I am Jiang Weiguo in World War II

Page 555

"Even worse than the British!" Zhang Xuzi wanted to laugh while looking at the U.S. military with contempt, "The enemy of our army was first the Japanese, then the Soviets, then the British, and now the Americans. All the way down, the enemy is getting stronger and stronger. It's getting weaker!"

Zhang Xuzi judged that the actions of the 2nd Armored Division of the U.S. Army were just bluffing, whether it was avoiding the real situation or attacking the false, and the latest information showed that the 2nd Armored Division had indeed gone to Vigan and did not come to Lingayen Bay. He lowered his vigilance even more, and as a result, his carelessness had serious consequences later that night.

The U.S. Army is still in the process of forming an armored force. There is no real professional armored commander, such as Patton. He was originally engaged in cavalry, but he has a very keen insight into the prospects and advantages of armored forces. The prospects of armored forces It is vast, and its advantages are fast maneuvering and long-distance raids.

In the first half of the night, the 2nd Armored Division headed north all the way, then turned around sharply in the second half of the night, returned to the starting point at full speed, and then rushed towards the Chinese army on the beach of Lingayen Bay.

When Zhang Xuzi was awakened from his sleep by the reports of his subordinates, the deafening sound of strafing, the sound of explosions, the sound of vehicles moving, the sound of treads pressing down on the ground, and roars in Chinese and English, he was suddenly covered in cold sweat, because he relied on the raging In the light of the fire, I saw US tanks like a herd of cattle sweeping towards us.

"Hold it!" Zhang Xuzi jumped up from the marching platform, and then rushed to the first line of defense without hesitation.

The battle area is completely plain, which is very good for tanks and very bad for infantry.

Facing the ferocious oncoming US tank group, the officers and soldiers of the 11th Marine Brigade fought hard, and no one retreated. Although they were caught off guard, they did not fall into panic, and they all took up their weapons to fight back against the US troops.

Since the attack of the US tank group was not fully considered, the troops were seriously short of anti-tank guns and iron fist anti-tank rocket launchers.

When Zhang Xuzi arrived, he saw that the first line of defense was crumbling. Hundreds of American tanks were roaring towards them. The officers and soldiers of the combat brigade were beaten to pieces, and one after another officers and soldiers fell dancing and dancing in the tumbling and blooming blood mist. There were endless screams.

The officers and soldiers in the bitter battle showed bravery and toughness. The machine gunners fired at the US tanks without fear, covering their own infantry and launched a counterattack. Many machine gunners were killed by the US tanks, and the deputy shooters immediately went forward. Under the cover of their companions, groups of infantry counterattacked the US tanks in the smoke from the grenade explosion, and stuffed the grenades into the tanks. In the tracks, American tanks were blown up one after another. Even so, the entire defense line was still in jeopardy. The American tank group continued to intersperse, and the front of the Marine Brigade was already fighting together.

Zhang Xuzi was heartbroken. He couldn't bear the heart of his brothers to resist the enemy's steel chariot with their flesh and blood. He was even more ashamed, realizing that his negligence had brought a major disaster to the army.

Suppressing the remorse in his heart, Zhang Xuzi urgently thought about countermeasures: "Retreat? You can't retreat. If you withdraw, the US tanks will immediately chase them all the way to the beach, and the troops will really be driven into the sea. Tens of thousands of supplies have been unloaded. Once the US tanks rush there, those supplies will be burned; sustain? It is completely filled with human lives. Even if we can wait until dawn for reinforcements, the troops will probably be exhausted..." After a short thought, Zhang Xuzi gritted his teeth and called the communications soldier, "Contact the fleet immediately!"

It was Ouyang Sihai, deputy commander of the 1st Fleet, who received Zhang Xuzi's rescue telegram: "Zhang Luzuo, how are you?"

"Brothers, I can't stand it anymore, and I can't retreat. There is the sea behind me. The only way is to ask for your help. No, please help the Japanese. Let the Japanese launch salvos with large-caliber naval guns. , Stop the US offensive!"

Ouyang Sihai replied in astonishment: "Zhang Luzuo, are you crazy? Do you know the caliber of the naval guns of battleships and heavy cruisers? One shot can blow up a place the size of a football field! Not to mention the salvo! Now it is In the middle of the night, you are fighting with the U.S. military again, [-]% will accidentally injure you!"

"No way, I know that many brothers will be injured by mistake, but...if we don't do this, the US military will rush to the seaside, and more brothers will be killed or injured. There is no way to sacrifice the small for the big!"

Ouyang Sihai was silent for a while, and replied: "I see, the naval guns will fire in 10 minutes!"

After receiving the request from the Chinese Navy, the Japanese 4th Fleet immediately mobilized the battleships Kongo and Hiei, as well as the heavy cruisers Aoba and Kinugasa, which were cruising in Lingayen Bay, to attack the area where the Chinese army and the US military were fighting on land. Shelling, and extended shelling of the rear of the US military.

The two battleships had a total of 16 356mm main ship guns, and the two heavy cruisers had a total of 12 200mm main ship guns. After the four giant warships launched a salvo of naval guns, the waves rolled on the sea, and lightning and thunder thundered in midair. The sky fell apart, and the battle area was instantly submerged in thunder and thunderbolts.

Three minutes before the shells of the Japanese warship fell, Zhang Xuzi, who was on the first line of defense, yelled sharply: "Brothers! Retreat! Retreat! The artillery cover is coming!" The officers and soldiers gave up fighting and ran wildly. Retreating to the beach, Zhang Xuzi himself was still in place. He regretted that his negligence had caused such serious consequences, and he was unwilling to be the first to retreat. He hoped that he would be the last to retreat. In fact, he knew that there would be many His subordinates were killed by Japanese artillery fire. He was unwilling to abandon those brothers, and hoped that he and those brothers would live and die together at the last moment.

After the meteorite-like naval artillery shells fell, the gold and stones were shattered, and the sea of ​​​​fire was raging. A large number of U.S. soldiers, Chinese soldiers, and U.S. tanks were blown to ashes together.

The severely damaged US 2nd Armored Division had to give up the attack and retreat at full speed to avoid the firepower of the Japanese naval guns and escape the bombardment range of the Japanese naval guns.

After 5 minutes of shelling, the battle area turned into a barren scorched earth, with smashed, charred, burning human bodies and steel wreckage everywhere.

This battle caused the Chinese army to pay a lot of casualties. The 11th Marine Brigade suffered more than 600 casualties. About 400 people including brigade commander Zhang Xuzi were killed, and [-] of them were killed or injured. Due to the bombardment of Japanese warships, fortunately, the brigade finally blocked the US tank offensive, so the material loss was very small; the US military also suffered a lot of casualties, with more than [-] dead and injured, and more than one third of its tanks and armored vehicles were lost. .

Although the U.S. military suffered more casualties than the Chinese army, there is no doubt that the U.S. military in the Philippines played very well, far surpassing the U.S. military in Hawaii, which can be called a super-level performance.

MacArthur, who received the report from the 2nd Armored Division, was overjoyed. This battle, which could be called a victory, was like an efficient and timely booster, which deeply inspired him and the 20 U.S. and Philippine troops.

After praising Patton fiercely, MacArthur ordered people to call this "the first great victory of the US army after participating in World War II" (MacArthur himself said that he thought the Battle of Hawaii was a defeat, and the Eighth Fleet counterattacked the Japanese army. The fleet was just a tie, and only this Battle of Lingayen Bay was the justifiable first victory of the U.S. military. Washington headquarters in such a negative mood (MacArthur's own words)", in this congratulatory telegram, he declared loudly and confidently, "Dear Mr. President, the first victory of the US military in the Philippines was overwhelming. The facts of the refutation have proved three things. The first is that Washington’s past contempt for the Philippines was a major mistake. The second is how correct I was in repeatedly calling for the strengthening of the US military in the Philippines. The third is that we are able to block the Philippines. The ferocious attack of the Chinese and Japanese, not only can hold the Philippines, but can also turn the defense into an offensive. I have every reason and unprecedented confidence to make the following argument, as long as you firmly reject the 'give up the Philippines' proposed by some short-sighted high-level 's absurd proposal to meet the request of me and all American soldiers in the Philippines and more than 2000 million Filipinos, that is, to increase military reinforcements to the Philippines. Then, the Philippines can contain the expansion of the Chinese and Japanese troops and become a large, quantitative There are so many graves of Chinese and Japanese soldiers that the Chinese and Japanese high-level officials are terrified, and soon became the base for the US military to launch a comprehensive counterattack against the Chinese and Japanese soil.

... "

Although he knew that MacArthur was a bit ecstatic and boastful, President Roosevelt still replied to him with a telegram of affirmation and praise: "...The Battle of Hawaii not only dragged the United States and the originally innocent American people into this war, but also returned to the United States. The national spirit of the United States and the confidence of the American people in the war were dealt a heavy blow at the beginning of the war. As you said, the United States was full of pessimism and negativity like dark clouds. However, the victory won by you and your troops was suddenly Like a ray of sunshine in a rainy day, it shines in the gray sky of the United States at this time. Although this ray of sunshine is not enough to illuminate the entire sky, it brings a meaningful hope, telling us that the rain is not only the Inevitable, and not far away.

Even if this victory is not particularly big, its meaning will remain the same!"

Roosevelt did not deliberately cater to MacArthur, because this small victory really boosted the hearts of the people in the United States. He then ordered MacArthur to be promoted to lieutenant general.

The excited MacArthur immediately convened a high-level military meeting to discuss "making persistent efforts and expanding the results of the war."

Although Roosevelt did not say that he would "increase aid to the Philippines", MacArthur still stated at the meeting: "The president and high-level officials in Washington have full confidence and expectations in us because of our victory. , The warship is on the way, so we can completely defeat the enemy and defend the Philippines!" He explained the strategy he had already thought about, "Lingayen Bay is the landing place for the main force of the enemy. , if we can completely wipe out the enemy there, we can severely damage the enemy's strength and confidence. They will only have three possibilities in the future. One is to be frightened and give up invading the Philippines, and the other is to become angry and entangle the troops to land in the Philippines again. , the third is indecision.

No matter which possibility it is, it is beneficial to us. The first one is naturally the best, and the second and third ones are also good. If the enemy wants to make a comeback or hesitate, it will take time, and we will succeed. After procrastinating, we will wait for the powerful assistance from the mainland of the United States!" He looked at Patton with piercing eyes, "George, can you come again tonight? "

Patton shook his head: "I didn't expect those Chinese to be so crazy that they would directly use naval guns to cover our young men and their people who were fighting together, otherwise, the results of the 2nd Armored Division would be doubled.

Now, I'm sure those Japanese warships are our biggest trouble!"

Wainwright nodded in agreement: "If there were no Japanese warships, we would have wiped out the landing Chinese troops!"

Li Qiwei said: "But we basically have nothing to do with those Japanese warships, we have neither air dominance nor sea dominance.

I am worried that delaying time will not be good for us. The reason why the Chinese were so embarrassed by George last night was that they were not ready. More and more tanks and anti-tank weapons will be shipped in, and at that time, even if we attack again, we will not be able to achieve the ideal results of last night!"

Stilwell pondered for a while, and said: "I have been active in China for a long time, and I know the Chinese very well. The hatred and grudges between the Chinese and the Japanese are very deep. Although they are allies now, they are actually They have their own ghosts, they will not unite in good faith, and neither of them wants to make too much sacrifice to the other.

The invasion of the Philippines was undertaken by the Chinese on the ground and by the Japanese on the sea, and if the Japanese withdrew midway, the Chinese would not be able to sustain it!"

MacArthur looked at Stilwell enthusiastically: "How can the Japanese quit halfway?"

Stilwell thought for a while and said, "If we can sink a Japanese battleship or heavy cruiser, the Japanese will be so distressed that they will not continue to fight.

As far as the Japanese are concerned, it is the Chinese who are bleeding on land, and it is not worth them putting their precious warships in danger!"

MacArthur immediately looked at Thomas Hart, Commander-in-Chief of the Asian Fleet: "Tony!"

Hart, who was named by MacArthur's nickname, said with difficulty: "This...difficult..."

MacArthur said with bright eyes: "It's not difficult, you can do it. Didn't your submarine just sink a Japanese light cruiser? As long as your boys work harder, they can kill a bigger Japanese cruiser." Dude, we win! Do you understand? We win!"

Hart looked at MacArthur, and he described afterwards, "This guy was obviously a little carried away by the victory, even a little too excited, his face was flushed like opium, and his eyes were like a high fever. He glowed like a patient, and I couldn't resist his almost unnatural enthusiasm."

"We will do our best!" Hart had to bite the bullet and agree to MacArthur's request.

"Gentlemen!" MacArthur announced radiantly, "Our next battle plan is to kill one of the Japanese battleships first, forcing the Japanese to dare not continue to participate in the war, and then concentrate all the forces that can be concentrated, and land on the shore. But the Chinese who were unable to escape because the Japanese ran away were all wiped out on the beach!"

Chapter 640 Attacking the Philippines (4)

During the daytime on April 4, no new battle broke out between the U.S.-Philippines Army and the Nanjing Army. The U.S.-Philippines Army was planning a new round of counterattacks, and the Nanjing Army was racing against time to send the 4th Division to land.

Considering that the U.S. military may launch a counterattack at night again, Liao Yaoxiang, the commander of the 74th Division, asked the fleet to unload more weapons and ammunition on land, because the time of day is fixed, and increasing the transportation of unloaded weapons and ammunition will definitely reduce the number of landing officers and soldiers.

The Japanese army felt that the Nanjing army was "moving too slowly" and demanded to unload the troops with all their strength. As for weapons and ammunition, "wait for everyone to go ashore before unloading slowly."

Liao Yaoxiang replied: "Fart! Soldiers who don't have enough ammunition will not be able to form combat effectiveness no matter how many they have. On the contrary, they will lose their precious lives in vain due to lack of ammunition.

Sending soldiers into battle without giving them enough bullets is a disregard for human life!It's tantamount to a crime![-] soldiers with [-] bullets per capita and [-] soldiers with [-] bullets per capita, I choose the former!I am responsible for the lives of the soldiers! "

Because of Liao Yaoxiang's insistence, during the day, only more than 74 officers and soldiers of the 74th Brigade of the 20th Division landed ashore, but along with the officers and soldiers of the brigade, they were unloaded to the beach, and there were still sufficient weapons and ammunition, including more than [-] precious vehicles. Panther tank.

The final outcome of a battle is not only determined by the two soldiers on the battlefield, but also involves many workers in various secondary or important but secret positions, just like a football match, The athletes on the field are clear at a glance, but behind the athletes, there are more people who have devoted their efforts and sweat to the victory of the game.

Feng Shengfa is the commander of the 17th Division of the Chinese Army and the commander-in-chief of the Philippine war with the rank of lieutenant general. Zeng Yiding is the commander of the Chinese Navy's 1st Fleet and the rank of lieutenant general. It is unbelievable that the boss of a brothel in Cavite, a port city in the south of Luzon Island, has any connection with the affiliated Philippine Autonomous State (the official name of the Philippines at this time is "Philippine Autonomous State"), because Feng Zeng The general and the owner of the foreign brothel are completely at odds. The gaps between the two sides in almost all aspects such as nationality, identity, and social status are vast, and there is no intersection at all. related.

Santos is a typical Filipino. He is more than 50 years old this year. He can be said to be a native Filipino. He has the appearance of a local Filipino with black skin and yellow teeth. His name is a Spanish style common to Filipinos. When the Spaniards colonized the Philippines, for the convenience of management, they required all Filipinos to take Spanish names), full of authentic Filipino and broken English, just like most old men who run brothels, lustful, greedy, shrewd, and stingy , cunning, tricky, mercenary... all kinds of disgusting characteristics are fully displayed in him. If there is any advantage in him, it is one: his brothel will never recruit Chinese girls, even if they are of Chinese descent He also resolutely doesn't want the Filipino girl, and after driving the other party away viciously, he will send a reliable guy to secretly give the other party a sum of money so that the other party can find a decent job.

"This is a despicable thing that indigenous women can do. Chinese girls should not insult themselves, Chinese are a noble nation!" The man would persuade Santos in this way every time he gave money.

It is Santos' principle not to harm his compatriots. Although his appearance is the same as that of a Filipino, he always remembers that he is also a descendant of the Yellow Emperor. His ancestors were Chinese who came to the Philippines from China during the Ming Dynasty, and because of this For this reason, he was absorbed into the agency without hesitation by the agents of the Philippine Station in the Central and Southern District of the Maritime Statistics Bureau, and became an eyeliner lurking quietly in Cavite.

Cavite is located in the south of Luzon Island and the southeast end of Manila Bay. It is a port city and the general base of the US military's Asia Fleet.

It is Santos' task to collect intelligence on the US military's Asian fleet without exposing himself.

It was afternoon, and Santos was sitting behind the counter as usual, lazily doing calculations with his abacus, but from the corner of his eyes, he kept scanning the guests coming in and out, the men's English laughter and the women's Filipino The voices of coquettish and angry voices erupted one after another in the hall, and scenes of sensuality were everywhere.

"Can't these American soldiers wait until they enter the room and then act like a beast? As for being so impatient? Just touch the girl's ass in public!" Santos shook his head, and then shouted angrily: "Little Six!"

A black, thin, seventeen or eighteen-year-old fellow quickly nodded and ran forward: "Boss!"

"Do you still want to work here?" Santos waved the ledger, "What's going on with these bills? Why is the expenditure much higher than before? Did you embezzle my money?"

The guy named Xiaoliu had a bitter face: "Boss, I definitely didn't take any money from you. The reason why the expenditure is higher than before is because the price has risen, and the price rise is because of the war. You know, there is a war now. What in the market? Everything is going up in price…”

"Bastard! How dare you argue!" Santos was furious, "Come here!" He angrily walked to the back room, and Xiao Liu followed behind him with a sad face.

The two walked into the back room, and the expressions on their faces changed immediately.

"Have you noticed?" Santos whispered, "These American sailors usually come to fool around on weekends or at night, but they came today during the day!"

"I found out!" Xiao Liu nodded with bright eyes, "They have come here many times, and I have remembered the faces of many of them. Submarine Sailor!"

"Go ask the girls if these US sailors said anything of value when they slept with them!"

"Well, I see!" Xiao Liu was about to go out, then remembered something, and stretched out his face to Santos, "Boss!"

Santos slapped it up without hesitation, making a solid "snap" sound.

Tears glistened in Xiao Liu's eyes, and he walked out of the room with his mouth pouty and aggrieved.

A woman in the store happened to see it head-on, and immediately laughed: "Being beaten by the boss again?"

"The boss suspects me of stealing money!" Holding back tears, Xiao Liu was surprised to see the other party stuffing a twenty dollar bill into his pocket, "Sister Shana, the price of pork on the street has risen, even your The price of meat has also increased?"

"Damn! The boss deserves to beat you, this stinky mouth really can't speak!" The woman said proudly, "I don't know why, the Americans who came to see me today are very generous, and the tips they gave me are several times higher than before , By the way, you can't tell the boss!"

"Oh?" Xiao Liu blinked.

Three hours later, in the command room of the Zhongzheng heavy cruiser, Cai Renjie, Chief of Staff of the 17th Division, solemnly handed a document to Feng Shengfa. ?"

"Yes!" Cai Renjie nodded, "The working group of the Maritime Statistics Bureau in Cavite just sent it.

The information shows that the submarine force of the US Asian Fleet is taking a collective vacation, and they are eating, drinking, playing, whoring and gambling in the city!"

"It's been a war, and you're still in the mood for a vacation?" Zeng Yiding showed a surprised expression, "Americans really enjoy it!"

"It's not enjoyment!" Cai Renjie shook his head, "It's more like... making an exception.

There are many details in the intelligence, for example, some U.S. submarine soldiers bought a lot of local Philippine products in the city, saying that they would mail them to their families in the United States, and some U.S. submarine soldiers said with a gloomy expression when they were eating in a restaurant, "We can still live." Do you want to go home?" "Sir, the danger is very high", and some American submarine soldiers have a drunken attitude when they visit the brothel, saying something like "die is dead, live happily before you die"!"

Zeng Yiding couldn't help laughing: "It's hard for Haitong and the gang, even these obscenities are recorded in the information!"

"It's not foul language, it's the details. You can see the leopard through the details!" Feng Shengfa handed the document to Zeng Yiding, "Zeng Junzuo, it's normal for soldiers to relax during their holidays, but these US troops are not relaxing, but It’s indulgence, don’t you think it’s suspicious? It’s normal for soldiers who take the time to relax during the holidays, but there is only one possibility for soldiers who take the time to relax during the holidays!”

Zeng Yiding suddenly came to his senses: "These U.S. troops are about to carry out missions that are very dangerous and even have no return, and are certain to die? So their chief makes an exception and gives them a holiday to indulge them as much as they want?"

Feng Shengfa nodded: "Attention, these American soldiers are submarine soldiers!"

Zeng Yiding felt uneasy: "No, Americans don't 'human rights are paramount'? This approach is not American, but Japanese!"

Feng Shengfa shook his head: "It's true that Americans cherish their lives, but it doesn't mean they don't dare to go all out under certain circumstances. Doesn't the American fleet that counterattacked the Japanese army on the Hawaiian battlefield show that there are still some Americans? Don't underestimate it. Look at the Americans, they underestimate the enemy, and they will jump over the wall when they are in a hurry!"

Zeng Yiding fell into deep thought: "Looking at the performance of the U.S. submarine force, could it be that MacArthur ordered the U.S. submarine force to attack collectively? If so, it makes sense. Submarines actively attacking surface warships are tantamount to suicide. In other words, the U.S. submarine force intends to A massive attack on our fleet?"

"You are not afraid, are you?" Huang Baitao smiled, "Your warships are equipped with the latest German sonar detectors, and light cruisers and destroyers are equipped with depth charge throwers. If the US submarines want to attack you by force, they will really die. In my opinion, the target of the U.S. submarine should be the Japanese fleet, and the sinking of the Isuzu by a U.S. submarine last time exposed the serious deficiency of the Japanese anti-submarine capability!"

"Japanese?" Zeng Yiding smiled, "Should I remind Inoue Narumi? Or should I pretend to be deaf and dumb and watch the fire from the other side?"

"Remind him!" Feng Shengfa said, "because we can sell favors to the Japanese and let the Japanese continue to help us.

In addition, Zeng Junzuo, I thought of a very interesting thing. The U.S. military knows that it is very dangerous to attack the Japanese fleet with submarines. Look, their submariners are all in mourning, but the U.S. military still wants to carry out this plan. ,why? "