The several-day military confrontation between the enemy and our own forces in the Central China Front Army Headquarters in Nanjing made General Matsui Iwane even more critical of his judgment a few days ago about the East China Field Army's inability to launch an attack on him in the absence of heavy weapons.
He became more confident. As a result, as the commander, he became more and more relieved about the current situation that seemed to be "increasingly clear". Gradually, he began to focus his energy on returning to the rescue of Nanjing City.
The detachment was thinking about a specific operational plan on how to rely on these two return troops to annihilate the main force of the East China Field Army in one fell swoop in a few weeks.
As night fell, after confirming that no accidents had occurred in the three cities surrounded by the East China Field Army within one day, General Matsui Iwane finally relaxed his nervous heart and prepared to go home and have a good rest. However, just
At this moment, the sound of rapid footsteps reached his ears.
For a moment, General Matsui Iwane, who was very alert to various dangers, immediately frowned. Because he knew clearly that the footsteps outside came from his chief of staff, Lieutenant General Tanaka. And as himself
partner, unless something big happened, Lieutenant General Tanaka's footsteps would never sound so hasty and messy.
As expected, Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Tanaka changed his previous serious habit, pushed the door open without knocking, and walked quickly to the desk of Commander General Matsui Iwane. Then, with his slightly panicked voice,
The voice reported with an anxious look.
"Your Excellency, Commander, I just received the urgent telegram from Taizhou... something happened in Taizhou City..."
"Nani, Taizhou City, do people want to attack our Taizhou City regardless of losses without siege artillery? However, the commander should not be unclear. Even if he can capture Taizhou City, he will
In the entire siege battle, did they pay a very heavy price that they could not bear?" General Matsui Iwane asked with an incredulous look on his face.
Regarding the commander's rhetorical question, Lieutenant General Tanaka, who had already understood the specific situation through the contents of the telegram when he received the telegram, could only respond with a wry smile. Because, regarding the conclusion that the East China Field Army did not have siege artillery,
He and the commander in front of him came up with it through joint discussions. But now, the siege battle in Taizhou City was like a loud slap in the face, ruthlessly overturning their conclusions...
Thinking of this, Lieutenant General Tanaka could only reply helplessly: "Your Excellency, Commander, you will know the specific situation after reading this telegram..." As he spoke, he handed the telegram in his hand to Matsui Iwane.
In front of the general.
With a suspicious look on his face, after receiving the telegram from Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Tanaka, General Matsui Iwane frowned and began to read carefully. However, in just a moment, a face,
He was immediately enveloped in a look of shock. Then, regardless of his identity as commander, he exclaimed in surprise to the chief of staff in front of him.
"How is it possible? There are more than a hundred large-caliber siege artillery, and they are also equipped with large-caliber cannons and howitzers, which are very rare for the empire... Tanaka-kun, the content of the telegram is not wrong, right? Where did the East China Field Army come from?
With so many artillery coming, how is it possible..."
Facing the questioning look of the commander in front of him, Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Tanaka wanted to give a negative answer. However, in the face of the hard facts, he had to nod his head against his will, and then answered in the affirmative.
"Your Excellency Commander, I have repeatedly confirmed this telegram. There is absolutely no problem..."
"How could this happen on Bageya Road? Impossible, absolutely impossible... No, so many large-caliber artillery appeared out of thin air in the East China Field Army. So, where did their artillery come from..." Short-lived
After being furious, General Matsui Iwane immediately thought of the crux of the problem and asked the chief of staff in front of him loudly.
"Your Excellency, Commander, this is a telegram just sent from the Haimen County Garrison Command: Nantong City, where the heavy artillery brigade directly under the Central China Front Army is stationed, was occupied by the East China Field Army three days ago. It is reported that before the fall of Nantong, the entire Nantong
The city's troops were depleted. At the same time, the People's Liberation Army used its most elite special operations division to launch special operations against Nantong City. In the end, the Nantong garrison was completely destroyed before it was too late to send any warning message to the outside world.
The army was destroyed. More importantly, after the Japanese occupied Nantong City, they have been imposing military control on Nantong. Our intelligence personnel, after breaking through the enemy and paying a huge price, rushed to Haimen County and passed on the news of the failure of Nantong.
Come out..." Lieutenant General Tanaka replied softly.
"Nantong City, Bagya Road, cunning man, cunning Liu Hua, we were fooled again...bastard, my heavy artillery brigade..." For a moment, the face of General Matsui Iwane immediately changed because of the loss.
The Central China Front's only heavy artillery brigade became extremely miserable.
However, as the Chief of Staff of the Central China Front, Lieutenant General Tanaka, who has a deep understanding of the equipment of the heavy artillery brigade as well as the strength and quantity of the equipment, at this moment, has no thought to consider the heavy artillery brigade that has changed hands. Instead, he directs his gaze to
It was placed in Taizhou City, which could fall again at any time, and even Yangzhou and Nanjing, which could be destructively attacked by the heavy artillery brigade at any time.
Thinking of this, Lieutenant General Tanaka didn't care about his superiors and subordinates, and said directly: "Your Excellency, Commander, the heavy artillery brigade has changed hands and fallen into the hands of the East China Field Army. It doesn't make any sense to think about it anymore. I am suspicious of being humble. At present,
The urgent need for delay is how to solve the dilemma faced by our Central China Front Army."
"The heavy artillery brigade has changed hands, and coupled with the large amount of artillery shells hoarded in Nantong City, our opponents will not worry about artillery shells for at least a year. More importantly, with the help of these artillery, the East China Field Army's ability to attack difficult problems
, will increase several times. The current predicament facing Taizhou City is an ironclad fact. Therefore, I believe that we must make a decision immediately. Otherwise, our Central China Front Army will be stationed in three of these three cities.
The field division will once again be in crisis..." Pointing to the battle map in front of him, Lieutenant General Tanaka reminded him bluntly.
The chief of staff's reminder made General Matsui Iwane quickly recover from the shock. However, when he thought of the specific content of the telegram just now, General Matsui Iwane's face was like the unpredictable weather.
He was shrouded in a deep look of despair. Then, he let out a long sigh and said.
"Tanaka-kun, judging from this telegram, our Taizhou City has reached a critical juncture of life and death... If nothing happens, the huge Taizhou City, including a field division stationed in Taizhou City and tens of thousands of Imperial Army soldiers,
Because of our misjudgment, the white jade will be shattered on the battlefield..."
Hearing the despairing tone everywhere in the commander's answer. Lieutenant General Tanaka, who knew deeply that the fate of the commander in front of him would determine the fate of the entire Central China Front, hurriedly advised.
"Your Excellency, Commander, even if Taizhou cannot be saved, there are still hundreds of thousands of imperial troops in Yangzhou, including Nanjing City, where our Central China Front Army is stationed, waiting for your command... Your Excellency, Commander, I am here to implore you to cheer up."
, continue to command the troops to fight against cunning people..."
For a time, facing the repeated comfort from the chief of staff, General Matsui Iwane, who had already been enveloped in despair, immediately fell into deep contemplation.
One minute, two minutes, just when the anxious look on Lieutenant General Tanaka's face became more and more intense, General Matsui Iwane's eyes finally showed a cunning edge. Then, a look of perseverance also appeared.
Slowly it appeared on his face.
"Tanaka-kun, what you said is very correct. Even if all the Imperial Army soldiers stationed in Taizhou City are killed, there will still be more Yellow Army soldiers waiting for me to command. Waiting for me to lead the remaining Imperial Army troops,
Avenge them..."
"Cunning man, cunning Liu Hua, the duel between us is far more than just these games. You have won the first game, the second game, including now. But I, Matsui Iwane, will not give up. I believe
, one day, the brave and fearless Imperial Army, under my command, will definitely be able to defeat you, defeat the East China Field Army, and achieve the final victory..." As he spoke, a hint of murderous intent slowly emerged in General Matsui Iwane.
on the face.
"Ha Yi, your Excellency, Commander, is wise, and I believe in this humble position. The brave Central China Front Army, under your command, Your Excellency, Commander, will definitely be able to achieve the final victory..." Lieutenant General Tanaka let out a long sigh of relief, and then, with a look on his face
Said easily.
"No, Tanaka-kun, I alone cannot defeat the cunning people. What we have to do is to work together to solve the difficulties encountered by our army and save hundreds of thousands of imperial troops from this kind of situation."
Get out of trouble..."
Although it's easy to say, when it comes to the current battle situation, whether it's the confident General Matsui Iwane or Lieutenant General Tanaka who just breathed a sigh of relief, the faces of both of them showed embarrassment at the same time.
Goddess.
Because anyone with a little military knowledge knows that in order to solve the dilemma faced by hundreds of thousands of Japanese soldiers, the first problem two people need to face is to know the trade-offs. And among these trade-offs, the most important
One of the key points is whether the Central China Front wants troops or cities...