The staff officer opened the telegram and said, "Early this morning, the 1st Regiment of the 367th Brigade under the Wuhan Garrison Command wiped out the 40th Infantry Regiment of the 10th Division of the Japanese Army in the northern suburbs of Hankou!"

"What?!"

"One regiment wiped out an infantry regiment?"

When Wu Qiwei and Shang Zhen heard this, they immediately took a breath of cold air.

Zhang Lingfu also sighed softly. Their First Corps fought to the death and fought a victory in Wanjialing. Although they annihilated more than 10,000 Japanese troops and the results were larger than that of the Wuhan Garrison Command, the number of troops invested exceeded 100,000, and the number of casualties exceeded 20,000!

In contrast, the Wuhan Garrison Command won too easily!

At that moment, Zhang Lingfu said to Xue Yue again: "General, if the main force of the 11th Army is allowed to go over and let them join the 2nd Army in Wuhan, then the battle in Wuhan will be at most a stalemate. However, if the 11th Army can be dragged to the De'an battlefield, then the 5th War Zone and the Wuhan Garrison Command will have a chance to eat the Japanese Second Army!"

Xue Yue's eyes flashed and said in a deep voice: "Let's do this, transfer the 74th Army and the 29th Army! Okamura Yasuji had only one way to go from Xiushui Wu'an, that is, to step over our bodies!"

"Yes!" Zhang Lingfu stood at attention and replied with a loud bang!

...

In Nanjing, the Central China Front Army Headquarters.

General Hata Toshiki, commander of the Central China Front Army, has received the battle report that the 40th Infantry Regiment was completely wiped out!

As the commander of the front army commander of more than 500,000 troops, Hata Shunruo did not care about the losses of a mere corps. The 106th Division was almost wiped out on the De'an battlefield before, and he didn't say much, and even encouraged Okamura Yanji to say a few words. In a word, he only cared about the result, not the process.

But there are some things that Hata Shunruo has no choice but to ignore!

Hata Shunrok said to Kabayashi Chief of Staff of Central China Front Army: "Kabaya, what do you think?"

Kawabian Masazo said: "Old General, it is indeed regrettable that the 40th Infantry Regiment was completely wiped out, but fortunately, the corps flag was not captured by the Chinese army, which is also a blessing in disgrace!"

Hata Shunruo frowned and said, "Kawabianjun, I'm not asking this."

After a pause, Hata Shunruo said again: "Didn't you find anything from it?"

"Discover?" Hebian Zhengsan frowned slightly, "If you want to find out, I think that the divisions under the Second Army seem to be underestimating the enemy. The 40th Infantry Regiment was completely wiped out so easily, which is probably because the captain Xi Dazhao Pang underestimated the enemy too much and lacked enough vigilance!"

"Soga!" Hata Shunji nodded, "I think so too!"

After a pause, Hata Shunruo continued, "So, it is necessary to remind His Highness Nianyan!"

"Hayi!" Kawabian Masao suddenly paused his head, and said to a major staff officer standing beside him, "Call the Second Army Headquarters immediately, so that they must be vigilant! Don't underestimate the enemy anymore!"

"Hayi!" The chief staff member paused and turned around.

Tadao Shunji asked again: "Kabaya, when will the 27th Division be able to reach western Zhejiang?"

For the Battle of Wuhan, the Japanese base camp formed a group of three-unit security divisions. There were six of these security divisions in total, five of which were organized in early April. Among them, the 15th, 17th and 22nd Divisions had even been put into the Wuhan battlefield and took on the security tasks in Henan and Anhui.

However, the composition of the 27th Division was delayed.

This also affected the operations of the 11th Army to a certain extent.

The 11th Army was not progressing smoothly on the De'an battlefield, so it drew out the 23rd Infantry Brigade, which was originally used to guard western Zhejiang, and organized it into the Ueno Detachment to rush to the De'an battlefield.

If it weren't for the delay in the formation of the 27th Division for several months, the entire 18th Division would have been transferred this time, and the chances of winning the De'an Battle would have been greatly increased.

"The 27th Division has already set off from Tokyo, and it will probably take about ten days to reach western Zhejiang!" After pausing, Kawabian Masazo said again, "However, General, I have an idea. In fact, it is enough to have the 35th Infantry Brigade of the 18th Division undertake the security mission in western Zhejiang!"

Hata Shunruo said in a deep voice: "You mean, just transfer the 27th Division to the De'an battlefield?"

"Hayi!" Kawabian Masao paused his head and said, "Your Excellency General!"

"Okay." Hata Shunruo adopted Masazo Kawabian's suggestion and said, "It is indeed not a good thing to delay the Battle of De'an like this. So put the 27th Division into the 11th Army! Let's tell Okamura that he will annihilate the enemy in front of De'an as soon as possible, and then detour around Changsha and cut off the way for the Chinese army to escape south on the battlefield in Wuhan!"

"Hayi!" Hebang Masao paused his head, "Your Excellency General is wise!"

...

On the railway line from Xiaogan to Hankou, the 10th Division was heading south in a mighty manner.

The 10th Division was organized in Himeji, so it is also called Himeji Division. It is one of the seventeen permanent divisions organized during the Meiji period. It is under the jurisdiction of four infantry regiments, one regiment of each processing troops, baggage, cavalry, and field artillery. It has a total of more than 25,000 people and is very powerful in combat!

As the pioneer of the Second Army, Higakure Nianhiko also prepared an independent mountain artillery corps and a chariot brigade for the 10th Division.

Therefore, even though an infantry corps was lost and an infantry brigade was transferred, the 10th Division still had more than 35,000 troops!

More than 35,000 people, more than 7,000 horses, thousands of carriages, more than 100 trucks, more than 50 tanks, and more than 100 cannons of various calibers together formed a rolling iron stream, which slowly drove along the Pinghan Railway and the road on the side of the railway line, towards Hankou.

When the Chief of Staff of the 10th Division came over to Hibiruki, Yoshio Shinozuka was standing on a small hill next to the railway line with a saber, staring at the marching formation of the 10th Division with a gloomy expression.

"Second Commander!" Thibubujiao walked behind Yoshino Shinozuka, held his feet at the right moment and said.

Yoshio Shinozuka nodded slightly and said in a deep voice: "Is it your highness's telegram if you don't stick to the dike?"

"Hayi!" Dibujiagui paused his head slightly and said in a deep voice, "Your Highness reminds us that we must be vigilant and not make mistakes of underestimating the enemy. Tragedy like the 40th Infantry Regiment will never be allowed to happen again!"

"Suoga!" Shinozuka Yoshino nodded slightly and said, "Immediately send your highness's telegram to various infantry corps, so that they will definitely pay attention!"

"Hayi!" Dibuguqi bowed his head heavily, and handed the telegram to the staff officer behind him, signaling him to distribute it.
Chapter completed!