Chapter 354: Finally succeeded in gaining a foothold!

Tokyo, in front of the palace where the Japanese Emperor resides.

Prince Fushimi Hiroyoshi, who was already 67 years old, was kneeling in front of the palace in military uniform, staggering.

Prince Kan'in Yasuhito walked up to him at some point, looked at Prince Fushimi Hiroyoshi's appearance and sighed, "Why bother? His Majesty must have his reasons for not wanting to see you. Your Highness, why are you doing this..."

"Your Highness, you and I are both members of the imperial family. I hope you can persuade His Majesty not to be angry." Prince Fushimi Hiroyoshi said.

"Alas, your navy really went too far this time. If the navy had not refused to withdraw warships, the 21st Army stationed in Yangcheng would not have been destroyed. Your Majesty is very angry." Prince Kan'in Palace Zairen shook his head and said.

What I actually want to say here is that the Japanese royal family is still very powerful.

For example, Prince Kan'in Yasuhito once served as the Chief of Staff of the Army Headquarters and controlled the army for a long time.

Prince Hiroyoshi Fushimi controlled the navy for a long time.

Here we need to explain in detail that after Emperor Showa ascended the throne, he tried his best to control the military.

Especially in 8, when Prince Fushimi replaced the treaty-supporting Taniguchi Naomasa as the Chief of the Naval General Staff, together with the Chief of the Army General Staff Prince Kan'in Yasuhito, they represented the Emperor in controlling the navy and the army behind the scenes.

During his tenure, he forced Navy Minister Osumi Tsuyoshi to transfer operational command from the Navy Ministry to the Naval General Staff; tore up the London Naval Treaty, dismissed a large number of treaty-supporting naval generals, and actively strengthened the navy together with Nagano Osami.

During the July 7 Incident, he dispatched a fleet to attack China; he promoted cooperation between the Japanese and German navies and forced the navy to agree to go to war with the United States.

On the eve of the outbreak of the Pacific War, Emperor Showa was concerned about the uncertainty of victory or defeat and was afraid that the imperial family would be held responsible in the end, so he asked them to hide behind the scenes and pushed his agent Shimada Shigetaro to the front (at the same time, Prince Kan'in also retired, and his agent was Sugiyama Motoko).
In fact, the big bosses behind Hai Lu are two royal princes.

The reason for the incompatibility is because Emperor Showa did it on purpose.

Now that Guangzhou had been lost, Emperor Showa naturally questioned why the navy was unwilling to withdraw warships.

"The navy has indeed suffered heavy losses. The remaining warships are in the hands of Yamamoto Isoroku. He needs to face the American warships and cannot get away for the time being. Maybe we shouldn't have attacked the Americans in the first place, otherwise we wouldn't be so stretched everywhere." Prince Hiroyoshi Fushimi said helplessly.

"Well, I'll go in and talk to His Majesty, but I can't guarantee that His Majesty will see you. I can only convey your thoughts for you..."

Upon hearing this, Fushimi-no-miya nodded deeply to Kan'in-no-miya and said, "Please!"

Kanin Palace nodded, turned and walked into the palace.

"Your Majesty, His Majesty Fushimi-kun is a member of the royal family no matter what, and has always been loyal to the royal family and the empire. Since he has something to say to Your Majesty, why do you have to avoid him?"

"This is not the first time that the navy has watched someone die without rescuing him. This time, it resulted in the death of a monarch. This is an unforgivable crime." Hirohito said angrily.

"Let him go back and think it over carefully. We handed over the navy to him, not to let him hinder the army. Now we are sending troops everywhere. If we continue like this, I'm afraid we will lose this war."

After saying this, Hirohito said he needed to rest.

In fact, Hirohito did have a headache during this period.

The main reason was that the 104th Division and the th Division rebelled one after another, which made him feel that there was an obvious problem with the control of the troops.

Even the anti-war alliance is expanding. Someone has reported that the son of the Saionji family is suspected of joining an anti-fascist organization, which makes him a little annoyed.

The reason why he was not arrested was because the reputation of the Saionji family was too high, and without solid evidence, he could not be killed.

Hirohito, who was deeply troubled by internal and external troubles, was also hesitant about whether this war should end in a dignified manner.
Or continue to hold on?

…………

"You said that Koichi Saionji sent someone to contact the 4th Division? He also wants to join the anti-war alliance?" To be honest, Cun Yunsheng was stunned for a long time when he received this news.

He didn't expect that the Japanese Communist Party actually sent someone to contact the 4th Division.

Before this, Cun Yunsheng had expected that the Japanese Communist Party would contact the 4th Division one day, so he asked Jingxia Yuta to pay special attention to it.

If you encounter someone from the Japanese Communist Party who contacts you, be sure to tell him.

I didn't expect that after such a short time, they actually sent someone to contact me.

What’s more important is that the person who contacted us came from Hong Kong.

This surprised Cun Yunsheng. The Japanese Communist Party was developing at a very fast speed.

They have all infiltrated the military.

"What is the relationship between this Saionji Koichi and Saionji Komochi?" Cun Yunsheng asked puzzledly.

"Saionji Kimimochi is the grandfather of Saionji Koichi, and his father Saionji Hachiro is the son of Mori Mototoku, the last lord of Choshu domain." It is obvious that Inoshita Yuta knows these nobles very well.

"That means a duke's son is contacting you now and wants to end the war, right?" Cun Yunsheng almost laughed as he spoke.

"Yes, Lord Saionji believes that as long as we can land on the mainland, they can convince more people to end the war." Inoshita Yuta said respectfully.

Hearing this, Cun Yunsheng did not nod, but instead wondered whether this was feasible.

After thinking about it for a while, I felt that it seemed worth a try.

As for ending the war?

I'm afraid it may be a bit difficult, as these overseas Japanese troops will definitely rebel by then.

But these have nothing to do with him.

"Originally, I was thinking about what reason to use to get you to return to your homeland. Now someone has offered you a righteous cause. That's great. Tell the contact person that the 104th Division and the th Division must obey his orders." Cun Yunsheng said.

"However, now is not the best opportunity, we still need to wait."

"How long do we have to wait?" asked Jingxia Yuta respectfully.

"Don't worry, it won't take long. As long as we take over Luzon Island, you will have a chance to go back." Cun Yunsheng said with a smile.

.........

On Luzon Island, the positions on the east side have now been plowed over and over again by artillery fire and fighter planes.

Ten days passed in a flash, and as promised, Cun Yunsheng began to let Major General Cun Xingxing lead the 12th Division to prepare for landing on Luzon Island.

Of course, before that, fighter jets must be sent to carry out bombing.

Unfortunately, Japanese patrol planes discovered the Nanyang Task Force's fleet.

Fortunately, the team leader Gao Yuntian immediately ordered his subordinates to shoot down these Japanese reconnaissance planes.

The Japanese army, noticing the anomaly, sent out fighter planes again, only to receive news of a massive invasion by the Sichuan Army.

Unfortunately, it was too late. Almost at the same time as the report was made, the South China Sea Task Force began its landing operation on Luzon Island.

"Chi chi chi... Boom boom boom..." The whistling sound of bombs broke the silence, and the fortifications and barricades on the beach were blown everywhere.

Although Japan did not have enough steel to make steel barricades, it still built a lot of concrete barricades.

The Japanese army originally thought that they would not be able to use it, but in fact they simply repaired the fortifications built by the US military and then used them directly.

I didn't expect that I would use it directly now.

boom!
boom!
boom!
When it comes to the bombing effect of naval guns, the Fletcher-class destroyer is still the best.

"Send a message to the Southern Army Headquarters. We have been attacked by the Chinese warships. We now need the tactical assistance of the Imperial Navy. Without support, we may not be able to hold on for long..." The commander of the 23rd Division on Luzon Island, Lieutenant General Ishikawa Genshichi, had an extremely ugly expression on his face.

He didn't expect that the Sichuan Army would actually land directly on Luzon Island, which is the lifeline.

If this place is occupied, there will probably be big problems with the transportation and supply lines.

"Ha!" the adjutant responded, then turned and left.

The chief of staff said worriedly: "Your Excellency, the division commander, our situation is very bad now. Can we hold out until the navy's support arrives..." "I don't know..." Iikawa Genshichi smiled and said: "Since the other party has mobilized the navy and air force, it means that this time they are doing their best, which will definitely exceed our imagination."

At this time, the 12th Division, which had been bombarding Luzon Island for an hour and a half, finally began its landing operations.

The fishing boats that followed closely behind the naval warships were filled with soldiers from the 12th Division.

During this period, we have been busy with landing training and searching for fishing boats.

Finally, before setting off, we gathered enough fishing boats for landing.

According to the plan, in addition to transporting the 12th Division, there is also the 4th Army of the 4th War Zone, and it will take time to go back and forth.

Therefore, the 12th Division's mission was very difficult: to occupy the beachhead.

Then establish a defense line, advance in depth, and wait for subsequent reinforcements to arrive.

Before that, they needed to withstand the Japanese attack.

"Tututu...Dadada..." The Japanese light and heavy machine guns began to counterattack at this moment, and the temporarily reinforced steel plate in front of the fishing boat was hit with a clanging sound.

This is a lesson learned from pre-war drills. Installing a steel plate in front of the fishing boat can block bullets.

Obviously it comes in handy at this moment.

Faced with the firepower of the Japanese machine gun positions, the fighter planes hovering in the sky took the opportunity to dive down and fired at the exposed firepower points of the Japanese army.

Trying to clear the way for their own landing troops.

At this time, the Japanese anti-aircraft guns were also pushed out.

There was a burst of bombardment at the fighter planes in the sky!
"Boom...Boom!" A fighter plane failed to dodge and was directly hit by the Japanese anti-aircraft fire and exploded in mid-air.

The pilot on board was blown into a pile of flesh before he could parachute, and fell from the sky along with the wreckage of the plane.

Island garrison forces like this will be equipped with a certain number of air defense weapons.

They originally thought that they would never use it, but they didn't expect that they would use it now.

Seeing this, the remaining fighter planes could only increase their altitude to avoid being hit by the Japanese anti-aircraft fire.

The landing troops on the sea were once again caught in the Japanese army's firepower network.

Fortunately, the destroyer in the rear provided timely fire cover.

There were also gunboats, firing wildly at the Japanese positions.
It was considered that the Japanese firepower points were temporarily suppressed.

"Get off the boat! Get off the boat! Landing has begun!!"

Fortunately, by this time, the ship had reached the shoal.

Da da da!
The Japanese army's hidden Type 92 heavy machine guns began to roar, with huge destructive power in the narrow environment.

The soldiers of the 12th Division who were at the front fell to the ground, and soon the entire sea was dyed red with blood.

The soldiers on the fishing boats in the rear began to fight back with machine guns, preparing to provide fire cover for the landing troops.

Screams and wails suddenly resounded throughout the battlefield.

Countless soldiers were massacred before they even reached the shallows.

Landing operations have always been extremely cruel, and even the US military cannot avoid it.

And those new recruits suddenly panicked.

"Don't panic, don't panic, the machine gunners are firing back."

"Call for fire support."

Some soldiers with broken limbs fell into the sea with screams. The fishy and salty sea water soaked their wounds, causing them to scream involuntarily.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

"Boom! Boom!! Boom..." At this time, the Japanese artillery units had also pushed their infantry artillery out of the fortifications.

There was a massive bombardment against the soldiers of the 12th Division on the beach.

Suddenly, the soldiers on the beach and the shallows were blown to pieces!
"Let the navy use naval gun fire support to completely destroy the Japanese army's firepower points." Cun Xingxing put down the telescope and said to the staff officer beside him.

It is impossible to take Luzon Island without paying any price.

According to his estimate, a casualty rate of 30% is tolerable.

We have just reached this stage, but we can still hold on.

Following his order, the naval guns adjusted their angles again and launched a fierce attack on the Japanese positions.

boom!
boom!
boom!
The exposed Japanese firing points were immediately blown into flying debris, and countless Japanese soldiers were blown to pieces with screams.

But even these Japanese troops suffered such a huge blow.

Still fighting.

It has to be said that the Japanese army's fighting will is still very strong.

Artillery shells and bombs continued to explode on Japanese artillery positions and positions.

But it seems that this has no effect on the Japanese army.

Amid the thick smoke, the Japanese army's counterattack was still so fierce and crazy.

Fortunately, relying on the reckless bombing of naval guns and fighter planes, the vanguard finally successfully landed on the beach.

But when they landed, they found that there were still a small number of mines waiting for them.

There is no way to wear a three-piece beach suit.

Machine guns, artillery, mines.

There is no way to avoid it.

Only after paying a heavy price can we gain a firm foothold.

Lieutenant General Ishikawa Genshichi put down his binoculars with a sullen look on his face, and said to the chief of staff beside him: "Order the troops to abandon the front-line positions and quickly transfer the wounded and weapons and ammunition to the second-line positions and tunnels..."

"When retreating, bury explosives and mines at key points and firing points on the front line to slow down their attack." Lieutenant General Ishikawa Genshichi issued several orders in one breath.

We have to retreat.

The enemy's naval guns were bombarding the front-line positions crazily as if they were free.

It is obvious that the firepower of both sides is not in the same dimension. If the fighting continues like this, the lives of the soldiers will be sacrificed in vain.

The Battle of Nomonhan left a shadow on us from the Soviet army, so we must learn to be smarter now.

He believed that with the fortifications he had built, he would be able to hold out until reinforcements arrived.

"Finally we made it up..." Cun Xingxing couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he saw him finally reaching the position after the shelling and bombing.

"Where are the casualties?"

"About one battalion of casualties." The subordinate's answer made Cun Xingxing look extremely ugly.

(End of this chapter)