Chapter 229: Tranquility Before the Great War (Asking for a Monthly Pass)

The meeting of the headquarters of the Eleventh Army continued, and the generals in the conference room were both surprised and unconvinced to hear Okamura Ninji actually say that the hateful Shina division commander was worth five divisions.

Okamura Ninji saw the expressions of his subordinates, but he didn't pay attention to them, he wanted this effect, and only feeling unconvinced and ashamed would allow these guys to stimulate their potential.

"What do you think about the current war situation?" Okamura asked again.

Lieutenant General Masaharu Honma, commander of the 27th Division, stood up and said, "Your Excellency, as far as the current strategic situation is concerned, our army still occupies the initiative, but in terms of the strength of the two sides, our army does not seem to have an advantage. The 3rd Division of the Second Army on the north bank of the Yangtze River and other troops have not been able to arrive for a long time, and it may not be feasible to rely on the 13th Division and the 6th Division to fight all the way from Huangmei to Wuhan. ”

"In addition, the defense of this area is the 2nd Army of Sun Lianzhong, which is the same army that inflicted heavy losses on the Imperial Army in Taierzhuang. According to the enemy report sent by the front army, the Second Group Army of China had deployed troops of five armies with its back to the Dabie Mountains and facing the road from Lu'an to Xinyang to control the various passages in the mountainous area, so that the imperial army could not cross the Dabie Mountains and reach the Wuhan area. The people also destroyed the highway and relied on the mountains to block the westward advance of the imperial army, so the battle on the north bank of the Yangtze River could not be resolved quickly, nor could they reach the Wuhan area in a short time. ”

Then Honma Masaharu continued: "Speaking of the battlefield situation on the south bank of the Yangtze River, the previous efforts of the imperial army have been in vain. And the losses were extremely heavy. Not only did the Hatian detachment and the 101st Division used for the attack collectively shatter, but Matsuura-kun's 106th Division was also severely damaged, and even the 11th Brigade of the Navy's Third Fleet, which cooperated with our army, was basically wiped out. Further afield, there are at least 300,000 follow-up reinforcements in Wuhan, so our victory is already very small, and it is best to wait for the troops to rest and replenish before making plans. ”

Honma Masaharu said it very bluntly, thinking that there was no point in attacking now, and it was better to go home and wait for the domestic reinforcements to arrive before attacking.

"Any other comments?" Okamura Ninji did not express an opinion and continued to ask.

Junrokuro Matsuura also stood up and said, "Your Excellency, Commander, I also think that Honma-kun's analysis is very reasonable, and the successive defeats have demoralized the Imperial Army on the front line. The Chinese people are just the opposite, their morale is high, if we continue to attack, it will be a bloody battle in the real sense, even if we recapture Pengze, Hukou and even Jiujiang, we will not have the strength to continue to attack Wuhan! ”

"Sit!"

After saying that, Okamura Ninji asked again, "Do you all think that attacking now is a stupid act, and do you all think that it is wisest to withdraw troops at this time?" ”

Seeing that no one answered, Okamura Ninji continued: "That's right, from a tactical point of view, your ideas do have some truth. The sudden appearance of the 7th Division of the Chinese National Army really disrupted the strategic plans of the Front. As a result, the efforts of the front army in the first two months were in vain, but this setback made it impossible for the front army to change its strategic arrangement for seizing Wuhan. Therefore, the Wuhan Raiders must continue to be fought. ”

There is no way to say this by Okamura Ninji, as the commander of the Eleventh Army, you undoubtedly know more than these high-ranking officers here, and his strategic vision is not comparable to the likes of Masaharu Honma and Junrokuro Matsuura.

Okamura knew that His Majesty the Emperor and the General Staff Headquarters had high expectations for him, and he was urgently transferred back to Japan before he took office. He was personally received by His Majesty the Emperor in Japan, and the specifications were beyond imagination. After receiving the appointment of the commander of the 11th Army, Okamura Ninji went to the General Staff Headquarters to report to the Chief of Staff Headquarters, Prince Kanin Miyazaihito, and accepted a very important task -- to take Wuhan.

His Royal Highness the Prince once solemnly told Okamura that this time the Wuhan Raid Battle. The headquarters and staff headquarters had high hopes for him, hoping that he would do his best to fight this great battle that would affect the fate of the empire and serve the emperor.

His Royal Highness also told him that for the Wuhan Offensive Campaign, the Japanese base camp and the General Staff Headquarters had spared no effort, mobilized a large number of troops by land, sea, and air, and decided to adopt the tactics of a quick battle and a quick victory to completely encircle and annihilate the Chinese field army, completely destroy the Chinese government's will to resist Japan, and turn the Chiang regime into a local regime, thus completely destroying China.

Because in the eyes of the base camp and the general staff headquarters, since the China Incident (Lugou Bridge Incident), after more than a year of competition, the China army has become vulnerable. Especially in the Battle of Xuzhou, which had just been experienced, the Chinese army suffered heavy casualties, was exhausted, and had become a rabble.

In addition, the northeast, North China, Tianjin, Beiping, Shanghai, Nanjing, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang provinces had all been occupied by the imperial army, and their war potential had been exhausted, and now Chiang's regime and the remaining army had huddled in the corners of Central China, South China, and the southwest to resist stubbornly. In addition, all the industrial bases in China have fallen under the control of the empire, and all external access has been cut off, and the only way for foreign aid in China is the big bear in the north.

Therefore, this is a great time to give the Chiang regime the final blow, so the empire must seize the time to strike hard, completely destroy the will to resist the government of China, and complete the most important blow of the holy war.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the will of His Majesty the Emperor and the entire Empire, and we have no choice! Songpu-kun, now the corps headquarters will supplement Qin Shangyazhi's independent mixed fifth brigade to your unit, and transfer three infantry brigades from the troops directly under the corps to join your unit, and your unit will be allowed to complete the reorganization within three days to restore its combat effectiveness. Okamura Ninji said.

"Hay!"

"Honma-kun, your 27th Division will go to the front line of Pengze from now on, and your troops will be limited to break through the enemy in front of you within three days and seize the county seat of Pengze. The front will send the navy and aviation to cooperate with your troops, please! ”

"Hay!"

"In addition, order the Ninth Division to speed up the march, and be sure to rush to the front line of Pengze within three days, otherwise military law will deal with it!"

"Hay!"

Despite the heavy losses suffered by his subordinates one after another, Okamura Ninji firmly believed that the elite army of the Great Japanese Empire was invincible, and it was impossible to stop at the small city of Penzawa in China.

As long as all the main forces of his Eleventh Army have arrived, and the troops under his command will be strong and strong, and the ammunition will be sufficient, the combat effectiveness will inevitably return to its peak, and then it will be the time to take Wuhan. Before that, take the small county town in front of you to practice your hands and see if the people of China have grown after this year's training.

With Okamura Ninji's order, the Japanese troops quickly moved into action, and the 27th Division, which had just been transferred to the Chinese battlefield, replaced the half-crippled 106th Division, while the 106th Division withdrew to the Madang front line for rest and replenishment. However, the 27th Division did not immediately attack the defenders of Pengze for unknown reasons.

Although the Japanese army did not attack immediately, the defenders in Pengze City did not dare to slack off, and took this opportunity to repair the destroyed fortifications with all their might, and then mobilized troops to replenish the elixir to prepare for the upcoming big battle.

At this time, both Xue Yue's headquarters in the city and the 27th Division of the Japanese army outside the city were holding back a fire, which looked calm on the surface, but it only took a little spark to ignite the fire of the two troops, and then Peng Zecheng would become a powder keg, and it was impossible to say when it would explode.

At this time, both sides were accumulating strength, and both were worried that if a major war broke out, their side would be caught off guard by the enemy. As everyone knows, the more fierce the battle will be after the outbreak of the battle, and the greater the casualties. (To be continued.) )