Kato Masataka scolded Itagaki Seishiro and the staff of the Eleventh Army so hard that they couldn't even raise their heads and wanted to find a crack in the ground to hide in.
But at this moment, a Japanese second lieutenant hurried over and whispered a few words into Ye Guifu's ear.
Ueno Kame suddenly perked up after hearing this, and said to Kato Masataka, who was still chattering: "In the battle of Jiujiang, our Army's performance was not good, but how strong can your navy be? Our Army has one brigade, and there is no It can hold back the defeated generals of the Sichuan Army's 799th Regiment with less than 500 remnants, but is your navy just as good?"
Kato Masataka calmed down and said in a deep voice: "What happened to our navy?"
Ueno Kamehao chuckled and said with a sneer: "But you even let the Sichuan army snatch the gunboats. I am from the Army and I don't understand your navy's tactics. But even though I am a layman, I also know that the Army must reach the water. It's just wishful thinking to snatch your naval ships, so I can't imagine how on earth you lost the gunboats?"
"Ueno, you guy?!" Kato Masataka was furious, but he was unable to do anything.
Because Ueno Kamehao was telling the truth. The Sixth Army failed to stop the more than 500 remnants of the Sichuan Army with one brigade. Although it was disgraceful, the navy guarded the pier. In the end, not only did the remnants of the Sichuan Army seize the pier, but they even berthed. The two gunboats on the pier were also taken away. This is really a shame!
In fact, this is the biggest scandal in the history of the Japanese Navy!
If it is really investigated, this is completely the Navy's mistake!
However, Kato Masataka obviously would not admit that this was the Navy's mistake, but he put the responsibility entirely on the Army. He immediately put his head in front of Ueno Kamehao and roared: "You Army have the nerve to say that, if it weren't for you The Army is too incompetent, how could Jiujiang Pier be lost, and how could our gunboats be robbed?"
Kamio Ueno sneered and retorted: "It seems that it is all our Army's fault. Doesn't your Navy have nothing to blame?"
"This is the responsibility of your Army, this is the responsibility of your Army!" Masataka Kato roared hysterically, "It's all the responsibility of your Army!"
"Enough!" Itagaki Seishiro couldn't bear it anymore and roared loudly.
Seeing that Itagaki Seishiro was really angry, Kato and Ueno just shut up.
Itagaki Seishiro stared at Kato Masataka and asked: "Kato-san, the Battle of Jiujiang was indeed caused by the mistakes of our Army. Your navy made no mistakes. Moreover, because of the mistakes of our Army, you lost two valuable gunboats. , I would like to apologize to you on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of warriors of the Eleventh Army."
Seeing Itagaki Seishiro's good attitude, Kato Masataka couldn't say anything.
Seishiro Itagaki added: "It is our Army's responsibility, and we will definitely bear it with all our strength. However, now is not the time to hold people responsible. The top priority is to mobilize naval ships as soon as possible to intercept them from the upper and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. We must intercept these two A gunboat is blocking the Anqing section of the Yangtze River, we must not let them pass Anqing!"
"It is no longer possible." Masataka Kato shook his head simply and said, "In order to cooperate with your Army to win the Battle of Wuhan, most of the ships of our Jiangfang Detachment have been transferred to the Fuchikou area. The two gunboats in Jiujiang, The five gunboats blocking Poyang Lake are already our entire mobile force."
Itagaki Seishiro said: "Is it possible that there is no gunboat from Anqing to Nanjing?"
Kato Masataka shook his head and said: "The gunboats are absolutely gone. From Anqing to Nanjing and then to Shanghai, there is not a single gunboat. There is still the flagship of our third fleet, the Izumo, off Wusong. It is a pity that even now it is upstream. And it is absolutely impossible to stop the two gunboats snatched by the Sichuan army before they pass through Anqing."
Ueno Kame said solemnly: "In that case, we can only dispatch aviation forces for bombing."
"There is no way for the aviation force to dispatch." Itagaki Seishiro sighed, pointed to the sky and said, "Ueno-san, you might as well look up and look above your head. The sky has changed!"
Ueno Kamehao raised his head and found that the sky was already covered with dark clouds.
They say that the face of a child changes on June days, but I didn’t expect that the face of a child will also change on the day of October.
Itagaki Seishiro lowered his head and sighed and said: "Ueno-san, you can send a telegram to the headquarters of the Condemnation Army. Our Eleventh Army lost in the Battle of Jiujiang and did not completely annihilate the 799th Regiment of the Sichuan Army. Today, Xu Rui has He led the 799th Regiment of the Sichuan Army to seize two gunboats from the Navy. They are now heading down the river and are expected to land near Wuwei County."
After finishing speaking, Itagaki Seishiro's strong body shook twice and collapsed.
"Your Excellency, Commander!" Ueno Kame rushed forward and helped Itagaki Seishiro up, only to find that Itagaki Seishiro had passed out with his eyes closed tightly, and there was blood slowly oozing out of his mouth and nose. Ueno Kame saw Zhou was immediately startled and hurriedly picked up Itagaki Seishiro's military uniform, only to find a large bruise on his chest.
Looking at this situation, Itagaki Seishiro was probably hit when his headquarters collapsed.
"Medic!" Ueno Kame immediately shouted, "Call the medic, quickly!"
It wasn't until Seishiro Itagaki was pushed into the temporary medical tent by the medical corps that Kame Ueno remembered to report the situation to the Condemnation Army Headquarters in Central China, and then hurriedly walked to the Communications Office. However, at this time, the Communications Office of the Eleventh Army Headquarters had already Let the 799th Regiment of the Sichuan Army take care of it, which was also just formed.
(Dividing line)
When the telegram arrived in Nanjing, the commander of the Condemnation Army in Central China, Nishio Shouzou, was summoning his only son, Nishio Shigeichi, who had just graduated from the Army University and had just arrived on the battlefield in China.
Nishio Juzo was a very strict, or very stubborn, traditional soldier. During the 226th Mutiny launched by young officers to eliminate the ruling faction, he strictly adhered to a neutral position and was reused. Therefore, a traditional soldier like Nishio , it is impossible to rely on one's own power to seek benefits for his son.
Nishio Juichi has already reached the rank of major. The best place is to be transferred to the field division and serve as the chief staff officer of the staff. In this way, he can not only ensure his personal safety, but also obtain sufficient qualifications. After a year and a half, he will have the opportunity to be transferred to the infantry. Regiment, directly serve as the captain of the infantry regiment. The captain is the only way to be promoted to a senior general!
However, Nishio Juzo did not do this. Instead, he assigned Nishio Juichi to the Fourth Division as a deputy captain. The captain can be said to be a very dangerous position, because the middle and lower-level officers in Japan are deeply affected by it. Influenced by bushido ideas, they like to command from the front when commanding operations, so the casualty rate is very high.
Nishio Hisao is sending his son into the tiger's mouth!
Nishio Juzo asked quietly: "Juichi, can you understand your father's intentions?"
"Hai!" Nishio said after a pause, "Juichi completely understands his father's good intentions in doing this. His father hopes that his son can go to the lowest level and receive the most arduous training, because although his son has been in the military for many years, he has never really Having been on the battlefield, if you don’t go down to the grassroots level to appreciate the cruelty of war, you won’t be able to grow into an excellent commander.”
"Yo Xi." Nishio Juzo said happily, "Juichi, father was not wrong about you."
While the father and son were talking, Chief of Staff Hebean Masashi opened the door and walked in.
Seeing that Nishio Juichi was there, Kawabe Shozo smiled and said: "Ah, Juichi has already arrived in Nanjing. I thought about sending someone to Shanghai to pick you up, but I didn't expect that you have already arrived in Nanjing."
Nishio paused and said, "Please take care of me, uncle by the river."
Kawabe Shozo patted Nishio Juichi's shoulder lightly, and said to Nishio Juzo: "Your Excellency, General, my staff still lacks a combat staff officer, why not let Juichi come to the staff?"
Nishio Hisao signaled his son to go first, and then said, "I have arranged for Juichi to go to the Fourth Division."
"The Fourth Division? It's okay." Kawabe Shozo said, "It's okay to work as a chief staff officer in the division."
But Nishio Hisao shook his head and said: "He is not the chief staff officer, but a deputy captain of the Fourth Infantry Regiment."
"Nani, is he a captain of the Infantry Regiment, or is he a deputy?" Shozo Kawabe was obviously stunned when he heard this, but after all, this was a fixed matter of the Nishio family. As an outsider, he couldn't say much, so he changed the subject and said, " Your Excellency, General, has just received an urgent call from the Eleventh Army, and Xu Rui has already led the 799th Regiment of the Sichuan Army to break through."
"Nani?" Nishio Shouzou's expression changed and he said in a deep voice, "Breaking through?!"
"Hai." Hebian Zhengsandun said, "Xu Rui used the golden cicada's escape plan to raid Jiujiang for the third time. The Eleventh Army headquarters was caught off guard. In less than fifteen minutes, the remnants of the Sichuan Army's 799th Regiment were defeated. After destroying the headquarters, Commander Itagaki was seriously injured and is still unconscious. The 799th Regiment of the Sichuan Army took advantage of the situation and captured the pier, and also captured two gunboats moored on the pier, allowing them to take the gunboats down the river."
"Baga!" Nishio Juzo was dumbfounded, "What did Itagaki do?"
Nishio Shouzou couldn't imagine at all, what happened over there in Jiujiang
It can be said that the first fall of Jiujiang had nothing to do with Itagaki Seishiro, because Itagaki Seishiro had not yet taken office at that time. The subsequent fall of Jiujiang was the responsibility of Itagaki Seishiro. However, carelessness can also be used as an excuse. After all, this is Itagaki. Seishiro and Xu Rui played against each other for the first time, and they still didn’t understand their opponent’s style.
However, Jiujiang's third loss cannot be justified in any case.
The courage of the Japanese Army, Seishiro Itagaki, who once created the miracle of defeating 31 National Army divisions with half a division on the Xinkou battlefield, was defeated again and again in Jiujiang, leaving the remnants of the Sichuan Army led by Xu Rui to a mere Less than a thousand men captured Jiujiang, where the 11th Headquarters was located, again and again. This is really incomprehensible.
Could it be that it was because Itagaki Seishiro was not good at directing small-scale battles? (To be continued.)