To tell the truth, when Admiral Ito learned that Lieutenant General Yoshihiko Haruta had ordered the troops of the 14th Army to launch an attack on the Manila Line of the US Army with pure infantry without any preparation, even Admiral Ito, who was accustomed to using strategy and believed in the combat effectiveness of the Imperial Army, was stunned.

His worries are the same as Tang Qiuli's analysis, once MacArthur takes advantage of the 14th Army's long journey and unstable foothold to launch a counterattack, or if the 14th Army's attack is thwarted and the US army takes the opportunity to counterattack, no matter what happens, Haruta Yoshihiko will have to suffer a big loss!

The total strength of the US and Philippine troops on the front line in Manila is about 1450,000, while the 14th Army has only more than 70,000 troops, the US army relies on strong fortifications to wait for work, the 14th Army is a long journey, the people are sleepy and the soldiers are extremely tired, and what is even worse is that this guy Yoshihiko Haruta did not even have the proper artillery preparations, so he commanded the soldiers to kill them.

Holding the report, General Ito and Chief of Staff Kawashima were staring at each other with big eyes, relatively speechless, and after a long time, Chief of Staff Kawashima broke the silence and said: "Commander-in-Chief, you don't have to worry too much, as far as the current situation of the US military is concerned, Chuntian-kun's move can be described as very brave, doing things that ordinary people dare not do, ordinary generals don't use such courage, but they are a little impatient!" ”

General Ito swallowed a mouthful of saliva with difficulty, and said to Kawashima with a wry smile: "Kawashima-kun, for this guy's approach, I don't know whether to praise him for his bravery, or to accuse him of being reckless, I can't even give an order now, ordering the 14th Army to withdraw from the battle, from Quezon City to Cavite, a battle line of more than 100 kilometers." The 14th Army and the US Army were inextricably fought, and forcing them to withdraw from the battle was not the best course of action for the 14th Army. ”

"If the U.S. military takes the opportunity to counterattack, the situation can only get worse, hey, I can only take one step at a time, I hope MacArthur was beaten by the ferocity of this guy Haruta, and he can't think of counterattacking this point for the time being. Or don't have the guts, Kawashima-kun, I've served in the Imperial Army for many years, and it's the first time I've encountered such a situation! ”

Chief of Staff Kawashima thought for a moment and said, "General." We cannot wait passively, the situation of the 14th Army is very dangerous. In case it is beaten back by the US military. There is a possibility of a rout on all fronts, and my opinion is that I should leave the strength of one division and one brigade under my command and continue to clear the remnants of the American army in the Calais mountains, as well as several other divisions and brigades. Under your command, it's best to go to Manila immediately! ”

There is also no way to do it, distributed in the mountains of Calais. The Imperial Army's troops, which were chasing and beating the remnants of the American army, gathered for most of the day, and the situation on the battlefield was changing rapidly, so they could only try their best to remedy it, and General Ito nodded and agreed to the construction of Chief of Staff Kawashima, at this time, it was already more than nine o'clock in the morning of August 14.

An hour later, General Ito received a telegram from Lieutenant General Yoshihiko Haruta, and the first sentence of the telegram almost scared him out of a cold sweat, "Your Excellency the Commander-in-Chief, Haruta has the trust of the general!" The first battle is unfavorable, willing to accept any punishment! ”

Holding back his panic, General Ito then looked down, "All the officers and men of our 14th Army, from about 2 o'clock this morning, launched an attack on the Manila defense line of the US army, and until about 8 o'clock in the morning, they have already broken through the US defense line in many places, and victory is already in sight, but unexpectedly, the commander of the US army, MacArthur, mobilized a large number of reserve troops to counterattack our troops at various breakthrough points, and the situation of the battle was reversed, and the headquarters saw that they could not break through, so they had to order their subordinate troops to stop the attack, turn to the battlefield to rest, and seek opportunities to fight again!" ”

"The promise made before, in the city of Manila, to welcome the arrival of His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief, has become an empty word, every time I think of this, Haruta is ashamed, the first battle is unfavorable, and it is the responsibility of the Ministry to damage the military prestige of our Imperial Japanese Army, and at the same time as reporting the war situation, Haruta asks for punishment!"

After reading the whole telegram, General Ito couldn't laugh or cry, this guy Haruta, how could he still pant for breath when he sent a telegram, the result of the battle was much better than he expected, with a pure infantry attack, MacArthur had to use reserves, this guy Haruta is really a strong general!

Worried that there would be a surprise after that, Admiral Ito couldn't help but shout again and again: "I want the west!" To the West! Haruta-kun is worthy of being a brave general of my Imperial Japanese Army, a communications officer, and he sent a telegram to Lieutenant General Yoshihiko Haruta and all the officers and men of the 14th Army, and to inform all the troops of the Dispatch Army of the commendation order. ”

It just so happened that Chief of Staff Kawashima, after arranging the assembly of troops, returned to the headquarters and saw His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief, who was so excited, it was really rare, and asked in surprise: "General, what is it that you are so happy about?" ”

Lieutenant General Yoshihiko Haruta handed the telegram to Major General Kawashima, who quickly read the telegram, looked incredulous, and stammered a little: "Commander-in-Chief, how do you explain this?" "That couldn't be more obvious, okay?

General Ito, who was in a good mood, was very satisfied with the consternation that Yoshihiko Haruta had caused to his chief of staff, shook his head with a laugh, and said: "Kawashima-kun, there is no need to explain, this is Harida-kun's bravery, and this is the combat effectiveness of the 14th Army!" ”

Major General Kawashima remembered something and said, "Commander-in-Chief, do we still need to carry out the previous plan?" ”

General Ito shook his head and replied: "No need, the most dangerous period of the Fourteenth Army has passed, and it has gained a firm foothold on the front line in Manila, MacArthur is now in a state of passive defense, sending a telegram to the Fourteenth Army, ordering them to attack the American army in a rhythmic manner, and the American reinforcements from Australia should also arrive soon!" ”

Seeing the commendation order personally signed by General Ito Yanzaburo, commander-in-chief of the Southwest Pacific Dispatch Army of the Japanese Empire, Lieutenant General Yoshihiko Haruta, was moved, and he felt shameless to Admiral Ito, but His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief gave himself and the 14th Army such a high evaluation, Lieutenant General Haruta spontaneously felt a sense of death for his confidant, and at the subsequent military meeting, Lieutenant General Haruta was full of spirit.

In the battle the day before, Commander Yoshihiko Haruta had already seen through the essence of MacArthur's weakness and timidity, and what could the Americans do if they had more than twice as many troops as they were, and they were not cowering behind the fortifications and waiting for the attack of the Imperial troops in fear, and the artillery and chariot units to which their own units belonged had already reached the front line in Manila, and after more than a day of rest, the soldiers' energy and body had recovered to their peak state, and they could not spare the Americans.

Therefore, Commander Chuntian's pre-war meeting was also filled with a murderous meaning, "Gentlemen, our 14th Army has just been commended by the General Headquarters, this is an honor and a responsibility, and it will spur us to establish greater meritorious service for the Japanese Empire and His Majesty the Emperor, I order that all troops will launch continuous attacks on the US military positions opposite you from today, but we must pay attention to tactics and focus on killing and injuring a large number of US military forces!" ”

"Before the commander-in-chief leads other troops to the front line in Manila, we must try our best to exhaust and consume the strength of the American army.

Commander Chuntian said to the division commanders and brigade commanders who participated in the military meeting, the division commanders and brigade commanders below were simply crying and laughing, these words came out of Commander Chuntian's mouth, how could it sound so awkward, to say reckless, among all the commanders of the entire dispatch army, you Lieutenant General Chuntian called the second, did not dare to call the first, who forced more than 70,000 soldiers to fight a battle that hung in the early hours of yesterday morning?

Thanks to the blessing of His Majesty the Emperor, relying on the blessing of Apayasu, the Americans did not react, and were blindfolded by the imperial army's punch on the head, you Commander Haruta is a big bargain, there is a know, a few of our brothers, but with a handful of sweat, my heart is in my throat, if MacArthur is bold enough, hundreds of thousands of American and Philippine soldiers will press up together, and we will only turn around and run away except for the broken jade!

Now, Your Excellency the Commander, you solemnly warn us not to be reckless, is there any mistake? In the 14th Army, as long as you, Commander Chuntian, don't go crazy, don't be reckless, and don't do this unfortunate thing, you can rest assured that no one will do this unrelated thing!

No matter how big Lieutenant General Haruta's nerves are, he also saw the disapproving looks of the generals under his command, but Commander Haruta, who believes in speaking with results, did not care, on the contrary, he was very proud, no matter what I said, I only used more than 70,000 troops to beat hundreds of thousands of American troops to the point that they did not dare to show their heads, this is the credit!

Beginning at 3 a.m. on 15 August, the four divisions of the 14 th Army of the Japanese Army, divided into four offensive directions, launched a ferocious attack on the US positions on a front of more than 100 kilometers.

At this point, the battle for the defense of Manila officially began, and there were no quiet days on the front line of Manila, with shouts of killing and gunfire all over the world, and the Japanese army attacked wave after wave like tireless fighters, making the American soldiers more and more frightened, and on the afternoon of 18 August, the American troops on the Manila defense line felt the tremendous pressure, and MacArthur put all the troops that could be used in his hands into the front-line position.

Assault and counter-assault, staged on every position, the Japanese soldiers were like the unbeatable monsters, causing great casualties to the American soldiers, in the evening, night fell on the earth, the last attack of the Japanese army, was finally repulsed, exhausted, emaciated Commander-in-Chief MacArthur, are about to die, according to the current casualties and consumption, it will not take a month, on the Manila defense line, there will be no usable soldiers!

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