According to the division of labor between him and the brigade commander, Major General Yoshio Yokoyama, Yoshio Sasaki, was responsible for the command of the evacuation of troops in the city, while the brigade commander himself, remained at the brigade headquarters and was responsible for the central command, and at the same time, gave the order to demote.

Yoshio Sasaki Osa, yesterday afternoon, went to a wing closest to the port to inspect the evacuation arrangements, because the wing commander and a cadre of officers from the wing headquarters were warmly entertained, His Excellency Osa drank a few more glasses, and there was no amount of alcohol in the first place, and in front of his subordinates, he refused to lose face, a few glasses of old wine went down, and His Excellency Osa was immediately drunk like a puddle of mud, and he had no choice but to rest in this wing for one night.

It was such a mistake, and he escaped the fate of the first battalion of the paratroop regiment of the independent division, and now, Sasaki Osaku stood on the dock, his face was not good-looking, he had ordered the radio, called the brigade headquarters countless times, called the brigade commander, but there was no response, from the damned independent division troops, the attack began to now, two hours have passed, and the three wing commanders present, including themselves, all know in their hearts that Your Excellency the brigade commander is probably more than lucky!

Sasaki still can't figure out how the troops of the Independent Division suddenly moved, how could there be no warning in advance, it is said that the large-scale troop mobilization and assembly, how can there be traces to follow, he knows that sooner or later, there will be such a day, a lonely Singapore, separated from the more than one million troops of the Imperial Army, across the sea, more than 10,000 defensive troops, facing hundreds of thousands of horses in the Independent Division, sooner or later it will be a dish in the mouth of that devil.

But the battle started too suddenly, and there was no psychological preparation at all, but fortunately, the imperial army had a plan. He did not intend to defend Singapore, and he did not live up to the high expectations of His Excellency the Brigade Commander, bringing out more than 7,000 soldiers from three wings.

Looking at the urban area of Singapore, where the sound of gunfire has basically subsided, and then looking at most of the troops who have boarded the ship, Sasaki Osaku sighed and said to the three wing commanders: "Gentlemen, we can't wait any longer, we can't contact Your Excellency the brigade commander, look at the situation on the battlefield, and defend the Matsuda United in the north of Singapore." The whole jade has been shattered, and the commander of the Yokoyama Brigade is also very lucky, my opinion is that the boat will be set off immediately. What do you think? ”

The three Japanese army wing captains cursed in their hearts. "Isn't that nonsense. The base camp ordered to abandon Singapore, for what, not to preserve the strength of the Hengshan Brigade, and to pretend to ask everyone's opinions here, and to fight with the Chinese troops, you must have the capital to fight. Without firing a shot, he ran to the dock, isn't it just to evacuate as much as possible! You're a little cautious, don't you know! ”

Of course. In this case, continue to wait for the commander of the Hengshan Brigade who does not know life and death, that is, to risk the lives of more than 7,000 imperial soldiers of the three wings, if it is delayed any longer, the soldiers of the independent division will chase through the city to the dock, and none of us will be able to leave, but in case the commander of the Hengshan Brigade Fu Da has a great life, and escapes from death and runs to the dock, and he can't even see the shadow of a boat.

So, the three wing commanders said in unison: "The headquarters respectfully obeys the orders of His Excellency the Chief of Staff!" "That expression, as respectful as you want, you can be as respectful.

Sasaki Daisaichi grinned, the thoughts of the three wing commanders, his heart was like a mirror, but the words of the people were right, Sasaki said sadly: "All officers, salute Singapore, and comfort the heroic souls of the commander of the Yokoyama Brigade and the soldiers of the Matsuda Wing!" ”

Sasaki Osa himself took off his military hat, bowed deeply three times, and then ordered the communications officer, "Send a report immediately, Your Excellency Lieutenant General Shinno, commander of the Fifth Army of the Imperial Southwest Pacific Dispatch Army, our Yokoyama Brigade was suddenly attacked by the troops of the Independent Division at three o'clock this morning, and has abandoned Singapore in accordance with the order of the base camp, and the troops are boarding the ship and preparing to cross the Strait of Malacca. ”

Sasaki Daisa, who had done enough to save face, was the last to get on the ship, and in a dull whistle, dozens of civilian ships, loaded with more than 7,000 soldiers of the Japanese Yokoyama Brigade, slowly sailed away from the port of Singapore.

Just more than ten minutes after the convoy transporting the Japanese army left the port of Singapore, the vanguard of a battalion of the Fourth Brigade directly under the Corps rushed to the dock, and the battalion commander of the major, listening to the whistle of the ship in the dawn of dawn, stomped his feet in annoyance, and scolded: "It's really unlucky, Lao Tzu is about to break his legs, and he still hasn't caught up, these little devils are running faster than rabbits, and the communication soldiers, immediately report to the brigade commander, the little devils ran away by boat!" ”

After speaking, the fiery major battalion commander snatched the light machine gun in the hand of a soldier next to him, and couldn't help but say, facing the sea is a shuttle, the gunfire is agitated on the empty dock, of course, the bullet can't hit the Japanese soldiers on the boat, but it makes Sasaki Osa, startled into a cold sweat, "My Emperor Xià, I ask you to bless you, it's so dangerous, the matter before and behind the feet, if you grind for more than ten minutes, the soldiers of the independent division will not capture you alive!" ”

After receiving the report of Chu Ziye, the commander of the Fourth Brigade, Tang Qiuli smiled and said to Zhao Yuhe and Yu Guanghan: "Sure enough, as I judged, but it's okay, at least the urban area of Singapore has not been damaged by the war. ”

Zhao Yuhe replied: "Division commander, the intelligence has been sent, Chief of Staff Xin's torpedo boat and gunboat detachment is already waiting in the interception area, Commander Le's mixed aircraft group, in another fifteen minutes, can also reach the airspace of the Strait of Malacca, you can rest assured, under our joint attack by sea and air, none of the remaining troops of the Hengshan Brigade can escape!" ”

Tang Qiuli advised, "Remind Le Yiqin, don't be careless, prevent the Japanese planes on Sumatra and Kalimantan from going out to cover the Japanese army's withdrawal, and the Japanese planes will arrive on the battlefield, it won't take long, don't patronize the pleasure, let the Japanese fighters steal a bite!" ”

In the Strait of Malacca, the mist of dawn shrouded the sea like a veil, and in the Strait of Malacca, which was not wide, the steamer sailed at full speed, and it probably took less than an hour to reach the island of Sumatra on the other side.

Rear Admiral Xin Xiguo, chief of staff of the fleet of the Independent Division, was on the command ship, holding a telescope and observing the sea; although the fog was shrouded, with his many years of experience in wrestling at sea, he was able to judge the truth of the matter from a little abnormality, and more than half an hour had passed since he received the report of the enemy situation from the division, and according to the normal speed, the Japanese fleet should have reached the center line of the strait at this moment.

Xin Xiguo ordered: "Order all ships to move forward at full speed, and immediately contact the commander of the air force, our torpedo boat and gunboat formation are engaged with the enemy, please pay attention to identifying the enemy and our ships!" ”

On the island of Sumatra, Lieutenant General Shinno, commander of the Fifth Army of Japan's Southwest Pacific Dispatch Army, casually asked a staff officer, "Has the Yokoyama Brigade been evacuated from Singapore?" There were also no reports of being pursued? ”

The lieutenant's staff officer replied respectfully: "Your Excellency, the Yokoyama Brigade has boarded the ship, and now it should sail to the waters near the center line of the Strait of Malacca, they are not being pursued by the Chinese army, do we order the shore artillery, ready to provide fire cover?" ”

Lieutenant General Shinno, with a look that was almost an idiot, glanced at the lieutenant's staff officer, and said sarcastically: "Since we have not been pursued by the Chinese army, that is to say, the Chinese army has occupied Singapore and has not had time to prepare ships, what kind of fire cover do we provide, do you let the shells of the imperial artillery hit the sea?" When you were in the military school, your instructor, is this how you were taught, I really don't know how you graduated from the Imperial Military Academy! ”

Lieutenant General Shinno, mercilessly sarcastic about a small lieutenant staff officer, in the Strait of Malacca, there have been unexpected changes in him.

The radar officer reported: "Chief of Staff, the formation has received the enemy and reached the optimal artillery range for rocket artillery, and the gunboat detachment commander requests to open fire!" Xin Xiguo ordered: "Gunboat detachment, quickly engage the enemy, cover the Japanese flotilla with the most intensive artillery fire, torpedo boat detachment, go forward to fire torpedoes, and start attacking!" ”

Sasaki Osa, also holding a telescope, staring intently at the sea in front of him, with the coastline of Sumatra, from the beginning of the looming, but now can see a clear outline, his heart, is more and more stable, in a few dozen minutes, you can land on land, and finally get rid of the days of fear in Singapore!

He put down the binoculars and moved his stiff neck, and suddenly, Sasaki Osa, heard a hissing sound in the air, and it seemed that in the distant mist, you could still see a flash of fire, what was that?

Not only did Sasaki Osa hear and see it, but almost all the Japanese officers and soldiers discovered this strange scene, and the Japanese soldiers were not allowed to wake up, dragging rockets with long tail flames, with piercing screams, were already like meteors, densely covered with misty sky, orange tail flames, lit up the dawn sky, and then, over the Japanese fleet, rushed down.

The gunboat detachment of the fleet of the Independent Division has more than 100 high-speed gunboats, and on each gunboat, in addition to the two main guns on the front and rear decks, a 32-barreled "Thunder" rocket launcher of the naval combat type is also prepared, and a salvo is more than 4,000 explosive weapons, which is no less than the rockets of large-caliber howitzers.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! Rumble! "With a loud bang, on the surface of the Strait of Malacca, rows of high columns of water were stirred up, and in the water columns, mixed with the fragments of the limbs of the Japanese soldiers, the broken wooden planks and parts of the ship, the flames, reflected the mist in a sauce-red color, just the first salvo, the fleet transporting more than 7,000 Japanese troops, was shrouded in a storm of steel!

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