Tang Qiuli, the commander of the independent division, couldn't understand Jonathan's deployment, and decided to retreat, why did he still guard the Manila defense line, he wouldn't really think that with the strength of one division, he could block hundreds of thousands of Japanese troops outside Manila for 12 hours, right?

With Polillo's good defensive position, the thinking of the Americans is really incomprehensible, and thinking about it, under MacArthur for a long time, with such a boss, what opportunities can he exercise, and suddenly take on a heavy responsibility, it is inevitable that he is inexperienced, his courage is commendable, and his practice is not enough, Tang Qiuli is relieved.

Chief of Staff Zhao Yuhe immediately understood what the division commander meant, and said: "Division commander, what you mean is that Commander Le's aircraft group proposed to personally intervene in the evacuation of the US and Philippine troops and provide them with air fire cover, so as not to be bitten by the Japanese army and unable to get out!" ”

Tang Qiuli said helplessly: "I can only do this, otherwise, I am really worried that they will not be able to withdraw, and in your telegram to Jonathan, I must emphasize one point in particular, all troops must withdraw their positions before 6 o'clock in the morning of August 29, assemble at the dock and wait for boarding, the Americans can only get out under the cover of night, if they act in broad daylight, the Japanese army will definitely bite the US and Philippine troops at any cost, and they will not be able to carry out comprehensive cover with Le Yiqin's fleet alone!" ”

Then, he said to himself: "This situation and this scene are so similar to the Dunkirk retreat!" ”

Zhao Yuhe, who had already walked out, turned around and asked strangely: "Division commander, Dunkirk, what is that place?" ”

Tang Qiuli said in disguise: "It's nothing, think of something!" ”

But he secretly shouted in his heart, "It's a good hanging, the Dunkirk retreat is indeed happening, but it didn't succeed." It was because of his own appearance that more than 400,000 British and French soldiers were annihilated by the Germans in the Dunkirk area, which also greatly damaged the vitality of Britain. ”

Tang Qiuli's telegram soon arrived in Jonathan's hands, and the request put forward in the telegram really made it difficult for him, and according to the retreat plan, more than 200,000 US and Philippine troops fought fiercely for a few days. In the form of echelon cover and gradual evacuation, they left the Manila defense line and assembled at the pier.

And Tang Qiuli's order was to let all the troops. Immediately abandon the current position and quickly assemble in the direction of the dock. And the blocking force under his own command. It is also necessary to abandon the existing fortifications and rebuild the defensive positions in Polillio, what if the Japanese army takes advantage of the withdrawal of the troops and attacks on all fronts?

In order to achieve the concealment of the retreat, not to alarm the Japanese troops on the opposite side. He had ordered all his troops, especially the front-line ones, to abandon all vehicles, heavy weapons, tanks, and armored vehicles, and march on foot to the port. When the Japanese caught up, it was a one-sided massacre, and Lieutenant General Jonathan could not help but consider the consequences.

However, looking at the order sent by Tang Qiuli, which was almost an ultimatum, Lieutenant General Jonathan gritted his teeth and decided to carry out the order on the telegram, on the one hand, without the escort of Chinese aircraft, his own troops could not reach Australia at all, the main reason was based on confidence in Tang Qiuli, this Chinese, in the Indochina Peninsula against the Japanese army, has never been defeated.

Lieutenant General Jonathan issued a new order to all the troops, and the American and Philippine soldiers, who were so anxious that they were like cats scratching their hearts before they could leave, were so anxious that they were like cats scratching their positions after receiving this order, and they withdrew from their positions at a speed that they could hardly believe.

In the vast night, the city of Manila fell into a tense atmosphere, a group of soldiers, through the streets of Manila, as if there were wolves behind, without looking back through the city, ordinary citizens, not so sensitive, those rich businessmen, famous families, but can not sit still, the Americans are going to leave us, run away by themselves, after the Japanese occupy Manila, who knows what the situation is?

Behind a group of American and Philippine soldiers, a crowd of people began to flee, but as soon as the car opened the gate, those soldiers who usually saw themselves were like seeing the God of Wealth, but at this moment they didn't recognize their relatives, and they couldn't help but say, smashed the car to pieces, and warned fiercely: "Don't want to live? According to the order of the Manila Garrison Command, all vehicles will not be allowed to go on the streets until 6 a.m. tomorrow, and violators will be shot on the spot! ”

The car was gone, and there were still two legs, which was better than staying in the city and letting the Japanese kill them, so the people who were mediocre and respectful had to pant and run after the soldiers, in fact, they didn't know where to run, and instinctively felt that it was safer to run with the soldiers with guns.

When the soldiers were assembling in the port, the fleeing crowd who had followed them, seeing the ships, understood in their hearts that as long as they could board these ships, they would have a chance to live, but this opportunity did not belong to them, but to a group of officers with guns in their hands, who seemed to be more panicked than them, and could only look at the ships and sigh.

But a merchant is a merchant, and soon found the key to solving the problem, and all kinds of transactions, through night and chaos, began to be staged on the crowded docks.

By the time Lieutenant General Jonathan received the angry and helpless report from Brigadier General Kleist, the chief of staff who had commanded the troops to board the ship at the port, the matter had already evolved to a very serious point, and about 20,000 wealthy businessmen and government officials had already boarded the transport ship, and everyone knew how they got on board, and these people, more or less related to the former commander-in-chief, MacArthur, had one way or another.

Even if he had never met MacArthur, he could find a reasonable excuse to get in touch with someone he was connected with, but at this point, Chief of Staff Kleist's usually modest prestige and impression of MacArthur's subservience became a fatal weakness, and the officers and other senior government officials basically ignored the orders of the new chief of staff, and he could not prevent such a thing from spreading.

Originally, the evacuation plan included the withdrawal of important members of the colonial government during the American occupation, and 10 steamers were specially transferred for the transfer of government officials and confidential files and documents, but these 10 ships became a tool for high-ranking government officials to make a fortune, and the number of people on board the ships had nearly doubled the authorized number, and people continued to board the ships by various means.

At this time, it was already more than three o'clock in the morning of 29 August, and Vice Admiral Jonathan was so angry that he almost went crazy, and he made it clear what it meant that the situation continued to develop, which meant that the ten steamers, if they could not set sail, would sink in the stormy seas of the southwest Pacific, which meant that their own troops, more than one division of soldiers, could not board the ship, and the troops acting as the blocking force could only stay on Luzon, that is, the 7th Mechanized Infantry Division under his command would never be withdrawn to Australia.

Moreover, such a chaotic situation will also affect the evacuation of the entire unit; if by 10 o'clock in the morning, the troop carrier formation has not yet left the port, and on a sunny day, more than 200,000 soldiers are crowded in the harbor, exposed to the eyes of the Japanese soldiers, and even if there is a Japanese bomber or fighter plane, it will cause a total chaos if it casually drops a few bombs and sweeps a few shuttle bullets.

What will become of the troops that have become frightened birds, Lieutenant General Jonathan did not dare to think down, although there are Chinese fighter groups covering in the air, the soldiers panic and run in all directions is an inevitable reaction.

Lieutenant General Jonathan's heart welled up with murderous energy, and he ordered all the gendarmerie units to board each steamer at once, and drive down all those who had boarded the ship by all means, and if they refused to disembark, they could use force until they were shot.

After a large number of gendarmes boarded the ship, there was another commotion of shouting and vicious cursing, mixed with sporadic gunfire, and Lieutenant General Jonathan, with an iron fist, quickly restored order to the port.

Thanks to MacArthur, his Manila defense line was built far away from the periphery of Manila City, the farce staged in the port, and the commotion that affected the whole city of Manila, did not alarm the Japanese soldiers, which was probably the most correct and only good thing that MacArthur did during his rule in the Philippines! Although he didn't mean it that way.

At 5:30 a.m., an earth-shattering burst of artillery broke the pre-dawn silence, and the flickering firelight flashed in all directions of the Manila defensive line, and the continuous sound of explosions, like heavy thunder, rolled in the sky, and the Japanese attack began on time.

After the overwhelming artillery bombardment, more than 100,000 Japanese soldiers, divided into four routes, roared and rushed to the positions of the US and Philippine troops, and there was no rain of bullets fired at the original head-on, and the positions were already empty; after a short period of consternation, the Japanese commanders at all levels immediately became ecstatic; under the continuous blows of the Imperial Japanese Army, the US and Philippine troops had abandoned their positions and fled, and the Manila defense line had been broken through.

In front of it, there was not only a prosperous city, but also more than 200,000 American and Philippine soldiers who had lost the will to resist, and all the Japanese soldiers were staring at the blood-red eyes, like a flood of the embankment, overflowing the positions of the American and Philippine troops, overflowing the Manila defense line, and rushing to the city of Manila.

The Japanese troops who stormed the city of Manila did not meet any resistance, and a prosperous city fell into their own hands, and the Japanese officers and soldiers, tempted by the great victory, scattered to all corners of the city, began to enjoy the power that the Imperial Japanese Army should exercise after conquering the city, and as for the more than 200,000 American and Philippine soldiers there, it seems that it did not attract too much attention from the commanders at all levels of the Japanese army, especially the middle and lower level officers.

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