Chapter 256: Using the Rain to Fight Back! (First Update!)

The British Indian Army, which had no heavy weapons, was no match for the Japanese Army and was beaten and fled everywhere.

Especially those elite troops of the British Army were completely unable to fight back against the Japanese Army.

"This place is really suitable for colonization." Yahara Hiromichi said with emotion.

He finally understood why the British army would rather give up Burma than India.

If it were the Japanese army, they would never allow India to be lost.

"Yes, the people here are so docile. I originally thought there would be fierce resistance, but what happened? They are all very docile, which really makes me a little uncomfortable." Kawabe Masazo said.

"Indeed, the last time we attacked a village, the people inside didn't react at all. They continued to be busy, as if they couldn't see us." Mutaguchi Ren also echoed.

He originally thought there would be a bloody battle, but what was the result?
Those natives were unusually docile.

To the point that he even suspected there was an ambush.

They didn't relax their vigilance until they had checked the entire village several times and confirmed that there was no danger.

"Once we take over India, the territory of the Empire of Japan will become the largest country in the world." Kawabe Masamitsu said with a crazy look on his face.

Everyone was very excited to hear this.

After all, for these generals, expanding territory is a huge achievement.

"When will the reinforcements from the base camp arrive?" After everyone calmed down, Kawabe Masamitsu asked again.

"The first batch of troops will soon arrive at the mouth of the Ganges." The operations staff said quickly.

Hearing this, the smile on Kawabe Masazo's face widened.

He is now very glad that his original decision was right.

Otherwise, I would have committed suicide by now.

"Report, telegram from the Southern Army Headquarters." At this time, the communications staff came in and said seriously.

"What's the matter?" Hebian Zhengsan asked calmly.

Now everything is going as expected, so the mentality is different.

Unlike before, when he had a gloomy face every day, so much so that his subordinates were terrified when reporting to him.

Looking at the expression of the communications officer, Kawabe Masazo guessed that it was definitely not good news.

No bad news could defeat him now.

"After capturing Siam, the Sichuan Army Corps took Hanoi. At the same time, the 4th Division rebelled and joined the anti-war coalition." The words of the communications staff were like a thunderclap, shocking everyone in the command center.

Even the usually calm and composed Yahara Hiromichi was so shocked that he was speechless.

"What? The Fourth Division rebelled? How is that possible?" Hebian Zhengsan opened his mouth and it took him a long time to come to his senses. He looked at the communications staff with disbelief.

Although he had prepared himself mentally, the news still shocked him greatly.

He really didn't expect that the 4th Division would rebel. It was really hard to believe.

"It's true. It has the signature of the Southern Army Command. Not only that, General Terauchi Hisaichi suffered a stroke as a result and is currently unable to command the entire Southern Army." The words of the communications staff once again shocked Kawabe Masamitsu and left him completely speechless.

The stroke that could make Terauchi Shouichi angry is definitely true.

But he didn't understand why the 4th Division rebelled.

and many more!

It seems that rebellion is not something particularly surprising to the 4th Division?
After all, for Osaka merchants, if the price is right, it is not impossible to sell the emperor.

Hebian Zhengsan stroked his chin and fell into deep thought for a moment.

"Does the Southern Army Headquarters have any other orders?" Yahara Hiromichi came back to his senses and asked.

"No, they were just announcing the matter." The communications officer shook his head.

Now Yahara Hiromichi was even more confused. Why did he tell them about this for no reason and without any other orders?

"Are you confused? Actually, this is normal. Now those people in the Southern Army Headquarters are thinking about competing for the position of commander. How can they have the mind to give us orders? Moreover, the headquarters seems to have decided to establish the Indian Expeditionary Force. Judging from the status of both sides, we are already on an equal footing with the Southern Army. They are not qualified to give us orders." Kawabe Masamitsu added at the right time, which made Yahara Hiromichi suddenly realize.

He really didn't think so much, he just simply thought that the Southern Army should have other orders.

"Okay, whether the 4th Division has rebelled or not is something the headquarters needs to worry about. It has nothing to do with us. As for the reasons behind it, I believe the headquarters should be able to investigate it clearly. What we have to do now is to continue to expand our territory." Kawabe Masamitsu decided to put the matter of the 4th Division behind him.

After all, this kind of rebellion is too weird, maybe there is some other inside story.

What's more, the 4th Division was so far away from them that he couldn't worry about these things.

The most important thing right now is to expand territory.

"Hayi." All the officers responded in unison.

According to Yahara Hiromichi's battle plan, the Japanese army is currently focusing on defense and will continue the attack after waiting for reinforcements to arrive.

During this period, they looted property, steel and other materials everywhere.

You have to know that the navy brought back more than 100,000 tons of steel from the Mediterranean. Shiploads of steel were constantly shipped back and then turned into new warships.

Their army was in a miserable state, and could only plunder some resources such as rubber in Southeast Asia.

The steel is basically invisible.

Now the army headquarters is counting on the steel that Hebian Zhengsan brings back.

If it weren't for these steels, would Kawabe Masazo still be thinking about getting promoted?

It was just a dream.

…………

On the other hand, the battle in Port Said became extremely intense, and Rommel's original hope of quickly taking Port Said was completely shattered.

Because it's raining.

That's right!

Originally, there was a clear sky in Port Said, but suddenly dark clouds swept across the sky.

Soon, the heavy rain filled the entire sky with haze and gloom.

In the distance, the sea water was swept up by the strong wind into huge waves.

Even a warship of 10,000 tons is like a straw boat swaying back and forth in the sea.

Looking at this rainstorm, the British army was saved.

But for the German army, it was a real test.

They have to grit their teeth and hold on.

Victory was imminent.

As a result, due to heavy rain, the air force support operation was also stopped.

After all, with such heavy rain, it is easy for planes to have accidents.

In other words, the German army can only rely on itself at this moment.

It was also a moment to test the German army's fighting will.

"This damn rainstorm, if it weren't for it, we would have already broken through the British positions opposite us." A German tank commander looked at the falling raindrops with some annoyance and said dissatisfiedly.

"Yes, the road is muddy now. If we are not careful, the tank will get stuck in the mud. Without the support of the tank, we can only rely on the infantry." The driver said. "Not only that, the support of the air force is gone. Now is the time to test us." The gunner was also helpless. They had originally broken through the British defense line in one go.

But due to heavy rain, we had to stop.

More importantly, without air support, we can only rely on infantry.

Because of heavy rain, it is easy for tanks to get stuck in the sand.

Many German tank commanders hated the rainstorm.

If it weren't for the rainstorm, they might have captured Port Said by now and even opened champagne to celebrate their victory.

Unfortunately, there is no if.

Now they can only wait patiently for the heavy rain to stop.

Compared to the frustration of the German troops on the front line, the British commanders were unusually happy.

"That's great, thank God for bringing us this heavy rain in time." Montgomery said excitedly as he looked at the heavy rain outside the window.

Other British commanders also praised that the rainstorm came at the right time.

If it had been a little later, their defense would have been breached.

Their original mission was to delay the attack of the German armored forces, but the German army broke through the anti-tank trenches in two days.

Faced with the German air superiority, the British troops on the ground could only passively defend.

However, the German offensive was too fierce, and it would be difficult for them to stop the German army with the fortifications they built.

They were even prepared to retreat to Port Said and engage in street fighting with the German army.

Who knew, it suddenly started to rain heavily.

The German offensive was halted instantly.

"This rainstorm comes at the right time. It would be even better if it could turn those anti-tank trenches into rivers. It would be a natural defensive position for us." Lieutenant General Patton's sudden words stunned Montgomery.

This is a really good idea.

If it can really be turned into a moat, the defense of Port Said will increase several times.

But he soon came to his senses and realized that the desert cannot hold water.

Is it called a desert because it doesn't rain?

Do not!
There is rainfall here all year round.

But sand cannot hold water. Once it can hold water, the desert will turn into an oasis.

However, people at that time did not think about environmental protection at all.

What's more, the cost of turning a desert into an oasis is astronomical.

Therefore, Patton's proposal of turning the anti-tank trenches into rivers was simply impossible to achieve.

As Montgomery explained, Lieutenant General Patton looked embarrassed.

"What a pity! If it could really turn into a river, the difficulty of attacking the German army would suddenly increase, and it would become easier for us to defend Port Said." Lieutenant General Patton said with some regret.

"However, we can take advantage of the heavy rain to counterattack," Montgomery said.

"Lieutenant General Montgomery, the morale of the front-line troops is very low. I suggest that we take this opportunity to rest and restore morale. If we force an attack, we may suffer heavy losses and the German army will definitely be on guard," Lieutenant General Patton suggested.

"I know all this, but if the rainstorm does not fight back, then when the rainstorm stops, we will have to face the German armored forces again, and the losses will be even greater." Lieutenant General Montgomery shook his head to refute his opinion.

For him, this is the best time to fight back.

If you miss it, you may never have another chance.

At that time, the British army could only die a slow death.

"But how can we fight back?" Lieutenant General Patton asked puzzledly.

Counterattack is not something you talk about casually, especially in desert areas, where it is normally a dealer showdown and infantry charges.

By the time you reach the enemy's position, you will be exhausted.

"Use the newly formed armored forces and let them act as fist forces." Montgomery said.

There is also a batch of American-made M3 tanks in Port Said, which were originally provided to support the British troops in North Africa and used in the Battle of El Alamein.

This batch of tanks can be used now.

Although the armored division was newly formed and its combat effectiveness was average, there were many of them.

A total of two hundred tanks are enough to show the terrifying industrial power of America.

This hasn't reached its peak yet.

Even so, this terrifying industrial production capacity still made Montgomery astonished.

This is also the source of his confidence in defending Port Said.

Otherwise, it would be impossible to defend Port Said relying on fighter planes and infantry lacking heavy weapons.
"Two hundred are still too few. It is said that new support is on the way. There are at least five hundred tanks, including the new M4 medium tank, which is definitely a powerful weapon on the battlefield." Lieutenant General Patton said proudly.

"If we had a thousand tanks, we would definitely be able to defeat the Germans."

"No, it's enough. With these two hundred tanks, we can definitely defend Port Said." Montgomery said confidently.

"But they have just been formed. Can they win against the German army?" Lieutenant General Patton asked uncertainly.

"Don't worry, now is the time for us to have the fairest showdown with the German armored forces. Their armored forces have no air support, and such a battle is hard to come by."

"You have to know that in previous battles, the German Air Force was never absent, and most of our tanks were destroyed by Stuka bombers."

"Such a fair duel as this is rare to come by."

"If we miss this opportunity, our armored forces will be no match for the German army," Lieutenant General Montgomery explained.

He also didn't want to use this newly formed armored force to confront the German armored forces head-on.

But after comprehensive consideration, I found that this was the fairest duel.

missed!
I'm afraid I won't encounter it next time.

Hearing this, Lieutenant General Patton couldn't help but nodded.

Because he thought what the other party said made sense.

If they can't win in such an environment, then they really can't win.

More importantly, the British armored force at this moment is no weaker than that of the German army.

You have to know that the German army in North Africa only had the Type 3 tank, not even the Type 4 tank.

The M3 tank was at least not without the ability to fight back when facing the Type tank.

If we can catch the German army by surprise, there may be unexpected results.

"Order, the 22th Armored Division will launch a counterattack immediately. Also, let the remaining nd Armored Brigade begin a flank attack. The rest of the infantry will immediately launch an attack." Lieutenant General Montgomery took a deep breath and then issued the order to attack.

"Yes."

Following his order, the British armored forces that were resting, braved the storm and roared, and launched an attack on the German positions, determined to wipe out the German army in one fell swoop.

(End of this chapter)