The matter was so serious that Kobayashi didn't dare to hide it, so he could only report it to Okamura Neiji truthfully. Okamura Neiji's headquarters was located in Wangjiang. Originally, he felt a headache because of the stalemate in the war, which had made no progress. Now, Hearing that the Botian detachment, the only reserve force in hand, was in this situation again, the old Japanese felt powerless for the first time.
When he first became the commander of the 11th Army, Okamura Neji was very excited and decided to fight hard to let the big shots in Tokyo know that looking at the Chinese battlefield, only the troops led by him, Okamura, could conquer the war. All are invincible. However, it has been a week since the Battle of Madang started. Not to mention no progress on the front line, but now, there is another big problem in the rear.
From the perspective of the entire Japanese army in China, a small Botian detachment is nothing. However, because it involves the Taiwanese, and because the current situation in Taiwan is a bit complicated, Gangcun knows that Xiaolin has set himself a huge blow this time. It’s a basket,
The performance of the 11th Army in recent times does not need to be evaluated by others. Gangcun himself knows that it is really unjustifiable. Not to mention that the 17th Division was surrounded and annihilated. This was the result of the army's unauthorized advance and was not his decision-making. It was a mistake, but the 112th Division was unable to attack Xiaogushan for a long time, and one division actually had no way to defeat a regiment of the Chinese Army; the 11th Division was lackluster in the battle to attack Mianchuan Island north of Madang Fortress, and was unable to obtain even the A little bit of progress; the 106th Division lost troops in Hukou, and now it has lost the Jiangnan foothold in Jiujiang, which was finally won. However, he must bear certain command responsibilities.
"No, we must make progress in Madang, otherwise, or my return date is not far away, and I will be recalled to the country in disgrace because of the defeat. It is better to put all my money into it." Gangcun thought so, turning his eyes to the military map behind him, and temporarily Putting aside the matter of the Botian detachment, he frowned slightly and started thinking.
In Nanjing, in the office of Shunroku Hata of the China Expeditionary Forces Headquarters, a somewhat ragged Tokugawa Otoshi stood humbly and respectfully in front of Shunroku Hata, looking down like a child who had done something wrong, waiting to be scolded by his parents. Head, silent,
As the first Japanese pilot to fly into the sky, Tokugawa Yoshitoshi had too many honors, and it was precisely because of these honors that he was even more worried about the defeat in Anqing. He always felt that Anqing The airport and the fighter planes of the Second Air Corps were destroyed, and I cannot absolve myself from the blame.
Shunroku Hata sat on a chair, looking at the pride of the Imperial Air Force. His eyes were very sharp at first, and then gradually softened. Finally, he sighed leisurely and said: "Tokugawa-kun, the loss of Anqing is not your fault, don't let it go. In my heart, there is an old saying in China, which is that victory or defeat is a matter of military affairs. If you fall down in Anqing, you can get up again there. Besides, the main reason for your defeat this time is the poor defense of the defense troops. Well, they can do everything possible to Sending you aviation elites out shows that the commanders of Anqing are not so confused that they do not distinguish between priorities. Don't worry, Tokugawa-kun. As long as you aviation troops are still there, the Second Aviation Corps will not be abolished. , the military headquarters has sent a telegram a few days ago. Just next month, a batch of fighter planes will be sent to Nanjing. At that time, you can reorganize the Second Air Corps. I also hope that you can get rid of the impact of the defeat in Anqing and make great achievements for His Majesty the Emperor. .”
"Your Excellency, thank you so much." Tokugawa lowered his head and said with tears in his eyes.
Shunroku Hata waved his hand: "This is what I should do." After a pause, he asked: "You just came back from the front line, so what do you think of the combat effectiveness of the Xuebing Army? I heard that the Anqing School The army has a large tank force, what is your evaluation of its combat effectiveness?"
"Sir, do you want to hear the truth?"
"Of course, otherwise why would I meet you alone."
Tokugawa thought for a while, raised his head and said: "It is very powerful and very practical. Your Excellency, you know that there are many rivers and lakes in Anqing and even the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. I think the Xuebing Army's tanks are designed to adapt to this kind of Specifically designed for the terrain of the battlefield, the armor and gun caliber of the Chinese tank are far superior to similar products in our country. Your Excellency, the commanders of the Xuebing Army are very smart. They must have realized that our Second Aviation Corps is their tank. The only nemesis of the army, so we carried out the sneak attack. Unfortunately, our frontline commanders did not realize this. Your Excellency, if there are only three divisions, without aviation support, I don’t think they can win Jiangbei. The student army."
Those few days in Anqing were a nightmare experience for Tokugawa. He never thought that the weak China actually had such a powerful tank force. He just thought of the organized tank troops launching an attack on the Japanese army. His heart couldn't help but tremble at the scene, and then he felt that the empire's so-called plan to destroy China seemed to be a dream in the end. The student army must be eliminated as soon as possible, and it cannot be allowed to have sufficient time to develop, otherwise Otherwise, it will definitely become a nightmare for the empire. It is based on this idea that Tokugawa decided to disregard the army's practice and directly remonstrate with His Excellency Hata Shun.
The recent performance of the Xuebing Army has seriously hindered the Japanese army's strategic planning. During this period, Shunroku Hata learned too much about the Xuebing Army's past from Umezu Yoshijiro, so he attached great importance to the Xuebing Army's intelligence collection work. I was surprised by the astonishing development speed of the Xuebing Army. For this warlord-like force, I had this feeling for the first time: if the empire is not curbed now, it will definitely ruin the future of the empire. Japan and China dispatched troops to launch the Wuhan Campaign. , was originally a decision made by the Tokyo base camp in order to further squeeze the living space of the current Chinese government and the army. However, the strong appearance of the Northward Army Corps made Shunroku Hata feel an unprecedented threat. After careful consideration, he decided to change The focus of the Wuhan Campaign strategy was no longer to capture the city and capture territory, but to concentrate on annihilating the Northward Army Corps of the Xuebing Army. At the same time, he ordered the South China Front Army to launch an offensive on the Fujian, Zhejiang and Jiangxi border as soon as possible to coordinate with the main force's actions in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. For this reason, he wrote in a report to the Tokyo base camp: The rapid development of the Xuebing Army has seriously affected the process of the empire's conquest of China. It is hereby suggested to change the goal of the Wuhan strategy to annihilate the active forces of the Xuebing Army, in order to This great enemy of the empire was nipped in the bud,
Three days later, Shunroku Hata received a reply from Tokyo, approving his suggestion, and sent another telegram to Okamura Neiji, reprimanding him for his recent behavior of ignoring the dispatched army headquarters, and asking him to unconditionally accept the dispatched army. command of the headquarters,
This telegram came a little late, because just one day ago, the outcome of the Battle of Madang had been decided, and the result of this battle ended with the 11th Army being defeated.
Returning to Madang Fortress three days ago, in the headquarters of the Northward Army Corps, Ouyang Yun received a telegram from Lin Haifeng. He scanned the contents of the telegram at a glance and smiled at the corner of his mouth. Because it was daytime, Takahashi Ryoko and Pan Meiren and Liu Jiayao are all here. During this period, because she could often see Ouyang Yun, Chen Jiayao's entire mental outlook changed. The cheerful and lively girl she used to be seemed to be back.
At this moment, seeing Ouyang Yun's rare expression of joy, she asked: "What makes you so happy?" The other two women also cast their eyes over.
"The 'Double Cao Plan' was successful. One brigade of the Botian detachment has been restored." Ouyang Yun said, handing the telegram to Chen Shichang. The actual drafter of the "Double Cao Plan" was Chen Shichang, and he should be allowed to share it. With the joy of victory, Chen Shichang had other tasks on hand. He took the telegram, looked at it, and handed it to Huang Hua. Then, he looked at Ouyang Yun and said: "Commander-in-Chief, Kamakura Suke Er-Chun is dead. Stop being angry, the main gunboats are showing signs of moving closer to us, should we let Brigadier Zhang and the torpedo team enter the battle position as planned?"
Ouyang Yun: "Don't worry, Zhang Hui and the others have just intercepted a secret Japanese military telegram and are currently deciphering it. We will make a decision after the telegram is deciphered."
Zhang Hui is the leader of the army's secret message deciphering team. Early this morning, they intercepted a secret message sent from Wangjiang. They are still nervously deciphering it.
In terms of communication technology, the Xuebing Army is far ahead of the Japanese army. The current communication methods of the Japanese army include wired telephones, telegraphs, or manpower transportation. This gives the Xuebing Army a considerable advantage in taking advantage of the enemy. For example, Zhongdao Qingcun had just sent electricity to Gangcun, telling him to give up the plan of all the troops in Jiujiang and move to Hukou. Ouyang Yun learned about it by deciphering the telegram a quarter of an hour later. He immediately sent electricity to Ye Zhao and ordered the 35th Xue Brigade to abandon the original plan. We will make a plan to attack Jiujiang and then march urgently to support Hukou. In this way, the Xuebing Army's defense force in Hukou will be strengthened, and the ruin of Zhongdao Qingcun will become a joke.
Chen Shichang nodded and once again devoted all his energy to the sand table.
"General, let's have a cup of hot tea." Takahashi Ryoko handed a cup of tea to Ouyang Yun,
Ouyang Yun took it and was about to drink it when he suddenly felt the same gaze from two people. He turned around and saw Pan Meiren and Chen Jiayao muttering something with their backs to him. He couldn't help but laugh, "Thank you." He smiled at Gao Qiao. Laughing, then he put down the tea cup and turned his eyes to the big map behind the sand table. He looked at the area of Xiaogushan and gradually became fascinated.
An hour and a half later, Zhang Hui and the others finally deciphered the telegram. Ouyang Yun took the telegram from Huang Hua and looked at it, then handed it to Chen Shichang and said, "Go as planned. "
This telegram was sent by Okamura Neiji to Kamakura Sukeji Jun. The former requested the latter to concentrate all the gunboats to bombard Cotton Boat Island in the early morning of the day after tomorrow, saying that the 11th Army would launch a full-scale offensive that day.