Chapter 339: The Fourth Division wants to counterattack the mainland?

"Is it fast?" Cun Yunsheng looked at Duan Zhenguo with a puzzled look on his face.

It's been a long time, okay?

You have to know that the Japanese troops in Guangzhou are all second-line troops, and their combat effectiveness is not as strong as imagined.

It can be said that the four regiments under Meng Fanle are already the strongest troops in the Sichuan Army.

And there is also the Japanese 104th Division as an insider, if we can't win.

You might as well just hit yourself to death with a piece of tofu.

"I spent 104 million yen to persuade the Japanese th Division to act as an insider. If we can't win, I'll just kill myself with tofu." Cun Yunsheng sneered.

Afterwards, Cun Yunsheng asked the communications staff to send a secret telegram. Only Meng Fanle could translate this telegram, and no one else knew how to decipher it.

Hearing this, Duan Zhenguo was surprised. He didn't expect that he would spend 30 million to bribe a Japanese division.

He had heard before that Cun Yunsheng spent 300 million yen to bribe the Japanese Army's 4th Division.

He thought it was a rumor.

Now it seems that all this should be true.

"Sir, should we let the New 1st Regiment join the battle? The Malaysian guerrillas sent us intelligence that the Japanese army is dispatching two divisions to the front line. The enemy is Yamashita Tomoyuki, who is known as the Tiger of Malaya. He is very ferocious in using troops." Duan Zhenguo thought it was better to give a reminder.

Hearing this, Cun Yunsheng remained calm.

"So what if Yamashita Tomoyuki doesn't have elite troops? He can't do anything without the right people."

"Don't think too highly of him. Besides, these natives have been exhausted and we can continue to recruit them. Don't worry about it. This is not the real main battlefield."

His goal all along was to land on Luzon Island.

Now they are just trying to make a bigger noise to cover up their real purpose.

Once we take over Yangcheng, we will be able to land on Luzon Island.

"The reason why I came here in person to command this time is, first, to help you hold the line. The 60th Army of the Yunnan Army has just arrived, and I'm afraid you can't hold it back. Second, I want to make it clear to you the real purpose of this battle." Cun Yunsheng felt that he still had to make it clear to the other party.

"Our goal has always been to occupy Luzon Island and cut off the connection between the Japanese mainland and Southeast Asia."

"I hope you can understand this."

"Yes, Sir, I understand." Duan Zhenguo nodded quickly, but looked confused.

"Sir, what if I become the main attacker while fighting here?"

Hearing this, Cun Yunsheng was stunned. He didn't expect that this kid was so ambitious.

He actually wanted to make it the main attack.

It seems that he is still a little unconvinced.

"No problem. If you launch the main attack, I will fully support you. But you can't let those elite troops under my command go to the battlefield. What you have to do now is to consume the Japanese army's strength and use those natives to consume them." Cun Yunsheng reminded again.

"Don't care about those natives. You have to remember this: those who are not of my race must have different hearts."

"Don't forget how the expeditionary army was tricked by these natives during the Burmese battlefield. You must remember this clearly."

"Yes, Sir, I will never forget it." Duan Zhenguo promised.

.........

The headquarters of the 23rd Independent Mixed Brigade of the Japanese Army in the northeast of Yangcheng.

Originally, everything was peaceful here, and even two independent infantry battalions were dispatched to support the Western Front.

As a result, after a few days, something suddenly went wrong with them.

Because the 70th Independent Infantry Battalion stationed in the east actually sent an emergency telegram.

This made the brigade commander, Major General Kenji Shimokawabe, look confused.

Where do the enemies come from in the east?
"Reporting to the brigade commander, the front line of the 70th Battalion has been breached by the Chinese Army, and the remaining troops of the Shimazu Battalion are now exchanging fire with the enemy."

"But the enemy's firepower is too strong, and he requested tactical guidance." The operations staff reported.

"Damn, what's the use of this useless Shimazu Jiro? How come their position was breached so quickly? He leads a battalion, can't he even hold his position?" asked Shimokawabe Kenji in disbelief.

Although his infantry brigade's combat effectiveness is not good, it is not that bad.

Moreover, the elite Chinese troops are all on the Western Front. Even if there are Chinese troops, their combat effectiveness will definitely not be very strong.

result?

So the defense line was easily broken through?

Still need tactical guidance?
Isn't it just a request for reinforcements?

What a joke, when did the Imperial Army become so weak?

"Reporting to the brigade commander, the soldiers who have retreated report that Major Shimazu has been killed in the raid just now."

"Bagayalu, what's going on?" asked Kenji Shimokawabe.

"In the first round of attacks, the Chinese heavy artillery hit Major Shimazu who was inspecting the position."

"It was extremely unfortunate that Major Shimazu was blown into pieces by the shell, leaving only half of his command sword," explained the operations staff.

Hearing this, Shimokawabe Kenji was speechless.

Isn't this too unlucky?

But this is normal.

Anything is normal on the battlefield.

After all, some people were shot down by their own anti-aircraft guns.

Some were even killed by friendly forces' vehicles.

So it was normal for him to be hit and killed by a shell while inspecting the position.

"Damn it, order the frontline positions to hold their positions immediately and rely on the offensive to resist. Send a telegram to the commander immediately and request tactical guidance." Shimokawabe Kenji knew that now was not the time to show off.

His infantry brigade had only six infantry battalions, and including the brigade headquarters, there were only more than 6,000 people.

Two battalions were also selected.

Now a brigade has been crippled.

The remaining three battalions still need to defend their respective positions.

He simply can't mobilize more troops now.

So the best thing to do is to ask for help.

There's no shame in this.

Who made him not have many soldiers?
If he had been given another artillery battalion, he wouldn't have been so miserable.

"Haiyi, I will do it right away."

…………

The troops that attacked the Japanese Army's 70th Independent Battalion were the th Regiment of the th Division led by Qian Zhengqing.

According to the training outline, there was a round of artillery fire before the battle. Fortunately, the first round of artillery fire killed the Japanese captain.

Of course he didn't know all this. At the moment he was at the front line observing the situation there with a telescope.

In addition to catching the Japanese army off guard at the beginning and gaining a lot of advantages, after the Japanese army reacted, they used buildings and fortifications to start resisting step by step.

The most obvious one should be Zhang Tian, ​​who was leading the troops to attack on the front line. He led a platoon of soldiers to attack the position he was responsible for, and he clearly felt that the intensity of the Japanese resistance had increased a lot.

The Japanese used the fortifications on the battlefield to fight desperately, which slowed down the pace of their attack a lot.

"We can't go on like this, it's too slow. Tell the company commander to use the 60mm mortar to slowly advance with a barrage of shells." Zhang Tian thought about it and decided to use the cover of the artillery shells to capture the Japanese position.

The situation was quickly reported to the company commander Yang Bai. After listening to Zhang Tian’s request, Yang Bai gritted his teeth and said after hesitating for a moment.

"Pass my order, have the mortars follow the infantry and provide support at any time."

"Yes, Captain."

That's why Cun Yunsheng is so generous that even the infantry company has 4 60mm mortars. If it were other troops, even the regiment-level units might not have artillery.

As the order was issued, the company's four 60mm mortars began to frantically bombard the Japanese positions.

Such reckless bombing naturally made the Japanese army dare not raise their heads.

Some wooden fortifications were directly blown up.

For a time, the situation of the Japanese army was very bad.

"Charge, follow me and kill all these Japanese soldiers." Seeing that the Japanese army's firepower was suppressed by artillery fire, Zhang Tian immediately came out of the bunker and rushed towards the Japanese position.

He fired wildly at the Japanese positions with the Thompson submachine gun in his hand without stopping.

"kill……"

Seeing their platoon leader so fierce, the other soldiers also rushed towards the Japanese position with a roar.

Faced with the Chinese army whose automatic weapons were obviously superior to theirs, the Japanese army was beaten back step by step and soon lost new positions.

When the battle situation here reached the ears of Shimokawabe Kenji, he was even more impatient and urged his subordinates to call Lieutenant General Nakazono Moritaka to ask for tactical guidance.

……

This time, the wording that Kenji Shimokawa sent to the headquarters was very anxious, meaning that if you don't come, my independent infantry brigade might be wiped out by the enemy.

At that time, not only will Xiahebe Kenji bear the shame, but even you, Lieutenant General Nakazono Moritaka, will also be interrogated by the headquarters.

After all, this is an independent brigade.

Although there is no regimental flag, what if we are completely wiped out?

Even Lieutenant General Nakazono Moritaka was embarrassed.

"Damn, this is strange, why would the Chinese army appear here?" Lieutenant General Nakazono Moritaka naturally saw the telegram from Shimokawabe Kenji, but now the issue is not to pursue these, but to find out why there are enemies here?
"Commander, this Chinese army began to attack the 23rd Independent Brigade at 3 o'clock this afternoon, and the attack was very fierce."

"Under the cover of aircraft and heavy artillery, they almost flattened our frontline positions. At the same time, the defending 70th Infantry Battalion is almost wiped out." said the combat staff.

"Could it be a feint to the east and attack in the west?" Lieutenant General Nakazono Moritaka still couldn't understand why they didn't increase the intensity of the attack on the western front and why they ran to the east?

Was it to attract his attention?
It’s no wonder he thought so, it’s just that the other party’s use of troops was too weird.

At the same time, he was also worried that it would be great if Yangcheng had a city wall. In this way, he could use street fighting to delay the enemy's actions.

"Could it be that they are deliberately attacking the east? And then launching a fierce attack from the west? And at the same time asking us to withdraw troops from the west?" The operations staff gave the opposite opinion.

"Well, it's not impossible." Lieutenant General Nakazono Moritaka nodded, agreeing with the other party's opinion.

"The Sichuan Army is erratic in its use of troops. This move must have a deeper meaning. However, we cannot sit idly by and ignore Xiahebianjun's request for help."

"In this case, let the 130th Division dispatch a regiment to support him."

"Yes." The operations staff nodded quickly.

"The 104th Division has already arrived in Zengcheng. Should we let them continue to advance? And attack the Chinese army from behind?"

Upon hearing this, Lieutenant General Nakazono Moritaka thought about it for a moment and agreed to his plan.

"Yoshi, send a telegram to the 104th Division immediately and ask them to speed up and reinforce Yangcheng."

"Hay."

…………

Zengcheng, 104th Division Headquarters, Colonel Fujiwara looked at Sato Jiro in front of him and said with a little dissatisfaction.

"Sato-kun, are you ready to quit completely? Become a rich man?"

"Oh? Fujiwara-kun, why do you say that?" Sato Jiro took a sip of sake and asked in confusion.

"I see that you don't seem to care about military affairs. Don't you just want to be a rich man?" Colonel Fujiwara asked back.

Hearing this, Sato Jiro was silent for a while, and then remembered what Cun Yunsheng had said to him.

"No, someone once told me that he hoped I could lead the 4th Division back to the mainland, capture the emperor alive, and completely drive him out. He believed that we did not need an emperor to rule us."

"I didn't answer his question at the time, but decided to become a rich man first. But I suddenly found that life was boring after becoming rich."

"Fujiwara-kun, you know that we Osaka merchants don't like fighting at all. We only like doing business."

"Isn't it good for the world to be peaceful? Why do we have to fight and kill each other?"

Listening to Sato Jiro's illogical words, Colonel Fujiwara was speechless, but he had a different opinion about Cun Yunsheng's words.

"Well, this was said by the commander of the Sichuan Army, right?"

"Hey." Sato Jiro nodded.

"I think what you said makes sense. We really shouldn't have an emperor." Colonel Fujiwara nodded in agreement.

"Do you also think that I should lead the 4th Division to counterattack the mainland?" This time, Sato Jiro was no longer drunk and asked back.

"We can try, otherwise we will never be able to go home. What's more, there are many anti-war people like us. There are many families in our hometown who are against the war. If we can win their support, we are not without hope." Colonel Fujiwara felt that they could indeed give it a try.

"Mr. Sato, you haven't been back recently, so you don't know that many local people are living a miserable life every day. Everyone is tightening their belts just to keep the war going."

"This war has consumed too many of our people. I think it's time to end it."

Hearing this, Sato Jiro's eyes flashed with a gleam, and then he looked at Colonel Fujiwara.

"It would be great if we could have the help of Fujiwara-kun. I believe that our two divisions have a great chance of counterattacking the homeland."

"well."

Just as Colonel Fujiwara was about to say something, he saw his subordinates hurriedly walking in.

"Colonel, the commander sent an urgent telegram ordering our troops to go to Yangcheng immediately and raid the Chinese army that is attacking the 23rd Independent Brigade." said the subordinate.

Hearing this, Colonel Fujiwara did not react much, but looked at Sato Jiro.

"It seems that the situation is very critical. Our commander is very anxious."

"Fujiwara-kun, I think this is a very good opportunity. As long as we break through the position of the 23rd Brigade, we can march straight in and capture the headquarters. Then we can use the name of Lieutenant General Nakazono Moritaka to order all troops to lay down their weapons. We will then eliminate those officers who are unwilling to surrender, and the remaining soldiers will obey our orders."

"In this way, our counterattack plan will become much stronger again." Sato Jiro said excitedly.

(End of this chapter)