Anti-Japanese heroic righteousness

Ananwei knows very well that trying to block the attack of Jiang Haoran's two veteran divisions with just an independent mixed brigade is tantamount to nonsense. He only hopes that they can hold out for as long as possible until the reinforcements Come, but even if it is this request, he really has no idea.

Not only did Anan have little confidence, but even Isamu Kinoshita, the chief of staff who had always been resourceful and able to hold his ground, became a little flustered.With his strategic vision, he can clearly see the situation in front of him. Once the two divisions of the No. 40 Army reach the city of Wuhan, the No. 11 Army will be over.Therefore, after dispatching the reinforcement puppet army, Isamu Kinoshita immediately sent power to General Nishio Hisao in Nanjing and Lieutenant General Okamura Neji in North China, requesting emergency tactical guidance.

In fact, when the war has come to this point, no one has a better solution, whether it is Hisao Nishio or Neiji Okamura. In their eyes, the battle of Wuhan is already inevitable, and the only way now is to retreat as soon as possible. Can you still keep the complete organizational system of the No.11 Army?

But no one dared to say such things. The responsibility was too great. After receiving the telegram, the two of them directly reported the situation to the Tokyo headquarters, causing headaches for the senior officials above.

At [-] o'clock in the afternoon, the Japanese base camp in Tokyo.

Emperor Hirohito, Prime Minister Hideki Tojo, Minister of the Navy Otsuka Otsuo, Minister of the Army Hata Shunroku, Commander of the Navy Admiral Yamamoto 56, etc. gathered together.

Everyone in the room looked like their dead fathers, with gloomy faces, which made the atmosphere in the room very dignified. After receiving the telegrams from Hisao Nishio and Neiji Okamura, they had a tense discussion. Emperor Hirohito's opinion is to stick to Wuhan and urge the reinforcements to advance quickly. What he values ​​more is the face of the imperial army.Prime Minister Hideki Tojo and Minister of War Hata Shunroku advocated immediately abandoning Wuhan. The No. 11 Army took advantage of the retreat route of Lu'an to retreat quickly and orderly. Preserving the vital strength of the Imperial Army was the top priority.

Minister of the Navy Dajiao Qinsheng and the commander of the navy did not speak at all, and watched with cold eyes, but their stomachs were full of anger. They spent several months working hard to formulate a naval battle to raid Midway Island, and they were about to succeed. However, they were urgently transferred back from the front to support Wuhan. Now Wuhan may not be able to keep it, but they missed the excellent opportunity to surprise Midway Island. Not to mention the credit at their fingertips, the Navy suffered a blow from the United States in vain. , At this time, they only have the mood of cursing their mothers.Of course, if you want to scold, you can only scold in your heart, after all, there is still a doggy emperor sitting above.

Just when the opinions could not be unified, a senior staff officer came in a hurry, but what he brought was a piece of news that made them collapse. Just half an hour ago, the First Fleet of the Navy stationed in the Strait of Malacca was suddenly attacked by a ship of the US Navy. After the first round of attacks, the reconnaissance plane immediately discovered the combined fleet of the U.S. Navy. There were four aircraft carriers, dozens of battleships, cruisers, and destroyers. Landing ships, and enemy ships will soon enter the Strait of Malacca.

This news was no less than a thunderbolt from the clear sky, which stunned everyone in the room.

The top Japanese military has known for a long time that the U.S. Navy has rebuilt the Pacific Fleet with the support of Jiang Haoran. The first time it used two empty ships without any protective firepower to scare off the Imperial Army's carrier-based aircraft on the Burmese battlefield, it was precisely this crisis. The Japanese navy decided to take advantage of the fact that their combat effectiveness had not yet been formed to surprise Midway Island. Unexpectedly, the plan was not successful due to Jiang Haoran's disturbance in Wuhan. However, the Japanese army still believed that the US navy was still recovering. There is still a long way to go. After all, the formation of a navy is not like an army. You can go to the battlefield with a group of people and fire a few guns. The connection of various aspects, the adjustment of weapons and equipment, etc. are far from the work of two or three months. Therefore, This time to support Wuhan, the imperial army mobilized almost all the naval power in the Pacific Ocean, leaving only the two aircraft carriers of the First Fleet to defend the Strait of Malacca.

The U.S. Navy is equipped with a large number of landing ships, which are here to attack the city. For the Japanese army, the most important strategic location is Singapore. Now even a fool can see that the Mi Army is taking advantage of Singapore. However, once Singapore falls, the logistics channel for hundreds of thousands of Burmese imperial troops will be cut off, and the dangerous situation is simply unimaginable.

In view of such a bad emergency, Emperor Hirohito no longer insisted on his opinion, and ordered the First Fleet to defend the Strait of Malacca no matter how much it paid, waiting for reinforcements. At the same time, he ordered the fleets in the East China Sea to rush to reinforcements immediately. In Wuhan, the status of Myanmar is particularly important. The loss of Wuhan in the Chinese battlefield is not a big deal for the imperial army, but the loss of Myanmar will completely ruin the strategic concept of Germany, Japan and India. The Yunnan-Burma Highway was opened, and the illusion of a strategic encirclement of China was completely shattered.

But these are not the most important. Once Myanmar falls, for the imperial army, it is basically a set of dominoes being pushed. In the Pacific Ocean, this vicious shark, which was offended by the imperial army, probably would have chased and beaten the imperial army fiercely.Then there is the Chinese battlefield. If Wuhan is lost, the occupied area of ​​Central China will no longer be stable. Once the Chinese army continues to advance, Hefei and Xuzhou will be in danger. Once the north-south passage is cut off, Central China and North China will be immediately divided into two parts. The battlefield has lost land access, and the navy is under the threat of the Pacific Fleet of the United States. It is only a matter of time before the collapse of the entire Central China line. All the strategic materials in the country have been exhausted, and the source of troops is almost exhausted, and China is continuously receiving various aids from the US, Britain, and the Soviet Union, and is becoming stronger day by day. I am afraid that the battlefields in North China and Northeast China will not last long.

As soon as these problems were posed, the Japanese base camp could only choose to cut off their wrists decisively and transfer all the navy back to the Pacific to deal the heaviest blow to the United States.As for Wuhan, because of the loss of strong air support, it is no longer possible to hold fast under the fierce offensive of the national army, so it can only choose to abandon the defense, and the No.11 army retreats in an all-round way.

Therefore, the base camp made an emergency retreat plan. The No.18 independent mixed brigade in the east, combined with the three puppet divisions that had just joined in, retreated immediately, and built a line of defense between Zuoling and Wusi Lake to prevent No. .40 Army's two divisions attack.

To the west, with the strength of a division, build a line of defense at three points: Sancha Lake and Niuxing Lake, Liangzi Lake and Lu Lake, and Lu Lake and the Yangtze River. Most of the troops.