nashuaworldcup Chapter 825: The Line of Defense was Broken by Night Attack
Chapter 825: The Line of Defense was Broken by Night Attack
"Oh my God, the Japs actually sent tanks. How can we defend ourselves?" Ted, the British commander hiding in the underground bunker command post, turned pale when he saw the Japs tanks rushing towards the bridge through a telescope.
"Commander, the Japs have tanks, and we can't deal with them at all without anti-tank guns and anti-tank guns. What should we do now? They are about to reach the bridgehead!" A captain rushed into the underground command post and asked loudly.
Ted's forehead was covered with sweat. He gritted his teeth and said, "There's no other way now. We can only blow up the boundary bridge! Pass on my order. Detonate the explosives buried under the bridge. Blow it up and stop the enemy tank attack!"
"Yes, sir!"
Ted would not dare to blow up the bridge unless it was absolutely necessary, because this bridge was the only bridge connecting to the other side. The daily necessities, medicines and even fresh water for everyone on the island had to be transported from the mainland through this bridge. Blowing up the bridge would be equivalent to cutting off the life channel of everyone on the island.
But given the situation of the wooden bridge, it made no difference whether the bridge was blown up or not. Since the Japanese wanted to fight, they would definitely not allow daily necessities to be transported into the island through this bridge.
As the detonator's pressure rod was pressed down, the middle section of the bridge suddenly arched up, and a violent explosion was heard. The fierce air wave blew away countless pieces of rubble, and the bridge was blown off for more than ten meters. The Japanese tanks that had rushed onto the bridge quickly stopped.
Inside the Japanese command center, the commander of the 38th Division, Tadayoshi Sano, was furious after receiving the report from the front line, but he could only order the attack to be temporarily suspended and all attacking troops to retreat to a distant place.
The Japanese armored forces had no choice but to turn back.
The division headquarters meeting room was filled with smoke.
Sano Tadayoshi looked at his men and said, "The air force's losses have been reported. Half of our fighters and bombers have been lost. The British have deployed a large amount of anti-aircraft firepower on the island. Our air force fighters have been drawn into their anti-aircraft firepower network, and the losses are heavy!"
"Damn it, the British are so insidious. When did they learn to be so insidious?" The commander of the 229th Brigade cursed upon hearing this.
Sano Tadayoshi knocked on the table and said, "Now it's not a question of whether they are insidious or not, but rather the fact that our intelligence personnel don't know such important information. Did they not know, or did they know but not report it?"
"Also, what other cards does the British have on the island? The intelligence provided by these intelligence agencies is too little. What on earth are these people doing? Call the head of the intelligence agency. I want all the British military deployments on the island within a week!"
"Ha Yi!" A combat staff officer stood up, stood at attention and lowered his head.
Then Sano Tadayoshi asked, "Our armored attack plan has also failed. What should we do now? How can we break through the British defenses?"
At this time, Chief of Staff Sulin Zhongdao suggested: "Your Excellency, since we can't cross the Jiehe Bridge or other river crossing points downstream, why not find a way to cross through the narrow section of the river upstream!"
"Although the British have heavily deployed troops on the south bank upstream, the river is much narrower. The narrowest part is only a few meters wide, and we can easily cross it by building a springboard. As long as we can withstand the British firepower and pay a price, once we break through the enemy's firepower blockade, we will be able to charge the British positions!"
Sano Tadayoshi has no other choice now, because the losses this time are huge. If he does not attack the island as soon as possible, he will not be able to report to his superiors.
He asked, "Do you have any good suggestions?"
Sulin Zhongdao stood up and walked to the sand table, and the others immediately stood up and followed.
He picked up his baton and pointed to several sections of the river upstream. He said, "Your Excellency, and everyone, please look at these sections of the river. They are only a few meters wide, but the British occupy these high and low positions and have deployed heavy troops with strong artillery and firepower. We can first call in warships to bombard these high and low points with their guns, and then combine them with our own artillery. If we can destroy the British artillery and firepower points, we can occupy these high ground after suffering some casualties."
"As long as we occupy these high ground, we will have a bridgehead for attacking the new area of the island. All other British military strongholds in the new area will be defeated one by one and eventually become ours!"
After listening to Sulin Tadamichi's plan, Sano Tadayoshi thought for a while and said, "Okay, let's try it according to your plan. You will be fully responsible and all the troops will fully cooperate!"
"Hayi!"
Because there is an air force on the island, the Japanese warships dare not get too close to the island's coastline for fear of being attacked by fighter planes and bombers. Therefore, if the 38th Division wants the fleet to cooperate, coordination is still needed, and it will take time for the fleet to arrive.
The main force of the Japanese fleet went to deal with the enemies in Luzon, Malaya and the Pacific. There are not many warships left here and their strength is not very sufficient.
Because they were worried about being attacked by the air force on the island, the Japanese fleet did not dare to come during the day and could only come at night.
At around 11 o'clock that night, a Japanese fleet consisting of two cruisers, three destroyers, two frigates and one supply ship quietly approached from the sea.
The Japanese intelligence department had already telegraphed the coordinates of several high ground occupied by the British army on the south bank of the upper reaches of the boundary river. The artillery on the Japanese fleet launched an artillery attack at 11 o'clock in the evening based on the coordinates provided by the intelligence department.
The British army used sufficient materials when building fortifications in various defensive strongholds, but these fortifications were no match for the attacks of large-caliber naval guns. After several consecutive rounds of naval gun bombardment, these permanent fortifications were mostly destroyed.
As the shelling ended, the Japanese soldiers who had been waiting for a long time launched a large-scale attack, rushing towards the heights guarded by the British army like waves.
Several British garrisons were attacked at the same time, and the Japanese soldiers rushed forward fearlessly.
The foreign devils had already suffered heavy casualties from the artillery fire, and those who were still alive were dizzy and headaches from the shock of the shelling. By the time they could react, the devils had already rushed to the middle of the mountain.
Less than two hours after arriving, the remaining foreign devils were completely frightened and gave up. They raised their small white chess pieces in the destroyed fortifications.
When the British troops on the two heights surrendered, they sent out a drum and gong band to beat drums and gongs, and the soldiers lined up in neat rows and raised white flags to welcome the arrival of the Japanese.
At 2 a.m., Zhang Yunhe was awakened by the urgent ringing of the phone at the headquarters. He answered the phone: "Hello?"
"Commander, it's bad. The Japanese have captured several high grounds guarded by the British on the south bank of the upper reaches of the boundary river. Now they are launching attacks on the surrounding British fortifications overnight. I'm afraid that the flanks of our positions will be attacked before dawn!" Yang Xiong, the commander of the first regiment on the front line, reported loudly.
"What? What are those foreign devils doing? In that kind of terrain, with sufficient troops and ammunition, they couldn't even hold out for a single attack. Are they all sleeping?" Zhang Yunhe was shocked.
Yang Xiong said on the phone: "Commander, it's useless to say anything else now. Let's think about how we should deal with it next!"
Zhang Yunhe took a deep breath, thought for a moment, and said, "Damn these idiot teammates! They can't even fight, and they're dragging them down! Once our defenses are breached, the new district will be almost impossible to defend. We can't afford to be screwed by these foreign devils any longer. I order the entire First Regiment to immediately withdraw from the new district and retreat to Kowloon. Blow up all bridges and roads leading to Kowloon as we retreat!"