Age of Conquest Reborn

Lieutenant General Yoshihiko Yokoyama, commander-in-chief of the Liaodong Peninsula Defense Force of the Kwantung Army and commander of the Seventh Army, sent a reply to General Nanjiro, the commander-in-chief of the Kwantung Army. It was plausible, reasonable, well-founded, and combined with the actual situation on the battlefield.

General Nanjiro, who felt something was wrong with the situation, had nothing to say.

In the following hours, General Nanjiro paid close attention to the fighting situation at the Lushunkou defense line on the Liaodong Peninsula. However, after Lieutenant General Hengshan responded to this telegram, the Kwantung Army headquarters sent no response to the telegram.

It was like a stone sinking into the sea, so the battlefield situation that General Nanjiro grasped was only that in the morning of that day, the independent division aviation force dispatched a large number of bombers to carry out indiscriminate bombing of the front line positions at Lushunkou.

As for the losses of the Seventh Army after the bombing, and the current situation on the battlefield, General Nanjiro had no idea. This made him extremely anxious and tortured. In his heart, he did not know that Lieutenant General Yokoyama was cursing

How many times has he wondered why Hengshan, that bastard, didn’t call the headquarters back?

In the afternoon, General Nanjiro's inner anxiety became even more intense. He stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window of his office at the Kwantung Army headquarters in Fengtian, looking far away in the direction of the Liaodong Peninsula. In his mind, he was making many guesses. Of course, he also thought,

Maybe the Seventh Army, on the front line of Lushunkou, was fighting an inextricable battle with the landing troops of the Independent Division, and the Hengshan guy couldn't bother to report the battle situation to the headquarters for the time being?

Just when General Nanjiro was feeling restless in his heart, Lieutenant General Matsuda Kenjiro, Chief of Staff, opened the door and walked in. This Lieutenant General Chief of Staff, who always pays attention to image and elegance, was in despair, with a deathly gray look on his face.

, eyes widened, he even forgot to knock on the door, and just opened the door of the Commander-in-Chief's office blankly.

Seeing Chief of Staff Matsuda like this, General Nanjiro was shocked and did not bother to blame him for being rude. He hurriedly asked: "Matsuda-kun, what happened?"

Chief of Staff Matsuda held a telegram in his hand and said in a hoarse voice: "Commander-in-Chief, I received a telegram from the Commander of the Seventh Army, Lieutenant General Hengshan, that the two main divisions of the Seventh Army are on the front line at Lushunkou on the Liaodong Peninsula.

, all broken into pieces. Lieutenant General Hengshan died for his country!"

This news was so sudden that it was almost unbelievable. The two main divisions of the Seventh Army, with nearly 50,000 troops, were all elite troops of the Kwantung Army. In just a few hours, they were on the front line of Lushunkou.

The whole army was wiped out. How can people believe that this is true?

"Honey?" General Nanjiro's vision went dark, he staggered a few steps, held his hand on the desk, and asked in a dry voice without any moisture: "Matsuda-kun, is this true?"

Chief of Staff Matsuda nodded heavily, "General. This is the telegram sent by Lieutenant General Yokoyama to the headquarters before he died for his country!" He was in a daze, murmuring as if in a dream, and handed the telegram to General Nanjiro.

General Nanjiro grabbed the telegram and looked at it quickly, "Headquarters forwarded to General Nanjiro. When the staff department sent this telegram, the front line position of Lushunkou was already in a sea of ​​fire, and the aviation force of the Independent Division was dispatched.

More than 500 bombers carried out the first round of bombing, and all the ground fortifications of our Imperial Army were destroyed, but the losses were not significant. Afterwards, the Ministry of Staff ordered the troops to enter the underground fortifications and prepare to attack the independent division troops that landed."

"Unexpectedly, the Commander of the Independent Division conducted a second round of bombing on the Imperial Army's positions. This time, the bombs used by the Independent Division's aviation bombers were new types of bombs that had never been seen before. They seemed to be specially designed to destroy our Imperial Army.

It was prepared for underground fortifications. After the bomb landed, a large amount of gasoline was sprayed out, and then the gasoline was ignited and penetrated into the underground fortifications along various gaps!"

"At this moment, the ground and underground fortifications are already a sea of ​​fire. There is no hope for the troops to break out and can only be trapped in the underground fortifications. However, the raging fire is devouring every inch of space. There is no possibility for the Seventh Army to survive. The headquarters is giving the general information

Your Excellency, Commander, when this telegram was sent, the heat wave was already scorching outside the telegraph room, and the screams of the soldiers running and shouting could not be heard without stopping, and it was painful to the heart!"

"Although they have the intention to kill the enemy, they do not have the power to kill the enemy. There are nearly 50,000 soldiers in the Seventh Army, and not even a Chinese soldier is seen. Without firing a single shot, they were all shattered under the vicious bombs of the independent division bombers.

, Hengshan felt unwilling,

Knowing that he would not be spared, he decided to live and die with the position! Only death can wash away the shame of the department! The Kwantung Army is invincible! Long live the Empire of Japan! Long live His Majesty the Emperor! Commander of the Seventh Army, Yoshihiko Yokoyama, is dead!

"

"In addition, as a precaution, before the battle begins, the Ministry of Staff has sent the Chief of Staff of the Seventh Army, Major General Katayama Jiro, to the second line of defense in Zhuanghe, Wanjialing, and Bayuquan, with full authority to command the Seventh Army's third line of defense.

All orders from the headquarters of the 1st Division of the 33rd Division, as well as the Imperial Liaodong Peninsula Volunteer Corps, can be issued to Chief of Staff Katayama!"

"Poof!" General Nanjiro's throat sweetened, and he spurted out a mouthful of blood. Under the afternoon sun, it showed a sad color, and his body was swaying. "General!" Chief of Staff Matsuda exclaimed in surprise and hurriedly

He rushed forward to support General Nanjiro, and at the same time shouted in a quiet voice: "Guard! - Guard! Military doctor! - Military doctor!"

Several guards guarding the door of the office didn't know what was going on. When they heard the chief of staff's mournful shouts, they rushed in and saw the Commander-in-Chief. There was blood on the corners of his mouth, his eyes were closed tightly, and he almost collapsed in his chair.

I didn't know what happened, I was so frightened that I was stunned.

"Baga!" Chief of Staff Matsuda shouted angrily, "Stupid pig, why don't you go find a military doctor! The commander-in-chief is vomiting blood!"

General Nanjiro opened his dull eyes, waved his hands tiredly, and said in a weak voice: "No need, there is no need to make the city full of noise, everyone knows, you retreat!" The guards looked at each other, looking at Chief of Staff Matsuda and Chief of Staff Matsuda.

With a wave of his hand, the guards immediately left the room.

General Nanjiro opened his dull eyes, looked at Chief of Staff Matsuda, and said: "Matsuda-kun, less than eight hours after the battle of the Liaodong Peninsula began, two elite divisions of the Seventh Army, with nearly 50,000 soldiers,

The whole body was shattered, which was an unprecedented defeat for the Kwantung Army. It also had an immeasurable impact on the overall war situation in Manchuria. Mr. Matsuda, my heart is in a state of confusion. Do you have any suggestions on how to deal with it?"

Chief of Staff Matsuda recovered from the pain and confusion, thought for a while, and said: "Commander-in-Chief, the entire Seventh Army is in ruins. You don't have to worry too much. Nearly 50,000 troops are concentrated on the front line of Lushunkou. It is a small battlefield.

on the ground, it is easy to be defeated by the independent division aviation

The new weapons have been severely damaged, and it is inevitable that the entire army will be shattered. Now, the key is how we adjust our military deployment in the Liaodong Peninsula. The Ministry of Staff believes that it is difficult to stop the independent division's landing troops from marching to the Liaodong Peninsula with the second line of defense alone.

The steps of advancing in depth!”

"And once the entire Liaodong Peninsula falls into the hands of that devilish China force, the independent division troops, attacking westward, can outflank our main force in the western Liaoning region, and attacking eastward, they can cut off the North Korean garrison's connection with Manchuria and advance directly. Then we can march to Fengtian City and attack the hinterland of Manchuria. If we don't stop it, the situation in Manchuria will be worrying!"

General Nanjiro picked up a glass of water and took a sip. Chief of Staff Matsuda noticed that the veins on the General's temples were beating "huohuo", obviously he was deep in thought, and his hands were out of control. He was trembling, and the water in the cup splashed onto the military uniform, but he didn't notice it.

Chief of Staff Matsuda felt a burst of sadness in his heart. The nearly 50,000 soldiers of the Seventh Army were all broken into pieces. This was a huge blow to the General. General Nanjiro, who was known for his perseverance and courage, showed an uncontrollable decline. If this is the case, the war situation in Manchuria will be in danger, and the future fate of the Kwantung Army will be worrying!

After drinking more than half a glass of boiled water, General Nanjiro seemed to calm down and said: "Matsuda-kun, in the name of the headquarters, immediately appoint Major General Katayama Jiro, Chief of Staff of the Seventh Army, to act as commander of the Seventh Army and be fully responsible for commanding the defense of the Liaodong Peninsula. In addition, in the original plan of mobilizing troops to concentrate in the south of Fengtian, two more divisions were added and immediately moved to Dashiqiao, Xiuyan, and Donggang lines to form a third line of defense. The unit number was Liaozhong Garrison Headquarters."

"The pace of mobilizing troops must be accelerated. After the Chinese devil's troops successfully landed at Lushunkou, we don't have much time left for us. Mr. Matsuda, the mobilization of all troops on the third line of defense in the Liaodong Peninsula must still be done in a concealed manner. As a matter of principle, if Feng Jiwu, the commander of the Niangziguan Garrison Corps of the Independent Division in Jinzhou, and Yuan Jinghao, the commander of the North China Field Corps in Tongliao in eastern Mongolia, learn about it, they will definitely take the opportunity to launch an attack. Only then will we truly succeed. disaster!"

"That Yuan Jinghao is not well-known, so there is no need to worry too much, but that Feng Jiwu is one of Tang Qiuli's famous generals, with more than 300,000 elite troops under his command, and his commanding fighting style is fierce, so he must be on guard. In addition, in the western Liaoning region Due to the importance of geographical location, our focus of defense should be in the western Liaoning area! And Matsuda-kun, I am considering that Major General Inoue Imashima, the deputy chief of staff of the Kwantung Army, will serve as the commander of the Liaozhong garrison. What do you think?"

Chief of Staff Matsuda thought carefully for a moment, nodded affirmatively, and said: "Commander-in-Chief, I know Inoue-kun very well. He graduated from the Imperial Army University and served as the Imperial Southwest Southwest before being transferred to the deputy chief of staff of the Kwantung Army. The division commander of the 138th Division of the Pacific Expeditionary Force has rich command and combat experience and will definitely be able to take on this important task. I also have a suggestion: whether the Gangcun Heavy Artillery Brigade stationed in Fengtian should also be transferred to Liaoning Central garrison headquarters to enhance its firepower!"

General Nanjiro, after finishing his long speech just now, his face turned pale from exhaustion. It seemed that the intense thinking just now had almost drained him of all his efforts. Now, he is already a little unable to digest what Chief of Staff Matsuda just said. Well, there was silence in the office.

(To be continued)