Age of Rebirth

The sound of gunfire and flames enveloped Mandola—a small city on the coast of Western Australia. The Japanese No.20 Ninth Transport Brigade lost thousands of people on the periphery. The soldiers also had very weak resistance in the urban area, and soon disappeared on the battlefield under the attack of the first brigade and the second brigade.

There were quite a few Japanese soldiers, like headless flies, hiding in the buildings. However, they were hit by tank guns aimed directly at the shells, bazooka shells and recoilless shells. The Japanese soldiers, together with the buildings, turned into For the ruins, the soldiers of the Independent Division did not know that these Japanese soldiers actually had no will to resist. They still followed the style of urban street fighting and found a little devil hiding in a building, and they were greeted by shells.

The street fighting in the city that Liu Hongzhang was worried about did not happen. Three hours later, the battle to attack Mandola ended, which was much earlier than the original five hours. The Japanese army did not have time to destroy the mountains of weapons, ammunition and military supplies, and now they are all spoils of war for Liu Hongzhang and Ouyang Yishan.

Liu Hongzhang and Ouyang Yishan, each in an armored command vehicle, drove through the city streets that were still smoking, and checked several Japanese logistics warehouses. He was not interested in all the weapons, ammunition and military supplies. However, more than 200 Italian 1940-style [-]mm caliber heavy artillery made him quite excited.

"I said, second, these Italian cannons were captured by us together. How about it, half of each family can pull up two heavy artillery regiments! It will be of great use when blocking the retreating little devils." Ah!" Liu Hongzhang stroked the cold barrel of the cannon.Said to Ouyang Yishan with bright eyes.

"I have no objection!" Ouyang Yishan didn't argue with him, even if he knew it, he couldn't argue.Actually, this warehouse.It was the second brigade who discovered and occupied it first. After thinking for a while, he said: "These Italian artillery are good things, but we don't have so many artillery!"

"I can't turn my head around anymore!" Liu Hongzhang said triumphantly, "The artillery battalion of the regiment is temporarily transferred from each regiment, and it can be upgraded on the spot!"

"Medium! You still have a lot of ghost ideas!" Ouyang Yishan said with a smile: "One more thing, we don't have to worry about the service life of these Italian artillery, we can buy and sell them with a hammer. After firing all the shells, they will be scrapped. You don't have to bring them with you. It’s going to be troublesome, and it’s useless for the Japanese army, and it also affects their maneuverability, so it’s a pity to lose it!”

"Hahaha!" Liu Hongzhang laughed happily, "Who said you are honest, you are so weak, full of conspiracy and tricks!"

The two arrived at the brigade headquarters of the No.20 Ninth Supply Brigade of the Japanese Army. Liu Hongzhang walked into the office of Colonel Suwon and looked at the Japanese officer whose head had been chopped off by shells.He waved his hand and said to the guard: "Clean up this place for me, then who, drag this little devil out! Hey! Isn't it a brigade, why is he still a commander?"

Liu Hongzhang found something different.However, he quickly forgot about this and said to Chief of Staff Liu Chenglin: "Chenglin, report to the division commander immediately, the first brigade and the second brigade. After more than three hours of fighting, Mandola has been occupied. Annihilated more than 20 members of the No.[-] Ninth Supply Brigade of the Japanese Army, and now the troops have deployed on the spot according to the original plan!"

Almost at the same time, the third and fourth brigades attacking Sanggu also ended the battle. Major General Chu Ziye, the commander of the fourth brigade, also gave similar instructions to Chief of Staff Wu Chengguang, and the troops attacking Sanggu should be formed. Unlike the attack on Mandola, the commander of the troops was not determined according to the order of operations. Instead, Chu Ziye, the commander of the [-]th Brigade, was the commander, and Xiao Jian, the commander of the [-]rd Brigade, was the deputy.

Tang Qiuli arranged such a combination, which was similar to Liu Hongzhang and Ouyang Yishan. Major General Chu Ziye, the commander of the Fourth Brigade, had a very similar temper to Liu Hongzhang. Xiao Jian, the brigade commander of the third brigade, although he has a loud name, has a personality similar to that of Ouyang Yishan. He is a thoughtful, tolerant person who is easy to cooperate with.

Chu Ziye was very proud of taking down Sanggu so quickly. However, after inspecting several large Japanese military warehouses, his nose almost got stuck together. Why, in Sanggu’s Japanese military warehouses, there was no Other things are a lot of food, such as canned food of various flavors, boxes of sake, Japanese gunpowder, etc., which are piled up in the warehouse.

Chu Ziye picked up a can of braised beef, weighed it in his hand a few times, turned his head and said to Xiao Jian: "Old Xiao, let's take the little devil's military supplies warehouse, and there is food and drink. Tired of eating marching rations, try another flavor!"

"You two chiefs of staff make an arrangement. In the evening, the army will eat the canned food of the little devil. In addition, each soldier will be given a pack of the little devil's cigarettes. The little devil's wine is not allowed to be touched. Seal it up!"

At this time, the reconnaissance staff officer of the 1940th Brigade came over and said: "The two brigade commanders have captured a few wounded little devil officers. After interrogation, they learned that just three days ago, the Japanese and Australian front forces were transported from Sanggu to replenish their troops." More than [-] Japanese army guns on the western front, Italian [-]-type [-]mm caliber artillery, and supporting shells were all sent to Mandola!"

"Oh!" Chu Ziye slapped his thighs repeatedly and shouted, "It's a pity! It's a pity! There are so many Italian cannons, they are all cheap, Liu Dasheng, Lao Xiao, we can't let Liu Dasheng swallow these Italian heavy artillery all by himself." !"

"Brigade Commander Chu, what can you do? We don't know about Brigadier Commander Liu. Can you spit out the things in his mouth?" Xiao Jian asked with great interest. Obviously, he is also interested in more than two hundred Italian heavy artillery!

"This?" Chu Ziye frowned, muttering in his mouth, "It's really not easy to pick something out of Liu Dasuo's mouth. By the way, Lao Xiao, this is how to do it..."

Chu Ziye said to the reconnaissance staff officer: "You lead the team, load five truckloads of canned food, cigarettes, sake, etc. from the devil, and rush to Mandola immediately, meet Brigadier Liu and Brigadier Ouyang, and say that it is Xiao Lu. The commander and I sent you to give gifts to the two brigade commanders!"

"Are they all brother troops? Old buddies for many years, there are delicious food and drink, and you can forget about it. I just made a small request, that is, can you give it to the third brigade from the more than 200 Italian guns?" Sharing a part with the [-]th Brigade, and not being greedy, a hundred can be enough, and it must be enough to form two heavy artillery regiments!"

The more Chu Ziye talked, the more complacent he became, Xiao Jian was dumbfounded when he heard it, it was unbelievable, is this possible?The reconnaissance staff officer of the Fourth Brigade also expressed embarrassment. It is not timid to give gifts, but it is unreliable to ask for cannons.

Chu Ziye's eyes widened, and he threatened: "I said, why are you so useless? If you don't hit a smiley face with your hand, you can't even give gifts. By the way, if you don't come with a hundred Italian guns, don't come back. !"

The first and second brigades, the third and fourth brigades captured the telegrams of Sanggu and Mandola respectively, and the front and rear feet were in the hands of Tang Qiuli, which surprised him, "Good job! It was half a day earlier than expected, Liu Hongzhang and the others did a good job!" In front of Chief of Staff Zhao Yuhe, he made no secret of his praise of Liu Hongzhang and the other four brigade commanders.

Then, he issued another order: "Yuhe, order the rest of the brigades to speed up their march and quickly go to their respective positions to form a blocking line on the front line of Sanggu and Mandola! Also, send a telegram to Deputy Commander Tang, directly under the The Corps has cut off the retreat of the Japanese army on the western front, let him change from defense to full-line counterattack from now on!"

The information that the hundreds of thousands of elite mechanized troops of the Independent Division suddenly appeared on the western front at Sanggu and Mandola and occupied the two places soon reached the hands of General Ito Gensaburo, the commander of the Japanese and Australian Front. There was a "buzz!" sound in his head, and Venus flitted around in front of his eyes.

The situation on the Australian battlefield has become serious. The Chinese Independent Division troops that suddenly appeared on the front lines of Sanggu and Mandola on the Western Front have obvious intentions. On the front line of Vernon, the independent division troops fighting fiercely with the Imperial Army troops flanked more than [-] Imperial Army troops on the western front.

At this moment, if you still can't judge where the Chinese Independent Division troops that appeared in the area of ​​Sanggu and Mandola on the western front came from, Ito will be dead, and they must have sneaked from the central battlefield. Withdrew, crossed the big sandy desert, and rushed over a long distance.

Then, on the center line battlefield, the China Independent Division, which has been maintaining a strong offensive against the imperial army, now has only half of its troops, about [-] people. It's a shame that I have been slightly inferior to the imperial army. The Chinese people in the army have been suppressed and beaten for more than a week. It is shameful and hateful!General Ito was going crazy.

Chief of Staff Akutagawa even worriedly reminded: "Commander-in-Chief, the current battlefield situation is not optimistic. The Imperial Army troops on the western front will be flanked by the Chinese Independent Division troops at any time. What is even more worrying is that, The total strength of the China Independent Division on the Western Front has already surpassed that of the Imperial Army commanded by Deputy Chief of Staff Yoshitake Tohachiro, so we must make an early decision and order the Western Front troops to retreat!"

"Phew!" General Ito panted heavily, his face so ugly and scary, he said: "Okay, immediately inform Yoshitake Tohachiro of the specific situation on the western front battlefield, and order him to command the troops to retreat quickly. Before the blocking line is formed, we must break through the blocking and retreat quickly, and at the same time, we must not be chased by the Chinese Independent Division troops on the front line of Mount Vernon!"

"Yes! Commander, do you want to send troops to support the troops on the Western Front?" Chief of Staff Akutagawa reminded again. He knew very well that since he was able to send out such a surprise army from the devil Tang Qiuli, he would definitely not allow the imperial troops on the Western Front to retreat smoothly. Well, Tang Qiuli spent such a large amount of capital, crossing the Dasha Desert for a long-distance attack, and if he didn't send troops to respond, he might not be able to withdraw.

"Hehehe!" General Ito smiled wryly a few times, and asked, "Mr. Akutagawa, do we still have enough extra troops?"

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