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Volume 1 On the Songhua River Chapter 3104 The Dilemma of Ito Yanzaburo

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    General Ito Yanzaburo's laughter was full of bitterness and helplessness. If you want to relieve the Western Front troops and break the blockade of the China Independent Division troops on the Sanggu and Mandola lines, at least 150,000 people will be needed.  The above troops may not be enough, but how can I have extra troops in my hands now?

    The three fronts of the Australian battlefield are fighting. The eastern front is being fought with blood and flesh. The China Independent Division troops maintain a strong offensive. More than 600,000 imperial troops are on the defensive. Although the war situation is currently stable and balanced, General Ito believes  , as long as we draw hundreds of thousands of troops from the Eastern Front, this balance will be broken immediately. If the Eastern Front is defeated, it will definitely have catastrophic consequences for the entire Australian battlefield.

    Needless to say, the center line returned from the MacDonnell Mountains with a huge defeat. More than one-third of its troops were reduced. Facing the fierce pursuit and strong attack of the independent division troops, they barely maintained their defensive position. The war had already burned to northern Australia.  , in front of home, the only turning point is that about half of the independent division troops attacking on the center line have been transferred away. Now, compared with the strength of the two sides, I have a slight advantage, and the pressure is relieved.

    But that¡¯s all. If you want to fight back, at least for now, it¡¯s beyond your capabilities. If these poorly organized and demoralized troops are used to fight back, General Ito doesn¡¯t even dare to think about what will happen.

    Counterattack on the center-line battlefield requires the addition of new troops and the strengthening of weapons and equipment. All these require time and sufficient troops. The situation on the center-line and eastern-front battlefields can be stabilized at present, but what we can worry about is the western front and the fourth front.  More than 100,000 imperial soldiers were cut off!

    After listening to General Ito¡¯s rhetorical question.  Chief of Staff Akutagawa fell silent. This was the biggest problem facing the Imperial Australian Front.  The total strength of nearly two million people seemed huge.  But now they are all pinned down on various battlefields and unable to escape. The front army headquarters cannot even produce a complete first-class division.

    However, the situation of the Imperial Army troops on the Western Front was too dangerous. No matter how brave and adept the Imperial Army soldiers were, and fearless of death, they were attacked from both fronts and back by the China Independent Division, which was stronger than itself and well-equipped with weapons and equipment.  The annihilation of the army is extremely possible, even if part of it is withdrawn in the end.  That was also a defeated army that suffered heavy losses. How could it be used again?

    The collapse of the Western Front battlefield shook the overall situation. Sweat broke out on the forehead of Chief of Staff Akutagawa. He had to admire that damn China devil Tang Qiuli. His cunning and ruthless tactics of military use extended from the battlefield to  Troops were mobilized on the central battlefield in northern Australia and made long-distance raids on the western front.  Cutting off the retreat of more than 400,000 imperial troops, what a fatal blow!

    The two top leaders of the Australian Japanese army in the room were thinking hard, and the atmosphere was dull and depressing.  Suddenly, an idea flashed in General Ito's mind and he asked: "Akutagawa-kun. How many troops are currently assembled in several ports on the east coast of Australia?"

    "Huh? - Oh!" Chief of Staff Akutagawa was still racking his brains.  I subconsciously agreed until General Ito asked the question again.  After repeating himself, he recovered his thoughts and hurriedly replied: "Commander, we have assembled a division and an independent mixed brigade in Townsville, with about 38,000 people, and assembled them in Mount Molloy.  Two divisions with more than 50,000 men were assembled in Cooktown, with more than 26,000 men!"

    "If it weren't for the ineffective escort of the combined fleet, which resulted in more than 50,000 imperial soldiers from two divisions being shattered in the waters of the Solomon Islands, we would have been able to assemble more than 160,000 troops in various ports on the east coast of Australia!  "

    "Don't mention that old bastard Chuichi Nagumo to me!" General Ito said displeasedly. Now when he mentioned Chuichi Nagumo, he was so disgusted and angry that he lost his mind. "What's the status of the troops that have been assembled? Can they be mobilized immediately?  ?¡±

    "Because the time of landing is different, the situation is different. The two divisions at Mount Molloy have been ashore for three days. The troops must be reorganized and can accept orders at any time. The division at Cooktown has been ashore for two days.  Although they have not yet recovered, they can be dispatched immediately. Only the troops in Townsville just arrived this morning and cannot be mobilized immediately! "Akutagawa is a very competent chief of staff and knows the situation of the Australian battlefield troops well, said  It looks like a treasure trove.

    He answered General Ito¡¯s question in a clear and logical manner. After he finished answering, he was immediately shocked, "Commander, do you want to?"

    "Not bad!" General Ito's ferocious face twisted, confirming Chief of Staff Akutagawa's guess, and then said through gritted teeth: "In addition to the troops in Townsville, I will form a reinforcement force with the Imperial Army troops that have been assembled.  , rush to the Western Front battlefield, open a gap on the Sanggu and Mandola lines occupied by the Chinese, and coordinate the retreat of Yoshitake Tohachiro's troops, more than 80,000 people, enough! "

    "Akutagawa-kun, you immediately start organizing another reinforcement operation."?The specific action plan and reinforcement route have been formulated by your staff department. The troops will take action within two days. Time is of the essence for us!  "

    "Yes! Commander!" Chief of Staff Akutagawa replied. This is the only feasible way now. Although it takes less than half a month to transfer more than 80,000 troops from the east coast across the Australian continent to the west.  , it cannot be done at all, but it is something that must be done.

    What¡¯s strange about Chief of Staff Akutagawa is that General Ito left this matter to him, so what will the commander do on his own?  "Commander, don't you personally command the reinforcements?" he asked tentatively.

    "No!" General Ito's face became more and more ferocious as he said, "I want to organize the center line troops and launch a counterattack. Although the conditions are not mature, it must be carried out!" The current position of the Central China Independent Division is not only the military  The front was heading straight into Australia's northern hinterland and blocking the shortest route to the western front.

    As the supreme commander of the Australian battlefield, General Ito has a broad vision. In order to solve the danger of the Western Front troops being cut off, all hopes cannot be placed on the newly formed Western Front reinforcements. He wants to carry out a large-scale attack on the central line.  Counterattack, even if you don't have the conditions to fight back, you still have to fight hard.

    The purpose is to find another retreat route for the Western Front troops after the reinforcements on the Western Front fail to open the blocking line of the independent divisions on the Sangu and Mandola front lines, from Royhill across the Great Sand Desert to Granitz.  Although it is better to go deep into the desert than to fall into a desperate situation, so Granitz is the target that must be captured in this counterattack.

    "Ah!" Chief of Staff Akutagawa was stunned. He really did not have the conditions to launch a counterattack on the central battlefield. If he was forced to launch it, if he was defeated again, it would be irreversible. The western front was in danger, and the central line was defeated again. The empire's Australian decisive battle plan  , will become a tomb where nearly two million elite soldiers of the empire are buried.

    But when he saw General Ito¡¯s face and the gambler¡¯s light in his eyes, he knew that his persuasion was useless, so he swallowed the words that came to his lips. Sometimes, it is better to say less.

    More than 80,000 people have to be transferred from the east coast of Australia to the west. It takes thousands of kilometers to transport vehicles, logistics supplies, soldiers and weapons and equipment. Many things have to be done by themselves. They need to take action within two days.  , Chief of Staff Akutagawa had no time to delay, so he could only leave sadly with a heavy and worried heart.

    Major General Yoshitake Tohachiro, commander of the Western Front Offensive Force of the Japanese Australian Front and deputy chief of staff of the headquarters, saw the emergency telegram sent by General Ito. He felt as if he had been struck by lightning and his head was covered. "How could this happen? How could this happen?  Like this?" he asked himself over and over again.

    It¡¯s no wonder that Deputy Chief of Staff Yoshitake couldn¡¯t turn his head. The situation on the Western Front battlefield was generally favorable to the Imperial Army. Although there were fierce battles with the China Independent Division troops on the front lines of Mount Vernon and Mandy Wendy,  For dozens of days, they failed to advance a few steps, but the Imperial Army troops still maintained a strong offensive, while the China Independent Division troops were passively defending.

    Deputy Chief of Staff Yoshitake was confident that when the more than 200 Italian heavy artillery pieces added by the Front Army Headquarters arrived, they would be able to break the blocking line of the Independent Division troops, defeat the enemy in front of them, and move south in one go. However, at this moment, the Headquarters arrived.  He received the telegram and told himself that an elite force of hundreds of thousands of independent divisions had captured Sangu and Mandola, cutting off his retreat.

    If it weren't for the autograph of Commander-in-Chief Ito on the telegram, Deputy Chief of Staff Yoshitake would almost think it was a fraud. The fall of Sangu and Mandola would have been a disaster for the more than 400,000 imperial troops on the Western Front.  What it means, Deputy Chief of Staff Yoshitake knows all too well.

    Therefore, after the initial disbelief and confusion, Deputy Chief of Staff Yoshitake immediately made a decision to retreat immediately. Taking advantage of the fact that the independent division troops who had cut off their retreat were not stable, he immediately fought back and fled.

    Although the situation on the Western Front battlefield became very bad due to unexpected circumstances, Deputy Chief of Staff Yoshitake was not confused. He first forwarded the original text of General Ito's personal telegram to several army commanders, and then ordered  The troops immediately began to retreat, and they ordered the commanders of the Seventh Army and the Ninth Army, who were commanding the offensive at the forefront of Mount Vernon, to cover the retreat of the main force of the Western Route Army at all costs.

    While forwarding General Ito¡¯s telegram in the original text, Deputy Chief of Staff Yoshitake added an extra thought and warned the military commanders, ¡°This telegram only reaches the level of captain of each unit, and the information is strictly blocked from lower-level officers and ordinary soldiers!¡±

    Deputy Chief of Staff Yoshitake is afraid. If hundreds of thousands of elite troops of the Chinese Independent Division appear on the Sanggu and Mandola lines, the bad news that their retreat will be cut off spreads among the troops, causing morale among the troops to fluctuate, and they will be forced to retreat.  For the Western Route Army, it is very likely to lead to a major rout. What's more, there are hundreds of thousands of independent divisions in front who have been fighting with them for dozens of days without showing any sign of defeat.Team, chasing and blocking, is this a joke?

    (To be continued) (To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature, the novel will be better and updated faster!
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