Age of Rebirth

After receiving Tang Qiuli's call back, Lieutenant General Jonathan's heart finally fell into his stomach, and there was no problem in coordinating with the Chinese side, but it was still a mountainous task to safely evacuate more than 20 people from Luzon Island. Task.

The ships are not the problem, the crux of the problem is that when the troops withdrew, the order of the divisions knew that Manila was about to be lost. In addition, the escape of MacArthur, although it had not spread to the frontline troops, some senior officers In the middle, fluctuations have already occurred. Everyone wants to leave this damned place first. If a unit does not obey the arrangement and acts without authorization, it will cause the entire line to be defeated.

More than 20 soldiers who lost their organizational system, lost their will to fight, and ran for their lives flocked to the pier. It was a terrible scene. I am afraid that more people drowned in the sea than those who eventually evacuated to Australia. Without the Japanese army If you fight, the troops will be hurt.

Lieutenant General Jonathan made a phone call and called Brigadier General Kleist, the new chief of staff at the headquarters, to the headquarters. Although he knew how much this nominal chief of staff had in his stomach, he still wanted to discuss it with his chief of staff. one time.

After Chief of Staff Kleist arrived, Lieutenant General Jonathan was surprised to find that the former acting chief of staff, who was respectful and pleasing to the eye in front of MacArthur, had a different temperament all over his body, whether it was self-confidence It doesn't matter whether it is a new official who takes office, anyway, it is like a different person. [

The two exchanged a few pleasantries. They both knew that the military situation was urgent, so they went straight to the point. After Lieutenant General Jonathan finished talking about his concerns, Chief of Staff Kleist said almost without thinking: "Commander, I think we should immediately convene various The meeting of the supreme commander of the troops clarified the order of the evacuation of the troops, otherwise, it will inevitably cause chaos, and the most critical issue is which troops will be responsible for the blocking mission, and finally board the ship under the cover of the Chinese fleet Question, I think, this is the biggest problem!"

"Moreover. It is the incident of MacArthur running to Australia. The commanders of the troops must want to know the reason and the result of the handling. I hope the commander is mentally prepared!"

Lieutenant General Jonathan's eyes lit up, and he couldn't help re-examining the shadow of Eneng and MacArthur.The Chief of Staff, who spread throughout the army, was really impressed by Shibie for three days. The suggestion he made was exactly what he was thinking about, but he didn't expect it.There is really something dry in his stomach.

Lieutenant General Jonathan immediately said: "Okay, Chief of Staff, according to your opinion, I will notify you immediately and hold a military meeting. The commanders of each unit will temporarily transfer the command to the deputy or the Chief of Staff. Set up an evacuation plan, the key point is the order of evacuation of the troops, the time of the meeting should be set at seven o'clock, and allow three hours for preparation. Damn the Japanese, they should stop attacking at night!"

Chief of Staff Kleist stood up energetically and replied loudly: "Yes, Your Excellency Commander. Execute your order immediately!"

Lieutenant General Jonathan looked at the back of his chief of staff.Disappeared in the office, nodded approvingly, Brigadier General Kleist, it is not as unbearable as I imagined, it seems that there will be no big problems in future cooperation, this is what I have done in front of all senior officers , making his debut as the Supreme Commander for the first time, he should make some preparations in advance.

From the heart, Lieutenant General Jonathan was still a little uneasy. A few hours ago, he was just like them, a division commander. In a blink of an eye, he became their immediate superior. My promotion is very appropriate.

Can those guys who are filled with resentment because of MacArthur's sudden escape be convinced and obey their own arrangements?Thinking of this, Lieutenant General Jonathan's excited mood dimmed a lot, and he began to have a headache.

At night, after repelling the last attack of the Japanese army, the sound of guns roaring from the Manila defense line all day finally subsided gradually. On the forward positions of the US and Philippine troops, there were traces of battles everywhere, which were overturned by Japanese artillery fire. Fortifications and shelters, huge pits with lingering smoke, empty boxes, bloody corpses of American and Filipino soldiers, wounded screaming continuously, exhausted soldiers whose faces were blackened by gunpowder smoke, Doesn't show the brutality of the battle that just ended.

And in the conference room of the U.S. Army headquarters in downtown Manila, a battle that was not as good as fighting the Japanese army with real knives and guns, a verbal battle that was much inferior, was also staged fiercely, covered in gunpowder smoke, exhausted, worried and dazed The commanders of the U.S. and Philippine troops gathered here, and the focus of the debate was, as expected by Chief of Staff Kleist, the order of who would evacuate first, as well as issues related to the MacArthur incident.

Lieutenant General Jonathan first reported the exciting news to the commanders. He took a telegram and said with enthusiasm: "Everyone, after many days of hard work, in view of the situation in front of Luzon Island, the direction is not conducive to Our development direction, the Supreme Command during the civil war has approved us to withdraw from Luzon Island and transfer to Australia. During the retreat, we will be fully escorted by the Chinese Air Force."

The faces of the US and Philippine commanders below were filled with excitement. Everyone heaved a long sigh of relief. They were finally leaving this damned place. People kill.

After the excitement, the last thing Lieutenant General Jonathan wanted to see happened. A Brigadier General stood up and said loudly: "Commander Jonathan, can you tell us what General MacArthur did? Why didn't he show up at such an important military meeting in Luzon, and why did you suddenly take over his position? We are all very surprised about these questions, and I hope you can give a reasonable explanation!"

Lieutenant General Jonathan's face is very ugly. This is a blatant questioning behavior. There is no need to hide MacArthur's escape at a military meeting of this level. Otherwise, it will cause unnecessary commotion. A dissatisfied guy who deliberately provokes the situation will be in danger of getting out of control.

Lieutenant General Jonathan gave a wink, and Chief of Staff Kleist, who had been prepared for a long time, took out the letter of commission sent by Washington and signed by President Roosevelt himself, and then read out the wartime Supreme Command. processing decisions.

The senior officers below were silent, and even the cronies of the former MacArthur line were quiet and did not dare to make noise. They knew very well in their hearts that what their boss did this time was too fucking disgraceful and not enough What do you mean, without even saying hello, just smeared oil on the soles of your feet, the boss is finished this time, deprived of the command right, hanging high, and when he will turn over, who can tell?

However, that old guy MacArthur is also considered to have energy. The crime of losing his head is nothing but a fart.

MacArthur slipped away on this matter and exposed it lightly. No one delved into the details. It was a matter between the big bosses above, and he couldn't get involved. Jonathan was on the rise and got lucky.

Next, the arrangement of the evacuation order of the various troops is a hand-to-hand battle. No one wants to evacuate at the end. Staying on this damned island for one minute will be more dangerous. U.S. generals quarreled over the order of troop evacuation, and no one was stupid. The last troop to evacuate must be the cover troop, and it must be cannon fodder that can't get out of the way. [

The positions originally defended by 10,000+ soldiers had to be handed over to no more than one division for defense to block the 10,000+ ferocious and powerful Japanese attack. Whether they could evacuate the positions and board the ship was a problem. The price is to cover the evacuation of other troops. This is obviously a deadly job. Who is willing to take it?

Especially the few division commanders who were arranged by the Chief of Staff Kleist to evacuate were even louder, emphasizing the difficulties of their own troops. If you don't board the ship first, I'm afraid it will delay the boarding speed of other troops. There are many reasons for all these, but you don't want to stay at the end.

More than a dozen division commanders in the U.S. can shamelessly withdraw their quotas first. The two regiment commanders of the Philippine First and Second Corps, which are mainly Filipino soldiers, have an ugly face and say nothing. The two brothers have self-knowledge. All unlucky and thankless things must be done by our own troops. When MacArthur didn't run away, he didn't use his own troops as cannon fodder.

I guess it's the same this time, the Americans don't treat Filipino soldiers as human beings!This time, the task of covering the retreat of the Americans will inevitably fall on me, which is also a helpless thing. Who makes me not be welcomed by my own mother?

Seeing the high-ranking generals who are usually human-like, arguing endlessly over such a trivial matter, regardless of face, almost an hour has passed, and there is still no clue. At ten o'clock sharp tonight, the troops are about to move , Lieutenant General Jonathan was so angry that his face was livid. He once again saw the ugliness of the so-called American generals.

Lieutenant General Jonathan, with a gloomy face, stood up suddenly, suppressed the anger in his heart, and said: "Everyone, stop arguing. I also serve as the commander of the Seventh Mechanized Infantry Division. The task of stopping the Japanese army from the rear is up to you." I will command the Seventh Mechanized Division to complete it. I only make one request. When evacuating the position, try not to disturb the Japanese army and evacuate according to the plan. Our actions are related to the lives of 10,000+ soldiers. I hope you know the weight !"

Speaking of this, Lieutenant General Jonathan changed his tone and said fiercely: "If that unit does not follow the deployment of the chief of staff and evacuates without permission, I, Jonathan, will definitely shoot him before he is killed by the Japanese!"

(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.)