Age of Rebirth

Shells from large-caliber heavy artillery rained down like raindrops. The line from Wulongbei to the north of Anton, from the side gate to Baoshan, was filled with gunpowder smoke, covering the morning sun. Soldiers, flesh and blood flying everywhere, not to mention attacking, they can't even maintain a complete formation.

The temporarily formed First Corps of the Kwantung Army was originally a miscellaneous army composed of most of the Manchurian soldiers, the Japanese army's rear office personnel, and some police officers. They did not have any heavy weapons at all. There are more than a dozen mortars in the brigade, which is not bad. They are the opponents of the six [-]-caliber howitzer regiments of the Korean Railway Army!

The artillery fire made half of the sky red. Under the fierce artillery fire, the newly formed First Corps of the Kwantung Army littered the field with corpses. The first round of shelling lost all their courage. The tired soldiers who had traveled long distances were first attacked by two rounds of fierce Bombing, followed by another burst of ferocious shelling, these soldiers could no longer stand it, and lost their courage, including those Japanese, leaving behind fragmented corpses everywhere, wounded soldiers howling in pain, like the ebbing sea, turning around and leaving run back.

Even the Japanese officers at all levels shot many soldiers one after another. Because they could not prevent the rout across the board, the captain, Fukuzawa, was also surrounded by the rout and ran for more than [-] miles in one breath until the shells fell behind. He stopped and looked at the distressed soldiers around him. He let out a long sigh and ordered the communications soldiers to report to the Kwantung Army that the First Corps was blocked by the independent division troops at Wulongbei, Bianmen, and Baoshan. Commander-in-Chief Umezu Yoshijiro.

In the telegram, Captain Fukuzawa.Emphasizing the fierce artillery fire of the blocking force of the Independent Division, he also implored His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief to immediately reinforce at least five large-caliber field artillery regiments.It is used to suppress the firepower of the artillery of the Independent Division and allow the troops to retreat temporarily, out of the range of the artillery fire of the Independent Division. Otherwise, it will be absolutely difficult for the First Corps to launch an attack on Anton on time. .The difference is too great to be compensated by the number of troops!

In fact, this is Fukuzawa's best guess.He murmured in his heart, "The artillery fire of the Independent Division is fierce to a certain extent, and it is the blocking line in front of us. Whether the First Corps can pass through is a problem. Why are you still fucking attacking Anton? Talk about it?"

"Stop it! See you again! It's already been prepared! Why do the independent divisions always take the lead?" After receiving the urgent telegram from the commander of the First Corps, Fukuzawa, General Umezu Yoshijiro's face was ashen, and he was so angry Going crazy, the telegram was torn to pieces in a few strokes.

Lao Ben'er's trick of fighting hard was blocked again.In the hands of General Meijin, there is no field artillery now.There is no heavy equipment, and the temporary formation of two corps basically emptied the troops in Fengtian and the surrounding areas of Fengtian. Otherwise, the Manchurian soldiers would not be allowed to serve as the main force to attack Anton!

General Meijin's face was gloomy and terrifying. Chief of Staff Matsuda asked cautiously: "Commander-in-Chief, how do you call Commander Fukuzawa back?" His temper became extremely irritable, like a reckless man, he would be on fire if he didn't touch the fire!

A staff officer of the lieutenant officer was shot because of a trivial mistake. In normal times, he would be punished by confinement for three days at most. Even Chief of Staff Matsuda himself was severely reprimanded several times. In the face of many staff officers in the headquarters, the current commander-in-chief of Meijin is like a powder keg, so Chief of Staff Matsuda has to be very careful when speaking.

General Umezu Yoshijiro, with a fierce look in his eyes, said in a hoarse voice: "Chief of Staff Matsuda, call Fukuzawa back, attack! Keep attacking! Don't be afraid of casualties, never allow retreat, tell Fukuzawa that you have With more than 9 troops, if you can't even break through the blocking line of the independent division, you will be a sinner of the Great Japanese Empire!"

Chief of Staff Matsuda trembled all over, looking in disbelief at General Umezu, who had a fierce look in his eyes. Without enough artillery cover, the First Corps was bombed and suffered heavy losses. Now, he still has to force the remaining soldiers to risk overwhelming What's the difference between launching an attack and committing suicide?That's tens of thousands of people. Although most of them are Manchurians, there are also seven or eight thousand Japanese!

"Commander-in-chief Meijin has gone crazy, lost his mind, and lost his mind!" Chief of Staff Matsuda lamented in his heart, but he couldn't do anything, his own words didn't work at all.

"Hmph!" General Meijin sneered ferociously, staring at Chief of Staff Matsuda with cold eyes, and said: "Chief of Staff Matsuda, do you think that my order is very cruel, so that the First Corps, which is not covered by artillery fire, forcibly Braving the fierce artillery fire of the independent division artillery to attack? Is it irrational?"

Chief of Staff Matsuda was stunned by General Meijin's fierce stare, and hurriedly bowed his head and said, "The department dare not! Any decisions and orders made by the Commander-in-Chief will be strictly followed by the department!"

"Hey!" General Meijin sighed, and said: "Matsuda-kun, when will you be able to keep up with my thinking, the current situation is that we can't provide any support for the First Corps, even a field artillery brigade, The only way is to use the tens of thousands of people in the First Corps to consume the ammunition of the independent division troops and wear down the spirit of their soldiers. The real main force to attack Anton will reach Wulongbei, the side gate, Do you understand the second corps on the front line of Baoshan?"

The words were so blatant that Chief of Staff Matsuda didn't understand, he was just a real stick. Just because he understood General Umezu Yoshijiro's intentions, he couldn't help feeling chills in his heart. More than 9 people were used as cannon fodder, using human bodies Changing the shells, Commander-in-Chief Meijin's handwriting is too big, ruthless and poisonous enough!A vicious plan to go home!

"The staff department understands!" Chief of Staff Matsuda replied with a trembling voice, "It's good to understand! Matsuda-san, strictly order the first corps not to stop attacking, and order the second corps to launch an attack immediately after reaching the blocking line of the independent division. Today Before evening, I want to see the result of Anton City once again falling into the hands of the Kwantung Army!"

"Mr. Matsuda, it's about the life and death of the Kwantung Army. We can't have any compassion or benevolence! Is there any news about the retreated Third Army and the first and second detachments of the Kwantung Army?" General Meijin suddenly Asked, obviously, he didn't want to go any further on this topic.

Chief of Staff Matsuda replied: "Commander-in-Chief, an hour ago, I received a telegram from Major General Sakai, Chief of Staff of the [-]th Division, who retreated from the eastern front of the Liaodong Peninsula. The fast troops, the troops suffered heavy losses, along the way, they were constantly bombed by the aviation of the Independent Division, and the ground troops of the Independent Division were chasing after them!"

"What about the center line and the west line? Any news?" General Meijin then asked.

Chief of Staff Matsuda said in a very heavy tone, "Not yet. Two hours ago, I sent a telegram to inquire about the situation. The situation is not optimistic. The retreating troops on the central and western fronts are the same as those on the eastern front. The bombing is more intense, and it seems that most of the air forces of the Independent Division are concentrated on the central and western fronts, and the speed of the troops' retreat has been greatly affected! This is the main reason behind the troops on the eastern front!"

General Meijin's eyes were erratic, and he seemed to grasp something in his heart, but he didn't have a clear line, so he said casually: "Matsuda-kun, because of this, we need the continuous attack of the first and even the second corps to attract All the energy of An Dongfang's independent division is to create conditions for the smooth retreat of the [-]th Division!"

"Wait! Are you saying that most of the aviation forces of the Independent Division are concentrated on the central and western fronts? Is the news reliable?" General Meijin raised his head suddenly, sparks flashed in his eyes, like will-o'-the-wisps, he hurriedly asked .

Although it was strange why the commander-in-chief would ask such a question, Chief of Staff Matsuda replied truthfully: "Yes, the commanders of the two retreating troops reported this way!"

The light in General Umezu Yoshijiro's eyes suddenly flashed, he strode to the military map, pointed to the location of Gaizhou and said: "Matsuda-san, based on this, we can draw the following conclusions, the independent division that crossed the Yalu River , because of the convenient location, they can quickly occupy Anton, but they cannot reach the front line of Gaizhou in a short time. They need to span the entire Liaodong Peninsula. That is to say, there is no independent division on the front line of Gaizhou at present force!"

"From Anton to Gaizhou, more than [-] kilometers away, there is still a detour, and it can't be reached in a few hours. The Chinese devil concentrated most of the air power on the center line and the west line, with the purpose of delaying the emperor. The speed with which the army retreats will buy enough time for his troops in Anton to move westward and seize the front line of Gaizhou as soon as possible! Gaizhou is the biggest loophole in Tang Qiuli's plan!"

General Umezu Yoshijiro's judgment is correct. At this moment, several brigades of the Hantie Army are rushing towards Gaizhou in a hurry to cut off the passage for the Japanese army to retreat to Fengtian. Gaizhou is the west line of the Liaodong Peninsula, leading to Fengtian's most important node.

"Commander-in-Chief, what do you mean?" Chief of Staff Matsuda asked with puzzled eyes.

General Meijin said: "Mr. Matsuda, the front line of Gaizhou is the only chance for the retreating Imperial Army troops. I ordered the [-]th Division to retreat on the Eastern Front to leave a small number of troops and maintain the illusion of retreating from the Anton Front. The rest of the troops , and immediately began to turn horizontally towards Gaizhou, and the troops on the central and western lines must speed up even more. In the telegram, they must clearly tell the commanders at all levels that this is the only opportunity, and they must seize the time!"

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