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Volume 1 On the Songhua River Chapter 1688 The Tightened Noose (Part 1)

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    At the entrance of the cave, Major General Whiteman stopped and calmed down. What would his subordinates think if they saw what he looked like now?  Since MacArthur was nailed to death in the Calais Mountains, the only way out was to fight hard.

    Seeing the commander return with a calm face, more than a dozen U.S. military generals looked at Major General Whiteman with expectation. These commanders of various U.S. military units did not have too many extravagant hopes. They only hoped that Commander-in-Chief MacArthur would allow it.  The Third Army withdrew to Manila. Although it ended up facing off against the fierce Japanese soldiers, it was still hundreds of thousands of troops standing together. As the saying goes, "How brave are you in numbers!"

    It was only a day of fierce fighting with Japanese soldiers, and not even an inch of ground was lost. However, facing the Japanese soldiers who were not afraid of death, these US commanders were already frightened. Look at the current position of the Third Army.  , a lone army stands out, with just tens of thousands of people under attack from hundreds of thousands of ferocious Japanese troops. They don't know what kind of fierce battle they will face tomorrow?

    Looking at the eyes of his subordinates, Commander Whiteman sighed inwardly, "Based on the current morale and condition of the troops, it is no longer suitable to continue to block the Japanese army. It has been nearly two months since entering the Calais Mountains for defense.  Facing the ubiquitous and huge pressure from the Japanese army every day, the courage in the hearts of the officers and soldiers has been exhausted, especially the death of Chief of Staff Stilwell, which dealt an even greater blow to the Third Army. "

    Commander Whiteman sat down and then said: "I just had a phone call with Commander-in-Chief MacArthur. The general ordered our army to stay in the Calais Mountains for at least a week to prepare for the deployment of the Manila Defense War. Gain time, now,  Let¡¯s study in detail how to fulfill the Commander-in-Chief¡¯s order!¡±

    As soon as Commander Whiteman said these words, the U.S. military officers looked extremely disappointed, and without concealing it, a brigadier general stood up.  He said with some excitement: "Commander, have you reported the actual situation we are facing to General MacArthur truthfully? After just one day of fighting, my division suffered more than 2,000 casualties, and it lasted a week.  . The troops will be exhausted. Doesn¡¯t the headquarters care about our life or death?¡±

    Major General Whiteman smiled bitterly in his heart, "Smart enough, Commander-in-Chief MacArthur's intention is to have our Third Army wipe out all his troops to buy time for his crazy plan to defend Manila." However, he could not say these words.  Talk to any of your subordinates.  Otherwise, there is no need for the Japanese to fight.  There is a possibility that the Third Army will be completely defeated. If so, can General MacArthur spare himself?

    If you don't get killed by the Japanese, you will have to be shot by him. Look at the commander-in-chief's method of dealing with former chief of staff Stilwell. Even if Whiteman had a hundred courage, he would not dare to give up the defense line in the Calais Mountains.  Withdrew to Manila without permission.

    Commander Whiteman glanced at the division commander with displeasure, and said in a cold tone: "Brigadier General Sinyakir, please be careful with your words and don't undermine the morale of the army. Your unit has casualties, and so do other units.  In this way, Commander-in-Chief MacArthur has promised that as the battle progresses, he will send the headquarters¡¯ Second Air Force to the battlefield in the Calais Mountains to provide the most powerful air fire support for all the defense lines of our Third Army!¡±

    After serving as the commander of the Third Army, Major General Whiteman rarely reprimanded his subordinates with such harsh words. For a while, it shocked all the US generals. Brigadier General Xinyakir opened his mouth, but did not say another word. His face was ugly.  Sit down and feel regretful!

    "Why am I so brainless? I'm just pretending to be stupid. I've lost about the same amount and the situation is the same. But I'm the one who comes out to complain and feel tired. I'm full of resentment. Aren't I a fool?  Fortunately, Commander Whiteman was not a ruthless person. Otherwise, it would be a common thing to use oneself as a prestige in order to boost the morale of the troops. Brigadier General Xinyakir regretted it and wanted to slap himself several times.

    There was nothing new in the following meeting. Commander Whiteman only emphasized the importance of holding on to the defense line. However, several division commanders had a red-faced quarrel over the air fire support of the First Air Force. The reason was that  One, everyone wants to get the most air fire support, but the First Air Force only has more than 300 aircraft. If evenly distributed, each unit's defense line airspace will only have a dozen or so aircraft.

    The U.S. military generals became more and more noisy. They were all like red-eyed roosters. Major General Whiteman's head was several times bigger. If possible, Major General Whiteman wished that the skies over the Calais Mountains were filled with his own planes.  , there is no need for you to fight over it.

    Seeing that arguing like this was not an option, Major General Whiteman proposed a compromise plan. Most of the air power would be used in the direction of the defense of the unit that was under the most violent attack and the greatest pressure from the Japanese army.

    This is also reasonable. Whoever is beaten more severely by the Japanese will be givenThe meeting was over. There were only a few staff officers and radio personnel in the huge cave. Under the flickering candlelight, it became increasingly empty and desolate. It was already very deep. However, Major General Whiteman was not sleepy at all.  He doesn't know what kind of test his troops will face tomorrow?

    At 4 o'clock in the morning on August 11, a dull roar sounded from behind the Japanese army's position. Immediately, countless artillery shells, with ear-piercing screams, pierced the predawn sky of Luzon Island and landed on the US military position.  , a purple cloud of smoke rose up, and the battlefield in the Calais Mountains, which had been silent for a night, began to become noisy again with the Japanese attack.

    The Japanese attack was equally ferocious. However, it was clear that this time the attack had learned the lessons learned on the first day in terms of attack direction and tactics. It no longer focused on a certain location as the main attack direction, but on the US military's attack direction.  The entire defense line, full attack!

    The Japanese army launched wave after wave of continuous attacks on the positions of the US Third Army. However, the Japanese commanders obviously adjusted their tactics. They no longer killed the US soldiers at the cost of killing soldiers, but made full use of them.  They used tanks and artillery to repeatedly attack U.S. military positions.

    The number of deaths of Japanese soldiers has decreased. The American soldiers who were stationed on the ground and could not retreat even half a step had no choice but to brave the Japanese artillery fire and stick to the defense line. It was the American aircraft that played the role of a needle in the sea. That direction was dangerous.  Commander Whiteman sent most of the planes over and fought fiercely for a whole day. The US troops miraculously held their position without losing an inch of ground.

    However, the U.S. military pilots suffered a lot. Each plane took off and landed at least four or five times, and they were all as tired as dead dogs. Relying on these planes, the U.S. Third Army staggered through again.  After a day, Commander Whiteman couldn't believe that such a result could be achieved. He simply couldn't believe that this was his own army?

    However, when the casualty statistics came up, Commander Whiteman's joy turned into depression. After a day of fierce fighting, the casualties of the troops reached more than 14,000, which was more than 3,000 more than the first day. As for the Japanese army's  The casualties must be less than his own. In front of the position, the corpses of Japanese soldiers were obviously not as many as yesterday. If the fight continued like this, they would definitely not be able to last for a week, and the troops would be wiped out!

    Night fell in the Calais Mountains, and the sea breeze blowing from the Pacific Ocean blew away the smoke. Commander Whiteman truthfully reported the day's battle situation to General MacArthur in Manila. The answer he received was, "I understand.  Whiteman, you are doing a good job, hold on! I am always paying attention to the battle in the Calais Mountains!" After putting down the phone, Major General Whiteman was momentarily distracted. Do you dare not to persist? The answer is of course no.

    That night, Major General Zhao Yuhe, the chief of staff of the ** Division, compiled the information about the day's battle situation in Luzon Island compiled by the Intelligence Department and sent it to the desk of the division commander Tang Qiuli on time.

    Tang Qiuli read the information carefully and said to Zhao Yuhe: "The Japanese army clearly has the ability to break through the US military's defense line in the Calais Mountains, but they never let go. The intention of fishing is obvious, but if it continues like this, I don't know.  The U.S. Third Army could still hold on for a few days. It seemed that MacArthur was prepared to sacrifice the Third Army to buy enough time for the British and Australian reinforcements to arrive. This move was cruel enough, but it hit the Japanese just in time to divert the tiger away from the mountain.  count."

    Zhao Yuhe thought for a moment and said: "Division Commander, suppose that MacArthur orders the Third Army to abandon the defense line in the Calais Mountains and retreat to Manila. Wouldn't it also achieve the same purpose of increasing the defensive strength of Manila's periphery? Isn't he doing more harm than good?  ?¡±

    Tang Qiuli shook his head and said: "At this moment, if the US troops in the Calais Mountains had been withdrawn to Manila when the Japanese army just launched the Luzon Island Campaign, the current effect could have been achieved. However, it is too late now.  Now, the U.S. Third Army has been tightly held by the Japanese army. If it evacuates the Calais Mountains, the Japanese army will pursue them. The U.S. Army, which has no intention of fighting anymore, will not retreat, but retreat, and the rout will rush into Manila.  , followed by the Japanese troops in hot pursuit.¡±

    "The U.S. military's defense line outside Manila will definitely be in chaos. What do you want the defending U.S. troops to do? Do you want to fight their broken troops together with the pursuing Japanese soldiers? MacArthur saw this and did not hesitate to let the Third Army  Even if they were exhausted, they would still drag the Japanese army in the Calais Mountains. However, what he did not expect was that Ito Yanzaburo had a greater appetite. Not only did he want to eat his third army, but he also wanted to kill his aerial troops.  strength!"

    Zhao Yuhe shook his head and sighed: "Commander, the Americans fought this battle in vain. If the Third Army had not withdrawn its defense line for dozens of kilometers and abandoned all the favorable terrain conditions that could be used,  Now, it is impossible for the Japanese to take such a big advantage. The commander of the Third Army, Whiteman, is simply mediocre. The so-called one general is incompetent and the three armies are exhausted. The reason why the US military is in today's decline is not accidental!"

    (To be continued)
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