In fact, Shigeichi Hatada is extremely dissatisfied with the current situation on the Eastern Front. Judging from the situation on the entire battlefield, the opponent's strength and equipment are indeed far beyond the pre-war expectations. However, judging from the battle reports of each division, the opponent's main force On the western front, where most of the troops were concentrated, the opponents blocking the 8th Division on the eastern front had no more than five regiments at most, or even less.
But even though the Eighth Division strengthened part of the Eleventh Division's troops, and even privately transferred two powerful heavy howitzers from the Tiger Head Fortress to participate in the battle without asking for instructions from the base camp, it was unable to break through the opponent's blockade. It was because he suffered heavy casualties that a tank regiment he was assigned to lost more than 30 precious tanks in one day, almost losing its combat effectiveness.
That chariot regiment was a reserve assigned to itself by the Kwantung Army Headquarters. It was originally intended to be used to form the second chariot division in the mainland. This was a good time. It was crippled in the first battle and was more than thirty years old. One tank and more than 30 tanks, which were extremely valuable to the Kwantung Army, were lost in vain.
With such heavy losses and pitifully little progress, the Eighth Division was simply a pile of rubbish, and the division commander Lieutenant General Tsukada, who was always arrogant on weekdays, was even more rubbish among rubbish. The two infantry regiments, An artillery regiment, plus tanks attached to the corps, a regiment of heavy artillery, and some troops attached to the 11th Division all marched westward. To achieve this result, he should commit seppuku and apologize to the emperor.
In his heart, he thought that Tsukada should commit seppuku as an apology, but Chuichi Namada also understood that ordering a lieutenant general and division commander to commit seppuku, not to mention an army commander, even the commander-in-chief of the Kwantung Army, General Yoshijiro Umezu, would not be able to do this. Qualifications, unless His Majesty the Emperor personally orders it.
It was not up to Juichi Hata to decide whether Lieutenant General Tsukada should apologize, but he knew that if the war situation was allowed to develop like this, he would be the one to apologize to the Emperor. But the problem was intelligence, and what was being fought on the battlefield was It's a complete mess. Until now, I can't even get an accurate situation. I don't have a strong intelligence support. How can I fight this battle with my eyes darkened?
What made Shigeichi Bota scratch his head even more was that several divisions had reported that at night, all the tactical radio stations below the regiment on the line from Fangzheng to Mishan were collectively deafened. The situation below could not be reported, and the orders from above were conveyed. If we don't go down, it's okay at the level of the wing. The lower levels of the wing can only rely on wired telephones and even messengers. What exactly is the problem? It's a question that Shige Hatada can't figure out.
After pondering for a long time, Namada Juichi decided to put more pressure on the 8th Division. He called the adjutant and asked him to immediately send a report to the commander of the 8th Division, Lieutenant General Tsukada, ordering his 8th Division to attack tomorrow. You must break through the enemy's defenses before midnight and arrive at Qiliga Mountain before noon the day after tomorrow.
Finally, in order to express his anger at the slow progress of the Eighth Division, Namada Juichi also added at the end of the telegram that if the breakthrough cannot be made on time, the division commander and the following officers will collectively apologize to His Majesty the Emperor and engage in military justice. The Eighth Division There is no need for the division title to continue to exist.
But before the telegram from Juichi Namada was sent out, Lieutenant General Tsukada over there sent a telegram requesting to stop the attack. The reason was very clear. Almost all the officers and soldiers of the Eighth Division were suffering from a strange disease. Sick, as long as they don't smoke a kind of cigarette called Fortress brand, they are so weak that most of the lower-level officers and soldiers of the Eighth Division can't even stand up, let alone charge.
All the military doctors of the division were dispatched but nothing was wrong. I hope the army commander can dispatch a group of capable military doctors to visit the Eighth Division and mobilize a batch of Fortress brand cigarettes as soon as possible.
After receiving the telegram of Tsukada's attack, the anger in Hatada Shigeichi's heart could no longer be described as anger. He had not expressed his anger at the 8th Division's slow offensive, but he had started pretending to be sick. He can't stand up if he doesn't smoke. Tsukada is making some international jokes. He also wants Fortress brand cigarettes. His Eighth Division is full of food.
The extremely angry Namada Juichi simply stopped sending the telegram and went directly to the Eighth Division. As the lieutenant general commander of the army, he wanted to personally treat those guys. At that time, the whole Japanese Imperial Army knew about the fact that the captain of the collective pretended to be sick was personally serving as a doctor. If word got out that he, the commander of the army, was personally serving as a doctor this time, it would be hard to see what kind of face Tsukada Gong would have. people.
However, after getting angry, Namada Juichi quickly calmed down. Although the Eighth Division is not as famous as the Second and Sixth Divisions, it is also a standing veteran division. It is definitely not comparable to those soft-legged crabs of the Fourth Division. Yes, the determination of the officers and soldiers of the Eighth Division to be loyal to the Emperor, and their heroic spirit of not fearing death in the holy war for His Majesty the Emperor are definitely no worse than those of other divisions.
Although Lieutenant General Tsukada Gou, the division commander who was transferred from the president of Army University, was a bit domineering and served as chief of staff most of the time, he was smart, capable and brave, and he was always valued by the base camp. It is impossible to make such a low-level mistake. There must be no mistakes in the middle.
After being angry at first and then inexplicably, Juichi Namada rushed to the 8th Division in person. Faced with the performance of the 8th Division, he was really dumbfounded. From the front to the rear, people were lying on the ground lying on the ground, yawning continuously. The officers and soldiers who could no longer stand and even screamed in pain like animals were dumbfounded.
Looking at the ashen-faced Tsukada Tsukasa and the military doctor he brought who was busy checking the soldiers' health, but this time surprisingly calm, Hata Shige said: "Lieutenant General Tsukada Tsukasa, what is going on? Your Is it possible that the entire army is suffering from the plague? How come every one of them is like those opium smokers in China?"
Tsukada shook his head helplessly: "Your Excellency, Commander, I don't know very well. The whole division has been acting a little abnormal these past two days. Starting from last night, some symptoms began to appear one after another. By noon Today most of them are like this, listless."
"I asked only a few junior officers, and they didn't know why this happened. And the most important thing now is that not only the lower-level officers and soldiers have severe symptoms, but also two wing captains and some senior officers have also suffered from this. symptoms."
"These are better. The heavy ones are even causing convulsions. Seventy percent of the people in the entire division can't even hold a gun, and at least half of them can't even stand up. And as time goes by, This situation is getting more and more serious, and the entire division has been paralyzed. Let alone combat, if this situation continues for half a day, even self-defense will become a problem."
"After our internal investigation, we found that the people with abnormalities usually smoked a kind of high-end cigarettes called Fortress. However, those officers and soldiers who did not smoke on weekdays had nothing to do with it. Those who had problems were those who often smoked on weekdays. People who smoke like this.”
"These cigarettes are high-end products, much better than the military cigarettes issued, and the price is not high. They are basically the same as Manchuria real estate cigarettes, so they are very popular with lower-level officers and soldiers on weekdays. Almost all smokers in the entire division , everyone is smoking these cigarettes now.”
"After this type of cigarette started to be sold in various military stores in the division at the end of last year, it has replaced the less popular military cigarettes and has become the main daily cigarette for officers and soldiers with smoking habits. This situation among officers and soldiers occurred just after After smoking this kind of cigarette, it was just that when I was stationed in the division, there was always a supply of cigarettes, so I didn't pay attention to it. This time, because the war time was too long, and military vendors were not allowed to appear, the officers and soldiers showed up after finishing the cigarettes they carried. This is the case.”
"I felt something was wrong, so I sent a telegram to the Commander, and sent someone back to Muling to find the owner of Suijun Trading Company. However, he didn't know why it was like this. These high-end cigarettes were all imported from a trading company in Xinjing. Yes, the purchase price offered there is very low, so there is no need for him to increase the price too high."
"And all the officers and soldiers who have experienced abnormalities have been smoking this kind of cigarette for a long time, and after finishing smoking this kind of cigarette in their hands, they have this kind of situation. After this kind of situation occurs, smoking other cigarettes cannot be replaced at all. I now suspect The problem lies with these cigarettes."
After all, he is a famous talent in the Japanese army. Although the incident happened suddenly, Lieutenant General Tsukada roughly figured out the cause of the incident in a short period of time, and quickly identified the culprit, but he did not contact him. As a drug addict, he didn't know why smoking a certain type of cigarette would cause this condition.
Having said this, Tsukada passed a box of cigarettes with only a few cigarettes left to Namada Juichi. Namada Juichi took it and roughly looked at the cigarettes of the same brand as those sold in Shina Pass, but found nothing unusual. , handed it to the military medical director behind him and said: "Take it and test it to see if there is anything weird about these cigarettes."
The military medical director took it, opened it, smelled it, and then said clearly: "Sir, there is no need for testing. From the symptoms of the 8th Division, Mr. Tsukada's description, and my feelings about these cigarettes, these cigarettes They are all specially made and mixed with heroin, which is extracted from Lily Trading Company's processing plant in Fengtian using tobacco soil produced in Rehe. It is extremely pure and highly addictive."
"These officers and soldiers of the Eighth Division are not suffering from so-called infectious diseases, but drug addiction. This kind of heroin is a higher-grade product extracted from opium. Its toxicity and difficulty in withdrawal are far higher than opium. Lieutenant General, I suggest that the 8th Division be withdrawn to Muling immediately. At present, they have completely lost their combat effectiveness unless..."
Namada Juichi heard this and frowned and said: "Unless anything, don't be hesitant in your words. Let the Eighth Division withdraw at this time. Are you kidding me? No matter what method you take, the Eighth Division must be allowed to withdraw tomorrow morning." The bodies of the officers and soldiers of the division have returned to their original appearance."
The military medical director frowned when he heard this and said: "Your Excellency, Lieutenant General, quitting drug addiction is a very long and arduous task. Let alone just one night, it may not even be possible to quit in a month. This is still a matter of dependence." For smaller cigarettes and opium, for heroin, which is more toxic, has a higher addiction rate, and is more difficult to quit, it will take at least three months to completely detoxify."
"These soldiers have been smoking special cigarettes mixed with heroin since the end of last year, which means they have been smoking drugs for at least half a year. After such a long time, the officers and soldiers of the Eighth Division may have become addicted to drugs.
If you are young, you will not be able to quit in a short time."
"With all due respect, Lieutenant General, it is impossible to quit completely at least for now. If you insist on not withdrawing the 8th Division and want them to continue to serve the Emperor, you can only find a way to get some heroin to supply them.
Take it, otherwise, if the Eighth Division wants to continue fighting, it will have to wait two months. This is the shortest time I can give you."