The harassment of the Japanese aircraft carrier fleet not only disgusted Tielin Fei, but also worried Liu Yuqing the most. However, he obviously overestimated the night fighting capabilities of the Japanese navy. His own artillery completely destroyed the artillery of the southern front troops of the South China Front. The Japanese aircraft But they still didn't visit their frontline positions, which made him sigh in relief and make him feel happier.
After the 403rd Regiment, the 406th Regiment and Li Hai's artillery regiment completed the killing of the 6th Independent Heavy Artillery Brigade and the 6th Howitzer Brigade, they immediately began to shift positions. The front line facing the two armies immediately fell into darkness again, which made the Japanese army The two tank brigades and an armored vehicle brigade belonging to the 41st Tank Regiment on the front line, as well as the five infantry brigades of the 13th Infantry Regiment interspersed with them, suddenly became confused.
Matsui Iwane suddenly ordered to suspend the attack. Even Hisao Tani and Otani Yuhei did not know the reason. Naturally, the big and small Japanese under their command were even more confused.
"Aren't you going to attack?" "Why did you stop?" "Just now, it seems that all our artillery was destroyed."... The Japs were talking in low voices, and then they had to shut up under the scoldings of the middle and lower-level officers. He didn't say anything, but he became more confused in his heart.
In an underground bunker at the north gate of Cangnan County, Hisao Tani held an electronic watch in his hand and glanced at it from time to time. His brows gradually furrowed. Ten minutes had passed since Lord Matsui gave the order to suspend the attack. Why? No new orders have been sent yet. Even if the artillery battle fails, this battle must be fought for the "New Year's Offensive". Otherwise, how can we explain to His Majesty the Emperor, and how can we explain to the base camp? Besides, the support team led by Qianjiang Ichiro They have already set off. If they don't launch a frontal attack to attract the attention of the Chinese, their raid plan will definitely be affected, and they may even be discovered when they sneak into the country.
Compared with Matsui Iwane, Hisao Tani is a true Japanese soldier, crazy, cruel, and bloodthirsty. Hisao Tani never cares about the casualties of his subordinates when fighting. His most extreme statement is: Only troops that have passed the test of blood and fire You are worthy of the glory of the imperial army. If you don’t want to die on the battlefield, then be more heroic than the enemy. Kill the enemy first.
It is precisely with the support of his theory that the 6th Division is famous for its bloodthirsty throughout the Japanese military system, and bloodthirsty demons like Mukai Toshiaki and Noda Iwa who are keen on killing hundreds of people were born.
After waiting for another three minutes, Hisao Tani finally couldn't stand any longer. He walked straight in, picked up a phone and called the Southern Line Headquarters, specifying that he wanted to speak to the Commander on the phone.
At this moment, the atmosphere in Matsui Iwane's headquarters was very strange. Matsui Iwane stood in front of the combat map, looking at the icons of the various units of the academy army marked on it, with no expression on his face. Behind him, a group of staff officers They either stood upright or sat upright. Everyone tried their best to suppress their breathing and move softly, just for fear of attracting Matsui Iwane's thunderous wrath again.
No one dared to guess what Matsui Iwane was thinking or doing. He had been standing there for more than ten minutes, so some people suspected that he had fallen asleep.
What was Matsui Iwane thinking? At this moment, the old Japanese was engaged in a fierce ideological struggle. The two thoughts of fighting or not fighting were fighting each other in his mind. His face seemed calm, but in fact, his heart was It was beating extremely erratically, and the veins on his forehead were beating violently.
The phone suddenly rang, and everyone couldn't help but be startled. The communications staff officer sitting in front of the phone instinctively glanced at Matsui Iwane, and then hesitantly picked up the phone.
Immediately, Hisao Tani's distinctive and aggressive voice came from the phone: "Commander, please answer the phone."
The communications staff officer stood up tremblingly and weakly shouted to Matsui Iwane: "Your Excellency, I'm here to see you."
Matsui Iwane's head moved and he paused for another two seconds before turning around and walking over to take the call: "I'm Matsui Iwane."
"Your Excellency, I am Hisao Tani. Your Excellency, please give the order to attack. The soldiers are ready for battle and are waiting for your order."
Matsui Iwane exhaled heavily, took another deep breath, and said: "We have no artillery, and HNA cannot provide support. How can you fight against the Chinese heavy tanks?"
"We have soldiers who are loyal to His Majesty the Emperor. Your Excellency, as you know, I trained a group of special attack teams as early as two months ago."
"You want to use the flesh and blood of soldiers to fight against the Chinese heavy tanks. Do you think it is really feasible?"
"Yes, Your Excellency, without HNA, wouldn't we be able to fight the war? Your Excellency, if it really doesn't work, you can use the 11th Air Corps. HNA is unreliable after all."
Matsui Iwane is not a mediocre person who is completely ignorant of aviation tactics. After forcing himself to calm down just now, he has already figured out why the Soryu aircraft carrier fleet defined by Yamada cannot provide support. This is because of the restrictions of night battles. Now Hisao Tatetani mentioned The Eleventh Air Corps, his mind stirred and then fell silent again, saying: "The Eleventh Air Corps has no experience in night fighting. Do you hope that our only army aviation will be greatly damaged by this? The Chinese tanks are sharp. , the possibility of a successful attack relying on soldiers using jade-breaking tactics is extremely low, and I do not approve of this kind of tactics that ignores the lives of soldiers."
Hisao Tani disagreed. He thought that Matsui Iwane was benevolent as a woman. He said: "Your Excellency, how can we not die in a war? Besides, the Xuebing Army is such a powerful enemy. Your Excellency, when I was in Tokyo, I had an affair with Mr. Itagaki. We have discussed this issue with others, and we all agree that as long as we can annihilate the student army, no matter how big the sacrifice is, it is worth it. Your Excellency, why don't you let Yokoyama Munemori make his own choice? Maybe he has experience in night battles."
During the Battle of Nanjing, Hisao Tani allowed his subordinates to massacre in Suzhou and Wuxi, so much so that the Japanese could no longer stand it, and their cabinet could only recall him to the country after the battle. In Tokyo, he often had conflicts with Itagaki. With the help of Seishiro and others, he was able to make a comeback and return to China to take over the 6th Division.
Yokoyama Munemori was the commander of the Eleventh Air Corps. Matsui Iwane listened to Hisao Tani's suggestion, and with a try attitude, he sent a telegram to Yokoyama Munemori to inquire about the possibility of the Eleventh Air Corps' immediate deployment.
At that time, Yokoyama Munemori was having a drink with a group of officers from the 11th Air Corps, and he was in a high mood. The communications staff officer on duty came in with a telegram from Matsui Iwane. He said over the wine: "Your Excellency Matsui, at this time The call will not be to wish me a Happy New Year in advance, read it."
The communications staff officer read the contents of the telegram loudly. As soon as he finished reading, some of the captains of the independent flying group present stood up and said to Hengshan: "Your Excellency Matsui underestimates us. What's the problem with a night attack? Your Excellency, we have dinner." After eating and drinking, I flew into the sky to teach the Chinese people a lesson."
However, Yokoyama Munemori was more cautious and said: "Our department has never experienced night fighting. The visibility at night is too poor. We are still more than 300 kilometers away from the front line, but how can we ensure the accuracy of the flight direction."
"Sir, I have a way. All I have to do is let the towns along the way light bonfires. When we get to the front line, let the ground troops fire more flares towards the China positions. This way we will be safe."
Everyone else applauded and looked eager to try.
When Somori Yokoyama saw this, he read the telegram carefully, discussed the details with several high-spirited captains, and decided to send two independent bomber groups and a fighter group to participate in the war.