Geng Zebao was on the phone with Zhang Zizhong when he received Larison's telegram, reporting to him the latest battle situation. It was not surprising to Zhang Zizhong that the Japanese could defeat the Italians. After entering the Soviet-Russian battlefield, the Supreme Command had passed the Hutong Overseas Branch Provide specific information on the Axis forces on the Soviet battlefield to the Expeditionary Force Headquarters. Since both Langya and Fox Tong have people active in Europe, the information on the Axis forces provided by Fox Tong's overseas branch is still very detailed. It was based on this information that Zhang Zizhong had a certain understanding of the Axis forces on the Soviet-Russian battlefield. According to his instructions, his staff classified the Axis forces into A and B according to their combat strength. , there are three levels of C. Among them, the Italian 6th Infantry Division is ranked in the lowest level of C.
After listening to Geng Zebao's arrangement, Zhang Zizhong first affirmed that this "is indeed an opportunity." Then he reminded Geng Zebao to be careful of the German counterattack and not to let the Japanese Peace Army fall into the trap and cause the entire army to be destroyed. "We don't care about the life and death of the Japanese. However, the impact on the morale of the military must be taken into consideration. Before the German army reveals its full strength, the coalition still has significance for existence. You tell Sumiki Dairo that as long as they work hard, we can consider proposing to the Supreme Command to cancel their war. After the trial, we can consider providing them with more troops." Because the resistance of the Japanese army on the domestic battlefield became weaker and weaker, and their determination to fight to the death became weaker and weaker, the problem of more and more prisoners appeared, and China actually After becoming the leader of the Allied Forces, Western countries increased their attention to China. The Supreme Command considered that ten out of ten Japanese soldiers on the Chinese battlefield were "newcomers" who had just been transferred from Japan (including some early For veterans who have retired but are still serving in reserve), their hands may not be stained with Chinese blood or the crimes they committed are minor. It is also for the sake of the country’s image that it has to modify the method of dealing with prisoners of war. Of course, the Chinese government cannot use white flowers to Rice and flour were used to feed these Japanese prisoners of war, so the vast majority of these Japanese prisoners of war were sent to places such as the Sichuan-Tibet Railway Engineering Department to perform labor in exchange for their crimes and earn food rations. A few were "bought" by domestic factories and enterprises that were in urgent need of skilled workers, and the rest were Those who were killed were handed over to the Japanese Anti-War League. Just the day before yesterday, Zhang Zizhong had a phone call with Takahashi Ryoko, the president of the Anti-War League. On the one hand, Takahashi Ryoko inquired about the situation of the Japanese Peace Army, and at the same time proposed that the Anti-War League would be needed if the war started. More troops can be provided. It is precisely because of Takahashi Ryoko's guarantee that Zhang Zizhong has the confidence to say that he will replenish the troops for the Japanese Peace Army.
The contest between the Axis soldiers and the Allied forces can actually be regarded as the German army and the Central and Soviet armies testing each other. Manstein, Zhang Zizhong, Timoshenko also need to use this method to gain more control over the battlefield and The specific situation of the enemy forces,
Behind the Italian 6th Infantry Division in Liwani were the Hungarian 11th Infantry Division and the Polish 4th Armored Division. Hungarians, Poles and Italians alike played the role of soy sauce on the Soviet battlefield. When Varni ambitiously launched an attack on the Japanese Peace Army, the Hungarians and Poles were lazily carrying out civil engineering work according to Manstein's instructions. The Italians successfully rushed to the unknown highlands. The Hungarians and Poles may have Thinking that the war could not extend to them, they became even less active in their work. Then, when the Italians retreated like a tide and the Japanese chased them with howls, the Hungarians and Poles were stunned for a long time, and then they all They shouted in unison, and everyone rushed to join the escape procession.
The failure of the Italian 6th Infantry Division evolved into a major rout of the Axis forces. It took less than half an hour from start to finish. Therefore, when Manstein received the report, the situation was irreversible. The Hungarians , the Poles and the Czechoslovaks called one after another, requesting Manstein to provide assistance. Manstein watched his staff place the red and blue flags representing the enemy and our troops on the sand table in front of him, and his face showed A kind of abnormal red, "Why is this happening? Your Sixth Infantry Division is stronger than the Japanese in terms of weapons and equipment. Why, I need an explanation." Manstein asked someone to answer Livani's phone. The phone asked sternly,
Livani saw the opportunity quickly, and the performance of the armored vehicle he was riding in was quite good, so he was out of danger at this time. The Italians were in shock. At this time, Manstein called this phone call, and Livani considered that the defeat was imminent. After suffering the punishment, in desperation, he spoke freely, claiming that he had been ambushed by the Chinese Expeditionary Force: "Despicable Chinese, they put on Japanese clothes to confuse us, Your Excellency, now it is necessary for the elite of the empire to appear, we are not Chinese opponent."
Liwani didn't know that he just wanted to shirk responsibility and avoid punishment, but this confused Manstein's judgment. Recently, Chen Chong, who was newly promoted to the supreme commander of the aviation force of the Far East Expeditionary Force, has strengthened his control of air superiority on the battlefield. , this directly caused Manstein to be unable to grasp the latest operational intelligence of the Central and Soviet Army at the first time. When Livani provided such information at this time, Manstein thought that the Central and Soviet Army was preparing to take the initiative to attack. Based on the axis Xinguo Hu Congjun was completely untrustworthy. Manstein had no choice but to send a direct line of Army Group A to the front line, hoping to stabilize Hu Congjun's morale and avoid the collapse of the entire war situation. At the same time, he called Guderian and asked the other party to speed up the march. To be able to appear on the battlefield at the beginning of the decisive battle,
When Guderian received this telegram, he and a group of staff around him were doing deductions based on an event map.
As the founder of blitzkrieg, Guderian always believed that offense is the best defense, so he had a unique understanding of the role that the Second Armored Group would play in the Battle of Osa. Manstein hoped to accumulate enough on the front However, Guderian had his own opinion on this: "I thought our army's strength was sufficient on the frontal battlefield, and our task was to find another way to provide A surprise attack on the Chinese people." Before the deduction began, he explained his tactical thoughts to his subordinates. Therefore, during the deduction process, he and his subordinates focused on finding another passage to catch them by surprise. Enter the battlefield,
Manstein's telegram and the latest battle report arrived at about the same time. Guderian felt that the Second Armored Group could not delay any longer. "Let's start from here. What you need to do now is to verify this area as soon as possible." terrain and formulate a detailed attack plan." Manstein pressed his fingers heavily on a place marked "Xhosa" on the map and said to his subordinates,