Liu Mei said: "These are only serious damages that cannot be repaired. There are even more minor damages!"
"Really?" Wang Husheng said, "Then tell me how many were slightly damaged?"
Liu Mei said: "Didn't the regiment commander purchase enough light weapons to arm three divisions from the United States? Let's put it this way, now there are only two divisions of weapons and equipment left."
"What are you talking about?" Wang Husheng lost his voice, "Destroyed a division's weapons and equipment? Damn it!"
At this time, even Wang Husheng was so angry that he was swearing. Compared with the loss of personnel, veteran revolutionaries like Wang Husheng were more sensitive to the loss of weapons and equipment, because during the Great Revolution, the Red Army suffered enough from insufficient weapons and equipment. It is absolutely unimaginable to destroy a division's equipment in one battle.
Wang Husheng was an old revolutionary. He used to fight guerrilla warfare in mountainous areas. In guerrilla warfare, a gun could only fire three or five shots at most. The next step was to charge, so guns were rarely damaged in battles, but in large-scale guerrilla warfare, In urban warfare and positional warfare, the damage rate of weapons and equipment is very high.
To give the simplest example, when fighting guerrilla warfare, it is rare for the barrel of a machine gun to become hot. However, in large-scale urban warfare and positional warfare, it is often the case that the barrel of a machine gun becomes red or even explodes. , because the enemy's charge did not stop, the machine gun fire did not dare to stop, and could only keep firing until it was disabled.
In large-scale urban street battles such as the Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Leningrad, the damage rate of weapons and equipment is even more alarming. Only countries with strong heavy industry foundations like Germany and the Soviet Union can support it. Otherwise, both Even if it were a small Japan, it would definitely not last long.
The Battle of the Far East was due to the terrain. If it weren't for the fact that the battlefield was too far away from Europe and the capacity of the Trans-Siberian Railway was too low, the Soviet Union would have smashed Ishihara Kanji's northbound cluster even with planes and tanks. Japan's heavy industry foundation is slightly stronger than China's, but compared with the Soviet Union, it is simply scum.
Let's get back to the business. I heard that a division's weapons and equipment were destroyed in one battle. Wang Husheng was so distressed that he cursed. No wonder Xu Rui had to self-examine just now. If such a large-scale position battle were to happen twice more, their Songhu Independent Regiment would directly You can only fight the Japanese with fire sticks, or you can only fight with captured Japanese weapons and equipment.
If this is the case, holding on to Shanghai for five years is simply wishful thinking.
As a result, Wang Husheng became even more worried about the upcoming Fourth Battle of Songhu. Lao Xu said that in the Fourth Battle of Songhu, the Japanese would invest more troops and attack with greater intensity. If this is true, , How many weapons and ammunition did their Songhu Independent Regiment consume? If consumption continues at this rate, can it really last five years
(Dividing line)
Almost at the same time, Dong Jiurenianyan was also calculating the Japanese army's ammunition reserves.
The ammunition prepared by the base camp for the Third Songhu Battle has been wiped out with the Twelfth Army Headquarters. Therefore, to launch the Fourth Songhu Battle, another batch of ammunition must be prepared, and the quantity must not be less, at least to ensure Five divisions are needed for two months of operations. Yes, five divisions are the limit calculated by Higashikata Nakihiko.
If there were less than five divisions, he would never launch the Fourth Battle of Songhu.
However, troop strength is not a problem. Currently, the number of field divisions belonging to the Central China Dispatch Army's battle sequence has reached a record high of fifteen, especially the 3rd, 13th, and 16th divisions that have just participated in the Battle of Suizao. The regiment and the 2nd and 4th Cavalry Brigades are currently resting in Nanjing and will be able to fight again in half a month at most.
What's more, there is also the newly formed Second Guards Division, which will definitely come to join the battle.
Therefore, in terms of military strength, it would be almost enough to transfer Okabe Naosaburo's Sixth Division to the Songhu battlefield.
However, a war is not just about the number of troops, but also about logistical support. You cannot fight a war without ammunition!
Dong Jiurenyan carefully calculated the ammunition inventory of the Central China Condemnation Army and found that even with the ammunition reserves saved in the Suizao Battle, he could now collect the ammunition needed to supply five divisions for half a month. This means that unless Central China sends troops to capture Shanghai within half a month, they will be in a desperate situation of running out of ammunition and food.
At that moment, Higashikata asked Chief of Staff Takazo Numata: "Numata-kun, do you think the five divisions can take Shanghai within half a month?"
"I'm afraid not." Numata Takazo shook his head and said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, this is a city attack, and it cannot be done with more soldiers. The urban area of Shanghai is so big, and at most two divisions can be deployed at a time. , even if we mobilize a heavy force group with twenty divisions, only two divisions can fight head-on with the Songhu Independent Regiment at a time."
Dongjiu Nianyan actually knew this answer a long time ago, he just hoped that one more person could convince him.
"Then there's nothing you can do." Dong Jiu'er said, "You call the base camp immediately and ask them to urgently deliver a sufficient amount of ammunition. Otherwise, let them ask other generals to command the Fourth Battle of Songhu. , anyway, I have no confidence in winning, so I won’t waste the empire’s precious war resources.”
Only Higashi Hideki dared to say this, because he was a member of the royal family and was not afraid of Hideki Tojo's fall.
If it were anyone else, with Hideki Tojo's character, he would have transferred you back to Japan in a matter of minutes, then sent you to a nook and cranny to retire, or even retired you directly.
(Dividing line)
In less than half an hour, Azumaru's telegram was placed on Juichi Terauchi's desk.
After receiving the telegram, Terauchi Juichi immediately called Tojo Hideki to his office.
"Tojo-kun, this is the telegram that His Highness Higashikata just sent back. What do you think we should do?" Juichi Terauchi pushed the telegram from the table to Hideki Tojo.
Tojo Hideki reached out and picked up the telegram, and immediately frowned after reading it.
Terauchi Shouichi said: "If it doesn't work, use part of the ammunition reserves prepared for the Far East Battle to deal with the Fourth Battle of Songhu first."
"I'm afraid this won't work." Tojo Hideki said, "The Far East Campaign is related to the fate of the empire. This batch of weapons and ammunition must be transported to Manchuria as scheduled, and then transported to the Chita War. Otherwise, if something goes wrong in Ishihara-kun's northbound group, the empire will be What we will lose will not only be the Far East Battle, but also the destiny of the country for the millennium!”
Temple Shouichi said: "Then what do you think we should do? If we don't urgently transport ammunition from the country, His Highness Dong Jiu'er will have to give up. If it's somewhere else, there's no need to trouble His Highness Dong Jiu'er, but Song The battlefield in Shanghai is different, His Majesty the Emperor asked His Highness Higashikata to take command by name."
Regarding the Fourth Battle of Songhu, Hirohito made two demands. One was that the newly formed Second Guards Division be required to participate in the battle, and the other was that the Fourth Battle of Songhu be led by Higashikata Higashihiko, who was an imperial bullet. Taking charge of the command, it is obvious that Hirohito hoped that through victory in the Fourth Battle of Songhu, he could wash away the shame Xu Rui had inflicted on the Japanese royal family.
Tojo Hideki was also speechless, and he was also helpless when it came to Hirohito's request.
At this time, Juichi Terauchi's secretary came in and reported: "Your Excellency the Earl, His Excellency Kikuchi, the commander of the bacterial force, is outside asking for a meeting."
"Kikuchi Qi?" Shouyi in the temple moved slightly when he heard this.
Tojo Hideki was overjoyed: "There must be significant progress in bacterial research!"
At that moment, Terauchi Shou waved his hand and said: "Please come in, Mr. Kikuchi, please come in quickly."
After a while, the secretary led the two Japanese soldiers into Terauchi Shouichi's office. The old Japanese soldier in front of him was thin and had the rank of major general on his shoulders. He had a pair of small eyes hidden behind his spectacles, looking at people with a sinister look. It's strange that the kid behind him is quite talented, but he only carries the rank of Lieutenant Colonel on his shoulders.
"Your Excellency the Earl, Your Excellency the Vice-Chancellor!" As soon as the two Japanese soldiers walked in, they paid tribute to Juichi Terauchi and Hideki Tojo.
"You're welcome, Kikuchi-kun." Terauchi Shouichi came forward affectionately, reached out and patted the old man in front of him on the shoulder, then turned his eyes to the man behind him and asked, "Who is this?"
Kikuchi stretched out his hand and introduced: "This is Ikazu Tabe, Mr. Tabe, the monitor of the typhoid fever class."
"Typhoid fever class?" Tojo Hideki's eyes lit up and asked, "Has the typhoid fever class produced results?"
"Hai." Tabe Iwa paused and replied, "Just yesterday, the typhoid fever class led by a humble leader just successfully cultivated typhoid fever bacteria that can be reproduced and controlled in experimental living subjects."
It can be reproduced and controlled, which means it can be put into actual combat.
"Hey," Tojo Hideki nodded happily, "Although typhoid fever is not as fatal as plague and cholera, it is more likely to cause large-scale outbreaks, and once a large-scale outbreak occurs, its lethality is no less than that of plague and cholera! Haha, Your Majesty the Earl, the Imperial Army has won the Fourth Battle of Songhu, and the Imperial Family’s face can be saved!”
Juichi Terauchi said in a deep voice: "Tojo-kun, are you talking about implementing germ warfare in Shanghai?"
After a pause, he continued: "Tojo-kun, Shanghai is an international metropolis. Not only do Western countries have a large number of embassies and consulates in Shanghai, but there are also a large number of Western expatriates. Will it be possible for the imperial army to implement germ warfare against Shanghai? Sparking international outrage? And then triggering sanctions against the empire?”
Kikuchi Masaru explained: "Your Excellency, the Earl, is overly worried. If plague and cholera germ warfare is implemented, it may really trigger international public outrage and then lead to sanctions against the empire, because plague and cholera have a serious impact on the diplomatic envoys and expatriates of Western countries stationed in Shanghai." It has the same lethality, but typhoid fever is different.”
Tabe Ikazu continued: "For Western expatriates with complete medical means, typhoid fever is not fatal, but for Chinese refugees who lack medical protection, typhoid fever is fatal! Once a concentrated outbreak occurs, it can be taken away in a short time The lives of hundreds of thousands or even millions of Chinese refugees!”