The forward positions were abandoned by the Indian and Australian troops, and the Dutch army surrendered directly to the Japanese army. Now if the Japanese army launches an offensive against Singapore, they will be able to drive straight into the city. The situation has become like this. It can be said that the British brought it on themselves. If they did not withdraw all their troops, if they did not use force to seize the lives of the Chinese in Singapore and Malaysia, then even if the forward position was lost, they could immediately integrate their troops and establish a second line of defense. However, now, the sequence of troops has been replaced by the Xinghua Volunteer Army Not to mention the disruption, the most fatal thing is that the mid-level and senior officers suffered heavy losses in this armed conflict. Two division commanders were captured alive or shot dead by the volunteers, and the brigade commander and regiment commander were sniped to death several times. Now, they have completely become stragglers. As for the independent brigades, their situation is not optimistic. The worst thing is that one of the regiments rebelled and became the so-called "British Volunteer Army". The officers and soldiers He had doubts about the orders he had previously executed, and even began to doubt the character of supreme commanders Bai Sihua and Percival. This was a fatal blow to morale.
"I have asked all the officers in the headquarters to gather the troops. With the current strength, it should not be a problem to gather 20,000 people. This is enough to withstand for a while. However, I don't want the soldiers to make unnecessary sacrifices, so surrender It is inevitable in the end." After Bai Sihua was awakened, Percival whispered in his ear,
Bai Sihua nodded nervously, and then said decisively: "I'm going to talk to the Chinese. If they don't agree, then it will be a fight to the death."
Percival gritted his teeth, hugged him hard, and then watched him lead a dozen of his men towards the Chinese community in the distance.
Yamamoto Isoroku personally sat on Makari Island to direct the Japanese offensive against Singapore. Just after nightfall, he received a report from his subordinates and learned that a fierce battle had broken out in Singapore. He was confused at first and did not understand what the British were up to. , Souma Masabumi was with him. He speculated whether the local people responded to the imperial army's call and broke out an uprising, and joyfully asserted: "Your Excellency, it seems that our propaganda policy is very effective. If things go on like this, Vietnam, Myanmar, etc. , maybe even without the arrival of the imperial army, the French and British would have been driven out."
Yamamoto Isoroku laughed at his statement. Yamamoto has always been a pragmatic person. He clearly knew that the so-called National Independence Army and the National Rebellion Army provided a great cause for the imperial army to enter Southeast Asia. excuse, but at least for now, its meaning is just an excuse. The old devil tapped his right hand on the table in front of him, staring at the map of Southeast Asia beside him. After a few minutes, he suddenly stood up and said: "The 'Weishan' before The report says that the U.S. evacuation fleet has as many as forty ships, and among them are many 10,000-ton merchant ships, cruise ships, and Soma ships. Don’t you think there is something fishy about this?”
Sangma was startled for a moment, then he suddenly realized and said: "Sir, you mean that the British want to use the help of Americans to escape from Singapore."
"It is entirely possible, Soma. You should call Lieutenant General Hashimoto immediately and ask him to launch a tentative attack. I need to know the specific situation on the front line."
"Hai, I'll do it right away."
"By the way, send another telegram to Yamada Shimizu, asking him to immediately lead the Kaga aircraft carrier fleet to approach the offshore waters of Singapore and prepare to intercept the US evacuation fleet."
"Your Mightiness."
"Execute it, don't worry, I know this may be a conspiracy of the British, but we can't just watch the cooked duck fly away. We don't want to provoke the Americans, and the Americans should not dare to provoke us, so be careful There is no problem with the scale and boarding inspection.”
"Understood."
At about ten o'clock, Yamamoto Isoroku received a telegram from Hashimoto Shun reporting victory, saying that the Dutch army surrendered to them. Then only twenty minutes later, he received another telegram in which Hashimoto Shun reported that the Dutch troops had surrendered. I found out the numbers of the enemy troops on the front line. They were Indian and Australian retinue troops. They had been defeated and requested to attack Singapore directly.
At this point, Yamamoto believed that the British really wanted to escape from the sea with the help of the Americans. Putting down the telegram, he said to Soma Masabumi: "Do the British really want to escape from the sea? They also fantasize about doing it again." "The Great Evacuation of Kirk", delusion."
Souma Masabumi was very excited and said: "Your Excellency, let Lieutenant General Hashimoto and the others let go of the attack. First capture Singapore and cut off the British army's chance of survival on land, and then let Yamada-kun intercept them from the sea. Hehe, the British army There are a total of 50,000 to 60,000 troops in Singapore. Including their retinue, there are a full 100,000 troops. If they were all captured alive, what a great achievement it would be. Your Excellency, after this battle, our navy will have one more marshal. Already."
If the Singaporean British army can be captured alive, this credit will be enough for Yamamoto Isoroku to be promoted to the rank of marshal. Yamamoto could not restrain his excitement. He slowly exhaled and said: "As long as the empire's Southeast Asia policy can be implemented smoothly, the current dilemma can be solved." After all, my personal honor and disgrace are nothing. Souma, call Hashimoto Shun back. The Western Expedition Fleet General Headquarters agrees to their request and orders them to capture Singapore before noon tomorrow. Call Yamada to avoid falling into the British trap. We need to be more tolerant to the Americans. Well, we need to prevent Thomas, Bai Sihua and Percival from hiding among the American expatriates. Even if some other generals cannot be caught, these three people must not be allowed to slip through the net."
"Hai."
Almost at the same time, in Phnom Penh, inside the General Headquarters of the Expeditionary Force, Pan Meiren suddenly stood up and exhaled with relief: "Yashan called back."
"Okay." Ouyang Yun said, then sat down heavily and put out the cigarette butt in his hand in the ashtray.
"Yashan" only replied with two words "understand", but it was enough.
When the Chinese from Singapore and Malaysia began to board the ship, Zhang Liangfeng sent a secret telegram to the headquarters. Ouyang Yun and others were furious when they learned that the British army had actually attacked the Chinese from Singapore and Malaysia and wanted to use "martial arts" to deprive them of the opportunity to escape Singapore. Everyone was tired of scolding. After calming down, they immediately thought of a very serious problem. The Xinghua Volunteer Army and the British army were fighting fiercely in Singapore. It was impossible for the Japanese not to notice it. Yamamoto Isoroku was not a fool. He would definitely do it. From this, it is thought that there is a problem with the "American evacuation fleet", so what countermeasures will he take? At this time, it is particularly important whether "Yashan" can make a contribution and successfully attract the attention of the Japanese army.
Just when Yamada decided to use the "Kaga" aircraft carrier as his flagship and led as many as twenty warships to the offshore waters of Singapore where the "Kishan" frigate was located, the two Song-class submarines of the Xuebing Army had already
Quietly lurking on the seabed about three thousand meters away from the "Weishan", and prepared for an attack,
The commander of "Yashan" is Xu Kai, the top commander of the submarine force of the Haikou Fleet. This young naval general of the Xuebing Army is leading the army in battle for the first time. He is driving the most advanced naval weapons of the Xuebing Army, and they are executing