The former enemy headquarters of the 1st Brigade of the New 2nd Division is located in a two-story Shikumen residence near the Bazi Bridge, receiving an urgent report from the front, a relieved smile appeared on Luo Yuming's face, the first regiment has successfully taken down the No. 1 fortification, the obstacles to advance have been completely cleared, and the next target is the Marine Corps Headquarters building where the Japanese army is entrenched.

Luo Yuming came to the window on the second floor, raised his telescope and looked eastward, and through the thin morning mist, he could clearly see the majesty and height of the Japanese Marine Corps Headquarters building.

The four-storey building was a reinforced concrete, unusually sturdy building that housed barracks, artillery positions, observation posts, and arsenals, and was the central stronghold of the Japanese defense system in Shanghai. Previously, the 88th Division stormed this fortress and shed 5,000 blood, but it returned in vain with the assistance of the No. 1 and No. 2 fortifications, resulting in Zhang Zhizhong's entire operation plan falling short.

Luo Yuming sighed, division commander Wu Ming handed over such a military fortress to our first brigade to fight, which is not only a trust in the combat effectiveness of the first brigade, but also a test for the first brigade. If it cannot be defeated, then the new 2nd Division will repeat the mistakes of the 36th, 87th, and 88th Divisions. What's more, this time the new second division encircled and annihilated the stubborn enemy of the Japanese army in the concession, which was facilitated by Wu Ming's efforts, if it was not fought well, not only would the whole division lose face, but I am afraid that Wu Ming would also be responsible.

Luo Yuming turned his head and saw Lu Kuiyuan, who was dressed in a Japanese Marine Corps uniform, talking to the officers in the command headquarters affectionately. Luo Yuming returned to the center of the room and said to Lu Kuiyuan: "The No. 1 fortification has been taken down, and now it's time for you to appear." Whether you can take the Japanese Marine Corps Headquarters building depends on whether your guard battalion can smoothly blend in. ”

Lu Kuiyuan smiled: "Later, please ask Brigade Commander Luo to let your soldiers not aim too accurately, otherwise we will be unlucky." ”

"Hmph-"

Luo Yuming glared and shouted: "If you don't pretend to be like it, how can you make the reinforcements believe it?" ”

Lu Kuiyuan spread his hands helplessly: "Okay, just when I didn't say anything." ”

Luo Yuming really has no temper with Lu Kuiyuan, the guys who came out of the spy company have always been lawless, and they are everywhere they go.

Luo Yuming turned his head and looked at Fan Daoquan, the commander of the second regiment, Yin Dizhong, the commander of the supplementary brigade, and Zhu Chi, the commander of the 88th Division, who was sent to help in the battle, and carefully explained the main points of the operation.

Yin Dizhong nodded again and again after hearing this, Fan Daoquan kept asking questions and perfecting the action plan, but Lu Kuiyuan complained boredly on the side: "Brigade Commander Luo, can you hurry up?" What does it mean to be a soldier and a nobleman?

"This battle is very critical, and you must not take it lightly" Luo Yuming reprimanded him with a straight face, but Lu Kuiyuan still looked like a hanger, which made Luo Yuming's face extremely ugly.

Luo Yuming's nervousness was shown on his face, but Lu Kuiyuan's nervousness was hidden deep in his heart, at this time, Lu Kuiyuan only used his indifferent attitude to relieve his nervousness, he could fully imagine that Wu Ming, who was in the Dachang Division, was also paying attention to his actions. Before leaving the division headquarters, Lu Kuiyuan heard a telephone call from General Zhang Zhizhong, commander of the Ninth Group Army, asking about the operation and giving instructions that he must be cautious.

Luo Yuming lay on the table, looking at the Hongkou map sent by the Tsing Yi team, each house on it was specifically marked, and felt that there was no problem and threw a sentence to Lu Kuiyuan: "Go, it's time for you to behave"

"Okay"

Lu Kuiyuan put away his smiling face, saluted solemnly, turned around and disappeared outside the gate of the headquarters.

Also looking at the map is Wu Ming, the headquarters of the new Pengpu Second Division in the south of Dachang Town, Wu Ming stood in front of the map in a daze, his brows furrowed into a Sichuan character.

Sun Chengyuan had never seen Wu Ming so anxious, so he leaned over and asked, "Division commander, are you worried about whether the 1st Brigade can successfully take the Japanese Marine Corps Headquarters building?" ”

Wu Ming sighed, although he did not go to the front line, no matter from the point of view of intelligence or the casualty rate of the 88th Division, the headquarters building where the Japanese Marine Corps was entrenched was a very difficult bone to gnaw, which was related to the overall situation of the entire encirclement and annihilation of the Japanese army in the concession, which made Wu Ming worried.

"Why don't we go over there and see for ourselves?" Cheng Yuan suggested.

Wu Ming shook his head, although he really wanted to know about the battle situation of Luo Yuming's brigade, but the so-called suspicious people are not needed, and the use of people is not suspicious. Now is the time to temper the ability of Luo Yuming, Yang Sixian, and other henchmen to command independently, and only by flexibly adjusting their command according to the actual situation can they grow into independent generals as soon as possible.

What's more, the divisional staff office has drawn up a detailed operational plan, and Luo Yuming's division is the absolute main force of the new 2nd Division, and with the assistance of the four regiments of the supplementary brigade and the 88th Division, in terms of strength, it is six times that of the Japanese marines in the encirclement.

In the headquarters located on the third floor of the Japanese Marine Corps Headquarters Building, the communications staff officer shouted into the microphone, but unfortunately there was no response at all, and the seventh commander of Okawa Neichuan had a solemn look on his face, and walked around the room without saying a word, like a lion in an iron cage, and the atmosphere in the headquarters was depressing.

The communications staff officer's voice was almost hoarse, and he reluctantly gave up contact with the No. 1 stronghold.

Beginning at 5 o'clock this morning, the Japanese troops in the downtown area of Shanghai were attacked by the Chinese army on all fronts, first the military airfield located on the golf course by the Huangpu River was covered with artillery fire and suffered heavy losses, and then news came from various strongholds, the Chinese troops used the darkness and morning fog as a cover to attack the positions held by the Japanese troops regardless of casualties, which made the Japanese troops unable to find the focus of the Chinese army's attack for a while.

An hour earlier, the headquarters building had lost contact with fortifications No. 1. Just now, there was a violent explosion at the No. 1 fortification, followed by fierce gunfire, which showed that the situation there was extremely critical.

The communications staff officer put down the microphone and just wanted to report to Major General Okawauchi when he heard the telephone ring rapidly, which startled the communications staff officer.

The communications staff officer took the phone, suddenly stood upright, and replied in awe into the microphone: "Hai, Your Excellency Commander, this is the Marine Corps Headquarters in Shanghai."

His voice immediately attracted everyone's attention, and the communications staff officer didn't care about the others, put down the microphone and came directly to Okawa Neidenshichi, and reported: "Commander, General Hasegawa wants to talk to you on the phone"

Major General Okawauchi quickly stood up, strode over to the telephone, and said respectfully into the phone: "Hai, I'm Okawauchi Denqi"

After a while, Major General Okawauchi put down the phone, and when he turned around, he saw the panicked officers in the headquarters, his face was cold, and he just wanted to reprimand him, when he saw a major Zo with several officers entering through the door, and hurriedly came to Major General Okawauchi: "Commander, the guns and cannons on the side of the No. 1 fortification are endless, we must send reinforcements, otherwise it will be difficult to ensure the safety of the flanks."

Okawa Neidenchi frowned, glanced at Ito Shaosa, the commander of the Eighth Sentai Marine Corps, and scolded: "Please pay attention to Ito-kun, our Imperial Japanese Army must not lose its posture at any time, let alone lose confidence in victory." ”

"Hail"

Ito Shosa immediately explained: "Your Excellency, the troops stationed in various fortifications and fortresses belong to the Marine Corps, and if we ignore the safety of the Izumo Marine Corps, it will greatly damage the morale of the troops. Now we must make a decision to rescue the Izumo Marines from their trouble

"Don't worry, the Shina army is a flock of sheep, no matter how strong it is, it is just a livestock slaughtered by our Imperial Japanese Army, so there is no need to panic." Dachuan passed on seven words of comfort, and then came to the map, pointed to the line between Chuanshakou and Baoshan on the map, turned his head and said to Shao Zuo:

"Ito-kun, don't worry too much, just now Commander Hasegawa called, under the powerful artillery fire of our navy, the Shishilin and Wusong batteries of the Chinese Army have been completely muted, and our 3rd and 11th divisions have successfully landed on the front line of Chuanshakou and Baoshan, developing the battle situation in depth."

"I believe that it will not be long before we can successfully learn from them. Moreover, the general mobilization order has been issued for the imperial base camp, and a steady stream of troops is heading towards the Songhu area. I believe that in less than three months, China will become a part of our Great Japanese Empire, and you and I will be heroes of the empire and will be remembered through the ages

Hearing Rear Admiral Okawauchi say this, Ito Shaoza's originally frowning brows suddenly relaxed, and happily said to Okawauchi Denqi: "So, our navy has achieved a great strategic victory?" ”

Okawa Uchidenchi nodded, his face also full of excitement.

For a long time, the Japanese Navy and Army have been arguing with each other for their own interests. In order to give full play to their respective advantages, the army advocated attacking China from the north to the south, following the old path of the Mongols to destroy the Song Dynasty and gradually annex and encroach on China. Correspondingly, the navy advocated occupying Shanghai, the gateway to the Yangtze River, and then attacking from east to west, capturing Nanjing, the capital of the Nationalist Government, in the shortest possible time, and forcing the Nanjing government to surrender.

The Japanese Navy and Army respectively planned the Lugou Bridge Incident and the August 13 Incident, of which the rapid expansion of the war after the August 13 Incident fully reflected the Navy's intentions.

It can be seen from this that the base camp of the Japanese army is completely at the mercy of the navy, and the goal is to occupy Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and the coastal areas along the Yangtze River, which are the most economically developed areas in China, and to accomplish the strategic objective as soon as possible.

"Although our navy has the upper hand now, those guys in the army will definitely not give up, and as long as there is the slightest mistake, they will attack mercilessly."

Okawa Uchidenchi continued: "Because of this, we should fight this battle even more, and resolutely not allow the Shina army to move forward... As long as we hold this place firmly, it will be a great victory. ”

Ito Shaosa nodded again and again, obviously agreeing with General Okawauchi's opinion, the navy has increased its troops twice in a row, and now the army has also arrived, and I believe that the follow-up army and navy reinforcements will continue to be put into the Songhu battlefield. As long as the Chinese army is unable to capture the concession areas held by the marines, then the strategic pattern of the enemy on its back will gradually take shape, and the final victory in the Songhu battle will be doomed.

It is important to know that the marines occupying the concession area involved the right flank of the Chinese army, making it unable to block the landing operation launched by the army on the northern front with all its might, and made the first contribution to the great cause of the empire. But to achieve the goal, every officer and soldier of the Marine Corps must contribute their strength.

"Yo Xi, three months to destroy China, it seems that there is great hope"

Okawa Uchidenchi looked at the map, his eyes flashed, and he turned his head to Ito Shaozo and said: "Ito-kun, now you immediately lead your Eighth Sentai Marine Corps, under the cover of tanks and combat vehicles, to make a detour to the No. 1 fortification, and carry out a counter-assault on the Chinese army from the flank, and strive to defeat them at once."

"Don't you rescue Okada squadron?" Ito asked with some surprise.

After continuous fighting, there are now only five intact tanks and armored vehicles in the garage of the headquarters, and if they are all taken away, then the headquarters building will lack an important mechanical force.

"No"

Okawa Uchidenchi tilted his head, his eyes were deep, and he looked directly at Ito: "As a member of the Imperial Japanese Navy, Okada has long been ready to serve the emperor, so he doesn't have to spend too much energy on them. ”

Major General Okawauchi pointed to the map and continued to explain his combat intentions: "You rush here with your troops, and if the fortress does not fall, you will rush forward directly, block and cut off the attacking Shina army, and strive to defeat them in one fell swoop." If the No. 1 fortification is gone, you should stop charging and take the remaining officers and men of the Izumo Marine Corps to the naval headquarters building. Now that the people of China have cut off our east and west flanks, it will be very difficult for the follow-up troops to reinforce Hongkou in the encirclement, and the lives of every officer and soldier here are precious, understand? ”

Ito Shaosa bowed: "Hai"