Chapter 1586: Plotting Stilwell (II)

The 51st Wing of the Japanese Army, a field artillery brigade, shelled an area of only a few hundred square meters for more than 30 minutes, and nearly 1,000 shells fell with a roar, and the ground would be turned over several times. ,!

After the shelling stopped, Chu Tian left the observation hole with great interest, silently lit a cigarette, and in the smoke, his face was blurred, and Ying Xiao Dazuo always lay in front of the artillery mirror, and after a while, Ying Xiao left the observation hole.

First, he shouted excitedly: "I want the west!" To the West! Greatly good! I saw that there was not a single sign of being alive, and I believe that our 51st Wing will create a miracle, an artillery bombardment, and wipe out a regimental headquarters of the American army! ”

Chu Tian raised his eyes and looked at Takashi Jiro, who was in extreme excitement, and secretly sneered in his heart: "Hmph, just like that, if you sue him, there is also the Supreme Commander of the US Army in the Calais Mountains, Lieutenant General Stilwell, will this little devil be excited, have a heart attack, and hang up on the spot?" ”

Eagle Xiao himself was happy for a while, and suddenly woke up, can have such a credit, but thanks to Captain Fujino, if he didn't see it, a great opportunity, he missed it in vain, he patronized Yiyin, snubbed the biggest hero, is not kind?

Eagle Filial Piety Osa said very sincerely: "Fujino-kun, thank you, once the battle record is confirmed, I will report this matter to the division commander Lieutenant General Morie, Fujino-kun, your credit can't run, soon, you will become a young man!" ”

Chu Tian smiled faintly and replied: "Your Excellency Dazuo, you are wrong, such a great credit has nothing to do with Fujino, it is completely the credit of the 51st Wing and His Excellency Eagle Filial Piety, I just witnessed an artillery bombardment that created a miracle!" I think that if nothing else, His Excellency Osa will soon be promoted to general, Fujino congratulates you in advance! ”

Chu Tian's meaning is obvious, he doesn't fight for this credit at all, it is all counted on your Eagle Filial Piety Dazuo, Eagle Filial Piety blinked a few times in surprise, he could see that what this Captain Fujino said was absolutely sincere, Eagle Filial Piety was unprecedentedly embarrassed, a little twisted, more admiration and moving, and even effectively imitated the customs of the Chinese people, and Captain Fujino kowtowed to the handle, and became a brother with a different surname.

What Eagle Filial Piety Dazuo was thinking about was meritorious service, but for the more than 80,000 American troops in the Calais Mountains, these 30 minutes of shelling were no less than the collapse of the sky.

After the Japanese artillery bombardment stopped, the American soldiers hiding in the fortifications, anti-artillery holes, and shelter departments poked their heads out with trepidation, looked at the Japanese troops on the opposite side, but inexplicably fired a burst of artillery, and the infantry did not attack, they were all greatly relieved, and they were glad to have picked up a life from the ghost gate, and they were even more glad that their location was not the target of the Japanese shelling, and they did not know that unlucky place, and they suffered the anger of the Japanese.

Major De Kruger, assistant to the commander of the 18th Regiment of the United States Army, probably the only surviving colonel-level officer on the 18th Regiment position, just ten minutes before Eagle Xiao ordered the artillery to shell, he went to other positions according to the assignment of the regiment commander, Major Albert, and conveyed Commander Stilwell's order to strengthen and rebuild the fortifications to the battalions, and assumed the authority of on-site supervision.

Major De Kruger, running less than seven or eight hundred meters, was frightened by the whistling shells, and then, the air wave of the shell explosion unceremoniously overturned the major in the trench, very fortunately, just fell in front of an anti-artillery hole, De Kruger didn't care too much, got into it, and squeezed together with a dozen soldiers.

Because it is too close to the shelling area, although hiding in the anti-artillery hole, but that kind of feeling, like sitting on a small boat fluttering in the storm, the soil on the roof of the anti-artillery cave fell down, so that more than a dozen American soldiers inside said that they would not drink officers, just like natives, looking at this posture, it will collapse at any time, Major de Kruger, only pray for God's blessing!

The sound of the artillery stopped, and Major De Kruger, who had no head and no face covered with dirt, came out of the anti-artillery hole and looked around cautiously, fortunately, the Japanese army did not attack, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief, suddenly, he remembered, and, uncontrollably shivered, the area covered by the Japanese artillery fire was not exactly where he had just left?

My God! Commander Stilwell, Regiment Commander Albert, including the regimental chief of staff, three battalion commanders, and six or seven colonel-level officers, were all in that position, and the major's lips were dry at that time, and his legs and stomach were trembling, and he had a premonition that the most unfortunate and terrible thing had happened, and that the Japanese artillery fire was obviously directed at Commander Stilwell.

Major De Kruger, shouting and scolding, blasted out a second lieutenant and a dozen soldiers from the anti-artillery hole, and ran towards the shelling area with a team of trembling soldiers.

When I got there, I looked at the scene, Major de Kruger had weak legs, and sat on the ground with his buttocks, except for the craters everywhere, the overturned dirt and gravel, as desolate as the moon, there was nothing left, and the Japanese shells changed the place and ruined it.

The major, who had settled down a little, led a dozen soldiers and searched all over the craters, not even a single intact corpse, and only collected a few identification badges, among them, there were Lieutenant General Stilwell and Regiment Commander Albert, and now, Major De Kruger, became the highest-ranking officer in the entire Eighteenth Regiment.

Lieutenant General Stilwell and the principal officers of the 18th Infantry Regiment were all killed by Japanese shelling, and the bad news was quickly reported to Brigadier General Whiteman, commander of the 5th Infantry Division.

Brigadier General Whiteman had time and mood to enjoy lunch peacefully, the location of the division headquarters was more than 20 kilometers away from the front line, and even the sound of artillery that would sound every day was transmitted here, which was already inaudible, compared to the front line, the camping site of the division headquarters chosen by the brigadier general was a dense jungle, with tall trees covering the sky and the sun, blocking the hot June sun on Luzon, a bit like a paradise.

Of course, evacuation was also very convenient, less than three hundred meters, there was a relatively flat dirt road, a dozen refueled jeeps and trucks, ready to standby, and when the chief of staff broke into the tent with a panicked face, Brigadier General Whiteman had just poured a small half glass of brandy into his mouth.

"Oh no, division commander, I received a call from the 18th Regiment, Commander Stilwell was on the position, and was killed by Japanese shelling!" The movement of the chief of staff has changed its tone, a bit like a male goose that has been trampled on the neck.

"Ahem, ahem!" The brandy choked into the trachea, and Brigadier General Whiteman's face turned purple, and he stood up suddenly, knocked over the table, and the plates and bowls fell to the ground. Is the message reliable? ”。

The chief of staff gasped and replied: "Absolutely reliable, together with the death, there is also the commander of the eighteenth regiment, Colonel Albert, and most of the main officers of the regiment, the call was from Major de Kruger, assistant to the regiment commander, he is the only surviving colonel-level officer of the eighteenth regiment, division commander, we must report this news to Commander MacArthur!" ”

Brigadier General Whiteman was like a trapped beast, turning around in a hurry in the tent, his expression could not see joy and sorrow, he knew too well that this matter was almost a catastrophe for the American troops in the entire Calais Mountains, even the lieutenant general commander was killed, what about the troops below?

The dragons have no leader, there is no unified command, if the Japanese army attacks again at this time, a little wavering, it will be a terrible situation of the collapse of the whole front, and being ordered to withdraw to Manila and retreating to Manila are two completely different concepts.

Brigadier General Whiteman stopped circling and hurriedly said to the chief of staff: "Immediately use the top-secret password to report this matter to Commander MacArthur, and at the same time, you immediately rush to the position of the 18th Regiment, designate the Major De Kruger, acting as the commander of the regiment, stabilize the morale of the army, and strictly order the officers and men of the regiment to keep the news of the death of Commander Stilwell and other major officers in the regiment strictly confidential, prohibit it from being disseminated, and deal with it by military law if it is violated!" ”

It should be said that Brigadier General Whiteman's handling of the situation in the Calais Mountains is absolutely correct, otherwise, once this astonishing bad news spreads among the US soldiers on the front line, there is a real possibility that the US troops, which are already not highly motivated and have low morale, will collapse without a fight, and a lieutenant general commander will die at any time, and the lives of ordinary soldiers will be no more valuable than a stone in the Calais Mountains!

It is impossible to guess whether MacArthur's reaction to receiving the bad news reported by Brigadier General Whiteman was whether he was proud of his success in killing people with a knife, or whether he recalled that he had worked with Stilwell for several years, arguing more than working closely together, so that in the end, it was intolerable, or whether he was sad and desolate, and worried about his future fate, etc., is unknown.

And the US officials did not say a word about this catastrophic incident, and even the families of the fallen officers, including Stilwell's family, did not receive the news, and they still thought that their relatives were fighting to the death with the Japanese on those islands on the other side of the ocean, for the overseas interests of the United States of America!

A day later, on 8 June, General MacArthur, commander of the US Southeast Asia and South Pacific Regional Headquarters, issued an order to reorganize the US campaign cluster in the Calais Mountains into the Third Army of the US South Pacific Theater.

And the commander of the 51st Wing of the 103rd Division of the Japanese Army, Takashi Takajiro Osa, has already prepared a telegram, waiting for the results of the battle to be determined, dreaming of hanging up the rank of general, of course, announced by the Americans themselves, it will be more convincing, impactful and influential!

This qiē has nothing to do with Chu Tian, what he is most nerve-wracking about now is how to get rid of Xiqiao Dazuo and Little Dog Shaozuo, who are more pleasing to the eye the more he looks at himself, evacuate Luzon Island and return to Yangon to accept a new mission!

(To be continued)

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