Age of Rebirth

Compared with the happy atmosphere of Tang Qiuli and several corps commanders who reunited after a long absence and having a good time drinking and talking, General Ito Yanzaburo, the commander-in-chief of the Japanese Southeast Asian Expeditionary Force who is desperately retreating south, is in pain and depressed to the point of going crazy Degree.

The raid on Mogok ended with the loss of 15 soldiers from six divisions. Ito couldn't believe that none of the 15 soldiers survived. Under the artillery fire, the jade was shattered so thoroughly, which made Ito extremely painful, leaving him no hope at all.

The fiasco of Mogok left Ito without any hesitation. The defense line of the Libao Grand Canyon can stop the attack of the independent division for a while, but what about later?The dispatched army is slowly consumed in central Myanmar like this?The troops of the independent division advancing in the direction of Mandalay have already approached the city, and if they do not retreat southward, the only passage is cut off, waiting for the fate of themselves and their subordinates, that is, being surrounded here, and the result is the same.

Ito is very aware of the situation he is facing, and the time left for him is only one night. At dawn, Tang Qiuli, who is not forgiving, will definitely launch a fierce attack on the defense line of the Libao Grand Canyon. He can mobilize all his troops Come up, within a week, the defense line will not be breached, but what about the independent division troops coming from the east of Mandalay, intending to cut off the retreat of the imperial army and encircle the dispatched army on the line from Libao to Mandalay?What to use to stop it?

Even if the blocking is successful, how long can the dispatched army last with its current strength in the face of the two-sided attack of the independent division?Three days, five days or half a month, and then?Waiting for domestic reinforcements, Tang Qiuli is not a fool, he will not give himself such time, when the domestic reinforcements arrive, it is the time to ring the death knell of the Southeast Asian dispatched troops. [

Weighing the pros and cons, Ito made a painful decision to immediately retreat south to Yangon.To avoid the fate of the dispatched army being encircled by the independent division, after making this decision, he did not intend to report his decision to retreat south to the Tokyo headquarters.You don't need to think about the result. The order from the base camp is, "Hold on, stick to it, even if all the jade is broken, we must complete His Majesty's Burma campaign plan."

At around ten o'clock that night, Ito held a military meeting of senior generals above the commander level of the dispatched army brigade in the war room of the dispatched army headquarters in Mandalay.Ito did not intend to discuss with these generals under him. He wanted to tell a decision, an order that risked disobeying the military order of the base camp, and would put himself in a doomed situation. Ito was prepared to bear all the consequences by himself, just to keep Southeast Asia dispatch The army is of flesh and blood.

Ito also believed that his generals.The senior generals of the Japanese army who will understand their good intentions and recognize the dangerous situation they are facing.Entering the meeting room with heavy steps and an ugly face, everyone knows that the dispatched army is already facing a situation where the independent division troops are attacking from the north and the south. Today's meeting should be a meeting that decides the life and death of the dispatched army.

From the expression on His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief's face, you can tell the generals to sit down, and there is no nonsense, "Masters, I believe. Everyone must be aware of the dangerous situation we are facing now. The Libao defense line is facing heavy oppression from the Independent Division. Mandalay may fall soon, so I decided to send all the troops to withdraw from the Libao defense line from [-]:[-] tonight, evacuate Mandalay, and retreat in the direction of Yangon. The staff department is responsible for formulating the retreat plan and Troop retreat sequence."

None of the Japanese generals said anything, but in their hearts, they all agreed with the decision of the commander-in-chief. They all knew the situation on the battlefield. Let them avoid the word retreat. In the drill code of the Imperial Japanese Army, there has always been only the word "offensive", but no retreat. Retreat is a shame for the soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army, and no one is ashamed to mention it. and.

Although he agreed with the Commander-in-Chief's order in his heart, no one agreed with him. This is the so-called face and self-esteem of the little devil. Although it is a very correct judgment, when it comes to the so-called "Bushido" mental issues, he is stubborn. At this point, I have to admire Ito's courage, dare to risk the world's taboo, dare to disobey the orders of the base camp, and make the right choice. To a certain extent, Ito has surpassed all Japanese generals.

Ito also knew that the minds of his generals, if they didn't object, they agreed. He was very pleased, and then said: "Masters, our retreat today is for a better fight tomorrow. On this point, it will not hurt the generals in the slightest." The honor of the soldiers of the Japanese Empire. Only by surviving can we continue to serve the Great East Asia Jihad, be loyal to His Majesty the Emperor, and cherish our lives for the future of the empire. Okay, gentlemen, please, after returning, immediately rectify the troops, Start evacuating, break up the meeting!"

The senior Japanese generals present all saw that two tears flowed down Ito's slack eyeballs. These Japanese officers stood up together, with solemn expressions, and replied loudly: "Hay! Completely obey the commander-in-chief's orders. !" Several officers could not hold back their tears, they were very smart, and no one asked whether the order to retreat came from the base camp.

"Slow down, gentlemen, please stop, I object!" A sharp and trembling voice sounded abruptly in the conference room because of excitement and anger. Lieutenant General Takemura Yamaichi, the chief of staff of Japan's Southeast Asia dispatched army, stood with his face distorted. When he got up, he stared at Gensaburo Ito as if he wanted to kill someone.

Ito glanced at Wu Cun without any surprise, then ignored him as if he was nothing, and continued: "The meeting is over, and we will immediately start preparing for the southward retreat to Yangon!" Wu Cun was really angry. In his opinion, Ito had already Not worthy of being a general of the Great Japanese Empire, this is obviously an act of disobeying the orders of His Majesty the Emperor and the headquarters, and fleeing the battle.

He felt angry and ashamed of Ito's decision. No imperial general would bow his head and admit defeat in front of the enemy, especially in the face of inferior Chinese people. He would rather die in battle than retreat. Ito's approach not only Humiliated the Imperial Army, and openly violated the orders of His Majesty the Emperor and the headquarters, "This shameful deserter, coward, coward! The scum of the army," Takemura cursed Ito viciously in his heart.

Seeing that Ito didn't take himself seriously, Takemura simply jumped to the front desk and said in a dark tone: "Your Excellency, Commander-in-Chief, I hope you can take back the order just now. There is no order from the base camp asking us to retreat to Yangon. Your behavior is fleeing without a fight, and you will go to a military court. His Majesty the Emperor and the headquarters will not forgive your decision. As the chief of staff of the dispatched army, I will not execute your wrong order. This will make the Imperial Army It is a shameful decision, and I will truthfully report everything that happened here to the base camp."

Ito narrowed his eyes, but the cold light in his eyes suddenly appeared, and he smiled with difficulty. Under the dim light, the smile looked very ferocious, and he almost roared: "Mr. Takemura, from now on, you are no longer the chief of staff of the dispatched army. Now, as the commander-in-chief, I will relieve you from the position of chief of staff, guards, General Takemura needs to rest, you have to take good care of him, if there is a little mistake, you will kill yourself!"

Four guards with big arms and round waists came up and dragged Wucun out without any explanation. Ito glanced at the dumbfounded senior generals, his face darkened, and said, "What? Do you want to question my order?" The generals hurriedly dispersed Well, if there is a chance of survival, that fool will be willing to die. Although the Bushido spirit is good, it is not as valuable as the head.

Looking at the empty meeting room, Ito slumped heavily on the chair, his underwear was soaked in sweat, and he was also sweating. Once those young officers admitted their death, they firmly opposed the retreat, and Ito was not good at forcibly suppressing it. In fact, the Japanese army has always had a tradition of defeating the superior, and it is possible to seize its own military power.

Just relying on disobeying the order of the base camp, I can't stand on my own. Fortunately, nothing happened. Outside, there was a hoarse shout from Takemura, like a mad dog. Ito frowned in disgust. For this chief of staff, Ito Apart from extreme dislike and contempt, there is not even a little affection.

After thinking for a while, Ito picked up the phone and ordered the engineering troops to lay mines on the defense line of the Libao Grand Canyon, burying all the mines, explosives and guns that could not be taken away, all over the canyon, so as to block the independent division troops from the direction of Mogok "Let these landmines everywhere blow up the soldiers of the Independent Division flying all over the sky, and it is best to send that China devil Tang Qiuli to the west!" Ito thought viciously.

The Japanese army began to retreat. It has to be said that the organizational discipline of the Japanese soldiers is still commendable. The troops of more than 20 troops retreated from the defense line of the Libao Grand Canyon in an orderly manner. With the withdrawal of the infantry, the Japanese engineering troops, Follow the commander-in-chief's order and start laying mines, planting mines everywhere.

While commanding the troops to retreat, Ito watched nervously the actions of Feng Jiwu's Eastern Front Combat Group. In order to make the troops retreat unimpeded, he sent four divisions of security troops to build positions in the east of Mandalay. Time, for the Japanese army, is more precious than anything else. As long as the troops of the independent division make a flank attack, the withdrawal of the imperial army will become more difficult. [

After being entangled for two or three days, even if he wanted to withdraw, would Tang Qiuli's main force let him go through the Libao Grand Canyon?Therefore, Ito's four divisions in the east of Mandalay are to block the attack of Feng Jiwu's troops and cover the retreat of the main force of the dispatched army.

Yi Teng did not expect that Tang Qiuli did not intend to kill him, otherwise, he would have absolutely no reason to live, but the four divisions he sent to stop Feng Jiwu sent Feng Jiwu the target of attack.

(To be continued) To be continued. .