The reason why Honma Masaharu is cautious is because the 25th Army suffered a terrible defeat at Diaomen Island. Since the end of the Diaomen Island battle, the Japanese army has increased its emphasis on the southern African army and will no longer underestimate the enemy as before.
Take the plunge.
The main reason is that the Malay Campaign and the Philippines Campaign are not over yet. Neither Yamashita Tobumi nor Honma Masaharu has the ability to open a second battlefield. The 48th Division's landing in Kuching is just a test, with only one infantry regiment. If it is attacked by the southern African army,
You can return it to the Philippines at any time.
Masaharu Honma's caution also had a lot to do with the setback in the attack on the Bataan Peninsula.
When the 48th Division landed in Kuching, the Philippine Campaign was not over. MacArthur abandoned Manila and withdrew the U.S.-Philippine coalition forces to the Bataan Peninsula. When the 48th Division landed in Kuching, there were still about 80,000 US troops in the Bataan Peninsula.
Philippine Allied Forces.
On January 9, the Japanese army launched an attack on the Bataan Peninsula, and the desperate U.S.-Philippine coalition forces finally broke out with powerful combat effectiveness.
Although the quality of individual soldiers of the US-Philippine coalition forces is not as good as that of the Japanese army, their equipment is not inferior, but they lack the will and courage to fight.
In a desperate situation, MacArthur had no way out. He did not want to go to the East Indies, nor did he want to escape back to the United States in despair. A head-on battle with the Japanese army was the only option.
The battle was extremely fierce, no less intense than the Battle of Moscow. When the Japanese army invaded the frontline positions of the U.S.-Philippine coalition, a brutal hand-to-hand combat broke out. The U.S. military, which could also equip ordinary soldiers with pistols, took a big advantage. On the Abukai Line of Defense
In a battle, a Filipino soldier used Maxim to kill dozens of attacking Japanese troops. When the Japanese troops rushed to the position, the Filipino soldier killed five more people with his sidearm pistol, for which he received the Silver Cross.
medal.
On the western defense line of the Bataan Peninsula, the Japanese army broke through the positions of the U.S.-Philippine coalition and posed a huge threat to the flanks of the First Army position commanded by Wainwright.
The First Army was forced to retreat to the second line of defense behind the position...
Under desperate circumstances, the U.S.-Philippine coalition forces burst out with tremendous energy, and it took only four days to build the second line of defense.
The Japanese army continued to attack, and Colonel Alfredo Santos, commander of the 1st Division, boldly penetrated and surrounded the attacking Japanese army.
The Japanese army suffered heavy losses, with only 378 troops participating in the attack surviving.
It was already January 29th, and Masaharu Honma finally realized the strength of the Americans. Even if the Bataan Peninsula was surrounded, the U.S. military could still provide the U.S.-Philippine coalition forces on the Bataan Peninsula through the Allied airports in East India.
supply.
The closest Allied airfield to the Bataan Peninsula is at Shillongmen.
Masaharu Honma ordered the troops to stop the offensive on February 1 and reorganize the troops to wait for reinforcements.
When Masaharu Honma was in trouble, the 25th Army also suffered setbacks.
On January 14, the forward troops of the 25th Army had entered Johor, which was the defense zone of the Australian 8th Division commanded by Henry Kelson.
The 8th Division was one of the first units formed by Australia after the outbreak of the European War.
This unit made outstanding achievements and participated in the North African Campaign and the Greek Campaign. After the failure of the Greek Campaign, it was transferred to India. After the Pearl Harbor incident, the 8th Division was transferred to British Malaya and accepted the command of Percival.
While in India, the 8th Division, which suffered heavy losses, was fully staffed after being replenished. All its weapons and equipment were aided by Southern Africa. It not only had a large number of heavy artillery, but also had a "Matilda" light tank.
tank regiment.
The "Matilda" currently equipped by the British army is an improved version upgraded after the outbreak of the European War. In addition to thicker armor, it is also equipped with a 75mm tank gun, which can easily penetrate the Japanese Type 97 medium tank.
After the outbreak of the Malayan Campaign, the 25th Army encountered basically British and Indian troops and did not encounter real resistance.
Kelsen's 8th Division has been active since the outbreak of the Malayan Campaign and participated in sniper attacks against the Japanese many times. However, each time before, it retreated due to the rapid collapse of friendly positions and threats to its flanks. It never won a single battle.
.
British Malaya was a loose alliance, and the relationship between Johor and Changi Naval Base was very good. It was precisely because of Johor's cooperation that Changi Naval Base was able to expand to the size it is today, so when the Johor government wanted to acquire the Indian Ocean Theater
When protecting the area, Angel directly dispatched the 19th Southern African Division and the 6th East Indian Division.
The 19th Division was a purely southern African force.
The 6th Division is one of the best-trained and best-equipped troops in East India.
This decision will not affect the situation in the Malayan Peninsula after the war. Regardless of whether British Malaya will still exist after the war, Johor has already made its choice before the war.
After receiving the combat mission, the commander of the 19th Division, Berkeley Ford, immediately drove to the headquarters of the 8th Division.
Berkeley Ford is a French-Southern African native born in Southern Africa. He received a complete education in Southern Africa and graduated from the Nyasaland Army Academy.
After the two met and chatted, Ford learned that Kelson also had French ancestry, so the two had the perfect target to complain about.
Not the Japanese, but the French Vichy government.
"The existence of the Vichy government has brought shame to those of us with French ancestry. The once great France has fallen to this point today. Pétain should be tried." Kelsen hated the Vichy government deeply and even opposed it.
The French heroes of World War I were also filled with hatred.
In fact, this cannot be blamed on Pétain. Pétain was just a scapegoat introduced by France, and he had to play this role full of shame.
Even so, in the hearts of most French people, Pétain is still unforgivable.
"The current situation in France is a lesson for us. If we also surrender, then we will lose all honors and become a second- or even third-rate country." Ford didn't have much affection for France, and he wasn't even as excited as Kelsen, just a little.
Pity.
For Ford, southern Africa was his country and more worthy of allegiance than France.
"The Japanese were sniped by the U.S.-Philippine coalition forces in the Philippines, and we can't perform too poorly." Kelsen's current friendly forces are the Southern African Army and the East Indian Army. Finally, they are no longer a scattered Indian. Kelsen also
Finally I had the confidence to defeat the Japanese.
"No problem. If the Japanese attack your position, I will order the troops to take the initiative and make good use of the Matilda. Although the Matilda is not an excellent tank, it is enough to deal with the Japanese.
." Ford is qualified to say this. His troops are equipped with "Tiger" and "Panther".
"Can you give me a few Panther tanks?" Kelsen was really greedy. Australia also has a very good relationship with Southern Africa, no less than East India. Unfortunately, Australia is still a Commonwealth country, and Southern Africa has a strong relationship with Australia.
The emphasis is obviously not as high as that of East India.
Don't even think about the "Tiger". Even if Kelson asked, Ford wouldn't give it to him. Thank God if he can give him a few "Leopard"s.
"It is not equipment that determines the outcome of a war, but people." Ford was speechless. He only thought Kelsen's words were a joke.
The British have been coveting the "Tiger" and "Leopard" for more than a day or two. In fact, the British can also make them themselves. Unfortunately, the British, like Japan, spend more resources on the navy, so the British hope to use
Free way to get "Tiger" pose and "Leopard" pose.
This is purely wishful thinking. Southern Africa itself does not have enough. If possible, Roque hopes that all armies in Southern Africa will be armored units.
Yamashita Fengfumi still didn't know that his opponent had changed. It was the Japanese Fifth Division that launched the attack on Johor.
The Fifth Division has been introduced previously. It is one of the earliest seven divisions in Japan, the notorious "Itagaki Division", with a total strength of 25,000.
The current commander of the Fifth Division is no longer Itagaki Seishiro, but replaced by Matsui Tairo. This is also a notorious war criminal and one of the culprits of the July 7th Incident. In another time and space, he miraculously escaped the post-war liquidation and was captured by the military.
He was acquitted by the court and lived until 1969.
After the outbreak of the Malayan Campaign, the Fifth Division was active. Matsui Tairo restrained the behavior of the officers and soldiers of the Fifth Division. The Fifth Division did not behave as brutally as before.
However, Ford did not want to be lenient to the Fifth Division because of this.
The majority of the population in southern Africa is now of Chinese descent. The various atrocities committed by the Japanese army in the Far East have been widely publicized by the media in southern Africa and are well known to everyone. The Chinese in southern Africa have long hated the Japanese, "Nyasaland Daily"
A list of war criminals was even compiled, and the first one on the list was the little king.
The little king of this time and space is 100% unable to escape the post-war liquidation.
If the Americans try to make small moves again, the 100 million Chinese people in southern Africa will definitely not agree.
On January 15, the forward troops of the 5th Division launched an attack on the positions of the Australian 8th Division. The Japanese probably thought that the Australian troops would be defeated at the first touch like the Indians.
Even if the Australians are a little better at fighting than the Indians, it doesn't matter. Anyway, as long as the Japanese appear on the flank of the Australian position, the Australians will retreat.
This time the Japanese made a wrong calculation. The flanks of the Australian 8th Division's position were the positions of the 19th Division in Southern Africa.
The Japanese army's first attack was a tentative attack with low intensity and was easily repelled by the Australians.
Then the Japanese army set its target on the position of the 19th Division. At this time, the commander of the 42nd Regiment, Otani Daiki, was surprised to find that the army on the opposite side seemed different from the previous British and Indian troops.
Whether the army's combat effectiveness is strong or not can be seen from its position.
No matter how bad the performance of the British and Indian troops was, they refused to dig trenches even one centimeter deep. They dug a shallow trench in the ground to form a position. Traffic trenches and air-raid shelters were just enough to make do. There was no depth to the position. Anyway, as soon as a battle broke out, the position was very deep.
Why waste energy and energy building a position when it will be lost soon?
The Southern African army has strict standards for the acquisition of positions. Even temporary positions must be strict and have everything that should be there. Traffic trenches must be covered with rolling logs and sandbags. The setting of machine gun positions is even stricter. All shooting holes are for cross fire.
, will not be threatened by frontal firepower at all.
Like other field forces in southern Africa, the 19th Division is also equipped with armored units, so there is a gap in the middle of the position to facilitate tank attacks.
Kotani Dagui observed for a long time and found no weaknesses in the 19th Division's position, so he sent troops to launch a tentative attack.
It should be said that Otani Daiki was still very cautious. The Fifth Division was reorganized into a mechanized force in 1940 and equipped with the Japanese army's most advanced Type 97 medium tanks. Otani Daiki was not careless and sent tanks to accompany the infantry to participate in the attack.
The Type 97 tank has a total combat weight of only 15 tons and is classified as a "medium tank". The word "medium" is simply an insult.
The 42nd Regiment has conducted training on infantry-tank coordination. When the troops attack, the infantry follows the tanks, which looks decent.
It's a pity that southern Africans are the experts when it comes to tanks.
Therefore, the Japanese's Bu-tan coordination was like a big deal in front of Guan Gong in front of the southern Africans.
The weapons equipped by the 19th Division include not only anti-tank guns, but also high-level dual-purpose machine guns.
The armor of the Type 97 tank cannot even withstand a high-level dual-purpose machine gun.
The position chosen by the 19th Division is a hillside, and the vegetation on the upper slope has been cleared in advance, which is very friendly to the Type 97 tank.
However, the Japanese tanks still encountered trouble because the slope of the hillside was a bit steep and the Japanese tanks could not climb it.
This was very embarrassing. Not only were the Japanese embarrassed, but the defending Southern African officers and soldiers were even more anxious and wanted to climb out of the trenches and lift up the Japanese tanks.
Anyway, 15 tons doesn’t weigh much, and there are construction machinery that can’t be lifted.
"Fight?" Thomas, the chief of staff of the 173rd Regiment at the 19th Division's forward position command post, didn't want to see any more of the Japanese's clumsy performance.
The terrain of the hillside is complex. In some places, the slope is so steep that the Japanese tanks cannot climb up. In other places, the slope is gentle, but they can still be climbed up.
However, there were only a few places to climb up, so the attacking Type 97 tanks and infantry lined up.
If a few cannonballs fly over at this time, it will definitely be a fruitful harvest.
"Let's fight. Finish the fight early and don't delay dinner." Zhao Kui from Rhodesia raised his hand and looked at his watch. The time was three o'clock in the afternoon.
Boom boom boom
The anti-tank guns deployed at the forward position opened fire immediately, and the armor of the 97 tank was as fragile as tofu.
Tom Tom Tom
The sound of the grenade launcher is very small and cannot be heard if you are far away.
However, the power is not small at all. The automatic grenade launcher that was originally supposed to be installed on the armored vehicle was removed and deployed on the defense line. This is the most powerful weapon against infantry. General-purpose machine guns are simply weak compared to grenade launchers.
Boom!
The large number of precision shooters are not alone either. Their targets are either officers, grenadiers, or machine gunners.
Ta Ta Ta Ta
The machine gun finally opened fire. The firepower was astonishingly ferocious and the density was equally astonishing.
The soldiers who were only equipped with semi-automatic rifles were very depressed. They had no chance to fire. The number of Japanese troops participating in the exploratory attack was very small, and it was simply not enough. The battle only lasted a few minutes and ended. Almost all Japanese troops participated in the attack.
All nine Type 97 tanks were destroyed immediately.
This result made Xiaogu Dagui stunned.
An exploratory attack is intended to test the defensive strength of the enemy's position.
Now that we roughly know the strength, how should we attack?
