Before the Battle of Dazhou Fort, no one realized that the Japanese soldiers were no match for the Xuebing soldiers. As for the Xuebing army, even Ouyang Yun did not expect that his soldiers would be one-sided when fighting the Japanese with bayonets. , As for the Japanese army, even Koizumi, who had a complete grasp of the history of each unit of the Japanese army, did not expect such a thing to happen.
In the end, only two of the cadets from the 1st Battalion and 1st Company of the 502nd Regiment escaped. When Masafumi Arima discovered that Kataoka Kenshi and the others were no match for the cadets, he who had no regard for life immediately ordered an indiscriminate bombardment.
The sound of artillery boomed, and immediately, the soldiers from both sides who were fighting desperately just now were all drowned by the fireworks from the explosion.
When the shells rained down, Kataoka Kenshi was sweating profusely, holding a machete inserted in his abdomen and trying to pull it out, while Fang Yun was shooting with a gun. In front of him, the three Japanese soldiers who were rushing towards him were trembling, and their bodies were like funnels with blood spurting out.
On this day, the battle between China and Japan was the most bloody and tragic. After that, although the Japanese army launched several more attacks, they were only temporary. After the Japanese pulled back the bodies of their dead colleagues, the area around the Dazhou Fort actually temporarily fell into an eerie silence,
It was around seven o'clock in the evening. In the conference room of the Kaga, there were Yamamoto Isoroku, Koizumi Toshiichiro, Tsukahara 243, Arima Masafumi, several captains of main battleships, and two Marine division commanders. , nearly ten Japanese soldiers sat around a table discussing the battle in the morning,
Naturally, Yamamoto Isoroku was the first to speak. He said with a sullen face: "Everyone must have seen the battle in the morning. It was really chilling. The Imperial Army, known as the second strongest in the world, was so good at stabbing. We actually lost to the Chinese. I really can't understand. Is it because the Xuebing Army is too strong or because our soldiers have fallen? Aikawa-kun, can you give me a reasonable explanation?"
The landing operations were originally commanded by Mr. Onitsuka, but as his brigade suffered heavy casualties and could no longer do anything, Yamamoto Isoroku directly assigned his superior, Lieutenant General Aikawa Tsunoda, as the front-line commander. This morning's landing The battle was commanded by him,
Aikawa Kakuda stood up, lowered his head and said shamefully: "Sir, I'm sorry to disappoint you. If necessary, I will personally lead the team to land tomorrow."
Since the continuous mistakes in judgment and tactics, Koizumi Minichiro has become much more humble now. He originally made up his mind to just listen and not speak, but after listening to Aikawa's words, he couldn't help it anymore. He glanced at Yamamoto and said : "Sir, I have something to say."
"Speaking."
"I think it's not the commander's problem. Your Excellency, please forgive me for being rude. I suddenly discovered that our Marine Corps' combat capabilities are really, really terrible. If I had known that they were so useless, I would have opposed this. action.”
Koizumi's words were tantamount to slapping Aikawa and another division commander, Sawada Shigeru, in the face. The faces of the two people instantly became ugly. As a member of the navy, Aikawa was well aware of Koizumi's status in Yamamoto's mind, so it was not easy to proceed. Shigeru Sawada, who was temporarily seconded, had no such scruples. He immediately retorted, stared at Koizumi with sharp eyes, and said: "Your Excellency, you have such a strong tone, but may I ask, do you know about land warfare? What do you think? How much do you know about the Cadet Army? The Imperial Army training system has existed for hundreds of years. It is precisely because of this that we can achieve devastating victories in the interior of China. Could it be that those victories were given away by the Chinese? China There is an old saying that people can sit and talk without back pain. Sir, I think it refers to people like you..."
Sawada directly attacked Koizumi personally, and Yamamoto couldn't stand it anymore. Sawada was only temporarily seconded to the United Fleet. He didn't directly scold him like he did with his subordinates, but it was still okay to criticize him tactfully. He said: "Okay, Ze Mr. Tian, please stop saying a few words. I called everyone to this meeting today for the purpose of solving problems, not just to listen to you complaining to each other. We have only been in Hainan for three days, but the Marine Corps has already been damaged. There are more than one regiment, and we only have four regiments in total. If you have some free time to fight, why don't you think about how to make full use of the remaining three regiments to complete the combat objectives."
Sawada stood up and bowed to Yamamoto to show respect, and then said: "Your Excellency, what happened this morning is enough to prove that the Wanning area is the key defense area for the Chinese. As you said, our landing force has been severely damaged. , I think it’s time to implement the second combat plan. Your Excellency, please let me command the landing operation this time. Although Koizumi-kun’s words are very annoying, they are also true. The combat power of the Marine Corps is indeed too great. It's a bit worse, I think, maybe our Osaka Division can save some face for the Marines."
When Zetian said the last sentence, his tone was quite impassioned. However, what made him feel embarrassed was that after he finished saying this, the expressions of everyone in the conference room became strange.
The atmosphere became a little subtle for a moment. Finally, as the top officer of the combined fleet, Yamamoto Isoroku showed the courage and courage that a commander should have. He stared at Sawada and asked: "Sawada-kun, are you sure? "
Sawada thought for a while and said firmly: "Of course, Your Excellency, I know that there are some unpalatable rumors about our Osaka Division in China, but I want to say that those are all misunderstandings about our division. Perhaps, Our combat equipment is not the best in the empire, but our Osaka Division's desire for victory and honor is definitely no worse than any other division."
Among the old and young Japanese who attended the meeting, Ma Zhengwen had the most upright temper. He suddenly sneered: "The desire for victory and honor should be wealth."
"Shut up." He didn't finish his sarcastic words, but was stopped by Yamamoto. Yamamoto turned to Sawada and said kindly: "Sawada-kun, please explain it to the officers after you go back. , the Hainan Raiders can win, but it depends on the performance of the Osaka Division."
"No problem, Your Excellency, please relax."
At around ten o'clock, after this meeting ended, after seeing off Sawada and others, Yamamoto, Koizumi, Arima, and Tsukahara returned to the conference room. The other three people looked at Yamamoto, and then Arima asked: "Sir, have you really decided?"
Yamamoto smiled bitterly: "Do I have any other options?"
Koizumi considered his words and said cautiously: "The Osaka Division seems to have another name called the Merchant Division. Your Excellency, if the Xuebing Army cannot have defenses in the southwest, with the combat power of the Osaka Division, I'm afraid..."
Yamamoto waved his hand and interrupted him. He glanced at the three of them and said: "Our Navy and Army have always been at odds with each other. You know this. In this situation, how much support do you expect from the Army? To be honest, If they can lend us the Osaka Division, we should be grateful. The Osaka Division is indeed not powerful, but this is when encountering a strong enemy. If their opponent is only the local armed forces of the Chinese Even some savages, I believe they can still fully demonstrate the power of the imperial army. The reason why I have to conduct repeated reconnaissance is to find the most suitable landing place for them. In any case, we cannot defeat this battle. From now on, our navy needs to reform and move from the battleship era to the aircraft carrier era. We need the support of the base camp. Even if we have enough enthusiasm to serve the country, without financial support, we will not be able to do anything. Okay, listen to me, next We will continue to confuse the Chinese people's sight for a few days, so the sacrifices will continue. In addition, the reconnaissance work must be more meticulous..."
At nearly midnight, the meeting between Yamamoto and the other four people dispersed. After sending Arima and Tsukahara away, Yamamoto chatted with Koizumi alone for a while, and the topic they talked about was about Koizumi's formation of a naval special force. ,
Yamamoto originally thought that developing land special forces as a navy would be a reversal of priorities. However, the battle that took place at the Continental Fort this morning made him realize that he has an invincible Marine Corps. "The occupation of China ultimately requires ground forces, so it is necessary to have a strong Marine Corps. Koizumi, although you are personally more interested in the Navy, I think it is better for you to be responsible for the land force." The training and command of the team can better bring out your strengths, Xiaoquan, I will leave this to you from now on."
Finally, he said to Koizumi,
Koizumi happily accepted the order. He also felt that instead of always talking about war on paper, it would be better to personally train an elite soldier with the modern training methods he mastered. And only in this way can he help Yamamoto and allow him to firmly control the navy. ,
Just when Yamamoto convened a meeting with senior Japanese officials of the Combined Fleet on the Kaga, in the former temporary headquarters of Higashiyama Ridge's Fifth Army, Ouyang Yun, Chen Shichang and others were also studying the battle that took place at the Continental Fort in the morning. ,
"It's a one-sided battle. It seems that the strength of the Japanese navy's marines is not very good." Chen Shichang said at the side,
Ouyang Yun did not expect it to be like this. He was still a little nervous and could not help but relax a little. He said: "It's too early to draw conclusions now. The little devil ate big food twice in a row near Dazhou Island and Dazhou Fort." It’s a shame, so it’s possible to have reservations. This old devil, Yamamoto Isoroku, is not so easy to deal with.”
From a purely military perspective, Ouyang Yun admired Yamamoto Isoroku very much. Before time travel, because of the relationship between China and the United States, he had a lot of thoughts about how YY would beat up the old Americans. Thinking about it makes people feel excited. It seems that only Yamamoto has been able to sneak attack on key U.S. military ports and severely damage them.
In his usual exchanges with Chen Shichang and the others, he had inadvertently revealed this point many times. Therefore, because it was not the first time he heard such words, Chen Shichang was already used to it. He smiled and said: "It doesn't matter, Mr. Yamamoto." How outstanding. It should be an indisputable fact that their Marine Corps is a weak point. Commander-in-Chief, Commander Shan’s defense strategy is very targeted."
"Well, Lao Dan did not disappoint me."
"Commander-in-Chief, will the Japs really choose Qiongnannan as their main attack direction next?"
"Just wait, we should have the answer in three days at most."