Commander-in-Chief MacArthur issued orders one after another, and nearly 300,000 Allied soldiers began to get busy, and all troop movements, including the withdrawal of British and Australian troops, were carried out in a very short period of time.

It should be said that MacArthur's evacuation plan was still very methodical, with echelon evacuation, alternate cover, US troops covering the withdrawal of British and Australian troops, and Philippine troops covering the withdrawal of US troops.

However, he still underestimated the IQ of the Japanese commanders, how could the large-scale transfer of nearly 300,000 Allied soldiers hide from the eyes of Yoshihiko Haruta, it turned out that MacArthur was a little wishful thinking, and his approach was really chilling, putting the troops dominated by Filipino soldiers on the front line, withstanding the attack of the Japanese army, and covering the withdrawal of American troops.

As far as the combat effectiveness of the Philippine soldiers is concerned, without the support of American soldiers, in the face of the Japanese soldiers who are full of fighting spirits, it is not bad if they are not scared to pee their pants, and they are still expected to die desperately for the Americans?

The abnormal movement of the Allied troops in the Calais Mountains has long fallen in the eyes of Yoshihiko Harata, and the reports from the forward troops flew into his headquarters like snowflakes, and the content is almost the same, "The forward observation post reported that from about six o'clock this morning, the Allied troops on the front line in the Calais Mountains began to move frequently, and the specific intentions are unknown!" ”

After reading these reports, Lieutenant General Yoshihiko Haruta brought a hideous sneer on the corner of his mouth, "What intentions are unknown,, that MacArthur is so poor and tossed, and the purpose is nothing more than one, to learn about the main force of our Imperial Japanese Army." The news of the attack on Australia, I had a premonition that the situation was not good, and I was going to slip away, so there was such a cheap thing, and it was not easy to catch more than 300,000 Allied soldiers in the mountains of Calais, and just run away lightly, taking my Haruta Yoshihiko as a fool? ”

Meimei drank a glass of sake, and Commander Yoshihiko Haruta gave the following order, "All units of the 14th Army. and the subordinate troops, immediately launched a counterattack on the whole line against the Allied forces in front of them, specifically requesting the 103rd, 104th, 108th, and 109th Divisions. Quickly crush the enemy and quickly penetrate the rear of the Allied forces. Cut off all access for the retreat of Japanese troops to Manila. At the same time, ask the Araki Air Force to dispatch all its warplanes and bomb all the bridges along the way from the Calais Mountains to Manila, as well as the Allied forces! ”

Lieutenant General Haruta's order took all the Japanese officers by surprise. Gotcha, Your Excellency Commander is starting to go crazy again, do you know how many enemies there are on the opposite side of our Imperial Army? With nearly 300,000 troops, the Fourteenth Army held on to a favorable side of the Calais mountains. The Allied forces had no choice but to launch a counterattack with nearly twice as many troops as the enemy, and the risks involved, self-evident, were similar to taking the initiative to seek death.

Seeing the hesitant expressions and suspicious eyes of the officers under him, Yoshihiko Haruta was furious and shouted angrily: "Baga! Execute the order quickly! "The officers are scattered all of a sudden, and those who are on the phone are busy making calls, and those who should go to the various units are faster than rabbits, who dares to talk more, maybe the next moment, the big mouth of His Excellency the Commander will be instigated!

Looking at the command headquarters, he was immediately busy, and Lieutenant General Haruta felt a little lonely and lonely, he wondered, such a simple matter, how could the officers under him not see through, MacArthur's mind that was now in a hurry to slip away was more important than anything else, the Imperial Army had captured Australia, Luzon was the place of death, that Yankee was not stupid!

At noon on 25 August, the Intelligence Office of the Independent Division sent new information again, "According to the reports of the Intelligence Department's intelligence stations in various parts of Australia, all the Japanese offensive troops have landed on Australian soil, and the commander-in-chief of the British and Australian forces, General Fernandez, has issued an order for the defensive forces everywhere to give up blocking the Japanese army, and all the British and Australian troops will withdraw to the interior of Australia, and the Japanese landing battle will be over." ”

"In addition, in the battle that lasted more than six hours, the British and Australian troops suffered heavy losses, and the specific casualty figures are unknown, and they are being collected!"

Tang Qiuli put down the information, let out a long breath, and said to the chief of staff, Zhao Yuhe: "That Commander-in-Chief Fernandez, he finally did the right thing, preserved the bloodline of the British and Australian troops, more than six hours, can hold on for such a long time under the attack of the absolutely superior Japanese army, but it is unexpected, Yuhe, the combat effectiveness of the British and Australian troops in Australia must be reassessed!" ”

Zhao Yuhe didn't think so, and said with some pride: "The division commander, that is, the British and Australian troops, is the troops of our independent division to defend Australia, in any place, the Japanese army does not want to take half a step on the land, fight well, and drive the Japanese troops back to the sea!" ”

Tang Qiuli smiled, not committal, but his heart thumped, and then he thought, "If it is really any main field brigade of the independent division, can it hold out in the face of the attack of Japanese troops more than four times its own strength?" Probably only after the fight, will you know. ”

At this time, the battlefield in the Calais Mountains of Luzon Island had undergone earth-shaking changes, with more than 100,000 Japanese troops attacking on all fronts, and the Philippine troops on the first line of defense in the Calais Mountains were immediately beaten dizzy and miserable.

At about three o'clock in the afternoon, in the face of the continuous attacks of the Japanese soldiers, the soldiers of the Philippine army could no longer hold on, and the four armored divisions of the Japanese 14th Army, like four sharp knives, pierced the defense line of the Philippine army.

Tens of thousands of soldiers abandoned their positions and fled in the direction of Manila, although the American officers in charge of the command shot hundreds of people, but they could not stop the frenzy of retreat, and later, they themselves were carried by the rout and retreated.

At this point, the Philippine First Army, the Manila Guard Third Division, the Third Army Corps, and the Quezon Garrison Brigade on the first line of defense, more than 80,000 Filipino soldiers, whose fighting spirit was completely lost, began to retreat on the whole line, like a flood that burst the embankment, turned around and ran in the direction of Manila.

From the early morning of 24 August, when MacArthur launched a counterattack on all fronts, to the afternoon of 25 August, in less than 24 hours, the Japanese and Allied offensive and defensive sides changed hands again.

In the second line of defense in the Calais mountains, General MacArthur, who had already ordered the US troops to prepare to withdraw to Manila, received a report from the front-line generals, sighed, and immediately changed the order, and all the US troops on the second line immediately turned to the defense and prepared for the flood of Japanese attacks.

MacArthur would never have imagined that the more than 80,000 Filipino soldiers on the first line of defense could not hold out for even five hours, and according to his prediction, they should hold out for at least 12 hours before the American troops on the second line of defense could calmly deploy on the Manila defense line, but the Japanese did not even have this time for themselves.

General MacArthur's only wish now is to hope that the US troops on the second line of defense will be able to withstand the attack of the Japanese army.

Despite this, General MacArthur did not intend to spare the Filipino soldiers who had retreated from the front line, and as soldiers of the colonies, they should be fighting on the front line, so MacArthur mobilized two divisions of soldiers and set up a skirmish shelter twenty kilometers behind the second line of defense.

All Filipino soldiers who have retreated, regardless of whether they have been formed or not, will immediately disrupt their formation, and according to the ratio of three to one, they will be disorganized into US units, and after forming a regiment, they will immediately open their positions; for Filipino soldiers and officers who refuse to form a group and insist on fleeing, US soldiers do not have to report to the report, and have the right to be shot on the spot.

The American soldiers of the two divisions, just in position, the Filipino soldiers who retreated like a tide, rushed to the scene in a disorderly manner, and after a burst of English scolding, the sound of belts and wooden sticks, and sporadic gunfire, the Filipino soldiers realized a very real problem, these American GIs, already red-eyed, when they shot their own soldiers, their hands were not trembling, Manila could not run back, with the Americans, but felt safer.

In addition to the more than 10,000 Filipino soldiers who were killed and captured by the Japanese army, the remaining 70,000 or so were escorted to the position by American GIs.

Immediately, the sound of guns and artillery rang out, and a fierce battle unfolded in the middle of the Calais mountains, and the first wave of the Japanese attack hit the first wave, and the battle in front of the positions of the American and Philippine troops immediately fell into a white-hot process, and the Japanese soldiers like mad tigers rushed forward desperately, and the positions of the American and Philippine troops began to sway.

Seeing that the situation was not good, General MacArthur immediately put all the troops behind him into battle, which barely stabilized his position, and thankfully, the first wave of Japanese attacks was finally resisted, MacArthur breathed a sigh of relief, and felt weak.

On the contrary, the commander of the 14th Army of the Japanese Army, Lieutenant General Yoshihiko Haruta, was so excited that his eyes lit up, this was the battle in his mind, the first wave of attacks was blocked, as expected, he ordered the follow-up troops to adjust their deployment, and next, it was time to rush directly into Manila City!

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