After the tentative offensive ended, the Ming army believed that it had figured out the general situation of the US-Filipino forces on the Bataan Peninsula.

All that remains to be done is to rest for a few days and wait for the follow-up supplies to arrive, as well as the slow heavy artillery.

The 2nd Marine Brigade, the 3rd Tank Brigade, the 43rd Infantry Division, and other units immediately ceased operations, and only small infiltration and reconnaissance detachments at the squad and platoon level continued to rotate day and night.

The speed of the 2nd Field Heavy Artillery Brigade and the 2nd Battalion of Storming Vehicles can be described as anxious, and so many days have passed, and they have just marched dozens of kilometers.

And after them, there was an even more heavyweight unit, the 1st Brigade of the Siege Heavy Artillery Brigade, which had only just unloaded all the heavy artillery ashore until today.

After all, those temporary pontoon bridges were built in a race against time, and even if they were reinforced, they could only pass a dozen tons of tanks.

Such a load capacity is not enough for a 16mm heavy field gun weighing 192 tons and a 21mm mortar gun weighing 320 tons.

The artillery itself alone is overrun, not counting the tracked tractors that go with it.

In addition, the two heavy mortars that people are looking forward to have also been loaded from Guangzhou.

As early as a few years ago, after learning that the Americans were further reinforcing the permanent fortifications on the Bataan Peninsula, the Ministry of War secretly ordered two heavy mortars from the Tianjin Naval Arsenal, hoping to smash the Bataan and Korrogido fortified areas.

The Tianjin Arsenal was mainly responsible for the manufacture of cruisers and battleship main guns, and the two large-caliber mortar guns were soon secretly delivered to service, and the specially formed 120th Independent Siege Heavy Artillery Battalion was responsible for operation.

The caliber of this special 37 mortar is 13 inches, that is, 416mm, the weight of the armor-piercing projectile is 860kg, the muzzle velocity is 410m/s, the maximum firing range is 12km, and the armor-piercing projectile falling from the sky can penetrate 3m thick reinforced concrete.

In order to ensure its own strength, the armor-piercing shell shell is nickel-vanadium-manganese alloy steel, and the warhead is tungsten nickel-chromium alloy, because the manufacturing cost is very high, so the Ming Army only ordered 300 shells.

They expected that they would only need to fire a maximum of 200 rounds to destroy the core points of the fortified area, and that an additional 100 rounds would be more than enough to serve as a backup.

There is no official name for these two mortars, but some people in the 120th Siege Heavy Artillery Battalion always joke about the various names of ancient artillery, so it has gradually become customary to call them "发熕 [gòng] No. 1" and "发熕 No. 2".

On the side of the US-Philippine coalition, as the war stabilized, the officers finally breathed a sigh of relief.

But they knew that this was only temporary, and that the Ming army would soon go on the offensive again.

A large number of troops gathered here, making the previously sparsely populated Bataan Peninsula a thriving scene.

As a result of the long-term persistence in the preparation for many years, many places have built war-ready warehouses. However, when the soldiers followed the map to the marked locations, they often found that the warehouses were dilapidated, and most of the supplies inside were damp and rotten.

Despite this, the soldiers continued to strive to be self-sufficient with local materials, and rudimentary temporary supply depots, mills, veterinary depots, and slaughterhouses were set up one after another.

Realizing that salt consumption had been underestimated in preparation for the war, the U.S.-Filipino forces had to open up some salt pans and make their own salt with the help of seawater.

As the Allied Command moved to Corregidor and got back on track, a confident Douglas continued to make generous speeches to boost morale, but received bad news.

"Sir, in the past, 30% of the food stored had to be discarded because it was damaged and spoiled, and we underestimated the difficulty of storing food for a long time."

The head of the quartermaster reported that although the ammunition in the Bataan fortified area was quite sufficient, the food reserves did not reach the minimum standard line.

Bagged food – Rice, flour and the like have become inedible due to improper storage, but canned food of all kinds is well preserved.

At the normal level of adequate supply, all food would be enough for forty days, while rice would be exhausted in twelve days and flour in twenty-one days.

There is also a rather fatal omission - the stock of medical supplies is abundant with various medicines and surgical equipment, which can be called a mountain of piles, but the sterile gauze is quite scarce, theoretically only enough for the needs of a few thousand people.

Therefore, this is why countries around the world have repeatedly emphasized the importance of logistics support, and any negligence or omission will lead to a big mistake.

Because of the need to think long-term for the sake of long-term perseverance, Douglas was forced to give strict instructions.

The food supply for combatants was rationed at the previous 80 per cent and for non-combatants by as much as 50 per cent.

But the problem is that these foods may be basically enough for white-collar workers living and working in the city, but for the orderly workers in the tropical jungle and barren mountains, the total calories they get every day are less than 2,000 kcal, which is completely insufficient for normal activities.

Mosquito bites in jungle areas have triggered massive malaria and dengue fever, overcrowding and poor sanitation have led to a rapid cholera epidemic, and field hospitals are overcrowded, but 90 per cent of patients are sick rather than injured.

Despite the abundance of medicines, it takes time to go from illness to recovery – even mild cases of dengue fever can take up to ten days to fully recover.

The large number of non-combat attrition has led to a general shortage of front-line combat units, with some companies having only a few dozen men able to carry guns.

Interestingly, the Metropolitan Governor's Office was originally convinced of the U.S. military's logistical support capabilities, believing that they would definitely hoard countless military supplies in the Bataan Fortress area.

So this means that the siege is ineffective, and sooner or later it will have to be toughened, and it is better to attack it as soon as possible.

However, the intelligence of the last few days has subverted this perception, and the reconnaissance units of the front-line troops have learned a lot of information when they infiltrate and capture prisoners in depth.

The captives confessed that now that the US-Philippine forces have implemented a strict rationing system, the front-line soldiers can only barely eat, and the rear service personnel have not enough to eat at all, and various diseases are widespread, and the non-combat attrition is serious.

After confirming that this was not a lie, the Ming army was overjoyed.

"Okay, very good, then hold off the assault."

"Tongzhi, we still have to ask the opinion of the Seventh Army, right?"

In a spacious duty room in the staff office of the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion, Cheng Han's eyebrows were full of joy.

He raised his hand and shook it, and said, "No need, they are not stupid, and this is not how they fight for merit." Well...... Hurry up and prepare, attack the heart, and come to an embattled show. ”

The attendant comprehended, smiled and arched his hand: "Obey the order, and go to it immediately." ”

The Ming Dynasty is bound to take the Philippines as soon as possible, so that the entire South China Sea can form a whole, which is convenient for the strategic and systematic layout.

However, it is not urgent enough that every second counts, and a few days of slow down is acceptable.

Because of this, the Metropolitan Governorate quickly adjusted its strategy towards the fortress area of Bataan - from a simple assault to a siege and psychological warfare, supplemented by an offensive to promote surrender.

"It's okay to do this, so you don't have to bite this copper pea and break your teeth."

Ninety-nine percent of the fortified area was to suffer heavy casualties, and Yan Chenwu obviously did not want his 2nd Marine Brigade to participate in the storming of the Bataan fortified area.

In the public heart, this is to reduce the casualties and losses of his subordinates; For selfishness, if the exchange is uglier than that, he will be very faceless.

After the instructions from the Dadu Governor's Office were issued, the air raids of the Ming Air Force basically stopped.

Groups of bombers continued to visit on a daily basis, but the bombs dropped were replaced by leaflets of all kinds.

The leaflets were shallowly worded, mostly plain and simple, to ensure that even ordinary soldiers with a low level of education could understand and arouse their emotions.

The leaflet to the Americans read: "This is not your land, you are not welcome, Washington has abandoned you, and only surrender can end evil."

The leaflet to the Filipinos reads: "Do you not feel ashamed that your ancestors fought for the independence of Luzon and risked their lives?"

Propaganda on specific radio bands was also launched, and various rhetoric was used to persuade the officers and men of the US-Philippine alliance every morning and evening.

In the past, during the attack on Singapore, the Ming army temporarily converted captured anti-aircraft microphones into megaphones, but now they have also concocted the same method, moving the anti-aircraft microphones captured from Clark and Iba airports to the front line, playing various American country music and folk songs.

Now it has really become the embattled of the new era.

Some of the flyers were even printed in color, with a variety of delicacies printed on both sides and accompanied by the words "If you insist stupidly, you will never eat them again."

To make matters worse, an officer of the 7th Light Bombardment Detachment of the Air Force suggested that it would be better to drop a small amount of physical goods over the country, which would be more demoralizing.

The Ming army aircraft group roared by as always, but this time in addition to the flyers flying in the sky, how many parachutes were there?

And what is surprising is that it is the supply box that slowly lands under the parachute.

The soldiers cautiously approached, and after making sure it was safe, they opened it, and found that it was full of canned luncheon meat, chocolate, and toffee!

These supplies were actually captured by the Ming army before - the US-Philippine forces retreated in a hurry, and many munitions depots were burned without retreating.

The Filipino soldiers immediately forgot everything and rushed up to grab it, while those who didn't grab it shouted in frustration and resentment.

Despite everyone's eagerness, the U.S. military units maintained discipline and there were no acts of looting.

However, when the officers ordered these things to be sent to the rear for quarantine, the soldiers were still not happy, and collectively demanded that they be distributed equally, and the antagonism between officers and soldiers was inevitably highlighted.

The Ming army brainstormed, and all kinds of words of persuasion were printed as leaflets, which were made in the printing factory in downtown Manila, and then transported to the airport to be loaded on bombers.

"You're going to get sick, we're going to be sick, but we're in a spacious hospital room in Manila, and you're sitting on the dirt outside the field hospital tent."

"The British who surrendered in Singapore are in a prisoner of war camp where there will be an adequate supply of food. All they did was build the railroad and go home when the war was over."

With the sea lines largely cut off by the Ming navy and the besieged defenders on the Bataan Peninsula in a helpless position, Washington's constant promises of reinforcements were clearly empty promises.

Time passed day by day, and the US-Filipino forces received no assistance.

The soldiers began to curse the talkative Douglas and gave him the nickname "Stupid Doug".

Because "Doug" is similar to "dog" in pronunciation, Mai Dashuai's nickname this time is equivalent to stupid dog.

The yellow-skinned, disease-ridden officers and men of the United States and the Philippines were demoralized and considered themselves to have been completely abandoned.

A few brave soldiers fled and surrendered quietly at night, but most did not have the courage.

They painted a large V on their steel helmets, representing "victim", which means sacrifice and cannon fodder, as a way to express protest and dissatisfaction.

I don't know who invented a self-composed song that complained about the current situation, and it quickly spread.

"We are abandoned in the east of the world, and Uncle Sam doesn't care.

We have bullets, we have gasoline, we have tires, we have artillery.

Dad, no! Mom, no! Girlfriend, no! Food, no!"

Compared to the besieged and lost Americans on the Bataan Peninsula, the Australians in Darwin are much more determined and clear.

Jingshi should be Tianfu, the Forbidden City.

"Your Majesty, this is the front-line Tang report, the battle of Darwin is still not a foregone conclusion, and the enemy has been fighting for three days and nights."

The Tang newspaper after the summary of the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion was submitted to the emperor in a timely manner, and Su Yiyi took it out of a small stack of music and handed it to the emperor.

This battle report was not written by someone Zhou, but by a court commissioner appointed by the Ministry of War.

「…… As of this morning, our army has broken the enemy's line, defeated the outer defenders in the field, and most of the enemy has been defeated and retreated into the city, trying to defend the city to the death, which is roughly the same as Zhou Beizhao's expectations. The enemy's resistance is extremely stubborn, and it is rare for such a fierce battle to be fought in such a fierce manner."

「…… According to rough estimates, more than 2,000 enemy soldiers were killed and wounded in ground battles, more than 30 enemy armored vehicles were destroyed, five enemy flags were captured, and two enemy officers and assistants were captured. Our army also lost as many as 1,500 soldiers, and the 80th Regiment was martyred."

Zhu Lingjing was a little worried during this time, and her father's physical condition was worrying.

The fighting on the front line was also good and bad, and the Governor claimed that within half a month the enemy army that was stubbornly resisting in Luzon would be defeated; However, the landing battle in distant Australia did not go well, and the war report just now confirmed this.

[Picture]

Meanwhile, Shoal Bay ......

"The height is one thousand two, and the slope is four thousand! Usually! ”

"Holy!"

Two days later, the Ming fleet was once again subjected to a large-scale air raid.

All the anti-aircraft guns of minesweepers, destroyers, cruisers, battleships, aircraft carriers were firing at full strength, and at every moment thousands of shells of large and small calibers were fired into the sky.

Half of the sky was covered with gray and black smoke from the explosion of the shells, and the 20.8mm tracer rounds fired by the small-caliber anti-aircraft guns were intertwined like silk threads.

Zhou Changfeng, who had a solemn expression, held a telescope to observe the incoming group of Australian planes, and more than 20 bombers were rushing towards such dense firepower.

"Rest assured, they don't have dive bombers, they don't threaten ......"

Before Lin Xunzhen's words were finished, Zhou Changfeng saw a strange scene - a Wheatley bomber that was hit and caught fire actually corrected its course and dived straight towards the fleet!

He was stunned for half a second, and then shouted: "Grass! Gather fire to stop that one! ”

(End of chapter)