The Chief of General Staff of the Kwantung Army, Sadatichi Yoshimoto, walked into Umezu Yoshijiro's office with a livid face. Before he could stand upright, he angrily reported: "Your Excellency, Marshal, there is an urgent call from the Northern Manchuria Security Command. Manchuria is under attack!"
"What?" Umezu Yoshijiro suddenly stood up and said in disbelief, "Manchuria was attacked!?"
"Hai." Yoshimoto Teiichi suddenly lowered his head and said, "The China Army dispatched at least two divisions of airborne troops!"
"Baga, Baga Garu!" Umezu Yoshijiro drew out his saber and struck it viciously on the desk, and then roared through gritted teeth, "Why didn't the Manchuria Garrison Command report to the headquarters immediately? Why did it pass?
It took two hours to report to the headquarters?”
"Your Excellency, Marshal!" Yoshimoto Sadakachi said sadly, "Before the large-scale airborne landing, a large aircraft of the China Army first flew over Manzhouli. This large aircraft was probably equipped with a radio wave jamming system, causing Manchuria's radio transmission system to
All failed, and the telephone lines on the ground were cut off by the Chinese special forces who landed in a small scale in advance. It was not until recently that the cavalry correspondent sent the message to nearby Hailar, and then the telegram was sent!"
Umezu Meijiro took a breath of air in horror and said solemnly: "Yoshimoto-kun, what do you think?"
Yoshimoto Seiichi shook his head solemnly and said sadly: "All the main forces of the Kwantung General Army have been transferred to the southern Manchuria area. There are not many troops left in the entire northern Manchuria. There is only one guard regiment in Manchuria, and the airborne Manchuria
The China Army has two divisions, and they are all the most elite airborne troops, so..."
Umezu Yoshijiro immediately picked up the phone and wanted to call Okamura Neiji in Jinzhou, but then he thought about it. The situation in Jinzhou was at its most tense moment, and Okamura Neiji might not be able to mobilize troops to return reinforcements. Moreover, even from the south
Manchuria mobilized troops to go north, and when the reinforcements arrived in Manzhouli, they didn't know it would be the Year of the Monkey and the Horse. By then, the Chinese *** team had already managed Manzhouli as solidly as an iron barrel.
At that moment, Umezu Yoshijiro strode to the wall, looked at the map on the wall and said: "Yoshimoto-kun, how many regular troops are there in northern Manchuria now? Which army is closest to Manchuria?"
Yoshimoto Sadashi followed him to the wall, pointed at the map and said: "Currently, there are only six infantry divisions stationed in northern Manchuria. The closest to Manchuria is the 177th Infantry Division stationed in Bogetu. However, due to the number of cars,
Unfortunately, the 177th Infantry Division has not yet been mechanized. If we rush to Manchuria on foot, it will take at least five days!"
"Railway!" Umezu Yoshijiro said, "Isn't there a railway from Boktu to Manzhouli? Let the troops take the train to reinforce!"
"Your Excellency, Marshal, the railway has been destroyed." Yoshimoto Sadai said sadly, "Shortly before the urgent message about the attack on Manchuria was sent, several stations of the North Manchuria Railway Co., Ltd. called one after another, claiming that they were within the jurisdiction.
The railway facilities were subjected to large-scale bombing by a group of China bombers, and the North Manchuria Railway... has been completely paralyzed."
Umezu Yoshijiro's face suddenly turned pale, but when his eyes moved north, he suddenly looked like a drowning man who found straw floating on the water. He immediately said to Yoshimoto Sadao: "Russian army! Russia is in the Far East Military District.
Aren't there still 20 infantry divisions and 2 tank divisions stationed? Immediately call the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and send an urgent diplomatic note to the Russian government, requesting the Russian Far East troops to immediately go south to assist the imperial army in defending Manchuria!"
Yoshimoto Sadakachi shook his head and sighed: "Your Excellency, Marshal, do you think the bombers of the China Army will only bomb the railway facilities east of Manchuria? No, the China Army will definitely consider the possibility of the Russian army going south, so they will definitely dispatch
The bomber group destroyed the railway facilities west of Manchuria, and the road conditions at the junction of Manchuria and the Russian army in the north, coupled with the severe winter now, will make it difficult for both infantry and tanks to move if they cannot rely on railway transportation."
Umezu Yoshijiro's face suddenly became paler. Yoshimoto Seiichi's analysis was undoubtedly correct. It was the middle of winter, and the snow in northern Manchuria and the Far East was extremely thick. In addition, it was more than 40 degrees Celsius below zero.
In the severe cold, it would be suicide for infantry to march in the field, and it would be impossible for tanks to maneuver on the road.
"What should we do?" Meijiro Huizu said sadly, "If Manchuria cannot be recaptured quickly, the China Army will be able to establish an air transportation line between Manchuria and North China, and then subsequent troops and equipment will be continuously transported to
Manzhouli, when the imperial army wants to retake Manzhouli and open up the Siberian Railway, it will be absolutely impossible."
"Yes." Yoshimoto Sada nodded and sighed again, "If the strategic transportation line of the Siberian Railway cannot be opened in time, the crude oil transported from Kulun and the Far East will no longer be able to enter Manchuria. With Manchuria's crude oil reserves,
In less than seven days, the oil refineries in Lushun and Yingkou will run out of oil, and in ten days at most, our fighter planes, tanks and trucks will all be reduced to a pile of scrap metal due to exhaustion of fuel!"
"Damn Chinese people." Umezu Yoshijiro slumped back in his chair, put his hands on his face, and said with shame, "How should I tell Okamura-kun about this? The decisive battle in Southern Manchuria is at a critical moment, and I
Northern Manchuria, which is responsible, has made such a big mistake. I am really ashamed of Okamura-kun, the Empire of Japan, and His Majesty the Emperor..."
"Your Excellency, Marshal." Yoshimoto Teiichi cheered up and said, "At this point, there is no other better way. On the one hand, we must urgently mobilize troops from Northern Manchuria to quickly reinforce Manchuria, and on the other hand, we must prepare for the worst.
I plan to let Marshal Okamura look for opportunities to fight the China Army as soon as possible, and don't let the war drag on for a long time."
Umezu Meijiro nodded numbly and said: "As of now, this is what we have to do."
Jinzhou Bay, 8th Group Army forward headquarters.
Mr. Li is holding a pencil and is drawing on the map, but he doesn’t know what he is calculating?
Amidst the rapid footsteps, Chief of Staff Chen Dao hurriedly walked into the war room with a telegram. Chief of Staff Chen's eyebrows could not suppress the joy. He immediately reported to General Li: "Commander, there is an urgent call from the headquarters, airborne.
The division has recaptured Manchuria, and two bomber squadrons, under the guidance of the special operations division, have blown up more than a dozen bridge facilities at the east and west ends of Manchuria!"
"Okay, great!" Mr. Li immediately put his pencil on the map and said loudly, "Now that Manchuria has been captured, the strategic transportation line of the Siberian Railway has been cut off. Now, Japan's two hundred
We have pinched the throat of the Kwantung Army. As long as we hold on in Jinzhou for half a month, the Kwantung Army will definitely die!"
Chief of Staff Chen nodded excitedly, and then said with some worry: "But Commander, Okamura Neiji has mobilized more than one million troops, more than 2,000 tanks and more than 3,000 heavy artillery on the east and west fronts. This Jinzhou is
It’s not easy to defend. Should we ask the headquarters to send another 1 or 2 group armies to land at Jinzhou Bay to strengthen the defense line?”
"That's not necessary." Li Bu shook his head and said, "Jinzhou Bay is only so big, and a group army is already a bit crowded. If two more group armies are brought up, it will just be to send cannon fodder to the Japs' heavy artillery group.
"After saying this, Mr. Li said with full confidence, "As for the Kwantung Army's heavy troop group, I have a way to deal with it."
"Oh?" Chief of Staff Chen said excitedly, "Commander already has a way to deal with it?"
"Yes." Mr. Li nodded and immediately waved to Chief of Staff Chen and a dozen division commanders. The division chiefs gathered around him, then picked up a pencil and drew an arc on the map and explained, "Look,
I have ordered the engineering regiments directly under each division to dig an anti-tank trench around the entire defense area on the outside of the defense area."
"With the blocking of anti-tank trenches, it is no longer possible for the Kwantung Army's tank clusters to directly attack our defense line."
"Therefore, the duel between mechanized and heavily armed groups has turned into anti-tank trench raids and counter-attack warfare. The number of tanks and heavy artillery in our group army is less than one-sixth of the Kwantung Army, but the infantry divisions of our group army are equipped with
The short-range infantry suppression firepower is superior to that of the Kwantung Army, especially the eight 72-barrel vehicle-mounted rocket launcher battalions, which will play a vital blocking role!"
"Due to the high mobility of vehicle-mounted rocket launchers, they can run away after firing, or even run while firing. Therefore, it is difficult for the Kwantung Army's heavy artillery cluster to implement effective artillery suppression. If the Kwantung Army's tank cluster reaches the front of the trench to provide fire support to the engineers,
, then the army aviation division’s armed helicopter group can carry out low-altitude strikes against it.”
"Although the Army Aviation Division has a small number of armed helicopters, its low-altitude hovering special attack method cannot be effectively countered by tanks. If the Kwantung Army forcibly dispatches tank clusters or self-propelled artillery to provide engineers with supplies before filling the anti-tank trenches,
Fire support, then even if they fill up the anti-tank trenches, they will lose the ability to continue the attack due to the excessive loss of tanks or self-propelled artillery!"
"In addition, when the Kwantung Army dispatched tank groups and self-propelled artillery groups to cover the infantry to forcibly attack the anti-tank trenches, our 8th Heavy Artillery Division and the naval gun groups of naval battleships and cruisers could also suppress the Japanese army with artillery fire, and the naval gun's killing
Needless to say about its strength, even a German Tiger heavy tank will definitely die if hit by a single shot."
"Of course, in the middle and late stages of the battle, the Air Force will also participate in the battle and provide strong fire support to our group army, because compared to the Kwantung Army's aviation cluster, our Fourth Field Air Force has a considerable advantage. As the air battle continues to deepen, the Kwantung Army's aviation force
The losses will become increasingly difficult to replenish, and the advantages of our air force will also become greater and greater."
"To sum up, my conclusion is that under the premise of coordinated operations by the air force, navy and army aviation units, and using infantry to cooperate with anti-tank trenches, there is a complete chance of blocking the Kwantung Army's tank sea!"