But to be honest, Xu Rui really never thought about deceiving Chairman Chiang.
Xu Rui is really trying to trick Hideki Tojo into fishing for this big fish!
In order to deceive Hideki Tojo as much as possible, Xu Rui transferred six of the eight main battalions of the Songhu Military Division to the front line of Jiangwan Town, then surrounded the entire Jiangwan Town, and immediately launched a fierce attack.
After a fierce battle until dawn, the outskirts of Jiangwan Town were lost as expected. They were lost.
The Nakamura Agency Military Police, the remnants of No. 76, and the remnants of Broadway Building were forced to retreat to the airport. The military airport in Jiangwan Town was converted from a racecourse. The racecourse has a unique structure, similar to the large stadiums of later generations. , surrounded by stands with reinforced concrete structures, which can serve as ready-made defenses.
After the Little Devils transformed the Jiangwan racecourse into a military airport, they only demolished part of the stands on the west side, leaving the stands in the other three directions intact, so they can be used as complete defenses. It is precisely with the help of the stands around the racecourse that Coupled with an infantry brigade that was urgently airlifted, the Japanese barely managed to hold on to Jiangwan Airport.
Of course, it must be noted that the Songhu Military Division did not attack desperately!
If the Songhu Military Division really risked their lives to attack, the Japs would not be able to defend it no matter what. However, it was obviously impossible for Xu Rui to do this. He also pointed to using Jiangwan Airport as bait to catch Hideki Tojo. This time Whether the 20th Division can swallow up the little Japs in one go depends entirely on the old Japs Tojo Hideki.
Xu Rui never thought about taking Jiangwan Airport in one go, but he always kept pressure on the Japanese defenders, forcing the defenders to transfer this pressure to the Japanese 12th Army, and eventually to Tojo Hideki. Naturally, the Nakamura agency would not disappoint Xu Rui. It sent a rescue telegram almost every half hour, repeatedly reporting to the 12th Army Headquarters.
Bunzaburo Kawagishi, who had just arrived, would naturally not be as shameless as Shun Nakamura, but he also sent several emergency telegrams to Hideki Tojo overnight, saying bluntly that Jiangwan Airport was in danger. Bunzaburo Kawagishi was also taking precautions. Needless to say, if Jiangwan Airport really fell, even the Japanese base camp wouldn't be able to hit him.
The situation is so tense, and Tojo Hideki is also feeling very uneasy at the moment.
By dismissing Itagaki Seishiro, Tojo Hideki has established a very high prestige in the Army system. No matter what, Itagaki Seishiro is still very prestigious in the Army system, but now Tojo Hideki But he trampled Itagaki Seishiro under his feet. It is no exaggeration to say that Tojo Hideki is now the de facto Minister of the Army!
Even Ishihara Kanji, who had always looked down on Hideki Tojo, now had to consider the consequences of offending Hideki Tojo.
However, everything that has advantages must have disadvantages. It is satisfying to overthrow Seishiro Itagaki, the courage of the Japanese army, but in this way, Tojo Hideki has also pushed himself to the forefront. Now, whether it is the Japanese army base camp or There were countless pairs of eyes on the front line and even the Japanese royal family staring at him, just waiting to see his jokes.
In the second Battle of Songhu that will follow, if the Twelfth Army wins, Tojo Hideki will certainly win a lot. Those who believe in Itagaki Seishiro and doubt him will keep their mouths shut. , but if this battle is lost, Tojo Hideki will be in trouble. Not only will he not be able to become the deputy commander of the 6th Army, he may also be ordered to retire from active service!
Because the first Battle of Songhu was not fought well, wasn't Matsui Iwane ordered to retire from active service
Therefore, the pressure on Tojo Hideki is very high now, especially when he heard some gossip that after Itagaki Seishiro was dismissed, he once told Chief of Staff Shigemako Aoki that Tojo Hideki was no match for Xu Rui. , this time the 20th Division is transferred to Shanghai alone, it will definitely end in a disastrous defeat!
In fact, this was not said by Itagaki Seishiro himself, but someone else said it through his mouth. However, Tojo Hideki believed it to be true, so Tojo Hideki held a breath in his heart.
This leaves Hideki Tojo with no way out!
Now, Tojo Hideki can only go all the way to the dark side!
No matter what, we must win the Second Battle of Songhu!
Putting down the telegram, Hideki Tojo turned to his adjutant and said: "Immediately call the Twelfth Army Headquarters and tell Mr. Kawagishi that you must keep the strategic fulcrum of Jiangwan no matter what! I don't care what method he uses or how much the price is. In short, Jiangwan Airport must be defended, and the 20th Division must immediately seize the beach from Lion Forest!"
The adjutant said: "Your Excellency, the number of rubber boats prepared by the Navy is insufficient..."
"If we don't have kayaks, why don't we seize the beach and board the beach?" Hideki Tojo immediately interrupted the adjutant arrogantly and said, "Call to the 20th Division to seize the beach forcibly immediately. It's already May. The sea water is no longer cold, and the cold will not kill anyone. Time, what we lack most now is time, do you understand?"
"Hai, I understand my humble position!"
The adjutant could only pause.
(Dividing line)
Tojo Hideki's order was issued quickly.
At this time, dozens of merchant ships, transport ships and warships of the Japanese Navy had already arrived on the river near Lion Forest. However, because it was the low tide in the early morning, a large swath of tidal flats was exposed on the river, and the boarding boats were of no use. You can only board the 6 through small rubber boats, and there are not many kayaks, so the efficiency is very low.
According to the estimate of Uchida Ginnosuke, chief of staff of the 20th Division, at such an altitude of 6 degrees, it would take at least until the evening to transport the two infantry regiments ashore, and this would only transport personnel ashore, not including technical equipment! But thankfully, when the sea tide rises in the evening, the boarding boat can come in handy, and the boarding efficiency will be improved.
But Tojo Hideki could not wait until evening, and the Jiangwan defenders could not wait for evening even more.
Tojo Hideki's order came quickly, and then, more than 20,000 Japanese soldiers who were resting in the cabin rushed to the decks of merchant ships, transport ships and warships. Then, rope ladders were opened from the opposite side of the river bank. The side of the ship was lowered, and then the heavily armed Japanese soldiers descended down the rope ladder into the cold seawater like dumplings.
The little devil's military discipline is really not something to be boasted about. He dared to jump into the sea after giving an order!
Of course, little devils don't just jump into the sea stupidly, they are still prepared. Little devils with good water skills choose to swim directly. Those who can't swim or are not good at water skills will mostly tie a few empty pots to their bodies. , with the help of the buoyancy of the empty kettle, we can get ashore safely. Fortunately, the anchorage of the ship is not far from the riverside.
After swimming for more than a hundred meters in the cold river water, my feet landed on the tidal flats beside the river.
However, the next journey will not be easy, because it is not easy to cross the knee-deep tidal flats. It only took the little devil three to five minutes to swim across the more than 100 meters of river surface, but crossing the riverside tidal flats took It took nearly half an hour, but even so, the first infantry group of the 20th Division landed two hours earlier than expected.
After landing ashore, the infantry brigade of the 20th Division immediately launched an attack formation and headed straight for Liuhe!
At this time, Liuhe Town and Taicang County to the west were still under the control of Little Japan, but Baoshan County and Jiading County to the south had all been lost.
After entering Liuhe Town, the vanguard brigade of the 20th Division did not move forward, but stopped on the spot, preparing to wait for the subsequent large forces to arrive before moving forward. No matter how crazy the little devil is, he will never be crazy. It was thought that only one infantry brigade could penetrate the urban area of Shanghai.
(Dividing line)
At the same time, a large net targeting the Japanese 20th Division was slowly opening.
In compliance with Li Xiaoxia's request, Bi Xiancheng has mobilized all the officers and soldiers of the artillery battalion and bought out all the stocks of dozens of foreign companies engaged in fertilizer sales in the Shanghai Concession. Due to the war, farmers around Shanghai fled in large numbers, which resulted in various foreign companies in Shanghai. The fertilizers were seriously unsalable, so Paoying spent less than a quarter of the usual money to buy almost all the fertilizers in Shanghai, and the fertilizers at this time were mainly ammonium nitrate.
Li Xiaoxia doesn't even need to process it at all. He only needs to sprinkle the nitric acid on the ground to become a powerful combustion accelerant. Even without explosives, the dozens of tons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer purchased by the artillery battalion alone are enough. It can burn the entire Jiangwan Town into a sea of fire. After all, most of the buildings in Jiangwan Town are shacks with wooden structures.
However, Li Xiaoxia still strictly followed Wang Husheng's order and carefully designed the deflagration plan in Jiangwan Town, including the hidden burial of each section of explosives, the layout of each fuse, and the pouring of each kilogram of ammonium nitrate, all of which had to be calculated repeatedly. , make sure there are no mistakes, make sure that with just one press of a button, the entire Jiangwan will turn into a sea of fire!
Fortunately, at this time, the entire Jiangwan Town has completely fallen under the control of the Songhu Military Division, so Li Xiaoxia can take the officers and soldiers of the artillery battalion to calmly calculate and arrange. Anyway, Li Xiaoxia has already estimated that it will be late in the evening at the latest. , all explosives and all ammonium nitrate can be placed in place.
At this moment, Li Xiaoxia was busy with the officers and soldiers of the artillery camp.
"Hey, you guys, bury these bags of fertilizer here!"
"Fuck, put out the fire, who told you to smoke? You want to die!"
"This thing is so easy to use, it can burn you to the point where no bones are left!"
"Yes, put the fertilizer here, and cover it with a layer of dust. It should be thick enough. In this way, due to the lack of oxygen, even if it is hit by a bullet, it will not burn. But when the explosive buried in it is detonated, the fertilizer will be exploded. After flying, it will be exposed in the air, and only a few sparks can cause violent combustion."
"Hey, why am I telling you this? You don't understand."
"You guys, bury the lead deeper, don't let it blow up!"
"We need to lay out a double line. If one line is blown up, there will still be a second line!"
Under Li Xiaoxia's planning and weaving, a large network is slowly taking shape.