The Southern Front Army was originally planning to use the Second Division as the main force to fight a limited offensive and defensive war with the Chinese in Siam;
But it doesn't work anymore. Yuren made a bet with Chu Xiong. For his face, he must go all out in this battle.
At the Southern Front Army Headquarters, old men gathered and the generals' stars shone.
The lowest ranking officers attending the meeting were division commanders, followed by corps commanders and front army chiefs of staff. There were no positions below major general.
Not long after Lieutenant General Kuroda Shigenori, the second Chief of General Staff, took office, he caught up with the battle between the Southern Army and the Chinese Expeditionary Force. He was very excited. He first introduced the enemy's situation to the senior generals attending the meeting:
"Gentlemen, the Chinese Expeditionary Army has four armies: the New First Army, the New Second Army, the New Third Army, and the Independent Army, with a total strength of about 170,000 people. Among them, the New Third Army is contained by the Imperial 33rd Army in Myitkyla;
Therefore, the forces they can devote to the battlefield in Siam include three armies of the Army and about 150 aircraft of the Air Force, with a total strength of about 140,000.
The commander is Chu Xiong, known as the Tiger of China. He and the Independent Army belong to China's Eighth Route Army system, and the others are the Central Army, and their combat effectiveness is very powerful;
Chuxiong is an extreme nationalist and hates the Yamato nation very much. His army has rarely accepted prisoners of war since the Taihang Mountains. He has lost no fewer than ten officers above the rank of Imperial Lieutenant General in his hands, including generals like Iida-kun. ;
He has a tough fighting style and changeable tactics. He is an extremely dangerous guy. He is good at fighting annihilation warfare and is an expert in guerrilla warfare and mobile warfare..."
I have to say that the Japs did a good job in intelligence. They obtained a lot of information about Chuxiong and the Independence Army. Although many aspects were just gossip, there was still a lot of useful information. This made the generals present lose face. In their eyes, It seems that such cruel Chinese people should not live.
Lieutenant General Nishimura Takuma, commander of the 25th Army Guards Division, said very unconvincingly:
"Kuroda-kun, why have I been hearing you say how powerful Chu Xiong and his independent army are? You are cowardly before fighting. You are trying to embolden others and destroy your own prestige!
Chuxiong’s Independence Army is indeed an elite force rarely seen in China, but the Southern Army has concentrated most of the elite of the Imperial Army. We fought from the mainland all the way to the Indochina Peninsula, fought thousands of miles, and destroyed countless countries;
They have defeated the first-rate powers like John Bull, Chicken of the Foot, and Chicken of Gallic. The Southern Army has never been the so-called elite. What we are fighting is the elite!
Don't think it's great just because they annihilated a miner division like Kumamoto. The Sixth Division was exaggerated by the empire. They were just a group of miners. What kind of battle would they fight?
Now, His Majesty the Emperor has made a bet with Chuxiong. His Majesty's glory is related to this battle. There is no room for failure in this battle. I request to send the Guards Division to Siam. I want to have a good meeting with Chuxiong's independent army to see who is the real one. The elite teacher! "
After hearing this, General Shouichi of the temple nodded and said:
"Yoshi, the loyalty of Nishimura-kun and the Guards Division to His Majesty cannot be questioned. It is the duty of the Guards Division to defend the glory of His Majesty the Emperor!
The Eighth Route Army has always been good at fighting mobile warfare and guerrilla warfare. Positional assault is not the strong point of the Chinese people. Since Chuxiong has decided to have a ten-stage decisive battle with the imperial army, our Southern Army has no reason not to fight;
I decided to dispatch 300 fighter jets and 200 bombers from various battlefields. The Guards Division, 1st Division, 2nd Tank Division, 51st Division, 102nd Division, etc. formed a Siamese dispatch force, numbered eighteen Army, the commander of which is Lieutenant General Yamashita Fengwen, the former commander of the 25th Army. Together with the Second Division and other units stationed in Siam, the total strength is 160,000.
Mr. Yamashita, you are the Malayan Tiger of the Empire, and Chuxiong is the Tiger of China. The two tigers are competing against each other, which makes me look forward to it very much;
I don’t care how you fight, but you must win. As long as the Chinese Expedition wants to fight, the Southern Army will accompany you to the end! "
When Yamashita Fengwen saw his general, he stood up with a bang like a small steel cannon and said loudly:
"Thank you, Commander. I am very much looking forward to the showdown with Chu Xiong and the Chinese Expeditionary Force. The Eighteenth Army will definitely win this highly anticipated ten-stage battle!"
With the formation of the Eighteenth Army of the Japanese Army, both the enemy and ourselves have brought enough chips, and the gamble of the century is about to take place.
The deployment of troops and generals by both sides was obvious, and it was difficult to hide a battle involving hundreds of thousands of people. Chu Xiong changed his previous low-key style, and this time acted in an unusually high-profile manner, boasting in front of the media many times. He is determined to win Haikou and Siam.
Chu Xiong always kept his word and acted resolutely. In front of countless media reporters, he issued the combat order for the expeditionary force, and the gamble between the two sides began.
Flying detachment, Li Chenxi is accompanying Chu Xiong to inspect the preparations for war
"Chen Xi, in this battle over Siam, fighting for air supremacy is the top priority.
According to reliable information, the Confederate Army plans to invest 500 aircraft, which is almost equivalent to half of the strength of the entire Confederate Army Air Force;
Although the Navy has more fighter planes, the Japanese Navy and Army have always been at odds, and Navy aircraft will not support the Army's operations.
There are only more than 360 aircraft I can give you for the time being. Stevie is still trying to find ways to mobilize fighters. Ten days at the latest, there will be at least 200 Mustang fighters and 100 Flying Fortress bombers. "
When Li Chenxi heard that 300 fighter planes had provided support, he felt more confident and immediately stated that he would complete the mission.
Seeing that Li Chenxi, who had always been cautious, was full of confidence, Chu Xiong said with satisfaction:
"Chen Xi, airplanes are not a problem, but Yingjiang is a problem. A few hundred planes are just drizzle to them. Once they are used up, they can replenish them for us immediately;
The most precious thing is the pilot. This time we are fighting in a Jaap-controlled area. Once the fighter plane is shot down, the parachuting pilot will most likely be captured by the Japs. It will be difficult to replace the lost pilots, so be careful!
Of course, I will also send the Snow Leopard Squadron deep into Siam. In addition to collecting enemy intelligence, their biggest task is to rescue the parachuting pilots before the Japanese;
In this battle, I will use the Japanese air force to train new pilots for our air force. We have to rely directly on volunteers. The rookies from the training team will be sent to the battlefield one after another to lead the new with the old. Is that okay? "
Li Chenxi thought for a while and then said:
"The pilot students of the teaching team, under the joint training of the anti-combat fighters of Zubenji and Yingjiang volunteer instructors, have mastered the basic skills of air combat and are fully capable of participating in actual combat under the leadership of veterans;
They are eagles who always want to fly into the blue sky. We will try our best to ensure their safety.
But as long as there is fighting, there will be sacrifices. This is the price we have to pay for growth!
If the pilots were trained according to the standards of the Japanese and Yingjiang, they would still be far from the training time required to go to the battlefield, but the Chinese Air Force did not have that much time to wait for them to grow in the greenhouse.
Let the flames of war temper them. Isn't that how we got here too?
For the rise of China, our generation has to pay more than others. This is the mission given to us by the times, and it is also the glory of our first generation of aviation people! "
Chu Xiong stared into the distance and said to Li Chenxi with excitement:
"Go and take the young Chinese Air Force to fight, grow in the battle, and soar in the battle!"
