After Aoki Shigesei finished reciting Yamashita Eiji's farewell telegram, he felt a chill coming from the soles of his feet and going straight to his head. After listening to it, Itagaki Seishiro next to him was also dumbfounded and in disbelief.
Just now, Aoki Shigemako had vowed that it would be more than enough for the Ninth Division to hold on for more than half a month. As a result, as soon as he finished speaking, the temporary headquarters of the Ninth Division was destroyed, and even the acting division commander Jingshu
Xuan Shi also died in pieces and died for his country. This result was completely beyond their expectations.
However, the matter does not end here, there is still a sequel.
What's even worse is the chain reaction that will be triggered after the destruction of the 9th Division's temporary headquarters.
First of all, the remaining three infantry regiments of the Ninth Division and the two infantry brigades of the Navy will lose unified command and will soon fall into the dilemma of fighting independently.
Secondly, with the destruction of the 19th Infantry Regiment and the destruction of the temporary headquarters of the 9th Division, the main force of the patrol battalion will be able to drive straight in along the Supervisory Road, leaving three infantrymen of the 9th Division behind.
The regiment and the two infantry brigades of the Navy launched a fierce attack. The remnants of the 9th Division were attacked from both sides and lost unified command. The results can be imagined!
Although they have not yet received emergency telegrams from the 7th, 35th and 36th infantry regiments, Itan Seishiro and Aoki Shigemako can fully imagine that it will not be long before these three infantry regiments and the navy
The two infantry brigades should send a request for reinforcements to the headquarters of the Twelfth Army.
Now, the only hope of Itagaki Seishiro and Aoki Shigesei is that the remnants of the 9th Division can resolutely withstand the most difficult three days, so that the patrol battalion will not get enough rest and adjustment.
time, the 20th Division can join the battle immediately after arriving in Shanghai.
But soon, the two old devils' hopes were dashed like soap bubbles.
Itagaki Seishiro and Aoki Shigesei were worried about the fate of the remaining three infantry regiments of the Ninth Division and the two navy infantry groups, and as a result, three more communications staff officers filed in.
"Your Excellency, Commander, Second Lieutenant Kawashima of the First Independent Infantry Battalion of the Navy bid farewell!"
"Your Excellency, Commander, the 7th Infantry Regiment is calling urgently, requesting urgent tactical guidance!"
"Your Excellency, Commander, Second Lieutenant Kono, communications staff officer of the 35th Infantry Regiment, sent a farewell telegram!"
"Your Excellency, Commander, Captain Wakisaka Osaka of the 36th Infantry Regiment sent an urgent message: When our regiment was engaged in a fierce battle with one part of the patrol battalion on the Henan Road battlefield, we were suddenly attacked from behind by another part of the patrol battalion. Due to the
The incident happened suddenly. After a long battle, the officers and soldiers of our regiment were exhausted and unable to fight hard. We had no choice but to abandon the position on Henan Road and transfer to the North Railway Station!"
The four signal soldiers finished their reports one after another. Itagaki Seishiro staggered and slumped down on his chair.
"It's over, it's over, it's all over." Seishiro Itagaki sighed grandly, "The Ninth Division is over."
Aoki Shigemai was also stunned. He couldn't come to his senses for a long time. He couldn't imagine how this battle was fought. The Ninth Division had a small number of 20,000 officers and soldiers. Even if the non-combatants were excluded, how could it really be fought?
There are at least more than 12,000 infantrymen in the war, and their strength is even greater than that of the patrol battalion!
Not only that, the Ninth Division also set up a turtle shell formation with Kunshan Garden and the surrounding four streets as the core. This turtle shell formation can be said to be extremely strong. Aoki Shigemako said that unless there are more than three times the number of troops, and
You also need to have heavy artillery to be able to crack open this turtle shell array in a short time!
However, the patrol battalion had neither a strength advantage nor heavy artillery, but it actually cracked open this turtle shell overnight! This completely subverted Aoki Shigemao's understanding of war! Aoki Shigemai suddenly felt that he was studying at Army University.
The military theoretical knowledge I learned is all bullshit and is not trustworthy at all!
How else to explain the destruction of the Ninth Division in a short period of time?
For a moment, Aoki Shigemai even began to doubt his life.
After a long while, Aoki Shigesei finally recovered from the huge shock, and then said to Itagaki Seishiro: "Your Excellency, Commander, Isho-kun died in pieces for his country, and most of the ninth division was wiped out, leaving only Wakiita.
The remnants of the brigade retreated to the North Railway Station, and I thought they might not be able to hold on for long."
"I'm afraid?" Itagaki Seishiro sighed, "It's not that I'm afraid, but it's for sure!"
I didn’t even think about it, but my opponent this time was Xu Rui. Xu Rui never left any room for others. Even the turtle shell array laid out by the Ninth Division was smashed by Xu Rui. The 36th Infantry Regiment
With only a few remnants left to defend the station, how could the hastily constructed fortifications be able to withstand the patrol battalion's attack?
"Hai." Aoki Shigesei paused heavily and said, "After the collective defeat of the Ninth Division, there were no organized imperial troops around Shanghai. There were only a small number of military police units stationed in Baoshan, Qingpu, Songjiang and other counties.
These military police units are definitely not enough to withstand the patrol battalion."
What Shigemao Aoki said is true.
Originally, the Ninth Division was more than enough to serve as a security force for Shanghai and surrounding counties. If the Ninth Division had not suffered repeated heavy losses and its combat effectiveness had seriously declined, Itagaki Seishiro would not have even been able to leave a division in Shanghai. At most,
Just keep a mixed tour group, because no matter from every angle, Shanghai is very safe.
However, no one expected that the Communist Party would actually transfer Xu Rui to Shanghai.
Moreover, no one thought that Xu Rui was not only powerful in mountain guerrilla warfare, but also in urban guerrilla warfare. Within a few months of arriving in Shanghai, he stirred up the entire Shanghai beach, and finally set a huge trap to destroy the Japanese navy.
The Third Fleet was installed in it.
Now, they are taking advantage of the victory to pursue and annihilate the entire Ninth Division!
Xu Rui is so difficult to deal with, and the patrol battalions are so powerful. How can the gendarmerie from the counties around Shanghai be their opponent? Not surprisingly, Xu Rui will definitely send a small force to attack Baoshan around Shanghai.
Counties, if troops are not urgently mobilized from Suzhou and other places for reinforcements, the surrounding counties will definitely fall.
But the problem is, the strength of the Twelfth Army is very tight now. Where can we mobilize troops?
Aoki Shigemai could think of this, and Itagaki Seishiro could naturally think of it. He sighed and said: "Aoki-kun, there is no other way now, but to give up on the counties around Shanghai, but the bottom line is Taicang, Kunshan
, the line between Jiashan and Pinghu, Xu Rui’s forces cannot be allowed to cross this line under any circumstances.”
Aoki Shigemao said: "In this case, we must urgently transfer the 104th Division to Suzhou, and then transfer part of the 18th Division from Hangzhou back to Jiaxing. Otherwise, I'm afraid I won't be able to stop the patrol battalion.
."
Itagaki Seishiro nodded and said: "Let's do it this way. Fortunately, the pressure on Dameishan has been reduced, and the National Army's third theater has done nothing, so even if the 104th Division is transferred to
Suzhou, if part of the 18th Division is transferred back to Jiaxing from Hangzhou, nothing will go wrong."
Aoki Shigemagi gave a heavy nod, turned around and left.
Watching Aoki Shigemai leave, Itagaki Seishiro turned to his adjutant Togo Kota and said: "Togo-kun, please immediately draft a telegram to the base camp and report the results of the Shanghai Battle truthfully."
"Hai." Dongxiang Haotai nodded and followed the order.
(Dividing line)
Meanwhile, in Tokyo.
Xianyuan Gong Zairen was woken up from his sleep by the sound of voices outside. Xianyuan Gong Zairen is already in his seventies. He sleeps very lightly at night and will be awakened by the slightest sound.
When Yuan Gong Zai Ren woke up from his sleep, he faintly heard his attendant adjutant talking to someone, and the voice sounded familiar.
Just as Xianyuan Gong Zairen was about to wonder who this person was, there was a gentle knock on the door outside.
"Your Highness, Your Highness!" the adjutant's voice sounded softly, "Your Majesty Tojo, please see me."
"Tojo? Tojo Hideki!" Kanin Gongzaihito immediately remembered that the voice just now was Tojo Hideki's voice? But the next moment, Kaninmiya Zaihito's mood immediately became heavy, as
The Under-Secretary of the Army, Tojo Hideki, is very busy with official duties. If it weren't for an extremely urgent matter, I'm afraid it would be impossible for him to come to see him overnight.
An urgent matter? What happened? Did something happen on the battlefield in the Far East?!
Thinking of this, Xianyuan Gong Zairen suddenly felt a chill in his heart and responded: "I'll be here right away!"
After a while, Kanin Miya Zaijin came to the small living room in his pajamas. Tojo Hideki, who had been waiting for a while, quickly stood up, nodded, and saluted Kanin Miyazai: "Your Highness!"
Kanin Gong Zaijin waved his hand and said, "Tojo-kun, what happened?"
"Something did happen, and it was a big deal!" Tojo Hideki didn't hide anything. He directly told the story about Isho Nobu Tokitama being shattered and the main force of the Ninth Division being completely wiped out.
"Nani?" Xianyuan Gong Zairen heard this and was immediately stunned.
How do you say this? Yesterday, the staff of the Army Department swore that the Ninth Division could hold on for half a month, but in the end, the patrol battalion was wiped out in less than one night?! What is this thing?!
Tojo Hideki sighed and said, "Your Highness, I don't even know how to tell Your Majesty this matter."
"No, this matter must not be told to Your Majesty!" Xianyuan Gong Zairen was startled when he heard this and said sternly.
In the past two days, Hirohito received bad news from Shanghai continuously. He was vomiting blood and fainting. The imperial doctor said that he even had mental problems. If Hirohito knew about the annihilation of the Ninth Division, what would happen to him?
Is that okay? If Hirohito gets angry, the consequences will be unimaginable.
"My humble position also thinks so, so I came here at night to ask for an audience with His Majesty the Prince." Tojo Hideki said with a sad face, "But such a big matter cannot be kept hidden from His Majesty forever. What do you think we should do?"
Kanin Miya Zaijin was immediately speechless, because what Tojo Hideki said made sense.
