Age of Conquest Reborn

Just when Tang Qiuli and Chief of Staff Zhao Yuhe were troubled by the shooting down of five U.S. fighter jets for Le Yiqin's troops and painstakingly worked out a countermeasure, the battle in the Calais Mountains on Luzon Island

, has approached the most tragic stage.

After receiving reports from three air force commanders that they had successfully ambushed and annihilated a group of U.S. fighter jets, General Ito Yanzaburo finally burst into laughter uncontrollably. The laughter sounded permeable to the ears of other Japanese military staff officers.

, or in other words, it is a kind of laughter that is carried away by extreme excitement.

General Ito had reason to laugh wildly. After several days of careful planning, at the expense of the lives of imperial soldiers, the U.S. air force that posed the greatest threat to the empire's troops dispatched to the southwest Pacific was finally completely eradicated. It was no longer in the sky and could be used at any time.

The U.S. aircraft that threaten the Imperial Army and the rhythm of the Luzon battlefield are completely in your own hands. You can fight how you want and do whatever you want. This feeling of controlling the fate of the enemy is so good!

General Ito looked at Chief of Staff Kawashima, who had always had a calm face next to him, and said: "Kawashima-kun, convey my order. All attacking troops must surround and annihilate the US troops on the first line of defense as quickly as possible.

The 14th Army Haruta Yoshihiko's unit will immediately pass through the breach and attack in the direction of Manila. I will fulfill my promise. Haruta-kun's troops will be the first Imperial Japanese Army troops to arrive at Manila City!"

Major General Kawashima thought about it and put forward his own suggestion, "Your Excellency, Commander-in-Chief, the battlefield situation in front of us is absolutely beneficial to the Imperial Army. My suggestion is that the Fourteenth Army participates in the operation to encircle and annihilate the remaining troops of the US Third Army.

Then, all the troops pressed towards Manila together to give MacArthur the heaviest blow. This effect should be better. Otherwise, the existing strength of the 14th Army to attack Manila was slightly insufficient. On the front line of Manila

The U.S.-Philippine army has hundreds of thousands of troops!"

Of course Commander-in-Chief Ito, who had been with him for many years and had experienced ups and downs, was a resourceful and loyal subordinate, made suggestions that were obviously contrary to his orders. After the victory, he was in an extremely happy mood.

The accusation is nonsense, let alone in this case, Commander-in-Chief Ito will absolutely take the advice of Major General Kawashima at any time!

Ito ordered the guards to bring two glasses of sake, politely asked Major General Kawashima to sit down, and said kindly: "Kawashima-kun, I understand your concerns. Considering the current battlefield situation in the Calais Mountains, it will not take a day.

, the Americans will be wiped out by us soon. The Fourteenth Army went out to the city of Manila in order to increase the pressure on MacArthur and urge the British and Australian troops to reinforce Luzon Island to rush to the battlefield as soon as possible to complete the final plan of the base camp.

!”

Major General Kawashima listened very carefully to General Ito's analysis. In terms of battle command and strategic understanding, he believed that he was inferior to General Ito. Looking at Major General Kawashima's concentration, General Ito was very interested.

Gao, quite a bit like pointing out the country.

Ito continued: "If all the imperial troops on Luzon Island pressed forward together, do you think MacArthur could sustain it for a few days, especially Yoshihiko Haruta's Fourteenth Army, watching other troops fighting in the Calais Mountains

You have to be in full swing, you have been holding back your energy for a long time, just like a tiger in a cage. Once it is let out, it will explode with amazing fighting power and attack power."

Major General Kawashima interjected strangely, "Your Excellency, Commander-in-Chief, isn't this great? Capturing Manila is the established strategy of the base camp, and it also marks the end of the Southwest Pacific War. The empire can carry out the next step in a wider area.

The target, for example, is the United States or the Australian continent, or in Indochina, fighting for control with the Chinese devil Tang Qiuli, choose one of the three targets!"

General Ito smiled, shook his head and said: "Kawashima-kun, you only know one thing but not the other. With the bravery and toughness of that guy from Haruta, and the combat effectiveness and attack power of the Fourteenth Army, I believe that he will succeed in the Calais Mountains."

Before the battle to annihilate the U.S. Third Army was over, MacArthur's Manila defense line had been riddled with holes. If so, would MacArthur still have the courage to continue to hold on to Manila?"

Chief of Staff Kawashima shook his head. It was obvious that any commander would not be so stupid as to be ignorant when he knew that he could not hold on. General Ito continued: "If we add Luzon Island,

, other troops of the empire, hundreds of thousands strong

The army besieged Manila. Manila will soon fall into the hands of our Japanese Empire. The direct consequence is that the British and Australian military reinforcements that have not yet set off from Australia will no longer reinforce Luzon. We have been here for more than two months.

Wouldn’t it be that the layout was destroyed in one fell swoop?”

Major General Kawashima stood up and said respectfully: "General, Kawashima has learned that I thought too narrowly, but you also said that the attack power and combat effectiveness of the 14th Army can break MacArthur's defense line. Order

If the Fourteenth Army attacks Manila alone, won't it have the same result?"

Anyway, the initiative on the battlefield is in his own hands, and all the troops are fighting according to the predetermined plan. General Ito has the patience and time to say a few more words to the subordinate he relies on most, "Kawashima-kun, ten

The Fourth Army will definitely push MacArthur's Manila defense line into danger, but it will never make the Americans flee the city and lose their determination to hold on. The reason is simple: the balance of forces."

"If all our forces on Luzon Island are used to encircle and annihilate the remnants of the U.S. Third Army, which has only more than 40,000 troops, and do not attack Manila, it will definitely arouse MacArthur's suspicion, because this is against convention, so the Fourteenth

The army's separate attack on Manila would not only put maximum pressure on MacArthur, prompting him to urge Australian reinforcements to arrive as soon as possible, but also eliminate the suspicion of the Americans. This is the purpose of my arrangement."

Major General Kawashima was completely amazed. There were so many tricks in a simple order, such careful thinking, grasp of the battlefield situation, and judgment of the enemy commander's psychological activities. He was absolutely inferior to him.

Yes, maybe this is the gap!

Kawashima stood up again, bowed deeply, and said: "General, Kawashima admires your wisdom and your vision for grasping the battle situation!"

General Ito said slightly reservedly: "This is the way to be a general. In ancient Chinese art of war, there is a very reasonable saying, which is that if you don't plan for a moment, you can't plan for a lifetime. A good general must see through the appearance of the battlefield.

, understand its essence, and then adopt the correct method to achieve the goal of the war. However, compared with the senior military officers of the empire, I am still far behind, and I only have a superficial understanding!"

General Ito's humility was absolutely sincere. Chief of Staff Kawashima could see it and admired the general's character even more. However, he did not notice the flash of worry in General Ito's eyes, because here

At that time, the name of the China devil Tang Qiuli flashed in General Ito's mind at an inappropriate time. He asked himself, what would happen if these strategies of his were used on that China devil?

The answer is simple. It is useless. Instead, it will be exploited by the China devil and returned to him, causing the Imperial Army's troops to suffer a big loss. Starting from the repeated battles with Tang Qiuli in Indochina, General Ito has no

I have taken advantage, and often feel powerless in front of the hated China devil, so now I enjoy the sense of accomplishment of playing with the Americans and MacArthur in the middle of applause, and controlling their destiny. This feeling

, quite wonderful!

On the morning of August 13th, General Tang Qiuli, commander of the ** Division, and Major General Zhao Yuhe, chief of staff, could discuss the battlefield situation in an office far away from the battlefield on Luzon Island. General Ito Yanzaburo had the upper hand.

, you can have a deep conversation with the chief of staff, Major General Kawashima, while listening to the sound of guns and artillery, drinking wine and giving advice. The situation of more than 40,000 soldiers of the US Third Army whose destiny is controlled by the Japanese can be described as extremely tragic!

The commander of the army, Major General Whiteman, led more than 500 troops from the military headquarters. After rushing into the melee battlefield, he was immediately surrounded by the Japanese army. Perhaps the Japanese soldiers intended to let this American army rush in. Whiteman's army

The commander and his death squad miraculously reunited with a regiment-level unit of the US military, and more and more soldiers followed them. At night, night fell in the Calais Mountains, and people gathered around Commander Whiteman.

With a force of more than 3,000 men.

But the numbers are complicated enough, and all the troops are there. They are stragglers who have been broken up by the Japanese army. They are fighting left and right. There are Japanese soldiers everywhere, but they can't break out of the encirclement. However, the Japanese soldiers have obviously received the order and have a plan.

The scattered American troops were pressed and concentrated in several directions so as to facilitate concentrated annihilation. The more than 3,000 people led by Whiteman suffered few casualties.

In a cave in the Calais Mountains, Commander Whiteman and his subordinates, who had been driven out of breath by the Japanese soldiers, finally had a place to breathe. Commander Whiteman listened to the continuous sound of gunfire outside.

, with a calm expression, he ordered the radio soldiers to immediately set up radio stations and contact the various units under his command.

From the bottom of his heart, he didn't have much hope in being able to contact other troops. The troops were all in disarray. From the soldiers following him, it could be seen that the Third Army was completely trapped in Japan.

In the human trap, perhaps, he and these more than 3,000 soldiers will not see the sun tomorrow. The call from the radio also confirmed his idea. Six division-level units and one brigade-level unit have all lost contact.

.

Commander Whiteman sat numbly on a rock, without saying a word. He just took out his pistol, took out the bullets in the magazine one by one, and put them back one by one. A lieutenant colonel staff officer

, hesitated for a long time, came over and said tentatively: "Commander, we should report the actual situation on the battlefield in the Calais Mountains to Commander-in-Chief MacArthur. Perhaps, the war situation will turn around!"

(To be continued)