Age of Rebirth

Just when Tang Qiuli and Chief of Staff Zhao Yuhe were troubled by shooting down five US fighter jets for Le Yiqin's troops, and painstakingly worked out a countermeasure, the battle in the Calais mountain area on Luzon Island , has approached the most tragic stage.

After receiving reports from the three air force commanders that they had successfully ambushed and annihilated the US fighter jets, General Ito Yanzaburo finally couldn't help laughing wildly. The laughter was heard in the ears of other Japanese army officers, with a penetrating taste. , or in other words, it was a kind of laughter that got carried away under extreme excitement.

General Ito had reason to laugh wildly. After a few days of careful planning, at the cost of sacrificing the lives of imperial soldiers, the U.S. air power, which was the greatest threat to the Imperial Southwest Pacific Expedition, was finally completely wiped out. The U.S. aircraft threatening the Imperial Army and the rhythm of the Luzon battlefield are completely in their own hands. They can fight however they want. It feels so good to control the fate of the enemy!

General Ito looked at the side, and the Chief of Staff Kawashima, who had always been calm, said: "Kawashima-kun, convey my order, all attacking troops, surround and annihilate the U.S. troops on the first line of defense at the fastest speed, The No.14 Haruta Yoshihiko Division will immediately pass through the breach and attack in the direction of Manila. I will fulfill my promise that Haruta-kun’s troops will be the first Imperial Japanese Army troops to arrive at the city of Manila!”

Major General Kawashima thought about it and put forward his own suggestion, "Your Excellency, Commander-in-Chief, the battlefield in front of you is absolutely beneficial to the Imperial Army. My suggestion is that the No. 14 Army participate in the operation to encircle and wipe out the remnants of the U.S. Third Army. Then, all the troops pressed on Manila together, and gave MacArthur the heaviest blow. This effect should be better, otherwise, attack Manila with the current strength of the Fourteenth Army. It is slightly insufficient, and it is on the front line of Manila. The U.S.-Philippine Army has a strength of 10,000+ people!" [

For this resourceful and loyal old subordinate who has followed him for many years, experienced ups and downs, and made suggestions that obviously contradicted his orders, after the victory.Commander-in-chief Ito, who was in an extremely happy mood, of course would not accuse him of nonsense, not to mention that under such circumstances, even at any time, Commander-in-Chief Ito would absolutely attach great importance to Major General Kawashima's suggestion!

Ito ordered the guards.Bringing two glasses of sake, he politely asked Major General Kawashima to sit down, and said cordially: "Mr. Kawashima, I understand your concerns. In terms of the current battlefield situation in the Calais Mountains. In less than a day, the Americans will It will be wiped out by us soon. The [-]th Army went out to the city of Manila in order to increase pressure on MacArthur and urge the British and Australian troops who reinforced Luzon to rush to the battlefield as soon as possible to complete the final plan of the base camp!"

Major General Kawashima listened to General Ito's analysis very seriously. In terms of campaign command and strategic understanding, he thought he was far behind General Ito. Looking at Major General Kawashima attentively, General Ito was very interested. High, quite a taste of pointing the country.

Ito went on to say: "If all the imperial army troops on Luzon Island are pressed together, do you think MacArthur can last for a few days, especially Haruta Yoshihiko's [-]th Army, watching other troops fight in the Calais Mountains? It is in full swing, and it has been holding back a lot of energy for a long time, like a tiger in a cage, once released, it will explode with amazing fighting power and attack power."

Major General Kawashima interjected strangely, "Your Excellency, Commander-in-Chief, isn't this very good? The capture of Manila is the established strategy of the base camp, and it also marks the end of the Southwest Pacific War. The empire can carry out the next war in a wider area. The target, for example, is the mainland of the United States or the Australian mainland, or in the Indochina Peninsula, to compete with the Chinese demon Tang Qiuli for control, choose one of the three targets!"

General Ito smiled, shook his head and said: "Mr. Kawashima, you only know one thing and don't know the other. With the bravery of that guy in Springfield and the combat and attack power of the [-]th Army, I believe he will be able to fight in the Calais Mountains." Before the battle to annihilate the Third Army of the U.S. Army was over, MacArthur's Manila line of defense had already been riddled with holes, so would MacArthur still have the courage to continue to defend Manila?"

Chief of Staff Kawashima shook his head. Obviously, any commander who knows the law and sticks to it will not be so stupid that his brain is not clear. General Ito continued: "If you add Luzon Island , other troops of the empire, 10,000+ troops besieged Manila, and Manila will soon fall into the hands of our Great Japanese Empire. The direct consequence is that there will be no reinforcements from the British and Australian troops that have set off from Australia, and there will be no more reinforcements to Luzon Island, our layout for more than two months, wouldn't it be ruined!"

Major General Kawashima got up and said respectfully: "General, Kawashima has been educated. I thought too narrowly, but you also said that the attack and combat effectiveness of the [-]th Army can break through MacArthur's defense line. Order Wouldn't the Fourteenth Army's single-handed assault on Manila have the same result?"

Anyway, the initiative on the battlefield is in his own hands, and all the troops are fighting according to the predetermined plan. General Ito has patience and time, and said a few more words to this subordinate he relies on the most, "Kawashima-kun, ten The Fourth Army will definitely put MacArthur's Manila defense line in danger everywhere, but it will never beat the Americans to flee the city and lose their determination to stick to it. The reason is very simple, that is, the balance of forces."

"If all our troops on Luzon Island are used to encircle and wipe out the remnants of the U.S. Army's Third Army, which is only more than 4 troops, instead of attacking Manila, it will definitely arouse MacArthur's suspicion, because this is against the rules, so, [-] The army attacked Manila alone, which put the greatest pressure on MacArthur, urged him to urge the Australian reinforcements to arrive as soon as possible, and also dispelled the suspicion of the Americans. This is the purpose of my arrangement."

Major General Kawashima was completely amazed. In a simple order, there are so many tricks, such meticulous thinking, grasp of the situation on the battlefield, and judgment of the psychological activities of the enemy commander. Yes, this may be the gap!

Kawashima stood up again, bowed deeply, and said, "General, Kawashima admires your wisdom and vision for grasping the situation of the battle!"

General Ito said a little reservedly: "This is the way to be a general. In ancient Chinese art of war, there is a very reasonable saying that it is not enough to seek for a lifetime. A brilliant general must see through the appearance of the battlefield. , to see through its essence, so as to adopt the correct method to achieve the goal of the war, but compared with the seniors in the empire, I am still far behind, and I only know the surface!"

General Ito's humility is absolutely sincere. Chief of Staff Kawashima can see that, and he admires the general's character even more. However, he did not notice the flash of worry in General Ito's eyes, because in this At that time, the name of that China devil Tang Qiuli flashed out of the mind of General Ito, and he asked himself, what would happen if these strategies of his were used on that China devil?

The answer is very simple. It is useless. Instead, it will be used by the Chinese devil and returned to him, causing the troops of the Imperial Army to suffer a big loss. Since the Indochina Peninsula has repeatedly fought against Tang Qiuli, General Ito has not taken advantage of it. I have been cheap, and I often feel powerful in front of the hated Chinese devil, so now I enjoy the sense of accomplishment of playing with Americans and MacArthur and controlling their destiny. This feeling is quite wonderful!

On the morning of August 4th, General Tang Qiuli, commander of the Independent Division, and Major General Zhao Yuhe, chief of staff, could talk about the situation on the battlefield in their offices far away from the battlefield on Luzon Island. You can talk with the chief of staff, Major General Kawashima, while listening to the sound of guns and guns, while talking about wine and pointing out the country. The situation of more than [-] soldiers of the US Third Army whose fate is controlled by the Japanese is extremely tragic!

Major General Whiteman, the commander of the army, led more than 500 people from the army. After rushing into the battlefield of the melee, he was immediately surrounded by the Japanese army. Maybe it was a Japanese soldier who deliberately let the American army rush in. Commander Whiteman He and his death squad miraculously joined a regiment-level unit of the U.S. Army, and more and more soldiers were following him. At night, when night fell in the Calais mountains, around Commander Whiteman, gathered More than [-] troops.

But the numbers are complicated enough, that unit has them, they are stragglers who were broken up by the Japanese army, rushing from left to right, and there are Japanese soldiers everywhere, but they can't break out of the encirclement. However, the Japanese soldiers obviously received orders and had a plan The scattered U.S. troops were pressed and concentrated in several directions, which was conducive to centralized annihilation. The more than 3000 people led by Whiteman did not suffer much casualties.

In a cave in the mountains of Calais, Commander Whiteman and his subordinates who were driven out of breath by the Japanese soldiers finally had a place to breathe. Commander Whiteman listened to the continuous sound of guns and shells outside. , with a calm face, he ordered the radio soldiers to set up the radio immediately and contact the various troops under him. [

From the bottom of his heart, he didn't expect too much to be able to contact other troops. The troops were all messed up. From the soldiers who followed him, it could be seen that the Third Army was completely trapped in Japan. In the human trap, perhaps, I and these more than 3000 soldiers will not see the sun tomorrow, and the radio call also confirmed my thoughts. Six division-level units and one brigade-level unit have all lost contact.

Commander Whiteman, sitting numbly on a rock, said nothing, just took out his pistol, took out the clips one by one, and put them back one by one, a lieutenant colonel staff officer, After hesitating for a long time, he came over and said tentatively: "Commander, we should report the actual situation on the battlefield in Calais to Commander-in-Chief MacArthur, maybe there will be a turning point in the battle!"

(To be continued) (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to the starting point () to vote, monthly pass, your support is my biggest motivation.)