While the one-man Yuichigan Gakuin was nervously preparing for war, on the Kaga, several Japanese naval admirals, including Yamamoto Isoroku, Koizumi Minichiro, Tsukahara 243, Arima Masafumi, etc., were also making plans for the next step. The combat plan and overall combat ideas were decided when the decision was made to use troops against Hainan. Wanning would bear the weight of the first wave of attacks. If they could win the best in one go, if not, then they would continue to attack Wanning. At the same time, second or even third battlefields will be opened in other places. In short, the first stage of the battle has only one purpose, which is to obtain a landing point. After obtaining the landing point, it is to capture a central city, such as Wanning or Qiongzhou. , Of course, considering that Qiongzhou is too close to Guangzhou and may be attacked by the Guangzhou Air Force at any time, Wanning is still the first target.
The exploratory bombardment of the vanguard fleet did not lead to any counterattack, and according to the report of Colonel Lin Zhi, who commanded the vanguard fleet, there were no obvious traces of fortifications on the Wanning coastline. "Sir, is there a possibility that the Xuebing Army's attack on Hainan The control is still very weak, or Ouyang Yun didn't fancy this place," Tsukahara 243 said to Yamamoto,
Yamamoto shook his head: "It's unlikely. Last year, the secret service under the military headquarters was trying to enter Hainan, but the military defense was extremely tight. Until we left Nagasaki, they failed to provide any valuable intelligence. Ouyang How could Yun be so unprepared in the military even if he has put so much effort into counterintelligence work?" He frowned as he spoke: "Why do I feel that the Chinese people have some kind of conspiracy waiting for us?"
As soon as Yamamoto finished speaking, Tsukahara blushed. Yamamoto specially summoned him and put him in charge of commanding the aviation unit. One can imagine the expectations he had for him. However, he disappointed Mr. Yamamoto. Two aircraft were used for reconnaissance missions. None of the Type 99 fighters could return, which made him very ashamed. If these two fighters could bring back detailed information, Mr. Yamamoto would not be so entangled now, right?
Soldiers sometimes have very accurate intuition. As soon as Yamamoto said this, everyone except Koizumi Toshiichiro couldn't help but become serious. Masafumi Arima and Tsukahara 243 were both Yamamoto's freshmen from the battlefield in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. He came here and heard a lot about the Xuebing Army. At this time he said: "Sir, I think your concern is necessary. Compared with Guangdong, Fujian and Guangxi, Hainan's strategic position is too important. As long as it has Anyone with a certain amount of military knowledge will definitely not ignore this. When I was in Anhui, I heard some puppet soldiers say that when Ouyang Yun fled Nanjing and returned to Guangdong, he took with him more than 50,000 laborers and more than 20,000 Sichuan troops. After a long time, these people must have been trained by Ouyang Yun to become qualified trainees."
Before he finished speaking, Xiaoquan frowned: "Arima-kun, why are you talking about this? Is it related to what we are doing now?"
The entire Combined Fleet, including the Japanese Navy, has special respect for Koizumi because of Yamamoto's special care. For Masafumi Arima, Koizumi is even more grateful (like Tsukahara 243, he is also Koizumi's mentor). Recommended by Yamamoto), so even though the other party's title was lower than his own, he still maintained enough respect. He bowed slightly to Koizumi and said: "Koizumi-kun, please listen to me." Then, he nodded to Yamamoto again, Said: "Your Excellency, the main reason why we judge that Hainan's defense strength is insufficient is the current strength of the Xuebing Army. According to the intelligence currently obtained by the empire, the Xuebing Army has five regular armies. If Ouyang Yun is added to the direct The troops under their jurisdiction are about eighteen Class A divisions in total. In the Battle of Madang some time ago, the Xuebing Army dispatched eight divisions and eventually lost five divisions. Now, they should have thirteen divisions. Fujian As well as the southeast of Jiangxi, we already know that the Xuebing Army has six divisions deployed there, and Taiwan has two divisions. So, now, Ouyang Yun only has five divisions left in his hands. These five divisions must at least be left. Three divisions defend Guangdong, so Hainan can only have two divisions at most. Now the question arises, among these five armies, are the 50,000 laborers and 20,000 Sichuan troops included? I have read in detail the records of the Imperial Intelligence Department from Nanjing. The intelligence on the Xuebing Army collected after the battle did not mention the 50,000 laborers. If Ouyang Yun had set up other establishments and transferred them to Hainan,..."
Since the Marco Polo Bridge Incident in 1937, the Japanese army and the Chinese army have fought many times. Although most of them have achieved victory, there have also been many defeats. How do the Japanese front-line troops deal with these defeats? They report good news but not bad news, or they wantonly exaggerate their achievements. , the Xuebing Army's northern legion obviously only had five and a half divisions, but now, when it came to the Japanese, it actually expanded to eight divisions. Not counting, the Xuebing Army obviously only suffered about 10,000 casualties. After the Japanese After modification, it has now become nearly 50,000 people. Ten thousand and 50,000 people, the opposite is true, that is 80,000 people.
"What do you mean, there are 80,000 Chinese regular troops in Hainan now." Xiaoquan asked, frowning.
Arima stopped talking. After all, it was just a guess. If Xiaoizumi really took it seriously, he would not dare to officially admit it.
"It's better to believe that he has something than to believe that he doesn't. Our opponent is Ouyang Yun. Gentlemen, have you studied the success experience of Ouyang Yun and Xuebingjun? Two words can sum it up, miracle." Yamamoto said, with his right hand on the The place name Wanning was tapped on the map, looking worried.
Xiaoquan looked at his expression and suddenly smiled: "It is said that Mr. Yamamoto is addicted to gambling, so he is very speculative in commanding operations. Why has he become so cautious now? I admit that Ouyang Yun and Xue Bingjun have no idea about the current situation in China. It's like a miracle to everyone, but that's it for now, because I'm here."
What Koizumi said later was very heroic and even a bit arrogant. However, Arima and others who already knew his ability had no doubts. They all looked at Koizumi with expressions of great expectation.
Yamamoto smiled bitterly: "You have to be cautious. If you have experienced 'Sink It', you will know how powerful Ouyang Yun is." As he spoke, his tone suddenly changed and his volume increased a lot: "Well, I won't say it. That's all. Now, cheer up and face the new challenges. Do everything as agreed before. However, in order to avoid falling into the trap, the landing force has been increased from three brigades to one regiment. Commander, let Onizuka The major general will personally take command. In addition, the artillery preparation will be increased from the original ten minutes to twenty minutes. Hashimoto, you should contact Oshima Maru now and ask them to prepare for battle." As he said that, he looked at his watch. : "It is now seventeen seventeen, eight o'clock, we will launch the first wave of attack on time."
"Hai." Chief of Staff Jun Hashimoto agreed and left.
The captain's room of the Kaga fell into silence for a while.