As the front-line commander of the defenders, Wang Laohu was holding an evil fire in his heart. At the same time, the top commander of the attacking side, Koizumi Toshiichiro, was also furious. Two and a half hours after the battle started, the aviation force of the Western Expedition Fleet
There was also a group of warships that poured no less than 30 tons of ammunition into the defenders' positions. Such scale of bombing and artillery attacks, in Koizumi's opinion, could kill even rats in their holes, so the size of the remaining troops of the defenders must be
It is also limited. The reconnaissance plane's reconnaissance also confirmed his guess. The defenders standing in the air-raid shelter to the west of the defender's position were only two regiments in size. Among them, no more than half were trainees. So, four regiments were invested in the front and rear.
How could the brigade, with the aviation unit providing tactical guidance, still fight like this? Even if they couldn't attack the top of the mountain, it wouldn't be difficult to seize a hillside and establish a forward position, right?
Only more than 400 members of the Tianlian team survived, and they were completely disabled. In view of this, Hirono Akio reported to Koizumi that Zamboanga had a special terrain and the previous bombing and artillery had not had the corresponding effect, so he requested the fleet to provide
More intense bombing and artillery shelling, believing that only this could completely defeat the will of the defenders, suddenly ignited Koizumi's anger——
"A bunch of pigs! Trash! The Imperial Army has lost all face by you..." Koizumi was so angry that he cursed indiscriminately while his body shook violently, so much so that he could no longer use his lame left leg.
Due to the strong force, I had to hold on to the railing to maintain my body's balance.
A group of Japanese officers, including Yamabekawa Sankey, were all speechless. It had been two and a half hours since the battle began, and the ground troops had lost nearly four brigades, only killing more than 4,000 defenders. Most of them were from before.
The achievements of bombing and shelling made everyone feel that the prospects were not optimistic, and they could not think of a targeted strategy, so they could only be scolded.
This round of scolding by Koizumi lasted for about ten minutes. His voice became shriller and shriller, gradually revealing the fact that he had been "eunuch". Then, he suddenly heard his shrill voice and realized that he had worked so hard to maintain it.
The "male voice" showed its flaw. The little devil punched the railing hard and finally stopped. His eyes scanned the faces of everyone in front of him one by one. He found no special emotions and felt relieved. Then he remembered
When Hongye reported the situation on the phone, he raised his voice and said to Yamabe: "Yamabe-kun, please take a hard trip and fly to check the situation on the battlefield. The terrain is special? I want to see how special it is!"
Yamabe said "Hai" and immediately left the island and walked towards the flight deck.
About twenty minutes later, the Zero he piloted returned to the aircraft carrier "Ryujo", and then he reported to Koizumi that the terrain of Zamboanga was indeed quite special, with crisscrossing trees and rugged rocks, which limited the power of the explosion.
Is it suggested to land from other places, and then use submarines to block the waters around Zamboanga and completely surround the Zamboanga defenders?
Koizumi should actually bear the main responsibility for the failure of the Japanese attack on Zamboanga. He did not collect enough intelligence in advance and did not conduct detailed on-the-spot reconnaissance, so he launched the attack hastily. As a result, the bombing and artillery bombardment he relied on failed to achieve the expected results.
This is the main reason for the disadvantages of the Marine Corps' ground attack.
When the Western Expedition Fleet Air Force carried out the first round of bombing, some Japanese pilots noticed this. However, due to Koizumi's power or thinking that this could be compensated by high-density bombing and artillery, no one reported it to their superiors.
Reflecting this situation. If Hongno had not brought it up, it is estimated that the Japanese army would have continued to adhere to Koizumi's high-pressure strategy and continued to maintain high-density bombing and artillery. In that case, Zamboanga might have become the biggest stumbling block for the Western Expedition Fleet's strategy in the Philippines.
Yamabe is Koizumi's most trusted general, and Koizumi will always take a high look at his suggestions. Nodding pretentiously, he asked the others: "Gentlemen, do you have any other ideas?"
What other people can think? Koizumi has the final say on the Western Expedition Fleet now. Since he has shown interest in Yamabe's suggestion, they will naturally not be stupid enough to jump on the opposite side.
"Then it's decided!" Koizumi said, and then issued a series of orders. The Ryujo aircraft carrier fleet immediately divided into two groups, with five submarines along the way. Under the leadership of a commander named Masao Iijima, they passed through Mindanao and Basilan.
The strait between them sailed towards Morro Bay; along the way, the aircraft carrier "Ryujo" was surrounded by the aircraft carrier and turned northward. Under the guidance of several reconnaissance aircraft, it began to search for a new landing point.
After a new round of bombing and shelling, the expected new ground offensive did not take place as planned. Wang Laohu received the report from the lookout post and ran out of the air-raid shelter. He couldn't help but be confused about the Japs' intentions.
The Zero Fighter piloted by Yamabe soon flew over the original battlefield. Yamabe was brave and flew the Zero Fighter at an altitude of about 500 meters around the battlefield twice before flying away.
About a quarter of an hour later, more than a dozen Japanese warships parked five kilometers away actually sailed towards the north. Wang Laohu was even more puzzled. He thought the little devil was playing some conspiracy, so he immediately reported it to Xiao Anbao.
Xiao Anbao climbed to a commanding height where he could see the sea. He picked up the telescope and looked at it for a few minutes. He put down the telescope and said to Sharp: "The Japanese are going north. They may choose a new landing point. Sharp, please call the 81st Division immediately."
Call the 101st Division and ask them to prepare for war." Then, he ordered his men to send a message to the division commander Huang Haifu to inform them of the discovery.
When Huang Haifu received this telegram, he was leading the first brigade and the division's direct troops and special artillery regiment to the Kapatagan area. Their destination was Naga, about 110 kilometers away from Zamboanga.
After reading this telegram, he immediately reported to the headquarters of the Second Expeditionary Army, and then called Xiao Anbao, asking him to strengthen the defense in the Zamboanga area. He then ordered the entire army to speed up the march, striving to achieve victory at twelve o'clock in the evening.
Get to Naya before 0:00.
In the headquarters of the US military stationed in the Philippines in Cebu City, there was a "didi" sound of telecommunications signals. MacArthur had a cigar in his mouth and was measuring something with a ruler on the chart of the Philippine Islands - he suddenly discovered something off the coast of Sibuco.
After seeing the Japanese aircraft carrier fleet, the old American man couldn't figure out the intentions of this Japanese army. While ordering the major coastal towns along the Japanese fleet's march route to strengthen their defenses, he also dispatched troops and generals, intending to assemble a heavy force to prevent the Japanese army from attacking.
Then defeat them one by one, hoping to have a decisive battle with the Japanese army in the western region of Mindanao.
"Report, Commander Guo is here," a staff officer suddenly reported to him. He dropped the pencil in his hand and raised his head, and saw a serious-looking Guo Kui walking in with a telegram in his hand.
Guo Kui handed him the telegram in his hand and said: "General MacArthur, this is the frontline battle report we just received. The Japanese army's attempt to attack Zamboanga was thwarted by the joint forces commanded by Brigadier Xiao Anbao. The Japanese are now changing direction.
March towards Sibuco. We suspect that the Japanese will definitely choose a new landing point in the area north of Sibuco."
Regarding the battle situation in Zamboanga, MacArthur has received Sharp's report. The data reported by Sharp were somewhat conservative, saying that the defenders annihilated 2,000 Japanese troops at a cost of 5,000 men. The Japanese army is now adjusting its tactics. He speculates that it may re-enter the war.