It is no exaggeration to say that Chizhou's defense system is a hard turtle shell. It is said that Yoshikawa Yoshiyoshi, the division commander of the Japanese UR Division, graduated from the School of Civil Engineering of the University of Tokyo. The entire defense system of Chizhou was designed by this old devil himself. Even if it is not as strong as Matsuyama Fortress, it is probably not as strong as Matsuyama Fortress. There won't be much difference. It is not that easy to crack open this turtle shell. If not, the 19th detachment and Dipei will hit their heads and bleed on this turtle shell. At that moment, Shu Tongwen said with concern: "Captain, this hard bone in Chizhou is not easy to crack, especially the turtle shell on the outside. If it cannot be broken open, it may hurt your arm." "I have also considered this. "Xu Shijiu nodded and said solemnly, "But I think now is the best time to regain Chizhou. What's more, even if we can't take Chizhou by storm, we still have a great chance to trap the Japanese army in Chizhou through a long-term siege, and then fight without a fight. After all, the Battle of Henan, Hunan, and Guangxi has just ended, and the last bit of wealth accumulated by Little Japan has been consumed in this large-scale offensive. At least within three months, they It is impossible to have any spare energy for a new large-scale battle. Xu Jiujiu's judgment is well-founded. After the United States imposed a total blockade on Little Japan, Little Japan's war resources began to become scarce, especially steel, oil, and rubber. This was also the reason why Little Japan took the risk and attacked Pearl Harbor because Only by defeating the United States can Japan truly control Southeast Asia and untie the noose the Americans have tied around their necks. Little Japan originally thought that after occupying Southeast Asia, it would be able to alleviate the shortage of resources. However, the cruel reality is that although Little Japan quickly occupied Southeast Asia, it did not plunder too many strategic materials from Southeast Asia. After the Battle of Midway, Japan The navy fell into a disadvantage, which exposed the sea lanes from Southeast Asia to the Japanese mainland to the attack range of the U.S. Navy, which further aggravated the shortage of materials in Japan. Little Japan had no choice but to spend all its resources and launch an unprecedented scale of war. Operation No. 1 is the battle to open up the mainland. Judging from the combat effects, the battle to open up the mainland was an unprecedented victory, and the Japanese army fully realized the tactical intentions formulated before the war. However, for this battle to open up the mainland, Japan also paid a heavy price. The most direct consequence is, In a short period of time, it was impossible for Japan to raise enough special funds to support a major offensive operation. This means that when various defense areas of Little Japan are attacked, Little Japan can only be limited to the original garrison in this defense area, and cannot count on reinforcements from troops in adjacent defense areas. This is why Xu Shijiu dared to set his sights on Chizhou The confidence lies in the head. To put it bluntly, even though the Japanese UR Division has returned to Wannan from the Liugui battlefield, they are at their weakest right now, and if some time passes, the wounded members of the Japanese UR Division will recover from their injuries. , the scarce military supplies have also been mobilized from the country, so with the strength of the 19th Detachment and Dipei, it is absolutely impossible to regain Chizhou. ¡° If that were the case, perhaps the Chinese army would have to wait until American soldiers landed on the southeastern coast of China before the Chinese army could regain Chizhou. However, from a national perspective, Xu Shijiu was unwilling to have any more foreign troops set foot on Chinese soil. Therefore, Xu Shijiu hopes to seize this fleeting opportunity and regain Chizhou in one fell swoop. At the same time, Xu Shijiu also had a premonition that his body might not be able to hold on for long. If he didn't try at this time, he might never have a chance. Shu Tongwen was finally convinced by Xu Shijiu, and then returned to Qingyang County to convince He Keqi. However, when the 19th Detachment of the Wannan Anti-Japanese National Salvation Army and the New Fourth Army's Pei Pei were making preparations, Huang Baitao's 3rd Army launched an attack on Chizhou first. Chen Shizhang's 40th Division was the first to enter the battle. The 40th Division moved south from Tongling County, passing through Maotan Township launched an attack on Guanqian Town. (Dividing Line) Huang Baitao, wearing his helmet, accompanied by the 40th Division Commander Chen Shizhang and Chief of Staff Cao Xiang, went up to the forward observation post in Guanqian Town. Through the field of view of the artillery mirror, Huang Baitao could clearly see the fighting situation on the front line. Groups of olive green troops poured into the Japanese defensive positions like a tide. The two sides immediately launched a brutal hand-to-hand battle on the position. In the end, , olive green won without any doubt. The assault force successfully captured Little Japan's defensive position, and the engineering force immediately followed up and began repairing the defenses in preparation for Little Japan's counterattack. At the same time, the observers of the artillery regiment were also quickly correcting their shooting at Zhu Yuan and adjusting the ballistic trajectory. Extend forward. Huang Baitao straightened up from behind the artillery mirror, his face expressionless, but he was smiling in his heart. Undoubtedly, Huang Baitao was very satisfied with the performance of the 40th Division, especially the performance of the artillery regiment to which the 40th Division belonged. This made Huang Baitao, who was accustomed to living a hard life, feel as proud as if he had drank a bowl of ice-cold sour plum soup in the scorching heat of June. Thoroughly comfortable. Chief of Staff Cao Xiangfang?Telescope, he said to Huang Baitao with some confusion: "It's strange. Little Japan's combat effectiveness seems to have weakened?" Huang Baitao waved his hand and said: "Chief of Staff, it's not that Little Japan has become weaker, but that we have become stronger. , To be precise, our First Army has become stronger. " Chen Shizhang nodded and said, "Yes, the beautiful equipment is really not something to boast about, especially the 10m-caliber field howitzer, regardless of range, accuracy, and reliability. , or the lethality is much greater than that of Little Japan's field artillery of the same caliber. Wasn't Little Japan's artillery beaten by our artillery and unable to fight back? " Cao Xiang just smiled, no. Arguing with Chen Shizhang. But Cao Xiang knew that the Japanese artillery was completely suppressed by the artillery regiment of the 40th Division. The fundamental reason was not the difference in the performance of the artillery between the two sides, but that the Japanese artillery simply did not have enough shells. Moreover, the Japanese aviation also stopped and disappeared. Otherwise, Japan only needs two bombers, and the artillery of the 40th Division will be finished. On the contrary, no Japanese planes were seen. When the 40th Division and the 56th Division of Little Japan were engaged in a fierce artillery battle, two 40 fighter jets of the Flying Tigers came out of the clouds and faced the artillery of Little Japan. The position repeatedly dived and fired, which greatly restrained the small Japanese artillery. Seeing that his troops had won the first battle, Chen Shizhang couldn't help but feel a little proud, and he said to Huang Baitao with great ambition: "Army, it seems that there is no need for the cooperation between the Southern Anhui Anti-Japanese National Salvation Army and the New Fourth Army. We don't even need 7 Pei and 10 Pei. We alone can The 40th Division is enough to take Chizhou." Cao Xiang, Chief of Staff of the Third Army, frowned. Chen Shizhang was too arrogant. Huang Baitao was also slightly unhappy, but considering that Chen Shizhang was a member of the fifth batch of Huangpu students, he felt relieved. None of these Huangpu officers were all awesome and the best in the world. If you don't let them suffer a little, they will never have a long memory. At that moment, Huang Baitao did not warn Chen Shizhang. In fact, if Huang Baitao warned Chen Shizhang at this time, Chen Shizhang would not listen at all. Instead, he would think that Huang Baitao was deliberately suppressing his 40th Division and preventing the 40th Division from monopolizing the great power of recovering Chizhou and even the entire southern Anhui. (Dividing line) Another Flying Tigers 40 fighter jet roared over Chizhou. However, the pilot on the plane did not seem to notice a Japanese officer standing on the top of the hill. This Japanese officer was none other than Yoshikawa Yoshiyoshi, the division commander of the UR Division. Yoshikawa Yoshiyoshi looked up at the Flying Tigers fighter jets roaring past in the sky, with no expression on his face. However, Yoshikawa Yoshiyoshi's adjutant was extremely nervous and hurriedly stepped forward to persuade him: "General, it's too dangerous here. You'd better return to the headquarters as soon as possible." Yoshikawa Yoshiyoshi ignored the chattering adjutant and raised his hand again. He picked up the high-power military telescope in his hand and carefully observed the battlefield ahead. The fighting situation in Guanqian Town ahead is not optimistic. Although the number of Chinese troops involved in the attack is not large, it is extremely well-equipped. The commandos are all equipped with Thompson submachine guns. The ordinary infantry are also equipped with American-made Nl semi-automatic rifles. The Japanese army is equipped with a large number of Type 38 rifles in terms of firepower. On the other hand, they are simply not as good as the other party. In particular, what makes Yoshikawa Yoshiyoshi feel uneasy is that the opposite national army is also equipped with at least one regiment of field howitzers, and the caliber is at least more than 10m. Artillery is known as the god of war, not without reason. In the early days of the Sino-Japanese total war, the Japanese army The most important reason why they were able to defeat the 59 most elite German weapon divisions of the Kuomintang in the Songhu battlefield was that the Japanese army had absolutely superior artillery fire, especially the Japanese navy's large-caliber naval guns, which caused great damage to the national army. Great damage. However, now, the situation has been reversed, and it is the turn of the Chinese army to use artillery to ravage the Japanese army. Thinking of this, Yoshikawa Yoshiyoshi couldn't help but feel a hint of bitterness at the corner of his mouth. The Jihad has reached this point, even the craziest militarists have to admit in their hearts that Japan's defeat is probably inevitable. . The U.S. military is making rapid progress in the Pacific battlefield. Its navy has cut off the sea lanes between Southeast Asia and the Japanese mainland. The army has even occupied the Mariana Islands. Currently, the Americans are stepping up repairs on the airstrip on the Mariana Island. Once the airport is repaired, the U.S. military will The Air Force's bomber group can take off from Mariana Airport and directly bomb the Japanese mainland. For senior generals like Yoshikawa Yoshiyoshi, it is very clear what it would mean if the mainland was bombed. If the mainland was bombed, it would mean that the domestic defense industry would be severely damaged, and it would also mean that the Japanese army on the Chinese battlefield would be severely damaged. will face a more difficult situation. To put it more directly, that is to say, the Japanese army on the Chinese battlefield will no longer be able to obtain sufficient personnel and material supplies. From the day the U.S. Air Force began large-scale bombing of the Japanese mainland, the Japanese army on the Chinese battlefield will no longer be able to obtain sufficient supplies of personnel and materials.??It's time to tighten our belts. ¡°And even if we tighten our belts and persist, I¡¯m afraid we won¡¯t be able to persist for long. The only suspense now is, in what dignified way will Japan end this war, by declaring unconditional surrender? Or conditional surrender, at least to ensure the integrity of national sovereignty? Yoshikawa Yoshiyoshi has never been so confused as she is now.