funbook-pk Chapter 1085 Saving Face
Chapter 1085 Saving Face
When the news of the annihilation of the 24th Independent Brigade came, many people breathed a sigh of relief.
When the Japanese decided to advance south, many people were afraid. Although the situation in Huangpu was still at a stalemate, if the southward-advancing Japanese forces merged with those in Huangpu, things would become very uncertain. Could we hold out? This was a question on many people's minds.
The fact that the battle at Pujiang was able to turn out this way is the result of the brothers' desperate efforts. The brothers of the 72nd Army played an important role, but everyone understood that they could only hold off a certain number of Japanese troops. If the Japanese troops from the north also came, even if the brothers of the 72nd Army had three heads and six arms, they probably wouldn't be able to split up and fight in two places at once.
Now, on the north bank of the Yellow River, an infantry brigade of Japanese soldiers has encountered such an outcome. How could everyone not be happy? This shows that the Japanese southward strategy has encountered serious difficulties. Of course, it is still possible that their original plan will be realized, but then again, given the current situation, even if they manage to open up the Tianjin-Pukou Railway, how much strength will they have left to advance south?
Most of the officers and soldiers of the Japanese Second Army soon learned of the news. They couldn't believe it was true. The 24th Infantry Brigade had been with them just a few days ago. This was a fully-organized army that couldn't have been annihilated in just a few days on any battlefield.
But could those things in the newspapers be fake? At this point, it wasn't just Chinese newspapers publishing them; some European and American newspapers were also involved. If you said those news reports were fake, all the Europeans and Americans would side with the Chinese. So what about those photos?
Chinese soldiers used Japanese helmets to create various patterns, the most famous of which were the Jingguan (a type of mound of corpses).
The helmets couldn't be faked; they were all taken from the heads of Japanese soldiers. All Chinese helmets were German-style, unlike the Japanese helmets. Even if we transported all the helmets captured from all over the country, it probably wouldn't be enough time.
Moreover, many junior officers knew that orders had been issued in the past few days. Any news about the 24th Brigade was strictly forbidden within the military; any violation would result in immediate legal action. This was unprecedented. If they hadn't been annihilated, what do you think had happened to them?
In the first two days, some officers of the Second Army were still conducting inspections everywhere, strictly requiring the troops in various places not to talk about this matter, to eliminate all rumors, and to firmly believe that all the information issued by the military headquarters was true.
Many soldiers and officers actually believed them. Looking back now, those people's lies were truly astounding. Their ability to lie through their teeth was incredible; they could lie to your face, even swear oaths, without batting an eye. These kinds of military personnel were absolutely top-notch.
Now that the newspapers have published the story, these so-called investigation teams have all disappeared, returning to the Second Army headquarters. Of course, there's another possibility: when they came down to investigate, these people didn't know the 24th Brigade had already been wiped out, and everything they said was the truth. The worst are probably the high command of the Second Army; only they know the truth, but they want to manipulate the entire Second Army.
After the balloon was popped, all the officers and soldiers of the Japanese Second Army fell silent, and their morale began to slowly decline. When the Second Army was first formed, it wasn't like this at all. Everyone was full of high spirits, eager to march into Jiangnan, join forces with the Jiangnan army, thoroughly defeat the main force of China, and write their own page in history.
If you were to confiscate the diaries of the officers and soldiers of the Second Army, you would probably find a whole bunch of grand pronouncements. But unfortunately, those people have secretly torn them up now. It's not that the diaries are bad, but that those people have lost their confidence.
In just four days, an independent brigade of over ten thousand men was wiped out, along with all their weapons and equipment, all of which disappeared around us. Our air force had once helped them, and now this army has vanished just like that. Who has such a strong capacity to bear this?
Commander-in-Chief Toyotomi of the Second Army was given a severe scolding by Army Headquarters for ten minutes while holding the phone. This was absolutely unprecedented for a high-ranking general in the Japanese Army.
He had sent out two units, and now one had run back, while the other had been completely wiped out. He had been criticizing the unit that had run back, saying that they had no courage and were not worthy of the unit's designation.
It seems they were quite shrewd. If those guys hadn't returned, it wouldn't have been just one infantry brigade wiped out today; it would have been two. That would have made things even harder to explain to the country and their colleagues.
After thinking about this, the guy calmed himself down and realized that the result wasn't so hard to accept.
But what should they do next? Army Headquarters had already issued orders for them to cross the Yellow River within three days and advance south. General Matsui was already at his wit's end, having been thoroughly exhausted by Li Shaoyi's small-team combat plan, and unable to send troops to provide support in the short term. So now it all depended on their Second Army.
As for the Second Army's request for assistance, headquarters granted it. They had initially believed the Second Army was strong enough, but in the days of fighting, they had also seen that the Second Army was somewhat lacking in strength. Therefore, in addition to the existing forces, the Second Army would be reinforced with two new divisions and one brigade.
The two newly added divisions are the Ueno Division and the Morita Division, which were transferred from mainland Japan.
The newly added brigade is not an infantry brigade, but an entire artillery brigade.
The Japanese high command wasn't blind; increasing the number of infantry wouldn't be of much use and wouldn't change the passive, defensive situation on the battlefield. Therefore, they needed to increase their artillery output significantly. Small-caliber artillery was useless to them, so they could only use the reserves of the Kwantung Army, including those of the Korean garrison, and improve the production efficiency of domestic factories to get through this immediate crisis.
Of course, Japan was incapable of crossing the Yellow River in a short period of time. The so-called order to cross the Yellow River in three days was merely a way to save face...