..."

"Lieutenant Colonel Morita decisively ordered a tactical withdrawal..."

"Bakayaro!!!"

Tada Shun finally exploded, especially upon hearing that Morita actually ordered a retreat.

"Useless! That fool Morita! He should commit seppuku to apologize to His Majesty the Emperor!!"

A battalion with heavy anti-tank firepower was actually pierced through by a single tank!

No matter how strong that tank's protection was, the Battalion Commander Morita... deserves to die!

Those were a full thousand elite warriors of the Empire!

Even if they used a human wave, they could have buried the opponent!

This idiot actually ordered a retreat?

Isn't that giving the enemy a chance to destroy them one by one?

Tada Shun felt like he was going to die of anger!

First Abe Sho, then Morita—all of them are useless trash!

But after the rage came a bone-chilling coldness.

Even the 37mm anti-tank guns were ineffective?

That means the 47mm main gun of the Type 97 medium tanks currently equipped by the Imperial Japanese Army is likely ineffective as well!

Tada Shun was a Front Army Commander after all; he quickly forced himself to calm down from his fury.

"Order! The 1st Tank Brigade is to move out immediately! Dispatch the type 95 heavy tank!"

"At the same time, order all units around Fang County to set up obstacles at all costs to slow down the enemy's movements and buy time for the type 95 heavy tank unit to arrive!"

type 95 heavy tank?

The high-ranking Japanese officers in the Headquarters gasped!

That was the Japanese ace tank, their trump card!

The current main battle tank of the Japanese was the Type 97 medium tank, with a 47mm main gun.

Although the caliber was larger than the 37mm anti-tank gun, the difference was limited.

Besides that, the Japanese were also equipped with Type 95 light tanks and Type 94 tankettes.

The Type 95 light tank's main gun was only 37mm, and the Type 94 tankette was even worse, not even having a main gun, only equipped with a machine gun.

The tank with the largest main gun caliber currently possessed by the Japanese was the type 95 heavy tank.

Its main gun caliber was a full 70mm!

This time, Tada Shun was completely ruthless, directly mobilizing the type 95 heavy tank.

"I don't believe there is any armor that a 70mm main gun cannot shatter!"