The joint headquarters of the divisions and regiments of the front line of the Yingshang County and Central China Army.

Susumu Fujita, Imago Nakajima, and others are gathering to discuss the situation of the war.

"Gentlemen, after the onslaught of my 16th Division, the defense line of the Thirty Lipu Zhina Army is already in danger, and it won't be long before the Imperial Army can break through the Thirty Lipu, advance to Yingzhou, and join the roundabout troops led by General Ji Jia Liangfu!" In front of the map, Nakajima Isago pointed to the map and talked to everyone.

Before Fujita Jin and a few other old devils could talk, a communications staff officer of the Osa-level ran out of the communication room next door in a hurry, and before he could salute, he reported to Nakajima Imago, Fujita Susumu and others: "Generals, it's not good, the 6th and 114th Divisions have been defeated. ”

"What?" Nakajima's faces changed drastically, and his face was incredulous.

Fujita Jin stepped forward, grabbed the collar of the communication dasa, and asked with an almost roar, "What are you talking about?" ”

"Your Excellency General, what you said is true, this is an urgent telegram personally signed by General Gu Shoufu, commander of the Sixth Division." The communication officer shuddered and handed over the message in his hand.

Fujita Jin snorted angrily, took the telegram, and the more he looked at it, the more solemn his face became, and Nakajima on the side said impatiently: "Fujita-kun, what does the telegram say?" What about the losses of the 6th Division? ”

Fujita Susumu handed the telegram to Nakajima Imago, sighed, and said in a heavy tone: "The 6th Division and the 114th Division have lost more than half, and all the more serious baggage supplies have also been lost, so the 6th Division and the 114th Division have completely lost the ability to attack again. ”

"So what should we do now? Go on the offensive? Or ......" Ito Masa's sad road of the 101st Division.

"Report this information to Commander Shunroku Hatata." Fujita Susumu said with a pale face.

"Fujita-kun, are we going to give up like this?" Nakajima said with a reluctant look on his face, believing that his troops would soon be able to break through the defense line of the Tiger Army, and that if he retreated at this time, all his previous efforts would be in vain.

It's just that Nakajima doesn't know that the second division of the Huben Army in Thirty Miles has been reinforced by four thousand reinforcements from the Fourth Division, and its strength still exists, and it is impossible for the army to break through the Thirty Miles of Tiger Army's defense line in a short period of time.

More importantly, if the Central China Front takes the initiative to retreat, then the Tiger Ben Army will be able to concentrate all its efforts on besieging the main force of the North China Front that has been trapped, so doing so is tantamount to giving up the main force of the Central China Front.

In fact, these Fujita Jin didn't know anything, but at present, the Sixth Division and the 114th Division were defeated and lost the ability to continue fighting, the flank of the main force of the Central China Front was instantly exposed to the front of the Tiger Army, and the ammunition reserves of the Central China Front Army were almost exhausted.

However, it was precisely because of the importance of the retreat that he had to report the information to the commander-in-chief of the front army, Shunroku Hatata, after all, such a decision was directly related to the life and death of the more than 100,000 troops of the North China Front Army, and it was not something that he could afford as a lieutenant general division commander.

"Okay, Nakajima-kun, this matter is up to the decision of the Front Army Headquarters, if Commander Hatatoshi chooses to let us continue to fight, then as the Imperial Army of the Great Sayben Empire, we will definitely have a decisive battle with the people of China to serve His Majesty the Emperor!" Fujita waved his hand.

Seeing that Nakajima and the others were not making a sound, the communication chief saluted and immediately took the order.

………………………… Nanjing, the general headquarters of the Central China Front Army of the invasion of China.

Chief of Staff Kawabe Shozo reported to Shunroku Hata in a solemn tone: "General, Fujita-kun is in a hurry!" ”

"Oh? What's the matter? Shunroku Hata put down the pencil in his hand and said with interest: "Has the main force broken through the defense line of the Shina people?" ”

Kawabe Shozo shook his head bitterly and said: "No, the telegram report, about half an hour ago, the Sixth Division and the 114th Division were defeated by the Chinese Tiger Army, and in the battle, the two divisions suffered heavy losses, and all the baggage supplies were also lost, and now the rest of the Sixth Division and the 114th Division are retreating towards Chuzhou!" Fujita-kun, please tell me if the main force of the front army will continue to attack?! ”

"What? What did you say? The pencil in Shunroku Hata slipped quietly, and he said in shock: "How is it possible?" Gu Shoufu's Sixth Division is a first-class division of our empire, well-trained, well-equipped, and so strong in combat effectiveness is really the crown of our Central China Front, how could it be so easily defeated by the Chinese Army? ”

"General, this time is different from the past, in the past, it was said that the empire had absolute air supremacy and ground artillery superiority, whether it was individual equipment, or light and heavy weapons, compared with the Zhina political axe army has an absolute advantage, plus the imperial army officers and soldiers are all trained for a long time, skilled in tactical coordination, and the soldiers have accurate marksmanship, which can be said to be an all-round lead superior to the Chinese army.

However, now, the Imperial Army is facing the Tiger Army, which has first lost air supremacy, and the ground artillery fire is also seriously inferior, and light and heavy weapons and individual equipment cannot be at an absolute disadvantage, and without air supremacy and artillery suppression, the combat effectiveness of the Imperial Army will be greatly reduced.

In the final analysis, the people are too strong, and today's Tiger Ben Army is no longer what it used to be, and it is not something that the imperial army at this stage can match! Kawabe Shozo sighed in frustration.

Shunroku Hata nodded undeniably, what Shozo Kawabe said was true, and the Imperial Army of the Imperial Army was indeed too far behind the Chinese Tiger Army, but Shunroku Hata also knew that the gap between the two sides was not the gap between soldiers and commanders, but the gap between advanced weapons and equipment.

If the empire had been able to carry out military reform in a timely manner and upgrade the existing weapons and equipment of the imperial army, it would definitely not have been repeatedly defeated by the Tiger Ben Army with fewer victories and defeats after defeats as it is now.

"Your Excellency General, don't hesitate any longer, now that the logistics supply of the main divisions and regiments of our front line is seriously insufficient, coupled with the rout of the Sixth Division and the 114th Division, the flanks of our army are exposed, and there is no need for the Battle of Yingzhou to continue, it is a matter of life and death for hundreds of thousands of officers and soldiers of the Imperial Army on our front, please make a decision quickly." Kawabe Shozo saw Shunroku Hata's face hesitant, and he couldn't help but speak.

"However, if we retreat now, what will happen to the main forces of the North China Front that are trapped in Xuzhou? Once we retreat, our front army can certainly be preserved, but the main force of the North China Front will inevitably be besieged by the heavy troops of the Tiger Ben Army and the China Army. "Shunroku Hata has a worried voice.

Hebian Zhengsan frowned and pondered for a moment, then suddenly raised his head and said, "Your Excellency, the matter has come to this point, and the only way to do this is to transfer the Kwantung Army to the south. ”

"Transferring the Kwantung Army to the south?" Hata Shunroku was shocked in his heart, and said with some concern: "However, the Kwantung Army is shouldering the heavy responsibility of security in Manchukuo and guarding against the Russians, how can it easily go south?" ”

"We don't need to worry about this, we just need to report this suggestion to the base camp, and I believe that for the sake of the more than 100,000 elite imperial troops of the main force of the North China Front, the base camp will definitely make this decision!" The river is three roads.

"Hmm!" Shunroku Hata thought for a moment and nodded.

"Then the lowly will go and handle this matter immediately." The river side is three out of time, and after speaking, he turned around and walked out.

"Wait." Shunroku Hata suddenly raised his hand and stopped him.

"Your Excellency General, what else do you command?" Kawabe Shozo turned around and asked suspiciously.

"Send a telegram to the 6th Division and the 114th, let them rush to Chuzhou to garrison immediately, and the supplies will arrive later, and tell Gu Shoufu that if he loses Chuzhou City, let him cut his stomach to thank the emperor!" Toshi-rikuchi Hata.

"Hay!" It can be expected that once the main force of the imperial army retreats, it is not difficult to ensure that the [***] team will take advantage of the situation to launch a pursuit, and recover the lost territory along the way, and Chuzhou and Hefei and other important towns in Jiangbei must not be lost, as long as these strategic points are held, they can be used as a bridgehead for the imperial army to go north again in the future, and its strategic significance is beyond doubt.

………………………… Yingshang County, known as the Joint Command of the Army.

The communication Osa hurriedly walked out of the communication room again, and Nakajima Imakago, Ito Masaki and others, who had been waiting for a long time, hurriedly stepped forward and asked, "What did Your Excellency the Commander say?" ”

"The front army command ordered us to immediately stop the offensive, and the divisions and regiments took alternate cover to retreat to Hefei!" The communication Dazuo did not dare to slack off, and quickly replied.

Everyone was indifferent when they heard this, no one said anything, retreat and attack were not good news for them, the attack might be shattered, but retreat also meant that they admitted defeat.

"Gentlemen, since the headquarters has made a decision, then without further ado, let's hurry up and implement it." Fujita Susumu took the opportunity to say.

Ito Masaki and the others all nodded silently one after another, and seeing that everyone agreed, Fujita Jin immediately instructed the communication officer: "Immediately send a herald to quickly convey the order to retreat to all departments!" ”

"Hay!" The communication Dazuo bowed his head sharply in response, and then turned around and walked away quickly.

………………………… Thirty miles, the headquarters of the 2nd Division.

Gradually, the gunfire outside the town stopped one after another, and the division commander Cao Er looked out in surprise and asked, "Chief of Staff, what's going on?" How did the devil's attack stop? Wasn't this devil's movement very loud just now? ”

"I'll call the front line and ask!" Wu Wen, chief of staff of the Second Division, was about to turn around and walk towards the phone as he spoke.

Suddenly, in a burst of hurried footsteps, Wang Baoshan, deputy commander of the Fourth Division, walked in quickly, and said before he could stand up and salute: "Commander Cao, Chief of Staff Wu, good news, the devil has retreated!" ”

"Retreated?" Cao Er and Wu Wen looked at each other, the devil actually retreated?

(To be continued)