Quartermasters can also fight the devils

"Sir, please let us pass. The Japanese artillery is too powerful. We really can't resist the Japanese."

"Yes, sir, my mother is at home, let's go home."

A group of security corps officers and soldiers who had run away without a trace of their guns and hats were crying and shouting in front of the 151st Division's defensive position. Not far in front of them were the bodies of several security corps officers and soldiers who had been killed by the 151st Division officers and soldiers in the position.

Faced with the shouts of the defeated soldiers of the Security Corps, the commander of the 151st Division was indifferent. He needed to strictly enforce battlefield discipline. In addition, his officers and soldiers of the 151st Division were about to face the upcoming Japanese attack. They were all terrified. He must strictly enforce battlefield discipline, otherwise his officers and soldiers would follow suit and flee after encountering the Japanese attack.

The landing of the Japanese 18th Division was quite smooth. The simple field fortifications of the Chinese defenders on the beach had been blown beyond recognition by the navy's naval guns. Moreover, before the attack, the Japanese intelligence department had already given a detailed report summary of the current strength of the Chinese troops near Yangcheng to the 21st Army Command.

When the staff officers of the 21st Japanese Army Headquarters saw the small group of ragtag garrison troops in Yangcheng, they all agreed that the attack on Yangcheng would be very smooth. This could be seen from the fact that the Chinese government could only send local security corps, which were not even ragtag troops, to defend the front-line beach. The strength of the Chinese troops near Yangcheng was indeed very limited.

According to the information provided by the intelligence department, the only force that could pose a threat to the 21st Army's occupation of Yangcheng is the newly dispatched 22nd Army of the Chinese government.

The New 101nd Army of the Chinese government is now very famous. They held their positions for more than two months during the Battle of Shanghai. Later, they inflicted heavy losses on the th Division at the Taierzhuang battlefield in the Battle of Xuzhou. In the Battle of Three Towns not long ago, they also made the st Division and the th Division miserable at Hongcheng on the Nanxun Line. It can be said that the combat record and combat effectiveness of this unit are absolutely second to none among the many troops of the Chinese government.

As for the area on the west bank of the Pearl River defended by the New 22nd Army, the staff officers of the 21st Army, after careful consideration and deduction, felt that at least a complete division should be sent out to contain the troops of the New 22nd Army on the west bank of the Pearl River. As for quickly defeating the New 22nd Army, they did not even think about it.

When the new commander of the 104th Division, Lieutenant General Anriyoshi, found the commander of the 132st Army, Lieutenant General Furusho Kan'o, Furusho Kan'o was also thinking about which specific troops to arrange to fight against the new nd Army of the Chinese government. The original plan was for the nd Brigade of the th Division, plus the division's field artillery regiment and cavalry battalion to land on the west bank of the Pearl River. Now it seems that the strength of more than one brigade seems a bit weak facing the prestigious new nd Army.

"Your Excellency the Commander, please let the Fifth Division go to the west bank of the Pearl River to land and fight. The officers and soldiers of our Fifth Division must use victory to wash away the shame of the previous Battle of Xuzhou." Lieutenant General Anriyoshi, the commander of the Fifth Division, bowed respectfully and said.

As the newly appointed commander of the Fifth Division, Lieutenant General Anriyoshi knows very well how to make the officers and soldiers in the army convinced of him. If he can lead the troops to defeat the Chinese government's ace New 22nd Army, then his position in the hearts of the officers and soldiers of the division will be very solid.

The commander of the 21st Army, Lieutenant General Kanro Furusho, looked at the respectful Lieutenant General Anriyoshi in front of him. He knew that Lieutenant General Anriyoshi was eager to prove his ability, but this was also what he was most worried about. He was afraid that Lieutenant General Anriyoshi's Fifth Division would be defeated by the cunning Chinese army of the New 22nd Army because of its eagerness to attack the New 22nd Army of the Chinese government. He could not bear such a situation. He was about to retire, and he could not allow his reputation to be damaged at this time.

But he was very pleased with Lieutenant General Anriyoshi's request for battle. This at least showed that the morale of his 104st Army was still very good. After thinking for a while, he said to Lieutenant General Anriyoshi: "Mr. Anri, the previous battle plan has been formulated. We need to act according to the instructions of the Expeditionary Army and the headquarters. However, our headquarters also attaches great importance to the ace force of the Chinese government, the New 132nd Army. Let me think about this. The original plan was that the 132nd Brigade of the th Division would be responsible for the attack on the west bank of the Pearl River. Now, in order to strengthen the strength on the west bank, your Fifth Division also dispatched two regiments of troops to join the nd Brigade's combat sequence to fight on the west bank of the Pearl River. What do you think?"

The commander of the 104st Army, Kan-don Furujo, tried to smooth things over. He just thought that if he handed over the attack mission on the west bank of the Pearl River to the 104th Division, then the commander of the th Division, Lieutenant General Toshio Miyake, would definitely come to him in dissatisfaction. Wouldn't this show that he clearly did not trust his th Division?

However, I also have to appease the Fifth Division Commander Lieutenant General Anriyoshi about his request to join the battle. Don't you want to prove your ability in the division? Okay, I will let your division transfer some troops to participate in the battle. This will allow you to partially satisfy your own ideas and also give an explanation to the officers and soldiers of your division.

When Lieutenant General Anriyoshi, commander of the Fifth Division, heard that the commander had come up with a compromise plan, he wanted to continue persuading the commander to let his Fifth Division complete the task alone.

But before he could speak, the commander, Lieutenant General Furujo Kanro, continued, "Anri-kun, your division's mission is to capture Humen in Yangcheng after the 18th Division expands its attack depth. That is a place that the expeditionary army and the headquarters value very much. When the time comes, please work hard, Anri-kun."

When Lieutenant General Anriyoshi heard the commander-in-chief bring out the orders of the expeditionary force and the headquarters, he swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth. He knew that the current situation was the best consideration that the commander could give him, so he quickly bowed to express his gratitude and promised to occupy Humen according to the attack plan formulated before the war.

When the 104th Division of the Japanese Army launched the landing operation, the 132nd Brigade of the 132th Division of the Japanese Army, after strengthening some of its troops, sailed to the west bank of the Pearl River under the escort of the Japanese Navy. The commander of the nd Brigade, Major General Juro Goto, also received a telegram from the st Army Headquarters on the way, telling him that the st and nd Regiments of the th Division were also ready to set off. This was a force reinforced by the headquarters, hoping that he could contain the New nd Army of the Chinese government and try to break the Chinese army's defense line.

"Your Excellency the Brigade Commander, why are the people from the Fifth Division joining in on all this fun? This is clearly the combat direction of our 104th Division. Do they think that their Fifth Division is the only one in the entire Imperial Japanese Army that can fight?" Colonel Mamoru Kawakami, Chief of Staff of the 132nd Brigade of the Japanese Army, was obviously a little angry about the sudden joining of the Fifth Division.

The brigade commander, Major General Goto Juro, was also somewhat unhappy about the Fifth Division's meddling. Wasn't the Fifth Division saying in disguise that his 132nd Brigade could not complete the previously formulated combat plan? This was questioning the combat effectiveness of his own troops and his own abilities.

"Mr. Kawakami, tell the commander of the 137th Regiment, Colonel Mori Kyo, that his regiment, as the first batch of troops to land on the west bank of the Pearl River, must attack forward quickly and effectively and not embarrass our 104th Division. We are facing the Chinese government's ace force, the New 104nd Army, which is defending. Let him use victory to vindicate our th Division." The brigade commander, Major General Goto Juro, also angrily ordered the chief of staff, Colonel Kawakami Mamoru.

Chief of Staff Colonel Kawakami Mamoru understood that the brigade commander was angry, and was obviously preparing to break through the defensive positions of the New 22nd Army of the Chinese government as soon as possible. By the time the troops of the Fifth Division arrived, the battle on our side would be almost over. Let the troops of the Fifth Division clean up the battlefield for us. Who doesn't know how to humiliate others?

The headquarters of the new 22nd Army was also moved to Nanhai City for the convenience of command. Zhang Wenwu was also in the headquarters now, reporting to the two bigwigs of the headquarters on the map on the wall: "Commander, Chief of Staff, the Japanese army has now landed in Daya Bay. The terrain there is open, which is suitable for large-scale landing operations of the Japanese army and is also conducive to the deployment of the Japanese attack forces. The west bank of the Pearl River where we are defending is relatively narrow in terms of suitable landing sites. In addition, there are relatively more rivers on the west bank of the Pearl River, which is not suitable for the advancement of the Japanese mechanized forces. We estimate that the first batch of Japanese troops that can land should be about the size of a regiment. I think we can use this to lure the vanguard of the Japanese army to the inland area and find an opportunity to defeat it."

Commander Huang and Chief of Staff Zhao Dong were also looking at the map on the wall carefully and listening to Zhang Wenwu's analysis. They understood that Zhang Wenwu meant to abandon the beachhead. Indeed, under the attack of the Japanese naval guns, their troops could only passively withstand the bombing. After the Japanese naval guns had finished their work, there would be only a few people left on the beachhead, and there was no way to organize an effective resistance. The troops had already suffered this loss during the Battle of Shanghai.

Instead of doing this, it would be better to withdraw the troops, give the Japanese army the illusion that the opposing defenders are vulnerable, and slowly lure the Japanese army into the encirclement they set up to destroy them. This would also better strike a blow to the Japanese army's offensive momentum. Anyway, the mission of the New 22nd Army is to delay the Japanese army's advance, and there is no limit to how to delay time.

"Wenwu, where do you think is the most appropriate place to defeat the Japanese vanguard?" Chief of Staff Zhao Dong looked at the map and thought for a while before asking Zhang Wenwu a question.

"Commander, I think the new 210th Division should put up a brief resistance in Zhongshan, then pretend to be defeated and retreat. Between Shunde and Zhongshan, we should use the natural advantages of the Xijiang River tributaries to eliminate the Japanese vanguard attacking forces on both sides of the Xijiang River. This way, the Japanese troops behind will surely slow down their attack speed to avoid being ambushed by us again." Zhang Wenwu pointed to the location of the Xijiang River on the map and announced the battlefield he had chosen.

"What if the Japanese follow-up troops come to rescue quickly?" Commander Huang also raised his own question.

"Commander, if the Japanese follow-up troops come to rescue quickly, they will also need to pass through the tributary of the Xijiang River. Then we can concentrate our forces to attack his follow-up reinforcements first, and then turn around to attack the Japanese troops in the encirclement." Zhang Wenwu also told Ouyang Heng the second plan that he and Ouyang Heng had discussed.

For them, it didn't matter which Japanese army they attacked. Their goal was to scare the Japanese army and prevent them from advancing quickly. In this way, the new 22nd Army's guard mission could be completed smoothly. This was much better than holding off the Japanese attack on their positions.

(Thanks to Zhixiaxia, users, KING child, Weiguogong who loves beef jerky, Lu Yilin who likes to chop melons, and for their gift support! Thank you all for your support and encouragement!)