Age of Conquest Reborn

Lieutenant General Yoshihiko Haruta's judgment was correct and he was very confident. The main Allied forces around Manila were attracted to the front line of the Calais Mountains by the imperial army's weak tactics. The Allied forces on the Manila defense line would not

There are more than 50,000 people, and they must be second- or even third-rate troops with weak combat effectiveness.

As long as we quickly defeat the blockade of the Allied troops in the middle of the Calais Mountains, we can march to Manila that night. How can a mere 50,000 second- and third-rate Allied troops be our opponents, not to mention the hundreds of thousands of Imperial troops?

The fighting spirit of the soldiers was so high that once the 100,000 British and Australian troops who were reinforcing Luzon Island learned that Australia was attacked by the main force of the imperial army, they would inevitably return emergency reinforcements. The remaining American and Philippine soldiers would not be able to stop the imperial army from advancing anyway.

footsteps.

Looking at the terrain conditions again, the hastily constructed second line of defense in the Calais Mountains is incomparable to the Manila line of defense with deep trenches and high walls. However, Lieutenant General Springfield’s two lines of defense in the Calais Mountains and Manila

They have commanded troops to attack before, so they naturally know the severity.

For this reason, Commander Yoshihiko Haruta's adjusted deployment became increasingly fierce and fierce. He used the 103rd, 104th, 108th, and 1094 divisions of the 14th Army as the main assault force.

With the most ferocious attack, they quickly broke through the Allied positions, and then, ignoring hundreds of thousands of Allied soldiers, they rushed straight to Manila. The follow-up troops surrounded and annihilated the Allied forces in the central line of the Calais Mountains.

Lieutenant General Chu Tian only uses the four divisions under his direct command, which is somewhat selfish. Firstly, so much credit should not fall on other troops assigned to his command. Secondly, he still believes in the combat effectiveness and attack power of his own troops.

force.

After issuing the order, the red-faced Lieutenant General Haruta couldn't help but admire Commander-in-Chief Ito. If it hadn't been for the Commander-in-Chief, he would have left himself alone at the military meeting on the eve of the expedition to Australia to give him face-to-face instructions.

I definitely can't think of such an insidious and vicious move with my brain. My own fighting style is that I like to fight fiercely. It seems that the gap between me and Commander-in-Chief Ito is still very big!

Lieutenant General Yoshihiko Haruta was even proud of his humility. At this time, a communications officer hurried over and said, "Report to your Excellency, Commander. An urgent call has been received from the headquarters!"

"Oh!" Lieutenant General Haruta received the telegram with some surprise, and thought to himself: "Commander-in-Chief Ito is really worried about his life. He is far away on the battlefield in Australia, and he is also paying attention to the battlefield in Luzon. The meaning of the call is nothing more than asking.

No matter how the war situation is progressing, I was also careless and did not report the situation in time," he secretly blamed himself.

However, after Lieutenant General Springfield read the contents of the telegram, his expression changed drastically. The staff officers around him saw that the commander's face first turned red to the color of pig liver, and then turned to an iron-blue color.

His throat was like a bellows, and he was breathing heavily. The muscles on his face were twitching, and his eyes were straight. The senior staff officers closest to him could even smell the smell of gunpowder emanating from His Excellency the Commander's body!

Although I don’t know what the content of the telegram is, I can see the danger signal from the commander’s expression. Just when a large group of staff members were worried about whether Lieutenant General Springfield would go berserk on the spot, suddenly, Lieutenant General Springfield

Roared, "Why is this happening?"

Then, he dictated a telegram in a fierce tone, and said viciously: "Immediately send it to the headquarters of the dispatch army as quickly as possible. It must reach the hands of Commander-in-Chief Ito directly. If within twenty minutes, I have to

Until you get an answer from His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief, you will all work to death!"

Turning around, he saw a large group of staff officers looking at each other, and roared angrily, "Baga! Stupid pig! Convey my order, all troops suspend operations and stand by in place!" Only then did the staff officers vaguely understand that this telegram came from the headquarters of the dispatched army.

Rough meaning.

Standing on Australian soil, General Ito Genzaburo received the gunpowder-smelling telegram from Lieutenant General Yoshihiko Haruta. He shook his head helplessly and handed the telegram to the chief of staff, Major General Kawashima, and said: "Kawashima

Jun, look at it, that guy from Springfield is showing off his bad temper again!"

Major General Kawashima opened it and saw, sure enough, the telegram from Lieutenant General Yoshihiko Haruta had a rather unkind tone, "His Excellency General Ito of the Southwest Pacific Expeditionary Force of the Empire of Japan, on the occasion of our 14th Army Headquarters, defeated the United States and Britain on the battlefield of Luzon Island."

Offee and other allied troops were about to capture Manila tonight when they suddenly received an order from the headquarters to stop the attack, which really surprised the staff and made them unbelievable!"

"In front of us, the situation on the Luzon battlefield is quite favorable to the Imperial Army. More than 300,000 Allied troops are retreating in panic. The Imperial Army has launched a full-line attack. Such a great opportunity to annihilate the enemy is unknown.

What is the basis for the order issued by the Commander-in-Chief? If the General cannot give Springfield a reasonable reason, Springfield will not hesitate to risk violating your military order and march directly to Manila. After the war, he will commit suicide by caesarean section to apologize to the General.

!”

After reading Yoshihiko Haruta's telegram, Chief of Staff Kawashima said something meaningful, "Your Excellency, Commander-in-Chief, Haruta-kun is such a strong general! If you have such a strong general, why worry about not being able to sweep across the Pacific!"

General Ito laughed and looked very proud. He paused and said: "Kawashima-kun, it is better to report the truth to Haruta as it is. Otherwise, I am worried that this guy will get angry and really disobey my military order and attack Manila."

, and annihilated hundreds of thousands of Allied soldiers on Luzon Island. It’s up to you to write the telegram yourself!”

Chief of Staff Kawashima nodded, convinced, and was busy replying a telegram to Lieutenant General Haruta Yoshihiko.

In fact, ordering Yoshihiko Haruta's troops, who were fighting smoothly, to stop attacking the Allied forces on Luzon Island was not the original intention of Commander-in-Chief Ito, but the result of a compromise with the Navy. For this

As a result, General Ito himself felt overwhelmed by the traffic jam.

The successful attack on Australia this time was of course inseparable from the support of the navy. The navy dispatched two fleets, and they were not willing to play a supporting role and act as a green leaf to set off the army's record.

Therefore, the two fleet commanders of the Japanese Navy jointly called Admiral Ito and made a request. The 100,000 British and Australian soldiers who returned to Australia from the Luzon battlefield were handed over to the navy to handle the matter. The reason was simple.

The Army has successively conquered cities and territories in the Southwest Pacific battlefield, and has attracted enough limelight. Anyway, it is the Navy's turn to fight a decent battle.

After receiving a telegram with fierce words and a tough attitude from the Navy, Admiral Ito was very angry and embarrassed. If you don't agree, the Navy will definitely not let it go. The matter will have to be brought to the base camp or even His Majesty the Emperor. By then, there may be something wrong.

Such trouble comes to your doorstep!

In addition, when Admiral Ito formulated the action plan to attack Australia, he intentionally or unintentionally neglected the navy. He was worried that the navy would take advantage of the situation. When the time comes, he will definitely be caught between the army and navy.

It will be difficult to do.

Agree, I just feel aggrieved. It is only a matter of time to solve the Allied forces on Luzon Island. It is the last military strength of the United States in the Southwest Pacific battlefield. It is really unacceptable to give away such a great contribution.

,At the same time, General Ito was very angry, and the navy took food from his mouth.

General Ito was in a dilemma. After discussing with Chief of Staff Major General Kawashima, they weighed the pros and cons. In the end, Chief of Staff Kawashima made him make the decision.

Chief of Staff Kawashima's words were objective and calm. He said: "General, as the war situation has developed to this point, it is an undoubted fact that the Imperial Army has achieved a comprehensive victory. The Navy, as a participant in the Southwest Pacific Campaign, will never tolerate it.

All the achievements were made by the Army, so even if we ignore their request, the Navy will still bring trouble to His Majesty the Emperor."

"And His Majesty the Emperor, in order to balance the navy's eagerness to make achievements, will definitely take into account the navy's feelings. At that time, the base camp will issue an order, and we have to obey it. Rather than being passive, it is better to be proactive. Judging from the results of the entire Pacific battlefield

, even if the navy wins one or two battles, it cannot be compared with the achievements of our army. Therefore, general, my personal suggestion is to order Mr. Haruta to stop the attack and give the opportunity to the navy!"

General Ito, after listening to his chief of staff's incisive analysis, clapped his hands and praised him, and then issued the order that almost made Lieutenant General Haruta Yoshihiko vomit blood on the spot.

In his reply to Yoshihiko Haruta, Chief of Staff Kawashima took great pains. He not only explained the background of issuing this order, but also pointed out the tactics to be used next. Lieutenant General Haruta repeated this long telegram.

I read it several times, squinted my big eyes, pondered and digested it for a while, and finally got a taste of it, and my face gradually returned to its normal color.

After scolding those guys in the Navy countless times, Lieutenant General Springfield changed his tactics and retracted his four extended fists. He changed from rapid breakthroughs and penetrations to a front-line push-type attack. He had only one purpose, not only to make the anxious

The 100,000 British and Australian troops returning to support Australia successfully boarded the ship, which also forced MacArthur's American and Philippine troops to abandon Luzon Island and flee south to Australia.

The Japanese army suddenly changed their attack method, slowing down the attack speed and reducing the intensity of the attack. MacArthur, who was in a hurry, was suddenly under pressure and was able to free his hands and conduct a planned retreat. Although he did not know what caused it, but

This is also a rare opportunity. If you don't take advantage of it, you would be an idiot!

By the afternoon of August 25, most of the British and Australian troops returning to support Australia had boarded ships, and MacArthur successfully withdrew about half of his troops from the battlefield in the Calais Mountains to the Manila defense line.

It was on this afternoon that Major General Le Yiqin, commander of the Southern Flying Group of the ** Division Aviation, flew his own fighter jet from the Myitkyina base to the Singapore Airport alone.

(To be continued)