The staff officer opened the telegram and read: "In the early hours of this morning, the 1st Regiment of the 367th Brigade under the Wuhan Garrison Command completely annihilated the 40th Infantry Wing of the 10th Division of the Japanese Army in the northern suburbs of Hankou!" ”

"What?!"

"One regiment annihilates an infantry wing?"

When Wu Qiwei and Shang Zhen heard this, they immediately gasped.

Zhang Lingfu also sighed lightly in his heart, their first corps fought desperately to win a battle in Wanjialing, although it was said that more than 10,000 Japanese troops were annihilated, and the results were greater than those of the Wuhan Garrison Command, but the number of troops invested exceeded 100,000, and the number of casualties exceeded 20,000!

In comparison, the Wuhan Garrison Command won too easily!

At that moment, Zhang Lingfu said to Xue Yue again: "General seat, if you let the main force of the Eleventh Army go over and let them join forces with the Second Army in Wuhan, then the Battle of Wuhan will be a stalemate at most, but if the Eleventh Army can be dragged on the De'an battlefield, then with the strength of the Fifth Theater and the Wuhan Garrison Headquarters, there will still be a chance to eat the second army of the little devil!" ”

Xue Yue's eyes flashed, and he said in a deep voice: "In this way, transfer the 74th Army and the 29th Army!" If Okamura Ninji wants to pass from Shushui Wuan, there is only one way, and that is to step over our corpses! ”

"Yes!" Zhang Lingfu snapped upright, and responded violently!

……

In Nanjing, the headquarters of the Central China Front.

The commander of the Central China Front, General Shunroku Hata, has received a battle report that the 40th Infantry Wing has been completely annihilated!

As the commander of the front army with more than 500,000 troops, Shunroku Hata didn't care about the loss of a single wing, the 106th Division was almost wiped out on the De'an battlefield before, he didn't say anything, and even encouraged Okamura Ninji a few words, in a word, he only cared about the result, not the process.

But there are some things that Shunroku Hata can't afford not to pay attention to!

Shunroku Hata said to Shozo Kawabe, chief of staff of the Central China Front: "Kawabe-kun, what do you think? ”

Kawabe Shozo said: "Your Excellency, the 40th Infantry Wing was completely annihilated, which is indeed regrettable, but fortunately, the Wing Flag was not captured by the Zhi Na Army, which is also a blessing in misfortune!" ”

Shunroku Hata frowned and said, "Kawabe-kun, that's not what I asked. ”

After a pause, Shunroku Hata said again: "Didn't you find anything in it?" ”

"Discovery?" Hebe Zhengzo frowned slightly, "If you want to say that there is anything to discover, I think that the various divisions under the Second Army seem to be a little underestimated by the enemy, and the 40th Infantry Wing was completely annihilated so easily, most likely because the wing commander Nishi Ojo was too light on the enemy and lacked sufficient vigilance!" ”

"Soga!" Shunroku Hata nodded, "I think so too!" ”

After a pause, Shunroku Hata continued: "So, it is necessary to remind His Highness Tsugahiko!" ”

"Hello!" Hebian Zhengsan slammed his head, and then said to a young staff officer standing beside him, "Call the headquarters of the Second Army immediately and tell them to be vigilant!" Don't underestimate the enemy anymore! ”

"Hello!" Staff Officer Shao Zuo slammed his head and turned to go.

Hata Junroku asked again: "Hebian-kun, when will the 27th Division arrive in western Zhejiang?" ”

For the Battle of Wuhan, the base camp of the Japanese army was organized into a number of three-unit garrison divisions, a total of six of which were organized in early April, and the 15th, 17th, and 22nd divisions were even put into the Wuhan battlefield to undertake the garrison tasks in Henan and Anhui.

However, the formation of the 27th Division was delayed.

This also affected the operations of the 11th Army to a certain extent.

The 11th Army did not make good progress on the De'an battlefield, so the 18th Infantry Brigade of the 23rd Division, which was originally used to garrison western Zhejiang, was transferred and organized into the Ueno Detachment to rush to the De'an battlefield.

If it weren't for the fact that the formation of the 27th Division had dragged on for several months, the entire 18th Division would have been transferred up this time, and the chances of winning the Battle of Dean would have been greatly increased.

"The 27th Division has been drawn from Tokyo, and it is estimated that it will take about ten days to reach western Zhejiang!" After a pause, Kawabe Shozo said again, "However, Your Excellency, I have an idea, in fact, it is enough to have the 35th Infantry Brigade of the 18th Division to take charge of the garrison in western Zhejiang!" ”

Hata Junroku said in a deep voice: "You mean, directly transfer the 27th Division to the De'an battlefield?" ”

"Hello!" Kawabe Shosan paused and said, "Your Excellency the General! ”

"Okay." Shunroku Hata took Shozo Kawabe's suggestion and said, "The Battle of De'an has been dragging on like this, and it's really not a good thing, so the 27th Division will be incorporated into the sequence of the 11th Army!" Tell Okamura-kun again to let him annihilate the enemy in front of De'an as soon as possible, and then outflank Changsha in a roundabout way to cut off the route of the Wuhan battlefield to the south! ”

"Hello!" Riverside is the first to say, "Your Excellency the General is wise!" ”

……

On the railway line from Xiaogan to Hankou, the brigade of the 10th Division was marching south.

The 10th Division is formed in Himeji, so it is also called Himeji Division, which is one of the 17 permanent divisions formed during the Meiji period, under the jurisdiction of four infantry wings, one wing of processing troops, baggage, cavalry, and field artillery, with a full strength of more than 25,000 people, and its combat effectiveness is very strong!

As the pioneer of the Second Army, Higashikure Tsusahiko also prepared an independent mountain artillery wing and a tank brigade for the 10th Division.

Therefore, even though an infantry wing has just been lost, and an infantry brigade has been transferred to guard Xiaoxian, the strength of the 10th Division still exceeds 35,000 people!

More than 35,000 personnel, more than 7,000 horses, thousands of carriages, more than 100 trucks, more than 50 tanks, and more than 100 cannons of various calibers formed a rolling iron stream, along the Pinghan Railway and the highway on the side of the railway line, slowly marching towards Hankou.

When the chief of staff of the 10th Division, Yoshio Shinozuka, was standing on a small hill next to the railway line with a saber on his shoulder, staring at the marching column of the 10th Division with a gloomy expression.

"Division Commander!" Di Bujia Gui walked behind Yoshio Shinozuka, closed his feet and stood upright.

Yoshio Shinozuka bowed his head slightly, and said in a deep voice: "The embankment is not clamped with you, is it a telegram from His Highness?" ”

"Hello!" Di Bujia Gui paused slightly, and said in a deep voice, "Your Highness reminds us that we must be vigilant, and we must not make the mistake of underestimating the enemy, such a tragedy as the 40th Infantry Wing must not be allowed to happen again!" ”

"Soga!" Yoshio Shinozuka bowed his head lightly and said, "Immediately send His Highness's telegram to all infantry wings, so that they must pay attention!" ”

"Hello!" Di Bugui paused, and handed the telegram to the staff officer behind him, signaling him to distribute it.

Yoshio Shinozuka breathed a sigh of relief, and then said: "The embankment is not sandwiched, the front is not far to Hankou, and our 10th Division is finally going to fight Zhong Yi, the legendary imperial enemy!" ”

(End of chapter)