Chapter 261 New Nickname
When Lieutenant General Hyakutake Haruyoshi's boots stepped on the beach, he knew that the problem was already very serious.
There were only a few officers standing at the beach to greet him, each of them had a sick look on their face, and Major General Kawaguchi Masahisa, who was leading the team, was obviously standing with force.
"Kawaguchi-san, you...oh, forget it." Looking at his emaciated subordinates, Lieutenant General Hyakutake finally did not say any words of blame.
But forget it with this sentence, Kawaguchi Masahisa suddenly became ashamed but embarrassed: "Your Excellency, I have damaged the military power of the imperial army, and I beg you to engage in military law. Even if I die, I will..."
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"Okay, Kawaguchi-san, you can put the discussion of responsibilities later. First tell me about the current situation of the army."
"Hai! Sir, please come here."
Kawaguchi Masahisa led the way and invited his superiors to the tent that served as the command room. Along the way, from time to time, Hyakutake Haruyoshi could see weak soldiers lying on stretchers struggling to get up and salute him.
"The current situation is like this. Our detachment has 4,800 infantrymen, of which about 400 are lightly or seriously injured. In addition, more than 1,800 people have diarrhea problems of varying degrees, including more than 100 people. The condition is serious..."
Hiss~
Although Hyakutake Haruyoshi was mentally prepared, his heart sank when he heard the report from his subordinates. According to Kawaguchi Masahisa, his unit's non-combat attrition has reached 40%. If he doesn't come again, he will not need the Americans. Attack, the Kawaguchi detachment will collapse on its own.
"I have brought medicines and other supplies and they will be distributed soon. You can count them and let the seriously ill soldiers board the ship and go back for treatment." The lieutenant general pointed to several ships at sea responsible for transportation. Destroyer.
"Hai! I can't thank you enough for this humiliation! I've caused you trouble!"
"Where are the Americans' movements?" The Lieutenant General began to care about the enemy's movements.
"Air raids are air raids every day. The Americans target our transport troops, which makes it difficult for our supplies to arrive in time. Before you came, each soldier only had one rice ball per meal. In addition, The US military seems to have organized a small guerrilla-style armed force.”
"U.S. military? Guerillas?" Hyakutake Harukichi didn't expect that these two words could appear at the same time. "You mean the kind similar to the North China battlefield?"
"Hai! Their movement and tactical habits are very similar, but With better equipment and more concealed actions, Xiaguan's troops will suffer varying degrees of losses every day." Kawaguchi lowered his head and answered.
"Hey~" Hyakutake Haruyoshi rubbed his chin, and some memories in his mind were awakened. He was once a vanguard of the Japanese invasion of China, and belonged to the South China Front. He was in Huiyang, Guangzhou. Di once led his 18th Division on a rampage.
Because of this experience, he was deeply impressed by the presence of guerrilla armed forces in the waterways in the south.
"It's a little strange. The US military shouldn't have such tactical characteristics..." Momotake Haruyoshi thought for a moment and then called his adjutant, "Send a report to the Nanyang Branch of Tesco. I want a comprehensive report of the senior US military leaders on Guadalcanal." Materials.”
There is a special reason why the Japanese army chose Hyakutake Haruyoshi as the chief officer of this battle. As a martial arts family, Hyakutake's two brothers are both navy admirals, which is very suitable to serve as a lubricant between the army and the navy, and Hyakutake himself serves in the army. He also served as the head of the Harbin secret service and has deep roots in the Japanese military intelligence agency. The army, navy, base camp, and intelligence agencies, almost every department has to sell his face to Momotake Haruyoshi. Under normal circumstances, combat troops who want to obtain key information from THT need to be approved at all levels, but for the lieutenant general, this is a trivial matter. The matter can be solved by just opening your mouth.
The response of the intelligence department was very fast. That night, the lieutenant general got a piece of intelligence from the telegram. When he saw the situation description with more than a dozen pieces of paper, his face changed. It became more solemn
"Sigh~ No wonder the US military's tactics have become like this It’s strange, it turns out that your Excellency has also come here. With him here, it is not difficult to understand why such a small Guadalcanal is so difficult to deal with.”
Seeing how cautious Hyakutake Haruyoshi is, Major General Kawaguchi. They also came together and said, "Sir, is there any famous general from the US military who is here to take charge?"
Hyakutake Haruyoshi shook his head and explained softly, "He is an agent, the British ace agent."
"Spy? Just a spy?" As a professional soldier, Kawaguchi did not understand why a spy would let his superiors act like this. Facing a powerful enemy.
"Kawaguchi-san, if you have never worked in intelligence, you will not understand the importance of this kind of person. This person has been registered with various intelligence agencies in Europe, and Himmler even offered a reward of 200,000 marks. His life."
"So much money?" Kawaguchi Masahisa was surprised. 200,000 marks is 3 million yen, which is enough for a division. The regiment had been paid military pay for a year, which made him even more curious, "Sir, who is this person?"
"A very mysterious guy who often appears and disappears suddenly, with completely different faces. Each appearance brings huge losses to our allies and the Empire, and he was most recently spotted at Midway."
Hyakutake Haruyoshi looked at the report in front of him and said in a very complicated tone, "Kawaguchi-san, did you know that the General Staff Headquarters once made a special evaluation of this man's tactical value and concluded that under certain circumstances, if he joins On the battlefield, he alone can serve as a brigade. Therefore, he has a nickname in the intelligence department..."One Man Brigade"
"What!" Kawaguchi Masahisa never thought that a person could be worthy of such an evaluation. "How can such a guy Not very dangerous? ”
“ "That's right." Hyakutake Harukichi nodded. "From the information we have received so far, although this guy has never revealed his true face, he is probably a Chinese. In this case, it is understandable that he is proficient in guerrilla warfare."< br>
Hakutake Qingji He stood up and looked at the soldiers outside the tent who were moving like ants. "When I left China, I had an exchange with the chief of Gangcun. I benefited a lot from how to counter guerrilla warfare. Now I have the opportunity to verify this in this area. Great news.”
Boom! boom!
There was a sudden explosion in the camp, and several grenades and Molotov cocktails fell into the newly built camp, causing a fire.
The panicked soldiers ran out of the tent to put out the fire. At this time, another shot from an unknown direction was heard in the forest, and one soldier was shot and fell to the ground.
"Your Excellency! Be careful!" A guard rushed up to protect the lieutenant general, but he pushed him away. "Baga! Why are you panicking! Didn't you see that the enemy is still out of range?! The more panicked you are, the more Will expose the target!”
The scale of the attack is small, but It brought considerable chaos to the camp, but Hyakutake Haruyoshi was not angry. The lieutenant general's eyes even flashed with excitement of meeting a powerful enemy. "First Marine Division? One-man brigade? Let me see it." ”
(End of this chapter)