After receiving the report from the northern front, Fan Daotuan had led the second regiment to rush to the aid in place, and Wu Ming took a heavy breath of turbidity

The Japanese artillery fire was too fierce, the casualties were extremely heavy, the first regiment and three battalions had been transferred to the front line, and the remaining troops were barely organized into a battalion.

This is still Han Tiecheng's rich experience, dividing the troops into waves and throwing them into the battlefield, minimizing the number of people per unit area in the trenches, if they are replaced by other commanders, facing the oppressive attack of the Japanese army, losing their minds and stuffing people to the front line, I am afraid that the defense line will be no longer there at this time.

"Boom-"

The sound of artillery outside came again, shaking the ground of the division headquarters and trembling violently, Wu Ming stood in front of the map, looked at the northern line, and then fell to the southern line.

The southern front was relatively close to Hangzhou Bay, but because there was a Jiulong Mountain in the middle, the fleet artillery group could not fire directly, so the 114th Division did not take the southern front as the main place of attack.

But even so, under the Japanese artillery units pouring shells in turn, the three regiments guarding the southern front still suffered nearly half of the casualties, and the defense line was precarious, so anxious that Wu Ming had no choice but to send Zhou Juncheng, who was recuperating from his wounds in the field hospital, to the front line to take over the command of the deputy regiment commander Chi Yuming.

"Division, the casualties of each regiment are not small, the four main regiments have gone into battle, and nearly half of the casualties of the first regiment and the third regiment have been killed. Now we only have supplementary brigades in reserve, and we-"

Speaking of this, Dai Ziran hesitated.

Once it is unable to move, the new Second Division's advantage in close combat will not be able to give full play, and it will not be able to regain its glory with other Chinese armies.

Wu Ming's eyes narrowed into a line, thought for a while, and said in an unusually positive tone: "We can't afford not to defend, although we are in pain now, but from the sound of our army's gunfire, you should be able to hear it, and the Japanese army on the opposite side is not comfortable." ”

"It is true that war can sometimes be used to seal the throat with a sword, but modern warfare is more of an all-round contest in the quality of officers and men, weapons and equipment, will to fight, and morale. Only by gritting our teeth and persevering can we have the possibility of defeating the Japanese army. ”

Now the Japanese divisions and regiments that have landed on the north shore of Hangzhou Bay are attacking towards the predetermined target, and all the units of the Nationalist Army defending the national defense line are gritting their teeth and holding on.

Once the new 2nd Division takes the initiative to withdraw from the battle, in addition to losing its reputation, it will also expose the Chinese troops defending Jiaxing, Jiashan, and Pingwang to the guns of the Japanese army, which is very likely to lead to the collapse of the overall situation. Thinking about the fate of Han Fuyu, the king of Shandong in history, Wu Ming shuddered, he didn't want to become a scapegoat, so he could only continue to grit his teeth.

Dai Ziran was a little anxious, and every time the casualty figures were reported, his heart was shocked: "What about the front line?" If we continue to fight, I'm afraid that even the second and fourth regiments will have to be reimbursed."

Wu Ming came to the window, pushed open the window, smelled the heavy smell of gunpowder smoke in the air, and let the cold wind hit his face. After being silent for a long time, he turned back sharply and instructed Dai Ziran:

"Order the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th regiments of the supplementary brigade to enter the reserve position, and order the officers and men of the militia regiment of the four regiments assembled in the Xinfeng camp to all drive to Pinghu to replenish the losses of the front-line combat troops at any time."

"Master, what do you mean?" Dai Ziran asked.

Wu Ming looked serious: "I still say the same thing, gritting my teeth and insisting on waiting until the Japanese artillery is tired and our own consumption is almost exhausted, and then we will concentrate all our strength to fight the counterattack of the 114th Division." ”

Dai Ziran shook his head and smiled bitterly.

Perseverance means that you have to endure indefinitely. Dai Ziran was full of hesitation, when will this battle end?

Wu Ming guessed correctly, now the division headquarters of Shigeji Suematsu in a courtyard in the west of Qiuwei Village is also arguing, and the commander of the 102nd Wing, Chiba Kotaro Osa, who is in charge of the attack on the northern front, looks at Shigeji Suematsu with a sad and angry face, wantonly expressing his dissatisfaction.

The officer next to him hung up and was silent.

Chiba Kotaro's 102nd Wing was the absolute main force of the 114th Division, and Chiba Kotaro's rank was also one level higher than that of other wing commanders, and now his wing had been crippled in continuous attacks, losing nearly two-thirds of its strength.

At the same time, the 115th Wing, which had originally launched a feint on the southern front, suffered even greater losses due to the threat of the artillery positions deployed by the Chinese army on Jiulong Mountain.

However, although the captain of the 115th Wing, Setsuzo Yazaki, was angry, he was relatively junior and had to count on Kotaro Chiba to come forward.

"Say, if you have any grievances, you can say them all" Shigeharu Suematsu looked directly at Chiba Kotaro with a serious face, and his tone was flat but unquestionable.

Chiba Kotaro put away his anger and said bluntly:

"General Suematsu, now that my wing has lost two-thirds of its men, my men have been hit by the naval fleet's artillery group when they retreated and adjusted their formation, and the loss of this is at least more than five hundred...... How many 500 people can be sacrificed in a wing? Please be sure to give a reasonable explanation."

The first time in the early morning was accidentally injured by the artillery fire of the fleet artillery group, it can only show bad luck, the fleet has not adjusted to shoot Zhu Yuan, but later several retreats were covered by the artillery group, it is too undeserved.

Akiyama Mitsuzaburo was a little surprised, he didn't expect Chiba Kotaro to be so short-tempered, and his aggressive attitude was clearly questioning the command ability of the division commander, which was very rare in the Japanese army.

Akiyama Mitsuzaburo hurriedly stood up and scolded loudly: "Chiba-kun, how can you talk to the division commander like this."

Chiba Kotaro turned his head, his face full of anger: "Your Excellency Akiyama, how can you let me be calm, the 102nd Wing is almost complete and disappears...... Our officers and men were fierce and good at fighting, they were summoned by His Majesty the Emperor to come to China, but they died in vain in such a battle with no victory in sight...... If we return to Japan, how will we face their parents, wives and children, and how can we be worthy of the trust of His Majesty the Emperor? ”

Shigeji Suematsu had a serious expression and looked at Chiba Kotaro coldly: "Chiba-kun, do you value the honor of our Imperial Japanese Army, and do you value honor more than our lives?" ”

"Hay—"

Chiba Kotaro bowed and said solemnly: "For the sake of His Majesty the Emperor, for the honor of the Imperial Army of the Great Japanese Empire, I can abandon everything"

Shigeji Suematsu snorted coldly, and his eyes became even colder: "Then let me ask you, do you want them to pay for their blood debts when the opposing army captures the military flag of the 150th Wing?" ”

"If we can achieve victory and annihilate the new second division, then even if our wing is exhausted, it will not hesitate" Chiba Kotaro straightened up and said solemnly, and then his tone changed: "However, the current situation is that our wing has done its best, and the opposite Shina army still has sufficient reserves, even if our entire division is wiped out, there is no guarantee of the final victory." ”

Since Saburo Isoda's loss of the 150th Wing flag, Chiba Kotaro has always wanted to seek the position of chief of staff of the division. The Japanese Army first learned from the French military system, and later learned from Germany, and Germany attached great importance to the role of the General Staff, so the Japanese Army also paid attention to the role of the General Staff. As far as the chief of staff of the division and regiment is concerned, although he is lower in rank than the brigade commander, he is not inferior to the brigade commander in terms of power, and is the best springboard to the general.

Now Chiba Kotaro has expressed his attitude unmistakably, that is, he doesn't want to make the relationship with Shigeharu Suematsu too stiff.

"Yes, temporary failures and setbacks have not defeated you, you are still a glorious samurai of the Great Japanese Empire" Shigeharu Suematsu praised, and then looked at the chief of staff: "Akiyama-kun, please tell Chiba-kun, where is the confidence of our persistence"

Akiyama Mitsuzaburo coughed lightly, and all the officials in the headquarters strengthened their ears. Subsequently, Mitsuzaburo Akiyama told the wonderful use of this strange army of the Yoshino Brigade, and it was only then that all the officials suddenly realized

"Really?" Kotaro Chiba hesitated.

"Then what do you think we have stopped attacking these days, and what are we doing to select the most skilled soldiers in each department," Mitsuzaburo Akiyama said dissatisfied.

"Because of this, we must launch a strong and powerful attack on the front, forcing the Shina army to use all reserves for frontal combat, so that our surprise attack force will achieve good results

Mitsuzaburo Akiyama then added: "According to the latest reconnaissance results of the aircraft, the reserve troops of the Shina Army have moved to the second-line position, and under the fire of the artillery group of our Imperial Japanese Navy, the denser the personnel of the Shina Army, the greater the losses...... Now what do you have to say? ”

Shigeji Suematsu stared at Kotaro Chiba. Chiba Kotaro is the head of the wing, and after dealing with him, the rest will have nothing to say. Now that there is hope for victory, Chiba Kotaro is also very brittle, and sits down directly: "Since this is the case, then I will organize my troops as soon as I go back and continue to launch a strong attack."

Shigeji Suematsu turned his head and glanced at Yazaki Setsusanakasa: "Yazaki-kun, what about you?" ”

Yazaki Setsuzo quickly stood up from his seat and bowed: "The 115th Wing obeys the general's orders"

"Chiba-kun, Yazaki-kun, you don't have to rush to attack now"

Shigeharu Suematsu waved his hand, and seeing that the two of them looked puzzled, he explained with a smile: "General Yanagawa has already handed over the command of the Imperial Alliance Army to me...... I'll bring these troops up later, and you can take the back and let the people kill each other."

As soon as Chiba Kotaro said this, Chiba Kotaro immediately understood that the Japanese army was used in the early attack, and the goal was to solve the opponent in net profit, and now it has evolved into a battle of attrition similar to a meat grinder, so it is natural to use special cannon fodder to complete this glorious and arduous task.

Chiba Kotaro smiled and solemnly saluted Shigeharu Suematsu: "Hai"

Shigeharu Suematsu glanced at the other officers, explained some precautions, and then announced the adjournment of the meeting. After the others left, Akiyama Mitsuzaburo came to Suematsu Shigeharu and asked with some concern, "General, what do you think of Chiaki Haha's plan?" ”

Shigeji Suematsu waved his hand: "Wu Ming attaches great importance to the wounded and sick, and there is a great chance that he will be successful, but he will not regret it as long as he works hard."

After a deep sigh, Shigeharu Suematsu said again: "The field hospital is a very important unit in the Chinese army, if he can't even send troops to suppress it, then doesn't it prove that there are no soldiers to send?" Wouldn't it be better?"