Age of Rebirth

Lieutenant General Yokoyama Yoshihiko, Commander-in-Chief of the Liaodong Peninsula Defense Force of the Kwantung Army, and Lieutenant General Yokoyama Yoshihiko, Commander-in-Chief of the Kwantung Army, sent this telegram to General Nanjiro, Commander-in-Chief of the Kwantung Army. General Nanjiro, who felt inappropriate in his heart, had nothing to say about the situation.

In the next few hours, General Nanjiro paid close attention to the battle situation at the Lushunkou defense line on the Liaodong Peninsula. However, since Lieutenant General Hengshan replied to this telegram, the Kwantung Army headquarters sent no reply to the telegram. It was like nothing happened, so General Nanjiro's grasp of the battlefield situation was only that in the morning of that day, the Air Force of the Independent Division dispatched a large number of bombers to bombard the front line of Lushunkou indiscriminately.

As for the loss of the Seventh Army after the bombing, and the current situation on the battlefield, General Nanjiro knew nothing about it. How many times, he didn't understand, why didn't you call the headquarters back, this bastard Hengshan?

In the afternoon, General Nanjiro became more and more anxious. He stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows of his office at the headquarters of the Kwantung Army in Fengtian, looking at the direction of the Liaodong Peninsula. In his heart, he made many guesses. Of course, he also thought, Maybe it's the Seventh Army, fighting inseparably with the Independent Division's landing troops on the front line of Lushunkou, and the Hengshan guy can't care about reporting the battle situation to the headquarters for the time being?

Just when General Nanjiro was restless like burning with oil, Lieutenant General Kenjiro Matsuda, the chief of staff, pushed the door in. This lieutenant general and chief of staff who always pays attention to image and demeanor is devastated, with a dead gray expression on his face. , eyes straightened, and even forgot to knock on the door.Just like that, he pushed open the door of the commander-in-chief's office.

Seeing Chief of Staff Matsuda look like this, General Nanjiro was shocked, and he didn't care to blame him for being impolite, he hurriedly asked: "Matsuda-kun, what happened?"

Chief of Staff Matsuda held a telegram in his hand and said in a hoarse voice: "Commander-in-Chief, I have received a telegram from Lieutenant General Hengshan, commander of the Seventh Army. , all the jade pieces were broken. Lieutenant General Hengshan died for the country with his own body!"

The news was so sudden that it was unbelievable. The two main divisions of the Seventh Army, with nearly 5 troops, were all elite troops of the Kwantung Army.In just a few hours, the entire army was wiped out at Lushunkou.How can one believe that this is true?

"Haney?" General Nanjiro's eyes darkened.Staggering a few steps, holding onto the desk with his hands, he asked in a dry voice, "Matsuda-kun, is this true?"

Chief of Staff Matsuda nodded heavily, "General, this is Lieutenant General Yokoyama's telegram to the headquarters before he died for the country!" He was in a trance, and he said in a dream, and handed the telegram to General Nanjiro.

General Nanjiro snatched the telegram and looked at it quickly. "The headquarters was transferred to His Excellency General Nanjiro. When the staff department sent this telegram, the front line of Lushunkou was already in a sea of ​​flames. The Air Force of the Independent Division dispatched more than [-] bombers. In the first round of bombing, our imperial army ground The fortifications were all destroyed, but the loss was not large. Afterwards, the ministry ordered the troops to enter the underground fortifications and prepare to attack the independent division troops that landed."

"Unexpectedly, the commander of the Independent Division carried out a second round of bombing on the Imperial Army's positions. This time, the bombs used by the Air Force bomber group of the Independent Division were new types of bombs that had never been seen before. They seemed to be designed to destroy our Imperial Army. After the bomb landed, a large amount of gasoline was sprayed, and then the gasoline was ignited, and penetrated into the underground fortification along various gaps!"

"At this moment, the ground and underground fortifications are in a sea of ​​flames. The troops have no hope of breaking through and can only hold the underground fortifications. However, the raging fire is engulfing every inch of space. The Seventh Army has no possibility of surviving. Your Excellency, Commander, when this telegram was sent, it was already scorching hot outside the telecommunications room, and the screams of the soldiers rushing to and fro could be heard endlessly, and the pain pierced my heart!"

"Although they have the heart to kill the enemy, they have no power to kill the enemy. There are nearly [-] soldiers in the Seventh Army, and they have not even seen the soldiers of China. Before firing a single shot, they were all smashed under the vicious bombs of the bombers of the Independent Division. , Hengshan was unwilling, knowing that he would not be spared, and decided to live and die with the position! Only death can wash away the shame of the Ministry! The Kwantung Army is invincible! Long live the Empire of Japan! Long live His Majesty the Emperor! Commander of the Seventh Army Guan Yokoyama Yoshihiko is absolutely powerless!"

"In addition, just in case, before the battle started, the Ministry of Staff sent Major General Katayama Jiro, Chief of Staff of the Seventh Army, to the second line of defense at Zhuanghe, Wanjialing, and Bayuquan to command the No. .30 One of the three divisions, as well as the Imperial Liaodong Peninsula Volunteer Team, all orders from the headquarters can be issued to Chief of Staff Katayama!"

"Pfft!" General Nanjiro's voice was sweet, and he spurted out a mouthful of blood. Under the afternoon sun, his body was swaying, showing a mournful color. "General!" Chief of Staff Matsuda exclaimed, hurriedly He rushed forward to support General Nanjiro, and at the same time he shouted quietly: "Guards! - Guards! Military doctor! - Military doctor!"

The few guards guarding the office door didn't know what happened. Hearing the chief of staff's mournful cry, they rushed in and saw His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief, with blood on the corner of his mouth, his eyes closed, and he was almost paralyzed on the chair. I didn't know what happened, and I was so scared that I was stunned and stunned.

"Baga!" Chief of Staff Matsuda yelled angrily, "Stupid pig, hurry up and find a military doctor! The commander-in-chief vomited blood!"

General Nanjiro opened his dull eyes, waved his hands wearily, and said in a weak voice: "No need, there is no need to make a noise in the city, everyone knows, you stand down!" The guards looked at each other, looking at Chief of Staff Matsuda, Chief of Staff Matsuda Chang waved his hand, and the guards immediately exited the room.

General Nanjiro opened his dull eyes, looked at Chief of Staff Matsuda, and said: "Matsuda-san, the battle of the Liaodong Peninsula started less than eight hours ago. Two elite divisions of the Seventh Army, with nearly [-] soldiers, have just All the pieces of jade are due to the unprecedented disastrous defeat of the Kwantung Army, and have an incalculable impact on the overall situation in Manchuria, Mr. Matsuda, I am confused, do you have any suggestions to deal with it?"

Chief of Staff Matsuda recovered from the pain and confusion, thought for a while, and said: "Commander-in-Chief, you don't have to worry too much about the entire Seventh Army. Nearly [-] troops are concentrated on the front line of Lushunkou. In fact, it is easy to be hit hard by the new weapons of the independent division aviation, and it is inevitable that all the jade will be broken. Now, the key is how to adjust our military deployment in the Liaodong Peninsula. The staff believes that it is difficult to rely on the second line of defense alone Block the landing troops of the Independent Division from advancing deep into the Liaodong Peninsula!"

"And once all the Liaodong Peninsula falls into the hands of the Chinese devil army, the independent division troops can attack westward to outflank our main force in western Liaoning, and attack eastward to cut off the connection between the Korean garrison and Manchuria. Then we can approach the city of Fengtian and attack the hinterland of Manchuria, if we don't stop them, the situation in Manchuria will be worrisome!"

General Nanjiro picked up a glass of water and drank it in small sips. Chief of Staff Matsuda noticed that the blue veins on the temple of the General were throbbing, obviously he was in the midst of rapid thinking, and his hands were out of control. Trembling, the water in the glass splashed on the military uniform, but he didn't notice it.

Chief of Staff Matsuda felt a burst of sadness in his heart. Nearly [-] soldiers of the Seventh Army were crushed. The blow to His Excellency General was huge. In this way, the situation in Manchuria is in danger, and the future fate of the Kwantung Army is in danger!

After drinking more than half a glass of boiled water, General Nanjiro seemed to calm down, and said: "Matsuda-kun, in the name of the headquarters, immediately appoint Major General Katayama Jiro, Chief of Staff of the Seventh Army, to act as the commander of the Seventh Army and take full charge of commanding the defense of the Liaodong Peninsula. In addition, in the original plan to mobilize troops to the south of Fengtian, two more divisions will be added, and they will immediately go to Dashiqiao, Xiuyan, and Donggang to form a third line of defense. The unit designation is Liaozhong Garrison Command."

"The tempo of troop mobilization must be accelerated. After the troop of the Chinese devil successfully landed at Lushunkou, there is not much time left for us. Mr. Matsuda, the mobilization of all troops on the third line of defense in the Liaodong Peninsula must be carried out in a concealed manner." As a principle, if Feng Jiwu, the commander of the Niangziguan Garrison Corps of the Independent Division on the front line of Jinzhou, and Yuan Jinghao, the commander of the North China Field Corps on the Tongliao line in Eastern Mongolia, are informed, they will definitely take the opportunity to launch an attack. disaster!"

"That Yuan Jinghao is not well-known, so don't worry too much, and that Feng Jiwu, as one of Tang Qiuli's famous warriors, has more than [-] elite troops under his command, commanding a fierce fighting style, so we must guard against it. The importance of geographical location, our focus of defense should be in the western Liaoning area! And Matsuda-kun, I think about it, Major General Inoue Imashima, the deputy chief of staff of the Kwantung Army, will serve as the garrison commander of Liaozhong, what do you think?"

Chief of Staff Matsuda thought about it seriously, nodded affirmatively, and said, "Commander-in-Chief, I know Inoue-kun very well. He graduated from the Imperial Army University, and served as the commander of the Imperial Southwest Army before he was transferred to the Kwantung Army Deputy Chief of Staff. The commander of the Eighth Division of the 130th Division of the Pacific Dispatch Army has rich experience in command and combat, and he will definitely be able to take on this important task. I have another suggestion, whether the Gangcun Heavy Artillery Brigade stationed in Fengtian should also be assigned to the Liaozhong garrison commander Ministry, to increase its firepower!"

General Nanjiro, after finishing the long speech just now, his face was already pale with exhaustion. It seems that the sharp thinking just now almost exhausted his hard work. Now, he is a little powerless to digest what Chief of Staff Matsuda said just now. Alright, there was silence in the office.

(to be continued) (to be continued..)