Yamamoto thought that the Western Expedition Fleet commanded by Koizumi would take over the U.S. Philippines in a matter of seconds. What is the real situation?
At about one o'clock in the afternoon local time, the Japanese-Western Expedition Fleet, which had been wandering in the Sulu Sea, headed by the aircraft carriers "Ryuxiang" and "Phoenixiang", rushed over in two columns towards the coast of Zamboanga, Mindanao Island. When Yan was still two hundred kilometers away, an American reconnaissance plane detected the situation and immediately reported it to the Far East US Military Command.
At that time, MacArthur, commander-in-chief of the US Far East Command on the Philippine Islands, and Guo Kui were sitting on the beach in the southern suburbs of Cebu City, drinking tea while watching the instructors of the cadet army drill the indigenous troops of the Philippines, because as early as March, Days before, he had discovered that Japanese warships were gathering along the west coast of the Sulu Sea. MacArthur did not think that Japan had the courage to fight without declaring war, so he was not worried at first. After reading the information submitted by his subordinates, he handed it to Guo Kui. He said: "The Japanese are determined to capture the Philippine Islands. This is probably an exercise, or they want to provoke us and let us launch an attack first."
If the Japanese had not suddenly invaded Southeast Asia, MacArthur, who had retired, would have been walking his dog on his farm and watching the dusk. As the Japanese army conquered the Dutch East Indies and British Malaysia with overwhelming force, and started construction projects in Sumatra, the U.S. government He had a premonition that Japan would use Southeast Asia as its logistics supply base, and knew that there would be a war between Japan and the United States sooner or later. Therefore, MacArthur, who was retired and idle at home, was reactivated and became the commander-in-chief of the Philippine Joint Forces.
Compared with the U.S. government's eagerness to get help from the cadet army to defend the Philippine Islands, MacArthur disagreed. When discussing the matter with his subordinates, he pointed to his eyes and said: "I only believe in my own eyes." Is the Xuebing Army very powerful? It’s not like we haven’t heard of the Chinese army. How can a mere warlord armed force be more powerful than the Nanjing government? Oh, no, it’s the Chongqing government. Can they be more powerful than the Chongqing government’s Central Army? So, don’t think about relying on others, if you really want to keep the Philippines, we have to rely on ourselves in the end.”
MacArthur had no confidence or even a good impression of the student army. The most critical point was that the student army to assist the Philippines was not under his command. The old American was very worried about this. He believed that not only would one plus one be greater than two, it would not be possible. The effect may even have negative effects due to command problems.
This view lasted until the Second Expeditionary Corps of the Xuexing Army appeared in the eyes of the old American man.
The old American man was very conceited and did not go to the pier to greet Guo Kui and others in person. Then, when he met the commander of the 17th School Division, Valef and his troops in Bulalacao, Mindoro Island, the old American man He took off his military cap, scratched his head and asked the men around him: "Which army is this? Is it newly transferred from the mainland? Why don't I know?"
"Sir, these are Chinese troops, and they are all Jews."
"Would you like to learn from Bingjun?"
"yes."
The old American man's eyes widened. He carefully identified the military uniforms and weapons on these Jewish cadets and confirmed that there was no American, German or Soviet element in them. He couldn't help but took a breath and said: "Oh God, what about the cadets?" Are all the military legends true?"
MacArthur always believed that even if the U.S. Army's weapons were not the most advanced in the world, they were definitely ahead of the Cadet Army. Therefore, he once thought that if the Second Expeditionary Corps of the Cadet Army was willing to hand over command, then He will gladly petition Congress to rearm them with fine weapons,
After all, MacArthur was an old man who had been in the army all his life, and he still had a good eye for ordnance. However, whether it was rifles, machine guns, or even helmets and kettles from the 17th Division, there was nothing worse than the US military. The U.S. Army uniforms were simply light green, and the advantages of the camouflage uniforms of the Army Corps were immediately highlighted. When Wallace and others accompanied Guo Kui and walked toward him, the old American man suddenly felt the urge to cry. Who is the real backbone of the defense of the Philippine Islands, the U.S. Army and the Corps of Cadets? When did the powerful Army of the United States of America have weapons and equipment that could not match those of a mere Chinese warlord?
Based on this understanding, the old American began to take a serious look at the cadet army. In order to test the true strength of this unit, at the social event that night, several National Guard and Marine Corps cadets who adhered to his will The lieutenant-level officer asked several lieutenant-level officers in the Xuebing Army to compete.
The lieutenant-level officers following Guo Kui are all those with the rank of squad leader or above in the Jungle Special Forces or the unity brigade. The only exception is Zhang Liang, the former deputy commander-in-chief of Ouyang Yun's guard force.
The special forces of the Xuebing Army have their own pride. In the words of the Langya instructors who often say: What looks good has a purpose. Remember, every combat method you have learned now is for killing. Prepared by the devil...
Faced with the Americans' request for discussion, several captain-level officers of the Jungle Special Operations Group turned their backs and asked them to find the liaison officer or their own superiors.
Zhang Liang did not belong to the Jungle Special Forces and had no scruples about this. He ran to Guo Kui and asked him for instructions. Then he ran back and said to the big Americans in half-baked English: "I'm here to fight you."
"There are five of us, and you only have one. Come out with four more." A major from the U.S. Marine Corps said, pointing to several people from the Jungle Special Operations Group.
Zhang Liang chuckled: "No, I'm enough by myself."
The five American officers were startled at first, then lowered their heads and looked at him. One of the captains said something into the major's ear. The two of them immediately laughed wildly. Laughing, the major raised his right index finger towards Zhang Liang. He shook his head and said, "No, no, you are too thin. To use your Chinese words, we cannot win with force."
Zhang Liang's English was not good, so he could only understand this sentence, and the behavior of the major raising his index finger and shaking it was simply an insult to him. His face sank and he said to the US military translator on the side: "You tell them, you can first It’s a challenge, but be prepared to get hurt.”
The U.S. military translator truthfully translated to the major and others,
After hearing this, the major felt angry at first, and then he looked into Zhang Liang's expressionless eyes and smelled a hint of the unique aura crawling out of the dead on the battlefield. With a stern look on his face, he said to the others: "I'll try him first."
Soldiers must be aggressive. MacArthur and Guo Kui sat next to each other. When Zhang Liang came over, he noticed the situation below. At this time, the major who was taking off his coat said to Guo Kui: "Major Ghosn is The famous combat expert in our army, I'm afraid your army's lieutenant colonel is no match."
Guo Kui smiled and suddenly shouted to Zhang Liang: "Xiao Liangzi, be careful with your hands, don't cripple the person."
MacArthur turned to the interpreter next to him and asked: "What did he say?"
The translator relayed Guo Kui's words in a low voice and in practical English. When MacArthur heard this, his face suddenly turned ugly.