"Hello!" Usami solemnly re-bowed.

Higashikurenomiya sighed again and said, "It's a pity, it's a pity!" ”

The chief of staff of the Second Army, Machijiri Miki, asked, "Your Highness, what are you sorry for?" ”

Higashikurenomiya said: "It's a pity that such a good tactic was finally discovered by the Imperial Japanese Empire and the Imperial Japanese Army until today!" ”

After a pause, Higashikurenomiya said again: "If you can discover this tactic a year in advance, and send young toshihiko like Usami-kun and Yamamoto-kun to learn *** country, you can completely apply this tactic to the battlefield of China, then the Japanese-Chinese War will be over in Xuzhou and even Shanghai!" ”

"Soga!" Machijiri Liangji nodded and said, "If this tank blitzkrieg is really so powerful, the imperial army does have a great chance to encircle and annihilate the main force of the Chinese army outside Xuzhou City or even in the suburbs of Shanghai!" In this case, the government of China may have already surrendered on its knees, and the empire would not have to fall into a protracted war, which is indeed a pity! ”

Higashikurenomiya Tsusahiko said: "I believe in the judgment of Usami-kun and Yamamoto-kun, this tank blitzkrieg pioneered by the Germans is very harmful, and the tactics used by the Shina Army on the Hanyang battlefield last night must also be this tactic, otherwise, there is no way to explain the fact that the third division was completely annihilated overnight!" ”

"Hello!" Machijiri slammed his head and said no more.

Higashikurenomiya said again: "Now that the secret of the destruction of the Third Division has been understood, then let's continue to discuss the strategy of the battle of Wuhan!" Is it to concentrate forces, or to divide them? ”

Shimizu Shigeki, the commander of the 116th Division, said: "In view of the fact that the Shina Army has tanks and has mastered the fact that the tank blitzkrieg, and Usami-kun and Yamamoto-kun also said just now that if you want to crack the blitzkrieg, the last way is actually to use tanks and tanks, so I think that the troops should not be divided!" ”

Machijiri also nodded: "I agree with Shimizu-kun's point of view, because the number of tanks attached to the Second Army is not large, nominally there are two independent tank wings, but in fact there are only four squadrons, more than a hundred tanks, and half of them are imitation British Vickers tanks, these cannot be called tanks!" ”

"Yo Xi!" Dongjiu Gong Tsuhiko said happily, "Then concentrate your forces to take Hankou, then cross the Han River west to occupy Hanyang, and finally cross the Yangtze River south with the navy to capture Wuchang!" ”

"Hello!" The officers at the meeting shook their heads in unison.

……

Two days later, on July 18, the 27th year of the Republic of China (1938), the three main divisions of the Second Army led by Tokurenomiya Tsusahiko arrived in Hankou and joined the 10th Division.

So far, the Japanese army that appeared outside Hankou has gathered four divisions, two field heavy artillery brigades, plus dozens of independent wings or independent brigades such as combat vehicles, mountain artillery, anti-aircraft guns, and machine guns, with a total strength of more than 150,000 people! This is really a big soldier's overwhelm!

……

Zhong Yi and Stilwell came to Hankow again.

Then the four brigade commanders of the Hankou defense area were summoned to the underground command post of the railway station fortress.

"Everyone, the little devil soldiers are overwhelmed!" Zhong Yi's grim gaze swept over the faces of Zhu Liangcheng, Shi Zude, Liu Yuanlin, and Erzi, and said, "The real battle is about to begin!" ”

Zhu Liangcheng and the other four looked suddenly frozen, the real battle?

In Zhong Yi's heart, the previous battle with the 10th Division was not a real battle?

But then again, except for the first two attacks, the 10th Division really did not put too much pressure on Hankou for more than half a month.

After a pause, Zhong Yi said again: "Next, the devils will definitely launch a crazy attack on Hankou, from now on, all brigades must be in a spirit of twelve points, and there can be no slack!" ”

"Yes!" Zhu Liangcheng and the four of them responded violently.

……

At the same time, the high command in Chongqing.

Principal Chang once again came to the headquarters.

And this time, Bai Chongbei also rushed back to Chongqing from the Hubei front.

Because as the main force of the Second Army advanced outside Hankou City, the 15th and 17th Divisions of the Japanese Army, which had been attacking outward, began to take the initiative to shrink their forces to ensure the safety of the eastern section of the Longhai Railway and the entire line of the Pinghan Railway, because these two railway lines are now the lifeline of the Second Army of the Higashikurenomiya Twisterhiko!

As the Japanese army shrank, the pressure on the Fifth Theater of Operations dropped sharply.

The 3rd Corps, the 4th Corps, and the units directly under the 5th Theater of Operations, which had been exhausted for a long time, finally ushered in a precious respite!

It is precisely because of this that Bai Chongbei was able to return to Chongqing.

"The Headmaster has arrived!" With a long howl from the attendants, Principal Chang walked quickly into the battle hall of the headquarters.

The senior generals and senior staff officers who were discussing the Wuhan war situation in the hall stood up together.

"You don't have to be formal, please feel free." Principal Chang pressed his hands weakly, stood on the front of the sand table, and then asked Liu Sheng, who was standing next to him, "For Zhang, has the situation been confirmed?" ”

"Back to the principal, it's been confirmed!" Liu Sheng replied, "The Second Army of the Japanese Army, in addition to the 15th and 17th three-unit garrison divisions and regiments that remained in the rear to protect the logistics supply line, and then removed the Third Division that had been completely annihilated, and the remaining four main divisions and a large number of directly subordinate troops have gathered in the north of Hankou!" ”

"Really?" Principal Chang's face instantly became solemn, and he said, "How many people are there?" ”

Liu Sheng: "Based on all aspects of intelligence, we judge that the Japanese army has no less than 150,000 troops!" ”

"What, 150,000 people?!" When Principal Chang heard this, his face suddenly became a little embarrassed.

You must know that in the second stage of the Battle of Songhu, the strength of the Japanese army was only 60,000, but it made the more than 300,000 troops of the Central Army embarrassed!

In the second stage of the Battle of Xuzhou, the Japanese army was only 200,000, but it forced millions of national troops to evacuate urgently!

That is to say, even if the ratio of troops reaches 5:1, the national army has almost no chance of winning!

But now, 70,000 people in the ten brigades under the Wuhan Garrison Command have to face 150,000 Japanese troops, and the ratio of troops between the two sides has reached a terrifying 1:2, which makes people shudder when they think about it!

I am afraid that this is the first time since the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War that the Chinese army has attacked more with less, right?

Considering that Wuhan was divided into three defense areas, and the strength of the Hankou defense area was only four brigades, the difference in strength between the Chinese and Japanese armies was even greater, and President Chang couldn't imagine how to fight the defense of Hankou next.

Before the main force of the Second Army of the East Kuremiya Tsukihiko pressed the border, Principal Chang was still very confident in Zhong Yi, but now, his confidence has been shaken, Zhong Yi can really hold Wuhan?

(End of chapter)