Chapter 706 The Japanese Southern Army, which marched quickly

The Japanese are replicating the miracles of their original history.

Throughout September, the Germans, who were busy with the logistics line in the autumn months, did not make much progress on Soviet and Russian soil, much to the relief of the Americans, but the rapid advance of the Japanese in Southeast Asia made them exclaim again and again.

Since the Japanese landed on September 13 from Apari and Vigan in the northern Philippines, they have successively made landfalls in Legazpi in the south of Luzon, Lingayen Bay on the west coast, and Ramon Bay in the southeast. At this point, the landing Japanese army formed a favorable situation of attacking Manila from the north and south and encircling and annihilating the main force of the US and Philippine forces.

Although the US Asian Fleet, which had only 45 combat ships and lacked battleships and aircraft carriers, escaped the fate of bombing because it was located in the southern part of the Philippines, it could only retreat gorgeously in the face of the huge combined fleet composed of one Japanese aircraft carrier, two Nagato-class battleships, and 10 cruisers, and did not dare to meet the enemy.

The Americans can only intimidate the local natives with more than 140 old fighters, which is no match for the Japanese naval and land air fleets with 500 fighters of the Zero and Super Zero. Even with such a sharp weapon as the B-17, he was beaten so hard that he did not dare to "show" his head and had to retreat to Australia.

Having air and sea superiority, the Japanese advanced rapidly, capturing Manila on 30 September, followed by Krabi Tei, the most important U.S. naval base in the Philippines, and Batangas, the shipping port. The nearly 80,000 U.S. and Filipino troops on Luzon Island had no intention of fighting and quickly withdrew to the Bataan Peninsula.

In early October, the 14th Army Corps, which had been in pursuit of victory, landed on the islands of Mindanao and Jolo. The U.S. forces showed no resistance and continued to retreat magnificently.

The defenders of the Bataan Peninsula were also in a hurry under the fierce Japanese offensive, and they asked for help.

The fierceness of the Japanese offensive and the speed of the advance made the world look sideways, and we had to re-examine this once strong Asian army that had lost troops in China and "made" a disgraced army.

Although almost half of the "elite" elite was lost by the vanguard army, the "elite" elite of the Kwantung Army went south to make up for this shortage. The early mobilization for the war also greatly increased Japan's troops, and this time it gambled most of its troops on the south.

Because Terauchi Shouichi was accused of not suppressing the vanguard army in the first place, this one was directly put aside, and there has been no recovery. This time, the post of commander-in-chief of the Southern Army fell to the head of Koiso Kuniaki.

This Korean tiger, who is both civil and military, has been covered by the light of many generals in the army because of his poor background. However, many generals and marshals in Japan, except for those who were out of power and could no longer come to power, almost all of them were shaved by the vanguard army. In the selection of the highest position in the Southern Army this time, no one backed down from the game of all parties, and finally pushed General Koiso Kuniaki up.

In addition to Tsukada Tsukashi as usual as the chief of the general staff, Koiso Kuniaki also has an additional deputy by his side - King Hatohiko of Asakanomiya.

The biggest culprit of the Nanjing Massacre had been subject to the scruples of the emperor and the cabinet, but since the loss of a third leg in the air raid by the vanguard army, such scruples have become much less. As a eunuch, it is absolutely impossible to usurp the supreme power openly, and this flaw has made him gain Hirohito's trust even more.

This time, Hirohito intended to let him control the overall situation behind the scenes of the Southern Army.

After all, King Hatohiko of Asaka Palace has become a eunuch, although this matter is only known to a few people in the upper echelons, but it is not good-looking after all. Moreover, Hirohito has always been worried about the accountability of the imperial family after the defeat in the war against Britain and the United States, and is unwilling to let members of the imperial family take the main positions. Even Prince Jaehion, who took command of the army and issued orders to invade China, stepped down from the post of chief of staff and lived in seclusion behind the scenes.

However, the Southern Army had become the most powerful army in Japan when the garrison in China was almost completely withdrawn, and the Kwantung Army was reduced in personnel. With such power, Hirohito will never let go. Moreover, the war in Southeast Asia means huge wealth and profits, and the focus is not limited to foreign wars. It is not uncommon for King Hatohiko of Asakanomiya to do behind the scenes.

At this time, the strength of the Japanese army had exceeded 2.5 million under the stabbing of China and Soviet Russia.

It only involves long-distance logistics and transportation, and the largest Southern Army unit was only 600,000 in size at the beginning, but because most of them were "elite" veterans, it was called the first strong army and was sought after by everyone.

Of course, this so-called first strong army against the vanguard army made the Japanese have no bottom in their hearts. But against the natives of Southeast Asia and the Anglo-Dutch army that was just a showman, the Japanese were very confident. Along the way, there was no enemy in a single battle.

Yamashita Fengwen even introduced the idea of mechanized mobility, and installed the wheels of the 80,000 troops under his command, and the advance speed was doubled.

Yamashita Fengwen was also beaten up in Huaxia, and his face was greatly damaged. However, because it is not the main spearhead, this "door" "infantry artillery" relies on the nepotism of the old man and the identity of the main cadre of the imperial sect, and when the forces of all parties entered the south, it rose rapidly.

He had seen the rapid assault of the mechanized units of the vanguard army, and went to Germany to inspect and study, and his awareness of mechanized maneuver deepened.

Although the Japanese were now struggling with fuel and steel, straining cars and tanks, and the Malayan jungle was dense and the trails drowning in the miasma forest were not suitable for the rapid advance of mechanized troops, Yamashita used the bicycle as a trick.

Bicycles don't require fuel, and they are more agile than motorcycles, so they can even be carried on the road when the road is difficult. Yamashita scavenged a large number of bicycles from the country, armed the entire army on wheels, and rolled forward with the flames of war and the smoke of gunpowder.

When the Chinese vanguard army was still slowly arguing with the Americans, Yamashita Fengwen, the Malayan tiger, had already rushed thousands of miles and was "pressing" to Singapore.

The speed of the Japanese attack shocked the world, and it also made the Americans, who were beyond the reach of the whip, step up their efforts to apply for foreign aid.

"No hurry, no hurry! The conditions have not been negotiated, what troops are in a hurry? Don't you see that the Japanese are begging us? Meng Xiang still smiled lightly.

No matter how fierce the fighting in the south is, it can't hurt Huaxia by much.

The Japanese had already heard the Americans' pleas for help from China, and they had also stepped up their activities to show goodwill to the vanguard army. It not only won over some Chinese people to advocate the rule of Asia by Asians, the friendship between China and Japan, and the joint resistance to whites, but also promised many benefits.

The vanguard army also drew the bottom line of its own action not to take the initiative to attack the Japanese mainland, to ensure the safety of the lives and property of the Chinese in Southeast Asia, and to ensure the smooth and safe transportation channels in China. With the beginning of the Southern War, these reiterations were again emphasized. This has not only benefited the Chinese in the war-torn Philippines, Malaya, Thailand and other places, but even the Chinese in Hong Kong have been spared the "impact" of the war.

The entire Guangzhou and Fujian have long been taken back by the vanguard army, and because the "gates" of Hong Kong and Macao, which are close at hand, are involved a lot, and it does not affect the overall situation, Meng Xiang has also been shelved and has not taken action.

Now Portugal has become the younger brother of the Germans, and when the Japanese are "approaching", because of the amulet of the Germans, China and Japan have not moved against the capital for the time being.

Hong Kong was a jewel under British rule, and the Japanese had plans for it from the beginning.

Although Shanghai, Tianjin and other cities prospered more and absorbed a lot of capital because of the rule of the vanguard army in China, because of the special identity of Hong Kong, some capital restricted by the vanguard military and government also settled in Hong Kong, which led to the prosperity of Hong Kong.

As soon as Japan turned against Britain and the United States, the army had already leaned towards Hong Kong. However, the vanguard army across the river in Hong Kong did not give the slightest warning to it.

The apprehensive Japanese finally negotiated with the Vanguard, and later with the British. It was only after the tripartite talks that it was determined that Hong Kong had been completely preserved in the form of a free port open to all parties.

Among them, the shrinkage of the British tax and the increase in the protection fees demanded by the Japanese are secondary problems, the most important thing is that the British have decently retained this relatively free place of refuge, and the Japanese can also participate in the "trade" of strategic materials in this free trade port that is not affected by economic sanctions.

Meng Xiang was also relieved that the Japanese army had avoided the massacre of Hong Kong, although it was said that the vanguard army was only a river away from the deterrence, which avoided the excesses of the Japanese army. But Meng Xiang has always been uneasy about the Japanese who are easy to become beasts, thinking of the tragedy when Hong Kong was occupied in his previous life, he made this move decisively. The use of force to ensure that the war between China and Japan will "intensify" in advance, which is not what Meng Xiang expects, and it is also what the Japanese are worried about.

Both sides have made retreats, and Meng Xiang is also relatively satisfied with this. By the way, the power of Huaxia has penetrated into it and raised the status of the Chinese, which is enough in the current situation.

At this time, it is not the time to turn the other cheeks with the British, and Meng Xiang also plans to take advantage of this "chaos" and "chaos" in Southeast Asia to attract a large number of tourists who are not at ease to move to China to Hong Kong, so that the collision of Eastern and Western cultural "trends" will leave an additional window, and develop Hong Kong into the Oriental Pearl in that memory.

"A small projectile is within reach!" Hong Kong's free environment is far more reassuring to some of the old and young than in Chongqing, Chang'an, Shanghai, and other places, and the 300,000 troops of the vanguard army stationed near Guangzhou also make the British in Hong Kong dare not make any more superior "sex" moves.

"How can you let the British kneel and send Hong Kong back, and you have to add so many years of interest!" Meng Xiang thought in his heart.

……