Chapter 826 Will the Fish Die or Will the Net Break? (Additional Chapter, 4600 Votes and More)
"Pa!" "Pa!" Loud slaps sounded on the faces of two Japanese Army Lieutenant Generals, Takamori Takashi and Akashi Riki, leaving five finger marks in an instant. However, they dared not say a word, but only bowed their heads and said "Ha!"
The Japanese superior commanders have always had the habit of slapping their subordinates, but at the level of generals, no matter who the opponent is, this punishment has basically disappeared. Now the slap reappears, and only extremely angry commanders can do this. At present, General Yamashita Tomoyuki, the commander-in-chief of the Indian Expeditionary Army, is very angry. He is not just angry, but very angry.
The two lieutenant generals, one in charge of the 11th Division and the other in charge of the 13th Division, are both veteran divisions that were drawn from the Kwantung Army and the China Expeditionary Army after the establishment of the Indian Expeditionary Army and were the first batch of divisions to enter India. It is said that their combat effectiveness is not weak, but they were defeated in the battle to attack Calcutta. The two divisions each lost half of their troops and retreated more than 80 kilometers in one breath. They stabilized the situation after receiving cover and support from other troops.
Although they wanted to complain to Commander Yamashita Tomoyuki that the combat order was given by Yokoyama Isamu, in the end no one dared to defend themselves. A telegram had arrived from Tokyo yesterday, saying that Lieutenant General Yokoyama Isamu was transferred to the reserve on the spot and returned to Tokyo to await his fate. Earlier, Yamashita Tomoyuki had spread the news that if Tokyo did not deal with Yokoyama Isamu, he would deal with him. As for what method he would use to deal with him, the senior officers of the Indian Expeditionary Force who knew the inside story were a little terrified - the last time Captain Doi violated instructions and burned, killed and looted in the heart of India, he was directly ordered by Yamashita Tomoyuki to be shot in public with a Browning heavy machine gun. The 12.7mm bullets broke his body into several pieces, and he went back to Tokyo to report that he was killed in battle. That was it.
It's not that Yamashita Tomoyuki was a good man who did not do anything wrong. He did a lot of bad things in Singapore. The reason why he killed them this time was that he thought the Indian people were obedient enough, and the Bose government was very effective in carrying out its work. It was much better than the situation in mainland China where guerrillas were everywhere. This situation was hard-won and could not be destroyed. Especially Ceylon, which was under the control of the navy. Since the navy was too lazy to take care of civil affairs, it was all left to the Indian elite who could speak English to deal with. Anyway, it was easy to communicate. The navy itself was rich and looked down on the income from scraping the land. In addition, there were white-skinned German masters (Marine Brigade) on the island. In other aspects, it was like heaven in the eyes of Indians. It was really orderly, and the public sentiment was more Japanese than that of Japan.
Less than a year after the Indian Expeditionary Force entered India, it had obtained more than 500 tons of gold alone, and this was obtained without provoking any civil unrest. The army was well-off, and the money it asked Germany to buy arms was all from India. Such a good hen that could lay golden eggs could not be easily tossed to death.
The Indian Expeditionary Force also reaped a lot of private money. In addition to the high income, the living conditions were also satisfactory. Now officers above the rank of second lieutenant have Indian servants to serve them. The service is in place, the work is caring, and the attitude is docile, which makes them very satisfied. Even when marching and fighting, they take them with them. Who would still use the old orderly? Although Indian girls are a little darker and uglier, they are full of enthusiasm and tenderness when having sex with white-skinned Japanese officers and soldiers, and even wish they could come every night. The British have racial discrimination, and the Japanese don't like this. As long as you obey, you are one of them. In order to maintain combat effectiveness, the Expeditionary Force deliberately issued an order not to allow women to stay overnight in the barracks.
In this context, Doi's behavior of disregarding the overall situation was very abrupt: first, it offended the local princes and nobles, second, it made Bose lose face, and third, it set a very bad precedent, and it was not okay not to punish him. Other officers above the rank of regiment commander also believed that the commander's handling was correct. In this case, burning, killing and looting were too bad.
Because of his repeated disobedience on the battlefield in China, Yokoyama Isamu had a very stiff relationship with Yan Junroku and Okamura Yasuji. It happened that Yamashita Tomoyuki needed a capable deputy to help him expand his territory, so he transferred him from China to India. When he first arrived in India, Yokoyama Isamu, who had gained experience, was relatively obedient, worked hard in the war, and had a very good command level. Yamashita Tomoyuki was quite satisfied with him in all aspects. He was specially selected as the commander of the right wing army, and together with the left wing army commanded by Yamashita Tomoyuki himself, he planned to use 5 divisions to launch a pincer attack to eat up the British and Indian troops near Calcutta and occupy the area.
Calcutta was an important town in British India. Before setting off, Yamashita Tomoyuki told the right-wing army to pay attention to cooperation and not to move too fast. Everything was going according to plan. Who knew that Yokoyama Isamu, who had won consecutive victories, suddenly got excited and thought that the British were not a concern. The troops in his hands were enough to solve the problem. He let the 11th and 13th divisions advance. As a result, they were ambushed by British Lieutenant General Slim. They were first beaten up by British armored forces in the suburbs, and then trapped in Calcutta and beaten half to death. In the end, they lost half of their troops and tanks before escaping.
As a result, Yamashita Tomoyuki's pincer attack immediately failed, and his hope of taking Calcutta as soon as possible was also shattered, forcing him to temporarily change his combat plan. On the one hand, he sent troops to support the two divisions, and on the other hand, he had to stabilize the left wing.
Of course, another important reason for this defeat was that the three German Marine brigades withdrew, which not only reduced the combat strength, but also increased the courage of the British and Indian troops. Knowing that the Germans were not there and only the Japanese were attacking this time, their combat effectiveness could be fully exerted. However, it is difficult to summarize the reason. It is impossible that Japan relied on the Germans to conquer India, right?
The Indian Expeditionary Force had always been smooth sailing and had won numerous battles. This time, the big setback made Yamashita Fengwen extremely embarrassed. He couldn't help but think of the defeat suffered by the Chinese Expeditionary Force in Taierzhuang during the Battle of Xuzhou. It was also a case of luring the enemy deep into the territory, and it was also equally embarrassing.
"You two are pigs..." Yamashita Fengwen panted and cursed after being tired, "Who told you to fight hand-to-hand with Indians in the city? Are the submachine guns and machine guns in your hands firewood sticks? And who told you to use tanks to fight street battles? Don't you know that there are things like iron fists and recoilless guns in the world?"
Speaking of it, the two division commanders were quite stupid. Slim's defense force in Kolkata included two elite Gurkha brigades. Soon after the Japanese army entered the city, they encountered their hand-to-hand challenge. Then the confused Japanese officers and soldiers really rushed up and started fighting with bayonets. As a result, the Gurkhas were braver than expected. The sharp Gurkha scimitars chopped off the heads of many Japanese officers and soldiers in the narrow and complex urban areas. Due to the long-term influence of the Bushido spirit, Japan had close combat firepower but did not use it. It fought a cold weapon war in Kolkata. The two Gurkha brigades were almost killed and wounded in the end, and the Japanese officers and soldiers who fought for their lives also lost several regiments.
That's not all. In order to speed up the siege, the Japanese commander, who was furious, also drove tanks in. As a result, he encountered countless recoilless guns, bazookas and anti-tank grenades, lost a large number of tanks, and finally fled in a panic.
"You usually say that Takeda Gong is long and Takeda Gong is short, implying that you are not convinced by him and think that he just relied on a little luck. Let me tell you, ten of you are not as good as one Takeda Gong! Why would he use such a stupid method like you to fight? If you were left in Tokyo that time, I don't know how many times you would be played to death!"
After the rebellion was quelled, the Indian Expeditionary Force was shocked to find that the young and always cunning Takeda Gong not only became a lieutenant general, but also became the commander of the Imperial Guard Division. It is said that he is also responsible for the implementation of armored transformation. His popularity is not inferior to Ishihara Kanji.
Rumors spread everywhere, such as "I knew this kid was lucky!", "Hey, it's easy to be an official if you have someone in the court!", "Why can't I get this good thing? The commander is biased!" Such words kept coming out. Yamashita Tomoyuki originally thought that if he had the opportunity to become an army minister in the future, it would save him a lot of trouble if Takeda was the director of the military affairs bureau or the core department in the army ministry. But looking at the current situation, if he really has the opportunity to become the army minister in a few years, Takeda will definitely be the candidate for the vice minister of the army.
He was happy, but now that the war was like this, he missed the days when Takeda was there. That kid was so smart. Seeing the red-headed Indians coming to fight with bayonets, he would definitely use 20mm whirlwind guns and 12.7mm Brownings to clean up the ground regardless of everything - he was an Osaka merchant, he didn't care about Bushido or not, as long as he could win!
Tired of fighting and scolding, he finally issued an order with a stern face: "The Germans left behind a total of three Marine brigades of heavy equipment. One was originally going to belong to the Navy. I have contacted Commander Kusaka and asked him to give us all first, and then transfer it to the Navy from the rear. Although many people are jealous and scrambling for it, I still plan to use this batch of weapons to supplement your two divisions and give you 2,000 reinforcements. You must restore your combat effectiveness as soon as possible. The division commander will temporarily serve as the brigade commander! The Tokyo headquarters was also very annoyed about this defeat. Originally, they said they would give me four divisions to reinforce, but now they have changed their words and said they would give me six divisions! The troops have set off one by one. In the future, there will be more wolves in India to grab meat, and only the smartest people can stay. If you can't fight well again, I will let you transfer to the reserve and return to Japan. Anyway, you have made enough money, so go back and enjoy yourself."
When they heard "go back", the two division commanders were dumbfounded. Who would go back to such a good place like India would be stupid. Although they made a lot of money, who would complain about it? Even if they have enough, don't they still have children and grandchildren? Besides, everyone has a bunch of trusted subordinates. What will happen to them if they leave? They won't be able to live in peace in their old age.
The two said with regret on the spot: "Sir, we must be careful and serious in the next attack. We will not be human if we don't avenge this shame!"
"Sir, please use us as the vanguard in the next battle. We will definitely take down Kolkata. If we don't take it down, I will bring my head to see you!"
Yamashita Fengwen nodded with satisfaction: "Knowing shame is close to courage. I will give you another chance. You guys study it carefully and make sure to take down Kolkata before the reinforcements arrive! You are responsible for earning back the face you lost!"