The Phnom Penh Little Devil Security Headquarters is facing a formidable enemy.
There were little Japs coming in and out everywhere, looking very nervous. Now the news of the expeditionary force has been reported. According to the frontline reconnaissance report, it is less than 100 kilometers away from Phnom Penh.
In the headquarters, there were not many people sitting in a large conference room.
There were only three people, Lieutenant General Nagano Yuichiro of the 37th Division, Major General Kazuo Okura of the 34th Independent Mixed Brigade, and Major General Nagashima Nagaga of the 37th Division.
At this moment, all three of them had sad expressions on their faces.
"Kyushima-kun, please tell me about the current situation." Nagano Yuichiro glanced at Okura Kazuo and said to Kushima Nagaga.
"Nagano-kun, Okura-kun, according to the latest information we have obtained, the expeditionary force cluster is only more than 80 kilometers away from Phnom Penh, and its forward consists of two tank battalions and two attack groups. It is less than 100 meters away from their main force. 10 kilometers.
Calculated based on the combat effectiveness they have shown before. There is no chance of winning against them. "Jiudao Nagahe said.
"We have requested reinforcements from the Southern Army before, but the Southern Army does not have the extra troops to support us now. So this time we can only rely on ourselves."
After Kushima Nagaga finished speaking, Nagano Yuichiro tapped the table lightly.
"Okura-kun, we all know that the Southern Army has no other reinforcements. According to the plan, the reinforcements from the Kwantung Army will not arrive until at least half a year, and we cannot wait that long.
Now that the Southern Army Command's strategic intentions regarding the expeditionary force cluster are unclear, General Terauchi cannot make up his mind to engage in a decisive battle with the expeditionary force.
Our intelligence personnel cannot penetrate into the core of the expeditionary force cluster, so the intelligence we know now is very limited.
For the past two months, the Expeditionary Force Group has been undergoing repair and training work in the Malay Peninsula.
From their careful training of the Free Army, we thought they would be there for a long time, but it seems our estimate was wrong.
Now they are here. According to the intelligence analysis and judgment transmitted by the Southern Army from the Allied Southeast Asia Command, this campaign was led by the Expeditionary Force Group and was not carried out by the Allied Southeast Asia Command.
Therefore, the Southern Army Command believes that the Expeditionary Force Group is about to launch a new offensive against our Southern Army, with the target being our French Indochina.
They attempted to occupy the entire Southeast Asian peninsula through this battle. "
Nagano Yuichiro said so much in one breath, took a sip of water from the cup, cleared his throat, and continued.
“This time our Southern Army was not strong enough in French Indochina, and we were unable to gather the main force to fight them to the death.
According to the order of the Southern Army Command, this time we will mainly adopt new tactics of dispersing our strength and resisting step by step. However, since we do not have air superiority and artillery superiority, this time the headquarters ordered us not to rely on solid fortifications to defend, but to adopt flexible methods. Mobile warfare and guerrilla warfare are used to kill large numbers of enemies. "
Nagano Yuichiro finished talking about the latest tactical arrangements of the headquarters.
There was also an extremely helpless look on his face.
Now Gao Jianwu has forced the Southern Army into this state. To be honest, Gao Jianwu himself did not expect it. You must know that the little devils here reached their peak, which was almost half a year.
The little devil has just reached the top and thinks he can already dominate the east of the Pacific Ocean.
Who knew that he would fall from the altar in such a short period of time.
Gao Jianwu's expeditionary force group caused so much damage to the Southern Army that General Terauchi, the commander-in-chief of the Southern Army, had to retreat and now began to adopt guerrilla tactics that he once looked down upon.
"Your Excellency Nagano, we are leaving in such a state of disgrace. Will we give up the city to them? Retreating without a fight is the greatest shame of the Locust Army!" Kazuo Okura asked with great reluctance.
"Other than that, what else can we do? Okura-kun, the situation is different now, please be patient." Nagano Yuichiro said to Okura Kazuo with bitterness in his words.
"The Locust Army now has no air superiority or artillery superiority. We now have nothing but strength superiority.
Of course, what's more important is that after we lost these, we can't even defeat a ragtag group like the Expeditionary Force Group from Tubal Road. "
When Nagano Yuichiro talked about this, he felt a little helpless. Not long ago, the Locust Army was invincible on the mainland with one against ten. Except for the Shanxi Province, the Chinese army suffered dozens or even hundreds of casualties. Exchange ratio!
However, after the Burmese and British territories sacrificed nearly 200,000 locust troops and gained profound lessons with their broken lives, these little devils are now honest one by one.
Because it was not just the ordinary divisions that were wiped out in the front, but also the ace divisions that were armed to the extreme, but without exception, they were all eliminated one by one by the expeditionary force.
Although the 37th Division is also a veteran division, it was urgently dispatched from the mainland to the Southern Army last month for defensive operations.
However, after truly seeing the powerful attack power displayed by the expeditionary force cluster in the Malay Peninsula, Nagano Yuichiro was also very confident. He prepared obediently to follow the arrangements of the Southern Army Headquarters and began to use the method of breaking up the expeditionary force cluster into parts to avoid the expeditionary force cluster. The main force is preparing to adopt the mobile guerrilla combat mode.
Okura Kazuo is a fanatic. He is actually extremely unwilling to follow the humiliating tactical arrangements of the headquarters, so Nagano Yuichiro summoned him to come and work alone.
"Hey, Nagano-kun, I understand your humble position." Okura Kazuo lowered his head and responded.
"Okura-kun, I hope you will really listen and implement it. This time my 37th Division will disperse to the north, and your 34th Brigade will disperse to the south. The brigade will be the combat unit, and the brigade will keep twenty to thirty. Respond at a distance of several kilometers and attack the enemy as soon as you seize the opportunity.
Now immediately implement the evacuation tactics transition plan, order all ministries to kill the enemy in large numbers this time, and save themselves as the first priority. Do not stick to the past tactical methods. After dispersion, there is no need to ask for tactical instructions on everything. Let all major forces The captain made a sudden decision and used the radio to strengthen communication and coordination with each other! "Nagano Yuichiro saw that Okura Kazuo no longer resisted and conveyed the final order.
"Hey!" Although Okura Kazuo was still a little dissatisfied, the main general defending Phnom Penh was Nagano Yuichiro. Moreover, this was the strategy of the Southern Army Headquarters, and he had to abide by it.
...
To the west of Phnom Penh, the expeditionary force group was rolling forward. When it was 60 kilometers away from Phnom Penh, the leading reconnaissance team returned the latest information about Phnom Penh.
"The little devil has now broken into pieces and dispersed from Phnom Penh?" Gao Jianwu couldn't help being a little stunned when he heard the investigation report from the front. This little devil has changed a lot. Not only does he not even engage in battles, but he also ignores local defense. The main force dispersed, preparing to engage in guerrilla warfare with themselves?
Facing the new tricks played by the Japs, Gao Jianwu was not worried at all. In terms of tactics of guerrilla warfare, he could be regarded as the ancestor of the Japs.
These little devils were doing their best, and Gao Jianwu decided to teach them a lesson. What is anti-guerrilla warfare?
"The 1st attack group immediately entered Phnom Penh to eliminate the remaining forces of the Japs. At the same time, they looked for local guides, especially mobilizing local Chinese and overseas Chinese to quickly set up an intelligence network and then provide support from the center.
The little devils are not operating in a monolithic manner in these places. On the contrary, there are many grievances. I believe we will receive a lot of useful intelligence information soon.
There are so many little devils, there is no way they can hide underground and be invisible to mice. Gao Jianwu ordered.
"The air force formation immediately dispatched and used low-altitude search to find traces of the Japs. Judging from the time and distance of their dispatch, it should not exceed a radius of 150 kilometers at most."
"The second attack group and the first attack group of the Free Army were mixed, leaving a tank battalion to provide mobile support. A detachment was formed with a main battalion and a guard regiment, forming a 5-way detachment at intervals of 30 kilometers in the north, forming 150 A kilometer-wide sweep of the North Road search team.”
"The third attack group and the Free Army's second attack group were mixed, and the main battalion and the security regiment were also used to form a search detachment, and the search team spread out 150 kilometers southward to sweep."
"The 4th, 5th and 6th attack groups, as well as the main heavy artillery regiment, don't worry about anything else, just move forward and continue."
This time Gao Jianwu did not have time to quarrel with the Japs here, so after leaving nearly five attack group formations to form a powerful search group, the remaining main force continued to advance towards Saigon.
With his current strength, there are three attack groups plus 6 main heavy artillery regiments.
Even if he encounters 3 or 4 divisions of Japs, with air superiority and a powerful heavy artillery regiment, Gao Jianwu is still sure to defeat them head-on.
This time he crossed Phnom Penh and rushed directly to Saigon, the headquarters of the Southern Army.
Gao Jianwu's completely unreasonable jumping attack caught General Terauchi, the commander-in-chief of the Southern Army, somewhat off guard.
In his opinion, Gao Jianwu's expeditionary force group will have to spend at least more than half a month playing hide and seek with the 37th Division and 34th Brigade in Phnom Penh, so that he can redeploy a solid defense line in Saigon and fortify it layer by layer.
Then use the dispersed 37th Division to attack the logistics and transportation routes of Gao Jianwu's Expeditionary Force cluster, block the logistics, and then bring down Gao Jianwu's offensive, just like the Eighth Route Army's tactics against the North China Front.
The general in the temple felt that he should do better than the Eighth Route Army because he was more powerful and was ready to work.
But I never expected that the time was wrong, the occasion was wrong, and the opponent was even more wrong.
In Gao Jianwu's opinion, the scattered little devils are not difficult to deal with. In fact, everyone here is away from home. Relatively speaking, after the expeditionary force cluster has the full support of the Nanyang Chinese, its foundation in this area is unreasonably strong.
Everywhere we went we could find someone to support us, so we left the three main attack groups and the two newly formed Free Army attack groups behind to search, and then continued to advance regardless of the nails buried behind them.
】
With five attack groups behind him, Gao Jianwu was not afraid of his logistics road being cut off.
You must know that this kind of war consumes a huge amount of weapons and ammunition. For such a huge team, the ammunition carried by the army is only two base numbers.
Going hundreds of kilometers deep, if the retreat is cut off, the army will suffer an astronomical amount of food, drink, and diarrhea, let alone fighting.
General Temple's idea was very good. Faced with Gao Jianwu's rapid and bold advance, General Temple's original plan to reinforce Saigon and attack steadily was too late to be implemented. However, the dispersion of strength and the attack on the lone army also gave General Temple a new opportunity!
.......
Confederate Army Headquarters.
General Terauchi, the commander-in-chief of the Southern Army, sat high in the middle of the conference room. On both sides of a row of long tables were a group of Southern Army generals sitting at attention.
"Gentlemen, now the expeditionary force group has crossed Phnom Penh and is about to attack the important headquarters of our Southern Army in Saigon. There is no way to escape. Our army is now empty of strength. Only a fight to the death can save the defeat!"
The general in the temple looked at the group of generals and said, "Present here are the commanders of the 21st Division, 21st Independent Mixed Brigade, and 4th Independent Mixed Wing guarding Saigon, as well as the 3rd Flying Division and the 21st Independent Flying Group Air Force." general.
Seeing the Commander-in-Chief say this, they both stood up and lowered their heads and said, "Hi Yi!"
"Gentlemen, please sit down. Since you are so determined, I am very pleased." Seeing that everyone could still maintain a certain morale, the general in the temple relaxed slightly.
But it soon became low again.
Now the power he holds in his hands is a little weak.
With the strength of the 40,000 field troops of the 21st Division and the 21st Independent Mixed Brigade, placed in front of the main force of the Burmese and British Front Army where Gao Jianwu destroyed Mao Tammian, General Terauchi believed that he could fully cope with the challenges in an emergency. Facing 100,000 The Allies could hold Saigon until reinforcements arrived.
But now facing the expeditionary force group, General Terauchi found that he no longer had this confidence.
"Numata-kun, the expeditionary force group is advancing so fast this time that we lose time to respond. Our main force cannot be reinforced in time at the first time. What kind of response plan does the staff have now?" Admiral Terauchi said. said the chief of general staff.
"Your Excellency, General, according to the staff deduction, Saigon will be besieged by the expeditionary force cluster. In order to ensure the safe operation of the Southern Army Headquarters and the command of the entire Nanyang region, Your Excellency, the General, should immediately transfer the Southern Army Headquarters to Luzon Island." Chief of Staff Numata added.
"Staying in Saigon in a humble position, using the entire Saigon City as a battlefield, dragging the expeditionary force group into a street battle! The remaining troops fought bloody battles with the expeditionary force group with the greatest determination, constantly killing and consuming the expeditionary force group, using Saigon City For a huge position, let the warriors of the Locust Army enter the streets and houses, so that the enemy’s artillery superiority cannot be used at all.”
"After exhausting the expeditionary force cluster in Saigon, encircle it with the 70th Independent Mixed Brigade and the 29th Independent Mixed Brigade of the Second Division and annihilate the expeditionary force cluster!"
Chief of General Staff Numata stood up and demonstrated the latest combat plan on the map in front of everyone.
This bold and reckless plan stunned the generals present. It is not that these generals have not thought about this almost fatal tactic. After all, there have been too many painful lessons in traditional positional warfare. The enemy was simply unable to cope with the powerful firepower offensive of the expeditionary force.
But it really progressed to the tactic of street fighting, dragging the entire city into it. Everyone shuddered. After all, this is no longer about killing three thousand enemies and damaging oneself eight hundred. And maybe killing eight hundred enemies and damaging three thousand yourself is really the ultimate way to exchange blood for blood.
Has the Confederate Army reached this point now? The generals present were all awe-inspiring.
General Terauchi did not expect that Chief of Staff Numata would only stay in such a battle that was destined to lead to no way out.
This section was not in the original plan. Apparently staying was the temporary wish of Chief of Staff Numata himself.
However, General Terauchi thought about it and felt that Chief of Staff Numata's approach was not unreasonable.
After all, if there is no high-level general to provide unified leadership in this place, it will be difficult to coordinate among the several divisions and brigades below.
From this perspective, it is the best choice for Chief of Staff Numata to stay.
General Terauchi gave Chief of General Staff Numata a deep look.
"Numata-kun, I will always reserve two transport planes for you. When things are really impossible, Numata-kun must remember to transfer to Luzon Island in time. The Southern Army needs an excellent chief of general staff like Numata-kun.
The empire also needs Numata-kun! "
General Temple thought for a moment before agreeing to Chief of Staff Numata's request.
It is true that a strong figure is also needed in Saigon to command the battle.
Otherwise, these people will lose their backbone, which is not to say that they will escape or surrender. They have not yet fallen into a desperate situation like Po Trough, and they can still fight, even if the sacrifice is heavy.
The current situation lacks unified command. If each fights independently, the overall combat effectiveness of the troops will sharply weaken the ability to coordinate operations.
Chief of General Staff Numata took a strange risk to stay and take advantage of his prestige, and actually took the blame for the generals in the temple.
Now that the enemy is strong and we are weak, the general in the temple will certainly not be naive enough to stay in Saigon and fight to the death with the expeditionary force group. Because the outcome of this war is very dangerous. Even if it is fought, it will be a tragic victory. If something goes wrong in the middle, the whole army may be destroyed.
As the centerpiece of the entire Nanyang combat command, Admiral Terauchi would obviously not be so impulsive and put the entire headquarters in danger.
As the commander-in-chief of the Southern Army, General Terauchi is considered a giant figure in the Little Devils' base camp. How could he risk his life so easily in a place like this!
It was just right for Chief of General Staff Numata to stay. He could not only command the remaining troops, but also be able to directly attack when necessary. The target was much smaller than that of the general in the temple.
It is a good move to advance, attack, retreat and defend.
...
Gao Jianwu didn't care about the little devil's calculations and led the team all the way.
It is more than 200 kilometers from Phnom Penh to Saigon. For the current expeditionary force group, this distance is nothing. Now weapons, ammunition and heavy weapons are towed by trucks and jeeps, and the infantry can just stride forward. A day's march can exceed 80 kilometers, we reached Saigon in three days.
During the march, Gao Jianwu received several good news one after another. The search groups in the north and south of Phnom Penh captured several small Japanese brigade-level teams.
These little devils who have no local base to rely on. After Ding Wei completes the preliminary construction of the local intelligence network through the connections of Nanyang wealthy businessmen, many locals will soon come out to report the whereabouts of the little devils in exchange for Ding Wei's reward. Grain prizes provided by Little Devil Information.
You must know that the little devils do not occupy these places for fun, but try their best to squeeze the local people to donate blood to the empire. Many locals live a life of hunger and fullness, so they will naturally not show mercy to the little devils and directly kill them. Selling their news for food would be better than anything else.
In addition, although Lu Xingguo and the others are worse in air combat now, aerial reconnaissance will not be a problem. With more than ten fighter planes in the air, a tight aerial reconnaissance network can be formed quickly, making it even more difficult for the little devils to hide.
The combination of a main force battalion and a Free Army guard regiment is perfectly equipped to surround a large group of little devils, making these little devils the best grindstone for the Free Army guard regiment.
A small Japanese army of this size is not too big or too small for troop training, just right.
Gao Jianwu did not expect that after the little Japanese cleverly broke them into parts, he allowed the Free Army to complete the first stage of his assessment of the Free Army Guard Corps in this way.
Faced with a small Japanese brigade-level team that lacks artillery and other heavy weapons, even if it is the first real battle for the Free Army Guard Regiment, the grassroots battalion and company commanders have the core strength of the expeditionary force group to command, and they can calmly deploy offensive formations in the face of the enemy, and will The firepower advantage of mortars and 75mm howitzers was fully utilized.
The little Japs, who only had two infantry cannons and two 90mm mortars in one brigade, were under the care of more than twenty artillery pieces from the Free Army Guard Regiment, and were completely in a passive position to be beaten.
Seeing that the Free Army Guard Group was fighting in an orderly manner, the main battalion of the Expeditionary Force who were partnering on the side knew that the higher ups were interested in training the Free Army Guard Group, so they did not move, and they spread out to surround the little Japs.
Let the Free Army Guard Group do its best and beat the little devil to a pulp without any resistance!
Now the Free Army Guards have learned seven of the three skills of the Japs. They first attacked with artillery fire, and after disrupting the Japs’ defensive formation, the infantry advanced slowly, with fire support from machine guns and mortars, and bazooka rocket launchers set up at each level. Knock on the firepower, leaving no chance for the little devil's heavy firepower!
Under the command of the backbone of the expeditionary force group, the Free Army Guard Regiment gradually found the rhythm of the battle.
These warriors, who have undergone months of rigorous and brutal hell-like training, have a very clear goal and pursuit of building a new home for themselves, so they are also relatively tenacious in terms of fighting will.
They were not frightened by the initial casualties, but quickly adapted to the battlefield environment.
After all, this is the most hard-working and brave nation on the planet. They have their own traditional great trait of not being afraid of sacrifices to strive for a better future.
Once they can have a common goal to pursue, then they will burst out with the most powerful power.
In the first show of the Free Army Guard Corps, they used the little devils one after another to hand in excellent answers.
Almost every security regiment ended up annihilating a group of little Japs with their own strength as their graduation answer.
...
