Speaking of which, Rear Admiral Junhisa Ikeda breathed a sigh of relief: "The Navy now has only one coastal defense ship deployed in Port Arthur, an old gunboat belonging to the former Manchurian Imperial Maritime Police Force, plus a few small minesweepers and submarine destroyers. It is simply impossible to provide more fire support to the defenders with the enemy's air superiority. ”

"And under the enemy's air superiority, these ships themselves need the protection of ground anti-aircraft artillery, otherwise it will be difficult to survive. Vice Admiral Yanagida Motozo once asked the Navy to garrison Lushun and all of them go ashore to participate in land operations. Temporarily self-sink the ships into the sea to save them. ”

But Vice Admiral Yanagida Motozo's suggestion was not only rejected by the Navy. Moreover, the navy has already sent a telegram ordering these ships to load all the naval personnel of Arthur and withdraw to the peninsula immediately while there is no danger at sea. Vice Admiral Kobayashi, the commander of the Navy in Lushun, had officially informed Vice Admiral Yanagida Motozo of the incident. ”

"At present, the situation in Lushun has entered an extremely dangerous situation. The commander of the Arthur Fortress, Lieutenant General Yanagida Motozo, demanded that the Kwantung Army Command immediately reinforce at least one division of Arthur in the shortest possible time. Otherwise, according to the current battle situation and the comparison of enemy and enemy forces, the Arthur area will only be able to hold out for three days at most. ”

Major General Junhisa Ikeda was like a mourning crow, and the words that came out of his mouth made the entire small conference room of the Kwantung Army Headquarters fall silent in an instant, as if it had been struck by thunder. Major General Tamura Yoshitomi, who had been insisting on the transfer of the Kwantung Prefecture independent garrison and went north to reinforce him, collapsed in his chair all of a sudden.

Dalian has been lost, which means that the last mobile force of the Kwantung Army has been divided into two. In addition to two squadrons stationed in Golden State, one brigade in the Fuzhou region. The main force of this independent garrison is basically stationed on the line from Lushun to Dalian. Dalian lost so quickly, which means that this independent garrison of Kwantung Prefecture can no longer be used as an overall force.

Compared with Lieutenant General Qin Yan Saburo, who was quite out of shape, and Major General Tamura Yoshitomi, who collapsed directly in his chair, General Yamada Otomi, who had completely calmed down at the moment, showed his general demeanor. Although the slightly twitching corners of his mouth and the trembling left hand revealed the horror in his heart, he was calm at least on the surface.

It's just that no matter how General Yamada is pretending to be calm, he can't change the current situation. The current Kwantung Army has even used the strength to eat milk, and the troops that can be controlled by the entire Kwantung Army Command, except for a wing around Andong, are left with cadets from the tank school and several aviation schools.

Not to mention that he Lieutenant General Yanagida Motozo has not yet reached the last moment, he can still rely on the favorable terrain around Lushun and the fire support of the Lushun Heavy Artillery Wing to hold out for a while. Even when it came to the time of fire, the Kwantung Army could not send a single soldier to bypass the enemy's three divisions to reinforce him.

And Qin Yan Saburo, who woke up from the gaffe, did not have such a conscious composure as General Yamada Otozo. Qin Yanzaburo, who came to his senses, scolded loudly: "How did he Yanagida Yuansan do it, such a strong fortification group on the periphery of Lushun was lost in such a short time." ”

"At that time, the Russians had been defending for a year, and as a dignified lieutenant general of the Japanese Army, he did not hold on for even two days, and he lost almost all the points on the periphery of Arthur. Could it be that after he was transferred to the reserves, he even lost all the things given to him by the Imperial Army University, or did he forget the spirit of bushido, which he should keep in mind as an imperial soldier? ”

"Such an important stronghold from the 203 Highlands to the East Cockscomb Mountain was actually lost in such a daze, what did he Lieutenant General Yanagida Yuansan eat? He Yanagida Motozo is not worthy of being an imperial general, he is just a wreck. How did the Imperial Army raise such a piece of garbage? ”

For Lieutenant General Qin Yanzaburo's scolding, almost everyone present was very disapproving, and at the same time, they all remembered a Chinese proverb: When a crow falls on a pig, it only sees others black, but it can't see its own black. He, Lieutenant General Yanagida Yuansan, no longer has the ability, and it will not be your turn to Lieutenant General Qin Yan Saburo to scold like this. It's as if you were the deputy chief of staff of the Kwantung Army back then, and you didn't get beaten by others.

You Qin Yan Saburo have the ability, you go to use the strength of the current thousand garrisons, plus more than 2,000 sailors who can't even match their guns, to defend all the key points around Lushun in the case of a surprise attack by the enemy army of five divisions? During the Russo-Japanese War, how many troops did the Russians have in Lushun, and how many troops did Lieutenant General Yanagida Motozo have?

This fortification is strong and complete, but it needs to be guarded, right? Lieutenant General Yanagida Motozo's troops, all taken together, can control one direction north of Lushun, it is good. What's more, at the place where the battle started, Lieutenant General Yanagida Motozo had asked for instructions more than once to concentrate the independent garrison of Kwantung Prefecture on the front line of Lushun and Dalian.

Regarding Qin Yanzaburo's violent jump, General Yamada Otozo shook his head: "Qin Yanjun, don't say that, if Yanagida-kun can hold on for three days, we don't necessarily have no choice." The Navy wants to pick a son in Lushun at this time, I don't have any opinions, don't you conspire with each other. ”

"People want to run away, we don't have no choice, right? But before they retreated, they had to make some contribution to the defense of Arthur. You go and communicate with the navy in person, and let these ships go to Jinzhou and Huludao. Withdraw the garrison of Huludao in Jinzhou and transport it to Lushun. ”

"Tell the Naval Command Department that I know that these jellyfish suffered heavy losses in the just-concluded Battle of Leyte Gulf, losing the battleship Musashi and all the aircraft carriers. But they were not without the strength to support the Kwantung Army in the war. At least they were on home, and a group of ships, including two battleships. ”

"Their navy is not incapable of dealing with the Chinese who landed in Dalian. It's just that their ships are now like treasures, and they refuse to take them out in their arms. Since the occupation of the Kwantung Prefecture by the Empire, the Imperial Army has paid a heavy price, and the strategic Port Arthur is not used by the Army, but by their Navy. If their navy wants to withdraw its hand at this time, then show a little sincerity. ”

"You tell them not to forget that the heavy artillery groups around Port Arthur are under the command of the Kwantung Army. I can accept the navy's picks at this time, and I understand that I want to preserve its strength. But the prerequisite is that they have to give me everything they have to do. Qin Yanjun, you will personally negotiate this matter. ”

"And tell Lieutenant General Yanagida Motozo that reinforcements will give it to him. But he had to hold out as much as possible in Lushun in order to buy time for the Kwantung Army to mobilize reinforcements. At present, the Isthmus of Jinzhou has been controlled by the enemy, and it is impossible to reinforce him from the land in a short time. If reinforcements from the sea were chosen, the Kwantung Army would need time, and at the same time it would have to enlist naval support. ”

"While negotiating with the navy, you will telegraph to the base camp about the current situation of the entire South Manchurian battlefield. Tell those people to either give reinforcements to the Kwantung Army, or agree with the Kwantung Army to abandon South Manchuria. Otherwise, according to the current situation, not only will South Manchuria not be able to hold it, but the entire Kwantung Army may also be completely surrendered to South Manchuria. ”

"The enemy's strength on the peninsula is only a few tens of thousands, and it can contain the entire Korean army, which now has six divisions. Was he incompetent Lieutenant General Yoshio last month, or was there something else? Is it just to let the Kwantung Army be wiped out in South Manchuria? The Kwantung Army's current shortage of troops is not caused by the base camp repeatedly transferring elite troops? ”

"The Chinese army is still licking its wounds at the moment, and it has to deal with the fact that the Chongqing government army and the North China communist army cannot draw troops, and the Kwantung Army is not incomprehensible. However, the Kwantung Army could not understand that the North Korean army was held back by a second-rate army of no more than tens of thousands, and a large part of them was the so-called Korean Independence Army. ”

"The North Korean Army and the Kwantung Army have always been closely intertwined, but now the North Korean Army is sitting back and watching the Kwantung Army fight hard, and it is grinding with a small number of enemy troops on the peninsula, and the Kwantung Army cannot accept it. Qin Yanjun was tired, and urged the base camp and the Korean army to come up with some practical actions. ”

"The most important thing is that you immediately urge the commanders of the two armies, Shimizu and Hongo Yoshio, to immediately carry out the order. Make every effort to break through to the southeast and join the Third Army to ensure the safety of the entire Anbong Railway, as well as the security of the Liaodong area south of Benxi and east of the Liao River. And the enemy who landed on the Liaodong Peninsula will be firmly blockaded within the Liaodong Peninsula. ”

"Before the Fourth Army withdrew from the Jinzhou and Huludao fronts, the Kwantung Army no longer had any mobile forces to rescue Lushun. But in any case, at least before receiving a new order from the base camp, the enemy troops on the Liaodong Peninsula must be blocked to the death in the Liaodong Peninsula, and they must not be allowed to rush out of the peninsula. ”

"The Thirtieth Army and the Forty-fourth Army, even if only two divisions rushed out, are now a victory for us. At least we have in our hands some forces that can be used in a mobile way. Therefore, you must urge Shimizu and Hongo Yoshio to carry out the orders of the Kwantung Army Headquarters as soon as possible. ”

"Tell Lieutenant General Shojiro Iida that his current task is not to hold Liaoxi. Once the first line of Xinmin to the first line of Liaozhong is lost, I am afraid that his fourth army will become a lone army. He was ordered to shrink his forces at all costs and board the ship from Huludao if the navy supported the operation. If the navy still refuses to contribute, it will quickly retreat to Haicheng through the ditch gang and the winding mountain line. ”

"At present, the Kwantung Army is no longer able to hold the entire South Manchuria, and it has become our only choice at present to abandon Liaoxi, which has broken into Liaoxi alone, and free up an army to use as a mobile force. In your order to Lieutenant General Shojiro Iida, you must be tough. As for the idea of General Kita Seikoichi, don't think too much. ”

"It is still somewhat inappropriate for a person who has been in charge of the work of secret agents for a long time to be the commander of a front. In the command of the First Front Army, General Kita Seiichi still looked a little weak. Even the location of the headquarters of a front army, the choice is not very appropriate, and the base camp should consider adjusting his position. As for the moment, let him follow the Fifth Army in Xinmin. ”

After hearing Yamada Otozo's words, Qin Yanzaburo nodded after hearing it: "I understand what Your Excellency meant, and I will go to draft a telegram to the base camp and the navy." The North Korean army is really not good, so I personally went to Seoul to urge the North Korean army to move faster. I will also carefully consider the orders given to the 30th and 44th armies for their next move. ”

"As for the Fourth Army, I think with Lieutenant General Iida's ability, as long as the reason is clear, he will still accept it. However, we cannot put the Fourth Army's retreat in the form of negotiations with the navy. The fiasco in Qikou in the first half of the year made the navy always have great concerns about entering the Bohai Sea to fight. ”

"If the Navy hesitates, it will affect our grasp of the warplane. I see if we can let the Fourth Army make preparations with both hands, and withdraw the troops around Jinzhou to Huludao. As for the strength of their two divisions on the front line from Beizhen to Yixian, is it better to withdraw to Panshan on the spot? ”