Rise from the sword

Chapter 574

North China.

Baoding.

Inside the Japanese Army Headquarters.

Yamamoto sat on the chair and looked at the staff officer in front of him:

"Where has the Eighth Route Army's vanguard arrived?"

After running away from Shijiazhuang, Yamamoto retreated with his troops all the way to Baoding here, and then continued his mission-training recruits, collecting resources such as fuel and food, and training his special team.

I had a very leisurely life.

Of course, Yamamoto didn't forget that Li Yunlong had already captured Shijiazhuang, and he was currently leading his people to continue to advance eastward, as if preparing to take back the entire North China offensive.

You can't beat it.

I'm afraid it's impossible to fight in this life.

Currently, he has only one and a half divisions with more than 9000 soldiers. One of them is a new division and the other is an old brigade. Due to the serious lack of heavy equipment, even a tank battalion of the independent regiment will not be able to stop them. live.

So Yamamoto is ready to run away at any time.

Anyway, the recruit training camp was arranged by him in the Yellow River Delta area, and his retreat had little impact, even the collection and transportation of materials. If it wasn't for intelligence gathering, he would have retreated to the coastal area long ago.

Thinking of this, Yamamoto felt relieved.

The Major General Ito Kotaro he unearthed is indeed capable.

In just a few months, this person completely integrated the imperial business group in North China, and formed a group with the help of the influence of the imperial army, which greatly improved the efficiency of material collection.

After he withdrew from Shijiazhuang, the efficiency of fuel and food collection in North China did not decrease but increased.

A steady stream of materials such as heavy oil, grain and cotton were transported by rail to Bohai Bay, and then shipped to the mainland by sea. These materials and other materials greatly eased domestic conflicts.

Heavy oil also allowed the imperial transport fleet to run at full speed. After the U.S. Navy retreated, the safety of the Southeast Asian waterway was guaranteed, and various resources could reach local factories from Southeast Asia.

Empire seems to be getting better and better.

Moreover, after the independent regiment occupied Shijiazhuang, although they continued to attack, the speed decreased significantly, and Baoding is still very safe.

"The forward unit of the Independent Regiment is currently staying in Anji Village, [-] kilometers outside Dingzhou, about an armored battalion."

The staff officer immediately replied:

"They no longer continue to attack eastward, but are clearing out the defeated soldiers and bandits around Shijiazhuang, maintaining local law and order, and recruiting labor to build roads and railways."

"Anji Village."

Yamamoto quickly found Anji Village on the map.

Anji Village is located in the southwest of Baoding, 97 kilometers away from his headquarters.

Yamamoto breathed a sigh of relief.

This distance is very safe.

The world is wonderful right now.

In Europe, Germany suddenly counterattacked, not only suppressing the landing from the Atlantic, annihilating hundreds of thousands of landing troops, but also blocking the counterattack of the bear in the north, which surprised the whole world.

This is the true strength of Germany?
It's just that the Allied Army has a deep foundation. These two failures cannot be said to be unscathed, but they are still far from being injured. I believe that it will not take long for a new round of attack to be organized soon.

Is Deutschland returning to the past, or is this its true strength?How much support will Chen Fan provide for Germany?
and also.

Although the Americans withdrew from the Asia-Pacific region, a series of secret actions to support the mountain city and relax the suppression of the empire were obviously aimed at the strange forces that suddenly appeared somewhere in Taiyuan.
Plus that mysterious Chen Fan.

How the situation in the Asia-Pacific region will develop in the future, and what will happen to the empire in the future, no one can predict.

In such a wonderful world, Yamamoto didn't want to die.

"Order the 118th Division to strengthen the defense in Dingzhou, dig multi-layer anti-tank positions, increase the depth of the positions, and deploy troops at large intervals. In addition, they are ready to retreat at any time."

"Order the No.15 brigade to garrison on the Baoding flank."

Yamamoto ordered.

According to the experience of Taiyuan and Shijiazhuang, the independent regiment's attack is generally a three-way pincer experience, with two wings outflanking and a breakthrough in the middle, and the two wings are the main force. Although the middle is not weak, but the advancing speed is slow.

Therefore, he placed the veteran [-]th Brigade from the Kwantung Army on the two wings.

"Hi."

Staff to deliver orders.

······
Dingzhou.

After receiving Yamamoto's order, the 118th Division immediately began to establish a defense line.

The 118th Division was originally a Class C division, but because the large-scale expansion of the army began in Ping'an County, this division was formed much earlier than the original one, and it is now an elite division in Yamamoto's hands, with rich combat experience.

The head of the division was also brought out by Yamamoto himself. He had experienced the Great War in Ping'an County and was well aware of the horrors of the Independence Regiment, so he perfectly carried out Yamamoto's orders.

Multi-level anti-tank trenches, large defensive positions in depth, wide and wide deployment of troops, and most importantly-ready to run anytime and anywhere, the kind that can complete the retreat of the entire division within an hour.

During this period, the head of the division has been patrolling the front line, for fear of a little trouble.

And this time.

Outside Dingzhou.

Three figures in tattered clothes sprang out from the dense forest.

"Finally out."

Looking at the imperial army's position in the distance, Maeda Kichiri let out a long sigh of relief, and collapsed on the ground.

The other two devils were not much better, they also collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath.

After the three of them escaped from Shuangfeng Town, they originally wanted to join the main force, but their luck was really bad. Not to mention getting lost, they encountered the armored patrols of the Independent Regiment several times, so they had to run all the way through the mountains and forests.

The three of them don't understand Chinese, and there are eight roads in almost every village. There are guerrillas, county brigades, district squads, and village soldiers everywhere. Now, going to any village is courting death.

So the three of them could only avoid villages and crowds along the way, and move forward with difficulty.

Eat wild fruits and even worms when you are hungry, and drink water when you are thirsty, and even grab water from livestock and wild animals.Sleeping in the forest at night, fortunately it is summer, otherwise I would be frozen to death, but I also suffered from mosquitoes.

It seems that there is still a trace of luck in the dark.

After going through all kinds of difficulties and dangers, the three finally ran to Dingzhou by coincidence and came to the position of the 118th Division.

"Ba Ga, who?"

The three were quickly discovered by the patrol of the 118th Division.

"I am the commander of the third squadron of the fifth battalion of the fourth infantry regiment of the No.60 second division."

Maeda Jiri quickly reported his identity, and took out the identity plate that he was protecting.

"The 62nd Division?"

Because the position has not yet been built, security work is very important, so at this time the person in charge of leading the patrol is a brigade captain, who is also a devil who escaped from Ping'an County.

At first, the devil captain was extremely nervous, fearing that it was the artillery observation post of the Independence Regiment, but he only relaxed when he found three dirty and unarmed people approaching.

When he heard the name of the unit reported by Maeda Kichiri, his pupils shrank immediately.

The 62nd Division is a Class C division stationed in Taiyuan. During the Battle of Taiyuan, this division was surrounded and annihilated by the Independent Regiment, and the entire army was wiped out. The Battle of Taiyuan has been a month since now.

So···
Without even looking at the nameplate handed over by Maeda Kichiri, he waved the samurai sword in his hand and ordered loudly:

"Grab it!"

Immediately, more than a dozen devils tied up the three of them.

"We are the imperial army, imperial warriors, not spies..."

It wasn't until Maeda Jiri realized that he was regarded as a spy again.

But what greeted him was a gun butt in the face, and then the whole person fell into darkness. When he woke up, he was already in a prison cell-the rotten smell of swill in the air, as well as flying mosquitoes, damp Haystacks of rice, cockroaches crawling around.

The scene is very familiar.

Two of his subordinates were also imprisoned nearby.

"time to eat."

At this time, a ghost came in and gave Maeda Kili a meal——

A bowl of rotten-smelling boiled buckwheat bean dregs is for the pack horses, and a bowl of cloudy and smelly water seems to be for livestock as well. Maeda Jiri suspects that this is scooped up from the livestock basin .

"idiot."

Maeda Kichiri wanted to cry immediately but had no tears.

The investigation will take a week, and he will have another week of hard life.

······
Dingzhou left-wing position.

"Yaga, damn Yamamoto."

The head of the No.15 Brigade, Major General of the Empire of Japan, Tsutomu Tanaka walked back and forth in the underground bunker, swearing non-stop.

Although he seldom fought against the Independent Regiment, how could he, a majestic major general, not know that the two wings of the Independent Regiment were the most violent.

In order to quickly complete the encirclement, the armored troops of the independent regiments on the two wings charged very violently. Often dozens of tanks rushed in together, and the tank guns directly smashed his face. Let him have a brigade on the two wings. Isn't this setting him on fire? .

He now has a total strength of more than 7000 troops.

At that time, facing the attack of more than [-] tanks and [-] artillery pieces, and dozens of aircraft covering the sky, heavy bombs will rain down, what a fart.

Even if he evacuated immediately, he would have to lose at least one brigade due to the horrific artillery fire of the independent regiment, and the attrition rate was at least [-]%.

"No, I have to think of a way."

Tanaka sat on a chair, lost in thought.

Fighting against the independent regiment is the worst loss, not one of them.

The difference in weapons and equipment between the two sides is too large, and the soldiers of the independent regiment have rich combat experience. The commander will fight steadily and not rush forward. No matter how hard he struggles, he has no chance of winning.

The only thing he can do is to dig more ground, block the opponent's speed, and then retreat as soon as possible. The slower he retreats, the greater the loss of the troops.

Afterwards, he had to be insulted by his superiors and blamed by the headquarters.

He has no background, no background, and paid a considerable price to climb to the position of brigade commander. Once there is a problem, such as a huge loss in fighting with the independent regiment, he might lose his military power and even become the commander of the regiment.

In the current Great Japanese Empire, there is a lack of grassroots officers, even the captains of the Major Generals, but there are really many major generals, and there are a lot of them.

It's just that after thinking about it for a long time, Tanaka Qin couldn't think of a good way.

He can't disobey Yamamoto's order. This person is deeply trusted and valued by the base camp, and he is cautious in handling things. It is also very dangerous to make small moves under Yamamoto's hands. If he is not careful, he will cut his belly.

He doesn't want to be loyal to the Great Japanese Empire and the emperor. He serves in the army because the army can bring power and wealth.

When Tanaka was struggling, a team leader sneaked in.

"what's up?"

It seems that the visitor, Tanaka's tone is warm.

"General."

The captain handed Tanaka a secret letter:
"This is a secret letter from Major General Ito."

"Ito."

Tanaka nodded, his tone somewhat expectant.

Ito Kotaro, like Yamamoto, is also a popular man in the base camp. In less than a year, he has changed from lieutenant general to major general, and there are even reports that he will be promoted to lieutenant general soon.

Of course, this is not the point.

The point is that Ito and him are business partners, and the two parties have a deep interest connection. During the cooperation with Ito, Tanaka's pockets have swelled more than ten times.Every contact between the two parties is good news.

It's a pity that Ito can't solve his current predicament.

With expectation and regret, Qin Tanaka opened the secret letter:

"Ito-kun unexpectedly..."

Scanning the secret letter, Tanaka's first reaction was to widen his eyes, full of horror, as if he was horrified by the content of the letter, but soon, the corners of his mouth curled up, a smile appeared on his face, and he couldn't help nodding:
"Yo Xi."

"That's really good news."

After folding the secret letter and hiding it close to his body, he called for a confidant captain under his command who was also a business partner.He needs to change the current defense strategy to match the 'allies'.

"Your wing moved to the left wing..."

Tanaka spoke his order slowly.

······
at the same time.

Shijiazhuang.

It used to be the headquarters of the Japanese Army, but it is now in the frontline command post of the Independence Regiment.

"The armored battalions suspend the attack and stay where they are, and pay attention to strengthen vigilance to avoid attacks by devils."

Zhang Dabiao issued an order:

"The infantry battalions strengthened the cleanup of the surrounding law and order, eliminated the bandits and other remnants as soon as possible, and protected the safety of the construction brigade."

"Yes."

The staff quickly issued orders.

"Keep attacking time."

Zhang Dabiao looked at the map:

"Just a week from now."

Although the devils in Dingzhou are building a position, and it is a multi-level and deep position, Zhang Dabiao is not in a hurry, and still follows the order of the regiment headquarters, fighting steadily and not rushing forward.

It's not that he's bragging, the devil's little earthworks are nothing to fear at all, his army presses up, and the position is automatically broken after a wave of firepower covers it.

and···
Looking at a secret report from the political commissar on the table, the corner of Zhang Dabiao's mouth twitched, and a sinister smile emerged.

This time, he has other tasks - to create allies!
"The newly formed infantry battalion will continue to train."

Zhang Dabiao did not forget one of the most important tasks of capturing and occupying lost ground, training recruits.

After the staff officer left, Zhang Dabiao called a battalion commander:
"Deputy head, is your name I?"

The battalion commander who came here was a senior battalion commander. During Kong Jie’s time, he served in the Independent Regiment. At that time, he was the platoon leader. He was a proper veteran of the Independent Regiment. He had been following Zhang Dabiao.

Therefore, the current battalion commander is actually the same as Xu Husheng. He is the battalion commander in name and is actually in charge of the command of the five battalions.

"Give you a secret mission."

"A week later, you lead the team to attack the left wing of Dingzhou... retreat after dropping fifteen tanks!"

"Yes."

The battalion commander nodded.

······
at the same time.

Cherbourg.

The largest port in northern France.

Today is sunny.

The previous violent storm has disappeared, but at this time, another kind of storm is playing here——

The dense heavy artillery shells crossed arcs, rose from the distant fleet, and then fell into the port. Similarly, the dense heavy artillery shells also rose from the port and fell into the fleet more than 20 kilometers away.

Dense heavy artillery shells, and rising water column.

A storm of artillery fire.

During the intermission of the artillery storm, hundreds of bombers and attack planes flew over Cherbourg one by one, dropping one after another bombs—falling down like raindrops, and huge fireballs rose from the ground.

Storm of bombs.

On the ground, in the circular fortress group, a 4mm Bofors anti-aircraft gun with four units spewed out violent fireworks, and 40 anti-aircraft guns also burst out with fireworks-nearly two hundred anti-aircraft guns, more than five hundred Under the pile of gun barrels, gunpowder smoke filled the sky, and shrapnel flew across.

In particular, more than a hundred four-barreled 40-inch anti-aircraft guns fired at the same time, and the dense shells were like drizzle, which was visible to the naked eye even in the daytime.

During this period, planes crashed one after another.

The fight lasted all day.

"retreat."

With an order in pure American English that was not reconciled, the fleet left, and the last wave of planes also returned one after another.

"Repair position."

Marshal Long, who commanded the front line, issued an order:

"Transfer the wounded to the rear hospital."

Although there are thick reinforced concrete fortresses and sufficient ammunition, the troops still suffer heavy casualties. The Weilik of the naval guns is not covered, not to mention that many of them are capital ships with a main gun with a caliber of more than 380mm.

The most important thing is that the enhanced version, the anti-aircraft tower with the armor plate attached to the outside, which can defend the battleship's main guns has not yet been built.

And the other side.

The situation of the retreating fleet is also very bad.

Many warships were covered in black smoke, and the bow or stern of the ship was completely submerged in the water.

Of course, the number is nearly one-third less than when it came.

Although the battleship is the crystallization of a country's technology, but because of the ocean, its shooting accuracy is inferior to that of coastal defense guns. Coupled with the reinforced concrete fortress that is several meters thick, it is normal to suffer.

After the fleet arrived at the port, fleet casualties were also counted and sent to the headquarters.

"Have all the casualties been counted?"

Inside the headquarters, the commander asked.

His tone was full of dissatisfaction.

However, his superiors rejected his suggestion to suspend the landing, hold the current position, and then use the bomber fleet to bomb northern France.

Moreover, he was also required to take Cherbourg as soon as possible, because the troops needed a stable port to provide logistical supplies for the follow-up troops, and even ordered him to take it no matter the cost.

Otherwise, he didn't need to order the fleet and shore artillery to bombard for so long, and also let the ground troops cooperate, and the aviation troops forcibly bombed Cherbourg.

The result was almost a failure across the board, whether it was air bombing, ground attack, or support fleet, all suffered heavy losses.

"The casualties of the fleet, the wing, the U.S. Eighth Army, and the British ground forces have been counted."

The staff officer replied.

"Send it back to China now."

The general snorted coldly.

With the sound of telegrams, a battle report, including the battle report of the entire northern France, was sent back to the United States and arrived at the white palace.

　I actually recommend this book...

　　Tomorrow, that is, the eighth, one watch in the evening and one watch in the afternoon.

　　Both are four thousand.

　　


(End of this chapter)