Age of Rebirth

Chapter 440 The Crazy Matsui

The staff officers and adjutants looked at General Zhang dumbfounded. It was the first time for the usually calm general to cheer like a child. Zhang Zhizhong calmed down and ordered the adjutant repeatedly: "Send a telegram to Commander Tang of the Tenth Army. Let’s just say that the general’s army is brave, the Japanese army lay dead everywhere, the beach was stained with blood, tens of thousands of soldiers died, please accept the highest respect from all the soldiers of the Ninth Army to you and your subordinates!”

After Zhang Zhizhong finished dictating the telegram, he felt that the meaning was still unsatisfactory, and he ordered to send a telegram to Nanjing Chairman Jiang: "Nanjing Chairman Jiang Xunjian, in the early morning of August 23, the Japanese army came to help the troops, with a division of troops as the vanguard, in the Wusong area. Forced to land on the beach, the Tenth Army, with two brigades, fought fiercely against a Japanese division for several hours, and the Japanese army, from division commander Ryosuke Yoshizumi, down to more than [-] people, were all wiped out."

"This battle was fought by the Tenth Group Army alone. Its powerful combat effectiveness, with hundreds of casualties, achieved such a record. It surprised Wen Bai and became a model for our Shanghai defenders. Chairman Wang An order is issued to commend the units of the Tenth Army to boost the morale of our army. With the Tenth Army troops as the pillar of Shanghai's defense, Wenbai can protect Shanghai from defeat!"

When the second landing echelon of the Japanese army was heading towards Wusong, a landing craft that escaped by chance, carrying two Japanese soldiers, drove towards them in a daze. He felt that something was wrong when the sound of gunfire in the direction stopped. It stands to reason that Ryosuke Yoshizumi landed smoothly and successfully established a firm foothold on the beach. Now it is also the stage of attacking in depth. Why can't he hear the gunfire of the exchange of fire? Voice? [

Unless the defenders of China were completely defeated, there should be sporadic gunfire, and the silent battlefield made the soldiers even more uncertain. After asking about the situation, Fujita sat down on a chair with a pale face and remained silent for a long time. The Jizhu Division is much stronger than your own division. In just a few hours, the entire army was wiped out. The Chinese army guarding the beach, which army is it?With such a ferocious combat power, can you still take advantage of more than 8000 people in the Jizhu Division if you go up by yourself?

Fujita Susumu was in a state of confusion. The task Matsui gave him was to expand the Yoshizumi division's landing field, and then spread out to the two wings to provide security for the subsequent troops to land, and to occupy the Wusongkou Fort. But now, let alone occupying the fort, even He didn't even dare to land, he thought for a long time, ordered the troops to stop advancing temporarily, and then turned the bow, he wanted to report what happened to the Yoshizumi Division to Commander Matsui, before leaving, he still didn't forget to take two soulless soldiers with him. son of soldiers.

Matsui is on the flagship, playing Go leisurely with the chief of staff, the warm sun is shining on his body, surrounded by blue sea water, and there are a few seabirds flying freely, Matsui is in a great mood, and the combat order has been issued , How to fight is the business of those division commanders. As long as he has the result, according to his prediction, tonight, the headquarters of the Shanghai Dispatched Army can work in the big Shanghai of Shiliyangchang.

The sound of motors came from a distance, and a landing craft bumped towards the flagship. It should be Ryosuke Yoshizumi of the vanguard, who sent someone to report the battle situation. Being ruined by this guy, he didn't command the troops to complete the combat mission, what did he come here for?It must be emphasizing the difficulty. No wonder the division he commanded was the weakest of all the troops of the Shanghai Dispatch Army.

Fujita hurriedly boarded the gangway, seeing his panicked appearance, Matsui looked down on him even more in his heart, how could this kind of person be able to be the division commander, those people in the Ministry of War were all blind, soldiers of the empire, especially As a general, he should not be surprised by changes. Fujita's appearance is really embarrassing to the army, how to set an example for his subordinates.

Although the old guy looked down on Fujita and secretly slandered him, he had a calm smile on his face, with the demeanor of a general. In front of Matsui Iwane, who was the driving force of Fujita's panic, he even forgot to report and salute.

Matsui felt a great deal of unhappiness, and before he could ask, Fujita reported in a panic: "Your Excellency, I have received a report that the Yoshizumi Division was ambushed by the Chinese army during the Wusong landing, and all of them have been ambushed. The army is gone, the commander of the Yoshizumi division and all the soldiers, all jade pieces, are loyal to His Majesty the Emperor!"

Matsui stood up abruptly, the chessboard was knocked over, a black go piece bounced on the deck a few times, and fell into the rippling sea without even splashing a wave, just like the fate and fate of the vanguard division of the Japanese army .

Matsui couldn't believe it, and he couldn't believe it. The Yoshizumi Division, with its strong troops and horses, was wiped out like this. This soldier is a living circumstantial evidence. Their distraught appearance must have witnessed a very unbelievable and extremely terrifying scene.

Matsui stared blankly at the blue sky. The sun expanded in front of his eyes, covering his face like a ball of fire. His eyes darkened, his throat became hot, and a mouthful of blood spurted out. His skinny body shook. After a few strokes, if the chief of staff around him hadn't been quick-sighted and grabbed him, the old guy Matsui Iwane would have plunged into the blue East China Sea to feed the sharks, and saved him from continuing his crimes for the rest of the year.

Matsui woke up leisurely, looked at the staff around him with both eyes, sighed, and closed his eyes again, his already old face looked more like dying years, the cabin was deadly silent, those senior officers of the Japanese army , looked at Matsui who was lying on the bed like a corpse, looked at each other, and muttered in his heart, Your Excellency Commander is really dead, right?Why can't I see his breathing?

All of a sudden, Matsui sat up like a dead body, startling the Japanese officers around him. This old fellow should be mentally prepared. However, they found that His Excellency the Commander had changed. With a ghastly cold light, his face was ashen, and there was a murderous look all over his body, like a thousand-year-old demon who had become a spirit.

Matsui got out of bed, his demeanor had returned to normal, all the officers secretly admired, the veteran who has been through the battlefield, returned to normal so quickly, asked himself if he couldn't do it, he was a warrior of more than 3 empires?In fact, Matsui knew the pain in his heart, and when he stretched out a fist, he was smashed to pieces by the Chinese army. He didn't think that the Chinese had such strong fighting power and superior firepower.

When will the Chinese people know how to fight and be able to fight?Those two soldiers who survived by chance were exaggerating. As for Fujita, he ran back in fright without seeing the battle scene at all. Expanding three divisions, the Jizhu Division will not be fighting alone. Now, I should stand on the beach in Shanghai, adjust my deployment, and one strike will work. I will use the blood of the Chinese people to pay homage to the heroic spirits of the imperial warriors.

At this time, Matsui Iwane's bloodthirsty and violent psychology had already controlled his thinking. The entire army of the Yoshizumi Division was wiped out, which made his bloodthirsty desire suppressable. The massacre of the city would turn Shanghai into a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood. To let the corpses of the Chinese people float across the Huangpu River, Matsui had only one idea: enter Shanghai and kill them!Still kill!

"The Fujita Division temporarily suspends its offensive. Call all the division heads to the flagship for a meeting to discuss the next battle plan. Go!" Matsui gave the order in a calm tone. Only the chief of staff who was familiar with him could smell the blood on his body. .

On the morning of August 24, Matsui mobilized 13 troops from four divisions to attack the beachheads of the Chinese defenders in multiple routes. From Chuansha River Estuary, Shizilin to Wusong, fierce fighting was fought along the entire front, especially on the defensive front of Changfeng troops. , Matsui used one and a half divisions of troops to focus on the attack. Matsui was so cruel that he had to kill all the troops that had eaten up his division!

The heavy artillery brigade of the Japanese army mounted large-caliber artillery on large landing craft, and desperately shot at the positions of the Chinese defenders, providing fire support for the swarming Japanese landing troops. Except for the troops of the independent division, the Chinese defenders in other directions were Suffering a disadvantage, the range of their artillery could not reach the Japanese heavy artillery at sea. They were suppressed by the fierce Japanese artillery fire, the simple fortifications were destroyed, and the soldiers' bodies were thrown into the air by the exploding artillery, causing a sharp increase in casualties.

On the front of Chang Feng's defense, the heavy artillery of the Japanese army did not take advantage. When he wiped out the Yoshizumi Division, he deliberately concealed his strength, and did not use a single large-caliber heavy artillery. Therefore, the heavy artillery mounted by the Japanese army on the landing craft, When it was out of the range of the light artillery of the Chinese defenders, the shelling began. [

When the Japanese heavy artillery began shelling, the artillery brigade began to fight back. The Japanese army suffered a lot. The heavy artillery mounted on the landing craft swayed with the waves, and there was no way to shoot accurately. Being able to fire the cannon was already a training experience. So, the soaring water column stirred up around the Japanese landing craft. The landing craft that was directly hit, the debris and the artillery were thrown high, and fell heavily into the sea. The Second Artillery Brigade of the Sulu Mobile Corps lost six large-caliber artillery. At the cost of more than 70 casualties, 28 Japanese landing craft and the Japanese heavy artillery on board were killed.

The threat of the heavy artillery of the Japanese army was lifted, the pressure on the troops dropped sharply, and the light weapons showed their power. Facing waves of Japanese troops, the cheers of light and heavy machine guns and Suomi submachine guns never stopped, and the Japanese troops were repelled. After panting for a while, he rushed up again.

The soldiers fought fiercely, and after repelling an attack, they suddenly carried out a counter-attack with the strength of a brigade, kicking the buttocks of the retreating Japanese army, firing wildly, and the supporting heavy artillery poured a hail of artillery on the Japanese army. On the head of the bomb, the Japanese army was blown to pieces. The soldiers pushed the Japanese army back to the sea in one go, and then returned to the position angrily.

Matsui used one and a half divisions of troops, but did not attack Changfeng's position. Instead, he lost more than 1 people, and never launched another attack.

Chang Feng's troops fought well, and the gunfire on this side subsided, but the other troops of the Chinese defenders were in a hard fight, and the situation was critical.

(To be continued)