The sudden report of the communications staff officer interrupted Stilwell's inspiration, and in his mind, a flash of light seemed to grasp the essence of the matter, and suddenly extinguished, and his thinking became chaotic again, whether it was an ordinary person or a general, in this state, he would not be in a good mood if he was interrupted from his train of thought!

Stilwell was full of anger and wanted to kick him to death, this communication staff officer who came at an inopportune time, said coldly: "Read! "Although the staff officers were aware of the anger of His Excellency, the former chief of staff, the current commander, they were not surprised, since General Stilwell, commander of the 7th Infantry Division, had come to the mountains of Calais, not a day had been pleasant, and the staff officers who followed him had become accustomed to it......

The staff officer quickly opened the paper folder and read: "Major General Sintikhor, commander of the Fifth Infantry Division, has sent a telegram that the defensive positions of the 18th and 19th Infantry Regiments of our division have been fiercely attacked by the Japanese army at about 5 o'clock this afternoon, and the troops have suffered heavy casualties. ”

Stilwell's brows furrowed, if he approved Major General Sintihor's request, it would mean that the entire defensive line of the Fifth Infantry Division would retreat at least more than 40 kilometers from its current position, and the defensive position of the Eighth Infantry Division, which was close to the Fifth Division, would become a prominent position, and all the offensive pressure of the Japanese army would be concentrated on the Eighth Infantry Division, which could be said to affect the whole body.

The Japanese army did not make any major moves all day today, but in the evening, launched a fierce attack on the position of the Fifth Infantry Division. If this is the case, the follow-up troops of the Japanese army will definitely press up, and this may be the prelude to a large-scale attack of the Japanese army on the defense line of its own troops in the mountains of Calais!

In my mind, the confusion and sense of foreboding that has been lingering should not be there, and I can give two fully equipped and reinforced two US infantry regiments with a 155 mm howitzer regiment and two tank regiments. Inflicting heavy casualties, the Japanese army dispatched at least one division or more, and if the Fifth Infantry Division was not allowed to retreat, it would not take more than three days. The troops will be exhausted!

But once the 5th Infantry Division retreated to Palapag. This means that the entire defense line in the Calais mountains will be forced to retreat across the board, next. The depth of the campaign defense he conceived became an empty phrase, and Stilwell suddenly felt a headache, and this determination was difficult to make.

Stilwell thought for a moment and said to the communications staff, "Send a telegram immediately." Inquire about the commander of the 5th Infantry Division, Major General Sintihor, how many troops the Japanese army has dispatched to attack your division's defensive position, and other equipment, and ask him to immediately report the battle situation to the Campaign Cluster Headquarters! I'm just waiting in the headquarters! ”

The night was like ink, and the sporadic sound of gunfire seemed particularly poignant and monotonous at night in the mountains of Calais. Stilwell was still thinking about his fleeting thoughts, but he couldn't connect them anyway.

The adjutant, Major Higgs, holding a trench coat, looked at Stilwell with a sad face. He put it on him and said, "Your Excellency, it is late at night, and the fog is heavy. Worried about your body, why don't you go back to headquarters? ”

Stilwell looked at the loyal lieutenant who had followed him for years. sighed in his heart, he was ostracized by MacArthur, relegated to the mountains of Calais, and his military career was almost at the lowest point, but the adjutant never gave up, followed him, and came to this battlefield where he could die at any time, so that the lonely and hesitant Stilwell was grateful from the bottom of his heart.

He looked at the adjutant and said: "Higgs, thank you for taking care of me all the time, I don't know why, in my heart, there is always a sense of foreboding, the Japanese attack is always limited, otherwise, we can't stop the Japanese army in the Calais Mountains for six days, and besides, the Japanese army has only two divisions, 103 and 104, which is what I don't understand the most!" ”

"Higgs, if the report of the Fifth Infantry Division comes over, it is a prelude to the Japanese army launching an attack on all fronts, my worries are unnecessary, our days in the Calais Mountains will not be very long, and next, hundreds of thousands of elite Japanese soldiers will rush to Manila like a tide, in the midst of the chaos, any accident may happen, and my life as a commander may be lost at any time, Higgs, I want you to retire, there is no need to accompany me and wait for death on Luzon."

This is Stilwell's heartfelt words, his old subordinates who have followed him for many years should give him a good home, the defense line in the Calais Mountains, when it was broken through by the Japanese army, it was the day when the battle cluster was defeated, hearing the words of the old commander, Higgs seemed to have tears in his eyes, he was just about to say something, the communications staff officer hurriedly came over, and Higgs swallowed back the words that came to his mouth.

Opening the telegram handed over by the communications staff officer, Stilwell was almost so angry that he vomited blood, and scolded: "Bastard, what a fierce attack by the Japanese army, what nonsense!" ”

In the telegram, Major General Sintihall, commander of the 5th Infantry Division, said: "The Japanese troops attacking the defensive positions of the 18th and 19th Infantry Regiments of our division are two wings, equipped with large-caliber field artillery and a considerable number of tanks, the exact number is unknown, and as for why there were casualties, the telegram did not mention a word. ”

Stilwell felt sad in his heart, this is the American ** team, this is the American general, a division, in the face of the attack of two wings of Japanese troops, he was so panicked that what a retreat, it was to escape! I'm afraid that even the heavy casualties are made up?

Stilwell angrily shouted at the communications staff officer: "Immediately convey my order, Major General Sintihor, commander of the Fifth Infantry Division, your unit must hold the current defensive line, not allow a single step to retreat, without my order, leave the position without authorization, I don't mind personally executing you, and repeat, only my order is the only one, and neither can Commander MacArthur's order!" ”

After recording the telegram from His Excellency the Commander in a fit of rage, the communications staff officer hurriedly ran away, and Stilwell said to Higgs sadly: "Higgs, look, this is the troops I command, this is our general, Higgs, I am very sad, when did the army of the United States of America become like this?" ”

Adjutant Higgs hesitated, but still plucked up his courage and said: "General, there is one thing I must say to you, otherwise, I will be sorry for you!" ”

Stilwell looked at his adjutant in surprise, his eyes were full of doubts, and of course, encouragement, Higgs said: "Regarding the attack on the Fifth Infantry Division this afternoon, and the actual battle situation, I have learned something from other sources!" ”

"In fact, the attacking Japanese troops did not even have two wings, and they were not equipped with tanks, and the only reason why the 18th and 19th Infantry Regiments suffered the greatest casualties was that the artillery regiment attached to the Fifth Infantry Division, because of the forward troops, had an error in indicating the coordinates of the shelling, and most of the shells hit their own positions, and the casualties caused to the attacking Japanese troops were far smaller than our own casualties.

Stilwell's eyes were dark, his tall body shook a few times, he almost fell, his heart cramped violently, he absolutely believed the words of the adjutant who had followed him for many years, believed that he would not lie and deceive himself, but still asked in disbelief: "Higgs, you promise with the honor of a soldier that you are not lying!" ”

Higgs didn't swear, just looked at the pale Stilwell, Stilwell suddenly lost the courage to ask further, the whole person, it seemed that at this moment, a lot older, in his expression, pain and loneliness.

Suddenly, Stilwell's eyes burned with anger, and he said to the adjutant: "Higgs, I will definitely investigate this matter strictly, that Sintijor, I will personally send him to a military court, get rid of the American ** team, before my life ends, I must severely punish this scum!" ”

Higgs just said lightly, "General, is this necessary?" To deal with a major general division commander, you want to be approved by the headquarters! ”

Stilwell stopped talking, Higgs's words hit the hidden pain in his heart, he couldn't deal with that scum division commander, Major General Sintihall, MacArthur couldn't pass this hurdle, although he was the commander, but the authority was to command the operation, in other words, what kind of troops MacArthur sent to him, what kind of unit commander, he could only accept unconditionally.

Stilwell's whole body lost his strength, and the American troops in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific were so rotten that he was still ambitiously organizing one campaign after another, trying to turn the tide, and when he found out that this qiē was all doing futile efforts, that kind of disappointment and sadness were enough to break a person's spiritual pillar!

I thought I was a fighter, but in the eyes of others, I was an authentic clown, and suddenly, in Stilwell's mind, the flashing thoughts suddenly jumped out, and they quickly connected into a clear result, which should be an epiphany after extreme disappointment and sadness.

Stilwell completely understood that it was not how high his command ability was, not to mention how strong the combat effectiveness of the American ** team was, the Japanese army of less than two wings, a routine attack, actually frightened the commander of a fully equipped infantry division, did not hesitate to lie, conceal the true situation, abandon the position, and retreat to the rear, such a unit can block the Japanese army for five days, it is not a miracle, by no means!

It was deliberately done by the Japanese, and the ominous feeling in Stilwell's heart became clear, in the face of the US troops that were about to be defeated with one blow, the Japanese were not in a hurry to attack, they were brewing a huge trap, and the core of this trap was to attract US troops on Luzon Island, constantly consume them, and then attract local troops to help, so as to achieve the goal of gradually depleting the strength of the United States.

Stilwell almost raced, ran back to the headquarters, kicked everyone out, and he wanted to report his findings immediately to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, or even directly to the president.

(To be continued).

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