Attacking Manila, the primitive bestiality of the Japanese soldiers seems to have found a place of catharsis, and it is no longer the time of the field war, the fierce and fearless units of the Imperial Japanese Army are like bandits who smash the door of the rich family, basically losing the original division and regiment structure, and spilling into all parts of Manila City on the scale of a brigade or squadron, saying that in order to eliminate the American and Philippine soldiers hidden in the city, what they actually do, the Japanese soldiers and middle and lower-level officers, know in their hearts.

Lieutenant General Yoshihiko Haruta, who received the reports from various troops, was stunned at first, he did not expect that MacArthur would actually order his troops to abandon the outer defense line of Manila, and the attacking Imperial troops would attack the city of Manila after any battle.

Since there was no fierce battle on the outer defense line of Manila, MacArthur's troops must have fought a street battle with the Imperial Army in the city of Manila, which was the conclusion reached by Lieutenant General Haruta, but what happened next made the Japanese general, who was known for his bravery, scratch his head.

The commanders of various units have sent telegrams to report that there is no sign of resistance from US and Philippine soldiers in Manila, and in order to prevent enemy soldiers from hiding in all corners of the city and attacking the Imperial Army, all units have dispersed and conducted a city-wide search with brigades or squadrons as units.

"Hani?" Lieutenant General Yoshihiko Haruta, touching his huge head, his eyes flickered, and he couldn't understand it, and after walking around the headquarters for a few times, Lieutenant General Haruta suddenly realized that he couldn't help but roar angrily, "Yaga! MacArthur was very cunning, and his troops must have fled to the port! ”

Lieutenant General Haruta turned around and the chief of staff, Major General Hashimoto, shouted, "Hashimoto-kun." The 104th Division was ordered to be responsible for public security in the city of Manila, and the other troops were to leave the city of Manila immediately and continue to advance in the direction of Santa Cruz as quickly as possible. Wipe out all those hateful creatures in the harbor! ”

"The order is immediately sent to the troops, and if that unit delays the destruction of the enemy, the commander shall cut himself off, at the same time. Report the situation of the battle in Manila to Commander-in-Chief Ito! ”

In all corners of the urban area of Manila, which has been plunged into terror and chaos, a series of mournful rallying horns sounded. A Japanese soldier who was just about to have a great time. With a dissatisfied face, he cursed in a low voice, got out of all corners and ran in the direction where his troops had gathered, and then the Japanese soldiers of the brigade. Like locusts in transit, they spread through the city of Manila and drove south,

Japanese soldiers stayed in downtown Manila. It was only about an hour, but it also allowed the citizens of Manila to fully feel the martial arts of the soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army, and it was precisely this precious hour or so that how many American and Philippine troops who were withdrawing to the port of Santa Cruz escaped.

However, there are those who are lucky, and there are those who are not lucky, the 11th Infantry Division of the US Army, the 3rd Division of the 1st Philippine Army, and two units collided head-on with the roaring Japanese troops, and the two US and Philippine troops of more than 40,000 people immediately fell into a sea of more than 100,000 Japanese troops, and then there was a one-sided melee.

The sound of rapid shooting, the flash of fire from the explosion of grenades, the panicked shouts of US and Filipino soldiers, the "fluttering" sound of bayonets entering the body, the screams of the dying people, the "clanging" sound of iron strikes, and the fierce shouts of Japanese soldiers were intertwined and echoed in the dawn sky.

At about 7 a.m. on 29 August, Lieutenant General Jonathan, commander-in-chief of the US and Philippine forces, stared at the direction of the battle with an ugly face on the new blocking position of Polillo.

Do you still expect such troops to turn around and rescue their brothers from the encirclement of hundreds of thousands of Japanese troops? No, they don't have the courage and they don't have such thoughts, and Lieutenant General Jonathan's mood at the moment can no longer be described as painful.

Lieutenant General Jonathan, grateful to Tang Qiuli from the bottom of his heart, ordered himself to build a new blocking line in Polilo, otherwise, what is now surrounded should be all the officers and soldiers of his 7th Mechanized Infantry Division, surrounded by hundreds of thousands of Japanese troops, and all soldiers, including himself, can only die in battle or be captured.

The sound of gunfire in the scuffle, after more than an hour, gradually subsided, and Lieutenant General Jonathan knew in his heart that the troops that had been intercepted and killed must be finished, and a staff officer walked up to him, "Report to Your Excellency Commander, the roster of troops that have been assembled in the port, Chief of Staff Kleist orders me to pass it on to you!" ”

Lieutenant General Jonathan took the roster nervously, his eyes swept over the numbers of the troops one by one, read it again, read it again, and asked the staff officer with luck: "Did the chief of staff say that the two units of the 11th Infantry Division and the 3rd Division of the 1st Philippine Army Corps did not arrive at the assembly area on time for what reason?" ”

The staff officer shook his head and replied: "Commander, an hour ago, the chief of staff also contacted these two troops, and their answer was that because there were a large number of military supplies retreating with the troops, the speed of retreat was relatively slow, and before I came, the chief of staff had lost contact with these two troops!" ”

Lieutenant General Jonathan ruthlessly crumpled the roster, and all understood that it was those two troops that were intercepted and killed by the Japanese army, and what a large number of military supplies, if I guessed correctly, should be the private property of those senior officers, hateful, because of his own private property, regardless of the order of the headquarters to evacuate quickly, he actually led more than 40,000 soldiers to be surrounded and annihilated by the Japanese army, and they all died innocently.

Lieutenant General Jonathan had no time to get angry, and in front of his eyes, there were Japanese soldiers all over the mountains, like a turbid wave, pressing head-on, and the battle immediately unfolded on the Polillo line, a front more than ten kilometers wide.

The Japanese troops received a strict order from Commander Chuntian that if they could not capture and completely annihilate the American and Philippine troops, all commanders, from division commanders to squadron commanders, would have to cut their own bodies, perhaps in other Imperial Army units, this was a posture of the supreme commander, but in the 14th Army, the Japanese commanders at all levels believed that the madman-like Commander Haruta was absolutely capable!

The first wave of the Japanese charge slammed into the position of the 7th Mechanized Infantry Division of the US Army, which immediately caused a rain of blood in the sky, and the sound of gunfire was deafening.

In order to strengthen the blocking firepower, a large number of light and heavy machine guns were transferred from various units on board the ships to strengthen the blocking firepower, and the number of automatic weapons of the 7th Mechanized Infantry Division exceeded the equipment level of the two divisions.

The first attack wave of the Japanese army was beaten down fiercely, in front of the position, lying all over the corpses of Japanese soldiers, the Japanese army suffered heavy losses, but the seventh mechanized infantry division, in a short period of more than half an hour of blocking battle, casualties close to a regiment of troops, received the report of Lieutenant General Jonathan, gasped, took advantage of the favorable terrain, strengthened the automatic weapons, hit the Japanese army by surprise, there will be such huge casualties.

What's next, how long can the 7th Division hold off the Japanese army? The answer is obvious, as long as the Japanese army is carrying out two rounds of such attacks, there will be only a few people left in the position, and now, it is only 8:30 in the morning, that is, the 7th Mechanized Infantry Division, which will hold on for another hour and a half, can it be done? Why hasn't Tang Qiuli's fleet arrived yet? Division Commander Jonathan has never looked forward to the appearance of the Chinese so much.

Lieutenant General Jonathan, I don't know how lucky he was, the Japanese army assaulted all the way, except for a delay of more than an hour in the city of Manila, almost no time was wasted, the infantry rushed far in front of the artillery, the Japanese heavy artillery brigade and wing, there are still dozens of kilometers away from Polilo, otherwise, the overwhelming artillery fire will fall down, even if the first wave of the Japanese attack is blocked, the casualties of the seventh division will be more than double the current one.

Jonathan picked up the air liaison intercom and called: "Your Excellency Commander of the Chinese Air Force, I am Lieutenant General Jonathan, commander of the US and Philippine troops evacuating Luzon, we have just repelled the first attack of the Japanese army on the Polilo Line, and the troops have suffered heavy casualties, may I ask, where has your aircraft group arrived?" We urgently need air fire support! ”

In the airspace of the South China Sea, in the air at an altitude of several thousand meters, the corners of Le Yiqin's mouth twitched, revealing a disdainful sneer, the Americans knew that they were asking for help this time, but this American named Jonathan was not bad, at least he knew who he was talking to, and his attitude was quite modest, unlike the British, who had to put on a stinky face when asking for someone.

Le Yiqin replied: "I am Le Yiqin, commander of the aviation of the Independent Division of the Republic of China, Lieutenant General Jonathan, clarify the coordinates of your blocking position, and our aircraft group will arrive at the predetermined airspace in ten minutes and do a good job of target indication!" ”

Lieutenant General Jonathan was so excited that he almost cried, the Chinese, the god-like Chinese, finally appeared, with them, not only the troops who boarded the ship could be safe and sound, but also the blocking troops under his command could retreat with their whole body, "Tang Qiuli is the most reliable friend," Jonathan himself muttered to himself.

If President Roosevelt knew that his newly appointed commander-in-chief of the theater of operations would have such a ridiculous idea, I wonder if he would be so angry that he would spurt out a few mouthfuls of blood?

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