Quartermasters can also fight the devils

When Commander Xue of the First Corps received the telegram sent to him by the war zone, he was stunned. The new 101nd Army in Hongcheng was in big trouble now. They would have to withstand the attacks of two Japanese divisions alone for a period of time. Although only one th Brigade of the th Division joined the battlefield in the direction of Hongcheng, the combat effectiveness of the th Division was much stronger than that of the st Division.

Moreover, the most crucial thing is that the battle plan he had formulated before also needs to be modified. A brigade of the 101th Division has been reinforced in the direction of Hongcheng. The troops he had prepared before to encircle the st Division will not be so sufficient when facing the strengthened Japanese army.

Inside the headquarters of the new 22nd Army, Commander Huang and Chief of Staff Zhao Dong were reading the urgent telegram from the war zone. The content of the telegram made their joy, which had just been a short while ago, plummet back to the bottom again.

Now that the number of Japanese troops attacking Hongcheng has increased so much, the pressure on the New 22nd Army will be unprecedentedly huge. Moreover, who knows whether the 9th Division will transfer the 6th Brigade from Ruichang to attack Hongcheng? The time limit given by Commander Xue for them to hold on is about to expire. If the New 22nd Army continues to hold Hongcheng, who knows how long it can hold on.

The 101th Division, led by its commander, Lieutenant General Yoshizumi Yoshisuke, moved very quickly. Their first batch of troops arrived outside Hongcheng in the afternoon of the same day, and Lieutenant General Yoshizumi Yoshisuke also rushed to the st Division's headquarters camp outside Hongcheng with the first batch of troops.

"Mr. Yoshizumi Yoshisuke, thank you and the officers and soldiers of the 101th Division for coming to help us. On behalf of all the officers and soldiers of the 101st Division, I welcome you." The Chief of Staff of the 101st Division, Major General Fukutaro Nishiyama, and a group of officers of the st Division bowed to Lieutenant General Yoshizumi Yoshisuke in a frustrated manner to express their gratitude.

Major General Fukutaro Nishiyama himself welcomed the arrival of the 101th Division. After all, the 101th Division was ordered to come for reinforcement. Another thing was that the morale of the st Division had fallen to the lowest point. It could be said that all the officers and soldiers of the st Division had basically lost their fighting spirit.

Lieutenant General Yoshizumi Ryosuke looked at the group of officers of the 101st Division in front of him and felt a lot in his heart. He knew how great the losses of the 101st Division were from the number and ranks of the officers who welcomed him.

Under the guidance of Major General Fukutaro Nishiyama, Lieutenant General Yoshizumi Ryosuke walked into the cleaned-up division headquarters of the 101st Division. He needed to understand the current specific battle situation in Hongcheng and the real situation of the 101st Division. After all, the 101st Division was now under his unified command.

"Mr. Nishiyama, please tell me about the current situation in Hongcheng and the 101st Division. Thank you for your hard work." Lieutenant General Yoshizumi Ryosuke said politely to Major General Nishiyama Fukutaro with a smile.

After hearing what Lieutenant General Yoshizumi Ryosuke said, Major General Nishiyama Fukutaro had no choice but to start introducing the situation. He was now the highest-ranking officer in the 101st Division, but this process was a very uncomfortable torture for him.

"Yes, Your Excellency Commander Yoshizumi Ryosuke, the 101st Division has launched an attack on Hongcheng city for six days. We have now occupied Hue Gate and Yonghe Gate in Hongcheng and advanced two kilometers into the city. However, the combat effectiveness of the New 101nd Army of the Chinese government defending Hongcheng is very amazing. The defensive ability of this unit in the defensive battle is very outstanding. As of this morning, the 101st Division actually only controls one-third of the Hongcheng city area." Nishiyama Fukutaro briefly explained the situation on the map and how much territory the st Division could still control.

Lieutenant General Yoshizumi Ryosuke looked at the situation map of Hongcheng city on the map and couldn't help feeling sad for the 101st Division. After fighting for so long, they had not yet occupied half of the city's territory. The day before yesterday, Ito Masaki sent him a telegram saying that they would soon occupy half of the territory. Now it seems that the Chinese army has taken back a lot of territory in just one day.

"Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Nishiyama. What is the current loss situation of the 101st Division?" Lieutenant General Yoshizumi Ryosuke looked at the map on the wall and asked Major General Fukutaro Nishiyama. He needed to know the current specific situation of the 101st Division so that he could make better troop deployment.

"Um, Your Excellency Commander Yoshizumi Yoshisuke, in the attacks of our 101st Division in the past few days, the division commander, Lieutenant General Masayoshi Ito, the commander of the 101st Regiment, Colonel Kunigoro Iizuka, and the commander of the 149th Regiment, Colonel Tsuda Tatsusan have all died loyally for His Majesty the Emperor. In addition, four battalion commanders and nine squadron commanders also died in battle. In the surprise attack by the Chinese army in the early morning, the division headquarters also lost ten major generals and eighteen lieutenants. According to statistics so far, the 101st Division has suffered a total of more than 101 casualties. The two tank battalions that came to reinforce have now fallen into the trap of the Chinese army in the city." Major General Fukutaro Nishiyama lowered his head and gave a general account of the situation of the st Division with a flushed face. This report card really made him feel very ashamed.

After listening to Fukutaro Nishiyama's introduction, Lieutenant General Yoshizumi Ryosuke was extremely shocked. He did not expect that the casualties of the 101st Division were so serious. He believed that the real situation must be worse than what Fukutaro Nishiyama said.

When the officers of the 101th Division who came in with Lieutenant General Yoshizumi Ryosuke heard about the losses of the st Division, they were all stunned with surprise and looks of disbelief.

Lieutenant General Yoshizumi Ryosuke thought for a moment and said to Nishiyama Fukutaro, "Nishiyama-kun, do you think the 101st Division can continue to advance effectively in the city?"

Lieutenant General Yoshizumi Ryosuke was also trying to find out in a rather tactful way whether the 101st Division still had the ability to continue fighting. If so, that would be good news for him, as the manpower he could use for urban attacks would be greatly increased.

After hearing the question from Lieutenant General Yoshizumi Yoshisuke, Major General Nishiyama Fukutaro felt even more ashamed. He understood that Lieutenant General Yoshizumi Yoshisuke wanted the 101st Division to be responsible for one attack and the th Division to be responsible for another, so that the Chinese army could be fully suppressed in the urban area.

Major General Fukutaro Nishiyama really wanted to say that the officers and soldiers of the 101st Division still had the ability to attack, but when the words came to his lips, he couldn't say it, because now the morale of all the officers and soldiers of the 101st Division was almost gone. From his objective and rational point of view, the 101st Division now no longer had any combat capability.

"I'm really sorry, Commander Yoshizumi Yoshisuke, the 101st Division suffered heavy casualties, and we just lost the division commander, Masayoshi Ito. Now the officers and soldiers of the entire division are immersed in the sorrow of losing their division commander." Major General Fukutaro Nishiyama closed his eyes and found a lame excuse to tactfully tell Lieutenant General Yoshizumi Yoshisuke that you'd better not count on the 101st Division.

Although this would cause the 101st Division to completely lose its reputation, if he stubbornly agreed to let the 101st Division be responsible for the attack, then with the current morale of the officers and soldiers of the 101st Division, if they attacked, it would only make the people of the th Division laugh at them. It would be better to lose face now.

Lieutenant General Yoshizumi Yoshisuke was also very surprised by the answer of Major General Nishiyama Fukutaro. Is this still the brave and fearless Imperial Japanese Army? It seems that Major General Nishiyama Fukutaro is also broken. He is the person who knows the 101st Division best. He is also telling himself that he doesn't need to have any expectations for the 101st Division.

Lieutenant General Yoshizumi Ryosuke nodded. He did not get angry with Major General Nishiyama Fukutaro. After looking at the map for a while, he said, "Well, Nishiyama-kun, I see that the officers and soldiers of the 101st Division are already very tired in the city. In order to ensure the strength of the attack, tomorrow morning, when the troops of the 101th Brigade arrive, the positions and attacks in the city will be handed over to them. You will lead the st Division to participate in the attack on the west bank of the Gan River and contain the Chinese troops on the west bank. You will be responsible for commanding the operations on the west bank. I'm counting on you."

When Nishiyama Fukutaro heard that Lieutenant General Yoshizumi Ryosuke asked him to take the 101st Division to the west bank to contain the Chinese troops there, he was very grateful. He bowed quickly to express his gratitude and at the same time assured that the 101st Division would do a good job in the task of containing the attack.

Lieutenant General Yoshizumi Ryosuke did not stay in the 101st Division Headquarters for too long. He asked Fukutaro Nishiyama to defend the currently occupied urban area before the arrival of the th Brigade troops.

After Major General Nishiyama Fukutaro led the officers of the 101st Division to organize the defense of the city, Major General Ishu Nobutoki, the commander of the 101th Brigade who was following Lieutenant General Yoshizumi Ryosuke, asked in a low voice: "Sir, division commander, are you really not going to let the st Division leave some troops to assist us in the attack? Even if they help with the defense mission, it would be fine."

He felt that although the 101st Division had suffered heavy losses, it would be a waste to send them all to the west coast to divert the attack. Although they could not be relied upon for offense, they should still be able to do some defense.

"No, Jing Shujun, I put the 101st Division on the west bank because I don't want their soldiers' feeling of failure to affect the officers and soldiers of our th Division. They no longer have any morale. Even if it's a defensive mission, I think it will be difficult for them to do it well." The division commander, Lieutenant General Yoshizumi Ryosuke, looked at the back of Major General Nishiyama Fukutaro who was walking away and expressed his thoughts.

The brigade commander, Major General Jing Shuxuantoki, now understood the good intentions of the division commander. Indeed, they could not allow this group of defeated soldiers with no fighting spirit and morale to affect the brave officers and soldiers in their own troops.

At this time in Hongcheng City, a discussion on the combat plan was also taking place at the headquarters of the new 100th Division.