Shunroku Hata has been in a difficult mood recently. The royal family has made no secret of its dissatisfaction with him. His Majesty the Emperor has expressed his disappointment with the Central China Condemnation Army several times in public. What are you disappointed about? We are disappointed that the Central China Condemnation Army has not been ended yet.
During the Battle of Wuhan, I was even more disappointed with the poor performance of the condemnation troops sent by Central China on the Dameishan battlefield.
Thinking of the Daimeishan battlefield, Shunroku Hata got very angry.
Originally, according to Hata Shunroku's plan, it would not have been appropriate to launch an offensive against the Dameishan Regiment at this time. Instead, we should have concentrated our forces to defend the Feiwu Highway and the Feibeng Highway to ensure the Second Army's logistics supply line, which would mean victory, and then wait for the Battle of Wuhan.
After that, we will go back to deal with the Dameishan Regiment. By that time, the Central China Condemnation Army will be able to devote at least three divisions to mopping up the Dameishan Regiment. In this case, even if Xu Rui has the ability to penetrate the sky and the earth, he will have to
Defeat is certain.
It's a pity that Dong Jiu'er Nianyan, an ignorant royal idiot, insisted on taking the 10th Division, which was originally used on the Wuhan battlefield, to Dameishan. He insisted on using the power of a division to challenge Xu Rui. Xu Rui
Is Rui so easy to deal with? At first, Xu Rui only had more than a thousand people, and he was able to annihilate nearly ten thousand people in the Kawakou detachment. Now the Dameishan regiment is said to have expanded to nearly ten thousand people. Even if the tenth division is a permanent division,
It is also hard to say that victory is inevitable.
Thinking of what was bothering him, Shunroku Hata bent over again and started coughing violently.
Hebian Zhengzo happened to come to report something, so he opened the door and came in and said: "Your Majesty, General, why don't you go and take a rest?"
Since malaria spread wildly on the battlefields in Jiangxi and Hunan, the non-combat attrition of Neiji Okamura's Eleventh Army began to increase sharply. At the beginning, the number of sick people per day was only a few dozen, but now, every day,
The number of sick people has increased sharply to nearly a thousand. In less than half a month, the Eleventh Army has lost nearly 10,000 people!
The military doctors accompanying the Eleventh Army tried their best, but still could not alleviate the situation.
So much so that the always competitive Okamura Neiji called and lamented that before the weather turned cooler, the Eleventh Army had no spare power to launch an attack on the National Army from the battlefield south of the Yangtze River. By now, the battlefield south of the Yangtze River had already
It is completely stuck in a stalemate, with no breakthrough possible at least before September.
Therefore, Shunroku Hata could only pin his hopes of breaking the situation on the Second Army.
Compared with the Eleventh Army, the strength of the Second Army was originally relatively weak. It was initially considered that the northern foothills of the Dabie Mountains were not conducive to the movement of the army, and it was only responsible for flank containment, so it only allocated three divisions. Now the most elite
The Tenth Division asked Dong Jiu'er Nianyan to be brought to the battlefield of Damei Mountain, and only two divisions were left in the battlefield at the northern foot of Dabie Mountain.
Moreover, these two divisions are still newly formed ad hoc divisions, and their combat effectiveness is lagging behind the seventeen permanent divisions. The result is also the same. After the 15th and 16th divisions entered the battle, except for the initial
The advance was relatively smooth, but after three days, the advance began to slow down, and now it is difficult to move even an inch.
Because of the Jiangbei battlefield, Shunroku Hata has not slept for three days.
After three days of suffering, Shunroku Hata's face was already full of exhaustion, and his eyes were even more bloodshot. To make matters worse, even his lung disease was getting worse.
Kawabe Shozo was very worried and advised: "Your Excellency, General, why don't you take a rest?"
"I have nothing to do." Shunroku Hata waved his hand and said, "Huo Shan, there is still no progress in the direction of the mall?"
After the 15th Division arrived at Feicheng, it only rested for half a day before it immediately sent its troops westward and launched an attack on Lu'an. It captured Lu'an that evening. The National Army retreated towards Huoshan and Jinzhai. The 15th Division immediately
The troops were divided into two groups and pursued in the direction of Huoshan and Jinzhai respectively. However, in Jinzhai, Huoshan encountered strong resistance.
After the 16th Division arrived at the battlefield, it immediately invested in the direction of Jinzhai. The Kuomintang troops in the Jinzhai direction were unable to fight, so they retreated to Shangcheng County. However, when the 16th Division continued to attack Shangcheng, they were attacked by the Kuomintang.
Despite the stubborn resistance of the Japanese army, the two armies fought bloody battles in Shangcheng County for several days, both suffering heavy casualties. The Japanese army could not advance even an inch.
Faced with Hata Shunroku's inquiry, Kawabe Shozo shook his head and said: "Sun Lianzhong's Third Corps is very brave. The 15th Division and the 16th Regiment have made no progress in Huoshan and Shangcheng. From the current point of view, it is necessary to
It will be very difficult to break the situation, so I suggested that the Ninth and Thirteenth Divisions, which were resting in the Bengbu area, be put into the attack."
"Well, the Ninth and Thirteenth Divisions have been resting in Huainan and Bengbu for a while, and it's time to rejoin the battle." Shunroku Hata nodded and continued, "But, Hebian Sang, what do you think?
Should the two divisions continue to invest in the mall battlefield, or should they simply take a detour deeper and further away?"
"Go deeper and further in a roundabout way?" Hebian Zhengsan said, "What do you mean, General?"
Shunroku Hata picked up the wooden pole, drew a large arc on the map, and said in a deep voice: "From Huoqiu, Gushi goes straight to Xinyang, cutting off the passage between Wuhan and Guanzhong. In this way, those who stay in Wuhan and those who are fighting on the front line
The morale of the National Army will inevitably be shaken, and the Imperial Army on the northern and southern battlefields will be able to break the situation."
Kawabe Shozo said: "Your Excellency, the general, has great foresight, and I admire him for his humble position."
Shunroku Hata waved his hand and added: "However, after the departure of the Ninth and Thirteenth Divisions, there is only one Sixth Division left in the entire Anhui Province. Isn't it too weak?"
Hebeian Zhengzo said: "At present, the National Army in central Anhui has been completely defeated. Only four detachments of the New Fourth Army and the Dameishan Regiment are still operating in central Anhui. Now Xu Rui's Dameishan Regiment is facing a sweep by the 10th Division.
We have too much time to take care of ourselves and are unable to come out to cause damage, so the Sixth Division only needs to face the harassment from the four detachments of the New Fourth Army, and it can still handle it."
Shunroku Hata frowned and said, "Speaking of the Tenth Division, how are they doing there?"
"The details are not very clear, and His Highness the Prince rarely reports their movements to the Condemn Forces Headquarters." Kawabe Shozo smiled bitterly and continued, "However, two days ago, Machijiri Aki sent back a telegram saying that
It was His Highness the Prince who designed a combat plan codenamed 'Virtual Reality', which should have been implemented by now."
"False or true?" Shunroku Hata smiled coldly when he heard this. Do you think that the royal prodigal Higashikawa Nianhiko wants to compare himself to Cao Cao, a famous military strategist in the Three Kingdoms period? Then he asked, "Sang by the river, what is this like?
A battle plan?”
Hebian Zhengsan picked up the important points and said: "In short, this is a double insurance plan. If the regiment retreats to Meizhen and the fortress, the 10th Division in the direction of the black wind outlet can take advantage of the opportunity. If the regiment insists on defending the black
If the wind blows, His Highness the Prince's side will most likely take advantage of the opportunity to capture Shaqiao Gang, and Meizhen will no longer be protected."
"Double insurance?" Hata Junroku said, "I'm afraid that both ends will be lost."
"Both ends are in vain?" Kawabe Shozo said, "General, this is not possible, is it?"
"Why not?" Shunroku Hata said coldly, "They underestimated Xu Rui. If Xu Rui was so easy to deal with, how could the Kawaguchi detachment be collectively destroyed? If Xu Rui was so easy to deal with, then the Sixth Division
How could Feicheng be unable to capture Feicheng, but instead suffer heavy losses from the regiment? If Xu Rui is so easy to deal with, how can Central China's condemnation army change its commander three times? Shan Shanyuan even ended up committing seppuku."
Zhengsan by the river was awestruck when he heard this.
Hata Shunroku continued: "It's not that I have to grow up others' ambitions and destroy my own prestige. Xu Rui's cunning and fierceness are beyond compare among the generals of the empire! Your Highness is trying to take risks in front of him, but he is just a master of tricks. Just look at it.
Come on, your highness will suffer a lot this time! Maybe the 10th Division will be in danger!"
Before Hata Shunroku finished speaking, a communications staff officer walked in.
"Your Excellency, General." The communications staff officer handed over the folder with the telegram and said, "Urgent telegram from the Pucheng Stay Office of the Second Army Headquarters!"
Kawabe Masami took the folder and waved to the communications staff officer to step back.
The communications staff officer bowed his head and exited. Kawabe Masami opened the folder and took out the telegram.
However, after just one glance, Kawabe Shozo's expression immediately changed and he said, "Your Excellency, something happened!"
"Something happened?" Hata Shunroku's heart skipped a beat and he asked urgently, "Hebian Sang, what happened?"
Kawabe Shozo took a deep breath, tried his best to calm down, and said: "The Second Army's detention center in Pucheng said that yesterday, His Royal Highness personally led the First Infantry Brigade of the 39th Infantry Regiment to the front line.
Tian contacted Team Abe's Takashi, but then lost contact at 2 o'clock this afternoon, and we have not been able to contact them until now."
"What did I say? What did I just say?" Shunroku Hata immediately shouted, "I haven't even finished speaking. Something happened over there, and it was a big deal!"
However, Kawabe Shozo still had a trace of luck in his heart and said: "Your Excellency, General, Your Highness the Prince may have deliberately silenced the radio in order to keep it secret."
"Radio silence?" Shunroku Hata said coldly, "The Daimeishan regiment does not have a radio signal detector, so why should he make wireless silence? Sang by the river, don't take chances anymore, hurry up and find out if there is another one nearby.
The troops can rush to Xiantian in time to rescue His Royal Highness intact as soon as possible."
Although he was very dissatisfied with Higashikaru Nakihiko in his heart, Shunroku Hata could not just ignore him.
If Dong Jiuyou were to follow in the footsteps of his brother Fushimi Gong Junyan and die at the hands of Xu Rui, His Majesty the Emperor would hate him to the very core. I am afraid that he, the commander-in-chief of the sect's condemnation army, would be done with him, even if he was not as good as someone like him.
Like Sugimoto, he had to use samurai methods to preserve his honor, but like Matsui Iwane, there was no doubt that he retired sadly.
Hebian Zhengzo said: "Your Excellency, General, a line of sky is hidden deep in Damei Mountain. Reinforcements are sent from other directions. I am afraid that the water from far away cannot quench the thirst of the people nearby. Why not let the 10th Division send troops to respond?"
"The Tenth Division?" Shunroku Hata said coldly, "The Tenth Division is probably too busy to take care of itself now. How can it still have the ability to send troops to rescue His Highness?"
