Spy Wars: I am the Captain of the Military Police

The 13th Regiment of the 6th Division was severely damaged, and the regiment commander, Colonel Tatsuharu Kuranaga, was killed by a grenade hitting his headquarters.

The 47th Regiment suffered losses of over 30%, including two squadron leaders.

The headquarters of the 102nd Brigade of the 114th Division was destroyed, and the brigade commander, Major General Chiba Kotaro, and all his staff were killed.

Preliminary estimates indicate that in just a few hours of artillery bombardment and armored assaults, the Japanese army suffered more than 3000 casualties, of which more than 2,000 were killed, including many senior officers above the rank of major.

The equipment losses were even more appalling. The tank units of the 6th Division, mainly Type 95 and Type 89 light tanks, were completely destroyed in the encounter and failed to cause any visible damage to the enemy.

The three field artillery regiments lost more than 80% of their guns, either destroyed by accurate artillery fire or run over by enemy tanks.

Almost all of the transport brigade's vehicles and supplies were lost, making them sitting ducks for enemy tanks and machine gunners.

The most terrible losses are invisible.

Many of the surviving Japanese soldiers suffered mental breakdowns, constantly muttering words such as "cannot be penetrated" and "devil's chariot".

The army's morale dropped to freezing point, and the arrogance that had made it invincible since the Lugou Bridge Incident was completely shattered.

Many soldiers truly experienced fear and despair for the first time.

Outside Songjiang City, corpses were scattered all over the ground, thick smoke was rising from the destroyed Japanese equipment, and the air was filled with the stench of burning human flesh and the smell of gunpowder.

That night, there was no Japanese army celebrating the occupation of Songjiang. There was only endless fear and confusion. They didn't even know who the "friendly forces" that defeated them were or where they came from.

Yanagawa Heisuke stood in front of the battle map, his face livid, and the red pencil in his hand had been unconsciously broken into two pieces.

"Say it again! Who attacked you?" Yanagawa roared into the phone, his voice trembling with anger and disbelief.

On the other end of the line was Lieutenant General Tani Hisao, commander of the 6th Division on the front line. His voice was equally agitated and filled with obvious fear: "Sir! These are our own tanks! At least two hundred of them! They are painted with our insignia, but they are hitting our people!

Our anti-tank guns are completely ineffective! This must be a massive misfire from some bastard unit!"

"Ridiculous!" Yanagawa slammed his fist on the table. "There are not even two hundred Imperial tanks in the entire Central China region! Are you scared by some new weapon the Chinese army has?"

"No! Your Excellency! I saw it with my own eyes! That's not something the Chinese army has!

Those are our Type 97 and Type 95 rifles, but... but there's something different about them! They can't penetrate them! No matter what, they can't penetrate them!" Tani Hisao's voice was almost tearful.

Similar reports came in like snowflakes from various divisions:

"The 18th Division's right wing has collapsed! We are under attack from 'friendly' tank units!"

"The 114th Division is requesting air support identification! The enemy's paint job is ours, but their actions are enemy!"

"The 6th Field Artillery Regiment has been crushed! Enemy tanks have run over our positions!"

Yanagawa Heisuke's staff were busy trying to mark the situation on the map, but they found that they could not understand the battlefield situation at all. All reports pointed to the same non-existent "friendly force" beating up the Tenth Army.

"Send a telegram to the Expeditionary Force Headquarters!" Yanagawa finally made up his mind, even though he knew how crazy it sounded. "Report the situation truthfully: Our unit was attacked by a large number of suspected friendly forces outside Songjiang City. The enemy was equipped with Imperial standard tanks but their behavior was hostile.

Requesting immediate verification of the positions of all tank units in Central China and intervention and coordination! "

The communications officer hesitated and said, "Commander, if we report like this...what will headquarters think of us?"

Yanagawa glared at him and said, "Then let me add one more sentence: If it wasn't a mistaken attack, then the Chinese army might have obtained some advanced equipment that we don't know about and used it for camouflage.

But no matter what, the Tenth Army has suffered heavy casualties and its offensive has been hindered!"

The telegram was sent to the Japanese Expeditionary Force Headquarters in Shanghai at the highest level of urgency.

. . . . . . . . . .

In Shanghai, the atmosphere inside the headquarters of the Japanese Central China Expeditionary Force was equally tense.

Commander General Matsui Iwane has just received a battle report from the front line that the Chinese army is in full retreat and victory in the Battle of Shanghai is in sight.

But at this moment, he received the incredible telegram from the Tenth Army.

"What the hell is Yanagawa doing?" Matsui Iwane took off his glasses, rubbed his temple, and read the message again: "Friendly attack? Two hundred Imperial tanks? Is he crazy?"

Major General Mamoru Iinuma, Chief of Operations Staff, frowned and said, "Commander, this is absolutely impossible!

"We have no more than 80 tanks in the entire Central China region, and most of them are supporting the 9th Division in attacking the Suzhou River defense line. How could they suddenly appear in Songjiang and attack the 10th Army?"

"Could it be that the Kwantung Army's tank unit was secretly transferred here?" Deputy Chief of Staff Colonel Toshimichi Kamimura said hesitantly.

"Nonsense!" Matsui Iwane shouted angrily, "Not to mention that the Kwantung Army couldn't possibly mobilize without informing us, even if they did, why would they attack the Tenth Army?

And how could two hundred chariots appear in Songjiang without making any noise?"

There was silence in the headquarters, and no one could understand this absurd battle report.

At this moment, the door was pushed open, and Colonel Shunsuke Nakamura, the chief of staff of the military police who had just returned from the front, strode in.

"Commander, I heard that something happened in the 10th Army?" Nakamura Shunsuke asked directly, with a hint of barely perceptible contempt in his tone.

Matsui Iwane handed him the telegram: "Look for yourself, Yanagawa said they were attacked by two hundred imperial chariots."

Shunsuke Nakamura quickly glanced through the telegram, and a sarcastic sneer gradually appeared at the corner of his mouth.

He put down the telegram, looked around, and said in a clear and sharp voice: "Commander, colleagues, isn't this obvious?"

Everyone looked at him.

Nakamura Shunsuke continued: "The Tenth Army has made slow progress since its landing and has failed to cut off the Chinese Army's retreat as planned.

Now, just as the main force of the Chinese army is about to escape unscathed, their 100,000-strong army has been held up by a remnant of defeated troops in Songjiang for three whole days! What a shame!

He picked up the telegram and waved it in the air. "And now, they've come up with such a lame excuse! Attacked by two hundred Imperial tanks?

Hahaha! Are there two hundred Imperial chariots on the entire Chinese battlefield? Even if there were, how could they suddenly appear in Songjiang and attack their own people?

Whispers began to be heard in the headquarters, and many staff officers showed expressions of sudden enlightenment.

Nakamura Shunsuke became more and more excited as he spoke: "This is simply an excuse for their incompetence!

"The Tenth Army is a complete waste from top to bottom! Yanagawa Heisuke, Tani Hisao, Ushijima Sadao... These so-called elites, with the strength of an entire army, couldn't even defeat a shattered Chinese regiment, and now they're fabricating this kind of fairy tale to cover up their failure!"

Matsui Iwane's face darkened. Nakamura Shunsuke's words were not entirely unreasonable.

He didn't like his competitor Heisuke Yanagawa very much, but he never thought that Heisuke Yanagawa would do anything tricky. But judging from the current situation, he was too optimistic.

"Chief of Staff Nakamura, your guess is bold, but do you have any evidence?" Matsui asked in a deep voice.

Nakamura Shunsuke stood at attention and replied: "Commander, the evidence is this telegram itself!

What kind of "accidental attack" would cause two hundred tanks to collectively attack friendly forces for several hours without being stopped?

What kind of accidental attack could render the 100,000-strong Tenth Army unable to fight back?

This is totally against military common sense!"