Chapter 899: The Kwantung Army with No Way Out (Ask for Subscription!) ）

The Kwantung Army, which had no way to retreat

In the front enemy headquarters of the Sixth Corps, a communications staff officer rushed in with an excited face. "Before everyone in the headquarters could react, the excited voice of the communications staff officer reached everyone's ears....

"Report to the commander, chief of staff, the 53rd Division has good news, the third line of defense of the Japanese army has been broken by our army..."

"The third line of defense has been broken, what's the situation..."Chief of Staff Han Liancheng hurriedly opened his mouth and asked rhetorically.

"After a two-hour attack, our 53rd Division successfully occupied the third line of defense of the Japanese army and completely annihilated more than 5,000 Japanese defenders. At present, the troops have handed over the battle line to the follow-up units, and the construction of fortifications has begun. Division Commander Zhang of the 53rd Division asked for instructions on whether the troops would continue to move forward and launch an offensive..."Facing everyone's puzzled eyes, the communications staff officer replied.

Hearing the communication staff officer's answer, Commander Chen Geng walked quickly to the huge combat sand table and began to ponder... Then, he asked the chief of staff behind him.

"Old Han, after occupying the third line of defense of the Japanese army, there are still a few lines of defense left in front of us, how is the situation of the defenders. In addition, how far is it from the third line of defense of the Japanese army to the last city wall..."

"There are also the last two lines of defense, and the defenders are all brigades. However, because the Japanese army used the defense of the entire Wuhan to be tight on the outside and loose on the inside. These two lines of defense are much simpler than the third line of defense that we have just captured. These two lines of defense did not have any field fortifications, except for a large number of permanent reinforced concrete fortifications. The little devils of the two brigades and regiments are also all cowering in these fortifications for defense..."Chief of Staff Han Liancheng replied.

"In addition, from the third line of defense now occupied, to the outer city wall of Wuhan, judging from the map, there is still a distance of less than three kilometers..."

"How's the other attacking forces going?" Chen Geng nodded and continued to ask.

"They also confronted the Japanese on the third line of defense. However, judging from the latest battle report reported by the headquarters, the three attacking forces captured the third line of defense of the Japanese army, which is tonight's thing..."Han Lian became a Taoist.

As soon as his words fell, Chief of Staff Han Liancheng seemed to have thought of something, and hurriedly added.

"Commander, do you see if we are slowing down the pace of the army's offensive and keeping pace with the other troops..."

"Consistency is a yes. After all, the tactics used by the troops now require that all our attacking troops not be too prominent in the course of the offensive. Otherwise, once it becomes a key counterattack target of the Japanese army. The trenches under our feet, no matter how well they were built, could not withstand the continuous attacks of the Japanese army after concentrating their air power and artillery fire... Therefore, our four attacking troops must advance in unison, forcing the Japanese army not to dare to concentrate its forces. Because, once the Japanese army concentrates all its forces and breaks our tactics, the entire offensive will be wasted. And we have to retreat to the starting point a few days ago......." Chen Geng replied with a pensive face.

After thinking for a short time, Chen Geng did not hesitate, and ordered with a serious face to Han Liancheng, the chief of staff beside him.

"Old Han, immediately give an order to the 53rd Division at the front. Ask the offensive troops, slow down the pace of the offensive. However, the whole offensive cannot be stopped, and the Japanese army cannot be given any respite....In addition, the follow-up troops, according to the predetermined plan, are ordered to hurry up and repair the trenches, and must complete the task before the arrival of the Japanese air power at dawn..."

"Yes, Commander......"

The gunfire on the outskirts of Wuhan has not yet ended, which indicates that the offensive at night is still continuing. However, in the midst of the rumbling guns outside the city, one after another telegrams for help and farewell telegrams drifted like snowflakes to the headquarters of the Kwantung Army's southward dispatch army. ..., after quickly reading the telegrams in his hand one after another, the face of the commander, General Umezu Mijiro, could be said to be flushed. Because he didn't expect that the East China Field Army, a unit that had just been formed for less than a year, would have such a strong combat effectiveness under the leadership of his old opponent Liu Hua... And the Kwantung Army, known as the first combat effectiveness of the Imperial Japanese Army, was frustrated again and again under the attack of the other side, and even the most basic line of defense could not be defended....

Thinking of his current situation, and then thinking of the Northeast battlefield a year ago, he was beaten by the Northeast Field Army led by Liu Hua. General Umezu Mijiro asked helplessly as if he had aged several years all of a sudden, facing the chief of staff beside him.

"Sakai-kun, is Liu Hua, the supreme commander of the East China Field Army, really the god of war that my Kwantung Army can never defeat....Why, why every time we fight against him, it is always us who loses..."

As for the commander's question, seeing the commander with a desperate face in front of him, the chief of staff, Lieutenant General Ichiro Sakai, was able to answer that he was silent.

A few minutes later, under the red-eyed gaze of the commander, Lieutenant General Ichiro Sakai replied with a low face.

"Your Excellency, Commander, judging from these battle reports, these defeats are not due to our incompetence, but to the cunning of our opponents... Now, the third line of defense in the south has been completely lost, and the third line of defense in the other three directions is also in a precarious position ... Your Excellency, Commander, I humbly believe that our urgent delay now is to think of a way out for the hundreds of thousands of troops remaining in the Wuhan area......"

"Otherwise, if we continue to fight like this, in less than half a month, the hundreds of thousands of elites of the Kwantung Army in the entire Wuhan area, including our headquarters, will become history..."

"The way out......" said these two words, and General Umezu Mijiro, the face of this general who held hundreds of thousands of troops, immediately showed a self-deprecating smile. He said sarcastically.

"Sakai-kun, do you think that after this battle has been fought so far, we still have a way out. Our old rival Liu Hua, will this time leave us with a way out......"

"Before the war, I originally thought that our Kwantung Army would take the dispatch army, and after obtaining domestic reinforcements, it could rely on our superiority in strength and air force, coupled with the impregnable fortifications of several of our strongholds, to drag the East China Field Army and the hundreds of thousands of troops of the New Fourth Army to death in the Lianghu area. In the end, after inflicting great casualties on them, they were forced to retreat, which severely damaged the vitality of the East China Field Army and the two units of the New Fourth Army. With the loss of one unit of our Kwantung Army, I will be given sufficient time to rest and replenish the entire Japanese army invading China......"

"But now, less than a week after the battle began, the superiority in strength and geography that we have has been broken by the opponent by various means. Even the air superiority that we relied on and had great hopes for was cracked by the seemingly simple trenches of the other side... You say, now that we have what capital we can take out to confront the East China Field Army..."As he spoke, General Umezu Mijiro's face could be said to show a look of helplessness.

However, as a veteran who has been on the battlefield for decades, she has long seen through her life and death. Just in the whole headquarters, after a short period of opportunity. General Umezu Mijiro's face was still the first to return to his usual seriousness and majesty as a superior.

"Sakai-kun, there is definitely no way out. The whole of Wuhan has been surrounded by the enemy, and the breakthrough will be faster than the failure of the defense of the city. However, as the Kwantung Army, which had the most powerful combat effectiveness in the Japanese Empire, our unit had almost moved to most of China in its combat career in the past few years, and it can be said that it had already been prepared to die on the battlefield. "Just when everyone thought that the commander in front of them was about to give the order for a decisive battle. General Umezu Mijiro in front of him changed his words and continued to speak. ..., "However, even if we die on the battlefield, we must give the East China Field Army outside the city the greatest damage, relieve the pressure for the defense of several other troops in the Lianghu area, and drag the most powerful and capable elite soldiers in the Lianghu area to complete the tasks assigned to us by the country..."

Hearing General Umezu Mijiro's answer, Lieutenant General Sakai's eyes, which were still dim just now, immediately flashed with a fine light. Then, facing the commander in front of him, he asked with an urgent face: "Your Excellency Commander, now that the positions outside the city have been missed one after another, and seeing that the East China Field Army is about to attack the city, do you already have any good methods......

"There's no good way, but there's a desperate way..."

Seeing Lieutenant General Ichiro Sakai with a puzzled face in front of him, Umezu Mijiro continued to speak.

"Judging from the battle situation in the past two days, it is obvious that going to the East China Field Army outside the city to fight a field battle is a way that outweighs the losses. Therefore, I decided to leave one of the three divisions stationed outside the city and continue to hold on, so as to delay the offensive of the East China Field Army for two days. The remaining two divisions were all transferred into the city..."

"Your Excellency Commander, you want to fight street battles with the East China Field Army..."

"Yes, it's a street fight..."As he spoke, a thick murderous aura appeared on the face of General Umezu Mijiro.

"Only in the street battles with the East China Field Army in the city, the artillery superiority of the East China Field Army could not be brought into play. And our Kwantung Army, with sufficient weapons, ammunition, and troops, can fight a real street battle with the East China Field Army in the streets and alleys of the city, killing and injuring a large number of its limited troops, and dragging the East China Field Army in the city......" Umezu Mijiro explained.

"Hayi, Your Excellency the Commander is wise....please give the order of His Excellency the Commander..."

Ask for subscriptions, ask for collections, ask for monthly passes, ask for recommendation tickets, ask for rewards.......

*J@a