Quartermasters can also fight the devils

Lieutenant General Kanro Furujo, commander of the 21st Japanese Army, stared at the map and thought for a long time. In the end, he still couldn't make a decision. He looked at the staff waiting for him to make a decision and said, "Let me think about it first. You can withdraw first."

Lieutenant General Kanro Furusho rubbed his aching temple. He decided to communicate with Lieutenant General Toshio Miyake, the commander of the 104th Division first. What if Lieutenant General Miyake Toshio could make concessions? Then the problem would be solved. Anyway, the troops of the 132nd Brigade were still landing and assembling, so he still had some time.

However, Lieutenant General Furusho Kan'o, commander of the 104th Division, disappointed Lieutenant General Miyake Toshio. Lieutenant General Miyake firmly stated that he would follow the combat plan previously formulated by the expeditionary force and the headquarters, and his 104th Division must take revenge personally. He even proposed to transfer the 104th Division troops in Daya Bay to the west bank of the Pearl River to fight.

Lieutenant General Furusho Kan'o did not take Lieutenant General Miyake Toshio's proposal seriously. He knew that Lieutenant General Miyake Toshio was just expressing his attitude to him. It was simply unrealistic to transfer the troops of the 104th Division in Daya Bay to the west bank of the Pearl River for combat. By the time the troops of the 104th Division re-embarked from Daya Bay and then transported to the west bank of the Pearl River for landing and assembly, the Chinese government's New nd Army would have already disappeared to who knows where.

"Commander, I have thought of a solution." Lieutenant General Hisaichi Tanaka, Chief of Staff of the 21st Army, came to Lieutenant General Kanro Furushou and whispered.

"Oh? Mr. Tanaka, do you have any good ideas?" Lieutenant General Kanro Furusho asked Lieutenant General Hisaichi Tanaka with anticipation.

"Commander, we can divide up another combat zone and let the commander of the 132th Division, Lieutenant General Yasuyoshi, lead his remaining troops to carry out a large-scale flanking operation. Their goal is to cut off the retreat route of the Chinese government's Fourth War Zone troops to the west. The commander of the nd Brigade, Major General Goto Juro, will be responsible for the original combat plan to capture Shunde and the South China Sea. The two sides are not related and will be coordinated and commanded by the headquarters." Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Tanaka Hisaichi stated his approach.

Lieutenant General Kanro Furusho listened to the proposal of the Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Hisaichi Tanaka, and his face gradually became happy. Yes, this is indeed a good idea. Just set aside another combat area. He just needs to report the plan to the expeditionary army and the headquarters and ask them to approve the demarcation of another combat target area. In this way, there will be sufficient combat forces in both directions, and there will be no need to worry about any conspiracies or tricks of the New 22nd Army of the Chinese government. In the face of absolute strength, those conspiracies and tricks are useless.

Soon, the expeditionary force and the headquarters agreed to the battle plan proposed by Lieutenant General Kanro Furujo. The speed at which the battle plan was approved from above made Lieutenant General Kanro Furujo realize how much importance the higher-ups attached to the New 22nd Army of the Chinese government.

Lieutenant General Anriyoshi, commander of the Fifth Division, was also happy after receiving the combat order from Lieutenant General Kan'iro Furusho, commander of the 132st Army. He was very unhappy when he saw the new nd Army of the Chinese government beating up the troops of the nd Brigade on the west bank of the Pearl River these days. He had always been blaming the commander, Lieutenant General Kan'iro Furusho, for not letting his Fifth Division fight against the new nd Army of the Chinese government. As a result, not only did the st Army lose face, but the Fourth War Zone of the Chinese government was also arrogant and boastful.

Now, the remaining troops of his Fifth Division have finally waited for the opportunity to fight. According to the combat plan given by the headquarters, his Fifth Division troops will land only after the troops in front have completed landing. After the 132nd Brigade occupies Shunde, he will lead his troops to make a rapid detour to the west, capture Sanshui and cut off the Chinese army's escape route to the west.

Although Lieutenant General Toshio Miyake, commander of the 104th Division, was not very comfortable with the new operational plan made by the 132st Army Headquarters, he still sent a telegram to Major General Goto Juro, commander of the 104nd Brigade, asking him to defend the th Division in future operations, not to make any more mistakes, and to regain the face he had lost before.

After receiving the new battle plan, the commander of the 132nd Brigade, Major General Goto Juro, also ordered the Chief of Staff Colonel Kawakami Mamoru beside him: "Kawakami-kun, has the 161st Regiment completed its landing? When will the st and nd Regiments of the th Division, which are assigned here, complete their landing?"

Chief of Staff Colonel Mamoru Kawakami looked at the time and said, "Your Excellency, the 161st Regiment should have basically landed according to the time. The transport ships should be transporting the remaining officers and soldiers of the Field Artillery Regiment and artillery ammunition ashore. The 161st Regiment has set up defensive positions around Zhongshan City. After the Field Artillery Regiment has landed, the st and nd Regiments will land. It is estimated that it will take another two and a half days for all the troops to land."

"Well, after the field artillery regiment completes its landing, I will follow the troops of the 41st Regiment of the 5th Division to go ashore. Mr. Kawakami, you will be responsible for organizing the landing of the follow-up troops here." The brigade commander, Major General Goto Juro, also stated his decision.

Chief of Staff Colonel Mamoru Kawakami understood that when the troops of the 5th Division landed, his brigade commander had to go ashore. Otherwise, if there was no one in charge who could make decisions in Zhongshan City, there would be problems in the coordination of the troops. Moreover, these were troops that originally belonged to two different divisions.

"Please rest assured, Your Excellency the Brigade Commander, I will make sure to arrange the landing of the troops and the supply matters." Chief of Staff Colonel Mamoru Kawakami also bowed respectfully.

After the Japanese offensive came to a halt, the Fourth War Zone also stepped up the speed of material transportation. Everyone knew that this was just a moment of calm before the next round of war.

Taking advantage of the time when the Japanese army was quiet, Commander He of the Fourth War Zone called Commander Yu of the 12th Army and Commander Huang of the new 22nd Army to the war zone headquarters for a meeting, mainly to summarize the situation in the previous battle and the defense against subsequent Japanese attacks.

"Commander He, how long do we have to hold out? The supplies in Yangcheng should be almost ready, right?" Commander Yu of the 12th Army asked the question that concerned him first. After this battle with the Japanese army, he had a deep understanding of the Japanese army's combat effectiveness. He knew very well that his 12th Army could not stop the Japanese army from advancing towards Yangcheng in the direction of Daya Bay. He only had these few divisions of troops, and if they were destroyed, he would lose his most powerful backing.

After hearing Commander Yu's question, Chief He scolded Commander Yu in his heart. As the highest commander of the army group, you are so afraid of the enemy. One can imagine how bad the morale of his troops is.

"Commander Yu, due to the continuous bombing by Japanese planes, the speed of material transportation in Yangcheng has not been so fast. According to the estimate of the theater command, it will take at least seven days to transport all the materials out of Yangcheng. Therefore, we have to hold the outer defense line of Yangcheng for at least eight days." Wang Gaocan has basically taken on the role of Chief of Staff of the Fourth War Zone. He saw that Commander He did not look very good, so he spoke up in time to explain to Commander Yu.

At the same time, Wang Gaocan became even more worried about the 12th Army. He knew very well that Commander Yu was worried that his troops would be wiped out and wanted to retreat quickly to preserve their strength. These troops were the foundation of the military leaders' livelihood.

Hearing that they had to hold on for at least eight days, Commander Yu's face turned visibly worse. He felt that the theater command did it on purpose. No reinforcements were sent at all, and the 12th Army was forced to fight the Japanese attack to the death. They just wanted to use the Japanese to consume their own troops. Since the government had no determination to defend Yangcheng, they might as well give up Yangcheng earlier. Why bother pretending here?

"Commander Yu, the Japanese army is now adjusting. The war zone judges that only the 18th Division of the Japanese army will attack from the Daya Bay direction in the future. The Japanese army should transfer most of its troops to the west bank of the Pearl River to fight. In this way, you will be under much less pressure in the subsequent battles." Seeing Commander Yu's expression as if his parents had died, Wang Gaocan also said something to comfort him. Now there are only these two troops available, and he also needs to stabilize the 12th Army Group.

After hearing what Wang Gaocan said, Commander Yu felt that Wang Gaocan was talking without any pain. It was already good enough for the Japanese 18th Division to attack in the direction of Daya Bay. Before that, it was this Japanese division that attacked on his side. What was the pressure much less? Was there any difference in the troops deployed by the Japanese army before and after? If there was no difference, how could the pressure be less?

"Commander Yu, the mission of your 21st Army is to stop the Japanese 18th Division in Zengcheng. You must not retreat without the order from the war zone. Zengcheng is the last line of defense of your army. After the garrison time is completed, your 12th Army will retreat northward along the eastern part of the Guangdong-Hankou Railway to Shaoguan for garrison." Commander He was also a little worried about the 12th Army and once again clarified the subsequent combat missions.

"The same goes for the New 22nd Army. They must block the Japanese troops on the west bank of the Pearl River at the Nanhai City line. After completing the guard period, they must retreat northward along the western route of the Guangdong-Hankou Railway and enter southern Hunan for rest and recuperation." Senior Counsellor Wang also explained the mission to Commander Huang in a friendly manner. He was very relieved about the New 22nd Army, which was directly under the government.

Judging from the current morale of the officers and soldiers of the new 22nd Army, they will definitely not run away without permission during a fight. As for the 12th Army Group, it is hard to say, and this is what he and Commander He are most worried about.