bullyxtreme Chapter 867 Threat from the Sea
Chapter 867 Threat from the Sea
When Deputy Chief of Staff Gao Shang heard Tian Tao say this, he thought for a moment and raised a question: "Old Tian, if we increase the troops on these three beaches, and increase them to a battalion on each beach, that would be three infantry battalions, equivalent to the strength of a regiment."
"You have to know that we only have three frontline combat troops now, and our front line of defense is the Japanese 104th Division, and the Japanese 51st Division is still on the way. The combined strength of these two divisions is enough!"
"We can't send all two of the remaining regiments up there. We have to leave some troops behind to garrison the various districts, right? We also have to keep some troops as reserves, right?"
Tian Tao immediately said, "Aren't there still foreign devils and Indians who are being reorganized? There are more than enough of them!"
Gao Shang immediately retorted, "It's only been a few days since they've been reorganized and trained. Can you guarantee they'll be able to fully demonstrate their combat effectiveness on the battlefield?"
"Okay, stop arguing!" Zhang Yunhe stopped the quarrel in time. He allowed a certain degree of competition and confrontation among his subordinates, which was beneficial to his control as a superior, but the discord among subordinates could not affect the overall situation, let alone affect the battle against the Japanese.
He asked, "Chief of Staff Tian, how far has the reorganization and training of the foreign devils and the Indians progressed?"
Tian Tao said: "We have entered the second phase of the training plan. To complete the entire training, it will take at least two weeks. However, if the war situation is urgent, we can reduce the amount and time of training, speed up the training process, and shorten the time to complete the training to one week."
Zhang Yunhe thought for a moment and then asked, "How many reservists do we have now?"
"There are 5000 reservists who have completed training, and another 5000 are still in training. They will be able to complete the training in a week!" Tian Tao replied.
Zhang Yunhe immediately made a decision after hearing this: "How about this? Shorten the training time for the foreigners and Indians to 10 days, but don't reduce the training content or volume. Increase their nutritional intake!"
"All right!"
Zhang Yunhe considered it for a moment and said, "The current garrison strength on the defense line will remain unchanged, but the number of reserve troops will be increased and moved forward to the frontline defenses. We must ensure that if the frontline positions collapse, the reserve troops can arrive within five minutes."
"Also, tell the artillery units to increase their firepower when conducting artillery counterattacks. If a gun fires one round per minute, then when the enemy attacks, each gun fires two rounds, which means the firepower output will be doubled."
"Yes, sir!"
Another day passed, and Ah Gui came to report to Zhang Yunhe.
"Sir, our previous inference was correct. The latest intelligence indicates that the Japanese 19th Independent Mixed Brigade has already arrived in Hongmen Bay. They are currently resting and collecting boats. All the fishermen's boats and other commercial vessels in the area have been requisitioned by the Japanese!"
After hearing this, Zhang Yunhe immediately picked up the phone and called the flight regiment headquarters.
"I'm Zhang Yunhe. Increase the number of sea-surface search and reconnaissance flights over the next few days and expand the reconnaissance range, especially to the east. If you spot the Japanese fleet, report to me immediately!"
The voice of the flight regiment commander Pang Yong came from the phone: "Yes, sir"
After hanging up the phone, Zhang Yunhe looked at Ah Gui and asked, "How long do you think it will take for the Japanese fleet to reach Hongmen Bay?"
Ah Gui thought for a moment and said, "It should be about two days. On the one hand, the Japanese 19th Independent Mixed Brigade needs time to rest and recuperate, and on the other hand, they need to cooperate with the 104th Division and the 51st Division to launch an attack!"
After listening to it, Zhang Yunhe thought the analysis made sense.
The interrogation of Suzuki Anzi did not make good progress. This woman refused to listen. After Zuo Tong and others used physical torture methods without any effect, they used psychological offensive, but after two days, it still did not work.
Suzuki Anko was like a rock-hard believer. Even after her lover Hanayama Eitake confessed, she still didn't say a word.
"Sir, I am incompetent. I can't even handle a Japanese girl. Please dismiss me!" Zuo Tong said with his head down while standing in front of Zhang Yunhe.
Zhang Yunhe looked at Zuo Tong, stood up and walked in front of him and said, "Don't be discouraged. There are always one or two special people in a group of people, and there are always one or two outstanding people. Not everyone is ordinary."
"If you can't handle it, then forget it. Execute her. Do it secretly so that the Lan Agency doesn't find out, and the Japanese spies who are still on the run don't notice."
Zuo Tongli hesitated for a moment and said, "Sir, I have an idea. Since we can't make a breakthrough with Suzuki Anzi for the time being, why not let her play some of her surplus value? I have a plan."
"What plan?" Zhang Yunhe asked.
Zuo Tong whispered, "I want to release Kitagawa Saburo, Hanama Hidetake and the others. Their arrest is still a secret. As long as we don't leak the secret, the Lan Agency headquarters and those fugitive Japanese spies won't know about it. We'll take Suzuki Anzi to another place for detention and release her. She's still holding on, and the news that she hasn't explained won't leak out..."
"Suzuki Kyoko must be very important to the Lan Agency. If Maeda Masashi gets the news, will he send someone to rescue her? They will secretly investigate where Suzuki Kyoko is being held, and then launch a rescue. We can take the opportunity to catch all the fugitives and newly sent Japanese spies in one fell swoop."
"Set a trap with heavy bait to catch big fish? This is a good idea. We can give it a try. Maybe we can also let Kitagawa Saburo, Hanama Hidetake and others infiltrate the Lan Agency to provide us with a steady stream of intelligence," Zhang Yunhe nodded and said.
"Yes!"
Zhang Yunhe made a decision after a brief consideration: "Let's do it this way. It doesn't matter if it fails. We can just consider it as gaining experience, but we must not be careless."
"Yes, sir!"
Things turned out just as Ah Gui had guessed. Two days later, a Japanese fleet quietly appeared in the waters near Hongmen Bay. The fleet consisted of three old cruisers, three destroyers, two frigates and a supply ship.
After Ah Gui reported this information to Zhang Yunhe, Zhang Yunhe immediately ordered to increase the reserve forces behind the three beach defense lines on the east side of the island.
The additional reserve force consisted of 2000 men drawn from the already completed reserve of 5000.
The three beach defense lines on the east side can only accommodate a small number of troops, and each beach defense line can only accommodate one company of troops. Even if more troops are sent there, it will only increase the number of casualties caused by enemy artillery fire.
The key to holding the beach defense line lies in suppressing the enemy's surface fleet with firepower and sending reserves in time.