As early as when Xu Wen led the Independent Brigade to defeat the 6th Brigade of the 11th Division, Gu Shoufu informed the Shanghai Dispatch Army Headquarters of the news.

Later, the 6th Division collapsed on all fronts, and Gu Shoufu also sent the news of the defeat of his department in time.

When Matsui learned of this situation, he immediately telegraphed the commander of the 9th Division, Yoshika Ryosuke, who was preparing to lead his troops out of the city to reinforce the city, and the commander of the 11th Division, Yamamuro Munetake, to suspend the rescue.

Immediately put on the defensive, with Ryosuke Yoshika as the commander-in-chief, commanding the 9th Division, the 11th Division, and the 5th Independent Heavy Artillery Brigade.

In addition, in his capacity as commander of the Central China Front, Matsui Ishone also ordered the 3rd and 4th fleets of the Navy, as well as a land-based flight regiment attached to the Japanese army in Central China, to immediately possess fighter planes and rush to Suzhou to help in the war!

After receiving the news and orders, Yoshika Ryosuke, Yamamuro Sotake, and others immediately withdrew all their troops, and urgently built several lines of defense relying on Suzhou City.

At the same time, Matsui Ishone, who had made a series of emergency responses, also dragged his sick body and urgently convened a military meeting with Chief of Staff Tsukada and others to discuss the next countermeasures.

In the conference room of the headquarters, as soon as the people arrived, Matsui Shigen asked in a loud voice: "Everyone, the independent brigade of the defenders of Wuxi has defeated Gu Shoufu's 6th Division, and at present, Gu Shoufu has lost contact, and his life and death are unknown!"

Now that the Chinese army is counterattacking in the direction of Suzhou, the situation is likely to be reversed, what good strategies do you have to defend against the enemy? ”

"Your Excellency, the main force of the National Government of China has been defeated by our Imperial Japanese Army in Shanghai, they should not be able to fight back, right?" A combat high sando.

Matsui Shigen coughed angrily, pointed at him and scolded angrily: "Stupid, the 6th Division and the 16th Division were defeated one after another, do you still think that the Chinese Army has no strength to counterattack?" ”

Chief of Staff Tsukada explained in a round on the side: "According to the report before the defeat of the 6th Division, the defenders of Wuxi have a very large number of tank and armored forces for some reason.

And their combat effectiveness has also become extremely strong, almost all automatic firearms, and the firepower is very strong!

With the same strength, the imperial army was no match for it. ”

Hearing this, all the senior staff members of the Japanese army present had heavy faces and fell into deep thought, and at this time they completely realized the seriousness of the situation.

In the end, it was the chief of staff Tsukada who proposed to Matsui Ishine: "General, in view of the sudden and incredible strength of the independent brigade, the situation of the battle has taken a sharp turn.

At present, our top priority is to first hold Suzhou, block the independent brigade north of Suzhou, and stabilize its position before making plans. ”

"Well, I've mobilized all the support forces that can be dispatched in a short period of time, and I hope that Ryosuke Yoshika and Sotake Yamamuro won't let me down." Matsui Shigen nodded thoughtfully, and then suddenly raised his voice, and shouted: "Send a telegram to the 9th Division and the 11th Division, and tell them that the honor of the empire and the entire Central China war situation are fighting here."

Order them to hold Suzhou and block the independent brigade of the Chinese Army north of Suzhou! ”

"Hay!" Tsukada took the lead and got up and took the order with a bang.

……

Suzhou, the former enemy headquarters of the Japanese army.

Ryosuke Yoshika, who had actually been promoted to commander-in-chief of the former enemy of the Japanese army in Central China, was urgently discussing countermeasures with Lieutenant General Munetake Yamamuro, commander of the 11th Division, as well as their respective chiefs of staff and brigade commanders.

Ji Jialiangfu said: "General Yamamuro, the scouts have reported that the Chinese army is less than half an hour away from Suzhou, how do you think we should fight this battle?" ”

Yamamuro Sotake frowned and said, "Judging from the news sent by the 6th Division and the information fed back from the headquarters, our enemy is now very strong.

In particular, they have tanks and armored combat vehicles that far surpass the imperial army in number and advancement, and their firepower is very powerful, so we should not fight with them in the field, and we should rely on positions and cities to fight defensive and defensive battles! ”

Ryosuke Yoshika nodded and said, "I agree with your proposal, Yamamuro-kun, but we lack effective anti-tank weapons, and in the face of the surprise attack of hundreds of tanks and fighting vehicles of the Shina Army, I am afraid that it will be difficult to resist the infantry alone, right?"

And the number of casualties is probably too much for us to bear! ”

At this moment, a signal soldier suddenly ran over and saluted Yoshika Ryosuke, Yamamuro Sotake, and others: "General, the commander of the front army, General Matsui Ishine, has called, and he orders us to hold Suzhou at all costs and block the independent brigade of the China Army north of Suzhou. In addition, the fighters of the sea-based aviation and land-based aviation have all taken off and will soon come to help in the war! ”

Ryosuke Yoshika nodded and said, "Call back to Commander Matsui, General Yamamuro Sowu and I will definitely do our best to hold Suzhou, please rest assured." ”

The Signal Corps saluted again, turned and took the order to leave.

Yamamuro Sotake said to Ji Jia Liangsuke: "Ji Jiajun, now with the support of the Navy and Army Aviation, our chances of victory can be improved a lot!" ”

"Yes, with the support and assistance of air fighters, I have a lot more confidence." Ji Jia Liangfu nodded solemnly, and said with emotion: "Thinking about it in Shanghai before, the main force of China has obviously been defeated by the imperial army, and there is no resistance anymore.

How could such a powerful force as the Independent Brigade be killed halfway? It is unbelievable that the 16th and 6th divisions of the Imperial Army were defeated in a row! ”

Yamamuro Sotakeshi also nodded with a solemn face: "Yes, General Tani Shofu's 6th Division is one of the seven permanent divisions, and the elite of our Imperial Japanese Army was also defeated by it.

Such a tough opponent is really chilling, so this time we must not have any underestimating enemy moves, all the emperor ** people must fight up 120,000 points, go all out, and have the possibility to win! ”

The chief of staff of the 9th Division, Nakagawa Kosa, who had not spoken beside him, suddenly spoke: "Two generals, although we lack enough and effective anti-tank weapons.

But we have a high-tech weapon that the Chinese army does not have! ”

"Oh? What did Nakagawa-kun say? Ryosuke Yoshika and Sotake Yamamuro both looked at him with a confused look on their faces, and motioned for him to speak quickly.

Hiroshi Nakagawa immediately said: "Gas bombs! The poison gas bombs of the imperial army belong to the relatively advanced biological and chemical weapons in the whole world, and if the artillery wing suddenly releases a large number of poison gas bombs to our defense line when the Chinese army attacks our defense line, it may be able to inflict heavy damage on it!

After all, the tanks of the Chinese army can block the bullets and shells of the imperial army, but it is impossible to block the pervasive mustard gas! ”

When Yoshika Ryosuke and Yamamuro Sotake heard this, their eyes couldn't help but light up, and they both saw unexpected joy in each other's eyes.