"Onboard! Onboard! ”

Just when the German army was suffering from the endless refugee problem, the first batch of troops of the Japanese Indian Dispatch Army led by Yamashita Fumi finally landed on the island of Ceylon with the help of the Combined Fleet. The www.biquge.info of these officers and men who had been in the Philippines for half a year and had been tossing and turning on the sea for half a month could not wait to let out a deafening cry as soon as they got off the ship, for fear that others would not know that they had come to Ceylon.

After the successful landing, the middle- and lower-ranking officers and men of the Japanese army found a place to set up camp and settle down according to the overall arrangement of the navy, while the senior officers and personnel of the headquarters were very interested, and they simulated armored tactics with blank paper and boxes on the ship for more than half a month, and they were almost crazy thinking about tanks.

As soon as they came ashore, they did not have time to rest and recuperate, and they could not wait to pull the naval personnel who had come to greet them to observe the equipment brought back from Germany by the Combined Fleet.

As he walked, he was embarrassed to explain: "The commander was going to greet him personally, but there was a temporary emergency military situation, and I was in a meeting to study and discuss countermeasures, so I was appointed, and I am very sorry......

Although there is a gap between the navy and the army, but the face must at least be passable, Yamashita is a general of the army, and he also has the title of commander of the army's Indian dispatch force, it stands to reason that it is indeed a bit rude to treat it like this, but Yamashita himself did not have any displeasure, but smiled: "Actually, the navy has come to greet us, didn't General Tsunoda take the fleet to meet us halfway?" Don't take the little things that are sent to you to heart. ”

If Hori Tsukichi sent a major general to formally greet him, it might be a deliberate attempt to snub the army, and now only one lieutenant came, and the only explanation was that something big had really happened -- and the army top brass knew this very well.

When they saw a dazzling array of tanks, artillery, planes, trucks and other heavy equipment lined up in warehouses near the port, everyone was happy to close their mouths. The list I saw before I came was shocking enough, but the visual impact after seeing the real thing was even greater, and everyone's eyes, including Yamashita Fumi, were straight.

"Is it all for us?" Seeing that the Indian coolies were still unloading the goods from the ship, Yamashita pointed to the transport ship and asked casually.

"Yes!" Takahashi Nakasa didn't dare to slack off, "There are a total of 4 ships here, all of which are army equipment, and they will be emptied when they are all unloaded." There are about 13 other ships that are also allocated to your unit, and the commander thinks that it is not necessary to unload, but to land in the southern ports of India and then unload them, which will save time. ”

"And so many?" Lieutenant General Suzuki was puzzled, "And it's all big ships, how many supplies are there on them?" ”

"These are all large sea ships donated by the German side, each with a carrying capacity ranging from 10,000 tons, and a total of nearly 100,000 tons of materials are waiting to be unloaded, and the commander ordered them to be used by the first batch of troops entering India."

Yamashita quickly figured out what Horikichi meant: Ceylon would be a stockpiling and training base for supplies in the future, and the army from China would first go to Ceylon for adaptation training, and then go to India to fight one after another.

"It's hard for him to think so well, thank you so much, now take us to the headquarters, can I take a few cars with me? This time, I walked in a hurry and didn't bring any vehicles and heavy equipment, and I was embarrassed to sit in the Navy's car. ”

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's too late to say it." Takahashi Nakasa led everyone to the designated warehouse area, pointed to the black pressure inside, there were hundreds of cars, and said, "These are all for your department, and the commander said that each officer above Nakasa can arrange one special car, and the rest are troop vehicles." ”

"What?" Katakura Magazine's eyes are about to pop out, in the past, ordinary infantry divisions and regiments generally had to have a special car, and the real power of the chariot division can also be matched, and the cars of other junior officers are all used by the troops, and whoever does it is their turn to do things will use it, and now Zhongsa can be equipped with a special car, which is going to turn the sky upside down?

Takahashi didn't notice everyone's surprise, but introduced it to everyone: "This is a German-made Volkswagen barrel car, which is generally used by company and battalion officers in the German army, and we recommend it to be used by Nakasa; This is a U.S. jeep, full of materials captured by the Navy, and the commander suggested that it be used by Dazuo; Behind is the Mercedes-Benz Caesar series sedan, which is used by senior generals above the major general. ”

Everyone's eyes lit up, and they flocked to see the corresponding cars of their level, and they couldn't put it down, and they couldn't even move their feet.

"Sir, your car is in another warehouse." Takahashi reminded in a whisper.

Everyone gathered around the mountain to see his own car.

Takahashi pointed to a powerful car and said: "This is a German-made Mercedes 1500 command vehicle with bulletproof functions, and next to this is a half-track SDK.251 command armored car." ”

"It's all for me?" Yamashita Fengwen looked surprised, "Can I try it?" ”

"Of course, after a while, the commanders can drive away with their own cars, and go through the other handover procedures, and they can all be taken away tomorrow." Takahashi was about to beckon the driver behind him to serve Yamashita Fengwen, only to see that the other party had groped to open the door of the command car, and asked Suzuki Sosaku and Katakura Kan to sit in and feel it, relying on good German skills and driving skills, he didn't want the driver to point out, and he took the key and became familiar with the fire.

Everyone looked admiring: "Sir, have you ever opened?" ”

"I haven't driven this model, but I have a lot of other German cars." While looking at the facilities inside, Yamashita was familiar with the dashboard, and he didn't forget to boast triumphantly to everyone, "When I was a military attache in Austria, there was not a single car in the embassy that I couldn't drive, and the most I came into contact with was a German car, and I was an old driver." ”

The crowd laughed.

"Can I open it?"

Takahashi hurriedly said: "Of course, of course, this car is yours now, just pay attention to safety." ”

Yamashita Fengwen carefully drove the car out of the warehouse, the more skilled he drove, the more confident he became, and after coming back from a circle, he sighed again and again: "Good car!" Good car! The chassis is very solid, the power is also strong, not the kind of domestic improvisation that is worried about falling apart after a bump, I like it very much! The crowd was envious.

Before leaving, he did not forget to explain: "Wait a minute, help drive that armored car to the headquarters of the dispatch army, I will have a good time tonight." ”

Half an hour later, he saw Horikichi and the others who came to greet him at the gate of the headquarters, although the two were generals of the same rank, but he still respectfully saluted first-after all, the base camp was clear that Horikichi was now in charge of the front line, and he was the highest commander, and he was very grateful to the navy for giving the army such a big favor.

"See the cars and chariots, right? Do you still like it? Horikichi smiled and introduced him to all the senior officers present, "I wanted to send a ministerial-level Mercedes-Benz bulletproof car to the army, but the number brought back is not much, and I still have to go to Tokyo on a business trip, so I can only grieve you." ”

"Where, where, the chief is polite, thank you so much." Yamashita Fengfumi knew that Horikichi still had to take a car to Tokyo to "make offerings", and besides, it was not like him to be a commander of a dispatch army in a ministerial-level bulletproof car, so what did the Minister of War and the Chief of Staff think when they heard it?

"The preparation and transportation arrangements are more or less the same, I intend to unload a third of the supplies on the island of Ceylon, and then let the army get acquainted with the new equipment as soon as possible, and the rest of the supplies will be brought home by the fleet. If the Army has any suggestions for revising the defense plan, please propose adjustments as soon as possible to facilitate the next step of operations. Hori Yoshiyoshi asked the staff officer to hand Yamashita to Yamashita Fumimi, a complete set of plans for the distribution of materials, the division of the station, and the defense system, which had been determined in advance.

The latter nodded again and again: "Great, thank you very much!" Battleship shells and other warship repair parts transferred from the mainland also arrived at the dock, and the Navy was sending people to receive them. ”

Horikichi smiled, "Yamashita-kun has worked hard all the way! ”

Seeing that Yamashita had served as a military attache in Austria and could still speak fluent German, and that communication with the German side would not be a problem at all, Scheer and the others breathed a sigh of relief -- this would be of great benefit to the follow-up operations.

After a few words of greeting, Yamashita Bongfumi turned his attention to the topic: "I heard that there is an emergency military situation? I don't know what's going on? ”

"That's true, there is something that must be discussed with you first, I initially plan to lead the main force of the fleet to leave Ceylon tomorrow afternoon to face the battle, I don't worry about the island's defense of others, there may be some problems in air defense, there is only a batch of naval land-based aviation transferred from Singapore on the island, the number is not large, I hope that the preparation time for the army aviation to adapt is as compressed as possible."

"So fast?" Yamashita was very surprised, "Your Excellency, the situation is very serious? If there is an enemy counterattack, we can also participate in the battle, don't look at the fact that we have just disembarked, and our physical strength and fighting spirit are completely fine. ”

"Not Ceylon, it's the Gilbert Islands farther afield." Horikichi handed him an urgent telegram, "The U.S. forces seized the gap and began to attack, yesterday suddenly appeared and occupied Makin Island, and are about to start attacking the Tarawa Atoll, and are currently carrying out heavy bombing and artillery attacks, the only airfield has been built on the island, and the few planes have been overwhelmed by enemy carrier-based aircraft, and if they are lost, the entire Gilbert Islands will be lost." ”

"What if you need the Army?" Yamashita did not care about the Gilbert Islands in the slightest because he was a Indian troop.

Cao Lu Yi shook his head: "The area of Tarawa is very small, and there are not many troops to be stationed, and the commander thinks that the main fleet of the US army may be concentrated there, and he plans to use the main force of the combined fleet to meet the battle - a naval battle." ”

Yamashita nodded: "Then don't be in a hurry to land on the Indian mainland in advance, and wait until the fleet is finished." ”

"Don't delay, I plan to let Mikawa and Tsunoda cooperate with you to implement the landing plan to ensure that your landing is successful before leaving, and General Scheer also thinks that the army has just arrived, and this landing is still dominated by German troops, supplemented by you, what do you think about this?" (To be continued.) )