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Volume 1 On the Songhua River Chapter 1749 Scrambling for Life

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    After receiving a call back from Tang Qiuli, Lieutenant General Jonathan's heart finally fell into his stomach. There was no problem in coordinating with the Chinese. However, it was still as heavy as a mountain to safely evacuate more than 200,000 people from Luzon Island.  task.

    The ships are not the problem. The key to the problem is that when the troops were evacuated, the order of each division knew that Manila was about to be destroyed. In addition, MacArthur's escape incident, although it has not spread to the front-line troops, some senior officers  In the middle, fluctuations have occurred, and everyone wants to leave this damn place first. If one unit does not obey the arrangements and acts without authorization, it will cause a disorderly rout across the entire line.

    More than 200,000 soldiers who had lost their organization, lost their will to fight, and were bent on escaping, swarmed to the dock. What a terrible scene it was. I am afraid that more people were squeezed into the sea and drowned than those who were eventually evacuated to Australia. No need  When the Japanese attacked, the troops were severely injured.

    Lieutenant General Jonathan called the new Chief of Staff, Brigadier General Kleist, to the headquarters. Although he knew how much this nominal Chief of Staff had in store, he still wanted to discuss it with his Chief of Staff.  one time.

    After Chief of Staff Kleist arrived, Lieutenant General Jonathan was surprised to find that the former Acting Chief of Staff, who was respectful and submissive in front of MacArthur, had a different temperament all over him. It could be said that he was confident.  , it doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s a new official taking office, anyway, it¡¯s like a new person.

    The two exchanged a few words, knowing that the military situation was urgent, so they went straight to the topic. After Lieutenant General Jonathan finished expressing his concerns, Chief of Staff Kleist said almost without thinking: "Commander, I think we should convene various meetings immediately.  The meeting of the top commanders of the troops will clarify the order of evacuation of each unit, otherwise chaos will inevitably occur. The most critical issue is which unit will be responsible for the blocking task and finally board the ship under the cover of the Chinese aircraft fleet.  Question, I think, this is the biggest problem!¡±

    "Another one. It's the incident of MacArthur running to Australia. Commanders of all units must want to know the cause and the results of the handling. I hope the commander will be mentally prepared!"

    Lieutenant General Jonathan's eyes lit up, and he couldn't help but re-examine this incompetent and MacArthur shadow.  Word spread throughout the army that the chief of staff was really impressed after three days apart. The suggestion he made was exactly what he was considering, and he didn't expect it.  There is really something useful in his stomach.

    Lieutenant General Jonathan immediately said: "Okay, Chief of Staff, according to your opinion, I will notify you immediately and convene a military meeting. The commanders of each unit will temporarily transfer the command to the deputy or chief of staff. In addition, the staff will come up with a  When formulating an evacuation plan, the focus is on the order of evacuation of each unit. The meeting time should be set at seven o'clock, leaving three hours of preparation time. Damn it, the Japanese should stop attacking at night! "

    Chief of Staff Kleist stood up energetically and replied loudly: "Yes, Your Excellency, Commander. Execute your order immediately!"

    Lieutenant General Jonathan looked at the back of his chief of staff.  Disappearing in the office, he nodded approvingly. Brigadier General Kleist was not as unbearable as he had imagined. It seemed that there would not be too many problems with future cooperation. This was because he showed his respect in front of all senior officers.  , making his first appearance as the supreme commander, he should make some preparations in advance.

    From the inside, Lieutenant General Jonathan still felt a little uneasy. A few hours ago, he was just like them, a division commander. In the blink of an eye, he became their immediate superior. It can be described as a meteoric rise.  My promotion is very appropriate.

    "Can those guys who are filled with resentment because of MacArthur's sudden escape be convinced and obey their own arrangements?"  When he thought of this, Lieutenant General Jonathan's excitement dimmed a lot, and he began to have a headache.

    At night, after repelling the last Japanese attack, the guns and artillery that had been roaring all day long at the Manila defense line finally gradually subsided. There were traces of battles everywhere on the forward positions of the US and Philippine troops.  In the fortifications and shelters, there were huge bomb craters with lingering smoke, empty bullet boxes, the bloody corpses of American and Philippine soldiers scattered everywhere, the wounded who kept screaming, and the exhausted soldiers whose faces were blackened by gunpowder smoke.  It all shows the cruelty of the battle that just ended.

    And in the conference room of the U.S. military headquarters in downtown Manila, a battle that was no better than fighting the Japanese with real swords and guns, but much inferior to the verbal battle, was also being fiercely staged. Covered in gunpowder smoke, every one was exhausted, worried and confused.  The commanders of the US and Philippine forces gathered here, and the focus of the debate, just as Chief of Staff Kleist expected, was the order of who should evacuate first and who last, as well as issues related to the MacArthur incident.

    Lieutenant General Jonathan first informed the commanders of the exciting news. He held a telegram and said with excitement: "Everyone?, after many days of hard fighting, in view of the fact that the war situation in Luzon Island is developing in a direction that is not conducive to us, the Supreme Civil War Headquarters has approved our withdrawal from Luzon Island and transferred to Australia. During the retreat process  Among them, we will be escorted by the Chinese Air Force throughout the entire process.  "

    The U.S. and Philippine military commanders below had a look of excitement on their originally dull faces. Everyone breathed a long sigh of relief. They were finally leaving this damn place. God bless, they were not killed.  Kill the Japanese.

    After the excitement passed, the thing that Lieutenant General Jonathan least wanted to see happened. A brigadier general stood up and said loudly: "Commander Jonathan, can you tell us what General MacArthur did? Before he evacuated safely,  Why didn't he show up at such an important military meeting in Luzon Island? Why did you suddenly take over his position? These questions are all strange to us, and we hope you can give a reasonable explanation!"

    Lieutenant General Jonathan's face was very ugly. This was a naked act of questioning. MacArthur's escape did not need to be concealed in a military meeting of this level. Otherwise, it would cause unnecessary commotion. Once that person had ulterior motives or  It's a dissatisfied guy who deliberately provokes the situation, and there is a danger that the situation will get out of control.

    Lieutenant General Jonathan winked, and Chief of Staff Kleist, who was well prepared, took out the letter of appointment from Washington and signed by President Roosevelt. Then, he read out the wartime Supreme Headquarters' request for MacArthur.  processing decisions.

    The senior officers below were silent. Even the former close associates of MacArthur's group were silent and did not dare to make any noise. They knew very well that what their boss did this time was too damn disgraceful and not enough.  What do you mean, he didn't even say hello, he just rubbed the soles of his feet with grease. The boss is finished this time. He was deprived of the right to command and hung high. Who can tell whether he can turn over or not?

    "However, that old guy MacArthur has energy. He was originally responsible for losing his head, but it's not a big deal. He still acts as an official and doesn't worry about it. Where can he reason with him?"

    MacArthur slipped this matter away and lightly exposed it, but no one dug into it. It was a matter between the big bosses above, and he couldn't help it. Jonathan was so successful that he had good luck, so he couldn't be jealous.

    Next, the issue of arranging the order for the evacuation of the various units is that they are in close combat. No one wants to evacuate in the end. Staying on this damn island for one more minute will be more dangerous. In view of the various arrangements made by Chief of Staff Kleist  The US military generals were quarreling over the order of troop evacuation. No one was stupid. The last troops to evacuate must be the covering troops, and they must be cannon fodder that cannot escape unscathed.

    The position originally defended by more than 200,000 soldiers has to be defended by no more than one division of troops. To block the attack of hundreds of thousands of fierce and powerful Japanese troops, it is a question whether they can evacuate the position and board the ship.  The price of death is to cover the evacuation of other troops. This is obviously a job that involves death. Who is willing to take it?

    In particular, the division commanders who were arranged by Chief of Staff Kleist to evacuate in the end were even louder, emphasizing the difficulties of their troops, why they always insisted on important targets, the casualties of the troops were too large, and there were a large number of wounded. If  If they don't board the ship first, I'm afraid it will delay the boarding of other troops. There are many reasons for this, just because they don't want to be the last.

    There are more than a dozen division commanders of the US military who can shamelessly grab the spots to withdraw first. The two commanders of the First and Second Philippine Corps, which are mainly Filipino soldiers, have ugly faces and say nothing. The two brothers are self-aware.  Any unlucky and thankless things must be done by one's own troops. When MacArthur didn't run away, he didn't use his own troops as cannon fodder.

    I guess it will be the same this time, the Americans don¡¯t treat the Filipino soldiers as human beings!  This time, the task of covering the Americans' retreat would inevitably fall on him. That was also a helpless matter. Who made him unpopular because he was not his own mother?

    Seeing the senior generals who usually look like human beings arguing endlessly over such a trivial matter without caring about their face, almost an hour has passed and they still have no idea. At ten o'clock tonight, the troops will take action.  , Lieutenant General Jonathan was so angry that his face was livid. He once again saw the ugly behavior of the so-called American generals.

    Lieutenant General Jonathan, with a sullen face, stood up suddenly, suppressed the anger in his heart, and said: "Everyone, don't argue anymore. I also serve as the commander of the 7th Mechanized Infantry Division. The task of blocking the Japanese army from the rear is up to me.  I command the 7th Mechanized Division to complete it. I only make one request. When evacuating the position, try not to disturb the Japanese troops and evacuate according to the plan. Our actions are related to the lives of more than 200,000 soldiers. I hope you know  Portion!¡±

    Having said this, Lieutenant General Jonathan¡¯s tone changed and he said with ferocity: ¡°What if??That unit did not follow the chief of staff's deployment and evacuated the position without authorization. I, Jonathan, will definitely shoot him before he is killed by the Japanese!  "

    (To be continued)
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