Reborn South Africa as a police officer

Chapter 2249 Tragic tentative attack

The reason why Masaharu Honma is cautious is because the 25th Army lost too badly on Diaomen Island. Since the battle on Diaomen Island, the Japanese army has increased its emphasis on the southern African army, and will no longer underestimate the enemy as before. .

The main reason is that neither the Malay campaign nor the Philippine campaign has ended. Neither Tobumi Yamashita nor Masaharu Honma has the ability to open up a second battlefield. The 48th Division’s landing in Kuching is only a test. There is only one infantry regiment. If it is attacked by the southern African army, You can return to the Philippines at any time.

Masaharu Honma's caution also has a lot to do with the setback in the attack on the Bataan Peninsula.

When the 48th Division landed in Kuching, the Battle of the Philippines was not over. MacArthur abandoned Manila and withdrew the US-Philippines to the Bataan Peninsula. When the 48th Division landed in Kuching, the Bataan Peninsula still had about 8 U.S. dollars. Filipino Army.

On January 1, the Japanese army launched an attack on the Bataan Peninsula, and the desperate US-Philippines coalition forces finally broke out with strong combat effectiveness.

Although the individual quality of the U.S.-Philippines coalition forces is not as good as that of the Japanese army, their equipment is not inferior, and they lack the fighting will and courage.

In the case of a last stand, MacArthur had nowhere to go. He didn't want to go to the East Indies, nor did he want to flee back to the United States in a desperate way. Fighting the Japanese army head-on was the only option.

The battle was extremely fierce, and the intensity was no less than that of the Battle of Moscow. When the Japanese army invaded the frontline positions of the US-Philippine coalition forces, brutal hand-to-hand combat broke out between the two sides. In one battle, a Filipino soldier used the Maxim to kill dozens of attacking Japanese soldiers. When the Japanese army rushed to the position, the Filipino soldier killed five more people with the pistol he was equipped with. He was awarded the Silver Cross for this medal. . .

On the western defense line of the Bataan Peninsula, the Japanese army broke through the positions of the US-Philippine coalition forces, posing a huge threat to the flank of the First Army commanded by Wainwright.

The First Army was forced to retreat to the second line of defense behind the position.

The U.S.-Philippine coalition forces in a desperate situation exploded with enormous energy, and it only took four days to build the second line of defense.

The Japanese army continued to attack, and Colonel Alfredo Santos, the commander of the first division, boldly interspersed and surrounded the attacking Japanese army.

The Japanese suffered heavy losses, and only 378 of the attacking troops survived.

At this time, it was already January 1th. Masaharu Honma finally realized the strength of the Americans. Even though the Bataan Peninsula was surrounded, the U.S. military could still provide supplies to the U.S.-Philippine coalition forces on the Bataan Peninsula through the Allied Airfield in East India. supply.

The closest allied airfield to the Bataan Peninsula is at Shilongmen.

Masaharu Honma ordered the troops to stop the offensive on February 2, and reorganized the troops to wait for reinforcements.

When Masaharu Honma was in trouble, the 25th Army also suffered setbacks.

On January 1, the forward troops of the 14th Army had entered Johor State, which was the defense zone of the Australian 25th Division commanded by Henry Kelsen.

The 8th Division was one of the earliest troops formed by Australia after the outbreak of the European War.

This unit has made outstanding achievements and participated in the North African campaign and the Greek campaign. After the failure of the Greek campaign, it was transferred to India. After the Pearl Harbor incident broke out, the 8th Division was transferred to British Malaya and accepted the command of Parcival.

During the period in India, the 8th Division, which suffered heavy losses, was fully loaded after supplementation. All the weapons and equipment were aided by southern Africa. Not only did it have a large number of heavy artillery, but it also had a "Matilda" light tank. tank regiment.

The "Matilda" currently equipped by the British army is an improved version upgraded after the outbreak of the European War. In addition to thicker armor, it is also equipped with a 75mm tank gun, which can easily penetrate Japanese Type 97 medium tanks.

After the outbreak of the Malaya Campaign, the 25th Army encountered basically all British and Indian troops, and did not encounter real resistance.

Kelsen's 8th Division has been very active since the outbreak of the Malaya Campaign, and has participated in sniping against the Japanese army many times. However, every time before, it retreated because of the rapid collapse of friendly positions and threats to the flanks. It has never won a single battle. .

British Malaya is a loose alliance. The relationship between Johor State and Changi Naval Base is very good. It is because of Johor’s cooperation that Changi Naval Base was able to expand to the size it is today. So when the Johor government hopes to get the Indian Ocean Theater During the protection period, An Qi directly sent the 19th Division of Southern Africa and the 6th Division of East India.

The 19th Division was a purely southern African force.

The 6th Division was one of the best trained and equipped units in the East India.

This decision will not affect the situation in the Malayan Peninsula after the war. Whether or not British Malaya exists after the war, Johor has already made a choice before the war.

Berkeley Ford, the commander of the 19th Division, drove to the station of the 8th Division as soon as he received the combat mission.

Berkeley Ford is a French-Southern African native born in Southern Africa and received his full education in Southern Africa, a graduate of the Nyasaland Army Academy.

After the two met and chatted, Ford found out that Kelsen also had French ancestry, so the two had the best object to complain about.

Not the Japanese, but the French Vichy government.

"The existence of the Vichy government has shamed those of us who have French blood. The once great France has fallen to the point where it is today. Petain should be judged." Kelsen hated the Vichy government deeply, and even hated The French heroes of World War I were also full of hate.

In fact, this cannot be blamed on Pétain. Pétain was just a scapegoat launched by France, and he had to play this shameful role.

Even so, in the hearts of most French people, Pétain is still unforgivable.

"The current situation in France is a lesson for us. If we also surrender, then we will lose all our honor and become a second-rate or even third-rate country." Ford didn't have much affection for France, and he wasn't even as excited as Kelsen. Pity.

For Ford, southern Africa was his country, more worthy of allegiance than France.

"The Japanese were sniped by the US-Philippine coalition forces in the Philippines. We can't do too badly." Kelsen's current allies are the Southern African Army and the East Indian Army. Finally, I have the confidence to defeat the Japanese.

"No problem, if the Japanese attack your position, I will order the troops to take the initiative and make good use of the Matilda. Although the Matilda is not a good tank, it is enough to deal with the Japanese. .” Ford is qualified to say this, his troops are equipped with "Tiger" and "Panther" types.

"Can you give me a few Leopard tanks?" Kelsen was really envious. The relationship between Australia and southern Africa is also very good, no less than that of East India. Unfortunately, Australia is still a Commonwealth of Nations. The degree of attention is obviously not as good as that of East India.

Don't even think about the "Tiger" type, even if Kelsen asks, Ford will not give it to him, thank God if he can give a few "Leopard" type.

"It is not equipment that decides the outcome of a war, but people—" Ford was speechless, and he only took Kelsen's words as a joke.

It has not been a day or two since the UK coveted the "Tiger" and "Leopard" styles. In fact, the British can also build them themselves. Unfortunately, the UK, like Japan, spends more resources on the navy, so the UK hopes to use them Free ways to get "Tiger" and "Panther" styles.

This is purely wishful thinking. Southern Africa itself is not enough. If possible, Rock hopes that all the armies in southern Africa will be armored forces.

Yamashita Fengwen didn't know that his opponent had changed, and it was the Fifth Division of the Japanese Army that launched an attack on Johor.

The Fifth Division has been introduced earlier, one of the earliest seven divisions in Japan, the infamous "Itagaki Division", with a total strength of 2.5.

The current commander of the Fifth Division is no longer Itagaki Seishiro, but Matsui Tajiro, who is also a notorious war criminal. The court acquitted him and lived until 1969.

After the outbreak of the Malayan Campaign, the Fifth Division was active. Matsui Tahisa restrained the behavior of the officers and soldiers of the Fifth Division. The Fifth Division was not as brutal as before.

Ford didn't want to be lenient to the Fifth Division because of this.

The main population in southern Africa is Chinese. The various atrocities committed by the Japanese army in the Far East have been widely publicized by the southern African media. The Chinese in southern Africa have long hated the Japanese. "Nyasaland Daily" He even compiled a list of war criminals, and the first one on the list was the little king.

This little king in time and space cannot escape the post-war liquidation [-]%.

If the Americans want to make small moves, the [-] million southern African Chinese will definitely not agree.

On January 1, the forward troops of the Fifth Division launched an attack on the position of the Australian Eighth Division. The Japanese probably believed that the Australian troops would be like the Indians, and they would collapse at the first touch.

Even if the Australians can fight a little better than the Indians, it doesn't matter. Anyway, as long as the Japanese appear on the flanks of the Australian positions, the Australians will retreat.

This time the Japanese made a wrong calculation. The flank of the Australian 19th Division was the position of the [-]th Division in Southern Africa.

The Japanese's first attack was a tentative attack, which was not very strong and was easily repelled by the Australians.

Then the Japanese army set their target on the position of the 19th Division. At this time, the captain of the 42nd Regiment, Otani Oki, was surprised to find that the opposite army seemed to be different from the previous British and Indian troops.

Whether the army's combat effectiveness is strong or not can be seen from the position.

How poor is the performance of the British and Indian troops? The trenches are not willing to dig a centimeter deep. A shallow trench is dug on the ground to form a position. Traffic trenches and air-raid shelters can make up for it. There is no depth to speak of. It will be lost soon, why waste energy and physical strength to build a position.

The southern African army has strict standards for the purchase of positions. Even temporary positions must be rigid, and there must be everything. The traffic trenches must be covered with logs and sandbags. The machine gun positions are set more strictly, and all the shooting holes are crossfire , will not be threatened by frontal fire at all.

Like other field forces in southern Africa, the 19th Division is also equipped with armored units, so there is a gap in the middle of the position for tanks to attack.

Otani Dagui observed for a long time, but did not find any weakness in the 19th Division's position, so he sent troops to launch a tentative attack.

It should be said that Otani was still very cautious. The Fifth Division was reorganized into a mechanized unit in 1940 and equipped with the most advanced Japanese Type 97 medium tanks. Otani was not careless and sent tanks to accompany the infantry to participate in the attack.

The Type 97 tank has a total combat weight of only 15 tons and is classified as a "medium tank", which is an insult to the word "medium".

The 42nd Wing has conducted training on infantry-tank coordination. When the troops were attacking, the infantry followed the tanks, which looked decent.

It's a pity that when playing tanks, southern Africans are experts.

Therefore, the Japanese's Bu Tan cooperation played a big knife in front of the southern Africans, that is, in front of Guan Gong.

The 19th Division is equipped with not only anti-tank guns, but also dual-purpose machine guns.

The armor of the Type 97 tank can't even hold the Gaoping dual-purpose machine gun.

The position chosen by the 19th Division is a hillside, and the vegetation on the uphill has been cleared in advance, which is very friendly to the Type 97 tank.

However, the Japanese tanks still encountered trouble, because the slope of the hill was a bit too steep, and the Japanese tanks could not climb up——

This is very embarrassing, not only embarrassing for the Japanese, but also the defending southern African officers and soldiers are even more anxious, eager to climb out of the trenches to lift the Japanese tanks up.

Anyway, 15 tons is not heavy, and there are construction machinery that can't be lifted.

"Do you want to fight?" Thomas, chief of staff of the 19rd Regiment, did not want to watch the clumsy performances of the Japanese at the command post of the 173th Division's forward position.

The terrain of the hillside is complex, some places have steep slopes, and Japanese tanks cannot climb up, while some places have gentle slopes, but they can still climb up.

However, there are only a few places that can climb up, so the attacking Type 97 tanks and infantry are all lined up.

If there are a few shells flying over at this time, it must be very rewarding.

"Let's fight, finish the fight early and don't delay dinner—" Zhao Kui from Rhodesia raised his hand to look at his watch, the time was three o'clock in the afternoon.

boom boom-

The anti-tank guns deployed in the forward positions opened fire immediately, and the armor of the 97 tanks was as fragile as tofu.

tom tom tom—

The sound of the grenade launcher is very small and cannot be heard at a distance.

But the power is not small at all. The automatic grenade launcher that should have been installed on the armored vehicle was removed and deployed on the defense line. This is the big killer against infantry. Compared with the general-purpose machine gun, the grenade launcher is simply weak.

Bah!
A large number of precision shooters are not lonely either. Their targets are either officers, grenadiers, or machine gunners.

Da da da tower——

The machine gun finally opened fire, with astonishing ferocity and density.

The soldiers who were only equipped with semi-automatic rifles were very depressed. They had no chance to fire at all. The number of Japanese troops participating in the tentative attack was small, and there were not enough points at all. The battle lasted only a few minutes and ended. Almost all the Japanese troops participating in the attack Annihilated, all nine Type 97 tanks were destroyed immediately.

This result made Xiaogu Dagui dumbfounded.

A tentative attack is to test the strength of the defense of the enemy's position.

Now that the strength is probably known, how should we attack?

attack?

Xiaogu Dagui just wants to escape now.

(End of this chapter)