readx; On the other hand, Suozhu, who had not spoken, stood up and put forward a different opinion, saying: "Although the Central Army has concentrated more than one million troops in the three theaters on the outskirts of Wuhan, it can only protect itself, and it is impossible to expect them to conquer the strong fortresses and fortresses that are heavily defended by the Chinese army!" ”

Then he explained: "The front of the Sixth Theater is Yichang, when the 18th Army faced the strength of an infantry wing in the Yue Military Region, it fought several fierce battles before it was captured at the cost of more than 10,000 casualties, and now the Yue Army not only has the strength of an infantry brigade stationed here, but also a considerable amount of aviation support, where can the broken Sixth War Zone be able to recapture it?" The Fifth Theater was heavily damaged by the army in the battle that had just ended, and it took a long time to recover, and it was certainly not counted on now; The Ninth Theater is well fed, but to the north is the main force of the 11th Army of the Yue Army in Wuhan, to the south is the Fifth Division and the 15th Mixed Brigade from Guangxi, and the 23rd Division that has advanced to Wuzhou can also threaten Hunan at any time. Pen Fun Pavilion www.biquge.info"

Although he knew in his heart that what the lock pillar said was very reasonable, Yu Wenzheng still felt a little uncomfortable, and retorted: "Although these difficulties objectively exist, as long as you find a way, they should all be overcome, why do you think that these three war zones dare not move?" After that, he glanced at the lock pillar very dissatisfied.

After all, Suozhu and he have been old brothers for many years, knowing that Yu Wenzheng is this temper, he smiled disapprovingly and replied: "I heard that the price of grain in Sichuan has skyrocketed recently, and even the rations of the employees of the political axe cannot be guaranteed. Now, the supply line from French Indochina has been cut off by the Chinese army, the Yunnan-Burma road has been closed by the hateful British, most of the weapons and ammunition of the central army rely on imports, from our Fujian to Sichuan for thousands of miles, and there are many mountains in the middle, and the difficulty of transportation is also quite large, it is difficult to maintain the consumption of the army, and when food and ammunition cannot be guaranteed, which commander dares to take risks? ”

Goofy listened to the words of the lock pillar and realized that his ideas were a little too idealistic, and began to think about other possible surnames.

At this time, Yu Hanmou, who attended the meeting on behalf of the 12th Group Army, reminded Gao Feidao: "Commander Gao, I think that as long as the Central Army goes all out, these difficulties can be overcome, but we can't help but consider, is the Central Army willing to take the initiative to cooperate?" Isn't the lesson of Group 12 in Guangxi profound enough? ”

Regarding the shameless behavior of the Central Army to kill people with a knife at a critical moment, as a party who was almost killed, Yu Hanmou had a painful heart, and he was unwilling to believe them anymore no matter what.

Yu Hanmou continued: "Once our army occupies Jingdezhen and threatens the lifeline of the Yangtze River, the biggest result may be to fall into the flanking attack of the 11th and 13th armies of the army!" Suozhu has already said that the Central Army itself is not capable of cooperating, not to mention that they do not even have the will to cooperate! ”

Gao Fei looked at Yu Hanmou's angry expression and asked with a smile, "Does Commander-in-Chief Yu have any good suggestions?" ”

Yu Hanmou cleared his throat and replied confidently: "I think that counterattacking Shantou is the best choice under the current situation!" ”

The high-ranking generals present at the meeting were very surprised when they heard him say this, and they all fixed their eyes on him, waiting for him to give his reasons.

Yu Hanmou met everyone's gaze and explained his reasons and thoughts: "Although Shantou is a small place, it is a nail laid by the army in the area controlled by our army, and now the enemy has no time to take care of it because he is concentrating his energy on North China, but once he has his hands freed, he can increase troops from the sea at any time, and then threaten the hinterland of northern Guangdong, so it must be cut off!" ”

Gao Fei nodded and said: "The recovery of Shantou is necessary to ensure the flank of the 12th Army and the safety of Fujian, but most of the urban area of Shantou is within the range of the gunners of the warships, which will definitely cause great casualties to the attacking troops. Gao Fei was straightforward about everyone's concerns, which is why no one proposed Shantou as a target.

Yu Hanmou explained unhurriedly: "Although Shantou is within the range of the naval guns, there are no large ships active in the waters near Shantou at present, and the nearest naval fleet is also in Guangzhou, so it will not be possible to arrive here in two days. ”

Then he explained to Gao Fei's second question: "Shantou is the estuary of the Han River, and several relatively large rivers divide the urban area into several pieces, so that even if the army has built strong fortifications, it will be difficult to form a complete defense system. ”

Gao Fei said with a smile: "It seems that Commander-in-Chief Yu has been planning a counterattack on Shantou, otherwise how can he know the terrain of Shantou well!" ”

Yu Hanmou said: "Shantou was originally the defense ground of my 12th group, so naturally it should be taken back by me!" ”

Gao Fei nodded and asked: "As far as I know, the defenders of the Yue army in Shantou are the 132nd Brigade, although the department lost a lot of troops in the landing process and the Chao'an counterattack operation, but after this period of rest and replenishment, it should be almost recovered, the strength is at least more than 10,000 people, if you want to drive the enemy out in two days, the 155th Division and the 10th Column alone are definitely not enough, which divisions is Commander Yu going to transfer?" ”

Yu Hanmou replied: "I am going to transfer the 153rd Division up, plus the strength of the two regiments directly under the group army headquarters, it should be able to solve the problem." ”

Ma Debi interjected: "This may not be safe. When Ando Toshiyoshi received the news of the attack on Shantou, he would definitely launch an attack to the north while increasing his troops from the sea route to contain our army, so that one division of the defense line would be missing a great risk, so it would be better to transfer our troops up to cooperate, and the safety factor would be higher. ”

Yu Hanmou was about to politely decline, but Gao Fei hurriedly signaled him not to make a sound, and then said earnestly: "Commander-in-Chief Yu, your plan has not yet considered how to deal with the bombers of the Yue Army, which is very important. In addition, I also think that it is not advisable to use the 153rd Division, because it is very dangerous to reorganize the defense line in front of the enemy at any time! I would like to temporarily transfer the 26th Division to your command and join the 155th Division in the campaign to regain Shantou. ”

Ma Debi was very considerate of Yu Hanmou's intentions, and said sincerely: "Commander-in-Chief Yu, we are now a family, so we don't want to share anything with each other." You always want to wash away the shame in your heart, but you can't risk your own life and the lives of your subordinates. ”

Yu Hanmou looked at these heart-to-heart robes, his heart was very excited, a faint flush appeared on his wrinkled old face, and said: "Since this is the case, I might as well obey my fate if I am respectful!" Thank you for your kindness, Senior and Brother Ma! ”

Gao Fei smiled faintly and said: "In order to enhance the firepower of the attack force, on the day of the attack, the Air Force will dispatch all the bombers to provide air support and conduct an air-ground coordinated operation!" ”

Yu Wenzheng squinted his eyes and said, "People who don't know still think how generous our commander is!" In fact, we only have two bombers left, and that's all our high commander said! ”

After that, he laughed, and the other generals also laughed, and even Gao Fei couldn't help but laugh out loud.

At six o'clock in the morning of 18 September, the soldiers of the Japanese army stationed at the airfield on the outskirts of Shantou City and the outer positions of the Xinjin Port heard the humming of airplane motors in the sky. As the altitude continued to decrease, the sound of the motor became louder and louder, and the clear blue sky and white standard on the plane finally came into the eyes of the army, and at this time, the distance from the group to the position was only a few kilometers.

A terrible anti-aircraft siren sounded on the position, and the soldiers scurried around in panic, looking for a slightly more reliable hiding place, because they were not equipped with even the most basic anti-aircraft weapons, anti-aircraft machine guns!

In less than a year after the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the main force of the Chinese Air Force was completely destroyed, and the sky was basically the domain of the Chinese Air Force, and most of the Army had not been bombed, so the concept of air defense was quite vague.

Earlier, although the Admiralty had informed the War Department that there were still a few bombers in the hands of the Fourth Theater and that the 21st Army was to strengthen its air defense forces, Ando Toshikishi, who had always looked down on the Navy, believed that this was an excuse for the Admiralty to bomb the aircraft carrier -- how could a few bombers dare to challenge the Army Air Force, which had an overwhelming advantage?

If the air force of the Fourth Theater retreats into Fujian territory and relies on the protection of ground air defense positions, there is really no way to deal with them, but as long as they are out of the coverage of the air defense fire network, they can definitely be left without returning! The arrogant Ando Toshiyoshi immediately put the Admiralty's warning on the shelf, and did not even notify the 132nd Brigade, which was closest to Fujian, let alone equip them with anti-aircraft weapons.

In the face of the scurrying troops on the ground, the two bombers in the group first swooped down, threw down four 800-kilogram super bombs at an altitude of 200 meters above the target, and then climbed up unhurriedly, and then returned to the Longyan base at full speed. Immediately on the ground, earth-shattering explosions sounded, and flames tens of meters high mixed with thick black smoke soared into the sky, and the army's position of more than 1,000 square meters was immediately completely submerged in gunpowder smoke and flames.

About a squadron of soldiers was killed in the explosion, and far more than that number were wounded, and the remnants of the disaster had just poked their heads out from under the thick mud when 24 fighters swooped down in echelons and plowed the position several times in a row with dense machine-gun bullets for half an hour, until there was no moving object on the ground.

Before the figure of the fighter plane had completely disappeared, a deafening shout of killing sounded in the wilderness, and countless figures emerged from the sugarcane forests and rice fields on the opposite side, and under the cover of light and heavy machine guns, they swarmed up the military position. Dozens of artillery shells were constantly pouring shells, blowing up the barbed wire and barricades that were left at the front of the Japanese position, and then extending their fire back to clear the way for the attacking troops to advance.

A brigade of the Yue army stationed here suffered more than half of the casualties in the air raid, and the structure of the unit was completely disrupted, and it fell into the painful situation of fighting its own battle, however, the sparse shooting could not withstand the fierce attack of the superior [***] team at all, and the position was quickly broken through, and some of the remnants of the Yue army fled to the urban area, and some cowered in a few strong bunkers and resisted stubbornly.

The attack was carried out by the 26th Division, which had a wealth of combat experience and was able to cope with this situation with ease.

The large force continued to advance, leaving a small number of troops to surround the bunker, and then transferred several flamethrowers from behind, and wiped out the entire army with heat and flames.

Although the commander of the Goto Brigade had already been aware of the actions of the Central [***] team, he did not expect that the defenders from the airfield to the port of Xinjin would be defeated so quickly, causing a huge gap in the defense of the entire urban area, so he had to transfer two additional brigades from the urban area, with dozens of trucks as the lead, and rushed to the airport at full speed in a vain attempt to plug the gap. Immediately afterward, he sent a telegram to the headquarters of the 21st Army asking for help, requesting that aviation troops be dispatched immediately to assist in the war.

According to the plan formulated by Yu Hanmou, the airfield was not the main direction of attack, but what he didn't expect was that because of the outstanding performance of the air force and the fragile air defense capability of the Yue army, the defense line here was easily broken through, so it was wrong to make a mistake, and quickly put the follow-up troops into it, and then ordered the 155th Division, which was the main attack, to immediately launch an attack, preparing to defeat the Yue army in one fell swoop.

The Second Regiment of the 155th Division had already infiltrated the city from several rivers running through the city as early as last night, and as soon as the two brigades of the Chinese army had left on their front feet, they launched an attack on the back foot, and after taking control of the wharf, they immediately attacked and advanced along several main streets to the headquarters of the 132nd Brigade and regiment, and destroyed all the communication facilities, so that the command system of the Chinese army was paralyzed.

At the same time, the main force of the 26th Division and the 10th Column and other local troops attacked on all fronts, pouring in from the gaps, and then quickly broke through to the two flanks to divide and surround the Yue army, while the main force of the 155th Division landed on the wharf in the city by motorboat and fishing boats.

By the time more than 10 bombers sent by Toshiyoshi Ando arrived in Shantou under the escort of 20 fighters, the battle had already shifted from the outskirts of the city to the city, and the two sides were engaged in fierce battles in the streets and alleys, and the battle was inextricably linked.

When the bombers were at a loss for bombs, a group of planes from the Fourth Theater appeared over the battlefield, and a fierce air battle broke out. After the two bombers of the Fujian Air Force hurriedly dropped their bombs, they immediately broke away from the battle and galloped north at full speed into the airspace of Fujian, while the rest of the fighters retreated as they fought and retreated, preparing to lead the enemy into the ground anti-aircraft fire network. The cunning army had already figured out the tactics of the Fujian Air Force, and immediately turned around and returned after pursuing it to the Fujian-Guangdong border.

Street fighting in Shantou city continued until about 10 o'clock in the evening of the same day, and the squadron finally expelled the Yue army from the city by relying on superior strength and firepower, and under the guidance of local armed forces familiar with the terrain.

The commander of the Goto Brigade knew that the defeat was decided, and the reinforcements were far away, so he had to lead the surviving more than 3,000 soldiers to retreat back to Guangzhou by sea.

Shantou is a tasteless and discarded chicken rib for the 21st Army, and there is no need to consume too many troops here.

On September 27, 1940, at Hitler's repeated insistence, Germany, Italy, and China signed a military alliance treaty intended to intimidate the United States and prevent it from assisting the invaded country. ”

Hitler always firmly believed that Germany and the United States would inevitably have a contest, but he was soberly aware that with the brutality of the war, the warring sides were greatly consumed in manpower and material resources, and the United States, a capitalist nouveau riche on the west coast of the Pacific Ocean, was daunted by its strong economic strength, and preventing the United States from entering the war prematurely was a consistent principle of Hitler's global strategy. The secret of Hitler's strategy was to attack from far and close, one at a time, so that Germany could avoid being caught in the two-front war that it had always feared – the bitter lessons of the First World War left an indelible impression on German political and military circles! Therefore, the nosy Uncle Sam can only be done after Poland has been completely pacified, the old enemies of the European continent, Russia and France, and then Britain. In order to achieve this goal, Hitler intimidated the United States through the Axis [***] Treaty of the Covenant of the League, prevented it from fanning the flames behind the scenes, and secretly supported China, Britain, and other countries, and at the same time, took advantage of the isolationist sentiment prevailing in the United States and the popular voice against the war, through the ambassador to the United States, the use of bribes to congressmen, subsidies for writers, and other means to support the American isolationists, so that the United States continued to maintain neutrality in the war.

US President Franklin D. Roosevelt keenly recognized the threat to the United States from the declaration of the Axis Treaty of Military Alliance, and hastened to warn the American people, saying: "American civilization has never been so in danger as it is now." ”

Roosevelt believed that the United States could no longer avoid World War I, and that the United States was no longer facing the question of whether to participate in the war, but the question of under what conditions it would be most advantageous to enter the war.

He believes that the ongoing world war is like a football game, and now the first echelon of the field is Russians, Chinese and British.

The United States should strongly support them to fight their opponents more heroically, and at the same time, they must be ready to join the game at any time and score the winning goal!

(To be continued)