Regarding the Third Battle of Songhu, Itagaki Seishiro had only three steps. sky
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The first step is not to enter the urban area of Shanghai and fight Xu Rui in the streets, but to push forward along the left bank of the Yangtze River, passing through Changshu, Taicang, and then to Liuhe Town, and then south from Liuhe Town to Luohe Town. Store, and then eastward from Luodian to Baoshan, this road is either in the wilderness or in a small town, or at most a county town. With its absolutely superior strength and weapons, and the assistance of aviation troops, the Japanese army will definitely be able to easily win. With such confidence, There is still Seishiro Itagaki.
Itagaki Seishiro knew that the Songhu Independent Regiment was fierce in street fighting. The previous Ninth Division was crippled in the brutal street fighting with the Songhu Independent Regiment. Itagaki Seishiro did not want to repeat the mistakes of the Ninth Division, even if it was close to The combat effectiveness of the Guards Division was far superior to that of the Ninth Division, and Itagaki Seishiro was unwilling to take this risk.
Another advantage of the main force of the Twelfth Army pushing forward along the left bank of the Yangtze River is that there is no need to worry about the safety of the supply line, because the march route is close to the Yangtze River Channel. The Twelfth Army can obtain supplies in time through the Yangtze River Channel, and Xu Rui's The Songhu Independent Regiment was unable to cut off the Yangtze River waterway.
Therefore, this first step of the plan is undoubtedly very risky.
The second step, after occupying Baoshan, is to control Wusong Fort.
Then, cooperate with the navy to clear the Wusongkou sunken ship and ensure that the warships of the Navy's Fourth Fleet and Fifth Fleet can enter the Huangpu River. This step is crucial for the Third Songhu Battle. To put it bluntly, Wusongkou Whether the sunken ship blockade can be cleared will directly determine whether the third Battle of Songhu can be won.
If the shipwreck blockade at Wusongkou cannot be cleared, even if the Twelfth Army can win the Third Battle of Songhu, it will definitely suffer a tragic victory. The Guards Division and the Seventh Division will definitely have to pay unimaginable costs. The heavy price! This is definitely not the ambition of Itagaki Seishiro to enhance other people's ambitions and destroy his own prestige.
The third and final step is that after clearing the sunken ships at Wusongkou, the warships of the Navy's Fourth Fleet and Fifth Fleet can directly enter the Huangpu River, and can provide close fire support to the Sixth Army. At this time , the Guards Division and the 7th Division can enter the urban area and engage in street fighting with Xu Rui's troops.
With the navy's gun support, Itagaki Seishiro was confident of winning this brutal street battle.
By noon that day, most of the personnel and materials of the Guards Division and the 7th Division had been ashore.
The personnel, equipment and most of the supplies of the two divisions landed ashore one after another. The next thing to decide was which division to send as the forward. Itagaki Seishiro originally paid attention to the Guards Division. The reason is self-evident. The Guards Division is not only well-trained and well-equipped, it can be said that the Guards Division plays the role of forward.
Moreover, Itagaki Seishiro was worried that if the Seventh Division was allowed to play forward, the Guards Division would definitely have objections.
However, as soon as Itagaki Seishiro expressed his thoughts, he was firmly opposed by Chief of Staff Tanaka Kuichi.
Tanaka Jiuichi said: "Your Excellency, Commander, I wonder if you have seriously summarized the gains and losses of the Second Battle of Songhu, especially why the Battle of Jiangwan failed?"
"Of course it has." Itagaki Seishiro replied, "Deputy Minister Tojo once held a special meeting to summarize the defeat. I was also honored to be invited to attend and chair the meeting. After unanimous discussion with the cabinet officials, the final conclusion was that the defeat of Jiangwan was completely It was due to the command errors of the idiot Bunzaburo Kawagishi and the fact that Xu Rui was too cunning and planted a large amount of explosives and chemical combustion aids in the houses of the town beforehand that the 20th Division was caught off guard and suffered heavy losses."
Tanaka Jiuichi shook his head and said: "Your Excellency, Commander, there is actually another very important reason!"
"There is another very important reason?" Itagaki Seishiro frowned and said, "Tanaka-kun, please tell me."
"Hai!" Tanaka said after a long pause, "The reason is that the 20th Division is too proud! They did not take their opponents seriously at all. It is because of their pride that they dare to I rashly went deep into Jiangwan Town before I knew Xu Rui’s true identity, and then I fell into a trap!”
"It seems true." Itagaki Seishiro nodded and said, "Just before the tragic defeat at Jiangwan, the 20th Division had just won a victory in Luodian, which made them even more proud. If not for this, The three infantry regiments of the 20th Division will not easily fall into the Jiangwan battlefield!"
Speaking of this, Itagaki Seishiro suddenly came to his senses.
At that moment, Itagaki Seishiro said: "Tanaka-kun, are you worried that the Guards Division will make the same mistake again?"
"Hai!" Tanaka said after a long pause, "Speaking of pride, how can the 20th Division be compared with the Guards Division? So I am not worried about the humble position. If the Commander really lets the Guards Division serve as the forward, The Guards Division will definitely make the same mistake again, and the only suspense is, will the Guards Division suffer a worse defeat than the Second Division?"
Itagaki Seishiro frowned and said, "Tanaka-kun, are you being a little too alarmist?"
"Alarmist?" Tanaka Jiuichi shook his head and said, "Your Excellency, Commander, being proud and underestimating the enemy has been a taboo for military strategists since ancient times. You must be cautious! Because you also know that we cannot afford to lose this battle! If the third If the Cisonghu Battle still cannot be won, the empire will probably have to carry out full-scale mobilization, which will inevitably affect the Far East Battle, and if the outcome of the Far East Battle changes, it will also affect the empire's national destiny!"
After a pause, Tanaka Jiuichi said again: "For the sake of the empire, no matter how cautious you are!"
"Yo!" Itagaki Seishiro was finally convinced and said, "Then let the 7th Division serve as the vanguard! If Iida-kun comes to you to ask for an explanation, just tell him that the Guards Division is a powerful sword, and Baoshan County is just a little chicken, and it won’t be able to use the powerful weapon of their Guards Division for the time being!”
"Hai." Tanaka Jiuichi paused and said, "Commander, don't worry, I will take care of it."
"Yo Xi." Itagaki Seishiro nodded and said, "Tanaka-kun, you are very good. I believe that you and I will work together happily, and the Twelfth Army will be able to win the third Battle of Songhu."
"Hai." Tanaka Jiuichi paused again.
(Dividing line)
At this time, at Zhongshan Hospital in Shanghai.
Di Gua walked into the ward carrying two paper bags of small apples. At a glance, he saw the soldier half lying on the ward. The famous social butterfly from Baptist University was holding a bowl of millet porridge and feeding him carefully. The year before Di Gua Still in Shanghai, Luo Fangjiao and He Meili were already famous three years ago, so he naturally knew them.
However, Luo Fangjiao and He Meili were known to be aloof, so it was naturally impossible for them to recognize a kid like Di Gua who worked as a waiter in an entertainment venue.
Seeing Sweet Potato coming in, the soldier's face looked a little unnatural.
As if she hadn't seen Luo Fangjiao in the ward, Digua put the two paper bags of apples on the bedside table and said, "Brother Soldier, the regimental commander and the political commissar are busy and can't come to see you in person, so I specifically entrusted me to come here. I would like to express my condolences to you, and by the way, do you have any other requests?"
"No request." The soldier shook his head repeatedly and said, "I'm fine now."
Digua glanced at Luo Fangjiao and said with a low smile, "I think so."
The soldier's face became redder and redder, and he was worried that Luo Fangjiao would not be able to show off his face, so he quickly changed the subject and said, "Diyang, have you found the remnants of the Xiaoluyuan Brigade?"
The soldiers already knew the outcome of that night's battle.
Because their Langya was unprepared and had the cooperation of the Songhu Independent Regiment, there were not many casualties. In addition to him being seriously injured, two other Langya were injured, but they were minor injuries, but the Songhu Independent Regiment However, the regiment sacrificed more than fifty veterans, which is enough to prove that the Xiaoluyuan regiment is still very strong.
If the situation were changed and the fight was fair, Langya might not be able to win with certainty.
However, during this attack, the Oluhara Brigade suffered heavy losses. A total of nine hospitals were attacked this time. There were nearly a hundred Japanese special forces who participated in the operation, but they killed more than 40 people by one of them. The team that went to attack Hong En Hospital was completely wiped out. Who made them meet the team leader
After winning the second round of confrontation with the Oluhara Brigade, Langya immediately launched a comprehensive manhunt. Even though the Oluhara Brigade was severely damaged twice, there were still forty or fifty people. So many Japanese special forces were watching. On the other hand, Xu Rui and the officers and soldiers of the Songhu Independent Regiment were not allowed to sleep peacefully at night!
So, they must be found and killed!
"Not yet, at least not yet." Digua shook his head and continued, "However, the head of the group is already stepping up the interrogation. The man we caught alive is about to lose his ability. As long as he By confessing, the whereabouts of the Oluhara Brigade will be exposed, and then it’s time to close the net.”
The soldier smacked his lips and said regretfully: "What a pity, I can't participate in closing the net."
"Why are you in such a hurry? Are you afraid that you won't be able to fight after your injuries are healed?" Digua said with a smile, "As for now, you should enjoy your life in the hospital to the fullest, haha."
After saying that, Digua glanced at Luo Fangjiao, then stood up and left.
Luo Fangjiao curled her lips and ignored the sweet potato, but Dabing's old face turned even redder.
After the sweet potatoes had gone away, Luo Fangjiao said again: "Brother Bing, let's eat some more millet porridge."
"I won't eat it." The soldier shook his head and said with a bitter face, "It's too sweet."
"Isn't dessert good?" Luo Fangjiao looked at the soldier lovingly.
"Ah? Well, eh." The soldier didn't know how to answer this question.
When Luo Fangjiao saw this, she couldn't help but burst into laughter, then grabbed an apple from the paper bag of apples that Sweet Potato had just delivered, and said to the soldier with a smile: "Then let me peel an apple for you."
Now Da Bing was embarrassed to refuse, so he nodded lightly.
However, the soldier's thoughts have already flown back to Langya.