Age of Rebirth

The battle reports, the battle reports of the brigade commanders of the front-line troops, made Tang Qiuli excited. After several rounds of strikes, the Japanese Third Army, the largest and only mobile corps of the Kwantung Army, completely lost its fighting spirit, was defeated across the board, and was able to retreat There are not many Japanese soldiers left, and the originally expected arduous blocking battle was not as intense as expected.

"Okay!" Tang Qiuli slammed the table and said, "Good fight! Director Ge, order the frontline troops to attack, and immediately pursue the retreating Japanese army across the board. Don't give the Japanese army a chance to catch their breath, and keep chasing them. !"

Ge Zhenzhuang hurried to convey the order, Tang Qiuli thought for a moment, saw Chen Feng, the director of the communications department, coming out of the radio room, and shouted: "Director Chen, come here!"

Chen Feng hurried over, "Master, do you have any orders?" He asked.

Tang Qiuli shook his head and said, "Director Chen, do you have a telegram from Han Tie?"

Chen Feng replied: "Eight hours ago, the commander of Hantie firmly sent a telegram that the troops had already set off from Dechuan. You have read the telegram! Do you want to send a telegram now to ask about the situation?" He was pursuing teacher's opinion.

"Oh!" Tang Qiuli smiled at himself, shook his head, and said, "No need, Han Tie has not sent a telegram for more than eight hours, which means that Han Tie's troops must be attacking the front line of Gaizhou in Anton." On the way, the third and fourth detachments of the Kwantung Army will cause trouble for Han Tie!"

South of Fengtian, Liaoyang, the Kwantung Army's frontline headquarters, and the [-]th Division were bombarded by the artillery of the Independent Division, and the bombers of the Independent Division bombed violently.The troops suffered heavy casualties and are now in a state of defeat, as well as Lieutenant General Shinyuemon, the head of the division.The jade broken telegram first reached General Umezu Yoshijiro, commander-in-chief of the Kwantung Army.

After reading the telegram, General Meijin's eyes flickered with gold stars, and he became dizzy for a while. His ears were like thousands of bees flying.Just repeated a few words, "Why did more than 200 bombers drop so many gas bombs? It didn't work at all. Is it only the [-]th Division that was ambushed by the Independent Division, or other troops? Is there a similar situation?"

If attacking all troops.were subjected to similar situations.Then, on the Liaodong Peninsula battlefield, Tang Qiuli, the Chinese devil, dug himself a bottomless trap, "Chief of Staff, immediately send a telegram asking the attacking troops on the central and northern lines if they were attacked by independent forces." The bombardment of the division troops?" General Meijin's eyes were bloodshot.Like a mad tiger, he yelled at Chief of Staff Matsuda.

Chief of Staff Matsuda was frightened by the look in the commander-in-chief's eyes, and took half a step back.Hastily agreed, turned around and walked out. Just as he reached the corridor, he said "Oops!", and he and a combat staff officer who rushed in rushed into his arms, the frail Chief of Staff His Excellency, that was this young The opponent of the strong staff officer was almost knocked out of his breath.

In normal times, Chief of Staff Matsuda would definitely have ruthlessly slapped this guy who harmed the prestige of the imperial family, so that he could remember the rules, but now, he didn't care so much, "What's so panicking?" He asked in a bad tone.

The staff officer who bumped into His Excellency the Chief of Staff, without bothering to explain and apologize, said in a hasty tone: "Chief of Staff, I have received an urgent telegram from the attacking troops on the central and northern lines! I am in a hurry to send it to the Commander-in-Chief!"

Chief of Staff Matsuda's face immediately turned pale, and he swayed a few times, holding on to the wall so that he didn't fall down on the spot. He understood very well that the meaning of these two telegrams at this moment, don't read them, it must be bad news, the [-]th Division Lieutenant General Shinyuemon, the head of the regiment and division, was crushed by His Majesty the Emperor who qualified for the empire. How could the other two attacking troops be spared!

Chief of Staff Matsuda took the telegram from the staff officer, waved his hand wordlessly, and then walked into General Meizu's office as if he was dragging a huge boulder. Jumping up, he asked with hope and fear: "Mr. Matsuda, do you have any news about the attacking troops on the middle and north routes?"

Chief of Staff Matsuda silently handed over the two telegrams. Seeing his expression, General Meijin felt a "thump" in his heart, his legs were a little weak, he hesitated to accept the telegrams, and looked, quiet! — deathly silence!Terrible silence filled every space in the house.

After a long time, General Meijin's body went limp, and he fell down on the chair. The telegram slipped from his hand and fell to the ground quietly, "Failed! I was fooled by that Chinese devil. Why did it happen? Gas bombs! Gas bombs!" Why didn't it work? Where did the problem come from? Why...?" He murmured to himself almost in a daze, countless questions, countless puzzles, in his mind, like irregular lightning, Shuttle back and forth intertwined, General Meijin's mind is almost broken at this moment!

"Hey!" Chief of Staff Matsuda sighed deeply, looking at General Meijin with dull eyes, who almost instantly aged several decades, with an indescribably complicated feeling in his heart, he knew that this headstrong and self-important man Your Excellency, Commander-in-Chief, is now in chaos, so he reminded: "Your Excellency, Commander-in-Chief, now is not the time to blame yourself, we must come up with a proper remedial measure, and send troops to the front line of Gaizhou in Anton to respond Otherwise, the Third Army and the First and Second Detachments of the Kwantung Army will definitely have difficulty getting out!"

General Meijin raised his dull eyes. His previous self-confidence and determination were no longer in his eyes, and he said with difficulty: "Retreat! You must retreat! Matsuda-kun, immediately issue an order for all troops to retreat quickly to Gaizhou. Anton, take a rest!"

Chief of Staff Matsuda smiled wryly, and said: "It's the commander-in-chief. The troops are already retreating. The independent division's ground artillery fire and aerial bombardment have covered all the offensive areas. Our soldiers can't hold on, and the command system has been disrupted." Now, retreat!—Actually retreating! Commander-in-Chief, what we need to consider is whether the independent division troops on the line from Zhuanghe to Bayuquan will use this to pursue. Therefore, a considerable number of troops must be dispatched in advance. Arm your defenses on the line from Anton to Gaizhou! Otherwise, Fengtian is in danger!"

"Send troops?" General Meijin said to himself, "Matsuda-kun, do we still have troops to send? No more! It's too late to send troops from other directions, let alone, there is no way to send troops. Matsuda-kun, you are from the Kanto region." The chief of the army's general staff is a veteran general, do you have any good suggestions?" His tone contained pleading elements, the battle of the Liaodong Peninsula had reached such a corrupt and unmanageable level, General Meijin at this moment , I'm at the end of my rope!

This stubborn, high-spirited, and supercilious Commander-in-Chief is finally willing to ask for my opinion, and finally knows that I, Matsuda, have a position in the Kwantung Army. Originally, Chief of Staff Matsuda should have a sense of pride and pride in his heart. However, in the face of such a situation in the Liaodong Peninsula, he was not complacent. The general's sense of mission and responsibility of the Imperial Japanese Empire prevented him from gloating.

At this moment, Chief of Staff Matsuda was calm, and with the solemnity of turning the tide, he said: "Your Excellency, Commander-in-Chief, we don't have any troops to mobilize, but the line from Anton to Gaizhou must be defended. It is judged that the independent division troops at this moment are pursuing fiercely the retreating troops of the [-]rd Army and the [-]st and [-]nd Detachments of the Kwantung Army. If we do not have enough troops to respond and defend, the consequences will be serious. Your Excellency, Commander-in-Chief It's clearer than a humble job!"

"Therefore, my opinion is that all personnel should be immediately recruited from the police stations and the rear organs of various troops in Fengtian City and surrounding areas, and armed immediately to form an army with a strength of 5 to [-]. People, even, can mobilize the Fifth National Division of Manchukuo around Fengtian, Fengtian [-]st and [-]nd Garrison Brigades, and garrison teams from other areas to form the garrison from Anton to Gaizhou defense line!"

"In this case, within two days, a force of close to 10 people can be formed. The military personnel and administrative personnel of our Great Japanese Empire in Manchuria will serve as commanders at all levels, and firmly control the troops. The command authority, this temporarily organized force, only needs to block the independent division's pursuit force for three to five days, and we can have time to adjust and mobilize our troops, commander-in-chief, what do you think?"

General Umezu Yoshijiro looked at Chief of Staff Matsuda appreciatively and gratefully. Only now did he truly realize that this Chief of Staff of the Kwantung Army is really a talent, and he has the attitude of a general who is not chaotic. What about him?

What's especially rare is that under such circumstances, it's even more rare to be able to come up with the most appropriate solution with a clear head!If he listened more to some of his opinions, maybe the battle to recover the Liaodong Peninsula would not lead to the current situation, but it was too late to regret it now.

General Meijin said sincerely: "Matsuda-kun, I am in chaos now, so I will proceed according to your method. In addition, I authorize you to act as the commander-in-chief of the Kwantung Army and fully plan the defense plan from Anton to Gaizhou. Let's proceed, I need to rest for a while, don't let anyone disturb me, Matsuda-kun, in such a critical situation, please Matsuda-kun to work hard!"

After finishing speaking, General Umezu Yoshijiro bowed deeply to Chief of Staff Matsuda, and then staggered out of the office, apparently to make room for him. Chief of Staff Matsuda felt a rush of heat in his heart, with a sense of sacredness when he was in danger, "Yes! Your Excellency, Commander-in-Chief, Matsuda will devote himself to His Majesty the Emperor and the Empire of Japan! Live up to the Commander-in-Chief's entrustment!" He said emotionally towards the back of General Meizu.

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