The United States has an Air Force contingent in China under Chennault's command; There was also a squadron of Doolittle bombers that were "retained" by the Chinese after completing the mission of bombing Tokyo...... The combined number of planes of these two teams is nearly a hundred, which is enough air power to support a large-scale battle. The "Battle of Hong Kong" presided over by MacArthur was only a "small battle" with tens of thousands of people, so the arrival of Chennault and Doolittle immediately gave the US army, which lacked fire support, an overwhelming advantage. And I don't know if it was to curry favor with MacArthur, the general, Chennault and Doolittle brought not ordinary bombs, but napalm with more lethal personnel.

The first round of bombing directly smashed through the Japanese troops behind the palace in front of the US troops, clearing the way for the advance of the US troops; Immediately afterwards, this large-scale air force formation caught the main force of the 38th Division of the Japanese Army, which was "fleeing" in the direction of Guangzhou, and then another round of unreasonable and indiscriminate bombardment.

MacArthur seized the fighter plane with great precision, and 20,000 American troops took advantage of the fact that the Japanese army had not been able to organize an effective defensive line and smashed into the heart of Tadayoshi Sano. In this way, after stubbornly resisting more than 10 consecutive hours of blows from the air and on the ground, the units of the 38th Division finally failed and were completely defeated. MacArthur took advantage of the victory to pursue, and pursued Sano Tadashi to the death, with the strength to never give up until all the enemy forces were destroyed. As a result, something unexpected happened, this guy actually led his army behind the butt of the remnants of the 38th Division to kill the city of Guangzhou a week later.

……

"Takashi Sakai has led the 21st Army Headquarters to withdraw from the city of Guangzhou, but his whereabouts have been unknown since two days ago."

"Withdraw? Why don't you say escape? ”

Nanjing, after hearing the report of Guzhuang Ganlang, Shunroku Hata asked coldly.

"That's right, he did escape from Guangzhou. But he was a general of the empire after all. It represents the face of the empire and especially our army. Guzhuang Ganlang said in a deep voice.

"He's a disgrace!" Shunroku Hatahata said hatefully, "Hasn't he always been very powerful?" Always clamoring to attack, thinking that everyone is not as good as him. But now, as soon as Chinese war began, he fled without a trace...... It seems to me that he is simply an incompetent deserter. ”

"So what do we do?" Guzhuang Ganlang asked rhetorically, "Now the Chinese have established themselves in Guangzhou, while our troops in Guangdong are in chaos. If they don't come up with a solution, they will soon find themselves in a predicament. ”

"What else can I do? Of course, it is to order all units to continue to stabilize the defensive line and not to act rashly. Shunroku Hata said annoyedly.

"What are you kidding?" Guzhuang Ganlang shouted. "How do you tell them to hold the line? Guangzhou has fallen, they have lost their logistical supplies, and they will soon fall into a situation of running out of ammunition and food. ”

"Of course I know this, but if we don't, what are we going to do?" Shunroku Hata looked at him. "Reinforcements? How many more troops do we have for reinforcements? And, if we reinforce Guangdong. What to do in North China? You don't forget. We are also at a disadvantage in Shanxi, where the Chinese may attack again at any time. ”

"No way. They do not have the strength to provoke simultaneously on several fronts. Guzhuang Ganlang shouted.

"Then before that, did you think that the Chinese had the strength to attack Guangzhou?" Shunroku Hata asked rhetorically.

"It's not the same......" Guzhuang argued.

"I know it's different. But ......"

"But we're going to at least rescue the 38th Division! If we don't act, Sano Tadayoshi will have to be loyal to His Majesty the Emperor. Furujo Kanro glared angrily at Shunroku Hatata. This is the commander of the Chinese dispatch army transferred back from the base camp? His own people are in a desperate situation, and they don't even have the courage to send troops to rescue them? This guy is worse than Shouichi Terauchi.

"Tadayoshi Sano? I thought you were going to make me order to find Takashi Sakai as soon as possible. Shunroku Hata snorted coldly.

"If I can, I think it's more important to quickly reappoint a new commander of the 21st Army." Guzhuang Ganlang shouted.

"Then let Tadayoshi Sano take this position." Shunroku Hata said casually.

"Base Camp ......"

"The base camp has given me this authority. But ......" Shunroku Hata took a deep breath. "At the same time, the base camp also ordered our troops in Guangdong to launch an immediate attack on the enemy on the opposite side."

"What?"

……

"This is to attack and defend!"

In Tokyo, Ishihara is talking.

"The Chinese have air bases on Hainan Island, in Guangzhou, and in Hong Kong. It's a huge triangle. It can easily cover the entire southeast and southeast of Guangzhou. And if we add Wuzhou and Shaoguan, then we have lost the room to continue to act in Guangdong. So, instead of sitting back and waiting, it's better to fight hard...... The Chinese understand the environment we are facing, so they will definitely not fight me to the death. They will defend, and even step back in small steps...... This gives us an opportunity. Before they launch a counteroffensive, withdraw all our troops in Canton. ”

"All withdraw?" Hideki Tojo's brow twitched slightly. Ishihara's words made him a little unacceptable.

"Yes." Ishihara affirmed.

"Didn't you say that offense is better than defense?" Hideki Tojo asked.

"If you can't do anything anymore and don't retreat, will you let all the imperial soldiers of an army be buried in Guangdong?" Toshiro Obata is tied with Nagata Tetsuyama and Okamura Ninji as the "Showa Army Three Feathers", ranking second. When the three of them signed the "Baden-Baden Secret Treaty" in Germany, Hideki Tojo could only guard the door for them. And now, Nagata Tetsuyama died because of army infighting; Okamura Ninji was captured by the Chinese; He is the only one who remains. However, it is a pity that he failed to compete with Nagata Tetsuyama for the leadership of the army, and he has already been swept into the reserves. If it weren't for the secret communication with Kenji Dohihara, Ishihara Waner and others some time ago, trying to influence Japan's strategic direction, maybe even the name would have been forgotten. And even now, he is just a staff officer found by Hideki Tojo to help come up with ideas, and there is no "formal establishment", if it were not for the fact that Japan is now glamorous on the surface, it is actually walking a tightrope, and everyone had better work together, I am afraid that he would have fallen out with Hideki Tojo a long time ago. However, despite reluctant cooperation, his attitude towards Hideki Tojo is still very poor.

"Chinese had already captured Canton, their Twelfth Army in the north of Guangdong, and Hong Kong in the south was actually under their control...... Our troops facing Guangxi have actually fallen into their encirclement. How to evacuate? Hideki Tojo asked.

"Navy, of course." Toshiro Obata gave him a disdainful look and said.

"Navy?" A hint of mockery crossed the corner of Tojo's mouth, "You have just said that the Chinese have airports on Hainan Island, Hong Kong, and Guangzhou, and they can completely block the western coast of Guangdong. How did the Navy get closer? ”

"In fact, when the news came out that the Chinese and Americans were going to conduct military exercises, I felt strange." "I can't guess what they mean. But now I feel like I get it. ”

"What?" Hideki Tojo asked in a deep voice.

"They joined MacArthur in attacking our troops in Canton, which was a gesture of goodwill to the Americans. After this battle, MacArthur lost the hat of the defeated general, and the Americans will truly re-establish their confidence in fighting us. Because this battle is a real duel between them and the Imperial army. It's not the same as the previous sneak attack on Tokyo. And in this way, the Americans must thank the Chinese for giving MacArthur such an opportunity. Ishihara said: "The Chinese will soon receive a lot of assistance from the Americans. ”

"But there's still a suspicion here." Toshiro Obata said suddenly: "If they suddenly launch a counteroffensive against Guangdong, then their strength in the Fourth Theater, which poses the greatest threat to our attack on Southeast Asian countries, will also be affected. If we seize the opportunity to attack Malaya, Singapore, and Burma, where will they get U.S. assistance? It is important to know that the Americans can now only transport supplies to China through the Atlantic-Mediterranean-Indian Ocean-Malacca-South Sea. ”

"That's what puzzled me." Ishihara said with a smile, "Britain is in the quagmire of the war situation in Europe, and after this big war, their defeat is a foregone conclusion. Therefore, Chinese curry favor with the United States, but dare to reach out to France and Britain...... They should have wanted us to launch an attack on the British before they were truly united. As long as we are victorious, the British will be uprooted in Southeast Asia. And if the British were to be expelled from Southeast Asia, only Chinese would be the only one here...... Britain and the United States had no choice but to support them as best they could. Because if the Chinese are unable to stop our westward offensive, India, Britain's most important logistics base, will also become extremely dangerous, and our navy can then threaten the Red Sea, the Middle East. So, Chinese must have hoped that we would take the opportunity to launch an offensive against the British...... The attack on Canton was just a reason for them to avoid this battle and sit back and watch the defeat of the British. However, if the countries of Southeast Asia are really occupied by us, how can they get assistance from Britain and the United States? Yunnan-Burma Highway? That's not a lot of material to be delivered. ”

"Or do they think they have what it takes to get us out of those places again?" Hideki Tojo said suddenly.

"......" Ishihara glanced at him in surprise, and nodded slightly after a long time, "That's right, what you said makes sense." ”

"Do you think they have what it takes?" Hideki Tojo asked again.

"The Chinese seem to be very confident lately." Toshiro Obata pondered, "And their actions are always unexpected." ”

"So I don't think we should follow the path they have charted for us." Ishihara pursed his lips, "Let's let the British go for the time being, and take down another target first!" ”

"......" (To be continued......)