Yamamoto thought that the Western Expedition Fleet commanded by Koizumi would take over the U.S. Philippines in a matter of seconds. What was 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 "Ryujo" and "Fengxiang", rushed over in two columns towards the offshore coast of Zamboanga, Mindanao Island. The distance of the fleet that day was
When Zamboanga was still 200 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 in 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 student army drill the indigenous troops of the Philippines. Because as early as March
Days before, he had discovered that Japanese ships 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. Is this an exercise? Or do 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 it. How can a mere warlord army be stronger 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 upset about this. He believed that this would not only make it impossible to create a situation where one plus one is greater than two.
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, Valleif, 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? Are they newly transferred from the mainland? Why don't I know?"
"Sir, these are our troops. They are all Jews."
"Study Bingjun?"
"yes."
The old American man's eyes widened. He carefully distinguished the military uniforms and weapons on these Jewish cadets and confirmed that they did not have any American, German or Soviet elements. 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 would be happy to 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. But whether it was rifles, machine guns, or even helmets and water bottles from the 17th Division, there was nothing worse than the US military. That's all, compared to
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 towards him, the old American man suddenly felt the urge to cry——
Who is the real defender of the Philippine Islands, the U.S. military and the cadet army? When did the weapons and equipment of the powerful Army of the United States of America become inferior to that of a mere faction?
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 lieutenants who adhered to his will
A senior officer made a request to several captain-level officers of the Xuebing Army to compete.
The lieutenant-level officers who followed Guo Kui were all those with the rank of team leader or above of the Jungle Special Forces, Langya or Unity Brigade. The only exception was 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 of the US Marine Corps said, pointing at several people from the Jungle Special Operations Group.
Zhang Liang chuckled: "No, I'm enough by myself!"
The five officers were startled at first, then lowered their heads to look at him. One of the captains said something in the major's ear, and the two of them laughed wildly. Laughing, the major raised his right index finger towards Zhang Liang.
He shook his head and said, "No, no, you're too thin. In your Chinese language, we can't 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 translated it truthfully 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 were sitting next to each other. When Zhang Liang came over, he noticed the situation outside. At this time, the major, who was taking off his coat with his fingers, said to Guo Kui: "Major Ghosn is
Our army is a famous combat expert, and your army’s school is probably no match for him.”
Guo Kui smiled and suddenly shouted to Zhang Liang: "Xiao Liangzi! Be careful with your hands, don't maim 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.