Shunroku Hata has been in a tough mood recently. The royal family has made no secret of its dissatisfaction with him. His Majesty the Emperor has expressed his disappointment in the Central China Condemnation Army several times in public. What are you disappointed about? Not only was he disappointed that the Central China Condemnation Army had been unable to end the Battle of Wuhan, but he was even more disappointed with the poor performance of the Central China Condemnation Army on the Dameishan Battlefield.
Thinking of the Dameishan battlefield, Hata Shunroku felt angry.
Originally, according to Hata Shunroku's plan, it would not have been appropriate to launch an offensive against the Dameishan Independent Regiment at this time. Instead, we should have concentrated our forces to defend the Feiwu Highway and Feibeng Highway to ensure the Second Army's logistics supply line. Then, wait for Wuhan After the battle, we will go back to deal with the Damei Mountain Independent Regiment. By then, the Central China Condemnation Army will be able to devote at least three divisions to mopping up Damei Mountain. In this case, even if Xu Rui has the ability to penetrate the sky and the earth, There is no doubt that they will fail.
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 Rui is so easy to deal with? At the beginning, Xu Rui only had more than 1,000 people and was able to annihilate nearly 10,000 people in the Kawakou detachment. Now the Dameishan Independent Regiment is said to have expanded to nearly 10,000 people. Even if the 10th Division is a permanent division, it is hard to say that it will win.
Thinking of what was bothering him, Shunroku Hata bent over and coughed 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 rest for a while?"
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 every 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 attack 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 until at least September.
Therefore, Shunroku Hata could only place his hope of breaking the situation on the Second Army.
Compared with the Eleventh Army, the strength of the Second Army is relatively weak. Initially, it was considered that the northern foothills of the Dabie Mountains were not conducive to the movement of the army. 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 on 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 advancement was relatively smooth, but after three days, the advancement 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 fatigue, 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, they encountered stubborn resistance in Jinzhai and Huoshan.
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.
Facing 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 Mass 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 9th and 13th Divisions have been resting in Huainan and Bengbu for some time, 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 asked, "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 and Gushi, go straight to Xinyang and cut off the passage between Wuhan and Guanzhong. In this way, those who stayed in Wuhan and those who were 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 9th and 13th 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 defeated across the board. Only four detachments of the New Fourth Army and the Damei Mountain Independent Regiment are left in central Anhui. Now Xu Rui's Damei Mountain Independent Regiment is facing the Tenth Division. The regiment has too much time to take care of the raids and is unable to come out to cause damage. Therefore, the Sixth Division only needs to face the harassment from the four detachments of the New Fourth Army and 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 headquarters of the Condemnation Army." Kawabe Shozo smiled bitterly, and continued, "However, two days ago, Machijiri Yuki returned a telegram saying that it was His Royal Highness has designed a combat plan codenamed 'Virtual Reality', which should have been put into effect by now."
"False or not?" Hata Shunroku smiled coldly when he heard this, "Does this royal prodigal Higashi Hisaru Nianhiko want to compare himself to Cao Cao, a famous military strategist in the Three Kingdoms period?" Then he asked, "Hebian Sang, what kind of battle plan is this?"
Hebian Zhengsan picked up the important points, and then said: "In short, this is a double insurance plan. If the Independent Regiment retreats to Meizhen and the fortress, the 10th Division in the direction of Heifengkou can take advantage of it. If the Independent Regiment retreats, If we stick to the Black Wind Pass, His Highness the Prince will most likely take advantage of the opportunity to capture Shaqiao Gang, and Meizhen will not be protected."
"Double insurance?" Hata Junroku asked, "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 crushed together? If Xu Rui was so easy to deal with, the Sixth Division How could they fail to capture Feicheng and instead suffer heavy losses from the Independent Regiment? If Xu Rui is so easy to deal with, how could the Central China Condemnation Army change its commander three times? Shan Shanyuan even ended up committing seppuku?"
Zhengzo by the river was awe-inspiring when he heard this.
Shunroku Hata went on to say: "It's not that I have to enhance other people's ambitions and destroy my own prestige. Xu Rui's cunning and fierceness are beyond compare among the generals of the empire! Your Highness is taking risks and tricks in front of him, but he is just like his own axe. 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 Shozo took the folder and waved to the communications staff officer to step back.
The communications staff officer immediately exited, while Masazo Kawabe 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 the Abe Takayama team, and 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, His Highness the Prince may have deliberately silenced the radio in order to keep it secret."
"Radio silence?" Shunroku Hata said coldly, "The Dameishan Independent Regiment does not have a radio signal detector, so why should he commit wireless silence? Riverside Sang, don't take chances anymore, hurry up and find somewhere else nearby. The detachment of troops can rush to Xiantian in time to rescue His Royal Highness intact as soon as possible."
Although he was very dissatisfied with Higashikata Higashihiko, Shunroku Hata could not ignore death.
If Dong Jiu'an was really allowed 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 core. I'm afraid he, the commander-in-chief of the sect's condemnation army, would be done with it, even if he wasn't as good as him. Like Sugimoto, he had to use samurai methods to preserve his honor, but like Matsui Iwane, there was no doubt that he would retire 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 distant water cannot quench the thirst of the nearby ones. 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?" (To be continued.)