Age of Rebirth

After receiving the order to retreat across the board, all the Japanese commanders on the western front who were qualified to see the telegram written by Commander-in-Chief Ito gasped, and the shuddering chill turned into cold sweat along the pores. Dozens of independent divisions Thousands of elite troops cut off their own retreat. In front of them were hundreds of thousands of independent division troops who had been fighting with them for dozens of days. This is the rhythm of front and rear attack!

All Japanese military officers at all levels are aware of the seriousness of the problem. This is no longer a matter of the fighting spirit and combat effectiveness of the imperial soldiers. Dangerous, therefore, the order to retreat was carried out without hesitation. After fighting for dozens of days, the exhausted Japanese troops began to retreat on a large scale.

In Mount Vernon in the south of the Bruce Mountains in Western Australia, the headquarters of Lieutenant General Tang Qiusheng, deputy commander of the Independent Division and commander of the Sulu Mobile Corps, is located here, only a few tens of kilometers away from the front line. The sound can be clearly heard here.

"Deputy division commander, the front-line troops are calling. The attacking Japanese army did not know the reason. They stopped the attack and retreated a distance of more than ten kilometers, and began to dig fortifications across the board. It means to defend on the spot!" Major General Yu Guanghan, chief of staff of the Corps, said. Holding a telegram, he hurried in and said.

"Can there be any reason!" Tang Qiusheng said with a smile: "It must be that the division commander commanded the corps directly under the command to capture Sanggu and Mandola, cutting off the rear of the Japanese army on the western front, and causing the front and back attacks to force the Japanese army to retreat!"

"What is the situation of the Japanese army's retreat? Do you have any detailed information on this?" Tang Qiusheng asked, taking advantage of the opportunity for the Japanese army to retreat across the board.A counterattack is an inevitable result, but he is not a person who makes a decision immediately.Before the counterattack is launched, the more Japanese intelligence you have.The smaller the casualties of the troops, the more significant the results.

Yu Guanghan shook his head, and replied: "Because the Japanese army's retreat has just begun, and the reconnaissance troops have not yet received detailed information, deputy division commander, according to the division's order, can we start to fight back? The little devil is retreating, right now! It's a good opportunity!"

Since the information has not arrived.It was indeed a good opportunity for the Japanese army to retreat and start their own counterattack. Tang Qiusheng was not worried. The Japanese army would set up some traps and their rear route would be cut off. The Japanese army who was eager to retreat had neither the time nor the courage to do so, but stayed behind to stop them.This is a normal reaction. If you hesitate any longer, the possibility of counterattack will be even greater when the blocking Japanese army repairs the fortifications!

"Okay! Don't wait for information!" Tang Qiusheng made up his mind.Said: "Convey the order of the Corps Headquarters, concentrate all artillery units, and block the Japanese troops on the front line. Focus on artillery, two tank brigades cover three infantry brigades as a counterattack direction. After an hour, the counterattack will begin!"

"Requirement. The self-propelled artillery unit closely accompanied the attack of the armored group and the infantry group, and provided sufficient artillery support to break through the Japanese blocking positions. After the battle began, the attacks of various troops did not receive orders from the Corps Headquarters and must not stop. Continuously attack the Japanese army to block the depth!"

After attacking for many days, the Japanese Seventh Army and Ninth Army on the Western Front, which were already exhausted, received the task of blocking, and changed from attacking to blocking. A dozen or two 10,000+ troops are not just kidding. The rapid offensive and defensive transition not only tested the quality of the soldiers, but also the ability of commanders at all levels. Obviously, the command ability of the Japanese commanders was good, but can they be expected to build a solid blocking line in a hurry?

When the soldiers of the Seventh Army and Ninth Army of the Japanese Army who were ordered to stop had just dug halfway through the field trenches, they were hit by the artillery group of the Sulu Mobile Corps. The Japanese positions were flooded, and the newly excavated soil and gravel mixed with the corpses of Japanese soldiers were thrown into the air. After the artillery fire extended, an armored assault group composed of hundreds of tanks from the independent division armored soldiers covered the ferocious attack of the infantry.

Especially in the blocking direction of the Seventh Army, the first line of defense persisted for less than 10 minutes before it was announced that it was broken by the attacking troops of the Independent Division. Lieutenant General Matsuo, the commander of the army who received the report, was sweating coldly on his forehead. Come out, on the first blocking position of the Seventh Army, he put up six field regiments, with more than 2 troops, and they were all wiped out within three to ten minutes?

Whether Lieutenant General Matsuo believes it or not, anyway, I predict that the Chinese Independent Division that can block the counterattack, the first blocking line of more than six hours, will be torn like paper. If the fight continues like this, the 10,000+ people of the Seventh Army will be filled. Going up, can't complete the task of covering the retreat of the main force?

Lieutenant General Matsuo gritted his teeth and deployed eight regiments on the second blockade line, and also deployed two regiments directly under the army equipped with Italian large-caliber heavy artillery on the second blockade line In an important position, I hope to last longer.

The Seventh Army and the Ninth Army, which were in charge of covering the retreat of the Japanese troops on the Western Front, showed their desperate efforts, but the gap between their strength and firepower was obvious. The counterattack troops of the Sulu Mobile Corps were as fierce as going down a mountain. The tigers quickly tore up the blocking line of the Japanese army. Large-caliber heavy artillery roared, tanks roared, and the battlefield from Newman to the Bruce Mountains on the western front was beaten into fireworks and smoke.

The counterattack lasted until the next morning, and several lines of resistance from the Seventh Army and the Ninth Army of the Japanese Army were left behind one after another. The Japanese army lost tens of thousands of corpses, and the remnants fled in the direction of Royhill, fighting fiercely all night The troops belonging to the Sulu mobile unit did not make any adjustments, and continued to chase and beat the back of the Japanese army.

The battlefield south of the Bruce Mountains on the western front showed a one-sided trend. Tang Qiusheng breathed a sigh of relief and said to Chief of Staff Yu Guanghan: "Guanghan, send a telegram to the division commander. The counterattack of our Sulu Mobile Corps is going well. Now the striker The troops have crossed the Bruce Mountain area and continue to pursue north!"

Royhill, directly under Liu Hongzhang, the commander of the First Brigade of the Corps, once made brilliant achievements, and now it has become the temporary headquarters of the Japanese army on the western front. In front of his eyes, sitting covered in mud, exhausted, Lieutenant General Matsuo, commander of the Seventh Army, and Lieutenant General Morita, commander of the Ninth Army, with the posture of a defeated general.

"The two commanders, with the strength of the Seventh Army and the Ninth Army, relying on the terrain conditions of the Bruce Mountains, how could they not even block the China Independent Division for three days?" Deputy Chief of Staff Ji Wu said very displeased, "I want to hear your explanation!"

Deputy Chief of Staff Yoshitake's words were full of accusations, but he said it very politely. Although he was the highest commander of the Imperial Army on the Western Front, his rank was only a major general. In front of two lieutenant generals who held heavy troops , and did not dare to slap the table and stare and lose his temper.

Lieutenant General Matsuo and Lieutenant General Morita looked at each other, with a look of shame on their faces. It is really inexplicable. The work after the break is not easy to do. After thinking about it, Lieutenant General Matsuo said: "Commander Yoshitake , Morita-kun and I don't want to explain anything!"

"However, it can be guaranteed that the remaining imperial soldiers of the Seventh Army and the Ninth Army will rely on Roy Hill's front line and do their best to prevent the counterattack of the China Independent Division. Even if they fight to the last person, they will not Let the Chinese soldiers pass through here!"

Lieutenant General Morita also had the same expression, and Deputy Chief of Staff Yoshitake sighed, and said: "Well, I'll leave it to the two commanders, I don't have enough troops to strengthen your blocking line, I hope the two commanders understand this! "

Just as he was talking, there was another rumbling sound of cannons in the distance, "I'm leaving!" Deputy Chief of Staff Yoshitake bowed deeply to the two of them, turned and left, he was telling the truth, the Imperial Army of the Western Front Troops, a total of four armies, two armies are left to fight, and the remaining two armies have to break through the front line of Sanggu and Mandola. The other independent division troops are blocked, and all the troops are used , but what the prospects are, he has no idea!

Sanggu, the independent division pointed to the temporary station. After reading Tang Qiusheng's telegram, Tang Qiuli tapped his finger on the table, thinking about it, and asked Zhao Yuhe for a while, "Yuhe, how long will it take for the Japanese army to retreat?" , can reach our blocking line?"

Zhao Yuhe walked up to the military map, gestured and said, "Commander, most of the Japanese troops on the western front are now concentrated on the Royhill line, and the retreating vanguard, the Tenth Army, has now reached Marble Bar, north of Royhill. In the area, in about three days, we can exchange fire with our army!"

"Three days, that's enough time!" Tang Qiuli said, "Are all the directly subordinate corps in place now?"

"Yes, Commander, everything has been deployed according to the scheduled plan, and the blocking position will be completed in one day!" Zhao Yuhe replied, after thinking for a while, he said: "The brigade commanders jointly made suggestions to the division. , we now have an advantage in military strength, and the Japanese army hastily retreated.”

"There is Deputy Division Commander Tang's troops chasing after them. They are frightened birds. Therefore, the troops don't need to fix the position to block the attack. They should take the initiative to fight and defeat the Japanese army in one fell swoop, and then divide and encircle them. This can greatly shorten the end time of the battle!"

"Hey! The tone is not small, full of confidence!" Tang Qiuli said with a smile: "Tell those brigade commanders, honestly fight for me in a positional blocking war, the so-called trapped beasts will not fight, and don't wipe out a large number of Japanese troops. Fighting a big melee is not worth the loss, and there are more than [-] Japanese soldiers on the western front, which can be regarded as a tough bone, and they have to eat every bite!"

Zhao Yuhe smiled, and just about to speak, the division pointed to Chen Feng, the director of the communication department, to come in and reported: "Reporting to the division commander, I received information from the Intelligence Division that a Japanese army with a strength of about 8 troops was stationed in Australia. Mount Molloy and Cooktown on the east coast mobilized a large number of trucks and other means of transportation, and began to move towards the central part of Australia, the specific destination is to be investigated!"

"Oh! There are more than 8 people!" Tang Qiuli's eyes flickered a few times, and he asked Zhao Yuhe, "Yuhe, according to your judgment, where is the final destination of this Japanese army?"

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