Quartermasters can also fight the devils

At the suggestion of Commander Chen, as compensation for the tanks seized by the New 22nd Army from the Japanese army, the top government personally approved 5,800 wounded officers and soldiers for the New 22nd Army. These were part of the officers and soldiers that the top government was preparing to form an honorary division. This was enough to show the top government's attention and importance to the New 22nd Army.

After learning about this, Zhang Wenwu quickly found Commander Huang and Chief of Staff Zhao Dong. He did not want to give up these Japanese tanks. In order to replenish the troops, he asked Cao Huaguo to set up a garrison in the three towns before the war to be responsible for recruiting soldiers. Now more than 3,000 new soldiers have been recruited there.

But Chief of Staff Zhao Dong raised a question: "Wenwu, do you have fuel for the tanks? How will the tanks be refueled in the future?"

After hearing Chief of Staff Zhao Dong's question, Zhang Wenwu understood that if he did not make concessions on the tank issue, he would not be able to drive these tanks in the future. If the Military Commission did not refuel him, they would be no different from a pile of scrap metal.

After seeing that Zhang Wenwu also understood the reason, Chief of Staff Zhao Dong continued, "Wenwu, this time we have been approved to have more than 5,000 injured officers and soldiers to replace the losses of the troops. This is already a very rare thing, and the replenishment of various weapons and equipment has also been given the highest priority. These tanks are going to be used to train some tank soldiers. We in China will also have to form our own tank troops in the future."

When Zhang Wenwu heard that these captured tanks were going to be used to train tank soldiers, his attitude changed immediately. He felt that if these captured tanks were to be used in this way, he had no objection at all, so he immediately assured: "Chief of Staff, I understand. I will definitely cooperate with those who come over. Please rest assured, sir."

Chief of Staff Zhao Dong also looked at Zhang Wenwu with satisfaction and said, "Well, Wenwu, your division fought very well this time. After you arrive in Changsha City to recruit new officers and soldiers, you must intensify your training. We don't know when our army will be pulled to the front line again."

Zhang Wenwu also understood that China's war against Japanese aggression would enter a difficult period. Their new 22nd Army, as a nationally renowned main force, would certainly be continuously used on various fronts to undertake the most critical combat tasks. He needed to restore the combat effectiveness of the troops as soon as possible.

After Zhang Wenwu returned to the new 100th Division headquarters in the urban area, he also called the Chief of Staff Ouyang Heng over. He told Ouyang Heng about the tanks. At the same time, he asked Ouyang Heng to be prepared to restore the combat effectiveness of the troops as soon as possible after the troops were replenished with personnel and equipment. At the same time, he also asked the troops to summarize their tactics and strategies to strive to maintain their advantages.

The troops from the First Corps who came to take over the defense and the people sent by the Military Commission to receive the tanks arrived in Hongcheng almost at the same time. After handing over all matters, Zhang Wenwu led the officers and soldiers of the new 100th Division to march westward. As the vanguard of the new 100nd Army, the new th Division was the first to leave Hongcheng, where they had held for nearly twenty days.

The Japanese offensive on the north bank of the Yangtze River was still very fierce. The troops of the Japanese 11th Army continued to attack fiercely westward along the Yangtze River, while several divisions of the Japanese 2nd Army in the north were also advancing slowly in the Dabie Mountains. Only on the Nanxun Line on the south bank of the Yangtze River, the Chinese troops and the Japanese army had stopped fighting and were resting and replenishing each other after the war.

Outside the former government building in De'an, it has now been blocked and protected by a large number of Japanese soldiers. Today, Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Sadaichi, Chief of Staff of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, came to De'an in person. He came on behalf of the commander, Lieutenant General Okamura Yasuji. One purpose was to get to know the situation of the troops on the ground and see if he could find someone to take the blame, and the other was to integrate the troops that had been torn apart on the Nanxun Line.

According to the plan of the 11th Army Command, after replenishing personnel and equipment, the troops of these divisions still have to capture the corresponding target areas according to the previously formulated plan.

A black sedan drove into the heavily guarded government compound, protected by two trucks filled with soldiers in front and behind. Several division commanders who had been waiting at the entrance of the building walked quickly to the side of the sedan and stood respectfully.

After his adjutant opened the door, Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Sadaichi Yoshimoto slowly got out of the car. He was wearing a clean and tidy lieutenant general's uniform and holding a general's command knife in his white-gloved hands. He looked very majestic, but his expression was a little different from his majestic attire.

"Gentlemen, thank you for waiting for me here." Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Sadaichi Yoshimoto looked at the several division-level officers standing respectfully in front of him and greeted them politely. However, he still found it difficult to accept the absence of two important division commanders.

"Mr. Chief of Staff, you are too polite. The room prepared for you to rest has been arranged. Would you like to rest for a while first?" Lieutenant General Junrokuro Matsuura, commander of the 106th Division and the most senior person among the receiving officers, took the initiative to ask.

Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Sadaichi gently waved his hand and said to everyone, "It's okay. Thank you for the thoughtful arrangement of Mr. Matsuura. I am here to express my condolences to everyone on behalf of the 11th Army Headquarters and His Excellency Commander Okamura Yasuji. If the meeting room has been arranged, then let's go to the meeting room now. How about it, gentlemen?"

Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Sadaichi Yoshimoto also expressed his gratitude very politely, and then he simply expressed his identity and apparent mission in an unquestionable tone. However, everyone knew that the purpose of Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Sadaichi Yoshimoto's visit this time was not just to comfort everyone.

The combat situation on the Nanxun Line this time can be said to be horrific. So many senior officers died, a brigade commander was captured, and the casualties of the troops were also very heavy. Therefore, the headquarters sent Chief of Staff Yoshimoto Sadakazu to visit and express condolences in order to save everyone's face. In fact, he came to find out the situation and make a post-war summary.

After hearing the question from the Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Sadaichi, Lieutenant General Junrokuro Matsuura quickly said that the meeting room had been ready and everyone could attend the meeting at any time. He had no worries about this meeting. It could be said that his 106th Division had been badly betrayed by the th Army Headquarters this time, and it would not be his turn to take the blame in the post-war summary and accountability.

Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Sadaichi Yoshimoto, led by Lieutenant General Junrokuro Matsuura, came to the conference room in the building. After all the officers sat down in the conference room, Lieutenant General Sadaichi Yoshimoto first expressed his condolences to all the officers on behalf of the commander, Lieutenant General Yasuji Okamura. He also explained the order of replenishment of personnel and equipment of each unit, and said that the headquarters will replenish each unit as quickly as possible and restore the combat effectiveness of each unit as soon as possible.

"Gentlemen, thank you for your hard work in this battle on the Nanxun Line. Facing a Chinese army that is several times larger than yours, you all displayed the bravery of the Imperial Japanese Army and thwarted the Chinese army's plan. However, the losses of our Imperial Japanese Army in this battle were very serious. Regarding this brief unfavorable situation, do you have any summary that you want me to convey to Commander Okamura Yasuji?" Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Sadaichi changed the subject and tactfully expressed the main purpose of this visit, which was to make a post-war summary.

All the division-level commanders in the conference room were shocked when they heard the words of Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Sadaichi. Everyone understood the most important purpose of Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Sadaichi's visit this time, but everyone remained solemn, sitting upright, looking at their colleagues opposite them, and no one was the first to speak.

Lieutenant General Junrokuro Matsuura, the commander of the 106th Division, was the same as everyone else. Although he was the most experienced division commander on the Nanxun Line in today's meeting and the tacit representative of everyone, he really didn't know how to start. What could he summarize about his 106th Division? It was all strictly implemented according to the orders of the th Army Headquarters. If he said all the problems himself, wouldn't it point all the problems to the th Army Headquarters? Did Lieutenant General Sadaichi Yoshimoto come here to let everyone fire at the th Army Headquarters? Obviously not.

The commander of the 27th Division, Lieutenant General Masaharu Homma, was even dreaming of outer space. His 27th Division had just been expanded not long ago and was transferred from North China to the combat sequence of the 11th Army. His division was weak to begin with, and in the previously formulated combat mission, his division was not responsible for the offensive combat mission on the Nanxun Line. He was a temporarily captured soldier, and it was already very good that he could muster up the courage to lead his broken troops and advance towards the encirclement of the Chinese army according to the order of the 11th Army Command. As for his own troops being blocked by the Chinese army on Baishui Street, that had nothing to do with him. My 27th Division was a Type D division, and it was a unit that had already lost almost half of its troops. You can't ask us to complete the task of breaking the encirclement of more than 100,000 Chinese troops.

The most uncomfortable person in the conference room was Major General Fukutaro Nishiyama, Chief of Staff of the 101st Division. The battle in the Hongcheng direction was the most tragic this time. The two dead division commanders and the captured brigade commander were all contributions from the battlefield in the Hongcheng direction. As a result, now in the conference room, the only two chiefs of staff responsible for the combat mission in the Hongcheng direction were him and Major General Hideyoshi Kusunokichi, Chief of Staff of the th Division. It was too difficult for him.

Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Sadaichi Yoshimoto was not in a hurry either. He had anticipated this embarrassing situation. He picked up the cup in front of him and drank the tea. He decided to wait for a while. If no one expressed their opinions in the end, he would call on others to speak directly.